Search Captions & Ask AI

216 - Robe Convention

April 02, 2020 /

This episode of My Favorite Murder covers the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, touching on various topics such as the cultural phenomenon of Tiger King, the death of Grace Kelly, and the mysterious case of Kendrick Johnson. Hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark discuss their personal experiences during the pandemic, including the challenges of quarantine and the emotional toll it takes on families.

The episode begins with a light-hearted discussion about the absurdity of the Ancient Aliens show and its questionable theories. Karen shares her thoughts on the darker themes presented in Tiger King, emphasizing the lack of sympathetic characters and the troubling treatment of animals.

Later, the hosts transition to the tragic story of Grace Kelly, detailing her life as a Hollywood star and her untimely death in a car accident. They examine the sensationalism surrounding her death and the conspiracy theories that emerged, including her alleged connection to a cult.

The episode concludes with a deep dive into the controversial case of Kendrick Johnson, a high school student found dead in a wrestling mat. The hosts discuss the mishandling of the investigation, the racial dynamics at play, and the family's ongoing quest for justice.

Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the emotional weight of these stories and the broader implications of how society processes tragedy and loss.

TLDR

This episode discusses COVID-19's impact, Tiger King, Grace Kelly's death, and Kendrick Johnson's mysterious case.

Episode

1:37:07
00:00:00
This is exactly right. Isn't some far off concept? It's already here. Next starts now.
00:00:33
Hyundai, an official partner of FIFA. Goodbye. If audiobooks are your thing, or if you've been meaning to listen to more of them,
00:00:40
you should check out a podcast called Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club, hosted by Cal Penn.
00:00:46
Each episode spotlights standout audiobooks on Audible across all kinds of genres.
00:00:51
Sci-fi, comedy, romance, thrillers, and more. With Cal talking to guests who help break down what makes each story worth listening to.
00:00:57
It's a fun, easy way to discover your next great audiobook. Check out Earsay on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
00:01:06
Goodbye! The best parts of summer aren't just places. They're feelings. It's the scent of fresh ocean air, sun-warmed skin, and long evenings outside.
00:01:15
Pure's new summer collection is designed to capture those fleeting moments and make them last.
00:01:20
Restore your sense of place with clean, premium fragrances you control from your phone.
00:01:24
Bring the feeling of summer home. Discover the collection at Pura.com. Goodbye. Hello.
00:01:46
Hello. And welcome. To my favorite murder. The coronavirus years. That's right. We're in year 16 of March 2020.
00:02:00
My sister sent me a text the other day that said, don't forget, it's March 97th.
00:02:06
I saw a meme that said 30 days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except for March, which has 8,000.
00:02:17
Yep, that's the old rhyme. Yeah, it's still quarantine time. yeah how are you doing on yours no one needs that update no everyone knows i'm fine think about the
00:02:29
people in the future who are like listening to this and like they're in the whole new world that
00:02:35
we're hopefully in too you know yeah oh my god my mom i should tell you my mom watches ancient
00:02:41
aliens she's obsessed with it and i was on the phone with her the other day and she goes well i
00:02:45
I saw on Ancient Aliens this morning that there is definitive proof that there are no aliens that have come to visit.
00:02:54
And she said it like it's a provable fucking thing. She's watching Ancient Aliens like the news now.
00:03:00
Yeah. And you've seen the screen grabs of like the fucking commentators on that show.
00:03:05
They're psychotic. I mean, look, I watch that show. I've in admitting that on this show, lots of people have written back and saying it's a super problematic show because they basically discount all ancient knowledge as like it'd be impossible that the Sumerians knew this.
00:03:20
It must have been aliens, which I completely get. It's super offensive in that way.
00:03:25
But as a spectacle, which is what most entertainment is turning into, especially for me these days, there are people on that show.
00:03:34
I would say eight of the ten men, and it's almost always men, that speak to you about how, you know, the great pyramids of Giza are lined up along Orion's Belt.
00:03:47
And that proves that the Mayans actually visited them, you know, crazy shit. And the people that explain this to you always have the ugliest necklace on.
00:03:58
like they go to the most tragic gift shop in the weirdest place they can find and buy a turquoise
00:04:05
yeah it's like yes everything seems grand canyon based there's turquoise there's eagles in forged
00:04:12
in silver uh they're always leather always beads cat's eye gems and things yeah that's how you know
00:04:20
you're watching ancient aliens the necklaces are out of control and the hair of course but uh speaking
00:04:26
Speaking of purely entertainment or spectacles, we now need to talk about Tiger King.
00:04:33
Oh, shit. That everyone is obsessed with right now. Oh, and hey, spoiler alert, everybody.
00:04:38
We're about to run this whole series for you. It's the perfect, again, it's the perfect show.
00:04:45
It's a Netflix series. It came out right when the quarantine started in California anyway.
00:04:50
And it was the kind of thing where we talked about it last week. You and I both resisted it because so many people were talking about it on social media.
00:04:58
Yeah. It makes me sad. I got to be honest. It's a very sad, as I was saying to my friend who was like, what do you like?
00:05:07
Because I was saying they were saying the person they like the most or whatever.
00:05:13
And I'm like, yeah, I'm team get me away from these people. There's not a favorite.
00:05:19
But he was like, oh, are you saying you didn't like it? And I said, no, no, no. I've binged the whole thing.
00:05:24
Yeah. But there's no one to cheer for now in that entire thing. It's the darkest.
00:05:31
It is. I mean, it's a rough story. When that fucking crazy person, Joe exotic was pulling the brand new tiger cub away from its mother's teat and
00:05:43
through the bars of the fucking cage that it's been living in its whole life. I was just out.
00:05:50
I couldn't finish it. Well, Well and you knew then that the idea of caring about those animals was not true Right Oh my God That the whole study of that personality It just like it fascinating
00:06:05
Yeah. That there's this group of people that studying each place, each little big cat reserve is its own mini cult.
00:06:17
Totally. That's crazy. And they're like, at every place, there's like, well, we found these girls that didn't have a place to stay,
00:06:23
and now they're part of the team, aka in a fucking cult. And they're like, well, I work 18 hours a day
00:06:31
and I'm super tired, so I don't know what I like anymore, but I do know that I got breast implants.
00:06:37
So many dark moments. As I said, text you the other night while I was watching it.
00:06:42
Team Carol. Hashtag Team Carol. I don't think she killed her husband. Sorry. Spoiler.
00:06:47
I don't think she killed him. I think that motherfucker split on her. Split and went to the bottom of the swamp.
00:06:53
he's like goodbye I'm going for a deep dive the ancient aliens made the swamp and I'm going to live amongst them
00:07:01
I feel like anything goes with any of those people because there's something going on with the power
00:07:09
structure of a person involving animals in their day to day and using animals like
00:07:15
tools it's the same reason I don't like putting costumes on my dogs they have no choice
00:07:21
they have no control and they don't want to do it yeah even when people people give us very nice presents are like i may i stitched a scarf
00:07:29
for for george i'll put it on for like four minutes i'll be like you don't want this on right
00:07:33
you don't like people clothes because you're a fucking dog yeah i'll put it on the cats
00:07:38
for a quick photo and then it's off and they never have to see it again yes you know but they do it for their instagram account it's their influencers well and same with
00:07:49
these people like what I started to realize as I was watching that show is they're all filmed all
00:07:54
the time you watch them performing for the camera performing for sometimes two cameras at a time
00:08:00
well that's one thing I do like about this show is that they show the outtakes of the people being
00:08:06
like should I get that again that one guy yeah you guys want to get that again why don't you get me
00:08:09
walking in and like there's just I like whoever edited it and put those like really telling
00:08:16
moments and of just them being real and terrible. Well, and I bet you it was that director who had to be there and get directed by a guy that
00:08:25
basically has tigers jump on a chair, but he's like, here's what we're going to do.
00:08:29
You're going to meet me at the front door where it's like, what if that's a shitty idea?
00:08:33
What if me ringing your doorbell and you opening the door to like, hello, welcome to the
00:08:37
totally completely fake person and like kind of scary with a fucking soul patch is not
00:08:43
the best angle for TV. Maybe you're not the creator everyone's looking for. Maybe your soul patch needs to take a seat.
00:08:52
And also, that's the guy that has like six wives. Yeah. I mean, it's just... But here's the thing.
00:08:58
In times like these where things feel so extreme, this is extreme, extreme entertainment.
00:09:05
It matches and then subdues big feelings with even bigger, crazier feelings of like, oh, my God, at least I don't live there, work there.
00:09:16
That's a good point. My life didn't take that turn. Yeah, I didn't. Thank God I didn't go into big cats like you thought I was going to.
00:09:26
I mean, and I love cats, and I'm sure Stephen agrees with me. I love cats more than any, like, lots of things.
00:09:32
Yeah. Family, friends, money. but I don't want a fucking tiger even I don't want a tiger
00:09:38
Stephen right? I respect them too much they would eat me and they're right they're right to eat you
00:09:47
and like how many times with a regular house cat have you had a swipe that almost brought you to your knees
00:09:54
these are 800 pound tigers it's crazy you know what I hate about footage I think maybe what it is
00:10:02
I'm always waiting for the tiger attack, the one caretaker who lost their arm. It's, you know, I'm just waiting for that to happen because it's inevitable.
00:10:10
I did. I have to say I did like that part because it was so badass that he was just like, yeah,
00:10:17
I got my hand bit off, but then I'm just back to work. It was just like, please don't focus on that.
00:10:22
We're trying. I'm not trying to talk about that. But there's other things to focus on.
00:10:26
I love there was a couple of people that really were bright, shining stars. but for the most part that was a study in depression absolutely so maybe i'll keep trying
00:10:36
it but i don't know if i need any extra studies of depression right now at this at this time you
00:10:40
know it's like the reason we avoided it in the first place i just found it insanely jarring
00:10:46
just as a kickoff but then the more people talked about it and it seemed like the more people want
00:10:51
to talk about i was like well i should know what's going on yeah me too there is a series i watch
00:10:56
also on Netflix called The Valhalla Murders. I don't know if you watched that one.
00:11:01
No, what's that? It's in Iceland. And it's a female detective. It's really good, but it's subtitles.
00:11:14
So I can't do other things besides watch the show. Yeah. Which is good. It's actually very good.
00:11:22
It's the kind of show you want to focus on. It really pays off. I need that. I need more true crime shows. I think there's one I want to watch about the West Memphis Three. And it's more focused on the victims that I really want to watch. I haven't heard of that. That one. This one sounds good. What's it? The Valhalla Murders? Valhalla Murders is also on Netflix. And I think and I just watched one call. So I finished that really fast because it has. First of all, it has really good shots of Iceland. So there's this kind of escapism.
00:11:53
they always like weirdly running in snow it awesome for me anyway but then there another one So I binged that And then I started another one This was these two bookended Tiger King
00:12:07
It's called The Bay, which I just finished recently. And that one's really good, too.
00:12:12
It reminds me of it has just feelings of Broadchurch in that way where it's a little
00:12:18
bayside town. That's it's very satisfying and calming and yet still procedural. I love it.
00:12:24
But you like more of a documentary, right? As opposed to a scripted series. Yeah, but I can't watch any that are too dark because Vince won't handle it.
00:12:35
He can't handle it. Quick corrections corner. And I think I heard about this last week from so, I mean, so many people who are like,
00:12:43
this story, when I said I thought the person, they said it was the healthcare provider.
00:12:49
I assume that meant the insurance company. Oh, yes. And 1,000 nurses wrote back to say, no, that usually means the doctor or the person that's actually treating you.
00:12:59
So chances were it was the doctor. So, of course, nurses on it, taking care of business, fixing corrections, saving lives on the daily.
00:13:08
Please, if you get a chance, donate to anything that will help nurses and doctors on the front lines right now.
00:13:17
If you can. And everyone's supporting them. Amen. Yeah, it's amazing. And they truly are giving, risking their lives and some giving their lives to fight this fucking pandemic. And it's insane, especially without a central government. Really fucked up.
00:13:34
Yeah. Well, I guess the good news that we can start with is that our new podcast on Exactly Right Network, the trailer is up. Bananas, it's hosted by our friends, Kurt Braunahler and Scotty Landis. These are two people that when you go to an awkward party or bar and you see them and you're like, thank God they're here because they're the coolest dudes.
00:13:58
Yeah, so if you follow comedy at all, you know Kurt Braunler from, he's got tons of comedy specials on Comedy Central.
00:14:07
He's been on a bunch of things on Comedy Central. He has a comedy special called Trust Me, but he's also been a voice on Bob's Burgers.
00:14:16
He's acted on Black Monday on Showtime. He's in the movie The Big Sick. So he's a very stalwart of the comedy community.
00:14:25
And then, of course, Scotty Landis wrote your favorite horror movie from last year, Ma.
00:14:30
That was his idea. And those guys have been friends for years. Scotty is a writer on Workaholics and Adam Devine's House Party.
00:14:39
So, like, they've known each other in the comedy community. And, yeah, so they're just two dudes hanging out and reading each other weird news stories.
00:14:47
And it is especially now in a time like now, weird news stories don't get covered because everything is so fucked.
00:14:56
It seems like it'll be a really nice break from when you need something lighthearted and something to kind of just take your brain away from what is going on in the real world and listen to some insane stories and just weird news from around the world.
00:15:12
Yeah, so listen to that and, of course, do all the rate reviews. Subscribe. I think it's going to be really good.
00:15:21
And meanwhile, I don't know if you've tried out I Said No Gifts by Bridger Winninger yet,
00:15:27
but that's also another podcast that's up. And his new episode is with actor and comedian Langston Kerman, who's on Insecure on HBO.
00:15:38
and that episode is up today. Yeah, April 2nd. So at the end of this episode, we're going to play the trailer for Bananas as well.
00:15:48
So you'll get to hear it. It premieres Tuesday, April 21st and you can follow Bananas on Instagram
00:15:53
at the Bananas Podcast. Did I say this last week that I'm going to have really great skin
00:15:57
at the end of this, but I'm going to be depressed because I'm going to have no vitamin D.
00:16:02
Yep. Oh, take your vitamin D. That's another one that I've read about, which I'm doing.
00:16:07
and vitamin c anything for immunity i think we may this is the new corner vitamins corner
00:16:13
vitamin curcumin is a great one take your turmeric yeah it's really great with inflammation
00:16:18
there's lots of um like yogi tea that's echinacea or like for immunity you can get any kind of like
00:16:25
hippie teas that just say immunity on the front i did that they taste great mushrooms are good
00:16:31
Immunity herbs take mushrooms and, of course, LSD in large doses. Trip out, videotape yourself doing it, and send it to us.
00:16:44
Please. You know what I did? I did the thing where it had been enough time had passed, so I was like, it's time I have to make another grocery store run.
00:16:52
So I did it really early in the morning. I just got kind of what was in front of me.
00:16:56
but I did buy two big packages of like chicken fillets, like the ones that are already,
00:17:04
they're already processed. So they're kind of like already cut and it's basically half chicken breasts.
00:17:09
Yeah. And then I cooked, I put one package in the freezer and I cooked the entire other package all at
00:17:14
once. So then I just have standby chicken breasts kind of hanging out because I'm
00:17:21
with your hand, you grab one with your hand and eat it. I mean, I like it like a walrus at the zoo.
00:17:26
It's licorice. Feed it to myself like I'm a big cat. I just think I figure because I buy stuff.
00:17:36
I don't make food every night. I don't. I don't have any kind of a system to rely on.
00:17:42
So, yeah, I got that. I'm like, just make it all at once. Then it's just sitting there and you can do it your way.
00:17:48
I guess the point is you don have to become a chef or like all of a sudden you don have to be good in the kitchen just do the thing that like doesn waste food and gets your stuff taken care of Do you have any little things that make you happy around the house The cats are great
00:18:05
My plants that I haven't killed yet make me really happy. I mean, I'm not depressed at all.
00:18:11
It's nice. You're just trying to keep your eye out for it. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, that would normally upset me.
00:18:17
And I just being aware of it. Yeah. What about you? Oh, I was just going to brag that I have an orchid that I haven't killed yet.
00:18:23
Oh. That I think because I'm there all the time staring at it, I keep it perfectly watered because I'm monitoring it moment to moment.
00:18:33
That's what I'm doing, too. I'm like, oh, you're drooping a little. I should water you because all I'm doing is staring.
00:18:39
Yeah, but three drips of water in like this perfect way where you're just meeting it out exactly as it's needed.
00:18:46
I love it. Powerful feelings. On the other hand, I did kill the plant in my bathroom terribly by like watching it die of thirst and not taking action.
00:18:58
It was really odd. Isn't that the worst? It's really strange. I just like I kind of sat back like, well, there's nothing I can do.
00:19:05
It's like water it. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. It's 2026. And if you have an alternative career like food photography or professional mixtape making or witchcraft, you're going to need an online presence.
00:19:17
presence. Whatever your thing is, Squarespace helps you build a website that's as unique as you are.
00:19:22
Squarespace provides you everything you need to offer services and get paid all in one place.
00:19:27
From consultations to events and experiences, you can showcase your offerings with a customizable
00:19:31
website designed to attract clients and grow your business. Get paid on time with professional
00:19:36
invoices and online payments. Plus, streamline your workflow with built-in appointment scheduling
00:19:41
and email marketing tools. With Squarespace's collection of cutting-edge design tools,
00:19:45
anyone can build a beautiful, professional online presence that perfectly fits their brand or business.
00:19:50
Head to squarespace.com slash murder for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code MURDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.
00:19:58
Goodbye. Summer clothes should feel easy and still look polished. Low maintenance, high reward. That's how we live our lives.
00:20:06
For summer clothes you will actually wear, there's Quince. Quince has beautiful everyday pieces like 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops with styles starting at $32.
00:20:16
Their denim is soft and easy to wear, and their organic cotton sweaters are perfect for layering on cool summer nights.
00:20:21
Everything at Quince is priced 50% to 80% less than similar brands because they work directly with ethical factories, so you're paying for quality, not brand markup.
00:20:29
And it's not just clothing. Quince has become a destination for elevated essentials across the home, kitchen, bedding, and beyond, making it easy to bring a more premium feel into everyday life.
00:20:40
I am a fan of Quince. Yeah. Karen's wardrobe is Quince. I'm a lazy basics person. And the things that I get from them, I always go, oh, yeah, now I'm wearing these. They work. They're cute. They're stylish.
00:20:53
And they're classy. Like it doesn't look lazy. It looks classy. And it's so affordable.
00:20:57
Yeah. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com slash MFM for free shipping on your order
00:21:03
and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's quince.com slash MFM for free shipping and
00:21:10
365 day returns. Quince.com slash MFM. Goodbye. When you're young, you don't really buy furniture.
00:21:18
You either inherit something from your parents or you just drag something in from the street like
00:21:23
you're some kind of hipster raccoon. When you're ready for furniture that you actually like,
00:21:27
check out Article. Article offers the style and durability you want at a price that actually
00:21:32
makes sense. They take great care in curating their collection, focusing on pieces that stand
00:21:36
the test of time. There's no filler. Every item is chosen for craftsmanship, design,
00:21:41
and lasting value. And with Article's 30-day satisfaction guarantee, you can shop with
00:21:45
confidence, knowing that if you're not completely in love with your new furniture, you can easily
00:21:49
return it. Plus, Article's customer care team is available seven days a week, offering knowledgeable
00:21:54
support and even free interior design services to help you get your home just right. Yes, please.
00:22:00
Don't we all kind of need that? Like the eye of an expert? Yeah. Where should I put this? And also
00:22:04
what should I move here and there? And what should I even get? But Article has it all so you can get
00:22:08
whatever there. That's right. You could be like, I have this thing. Should I get this one or that?
00:22:12
Totally. Am I Scandi or am I mid-century? Help me be boho chic, please. If you're in the market for
00:22:17
a beautiful new sofa, dining table or bed, head over to article.com. Goodbye. Okay, so I was, for my story this week, I was inspired by your story last week, which is the death of Natalie Wood.
00:22:34
And my friend Carrie O'Donnell, who is a sometime co-host of the Sexy Unique podcast, actually suggested this story to me in a text.
00:22:45
And I'd never heard of this, even though I've covered half of this story before.
00:22:50
so this week I'm doing the death of Grace Kelly and it involves a cult one of the weird theories that of course
00:23:02
because Grace Kelly died the tabloids exploded it was an accidental death she was young
00:23:08
her daughter was in the car it was all this whole thing and there was such a huge hit
00:23:13
for tabloid papers and the way people just could not get enough of this story they wanted to know everything about what happened and why so basically the
00:23:25
tabloids after her death even though everything was um proven to be an accident and they knew why
00:23:31
everything happened the stories just kept coming out and they got weirder and weirder and the
00:23:35
theories were crazier and crazier um so okay cool i didn't know that so uh let's see there was a book
00:23:43
called rainier and grace an intimate portrait by an author named jeffrey robinson that was written
00:23:48
in 1989. And that's where a lot of the kind of insider information comes from. Also the Chicago Tribune, the Irish Times,
00:23:56
the Scotsman, biography.com. Of course. Wikipedia. Oh, and the other reason that we were talking about this is because if you haven't seen
00:24:07
the movie Rear Window, and you are suffering through quarantine, it is the best movie about
00:24:14
somebody being stuck in their house and basically witnessing a murder. It's such a good movie. So
00:24:20
if you haven't seen it, definitely, definitely watch it. And that way, if you are a youngster,
00:24:26
and you have never heard of Grace Kelly before, you don't know who Grace Kelly is,
00:24:30
you've never heard of Princess Grace of Monaco, you will get the perfect introduction to her.
00:24:36
She's a gorgeous actress who I'm going to tell you about right now. So here's what happened to her.
00:24:45
On Monday, September 13th in 1882, glamorous actress turned Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly,
00:24:51
is getting her youngest daughter, 17-year-old Stephanie, ready to go back to Paris for the first day of school, which is on Wednesday.
00:25:00
So their chauffeur is standing by to drive their metallic green Rover 3500 from their royal farm in the hills above Monaco down to the station to catch the train to Paris.
00:25:13
So the women are filling the back seat of this car with dresses and hat boxes and suitcases.
00:25:19
and then they find when they're done packing, they realize there's no room left for them to sit in the back.
00:25:26
And so that's when Grace tells her chauffeur she's going to drive them both down to the train station instead,
00:25:32
even though that's not something she normally did. And it wasn't something she was necessarily comfortable with because they lived.
00:25:40
It's the Côte d'Azur in, I think, southern France. But, you know, it's like crazy, windy, mountainous roads.
00:25:51
And then probably you have like your vision blocked because of all the bags and stuff, too.
00:25:56
Right. Like if it's a small car. Yeah, it's like a Range Rover. Oh, it's kind of a mountain car.
00:26:03
But yes, they've filled the whole thing up. So. So basically, the chauffeur insists.
00:26:11
He's like, I will your royalty. I'm going to drive you to the train station. And then I'll come back and get your clothes and bring them.
00:26:17
And she's like, yeah, don't worry about it. Forget it. I'll do it myself. So they leave the farm around 10 a.m.
00:26:26
They drive away. It's been a very busy summer. Grace Kelly has been working. She has all her royal duties.
00:26:34
She has so much to do all the time. She was very tired. You know, the summer was finally over.
00:26:41
Some say she was very cranky. she'd been complaining of a headache all morning long. So essentially, when they turn out onto
00:26:49
the road at 10am, they follow it down into the nearest village of La Turbie, is the guess of how
00:26:58
you pronounce it. Then from there, they get onto a road called the D37. So two miles down the D37,
00:27:08
there is a hairpin 150 degree turn to the right. And this is according to her daughter, Stephanie.
00:27:17
Somewhere along the way, Princess Grace gets a shooting pain in her head and potentially blacks out for a second, loses control of the car.
00:27:30
And when she comes back, she tries to slam her foot on the brake, but instead she hits the gas.
00:27:36
And the car sails instead of stopping, it just sails straight off the edge of the cliff.
00:27:43
It flips end over end. It falls 120 feet through trees and branches and it crashes through a retaining wall and into a resident's backyard down below.
00:27:53
Holy shit. Yeah. There's a gardener that was working in that backyard who would later tell reporters he ran over to the wreck and pulled Stephanie out of the driver's side window.
00:28:06
some ancient astronaut theorists suggested that that means that Stephanie was driving
00:28:13
and that she caused the accident. She was too young to drive or she was inexperienced or whatever,
00:28:19
but she directly refutes that claim. And later the police will directly refute that claim.
00:28:25
She explains that in the crash, as the car was slipping over, she ended up underneath the glove box on the passenger side.
00:28:34
And then when the car landed, the passenger side door was too damaged to open. So the reason she ended up coming out of the driver's side was because that was the only way to get out of the car.
00:28:45
Meanwhile, her mother had been thrown into the back seat and was basically pinned there by the steering column.
00:28:56
So somehow they both lived through this crash. and basically when the authorities and the first responders get there,
00:29:09
they realize they're alive, they rush them to the hospital. It turns out Stephanie only has a hairline fracture on her vertebrae,
00:29:17
which although it's very serious, is pretty amazing considering that. Unfortunately, Grace Kelly is in a coma and she's on life support.
00:29:26
And basically when the doctors determine that she's not going to recover, she's taken off life support and dies on September 14th, 1982.
00:29:36
It's almost a miracle in a way that like they, instead of flying off the cliff and like ending up in brush and like wilderness,
00:29:43
they went into someone's yard who was there so they could get immediate attention.
00:29:48
Otherwise they both might've died, you know? That's right. Also dog ear what you just said for later Ooh Uh Aliens So the day that ancient aliens suggests
00:30:05
So Grace Kelly was 52 years old when she died. Her funerals held four days later on September 18th.
00:30:11
It's watched by around 100 million people. Wow. And this is 1982. Yeah. So it's like there aren't a million channels and there isn't 24-hour news coverage.
00:30:23
So this was a really big deal. Doctors report that the cause of the accident was a mild cerebral hemorrhage that Grace suffered while driving along the cliffs that day.
00:30:34
But the tabloids take the tragedy and they do their best to bend it into a scandal.
00:30:40
So once the shocking news of Grace Kelly's death begins to die down, the tabloids begin printing fantastical follow up stories that involve cover ups, fixed breaks and mafia hits.
00:30:53
and the public cannot get enough. So even after it's proven that Stephanie was not driving,
00:30:59
stories about her being responsible for the crash and for her mother's death continue to circulate.
00:31:05
Yeah, it's horrible. And the stories about that it could have been a mafia hit or that an unknown assassin fixed the brakes.
00:31:15
Even though they later, the forensic, they checked the car out entirely And they were like, no, that wasn't actually it.
00:31:22
The breaks were fine. But, you know, the world was obsessed with Grace Kelly. And they were as obsessed with her death as they were with her life.
00:31:32
So let's talk about her life for a second. So Grace Kelly was born. Let's go back to her early life.
00:31:39
She was born on November 12th, 1929 in Philadelphia. Her family was very wealthy and like high status.
00:31:46
They're Catholic, and she had very high expectations put on her. She had a very stuffy, restrictive upbringing.
00:31:55
And so she kind of became a bit of a rebel. So she was always in school plays, and she danced.
00:32:03
And against her parents' wishes, she went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1947.
00:32:10
So the only way her father would let her move to Manhattan is if she stayed at the Barbizon, which was a strict women only hotel.
00:32:22
So you had to there was a code of conduct that you had to agree to. There was a dress code.
00:32:29
It was like strict lady living. No men were allowed above the ground floor. Like there are all these rules.
00:32:35
Yeah, hoity fucking toity. Right. Now, Grace Kelly finds her way around these rules because she wants to date and she wants to have an active dating life.
00:32:45
She's drawn to older, rich men, and she gets a reputation for being a very modern woman who is like a trailblazer.
00:32:54
And also, she's one of the most beautiful women ever. She looks like a drawing of a pretty face.
00:33:01
It's crazy. She's like magical looking how beautiful she is in that like, you know, Hollywood starlet perfection kind of way.
00:33:12
Yeah, beyond. So I'm sure at the old Barbizon, she's like, I'm going to need these dudes to be coming up to my room.
00:33:18
I can kind of get what I want. Yeah. Yeah. So in 1949, she gets into a play on Broadway.
00:33:27
And then from there, it just takes off. She gets a bunch of shows, roles on TV shows.
00:33:33
She gets her first feature film in 1951. It's a movie called 14 Hours. She's 22 years old.
00:33:39
And then in 1952, she gets a part in the movie High Noon. And that's her big break.
00:33:45
Then she, in 1954, she stars opposite Bing Crosby in The Country Girl, which was a huge deal back then.
00:33:53
And then she ends up getting nominated for an Oscar for that part in The Country Girl.
00:33:58
and she beats out Judy Garland for Best Actress. Wow. Yeah. So she is now a full-on successful movie star.
00:34:09
So when she goes to the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, in April of 1955, the magazine Perry Match,
00:34:19
they want to set up a meeting between her and the Prince of Monaco, Prince Rainier III.
00:34:23
and they're supposed to I guess have a photo shoot the timing's bad that it's delayed they
00:34:32
don't meet up at the time that it's all delayed for a month but then on May 6th 1955 the two are
00:34:39
finally introduced and they hit it off immediately they end up dating for the next year and they get
00:34:45
married on april 19th 1956 and this wedding is a fairy tale star set a guest list of 700 people
00:34:55
um yeah and they and now it's just like she's gone from the hugest thing you could be in america
00:35:03
which is like a leading lady movie star to the princess of monaco a fucking real life princess
00:35:11
It's just absurd. Yeah. Her and Meghan Markle are the two that did it. Yeah. I'm sure there's others.
00:35:17
I don't know. I don't know the royals by heart. And I should. Prince Rainier and Grace go on to have three children together.
00:35:26
Caroline was born in 1957. Albert is born in 1958. And Stephanie's born in 1965.
00:35:33
Basically, Grace retires from acting altogether. and it's just purely so she can take care of her royal duties and the family.
00:35:42
But once the kids are growing up, she's starting to really feel confined by the restrictions of the royal lifestyle.
00:35:51
And she looking to figure out other ways to become spiritually fulfilled And this is where allegedly the Order of the solar temple comes in Do you remember when I talked about the order of the solar temple It from episode 104 It come
00:36:08
to you as I tell you. Okay. I just laughing because the name of episode 104 is garden party,
00:36:15
which made me laugh. I don't know what that means. What is it? What is it about? So this is basically,
00:36:20
if you don't remember, Order of the Solar Temple. In 1984, in Geneva, Switzerland,
00:36:26
a homeopathic doctor and New Age lecturer named Luc Jure, he partners up with a guy named Joseph
00:36:33
de Mombro, and they form a cult called the Order of the Solar Temple. Jure is the front man,
00:36:39
and he's like the main guru. De Mombro manages all the behind-the-scenes logistics. Both of them
00:36:46
have been involved in different versions of cults, kind of escalating intensity of cults over the years for about a decade.
00:36:55
So the Order of the Solar Temple is kind of based on the Knights Templar, which is, you know, as we all know,
00:37:06
what the Freemasons are based on and the Da Vinci Code and all that stuff. This is the part where you break off now and go watch the Da Vinci Code film
00:37:13
starring Tom Hayes. And that does all the homework for you. But essentially, Knights Templar fought in the Crusades.
00:37:20
They developed early forms of banking. They quickly became very powerful with their treasures they got in the war.
00:37:27
The Pope and the king at the time didn't want them to have that power. So the Knights Templar, they were disbanded in 1312 by Pope Clement.
00:37:37
But they just went underground. They didn't break up. So there's been numerous sects, S-E-C-T-S, Georgia, don't be dirty, under different names with those same tenants over the years.
00:37:51
So the Knights Templar legacy has basically continued on. Like now it's what the Freemasons based their whole thing on is the Knights Templar.
00:38:00
So the difference, the Order of the Solar Temple, although it's based on that, the difference is, as opposed to, say, like chivalry or protecting the Holy Grail, in the Order of the Solar Temple, their primary goal is to prepare their members for the apocalyptic second coming of Christ, which they believed would happen sometime in the mid-90s with the arrival of a sun god king.
00:38:26
Does anyone, any of this? Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. right in the 90s it's a little film called selma and louise and he was a sun god king in that thing
00:38:36
yeah this cult believes that it can elevate its members to become a a super group of people who
00:38:44
can withstand the coming apocalypse because they're on a higher plane a higher spiritual
00:38:49
plane than everybody else that's the whole that's the promise of the order of the solar temple
00:38:54
and they target rich elites to join them so that they can get their money. And then that also always brings in other rich elites.
00:39:07
Are there poor elites, do you think? I mean, in their mind, but it doesn't count.
00:39:13
The membership is secret and they join in private lodges across Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and Martinique.
00:39:22
So everything's going well with this apocalyptic cult until October 4th, 1994. This is the part you might remember.
00:39:28
Local authorities respond to a call about a chalet fire, a chalet that's on fire in Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada.
00:39:36
And inside they find that former member of the solar temple, Tony Dutrois, and his wife Nikki and their three-month-old baby, as well as two other adults, Jerry and Colette Jeannot, they're all dead.
00:39:50
But it's not from the fire. Tony's been stabbed 50 times in the back. Nikki's been stabbed six or seven times.
00:39:59
And their baby was stabbed with a wooden stake. And then it turns out Jerry and Colette were sent by DiMombro to kill the family because they were telling other members of the cult that Joseph and Luke were frauds.
00:40:16
The leaders were frauds. So basically, they convince the Jeannots that that baby is the Antichrist.
00:40:24
And they're so in this cult that they're like, OK, yeah, we have to take care of that.
00:40:28
So the Jeannots go and kill the whole family and then take their own lives. And then a few days later, the two leaders tell the remaining cult members the apocalypse is upon them.
00:40:39
And they orchestrate mass murder suicides at the chalets across Western Switzerland.
00:40:48
because they have to find their salvation through fire. So all of these chalets are set up with incendiary devices.
00:40:58
And then more mass death events occur on December 15th and 16th, December 23rd, and then March 23rd, two years later of 1997.
00:41:11
And by the end of all of it, 74 people are dead, including the founders, Lucas Jure and Joseph DiMombro.
00:41:19
So the total number of members during the cult's height was between four and 600 people.
00:41:25
And these were like, you know, the rich elites, the medium elites and families and children.
00:41:36
And they were in their prime. This cult was worth about $93 million. Oh my God. Yeah So okay So that the bit if you want to learn more there plenty of plenty of podcasts and different things about the order of the solar temple But essentially what happened after all that went down in 19 around 1997 two producers named David Cohen and David Carr Brown were making a documentary about the order of the solar temple
00:42:08
And right as they're finishing up, they get a tip from an anonymous French man that there's more to the story.
00:42:14
So after speaking with this man over the phone and confirming a bunch of his claims, or at least the facts around his claims, they agree to meet him in person.
00:42:26
We don't know this informant's name or who he is. I'm saying he could be a she. We do know they were the head of security for Joseph DiMombro, one of the leaders of the Order of the Solar Temple.
00:42:39
So these filmmakers had been told by other former cult members that they interviewed that if they could just get an interview with this head of security, he was the one who had all the inside information.
00:42:51
And so they finally do talk to this guy. And during this in-person conversation, the informant mentions Grace Kelly's name a couple of times.
00:43:00
And basically, according to this single anonymous source, which is right there, kind of the end of this, because it's not it's not corroborated in any way.
00:43:13
Well, not in any meaningful way that and this is also how tabloids work is single anonymous sources that are unproven.
00:43:24
Right. But essentially, in the summer of 1982, a few months before her death, Grace Kelly, it's claimed by the source that Grace Kelly became a member of a very early version of the Order of the Solar Temple.
00:43:37
And so here's the head of security's retelling of the events. So this single anonymous source says a driver in a Jaguar goes and picks up Princess Grace from her home in Monaco, takes her on a four hour drive out to an ancient priory, which is like a nunnery or a monastery in Beaujolais, France, just north of Lyon.
00:44:01
Security checkpoints monitor her journey. And apparently when she arrived, bouquets of white ornate flowers are arranged to welcome her.
00:44:12
And then she's escorted from her car to a, quote, derobing chamber. And there she receives an acupuncture treatment that relaxes her.
00:44:25
Okay. So, right? I'm on board. so you're on board but this is right at the point of the story where everything devolves
00:44:34
into the plot of eyes wide shut so this is how it's starting you know when you're um hearing a
00:44:41
story that sounds like it's being narrated by a sixth grade girl at a slumber party that that
00:44:46
maybe it's not the truth okay but this is this is basically they say um that once that treatment's
00:44:56
done. She's given a drink that may have a tranquilizer in it at 7pm. She's dressed in white robes
00:45:04
with the signature Templar Red Cross on them. She's led downstairs to the Priory's crypt. She's
00:45:12
laid on a round altar surrounded by, quote, Kabbalistic signs and pictures of the Twelve Apostles.
00:45:20
Okay, I'm still on board. Sounds relaxing. You're in. Wagnerian music is playing.
00:45:26
and the cult's higher-ups are around the room and they're all deciding whether or not they think
00:45:34
that Grace should be accepted as the, quote, high priestess of the order. They all say yes.
00:45:41
And so she's basically supposedly made the high priestess of the order. And then when it's all said and done,
00:45:48
she's driven home to Monaco in the wee hours of the morning. You're completely right.
00:45:53
It sounds like a six, six or sorry, a 12 year old playing with Barbies. Yeah. And this is the story they make up.
00:46:01
And it's like put her on an altar. Oh, and then they disrobe her and robe her. It's like lightly dirty.
00:46:08
Yeah. It's salacious and dirty and scandalous. And, you know, it's not like it doesn't happen because we all know that these secret societies really do exist.
00:46:20
Totally. Weird things happen. And also rich people, God knows what they get up to with their super yachts.
00:46:26
Who the fuck knows? I mean, they do have the time. Basically, in this conversation, this informant says that after this initiation ceremony, the order asked her to donate 20 million Swiss francs to their cause.
00:46:44
This is where the cult part comes in. They always get you. They're like, acupuncture.
00:46:49
It's free. the acupuncture is free but the robes cost 20 million Swiss francs sorry
00:46:55
and you spilled your margarita on it we know what was that was what her tranquilizing drink was
00:47:03
just a really strong margarita so apparently they ask her to give them 20 million Swiss francs
00:47:11
she counters with 12 you can't bargain with a cult Also, again, this tells me that Mackenzie, sixth grade Mackenzie, is the one making up the story.
00:47:23
They asked for 20, she said 12. This is not a used car lot. But apparently, once they got into the argument about it, she was like, I'm not giving you any money.
00:47:35
That's so much money. I'm not giving you any money. And she and Joseph DiMombro got into a big fight.
00:47:40
And so this informant says, quote, Grace threatened to expose Demambro's demands for money
00:47:46
and her attitude spooked him. She was, after all, not the only person of influence
00:47:51
in the order. Yeah. And Demambro could not afford to alienate his rich patrons. So the fear was that she was going to
00:48:00
like this is a scam everybody and they were all going to be like princess grace says no more
00:48:04
which is also how sixth grade works you just get one girl to be like no princess grace said that
00:48:10
this is stupid we're not wearing leg warmers anymore you guys so then basically the intrigue
00:48:16
is it was only a few months after this alleged argument she had with demambro that grace kelly's
00:48:22
car drove off a cliff. Suspicious. Yeah. So in December of 1997, this documentary airs on Channel
00:48:31
4 in the UK. And it includes this part about her alleged connection to this cult. And it is
00:48:39
immediately met with skepticism and denial. Grace Kelly's estate promptly denies her involvement,
00:48:45
chalking the whole thing up to sick fantasies, which is exactly what it sounds like.
00:48:49
Does. Mackenzie. Yeah, Mackenzie. Author David Spotto, who wrote Grace Kelly's biography, High Society, he denies the possibility that she was ever a member of this cult. He says he's heard the rumors. There's simply no concrete evidence to prove it.
00:49:08
The biggest argument against this theory being true is that the Order of the Solar Temple formally began in 1984.
00:49:16
Grace Kelly died in 1982. Oh, shit. So the theory is that it was like this early version, right, when they were starting to, you know, they were going to use her as like the magnet famous person to get a bunch of other people in.
00:49:30
It's believable that that could happen because both Luc Jure and Joseph de Mambro's extensive backgrounds, they started several cults before the Order of the Solar Temple was the one they landed on.
00:49:43
De Mambro was in a couple, so it's plausible that they were just kind of shaping it toward her and they were just hoping other stars and royals and all these other people would join.
00:49:55
But it's widely accepted and the most believable theory is that Grace Kelly had a stroke while she was driving her car and that's how she lost control and drove off the cliff.
00:50:09
but this circumstantial evidence that ties her to the order of the solar temple,
00:50:14
it complicates things. And as does the story that the backyard that her car ended up in,
00:50:23
Oh my God. Was at the home of a, of a member of the order of the solar temple. Is that true?
00:50:30
Or is that a, I mean, not that's what they say. So I don't know if that's verified.
00:50:37
It seems like a very verifiable thing. Yeah, I love it. It's like the person, do they belong to that cult?
00:50:44
And is this their backyard? That would be wild. I think that even if it were a crazy coincidence, because that's the area where that cult was getting popular.
00:50:56
Right. And it's probably not that populated over there either. If she's living there, it's probably not like a big town.
00:51:02
Tons of people. Here's the one thing I just thought of, though. So how were they a member of the Order of the Solar Temple in 1982 if it didn't start until 1984?
00:51:13
Boom. Great question. So they could have been, it could have been like another person at that ceremony the night that she was chosen to be the high priestess.
00:51:23
But there's just someone who liked robes a lot. Maybe she was at a robe party. Maybe it was a robe convention.
00:51:31
could there be like a tupperware party but for robes because i'd go and i'd join yeah uh so yeah
00:51:41
it sounds like a lie it probably is um there always has to be intrigue and salaciousness
00:51:48
you know connected to things like this it's a cool it's a cool you know way to think because
00:51:55
it's more fun than just pure tragedy, tragedy, tragedy. Yes. Well, it sells more papers.
00:52:05
You're able to talk about her a little bit more and be like, what was her life like?
00:52:09
But I think we're also coming to find that whether you're... The super rich are living these super weird lives
00:52:19
that regular people don't really know about. And I think that's, especially these days,
00:52:24
why those kinds of theories are believable, because then you have a story like the Epstein
00:52:29
story where you're just like, oh, my God, he has a whole island like out of control.
00:52:35
These people go unchecked and they do whatever they want. It's also this thing of like Grace Kelly was probably so many people's like, you know,
00:52:43
fantasy of what life could be like if, you know, if they were her or whatever. And then for her to just die from a tragic car accident is not enough, you know, like doesn't make enough sense.
00:52:57
So it feels better for her to have died some like mysterious way because it's just so awful.
00:53:05
Because people can't deal with just the cold hard facts of like, yep, people get ripped out of our hands all the time.
00:53:12
Yeah. You can't escape a car accident. No. No. Yeah. Well, and here the, you know, so the chances are that this this whole concept was just more fiction for people to feed off of because they weren't ready to let her go.
00:53:29
Prince Rainier once himself said in an interview, quote, they did their best to keep the story running and it didn't show much human compassion for the pain that we were suffering.
00:53:40
It was dreadful. And that's the story of the tragic death of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco.
00:53:45
Wow, how sad. I had no idea. I wouldn't have guessed it was 82 either. I would have guessed it was like the 60s.
00:53:52
Well the 80s are like the 60s now that we in the 20s That true right So long ago There always a point in the day when your feet decide they had enough Luckily there Reef
00:54:05
You may know Reef for their ridiculously comfortable sandals, but they aren't stopping there.
00:54:09
The women's Neptune has everything you could ever want in a sneaker. The Neptune is a lightweight, everyday slip-on shoe
00:54:15
with a crushed back heel, so you can wear it traditionally or step on the heel and wear it like a slide.
00:54:20
Lightweight, breathable, and easy to wear. The Neptune is the everyday shoe your feet have been waiting for. The Neptune makes me so freaking happy because my whole life
00:54:28
I've been yelled at for crushing the heel of my foot because I want every shoe to be a slide,
00:54:33
every shoe. And they actually make them that way. And it makes me so happy. Plus,
00:54:37
they're super comfortable, they're light, and they're really cute. So check out the Neptune on Reef.com and redeem 15% off your first purchase.
00:54:44
Goodbye. Summer is all about saying yes, going out and bringing the mess home in your car.
00:54:50
Sand, grass, and melting snacks will inevitably hit your ride. But with WeatherTech, you can live life to the fullest.
00:54:57
WeatherTech floor liners, cargo liner, and seat protectors allow you to keep up with your summer adventures without the worry.
00:55:03
WeatherTech is built for all of those summer things, allowing you the freedom to go all in.
00:55:07
WeatherTech is an American-made premium product built to last and easy to clean.
00:55:11
If you're going all out this summer, you need WeatherTech. Visit WeatherTech.com today.
00:55:16
Goodbye! Bye. Summer is fun, but it can also completely destroy your routine. Between days at the beach, recovering from days at the beach,
00:55:24
and then remembering you don't even like the beach, it can really mess up your day.
00:55:28
That's why it's helpful to have something like cachava that makes it easy to stick to one healthy habit.
00:55:32
Cachava is an all-in-one nutrition shake, and now it comes in new travel packs. Every packet gives you a simple shake with protein, fiber,
00:55:40
vitamins and minerals, greens, probiotics, omegas, electrolytes, and more. They're easy to toss into a bag.
00:55:46
Easy to take on the road and a simple way to stick with your normal wellness habits,
00:55:50
even when your schedule changes. Cachava is a clean, simple option for staying fueled when life gets busy.
00:55:56
I am so excited about this because Vince is the crazy person who packs all his vitamins
00:56:00
whenever we go somewhere. And I'm like, I don't have room for that. And I also will just ignore them the entire trip.
00:56:06
So this is like how I'm going to get it all in. And then you have a satisfying shake.
00:56:10
So you have a breakfast or an emergency lunch. Like they're making it so convenient.
00:56:15
Oh my God, I'm so excited. Take your daily ritual with you. Go to cachava.com and use code MFM for 15% off your first order.
00:56:22
That's cachava, K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com, code MFM. Goodbye. Great job. Thank you. This one is, I'm doing the death of Kendrick Johnson.
00:56:34
So, and I got info from a Grantland article by Jordan Ritter-Kahn, an article from the website Talk Murder to Me by Beth Coleman,
00:56:44
and all that's interesting article by Natalie DeGroote and, of course, Reddit and Wikipedia.
00:56:50
And there's just tons of articles out there about this case. And I first heard about this and I saw this really disturbing photo that goes with it when it happened in 2013.
00:57:01
And I was completely perplexed by it. And I've been keeping tabs on it ever since.
00:57:07
And on the surface, it seems like a murder mystery, especially when you factor in the arguably shoddy crime scene handling and the fact that there's a history of racism in this town, in this area, in the country.
00:57:20
And there's just a lot of unexplainable factors, but a lot of people just think it's a tragic accident.
00:57:26
So, okay. So in 2013, Kendrick Johnson was a 17-year-old high school student at Lowndes High School.
00:57:34
he lived at home with his family in the town of Valdosta, Georgia. And it's so it's on the Florida, Georgia line.
00:57:44
And someone wrote when I looked at our Gmail, someone wrote it and said, yes, the Florida, Georgia line is real.
00:57:50
And it sucks just as bad as you think it does. So that's what that's like. Everyone called Kendrick, the 17 year old, they called him KJ.
00:57:59
And both his family and friends describe him as a sweet and quiet boy. And he was this like handsome football player, high school student.
00:58:07
And if you look at his pictures, he has this like sweet baby face where you can tell he's like trying to look older, but he still has a baby face.
00:58:15
He's the youngest of three kids to Kenneth and Jackie Johnson. And he's a good athlete and he dreams of playing professional football someday.
00:58:22
So just normal kid. On January 10th, 2013, just a couple of days after the holiday break had ended, KJ's mom gets worried when her son doesn't come home from school when she expected him.
00:58:35
And he's the kind of kid who always called if he was going to be late. And so when he's not home by 930, she starts to worry.
00:58:41
And after she drives around town and drives to the school, doesn't find him, comes home and at 1230 in the morning calls the police and reports him missing.
00:58:51
And of course, the police are like, he's just out having fun with friends. And, you know, he's just being a typical teenager.
00:58:56
Don't worry about it. But by the next morning, KJ still isn't home. And so Jackie goes to school to look for him.
00:59:02
And she's sitting in the office talking to his counselor. She finds out that he missed the last of his classes the day before, never went to classes,
00:59:10
which wasn't like him. And she's talking to the counselor about making missing flyers when suddenly someone comes
00:59:18
into the lobby of the office and says that a body has been found in the gym and the school's on
00:59:25
lockdown. And the mom wasn't supposed to hear that. It was like phone was turned too high or
00:59:30
something. So of course she freaks out. So that morning at about 10 a.m. earlier, a group of
00:59:36
students had arrived for class in the school's gym and their students feeling about doing whatever.
00:59:41
And someone notices a pair of white socks sticking out of one of the upright rolled up
00:59:47
wrestling mats, you know, those like blue mats. Yeah. It stood upright instead of laid down
00:59:53
horizontal It vertical It got a strap on it And the mats are like six feet tall So one of the students has to climb up onto the bleachers to get a look inside because they all confused about why
01:00:07
their socks sticking out. And they look in and see they're attached to a person. And these are
01:00:13
high school students. They see it's attached to a person. They think the person must be fucking
01:00:16
around. So like, you know, hey, what's going on? And they notify the coach and he starts to
01:00:24
overturn the mats while another student calls 911. The coach tries to pull the person out of the mat
01:00:29
figuring it's a joke or something, but then smells decomposition and realizes what's going on,
01:00:37
leaves it as it is. Everyone calls 911 and wait for the police and medical personnel to arrive.
01:00:44
And this is the photo I saw is just the feet in the mat. And I still remember it from 2013 being
01:00:51
like, this is going to be something, I'm going to follow this. You know, it's, it's so troubling.
01:00:57
Yeah, so weird. So weird. So police immediately set to work, they tracked down, they interview
01:01:03
students who went to the gym that day and the day before. And from statements and security footage,
01:01:09
they're able to confirm that Kendrick had been to classes earlier and walked into the gym at 109
01:01:15
p.m. the day before. But there's no security cameras positioned at the mat, so they don't
01:01:22
see what happened. But other students show entering the gym just three minutes after him
01:01:27
and didn't see him. So it's really confusing as to what happened. Police discover from other
01:01:32
students that some of the kids use those wrestling and cheerleading mats to store their PE clothes
01:01:40
because the school charged for lockers. And so some kids would just like didn't want to spend the money on a locker,
01:01:47
would just throw their shoes behind those mats, grab them at PE when they needed them.
01:01:53
And Kendrick was one of those kids. He shared a pair of shoes with another kid that they would keep in the mat.
01:01:59
So the wrestling mats were actually usually stored on their sides lying on the ground.
01:02:03
So usually probably was easy for Kendrick to get to them. He would just reach in and grab them.
01:02:07
But over the Christmas break, someone had set them up to be vertical, maybe to clean the gym or something.
01:02:14
So the day that day when he went to find his shoes, they weren't where he normally just grabbed them from.
01:02:21
Kendrick's body is barely off school property. Later that day before the sheriff's office makes an official announcement saying that Kendrick had climbed over several vertical mats to reach the one with his shoes.
01:02:33
and being unable to tilt the mat, he had instead reached down inside and tried to get the shoes by going into a mat
01:02:41
and gotten accidentally stuck, his feet sticking up and his head pointed down and because he was stuck in a tight space
01:02:48
with no way to get out, he suffocated. And that's how he died. Oh, that's horrible.
01:02:53
And this theory, I know, is further corroborated by the fact that when the mat is unrolled,
01:02:58
KJ, he had one arm stretched above his head and the other one down around his waist
01:03:03
as though he was reaching for something. So this confirmed the initial autopsy that reveals that
01:03:09
Kendrick died due to what's called positional association. So what that means is that he
01:03:16
suffocated as a result of being stuck upside down in an enclosed space for an extended period of
01:03:22
time. Just 24 hours after being found, the investigators ruled Kendrick's death an accident.
01:03:28
So positional asphyxiation, it's a controversial and difficult to diagnose cause of death.
01:03:33
And there's only been 37 known cases of it since the term came around in the early 90s.
01:03:39
Oh, yeah, it's not a normal thing. It's usually used to explain a death if literally everything else has been ruled out and they're not quite sure exactly what happened.
01:03:51
According to the Internet, positional asphyxiation is then brought into play. But right from the start, KJ's parents refuse to accept the police's version of the events and they demand more answers.
01:04:03
They demand to see Kendrick's body before his autopsy and they're not allowed to.
01:04:09
They don't believe that their young athletic son could have died trapped inside a rolled up wrestling mat.
01:04:16
And the mat KJ has found in is six feet tall and he's five nine. and the diameter of the hole inside of this mat is 14 inches when it's rolled up,
01:04:28
but KJ's shoulder span is 19 inches. So it's almost hard to believe he could even start to go into that mat.
01:04:37
You know what I mean? Yes, and it doesn't make sense that, like, it's almost the suggestion
01:04:41
that he would just kind of dive into a thing that's way too narrow for him simply to get shoes that were on the other side
01:04:51
that if you just knocked it over, they'd be right there available to you. Right.
01:04:56
It doesn't feel like a thing that someone would actually attempt. No. The claustrophobia,
01:05:03
you wouldn't even have to have claustrophobia to be like, no, I'm never doing that.
01:05:09
Like, nothing about that seems like a good idea. I'm just thinking of this too, but like he had tennis shoes on,
01:05:16
So it almost would make more sense for him to be like, oh, those shoes, I can't grab them.
01:05:20
I'm just going to wear what I have on. It's not like he had on flip flops and needed those tennis shoes badly, you know?
01:05:28
Yeah. I mean, like, what are the circumstances? Wouldn't you just be like, I'll take my F for the day in PE and not deal with it?
01:05:35
I mean, who knows? Right. It's very odd. To me, that's the oddest part of the story is someone even doing that.
01:05:41
So and because of his size, it seems impossible that he got into the mat by himself at all.
01:05:46
His parents maintain that his size versus the size of the mat alone is enough to debunk the police's theory or at least cause some more investigation.
01:05:55
You know I agree Yeah it a discrepancy KJ parents are suspicious of the investigators from the beginning They believe that the sheriff department is too quick to rule out foul play The Johnsons are also sure that their son body hadn been properly handled at the scene which I think it hard to argue with them It really wasn a great crime scene
01:06:16
According to Georgia law, police must notify the local coroner or medical examiner immediately after discovering a dead body.
01:06:28
But the local coroner isn't called to the scene for six hours after KJ is found.
01:06:36
Six fucking hours. That's official mishandling. That's actual mishandling. Yeah.
01:06:40
That's no bullshit. And law enforcement and everyone at the scene, they also didn't put on the like those little shoe covering, the booties that are supposed to be used so that you don't contaminate the evidence.
01:06:51
There's photos of their shoes, like actual shoes in the crime scene photos. Right. KJ's parents also believe that their son's death isn't being taken seriously because of his race.
01:07:00
KJ is black and the Lowndes County Sheriff, Chris Prines, and his entire staff of investigators, they're all white.
01:07:08
and the Johnson's family attorney assert that if KJ had been white, the case would have been handled differently.
01:07:14
Yeah. When the family finally gets to access KJ's body, they take pictures of him post-mortem and they're insanely graphic photos.
01:07:25
Like even me who can handle crime scene photos, this is not that. And they post them all over.
01:07:31
And as soon as people see how horrific these photos are, they are like drawn to act and to find out what happened. It looks like he's been beaten up.
01:07:42
And there's a huge outpouring of support from the black community for the Johnson family.
01:07:47
And they all believe in injustice has been done. Then the photo gets people taking a closer look
01:07:53
at the conflicting evidence found at the scene. So one of the most controversial pieces of evidence,
01:08:00
and there's quite a few, some I'm not even talking about right now, is the black and white
01:08:03
sneaker that's found underneath KJ in the mat. So if he were actually doing what they said he did,
01:08:10
which is reaching for a sneaker, it would be this sneaker. And the thing is, it's sitting in a pool
01:08:16
of blood, which is what happens when you are inverted like that and dye is eventually fluids
01:08:23
leak. But the shoe, and there's a crime scene photo of it, doesn't have a drop of blood on it.
01:08:29
so if he were in that position and the shoe is where they said it was in this fucking puddle of
01:08:35
blood why wouldn't the shoe have any blood on it so the puddles around the bottom of the shoe but
01:08:41
there's nothing actually on it nothing wow yeah maybe it was moved by a sloppy crime scene
01:08:48
technician or maybe it was staged by somebody you know it could have even been the teacher who
01:08:53
initially found it like tried to throw things back the way he thought it was but you know if
01:08:58
they had said that it all these things keep like leading up to a conspiracy because nobody is
01:09:05
acknowledging how fucked up everything was you know yeah um and so it points to the johnson family
01:09:11
it points towards a cover-up another thing that's odd is the shoes he was wearing that day aren't on
01:09:16
his feet so you look into the there's a photo i saw the first time is you look into the mat and
01:09:24
you see his feet in the mat and in his white socks and his shoes that he was wearing that day
01:09:31
are kind of tucked next to his legs. So his shoes aren't on him, which is weird to me when I first
01:09:38
saw it and being a total amateur is that it looks like someone threw the shoes in afterwards after
01:09:44
him as a way to get rid of them. But it could be that he was, you know, if the theory is true that
01:09:49
he got stuck down there. He could be trying to back out of the mat that was a vertical and his
01:09:55
shoes came off in his struggle. You want to see the photo? You want to see the photo?
01:09:59
Oh, no. Those look like they've been thrown in. Doesn't it? Yeah. Keep in mind, though, that that is the mat after it was turned on its side by the teacher.
01:10:08
Originally, it was standing straight up. So maybe the teacher, they tumbled out when the teacher
01:10:13
turned it and he threw them back in to maintain the crime scene or whatever the fuck. But it's
01:10:18
it's suspicious don't you think yeah because i feel like anyone especially in this day and age
01:10:23
of like csi and whatever is like you wouldn't throw them back in if they came out you'd leave
01:10:29
them where they were it's like yeah that idea is odd and doesn't that that space that he's in look
01:10:37
tiny impossible to to like wiggle yourself into and why the fuck would you even do that
01:10:44
But also, I mean, the point of that he's already wearing tennis shoes is because I completely assumed it was I have to get these shoes.
01:10:54
I will get in trouble. I'm not going to get, you know, it's like that whole thing where sometimes like high school kids do weird stuff because of the weird high school rules that like when you're an adult, you're like, oh, yeah, that's right.
01:11:05
And your brain isn't fully formed. And so you make bad decisions. But I don't think.
01:11:12
No, this doesn't look like any of that. It doesn't look like, oh, I got myself into a weird like pickle and yeah.
01:11:18
And then really unfortunate things happen because that's that kind of like, I don't know.
01:11:24
I mean, this is just from basically what you've presented to me. But it doesn't it's not like he was stuck somewhere and trying to get air.
01:11:32
He were supposed to believe he went down into a thing to get shoes he didn't actually need.
01:11:38
Right. So, yeah. Why would you risk that? Totally. Being in that tiny space. Also, it just doesn't make sense that anyone would dive down into something or not even fast, but head first into a thing. I don't think people would do that. You wouldn't risk being caught upside down because that's...
01:12:00
A thing that's taller than you. Yes. It's not like it's a three-foot thing that your arm gets stuck in.
01:12:06
No, that doesn't make sense at all to me. No. There's so many arguments for this being an accident,
01:12:11
but I just can't get past that this doesn't seem like something someone would do.
01:12:16
There's also a hoodie and a pair of orange and black random gym shoes that are found lying on the gym floor,
01:12:25
as well as visible blood drops on a wall nearby. but the investigators don't take any of those, the hoodie or the shoes into evidence.
01:12:38
They just are like, oh, it's unrelated. Don't take them into evidence. They test the blood.
01:12:44
And so the night before, there was like a cheer or flag practice going on. And this girl said, I got hit in the nose with a flag and I bled.
01:12:54
And that's why there's blood. So they take swabs of the blood. They test it against Kendrick.
01:12:59
It's not his blood. And then they do nothing. They don't test it against anyone else. They don't corroborate that it's her blood. They just are like, oh, it's not it's not relevant.
01:13:09
it. So the Johnson family petitions for a second autopsy of KJ's body with the help of the Valdosta
01:13:18
Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the NAACP and a county judge grants them permission.
01:13:25
So five months after the initial investigation, a second autopsy is done. And they do this by
01:13:31
exhuming his body, which I'm sure is just so traumatic in itself. The family hires a private
01:13:37
pathologist, Dr. William Anderson. And when he opens up the body, he finds inside of KJ's body,
01:13:44
instead of his organs, which are missing, he discovers that the body's been stuffed with
01:13:48
newspapers. What? What? Yeah, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation claims that when KJ's body was
01:13:57
sent to the funeral home after the first autopsy, that they had sent along KJ's organs, it was all
01:14:04
like signed for that everything is here and where they're supposed to be. But the funeral home said
01:14:09
that it received the body without the organs. And they said it's common practice to replace
01:14:14
organs with paper or sawdust while embalming. And according to the Georgia Bureau of Funeral
01:14:20
Services, to do so is not best practices, but it's also not illegal and doesn't violate any laws.
01:14:27
But then that means that it didn't, the communication was never like there was no through line of communication so that when they went to exhume the body, no one said, hold on, there's no point because there's no organs in there.
01:14:43
You can only, yeah, you can't test any of the organs. You can look at the superficial body and see if there's anything they missed.
01:14:50
But why would you let a family exhume their own child if you knew somewhere along the line, who knew that the organs weren't in the body?
01:15:01
Why was that not conveyed so that that exhumation never took place? A hundred percent.
01:15:06
That by itself is horrifying. It is. But then what that actually points to is not good.
01:15:13
Right. And it could have nothing to do with the case itself at all. It's just such a it's like another level to this nightmare that's worth taking a look at and just.
01:15:26
And it's indicative of the way these these different departments handle their shit, because that's that's very important, obviously.
01:15:37
And one of the departments should know whether or not the organs are in the body when they go to the next place.
01:15:43
Yes, totally. So there's somebody in between those two, the sheriff's department or whatever you said, and the funeral home.
01:15:51
Yeah, that should get figured out. Right. It might just be the funeral home. But of course, the people who think there's conspiracy going on just think this is another layer of it, understandably.
01:16:02
And the other thing that never made it to the funeral home or did and then got discarded is the clothes he was wearing that day.
01:16:10
So there's a there's a list of his clothes, his shorts, his T-shirt, all this stuff gone.
01:16:18
So that can't be tested either for touch DNA or blood or anything gone. Rumors are spread that there's some kind of organ harvesting ring going on and that Johnson's did try to sue the funeral home for mishandling their son's body.
01:16:31
But the case is dropped and the organs are lost so they can't be tested. The other thing, too, is that during his autopsy, all his fingernails were clipped and his family was like he likes to keep his fingernails long.
01:16:44
So we know that this isn't how he wore them. And I don't think there's any fingernail clippings to be tested, which is a red flag.
01:16:51
Despite the missing organs, the pathologist concludes that Kendrick's death is not an accident on the second autopsy.
01:16:57
He finds bruising around KJ's neck caused by blunt force trauma. When confronted with the new findings, the federal investigators commission a review of both autopsies,
01:17:08
and they determined that the first autopsy carried out by the GBI is more credible.
01:17:13
So they discredit the second autopsy that was brought on by the family. The Johnsons request a coroner inquest in the hopes of reopening the investigation, but the request is denied.
01:17:23
But as a result of this new evidence and weeks of protests by the Johnson family,
01:17:28
Matthew Moore who's the U.S. Attorney of Georgia announces a formal review of the case at the same
01:17:35
time the South Georgia judge grants KJ's family access to the high school's surveillance video
01:17:41
which they hadn't seen before so there's a lot of controversy around the video footage itself
01:17:46
because a lot of people think it's been altered of course all the cameras at the school are motion
01:17:51
detected so so when someone comes into frame it starts so something far away isn really going to get picked up always It has to be kind of close And when you watch it together it looks like you know kids are appearing out of
01:18:06
nowhere. It doesn't really make a lot of like linear sense. And also the timestamps on each
01:18:11
because they can show KJ walking through the high school to get to the gym. They show him go in the
01:18:16
gym. They show him walking towards the mats. And then that's all they captured. But between all
01:18:23
those different video camera like video systems that caught him. Some of them are timestamp wrong.
01:18:27
So there's one that's 20 minutes fast. So there's no like great way to show where he actually was.
01:18:35
But there's also whole entire hours from the footage in the gym that's missing right at the
01:18:40
time that could have shown what happened that day. And of course, this just feeds into more
01:18:44
conspiracy theories. Well, yeah, I know. Yeah, that's not a conspiracy theory. That's a fact.
01:18:50
That's a theory. Fact-based theory of why the fuck wouldn't all that be there? Right.
01:18:56
Totally. Also, what's the point? I get the idea that you can't just be rolling surveillance footage constantly, but you do
01:19:04
need a system that if something needs to be checked, it makes sense. Like, why would you have a thing that just starts and then you kind of don't know?
01:19:14
Like, nothing about that. No. And the next one is 20 minutes off and then this one's back at the normal time.
01:19:21
And, you know, what's the point? Don't have them if then they just they aren't going to they aren't going to actually tell a linear story.
01:19:27
It's crazy. And it's also like, you know, if you had cooperated or at least had some kind of empathy for the parents and walked them through what happened, you know, which you can argue is because of their race, then maybe they would have been accepting of the idea that maybe this was an accident.
01:19:45
But instead, you know, it's this complicated situation where there's a lot of blank spots.
01:19:53
And well, complicated and mishandled, because then it's not they're not investigating to the full.
01:19:59
They're coming in and going, here's what happened. Here's why. Meanwhile, not collecting all the evidence, like not looking into the story, telling the story and then saying you have to be happy with this story.
01:20:10
Being like, no, it's not Kendrick's blood. Whose blood is it? We didn't test it.
01:20:13
We don't know. That's not an answer. Right. That's not an answer. So in 2014, KJ's parents file a wrongful death suit against the school's officials, alleging that KJ had been harassed by a white student and his actions had been neglected by the school.
01:20:30
And according to the family. So this is the like big theory of what happened, of what everyone thinks happened.
01:20:36
This is alleged. I'm not saying any names because no one's an actual suspect. But the theory is that Kendrick had gotten into a fight about 14 months earlier with another football player on his bus.
01:20:49
They used to be friends, but people said that the two of them got in a fight because maybe Kendrick hooked up with his girlfriend.
01:20:57
And they say over the past months before his death, there was all this tension between Kendrick, this white kid, and his brother.
01:21:06
And that they were the ones who killed Kendrick in the gym that day. KJ's parents posted the kids' names on Facebook and thinking the boys were connected.
01:21:16
The two brothers that they're accusing, their father is an FBI agent. Yeah. So and I think he's somehow involved in the case as well.
01:21:26
So that obviously is going to stoke some conspiracy theories. And so they theorize that the FBI guy is controlling everything and covering it up because his sons did it.
01:21:37
And then that family, the two sons and the FBI agent, ends up being subject to when they have an early morning raid.
01:21:44
The brothers' phones, laptops and cameras are seized. Police don't find any evidence that they had anything to do with Kendrick's death.
01:21:51
They also both had pretty strong alibis. But even though they're not officially suspects, the brothers' names get out.
01:21:58
They start getting cyber bullied. They're written about in articles as if they're real suspects.
01:22:02
and their names become associated with the case. And one of the brothers, this causes one of the brothers to lose his full ride scholarship to university.
01:22:12
You know, it just impacts their lives like this. A judge later orders the Johnsons to pay for the family's legal fees,
01:22:20
which totals nearly $300,000 because of everything that was brought in based on this case.
01:22:26
So basically because the Johnsons published the names, Yeah, they're they were then basically held accountable.
01:22:34
Yeah. Yeah. So in January 2015, the Johnsons filed a hundred million civil lawsuit against 38 people, including three of their son's classmates, the school, the local crime lab, state and federal officials, five agents of the GBI, an FBI agent and more.
01:22:53
and the parents say that the son of the FBI agent killed KJ and used their connections to cover it
01:22:59
up but they don't really have any evidence for this and so the Johnson family ends up dropping
01:23:03
the suit. Meanwhile the SCLC and the NAACP had been conducting their own investigation into KJ's
01:23:10
death. Both organizations had initially supported the Johnson's theory that Kendrick's death was
01:23:15
suspicious but the more they investigated the more they realized there's no actual evidence pointing
01:23:20
to foul play. And so speaking in 2015, Reverend Floyd Rose, who's president of the SCLC said,
01:23:28
quote, over 100 people would have to be lying and telling the same story for two years,
01:23:34
risking the loss of their jobs, their retirement, jail time. I think the murder theory is not only
01:23:39
false, but also ridiculous and based only on wild speculation and outright fabrications.
01:23:45
Over the next year, lawyer after lawyer drops the Johnson family as they continue to file
01:23:50
Moore lawsuits against all these people. And in 2016 Michael Moore the DA officially closes the case in rules that KJ death was accidental and the Department of Justice can find enough evidence to support federal criminal charges And you know they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this wasn just a tragic accident
01:24:11
In June of 2018, after a supposed witness testified that KJ was killed with a 45-pound weight or dumbbell,
01:24:20
and that the surveillance video was edited, so it looks like an anonymous source wrote a letter in saying,
01:24:25
I heard from someone that this all happened. Kendrick's body is exhumed for a second time.
01:24:31
And a third autopsy is performed. The family believes that the body shows signs of beating.
01:24:37
And they hire Dr. William Anderson again. He finds blunt force trauma on KJ's thorax.
01:24:45
You know, he finds more evidence that KJ was killed. So seven years, multiple investigations, dozens of lawsuits.
01:24:55
And three autopsies later, the Johnsons are still convinced that there's more to KJ's death than what is being told to the public.
01:25:03
And they're not giving up the search for his killer. And on the anniversary of death, the family released white balloons in his memory and organized a march for him.
01:25:12
I looked up on our email account to see if anyone had gone to high school at the time.
01:25:18
And I got an anonymous email that said, I will never forget the moment of hearing a dead body was found at the high school.
01:25:25
This is someone who went to a school adjacent. I remember going home and crying because it was the first time I realized that you weren't safe at school.
01:25:31
A lot of kids transferred to private schools in the area or went to different school districts the next year when it came time to attend that high school.
01:25:39
My school expanded there. So then she ends up going to this high school and she says, my school expanded their band room into the old gym, kind of tore down this gym that he was found in.
01:25:49
And the first day we transferred into the new band room, one of his friends said, no matter how much money they spend to make the room look different, I can't forget what happened in here.
01:26:00
She says the case has become almost a political debate in my hometown. Most conservatives believe it was an accident and everyone else with a brain knows it was murder.
01:26:10
So I don't think they're ever going to come to a consensus about what happened. Well, the part that you said where that the whoever said it, where it was like, this is just wild speculation. It's not. It's not wild speculation. Like whoever did that kind of summary thing of like, this is ridiculous. And there's no proof of foul play. I, it seems to me with just the two things you showed me, there's absolutely proof of foul play. And it's not wild speculation.
01:26:43
it's an incredibly suspicious death that was processed incorrectly. Right. I mean, like, with some serious problems.
01:26:52
Like, there's nothing worse than when someone comes in, like, in the end and, like, you know, sums it all up.
01:26:58
Like, and it was ridiculous that they ever had doubts in the first place. Yeah. Where it's like, absolutely, this is suspicious and bizarre.
01:27:06
This is one of those cases where I feel like if I were at a bar with someone and they were like,
01:27:11
debate this case, I could take either side and debate it well. You know what I mean? Like, sure.
01:27:18
Even if I believe one thing actually happened, and I don't believe it's this other thing,
01:27:24
I could debate it on either side, because it's just so complicated. It's super complicated. The problem, the reason that you can debate both sides is because the
01:27:34
police did not process that scene fully. So there's a bunch of question marks where there
01:27:39
should absolutely be final answers. They should know whose blood is around that room. They should
01:27:45
have taken the time to actually give a shit about that crime scene. They should it is. It's, you
01:27:51
know, from what you said, what year was it? 2013? Yeah, there's no excuse why that crime scene
01:27:58
wouldn't be completely locked down completely processed. And the rules taken care of. So yeah,
01:28:05
Yeah, the rules fall to the like followed to the letter. Yeah. This is how you process a scene, whether it's a crime or not.
01:28:11
It's a dead body and you need to process it in a certain way. Yes, because how can you go from how can you if you assume it's an accident, it is your
01:28:22
job to prove that it's an accident. And you can't do that by standing back and going, yeah, we kind of think it is.
01:28:28
So quit asking questions. Yeah, that's almost like vicious. And then when they announced less than 24 hours later that it was an accident, it's like, please put more time into it.
01:28:39
Yeah, work on these cases. Yeah, it's just troubling. Whoever made the wild speculation speech is so deeply wrong.
01:28:48
And what they should be talking about is when scenes aren't processed correctly and evidence isn't taken entirely, you can't tell the whole story.
01:28:59
You can't. And at the end of the day, at the end of the day, it's just I remember seeing that photo I showed you in 2013.
01:29:08
And either way, that kid suffered. And yeah, either way, this poor kid suffered and deserves a definitive answer.
01:29:18
His family deserves a definitive answer and closure, whether it's, you know, justice because someone murdered him or it actually being a tragic accident.
01:29:28
and it just doesn't seem like they're ever going to get it. Well, and I think they're right to be mad because we all know for a fact
01:29:36
that if it was a little blonde cheerleader found dead in one of those rolled up gym mats,
01:29:42
that they would have locked that whole school. I mean, they would have done everything they could and pulled everybody in.
01:29:48
And yeah, I think it is. Everybody has heard this story so many times where it's just like,
01:29:54
we understand how things like this get prioritized things like these get prioritized and the the hand the hand that kind of like even subverted racism has in it where it just about priorities
01:30:10
and it's you know and it's also a year it would this happen a year after Trayvon Martin was
01:30:15
murdered it's just there's a lot of yeah rightful indignation yeah you know understandable yeah
01:30:22
And so that is better work. Right. So that's the story of the death of Kendrick Johnson.
01:30:29
Wow. You know, it's weird. I've never heard this story. It's not. It's very much a Reddit deep dive late at night thing, you know, which I've been doing lately.
01:30:39
Right. And you kind of just check in. Like, I remember seeing it and being like, I'm going to check in on that.
01:30:44
It's one of the stories that you just never hear about again because it never comes up again.
01:30:48
But the photo was so disturbing that I always kind of checked in on that. Yeah. And I wish I could have done it with a definitive answer at the end of it, but it's just not there.
01:30:59
Yeah. Well, and it sounds like with the way they processed it, all the answers, those are the answers.
01:31:05
The answers that have been given are the ones you're going to get because, yeah.
01:31:09
Man, it's just so disturbing about the autopsy and the not processing who has the organs.
01:31:16
I mean, like that, that a lot, these people are in grief and then they're having to deal with stuff like that.
01:31:21
That's, and you're right about it. Like anyone to take not finding out until the second autopsy is done instead of finding out before the body, you know, before his body is exhumed.
01:31:33
It's, it's unconscionable. To go through that and have it not even be worth it. I mean, it's just, yeah.
01:31:39
Thank you and apologies to Lily for doing the research. I feel like I sent her down a real dark hole.
01:31:45
Yeah. Should we do fucking hooray? Oh, and just a quick reminder that stay tuned at the end of this episode.
01:31:53
There is a trailer for our brand new weird news podcast starring Kurt Bronner and Scotty Landis called Bananas.
01:32:00
You're going to love it. Get a sample. It's coming to you soon and we're so excited.
01:32:05
OK, should I go first? Sure. This is from Watermelon, but it's spelled. I don't know why I'm so tickled by that.
01:32:14
underscore water, M-E-L-L-Y-N underscore. And Watermelon says, great episode. Want to tell y'all my fucking hooray today.
01:32:24
I live in Nashville and we had a big tornado at the beginning of March. Do you remember how long ago that was?
01:32:30
There was that awful tornado that ripped right through Nashville. Yeah. It was really scary.
01:32:37
And that seems like it was four years ago and it was the beginning of this month.
01:32:41
Unbelievable. Okay. I mean, last month. My neighborhood was already reeling from that.
01:32:46
And when we all started to realize how serious this pandemic was, I was couch surfing due to damage to my apartment.
01:32:53
Here's the hooray part. I decided to move back into my apartment, even though it still doesn't have most amenities.
01:32:59
I know that sounds silly, but just being in my home has made all the difference.
01:33:04
It's not perfect, but it's mine. And I have had a smile on my face ever since I got back.
01:33:10
Thanks for all that you do. I've thought about couch surfers during this time. Yeah.
01:33:15
How hard that must be. Yeah. To be kind of weirdly in between or. No, it's horrible.
01:33:22
Well, I'm glad you got your home back. What a fucking double whammy of bullshit.
01:33:28
Oh, this one spoke to me personally. So I wanted to read it. This is by Kay Depstein from Instagram.
01:33:35
So glad these podcasts are still rolling out. my personal fucking hooray right now is the realization that struggling with anxiety for my
01:33:43
entire life has prepared me for this exact moment. I have been feeling oddly calm about everything
01:33:48
going on and thinking, I'm usually an anxious mess. What gives? And then it hit me that I've
01:33:53
been working for years to manage my fear around uncertainty, lack of control and unexpected change
01:34:00
while many people are facing those fears for the first time in a significant way. I'm so grateful
01:34:04
for the skills I have learned through therapy and the chemicals I have gained through medication,
01:34:08
which are helping me ride this current shit show with relative ease. I was like, why does this feel normal?
01:34:16
Oh, yeah, I'm always scared to go in a grocery store, not just now. Yeah. Kind of makes you feel a little less alone.
01:34:23
Now everyone's on board. Yeah, I mean, I don't like this. I don't want to get sick, but fuck.
01:34:28
So the subject line of this one is Teddy Bear Hunt. This is from the Fan Cult Forum.
01:34:33
It says, my fucking hooray is to all the neighbors in my Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago who have placed teddy bears and other stuffed animals in their windows so kids can look for them when the parents get them out of the house for a walk.
01:34:46
My sister told me about this. They're doing it in Petaluma, too. It's called a bear hunt where just little kids have something to do as they walk around their neighborhood.
01:34:54
It says the list is up to 294 homes who have done it, including mine. fucking hooray to all the parents at home
01:35:04
with their kids so have some fun on your walk that is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard I have chills
01:35:13
sorry that's from V feel one I didn't know that that's amazing you know your sister
01:35:18
texted me the other night by the way what did she say something about the tiger king
01:35:25
I think that's hilarious because you know she does not listen to this podcast so
01:35:29
she didn't do it just to be cute I didn't tell her what we talked about I love it I'm so I love
01:35:35
getting it's the best okay this one is from rainbow.meowshine wow did Mimi send this email
01:35:45
to you definitely my hashtag fucking hooray oh that's another thing on Instagram if you just find the hashtag
01:35:53
fucking hooray and follow it you'll see people's comments which is really uplifting
01:35:57
my fucking hooray is that my nurse I'm overcame COVID-19 this week. Oh, no. I know.
01:36:04
No more fever. Breathing normally upright. We haven't seen her or my dad for almost a month because that's how long she's been sick.
01:36:12
She was quarantined before COVID-19 officially canceled the world. So happy my mom is getting healthy.
01:36:18
Can't wait until I can actually hug her. I feel like one of the worst things about getting sick with this is not being able to go to your family's bedside and hold anyone's hand.
01:36:30
And that must be like the hardest part. It's horrible. Our family friend, Jen, my friend Jen had a baby and no one in her family could come in.
01:36:42
And I think her husband, the father of her child, got to be there. But the rest of the family had to wait in the parking lot.
01:36:51
Isn't that horrifying? No, it's terrible. And that's, I mean, yeah, across the board, it's terrible.
01:36:59
But here's a fucking hooray that might turn it around for you. This is from Lilissa.
01:37:06
It looks like Lily SSA. After four years of living apart and one year of long distance marriage, my husband and I finally purchased a home we can live in together.
01:37:17
He's currently deployed and due to COVID-19, his scheduled time to come back home has been pushed back and he has to be quarantined for two weeks once he gets here.
01:37:27
However, I am so excited to finally start this new chapter in our lives. no matter how many hiccups we've experienced along the way.
01:37:34
I get to live with my husband in my dream house in just a few months. Woo-hoo. All caps.
01:37:42
Beautiful. Thank you for your service. Did they say they were in the military? I don't remember.
01:37:46
Yes. Her husband's in the military but can't come home on time because of coronavirus.
01:37:56
What? We're living in walking, talking history right now. I mean, beyond. crazy beyond okay here this one made me almost cry this is from franny underscore merkle hi my
01:38:10
fucking hooray is this my mom's a nurse near westchester new york and she's been working a lot
01:38:16
tonight we decided to play cards her with her mask on and me six feet away on the other side of the
01:38:21
table and we both reached to get a card and she took my hand and was like i love you and i proceeded to cry because I haven been able to touch her in weeks And she literally risking her life for others Yeah
01:38:36
I can't believe I have a super mom. Shout out to all the medical professionals out there who are running head first into the storm.
01:38:44
Thanks for reminding us that being afraid is OK, but it's not a fuck. Thanks for reminding us that being afraid is OK, but it's not OK to be crazy.
01:38:54
Sorry. but it's not okay to be crazy no it's better than that it says thanks for reminding us that being
01:39:01
afraid is okay but it's not okay to be a crazy asshole that's right love you ladies
01:39:07
stay sexy and clean Fran Fran and Fran's mom thank you Fran's mom for kicking ass
01:39:15
unbelievable I hope she won at gin rummy I hope she won all the bottle caps and all the
01:39:23
pieces of candy. It really is true. The medical professionals are running into a storm every day.
01:39:32
They really are every single day. It's beyond. I saw a video of the medical professionals
01:39:38
giving a round of applause to the janitorial people who are serving those hospitals
01:39:46
and medical facilities. Yep. And risking their lives to clean those facilities. It's heroic.
01:39:53
You think any fucking billionaire CEO would do that shit? No fucking way. No, they're all out on their boats in Micronesia and shit.
01:40:01
Also, when I watched that video, the first thing I thought of was this video is 90% women.
01:40:06
It's nurses, female doctors. There was one dude in the back that I could see, and the cleaning staff were women.
01:40:15
Amen. Just a note. This is a little turn, but it's on the same theme. it's from Ali Steiklin
01:40:26
it says hey murderinos about 12 years ago I inherited all of my grandpa's home photography equipment when he passed away
01:40:34
there are about 25 carousels 35 millimeter slides full of memories everything from trips he and my grandma took around the world
01:40:42
to home photos are preserved in these slides my mom was estranged from her family
01:40:46
from before I was born until I was in first grade when I finally got to meet Yeah pictures and telling me all sorts of stories to accompany the pictures During the quarantine I been working on digitizing these slides and uploading them to a shared space where everyone in the family can see them I just hit the 1000 picture mark and I not even halfway through
01:41:12
Yes, I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to help grandpa get his pictures to the whole
01:41:17
family. I wish he was still here for the storytelling, but his pictures do a pretty damn good job
01:41:22
telling their own story. So fucking hooray for grandpa and these beautiful pictures.
01:41:27
Stay safe and healthy, Murderinos. The world needs you. Allie S. That's so beautiful.
01:41:32
I love the thought that she has time to do these emotional, you know, chores that you
01:41:39
would, we're never going to get to in our day to day life, you know? Right. Yeah.
01:41:44
And I'm sure as she does them, she's discovering how amazing, you know, like we look at stuff
01:41:49
like that. It's like, oh, it's so emotional. It's too hard. But I bet once you actually dig into the reality of it, it's like this full other experience.
01:41:57
It's joyous. I think it must be amazing. Yeah. To have somebody that was a big photographer in your family.
01:42:03
So there's all kinds of stuff that's captured. Remember when I had my Christmas tree and it was a white Christmas tree with the red balls and I told you it was for my Aunt Kay.
01:42:12
Yes. Aunt Tone Giovanni who always made her Christmas trees like that. I found this little photo album in a box in my garage when I was going through stuff.
01:42:23
And it was my grandma's old photo album. And it was basically a purse-sized photo album that held those perfect Kodachrome 60s pictures that were squares.
01:42:36
So it's like basically a tiny square photo album. and in that photo album there's a picture
01:42:41
of my Aunt Kay holding my sister in front of her Christmas tree and it's the exact
01:42:46
same fucking Christmas tree and I would have never like I was like oh that just reminded me of that
01:42:51
but then there was actually the picture of like oh this is the reason I remember that tree
01:42:55
it's from this picture and like you've seen that laying around yeah like there's pictures all around you right now
01:43:03
that you could go through and have a whole journey you know If you dare go through the shoebox of pictures.
01:43:12
Do it. Of life. The shoebox of life. Do it. I love it. Why not? Send us your fucking hurrays on Instagram, on Twitter, in the email, on the fan cult, wherever you want.
01:43:22
We'll keep reading them because they're really making us happy. And we hope they're making you happy, too.
01:43:29
Thanks for listening you guys They great It my fucking hurrays that we still get to do this show even though it super weird and it far away which I don like
01:43:40
And the timing is off, which is irritating because our timing is the most fun part about us doing this podcast together.
01:43:47
But I still love that we get to do it. And I love that Stephen set it up so that we can do it remotely.
01:43:55
I know. Because it's really nice that we get to. Yeah, we're very lucky people. I count my blessings
01:44:03
every day. Count those blessings, girl. One, two, three. Am I supposed to? Yay. Well, then stay sexy.
01:44:13
And don't get murdered. Goodbye. Elvis, do you want a cookie? Bro, from the show last night to this drive,
01:44:23
why is it never chill? Because this is our live backstage on the road it's loud messy real and that's the best part whole crew no plan just
01:44:33
moving good thing nissan builds for that kind of chaos not just test tracks real life scenes late
01:44:39
nights road trips all of it that's why it holds up nissan was ranked number one in initial quality
01:44:45
among mainstream brands by jd power yeah you can tell 2026 nissan rogue built for what really
01:44:51
happens. For J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Initial Quality Study Award information, visit jdpower.com slash
01:44:58
awards. Awards based on 2025 model year, newer models may be shown. This episode is brought to
01:45:03
you in part by Vital Farms. Have you noticed that the egg section at the grocery store has gotten
01:45:07
very complicated lately? But Vital Farms makes it simple. Pasture-raised eggs traceable to the
01:45:13
farm. Their hens have outdoor access year-round with fresh air and sunshine and forage on rotated
01:45:17
pastures with local grasses. Every carton can be traced back to the farm it came from,
01:45:22
so you can see the pasture where the hens live by visiting vitalfarms.com slash farm.
01:45:27
Look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more.
01:45:31
Vital Farms, good eggs, no shortcuts. Goodbye. Hey everyone, it's Cal Penn. I'm inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever
01:45:40
heard with my podcast, Earsay, the Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club. Every episode,
01:45:46
I nerd out with amazing guests and dive into the best new audio books available on Audible.
01:45:52
It's the book club for your ears. Listen to Earsay, the Audible and iHeart audiobook club
01:45:58
on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 85
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most shocking
  • 75
    Most emotional
  • 75
    Most controversial

Episode Highlights

  • Quarantine Time
    Reflecting on the extended nature of quarantine during the pandemic.
    “Yeah, it's still quarantine time.”
    @ 02m 19s
    April 02, 2020
  • Footage and Reality
    A commentary on the unsettling nature of reality TV footage.
    “You know what I hate about footage?”
    @ 10m 00s
    April 02, 2020
  • Grace Kelly's Tragic Accident
    Grace Kelly's car accident leads to her coma and eventual death, shocking the world.
    “It was an accidental death.”
    @ 23m 06s
    April 02, 2020
  • Tabloid Frenzy
    Following Grace's death, tabloids create wild theories and scandals around the tragedy.
    “The stories just kept coming out and they got weirder and weirder.”
    @ 23m 31s
    April 02, 2020
  • Cult Connection
    An anonymous source claims Grace Kelly was involved with a cult before her death.
    “Grace Kelly became a member of a very early version of the Order of the Solar Temple.”
    @ 43m 37s
    April 02, 2020
  • The Mysterious Death of Grace Kelly
    Grace Kelly's tragic car accident raises questions about her alleged cult connections.
    “Suspicious. Yeah.”
    @ 48m 22s
    April 02, 2020
  • Kendrick Johnson's Death Ruled an Accident
    Kendrick Johnson's death is ruled an accident, but his family demands more answers.
    “It's almost hard to believe he could even start to go into that mat.”
    @ 01h 04m 32s
    April 02, 2020
  • Controversial Evidence in Kendrick's Case
    Conflicting evidence raises suspicions about the circumstances of Kendrick's death.
    “Why wouldn't the shoe have any blood on it?”
    @ 01h 08m 29s
    April 02, 2020
  • Conspiracy Theories Emerge
    Rumors of an organ harvesting ring and cover-ups swirl around Kendrick's death.
    “There's a list of his clothes... gone.”
    @ 01h 16m 10s
    April 02, 2020
  • Legal Battles
    Kendrick's family faces legal challenges and public scrutiny as they pursue justice.
    “A judge later orders the Johnsons to pay for the family's legal fees.”
    @ 01h 22m 20s
    April 02, 2020
  • Couch Surfing During a Pandemic
    Navigating the challenges of the pandemic while couch surfing and finding solace in home.
    “Just being in my home has made all the difference.”
    @ 01h 32m 59s
    April 02, 2020
  • Blessings in Quarantine
    Finding joy in small moments and counting blessings during challenging times.
    “I count my blessings every day.”
    @ 01h 44m 03s
    April 02, 2020

Episode Quotes

  • It matches and then subdues big feelings with even bigger, crazier feelings.
    216 - Robe Convention
  • It's almost a miracle they went into someone's yard for immediate attention.
    216 - Robe Convention
  • Oh my God.
    216 - Robe Convention
  • That's official mishandling.
    216 - Robe Convention
  • What? What?
    216 - Robe Convention
  • I can't believe I have a super mom.
    216 - Robe Convention

Key Moments

  • Accident Ruling1:03:28
  • Missing Organs1:13:48
  • Public Outcry1:17:28
  • Conspiracy Theories1:21:31
  • Legal Struggles1:22:20
  • Teddy Bear Hunt1:34:31
  • Super Mom1:38:36
  • Counting Blessings1:44:03

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown