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He's the most terrifying serial killer you've never heard of. Haddon Clark has confessed to several murders, but investigators say he could have over 100 victims. At the center of the mayhem, a cellmate of Haddon's that was able to get key evidence into Haddon's murder spree across America.
Because Haddon thought he was Jesus Christ. Born Evil, the Serial Killer and the Savior, an I.D. true crime event. Premieres Monday, September 2nd at 9. Watch on I.D. or stream on Max. Set your DVR. Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics, including violence, abuse, and murder.
My name is Sarah Turney, and this is Voices for Justice. Today, I'm discussing the disappearance of 16-year-old Carly Gousset from Mono County, California.
It feels like what happened to Carly could have happened to so many of us as teenagers. If not you specifically, then probably somebody you know or knew. It was a Friday night, and while Carly tells her parents that she's going to their local high school football game, she goes to a party instead. After smoking some weed and possibly taking another substance, Carly regrets her decision deeply.
Less than three hours after getting to the party, she calls her stepmom, begging her to pick her up. She's scared and needs help. Her stepmom finds her and brings her home, where she and Carly's dad try to calm her down. But the next morning, when everyone wakes up, Carly's gone. This is the case of Carly Lane Guse. Carly comes from a big, blended family. Her dad, Zach, and mom, Lindsay, separated when she was just three.
Shortly after, Zach meets and marries a woman named Melissa. And Carly and her older brother of about four years, Kane, go to live with them full-time. Eventually, Zach and Melissa have two more sons, Cole and Cody. So their house is packed, and so was their schedule. They have school events, holidays, birthdays, but they made it work.
I mean, this really is the only life that Carly had ever known. And by all accounts, she was very close with her stepmom, Melissa. When Carly joined the drill team and cheer in middle school, Melissa was the one who took her to all the out-of-state competitions. I just wanted to make it clear that it's not like Melissa just came into Carly's life. She's been there basically the whole time. Now, the family lives in Mono County, California, specifically the White Mountain Estates area of Chalfont Valley.
There's not much to do in this area. So the family mostly works and plays in Bishop, California. It's a small town about 10 miles south of them. In addition to family, Carly also has a strong support system with her friends, who have described her as strong and funny. But like a lot of teenagers, when Carly began dating in her sophomore year at Bishop Union High School, she began spending a lot more time with her boyfriend, Donald, than her friends.
Donald was a junior, 17, so a year older than Carly. According to interviews with Carly's friends and family, this seemed to start as most normal high school relationships. They were hanging out as friends, and eventually that blossomed into a romantic relationship. By the next school year in 2018, when Carly's a junior, she begins having some trouble in school. Her grades were slipping, and she was showing up to class high on weed.
Carly does get in trouble for this, but appears to improve over time. Her grades go back up, and she seems to be back on track until October. On Friday the 12th, most of Carly's family is getting ready for their annual trick-or-treating event at the Bishop City Park, but Carly has other plans. As her family's getting ready for a night of trick-or-treating for her little brothers, Carly calls Melissa and asks if she can go to a football game with her boyfriend instead.
Now, it does seem like in this small town, the Friday night football game was the place to be. So Melissa agrees. But Carly didn't actually go to the football game. Instead, she and Donald go to a party at his friend James' house. About two and a half hours later, as the family's returning from trick-or-treating, Melissa gets a call from Carly on her cell phone. She's frantic and asking to be picked up.
She's actually so scared that she asks Melissa to stay on the phone with her until she got there. Melissa finds Carly running down Dixon Lane in Bishop, using her phone's flashlight to guide her way. When she gets to Carly, she says she was white as a ghost, and that her pupils were very dilated.
Carly climbs into the backseat of Melissa's car, and Melissa joins her, hugging Carly, asking her what's going on. And Melissa says that Carly just repeats herself, she's scared and she wants to go home, but she also confesses that she didn't go to the football game, and instead smoked some weed at a friend's house with her boyfriend Donald.
On the drive home, Carly is panicking. She's screaming at Melissa to slow down, saying that the car is going to kill her. But they do get home safe. Carly's dad, Zach, explains that when he first saw Carly, she was in the corner of the kitchen and didn't even know who he was. Carly literally asks, who's that? And Melissa has to say, that's your dad.
Now, at this point, Zach isn't playing around. He asks her directly what she's on, what she took. But Carly insists that she only smoked weed.
Remember, this isn't her first time smoking, and she was seemingly so comfortable with it that she attended high school high in the past. But on the flip side, according to reporting by Katie Dowd for SFGate, Carly has had adverse reactions to smoking weed previously, and her boyfriend Donald told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Carly hadn't smoked in a while, and he thought it may have triggered something.
Zach told People Magazine Investigates that it didn't really look like Carly was about to crash out because she was intoxicated. He says she just sounded extremely paranoid. After a few hours of talking to Carly, Melissa takes her to her room and tries to calm her down so she can get some sleep. They lay down together, but Carly can't find sleep. She's talking about painting her nails and reading the Bible.
Now, Melissa ends up recording eight minutes of this conversation with Carly. She says to later play back for her as a teaching moment. Carly admits that she messed up. And Melissa comforts her, saying everyone does things in life that they regret, especially drugs. But Carly also says something pretty concerning. She says she's afraid Melissa's going to kill her. When Melissa says, that's crazy, why would I kill you?
Carly says she can't help it. She's just thinking about demonic stuff. Obviously, it's an eventful night. Melissa falls asleep next to Carly before dawn. At 5.45am, she wakes up and sees Carly writing or doodling on a piece of paper. Melissa goes back to sleep and wakes up at around 7.15am. But this time, Carly's gone. Melissa starts looking all around the house for her, but it's clear that she's not there.
Melissa wakes up Zach, and then jumps in the car to start driving around looking for Carly. Zach calls Carly's cell phone, and it's still on the counter from the night before. Wherever Carly is, she did not take her cell phone with her. Zach says this is when he begins to panic.
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Thinking if Carly wandered into the desert, surely he'd be able to see her from that high vantage point. Now, I do think that this is a good time to talk about the area where Carly went missing from. Again, we're in Mono County, California, specifically the White Mountain Estates area of Chalfont Valley.
This area probably isn't what most of you think when you hear the word California. Carly isn't near a bunch of beaches or partying in Orange County. She's in a rural area with rough terrain. It's mostly mountains and desert. And she's about 30 miles south of the Nevada state line. So think desert. Lots of pointy, prickly brush that doesn't make searching or even walking in the area very easy.
So, Zach is out searching, and Melissa is still driving around. She ends up stopping to ask a neighbor if they'd seen a teenage girl walking around that morning. This is 78-year-old Richard Eddy, who just so happened to be retired from the L.A. County Sheriff's Office. He was drinking some coffee in his jacuzzi at around 6.30 that morning when he saw a tall, slender girl with long hair walk by.
He adds that she was holding a piece of paper and apparently looking up and around at the sky. He also noted that she was headed south. Richard secures his spot as the hero of this episode because he not only provides this statement, he gets up and does something. He helps them look for Carly.
Now, unfortunately, due to some conflicting reporting, what actually causes Carly to be reported missing is a bit unclear. According to reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it was Carly's biological mother who prompted Zach to call 911 after he told her that their daughter was missing. But according to her interview with People Magazine Investigates, Melissa says that she called after speaking with the neighbor.
And to her credit, the only audio of any 911 call that has been released has been Melissa calling. But either way, it appears that she is eventually reported missing by Melissa at around 9.30am. She's immediately asked if she thinks Carly may have run away, and she tells the officer no. While the Mono County Sheriff's Office does still initially suspect that Carly is just a runaway, to their credit, they do send an officer to the house immediately.
But Melissa and Zach have already done a lot of the legwork. They've called her friends and her boyfriend. No one has seen Carly. And now the sheriff's office is getting a lot more context about what happened, the party, Carly's behavior. And Melissa tells them that she recorded part of her conversation. Melissa and Zach say that they're basically pleading with them to understand that this isn't a runaway case, and that Carly was very scared when they last saw her.
And I am so happy to report that Mono County takes Carly's case seriously. Carly didn't take her cell phone, her glasses, or really any of her belongings. This combined with her behavior seems to be enough for them to consider the situation to be concerning. And they conduct an official search for Carly that same day.
That initial search really just focuses on the desert area around their neighborhood. They're thinking that maybe Carly just had a bad trip and wandered out into the desert and got herself stuck there. Or maybe was in some type of accident or had a run-in with a mountain lion or some other type of wildlife. I've covered so many cases featuring the desert before, but I just want to emphasize how dangerous it can be, especially if you're intoxicated.
I was born and raised in the desert, and as I always like to tell people who are visiting, everything out there is designed to harm you. Most plants have thorns. Jumping cactus do actually jump at you and impale your skin if you're close enough. While I would say that the bigger animals like mountain lions or coyotes will stay away, it's very easy to stumble upon or literally step on things like rattlesnakes and scorpions.
Also, while the temperatures are warmer in the day, in October, it can get really cold at night. All of that to say, the desert is dangerous. But everyone rallies together to help find Carly. Her family, her bio mom Lindsay, her boyfriend Donald, and his friend James, along with volunteers and law enforcement, are all out searching for her.
While they don't find any trace of Carly, more eyewitness testimony comes in that strengthens the theory that Carly was walking in the neighborhood headed south. Witness 2, Kenneth Dutton, a schoolteacher who lived a few houses down from Carly, confirms that he was in his driveway when he saw her walk by, heading south, holding a piece of paper. So what's south? Where is Carly going?
Well, a third witness also comes forward who is not named. They say they saw someone matching Carly's description wearing a white shirt and sweatpants standing in the sagebrush on Route 6 south of her home. The witness says that between 7.15 and 7.20 a.m., the girl was on the east side of the freeway near the intersection of White Mountain Estates Road. If accurate, these three witnesses saw Carly walk from her home south to White Mountain Estates Road. Then,
then head east directly to Route 6. Unfortunately, Route 6 spans from Bishop, California, all the way across the U.S. to Massachusetts. If Carly got on this highway, she could be almost anywhere by now.
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In 2020, in a small California mountain town, five women disappeared. I found out what happened to all of them, except one. A woman known as Dia, whose estate is worth millions of dollars. I'm Lucy Sheriff. Over the past four years, I've spoken with Dia's family and friends, and I've discovered that
Everyone has a different version of events. Hear the story on Where's Dear? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the next few days, more agencies, including the FBI, and hundreds of volunteers join the search that has now expanded to a 10-mile radius of Carly's home.
It's all hands on deck. They have dogs, helicopters, people on horseback, and hundreds of people on foot. They also bring in dogs to track Carly's scent, and they seem to trace the exact route pieced together by the three witnesses. But then the trail ends. Investigators aren't sure if Carly just went into the desert at this point, or if the trail stopped because she was picked up in a vehicle.
Since it appears that Carly only took a piece of paper with her when leaving the house, many people believe that this points to Carly likely hitchhiking. The Mono County Sheriff's Office actually set up a checkpoint on the highway, and they speak to about 50 people who say that they drove through the area on the day that Carly went missing, but none of them recall seeing her or anyone matching her description. Either way, they do conclude that Carly appears to have left her home voluntarily.
At this point, Sgt. Seth Clark from the Sheriff's Office tells the media that their biggest clue in this case is that there are no clues, which means Carly could still be out there somewhere. The Sheriff's Office also takes to Facebook to say that they're treating Carly's case as just a missing persons case, and at this point, there's no evidence of an abduction or any other crime.
And of course, while the search is underway, the Mono County Sheriff's Office digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding Carly's disappearance. The FBI also analyzes Carly's cell phone and computer, but they don't find anything helpful. Authorities also analyze the eight minutes of audio recorded by Melissa, as well as basically all the electronics in the home. They analyze everyone's cell phone and all the computers in the house.
By all accounts, Melissa and Zach are extremely cooperative. They participate in extensive interviews and are given multiple polygraph tests. Authorities also, of course, want to speak with Donald and James who were at the party with Carly that night. Obviously, something happened there. But they say that everyone was sharing the same weed. And they didn't think it was laced with anything since Carly appears to be the only person who had this strong reaction to it.
Now, this is good to know, but it doesn't prove that Carly didn't take something else. According to her bio mom, Lindsay, Carly had recently asked her about LSD. Lindsay says that she told Carly it was dangerous. But I think assuming a 16-year-old would stay away because their mom says it's not safe is a bit of a stretch.
I also think it's fair to assume that since Carly is now missing after what appears to be a bad reaction to something, that could potentially scare away the person who may have provided her with something stronger than weed. But through these interviews, we also learn that Carly did not stay at the party the whole time. At about 8pm, James gives Carly and Donald a ride back to Donald's house after Carly starts having this bad reaction.
Donald says that she didn't get any better at his house, though. He says everything was scaring Carly. The music. And even he appeared to be scaring her. So she calls Melissa, gets picked up, and we know what happens from there.
Donald says that he didn't see Carly after this, and only found out she was missing when Melissa texted him that morning asking if he knew where she was. He'd actually been calling and texting her all night, trying to check on her, asking if she was okay, but Carly never responded. And as we know, her dad Zach found her phone on the counter where she left it before going to her room that night, so it seems possible that Carly didn't even see those messages.
So of course, investigators are focused on this weed. What caused Carly to flip out like this? And when they pressed on James and Donald to ask them where they got it from, they wouldn't talk. But they do appear to have been cooperative otherwise. They take officers to James' house and give them the weed that Carly smoked and the device she smoked it out of for testing. The results showed that what they were given was not laced with anything else.
But of course, they aren't just taking James and Donald on their word. They were also able to get video footage from James' doorbell camera. And this proved exactly what both James and Donald told them happened. They see Carly, James, and Donald get to the party around 6pm and leave around 8pm. In all the footage, Carly appears to be acting normal. Like Zach reported, she's not stumbling. When leaving the party, she's actually leading Donald by the hand.
Donald's father also confirms that his son was home all night after the party, and didn't leave until he went to help search for Carly in the morning. In the end, authorities don't think James or Donald had anything to do with Carly going missing. Now, during this time, very early on, Melissa begins going live on Facebook to talk about Carly. A lot of people begin to tune into these videos.
And the internet does what the internet does, and they start giving Melissa feedback. While some are supportive, people begin to judge her behavior. Is she scared enough? Is she crying enough? Does she really care about Carly? And this is a question that Carly's bio mom, Lindsay, wondered too. While it does seem that Melissa, Zach, and Lindsay had a pretty cordial co-parenting relationship up to this point, now that Carly was missing, that changes.
Carly's friends are also being interviewed. One of her best friends, Taylor, told People Magazine Investigates that before Carly went missing, she had changed. When she began dating Donald, she began smoking more weed, going down a path that she didn't like for her friend. She says it seemed like Carly was also more depressed. But whether or not that was because something was deeply troubling Carly or just a sign of her age is hard to tell.
As searches are happening, as people are being investigated, and as Melissa keeps going live on Facebook, Dateline reaches out to Melissa and Zach for a small feature on Carly's case. And they agree. The trouble was, the sheriff's office specifically instructed them not to do any media. They wanted to protect the integrity in the investigation and not give all the facts away.
And during this interview, Melissa gives some statements about the timeline of Carly's disappearance that conflict with what she told investigators. She tells Dateline that at 5.45am, she got up for the day. She began waking up the boys and saying good morning. She also reports seeing Carly in bed at this time like she had previously told investigators. But this time, it didn't seem like Melissa was sleeping in the bed with Carly.
She infers that she slept in her own room. Then she says after she woke up, she opened Carly's door and she was gone, which is quite different than saying she woke up next to Carly in her bed and she was gone. In her interview with People Magazine Investigates, Melissa admits that she lied here.
Quote, I wish I would have never even done that interview with them because it was still an open investigation. I started to lie because they didn't want to give out any information that might deter the investigation. End quote. She also explains that she'd asked for her statements to be redacted and that she told Dateline that she lied.
Now, obviously at this point, Melissa's social media is flooded with comments and messages questioning her story. It also didn't help that Melissa was describing Carly as last seen wearing skinny jeans and a sweater, while all these witness statements were coming out saying that she was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, Vans, and gray sweatpants. But I'd really encourage you guys to take that one with a huge grain of salt.
Because I don't think it's crazy to assume that Carly may have changed her clothes before leaving the house. But the fact remains that Melissa did lie. And this was a huge red flag for people following Carly's case and the Mono County Sheriff's Office, who had specifically asked her not to do media. This was also really upsetting to Carly's biological mom, Lindsay. She calls Zach to ask if maybe Melissa fell asleep, rolled over, and smothered Carly in her sleep.
Zach defends Melissa, but Lindsay goes to social media and starts talking about the case and Melissa. And when people start to hear that Melissa has this 8 minutes of audio from that night, they go crazy. Everyone wants to know what's in the audio, and why Melissa hasn't released it. Lindsay even speaks to Nancy Grace to voice her questions about Zach and Melissa's stories. Later, she goes on the Dr. Phil show with a stronger statement.
She's not sure Carly made it out of the house alive that day. She proposes a theory, that Carly died that night after having a bad reaction, and Zach and Melissa covered it up. Lindsay also says that she heard part of the 8-minute audio captured by Melissa, and Carly asked them to call 911. Now, Melissa and Zach do participate in the Dr. Phil show, but refuse to be on stage with Lindsay, saying they anticipated that she'd lie about them.
As you might expect, people go absolutely wild over this information. It does seem that the Dr. Phil show was the major tipping point for hate in this case. The online hate was just at a new level now. And the family actually begins being stalked by someone who would come take pictures of their house and post it online. I mean, you have a stepmom who admitted to lying about the timeline of Carly going missing. And her bio mom who wants answers.
The public is left understandably confused and upset after the Dr. Phil show strokes the flames of this fire. It gets so bad that the Mono County Sheriff's Office once again takes to Facebook. They post and say that these hurtful comments about Carly's family does nothing but add to their suffering. And everyone was suffering. As the one-year anniversary came and went, her family was begging the public to help find Carly.
and her friend Taylor had to hear Carly's name called after hers at graduation in a memorandum. Instead of sharing this core memory with her, the agony of life going on despite Carly being missing is clear, especially as her case doesn't seem to progress. Two years after Carly goes missing, this is all they really have. A few witness statements, some of which are conflicting. A lot of speculation.
and almost no evidence to tell them what may have happened to Carly. But then, in 2021, a tip does come in. And it leads investigators away from Melissa, Zach, Lindsay, Donald, James, and the entire area where Carly was last seen. This is Jessica Knoll, host of the new series, Back in Crime.
If you're a follower of true crime, you're probably familiar with some of the most shocking stories from our history. Horrific tragedies like the Columbine Massacre. And notorious criminals like cult leader Charles Manson.
In a scene described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird religious rite, five persons, including actress Sharon Tate, were found dead at the home of Miss Tate and her husband, screen director Roman Poliansky. But what if we were to turn back the hands of time and relive these events as they unfolded? Follow along each week as we take a fresh look at crimes from the past. Back in Crime is available now.
In March 2021, a new witness comes forward. They have never been publicly identified, and the timeline of this statement has also never been clarified by investigators. But here's what we know. According to reporting by Doug Carey for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this witness says that they saw Carly at a party 100 miles from her home in Tonopah, Nevada, and something, we don't know what, happened to her.
Now, Tonopah is tiny. They reported a population of less than 2,000 people in 2022. It's not even a city. It's an unincorporated town in Nye County. Really, it's an old mining town turned tourist attraction. But because we are now crossing state lines, the FBI is brought in to speak to the witness. They say basically they just feel guilty because they know what happened.
and they want to speak up since they've recently gotten sober. While we don't know a lot about this witness or their statement, we do know that a vehicle that may have been used to pick Carly up from the side of Route 6 was located, searched, and items were sent off for testing. So this does appear to go a bit further than just a random witness statement, but I will say that this has not yet led to recovering Carly.
And the Mono County Sheriff's Office has not announced that they believe Carly was last seen in Tonopah. So take that for what you will. Again, Carly's case just kind of sits. In May 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children did release an age-progressed photo of what Carly would look like around age 20.
But the case doesn't really heat up again until Melissa and Zach participate in the episode of People Magazine Investigates. That airs on August 7th, 2023. And this is when we get more information about the question I imagine many of you are burning with right now. What else is in that 8 minutes of audio Melissa recorded that night? According to People Magazine, in an effort to help dispel suspicion…
They provide them with the entire recording. Now, don't get too excited. We still don't have the full eight minutes. But we do get more context about Carly's fear that Melissa may kill her. This is what we hear. Melissa, do you want to take a shower? If you want to make you feel better? No? You're gonna kill me.
Carly, listen to what you just said to me. What? You said you're going to kill me. Don't kill me. Why would I kill you? That's preposterous. That's ridiculous. I'm eating the devil's lettuce. You're eating lettuce that I just freshly chopped that I bought from the grocery store. I don't know why. Why do you think it's the devil's lettuce? Because I'm thinking all these demonic stuff and I can't help it. You're okay.
You wouldn't call them? Why would you look at me like that? You just said you wouldn't. Would you call them? 911? If for what reason? If there was an emergency? If there was an emergency, yes, I would always call 911. You're scary. Why are you scaring me? I don't know. Just don't look at my face. I have to look at you. No, you don't. Is it because I'm ugly? No, you're not. You're beautiful. I'm ugly. Sorry.
It seems clear that Carly is intoxicated, but I don't know that this audio has cleared up much. And unless those full eight minutes are released, I think people will continue to argue both sides of this. As of that episode of People Magazine Investigates, investigators say that they're still looking into the possibility that Carly was transported to Tonopah.
And despite two years passing between getting that tip and this episode, authorities do say that they're still waiting on the results of testing for some items related to the vehicle. In October 2023, the Mono County Sheriff's Office confirmed that they're still looking into this possibility that Carly made it to Tonopah. They say that this is currently their most promising lead in Carly's case yet, but that they need help from the public.
And that's pretty much where Carly's case is today. So, what happened to Carly Gousset? Well, I think our strongest evidence here are those three nearly identical witness statements that give us an idea of Carly's route that day. From there, the rest is extremely speculative. Her boyfriend and his friend James have been ruled out, as has Carly's entire family.
I did find one case that was similar to Carly's, but in the end, that woman was recovered and no foul play was suspected. Obviously, I think it's kind of impossible to say if Carly was on something more than weed that day, but I do lean that way. We know that Carly has smoked in the past, and since she got in trouble for being high at school...
I have to assume that either Zach or Melissa have seen her high before. While her boyfriend does think that she may have just had a bad reaction, her friend Taylor doesn't. According to Melissa, Carly's pupils were dilated, which can happen when you smoke weed. But it's a much more common symptom of taking drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, meth, or LSD, which we know Carly asked her mom Lindsay about.
I could see Carly taking LSD thinking about her mom telling her how dangerous it is, and having a bad trip that lasts until the next day. Maybe that paper Melissa saw her doodling or writing on was a sign she was making to hitchhike. All signs point to Carly voluntarily leaving her house that morning.
I could see her being out of her mind and deciding that she wants to leave. Maybe it's so she doesn't have to live under their rules. Or maybe it's because she felt like a burden because she kept getting in trouble.
So she leaves with nothing on her because she's still out of her mind looking up at the sky. She makes it to Route 6 and then something happens. Maybe she was taken to Tonopah. Maybe she was taken somewhere else. Maybe she did walk into the desert and just hasn't been found yet. Like I always say, we just don't know.
But this clue about Tonopah appears to be very promising, and the public affairs officer for the FBI, Gina Swenke, did recently tell the media that they're still asking for the public to help share Carly's case. Which, of course, brings me right to our call to action.
please share. Carly's case has gotten a bit of media attention, but outside of the drama between her parents, it feels like not many people are interested in highlighting the facts of Carly's case outside of that. And I do think that the lack of coverage is because she was high when she went missing. Carly is not the perfect victim, because the perfect victim doesn't exist.
I'd also encourage you to remember that she was only 16 when she went missing, and any one of us on our worst days at age 16 likely wouldn't meet the standard that it takes to get the attention we'd deserve if we went missing. So if you've ever made a mistake as a teenager, if you just feel for Carly, please share. Carly deserves it just as much as every other missing child.
As a reminder, Carly Lane Gousset was 16 years old when she was last seen in Chalfont Valley, Mono County, California on the morning of October 13th, 2018. She is white, with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was 5'7 and weighed approximately 110 pounds. Carly's left nostril is pierced.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to Carly. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mono County Sheriff's Office at 760-932-5678. You can also contact the Sacramento Office of the FBI by calling 916-746-7000.
or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. All tips can remain anonymous. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.
Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. If you love what we do here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show in your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice. Welcome to the Secret After Show. The door is open, our emotional support puppies Marley and Popcorn are right here with us, and we're going to be talking about the secret after show.
Let's get into it. Now, I talked about this last week. I am changing the format of this after show because jumping from happy to sad or from what's going on with me to a case felt weird. So I'm going to try a new format because I can do what I want. So I'm now going to start with me, followed by the case and our segment of hope. And
I don't know. We'll see if I like this format better. I may switch it back again. I can do what I want. So we'll see. Um, and of course, if you have any feedback, I am more than open to listening to that because I do care about what you say, despite having the power to do what I want. So, um, as far as what's going on with me and why I moved this segment, um, is because I don't always have a lot going on with me. I am, um, predictable and boring just as I like it. Um,
So yeah, I'm not always going to have stuff to say, and that kind of includes this week. The only thing I wanted to highlight is that I guess I feel like it was much anticipated. I posted a few times about this on Instagram, and people got really excited. So I wanted to let you know that my Dark Truth episode over on Patreon, I have a series over there. I know I never plug the Patreon, but I need to...
I have a series over there called Dark Truth, where I talk about different conspiracies. You know, in my intro, I say that I question the status quo, discuss different, you know, trends and topics behind companies, brands, and more. That's definitely not exactly what I say, because I don't have it memorized. But that's essentially where I put things.
that I'm interested in on. As you guys know, I do not put true crime behind a paywall. I only cover unsolved. So I'm not ever going to put unsolved behind a paywall. It does not make me feel good. So I do not do it. I also do not cover solved cases unless someone directly involved wants to be a part of it.
So what does that leave me with for Patreon content? I came up with a series, Dark Truth, that is kind of like a justice umbrella. I've talked about things like, you know, the panic behind Halloween candy. I talked about Kid Nation over there. I interviewed Sophia from Kid Nation, which was like the highlight of my Dark Truth career over there. So I talk about things that, like I said, fall under that justice umbrella that I'm passionate about, but aren't exactly as...
I mean, some of the topics are as critical, I'd say. It's just a little bit different than true crime. I can put those things behind the paywall without feeling awful about them. So I taught, and this is like the least, this is probably the most
for me, for fun topic I have ever done on Patreon, and I've been talking about it for a while. It does kind of tie into true crime, so don't come for me, but I did Dark Truth Midsommar, the movie Midsommar.
And essentially, what I'm exploring is the idea that not only... If you guys aren't familiar with the story, I'm going to spoil it for you. So fast forward a minute or so if you don't want Midsommar to be spoiled for you. But essentially, I talk about that as Ari Aster is creating this film, not only are we watching these people, especially Danny, the main character, get brainwashed by this cult, essentially...
But he is also brainwashing us at the same time. It's really cool. I love diving into film stuff. And I do think that it speaks to the power of language. And I do think, I do think, I've seen it, that you can translate that to true crime coverage. That's not the focus of the episode. I don't go into true crime. I don't go into cults. I don't go into real brainwashing. I'm talking about film techniques.
But I do think that those techniques might help you identify when, you know, maybe a true crime podcaster, YouTuber, creator out there, maybe even the news...
presents a story in a certain way to make you feel a certain way. And I'm not saying that's all brainwashing. I think it's just good to know when people are trying to make you feel a certain way. The same way where, you know, I end a lot of episodes by telling you the effect on the family. That is absolutely a technique I use to make you feel for these people, to feel for these cases, to hopefully, my goal is to leave you inspired to help
because you care about people that are really involved in the case. So I do that. I think everybody does that to a certain extent. And it was really fun to explore the idea of that, of steering a narrative. And more so, like I said, using film techniques, light, sound, you know, the narrative around what's happening to Danny to really brainwash us.
I love it. I admittedly was brainwashed. I left watching Midsommar for the first time feeling like, you know, Midsommar was a part of, and I found out in my research, I love this term, the good for her cinematic universe.
Movies where women specifically act badly, but we are rooting them on because we feel that they've been, you know, there's been some type of injustice in their life. And in this case, when it comes to Midsommar, that's the way that Ari Aster, you know, essentially plays.
tells us the whole time how horrible Danny's boyfriend is to the point where we get to the end and we're cheering on him literally or her literally killing him essentially. And despite Danny being left in a foreign country, now a murderer with absolute certainty that she'll be killing in the future if she stays with this cult, right? You know, we're not thinking about
All those things. We're thinking about good for her. She got her revenge. She got her vengeance. Good for her. And again, you know, because of the way that Ari Aster presents this story, we're not really thinking about the reality of Dani's situation, right? Not even me, using my true crime brain of like,
Wow, somebody's probably going to come track her down and figure out why her boyfriend and all her friends got murdered. So again, if you're into that stuff, if you like lighthearted stuff, if you just want to support the show, you can find stuff I do like that over on Patreon. I also drop some stuff over there. You might be able to hear a full conversation with my dad that hasn't been released over there too. Just saying. Patreon is my place to...
give you extra content specifically about Alyssa because that's my story to tell and I can put that wherever I want. And sometimes these things I'm, one, either really excited about, so I just post about and I'm like, what do you guys think? Or two, it just never made, you know, the final show about Alyssa. So, you know, I used to post it over there. Now I've posted this new interview with my dad that has never been released. And
So yeah, I'm like the worst at promoting Patreon. If you look at the description, it even says like, if you're looking for bonus content, if you're looking for true crime content, this is not the Patreon for you. I am so honest. If you are looking for...
Yeah.
If you want to follow me on this journey of diving into topics that I'm interested in and passionate about as they relate semi to justice, or if you just want to support the show and get ad-free content, go over to my Patreon, patreon.com slash voicesforjustice.
I hate promoting Patreon, but I do love doing it. So I, yeah, I don't know. If you want to support the show, go over there. If not, if you just want to listen to this forever for free, that is amazing too. And thank you so much for your support.
Can you tell the guilt I feel whenever I ask you to give me money? Because I do. I know that times are hard and I don't take that lightly and I don't blame any of you for not being able to give me even $5 a month because I know that that is the difference sometimes between eating and not eating, making your bills, making your mortgage, your rent, whatever it might be, and not making it. So if you cannot support this show with money, please don't ever, ever, ever feel bad about that.
I love you guys and I will always be so grateful that you just care that I exist and that this show exists and about these cases. So thank you. Rambling and guilt aside, let's finally talk about this case. I'm not gonna lie, Carly's case is one that was brought to my attention pretty much right away.
And, um, I essentially, I got nonstop comments about, you have to look at this case. It's so similar to your sister. You have to look at this case. It's so similar to Alyssa and her stepmom and recording and things seem funny. And I avoided it. It makes me feel terrible to say, but that's the honest truth. Um, it actually wasn't until I was scrolling through TikTok and I saw a video saying that she was found safe.
um, that I wanted to cover it because Carly was obviously not found safe. Um, and I'm in a different spot in my life now where I can, I feel, talk about her case and dive more into it without it, um, just hurting my heart as much as it would have when it was first presented to me. Um, and again, it was that TikTok about her being found safe. Um, I know what that feels like.
And out of all the misinformation I've seen about my sister's case, watching dozens and dozens of publications or podcasts, whatever it might be, people saying that she was found, that my sister was found, was always something I felt extremely compelled to respond to, to remind the world that my sister was not found, that she was still missing. And
And when I saw that video about Carly being found and when I looked it up to find that she wasn't, that sparked that same passion in me. I was like, okay, I gotta look into this case. I want to help Carly. This isn't okay. Let's tell the world that she's still out there. She's still missing. So that's why I covered it. Now, um...
I do want to give props to the Mono County Sheriff's Office. I keep having to remind myself that it's Mono and not Mono County. Mono County Sheriff's Department. Um,
for, I mean, they said, yeah, we do think that she's a runaway early on. But despite that, they still looked into it, which we don't see that often. Usually, they're a runaway, they'll be back, leave us alone, right? Of course, those aren't the exact words, that's just the sentiment. But here, it was like, yeah, seems like she probably ran away, we're still going to go out there, we're still going to talk to you, and we're still going to search the same day. So shout out to Mono County. You've done great.
so much in those first early hours that I'm sure, I mean, I shouldn't say that. I should say, I'm sure those hours were extremely helpful in this investigation, whether we know it or not. And again, I always err on the side of better safe than sorry when it comes to runaway versus missing. So shout out to them.
I do want to talk about the discrepancies between People Magazine Investigates and traditional news media. Specifically, you know, I think the biggest thing was what prompted Carly to be reported missing.
And it's hard to say. You know, it's clear that Lindsay was going to the media and not painting Melissa in the best light. And who knows? I don't know Melissa or Lindsay. I don't know what those private conversations have looked like. But there was a clear war in the media, like we do see sometimes.
But I will say, out of all the discrepancies, that appeared to be the biggest one. There were some things that they just like left out of People Magazine Investigates, which is pretty typical. You can't expect them to include everything. But I will say, overall, out of a lot of the shows that we've compared to traditional news media...
this was one of the better ones. And as a side note, I did see that on the family's Facebook page, they were pretty happy with Stephanie Bauer from People Magazine Investigates. And I will say that I've met a lot of people in true crime, a lot of hosts like Stephanie. And out of many that I've met,
I do think Stephanie is the real deal. She is a sweetheart. She has always been extremely kind to me, extremely understanding when I couldn't talk about my sister. So when I found Carly's family talking about Stephanie, that just made my heart warm and fuzzy. And I wanted to give her a little shout out and really to People Magazine Investigates because I have seen...
much worse renditions of a story. So overall, I mean, I can't speak for the family. They may feel totally different. And if they do, please weigh their response more heavily than mine. But from what I can see, looking from the outside in, they seem to have done a pretty, pretty good job. Speaking of who's doing a good job and who's not, I, oof, you guys, I edited out an entire rant about Dr. Phil last week because I felt like I was being
unkind because I do feel a certain way about Dr. Phil, but I just want to say that once again, we have Dr. Phil in a case stirring up a lot of crap. And I get it. I'm not saying that, you know, he doesn't have the right to host people saying whatever they want on their platform. I'm just saying that we are seeing a common theme when it comes to Dr. Phil stirring shit up. And I
at the risk of going into another rant, I'm just going to end it there and keep a close eye on how Dr. Phil is impacting these cases. Show's over. I'm still watching. But going from that, my very threatening tone of continuing to watch Dr. Phil who could not care less about me, let's go into our segment of hope.
I am reading an article from Jennifer Cuevas from NBC Connecticut that was published on August 6, 2024. The title is, East Haven Police Want to Talk to Serial Killer About 1975 Cold Case. You guys hear that in my voice? It left me and whistled. Now, obviously, this isn't a full solve, but
But the article is discussing the case of Patricia Newsome. Her body was found by police in 1975 in East Haven, but she wasn't identified until 2023.
That's one thing to spark hope, right? That she was identified, especially so many years later. We love to see it. But this made our segment of hope here because the New Haven Police Department has received new tips in the case that they credit to their appearances on two true crime podcasts, Crime Junkie and Murder, She Told.
That information led them to investigate the possibility that serial killer Richard Cottingham may be involved in Patricia's case. And Patricia's sister has since written him a letter and is awaiting his response. So he's still alive, he's serving a sentence, and hopefully he writes back. Now, again, it's not a solve, but it makes our segment of hope because this is really what it's all about.
This is why I make true crime podcasts. This is why I won't put content behind a paywall. Because every once in a while, we get lucky, and our shows can spark movement in a case.
And really, that's because of listeners like you. I feel like PBS, because of your support, because of support from viewers like you. But really, it's because of listeners like you. They heard something, they remembered something, and they said something. I love to see it. But as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.
