Shownotes Transcript
This episode of Casefile is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life can get busy with work, family, and everything else on your plate. It's easy to let your priorities slip, even the ones that make you feel your best. But when your schedule feels overwhelming, it's more important than ever to make time for your non-negotiables, like therapy.
Whether you're looking to build positive coping skills, set boundaries, or just want to become the best version of yourself, therapy can help. If you've been thinking about starting therapy, consider giving BetterHelp a try. It's an online platform designed to be convenient, flexible, and tailored to your schedule. You simply fill out a brief questionnaire, and BetterHelp will match you with a licensed therapist.
Plus, if you feel the need to switch therapists, you can do so at any time with no extra cost. The team at Casefile are firm believers in the benefits of therapy. It's not just for those who have experienced major trauma. Therapy can teach you coping skills, help you set boundaries, and give you the space to explore your thoughts and feelings without judgment. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp.
Visit betterhelp.com slash casefile today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash casefile.
Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website.
In late 2019, bank examiner Emery Wilson was settling into his new home on South Waverly Drive in Dallas, Texas when he was approached by a middle-aged man and woman. They introduced themselves as married couple Jamie and Jennifer Faith. The Faiths lived five doors down and had arrived to give Emery a gift to warmly welcome him to their neighborhood.
As Emery came to learn, this friendly and courteous act was typical of the Faiths. The two were known for genuinely caring about others and always doing the right thing. They even handed out the pin code to their gate so that neighbours could use their swimming pool or hot tub whenever they liked. Just like everyone else who met them, Emery Wilson came to like the Faiths.
Both were highly successful in their respective careers, with Jamie a director of technology for American Airlines and Jennifer a distinguished speech therapist. They were also loving and supportive parents to their college-aged daughter. Emery sometimes encountered the Faiths when they crossed paths while out walking their respective dogs.
This happened more often in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Emery started working remotely from home. He was there on the morning of Friday October 9 2020, when all of a sudden his quiet suburban surroundings were disrupted by multiple rapid fire bangs, followed by blood curdling screams.
Immediately recognizing the bangs as gunshots, Emery Wilson dropped to the floor and moved away from the windows. The sound was out of place in the otherwise peaceful and family-oriented neighborhood. Emery could hear a woman screaming in abject terror until she managed to form the words, "'Help me, help me.'"
Realising someone was still in danger, Emery rushed outside. A large Bernese Mountain Dog was running freely in the road with its lead trailing behind. Emery recognised it as Jamie and Jennifer Faith's beloved dog, Maggie. Emery peered out from behind a wall in the direction of the screaming and called out. What happened? He couldn't see anything, so he cautiously moved across his lawn to the sidewalk.
From there, he could see a pair of legs sprawled out on the street near the Faiths' residence. Other curious neighbors had emerged from their homes. Emery yelled at them, "Call the police!" Emery raced towards the body to render assistance, only to be stopped in his tracks just two houses down. Suddenly, a male figure stepped onto the sidewalk a few feet ahead. The man turned and looked at Emery.
He had the hood of his jacket pulled down over his forehead and a blue fabric face mask covered the lower half of his face. Emery briefly locked eyes with the man before noticing that he was clutching a silver handgun at his right side. Panicked, Emery sprinted back to his house to collect his own firearm. He re-emerged ready for a confrontation, but the gunman was gone.
Emery realized that the body sprawled out on the street was that of 49-year-old Jamie Faith. He lay unmoving near the sidewalk in a growing pool of blood, clearly deceased. Emery found Jamie's 48-year-old wife, Jennifer, sheltering behind a fence in a neighbor's driveway. She was hysterical and clearly terrified, repeating, "'No one came. No one came.'"
Emery reassured her that police were on their way, saying soothingly, "We're here." Officers arrived within minutes to find South Waverly Drive in a state of chaos, with Jamie Faith's lifeless body at the centre. His wife Jennifer was visibly distraught and in a state of shock.
While she struggled to convey what had happened, officers ascertained that the Faiths had left their home at around 7:30am to take their dog Maggie on her daily walk. They'd barely left the driveway when someone ran up behind them and began shooting without saying a word. Jamie was hit several times before falling to the ground.
The offender then stood over Jamie and fired more rounds into his body, before turning his attention to Jennifer as she attempted to flee. According to Jennifer, one witness had seen the shooter aim his gun at her and pull the trigger, only to realise it was out of bullets. The shooter then sprinted after Jennifer, tackled her to the ground and unleashed a violent attack.
Between punches, he managed to duct tape Jennifer's hands together and attempted to pull off her wedding ring. By this point, Jennifer's screams had alerted her neighbors, prompting the gunman to flee empty-handed. Because the duct tape was cut into two small lengths, Jennifer was able to free herself rather easily and to take shelter. Other than some minor bumps, bruises, and scrapes, she was mostly unhurt.
Her wedding ring remained stuck halfway down her finger. Jamie's wedding ring was missing. While several people had observed the attacker from a distance, only Jennifer and her neighbor Emery Wilson had seen him up close. Their descriptions were limited as his face had been mostly covered up, but both Jennifer and Emery said the offender was a dark-eyed male of medium build wearing a dark-colored hoodie and baggy blue jeans.
Jennifer believed he was a black man, though Emery couldn't be certain and didn't want to speculate. Multiple .45 caliber bullet casings littered the street around Jamie Faith's body. When the gun was fired, it produced unique imprints on the casings that couldn't be linked to a firearm used in any other known crimes. The pieces of duct tape used to restrain Jennifer were curled up on the driveway near Jamie's body.
A matching roll of duct tape was found on the rooftop of the adjacent house, indicating the assailant had tossed it there. No worthwhile forensics were uncovered on any of these items. A quick-thinking local had used their cellphone to capture a photograph of the suspect's vehicle as it fled the scene. It was a black 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck.
Although its license plate wasn't visible in the blurry image, a white sticker of the letter "T" was spotted in the corner of the rear windshield. It appeared to be the emblem of the Texas Rangers baseball team, hinting that the vehicle's owner was local to the state. Witnesses who saw the vehicle flee were struck by how slow it moved, as though the driver wasn't in a hurry.
Security camera footage obtained from residences and businesses throughout the area allowed detectives to track the pickup truck in the direct aftermath of the shooting. After leaving South Waverly Drive, the vehicle was filmed driving normally through traffic before entering the Interstate 35 highway, which stretches northward through multiple US states. It vanished from there, its license plate still unclear.
Of all the houses along South Waverly Drive that had working exterior cameras, none had captured the shooting or the assailant, only the sounds of gunfire and Jennifer's screaming. The Faiths had several motion sensor cameras on their property, including one at their front door. This camera captured Jennifer just seconds before the confrontation as she exited the house holding Maggie by the leash, with Jamie trailing close behind.
The couple had a second camera positioned towards the street, but it wasn't working at the time. They did, however, have a functioning camera that captured part of the neighbouring property's backyard. Nobody lived in the house, yet five hours before the shooting, at around 2:30am, the Faith's camera recorded a figure moving around the rear of the empty property.
The footage was dark and blurry, but the figure appeared to be a man wearing jeans, a dark top, and a blue mask. He crept along the side of the house towards the street before disappearing from view. When shown the footage, Jennifer Faith didn't recognize the figure, but she'd heard rumors about a local man who was known to wander around at night whenever he fought with his wife. Investigators were nevertheless suspicious.
If the figure was Jamie Faith's killer, it meant he was loitering at the crime scene hours before the shooting. Given that the Faiths were confronted as they began their morning walk, it seemed as though they were targeted by someone who was familiar with their daily routine. This behaviour didn't correlate with an opportunistic robbery gone wrong. It felt remarkably calculated, like an ambush.
An autopsy revealed that Jamie had been shot a total of seven times. He was felled by three initial shots to the chest, then struck thrice more point-blank in the head. Notably, the seventh and final shot was aimed at Jamie's groin. The chest wounds were enough to incapacitate Jamie and the first headshot killed him instantly, which led investigators to question why the killer continued shooting.
This level of overkill was uncharacteristic of a bungled robbery. Each shot was deliberate and accurate, clearly performed by someone who had experience using firearms. The shot to Jamie's groin was highly unusual. Intentional wounds to genitalia typically indicated the attack had sexual connotations.
This, coupled with the fact that Jennifer had come away from the deadly encounter relatively unscathed, suggested that her husband was the sole target. Investigators began digging through Jamie Faith's life looking for anyone who would want to harm him. By all accounts, Jamie was a well-liked and peaceful person who lived a normal life. He enjoyed playing video games, billiards, and bowling, and was a big fan of the Green Bay Packers football team.
Those closest to Jamie described him as smart, resourceful, quirky, and always happy. With a penchant for button-up Hawaiian shirts and a love for all things wine, food, and travel, Jamie was considered a quintessential easygoing guy. He spent his spare time mentoring at a university, where news of his death left his students shattered.
Like everyone else, they couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt Jamie, let alone kill him. Jamie and Jennifer's marriage was equally praised. As a young man, Jamie told his friends that he was going to remain a lifelong bachelor as he had no interest in marriage or starting a family. That all changed when mutual friends set him up on a blind date with Jennifer in 2005.
Described as two peas in a pod, their attraction was instant and the pair quickly fell in love. They slotted seamlessly into each other's social circles, with the Jennifer boasting that it was meant to be. In stark contrast to his original life plans, Jamie became a proud provider, devoted husband, and a loving father figure. In the 15 years of his relationship with the Jennifer, not one person could recall an instance when the pair were in conflict.
Their home was always full of love and joy, with the pair hosting weekly game nights with friends and often travelling interstate to visit extended family. Jamie and Jennifer were only ever unashamedly affectionate towards each other, the type of couple to wear matching outfits when travelling on cruises together. Everyone agreed, the Faiths had the kind of relationship that made them jealous.
According to Jennifer, in the lead up to Jamie's death, he didn't appear to be afraid or express any concern for his safety. Although, she was aware of a recent incident at work that had caused him some distress. Jamie enjoyed his job at American Airlines and was well liked by his co-workers. That made it all the more difficult when he was tasked with laying off 20 of his colleagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jamie struggled to choose which of his team members should go, as he wanted all of them to stay. The process brought him to tears, but he ultimately went ahead and made the cut. Investigators spoke to Jamie's superiors. None of them were aware of any disgruntled former employees, but they handed over the names of those who were recently let go.
Investigators questioned each individual but found no indication that any of them blamed Jamie for losing their jobs, nor did they hold a grudge against him. With no suspects emerging from Jamie's home or work life, investigators expanded their search and came across a promising lead. Prior to meeting Jamie, Jennifer had been married twice before.
Both marriages were dysfunctional and short-lived, but it was the first marriage that raised a significant red flag. When Jennifer unexpectedly became pregnant in 1996, her husband decided he didn't want a family and abruptly left her before their daughter was born. By the time Jennifer met Jamie, her daughter was eight years old.
Jamie wholeheartedly embraced the role of stepfather and legally adopted Jennifer's daughter when she turned 18. While her biological father had remained a stranger throughout her life, investigators wondered if he harboured animosity towards Jamie for moving in on his family. The day before Jamie was killed, he and Jennifer had celebrated the 15th anniversary of the day they first met.
The killer stole Jamie's wedding ring and attempted to take Jennifer's too. The rings were worth around $3,000, not enough to justify murder as far as investigators were concerned. Therefore, they wondered if the timing wasn't a coincidence. Perhaps taking the rings was meant to be a symbolic act. With nothing to prove this theory, all other possibilities had to be considered.
The area around South Waverly Drive was being gentrified, with successful career-orientated couples like the Faiths seen as harbingers of this change. Investigators wondered whether the attack aimed to ward off further gentrification. Alternatively, what if Jamie had angered a stranger in a road rage incident or something similar and they'd followed him home to confront him?
There was also speculation that the killer had intended to abduct Jennifer but was forced to abandon his plan when neighbors came to her rescue. Whatever the truth, there was a degree of certainty that the case would resolve itself once the suspect's vehicle was identified. Yet, weeks passed without a breakthrough, despite a $5,000 reward on offer for information.
Determined to find her husband's killer, Jennifer Faith started a group text message thread with upwards of 15 of her closest and trusted friends and family. This allowed her to keep messages in one place so that everyone received the latest updates in Jamie's case. She kept them informed about how her and her daughter were coping, while also divulging key information about the investigation that the public wasn't privy to.
The group discussed the possibility that Jamie could have been targeted by a serial killer who had been shooting people at random around Dallas. By November 2020, the gunman had carried out multiple attacks over a two-month period, claiming four known victims and injuring many others. He operated from a black Chevy Tahoe, a somewhat similar vehicle to the one used by Jamie's killer.
Jennifer presented the theory to the police, but they were unwilling to explore a potential link. Supporters in her group chat criticised detectives for not doing their jobs and for letting Jamie's case fall through the cracks. Jennifer encouraged the group to remain on the lookout for black pickup trucks and report them to police.
She expressed frustration that in an era where cameras were everywhere, none had clearly captured the license plate of her husband's killer. As the weeks wore on, the mystery persisted and the group chat gradually fell quiet. The general sentiment was that no one was going to be held accountable for Jamie's murder. An emotional Jennifer Faith fronted the media to appeal for help.
She voiced her fear that the case was going cold and pleaded with Texans to be on the lookout for the black pickup with the Texas Rangers sticker. The problem was, black pickups were common throughout the state and the Texas Rangers fan base stretched far and wide. Furthermore, Jamie's death was just one of 200 homicides reported in Dallas in 2020 and police resources were spread incredibly thin.
While Jennifer acknowledged this, she was dismayed by how little information police were giving her regarding the progress of her husband's case. Jennifer begged the community, "If you know what happened, I need that foreclosure. I need to make some sense out of this." As for the offender, she said,
"I just hope that at some point this person can recognize the gravity of what they've done and what they've taken from myself and my daughter and feel some sort of guilt enough to come forward. We just really need some answers." With the killer on the loose, the local community lived in fear that he would strike again. Residents of South Waverly Drive were reluctant to venture outside, and those who did were constantly looking over their shoulder.
Jennifer admitted to her loved ones that she was struggling to sleep. Sometimes she broke down in inconsolable sobbing fits, other times she was an emotional blank slate, saying she didn't feel anything at all. One of the hardest things for Jennifer was that she still had to walk her dog, Maggie, which was something she only ever did with Jamie. She confided in others that she was terrified of going out alone in case Jamie's killer was waiting to finish the job.
Neighbours pushed their own apprehension aside to walk with Jennifer in a group. They were on edge the entire time, constantly scanning the road in all directions for the black pickup truck. The rest of the community also rallied together, with over 50 families participating in a meal train to provide Jennifer and her daughter with food each day.
Jamie had been the breadwinner of the family at the time of his death, as Jennifer had taken a break from work during the pandemic. Recognising the financial struggles she faced, a friend of Jennifer's gave her a $5,000 cheque to help pay for daily expenses. Another supporter organised an online fundraiser for Jamie's funeral, which raised over $60,000 in less than a week.
Jennifer expressed her gratitude by organising two memorial services for Jamie, one locally and another in Arizona where they'd first met. It was also where Jamie had spent over 20 years of his life until a job promotion led him to relocate his family to Texas. The two services allowed Jennifer to grieve with friends, old and new, while eulogising the loss of the man she called the backbone of her family.
When Thanksgiving passed in November, Jennifer spoke of how gut-wrenching it was to look at the empty dining chair where Jamie typically sat. She told a reporter for Fox 4: "All I know is Jamie was my best friend and the best husband and father anyone could ask for. It's been horrible. I teeter between completely heartbroken and completely devastated every day.
Homicide detectives checked in on Jennifer often and sometimes joined her in prayer, but they also had something uncomfortable to address. Hours after Jamie was killed, they had asked Jennifer if she would consent to having her cell phone examined. They explained this was just a formality to ensure they conducted a fair investigation across the board and clarified that Jennifer wasn't being considered a suspect.
Jennifer was initially hesitant to hand over her phone, but she ultimately agreed to do so. On it, investigators found text messages sent between Jennifer and a close friend of hers named Tina Sprang. The pair kept one another updated about what was going on in their lives, nothing of which was particularly noteworthy.
That was until investigators scrolled back in the women's text history to Monday April 20, 2020, six months before Jamie was gunned down. That day, Jennifer sent Tina a string of texts that began: "So, I have no idea when I am going to be able to talk to you over the phone, but I am pretty much having a full-blown emotional affair.
Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Starting investing can feel pretty intimidating. Most people don't know where to start and think they need a lot of money.
Busy schedules leave little time for research and saving for retirement can seem so far off it's hard to even get started. I felt the same way when I first looked into investing. The sheer amount of information and fear of making mistakes held me back for years. But that's where Acorns comes in.
Acorns makes it easy to start automatically saving and investing for you, your kids, and your retirement. You don't need a lot of money or expertise to invest with Acorns. In fact, you can get started with just your spare change.
Acorns recommends an expert-built portfolio that fits you and your money goals, then automatically invests your money for you. And now, Acorns is putting their money into your future. Open an Acorns Later IRA and get up to a 3% match on new contributions. That's extra money for your retirement. With Acorns, you can feel more secure about your financial goals, even with a busy schedule.
Head to acorns.com slash casefile or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today. Paid non-client endorsement. Compensation provides incentive to positively promote Acorns. Investing involves risk. Acorns Advisors LLC and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. View important disclosures at acorns.com slash casefile.
Let's face it, after a night with the drinks, it can be hard to bounce back the next day. I know I don't bounce back like I used to. So for me it becomes a choice between having a great night or a great next day. That is, until I found Z Biotics Pre-Alcohol. Pre-alcohol is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking.
Here's how it works: When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic by-product in the gut. It's this by-product, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. Pre-alcohol produces an enzyme to break this by-product down. Just remember to make Z-Biotics your first drink of the night, drink responsibly, and you'll feel your best tomorrow.
Olivia LaVoie, host of the Casefile Presents series The Bakersfield Three, uses Z-Biotics pre-alcohol before a night out. With pre-alcohol, Olivia knows she will feel good the next morning and can confidently plan her next day activities, including working on her next Casefile Presents release. Pre-alcohol is for responsible adults, so always drink responsibly, pace yourself, hydrate, and get a good night's sleep.
Vacations, weddings, birthdays, and reunions. There's so much going on. Get the most out of your summer plans by stocking up on pre-alcohol now. Go to zbiotics.com slash casefile to get 15% off your first order when you use casefile at checkout.
Pre-alcohol is backed with 100% money-back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotics.com slash casefile and use the code CASEFILE at checkout for 15% off. Thank you ZBiotics for sponsoring this episode and our good times.
Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. Jennifer Faith revealed to her friend Tina that the person she was having an emotional affair with was a man named Darren Lopez. The two had dated in high school 30 years prior and amicably broke up during their first year of college when Darren was deployed overseas with the military.
He went on to join the Special Forces, but had since retired and was living in Tennessee. He'd reached out to Jennifer online a month earlier, and although they hadn't yet met up in person, they texted all day, every day, and spoke on the phone too. Jennifer admitted to Tina that the whole situation was crazy and stupid. She said that Jamie knew about the affair and he was scared and sad.
She justified her actions by divulging that she and Jamie hadn't been intimate in four years, despite her efforts to initiate. She felt like they loved each other, but weren't in love with each other. There was no passion between them anymore, and the only romantic thing Jamie did was give her hugs. Jennifer admitted, "'I don't feel wanted by him at all, other than to be his partner.'
Despite these issues, Jennifer said that Jamie was a good man and father, and she'd been prepared to stay with him for the rest of her life as they made a great parenting team. It was only when Darren reappeared on the scene that she started questioning things. Jennifer confessed to Tina, "'The emotions and the connection. I feel like I am being torn in two.' Tina gave her credit for being upfront with Jamie and not going behind his back."
Jennifer revealed that Darren had devised a five-year plan that would enable them to start a new life together. While she wasn't going to make any moves or do anything rash anytime soon, she admitted, "...but I'm not going to stop talking to Darren either." When Jennifer was first interviewed by detectives after Jamie's murder, she had alluded to there being some intimacy problems in her marriage but maintained it was otherwise perfect.
She made no mention of her relationship with Darren and no one else in her life seemed to be aware of it either. When police checked Jennifer's cellphone, there were no calls or texts from Darren. They wondered if she had deleted the evidence of her infidelity in anticipation of her phone being searched while forgetting about the interaction she'd had with Tina Sprang back in April.
There was also the possibility that she didn't mention the emotional affair because it had fizzled out entirely. Two months before Jamie's murder, Tina had texted Jennifer, "You still talking to that guy?" Jennifer responded, "I put the brakes on with him." While she admitted she still had strong emotions for Darren and it had been a hard decision, she said, "Jamie was so hurt and internalizing everything, and she couldn't do it to him."
Although Jennifer didn't have any communication history with Darren on her phone, she did have his name, number, email, and residential address in her list of contacts. Darren Lopez lived in the unincorporated community of Cumberland Furnace in northern Tennessee, 650 miles east of Jennifer's home. A police check revealed that 48-year-old Darren had no history with law enforcement.
However, registered under his name was a black 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck. Police in Texas reached out to their Tennessee counterparts, who agreed to drive by Darren Lopez's property on the lookout for the pickup truck. Darren lived on a 20-acre ranch on an isolated rural stretch defined by forest and farmland.
His house wasn't visible from the street, so a police helicopter was dispatched to conduct aerial surveillance. The view from overhead revealed that the property featured various outbuildings, including a barn and several sheds. A couple of horses were gathered around a modest farmhouse where a black pickup truck was parked, a white sticker of the letter T visible on its rear windshield. Detectives realized they'd been mistaken.
They had assumed Jamie Faith's killer was a Texan after misidentifying the "T" sticker on his car for the emblem of the Texas Rangers baseball team. It was in fact a similarly designed logo for the University of Tennessee. Investigators unearthed what they could about Darren Lopez and learnt that he and Jennifer had indeed attended high school in Arizona together before going to the same college.
Darren joined the military within a year and went on to become a medic in the Special Forces, where he was specially trained to keep a critically injured casualty alive on his own for seven days. Darren had been deployed overseas multiple times, including to active war zones in the Middle East.
He was known for being compassionate towards the locals in these areas, checking in on them and offering his help while tending to their wounds and playing with their children. In 2005, Darren was in Iraq travelling in a Humvee when it was blown up by a roadside improvised explosive device. The blast knocked Darren unconscious. When he came to, he searched the vehicle's remains for survivors.
He pulled out a fellow soldier who had stopped breathing and provided aid that saved the man's life. They, along with two other soldiers, were the only survivors. Nineteen others were killed. Aside from the concussion, one of Darren's eardrums was blown out, but that appeared to be the worst of his injuries. As a medic, Darren was fundamental to his 12-man squad, and without him, they would all be pulled from duty.
He spent just five days recovering before being sent back into operation. It took another five years before Darren Lopez was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury as a direct result of the Humvee blast, along with post-traumatic stress disorder. He was deployed once more before higher-ups ruled him out of combat entirely.
After 26 years of service, he was discharged as a decorated and respected soldier, having earned a Purple Heart and two Bronze Star medals for his heroic achievements. By 2020, Darren had separated from his wife of 23 years with whom he had five daughters, two of which were stepchildren. He was living off disability and social security payments as he was unable to adjust to civilian employment.
Even though there was nothing to indicate Darren was a danger to society, detectives were aware that he was trained to kill. Jennifer Faith had told her friend Tina Spreng she had to put the brakes on her emotional affair with Darren to recommit to Jamie. This led investigators to consider whether Darren could have been fuelled by rejection, jealousy or revenge and had decided to murder her husband.
Maybe he hoped that by getting Jamie out of the picture, he could have Jennifer all to himself. While it was a solid theory, investigators had no proof. They decided to keep their suspicions under wraps as they gathered further evidence. Although Darren didn't appear to be a threat, he was placed under 24-hour covert surveillance.
Cameras were hidden in the trees around his home while undercover officers tailed him in unmarked vehicles whenever he left the property. Officers mentioned nothing about Darren to Jennifer Faith. Now that they knew she was keeping secrets, she couldn't be trusted. Jennifer's cellphone had since been returned to her and she was asked to voluntarily resubmit it for further analysis.
She was once again reluctant, but eventually hand-delivered it to the police station. Investigators hoped a data extraction would reveal communications she might have had with Darren Lopez, as it could recover deleted call logs, texts, videos, photos, files, and emails. If nothing else, it would confirm whether content had been deleted, even if it couldn't be fully restored. But the data extraction revealed absolutely nothing.
This meant the device had been wiped clean with a factory reset, a process that restored the phone to the same condition as when it was first purchased. In the meantime, investigators had noticed that the T-sticker on the back of Darren Lopez's truck had disappeared. Darren had also added a different white decal to the left side of the tailgate, as if attempting to change his truck's appearance.
Still, he didn't meet up with Jennifer or do anything to incriminate himself in Jamie Faith's murder. He just carried on his life as normal. It occurred to investigators that if Darren had no reason to believe he was being viewed with suspicion, then he had no reason to conceal evidence. It was therefore possible that his cell phone still contained the extensive history of communication with the Jennifer Faith they were looking for.
There was no legal way to search the device directly without alerting Darren, at which point he could swiftly perform a factory reset. So investigators took a different approach. In January 2021, four months after Jamie Faith's murder, they obtained records from Darren's cellular service provider which showed a history of all incoming and outgoing calls and texts on his device.
While the provider had no way of uncovering what was said in these interactions, they could ascertain who initiated contact, when, where, and for how long. Astoundingly, in the 10 months between March 2020 and January 2021, Darren Lopez's cellphone had been in contact with the Jennifer Faith cellphone over 280,000 times.
The pair typically sent each other upwards of 500 texts a day. In October, the month Jamie was killed, Darren and Jennifer had contacted each other more than 13,000 times. The longest they went without interacting was 10 hours, except for in one instance.
From 1:07pm on Thursday October 8 2020 and 5:18pm on Friday October 9 2020, there was no contact between the two phones for 28 hours. This just so happened to be the time period in which Jamie Faith was murdered.
This information, coupled with records pulled from cell towers, GPS data, Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth beacons, enabled investigators to piece together a timeline of events. On the afternoon of Thursday October 8 2020, the day before Jamie was killed, Darren's cell was tracked to his Tennessee home. By 1pm, he and Jennifer had messaged each other 133 times.
At 1:07, Darren received a text from Jennifer marking their final interaction. 20 minutes later, Darren's device was on the move. It pinged off of various cell towers, leaving breadcrumbs for investigators to follow. Around this same time, Darren's phone was used to search online for directions to the Faiths' residence, which was a 10-hour drive away.
Darren's cell moved south until 1:51pm when it stopped at a gas station. CCTV footage captured Darren Lopez as he pumped gas into his black pickup truck, the white T sticker visible on its rear windshield. He then entered the gas station wearing a blue face mask over his nose and mouth.
A sales receipt confirmed that Darren had purchased the fuel, a DVD and some snacks using cash, preventing the record of this sale from appearing in his bank account. The CCTV footage was a major find because it established that Darren was travelling alone in his truck with his cell phone, eliminating the possibility that someone else was using his vehicle or phone that day.
At 2:19pm, Darren was tracked driving west until he crossed the border into the state of Arkansas. He travelled along Interstate 40, which leads to Interstate 30 and into Texas. From 6pm, Darren's device was no longer traceable. It seemed he knew that he could be traced via his phone and had the foresight to turn it off before reaching Texas.
In a bizarre move that left investigators utterly perplexed, Darren turned his device back on at 1:47am. It immediately pinpointed his location as Dallas, Texas. Again, he used the internet to search for directions to the Faiths' residence on South Waverly Drive. He drove past their house at 2:18am before becoming untraceable again.
The shadowy figure loitering at the vacant property next door to the Faiths was captured on security footage 10 minutes later. Their outfit and the shape of their body matched Darren Lopez to a T, right down to the blue mask. When Jamie Faith was killed five hours later at 7:30am, witnesses described the assailant as fitting Darren's description. For the next nine hours, Darren's cell phone remained untraceable.
Then, at 5pm, he turned the device on and was geolocated at the same gas station back in Tennessee where he once again paid for his purchases with cash. He also texted Jennifer Faith for the first time in 28 hours.
The pair messaged back and forth approximately 50 times until Darren arrived home shortly after 6pm where they continued texting and also spoke on the phone twice before the day was through. From that point on, Darren and Jennifer continued to contact each other hundreds of times a day. It was evident that Jennifer had cleared her phone of these interactions before submitting it to the police.
What the pair discussed during their lengthy affair remained a mystery, but investigators felt it was time to make their move and find out. Case file will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. We all dread the what should we have for dinner question. I know I do.
Coming up with new and interesting recipe ideas is time consuming while ordering takeout is never really satisfying and always leads to spending too much money. So, if you'd rather enjoy a home cooked meal without the stress of planning ahead, Home Chef makes it really easy and also saves you money.
Home Chef provides fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes conveniently delivered to your doorstep to simplify your cooking experience. And they've got meal kits for every kind of cook. There are classic kits with pre-portioned ingredients and easy instructions, oven-ready kits with pre-chopped ingredients, and quicker microwave meals that assemble in minutes.
Home Chef has over 30 options a week and serves a variety of dietary needs. They even have a delicious kid-friendly family menu with 18 new options each week which is picky eater approved and takes the stress out of dinner time. Not only is Home Chef convenient, it's economical too. Their customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries.
Olivia LaVoie, host of Casefile Presents series The Bakersfield Three, is loving Home Chef for its convenience and the high quality of the ingredients supplied. She says it's also introduced her to new recipes she wouldn't have otherwise made. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 18 free meals plus free dessert for life and, of course, free shipping on your first box.
Go to homechef.com slash casefile. That's homechef.com slash casefile for 18 free meals and free dessert for life. You heard that right. Homechef.com slash casefile. Must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert.
Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. Police knew that arresting Darren Lopez was fraught with risk. His background with special forces meant he was an elite trained killer. If the arrest was handled poorly, police feared Darren might feel like he had nothing left to lose and do something drastic.
He might have used his knowledge of warfare to booby trap his home or prepare for a siege. The decision was therefore made to target Darren while he was away from his home. This would also prevent him from destroying any evidence or arming himself with any weapons that might be stashed on the premises. On Thursday January 7 2021, four months after Jamie's murder, investigators followed Darren as he was out driving with one of his daughters.
After they pulled into a parking spot, police made their approach. Against expectations, Darren exited the vehicle calmly and offered no resistance when placed in handcuffs. He was quiet and appeared nervous upon learning of the multi-state police operation that had been carried out under his nose. In a subsequent police interview, Darren denied having been to Dallas, though he did admit to knowing Jennifer Faith.
He became misty-eyed as he recalled memories of their youth together, saying they'd reconnected online almost a year prior. According to Darren, his relationship with Jennifer was just friendly. She was using her expertise as a therapist to help him get through a difficult divorce. Darren believed that Jennifer had been happily married, and he maintained that he hadn't crossed any inappropriate lines.
When Darren was queried about the T-sticker that had been removed from his truck, he abruptly shut down and demanded an attorney. Meanwhile, police were undertaking a search of Darren's ranch in Tennessee. On his front porch was a large, narrow cardboard box featuring the logo of shipping company FedEx. It was addressed from Jennifer to Darren.
The box was empty, but officers soon found what it had contained in Darren's living room. A brand new 55-inch flat screen television. The filthy state of Darren's house was unlike anything the officers had ever seen. They described it as deplorable and took it as a major sign that Darren was mentally unwell and struggling to cope.
Officers had to dig through piles of clothes, trash, old food, and clutter in search for evidence. They came across more packages from Jennifer, as well as some letters she wrote to Darren. In one, she referred to him as her soulmate. In another, she called him her one and only love. An array of ammunition was found all over the house, in boxes and loosely scattered about.
On the floor near Darren's bed was a tan-coloured military-style satchel. Inside was a DVD and some snacks that Darren had purchased at the gas station while en route to Dallas in October 2020. There was also a rolled-up t-shirt. Officers unravelled the shirt to find that it contained a loaded Smith & Wesson .45 caliber silver handgun. Its barrel was smeared with a discoloured substance.
The unregistered gun was traced to a foreign firearms dealer in Belgium. When tested, it produced imprints on the bullet casings that matched those recovered from the scene of Jamie Faith's shooting. Furthermore, the discoloured substance on the barrel was confirmed to be Jamie's blood.
The discovery of the murder weapon was surprising. Given that Darren had several months to get rid of the gun or at least clean it up, investigators wondered if he had held onto it as a trophy. At the same time that Darren Lopez was placed under arrest, police conducted another interview with Jennifer Faith. They wanted to get all the information they could from her before she found out Darren was in custody in case she stopped cooperating entirely.
Jennifer maintained the same story she'd been telling from the outset about the unknown, dark-eyed gunman. Then, for the first time, a detective asked her, "Have you ever heard the name Darren?" Jennifer became noticeably tense. She explained that Darren was her former high school boyfriend. When asked why she'd never mentioned him, Jennifer paused for a moment before saying that she hadn't seen Darren since 1993.
She was then presented with the phone data proving she and Darren had sent hundreds of thousands of texts in the past year, with the detective telling her, "'I know there's more to you and Darren's relationship.' Jennifer replied staunchly, "'I don't know what you're talking about.' The detective pressed on, taking Jennifer back to Friday October 9, 2020."
Personally, in my heart, I believe you know what happened that day, he said. I'm going to tell you like this, Jennifer. I know that Darren killed your husband. Jennifer flat out rejected the accusation. She admitted that she and Darren had recently been in contact and were caught up in old emotions, but she said she'd put an end to anything romantic in August 2020.
Since then, Jennifer said they were just friends and claimed she was helping Darren navigate through tough times. The interviewing detective said, "The same guy that killed your husband is the same guy that you're communicating with every day. How could you talk to somebody that killed your husband?" Jennifer appeared to be shocked. "I wouldn't do that." "Why would I do that?" she replied.
"I didn't know he killed my husband. I still don't know that he killed my husband." The fact that Jennifer had led the police to so many dead ends made them suspect that she was lying to protect Darren. What they couldn't figure out was why she didn't just leave Jamie if she no longer wanted to be with him. Why did he have to die? When presented with this question, Jennifer stopped talking and asked for an attorney.
Jennifer's assertions highlighted a major issue in the unravelling case. Despite everything that had been uncovered so far, investigators still hadn't found any evidence of Jennifer scheming with Darren to remove Jamie from the picture or encouraging him to kill. Just because the two had remained in contact after Jamie was killed, it didn't prove Jennifer was involved in the crime.
The question therefore remained as to what role, if any, she played in her husband's murder. Investigators hoped that the answers would be found in Darren's cell phone, which they had swiftly confiscated upon his arrest. Despite leaving him with no time to interact with the device, it appeared to have already been wiped clean of any of his communications with the Jennifer.
It was assumed that Darren had performed a factory reset, but a data extraction was conducted regardless. It turned out that Darren wasn't particularly tech savvy. While he had managed to permanently delete most of his text message history with the Jennifer, he had failed to completely erase all the data.
Despite Darren and Jennifer's claims of a platonic friendship, the recovered texts revealed that their relationship was indeed intimate. Darren texted Jennifer things like "I am so in love with you" to which she responded "I truly can't be without you at this point." Jennifer suggested that she move in with Darren, which he thought was a great idea.
The pair also engaged in many explicit sexual conversations both before and after Jamie's murder. Some were extreme, centering around topics like dominance, submission, bondage, voyeurism, and even rape. The most compelling messages were in relation to the ongoing investigation into Jamie's murder. After Jennifer made a public appeal to find the suspect's vehicle, she texted Darren:
So, I woke up in a little bit of a panic. Something is eating away at me, telling me you need to take the sticker out of the back window of the truck. It might just be me overthinking or something, but I'll feel a ton better if you take it off and clean the window really well. Darren assured Jennifer that he would take care of it. But by the next day, she was increasingly anxious. I know you're going to think I'm crazy, she messaged Darren.
In other messages, Jennifer told Darren that if the police ever asked about her, he should say they were old friends.
They were only speaking daily because Jennifer was giving him advice as he went through a difficult divorce. She told Darren to say that as far as he knew, her marriage to Jamie was a happy one. She also added Darren to the private group text message thread that she used to keep her close friends and family updated on her husband's case. At one stage, she complained to Darren about having to do a press interview as Jamie's bereaved widow, saying:
The reporter sucked, but I did fine. He insisted on having me look at a stupid photo book of Jamie at the end. Baff. On multiple occasions, Jennifer told Darren she was clearing her phone by doing a factory reset, and she instructed him to do the same. When Darren thought he had done so, Jennifer replied, Big smile over here at that.
At one point, Jennifer and Darren discussed Jamie's life insurance policy, which was worth over $600,000. Jennifer was the sole beneficiary, while Jamie also had a further $400,000 in a retirement account. A month after Jamie's murder, Jennifer had attempted to collect some of the money, but she was denied. She vented about it in a text to Darren, saying:
They aren't processing the claim yet because the detectives told them I couldn't be ruled out as a suspect. So I called them and basically said, "What the fuck?" The pair discussed using the money to apply for a residence in Jennifer's name in Tennessee. Jennifer was also the sole beneficiary of the $60,000 in donations collected via the online fundraiser for Jamie's funeral services. She began withdrawing from these funds almost immediately.
Within four days, she had taken out over $30,000 and within weeks, there was nothing left. The two memorial services for Jamie had only cost to Jennifer $6,000, which she hadn't even paid. Credit reports reflected that by 2020, Darren Lopez was having severe financial problems.
He was at least 120 days past due on mortgage payments totalling over $38,000 and foreclosure had been initiated. In October, failure to pay his water bills resulted in the water to his house being shut off. Online records showed that Jennifer had transferred large amounts of money to Darren after Jamie's murder,
She had also bought him the new television, airline tickets, and had granted him access to her credit cards, texting: "Please don't hesitate to use them for whatever you need." Jennifer used the money fundraised on her behalf to help pay back over $100,000 that she and Darren had spent on the credit cards.
She told Darren that if detectives ever asked why Jennifer was giving him money, he should say that she was supporting him through his financial hardship. "I'll answer the same way," she texted him. "Just so you and I have the same explanations." Darren responded, "I like it." With this evidence coming to light, investigators suspected that Jennifer had hired Darren to kill her husband.
Given Darren's elite military training, not only was he the ideal hitman, he also had the financial and romantic motives to do so. But with no admissions from either party and no concrete evidence to prove it, it remained pure speculation. What was abundantly clear was that Jennifer Faith's private persona was very different from the grieving widow she portrayed in public. In reality, she was careful and cunning.
She asserted that she had no idea who killed her husband, while keeping the man she was having an emotional affair with secret from investigators. She lied to her friend about ending things with Darren when she was still messaging him excessively. She provided false information and dead-end leads to misdirect the police and public. She coached Darren on how to respond to police questions and instigated the destruction of crucial evidence.
Investigators viewed Jennifer's conduct and corrupt actions as "a calculated attempt to obstruct the criminal investigation." As a result, she was charged with obstruction of justice, to which she pleaded not guilty. Given that authorities still didn't have anything to prove Jennifer was complicit in her husband's murder, she was released pending further investigations.
With suspicions cast squarely on her, detectives were curious to see her next move. They knew there was still more to uncover, but felt confident they were about to close the case. The situation appeared to be a sordid love triangle with fatal consequences, which was nothing that they hadn't seen before. In the meantime, Darren Lopez was charged with the murder of Jamie Faith as well as transporting a firearm in interstate commerce.
Case detectives were lauded for their dedicated and meticulous police work, with the chief of the Dallas Police Department saying: "I am pleased to see that there were no stones left unturned during the course of this investigation and that our collaborative efforts have brought those involved to justice." Darren Lopez pleaded not guilty and was remanded in custody to await his trial.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Faith asked a third party to forward a message onto Darren in jail. Aware that all their communications would be monitored, Jennifer just wanted Darren to know that she was with him and would always be with him, no matter what had happened. It was an intriguing comment that seemed to support Jennifer's claims that she didn't know the full extent of Darren's actions.
Yet, she remained unfazed and fully committed to him even though he was charged with the Jamies' murder. Jennifer told her messenger: "Please tell Darren ASAP. I will always be his." Darren responded to Jennifer via the messenger, saying: "Please stay strong for us." He referred to himself as her knight, a noble and chivalrous warrior charged with protecting her.
As Darren's trial loomed, his ex-wife began taking care of several financial matters on his behalf. In order to do this, Darren gave her access to his email account. As she navigated his inbox, she came across something shocking. To be continued next week.