EP. 178 : TENNESSEE - (Pt. 2) The MURDER Of APRIL HOLT: Our Most IMPORTANT Episode To DATE
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Warning the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into a great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.

Trigger warnings from the stories we cover include violent rape, murder and offences against children.

This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.

In early october twenty twenty four, I got the incredible privilege to interview my now friend, Jamie digson, who is the mother of Abraham. If you missed last week's episode, go back now and give IT a listen, or you might be a little confused in this episode. But in july of twenty twenty three, twenty nine old mother of two April hold was killed by her husband.

However, for about a year, that's not what the nash filld police were saying. After speaking with April husband, they came to the conclusion that April had died by suicide de. However, just recently, her husband, one of inhale, was arrested on charges of reckless homicide after he confessed to the police that he accidentally killed April while choking her during sex.

Not where the story stands as of now when we recorded this. However, after interviewing jammy me and Colin fluid tennesee, and we learned so much more about this case, and the stuff we uncovered will make you question if doniger hold is telling the truth about April death. So follow along as we tell you the story of April home and make sure you stick around to the end because we really need your help. Peer trigger warning for this episode, as there is a talk of suicide and sexual assault in all parties discussed, are innocent until proven guilty. But with that, i'm corti Browned .

and i'm calling .

Browning and you're listening to murder in america.

Just as a little recap in the summer of twenty twenty four, don't even holds fled descent. Antonio taxes with he in April is eight year old son and cell. Well, maybe fled is in the right word.

Since don han didn't have any charges against him, he was technically free to go wherever he wanted, but it's clear he wanted to get as far away from tennessee as possible, or he was being investigated in his wife's mysterious air death. But months after the move to texas, investigators made their way to send antonio to pled on ivan halpin under arrest for the reckless homicide of his wife. April, they ended up finding him at a walmart.

And from there he was extradited back to tennessee to a way trial. From the outside looking in, IT seemed like there was finally justice in April holders case. But this story is far from over two weeks after don oven's arrest, April mom Jamie dickson did the zoom call with us, and IT was during that interview when Jimmy told us about a huge problem SHE was dealing with.

You see, after dawn of an arrest, his apartment san antonio SAT untouched with all of he ended zl stuff still inside. Eventually rent was due, but since donovans in jail, he obviously wasn't paying rent anymore. So he got eviction notice.

And this was horrible news for Jimmy, because all lived in sell stuff was still in there. There were blank ket stuff, ed, animals that his mom had given him. There were pictures, tropes, things that couldn't be replaced.

Now, Jamie reached out to the apartment to see if he could come get dens, all stuff. But since her name wasn't on the least, they told her they couldn't let her into the unit. And because there was an eviction notice, olive denzel stuff was just days away from being thrown in the trash. Here is Jamie describing the situation.

So the apartments that donovan was living at have evidence from the case from that morning from the crime scene. They have been sold legal information. They have gifts or anything that as mom gave to them, and they are refusing to let me or anybody else into the department. The police insana tonio will not help me, but they're giving me numbers to contain whatever the word is. Office is so that I can file a civil suit in order to go get any of this stuff.

So the police were telling Jamie that in order to get inside of the apartment, SHE would have to file a civil suit. But don evan's apartment was going to be completely cleared out by the time that could even happen. So during our interview with her, I ask Jamie if there is anything we could do.

For those of you who don't know, cAllen and I live in houston, taxes, which is about three hours away from santonio. And we had already planned on flying out to tennesee that week to do an n person interview with jay. So I told her we could get them so stuff for her, bring IT with us when we see her that week.

And surprisingly, we were able to work something out because even though the apartment complex couldn't let us inside the unit, Jimmy told us that donovan actually had an next girlfriend in santonio, who had a key to his apartment. Now this was huge news to us. We had no idea that donovan even had another girlfriend after April, or that he kind of looks like April.

Now we aren't going to say her name, but for story telling purposes, we are going to call her Michelle. But from here, Jamie put us in contact with Michelle, and he agreed to let us in the dona an apartment so we could grab denzel staff, which brings us to october forth, twenty twenty four. That afternoon, min collin made the drive over the same antonio.

Once there, we met up with Michelle, the hill at woods way apartment complex and SHE unlocked door of an apartment for us. Apartment number nine o three. And I gotta say IT was incredibly easy.

When we walked inside, IT looked like someone was just there, the reports and pins out on the counter. Denzel and hailer was on the couch, and the were shoes by the front door. no. From here, we immediately went to dense les room and started packing up all of these things .

as he loaded his stuff in the boxes. Michelle was in there with us then. I was kind of awkward.

First, for the first few minutes, we didn't mention anything about the case, but we wanted to. After all, SHE dated a man soon after he murdered his wife, luck. After a few minutes, he started talking.

And because we were filming a documentary about this entire thing courtine, I had our cameras in audio records rolling the entire time. This was both for our safety and in case we uncovered something inside of the apartment. By the way, texas is a one party state, so what we've done here is completely legal.

Now the first few seconds of the recording are kind of hard to hear. There's a lot of rustling sounds that distorted the audio. However, he starts by telling us, quote, this is a scary situation.

I was thrown off because I have known them for four, five years now. I met through social media mand dona, and fell off. We weren't talking for a while, and then we kind of all reconnected. But he told me that April had died by suicide and, quote.

and he moved here because he said, like, you going to be around? Like, you know, family?

Yes.

old is. See a family .

here. OK.

I see. moved. And he was around us, right? And so he told my family that he had committed suicide and then out of nowhere he just came out and was just like, yeah, like IT wasn't he was died. IT was, you know, he was into some dark stuff and sexual and that, I guess like he wanted him to like, strangle her, but he did IT, I guess, too hard to where SHE pass out ever.

and told that you like.

oh yeah, for one, I don't know if I can believe you because you told me that he killed her self, right? And then you go you that in sexy act, regardless of how that happened.

When did you find out I .

was actually in a nia? What happened? I was shocked, but I was like freak out. And like, now it's going from like suicide to accident. Yeah.

like murder. It's one thing if that happens by accident, but then to put the bag over her head and all that after a part that he did is like the really creep.

yes.

So .

well.

you would think that would be something important to mention.

Yes, is also if you talk about how you can trust me in all of the stuff like if you feel like that, you should be able to trust me that you know yeah to .

tell me that and then I wonder like why he finally was just like, okay.

i'm yeah makes me like you say something exact why confess to something if you know you didn't, you just don't know like even people who you think you know.

you don't know. Now, the main reason we were at the apartment was to get dense or stuff. But Jimmy told us that he thought some of April journals were still there and to keep an eye for them. So as we were gathering dense of stuff, we mention the journals to Michelle.

There that poses I looked at that posit there's like some books and stuff in there. I've looked in his post, there was some binders in there. I don't know. He just hit them somewhere and it's not telling us .

us if there was anything in there. I feel I thought away.

I think so too because like he won't asked me to get IT and he hasn't asked me to get anything like that. So I don't think they're here.

So as you just heard, Michaels said he looked top to bottom for April journals, but he was unable to find them. So I decided to look for myself. The very first place I looked was the living room closet.

And what do you know? After about thirty seconds of searching, I found them. There were three journals of April with hundreds of different entries. Now we will discuss what we found in them later on. But man shows him pretty surprised that they were there.

Now we do. Anna point out that Michelle didn't have anything to do with this case. It's clear that he was extremely shocked to find out that her x boyfriend killed his wife, but his courtine was putting April s journals into our car.

I stepped inside don's bedroom. Upon entering IT was dark. The electricity to the apartment had been shut off. So I turned my phone's flashlight on and started looking through Donnan stuff. IT was honestly pretty easy digging through the apartment of an accused murderer, looking at all the possessions that were left behind in a hurry, and almost seemed as if donovan had just stepped outside and he was going to be back any second at this point.

I was in donal's room and his closet, I noticed that his clothes were still meet me, hung pants folded and stack on the shelves, get all of his hats pint onto a wall. But when I was looking around the room, I noticed that there was a cloth like barrier surrounding his bed. upscaling.

Any view that you could have of what was underneath IT? So thinking quick, I lean down and remove the little barrier. And what I found was shocking. There were two guns on the knees, his bed, a large knife and a spent sharpening. And I should mention one of the guns was directly underneath the bed laying on the floor, but there was another pistol tucked behind the bed frame, sticking out from behind the bed just a little bit. I didn't know what to make of all that back .

out in the living room. I continue to look through the living room closet, and what I found in there was the most shocking of all, you know, how everyone has a designated place where they keep all of their important documents. Well, I had just found on events.

In fact, I was a binder labeled very important information binder in IT. I found A Z blog bag of hair attached to a Peterson ity test. I would later find out that when Jamie and donovan were going through their custody battle for denzel, he had to get a attn ity test to prove he was indeed denso s father.

So that wasn't out of the ordinary. Behind that, I found some letters from friends and family congratulating done in an April marriage. One letter red quote, we are so happy for you both.

What a blessing to become one. We feel so privileged to be a part of your special day. Keep jesus at the center of your marriage, and he will bless your lives faithfully.

And quote another letter, red quote, donovan. And April, the most beautiful chapter of all, begins today. I am so proud of you.

I pray that your union will be everything. God has purpose for your life and quit was unsettling to read those knowing how their marriage ended. But what I found behind that was the most unsettling thing of all that was done of this journal.

In the first few pages, he writes about innocent things like meal ideas and goals he had for that year. But then I flip to a page title, texas twenty twenty four under IT. Davin wrote out his goals for once.

He moved to send tonio like jobs. He wanted to apply for apartments. He was looking into nothing. The ferrous, but IT is interesting disease plans on pay, or is plans to flee tnc. But then towards the middle of the journal, I read this entry.

Y at this point, I understand that in order to grow, this divorce is inevitable. I know April is my person. IT is hard to willingly go into a divorce underflow SE understanding I want to go and build myself to come back stronger.

I know I have worked to do. I'm also very aware of who god put in my life. Seems April is not as confident in the idea of us.

I know that if we separate, SHE will go other ways. This day started off about how this fall would be different, did not know what would be losing my wife. The universe knows my true intentions, making the moves I have and how everything was family first.

I pray the truth has made clear to April, I understand us needing a new beginning, which I agree with. I just don't want to one go our separate ways and to be a bill pair slash money. Man, I am more than that.

I love my family. I am a family man. I am a husband full time.

This journal entry stood out because IT proved that donovan did not want to to get divorce. As you just heard, he was worried about being a money man to April rather than a husband. And as you will learn throughout this episode, dona, in an April, argued a lot about finances.

He wasn't great with money. And from that journal entry, it's clear that he thought divorcing April would put him even deeper into a financial bind. Now there is so much more to uncover about April dot into relationship that we will get into a little later. But on the following page, donee wrote this.

my ideal situation, divorce, start dating, raise kids. B, A family worked to build a solid foundation behind our new relationship.

Another really interesting thing I found in don oven's important information, binder was a letter that was addressed to April. Now, I originally thought I was strange that April is male, would be in one of in, but then again, they were married. However, the letter was dressed to April, and he was from an inmate at the tennessee department of corrections. So I opened up the envelope, and inside there was a vision application and a note that read the following.

I wish I could see you every day. I don't really like being around on familiar faces. I'm not gonna E.

I think i'm losing myself. I looked in the mirror of the other day and really didn't recognize me. I'm changing every day.

I don't know for the Better or worse. Last time we talked, you said i'm different with you than I am with others. Why do you think that is?

I once told you how I felt about you. To be honest, I still feel that way. Well, here are the vision forms.

Hope you come through in visit. But I also won't be surprised if you don't. I've been giving broke and promises and been forgotten this long and kind of used to IT.

I love you shortly. I say that because I mean that I also say that because it's possible I won't make IT being negative. Just the reality of the cards have been dealt. If you can send me a couple pictures of you have anything really? I love you, see you when I see you .

when I read that letter, I didn't know what to think. It's clearly a man conveying his love for April, but then I noticed the date on the letter. IT was sent out on july six, twenty twenty three, just weeks before April was murdered, which is around the same time that April was making plans to divorce her husband, which had me thinking, could this be a motive if done? Found out April was leaving him and getting letters like this for other men.

He definitely wouldn't have been happy about IT, especially since he didn't want to to get a divorce. And then I started thinking about how strange IT was. This letter was found inside of donuts, important information binder.

He had to have placed IT there, meaning IT was clearly important to him. And then I thought about how he took this letter from tennessee and brought IT with him all the way down. The taxes? No, Jamie dickerson, April mom has been saying all along that he doesn't think done of an accidentally killed a during sex.

SHE thinks he fully intended to kill her that day. And I think this letter could be really valuable evidence to consider. But of course, the police never even looked through this apartment.

In fact, there was a letter on the apartment's front door that in just a couple of days, the apartment complex was going to throw everything out. So if we had not gone through IT, this evidence would be in a landfill somewhere. As you'll learn throughout this story, investigators, in this case dropped the ball on many levels, but we will get into that later on.

At this point in the night, I was getting pretty late, and we didn't have time to go through everything right then. So we quickly packed up our car down of inza's girlfriend, locked up the apartment, and we got ready to leave. But just as we were doing so, one of vents neighbors in the apartment next store came outside.

So thinking quick, I jumped out and ask them a few questions with my hidden camera. Cording, as I turned out, had no idea that they had been living next to a killer. But they did tell us that they notice some strange happenings in the past few weeks or so.

They said that someone had been coming to the apartment. And this is a quote, suspiciously late at night, and they were Carrying boxes of stuff out of the apartment. Now they did tell us they didn't know who this person was, and IT was dark, so they wouldn't be able to identify them. But he felt like this was important information to add what was being taken out of the apartment, what was so important in there that IT had been marked for no one's eyes to see.

But from there, meane collin started to drive back to houston. And as soon as we got home, we started going through everything we found. And what stuck out to me the most was another entry and done of in journal that, quite literally, made our jaws drop in IT.

He's talking about a non profit he wants to open for people struggling with suicidal ideation. The top of the paper read the name of the nonprofit, a personal refuge in love. If you take the first letters of those words, IT spellings out April. And the rest is a plan on what he wants this nonprofit to be. Here is what was written .

below what a nonprofit committed to individuals in finding support for those struggling with depression, addiction and suicide, why my wife could have avoided suicide by simply having a professional show, support, care and concern told what he was dealing with mentally. I want to create what I was SHE needed in those days before her passing. Most do not jump straight to suicide if there is a way to intervene when depression leads to building an addiction that can ultimately end in suicide. I want a personal refuge in love to be that resource.

Now, we already know that April t did not kill herself. Daniel admitted that he lied and that he actually killed her. So clearly, this journal entry was his way of trying to plan a seed, so that if the police did go through these things, they would read that and think he was truly aggrieved husband.

But sadly, the police did even bothered to go through his apartment. So IT wouldn't have mattered either way. But I think IT just goes to show that don evan was really trying to cover his trucks after killing his wife.

Not only did he staged her suicide de, but he's writing messages like this in his journal. But with every discovery, IT seemed as if we had more questions than the answers. We didn't know what to think, but we knew that there was more of their story, and we couldn't wait to fly out to tennessee to dig even deeper.

So a couple of days later, on a topper, six, twenty, twenty four, we packed up our things, along with April journals, in a big suitcase of dengel stuff. And we boarded the flight nash fill. As soon as our plane took off, I decided to pull out April journals.

We found a donavan apartment, the date at the top of the page, red, january third, s 22， the very week that April and donovan got married. The entry read, quote, new beginnings. I am anxious and excited to see what all comes next.

Within one week, I ve got married, moved, overcame huge chAllenges and literally became the person i've inspired to be. April lin hold, I am blessed. It's crazy.

But almost all of my 29 manifestations all came to life the minute I said， I do thank you, god, for responding to my request. Things are not as I imagined, but I know the outcome of things going this way will be so much Better. I am so thankful god has my best interest at heart.

Life is good, and only getting back, I have the power to make a beautiful life for me and my family equal. As I continued going through April journals, a lot of her entries were about manifestations, declaring on paper what he wanted for her life. In another entry, SHE writes, quote, I am loving, sexy, respectable, fun and an understanding wife.

I know my husband Better than anyone else. I am so in love with my husband, and we have an amazing marriage. I love and appreciate my husband.

He is my everything. I am so blessed and honored to be married to such an amazing man. Think you got in q in another entry written on february.

Seth, twenty twenty April continues her manifest station. Same quote, I have a strong, happy marriage. I love, respect and motivate donovan.

I provide for my family. I am an inspiration. I made great connections. I touch lives just by being me. I love my life.

In a life I am creating equal other entries, April writes about the struggles she's dealing with, most of which to revolve around financial difficulties. One entry reads, quote, god, I need you to interfere in my life. Now I am asking you for a financial blessing that will get me out of this situation and into a Better life.

I need you to hear me and respond. If everything I hear and believe is true, that I need you to change the directory in my life. I claim the best for me and my little family on April twenty fourth, twenty twenty April rights quote, today is a great day.

I woke up with my handsome husband, got real sleep, and the kids woke up and just played nice. Not to mention we woke up with twenty eight hundred dollars in our accounts. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. I love waking up, feeling abundant and blessed. I'm in a fast more mornings like this.

Equal in another entry, April rights quote, I love my family so much. Thank you for each one of them. Dona Angel and Serena, I, they are the best part of my life and quo.

A few days later, he wrote, quote, I love my husband. Thank you, god, for giving me the best husband. He is perfect for me.

I am so in love with donovan. I am always satisfied with him in all areas. In quote, on may thirteenth twenty twenty, he wrote, quote, I woke up next to my amazing husband in this cute hotel.

He is still asleep and it's so peaceful. Last night did not go as planned, but IT turned out to be great. I am so thankful for this experience with dona in.

I love being with him, expLoring new places, an experiencing life together. I'm not sure how I man invested him into my life, but he is my perfect person, and I am so thankful. equal.

On that plane ride, I read through hundreds of entries, all of which sounded a lot like the ones I just read. April seemed happy and content. Now these journals are from twenty twenty.

Like I mentioned in the last episode, ablin donovan had a separation at the end of twenty twenty one that lasted about a year. So these entries were before they started having major problem. But as I read them, I couldn't help but think about where IT all went wrong. April and donovan seem to have a great relationship, minus a few financial problems here in there.

But with all of the journals I found in donovans apartment, they seem to have all painted him in a positive light, which made me wonder, where were the journals April wrote in when the relationship wasn't doing? As well as your leader find out the police gave donovan all of April journals after they took them in the evidence. So where were those? Did donavan get rid of them? These were questions I would discuss with April mom, Jamie dyson over the next few days.

After our plane landed, we drove to a bufo of wild wings outside of nash, filled to meet up with James, her husband, jeromio. And April holds to children's surrender and dance out. And over lunch, we really got to know each other.

We discussed a number of topics, including April case, which our whole family was very open to talking about. We learned that after dawn of an arrest, Jamie and Jerry mia officially had custody of denser and that he was slowly adJusting to his new life. In by that point, you'd been living with them for about two and a half months.

And IT wasn't an easy transition. Denzel had not only lost his m, but he also lost his dad that he loved very much. After his arrest, dawn havin actually called themself himself and told him that he had accidentally killed his mom during sex, which, as you can imagine, is incredibly hard for an eight year old to understand.

But upon moving in with Jimmy, SHE immediately started don therapy to try and heal all the trauma he had faced over the past year. You see, Jimmy tried to put him in therapy immediately after April murder, but not even didn't allow IT likely because he didn't won his son telling a therion what happened that day. But now that he's living with jammy, denzel can finally start his healing process. But James told us that at the end of the day, he loves his dad and don ova loves his son .

donovan truly loves, stands out, and then zl actually loves his dad. S even though his dad has since called him and told him a boring with the rest, called and told him he killed his mom. And I think that ells emotions are like, I love my dad, but he knows that he needed to go to jail.

And so this is difficult. It's hard because I that's why I protect the kids from anything that is a negative thought process. When IT comes to IT, I am a real list and when denel says, well, I just want my dad and like, you know, when you commit a crime and he took your mom from us, that he has to go to jail like I am very blunt with that because there is no beating around that.

Like this is what IT is. But I do tell him, like, if you want to write you out a letter, write IT down, else end IT to the jail. You know, he's in brief therapy and he loves a theriere.

Praise god, James told us. The densely has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Not only did he find his mom that day, but for a whole year afterwards, his father manipulated him.

Don van would not hardly blame themselves for the situation they were in, saying that he shouldn't be talking to people about what happened. And now his dad is going away openly for a long time. It's a lot for a little boy to handle.

It's over a year. And we're just now tapping the surface of what denzel has been exposed to. IT is a lifetime trauma, and I am just at the surface of trying to help him cope.

He has correct. He has opposition to find a disorder. He has A D H.

D. He has severe asma. He has a lot of medical things.

That's why I chose. I'm going to home school this year. I'm just going to really make sure that they're okay.

After we had lunch with their family, Jimmy gave us a list of locations where we could film, including the apartment complex were done in hurt April, the hospital where he died in her grave site. Jimmy also gave us a huge binder with all of the information SHE had gathered from the past year of her investigative work, including the forty seven page report from the nashville committee review board.

We will be getting into that a little later because we have a lot to say about that, but this binder that Jamie gave us would change everything. Like I mentioned earlier, we thought we knew this case before, but we hadn't even scratched the surface. Now on that first day, we started the trip by driving around to all the locations Jimmy gave us. We really wanted to get a feel of April life. So we started with the apartment or everything went wrong.

About thirty minutes outside of nash film is the town of anio cc tensor April and dona in lived with their son denzille. The apartment located at forty sixty five can ridge parkway, is right next to a nice small, with tons of restaurants and clothing stores, to a nice area with a lot to do. According to jam.

You could actually see the nashville skyline for April. Apartment eniac was the perfect place for April because I was close to everything. He was about thirty minutes away from her parents, thirty minutes away from her grandparents.

And if he ever wanted to take a trip into the city, that was just a short car right away. Plus April had really established yourself here. SHE had friends, family and a ton of clients for her lash business.

In fact, her last studio was actually located on the first floor for apartment complex, which was perfect for her. But as cord I pulled up to the apartment that day, I got out of the car and started filming some be role for the documentary. Side note, i'll definitely let you all know when we released that, but for now, we were just getting all the footage, getting shot to the outside of the apartment complex just wasn't enough for me.

I wanted to see April apartment for myself, and I wanted to document to show IT to the world and Lucy for us. Someone let us inside. From there. We made our way to the third floor and walked over two apartment, three, twenty six, the very apartment where everything went down.

Now, in doing this investigative journalism on this journey that have been on recently, I like to push the limit is a little bit, so I decided to knock on the door to see if anyone was living there, but no one was there. Later that day, we continue to walk around the apartment complex, seeking out any possible way to get in the contact with the person living in that unit, but we couldn't find anything. And so I tried the directory outside of the apartment.

After calling the number associated with the apartment and texting them, we finally got an answer. And the very next day, we return to the apartment to see the inside. When we got there, the next day a man, thirties, showed up in the hallway till let us in.

The man who lived there was absolutely shock when we told him that a murder had taken place in his apartment a little over a year ago. We talked with the resident about April case, and as you can imagine, like I said, he was shocked. He told us he had no idea that that had happened.

But in a wear twist, he had gotten some male addressed to April halt in the past. He figured that he was the last resident there, and he had simply moved down, but he had no idea that SHE was dead. He then asked us which bathroom the attack took place in, and we told him that was the primary bathroom, which shocked him even more because that was his bathroom.

For the past ten months, he had been showering in the very shower that April body was found in, which is an area and unsettling fun. But at this point in our conversation, I decided to ask the guy if we could fill in there. And to our surprise, he agreed. So from here we walked inside of apartment three, twenty six.

In the weeks before flying out to tennessee, I had spent hours going through April tiktok watching videos from inside this very apartment. Now there were two men living in IT, so IT looked a bit different, but also familiar. But from there we made our way to the primary bedroom and into the bathroom where April was found unconscious.

Seeing the shower where denzille found her body was hard to look at, and I couldn't help but think about what April toward inside these walls. I thought about what he was thinking in those final moments, knowing that her son was just outside the door. I thought about what he saw before everything went dark.

Was a donovans raged fold face determined to take her life, or was IT truly just an accident like he had claimed while in the bathroom? I also thought about don in steps after April, went unconscious, how he threw April into the shower, grabbed a plastic bag in some tape and wrapped around her head, all of which he admitted to doing. After getting our shots of the bathroom, we went back out in the common area to leave as we did.

I thought about how, after donavan staged April suicide, he went into the kitchen and cook up a meal. I stared at the stove. He stood at that day to make stake and broccoli, and how, after eating his meal, he sent his seven year old child into the bathroom to find his mother, knowing exactly what insel was about to find.

Now, after thinking the current resident for his time mean, collin walked out of apartment three, twenty six back to our car and along that drive back to our L B N B, I thought back to donuts letter that I read a few days earlier about how his wife's suicide could have been prevented if he had just gotten help. Replying the events of what happened that day, and then thinking about dona and sitting down to write that letter full of lies, left me feeling so unsettled. And more than anything, I wanted to get back to our L B, N. B. As soon as possible so we could start going through that binder that was waiting .

for us that evening. Corny, I opened up the binder, and we started reading all the information Jamie dickerson had gathered over the past year. And IT, was I opening, to say the least, based on what we found, we are going to paint to picture of what their relationship was like in the month before April death.

As a little recap, April and dona in separated in two thousand and twenty two, but by the start of two thousand and twenty three, he decided to give her marriage another chance. However, IT won't take long for her to realize that this marriage just wasn't right for her. Shortly after they got back together, they started having problems again, the same problems.

They had their entire relationship, mostly involving their finances. And by the summer of two thousand and twenty three, April was questioning whether or not he made the right decision getting back together with him. And we know this because of a letter that April wrote donovan. This letter was in the binder that Jamie had given us, and IT read the following davin.

I don't remember what I said last night. I just remember being woken up by you and you pushing me off of you. Then I woke up a few hours ago and you weren't here.

So obviously I said something hurt or fucked up. And i'm sorry, i'm not too sure where we stand right now. I just know we don't see I to eye and can't seem to come to an understanding.

Very real conversation about this issue has ended an anger with no solution. I don't know what to do. I love you so much, but I just feel like i'm hurting you.

And I know you love me, but you've made me feel so insecure with you and you still have an invited being a good husband to me for more than two to three days at a time. I'm not sure what you've been shown lately, so I can't and won't speak on that. But as for myself, some things have definitely come to light.

I've become aware of my ways, my voice and my voice. I'm selfish and feel entitled, delivered life as a free spirit. So I hate feeling limited egoistical.

I know it's wrong, but spiritually, I know I should be fulfilled and without luck. So I met war with myself because you made IT clear that you won't accept me how I am. So what do I don't think i'm supposed to be married ever.

I got married because I truly love you, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I like living life with you. And I thought, this is what you want IT.

But then you told me the other day that you wanted to wait and only got married because of something I said. So then it's like, if neither of us wanted to get married, why did we do IT? Or should I say, why did we rush IT? Why are we rushing IT?

If anyone knows me, you know me, and you know that I don't believe in living the traditional cookie cutter away. So with that being said, I think we need to do what is best for us. I still don't.

Anna, lose you. And I don't wanna rush straw to a divorce, but I can't live like this. I can't keep waiting any longer.

We need to have a real conversation come up with a solution in a plan I need. You do not just put our marriage in my hands if you want this. I can't deal with this pressure alone.

And this energy needs to subsidy. It's literally making me sick. This environment is unhealthy for both of us. Love April in April .

of journals that we found in done of an apartment. We also read this entry.

things I wish I knew before getting married. There is no set timeline to get married. Don't rush IT because of imaginary pressure, because no one is in that relationship.

Besides you and your man, one of you will most likely be ready for marriage first. It's okay to not be on the same page, be opened, having real vulnerable conversations. Marriage is a day to day commitment.

It's more than just a pretty ring in a wedding. Forever is a long time. Marriage will not fix your relationship.

Now as you can tell by what we just read, it's clear that at this point in their relationship, things were still civil, but they were definitely coming to a head. April was at a crossroads. He was still trying to figure out the next best step for her life. But it's around this time when SHE and dawn of in's relationship started going downhill pretty quickly.

About two weeks before her passing, April started texting her friends Steven about the problems and her relationship. The conversation went like this, quote, Stephen, I can't do this anymore. I'm so over being disappointed and let down by men. I'm getting the divorce in staying single.

What happened? I'm here to listen. Are you okay? He couldn't .

cover his half of the bills because he hasn't been working literally since we got together. So he told me he got rental assistance. And my apartment called me yesterday asking about the status on my eviction.

They told me they did accept the assistance and that I have until the fifteenth, to make a payment of forty eight hundred dollars or be put out of my apartment. I literally found out yesterday, and i'm supposed to figure this out on my own. Once again, i've covered everything for months and he told me he had d covered that.

So now I fucked again and about to lose my house and keep crying. I'm pissed and i'm hurt and i'm disgusted that he would put me in this type of situation again. And I don't know what to do.

I was doing really well for myself. And the second I got back together with him, my life went to shit again. So at this point, I know that at him, and I know we don't need to be together. He really just expect to me to take care of him, and i'm not his mom. I shouldn't have to raise him now.

This was extremely shocking to read. We had no idea that April and donovan were about to be evicted from their apartment, all because of donovans inability to do his part in their relationship. And as you can tell by those messages, April was done with him according to our loved ones.

It's around the same time when April even met up with someone to get the divorce rolling. It's also around the same time that April received the love letter from that inmate and when don ivan pon her wedding ring, things were really moving in a direction that donovan wasn't happy with. And I want to take a second to revisit the journal entry.

We found a dawn of his apartment because it's around this time when he wrote IT. But he wrote, at this point, I understand that in order to grow, this divorce is inevitable. I know April is my person.

IT is hard to willingly go into a divorce, only false understanding. I want to go and build myself and come back stronger. I know I have worked to do.

I also very aware of who god put in my life. Seems April is not as confident in the idea of us and know that if we separate, you will go other ways. This day started off about how this phone would be different.

Did not know what would be losing my wife. The universe knows my true intentions, making the moves I have and how everything was family first. I pray the truth is made clear to April.

I understand us needing a new beginning, which I agree with, but you don't want to one, go our separate ways. And two, just be a bill pair slash money. Man, I am more than that. I love my family. I am a family man, a husband full time.

Now, that summer, don van had worked as a chef on a boat. So in the letter we are about to read, that is what he's referring to. But he writes to April, making IT very clear that he is not happy about the situation. IT reads the following, dear April.

I am sorry that me coming home from the boat hasn't been all I was thought to be. I have strugling financially, and I know that IT has put us in a bind. I truly have tried, and I apologized that I just wasn't enough.

You are my best friend, and I am sorry to have let you down. Although I love being your husband, seems I have failed in my duties of being a provider. And for that I give my deepest sorrow.

You know, all I wanted was to be able to be there for you and the kids no matter what, as my guy and serenity is my baby girl, and you all deserve Better for me. Sometimes I just seem so much easier to just take myself and let you move on without me, as I ve seen you do before. Although I would be gone, I know you would figure your way out if you know nothing else. No, I will always love you down of them.

Don evan was so upset about their impending divorce that he said, quote, sometimes IT just seems easier to take myself out, which seems like suicide edition in according to April, loved ones SHE can fight IT in them that don ivan would mention suicide pretty frequently. But as of now, it's a little over a week before April death. As we can tell from the letter she's writing and the text to our friends, she's completely done with her marriage so much so about eight days before her death, SHE even started talking to an old love interest of hers named zack Matthew. Zack agreed to do an interview with me, and he said that he and April dated in twenty two when SHE and don ivan were separated, and they actually met while serving in church together.

There's a lot of ways like a describe, but at the course he was my best friend at the core. We date for some time, but that was, that was after the friendship had truly developed and we ve got to know each other through the case ministry and then just kind of be extended on out, just seeing how he was with kids and her kids, and just kind of seeing how he was, you know, as far as like really trying to rekindle her relationship with god. But those are just a lot of the things that we kind of initially talked about.

So April inza dated for a while in twenty twenty two, but then in twenty twenty three, April decided to cut things off with zack so he could give her marriage with donovan another chance.

When we cut things off, we cut things off because he felt like SHE again, a lot deeper in church, and he was very intent on doing everything in the right way. He said that he felt that the government was calling her to try to reconcile that the right way. So that was why SHE left. I told her then, you know, I understand your position. And if that's what you guys calling me to do, then I have to respect IT.

So with that, April in zc cut ties. But then fast forward to july of twenty twenty three, just a week before her passing, April reached ed back out to zac, telling him that he and don evan were getting a divorce and that SHE was done with him for good. He reached .

out and literally maybe eight, nine days right before SHE best away. SHE essentially told me the last, you know, maybe three, four months. And he quickly realized things that I would say we're true and that, you know, IT IT wasn't gonna out the way he expected to.

So knowing that her relationship was done of in was over April, reached back out to aq, someone SHE really cared about. After that first initial conversation, the two continued to chat. Over the next few days, they even talked on the phone opening up about their lives, the things they were going through and their goals for the future. Surprisingly, they even had a deep conversation about the topic of suicide.

There was frustration between her and done of them, specifically because IT was something that he mentioned a lot, like deal with his depression. Things of that nature wanted to just kind of be done. SHE said that he mentioned he was a lot.

And we talk on the phone on face time about IT, and we were just no can talking about how we don't understand that mentality, especially you to have kids in the minutes and things of that nature. and. Training from the face time to the test because we have .

things on April had a lot going on in our life at the time, more than just her impending divorce, which we will get into more later. But despite everything, he was determined fied through the struggle after these conversations with April that was happy that they were candle things. April had always been such a bright and beautiful soul, and he liked having her in his life.

But that could have never imagined what would happen next. On july twenty ninth, twenty twenty three, just one week after he and April started talking again, he saw an incoming phone call from a rahl. But when he answered IT, IT was not April on the phone. IT was donovan from there, don ivan told zack the April was just found unconscious in their apartment, and he asked if he could come to the hospital.

I was very good, good. I have work, was like the telling of my worship. And I never spoke to see one volant before that that still on the questions that I kind of have is what he reaches me first.

which is a question that I have as well. In fact, directly after calling Jimmy April mom, donovan, the next call was to zac April x boyfriend, who he had just reconnected with. Now, Jimmy said that don ivan hated zack, so why would he be calling him to come up to the hospital? Both Jimmy and zack believed that don van did this as kind of a screw you to him, like you started talking to my wife and look what I did to her.

Part of me thinks that he wanted me to suffer. There's nothing else that makes sense to me why he would have reached out to me before anybody else, other than the fact that he knew April was done with their relationship and he was doing what they needed to do to pursue things with me in the future.

So that day, both zan Jamie dickerson arrived at the hospital around the same time, and soon after that, they were told the horrific news that April was not going to make IT. Now, according to April hospital notes, quote, victim was found lying on her back in the shower with her legs up and a black plastic bag over her head with duck tape tightly wound around her.

After the son found the mother down, he called father in, and he reportedly cut the ducks tape and bag free from her head. Husband then called nine one one and was directed to do cpr and quo. Now surprisingly, don iman's none on one call that day didn't get reported.

According to the report, IT was technology related. The apartment, as IT turns out, was in the process of switching phone systems. No calls were recorded from july twenty nine, two thousand and twenty three, three, july thirty, two thousand and twenty three a one of them called in, arrived on scene and they gave April oxygen in naka n as they took her to the hospital.

And keep in mind, dont never even told the doctors that April was found with a bag over her head. He said he told them, but he never actually did. Jamie and her husband were the ones that told the doctors.

And like Jimmy mentioned in the previous episode, SHE SAT by her daughter said all day, that day her broken. But something SHE couldn't help but notice was that donovan kept leaving the hospital to go back to his apartment. Luckily for him, the police didn't go to the apartment to start gathering evidence until six hours after April was taken to the hospital.

So he was free to go in and out doing, god knows what, no. In the committee's report. When asked why they didn't send the police right away, the emergency response department said, quote, a person in cardiac rest would automatically denote the police to respond.

This call came in as an unconscious person. The system did not recommend the police be sent equal. So from the gogo, this investigation was not handled properly at all.

Their crime scene was immediately contaminated. Now, at some point, investigators would in interview on a vin, and he told them some pretty shocking information. As IT turns out, a couple of days before April death, she'd actually been assaulted by someone.

Now we will get into the details of that a little later. But he said that this assault had been really hard on April. He also said that he had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and that was everything going on in her life.

April must have tried to kill herself by putting that plastic bag over her head. Investigators also asked on evan why he didn't tell the doctors about the plastic bag, and he simply said he forgot, and for some reason they believed him. Now, in the binder .

the Jimmy gave us, we got to look at the forty seven page report. The document of the investigation and IT is shocking. Six hours after April arrived at the hospital, investigation finally arrived at their apartment and started gathering evidence. According to the committee report, they gathered three journals, a pair of scissors that domain used to cut the bag from around April s head, a role of ducks tape, a box of black trash bags and the trash bags in ducks tape that was wrapped ed, around April s head in the shower.

Interestingly, they also found that the trash bag grabbed around April head hadn't been opened like IT would be if you were going to put IT in a trash can.

Instead, the bag was still sealed together and wrapped around her head, which is interesting, because if someone was really trying to kill themselves this way, the best way to do IT would be to open the trash back up and then put your head inside of IT and then take IT around your neck so that no air would come in. But next, the lee detective Timothy slow pack got a search warn for apple's iphone, ipad and laptop computer. However, according to the report, her iphone was the only thing they downloaded in the evidence.

The report says, quote, IT appears the ipad in laptop may not have been. All the items have subsequently been released to the victim's husband q so without even looking through IT, they gave don ivan April ipad in computer. The next piece of evidence gathered from the crime scene was April journal that was found lying on the couch.

Now they don't go into a ton of detail, but the report says that April appeared red to be writing a song. The lyrics were, quote, like, what the fuck? I see IT, now you was never here for this.

Vw, so now which will fuck you? Like, what the fuck? I'm paying all the bills, sending you money, and you have the audacity to pay for another bitch lunch with my money.

Man, fuck you. I've settled enough. I need a man, not a fan.

We aren't your ad men. We don't work for you. shit. I should sue you for my wasted time. I know i'm in my prime and you fucked up was never fully mine and quote, now we know there was a lot of infidelity in their relationship, which is clearly what April is writing about.

But according to the report, quote, the book continues with single points that mayor may not be words to a song IT speaks of the need for rest and to be alone, but also talks about being a mom and having a lot of responsibility. And quote, April, then rights. Quote, life doesn't stop because this experience happened.

I have to be strong. I have to be here for everyone else equal. And that last line stuck out to me.

I have to be here for everyone else. To me, that means that April was not wanting to take her own life. But apparently investigators didn't see IT that way.

Another thing investigators found was a website that April had visited called at recovery 点 com。 And in the report, IT says that this website is a suicide in crisis lifeline for emotional and substantive support.

But this was a huge mistake on the investigators part, because that's not at all what this website is in reality, if they were to have just type the website in on their computer, on the minimal amount of research, or put the minimal amount of effort here, see that that's a car reposition website. To me, IT seems as if the investigators were just already convinced that April had killed off, so they were just confirming their biases. Jie dickerson would later confront them about this, and they simply told her all that must have been from a previous search on my computer.

Now, another huge part of this story is the testimony of dense l April and dona in sun, who, at the time with seven years old, like we mentioned in the last episode after April death, donzelle told Jimmy on a secretly recorded video that on the day in question, he had heard his mom and dad arguing in their bedroom.

So dezell went and looked under the crack of the door, and he saw his mom lying down on the from there, his dad came out of the bedroom and started making them lunch. And then about thirty minutes later, after the eight donn sent tensor in the bathroom to find his mom. So obviously, investigation had to speak to ensembles what he saw that day.

Now he ended up having two separate interviews with a woman named Katrina broths. And according to the report, during the first one, dessel told Katrina that he had quote, practiced with donovan before their interview. The report goes on to say that quote in the second interview is dad told him what to say equal.

Now this next part is pretty shocking, but the report say that they have a policy that perpetrators can not be on the property when these interviews are being conducted. But quote, since dad was not identified as a perp, he brought in zell to the interview and quote, so not only did on of in practice with denzille before the interview, but he was also in the building when denso s. Interview was being conducted.

It's also clear that dawn halle t. Was very nervous around this time. In fact, the day after April was brought to the hospital, he actually totally April car with denzel in the box seat. And then from there he's practicing with insult for this interview. Now we don't have a ton of information on exactly what dessel said, but the reports claim that, quote, there were discrepancies in the two interviews and gave an example of dengel saying what he ate in the first interview was different. As to the second interview, qual.

the report also says resists, noted that denzel had to red syndrome. And you can see that in the first interview with the noise that he makes, but in the second interview, you don't see that at all, resistors stated. This indicated to her that denzel was stressed for the second interview, having less of a trauma response I asked persists, which interview I should believe, or if he could tell if dsl was coached to near the interview.

SHE advised that based on denzel s's behavior and having sometime since the incident, the second interview may give a more accurate picture of what occurred. Recesses advised that he still feels there is a difference in practicing for an interview or being coached. SHE cannot say whether denzel was coach or not.

Recess is advised that although he does have a basis of fact, IT is best to not know all about the ation and for her to learn about IT directly from the child. SHE advises that he does not make the determination as to what if the child is lying or night. Her job is to believe the child to clarify this, her job is to make the child feel comfortable, and that he believes them. He does not make the determination of the child is telling the truth or not.

During dental s first interview, April was still in the hospital, but during IT, SHE was taken off life support, but the report goes on to say that the interviewer, quote, iterated the fact that dents ou did show signs of his to read in the first interview, but the fact that he did not show IT in the second interview makes her feel that he was not as stressed, more relaxed and able to talk freely.

I asked her if he felt that his feelings of trauma during that first interview was a direct result of being coach or could have have been the situation he witnessed with his mother. He advised that he could have been either or both neither buzzes nor donzelle were aware at the time of the first interview that the victim had passed braziers found out during the break SHE thinks the fact made for a Better interview. Since he did not know of the death, denzel only knew his mother was in the hospital and was being kept alive on a machine. Now again, the details of these interviews are unclear, but regardless of what came out of them, don't have been practice with his son beforehand, so that definitely has to be considered.

On july thirty first, two thousand and two thousand, three April, hall was taken off. Life support or organs were donated. Her autopsy scheduled the forensic pathologist who conducted the autos. He was doctor Emily denison.

And in her report, SHE wrote that April head minor blunt force trauma of the body IT later reads that he had multiple small faint purple conclusions are on the bilateral lower extremities. But Jamie dickson, April mom, but later tell us that April roses on her neck, wrist size and angles. However, they would later tell her that these injuries could have been caused by E, M, T.

And or hospital personnel. Now, something concerning about this autopsy was that, according to jammy, the lead detective in April case, Timothy scope c actually went to April's autopsy and told them that one, April had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. And two, that he didn't suspect fall play, and that he believed April died by suicide.

And they seem to have just agreed with him. The community report would later say, I can ccr with surgeon scalpel, that there is no obvious evidence of foul plane. And the evidence strongly suggests the victim place the bag and tape on her head. However, we know that's not what happened.

Another mistake investigators made was that they didn't test for DNA under April figure nails. In the report they wrote, quote, the victim had very long that man acquired a credible fingernails that were documented with photographs. This evidence does not suggest the victim was involved in a struggle to halt, did not have any noticeable injuries that you would expect to see in a struggle.

The victim hlt a husband and wife. There is a strong probability don ivan holds DNA would be under the victims fingernails. Grapes were collected early in the investigation as routine and an abundance of cautious.

Although this evidence is still available, the investigation does not support a need to conduct a test. And I thought this detail was shocking in IT, they said that April fingernails were still intact, so they didn't think there was a struggle. But in that same breath, they said that because April in donor or husband and wife, his DNA might possibly beyond her fingernails.

I also thought this was strange because after April death, Jamie dickerson, April mom, was adamant that her daughter had been murdered. But even with that, they still refuse to test the final grapes. Why wouldn't they? But with that, April manner of death was ruled a suicide, and her cause of death was complications of suffocation, which was devastating news to her loved ones.

They all knew that April did not kill herself. Jamie filed a reconsideration so that her autopsy could be given a second opinion, but doctor em aly denison told her that he wasn't allowed to file that because he wasn't next of can. The only person who could submit that request was davin, the very person who killed her.

Now, zc Matthews, April x boyfriend, said that when he heard about the suicide ruling, he knew that he wasn't true. Like we mention, they had discussed suicide earlier that week, and April was adamant that that is not something you would ever consider. So zac sent those text messages over to the police, but they still wouldn't change their ruling.

Their job was done here. They had found April manner of death, and they weren't going back. However, April s friends and family refused to give up. Many of them even emailed the police department, begging them to take another look at the case here.

what some of her friends and clients told detectives after her passing. In one email, a person wrote quote, to whom I may concern, I was a kind of April since july of two thousand and twenty two, the last time I got to speak with the approach you mentioned, leaving her husband, SHE said that he had done something to her car and that he wasn't working and he had given him time to find something.

But hand SHE told me he had asked her family for money to be able to get her something for her birthday. SHE mentioned that he had battled with mental health issues in the past. April was an amazing person.

SHE was more than my lash tech. When I heard of her passing, I incidentally thought I had something to do with her husband just because he had just told me he was leaving him. Her energy made you want to come back to her over and over again.

He seemed so at piece. The last time I seen her, SHE was happy to be in her sweat, her apartment complex, her social media was a direct reflection of who he was as a person. SHE brought so much joy to people every day.

And quo and another email her friend wrote, quote, in the middle of twenty twenty two, I started to notice a change in my friend. I mean, he was still doing her affirmations every morning, but our conversations changed. April made me aware in the summer time that SHE and donovan were going through a rough patch.

April was even considering moving back home with her parents at the time. April never would really go into deep detail, which stated that things had become a bit toxic between her and down event. I shared my domestic violence experience with April, and I told her to make the decision that he felt was best for her, but know that he always had someone there in her corner.

April, having the biggest heart of all hearts, wanted to fight for her family. April thought things would change. You could tell from the conversations to the tiktok videos, April was a light, a strong force to be reckon with.

My girl would give a homeless person her last April, tried her hardest to never let what he was going through temporarily get to her. April was a god fearing woman. SHE played daily multiple times a day.

SHE always felt that if no one else heard, god did. And that's who he turned to for everything when I heard of April passing, and the circumstances surrounding IT IT completely shatters me. April was resilience ent.

SHE would have never done any harm to her self, let alone with either of her babies in the home. April lived for renny and then zell. And when I say that it's far from an exaggeration.

How is IT that two to three weeks after April makes IT known that he wants a divorce? SHE ends up deceased, and the last person to physically see her alive is her abuser. April deserves justice to the highest extent, I promise you.

As a thirty one year old woman in a friend of April s for sixteen years, April did not do this to yourself and willing about my life on IT. Please do the right thing and get my friend adjust as he deserves, please. Her children and family deserve to have closure to this.

another friend wrote when he came to dof, when things were all right in the beginning. But after a while, his deminers changed and he was more controlling over her and getting angry. Easier from what he tells me and what i've seen, SHE had to take care most of the bills and expenses, or he would ask me for help as a last resort from her accounts.

He would get angry to the point of arguing and things being broken. He was in the process of getting a divorce from him the first time, because he was barely at home, he would be quiet around me, even when I would say hello to him. There were times that he would buy or do something, and he would put the building to her, which was another part of the reason to leave him, because he felt he was unstable and the problems kept continuing, and SHE was ready to leave him. I was always scared for her and opened my home to her and denzel. When he would get upset, I was to a point where I would ask her what was wrong, but he was so afraid SHE wasn't able to tell, tell anyone about IT for fear of what he would do or say.

Another thing Jamie dickson continue to bring up to detectives was the fact that April was in the process of divorcing don event, which can be a very dangerous time for women. Jie even said that they found divorce papers in April apartment after he died, but in the committee's report they stayed. Quote, dickson stated her daughter asked for a divorce two weeks prior to her death and that the divorce papers were in the apartment.

There is no evidence to positively confirm or contradict that the victim asked for a divorce. There is no documentation by detectives or csi of divorce papers being found in the apartment at the time of the serve and quote. But jammy dickson told us that when SHE and her family walked in, the papers were sitting right there on the corner, so investigators were basically saying, well, we didn't find any divorce papers, and there is no evidence that April even asked for a divorce.

But without this episode, we have given you a ton of evidence that don't definitely knew he wanted a divorce. If the police would have looked through his syntactic apartment, they would have found on of any journal that we located where he says, quote, I understand that in order to grow, this divorce is inevitable. I know April is my person.

It's hard to willingly go into a divorce and false understanding. Investigators also went through April phone where he was texting people saying i'm divorcing him. And then lastly, there are letters between April and donovan, or they are writing to each other about ending their marriage.

So the fact that investigator said there is no evidence that April even asked for a divorce is false. As you can see, the police department completely, me handle this investigation. But as you heard in the last episode, April mother Jamie was not going to give up on her daughter.

After this ruling, SHE went to tiktok to spread the word about her daughter ter's case, only to be hit with a gag order, forcing her in the silence. Months and months would pass, and there was no movement in the case. Then in twenty twenty four, Jimmy got word that the committee reviews board agreed to look into the investigation to see if there had been any mistakes made along the way.

This board essentially investigates the investigation. When Jimmy found out that they were finally looking in the things, he was excited, best k scenario, they would find out that April case had not been investigated properly, and they could start finding the truth about what really happened that day. Now I would take the committee for long months to finish their work with once Jimmy got where that they were finished.

SHE scheduled a meeting with the board to go over their findings on the day in question. They brought Jimmy into this big room in page by page. They went over everything, and IT was in this meeting.

Or Jamie learn that don van holds fingerprints had been found on both the trash bag that was wrapped around April head in the tape, not April prints on events, but the report went on to say, quote, in some situations, a fingerprint could indicate guilt and assist improving beyond a reasonable doubt that a person is guilty. I do not believe the comparable impressions lifted from this scene. Definitively proved guilt and quote, now when Jimmy heard this, SHE couldn't believe IT to her. This proved that donor been killed April, but the investigators didn't agree at the .

end of the report, they wrote detective Timothy skull pec conducted a thero investigation to the death of April. Halt is response to the hospital. In fact, finding investigative interviews were conducted in a timely manner, started skull k, applied his experience and knowledge of investigations in this process to make his decisions. In support of my conclusion, I understand that there are unexplainable circumstances that may never be resolved. Unfortunately, this is the fact the most any investigation. However, I believe that the evidence currently available strongly suggest the victim committed this act of suicide, then the list reasons as tell why they support this ruling, with the last one stating donovan hall was CoOperative with the police investigation from the beginning and gave common consistent statements each time he was question.

At the end of this meeting with the committee review board, they gave Jimmy flyers on how to grieve a loved one suicide. They were fully convinced that he was just a grieving mother who couldn't accept the fact that her daughter told her own life. And from this point, four word April holds case was officially closed.

But soon enough, they would have to eat their words because after this meeting, Jamie sent donovan a picture. IT was a portion of the report that indicated his fingerprints were found on the plastic bag and tape that was on April head. And after getting this text, donavan halt was nervous.

Jamie even told him, if you just tell me what happened, i'll let IT go. I'll stop investigating and we can move on. Of course, he wasn't telling the truth, but don't even took debate in a face time called with Jimmy.

Nearly a year after April, death don't have been admitted that April did not kill herself and that he accidentally killed her by choking her during sex. Jamie actually recorded this entire face time call, so he had his confession on video. From there.

He immediately brought IT to the police, but again, months and months would pass with nothing. Eventually, investigators from tennessee flew down descent. Tonio or davin had fled.

And in the end he told them that same story that he had lied in the beginning and that he was the one who accidentally killed his wife during sex. He also admitted that he subsequently staged IT as a suicide. Weeks after this confession, investigators flew back to taxes to place him under arrest for the reckless homicide of his wife.

In addition to the reckless homicide charge, don evin was also charged with evidence tampering ing and false reporting. So IT seems as if police believe his story about how he killed his wife. Reckless less homicide is essentially where a person knows that what they are doing is dangerous, which in this case would be choking during sex. But despite knowing that it's dangerous, they continue doing IT and a results in death in tennessee. It's a class felony, and it's only punishable by two to twelve years in prison.

And if this story was true about choking April during sex, that reckless homicide would be the appropriate charge. But the evidence we are about to present to you will have you questioning everything you see as me and collin, we're going through the binder of evidence that Jamie gave us. We came across evidence of that assault.

We mentioned earlier that April had experienced just days before her death. Now from what we can tell, April only told two people about this assault donavan, isac, Matthews, Lucy, that was able to tell me a little bit more about what happened during our call. He said that just a couple of days after they rekindled their relationship that an April were texting, and he told him that he was leaving the soles football practice and heading in the nashville for a work obligation. But SHE told that that he would talk to him the following morning. However, when that morning came around, April was clearly going .

through something. The next day I checked on her, this is not, hey, how? How are you doing? And he said, i'm not doing good.

SHE said that a lot happened last night. She's not to go his space. And I asked if he would like to talk about IT. SHE said later in the day, when he gets afraid will talk.

So this is where a man named floyd Thomas junior comes into the story. Now this guy is bad news. In two thousand and twenty two, he was charged with child abuse after severely beating his fifteen year old daughter.

Apparently, his daughter went on a walk and was gone too long for his liking. So when he got home, he chased her around the house, beeing her over and over with a belt. Luckily, he was able to escape the home, and from there the police were called. But according to the police, SHE had large wealth all over her body.

Quote, from her neck to our angles and quote, but on top of being a child abuser is also a business in nasha who owns a few restaurants and is in real estate now, somehow, he and April gotten contact with one another, and he asked if he could do some work for him, helping him do designs for one of his rentals. And April agree, like we mentioned earlier, he was about to get evicted from her apartment because donovan didn't pay his portion of the rent, so SHE was doing what he could to make some extra money. So that evening he drove out to nashville.

According to zak, April said that they were supposed to be meaning at one of four its buildings. By the last minute, he asked to meet her at a restaurant, and from there the night took a dark turn. Here's what he would later tell. Zc.

so I have a few drinks. And then he says he woke naked. One of those buildings, not the buildings he was supposed to be going to with no memory, and he said SHE asked him what happened, and he essentially told her that they had a good time. And SHE put her clothes at home, or unlike four, five and a more, and I believe, and that really pushed her back after .

getting sexually assaulted. April was in a dark place, as anyone would be in that situation. SHE even went home and wrote in her journal this heartbreaking thought, quote, i'm embarrassed.

I feel ashamed. I don't want people to know, or asking, or judging or getting involved. I just wanna alone in act lake IT didn't happen.

I know that i'm supposed to go to the emergency room and put in a police report and quo. Now Jamie would later tell us that April actually did go to a doctor after the assault, but they referred her to another doctor. And by that point, SHE just decided to go home, which makes me so sad for her.

So many women out there have been, in April, exact same position. I can imagine how I would feel to have to take time out of your day to go sit in a doctor's office and recount the horrible experience you just went through, only to be told that you need to go somewhere else and repeat the entire process. IT had to have been traumatic for raw.

So instead he went back to the apartment SHE shared with davin, and SHE wrote about IT in her journal. SHE writes, quote, I feel so ashamed, dirty, hurt, hurting physically, I know it's not my fault and quo. Later that night, SHE exact talked on the phone and SHE opened up about her experience, and sac said IT was clear SHE was not in a good head.

Space like, honest, I just want to be in a different space. I want to be in a different space. And I I to, I clarify, know what he was talking about.

Well, I was like, you don't mean like no checking yourself value like that he was like, oh, no. SHE was like, I gotta take care in zo. I ve got to take care. Serenity that conversation cannot propelled into have so as not thing in her IT zan. April had a good talk .

about how suicide was not the answer. April told him that he would never leave her children behind and that she's worked too hard on herself self to give up. Now after their phone call, they even had the following tax conversation, or April says, thank you for the advice and talking to me about everything.

Of course, I just hope you can heal from IT and can .

overcome this. I will. Today is just been hard, but i'm determined to not let this rule in my progress. I just have to process this, and then I can start healing.

In April journals, he also wrote, life doesn't stop because this experience happened. I have to be strong. I have to be here for everybody else.

And the reason this is so important to talk about is because getting sexually assaulted is one of the worst things that can happen to someone. Like April said in her journals, SHE felt embarrassed, ashamed, dirty her body, physically hurt from the assault. But according to dawn story, just days after he was raped, he and April were not just having sex with violent sex, where she's asking him to choke her out.

And during that process, he accidentally choked her so hard he killed her. In what world is that believable? I know every woman's experience is different, but many claim that after being sexually assaulted, they don't even want to be touched by a mon, let alone have sex with them.

And if you still aren't convinced, the next entry in April journal, after he talks about being sexually assaulted, SHE writes, quote, we're not making love no more, but I still love you. I still prefer you. You made me a mom and vote.

So here he is, saying that SHE and dawn of an warn, even having sex at the time, which is something all of her friends confirmed. They said that April was the kind of person, or once SHE made up her mind, that was IT for her. And based on what he was telling everyone about dawn, evan SHE wouldn't have been having sucks with him, especially after he was just sexually .

assaulted. SHE is not to do that. The girls very strong minded.

She's very content in her.

This SHE makes me the decision. She's she's not on be lip in flop being going back and force.

She's not going to do that. And keep in mind, zack and April dated for a while. So when I interviewed him, I asked from his experience if he knew April to be into that kind of sexual stuff. And he said this.

he doesn't do that. That is another thing.

Now i'm not saying we have all the answers, but I looked at the committee, reviewed ards report and that forty seven page report with all the but they had in the case. And to me, IT wasn't convincing. Now a grand jury apparently looked at all the evidence in the case as well, and they were the one who came down with this reckless homicide charge.

So clearly, they and investigators believe dona in story, but we don't. And I think if more people hurt these details. They would neither now, at the time of this recording don't even hold, is just days away from being a rained on these reckless homicide charges.

And if he pleads guilty, I can guarantee that his sentence will not be justice jme dickers and believes that her daughters' death was no accident. In the weeks before April death, April started texting all of her friends and family that he wanted a divorce. Donavan wrote in his journal that he didn't won a divorce because he knew that would just make him the bill pair.

And this is coming from someone who is already in a very serious financial bind. In fact, he and April were about to be evicted because of him. April friends and family told us that even though April was done with davin, SHE had let him live with her at that apartment because he didn't have the means leave.

So being the person, April was SHE let him stay there. Then they were told they were gonna get a vict. Not only that, but in the weeks before her death, doni even saw April moving on.

SHE got that love letter from the inmate, the letter that we ve found in his apartment. Then April, we candle her relationship with zc Matthews, her x boyfriend, the guy that everyone said don and hate IT. And then lastly, just days before her death, April left the house to go to the national work obligation.

SHE didn't end up coming back home until around six A M. That following morning, from what we could tell, April told donavan about the assault. And I wonder if that was the last straw for him.

Jimmy dickerson believes that don ivan was losing all control. He was losing his financial support, his home and lastly, his wife, who was clearly moving on. So on july twenty nine th, twenty twenty three, after their son denzel, her davin and April arguing in their bedroom, donavan snapped any murdered April.

To me, with all of the information we have, this is not a case of ruckus homicide. The very least, I think second degree murder is a more appropriate charge. So we are going to link a petition with the goal that donation holds.

Charges can be increased. We, along with so many others, also think that he should have child endangerment added to his charges for sending his son into the bathroom that day. Now you have a right to your own opinion, but if you feel strongly as we do about this, please consider signing the petition to have his charges increased and make sure you share IT on your social media.

And there might be some people out there who say, well, it's in the hands of a long stay out of, but that's exactly what we're worried about. This is the same police department who looked into all the evidence we just presented to you, and so came to the conclusion that April holt kill herself. They knew all about her sexual assault.

They read the text messages, her journals, they saw the emails from all her friends and family, and they double down on their findings, refusing to admit they'd gotten something wrong. This is the same police department who didn't search the holds apartment for six hours after April was brought to the hospital. The same department who never even searched donor in san antonio apartment. Interestingly, the lead detective in April holds case to meet the skull. PC was also recently promoted to the position of sergeant.

And keep in mind, if Jamie dickerson hatten fought the way he did, if SHE herself won't have gotten a confession from donavan, he would still be a free man. IT was never supposed to be jami's responsibility to serve as a detective and our daughters' case, but in the end, SHE did more for April than the people in charge. That's a scary thought.

It's an even scary or thought to think about how many other April holds. Are there women who have been murdered but do the lousy police work? Their killers are walking around free.

That's why we have to hold these departments accountable so that this kind of mistake doesn't happen again. If there's one thing that I hate in this world and I absolutely detest IT its government corruption and lazy police work. Now, after everything went down, Jamie dickerson filed the complaint against their department for efficient or in effective performance of duties.

And just recently they sent her a letter that red quote the office of, 但 onal accountability has completed its investigation of the above matter in which you were allegedly involved based upon all available evidence and information from the investigation， IT was determined that the allegation of deficient or productive performance of duties appears to be exonerated. An incident did occur, but the action was consistent with established policy rules or procedure and qual. So essentially they admitted they were wrong, but the excuse themselves from any responsibility and that's gotten really make you guys at home think who police is the police right now, it's just themselves. But based on what were about to tell you, IT doesn't seem like they're making up for their mistakes because once we got home from our tennessee trip, we called nash will pd to tell them about the stuff we found a dawn of an apartment journals where he's talking about their divorce, where he's writing lies about his wife suicide, and to give them that love letter from the inmate, stuff that we believe should definitely be considered in the case. Here's the recording of us calling them.

Hello, you have reached the south present investigation unit to speak to a detective about a report you have already made. Please leave the detectives name or the case complaint number along with your contact information. This office is open from seven year.

The opinion we set on holiday and return all what we made doing the baLance. Thank you. Record your method at the tone when you were finished, hang up or press pound for more options.

Hi, my name is corti bowen, and I need to get in contact with my gers regarding the April holt case I went through davin halt the suspect in her murders, we went through his apartment and I found a lot of concerning things. I believe his evidence in the case um and I just wanted to call you guys to report that we found his journals.

We found letters that were addressed to April from men love letters essentially um and just done of range journals where he's talking about April wanting a divorce. And just after that I think is important to the case. So if you could if you could call me back .

after several days, we still hadn't heard back from them. But then just two days before on a entertainment, I finally got the call.

So understand you. You have things that that were taking from the part .

or my husband and I live in houston, texas. So we're just a couple hours away from santa onion and Jamie just asked if we could go to get don't dengel stuff their son. So while we were in there, we just we started looking through some things and we found some stuff of donuts.

We found a journal of his. We also found um just some interesting letters that I think that you should know about but the main thing that I saw in his journals that were super concerning was um in this one journal he just writes about like at this point, I know divorce is inevitable. I know April my person is hard to willingly go into a divorce, underfunded understanding, and he's basically talking about how he wants to kind of work on himself and everything.

And like this one party goes, the universe knows my true intentions, making the moves i've have and how family has always confuse for me. I pray the truth is made clear to April. I understand us needing a new beginning, which I agree, I agree with.

I just don't want, want to go our separate ways and to just be a bill payer mony's ker. So I just thought of that. He said, I love my family and a family man.

I am a husband full time. So that journal was just a little concerning to me, just because he made IT very clear that he does not wanna get a divorce. And then he also talks about how, if he was to get a divorce, April would pretty much just be taking money from him.

And I am very familiar with this case. I know that they've had like a lot of financial problems over the years. And we have we actually took pictures of everything that we found in his apartment um I know in the voice meal I said something about um yeah I said something about you.

We found two guns of his, a knife and and there was also a spent shell casing in his room. In the reason that we took like, we got videos of everything, and we took pictures of everything because, as you know, he was evicted from that apartment. So when we went to go look through IT, IT was like days away from being completely everything in the apartment was about to be tossed out. So um you know that's why we we just kind of documented .

everything.

His girlfriend jane actually got us in contact with his his girlfriend that he had insane tonio and because Jimmy had been trying to get in but they won't the apartment wasn't let her. But like after that journal entry, he's talking about how he doesn't want to divorce April. It's all of false understanding. April just doesn't understand he doesn't want to be a mony maker.

Um the page after that IT says my ideal situation, divorce, start dating, raise kids, be a family work to build a solid foundation behind our new relationship um so that was interesting but I think the thing that's extremely concerning that I found in his journals was this one is this one thing that in IT reads a personal refuge in love which if you spell that out, that spells out ebrow and IT says what a nonprofit committing to uplifting individuals in finding support for those struggling with depression, addiction and suicide and then IT says why my wife could have avoided suicide by simply having a professional show, support, care and concern towards what he was dealing with mentally. I want to create what SHE needed in the days before her passing. Most do not jump straight to suicide if there was a way to enter vene when depression leads to building an addiction that can ultimately end in suicide.

That's what I want a personal refuge in love to be. So he's writing in his journal about this nonprofit he wants to make for people with dealing with suicide. And that was just concerning to me because, like we know, he ended up confessing to killing her.

So in this journal, he's like planting a seed so that if you guys ever go look through a stuff, it's like his wife really dead kill herself when we know he didn't. So I just I thought that wishes concerning because it's like it's he's he clearly wanted you to read that or maybe he was actually wanting to try and create this foundation so that history would be believable. But so I thought those two entries were interesting.

And then something else that I found that was that was really interesting to me, IT, was so in don oven's closet, there was a binder called very important information binder in in IT. There was this letter addressed to April from an inmate at the tennessee department of corrections. And the letter is essentially IT was end on events, important information binder and IT has a vision application and then essentially a love letter from this inmate.

And IT says, the letter reads, I wish I could see you everyday. I don't really like being around unfamiliar faces. I think i'm losing myself.

IT says, the last time we talked, you said, I sound i'm different with you than I am with others. Why do you think that is? I once told you how I felt about you.

To be honest, I still feel that way. IT says, like, here's a visitor. Ms, I hope you come through a visit. I understand if you don't. I've been giving you empty promises IT says I love you shortly I say that because I mean IT um it's essentially a love letter that was address to April and it's end on of in stuff from this is from this and my and the letter was sent on july six, twenty twenty three so like a couple weeks before he was killed and so that was also just kind of alarming to me because this is right before shy died, she's getting love letters from inmates in its end on of in stuff.

So I I think it's safe to see that he read this and he took yet IT was in his stuff in taxis, which means that like, he took IT from tennessee, two texas. I know that he like admitted to accidentally killing her during sex. And I I just want to make sure you all have all of this information because I mean, as you probably know, her family doesn't believe that story at all and I mean just the fact that there's a love letter in his staff weeks before like he was murdered and um he's writing about how he doesn't want to get divorce. Um I just thought that that was something that yours should know just since his santoni apartment wasn't surged.

what was the the date that you start the apartment?

Okay, I searched IT on october forth at around like six P M. If I correct, there was an eviction notice on his door that I believe said they were gonna throw everything in the apartment out on october six. So there was literally like days away from all of that getting toast here in front of me.

So let me go back and make sure so you you were not for and who let you .

in this is the girlfriend he had and santonio o and .

so Jamie hook to you talk called her and SHE met you at the apartment.

Yes, yes.

You know.

she's only no, he is not only least he just had a key because don evan was her boyfriend.

OK, but SHE SHE gave information in un and and the things, so you took photographs, videos and evidence.

We went in there because the police hadn't searched IT IT was about to be thrown .

away right now. I mean, I don't think there is a legal there was a legal ground form the police to surge IT because he was arrested from a holiday in mill. It's not something .

I don't .

know that they could have even got a search one to do IT because I don't know what they could say they were looking for that made in the way all that I need to here that I just want to make sure so so, so how much stuff if you get? I mean, how many how many books are Jones.

yeah, I have one of dawn of in journals. Um and then I took three of April journals irr gave them to Jenny. Um so yeah we grabbed his journals, we grab ed the letter that was sent to April and then we we were really there just to get dense le stuff their kid because that's really why janie wanted us to go, was because he had a bunch of stuff that his mom given.

Amen, like all of that stuff. So we took, we got, we packed up all of dances, le stuff. We took the journal. We'd have the letter from the inmate. He husson also grabs the spent shell casing just in case, because again, I was all about to be thrown away, which I I mean, obviously April wasn't like shot. So but IT is interesting .

that that was in his room. yes. Was IT use? yeah. exact.

okay.

So I guess what I need to do is I need to talk to the district carne's office and found out the legalities because. I'm not sure that you actually had the round to search the stuff like you did. And as the weather or not, that stuff would be admissible in our courts. But of that .

really.

yes, yes, there's a lot of legalities and things that, that we can I can do, and even though I may feel like something is extremely important, needs to be done and I have to follow the law and how to want do IT, and if I can even do IT my good instincts or just not enough .

to do things, a frush reading because I think I mean, some of the stuff we found, I think IT shows that don't IT. I just don't think IT .

was an accident. And I can argue, I mean, I I really can't discuss a lot of the case. I really can't discuss with still ongoing case, but I mean, there's there's things that that you have to prove and and and how you have to prove them that what you think may be good proof could possible be something that that mayor may not be circumstantial. IT surely doesn't prove, but IT could be .

circumstantial.

Yeah so so like I said, let me let me give with the direction that has the case before. Because if if we're going to if you're gna take this stuff, then you I OK yeah.

I could do that only .

way to go, but I don't want you to go that troubled you. Should he tell me that legally we can have stuff.

right?

So if you wouldn't give you my email address? K, I mean, well, I mean, you have anything that you recorded where you were talking to somebody I can surely, surely take back to school IT would probably be a benefit to me to make IT easier for me. Honestly, if you basically wrote a supplement report, like I will ride just right, write a report why you're how you were involved, why you're there, all the information that we've going to talk about, if you would put that in an email for me.

So as you just heard, my Green told us that they didn't think they would have enough grounds to search his snana's your apartment. And because they never searched his apartment, mike told us that they likely can even use the s we found, which is incredibly disappointing, this police forced the bare minimum throughout this entire investigation into, add insult to injury, they take don events new confession as fact that he accidentally killed April during sex, even though he had just been sexually assaulted a few days earlier, in the fact that they would believe da ne events news story is crazy.

This is the same man that stage April entire suicide by taping a plastic bag over her head and leaving her unconscious in the bathroom for thirty minutes. The same man who looked police in the eye time and time again and told them a completely fabricated story. The same man who left them clues in his journal that his wife died by suicide, donavan hole did everything in his power to get the police to believe him.

And in the end, they did. Now, as you heard in the call with mike, he told us that he was going to send the evidence we gathered over to the D. A.

To see if there was anything they could do. But considering he is just about to be arrange in a couple of days, I doubt that you're gonna do anything. I've lost a lot of faith in this police department, so the thoughts that they're gonna take the evidence and change to the charges is wishful thinking.

But with that, we are going to be doing a part three of the story where we show you the interviews we conducted. Valentina sy, we actually SAT down with April children, sarenne and denzel. We spoke with her friends.

We got footage from the apartment where he lived, and we even visited her grave in part three, we will also be giving you an update and holds arrange, so make sure you listen to that episode because that's kind of where our story will officially end. But in part three, we are also going to talk about Jamie dickson's plans to honor her daughter's legacy. So we will see you next week with that episode.

But for now, please consider signing the petition to increase don of an holped charges. We, along with everyone who knew April, knows that he was not having consensual sex, were done in that day. SHE was over him.

He was moving on, and he had just gone through such a traumatic situation. Her family knows that there is no way don of in story is true. So please consider signing the petition to increase, don't avenge charges.

But more than anything, please share this story on your social media. We need as many eyes on this case as possible, and we really need the nash filld police department to feel the pressure as true crime enthusiast. This is a way, do not just consume this kind of content, but to make a difference, we will be linking everything in the description below.

Hey, everybody, thank you for listening to this week's episode of murder in america. What a crazy case and what a crazy experience courtine I had digg into this whole thing. They're still so much more in the documentary that we are going to be obviously feeling and talking about and showing so much footage that we got so many things we still, you know, don't know if we can really talk about yet, stuff that we know.

But we're going to be following this thing through and documenting every part of the process IT is going to be crazy. We are going to be sure to let you guys know when i'm able to finish that movie and what going to do with that, where we're going to release IT. But please do take action.

Please check out the links. And yeah, the story just still gets crazy. If you want to listen to the podcast early and add free, consider joining us on patron.

Also on patron, you can get access to bonus content, bonus episode to the show. If you love we're doing here and you want to listen to bonus stuff, please consider signing up. Don't forget to follow us on instagram at murder in amErica and as always, guys, thank you for listening. We will be back next week with part three of the story call Brown in here. I'll catch all on the next one.