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Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. I'm the husband. Dang, we had so much fun at CrimeCon this last week. Thank you to everyone who came. Thank you to everyone that we got to talk to. It was so fun. We love all of you so much and I just, I can't wait for next year.
Just a reminder, if you're listening on Apple or Spotify, there will be like a follow button where you can follow us. Apple just recently introduced it. So please follow us. It might be a subscribe button still if you haven't updated it, but please follow us. It helps us a ton. All right, let's jump into your 10 seconds. Well, I'm feeling a lot better. My voice is back. I'm feeling good. Garrett had a really rough couple weeks. It was pretty crazy, but I'm feeling good. Jaws feeling a lot better.
No more food poisoning. Food poisoning is crazy because you get it and you get scared. Like I'm scared to eat. Like I want to eat so much, but then I go somewhere and I'm like, what if it's bad? Like, is that cooked? That chicken does not look cooked to me.
But it's weird because I'll eat a steak. I mean, not rare, but I like, you know, medium, medium rare. But as soon as like chickens just looks anything like it's close to not being done. Oh my gosh. Even if you're the one that cooked it. Even if I burn the heck out of my chicken when we cook it because I don't even want to take the chances. Other than that, I'm feeling good. Tomorrow morning, I'm going golfing. What? Yeah, I'm going golfing tomorrow morning. Okay.
I just found out like right before we came down here. Maybe I'll just research another case or something. I'm just doing nine holes, so it won't take too long. And then. Not with the way you golf. I know it's going to take like 20 minutes. I'll see you at 9 p.m. I'm going to be sinking every single one. No, it's actually the first time I'm golfing this season, so it's going to be bad. Other than that, Peyton was driving by our sprinklers and apparently a bunch are not working. So I got to figure that out. Oh.
We're back to the lawn care. Back to the lawn care. Good old spring. Hey, that's kind of crazy. Like a year. A year. It feels like I haven't talked about lawn in forever because it's been snowing. Well, actually, when we were in CrimeCon, we realized that we passed our two-year mark from our first episode. Our two-year mark was April, like, 2017.
fifth or something like that take yourself back to that first episode and that wasn't the first episode we recorded because we recorded one before the one that's posted now but take yourself back to sitting down in that basement we had our little iphone headphones we were talking in it was so awkward i know it was so awkward we had to do so many takes because we just didn't even know what to say we didn't know what we were doing
Oh my gosh. And now look at us. It's so weird. Captains of the ship just cruising along. Just coming down here recording. It really is so cool though, to see that like two years has passed. We're still here. This community has grown and I love it more than ever. Yeah. It's actually pretty crazy. It feels like a dream life. Anyways, those are my 10 seconds. Thanks everyone for wishing me well. I'm feeling a lot better. So let's
Let's get into it. Okay, well, our case sources for this week's episode are kshb.com, cbsnews.com, A Disappeared Episode, Season 2, Episode 13, kmbc.com, people.com, insideedition.com. Okay, so our case this week is actually about two different victims who were killed 10 years apart by the same person.
And every time we see this happen, it begs the question, did police or prosecution really need the second victim to finally arrest the murderer? Or could the second murder have been prevented completely? So let's get into this story and find out.
The episode this week begins in Belton, Missouri. And Belton actually sits four miles from the Missouri-Kansas border in northwest Cass County. And I'm not sure if this is still accurate, but it's actually rumored that there is a post office in Belton that has been in operation since 1872. Wow. And Harry S. Truman, the 22nd President of the United States, is from Belton as well. So just a little fun tidbits from Belton.
The date is May 4th, 2007. It's 7 a.m. and the school day is starting for every high schooler at Belton High School, home of the Pirates.
But in particular, one pirate, 17-year-old junior Kara Kapetsky, is also attending school. Her mother, Rhonda, is up while Kara is getting ready and offers her actually a ride that morning to school. But it's May 4th and the school year is winding down. It's almost summer and it's beautiful outside. And so Kara decides that she's just going to walk this day.
Now, I do have to say her mother thinks that it's not only the weather that persuades Cara to walk, but also because she wanted to sneak a cigarette on her way to school. Now, Rhonda was completely aware that Cara smoked. She wasn't happy about it. But after throwing away the first two or three packages of Cara's cigarettes that she found, she realized that it didn't really matter what she said or did. Cara was still going to keep buying them. So she made her choice.
Rhonda decided that this was one of those things as a parent that she had to pick and choose. And so she gave up on the cigarette battle before this day because they had other things that they were kind of fighting with Kara about during this time.
And I don't know about Garrett, but when I grew up in elementary school, I really remember cigarettes being a thing that adults talked about that kids snuck. But by the time I got to high school, I don't feel like they were as popular or a thing that kids did anymore. But in elementary school, it felt like everyone smoked that was cool. Yeah, you know, that's true because I...
I feel like it was probably the same. I mean, you like watch a grease, right? And they're all smoking in high school, but then you got to high school and you're like, Oh really? Nobody's smoking. They have your few, but like it wasn't as popular as they made it seem. It wasn't like the movie Grease. Right. So like I said, it wasn't only the cigarettes in Cara's case. Cara and her parents were going through a rough patch during this time in her junior year. Cara had kind of been skipping school recently, hanging out with some people that her parents thought were bad influences and
And these were the tougher fights that were happening at home. But it wasn't always this way. Kara was the oldest of two children. And even from a child, she had been very bubbly, outgoing, and loud. According to her mother, she was strong-willed, outspoken, and extremely loyal to her friends and family. And as she got older, Kara's loyalty grew stronger. And she wasn't afraid to share her opinion, even if others disagreed. She was always true to herself and her thoughts.
But as she got closer to the time of our episode, it had just been rough between Kara and her mom. Her stepfather, Jim, was also at home and reassured Rhonda that Kara's behavior was just normal for teenagers. That teenage rebellion is just a part of life and it's something that everyone goes through. But
But as the year was closing, things had gotten a little better. And Jim remembers Cara talking about her future, what she wanted to do after she graduated next year. And she was pretty set on going to college, a nearby one. And this gave them hope that this rougher version of Cara was not a final thing. And she still had dreams and aspirations and was really turning it around.
So that day in May 2007, about an hour after walking to school, Kara actually called her mother Rhonda and told her that she forgot one of her school books back at home. She asked her mom if maybe she could bring it to her for her class.
And Rhonda agrees. And then Kara also sneaks in that there was one more thing she needed from her mom. She also forgot to wash her work uniform and she had work that day after school around 4 p.m. So she needed the uniform washed before then. So Kara actually works at the local Popeyes in Belton. So before leaving for her own job, Rhonda washes the uniform and then takes the textbook to Belton High School for Kara, you know, just taking care of her daughter, doing mother things,
Rhonda just dropped the textbook off at the front office for Kara. She didn't actually hand it to her in person. So Kara's school day and Rhonda's work day chugs on and then Jim arrives home from work after working an early shift that day. This would put him getting home around the same time that Kara would be arriving home from school as well and then getting ready to go to work.
But around 3 p.m., Kara is still not home. And this is definitely strange for her on a workday. Jim decides to call his stepdaughter and see where she is. Why isn't she home yet?
but Kara never answers Jim's call. A little while later, as Jim is at home anticipating Kara, Rhonda also gets home from work and is confused to hear that Kara still hasn't come home and isn't answering her phone. Even if something had happened, plans had changed, they both just know that Kara would at least text them from her phone and let them know. And you said she usually walks home, correct? Mm-hmm. How far away was her house from the school? So actually...
It didn't say in any of the sources, and I'm not sure if they ever publicly released their address, but I'm assuming it's not very far because her mom said that she had walked to school and home often. So Jim wonders if maybe Cara got in trouble for texting on her cell phone at school and so it got taken away and maybe that's why she's not answering. So he decides to head to the high school campus and see if maybe Cara is still there.
But it's a Friday afternoon and basically every single student has ditched out for the weekend as fast as possible. So no one's there. After discovering that Kara isn't on campus, Jim and Rhonda grow worried. It's almost 4 p.m. now and Kara should be heading to work.
But she still hasn't even come home and picked up her clean work uniform that she had gone out of her way to call Rhonda about earlier that day. Jim decides to just drive to Popeye's anyway and see if Kara is somehow there. Maybe she just figured out a different uniform and got on a ride with someone else. But when Jim shows up to Popeye's, Kara's manager asks him, hey, do you know where Kara is? Jim is like, no.
That's exactly what I'm here to ask you. Her manager explains that she still isn't there and they really need her for the shift. Jim decides to wait around, but by 4.20, Cara has still not showed up for her four o'clock shift.
He heads home and talks to Rhonda. They were both just so confused. Not only did Kara never miss work, no matter what was going on, she also really loved her job. She loved shopping and going out to eat, which is why she even got the job in the first place. So she would have the money to do the things she enjoyed.
So they decide to call local family to help look for Cara. This is when I feel like I would start to get worried. Like, okay, she's not home. She's not at work. What in the world is going on? Isn't answering her phone. Yeah, that's when I think I would start getting a little nervous. Right. And I think her parents are like, who do you turn to at this point? You're just waiting to find Cara before you have no other option than the cops. Right.
So Cara's family begin driving around town, tracing her route from home to school, checking the local skate parks. They talked to kids, but no one had seen her. While all this is happening, Rhonda actually pulls up Cara's cell phone bill and begins calling the numbers that she was in contact with frequently, which is so smart.
But after calling almost every single number, Rhonda still has no idea where Cara is or when she was last seen or heard from. Around 5 p.m. that day, just an hour after Cara was supposed to report to work, her parents decide to call the Belton Police Department and report her missing. An officer from the Belton PD responds to the call and comes out to the house to take down a report.
But after learning about some of Cara's teenage rebellion, Rhonda and Jim feel like police aren't taking them very seriously. If they had known that talking about some of Cara's past honestly would lead to this, they would have just left it out. But they wanted to be honest and they trusted the police.
Kara's parents had told them that back on Kara's 16th birthday, they had actually grounded her for skipping school. Kara did not respond well and told Rhonda and Jim that she didn't care for what they had to say. It was her birthday and she felt like they were being unfair. In a heated argument, Kara stormed out of the house to hang out with friends and didn't return until 7 a.m. Oh, okay. But when she hadn't come back that night, Jim and Rhonda had already called the police and reported her missing.
So this isn't the first time they're calling police to report her missing. That would be hard. Right. So after remembering this last incident, police basically tell Carr's parents that, you know, she's probably just a teenage runaway. It happens all the time. And we'll check back in again with you tomorrow.
Jim and Rhonda are helpless. They promise police that Cara is not a runaway. She had been struggling around the time of that first incident, but things had gotten better. Their relationships were getting better and Cara had been maturing and thinking about her future towards the end of this junior year.
Rhonda even explains that Kara had actually broken off some of those friendships with that group of friends who had been a bad influence, including breaking up with her abusive ex-boyfriend. In fact, just days earlier, they had taken Kara to file a restraining order against him. Her parents really believed that Kara was exiting her rebellious stage. And because of all that, Rhonda and Jim begged police to listen to them. Kara is missing. She's really missing. But again, police just leave.
Nightfall comes. Kara does not come home. Rhonda and Jim stay up in the living room waiting for her.
By morning, May 5th, 2007, Cara has still not come home and Rhonda and Jim keep looking. Around 3 p.m., roughly 24 hours since they believe she went missing, they decide to call the police again and demand action. But during this follow-up, Rhonda and Jim are told that there had actually been some movement in Cara's case since they last spoke. What does that mean? That's exactly what they're like, what are you talking about? Please tell them. Someone else.
One of Cara's friends actually had come into the police station the day before and also reported Cara missing. Actually, almost around the same time that the officer was out at their home talking to them the day before. So two people reported Cara missing the day before around 5 p.m. and nothing was done really until now.
But police claim the reason they didn't really know what to do was because the friend who came in claimed that she hadn't seen Cara since May 2nd, 2007. That would be two days before May 4th when her parents had last seen her and actually reported her missing.
Which, okay, I'm trying to wrap my mind around it, but the parents saw her on May 4th, correct? Yes. She was sleeping there. Right, right. No one's like lying. There wasn't some crazy thing going on. No, no. They're like, no, we knew where she was. Okay. So police had to wonder if, okay, is this even the same person? Are the parents lying? The girl told police that Cara had not been at school the last two days, and that was the reason she was coming in to report it. Okay, got it. But didn't the parents already talk to the school? No.
Well, no, they... They haven't talked to the school yet. No, but remember that her mom went and dropped her textbook off at school the day she went missing. So her mom's like, why would she make me go there if she wasn't there? Okay. And when police asked the friend, okay, well, if you haven't seen her in two days, like you claim, why didn't you just call Kara's parents? And the friend was like, well...
I'm kind of uncomfortable going to them. Like, I don't know. They might be involved. And so she said, so this is why police hadn't called her parents back because they are now confused. And it was at this moment that Rhonda and Jim realized the police hadn't told them because their
They're suspect number one. Like they think they're lying and they're suspect number one in their daughter's disappearance. No way. I'm already counting the parents out. Yeah. I feel like there's no way they're suspects, at least according to Garrett. Right. Okay. You guys shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall can be a challenge, but I'm telling you right now.
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So Jim agrees to be questioned by police when all this happens and he takes a polygraph. But Jim can't help but feel that because he is Kara's stepfather, he's being pegged as doing something awful to her because she's not his own blood, even though he raised her and loved her like a daughter. But Jim insists to police that he loves Kara. He had driven around looking for her, stayed up all night, and they reported her missing just one hour after she didn't show up.
After a long and thorough interrogation, Jim is actually released from custody and told that he's been cleared of any suspicion. So the police, once they talk to him, they're like, okay, we believe you. We don't know what's going on with the school girl, but we believe you. And this is great, but police are losing time. This is precious, valuable time. The first 48 hours in a missing persons investigation matters.
So they begin canvassing the neighborhood and talking to as many people from school or Kara's life as they can find. They reach out to the media in hopes the publicity will generate new information. But almost just as quick as they get the message out, something happens that would completely overshadow Kara's disappearance in the worst way possible. The same weekend that Kara went missing,
The Greensburg, Kansas tornado swept through the area and destroyed it all. Now, I don't know if you know the history about this tornado, but it leveled about 95% of Greensburg, killed 11 people, and injured 63, and actually caused around $250 million in damages. So this was crazy.
A big tornado. And not only did the tornado invade the area, it invaded the news, the media, and any coverage or effort that Cara's disappearance might have gotten is now gone. Two tragedies in the same weekend. It's all just so devastating. And I've actually thought about this before. Let's take 9-11, for example. It's just an overall day of tragedy for America. Everyone felt it. Everyone hurt.
But they were just the same amount of unrelated deaths, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and other tragedies that day happening all over America, like usual. So the world, it just like, it never stops, right? So other people are hurting outside of the tragedy of 9-11, but it all got overshadowed because of 9-11. And I've thought about this before, just that weird parallel, like what you're saying is that the world just keeps going on.
But while all the coverage and aftermath of the tornado was taking place, one investigative journalist still remembered Kara's disappearance and tried to cover it when it was still really needed. His name was Russ and he looked into the case 48 hours after Kara went missing and he decides to travel to Belfort to talk to Kara's family and help share the story. He felt like there was enough quirks in it that maybe she might not be a runaway.
When he arrived, Jim, her stepfather, actually initially decided not to talk to him because he didn't know if it would be helpful in the case. But Russ persisted. He encouraged Jim to speak to him and reassured him that he wasn't a vulture. He was just here to spread awareness, get her pictures in front of people and share who she is and what's happened.
Jim and Rhonda finally agree, and Russ learns upon further investigation that if Kara ran away, she left behind a lot of things that a teenager would miss. Her iPod, her phone charger, all of her clothes. Russ also feels like there is no significant trouble in the home at all.
outside of your average teenage fighting. There was no weird relationship between Kara and her mother or her stepfather, Jim. And while all of this is happening, police are actually back at Belton High School to try and figure out if anyone or anything saw Kara on May 4th. They need to make sure, was she at school? Was she not? If not, why did she ask her mom to bring the textbook?
So police check the security footage at the school. Oh, thank goodness. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, and they try to track Cara through school. And it doesn't take them very long to find Cara on the camera that day. Oh, so she was at school. She was at school. And you can still watch this footage today, and it will be played on our YouTube video as we talk about it. Around 9.30 a.m., after asking her mother for the textbook...
Kara can be seen going into a bathroom. A while later, she comes out and stops and talks to a girl outside of the bathroom. After that conversation, Kara turns and walks out an outside door, leaving the school before the school day was over around 9.20, 9.30 a.m. And she never comes back. She walks off. Walks off. And they never see her on the cameras again. They don't see her get into any cars or anything like that. No, no, no footage in the parking lot that they can track.
Okay. Which actually my high school didn't have footage in the parking lot either. Oh, really? Yeah. In the footage, Cara doesn't seem distressed or distraught. She doesn't like, she's not being forced to leave. So police decide that they really need to figure out who Cara talked to throughout that footage, especially the girl that Cara met outside of the bathroom right before leaving.
Police start from the beginning and track down the students that Cara converses with on the footage and discover that she told many of them that she was ditching school and asked if any of them wanted to come.
And all of them said no. None of them could tell police where Cara was going to ditch though. She just never said. She just said, I'm leaving. Do you want to come? When police ask Cara's parents if maybe they know where she would go, they don't know for sure. But we're now starting to feel like maybe it had something to do with that dangerous ex-boyfriend that they had told them about earlier.
Cara's ex-boyfriend, Kyler Yust, was the bad boy high school dropout type. Her parents hated him, and he was actually the cause of a lot of the fights in the house. But like they said, that relationship was over. Cara had moved on and was no longer interested as far as her parents knew.
But Rhonda reminds police again that just days before Cara disappeared, they helped her file an ex parte order of protection or a restraining order in Missouri against Kyler. Now, according to court documents, it said that the order was filed.
Because Kara claimed on April 28th, Kyler showed up to her workplace when she got off, kidnapped her, restrained her, choked her, and then threatened her with a knife. Whoa, did they not press charges? No, but they are trying to get this restraining order. But because Kara went missing, the order was actually never signed.
served, she was supposed to be going to court soon to figure it out, but now she's missing. - Oh my gosh. - And I know what you're thinking, like how is this dude not suspect number one? - Seriously. - How is this not the first information and everyone was talking about it and it was the first interview done and I honestly can't tell you why. I don't know if it was the tornado, I don't know, but somewhere along the way this got lost or maybe he was suspect number one, but police couldn't do anything about it or the sources don't mention it, I don't know.
But the police bring Cara's ex-boyfriend, at this point, Kyler, in for questioning. And they give him a lie detector test. He passes. What's up with the police department and just giving everyone lie detector tests? I feel like that's not normal, right? I think it is pretty normal. Actually, okay, I could be wrong. But I do feel like in most cases, like everyone that I read, it's like, oh, they were given a lie detector test. Okay, okay. And I don't know how I feel about that. Is that still a thing? I feel like I don't really hear about it.
I mean, granted, I'm not in police departments very much and under arrest, but I feel like I don't hear about it very much. Well, here's the thing. I mean, like, for instance, in Chris Watt's case, I know that him failing the lie detector test was basically the breaking point for him to confess because they were like, hey, you failed.
So what are you going to say now? So it can push people over the edge? Yeah, so maybe that's why it's still used. I'm not sure. But either way, Kyler passes his. He tells police that the last time he had spoke to Kara was May 3rd, the day before Kara was last seen. And he says that the day she went missing, he was at his aunt's nursing home during that time and was there the whole day. He says that he had actually had a missed call from Kara on May 4th around 11 a.m.
So about an hour and a half after they saw her leave on cameras, but she didn't answer when he tried to return the call. So police decide to pull up Kara's phone records and they discover that Kyler was lying. According to her records, Kara did call Kyler at 9.13 a.m. on May 4th, two hours earlier than he initially said.
And he actually called her back at 9.20 a.m. Kara literally walked out of the high school at 9.19 a.m. Oh, my gosh. So the lie detector didn't work. Right. Well, he just passed, which happens a lot. One minute before Kyler returned her call. So despite this information, police go to him. They're like, hey, you were lying about the call times. Kyler sticks to a story that the last time he did see her was the day before. And without enough evidence to hold him and a possible alibi, police
police let Kyler go and they continue the investigation. Now it's been roughly a week at this point and there's still no solid leads in the case. Police have interviewed Kara's friends, ex-boyfriend, schoolmates, family, basically everyone. Missing signs are posted everywhere and the community is still trying to rally for the investigation. But nothing is really happening and this is really hard for Kara's family because it feels like every single time there might be a
or anything like that, they just get brought right back to square one and nothing comes of it. So then on July 23rd, 2007, police bring Kyler in again to question him. It's now been over a month. They are just unable to shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in Kara's disappearance.
This time, Kyler admits that he argued that day that he talked to her on May 3rd, the night before she disappeared. Because according to him, she had plans to hang out with another boy that upcoming weekend and it pissed him off. And police are like, so you got in a fight with her. But he still demands that he wasn't involved and he sticks to his story. He sticks to his alibi that he did not see Kara on May 4th.
And then days turn to weeks and police keep investigating but no arrests are made in the search for Cara.
It's been over a month now since Cara went missing and the investigation really has stalled. That is until another girl named Kelsey Smith, living just 15 miles away from Cara, goes missing. Oh my gosh. She is the same age, the same height, the same weight. She went shopping to a Target and never came home. I feel like they have a ton of cameras in Target, so I hope something comes out of that. They do have a ton of cameras in Target. I feel like I always see cameras in Target. They do. They do.
And because this was just a month after Cara went missing, Kelsey's case is now inevitably tied to Cara's case. They're 15 miles away. They're the same age. That's insane. And this feels to police like a possible new lead. I mean, how could the two disappearances not be related?
Well, today we are not going to dive into Kelsey's mind-blowing case on this episode. But if you head over to Patreon right now, we have released a bonus episode that discusses Kelsey's case, the possible tie to Cara's case, and everything in between. We haven't recorded that yet, so I don't even know what Peyton's talking about right now. He still hasn't heard Kelsey's case, but you are going to want to hear Kelsey's case. Unlike Cara, her disappearance,
is literally caught on camera. Oh my gosh. Someone kidnapping her out of the parking lot is caught on camera. Again, you can hear us cover Kelsey's story on our bonus Patreon episode this week. It is out right now as you're listening to this and how it ties to Cara's case. Now don't worry, if you can't get over to Patreon, you will still have the full story of Cara's case right here. But they do have an inevitable and strange tie that you might want to check out.
So during all of this happening with Kelsey's missing person case, police are still conducting searches for Kara and the possible tie between the two cases. But time goes on, two years actually, and nothing ever surfaces. No leads, no forensic evidence, and no Kara. Leads and calls come in as tips in Kara's case, but nothing much comes of it.
it another year passes and basically all hopes of finding her alive get smaller and smaller the case continues to grow cold once again but police have not stopped looking into kyler the ex-boyfriend during all of this but the weird part to me is that during those initial days in the investigation three years earlier no one ever checked in with kyler's alibi at the nursing home would
What do you mean? No one. Like literally no one just, they didn't even check his alibi. They just assumed, oh, he's clear. No one followed up. No one called to see if he was actually there. They just assumed he had an alibi. And now it's three years later and the new detectives that are looking into this case are like,
It's been too long to try and figure out if his alibi is legit. There's no one to talk to. I can't believe it's been three years already. So police really have no idea if Kyler has an alibi or not. And Cara's case is cold. Either way, they are still following him, tracking him and still interviewing friends of his from three years ago to present. And this is like, I mean, this is fast time of what we see when we did, when we cover these cases, but this is just Cara's still missing. She's never been found. And,
And every once in a while, the case gets reopened. They re-interview all of the friends. They talk to, you know, Kyler's suspect number one. But nothing ever comes of it. Time goes on. Almost a decade. And there is no arrest in Kara's case. No body ever found. Oh my gosh. Her friends and family continue living with questions and devastation and no answers. Life continues on without her. It's almost like she was forgotten.
But then on September 10th, 2016, a mother named Jamie Runyons contacts the Belton police almost 10 years after Rhonda Beckford had died.
She calls to report her 21-year-old daughter, Jessica Runyon's, missing. Jamie told police that she had tracked her down and believes her daughter was last seen two days earlier on September 8th, 2016 at a house party in South Kansas City. Police are like, okay, and why do you think she's missing? She's 21. Is it that rare that she hasn't answered her phone for two days? Jamie's like, well, no.
Well, no, I hear you on that, but it's not really about that. She says Jessica was with a man and Jamie was worried about it. He gave off weird vibes and she feels like it like the whole thing was just weird based on everyone she talked to at the party. It worried her because everyone at the party says that Jessica was last seen leaving the party with this guy. The dangerous man, Jessica Runyon's was last seen with.
Kyler Yust. Of course it's Kyler. 10 years later. Police have deja vu. Another girl missing and Kyler Yust still the common denominator 10 years later. Same city? Same city. Just hanging out in the same city. Yep. And it was the fact that Jessica had actually failed to show up to a doctor's appointment with her mom on September 9th that really threw Jamie, her mom, over the edge.
Police begin working the case and trace down the people from the party. Now, you have to picture this. Let me put this in perspective. For 10 years, police have been working this cold case of this high school teenager who disappeared from school and was never seen again. And Kyler Yuss has been the suspect in the case. They can never confirm his alibi. They knew that she had taken out a restraining order on him, but nothing ever came of it.
every year that they tried to pull open the case and do it. And now another girl is missing and they're just talking to all of Kyler's friends again. It's got, he's got to be him. He's got to be a serial killer. Well, okay. Someone correct me. And apparently you have to have killed three people to be a serial killer. And we're only on victim two, but if it is him who knows how many people he's killed in the last 10 years. Hello. How are you? Hello. How are you?
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Witnesses from the party tell police that Kyler was drinking a lot and was acting extremely possessive of Jessica and aggressive towards people at the party. This is weird because Jessica was not Kyler's girlfriend.
In fact, Kyler was a friend of Jessica's boyfriend, according to people.com. But for some reason he was acting possessive, touchy over her that night and party people noticed that Jessica and Kyler seemed to be arguing because of this. She was like, get off me, leave me alone. And it was just turning into this whole thing.
Police put out an APB on Jessica's car and the next day they find it. The Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department responds to Jessica's missing car lit on fire in Jackson County, Missouri. Holy crap. What is going on right now? That same day, someone calls the police department and asks to confess to a crime. They identify themselves as Jessup Carter, Kyler Yust's stepbrother.
Jessup tells police that Kyler had urgently called him that night that Jessica went missing. He needed to destroy a car. The car belonged to Jessica Runyons. Jessup was turning himself in today because Kyler had also confessed to killing Jessica. And after that, he didn't want to be involved anymore. Wait, so we have Jessica now. We had Kara before. Right. And Kyler, who's
Enemy number one in both cases, his stepbrother has now come to police to turn himself in for lighting Jessica's car on fire and saying my stepbrother, Kyler, confessed to killing her. Oh,
Allegedly, Kyler told Jessup that he strangled Jessica, dragged her into a wooded area, then called him for help to dispose of the car. Afterwards, Jessup and Kyler drove back to Jessup's home in Edwards, Missouri. Okay, also, if you're getting confused, Jessup and Jessica do sound similar, but Jessup is the stepbrother, Jessica is the victim.
And Jessup, the stepbrother, told police that if they go get Kyler now, he should still have burns on his hands and face from the attempt to light Jessica's car on fire.
So before we move forward in the case, I want to back up a bit because I'm about to tell you something that's going to blow your mind. This was not the first or second or even third time that someone had called authorities and told them that Kyler Yuss had admitted to killing somebody. In fact, from 2010 to 2016, which is the year that Jessica has now gone missing, she
Seven different people had actually come forward to police and told them that Kyler admitted to killing Kara back in 2007. Seven times.
times and yet kyler was still roaming free and according to his stepbrother able to do it again oh i'm so confused why i don't even know so after police had stalled in car's investigation back in 2007 three years go by remember and no one no one did anything about it no one don't said anything well like like a police were just like sorry we can't do anything yeah okay so it's 2010 it's been three years since car first went missing
And something happened on April 26th that sparked life back into the case. Police interviewed a friend of Kyler's who claims that he was roommates with Kyler back in 2007 when Kara went missing. Now, according to Kasha.com, the roommate allegedly said that in 2009, he had been talking to Kyler about some relationship problems he was having. And Kyler brought up Kara.
He said that Cara didn't love him back in 2007 and it made him angry, angry enough that he snapped and something bad had happened to her.
But this is still just hearsay and not enough to charge him. So then again, a year later in 2011, police bring in one of Kyler's recent ex-girlfriends. And she tells them, once again, Kyler confessed to her that he choked out a past ex-girlfriend and placed her in the woods somewhere after killing her. She also tells police that Kyler had been very violent with her and when they dated, he had choked her and threatened to kill her before as well.
Now, I just want to clarify the timeline here. Kara went missing in 2007. Police interviewed Kyler back then, in 2007, after learning that Kara had a restraining order against him for kidnapping, choking, and pulling a knife. It's now 2011, and they have two concrete testimonials about Kyler admitting to killing Kara and others through the grapevine, but nothing has happened. On June 5, 2012, a different witness reached out to police.
Oh my gosh.
This is now the third person. Three years go by without an arrest. And during this time, Kyler gets thrown in jail on an unrelated charge. While in jail, police working Kara's case question Kyler again about Kara's case. They're like, oh, we already have him in custody, so let's go re-question him. And they confront him about the inconsistencies with his original story, those cell phone records.
They're like, we know you've already talked about this back in 2007, but we're going to confront you about it again. Why? Why did you lie? Why are those wrong? And he refused to answer any questions. So he's like, I'm not talking to you guys. A year later on March 28th, 2016, a cellmate of his during his time at the Oklahoma Correctional Facility contacted Pace.
police and told them that back in 2015, after they questioned Kyler, he came back to the cell and asked his cellmate to help him come up with an alibi because he had strangled Kara and he felt like police were closing in. By 2016, this makes seven total times that Kyler has allegedly told different people that he killed Kara and then those people came to police and then later that year, his stepbrother comes in and says that he just killed Jessica Runyon's. Oh my gosh.
Okay. So now I see what you were saying earlier about it could have been prevented. Could this have been prevented? Maybe it could have been prevented. I understand that it's all hearsay and we've seen that before with cases that feel like they can't move forward because everything is hearsay. There is no, they haven't found Kara's body. If there's no evidence, then maybe there's nothing they can do. Right. But it's like if seven people come forward and say he's talking. And also this guy has a big mouth. I can't believe. He can't stop telling people.
people he's killed her i cannot believe that jessica's dead i thought i thought she was gonna be alive she's missing yes well her brother just said that she was dead his stepbrother yes just said that she was dead
So now we're back. We're back to September 11th, 2016 at 936 a.m. A search warrant was served at Jessup, Step Brothers, mobile home, and Kyler Yust was arrested for burning Jessica's car and he was taken into custody. Now, according to the police, Kyler did have burns on his hands, his face and his arms at the time of his arrest. They also documented scratches on his face as well.
And I get this. I mean, I don't get it, but it's like, I understand that the only solid proof is
is the car. And I do want to say here that it's not police that always make this decision. Prosecution also decides. There's a lot that goes into it. Yeah, I just want to clarify that. So the state decides to continue investigating the case before trying Kyler for anyone's murder. They're like, we got to find some evidence. And
And at this point, everyone involved is not only sure that Kyler was involved in Jessica's disappearance, but they also can't help but notice the glaring signs pointing back at Kara's 10 years earlier. Kara's family at this point has been waiting for justice for over a decade.
And now the number one suspect is arrested for burning the car of another missing girl and still nothing can be done. Imagine how they feel. They've been waiting for this kid to get arrested for all of this time, feeling like he was the one. This is such a difficult case to hear. Cases, I guess. Right. Right.
A year later, on April 3rd, 2017, a mushroom hunter discovers human remains. A mushroom hunter? A mushroom hunter. Okay. I mean, I know they exist. Okay. But he discovers human remains off the highway in Cass County. And where the human remains were found was nine miles away from Belton High School.
The following day, a second set of much older remains was found just in the same area, like yards away from the body. On April 5th, 2017, the Kansas City Medical Examiner's Office and Kansas City Crime Lab determines that the first set of remains was that of Jessica Runyon's.
11 days later, on August 16th, 2016, Kara's family gets the devastating call that they have been waiting 10 years to receive that the second set of remains belonged to her, Kara Kapetsky, who had been missing since 2007. So he literally killed both of them.
Kyler Yust was charged with the deaths of Jessica Runyons and Kara Kapetsky on October 5th, 2017. Okay. As police built their case, they eventually arrested Jessup Carter, the set brother, for arson in July of 2018 with the promise that he would be their star witness at trial. They felt like he was going to be the thing that closed this case because he helped. He helped burn the car. And it was more than just hearsay like the other...
many witnesses they were going to call in they were obviously going to call in those seven who came forward and said that he had confessed to killing cara but this one was way more solid than those i assume he got a deal as well yes but on september 24th 2018 before trial even started jessup carter was found dead in his cell after successfully taking his own life oh my gosh okay
On June 19th, 2018, Kyler pled not guilty. Again, we've talked about this. It's like their egos for some reason think, I didn't do it. The evidence is... I just can't, I can't, I can't fathom that. Both girls were found within yards of each other. It's just so disrespectful. It's just another stab. It's just another thing to her. It's another thing. And I get, I mean, I understand why...
his lawyers are probably telling him, Hey, plead not guilty. But to me, it's just like, okay, whatever. And after this begins a whole string of delays from the defense for a multitude of reasons. And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but then finally in April of 2021, the,
Remember, Jessica died in 2016. Literally last year. Right. Trial officially began as both Jessica and Cara's families gathered in the courtroom coming together to find justice. Ten years apart and both families are sitting in the courtroom. That's so sad.
Cara's family was devastated that it took another victim to find their daughter. And if more evidence had been found or the prosecution had just decided to charge Kyler before 2016, could Jessica's murder have been avoided? It's the question everyone is asking. Kyler was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter for Cara's murder. Manslaughter?
Yes. How was this not first-degree murder? Well, he was found guilty of second-degree murder for Jessica's murder, and this was all after Kyler testified himself that his dead brother, Jessup Carter, was actually the real killer in both cases. Oh, and because he's dead. That was his defense. Okay.
And I can't tell you why it's manslaughter. That was up to the jury. The prosecution went for first degree murder in both and didn't get it in either. So I don't know what happened or what was said to make the jury decide to do manslaughter and second degree murder.
Rhonda Beckford, though, Kara's mother, does not think that voluntary manslaughter is justice for her daughter. Kyler Yust was sentenced to 15 years for Kara Kapetsky and life in prison for Jessica Runyons. I can't believe only 15 years for Kara. That blows my mind. I don't.
No. He killed someone and hey, you get 15 years. Right. Essentially, this will be 45 years in prison. Yeah. According to KMBC.com, the family said that it doesn't matter. It was always just about bringing the girls home, which they did. Yeah. They said, quote, Yeah.
Kara Kapetsky was a teenager when she was taken from this earth. She was bright and bubbly and can make anybody laugh. She was just figuring life out when an ex-boyfriend couldn't take no for an answer. He was mad that she wanted to hang out with another boy that weekend.
Jessica Runyon wasn't even dating him when the same man who killed Kara killed her. She too was young and her family misses her and never ever wanted to live life without her. So today let's remember Kara and Jessica for who they were, who they are, and keep their families and friends in our thoughts. And that is the story of Kara and Jessica. Oh, that's crazy. And the fact that it's just been so long. Yeah.
10 years. So long. And then the trial got delayed and... 2021. And it's so... What a nightmare. It is so hard. It's a hard case because every single source is like...
Why did it take 10 years when you had seven different people come in? But there was no physical proof. And it's like, I understand it. It's hard. I mean, I get that. It's risky to take him to trial and risk him getting off. If he gets off double jeopardy, correct? He can't be tried again for her murder. Yes. And it's like, if all you have is hearsay, all you have is testimony, you have no forensic proof, you have no body. It's very risky to do. And we have to understand that.
But at the same time, it's so hard. And it happens all the time when you see that it takes a whole nother victim to close a case. Yeah, I know. And it's just this guy. I just could not take no for an answer. It's that mentality. It's that if I can't have you, nobody just kills people like who? Yeah.
I just won't understand just that mindset. I just can't comprehend it. I'll never be able to comprehend it. We can't. It's just, it's disgusting. It's gross and it's sad and it's so sad for their families and it's so sad for them. Yeah. Okay. Before we end, I want to remind you that there is a whole nother victim attached to this case.
Kelsey Smith. And we just covered her case on our bonus Patreon episode that's available now. So if you want to listen to her case and figure out how it ties in to Jessica and Cara's case, go ahead and head over to patreon.com slash murder with my husband. And you can listen to it right now. Now, thank you guys so much for listening. We love you so much. I hope you all have a really good day and we will see you guys next week with another episode. I love it. And I hate it. Goodbye. Bye.