May 27, 2026

Chapter 143: The Dead Don't Stay Buried-The Murder of David Churchill Jackson

Chapter 143: The Dead Don't Stay Buried-The Murder of David Churchill Jackson
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In June 1988, 24-year-old truck driver David Churchill Jackson walked out of his Pembroke Pines, Florida apartment and completely vanished. He left behind a loving mother, a complicated past, and a young son who would grow up wondering what happened to his father.

For fifteen years, David’s disappearance remained a frozen mystery—until a cold case detective's vision board caught the eye of an unexpected visitor. ​In this chapter of The Book of the Dead, I explored the life of David Jackson, the devastating silence left in the wake of his disappearance, and the jaw-dropping twist that finally brought a hidden killer to justice decades later. This isn’t just a story about how David died; it is about who he was, the family that never stopped looking for him, and why his memory matters.

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AFTER 7 YEARS, DISAPPEARANCE STILL MYSTERY. (2021, September 24). Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1995/08/13/after-7-years-disappearance-still-mystery/Ambushed: The murder of David Jackson. (2014, May 11). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ambushed-the-murder-of-david-jackson/David Churchill Jackson (1963-1988). (2013, March 16). FInd a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106814812/david_churchill-jacksonDeutsch, K. (2005, January 22). Ohioian linked to 1988 murder. The Miami Herald, 6B.Elmore, C. (1994, September 14). Missing Pines man topic of TV talk show. Sun Sentinel, 2B.Ex-wife charged with murder after 19 years. (2021, September 26). Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2007/12/15/ex-wife-charged-with-murder-after-19-years/?clearUserState=trueGuilty plea closes 24-year-old murder case. (2021, September 28). Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2012/04/17/guilty-plea-closes-24-year-old-murder-case-2/James, S. (1990, June 25). Disappearance baffles police. Sun Sentinel, 1B.Kamph, S. (2011, June 23). My Father’s Bones. Broward Palm Beach New Times, 34, 15–20.Pazdera, D. (1992, July 4). Mom still can’t find her son. Sun Sentinel, 13B.Santana, S. (2001, November 3). Man convicted of Miramar murder. Sun Sentinel, 3B.Santana, S., & Marino, J. (2007, December 15). Ex-wife hit with murder charge years after crime. Sun Sentinel, 1B-6B.SUSPECT HELD IN ’88 DEATH OF PINES MAN. (2021, September 27). Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2004/10/13/suspect-held-in-88-death-of-pines-man/WOLFE v. STATE, No. 4D07-4555. | Fla. Dist. Ct. App., Judgment, Law, casemine.com. (n.d.). https://www.casemine.com. https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59146407add7b04934271346Woman implicated in ex-husband’s murder to be released on bail. (2021, September 28). Sun Sentinel. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2010/09/16/woman-implicated-in-ex-husbands-murder-to-be-released-on-bail/

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If you have a case suggestion, or want attention brought to a loved one's case, email me at bookofthedeadpod@gmail.com with Case Suggestion in the subject line.

Stay safe, stay curious, and stay vigilant.

WEBVTT

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Every story has a beginning, but not everyone has an ending.

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In the shadows of headlines and buried police reports lay

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the voices of the missing, the murdered, and the forgotten,

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waiting to be heard and have their stories told. This

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is The Book of the Dead, a true crime podcast

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where we remember forgotten victims of heinous crimes, reopen cold cases,

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re visit haunting disappearances, and uncover the truths buried beneath

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the years of silence. I'm your host, Courtney Liso, and

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every week we turn to another chapter, one victim, one mystery,

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one step closer to justice. Brought to you by Darkast

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Network INDEP Podcasts with the Twist. Hello, Hello, Welcome to

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the next chapter in the Book of the Dead. In

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the spring of two thousand and three, donn of Alaskaz

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of the Pembroke Pines Police Department was promoted to detective

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and as part of her job, she was made the

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lead on the department's longest onsolved missing person's case. In

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nineteen eighty eight, a twenty four year old man left

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the apartment he shared with his roommate after receiving a

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phone call from a woman at around seven pm. He showered, dressed,

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borrowed some money from his roommate for cigarettes and beer,

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and climbed in his black nineteen seventy nine Toyota Celica

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ahead of a month long visit with his four year

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old son. The man never came home. Fifteen years later,

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the case was cold and Detective Alaskaz was determined to

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solve it. As part of her process to understand the

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case and its original investigation, she made a display board

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to hang on the wall, pitting the missing person flyer

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up so that the man's smiling face looked out into

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the room. Every day, people passed by that poster without

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a second glance until July ninth, two thousand and three,

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when a teenager enrolled in the Police Explorer program to

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prepare himself for a career in law enforcement noticed the flyer.

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What stopped him in his tracks was the description of

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the man's tattoo. When he leans in to take a

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closer look, he recognized the blonde mullet and sparkling eyes

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that were so like his own. The teenager looked at

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the officer nearby and said, he's my father. Suddenly, Detective

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Alaskas had something to go on, and the young man

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who was desperate for answers about his father led police

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to the only person he thought he could trust. This

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is the murder of David Jackson. David Churchill Jackson was

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born on September twenty fourth, nineteen sixty three, to Judy

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Carlson and Jean Jackson in Hollywood, Florida. There isn't a

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whole lot known about his childhood, but he was the

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oldest of four children, and he was incredibly close with

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his family, especially his mother and his younger brother Mark.

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Mark told The Sun Sentinel that when Jean and Judy divorced,

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David looked out for his little brother. Quote, David became

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my parent. He didn't let me wander. According to another

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article for the Sun Sentinel, David was an overall good

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guy and for the most part, he was pretty predictable,

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never running off to get into mischief. Judy said of

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her son, quote, David looked up to his responsibilities. This

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is not a kid that was into drugs. He didn't

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have a record, he didn't have mental problems. Around nineteen eighty,

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David graduated from Hollywood Hills High School, but college wasn't

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in the cards. Furthering his education was expensive and David

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just didn't have the money, so he went right to

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work instead. His stepfather, Richard, worked in the corporate offices

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for Burger King, so he'd helped David get a job

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in one of the restaurants, and soon he was assistant manager.

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For a time, he worked and enjoyed his time as

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a teenager. David loved hunting, working on trucks, listening to

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his country music as said tapes, and he enjoyed a

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good glass of whiskey. Then in nineteen eighty two, a

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new employee started at the Pembroke Pines Burger King. Barbara

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Britton was seventeen years old, the new girl in Pembroke

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Pines and the talk of the town. She was beautiful, petite,

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with dark wavy hair and high cheekbones. But already people

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in town knew that her father, Harry, was incredibly protective

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and even a little controlling. She and her family moved

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around due to her father being in the army, and

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they had just moved to Hollywood, Florida. Barbara was attending

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MacArthur High School and she had just started working at

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Burger King to earn some money. According to an article

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for the Palm Beach New Times. David's friend and co

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worker at the time, Bill Brown, remember telling David that

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Barbara I was clearly interested in him. David, though, was

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worried about pursuing a relationship with a subordinate, but Barbara

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wasn't deterred. Soon enough, the two were dating. Barbara said

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years after the fact, quote, he was great. There was

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no other way to describe it. Someone that you like

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to be with. According to CBS, Judy remember Barbara and

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David seeming very much in love, and talk of marriage

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after Barbara's graduation was a common topic for the two.

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Then by Christmas, the couple announced that they were going

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to have baby. Judy told forty eight Hours quote, I

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liked her very much. She was a pretty girl. And

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then they said, mom, we got something to tell you.

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Barbara's pregnant. And they both said that they've been talking

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about marriage anyway, so they're going to go ahead and

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get married. In April second, nineteen eighty three, during barbara

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spring break in the day before Easter, the two married

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in a big wedding. Harry Brittin begrudgingly signed off on

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the nuptials since his daughter was under eighteen, but he

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made it obvious that he was not happy for the

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young couple. David's brother Mark said quote, one of the

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only people I know my brother was ever scared of

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always was her father. My brother got his daughter pregnant,

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my brother was very scared of him, scared of what

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he might do to him. All things should have been

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wonderful for David and Barbara, being newly married with a

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baby on the way, that wasn't the case. According to

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David's family, Barbara refused to leave her parents home after

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the wedding, but apparently no one knew the reason for

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this decision. From what Barbara said, David had changed and

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their marriage was going wrong before it even started. But

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to the Jacksons, David was never given the opportunity to

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make things work. On August twenty fifth, nineteen eighty three,

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Barbara gave birth to their son, who was named John Henry,

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but David wasn't there. According to the article for the

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Palm Beach New Times, the Jacksons claimed that Barbara never

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notified her husband that she was in labor, and Judy

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said that she had distanced herself completely from her new

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husband by the end of her pregnancy. Barbara herself later

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admitted that David only learned of John's birth when he

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received the hospital bill in the mail. Afterwards, Barbara claimed

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that she struggled, essentially being left to raise a baby alone,

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because David was immature and just wanted to go out

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with his friends. According to CBS, she claimed quote, he

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would just come over sometimes and be like, I'm going here,

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you know, and I would be like, okay, you know,

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and wish I could go. Of course, being a teen

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parent is difficult overall, but based on the claims from

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people that knew David, which I mentioned earlier, David wasn't

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one to shirk his responsibilities, and I'm inclined to believe

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he would have wanted to be involved in the caring

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of his son, especially when Barbara herself admitted that she

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didn't even tell him that their son had been born.

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She was clearly not making it easy for him to

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be a hands on father. Then, two years to the

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day of their wedding, the two were divorced, and David

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made sure that he got partial custody. For two years,

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they shared custody of their son. David paid his child

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support and lived for his days with the baby, but

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then Barbara dropped a bomb on David's world. In nineteen

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eighty six, while working for Toys r Us, Barbara met

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a man twenty years her senior, named Michael Wolfe, who

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also worked for the company. D was from Arizona, a

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military vet, and he was in Florida for corporate training.

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In June of nineteen eighty seven, the two married, and

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Barbara told David that not only was she moving to Tucson,

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where Michael was from, but she was taking three year

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old John with her and they were leaving in three hours.

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An agreement was made, with the help of a judge,

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after David had gone to Arizona with a friend to

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see his son, that Barbara was to bring John back

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to Florida for a month long visit with his father

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in the summer of nineteen eighty eight. As David's visit

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with his son approached, he did what he could to prepare.

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By now, he was working for Coca Cola as a

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delivery driver, taking bartending classes at night, and he had

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moved into a brand new apartment with a friend named

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Alvaro Bracco on Pasadena Place, and a friend told upon

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each New Times that David had joked about buying a

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brand new vacuum to quote get the floors cleaned for John.

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He had also requested eleven days of vacation time to

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spend as much time as he could with John. On

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June twenty fifth, nineteen eighty eight, just days ahead of

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his son's arrival, David had spent the afternoon moving in

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a new furniture set he had purchased, and he was

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getting ready to relax. At around seven pm, the phone

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rang with a call for David. On the other end

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was a woman, and when David hung up, he headed

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into his bedroom to shower and change. According to Alvaro,

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when David emerged from his bedroom, he was wearing a

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T shirt and shorts and was running a gray comb

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through his hair. In the air was the smell of cologne.

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David asked if he could borrow a few dollars so

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that he could pick up some beer and cigarettes. According

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to CBS, he was given two dollars and then David

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headed out the door. At around eight pm, Judy called

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and Alvarero explained that David had gone out for a while.

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Hours passed, but he never came back home. Judy never

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received a call back from her son, and the next day,

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when Mark landed at the airport after a trip, David,

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who had promised to pick his brother up, failed to show.

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Judy and Alvarero, according to court records, both reported David missing.

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It seems as if initially police theorized that David had

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left of his own volition, but this was dismissed by

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his family. David was so close to his mother and

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wanted so badly to see his son. He would never

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just disappear. He had every reason to want his stay.

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In fact, his movements in the days and weeks leading

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up to his disappearance supported that he had no intentions

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of leaving. He had thrown at dinner party the night

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before his disappearance, calling his stepfather Richard, to ask him

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for his coveted recipe for chicken palm. He had just

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spot of brand new bar that he was waiting to

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be delivered, and had recently paid his bills and his rent.

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His boss also told police that David had only spoken

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of seeing his son for days. He couldn't wait for

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the visit. He never would have left without seeing his son. Then,

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the strange phone call started within a week of David's disappearance,

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Mark started getting calls at home every day, but the

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caller never said a word. According to CBS, Mark would

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say to the caller, hoping that it was his brother,

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quote David, You've got to talk to me, but he

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never got a response. However, at the end of the

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week of calls, they finally spoke and a deep voice said, quote,

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leave your brother's disappearance alone. David is dead. They hung

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up and then called again shortly after, saying, quote, I'll

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bet you want to know where the body is. Mark

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said he was so scared all he could do is shake.

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At the same time, Alvaro's mother was also getting alarming

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phone calls. Pembroke Pine's detective France Michaud said that she

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was warned, quote your son better be careful or the

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same thing will happen to him as David Jackson. Mark

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was so desperate to find his brother that he ultimately

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consulted to psychic shortly after David vanished, and was told

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by both that quote two men shot his brother outside

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a convenience store and through his body in a culvert

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near a white pick offence. According to the Sun Sentinel,

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this was similar to a dream that Mark had had

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about David, where he dreamt that his brother had begged

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for his life, kneeling before two men before being shot

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in the head and being thrown in a canal. Mark

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took to the water, diving into every canal with a

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culvert near a white pick offence that he could find,

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in the hopes that David or a clue as to

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what happened would be found. Though Mark spent weeks desperately searching,

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nothing ever, was eighty eight days after David was reported missing,

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on September twenty second, nineteen eighty eight, his car was

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discovered at the parking lot of Fort Lawe Otterdale Hollywood

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International Airport. It had been there approximately thirty five days,

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and upon processing, no fingerprints were recovered at all, but

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a six pack of Heineken with one missing, as well

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as a box of twenty two caliber bullets were found.

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Also in the front seat was the hair brush that

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he always carried in his back pocket. David had been

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known to own several guns, one of which he kept

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in his bedroom and another he left under the front

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seat of his car. That firearm was also never found.

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By the time David's car was found, even investigators were

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positive that he didn't just leave on his own. According

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to the Sun Sentinel, his credit cards remained unused after

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June twenty fifth, and there was no activity on his

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Social Security number. He had also failed to pick up

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his last paycheck from work. As more time passed, David's

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case grew cold as investigators ran into dead end after

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dead end. By nineteen ninety, two, years after his disappearance,

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police could only say that they knew something terrible it

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happened to him. They just didn't know what. Detective Micheade

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told the Sun Sentinel, quote, Right now, the only thing

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00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.000
we have is foulplay. It's the only thing we can

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00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:14.039
go on. To try and escape the grief of not

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knowing the fate of her son, Judy and her husband

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00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.039
moved to Norman, Oklahoma. She had spent months driving up

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and down South Florida handing out flyers, but the heartache

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finally became too much. She said, quote, I was constantly

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00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.759
looking in the same places, chasing cars, trucks, hitchhikers and

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00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:35.159
pedestrians that looked like David. I just couldn't handle it.

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I don't think he's out there alive, but I don't

254
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know what happened, you just hope. That same year, Barbara

255
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.519
and John came back home to Florida, moving in with

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Barbara's parents while Barbara's second husband, Michael, had adopted John

257
00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.679
when he was around four and a half or five

258
00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.960
years old. Mere months after David's disappearance, they changed Shawn's

259
00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.120
last name to Wolf, but trouble started burwing once again

260
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and Michael and Barbara. Michael headed to Ohio, getting a

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job as manager of a chuck E Cheese, and Barbara

262
00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:08.440
found a job in Florida at a Walmart that had

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been built recently in Miramar on Pembroke Road and University Avenue.

264
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This Walmart, in particular, was a bit eerie to work in,

265
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as the year before, in nineteen eighty nine, human remains

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had been found in that lot. As the construction crew

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were excavating in preparation for building, one of the crewmen

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spotted a skeletal hand tangled in a vine. A partial

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skeleton was unearthed, no skull was found, and the police

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were called. The medical examiner was unable to make an

271
00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:41.480
identification without the skull, and the remains went into storage

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at the Broward County Medical Examiner's office. Three years after

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leaving Florida, Judy and her husband returned to Pembroke Pines,

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no longer able to bear the not knowing while she

275
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fell from the day her son went missing that David

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was dead. The uncertainty led her to push the police

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to keep looking for answers. The police had nothing to

278
00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:04.679
go on, though every lead had dried up, and Detective

279
00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:08.679
Machad was frustrated with the investigation at a standstill. He

280
00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:12.440
told the Sun Sentinel quote, I'm so aggravated. I'm at

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00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:17.200
a dead end. I can't pinpoint anything. Equally as frustrated,

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00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:19.840
but more so for the lack of media attention, was

283
00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.720
Judy and Richard. They had gone to various national television

284
00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:26.039
shows to try and bring more attention to David's case,

285
00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:30.399
but none more interested. They believed that had David been

286
00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:34.399
younger or a woman, the public would care more. Since

287
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anyone over eighteen can legally go off whenever they want,

288
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they felt that David was being dismissed. In an attempt

289
00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:43.799
to garner more attention, Judy and Mark went on the

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00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.360
Mantel Williams Show to talk about his case and meet

291
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:50.799
with psychic Sylvia Brown. According to the Sun Sentinel. Sylvia

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was not told anything about David or his disappearance prior

293
00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:57.879
to filming, but she was able to describe key details

294
00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:02.600
about his personality and appearance. She also liked the psychics

295
00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:06.319
market previously spoken to. Told Judy that David had been shot,

296
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but he and his killers would never be found. The

297
00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.000
next few years were quiet, with no new leads for

298
00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:14.960
detectives to follow, but they hoped that because he had

299
00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.599
a distinctive tattoo of a palm tree on his upper arm,

300
00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:20.960
if his body was ever found, he would be identified,

301
00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:25.279
but they were still waiting for that to happen. Detective

302
00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:29.240
Mischad said, quote, I have absolutely nothing. That's the problem.

303
00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.119
That's just human nature. You just want to follow the

304
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:36.720
puzzle of his brother's fate. Mark told the Son's Sentinel quote,

305
00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.960
if my brother's dead, he's dead. But you've got to know.

306
00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:44.279
It's the not knowing that constantly eats it you. And

307
00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.519
fifteen years after he first went missing, in two thousand

308
00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.519
and three, detective Donn of Alaskaz was made the lead

309
00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:54.599
investigator in David's case, and she put his poster up

310
00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:58.000
at the station. When nineteen year old John Wolfe announced

311
00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.160
that the man in the missing person's flyer was Detective

312
00:18:01.160 --> 00:18:04.000
Alaskas sat down with the teenager the very next day

313
00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:06.200
to learn all she could about David Jackson that he

314
00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:10.000
could remember. According to John, he had asked his mother

315
00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.480
countless times over the years about his father, but Barbara

316
00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.640
was evasive. According to the Pond Beach New Times, sometimes

317
00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.039
Barbara would tell her son that she hoped David was alive,

318
00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.279
and other times, angry about the questions, she would say

319
00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.839
he was dead. John had even asked the father of

320
00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.519
one of his friends to look into David's disappearance since

321
00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:35.319
he worked in law enforcement, but nothing came of it. Together,

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00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.799
Detective Alaskas and John were going to look into the

323
00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.720
case again, and John went home and told Barbara about

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David's disappearance being reinvestigated. According to what Barbara told Forty

325
00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:49.000
eight Hours, she was thrilled that David's case was being

326
00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.680
made a priority. Quote. I was like, well, good, that's

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00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:54.519
a good thing that they're going to work on it.

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00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.759
David was my first love and my life, and I

329
00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:02.599
always hoped that David would come back. However, Detective Alaskas

330
00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:07.440
said Barbara's reaction was a little bit different. According to CBS,

331
00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.000
she said, quote when John goes and tells his mom

332
00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:14.000
they've reopened the case. Well, Barbara says to her own son,

333
00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:16.960
I thought that was closed a long time ago. They

334
00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:20.440
need to leave it alone. And John claimed that his

335
00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.200
mother got very defensive when he spoke with her, and

336
00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:28.319
he believed that she was withholding information. Detective Alaskas said

337
00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:30.559
of this quote, that sends up a red flag for

338
00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:32.680
me in that maybe I was going to have to

339
00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:35.200
fish in the pond and see just exactly what happened.

340
00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:39.839
Barbara was interviewed by investigators about her relationship with David,

341
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:42.680
and she claimed that he was violent towards John and

342
00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:46.440
used their son to taunt her. She claims, according to

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00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:48.559
The Pond Beach New Times, that while John was with

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00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:51.640
his father, he would come back with bruises and scrapes,

345
00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:54.160
and that David would put John on the phone and

346
00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.440
hit him to make him cry, or even burn him

347
00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:01.319
with cigarettes. Detective Alaska's looked into the allegations and saw

348
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:04.200
that if John was being harmed in any way, Barbara

349
00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:07.880
never reported it to police. In speaking with John, he

350
00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.440
had very few memories of his father, but he did

351
00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.400
remember happy times with him. What he did not recall

352
00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.559
was instances of being harmed by his father and said

353
00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.839
that his mother was paranoid. While Barbara definitely never told

354
00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.880
the police about any alleged abuse, she admitted telling her

355
00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:29.359
father Harry, that David was abusing his son. Barbara said

356
00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.279
that her father was incensed and was very protective over

357
00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:36.720
her in John. As Detective Alaska's continued to dig, learning

358
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.839
about David's vehicle being found in the complete lack of prince,

359
00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:43.200
which was alarming, she realized that John and David did

360
00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:46.759
not share the same last name. When she asked John

361
00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:49.160
about this, he told her all about the adoption that

362
00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:54.440
happened right after David disappeared. Detective Alaska has told CBS quote,

363
00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:57.960
another flag went up for me. Why would any person

364
00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:01.960
want their son adopted by his stepfather so quick after

365
00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:07.319
the biological father went missing. Barbara was absolutely hiding something,

366
00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.240
but investigators needed to find out what it was, and

367
00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:13.559
they needed John's help to do it. John Wolfe initially

368
00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:15.839
was willing to wear a wire to speak to his mother,

369
00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.720
saying that while he loved her, if she had done

370
00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:22.519
something bad, she needed to be held accountable. In the end,

371
00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.759
though he decided against recording the conversation with Barbara, but

372
00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:27.759
he claimed she asked if he was trying to get

373
00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:31.079
her arrested. Barbara would go on to claim that she

374
00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:33.759
never said that and she was not going to entertain

375
00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:38.680
the question to Detective Blaskas, though if she did say this,

376
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:41.480
it made her a pretty strong contender for a homicide

377
00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:44.839
suspect if she could prove that David Jackson was dead.

378
00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:48.519
In the end, it was figuring out the Google search

379
00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:52.240
engine that helped her get some answers. Detective Blascas was

380
00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:54.480
taught how to run a Google search by her partner,

381
00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.960
and she looked up different keywords like unidentified remains on

382
00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:01.599
soult homicides, thing that she could think of that could

383
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:05.920
possibly point her in the right direction then and one

384
00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:07.960
of the results was a link for the Florida on

385
00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.200
Identified to seed in database. This database allowed a person

386
00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:15.799
to input specific characteristics for the person they were looking for,

387
00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.559
so she entered David's information six foot two, one hundred

388
00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:25.400
and sixty eight pounds, sandy, blonde hair, Caucasian, and fifty

389
00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:30.839
potential matches popped up. Detective Alaskas began going through each one,

390
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:35.240
and finally one jumped out at her she saw that

391
00:22:35.279 --> 00:22:39.480
in nineteen eighty nine, construction workers found partial human remains

392
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:42.720
of what was believed to be a Caucasian male over

393
00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:47.400
six feet tall in Miramar, one town south of Pembroke Pines.

394
00:22:49.319 --> 00:22:52.519
Detective Alaska spoke to Judy Carlson about the new developments

395
00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.599
in her son's case, and Judy told her that David

396
00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:59.079
really wanted to get back together with Barbara, and she

397
00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:01.559
gave police a letter David had a written stating the

398
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:06.039
same thing. She also gave Detective Alaska's a DNA sample

399
00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.559
to compare to the remains found in Miramar. When the

400
00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.759
results came back, Velaska's was in shock. The results came

401
00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:18.400
back as a one hundred percent match. David Jackson had

402
00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:20.759
been found and his remains were brought back home to

403
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.839
his mother. Velaska's went to speak with Barbara after the identification,

404
00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:32.319
and she had an interesting reaction. Velaska has told CBS, quote, well,

405
00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:35.839
I got this look that was so strange and so cold.

406
00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:38.640
She asked me where did we find them and how

407
00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:43.359
many bones did we have? Barbara, when later asked about

408
00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:46.920
this statement, couldn't recall ever saying it. Quote, I don't

409
00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.000
remember saying that. I just kept saying, Oh my god,

410
00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:52.920
if that's her opinion, and if that's what she wants

411
00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.440
to say, then if that makes her feel good, then

412
00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.920
let her say that, because that really upsets me. Why

413
00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:01.759
would I. I didn't care where they found the bones.

414
00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:04.039
All I know is they found the bones and they

415
00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:08.279
had a match. With Barbara being uncooperative and insisting she

416
00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:10.920
wasn't even in Florida at the time of David's death,

417
00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:15.160
Bulaskis set her sights on Michael Wolf. She tracked him

418
00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:18.039
down to Kettering, Ohio, and while he wasn't home when

419
00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:21.240
the police knocked on his door. According to court records,

420
00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.440
Michael voluntarily met the police down at the local precinct

421
00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:30.079
and he had an interesting story to tell. According to

422
00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:35.160
Michael quote, three months before Jackson disappeared, Barbara the baby

423
00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:39.480
and he visited Barbara's parents in South Florida. Barbara's parents

424
00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:43.920
lived approximately two miles from the Walmart. Wolf and Barbara's father, Harry,

425
00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:47.359
went for a walk and Harry expressed concerned about allegations

426
00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:51.680
that Jackson abused the baby. Harry suggested that Jackson should

427
00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:55.880
be gone. Wolf I'm sure if Harry was serious, advised

428
00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:57.400
that the park they were in would be a good

429
00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:59.519
spot to dispose of a body due to salt in

430
00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:03.200
the sand. Wolfe suggested using Barbara as bait to lord

431
00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:05.359
Jackson to a place where Harry could use a small

432
00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:08.200
caliber gun, a twenty two to shoot Jackson in the

433
00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.519
head once or twice. Wolfe explained that he did not

434
00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:13.680
know if Harry would listen, and when Barbara and the

435
00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:17.119
baby returned to Florida the week of Jackson's disappearance, there

436
00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:20.799
was no mention to wolf of any foul play. According

437
00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.119
to Wolfe, Barbara and the baby had simply gone to

438
00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:26.559
South Florida before the scheduled July visitation in order to

439
00:25:26.599 --> 00:25:31.400
see Barbara's parents. Police looked into Michael further and learned

440
00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:34.359
about him being a military police officer in the Air Force,

441
00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:37.759
and he had obtained a federal firearms license twenty two

442
00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.319
days before David disappeared. Records also showed that he sold

443
00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:47.200
a firearm to a woman named Nancy Graham. Nancy was

444
00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.279
Michael's ex wife. They had been married from nineteen ninety

445
00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:54.000
three to nineteen ninety eight, and during that time, Nancy

446
00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:57.960
claimed that her ex husband was drinking excessively every night

447
00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.519
when he was really he started talking about David Jackson,

448
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:07.480
Nancy said, quote, I really think his conscience was killing him.

449
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:12.079
It was bothering him. According to court records, Michael had

450
00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.799
quote mentioned to Graham that his son's biological father, Jackson,

451
00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:19.319
had got missing. He stated that Barbara and her father

452
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:20.880
had come up with a plan to get rid of

453
00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:24.759
Jackson because Jackson had been abusing the baby. Wolf went

454
00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:26.960
along with the plant, and he and Barbara flew from

455
00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:30.880
Arizona to Fort Lauderdale under assumed names using other people's

456
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:35.759
identification cards. Then Barbara contacted Jackson and asked him to

457
00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:38.319
meet her at a motel, but not tell anyone she

458
00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:42.000
was in town. Wolfe was in the motel bathroom drunk.

459
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:46.160
When Jackson arrived, Wolf shot him in the head twice.

460
00:26:46.359 --> 00:26:49.039
Barbara and Harry cleaned up. Then Wolf and Harry took

461
00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.839
Jackson's part of the airport. Next, Wolf and Harry took

462
00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:57.039
Jackson's body to a lot and buried him. Subsequently, Harry

463
00:26:57.160 --> 00:26:59.440
learned about construction of a wal mart at that site,

464
00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:03.400
So Barbara again flew from Arizona to Florida, and Wolf

465
00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.240
and Harry dug up the bones and put them in

466
00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:10.400
the trash cans outside Harry's home. Based on this statement,

467
00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:13.000
Wolfe was arrested for the murder of David Jackson in

468
00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:15.480
October of two thousand and four, and he was to

469
00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:19.759
be extradited to Florida to face trial. Of course, the

470
00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:22.759
story made it to most news outlets, and who should

471
00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.839
see the broadcast but Wolfe's first ex wife, Carol Lawson,

472
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:31.200
who immediately called the police with her own story. According

473
00:27:31.200 --> 00:27:33.359
to Carol, who had been married to Michael for twelve

474
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.319
years prior to his marriage to Barbara, she was contacted

475
00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:42.519
by her ex husband several years after David's disappearance. He

476
00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.160
was living with Nancy at the time, and he told Carol,

477
00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:48.079
while very drunk, that he had killed a man in

478
00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.680
a motel by shooting him twice in the head. These

479
00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:54.599
statements were used to build a case against Michael for murder,

480
00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:57.759
as without David Skull, there was no physical proof that

481
00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:01.000
he had been killed. Kill went to trial in two

482
00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.920
thousand and seven and was ultimately found guilty after one

483
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.880
hour of deliberation. He was sentenced to life in prison

484
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:12.359
for the murder of David Jackson. As for Barbara, even

485
00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:15.000
though both Nancy and Carol had said that they heard

486
00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.960
she had been involved in David's murder, with Carol saying

487
00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:20.079
that Michael told her Barbara had attempted to use a

488
00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.960
stung gun on him. Since it was hearsay, their statements

489
00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:28.039
were inadmissible in court, their statements could only be used

490
00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:32.759
as evidence against Michael. Investigators couldn't even speak to Harry

491
00:28:32.759 --> 00:28:35.799
Britain about any potential involvement from he or his daughter,

492
00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:38.000
as he had died in nineteen ninety eight at the

493
00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:41.720
age of sixty four. Michael was the only one who

494
00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:46.640
could implicate Barbara and implicate her he did in an

495
00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:49.480
attempt to save himself from life in prison. After his conviction,

496
00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:53.000
Michael told investigators that Barbara and Harry were more involved

497
00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:57.200
than she would have people believe. Michael claimed that not

498
00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:01.440
only was Barbara in Florida at the time of David's mone,

499
00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:05.640
she was in the hotel room. Barbara had lured David

500
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.920
to the hotel with the promise of getting back together,

501
00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:10.599
and she used the sun gun on him when he arrived,

502
00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:14.880
but he was still conscious. Wolf completely drunk at this point,

503
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:17.480
came into the room using a towel as a silencer

504
00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:21.000
on his pistol. At this point, David pulled out his

505
00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:24.160
own weapon, but Michael was able to shoot first, hitting

506
00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:27.519
David in the left side of the head as Wolf

507
00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.000
was about seven feet away. David, though stumbling around the room,

508
00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:34.960
did not fall. Michael alleged that Barbara guided David into

509
00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:37.720
a chair and told her father that he was still alive.

510
00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:43.200
Harry demanded Wolf shoot again, so he did. They wrapped

511
00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:45.279
David's body in a towel and buried him in the

512
00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:49.240
vacant lot where the walmart was ultimately built. When Harry

513
00:29:49.319 --> 00:29:51.880
learned of the construction happening a year later, he called

514
00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:54.599
Michael to help and recover the remains and dispose of them.

515
00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:59.720
The entire plan was the brainchild of Harry and Barbara.

516
00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:02.559
A saw Michael's statement, a grand jury determined that there

517
00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:06.160
was sufficient evidence to charge Barbara Britton with first degree murder,

518
00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:10.000
according to the Pond Beach New Times, though Barbara did

519
00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:13.359
not fire the fatal shots. Florida law allows for the

520
00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:16.519
most serious murder charge for someone suspected of helping to

521
00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:21.200
orchestrate and perform a plot to kill. Barbara was arrested

522
00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:24.000
in December of two thousand and seven, just six weeks

523
00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:27.400
after Michael was sentenced to life in prison. While this

524
00:30:27.480 --> 00:30:30.480
was a major step towards justice for David, for David

525
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:35.359
Jackson and his family, things changed. In twenty ten, after

526
00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:38.839
being jailed for three years awaiting trial, Barbara Britton was

527
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:43.400
granted a fifty thousand dollars bond. Judge Jeffrey Levinson, who

528
00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:46.319
granted the bail, said that this decision was influenced by

529
00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:50.279
the testimony of an inmate being Joseph Wiley, who claimed

530
00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:54.279
that Michael Wolfe told him two different stories about David's murder,

531
00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:58.559
one implicating Barbara and one where she was innocent of

532
00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:03.200
any involvement. In this new version, Michael claimed that he

533
00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:06.279
and Harry were responsible for David's death and that Barbara

534
00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:11.480
had been in Tucson the entire time completely unaware. Wiley

535
00:31:11.559 --> 00:31:14.119
said that Wolfe claimed to have implicated Barbara for running

536
00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:18.759
her mouth based on this testimony, which Wiley claims he

537
00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.279
made because he knows what it feels like to be

538
00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:25.279
in prison for nothing. Judge Levinson said that prosecutors failed

539
00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:27.759
to meet the legal burden required for holding a person

540
00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:31.079
in jail without bond. Instead, she would be placed on

541
00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:35.079
house arrest with GPS monitoring of the news. Judy told

542
00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:39.119
The Sun's Sentinel quote, I'm very disappointed. It's been twenty

543
00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:42.720
two years, two months and about twenty three days. I

544
00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:45.559
know she was there. Michael would not have killed David

545
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.640
unless Barbara agreed, because he did not want to lose Barbara.

546
00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:54.079
But she'll be back in prison for life. In twenty twelve,

547
00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:58.640
twenty four years after David was murdered, Barbara Britton pled guilty,

548
00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:02.839
but not for murder. She pled guilty to accessory after

549
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:05.400
the fact to first degree murder, stating that she had

550
00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:07.720
called David to tell him that Harry wanted to speak

551
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:11.359
with him about David's plans for John. She maintained that

552
00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:14.039
she made the call from Arizona and she had no

553
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:18.480
idea how or why her ex husband had disappeared. The

554
00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:22.079
guilty police saved Barbara from a possible mandatory life sentence

555
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:26.880
had she been convicted of first degree murder. Instead. As

556
00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:29.559
part of her deal, she was sentenced to two years

557
00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.759
of community service and eight years of probation for her

558
00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:36.880
role in David's death. At the sentencing, Judy made it

559
00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:40.359
clear that she wasn't buying Barbara's story. According to the

560
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:44.240
Sun's Sentinel, she said quote, you are a sociopath. You

561
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:47.960
did participate in that murder. She also made it clear

562
00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:51.000
that Barbara was twisted for knowingly working right on top

563
00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:54.920
of where David's body had been buried. Today, Michael maintains

564
00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:58.119
that Barbara orchestrated the entire thing and used the allegations

565
00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:00.880
of abuse to motivate him and her fother to kill David.

566
00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:04.799
Michael told CBS that he couldn't recall ever seeing marks

567
00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:07.680
on John and how even though she claimed that her

568
00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:11.079
son was being harmed, Barbara never seemed to take issue

569
00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:14.559
with John going to see his father. It was Harry

570
00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:19.359
rather who had so much animosity towards David. Michael said, quote,

571
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:21.720
Harry said, the only way I want to see David's

572
00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:24.200
face up in a box at Fred Hunter's, which is

573
00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:27.559
a funeral home. He said that more than once, and

574
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:30.559
Barbara said, he wants to do something to David. He

575
00:33:30.599 --> 00:33:33.519
wants to get rid of David. He had asked Barbara

576
00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:36.000
to ask me if I knew anybody he would do it,

577
00:33:36.039 --> 00:33:38.480
you know, like a hitman or a killer or something.

578
00:33:39.480 --> 00:33:41.640
I finally told him that I would take care of that.

579
00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:44.039
I thought I could do that and keep peace in

580
00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:47.160
the family, keep the family together, this kind of thing.

581
00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:50.039
I didn't want to lose Barbara. I thought we had

582
00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:52.640
a family together. I thought that's the way it would be.

583
00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:56.720
Michael also claimed that when they went back to recover

584
00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:59.480
the remains ahead of the construction site, they couldn't find

585
00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.000
David's go As far as he knows, it's likely still there.

586
00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.799
Michael acknowledged his roland David's murder, but he maintains that

587
00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:09.960
Barbara set him up to take the fall for it.

588
00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:13.559
She was just as culpable as he was. But she

589
00:34:13.960 --> 00:34:16.800
is walking free after a man was murdered because she

590
00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:20.719
didn't want to share their child with him. As always,

591
00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:23.360
I thank you so much for listening, and I hope

592
00:34:23.360 --> 00:34:26.559
you have a wonderful week and I will see you

593
00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.559
in the next chapter of the book The Dead. Bye, guys.

594
00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:36.920
Another page closed. But the story isn't over for the

595
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:40.760
families left behind. The pain doesn't end when the headline's fade.

596
00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:44.400
And for the victims, we owe them more than silence.

597
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:49.280
For our onsalved cases. If you have any information, please

598
00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:52.000
reach out to local authorities or visit our show notes

599
00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:57.960
for links and resources. Someone out there knows something, Maybe

600
00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:00.719
it's you. Thank you for listen, sending to the Book

601
00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:03.800
of the Dead. If this story moved or spoke to

602
00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:07.679
you in some way, talk about it, share it, keep

603
00:35:07.719 --> 00:35:14.360
their names alive. Until next time, I'm Courtney Liso. Stay safe,

604
00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:19.559
stay curious, and stay vigilant, and remember the dead may

605
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:22.920
be gone, but their stories will not be forgotten,