Coffee and Crime Time Alicia Monet Jackson

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she's like a sickness in my brain a  vision standing by the window pain   she ripples through the blinds and leads me  in a daze it's in the way her body moves me   the way she grabs me and intoxicates  until the signal's in my mind hello everybody welcome back to my channel and  thank you for joining me for another coffee and   crime time which as you can probably see has  recently turned into a hot chocolate and crime   time because i've been entirely over caffeinated  lately and i'm trying to cut back not forever just   for the short term like you know a month or so  because got the shakes so today we are going over   a case that i feel definitely needs more exposure  i'm so glad that i happened to find out about it   because i really think getting more eyes on this  case it might help bring some answers to a family   who desperately wants them and who deserve to  know what happened to a person that clearly was   and still is highly valued and fiercely loved i  happened upon this case by chance luckily people   magazine did a quick story about it which led me  to other articles which led me to a bunch of other   information but before we jump into the case let's  have a word from the sponsor of today's video   magellan tv magellan tv is a documentary streaming  service built by those who know what makes a   gripping true story come to life documentary  filmmakers they believe that television should   both entertain and enlighten i believe that as  well and that's why magellan tv has searched the   globe for films and series that have the most  dramatic imagery the most cutting edge subjects   and the most authentic insights from the world's  top historians scientists and explorers i was just   watching a documentary when i was putting in my  makeup and getting ready to come down and record   today and i thought to myself as i was watching  like i just wish i could keep doing this kind of i   just wish i could transfer this what i'm watching  on magellan tv to 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what makes agatha christie such a successful   writer well the makers of this documentary  attempted to answer this question on the 75th   anniversary of christie's immortal character miss  marple in this documentary they use sophisticated   computer analysis of christy's every written word  her sentence structure story arcs poisons used   red herrings clues and more it's so good as a fan  of mystery but especially as a writer myself i   loved this documentary and i don't want to give  anything away like it's so cool i don't want to   give anything away so go check it out magellantv  has content about history true crime science   nature travel and really anything else that  you're interested in and everything streams to   you ad free whether you're watching in your cell  phone laptop your tablet or from your smart tv   roku apple tv etc like i said they have over 3  000 documentary films in series they add more   every single week so if you're interested in  checking magellan tv out for yourself click the   link in the description box and start watching for  free for one month after that one month you can   continue with magellan tv or cancel at any time  no questions asked and no strings attached thank   you so much to magellantv for sponsoring today's  video and let's dive in so it's always hard for   me to refer to the people we talk about in these  videos as victims because you know they didn't   choose to be victims they didn't live as victims  in their lives somebody else decided that they   were going to become a victim and the people we  talk about in these cases in these videos they are   so much more than you know how they died alicia  monet jackson was no exception she was a very   special person born on may 7 1985 in north  carolina and raised in kentucky alicia moved   with her family to harrisburg pennsylvania  when she was 15 years old and began attending   central dauphin east high school when she first  arrived in harrisburg alicia didn't know anyone   but it didn't take long for her to become very  popular and very well liked alicia's father kevin   who is a minister he said that from the time  alicia was born she had quote a delightful manner   about herself and alicia was always playing the  role of peacemaker amongst her family and friends   because it was important to her that everyone get  along and that everyone felt safe and loved alicia   excelled at math she loved to read she played the  piano and violin from a young age and she had a   beautiful singing voice two things that were  incredibly important to alicia were her family   and her faith and she rarely missed church in high  school alicia was a natural-born leader and people   gravitated towards her she started a step dance  program at her school she was on the honor roll   she participated in concert band and choir she  was voted homecoming queen her senior year and she   even played softball although she wasn't that good  at it but according to her family alicia never   quit anything even if it didn't come naturally  to her alicia's cousin and best friend shantae   said quote she was very tenacious and outgoing  i always wanted to be alicia for the looks the   books the people skills i looked up to her they  say no one is perfect and obviously i'm not saying   she was perfect but as close to perfection as  you can get she was end quote after high school   alicia moved to columbus ohio where she began  attending ohio state university going on to get   her bachelor's degree in architecture and later  her master's degree in city and regional planning   it was at ohio state that alicia met close friend  autumn williams who remembered that alicia was   always trying to inspire and uplift her friends  with positive messages of love and support one of   the last things that alicia said to autumn was in  the form of an encouraging email telling her that   iron shapes iron it's actually a proverb and the  full version is as iron sharpens iron so one man   sharpens another basically meaning you know two  heads are better than one according to the bible   knowledge commentary when iron is rubbed against  another piece of iron it shapes and sharpens it   similarly people can help each other improve by  their discussions criticisms suggestions and ideas   two friends who bring their ideas together can  help each other become sharper and i love this   it's a great message it seemed that this was who  alicia really was and it was what she put out   into the world she wanted to see others succeed  she wanted to see the lives of those around her   become better and more enriched and she knew that  a rising tide lifts all boats in the words of the   late and great jfk and that is truly unique  right in a world where everyone is worried   about themselves and many have no problem holding  others back if it benefits their own progress   it was a unique way to be it's the way that you  know we all should be it was also at ohio state   that alicia met fellow student eugene wilson who  she fell in love with and who she would later   become engaged to according to her family alicia  and eugene had a good relationship and alicia's   father kevin said quote he was on track as far  as academics and he came from a godly family   these are all positive things of course i still  gave him 50 questions when i first met him end   quote and you know these are all important things  when you're getting into a relationship that's   going to turn into marriage eugene and alicia were  both concerned about their education getting an   education getting higher education doing something  good putting that out into the world and they also   both came from families that felt god and faith  were very important and they would go on to most   likely raise their own children with those same  values you know an education faith family like   they were happy so i didn't at that time i was  young also so from what i knew love was at that   time it was love to me so i didn't think or have  any second guessing like this wasn't a right   situation as alicia and eugene began spending  more time together they also began spending more   time with each other's families and alicia would  become very close to eugene's mother sarah wilson   but when alicia found out that she was pregnant  she was excited but obviously also nervous as was   her boyfriend eugene they both knew that becoming  parents while they were simultaneously striving   for their graduate degrees would be challenging  but of course they saw their child as a blessing   on july 29th 2008 their son jeremiah came into the  world and alisha was introduced to the love of her   life jeremiah or juju as alicia affectionately  called him was everything to his mother and erica   wicks a friend of alicia's from ohio state  said that motherhood made alicia even better   alicia loved bringing jeremiah to church every  sunday dressed in the ohio state colors of scarlet   and gray and she celebrated everything that he did  with pure joy alicia's cousin chante said quote   she was so excited when juju was hitting his  milestones you could tell the excitement oh juju   started this you could feel the love end quote now  alicia and eugene planned on getting married as   soon as eugene completed his graduate studies  and in the meantime alicia began working as a   research associate for community research partners  on east broad street in columbus ohio this was   a non-profit that worked in partnership with  the city to transform raw data into invaluable   information that would help guide future community  decision making alicia eugene and jeremiah lived   in a two-bedroom townhome at 4144 helen rose lane  and while eugene continued with his master studies   alicia fell into a comfortable life working and  caring for her family alicia was very active she   had recently run a half marathon and she was also  preparing for christmas which was a holiday that   she loved alicia had become a very good cook and  her family raved about her lasagna but when the   holiday season came around she busyed herself  with baking cookies and planning a trip back to   pennsylvania with jeremiah to see her family for  christmas there were some changes coming up in   alicia's life and the previous fall when she had  attended her cousin chante's wedding in september   alicia had announced that she and her little  family were going to be moving to dallas texas   shantae said that eugene had already gotten a job  in dallas and alicia had started networking in the   area to also find employment it was definitely  going to be an adjustment but alicia was facing   it had on as she did everything in her life but  the bright and ambitious 25 year old would never   have the chance to see what this new chapter in  her life held because on december 2nd 2010 the   day after alicia texted her cousin chante out of  the blue to tell her that she loved her alicia was   brutally stabbed to death in her own home in front  of her beloved two-year-old son jeremiah alicia   had left work a few minutes early that day she  was really concerned that she didn't have enough   eggs at home and she told her co-workers that she  needed to run to the store to pick up a dozen eggs   when she picked jeremiah up from his babysitters  alicia mentioned once again to the babysitter   that she and jeremiah were stopping at the store  before going home now it appears that alicia and   jeremiah arrived home to their townhouse in the  strawberry farms neighborhood at around 5 30 p.m   at which point alicia settled jeremiah into his  highchair in the living room and turned on the   television so he could watch cartoons while she  began to prepare dinner the way it seems to be   explained in articles and things is jeremiah's  high chair was sort of centrally located in a   place where he could both watch the tv so he could  watch his cartoons so she could get the meal on   but he could also see his mother at all times  because you know alicia and jeremiah were very   close she was very responsive to his needs she  wasn't the type of mother who would sort of ever   make her child feel unsafe or uncomfortable at 5  53 pm alicia's mother sent her a text asking her   how she was doing and alicia responded quote fine  how are you end quote three minutes later alicia's   mother replied but she received no text back at  9pm alicia's fiance and jeremiah's father arrived   home after meeting with some fellow ohio state  students and he walked into a horrific scene there   was blood everywhere on the front door the back  door in the bathroom on the walls the ceilings   and specifically in the living room where eugene  found alicia on the couch stabbed 30 times   to her neck her chest and her face two-year-old  jeremiah was still sitting in his high chair in   the same room unharmed but apparently he was also  the only witness to his mother's brutal murder a   frantic eugene immediately picked up the phone  and dialed 9-1-1 begging for an ambulance to be   sent but alicia monet-jackson was pronounced  dead on the scene besides the massive amount   of blood everywhere alicia's townhouse seemed  to be the scene of a normal cozy night at home   it appeared that alicia had started preparing  dinner when she and jeremiah arrived home   she must have settled jeremiah into his high  chair and then walked into the kitchen where she   put together a meatloaf popped it into the oven  pulled out a pot filled it with water and put the   pot on the stove to boil when authorities arrived  on the scene at 9 20 pm the meatloaf was still in   the oven and the pot of water was still boiling  away on the hot stove there were also bills and   paperwork on the coffee table in the living  room where jeremiah was watching cartoons so   i can imagine that once she put the pot of water  on the stove alicia went into the living room to   wait for it to boil and started going through and  paying bills law enforcement believes that whoever   killed alicia was known to her and that she felt  safe enough with them to open the door to her home   while her precious two-year-old son was inside  and invite this person in columbus police   department detective james porter said quote  it looks like she probably knew whoever it was   somebody who had a conflict with her of some  kind end quote alicia's younger brother treven   agrees with this sentiment but he believes that  if someone had a problem with his sister or   bad intentions toward her this person had kept  their feelings secret from alicia traven said   that alicia was very cautious and it would be  quote very unlikely for her to see somebody at   the door that she doesn't know and let them in the  house with her toddler son while feeding him there   is zero percent chance that would happen this was  100 percent personal this was a feeling that was   unbeknownst to my sister that this person really  felt this way until this person took her life end   quote there was no sign of forced entry and the  officials ruled out burglary as a motive because   there was only a few specific items removed from  alicia's townhouse the only things taken were two   of alicia's laptop computers with their power  cords left plugged into the wall and alicia's   cell phone her purse and wallet were untouched and  left by the front door where she had put them when   she'd come home that evening whoever had knocked  on alicia's door had clearly not been a concern to   her and she hadn't viewed them as a threat for the  next eight days investigators worked methodically   collecting every piece of evidence at the crime  scene every scrap of fabric every piece of paper   every shoe print inside or outside the home now  the neighbors some of them weren't home at this   time and nobody reported hearing the murder happen  nobody reported hearing screaming or signs of a   struggle or sounds of a struggle and there were  no security cameras in the complex at this time   so alicia's killer was not caught on camera due to  the amount of blood around the apartment including   in the bathroom it was clear that alicia's  murderer had moved about the townhouse after   committing their violent crime and they must have  been cleaning themselves up before leaving out the   back door where there was blood found on the door  and the back stoop police brought in tracking dogs   and these tracking dogs picked up the scent of  an unknown person and followed the path of this   person who had allegedly left the building and  headed away from the building towards the north   side but the dogs eventually lost this trail most  likely due to the fresh snow that was falling a   discarded rubber glove was found on nearby silver  rod lane and that was also taken into evidence and   nearby garbage cans were searched and when they're  searching for garbage cans at this point they're   searching for anything that the attacker may have  discarded such as bloody clothing or a disguise   say the person leaves the building on foot and  they're wearing a black shirt and like a black   hat if any witnesses saw this person they're  going to say to the police oh well this person   was leaving the building wearing a black shirt  and a black hat so the person might take that hat   off throw it in the garbage put a different hat  on etc or even throw the murder weapon away in   cases that are sort of random attacks of violence  like burglaries and things you'll often see this   but nothing more substantial was found including  the murder weapon which has not been found to this   day and it really hasn't ever been identified  at least as far as we know the police may know   what type of weapon this was how long the blade  was was it a kitchen knife was it a different   kind of knife they may know this but we don't know  at this point that leads us with the only witness   to alicia's death being a two-year-old little boy  who was understandably distraught by the horror   he had just been forced to witness detective  stephen eppert who was at the town home that night   he claims it was the worst crime scene  he's ever seen the kind he still sees   when he closes his eyes and he said quote i don't  know what a two-year-old is capable of seeing and   remembering but i sure wish i could have asked  that child who heard his mommy end quote now at   this time jeremiah's relatives had not wanted him  questioned by law enforcement obviously because he   was so traumatized i can't really blame them for  this and detective albert says he understands this   line of thought but he still wishes that he knew  if the two-year-old could have provided something   of value at that point and i mean if you've been  watching me for a while you guys know how i feel   about children you guys know how i feel about the  parent-child relationship how very truly important   it is how very truly innocent children are and  how they should be allowed to remain innocent for   as long as possible because it ends too quickly  childhood and that innocence ends too quickly more   so now today than than ever before well that's  a lie i mean back in the day right they had   kids working in factories so i take it back i  take it back i've changed my opinion but still   you know what i mean and this case reminded me so  much when i was first going through it the case of   christa worthington who was similarly murdered  in front of her very young daughter in cape cod   and i will link that case in the description box  it's in two parts but it was it was a very crazy   case and i actually went to cape cod and went to  the house where it happened because i was just so   intrigued by what was going on with this case  because cape has a very insular small community   and i definitely think that somebody there maybe  more than one person there knows exactly what   happened to krista but they won't come forward  because she wasn't super well liked in in her   community she was sort of considered an outsider  so i'm going to link that case in the description   box if you're interested in um kind of checking  that one out and obviously it also depends on the   two-year-old we're not sure how verbal jeremiah  was at this time was he two closer to three had   he just turned two the speech capabilities of  a child at this young age are hit or miss and considering what he saw he may not have been  even able to verbalize it even if he could   um verbalize it you know even if his age made him  capable of verbalizing it he may have been so much   in shock because a little baby's brain isn't  isn't ready to handle something like that um   so he may have been in too much shock to even  say anything so unfortunately you know if he   did have something the time for him to have  said what he saw would have passed and most   likely at this point i hope to god that it  would become a suppressed memory and that he   still is not remembering or having like thoughts  or you know glimpses of memory about this   so when a terrible murder like this happens people  of course are going to immediately and initially   look to the the victim's significant other as a  possible suspect and the stats back this up right   from 1980 to 2008 nearly one out of every five  victims were killed by an intimate partner and   research shows that women are more likely to be  killed at the hands of a boyfriend husband or even   a same-sex partner than by anyone else alicia's  fiance eugene did cooperate fully with authorities   and his whereabouts at the time of the murder were  accounted for now remember at this time eugene was   finishing up his master's degree and he was still  attending classes at ohio state he was at classes   that day and apparently after classes he had some  meetings with other students which i assume were   study groups of sorts although the police  do not believe that eugene was responsible   for alicia's murder detective stephen  albert told the columbus dispatch in 2012   that he believed alicia's killer was a woman from  eugene's past possibly an angry ex-girlfriend   eppert said that the assault was so brutal and  alicia's wounds were so significant that her   killer had to have been fueled by uncontrollable  anger eppert said quote who has that motive who   has that much of a personal vendetta against our  victim its personal rage its jealousy end quote   eppert also believes the number of stab wounds  specifically to alicia's face was more about   disfigurement than anything else obviously 30 stab  wounds to one person is the definition of overkill   you don't need to stab someone that many times to  kill them if that is your only goal to kill them   i found this very interesting paper online  which was titled patterns of injury in homicide   relationships and it was written by a graduate  student shay alvarez cousin and she did this using   data from the fbi's behavioral science unit and in  her paper she says quote interestingly excessive   wounding beyond that which is necessary to cause  death was observed more than expected in both   acquaintance and intimate homicides end quote the  paper goes on to say that when overkill is present   the offender is less likely to be a stranger and  more likely to be known to the victim remember   that alicia sustained stab wounds to her face  her neck and her chest and this is often seen in   cases where the victim is being depersonalized by  their attacker the paper says quote the presence   of extreme facial injury and homicide is not  only a manifestation of deep-seated and often   long-standing anger by the offender against the  victim but also an attempt to de-personalize him   or her the facial battery indicates an attempt to  strip the victim of actual identity end quote now   keep in mind in this case no suspects or  persons of interests have ever been named   but alicia and eugene they did go through a hard  time in their relationship about two years before   her murder while alicia was pregnant with jeremiah  she found out that eugene had been unfaithful to   her and he had gotten another woman pregnant  and this woman allegedly gave birth to her child   just a few months after jeremiah was born  alicia's family members have commented on   this with her father kevin saying quote i know  that hurt alicia substantially because that means   he was having another relationship probably while  she was pregnant end quote nerd was a rough patch   but she did ultimately decide to get through that  and she decided to move forward eugene and alicia   dealt with their issues they resolved this between  themselves and maybe their planned move to texas   was an attempt to start fresh somewhere new where  there wasn't as much baggage but based on certain   aspects of the crime including the security that  alicia clearly felt allowing her attacker inside   and the shallow nature of some of her stab wounds  law enforcement seems to believe that she may have   been killed by another woman and that she was not  expecting this attack retired detective stephen   eppert said the struggle began and ended by the  couch and it seemed as if alicia was attacked from   behind as she was possibly walking the person into  her living room so imagine you know someone knocks   at your door you answer it it's somebody that you  know somebody that you you know in some ways trust   somebody that's probably been in your home before  so it's not weird that they're there so you say   hey what are you doing here and the person's like  oh you know i stopped by i wanted to see juju or   just want to chat maybe have a cup of coffee you  know hang out and so alicia's like hey come in   so the person walks in alicia closes the door  alicia turns around walks her guest who she   thinks is her guest into the living room gets  in the living room uh it seemed as if maybe she   was like making space for the person to sit down  on the couch and then she's attacked from behind   several news articles have reported that several  friends and relatives of alicia's have taken and   passed lie detector tests but others have refused  and there was dna testing done on evidence from   the townhouse but it doesn't seem as if this  evidence has been retested with the advent of   new technology such as touch dna which as as most  of you know because we've talked about this before   touch dna is based on skin cells rather than blood  all the blood found in the townhouse reportedly   belonged to alicia jackson so whoever attacked  her didn't leave their own blood behind but   if her attacker touched something without gloves  on their skin cells might be waiting on a swab   in storage at this very moment and if those  samples were re-tested with new technology   new dna technology maybe alicia's attacker's days  of freedoms might be numbered it's suspected that   whoever killed alicia obviously would have had  quite a bit of blood on them but then they went   into the bathroom to clean up why else would  alicia's blood have been found in the bathroom   so if this person was wearing gloves which it's  believed that they probably were if this person   was wearing gloves you'd think they'd take  the gloves off in order to you know wash their   hands so maybe they left skin cells on the sink  somewhere on the faucet anything that could just   be now retested with new technology and and lead  to somewhere alicia's cousin shantae said quote   we're not going to find that knife we aren't going  to find alicia's laptop and phone that were taken   from her townhouse that night we're not going  to get a confession at this point word of mouth   is all we have it's one thing to pass away it's  another thing to pass away young's another thing   to be killed but it's another thing to be stabbed  in the way that she was stabbed and then to ice   the cake stabbed in front of her most prized  possession when alicia was killed her younger   brother trevin lost one of his biggest supporters  and i wanted to call her i wanted to text her and   i expected her i almost subconsciously expected  her to be there when i was going back home for   her funeral and i had to keep telling myself  that no this is her funeral you're going to   now in his 30s and living in north carolina trevin  is finally able to bring himself to talk about his   sister's death definitely the most difficult day  i've ever went through and i do think about this   i don't want to think about this stuff  but i think about alicia the way she loved   jeremiah the way she was so protective so doting  over her son and to me obviously it's horrendous   what jeremiah had to witness that night but it's  also horrendous to think that as alicia was being   brutally murdered she would have no knowledge that  this person was going to leave jeremiah unharmed   she was most likely terrified in her last moments  that you know she was going to be killed and then   jeremiah was going to be left unprotected  by her that is what would be going through   the head of any mother eugene was awarded full  custody of jeremiah and they both moved to dallas   a few months after alicia's funeral apparently  um i heard that eugene remarried once he was in   dallas not long after this and you know in in  some ways it's sad and in some ways it's like   okay at least you know eugene had help with  jeremiah at least jeremiah would have had a mother   figure and after this alicia's family had limited  contact with jeremiah and alicia's father kevin   said quote jeremiah comes in the summer for a week  or two i would love to have more time with him   that's the only memory i have of alicia every  time i see him i see my daughter in him every   time i hear something about him i know my daughter  lives on end quote to lose your daughter and then   to have your your grandson like kevin said you  know the only thing that's left of your daughter   that's flesh and blood be moved away alicia's  family lived in pennsylvania texas is not close to   pennsylvania but at least they got to see him you  know during the summer and jeremiah still got to   keep in contact with his mother's family and  while he was with alicia's family you know they   they showed jeremiah pictures and videos of alicia  and talked about her and so at least through them   alicia still gets to live on not only through  jeremiah but in his in his mind in his heart   you keep wondering how can somebody hate somebody  and be evil to that degree that they would   take a life especially in that fashion and and  live with themselves and i remember sitting on   a bed in one of the other bedrooms and i had this  this vision of lisha fading off into the distance   and she said goodbye daddy i'll see you soon i  haven't told a lot of people that but it was like   it was final as far as i'm concerned in  terms of her being here in this earth   jeremiah grew into a sweet and lovable boy how  could he not with alicia as a mother but he also   grew to be incredibly cautious and he was said to  like size people up before he allowed them to come   close so obviously there's a level of distrust  there jeremiah would watch everything you know   he kind of just was always paying attention to  everything so that he could be ready and this   obviously i think comes from the trauma that that  he went through and jeremiah didn't like a lot of   activity loud noises startled him you know very  common symptoms of ptsd and at this point we have   a cold case that i believe can be warmed up if  the right people hear about it a crime like this   especially if it was committed by someone who  knew alicia which based on the evidence based   on what the police think i kind of am leaning  in that direction it can't remain secret forever   maybe the murderer told someone or said something  to someone that seemed off or suspicious maybe in   the days weeks or months after alicia's murder her  attacker's behavior changed in some way including   but not limited to increased alcohol or drug use  depression a job change a location change calling   into work a lot not seeming right something that  might stand out to someone especially with the   information that law enforcement suspects the  killer could have been an ex-partner of eugene's   let's say somebody knows a woman who used to date  eugene and you know maybe a couple weeks after   you know alicia was murdered this woman said  something negative about alicia like oh well   the good she's gone or she deserved it or i never  liked her or something like that something would   just stand out now i do want to elaborate more  on this but first i want to tell you about the   most interesting thing i discovered when i was  looking into this case and forgive me but you know   i get excited about certain things and then i want  to share them with you and i genuinely believe   that you will find this to be as cool as i do so  at mason high school in ohio one of the teachers   whose name is randy hubbard he created a forensics  course that he basically built a curriculum for   based on you know college courses and similar  things that are offered at universities and it   has become such a popular and well-received class  that there's several sessions of it there's you   know tons of students that want to be a part of  this and it branched out into a cold case program   where randy hubbard and his students use criminal  psychology forensic science and research to help   find new leads on unsolved cases including  alicia's case so i tracked randy down and i   forced him to talk to me for an hour because when  i found out about this i was just absolutely blown   away and like extremely jealous you know that  my high school didn't offer a class like this   i feel like i would have found my calling so much  sooner if i had been introduced to it earlier   and if i had felt that it was you know accepted  and encouraged by the adults in my life because   when i was in high school and i mean i'm 38 so it  was quite a while ago now but when i was in high   school being into true crime being interested  in forensics and like blood splatter and stuff   you were looked at as weird so you didn't really  feel super comfortable sharing that with other   people i just think it is absolutely amazing and  i think what randy and his students are doing can   bring real change not only to the victims of the  cases that they look into but to their own lives   for as long as i can remember i've said that  getting new eyes on old cases can make a huge   difference and it can sometimes even mean  discovering things that weren't known before   because listen police officers law enforcement  professionals they do a great job but they are   trained to go through an investigation in a  certain way but after 10 or 15 years of a case   going cold with no new information or tips coming  in it is a good idea to get other eyes on the case   other eyes that have different perspectives  different lived experiences the students in   randy's class are actually going through these  cases police reports autopsy reports they're   speaking to law enforcement they're speaking to  the families of the victims interviewing them   and they're coming up with potential theories but  going through these cases has also helped them to   see the people involved as people not just names  on some true crime television show in an interview   with fox 19 hubbard said quote students are  learning to speak with people with a kind heart   with warm understanding and also being able to  question them without upsetting them end quote   so in a word these kids are learning empathy  and that is something that some people never   get the hang of even as adults even as like  old people so i think it's such a good idea   they're also learning communication which is super  important for high school students because so many   kids in high school they're taught math and  they're taught science but they're not top   practical things like how to communicate  with people how to interview for a job how to   balance your checkbook so like i said i think  it's a really good idea such a good program   such an amazing way for the students to not only  learn but maybe even help bring a new perspective   to cold cases and on top of that randy hubbard and  his students have also started a podcast called   cold case mhs monsters and demons where they  did talk about alicia's case and so many others   this year the class has taken on 13 cases  they've broken up into groups and they're each   going to tackle a case and they're even giving a  presentation on these cases at their high school   at the end of this month april 28th randy was kind  enough to offer to send me a link so that i can   attend virtually and he's also given me permission  to share that link with you all so you can also   check it out if you want and i definitely think  you should check out their podcast because these   kids they could be going home and playing video  games or watching netflix but instead they're   working hard to research these cases and present  them in an organized and understandable way in   the hopes of bringing new information in and i'm  in awe of that and i have so much respect for it   randy hubbard recently told people magazine quote  we know that we're probably not going to solve a   case but we could take some of the stuff off their  plate and he's speaking about law enforcement   because they just don't have enough time or money  to do the research and re-evaluate a case our goal   eventually someday is to have police departments  that have cold cases on their books for 20 years   or so say hey can you guys look at this and  review it and tell us what you find or what you   think and give it back to us and we'll see if  there's anything we can do about the case we're   not there yet because obviously police departments  and prosecutors and staff don't want to give out   too much information to high school seniors but  we're trying to prove to them that we can do a lot   of the research they just don't have time for  end quote brilliant really and i wouldn't say   with total confidence that hubbard and his  students can't possibly help solve a case stranger   things have happened we've seen people with no  law enforcement experience dig deep enough and   feel passionately enough about a case to break it  wide open and randy hubbard told me a story that   proves what i've been seeing forever once you  step outside the box of law enforcement training   pieces of evidence can look different and can  mean completely different things depending on   who's looking at them a retired police detective  that hubbard and his class have worked with   he was going through a case at home and he had  pictures from the investigation like spread out   on the table and his 15 year old daughter  walked in and she was kind of like looking   at the pictures over his shoulder and she ended up  seeing something and pointing something out to him   that he had never noticed in that way before and  it ended up being a crucial piece of evidence   that helped move the case forward so  i think that this is the coolest thing   i think it's so good and you know obviously  i asked randy like did any of the students   parents initially express reservations when  finding out that their children are going to be   like looking into crime cases because you know all  parents can be sometimes very protective of their   children as they should be no judgment and randy  said like yeah initially maybe they were a little   concerned about their safety like who would the  students be talking to are they putting themselves   in danger or in harm's way but randy said the  students always use his cell phone his own cell   phone when calling people involved in the case  and they aren't really like talking to dangerous   suspects but they do spend time talking to  the victim's family members and friends which   helps them humanize these victims a lot more it  helps them realize that these were people with   full lives hobbies hopes dreams and you know  me i love that context i live for that context   the more three-dimensional a person is the better  because i've always wanted to make it clear that   the individuals we speak about are more than what  happened to them they could have been your sister   or your daughter or your mother your brother  your father your son and it's important to always   realize this and it even makes you more conscious  of the people in your life how important they are   how grateful you are that they are alive and well  and with you still now i have linked some articles   discussing randy hubbard and his class i've also  linked to their podcast check it out support   them and what they're doing because i think it's  amazing and i will also link their presentation   that's happening at the end of this month once  i have that link i'll put it in the description   box of this video i'll share it on my community  page as well and on social media so keep an eye   out for that but now i want to discuss my thoughts  about what could have happened to alicia who could   have done it and when i was going over this case i  felt that there were a few different possibilities   with two sticking out to me more than others  now it's pretty clear that the police on this   case do not believe that alicia was murdered in  some random burglary even though columbus ohio   is a city where violent crime is on the rise  and it has been for some time but alicia's   murder just didn't have those hallmarks a random  burglar isn't going to have that amount of anger   towards the person he's robbing and killing he's  just gonna want to kill them to get them out of   his way so that he can rob the apartment but  alicia was attacked with with passion it was   personal and remember alicia's purse wasn't taken  her wallet wasn't taken just the electronics the   laptops and the phone it seemed that alicia did  let her attack her in and felt comfortable enough   with this person to turn her back on them while  they were inside there was no sign of forced entry   no sign of a struggle and like i said no sign  that anything was taken besides the laptops and   alicia's cell phone and nothing was broken there  was like a fish tank by the door there was a lamp   nothing was broken like you'd see if somebody's  rummaging through things trying to find valuables   now that being said when i had initially heard  that the electronics had been taken i wondered if   alicia's murder had anything to do with her job as  a research associate you know it makes sense that   if she'd gotten into something she shouldn't have  or discovered something that someone wanted kept   secret those things would be taken after she  was dead and they would be on her computers   where she did her work but as i got deeper  into the case and i found out more about   alicia's personal relationships my opinion began  to change and when i talked to randy hubbard who   has seen some of the police reports in the  autopsy reports via a foia request this was   basically confirmed for me randy thinks the police  believed that the phone and computers were taken   to make it look like a robbery but so many other  things that would normally be missing during a   robbery like alicia's purse were untouched and as  i mentioned it seems the police believe that the   person who took alicia's life was someone from her  fiance eugene's past so let's explore that theory   a little bit keeping in mind that no one has been  named as a suspect i'm not saying that anybody's   guilty i'm not saying that this is absolutely  what happened this is a theory this is alleged but   if i was going to look at this from the  perspective of someone who understands   relationships how complicated they can get how  high emotions can run here's what i'm seeing   so alicia and eugene are together they're happy  their families are happy she gets pregnant they're   planning on getting married everything's going  great but then alicia finds out that at some point   while they were together even while she was  pregnant most likely eugene was involved with   another woman and that woman is also pregnant and  giving birth to her child just a few months after   alicia's son jeremiah is born now at first alicia  is going to feel extremely hurt and betrayed as   i know i would as i think anybody would and as  her father kevin said she was but remember who   alicia was two of the most important things to her  were faith and family and she would have grown up   being taught to offer forgiveness to people even  to those people who have done you a great deal   of hurt or harm it is very likely that alicia  would have known she could not go forward with   hate anger or resentment in her heart and the only  way to stay with eugene and move on with her life   and with her little new family was to forgive  she would have not only felt that she had to   forgive eugene but also the woman that he'd  been having a relationship with to me alicia   seemed like the type of person who would have  looked at eugene's child with this other woman   as the brother or sister to her son jeremiah  which that child would have been jeremiah's   sibling making that child and even that child's  mother family of sorts to jeremiah and by proxy   to herself alicia would not have wanted to  move forward at odds with this other woman   she didn't seem like the type to talk [ __ ]  about you know her boyfriend's exes on social   media or even to prevent eugene from seeing his  other child alicia wanted to see everyone rise   up everyone succeed she was not the type to hold  anyone back or want to see their life made worse   because of her presence in it so i think alicia  would have welcomed this other woman and her child   into their family with open arms it would have  been hard it would have even been awkward at   times but alicia did everything with an open heart  and an open mind and she probably would have felt   that in the end this would have been what was best  for everyone involved especially for jeremiah and   this other child who are innocent in this they  didn't choose this they didn't tell eugene to   get two women pregnant you know these kids are  innocent they just want to be loved and they   want to love and i mean i do have some experience  with this in my own family it's private so i'm not   going to go too deep but i have experience  with this where the couple's married they   have like a long marriage they have children  together and then one person cheats and then   maybe even leaves and goes to be with another  person and then they all are like well we all   have children together we all care about each  other we all want to you know make sure that the   kids in the family don't pay for our sins so we're  gonna be copacetic we're gonna get along and we're   gonna show that like you can overcome anything  with love so it's likely that maybe alicia would   have felt comfortable around this woman maybe  she would have even felt friendly towards her   and thought that this woman felt friendly back  but then eugene got a job in dallas texas and   he was planning on moving there with his family  his first family right and that included alicia   and jeremiah and maybe not the other woman and her  child you know because that would be a little much   that would be going a little far if you move to  a different state with the woman you're married   to or about to get married to and your child and  then you bring along the woman you got pregnant   while you were engaged to another woman and her  child it's becoming more like a big love situation   and less like we're just friends and we're trying  to make this work situation but as much as alicia   was a mama bear when it came to little juju i'm  sure this other woman would have been incredibly   vexed if there was even a sign that her child  was being pushed to the side she would have   also felt protective towards her child and her  child's status in eugene's life maybe this woman   would have even seen alicia as the thing that was  preventing eugene from committing himself fully   to her and his second child alicia was brutally  murdered but jeremiah was not harmed jeremiah   was not the problem alicia was the problem because  while she was alive eugene could never be as close   to this other woman and her child as he was to  alicia and jeremiah and now they were trying to   leave ohio and move to texas leaving this other  woman and her child behind as if they were just   baggage that could be left at like a train station  left in the past if alicia had allowed this woman   into her life into her home at previous times a  woman visiting her that night would not have been   a shock and alicia would not have viewed it as a  threat especially if as alicia's brother suggested   her killer held anger and hate towards alicia  and resentment but had kept those feelings secret   now at this point i don't know where the case  stands i have reached out to the columbus police   department because i have a few questions my  questions are number one has the evidence that   was found at the crime scene been retested since  new dna technology has improved so much over the   last decade if the evidence has not been retested  why is it a matter of resources because that can   easily be solved you know i've always said it's  better to be facing the problem of a lack of money   rather than a lack of evidence because money can  always be made and raised you can't just create   evidence out of thin air i also wanted to know  though if alicia's cell phone records and email   records were searched through to see if she'd  been having any intense communications to see   if anyone had texted her that night to maybe tell  her they were stopping by etc i was also curious   how we know that the last text alicia sent her  mother that evening was actually from alicia and   not from her killer this would change the timeline  a bit allegedly the response that alicia had given   to her mother was very short and simple compared  to how she would usually sound via text but   maybe her hands were full with getting dinner  prepared you know these are my questions and   if i ever hear back from the police i will update  you but now it's time for us to do what we do talk   about alicia share this video share articles about  her get the word out as fast and as far as you can   because there might be someone out there who knows  something but just hasn't put two and two together   yet alicia's family have created a scholarship in  her name and it's awarded to one or two students   from her high school every year depending on how  much money they raise so check that out as well   send your thoughts and your love out to jeremiah  wherever he is as he grows and goes through   the difficulties that life poses sadly missing  that positive and loving force that his amazing   mother would have offered him every single day  of her life and most importantly and i know this   is hard sometimes try and go through life like  alicia did and like she would have continued to do   with an open heart with an open mind with the idea  that we're here on this earth to make each other's   lives better not worse to offer support  to our friends our family our communities   to lift others up to instill the confidence and  love into each person that we encounter because   they're going to need that to face every obstacle  that life has with courage and fearlessness   until next time stay kind stay beautiful  stay safe and i will see you very very soon but you don't know how deep it goes until it's  getting you slowly so you got to let it go i got blood on the streams on my face is

2022-04-22

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