NOT FRAGILE LIKE A FLOWER...LIKE A BOMB.
Sept. 8, 2026

Dollar General Abduction: The Prosecution of Charles Smith

Dollar General Abduction: The Prosecution of Charles Smith
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Season 12

On a January afternoon in 2015, a mother walked into a Dollar General on Highway 16 in Livingston Parish, Louisiana with her two-year-old child. She never made it home. Charles A. Smith, 28, of Denham Springs, was already wanted for SA in neighboring Tangipahoa Parish when he took the woman and her toddler at gunpoint from the parking lot. He forced them into a stolen white Chrysler PT Cruiser and drove them north across parish lines—through Livingston, into St. Helena, and on toward Tangipahoa. Along that stretch of Highway 16, the kidnapping became something far worse.

Timestamps
07:22 The Kidnapping
20:33 Hidden Woods Assault
43:58 Trail Leads Home
52:19 No Deal

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Welcome to Unspeakable, a true crime podcast where I tell

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stories of real crimes with real victims, whose cases are

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so shocking that many are left wondering, how is this

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even real? I use my experiences in law enforcement, corrections,

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and combined with my years as a criminal justice educator,

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dig deep into complex cases of evil acts, some so evil,

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many feel they are unspeakable. Warning, Unspeakable is intended for

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mature audiences. If you are easily offended, then I'm not

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your girl. Listening discretion is advised. Hey y'all, KJ here

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back with another episode of Unspeakable. How is your week going?

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I'm super excited about this episode today because it's actually

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going to open the doors to the future weeks that

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are coming up and what I plan on covering for

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y'all so long as everything pans out. But the case

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I'm covering today happened just about 10 miles south down

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the road from where I'm sitting right now. But it's

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also one that's very important because it kind of got

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the ball rolling and shaped the way that Louisiana is

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dealing with certain classes of offenders, which I'm sure you

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will appreciate as this one unfolds. But everything you're about

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to learn is all thanks to the hard work of

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my local sheriff's office, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. We also

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have other agencies involved here. We've got St. Helena and

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and other ones, but it's also gonna be one that

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you can tell that a solid case was built for

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a deserving victim. But also within this one, I really

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like the fact that I can show you what a

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no-nonsense prosecutor is about, one that is not playing around.

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And actually, believe it or not, this prosecutor in this

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case is currently, as I'm recording this, running for district

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attorney locally. So what I find in this one is

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that the result is kind of a breath of fresh

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air insofar as predators being held accountable to the maximum

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extent of the law. And so I am bringing you

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this case as a testament to what all prosecutor Brad

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Cascio brings to the table and why this man has

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my utmost respect. Now, the names in this case, I

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want to start out and be very clear. The names

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in this case will be changed. as to protect their

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identities due to the nature of events. And I'm sure

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everyone listening can completely appreciate that. All of the other

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details are accurate and real, just the names have been

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changed and you will see why. But come with me

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right here to my neck of the woods to Livingston Parish, Louisiana.

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And this week, as I open this case up, I

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want you to imagine yourself going about your daily life

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when it gets turned upside down absolutely in the blink

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of an eye. And we hear that as just kind

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of a cliche term, not kidding on this one, because

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it was a busy day of getting things done for

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27 year old Amy, who is simply running errands with

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her precious two year old daughter, Layla. And isn't two

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just the best age for a little one because they're

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able to walk and talk, but they're still just a baby, right?

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And And they're still very much attached to their mommy.

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And no one realizes how much fun it truly is

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to have a two-year-old bestie, I guess, until it happens

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to you. You give birth and they grow up so fast.

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And then add to that, that this child looks just

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like you and acts just like you. You literally grew

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your own best friend. And that is what is happening

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in this case at this moment. Amy thought of little

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Layla in exactly the way that I just described this

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to you. She was her pride and joy, her ride

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or die, and the absolute best shopping partner when frequenting the, frequenting?

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I just said that word so ridiculous. Let's try that again.

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When frequenting the beloved establishment of the Dollar General. I

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like the Dollar General. Matter of fact, my own grandmother,

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every time we would pass it, she would say, Kelly,

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put your hand over your heart. We're passing the Dollar

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General because she loved it too. Because this is a

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place where everyone, can feel rich. You can also pick

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up the basic needs of your house without having to

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go to Walmart, where Lord knows everyone in town is

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going to see you. That's how it is here locally.

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If I walk in Walmart, I see 5,000 people that

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I know. And it's never a quick trip. It takes forever.

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And I love seeing people. I love seeing my friends.

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But sometimes you just want to scoot in and you

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want to scoot out. So this was the plan for

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Amy and Layla when they turned into the parking lot

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of that Dollar General on Highway 16. And for my locals,

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this is going to be towards Watson. So Amy pulled

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up and she parked before getting out. She opened the

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door to the passenger side back seat and leaned in

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to unbuckle her little Layla from the car seat. And man,

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was she getting big. Amy threw her baby girl on

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her hip and she dropped her keys into her purse

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before she entered into the store. And they started moseying

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up and down the aisles, grabbing what was needed. And

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truth be told, probably grabbing a little bit of what

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wasn't needed. But guys, it's the Dollar General. Everyone can

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get what they want there. So at the checkout, the

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cashier was friendly and they exchanged how-do-you-dos as the items

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were scanned and they were bagged in those really well-known

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yellow plastic bags we've all seen. And this dollar store

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was right near Weiss Road for my locals who were

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curious and really trying to play out where this is

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going on in their minds. So Amy swiped her card,

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she paid for her items, and then she was given

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a receipt for all of their goodies. And then the

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two of them headed to the front doors and out

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into that parking lot. Now, Amy opened up the back.

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She put little Layla in, buckled her in, just smiling

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at her little sweet face as she finished getting her

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all clicked in. And then she stood back up. Well,

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as she was walking around the back of her car,

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she noticed that someone was sitting on the curb near

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one of those yellow posts that are there to block

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the cars from accidentally driving through the building if they

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accidentally press the accelerator or whatever. So as she was

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rounding the back of her car, she was able to

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tell that this was a male he had on a

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hoodie and that hoodie was pulled up over his head,

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but he was just kind of sitting there on the curb. Now,

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it was just mere seconds that this is happening, but

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she thought about the fact that she was pretty uncomfortable

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sitting with this man's proximity to her car and why

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someone would choose to be right there out of everywhere

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that they could be in the parking lot. So she

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decided it was just best to get in the car

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and lock the door as quickly as possible. Now, like

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I said, Layla was already in her car seat. So

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it would have taken longer to go back and unbuckle

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Layla because she's feeling uncomfortable, but it would just taken

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more time and more attention to go back, unbuckle her.

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Plus she would have to pass right by the man

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to go, back inside for safety reasons. It didn't make

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sense to do all of that. So Amy quickly made

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it around the back of her car and she popped

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open her driver's side door, sliding into her seat. And

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when she reached out to grab the door and start

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shutting it, she realized that the man was right there

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on top of her and he ripped that door right

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back out of her hand. Now, as you can imagine,

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she was shocked and she was horrified when she looked

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up and locked eyes with the now standing hooded man

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blocking her door from shutting and he leaned down into

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her face. It was something that she had never felt

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before that took place next, but she knew exactly what

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it was, even though she had never experienced this before.

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The unknown man had shoved something right into her ribs,

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and that cold metal was pinching her skin. And we

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all know what I'm talking about. This was a gun.

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He rammed it right into her stomach, right into the

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side of her ribs. And he was right on top

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of her, too. He was so close to Amy that

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she could feel his hot breath when he sneered at her,

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scoot the fuck over or I will hurt you. So

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even if you've never had a gun jammed into your side,

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you would not have to look down to see what

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it was, nor would you have even questioned if this

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man was joking in the way that he said what

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he said. And realizing what was happening, Amy looked up

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quickly and she started scanning the parking lot to see

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if there was just anybody there that could help her.

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Was anybody seeing this? Oh, my God, please look, somebody.

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But it was empty. There was nobody there to see this.

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And the man yelled at her again, repeating his demand,

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which jarred her back to the reality of what was

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going on. So without hesitation, she did as told. She

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didn't get out of the car. She climbed over the

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center console because she was not even willing to get

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out to leave Layla alone in an attempt to get away.

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She did exactly what she was told. And as she

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climbed over that center console, she could tell that Layla's

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little eyes were watching her. And although just a baby,

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She knew exactly what was happening and that it was scary.

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She knew that she did not like what she was seeing.

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But Amy, not wanting to scare her, did exactly what

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she was told, climbed over that console and got into

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the passenger side floorboard because he pointed and said, get

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down there. Do it now. So she did exactly what

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he said, got down on that floorboard, and as soon

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as she was able to squeeze down, her attacker was

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in that driver's seat, the door shut, and he took

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off just like that in an instant with his two

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captives inside. So as the car pulled out and it

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got onto the highway, Amy realized that she had no

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clue where she was being taken, and she also didn't

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know why she was being taken or what the man

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was going to do to her until he piped up saying, look,

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I've been shot and I'm needing a ride. So he

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was saying he was, I guess, stealing the car because

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he just needed to get to the hospital maybe. But

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if he only needed a ride, she couldn't understand why

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didn't he just call someone? Why didn't you call 911?

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Her thoughts are just racing as she's trying to maybe

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think her way out of this. And the thing is

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that she had never seen this man before in her

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entire life. That said, she didn't know him and she

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did not have any idea of what this guy was

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capable of. So terrified, she kept her head down, And

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she kept it tucked down as the kidnapper barked at her,

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keep your head down. So her mind continued to race

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as to the thought of why did he choose me?

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Why did he take us? And she just tried to

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make this make sense and to understand it. But there

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was no understanding because he continued to drive while also

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whipping out his phone and dialing numbers on his cell phone.

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He was calling people. What in the world would he

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need to be calling people for? But she couldn't make

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out what the conversation was about or really what he

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was doing. So as the car is barreling down the

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road with a complete stranger going to God knows where,

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there was only one thing Amy knew for certain in

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that moment. And that was that escape was not an option.

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She would die before she would ever let Layla be

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alone in that car. We say that people are our

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ride or die. We say that. I say it about people.

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But in this case, let it not be lost on

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you that this is real. Amy would do whatever she

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had to do so long as she knew her baby

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was safe. Amy had no way of knowing that in

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this time of travel, her car had now entered into

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another parish. And yes, Louisiana has parishes, not counties. And

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in this case, her car had now made it into St.

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Helena Parish, which is a neighboring parish. And this in

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and of itself is somewhat scary, y'all, because as St.

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Helena becomes much more rural, there is a lot of farmland,

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there's cattle grazing, and people are more spread out. The

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hustle and the bustle of the city wasn't out this way.

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And what's more scary in that regard is that there

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are plenty of places to dispose of someone if necessary.

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And considering she didn't even know why she was in

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this car with this man, anything and everything became a possibility.

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So Amy gathered her courage to ask her abductor, where

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are you taking me? While at the same time, she

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was trying to console little Layla in the back who

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was just coming unglued. The baby couldn't understand this. She

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may have only been two years old, okay, and not

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fully understood it, but she knew her mama and she

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knew she could tell that her mama was terrified. She

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00:13:03.580 --> 00:13:06.279
could hear it in her mama's voice, the pitch and

235
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that higher strain sound that came out versus her mommy's

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00:13:10.870 --> 00:13:14.629
normal calm and collected demeanor. It was now alarmed. It

237
00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:17.830
was raised. And Layla was picking up on all of this,

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beginning to cry. All Amy could do, it's okay, my love.

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Mommy is right here. We're okay, my baby girl. It's

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all right. Mama's right here. Meanwhile, the voice that's coming

241
00:13:27.419 --> 00:13:32.220
out is shaking, and it's absolutely overcome with fear. The

242
00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:35.610
words were coming out, but the believability of them, that

243
00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:40.990
was questionable, even to the baby. This was horrendous. Layla

244
00:13:41.029 --> 00:13:46.289
didn't calm down either. Instead, she erupted into panic. Mama, mama,

245
00:13:46.629 --> 00:13:50.129
the inability for Amy to cradle her in her arms

246
00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:54.080
was soul crushing. Amy couldn't hold it in. And in

247
00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:57.879
that moment, she busted out into a sob, just so desperate,

248
00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:01.879
just so scared and really not prepared. Who prepares for this?

249
00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:04.259
Who thinks about what they would do if this ever

250
00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:06.580
were to happen to them? Because this doesn't happen to

251
00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.409
me personally. This happens to other people. This is a

252
00:14:09.470 --> 00:14:12.970
headline in a news story or a movie. This does

253
00:14:13.090 --> 00:14:16.870
not happen in real life. But this was happening. And

254
00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:20.409
her fear was warranted, though, because in this instance, the

255
00:14:20.490 --> 00:14:24.129
abductor wasn't actually trying to save himself from a gunshot.

256
00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.100
He hadn't even been shot. It was all a lie.

257
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:31.919
He had very specific intentions for choosing this young mother

258
00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:36.649
and daughter duo. Amy felt the car turning slightly as

259
00:14:36.700 --> 00:14:38.879
they continued to drive. And then it came to a

260
00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:42.639
stop at a gas station. The man put the car

261
00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:45.840
in park and then he started barking some very clear

262
00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:49.259
orders to Amy. Get out and go buy me some

263
00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:56.700
condoms now. Those words, those words were enough to make

264
00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:03.750
her want to vomit. Okay, Amy hears them. And she

265
00:15:03.830 --> 00:15:07.610
just falls apart and goes into an all-out meltdown. The

266
00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:12.419
meltdown is just intense. She's losing control. It was so

267
00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:15.659
loud and she was panicked so greatly that the captor

268
00:15:15.700 --> 00:15:18.259
himself started to go, holy shit. And he threw the

269
00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:21.019
car in reverse and he backed out and he decided

270
00:15:21.059 --> 00:15:24.230
to abandon the gas station altogether, peeling out and getting

271
00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:26.509
back on the road. And that's when he started yelling

272
00:15:26.529 --> 00:15:29.309
at her, you better calm the fuck down. And his

273
00:15:29.409 --> 00:15:31.970
words were more of a threat than anything. He wasn't

274
00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:34.309
saying just calm down. He said, you better calm the

275
00:15:34.370 --> 00:15:38.440
fuck down. This means that there was a punishment to

276
00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:41.659
be applied if she did not. So Amy tried to

277
00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:44.659
catch her breath. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening.

278
00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.539
She's trying to breathe. And she was able to collect

279
00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:51.909
herself enough that he now felt good enough to pull

280
00:15:51.950 --> 00:15:55.110
back into another parking lot. But her head had been

281
00:15:55.129 --> 00:15:59.379
down again. the gravel popping underneath the tires until the

282
00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:02.750
car came to a stop once again. And this time

283
00:16:03.350 --> 00:16:05.990
they were at a grocery store. Get out now and

284
00:16:06.049 --> 00:16:08.639
go buy me the condoms and pick me up a

285
00:16:08.649 --> 00:16:11.059
pack of cigarettes too. I want the cools, the ones

286
00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.279
with the green pack. So Amy hears these words and

287
00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:17.500
she didn't want to go willingly go get these condoms,

288
00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:20.120
knowing exactly what that was going to mean for her.

289
00:16:20.750 --> 00:16:23.710
She was still crumbled on the floorboard of her own

290
00:16:23.769 --> 00:16:29.370
car and she felt frozen, absolutely frozen with fear. That's

291
00:16:29.389 --> 00:16:32.480
when her captor said, get out now. And if you don't,

292
00:16:32.700 --> 00:16:35.299
your baby's going to get hurt. Get out of the car.

293
00:16:36.850 --> 00:16:38.870
So Amy crawled up onto the seat, looking back at

294
00:16:38.889 --> 00:16:42.950
her daughter briefly, who remained strapped in and helpless. Big

295
00:16:43.029 --> 00:16:46.409
tears in that baby's eyes and that bottom lip just pouting.

296
00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:48.919
It's drawn up and it's poking out. One of the

297
00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:53.399
most pitiful things you've ever seen in your life. And

298
00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:57.419
Amy decided that just getting out of this car was unthinkable.

299
00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:00.279
I'm not going to get out without my baby. But

300
00:17:00.350 --> 00:17:05.170
making the most heart-wrenching choice of her entire life to date.

301
00:17:06.289 --> 00:17:08.890
She reached out and she popped open that car door,

302
00:17:09.569 --> 00:17:13.519
hot tears rolling down her face as her baby girl

303
00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:16.559
stared back at her, wide-eyed that her mommy was getting

304
00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.700
out of this car and leaving her. Layla wouldn't understand.

305
00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:23.220
Why was mama leaving me with this stranger? But there

306
00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:25.730
was no time for her to explain it to her

307
00:17:26.089 --> 00:17:29.710
or to comfort her child. And she steps out of

308
00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:32.130
the car. What if he drives off? What if I

309
00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:34.470
walk away and he hurts her? How do I make

310
00:17:34.789 --> 00:17:39.109
this decision? But go now. That was the demand put

311
00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:42.089
out at her. So she looks back at this man

312
00:17:42.130 --> 00:17:46.069
is staring intensely at her. And Amy was still on

313
00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:50.230
the receiving end of that gun. This was not a negotiation.

314
00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:56.470
So shaking and devastated, She shut the door, but as

315
00:17:56.890 --> 00:17:59.839
that door was shutting, he said one more thing to her.

316
00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:03.119
You better not make a peep to anyone or even

317
00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.140
talk to anyone or I will take off with your baby.

318
00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:10.630
That is a direct quote, by the way. No, please,

319
00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:13.130
please don't. I won't. I won't talk to anyone, she

320
00:18:13.170 --> 00:18:15.890
said as she shut the door and she walked towards

321
00:18:15.930 --> 00:18:19.380
the entrance of the store. The doors opened and she

322
00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:23.730
did make her way inside. people in the store, and

323
00:18:23.769 --> 00:18:28.049
yet Amy's all alone. Of course she wanted to scream out,

324
00:18:28.089 --> 00:18:31.009
but what would that mean for Layla? It seems obvious

325
00:18:31.049 --> 00:18:33.769
that you need to tell somebody, but she couldn't risk it.

326
00:18:34.329 --> 00:18:39.779
She wouldn't risk it. Wherever that car was going, Amy

327
00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:42.660
was going with it so long as her child was inside.

328
00:18:42.700 --> 00:18:46.039
Be damned what that meant for her. She was getting

329
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:49.380
back in that car. Amy steadied herself. She took a

330
00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:54.079
big breath. Okay, Here I go. And she started scouring

331
00:18:54.140 --> 00:18:58.019
the aisles, finding what she had been sent in for. Condoms.

332
00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:03.440
Nothing in life prepares you for a moment such as this.

333
00:19:03.869 --> 00:19:07.750
Purchasing an item only used for sex. You know it,

334
00:19:08.309 --> 00:19:10.890
I know it, and Amy knew it. And all of

335
00:19:10.930 --> 00:19:12.890
this was being done at the demand of a man

336
00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:16.849
who she would have never willingly touched, not even with

337
00:19:16.910 --> 00:19:20.049
a 10-foot pole. This man would have never even been

338
00:19:20.109 --> 00:19:25.220
on her radar. The thought of being intimate with the

339
00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:29.960
animal waiting outside, currently holding her precious baby at gunpoint,

340
00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:34.410
it was almost unbearable. But a mama does what a

341
00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:39.130
mama has to do. And the thought of risking her

342
00:19:39.190 --> 00:19:42.670
baby or of losing her was motivation enough in this

343
00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:46.769
moment to do whatever was required of her. And it

344
00:19:46.849 --> 00:19:50.309
had to keep her baby safe, whatever that meant. So

345
00:19:50.349 --> 00:19:53.059
at the checkout, she put down the condoms and she

346
00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:55.960
asked for a pack of cools, her eyes darting out

347
00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:57.740
of the window to make sure that the car was

348
00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.000
still out there, her captor waiting for her. Thank God

349
00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.440
it was still there. So she paid for the cigarettes

350
00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:08.079
and the condoms, grabbing the receipt from the cashier who quipped,

351
00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:10.480
have a good one. She thought if you only knew,

352
00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:15.400
if you only knew. And Amy quickly went outside. She

353
00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:18.250
returned to the car, gave these items to her abductor

354
00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:21.730
who directed her back down to where she should have been.

355
00:20:22.690 --> 00:20:25.069
He pointed, he said, get in the seat, keep your

356
00:20:25.089 --> 00:20:27.910
head down and do not look back up. And she

357
00:20:27.950 --> 00:20:30.950
did exactly what she was told, keeping her head down

358
00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:34.460
between her knees. And the car took off again. There

359
00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:38.059
would be more driving. Sitting in this car with this

360
00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:42.349
man she did not know until the vehicle would finally

361
00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:45.750
make its way towards a wooded area and then come

362
00:20:45.789 --> 00:20:48.769
to a stop. And that's when this man snapped at

363
00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:50.769
Amy to get out of the car and you leave

364
00:20:50.809 --> 00:20:55.990
that baby. As he said this, he also opened his door.

365
00:20:57.309 --> 00:21:02.329
The emotion in this moment was twofold. She was thankful

366
00:21:02.390 --> 00:21:04.289
that he was getting out of the car and away

367
00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:10.250
from Layla, but downright horrified that he was now approaching

368
00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:13.549
her in the front of the car. And the man

369
00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:17.619
brought two things with him as he did this. That

370
00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:21.039
gun that she had been threatened with the entire time

371
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:28.890
and the box of condoms. The whole box. So looking

372
00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:32.690
up at her surroundings, she had no clue where she was,

373
00:21:32.910 --> 00:21:36.170
no idea at all. All she could see was there

374
00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:38.630
was a red brick building in front of her, and

375
00:21:38.650 --> 00:21:42.359
there was a cemetery right next to it. Now, Layla

376
00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:45.549
was still upset. She's in the back seat, strapped in,

377
00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:47.880
and she's stretching the best she can, her little neck

378
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.940
up and kind of moving, trying her hardest from that

379
00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:53.359
little car seat to keep her eyes on her mommy

380
00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:55.680
and to see what is happening. As long as she

381
00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.390
could see her mama, she felt safe. because mommy was

382
00:21:59.430 --> 00:22:04.210
her everything. Mama was her best friend, her safety, and

383
00:22:04.250 --> 00:22:07.680
her comfort. And if she could see her, she felt okay.

384
00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.519
She continued to follow her mama with her eyes from

385
00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:19.029
that car. And unfortunately, she would watch as Amy was

386
00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.910
pointed to the side of the building at gunpoint. But

387
00:22:23.049 --> 00:22:26.849
Amy did exactly what she was told. Her attacker then

388
00:22:26.890 --> 00:22:29.089
instructed her to turn around And I want you to

389
00:22:29.130 --> 00:22:33.349
put your hands up on this wall. You face this wall.

390
00:22:33.829 --> 00:22:35.890
Do not move and keep your hands above your head,

391
00:22:36.269 --> 00:22:40.359
flat on the wall. So she did this. Her palms

392
00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:44.559
pushing up against the side of the brick and not moving.

393
00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.559
Much like I would guess it feels like to stand

394
00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:52.019
in front of a train, not moving, knowing the entire

395
00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:56.049
time that it's barreling towards you and you are going

396
00:22:56.450 --> 00:23:02.119
to lose. Amy remained still, staring at that wall as

397
00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:04.819
the man grabbed a hold of her pants and ripped

398
00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.890
them down to her ankles, where he then grabbed her

399
00:23:07.910 --> 00:23:11.869
panties and he did the same. It only took him

400
00:23:11.930 --> 00:23:15.269
a moment to apply the condom to himself before she

401
00:23:15.450 --> 00:23:24.359
felt this complete stranger, a disgusting, smelly, dirty, no good

402
00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:29.299
son of a bitch, began to violate her from behind,

403
00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:34.730
and there was nothing she could do about it. I

404
00:23:34.849 --> 00:23:38.230
don't know what the words are, what words as a

405
00:23:38.369 --> 00:23:44.529
podcaster I use right now to express how humiliating this was.

406
00:23:45.769 --> 00:23:50.380
She's in the public, her daughter is watching, and a

407
00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:54.579
man that she wanted nothing to do with was engaging

408
00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:59.009
in the most intimate, the most intimate thing you can

409
00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:04.930
think of with her. She hated him. He was hurting

410
00:24:05.009 --> 00:24:08.990
her and she wanted it to stop. But she was

411
00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:11.670
just too scared to vocalize the words. All she could

412
00:24:11.710 --> 00:24:14.710
do was cry. All she could do was cry with

413
00:24:14.750 --> 00:24:17.369
her hands above her head against the wall as a

414
00:24:17.410 --> 00:24:22.269
complete stranger pleasured himself using her as one of his

415
00:24:22.369 --> 00:24:26.390
tools in the process. And I want you to know something.

416
00:24:26.750 --> 00:24:30.910
Amy was an honorable woman. She came from what we

417
00:24:30.990 --> 00:24:34.960
say is good people. She was a good person. And

418
00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:37.839
this act out in the open in front of her

419
00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:41.460
baby was nothing that she would have ever been a

420
00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.099
part of. But when someone takes away your power and

421
00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:48.079
then they take away your voice, It thrusts you into

422
00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:53.180
a situation such as this, okay? Disbelief and numbness, they

423
00:24:53.240 --> 00:24:57.069
start to take over. It's sort of a disassociation process

424
00:24:57.109 --> 00:24:59.750
to deal with the absolute trauma that you are in

425
00:24:59.769 --> 00:25:05.289
the throes of. Being trapped and violated and reduced to

426
00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:09.279
nothing more than a sex object isn't something that I

427
00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:14.000
think that I can adequately describe to someone because words

428
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:18.730
are not enough. Rape to me, the word rape is

429
00:25:18.829 --> 00:25:22.930
such a small word in comparison to all that it

430
00:25:23.009 --> 00:25:26.460
truly represents. And I'm sure you can probably tell right now,

431
00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:30.460
but just thinking about it, and it's happening to another woman.

432
00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:32.819
It's not even happening to me, but just thinking about

433
00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:35.579
it builds a vision in my mind that is followed

434
00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:38.630
by a burning in my gut. It's a burning that

435
00:25:38.690 --> 00:25:41.930
makes me see red. I don't have to be the

436
00:25:41.990 --> 00:25:46.140
victim to see red. that this man would do this

437
00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:51.869
to this woman. No apology will ever undo an act

438
00:25:51.930 --> 00:25:57.269
like this. No jail time will ever rectify the damage

439
00:25:57.369 --> 00:26:00.609
being done to Amy as I am explaining this to you.

440
00:26:01.049 --> 00:26:05.470
There is no true justice, quote unquote, after a rape

441
00:26:05.650 --> 00:26:10.009
either because the rapist already got what they wanted. And

442
00:26:10.049 --> 00:26:14.170
that is something that a woman can never get back. Now,

443
00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:16.849
I'm talking about a woman victim here because obviously this

444
00:26:16.890 --> 00:26:19.849
is a woman in this story. I'm not discounting the

445
00:26:20.069 --> 00:26:23.539
many male victims there are in the world today. Please

446
00:26:23.579 --> 00:26:28.700
don't take it that way. But unfortunately now, Amy was

447
00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:31.640
part of a club that no one wants membership to.

448
00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:38.549
She joined the other 1,007 people who reported that they

449
00:26:38.589 --> 00:26:44.069
were raped in 2015 in Louisiana. This case alone that

450
00:26:44.130 --> 00:26:47.210
I'm telling you about is scary enough. But now add

451
00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:49.819
to that, now add to what I'm explaining to you

452
00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.559
that over a thousand people faced a similar fate. It

453
00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:57.380
is disgusting. It is a disgusting fact to even give

454
00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:02.990
you from my home state. But that said, the rapist

455
00:27:03.650 --> 00:27:08.150
was now done with her. He had satisfied himself fully

456
00:27:08.569 --> 00:27:11.730
and completely when he decided to just push her away

457
00:27:11.769 --> 00:27:15.400
from him. Get away from me. He then pulled the

458
00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.460
condom off and threw it in the grass before he

459
00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:21.799
pulled his pants up and got him situated. Amy couldn't

460
00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:25.660
pull hers up fast enough. And in some small win,

461
00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:31.599
very small, microscopic even, but it's still a win. Thank

462
00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:36.599
God that he did use protection during this rape. But

463
00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:40.640
don't for one second think, that that had anything to

464
00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:46.109
do with decency or protection of Amy. No, no, no, no, no, no.

465
00:27:47.150 --> 00:27:50.849
That had to do with protecting himself by not leaving

466
00:27:50.890 --> 00:27:56.269
any DNA in his victim. It was nowhere near a

467
00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.750
decent move. He then tossed the remaining box of condoms

468
00:28:00.789 --> 00:28:03.190
on the ground near the building and then snapped at

469
00:28:03.230 --> 00:28:06.990
Amy to get back in the car. She again complied,

470
00:28:07.309 --> 00:28:11.869
but at this moment, She's mainly in shock. She's in shock.

471
00:28:13.109 --> 00:28:16.349
Her body was going through the motions. Her feet were moving.

472
00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:20.089
She was opening the car door, but her mind might

473
00:28:20.109 --> 00:28:22.769
as well be out of this universe because it was

474
00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:27.710
off in a different land. And as she opened the door, again,

475
00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:31.539
regardless of what she had just been through, she comforted

476
00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:34.799
Layla and she told her sweet nothings, sweet nothings that

477
00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:40.630
meant everything to her baby. Mama's okay. Mama's okay. It's okay.

478
00:28:41.990 --> 00:28:45.650
Her captor then got in the vehicle and again, they

479
00:28:45.670 --> 00:28:49.430
were off driving. My God, what is he going to

480
00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:53.000
do with us? I've given him everything I have, but

481
00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:55.460
he's just not letting us go. What are you going

482
00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:58.339
to do with me now? And he says, put your

483
00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:03.349
head back down. The same instructions once again. And she

484
00:29:03.380 --> 00:29:09.029
did as told again. At this point, Any wrong move

485
00:29:09.650 --> 00:29:13.809
was literally life or death because he had already stolen her.

486
00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:18.680
He had already used her for his sexual gratification. What

487
00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:23.519
else is there? And I think we all know where

488
00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:29.009
this case is now headed. Wondering if Jesus would be

489
00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:33.390
her next destination, both she and Layla being driven to

490
00:29:33.430 --> 00:29:38.279
their doom. His white robe, and his loving embrace comes

491
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:42.180
to mind, but also... of that is about to come

492
00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:46.660
to a screeching halt when the color blue is gonna

493
00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:50.089
enter the equation. And I'm not sure, I'm gonna tell

494
00:29:50.109 --> 00:29:51.750
you right now, I am not sure what it will

495
00:29:51.789 --> 00:29:54.630
look like when I meet my Lord and Savior one day,

496
00:29:55.710 --> 00:29:59.349
but I damn sure know that Amy's not going to

497
00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:02.440
and what her saving grace is going to look like

498
00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:06.359
in this story. And in this case, it looks like

499
00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:12.059
blue flashing lights. Because Amy looked up in this moment

500
00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:16.750
because her captor noticeably became very panicked. And when she

501
00:30:16.950 --> 00:30:20.470
glanced over into the side view mirror, there stood a

502
00:30:20.549 --> 00:30:24.210
vision most of us cringe when we see. But at

503
00:30:24.289 --> 00:30:29.480
this moment, all Amy saw was an angel sent from God.

504
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:34.279
You never know what your guardian angel may look like,

505
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.339
but for Amy, it was a good old country boy

506
00:30:37.380 --> 00:30:40.119
who loved to hunt, who took pride in his family,

507
00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:44.480
and he also believed in protecting and serving. His name

508
00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:47.619
was Deputy Smith, and he happened to be on patrol

509
00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:51.789
when he spotted Amy's white PT cruiser speeding at a

510
00:30:51.869 --> 00:30:57.170
high rate of speed down Highway 16, now just about midnight.

511
00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:00.859
And Deputy Smith said, He was a man's man. This

512
00:31:01.009 --> 00:31:04.369
guy had served his country in the military, and when

513
00:31:04.470 --> 00:31:07.509
he had returned home from his tour in Kuwait, he

514
00:31:07.549 --> 00:31:11.970
continued serving his community by becoming a law enforcement deputy.

515
00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:16.750
If ever a man were to unknowingly begin to pull

516
00:31:16.849 --> 00:31:20.470
over a vehicle with a kidnapping and rape victim inside,

517
00:31:20.910 --> 00:31:23.690
I'd say this is a pretty dang good choice for

518
00:31:23.730 --> 00:31:30.460
a guardian angel. So Deputy Smith and his partner, Jeremy,

519
00:31:31.039 --> 00:31:35.079
they had just left their police station literally less than

520
00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:38.769
five minutes before he lay eye on this car that

521
00:31:38.809 --> 00:31:42.529
was speeding. Jeremy went one way and he had gone

522
00:31:42.569 --> 00:31:45.210
the other just to go out and finish doing some

523
00:31:45.250 --> 00:31:48.930
patrolling on their shift. And within five minutes after leaving

524
00:31:48.970 --> 00:31:52.809
the station, that's when Deputy Smith put his eyes on

525
00:31:52.849 --> 00:31:56.109
this speeding PT cruiser. But it was coming towards him,

526
00:31:56.549 --> 00:31:59.740
traveling in the opposite direction. But the deputy could tell

527
00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:03.700
that it was going way, way too fast. So he

528
00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:06.940
pulled out his radar and he shot it towards the cruiser.

529
00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:10.319
And he caught this driver going about 75. And this

530
00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:13.859
was a posted 55, well over the speed limit. So

531
00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:16.400
he did what deputies do. He pulled over to the

532
00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:19.400
shoulder and he waited until that car got closer to him,

533
00:32:19.779 --> 00:32:22.160
expecting to just turn around on the roadway and then

534
00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:25.299
pull him over. So the car approached him and he

535
00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:29.000
flipped on his blue lights. But in this case, that

536
00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:34.460
PT cruiser sped up, flooring it so fast past that

537
00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:37.380
deputy once the lights came on that the deputy Smith

538
00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:40.569
could see the front end of that cruiser pick up

539
00:32:41.029 --> 00:32:43.609
as the speed was increasing. And when he saw that

540
00:32:43.670 --> 00:32:46.910
car lift up and that speed increasing, he was like, okay,

541
00:32:47.390 --> 00:32:51.250
here we go, boys. And he flipped his police unit around,

542
00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:55.549
his tires squealing, he turned around so fast. And then

543
00:32:55.569 --> 00:32:59.140
he gassed it trying to catch up with the PT

544
00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:02.819
cruiser that had just sped past his police cruiser. He

545
00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:06.259
accelerated his police unit right up on that vehicle's bumper.

546
00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:08.859
And he also at this point had turned on his siren.

547
00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:11.640
He's like, come on, dude, pull over. It's just a

548
00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:18.380
freaking ticket. Why are we doing this ridiculously dangerous speed? Completely,

549
00:33:18.839 --> 00:33:22.799
completely unaware of what he had actually just stumbled upon.

550
00:33:23.339 --> 00:33:26.109
And as the chase ensued, he was radioing it in,

551
00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:29.289
telling dispatch that he was giving chase. And this is procedure,

552
00:33:29.309 --> 00:33:33.170
but as he's chasing, he would periodically update the dispatcher

553
00:33:33.230 --> 00:33:36.609
on his speeds. Dispatch, we advise we're now hitting 85

554
00:33:36.609 --> 00:33:40.920
miles per hour. Dispatch, now over 100. Dispatch, 100. were

555
00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:46.829
marking 110 miles per hour. Both vehicles were barreling down

556
00:33:46.849 --> 00:33:50.490
the road and a crash at this pace would be

557
00:33:50.589 --> 00:33:54.549
deadly for everyone that was involved. And inside of the

558
00:33:54.589 --> 00:33:56.490
car as this is going on, there was a new

559
00:33:56.529 --> 00:34:00.319
drama all of its own because Amy is now screaming,

560
00:34:00.599 --> 00:34:03.799
pleading with her captor, please don't kill me. Please don't

561
00:34:03.859 --> 00:34:08.250
kill my baby. Please just slow down. Slow the vehicle down. Now,

562
00:34:08.289 --> 00:34:11.139
the good news, if you will, was that the speeding

563
00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:16.159
vehicle was now heading towards Jeremy. OK, Deputy Jeremy, this

564
00:34:16.239 --> 00:34:19.739
is Smith's partner. So Deputy Smith jumped on his radio

565
00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:24.550
and he said. be ready, get ready, Jeremy. I got

566
00:34:24.590 --> 00:34:26.670
a car coming your way because guys, let me tell

567
00:34:26.710 --> 00:34:29.860
you something good, bad, or ugly. You may be able

568
00:34:29.900 --> 00:34:34.059
to outrun man, but you will never outrun the radio.

569
00:34:34.619 --> 00:34:37.780
They will get you up ahead and dispatch. They were

570
00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:41.170
doing their thing to coordinating their resources on their end

571
00:34:41.190 --> 00:34:43.630
and to try to get the Calvary en route to

572
00:34:43.789 --> 00:34:46.150
stop this car that was speeding down the road. They

573
00:34:46.170 --> 00:34:50.070
had actually dispatched in and called LPSO, the local Livingston

574
00:34:50.090 --> 00:34:53.360
Parish Sheriff's Office, and had them dispatch their deputies en route.

575
00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:55.940
We got a high speed chase, boys, and it's heading

576
00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:59.940
your way. So we've got the boys in blue chasing

577
00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:02.760
this car. And then we've got the boys in light blue,

578
00:35:02.820 --> 00:35:04.789
as I like to call it, because the Livingston Parish

579
00:35:04.809 --> 00:35:07.409
Sheriff's Office color is a little lighter blue. They got

580
00:35:07.469 --> 00:35:10.550
their lights on and they've spun around and they're heading

581
00:35:11.150 --> 00:35:13.289
that way as well because they were going to intercept

582
00:35:13.329 --> 00:35:16.809
this vehicle at the parish line. You want to fight? Well,

583
00:35:16.869 --> 00:35:20.179
now you got one because all of these guys are

584
00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:24.119
not playing with whoever was driving that PT cruiser. So

585
00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:29.079
as they chase and this chase is ensuing, they started

586
00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:33.150
to coordinate their attack and At the moment, speeding was

587
00:35:33.170 --> 00:35:36.320
the only real crime, I guess you would say, but

588
00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:42.159
a crash, an anticipated crash could happen very soon because

589
00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:45.219
the PT cruiser was flying up in an area where

590
00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:48.309
there was a busy truck stop. no matter what time

591
00:35:48.349 --> 00:35:51.269
it was, and they were very concerned that this PT

592
00:35:51.309 --> 00:35:54.530
cruiser would slam into somebody pulling out and kill everybody.

593
00:35:54.829 --> 00:35:58.010
So their plan was simple. Deputy Smith gassed it as

594
00:35:58.110 --> 00:36:00.570
fast as he could because he wanted to take lead.

595
00:36:00.789 --> 00:36:03.289
He wanted to get in front of the speeding vehicle

596
00:36:03.570 --> 00:36:06.300
because he had his lights going, he had his sirens going,

597
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:09.519
and that would hopefully alert any upcoming traffic to get

598
00:36:09.579 --> 00:36:12.800
out of the way or to wait. So he actually

599
00:36:12.900 --> 00:36:16.179
passed the speeding car and then he cut in front

600
00:36:16.219 --> 00:36:18.960
of it. His partner Jeremy was there and he pulled

601
00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:21.980
in tight behind the speeding vehicle and effectively they now

602
00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:24.849
had boxed the car in. Now they're not slowing down though.

603
00:36:25.150 --> 00:36:28.110
Neither is the PT Cruiser but they've got him boxed in.

604
00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:31.449
So at this point the suspect driving the car and

605
00:36:31.510 --> 00:36:34.150
as you know but the deputies don't also with Amy

606
00:36:34.389 --> 00:36:38.590
and baby Layla inside they are I mean, flying down

607
00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:41.699
this road, and he tries to ram the back of

608
00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:46.199
Deputy Smith's police unit. But Deputy Smith was able, watching

609
00:36:46.219 --> 00:36:49.429
in his rearview mirror, think about how crazy this is.

610
00:36:49.650 --> 00:36:52.050
He was able to avoid that crash and still maintain

611
00:36:52.289 --> 00:36:56.460
the front position on this car. Now, inside... You know,

612
00:36:56.840 --> 00:36:59.699
that car, Amy and the baby and her captor are

613
00:36:59.780 --> 00:37:02.510
well over 100 miles an hour. Amy is continuing to

614
00:37:02.570 --> 00:37:05.269
scream and plead for the man, just pull over. Please

615
00:37:05.309 --> 00:37:06.969
pull over. But all he could do was scream for

616
00:37:07.010 --> 00:37:11.550
her to shut up. Shut up. The trees and the lights,

617
00:37:11.590 --> 00:37:14.769
they're whizzing past the car windows and the intensity of

618
00:37:14.809 --> 00:37:18.079
the sirens that were screaming combined with the speed as

619
00:37:18.159 --> 00:37:20.619
well as everything else that's already gone on. It was

620
00:37:20.659 --> 00:37:24.079
just simply overwhelming for a woman and a baby who

621
00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:27.039
didn't know anything about about criminal life such as this.

622
00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:32.420
It was absolutely their proverbial first rodeo and guys, they

623
00:37:32.460 --> 00:37:36.550
wanted off the ride. They couldn't do much more. But

624
00:37:36.610 --> 00:37:39.190
as the man had his foot fully to the floor

625
00:37:39.269 --> 00:37:41.829
on the gas pedal and was attempting to ram police

626
00:37:41.909 --> 00:37:45.309
units trying to get away, he then started yelling out

627
00:37:45.369 --> 00:37:51.880
commands at Amy. And that command was, give me your license. What? What?

628
00:37:52.630 --> 00:37:57.170
My license? Like my driver's license? Yes, now. Give me

629
00:37:57.190 --> 00:38:00.840
your license now. So Amy starts scrambling, grab her purse,

630
00:38:01.139 --> 00:38:04.599
find her wallet, get her license out. Layla's squalling. Sirens

631
00:38:04.659 --> 00:38:07.619
are continuing to wail. They're flying down the road. And

632
00:38:07.639 --> 00:38:10.250
when she got it, she put it out, her hands shaking,

633
00:38:10.269 --> 00:38:12.369
trying to hand this man her license. Why does he

634
00:38:12.409 --> 00:38:14.889
need my license? And he snatched it out of her

635
00:38:14.929 --> 00:38:16.719
hand and that's when he told her, I got your

636
00:38:16.780 --> 00:38:20.360
license now. So if you say anything to anyone or

637
00:38:20.389 --> 00:38:24.219
you tell anybody about anything that we've done, I'll have

638
00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:28.719
you killed. I know where you live now. This nightmare,

639
00:38:28.739 --> 00:38:34.000
I don't think, could get any worse. But that's when

640
00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:38.420
the man driving locked up the brakes and slammed them

641
00:38:38.559 --> 00:38:43.920
on this car at breakneck speed. Amy's seatbelt locked, little

642
00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:48.300
Layla's chest straps just tight. She flew forward into those

643
00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:51.030
straps and thank God they grabbed her and the restraints

644
00:38:51.070 --> 00:38:53.510
held her into the car seats. All the items that

645
00:38:53.550 --> 00:38:56.190
she had bought at the Dollar General when this all began,

646
00:38:56.210 --> 00:38:59.940
those all flew forward, hitting the ground. Now, Deputy Smith,

647
00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:01.880
he was still in the lead trying to keep this

648
00:39:01.940 --> 00:39:04.699
guy from crashing into anyone. And as he's watching in

649
00:39:04.760 --> 00:39:07.820
his mirror, he sees that vehicle behind him just slow down.

650
00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:11.219
The headlights quickly cut across the road over towards the

651
00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:14.679
shoulder and flew to a stop. So Deputy Smith slams

652
00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:17.380
on his brakes and quickly flips a bitch in his

653
00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:19.699
car and is trying to get back to the vehicle.

654
00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:24.820
So as He's speeding now back towards the vehicle. He

655
00:39:24.860 --> 00:39:27.690
could see in this moment that his partner, Jeremy, already

656
00:39:27.730 --> 00:39:30.409
was outside of his police unit. He had his gun drawn.

657
00:39:30.630 --> 00:39:32.949
He's drawn down on that vehicle and he is yelling

658
00:39:32.989 --> 00:39:36.920
commands out at the people or the occupants that were

659
00:39:36.940 --> 00:39:39.260
still inside of the vehicle. Let me see your hands.

660
00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:42.199
Let me see your hands. But there was a woman

661
00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:45.130
in the car and Deputy Smith is watching. She's got

662
00:39:45.170 --> 00:39:47.269
her door open. Her hands are out. They're kind of

663
00:39:47.309 --> 00:39:49.469
shaking and waving up in the air. And she is

664
00:39:49.550 --> 00:39:54.420
just screaming. She is going crazy. Now, the driver of

665
00:39:54.460 --> 00:39:57.719
that vehicle, he had already bailed out. He threw that

666
00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:00.500
door open and he took off running. But the occupants

667
00:40:00.539 --> 00:40:03.739
that were still inside of the vehicle, they were unknown

668
00:40:03.800 --> 00:40:07.510
to the officers at this point. Don't forget that. In

669
00:40:07.690 --> 00:40:09.690
all of the time that this has been going on,

670
00:40:10.289 --> 00:40:14.170
no one knew about the kidnapping. Nobody. For all the

671
00:40:14.210 --> 00:40:18.250
cops knew, right in that moment, she was a suspect too.

672
00:40:19.070 --> 00:40:20.829
They might have been running away from a crime they

673
00:40:20.849 --> 00:40:24.230
committed together. Who knows? Maybe they have warrants. The cops

674
00:40:24.250 --> 00:40:27.800
have no idea of knowing what is happening. So Deputy

675
00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:30.820
Smith pulls his unit up and he goes and he

676
00:40:30.900 --> 00:40:33.800
jumps out of his car. Now, I want to time

677
00:40:33.840 --> 00:40:36.059
out real fast and I want to give you maybe

678
00:40:36.099 --> 00:40:38.920
a hair of comedic relief, but a quick little side

679
00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:43.280
quest to the story. You might appreciate this. Deputy Smith

680
00:40:43.739 --> 00:40:47.860
in this moment had a brand new canine with him. Now,

681
00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:51.500
this was a narcotics dog, not an apprehension or a

682
00:40:51.719 --> 00:40:55.079
tracking or chase dog. Also, the dog that was with

683
00:40:55.139 --> 00:41:00.650
him was a big old chunky bulldog named Bubba. And y'all,

684
00:41:00.730 --> 00:41:04.889
this was Bubba's first ride along. He wasn't in a cage.

685
00:41:05.650 --> 00:41:08.030
He wasn't set up yet to be an actual police

686
00:41:08.070 --> 00:41:10.679
dog doing police things like we would think. So when

687
00:41:10.719 --> 00:41:13.760
Deputy Smith jumped out of the car, Bubba's big old

688
00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:16.929
butt jumped out too. But what was Bubba going to do?

689
00:41:17.489 --> 00:41:19.869
Bubba's a drug dog. Bubba doesn't need to be in

690
00:41:19.909 --> 00:41:23.929
this situation. So Deputy Smith has to grab him. Wrong crime, buddy.

691
00:41:23.969 --> 00:41:26.250
Wrong crime. Get your big ass back in the car.

692
00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:28.889
He's trying to sling Bubba back in the car. Bubba

693
00:41:28.929 --> 00:41:32.010
does jump back in. Good boy. Good boy. He did

694
00:41:32.030 --> 00:41:34.489
what he was told. But now back to the drama

695
00:41:34.510 --> 00:41:37.780
that's occurring in front of us. So Deputy Smith is

696
00:41:37.820 --> 00:41:41.139
now closing in and approaching the vehicle. And he's looking

697
00:41:41.300 --> 00:41:43.360
at this woman who was screaming. He can tell that

698
00:41:43.400 --> 00:41:47.059
she's in absolute hysterics. Jeremy is still yelling his commands.

699
00:41:47.340 --> 00:41:50.239
The woman's hands are still up. But Deputy Smith is

700
00:41:50.260 --> 00:41:53.650
now noticing this baby in the backseat. And y'all, he

701
00:41:53.690 --> 00:41:56.909
was a daddy, too. Something about what he was seeing

702
00:41:57.309 --> 00:42:01.000
just wasn't—there was something way wrong about this. And both

703
00:42:01.059 --> 00:42:04.400
deputies were now close enough that they could hear what

704
00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:06.699
the woman was saying, what she was screaming to them,

705
00:42:06.719 --> 00:42:08.440
because it had been hard to make out. And she

706
00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:11.630
was screaming, I've been kidnapped. I've been raped. Y'all, her

707
00:42:11.690 --> 00:42:14.289
hands still up. Her hands still up in the air screaming,

708
00:42:14.329 --> 00:42:17.230
but she is becoming more— and more hysterical with each

709
00:42:17.510 --> 00:42:20.469
passing second. It's like a relief reaction where she's now

710
00:42:20.510 --> 00:42:23.610
just completely losing it because her saviors are there, but

711
00:42:23.650 --> 00:42:26.909
they don't know what they're on yet. And so as

712
00:42:26.949 --> 00:42:29.610
they hear this, they still have guns drawn, but they're saying,

713
00:42:29.659 --> 00:42:32.380
calm down, calm down. We are here to help. Please

714
00:42:32.429 --> 00:42:35.480
just follow our commands. We're gonna keep you safe. Just

715
00:42:35.599 --> 00:42:38.920
follow our commands. And as they approached up on the vehicle,

716
00:42:39.260 --> 00:42:42.039
she started saying, I was at Watson. I was at Watson.

717
00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:45.539
I was kidnapped from Watson. That's the area, guys, if

718
00:42:45.559 --> 00:42:49.030
you're not from here. But that wasn't making sense to

719
00:42:49.070 --> 00:42:51.710
these deputies. Because what do you mean you were in Watson?

720
00:42:51.730 --> 00:42:55.010
You're now over here, right? And so he looks down

721
00:42:55.050 --> 00:42:56.889
and she's like, I was buying things at the store.

722
00:42:57.289 --> 00:42:59.570
So Deputy Smith looks down and he sees the bag

723
00:42:59.610 --> 00:43:02.530
from the Dollar General. He opens it and grabs the receipt.

724
00:43:02.630 --> 00:43:06.760
And sure enough, those items had been purchased from Watson,

725
00:43:06.909 --> 00:43:10.800
the Watson location. So that's when they realized that the

726
00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:13.460
man who had jumped out and bailed taken off running

727
00:43:13.500 --> 00:43:17.940
into the woods, he was now absolutely a kidnapping rapist.

728
00:43:18.900 --> 00:43:21.300
And he was gone. He was on the run and

729
00:43:21.340 --> 00:43:23.590
he had made it into those nearby woods. Now, this

730
00:43:23.659 --> 00:43:28.269
is obviously very dangerous for everyone in the area. No

731
00:43:28.289 --> 00:43:30.190
telling what this guy is gonna do. And she said

732
00:43:30.210 --> 00:43:32.630
he had a gun, so he's armed. Well, the Livingston

733
00:43:32.650 --> 00:43:35.239
Parish Sheriff's Office arrived. They got there very quickly and

734
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:37.920
they had their canines and they were out in those woods.

735
00:43:38.159 --> 00:43:41.789
They were tracking, trying to find this man. And they

736
00:43:41.869 --> 00:43:45.710
searched into the early morning hours and they were hot

737
00:43:45.769 --> 00:43:48.170
on his trail. These dogs were getting it. And this

738
00:43:48.210 --> 00:43:51.449
was evidenced by a piece of clothing that this man

739
00:43:51.510 --> 00:43:55.090
had discarded while he was running. But ultimately, his trail

740
00:43:55.150 --> 00:43:59.170
was lost on the other side of the woods. So

741
00:43:59.489 --> 00:44:03.170
all that police knew at this point was that there

742
00:44:03.210 --> 00:44:07.690
had been a rape, a kidnapping, a high-speed chase. But

743
00:44:07.730 --> 00:44:11.309
their suspect, all they knew was this was a black male.

744
00:44:12.170 --> 00:44:17.849
likely in his late 20s, early 30s. Guys, that's everybody.

745
00:44:18.570 --> 00:44:21.699
You know, that could be anybody. And finding him, as

746
00:44:21.739 --> 00:44:26.199
you can imagine, would be extremely difficult. But this is

747
00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:31.340
where good people come into play. People who choose to

748
00:44:31.400 --> 00:44:35.409
not just sit back and mind their business. People that

749
00:44:35.429 --> 00:44:40.050
know right from wrong. And even under the constraints of

750
00:44:40.119 --> 00:44:45.489
the criminal world, maybe they live somewhere that they can't

751
00:44:46.110 --> 00:44:48.889
speak freely because they feel like maybe they're under threat

752
00:44:48.909 --> 00:44:55.039
of the criminals. Somebody, though, somebody didn't mind their business.

753
00:44:56.059 --> 00:44:58.940
Because later that morning, right? So it's been past midnight.

754
00:44:58.980 --> 00:45:00.940
They've been doing all this. It's now the early morning

755
00:45:00.960 --> 00:45:05.000
hours of that next day. Deputy Smith was called in

756
00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:09.250
to meet with his sheriff. They met back on this

757
00:45:09.369 --> 00:45:13.489
road and where they met up, when he pulls in,

758
00:45:13.510 --> 00:45:17.610
the SRT team, the special response team, they were already

759
00:45:17.869 --> 00:45:20.179
set up. They were in gear. I mean, like they

760
00:45:20.199 --> 00:45:24.519
were ready to go. And what had happened was someone

761
00:45:24.579 --> 00:45:28.940
called in a tip and told law enforcement, I think

762
00:45:28.980 --> 00:45:31.059
the guy that you're looking for might be over here

763
00:45:31.699 --> 00:45:35.659
in our little trailer park. Okay. Okay. Now, here's the

764
00:45:35.679 --> 00:45:37.900
kicker here, and I just want to give somebody their

765
00:45:37.920 --> 00:45:42.199
credit in this one. That trailer park was a family

766
00:45:42.989 --> 00:45:48.469
trailer park. And from what I understand, it was his

767
00:45:48.630 --> 00:45:53.809
family that lived in this trailer park. That's big. Now,

768
00:45:54.329 --> 00:45:57.159
the microscopic details of how all that works out, I

769
00:45:57.199 --> 00:45:58.920
don't have those for you, but just know that this

770
00:45:58.980 --> 00:46:01.619
tip was called in, and whoever that was, you deserve

771
00:46:01.940 --> 00:46:04.550
a legitimate pat on the back. So the SR team

772
00:46:04.590 --> 00:46:06.949
was set up near this trailer park, and their attack

773
00:46:06.989 --> 00:46:09.889
plan was simple. They already had chase dogs hidden out

774
00:46:09.929 --> 00:46:12.460
in the woods with handlers. So if this guy took

775
00:46:12.519 --> 00:46:14.360
off running and he was up in that trailer park,

776
00:46:14.840 --> 00:46:16.820
they were already on his ass. He was not going

777
00:46:16.840 --> 00:46:19.019
to get very far. And so what they did was

778
00:46:19.039 --> 00:46:23.349
they hit the trailer park from the front, and they

779
00:46:23.389 --> 00:46:26.230
started doing all of their searching. But they could not

780
00:46:26.409 --> 00:46:30.130
find him. They couldn't locate this guy. But they really

781
00:46:30.230 --> 00:46:33.340
felt like this was a solid location. legitimate tip that

782
00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:36.420
they had received. So Deputy Smith is there and he's

783
00:46:36.460 --> 00:46:38.179
trying to find this guy. And he notices that there's

784
00:46:38.219 --> 00:46:41.780
some old men kind of standing over by a fire

785
00:46:42.409 --> 00:46:44.570
in the trailer park. And he walks over there and

786
00:46:44.610 --> 00:46:46.630
he's just making small talk with them, kind of talking

787
00:46:46.670 --> 00:46:49.050
it up. And that's when the men, they did not

788
00:46:49.150 --> 00:46:53.050
directly say this to him. But they kind of nodded,

789
00:46:53.070 --> 00:46:57.269
kind of tilted their head a little bit, pointed in

790
00:46:57.309 --> 00:46:59.239
a direction over there and said, maybe you ought to

791
00:46:59.280 --> 00:47:02.699
go check them cars over there. but they didn't directly

792
00:47:02.760 --> 00:47:05.219
say it, but they kind of expressed it to him.

793
00:47:06.159 --> 00:47:07.960
So he does, as these men in the trailer park

794
00:47:08.659 --> 00:47:11.510
said that he should do. He walks over there, he's

795
00:47:11.550 --> 00:47:14.190
looking through, there's broken down cars and junker cars and

796
00:47:14.230 --> 00:47:16.349
all that over there. And that's when he comes upon

797
00:47:16.369 --> 00:47:19.989
a Mustang that's over off to the side of a driveway.

798
00:47:20.510 --> 00:47:23.110
And when he looks in through the front window, there

799
00:47:23.150 --> 00:47:26.909
he sees a guy balled up. He's all curled up

800
00:47:26.949 --> 00:47:29.650
and balled up in a driver's side seat laying over

801
00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:33.639
with a camo jacket on. He popped that gun out

802
00:47:33.659 --> 00:47:35.860
of that holster so fast, drew down on that man

803
00:47:35.900 --> 00:47:38.460
and said, let me see your hands. Let me see

804
00:47:38.480 --> 00:47:42.139
your hands. And he had no choice. The man sat up,

805
00:47:42.849 --> 00:47:45.550
got out of the car, and he gave Deputy Smith

806
00:47:45.590 --> 00:47:48.829
those hands. And I'm talking right behind his back where

807
00:47:48.849 --> 00:47:52.789
he got those cuffs put on and Deputy Smith got

808
00:47:52.829 --> 00:47:57.190
his man. Amy and Layla by this point They had

809
00:47:57.210 --> 00:47:59.349
been to the hospital. They had been checked out. A

810
00:47:59.409 --> 00:48:01.809
rape test kit was done. It was completed on her,

811
00:48:01.869 --> 00:48:04.050
which I won't go into all the minutiae on this,

812
00:48:04.090 --> 00:48:05.969
but I want you to know it is very invasive,

813
00:48:06.300 --> 00:48:09.059
especially for someone who's just been sexually traumatized and that nature,

814
00:48:09.099 --> 00:48:11.960
but it's a necessary evil that has to be done.

815
00:48:12.539 --> 00:48:16.219
But remember, her rapist wore a condom. That would mean

816
00:48:16.239 --> 00:48:23.360
there's no internal DNA expected. Of utmost importance became finding

817
00:48:23.380 --> 00:48:27.469
evidence that used condom because that would be an incredible

818
00:48:27.750 --> 00:48:32.300
piece of evidence. But Amy had no idea where she

819
00:48:32.340 --> 00:48:35.880
had been raped. No clue. And we had this parish

820
00:48:35.900 --> 00:48:39.960
guys and surrounding parishes. We got rivers and waterways and

821
00:48:40.059 --> 00:48:43.750
swamps and woods and we got all that. This could

822
00:48:43.769 --> 00:48:47.469
have been anywhere. Her head was down the whole time

823
00:48:47.610 --> 00:48:49.969
or she was on the floorboard. She could not even

824
00:48:50.030 --> 00:48:53.570
begin to give a suggestion of where it had taken place.

825
00:48:54.300 --> 00:48:56.559
So police decided that they would have to get really

826
00:48:56.659 --> 00:49:01.500
primitive with this investigation. And they took the time to

827
00:49:01.559 --> 00:49:04.559
put Amy in a unit, a police unit. And for

828
00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:11.360
two weeks straight, deputies searched the parish for a parking

829
00:49:11.420 --> 00:49:16.550
lot of a red brick building with a cemetery nearby. Now, baby,

830
00:49:16.590 --> 00:49:19.389
we are in South Louisiana. We are in the Bible Belt.

831
00:49:20.199 --> 00:49:25.539
Everywhere there are parking lots, churches, and cemeteries. This is

832
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:29.559
not something that's very easily done, but Amy was up

833
00:49:29.960 --> 00:49:35.539
for the task, riding around and finding the building, possibly

834
00:49:36.039 --> 00:49:39.480
next to a cemetery, and hopefully they could recover the

835
00:49:39.639 --> 00:49:43.610
used condom that this guy had thrown and the DNA

836
00:49:44.110 --> 00:49:48.949
could be recovered. So they drive around and you will

837
00:49:49.130 --> 00:49:52.610
not believe this, but they eventually took her to a

838
00:49:52.690 --> 00:49:56.219
location of a parking lot with a red brick building

839
00:49:56.719 --> 00:50:01.639
and a cemetery nearby when her face sprung up. This

840
00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:05.119
is it. This is where I was raped. This is

841
00:50:05.179 --> 00:50:08.969
where I was raped. So they get out. They walk

842
00:50:09.050 --> 00:50:11.329
straight over to where she said what had happened happened.

843
00:50:11.889 --> 00:50:14.730
And right there on the ground was a used condom

844
00:50:15.510 --> 00:50:17.530
and a box of condoms that had been thrown out.

845
00:50:18.380 --> 00:50:21.239
We got you, you little bitch. Just wait and see.

846
00:50:21.579 --> 00:50:25.110
The police were ready to for this man to face

847
00:50:25.170 --> 00:50:29.269
the music. Because by now, the police had interviewed the

848
00:50:29.309 --> 00:50:32.590
man that they had taken into custody and they identified

849
00:50:32.630 --> 00:50:38.199
him as Charles Smith. And upon initial interview, he denied

850
00:50:38.239 --> 00:50:41.079
knowing Amy at all. He had never been in her car.

851
00:50:41.480 --> 00:50:45.880
He had never touched anybody. And he was just appalled

852
00:50:46.460 --> 00:50:49.610
that he was being accused of such a thing. But

853
00:50:49.699 --> 00:50:53.489
after that condom and that box, those were recovered immediately.

854
00:50:54.090 --> 00:50:57.449
I got DNA back. And guess what the DNA showed?

855
00:50:58.250 --> 00:51:01.949
Amy's DNA was on the outside of the condom, and

856
00:51:02.010 --> 00:51:08.000
little Mr. Charles Smith's was right there deposited on the inside. Hmm.

857
00:51:09.159 --> 00:51:12.579
Doesn't take a rocket scientist, Charles. Maybe you have some

858
00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:16.780
explaining to do now. And that's when his account of

859
00:51:16.820 --> 00:51:21.719
the ordeal changed. I know, you're shocked, right? He now

860
00:51:21.780 --> 00:51:24.800
admitted that they actually did know one another. He and

861
00:51:24.960 --> 00:51:31.639
Amy knew one another, and she had asked him. She

862
00:51:31.659 --> 00:51:35.079
had asked him to help drive her to some locations

863
00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:38.300
while she was tending to her baby, and because he

864
00:51:38.340 --> 00:51:44.599
was just so romantic and handsome and good, um, Amy

865
00:51:44.760 --> 00:51:46.579
just took a liking to him. And that's when they

866
00:51:46.619 --> 00:51:49.280
decided to randomly pull off on the side of the

867
00:51:49.340 --> 00:51:51.909
road and have sex on the side of a building.

868
00:51:52.489 --> 00:51:58.449
It wasn't a rape. This was consensual. Okay. Obviously we're

869
00:51:58.469 --> 00:52:02.050
calling bullshit here. How dare you even say this? And

870
00:52:02.070 --> 00:52:04.489
the police are like, all right, whatever, dude, cool story.

871
00:52:04.730 --> 00:52:07.449
But you are being charged with rape and kidnapping my guy.

872
00:52:07.789 --> 00:52:09.909
Good luck in court. You've been given a chance to

873
00:52:09.949 --> 00:52:14.449
tell the truth. You don't want to. And, um, Case closed, right?

874
00:52:14.820 --> 00:52:18.059
Door slammed shut. You're going to trial, my guy. Good

875
00:52:18.099 --> 00:52:21.320
luck with all of that. Well, this is where district

876
00:52:21.360 --> 00:52:27.119
attorney or assistant district attorney Brad Cascio would be inserted

877
00:52:27.159 --> 00:52:29.789
into this case. Now, Brad, I want to tell you

878
00:52:29.809 --> 00:52:34.230
about him. He is a no-nonsense, tough-on-crime prosecutor who has

879
00:52:34.630 --> 00:52:39.710
zero tolerance for abusers of others, especially sex offenders such

880
00:52:39.769 --> 00:52:43.619
as this. And after reading the case and the details,

881
00:52:43.940 --> 00:52:47.639
he was up for the fight. So when you're preparing

882
00:52:47.659 --> 00:52:50.250
for a case, just so you know, it's standard practice

883
00:52:50.289 --> 00:52:54.150
that witnesses are going to be prepared for what will

884
00:52:54.190 --> 00:52:57.329
happen in trial. I don't mean telling witnesses what to say,

885
00:52:57.690 --> 00:53:00.090
but the cops are going to talk with the district

886
00:53:00.110 --> 00:53:02.289
attorney and the prosecutors to say, okay, what are we

887
00:53:02.309 --> 00:53:05.449
going to be testifying to, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Well,

888
00:53:05.469 --> 00:53:08.320
when Deputy Smith was called in to talk with Prosecutor

889
00:53:08.340 --> 00:53:11.030
Cascio about the case, he I got to tell you,

890
00:53:11.889 --> 00:53:16.119
a lot of prosecutors are pretty good with working plea

891
00:53:16.159 --> 00:53:20.760
deals with the suspects or the accused because it secures

892
00:53:20.880 --> 00:53:23.119
a conviction. There is a time and place for a

893
00:53:23.139 --> 00:53:26.469
plea deal. I'm not saying that they're all bad, but

894
00:53:26.510 --> 00:53:31.119
it's very frustrating for victims to And also the police

895
00:53:31.159 --> 00:53:33.820
who get hurt and work really hard in these cases

896
00:53:34.880 --> 00:53:37.719
for a plea deal to be offered. But it's so

897
00:53:37.840 --> 00:53:43.730
common that when Deputy Smith got to talking with Brad Cascio,

898
00:53:44.070 --> 00:53:45.789
he just kind of bluntly threw out there, OK, so

899
00:53:45.829 --> 00:53:49.769
what deal are you offering this guy? And Brad, his

900
00:53:49.809 --> 00:53:52.710
head popped up and he looked at Deputy Smith like

901
00:53:52.750 --> 00:53:56.400
he had 20 heads on his shoulders. He said, what?

902
00:53:57.340 --> 00:53:59.610
What do you what do you mean? I'm not offering

903
00:53:59.630 --> 00:54:02.530
this guy a damn thing. He did this and he's

904
00:54:02.550 --> 00:54:06.469
going to face the full consequences of the law. No deal.

905
00:54:06.949 --> 00:54:11.230
No way. Not on my watch. Because behind the scenes,

906
00:54:12.710 --> 00:54:14.320
even if this wasn't the case, what I'm about to

907
00:54:14.360 --> 00:54:16.280
tell you, I still he would have he still would

908
00:54:16.300 --> 00:54:19.199
have said the same thing. But behind the scenes, Brad's

909
00:54:19.340 --> 00:54:23.219
own wife and daughter were of the same age and likeness.

910
00:54:24.920 --> 00:54:27.539
victims in this case. And whenever he was reading about

911
00:54:27.579 --> 00:54:31.739
these victims, he saw his own beloved and his own

912
00:54:31.880 --> 00:54:35.429
baby in Amy and Layla's eyes. And he was going

913
00:54:35.449 --> 00:54:38.329
to fight for these two just as he would if

914
00:54:38.369 --> 00:54:41.929
they were his own. That's his job. He took this

915
00:54:42.010 --> 00:54:46.519
job for that reason. If not him, then who? So

916
00:54:46.539 --> 00:54:52.179
when Charles Smith realized that prosecutors, Brad Cascio, wasn't your

917
00:54:52.280 --> 00:54:55.039
average one and wasn't willing to play let's make a

918
00:54:55.099 --> 00:55:00.440
deal with rape and kidnapping, he was pissed. Because what

919
00:55:00.460 --> 00:55:03.039
do you mean? What's the deal? Throw me a deal.

920
00:55:03.639 --> 00:55:06.900
You ain't getting one, Padna. We're not offering anything to you.

921
00:55:07.840 --> 00:55:11.820
What he was now facing meant that life in prison

922
00:55:12.719 --> 00:55:16.219
is what he was up against. That's right. Because if

923
00:55:16.300 --> 00:55:20.139
he did this to one man's beloved and child, what

924
00:55:20.179 --> 00:55:22.719
would stop him from doing it to any of us?

925
00:55:23.179 --> 00:55:27.760
To Brad's own wife? To my husband's wife? To your wife?

926
00:55:28.840 --> 00:55:31.579
What would stop him? And the answer is nothing. Brad

927
00:55:31.639 --> 00:55:35.960
Cascio is what was going to stop him. And all

928
00:55:36.039 --> 00:55:40.570
of this founded on an excellent case built in the

929
00:55:40.610 --> 00:55:45.230
combination of multiple police agencies. No deal, Padna. Face down.

930
00:55:45.590 --> 00:55:51.030
the music. So when the trial finally comes about, magically,

931
00:55:51.730 --> 00:55:56.690
Charles Smith's story changed again and quite dramatically because he

932
00:55:56.730 --> 00:56:01.030
now claimed, okay, yes, we knew each other. But he says,

933
00:56:01.409 --> 00:56:03.210
when he's confronted with, well, then why did you lie

934
00:56:03.230 --> 00:56:05.190
at first? Because only a liar would need to change

935
00:56:05.210 --> 00:56:08.170
their story. He goes, oh, no, no, no, no, you

936
00:56:08.190 --> 00:56:12.030
misunderstand that. Charles said, the only reason that I lied

937
00:56:12.760 --> 00:56:17.179
about knowing her or about having sex with her was

938
00:56:17.219 --> 00:56:20.900
because she told me, Amy told me that if anyone

939
00:56:20.980 --> 00:56:23.500
found out that we were in a relationship and having sex,

940
00:56:23.960 --> 00:56:28.300
her boyfriend would freak out over their illicit affair and

941
00:56:28.340 --> 00:56:33.929
he would kill her. So he was saving her. That's

942
00:56:33.989 --> 00:56:36.670
why he stood strong and didn't admit that they were

943
00:56:36.710 --> 00:56:41.510
in a relationship together. But this debauchery would quickly be

944
00:56:42.670 --> 00:56:46.219
upended because There's a few questions here that he couldn't answer, like,

945
00:56:46.619 --> 00:56:48.940
so y'all are in an illicit affair, but y'all have never,

946
00:56:49.079 --> 00:56:52.079
ever spoken on the phone before this? There's no social

947
00:56:52.159 --> 00:56:55.480
media interaction. You've actually never even been in her presence

948
00:56:55.820 --> 00:57:00.139
before this case. And then why was she at gunpoint

949
00:57:00.579 --> 00:57:03.699
if this was consensual? And why did you walk to

950
00:57:03.739 --> 00:57:05.440
the store if you were going to be with Amy?

951
00:57:05.980 --> 00:57:10.360
Why didn't she just pick you up? Also, Why'd you

952
00:57:10.389 --> 00:57:13.079
run from the police? And when you ran, why did

953
00:57:13.119 --> 00:57:15.719
you take your illicit affair girlfriend that you're trying to

954
00:57:15.840 --> 00:57:19.579
distance yourself from? Why'd you take her license? And then

955
00:57:19.619 --> 00:57:24.070
why'd you hide if all of that was consensual? He

956
00:57:24.110 --> 00:57:26.769
couldn't answer these questions, guys. And there was also another

957
00:57:26.829 --> 00:57:29.750
problem in the story, and that was the dollar general clerk.

958
00:57:30.130 --> 00:57:33.590
Because hand over my heart, as my grandmother taught me,

959
00:57:34.530 --> 00:57:37.710
the dollar general will not let you down. And that

960
00:57:37.809 --> 00:57:41.559
clerk was able to identify Charles as being at the store,

961
00:57:41.780 --> 00:57:46.320
and he was not with Amy, even while she shopped. Also,

962
00:57:48.099 --> 00:57:51.510
when Amy gets brought back up in this story, She

963
00:57:51.590 --> 00:57:55.369
becomes the biggest smoking gun I can give you because

964
00:57:55.690 --> 00:57:58.170
they had the DNA, of course, but then they had

965
00:57:58.190 --> 00:58:00.739
given her a lineup once they identified Charles and put

966
00:58:00.760 --> 00:58:02.639
him in a lineup to see if she could pick

967
00:58:02.679 --> 00:58:06.400
him out. And she went straight to him. No questions asked.

968
00:58:06.800 --> 00:58:11.239
That's the guy that did this to me. And when

969
00:58:11.300 --> 00:58:16.739
it came time for Amy's story to be told, she

970
00:58:16.760 --> 00:58:19.710
didn't write a letter to the court. She didn't say,

971
00:58:19.869 --> 00:58:22.289
I can't get up there and talk about this. It's

972
00:58:22.329 --> 00:58:25.789
too scary. I don't want to face him in court. No, no, no.

973
00:58:26.570 --> 00:58:30.630
She did not back down. She walked into that courtroom

974
00:58:30.989 --> 00:58:34.809
and she testified, chin up, chest out, and she handled

975
00:58:34.989 --> 00:58:39.389
her business like a freaking boss, but not only for herself,

976
00:58:40.099 --> 00:58:44.539
but for her little Layla. In true mama bear fashion,

977
00:58:44.900 --> 00:58:48.150
you may have hurt me, You may have hurt me badly,

978
00:58:48.750 --> 00:58:52.170
but honey, you scared my baby and you put my

979
00:58:52.269 --> 00:58:57.400
baby in danger and that is unforgivable. And at the

980
00:58:57.440 --> 00:59:01.860
conclusion of the trial, Charles Smith was found guilty and

981
00:59:01.920 --> 00:59:07.449
prosecutor Brad Cascio kept his word. The maximum penalty was

982
00:59:07.510 --> 00:59:12.719
requested and so it was given. Charles Smith will never

983
00:59:12.800 --> 00:59:16.570
hurt anyone again because he will be spending the rest

984
00:59:16.619 --> 00:59:21.010
of his life behind bars. the man who thought he

985
00:59:21.050 --> 00:59:26.309
could terrorize a woman and her child, scaring them into silence,

986
00:59:26.730 --> 00:59:30.369
ironically just found himself curled up in a car seat

987
00:59:30.570 --> 00:59:34.469
like the scared little dog he was. He didn't have

988
00:59:34.489 --> 00:59:37.869
the fight in him like Amy did. He didn't have

989
00:59:37.889 --> 00:59:41.010
the ability to stand strong in the face of opposition

990
00:59:41.269 --> 00:59:44.710
and of scary times like Amy did. He ran away

991
00:59:44.750 --> 00:59:49.409
like a scared little bitch. And in the end, He

992
00:59:49.449 --> 00:59:53.489
wasn't just taken down by bigger muscles or bigger weapons,

993
00:59:53.550 --> 00:59:56.989
although that certainly helped when those guardian angels showed up.

994
00:59:58.230 --> 01:00:00.849
But it was a young woman and her baby who

995
01:00:00.869 --> 01:00:04.690
put the nails in the coffin of this sorry ass

996
01:00:04.989 --> 01:00:08.500
wannabe man. And next week, I want y'all to know

997
01:00:08.519 --> 01:00:11.000
I have a little surprise for you. So stay tuned

998
01:00:11.039 --> 01:00:13.300
because I'm gonna have a special guest that's joining me

999
01:00:13.340 --> 01:00:15.480
in the studio and you can be ready for that.

1000
01:00:16.610 --> 01:00:21.329
Amy and Layla, though, they didn't just survive him. They

1001
01:00:21.369 --> 01:00:25.539
both ensured that he would be put exactly where dangerous

1002
01:00:25.820 --> 01:00:31.239
predators belong, saving countless women from future events that we'll

1003
01:00:31.320 --> 01:00:34.440
never even know how many women they saved because it'll

1004
01:00:34.480 --> 01:00:38.980
never happen. And all of that with Brad Cascio leading

1005
01:00:39.500 --> 01:00:44.460
the charge. And having a dangerous rap behind bars for

1006
01:00:44.500 --> 01:00:48.239
someone who goes to prison, it matters. Because surviving prison

1007
01:00:48.559 --> 01:00:53.739
is tough. Your image matters amongst the other felons. Charles

1008
01:00:53.840 --> 01:00:56.489
Smith was already going into prison as a rapist, which

1009
01:00:56.550 --> 01:01:01.710
is something no one, no one wants. But most embarrassing,

1010
01:01:01.889 --> 01:01:04.829
I would argue, is that Charles may have been built

1011
01:01:04.869 --> 01:01:07.869
like a thug, but he was defeated by someone who

1012
01:01:07.929 --> 01:01:11.530
still used a sippy cup. I think little Miss Layla

1013
01:01:11.889 --> 01:01:15.269
has a bright future ahead of her. Two years old

1014
01:01:15.309 --> 01:01:19.079
and already putting predators behind bars? Atta girl, little one.