Episode 278

<v Speaker 1>Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is
<v Speaker 1>not intended for all audiences.
<v Speaker 2>Listener discretion is advised.
<v Speaker 3>I'm not going to that level.
<v Speaker 1>We can't get anywhere.
<v Speaker 4>Well, if you like murder, I don't know who likes murder,
<v Speaker 4>but you know what I mean, if you like this
<v Speaker 4>sort of thing, the true crime thing here we are.
<v Speaker 4>This is Sword and Scale s He's an eleven episode
<v Speaker 4>two hundred and seventy eight, the show that reveals the
<v Speaker 4>worst monsters are real. Criminals are a subset of our society.
<v Speaker 4>We often like to think of them as different from ourselves.
<v Speaker 4>We classify them as criminals and separate them from the
<v Speaker 4>rest of us. It's those people over there, They're the
<v Speaker 4>ones that make the bad choices, not of us. Sure,
<v Speaker 4>it takes a bad decision or a bad series of
<v Speaker 4>decisions to become a criminal, a lapse in judgment, a
<v Speaker 4>bad choice drugs, things like that. And the thing is
<v Speaker 4>we're all still to human beings. Human beings make mistakes,
<v Speaker 4>and you and I are also human beings. But there
<v Speaker 4>is a bit of a distinction, even though I would
<v Speaker 4>argue it's a lot more fragile than most people want
<v Speaker 4>to portray, especially those people that are teetering on the
<v Speaker 4>edge of morality. There are those criminals who just find
<v Speaker 4>it nearly impossible not to break the law. It's kind
<v Speaker 4>of like who they are, you know, deep down psychologically.
<v Speaker 4>It stems from a lot of things, but often they
<v Speaker 4>have an utter lack of empathy. They put their desires
<v Speaker 4>above everyone else. They rationalize and minimize their actions to
<v Speaker 4>justify this behavior. In fact, they see themselves as so
<v Speaker 4>superior that they feel outside the societal norms and above
<v Speaker 4>all legal constraints. Any challenge to this superiority is met
<v Speaker 4>with defensiveness and rage. These criminals relentlessly seek validation and
<v Speaker 4>control through the skewed lens of their irrational mind, and
<v Speaker 4>this pursuit almost always leads to destructive consequences for themselves and,
<v Speaker 4>more importantly, all of those around them. About forty five
<v Speaker 4>minutes north of Detroit, Michigan, tucked into the north central
<v Speaker 4>part of McComb County, is the village of Armida, surrounded
<v Speaker 4>by farmlands and orchards. It's best known for the Armida
<v Speaker 4>Fair at the end of every summer. On July twenty fourth,
<v Speaker 4>twenty fourteen, it was a cloudy afternoon, but the temperature
<v Speaker 4>outside was only seventy two degrees on the west end
<v Speaker 4>of town. April mill sap woke up late?
<v Speaker 5>Were you already awake when she woke up.
<v Speaker 3>Due this afternoon? Oh my, not too nice? But yeah,
<v Speaker 3>why so late? Was she out late last night?
<v Speaker 6>She without cool?
<v Speaker 7>She goes to bedley, She goes to bed me one
<v Speaker 7>in the morning.
<v Speaker 3>Sure, And do you think that she was at home
<v Speaker 3>that all time?
<v Speaker 6>Oh?
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, because that might sneak out for a couple hours
<v Speaker 5>to a Thursday night party.
<v Speaker 4>I'm on the couch like a typical fourteen year old.
<v Speaker 4>April stayed up late and slept most of the day
<v Speaker 4>during the summer. School was out after all. The woman
<v Speaker 4>speaking is her mother, Jennifer. If she's hard to understand,
<v Speaker 4>it's because she suffers from cerebral a taxia, an affliction
<v Speaker 4>that affects her muscle movements. She has to walk with
<v Speaker 4>a cane and has a bit of a speech impediment
<v Speaker 4>because of this. She explains that April is a good
<v Speaker 4>kid and would never sneak out of the house, and
<v Speaker 4>she couldn't even if she wanted to. Her bedroom window
<v Speaker 4>was painted shut and she couldn't leave through the front door.
<v Speaker 4>Because she would have had to get past her mother
<v Speaker 4>on the couch. Besides, the family pets served as April's alarm.
<v Speaker 1>So did she get up?
<v Speaker 6>We have two dogs in a camp.
<v Speaker 7>They all plot who she's like the pine piper.
<v Speaker 6>They all just is like April. They clung door, so
<v Speaker 6>I know when she did them.
<v Speaker 4>April woke up bright and early in the afternoon. When
<v Speaker 4>she exited her room, she greeted the family pets, two
<v Speaker 4>dogs and a cat.
<v Speaker 3>What was her demeanor when she woke up this morning?
<v Speaker 3>What she looked like was she just yeah, okay?
<v Speaker 4>And in true teenage fashion, April went straight from sleeping
<v Speaker 4>to gaming on her computer.
<v Speaker 3>She spent most of playing in her beer on that PC. Yeah,
<v Speaker 3>right there in the living room.
<v Speaker 1>She plays SIMS.
<v Speaker 7>She checks our website, she finds stuff with SIMS characters.
<v Speaker 1>She goes the line for that.
<v Speaker 4>After a while, she got tired of playing games and
<v Speaker 4>decided to take the family dogs for a walk.
<v Speaker 8>I'm on the couch of the laptop and she came
<v Speaker 8>last the dog to walk.
<v Speaker 1>She changed her clothes about three times.
<v Speaker 3>Come of the walk with the dog. Why did she
<v Speaker 3>do that? Was typical?
<v Speaker 8>Yeah, and she gets the backpack ready because she takes
<v Speaker 8>the water of the dog.
<v Speaker 1>She takes the little bowl she gets the dog water
<v Speaker 1>when she walk.
<v Speaker 4>So she changed her clothes three times because she needed
<v Speaker 4>the perfect outfit for her walk. She loaded her backpack
<v Speaker 4>and water bottle, some dog treats and a little bowl
<v Speaker 4>for the water. She grabbed her cell phone, put her
<v Speaker 4>six year old border Collie lab mix on a leash,
<v Speaker 4>and set out for the great outdoors.
<v Speaker 3>Did she say where she was going?
<v Speaker 9>She didn't say exactly that the path that she was
<v Speaker 9>going to take, But there's two paths she usually takes.
<v Speaker 1>She usually goes to the trail moved by the uh
<v Speaker 1>granomy over.
<v Speaker 3>There, yep.
<v Speaker 9>And then from my house she goes the other direction
<v Speaker 9>towards the church.
<v Speaker 4>On the southern border of the village of Armada is
<v Speaker 4>the McComb Orchard Trail, Once a railroad, now a paved
<v Speaker 4>path through the Michigan countryside. It stretches for miles and
<v Speaker 4>is frequented by walkers, joggers, and bicyclists, especially during the summer.
<v Speaker 5>She didn't say which trail she was going on today. No, okay,
<v Speaker 5>how long has she usually got?
<v Speaker 3>Does she always go for walks like that?
<v Speaker 10>Then?
<v Speaker 8>The dog lab the wake and she it's been trying
<v Speaker 8>to get the dogs slowed down a little bit.
<v Speaker 1>K the meekest dog Themody have on the clipball Yeah back.
<v Speaker 6>And Shubert thanking him.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>But Penny and I think.
<v Speaker 3>Shot, that's the dog's name, and I think.
<v Speaker 8>He would go to a Penny to come back, then
<v Speaker 8>come back, and.
<v Speaker 6>Then the other them.
<v Speaker 4>My life, April often took her dogs for a walk,
<v Speaker 4>but never took them together. They didn't walk well together.
<v Speaker 4>On this day, she took her oldest dog first, Penny.
<v Speaker 3>So it's kind of unusual for her to walk this
<v Speaker 3>late in the afternoon. In the evening.
<v Speaker 11>No, she.
<v Speaker 3>Goes up to Boston.
<v Speaker 8>It's a hell call, Hey, I'm at the park, coming
<v Speaker 8>to me, And she goes.
<v Speaker 3>To the five to me and animal.
<v Speaker 5>So she leaves the house and you don't know what
<v Speaker 5>trail she's going on. But were you fairly confident she
<v Speaker 5>was going to go on the trail or you just yeah, yeah, she.
<v Speaker 1>Only goes so two places.
<v Speaker 5>Like I said, she didn't just walk around the village
<v Speaker 5>or anything like that.
<v Speaker 3>She would know the dog.
<v Speaker 4>She was a creature of habit and only took one
<v Speaker 4>of the two paths when walking the dogs. Penny especially
<v Speaker 4>was getting on in years and couldn't handle long walks.
<v Speaker 3>How long was April usually gone when she'd go for a.
<v Speaker 9>Blot half hour at the moment, Yeah, because like I said,
<v Speaker 9>the dog can handle.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so she going back.
<v Speaker 4>You may be wondering what this interview is all about. Well,
<v Speaker 4>after April left to walk Penny that day, she never returned.
<v Speaker 6>When she was gone for two hours of talk the
<v Speaker 6>boy in.
<v Speaker 8>Three hours as well, I started corn and I thought
<v Speaker 8>maybe she met up with the last film.
<v Speaker 1>Town okay, And it was about eight thirty and me.
<v Speaker 6>Attacked to April, where are you?
<v Speaker 9>And then get a call back and then spin So
<v Speaker 9>I started good sick and then a thirty it's getting
<v Speaker 9>darker and darker, and then nine.
<v Speaker 8>O'clock I'm corner and there's the answered going to voye pil.
<v Speaker 4>April had been gone for hours before her mother realized
<v Speaker 4>how late it was. The sun had already set and
<v Speaker 4>April wasn't answering her phone and it.
<v Speaker 6>Would during the wartimes.
<v Speaker 12>They go to Boyd Pinel, so his phone was on.
<v Speaker 6>It goes straight and boys down.
<v Speaker 4>Worry was setting in and Jennifer tried repeatedly to call
<v Speaker 4>and text April, but never got a response.
<v Speaker 8>Les looking for I mean, she's at the foot, so
<v Speaker 8>I didn't think should get too.
<v Speaker 4>Five sure, then she started to call her friends and
<v Speaker 4>her fifteen year old boyfriend Austin.
<v Speaker 7>When I was getting died into at at home and
<v Speaker 7>that's when I started getting married in the jam, he
<v Speaker 7>said she sent him in that tab.
<v Speaker 4>Austin had been with a friend all day, helping him
<v Speaker 4>and his father move and mounted TV. He didn't check
<v Speaker 4>his phone until it was nearly eight o'clock. That's when
<v Speaker 4>he saw a message from April received at six twenty
<v Speaker 4>eight pm that read, I think I almost got kidnapped? OMFG,
<v Speaker 4>what did you thinks?
<v Speaker 9>I don't know what the compsation was from that he
<v Speaker 9>I think he asked threw what happened, but I don't
<v Speaker 9>know what.
<v Speaker 8>Transpired after she said in that text, I would have
<v Speaker 8>I tried to put him and he kind of know
<v Speaker 8>shouldn't tell me anything, and he kind of stopped there.
<v Speaker 8>But yeah, if if I get a text like that,
<v Speaker 8>a room or Ben jumped in.
<v Speaker 6>The carving down there.
<v Speaker 4>The reason Austin didn't give any more information when pushed
<v Speaker 4>was that he didn't have anymore. He responded to April's message,
<v Speaker 4>but didn't get a reply. After Jennifer's call looking for April,
<v Speaker 4>he immediately became concerned and got a friend to take
<v Speaker 4>him to April's house.
<v Speaker 5>What was his reaction when you were talking to him
<v Speaker 5>about He thought it was a joke.
<v Speaker 1>Okay, he thought maybe it was because when he got
<v Speaker 1>back to.
<v Speaker 6>Our house, of course wasn't there.
<v Speaker 9>Or he thought her not well shopping and jok They
<v Speaker 9>seemed drive by and then pretty called me.
<v Speaker 4>Austin and his friend joined Jennifer and looking for April.
<v Speaker 4>The village of Armada was only about three quarters of
<v Speaker 4>a square mile, so they hoped she couldn't have gotten far.
<v Speaker 4>They split up. Austin and his friend went down to
<v Speaker 4>the comb Orchard Trail, one of April's possible routes, while
<v Speaker 4>Jennifer continued to drive around. The two boys went west
<v Speaker 4>on the trail but didn't find her. When they started
<v Speaker 4>heading east, they noticed something in the distance. Far down
<v Speaker 4>the trail, they could see the lights of emergency vehicles.
<v Speaker 4>When they met up with Jennifer and relayed the information,
<v Speaker 4>she decided to go to the police and report her
<v Speaker 4>missing and to see if there was any connection that you.
<v Speaker 3>Have noticed anything strained in the last couple a month,
<v Speaker 3>a couple of weeks, a couple of days.
<v Speaker 6>No, I mean, did.
<v Speaker 5>April mention anything about having any odd encounters on their
<v Speaker 5>social media stuff? Any was she talking to anybody?
<v Speaker 10>Not to me?
<v Speaker 4>The interview took a strange turn. It started to veer
<v Speaker 4>off from the line of questioning about where April could
<v Speaker 4>be and changed to questions about any events that could
<v Speaker 4>have foretold a tragic end?
<v Speaker 3>Did you know where to take drugs?
<v Speaker 6>Ever?
<v Speaker 10>You know?
<v Speaker 3>Fourteen experiment was.
<v Speaker 8>No when the when the topic even comes up.
<v Speaker 4>The police were asking these questions for a reason. The
<v Speaker 4>emergency vehicles on the east side of the Macomb Orchard
<v Speaker 4>Trail and her disappearance were not a coincidence. They were connected.
<v Speaker 4>About the same time as and his friend joined Jennifer
<v Speaker 4>and looking for April, two joggers running on the trail
<v Speaker 4>saw Penny alone. At first, they just ran past, thankful
<v Speaker 4>that the dog wasn't aggressive, But when they came back
<v Speaker 4>by and she was still there, they decided to investigate.
<v Speaker 11>The dog came running out of the trail barking erratically.
<v Speaker 11>My wife looked at me and said that it appeared
<v Speaker 11>to be a mannequin or a dow looked like down
<v Speaker 11>there there was a girl with her skirt down at
<v Speaker 11>her knees and her shirt pulled up a book her chests,
<v Speaker 11>and her head was kicked back.
<v Speaker 13>Nine one one.
<v Speaker 14>I'm fairly certain we just found a body along the
<v Speaker 14>Mountain Bike trail.
<v Speaker 4>Penny alerted the joggers to April, just thirty feet off
<v Speaker 4>the trail.
<v Speaker 1>We're between Omo and North Avenue.
<v Speaker 7>Goods then are made of.
<v Speaker 13>Okay, it looks like GPS, putting you a lot closer
<v Speaker 13>to Fulton Street.
<v Speaker 14>We're kind of right in the middle.
<v Speaker 1>Is it a male or female?
<v Speaker 14>Female?
<v Speaker 7>About how old do you think she hit?
<v Speaker 10>I didn't get that close.
<v Speaker 15>Okay.
<v Speaker 7>Is she on the trail, No, she's off of.
<v Speaker 4>The trails, touched back into the lords.
<v Speaker 14>Her clothes are all taken off.
<v Speaker 1>Okay.
<v Speaker 16>And you don't believe she's breathing.
<v Speaker 14>I don't believe so.
<v Speaker 10>No.
<v Speaker 4>The police had to break the news to Jennifer that,
<v Speaker 4>even though they didn't have an official idea yet, it
<v Speaker 4>was likely April's body that they found in the woods
<v Speaker 4>off the trail, with her loyal dog Penny at her side.
<v Speaker 4>On July twenty fourth, twenty fourteen, April millsap set off
<v Speaker 4>for an evening walk with her dog, Penny, but never
<v Speaker 4>returned after it got dark. Her mother got worried when
<v Speaker 4>her calls and texts were ignored. She began to search.
<v Speaker 4>She called all over the small village of Armida looking
<v Speaker 4>for even April's fifteen year old boyfriend helped to search
<v Speaker 4>for It wasn't until they knew of the large gathering
<v Speaker 4>of emergency vehicles on the Macomb Orchard Trail that they
<v Speaker 4>feared the worst and went to police to report her missing.
<v Speaker 4>That night, the police announced to the media their progress
<v Speaker 4>and the case.
<v Speaker 17>There are two missing persons that were investigating, trying to
<v Speaker 17>find out, you know, what their situation is, to make
<v Speaker 17>a determination to see if that's maybe our victim. We
<v Speaker 17>don't know that much about it. There are no signs,
<v Speaker 17>you know, of gunshots or knife wounds or anything like that,
<v Speaker 17>but we are, you know, looking to the medical examiner's
<v Speaker 17>office to tell us what the cause of death was.
<v Speaker 4>The following morning, with more information, the chief of police
<v Speaker 4>gave a press conference addressing the now confirmed homicide.
<v Speaker 17>The Armida Police Department in the Michigan State Police are
<v Speaker 17>currently investigating a homicide which occurred within the village limits
<v Speaker 17>of Armida. Happened in the area of Fulton Road in Depot,
<v Speaker 17>which is at the south end of town. The body
<v Speaker 17>was discovered approximately eight twenty last night. Preliminary investigation reveals
<v Speaker 17>that two adults that were on the trail using the
<v Speaker 17>trail were alerted to a female's body which was located
<v Speaker 17>in a drainage ditch. The victim has been identified as
<v Speaker 17>April don millsap She's fourteen years of age and she
<v Speaker 17>is from the village of Armida.
<v Speaker 4>Her official cause of death was blood forced truck to
<v Speaker 4>the head and exphyxiation, but even this tragic news brought
<v Speaker 4>some sense of relief to her family.
<v Speaker 17>When they did the autopsies. There are no signs of
<v Speaker 17>sexual assault.
<v Speaker 4>And her dog Penny, never left her side. April's lifeless
<v Speaker 4>body lay in the brush thirty feet from the trail
<v Speaker 4>for a couple of hours before she was found. Her
<v Speaker 4>backpack and cell phone were missing. Even the dog's leash
<v Speaker 4>and collar were missing. This suggested that she was murdered
<v Speaker 4>during a robbery, except she was practically naked. This implied
<v Speaker 4>sexual assault, but there was no evidence of it occurring.
<v Speaker 4>The evidence didn't tell the whole story. All they knew
<v Speaker 4>for sure was that she was beaten and exphyxiated to
<v Speaker 4>death in broad daylight, mere feet from a busy trail.
<v Speaker 4>The police turned to the public for help.
<v Speaker 17>Detectives are currently looking for a large gray box van
<v Speaker 17>that was seen in the area of the crime scene.
<v Speaker 17>This is described as a painters type of van. It
<v Speaker 17>has dents all over the van, and the van was
<v Speaker 17>occupied by two white males. It has not been determined
<v Speaker 17>the role of the van in this investigation. If you
<v Speaker 17>were aware of a similar van in the area or
<v Speaker 17>know somebody that has that type of van, the police
<v Speaker 17>are asking the citizens to contact the Michigan State Police.
<v Speaker 17>The van was seen late afternoon early evening last night,
<v Speaker 17>and again we don't know the participation of the van.
<v Speaker 6>It could be just.
<v Speaker 17>The wrong place at the wrong time, and if we
<v Speaker 17>can get somebody to come forward and let us know
<v Speaker 17>that they were out here, that's what we're looking for.
<v Speaker 4>Of course, it's a box van, the go to vehicle
<v Speaker 4>for sick fox. A young girl saw this van around
<v Speaker 4>the time of the murder and described the men driving
<v Speaker 4>it as steering her down. The police wasted no time.
<v Speaker 4>They gave the media what information they had and let
<v Speaker 4>them disseminate it. But they didn't just sit around waiting
<v Speaker 4>for tips.
<v Speaker 17>We were about to start a canvas of the whole village.
<v Speaker 17>The van was seen, you know, kind of circling in
<v Speaker 17>and out of the area, so that's why somebody took
<v Speaker 17>a picture of them.
<v Speaker 4>They canvassed the area and interviewed practically everyone in the village.
<v Speaker 4>They even performed a roadblock at the village's main crossroads
<v Speaker 4>and questioned everyone who drove through. The local police enlisted
<v Speaker 4>the help of Michigan State Police and the FBI. They
<v Speaker 4>even searched with scent dogs, but came up with nothing.
<v Speaker 4>The tips from the public started pouring in, though, and
<v Speaker 4>quickly the box van suspicion was put to rest. The
<v Speaker 4>contractor called and admitted to being in the area, showing
<v Speaker 4>his new employee some of the homes he previously worked on.
<v Speaker 4>It was the good people of Armida that would eventually
<v Speaker 4>break open the case. People started coming forward that were
<v Speaker 4>on the trail on that day. William Buchanan was an
<v Speaker 4>avid bicyclist and was riding the trail when April walked
<v Speaker 4>her dog past.
<v Speaker 6>Loud You ribe Flee Virtue Trail on July twenty fourth,
<v Speaker 6>two I did. When you're heading feast Trick, I do
<v Speaker 6>you see a motorcycle on that trail?
<v Speaker 18>Do you see a young girl rocking a dog?
<v Speaker 6>When you're heading in that direction on that trail?
<v Speaker 4>As he was riding east on the trail shortly before
<v Speaker 4>five point forty pm, he didn't see anything unusual, But
<v Speaker 4>just a few minutes later, Amy and her mother, Gail
<v Speaker 4>did see something.
<v Speaker 19>Did you go for a bike ride on July twenty
<v Speaker 19>fourth of two thousand and.
<v Speaker 1>Fourteen, Yeah, I did.
<v Speaker 6>Did you go with anybody?
<v Speaker 20>Yeah, me and my mom went for a bike ride
<v Speaker 20>after she had gotten home from work that day.
<v Speaker 6>Did there come a point in time.
<v Speaker 21>Where you ran came across a young girl and her dog?
<v Speaker 1>Yes.
<v Speaker 4>The time was approximately five point forty when Amy and
<v Speaker 4>Gail first saw April.
<v Speaker 18>She was walking west on the west on the south
<v Speaker 18>side of the trail, heading west.
<v Speaker 1>I was heading east.
<v Speaker 12>She was looking.
<v Speaker 22>Down at her phone or whatever she was looking at.
<v Speaker 23>She was looking down, and she was walking her dog.
<v Speaker 23>And my first thought was is the dog friendly? And
<v Speaker 23>then it was just maybe a minute, not much longer.
<v Speaker 22>She crossed over to the north side, so she was
<v Speaker 22>on the same side of the trail as I was,
<v Speaker 22>and I was heading these.
<v Speaker 6>What did you do when you crossed over?
<v Speaker 22>Well, I looked at her and I said hello, and
<v Speaker 22>I said nice dog, and she smiled in reply said
<v Speaker 22>it yes, thank you very much.
<v Speaker 4>It was after this encounter that the pair witnessed a
<v Speaker 4>peculiar site. Motorized vehicles of any kind were not allowed
<v Speaker 4>on the trail, it's illegal. When they saw a motorcycle
<v Speaker 4>on the trail, it stood out to Amy and Gail,
<v Speaker 4>but also worried them.
<v Speaker 1>We were just.
<v Speaker 21>Riding our bicycles and I was still on the north
<v Speaker 21>side of the trail, and the motorcycle was just sitting there,
<v Speaker 21>and I got over to the south side to get
<v Speaker 21>out of the way.
<v Speaker 18>Because it was just sitting there, not moving at all. Well,
<v Speaker 18>I was alerted because number one, I right away knew.
<v Speaker 6>There should be a motor cycle tricks. And I also
<v Speaker 6>thought it odd that someone.
<v Speaker 18>Was completely covered, and why is this person on the
<v Speaker 18>trail completely covered?
<v Speaker 6>You couldn't see their face at all.
<v Speaker 4>The motorcycle was odd enough, but the rider was also
<v Speaker 4>covered from head to toe in July. He was wearing
<v Speaker 4>long dark pants, a long sleeved hoodie and a full
<v Speaker 4>face helmet. Their suspicions were raised, but they pedaled on
<v Speaker 4>by minding their own business. That's how you stay a lot,
<v Speaker 4>by the way, just minding your own business. You're welcome anyway.
<v Speaker 4>Shortly after Amy and Gail rode by, Doug and Mary
<v Speaker 4>came down the trail.
<v Speaker 6>What is it that catches your attention?
<v Speaker 10>There were two people ahead on the trail, and it
<v Speaker 10>was difficult to tell how we would need to move.
<v Speaker 10>They were more on my side of the trail, but
<v Speaker 10>also in the middle of the trail up ahead and staff.
<v Speaker 2>We saw the two people on the side of the
<v Speaker 2>road and the lower and the left side of the
<v Speaker 2>trail that were they were near each other. They looked
<v Speaker 2>to be talking, and then on the opposite side of
<v Speaker 2>the trail I could see a motorcycle parked.
<v Speaker 4>At first, they were only concerned with how to pass
<v Speaker 4>without causing an accident. They were on bikes traveling more
<v Speaker 4>than ten miles an hour, But as soon as they
<v Speaker 4>got close they noticed an odd interaction.
<v Speaker 2>As we started to approach, the two people separated ways.
<v Speaker 2>She started walking on the trail toward us with her dog,
<v Speaker 2>and we passed her first.
<v Speaker 10>They looked like they were together on the trail.
<v Speaker 4>Now, while it's not really odd to see two people
<v Speaker 4>on the trail together, it is odd to see them
<v Speaker 4>part ways.
<v Speaker 10>So I said hi, and I don't know if I
<v Speaker 10>heard her say hi or she mouthed high but she
<v Speaker 10>responded like hi.
<v Speaker 4>They saw April on the trail with a man, but
<v Speaker 4>they quickly parted ways. When Mary said hello to April,
<v Speaker 4>she replied and smiled. The smile however, you know, it's
<v Speaker 4>one of those smiles where it's like, are you really smiling?
<v Speaker 4>What are you trying to convey to me? Yeah, it
<v Speaker 4>was one of those kind of smiles, tight lipped and odd.
<v Speaker 4>You know, I just.
<v Speaker 1>Knew that she seemed tense.
<v Speaker 10>With the smile. I don't know, it just seemed unusual.
<v Speaker 10>And I'm passing her on the south side, and she
<v Speaker 10>shifted her eyes to the south side.
<v Speaker 4>After passing April, they had to negotiate passing the man
<v Speaker 4>with the motorcycle, so Mary's attention was glued to him.
<v Speaker 10>I'm just looking at his face. I think I was.
<v Speaker 10>I don't know. I was maybe curious, but mostly I
<v Speaker 10>wanted to make sure he wasn't going to move into
<v Speaker 10>our lane, and I said hi.
<v Speaker 6>Was their response?
<v Speaker 10>No, after you said hi, what did you see yet?
<v Speaker 2>Good?
<v Speaker 10>When you say hi to someone and you're up close,
<v Speaker 10>you expect a response back. He had an angry look
<v Speaker 10>on his face and he looked down and I just
<v Speaker 10>passed him.
<v Speaker 6>How did that, I guess strike.
<v Speaker 1>You as rude?
<v Speaker 4>Rude? Indeed, then again, that is how you stay alive.
<v Speaker 4>The couple continued to ride, but the whole interaction stuck
<v Speaker 4>with Mary. She even said something to Doug about it.
<v Speaker 4>She didn't understand why such a girl was talking to
<v Speaker 4>an older man. She assumed it was her stepfather or
<v Speaker 4>secret older boyfriend. Ooh, how salacious. Shortly that William Buchanan
<v Speaker 4>rode back through in the other direction. This time it
<v Speaker 4>did see something I could see.
<v Speaker 24>White down at it worked a mile away as I
<v Speaker 24>am to see those A young man, tall and sixteen,
<v Speaker 24>I thought, onto the teens TEUs never had own so yellow.
<v Speaker 14>Face moments, supervisor.
<v Speaker 25>I'm looking at the.
<v Speaker 6>Eyes as a tall he.
<v Speaker 4>Like Mary was drawn to the man's eyes, finding it
<v Speaker 4>odd that he looked angry.
<v Speaker 26>His eyes were so wide, anger, nervous, or song, and
<v Speaker 26>concern was I'm as sure as bicyclist, and I'm really angry.
<v Speaker 6>With him, and I got or be an rbl for
<v Speaker 6>everybody was eyes.
<v Speaker 4>As soon as he passed the man with the angry eyes,
<v Speaker 4>he saw April.
<v Speaker 27>Immediately after passing shall dark doesn't lose sun and on
<v Speaker 27>the left side of young girl hey blessed on the
<v Speaker 27>railing on the left side, on the edge.
<v Speaker 4>After passing, the whole scene just puzzled him.
<v Speaker 24>I was trying to understand the scene of the situation. Right,
<v Speaker 24>unusual for the motorcycle to be there. She's on the
<v Speaker 24>left side of the road for the past. My thought
<v Speaker 24>was there was something going on there between the two
<v Speaker 24>of them. Like my thought was that she's still on
<v Speaker 24>the same side of the path. They just said he
<v Speaker 24>wanted like they thought, this is a girl walking walking
<v Speaker 24>the trail and meeting with the white friend that she's
<v Speaker 24>not supposed to or he has a motorcycle but he
<v Speaker 24>just dropped off.
<v Speaker 6>I mean, just thoughts going through my head. I was
<v Speaker 6>trying to process why these two leaders were there in
<v Speaker 6>the position they were, what they were doing.
<v Speaker 4>He was curious about what those two had been up to,
<v Speaker 4>but he kept peddling. Moments later, Eric Reshkei and his
<v Speaker 4>two daughters rode down the trail heading east.
<v Speaker 6>At some point in time on the half, did you
<v Speaker 6>see April mill Set?
<v Speaker 3>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>At approximately what time did you see April Millst It
<v Speaker 6>would have been about six twenty five when you saw
<v Speaker 6>April mills that.
<v Speaker 3>Did she have a dog with her?
<v Speaker 6>Yes? Was she with anybody?
<v Speaker 3>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>There was a motorcycle pussing along next door.
<v Speaker 28>Was the motorcycle moving or was the motorcycle still when
<v Speaker 28>you first came upon that it was moving?
<v Speaker 6>How close is the motorcycle to April? It was right
<v Speaker 6>next to her. Was in the middle of the trail.
<v Speaker 4>He saw April and the man on the motorcycles slowly
<v Speaker 4>riding alongside her.
<v Speaker 6>From their body lang.
<v Speaker 28>Which it seemed like they had been talking to you
<v Speaker 28>or maybe your kids acknowledge April.
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, who does my old paulist? Did April respond to it?
<v Speaker 12>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>How did she respond? She looked out from her phone
<v Speaker 6>and waved and said out to her real quick. And
<v Speaker 6>then that's it.
<v Speaker 4>Other than the motorcycle on the trail, nothing seemed wrong
<v Speaker 4>when they saw April. He and his daughters, just like
<v Speaker 4>the others, kept riding. Three minutes later, April sent the
<v Speaker 4>text message I think I almost got kidnapped. Omfg. Minutes
<v Speaker 4>after that, Amy and Gail rode back in the other direction.
<v Speaker 29>Yes, I rode up on a motorcycle that was part
<v Speaker 29>on the left side of the trail.
<v Speaker 1>My guard went up.
<v Speaker 20>I was cautious that somebody was going to jump out
<v Speaker 20>at me. Why I thought that, I do not know.
<v Speaker 20>I just kind of even slowed down because I was
<v Speaker 20>just I was honestly thought somebody was going to jump.
<v Speaker 1>Out, or I wanted to know where they were at,
<v Speaker 1>you know, what were they doing?
<v Speaker 27>You know.
<v Speaker 4>Little did Amy know that her fear in that moment
<v Speaker 4>was completely warranted.
<v Speaker 29>I heard like stepping on the bushes on the side,
<v Speaker 29>and when I looked over there, it appeared to be
<v Speaker 29>the dog with his paws.
<v Speaker 4>For just a second, her fear dissipated. Then she saw
<v Speaker 4>the rider of the motorcycle.
<v Speaker 1>Then I made eye contact with the person that was
<v Speaker 1>out there.
<v Speaker 4>Right after she noticed Penny in the bushes, She looked
<v Speaker 4>up and locked eyes with the man just standing there
<v Speaker 4>in the brush. His hands were at his sides and
<v Speaker 4>he just stared back.
<v Speaker 1>His eyes were very piercing very like he had done
<v Speaker 1>something wrong.
<v Speaker 4>After this frightening encounter, Amy caught up with her mom.
<v Speaker 4>Gail wanted to go back and investigate the riderless spike.
<v Speaker 4>She hadn't seen the man.
<v Speaker 1>She wanted to turn around and go back.
<v Speaker 6>What did you say to her?
<v Speaker 1>I said absolutely not. We're going home, and I said
<v Speaker 1>it very sternly.
<v Speaker 4>The police would later surmise that Amy interrupted the man
<v Speaker 4>on the motorcycle. If the brush weren't so thick, she
<v Speaker 4>would have seen April at the man's feet as he
<v Speaker 4>stared back at her. Minutes after Amy saw the man,
<v Speaker 4>terrell Land rode east on the trail.
<v Speaker 6>Do you encounter at any time a motorcycle on that path?
<v Speaker 3>No?
<v Speaker 6>I did not.
<v Speaker 30>As you're passing the grater and heading into the tunnel
<v Speaker 30>of trees, anything unusual that you see, yes, okay, what's that?
<v Speaker 6>Well?
<v Speaker 2>I read the probably written this trail maybe a hundred
<v Speaker 2>times over the past couple of years, and never do
<v Speaker 2>I see.
<v Speaker 6>A dog free saw it and wondered what the heck?
<v Speaker 2>And I thought someone was probably walking it and then
<v Speaker 2>stepped into the tree to get to believe themselves, is
<v Speaker 2>what I thought, So.
<v Speaker 6>I kept writing.
<v Speaker 4>He rode the trail a little further, then turned around
<v Speaker 4>and came back.
<v Speaker 6>Do you see the dog again when you pass that area?
<v Speaker 3>No?
<v Speaker 1>Are you then consciously looking for the dog?
<v Speaker 10>Now?
<v Speaker 14>Yes?
<v Speaker 6>Do you see the dog?
<v Speaker 10>No?
<v Speaker 1>Do you hear something?
<v Speaker 3>Yes?
<v Speaker 1>What is it that you hear?
<v Speaker 6>Repeated parting. It was just like a constant. It's just
<v Speaker 6>it was enough that I wrote what kind of happened?
<v Speaker 2>And I'm going because I'm on the bike pro and
<v Speaker 2>I I didn't put two and two together until I
<v Speaker 2>got home.
<v Speaker 4>It was all over when Eric, Reshki, Doug and Mary
<v Speaker 4>came back down that trail. It was only later that
<v Speaker 4>the two joggers were alerted by Penny and decided to
<v Speaker 4>investigate finding April's body. If not for the presence of
<v Speaker 4>the motorcycle and the rider with the rude behavior, who
<v Speaker 4>knows if the witnesses that day would have noticed or
<v Speaker 4>even remembered April walking her dog, perhaps they wouldn't have
<v Speaker 4>had to, because it was shaping up that the man
<v Speaker 4>on the motorcycle was the last person to see April alive,
<v Speaker 4>who was most likely her killer. From the witness statements,
<v Speaker 4>the police were able to build a timeline of April's
<v Speaker 4>last moments she was attacked sometime between six twenty five
<v Speaker 4>when Eric Rishki first saw her and six four when
<v Speaker 4>Amy saw the man standing in the brush. This was
<v Speaker 4>the fifteen minute span of time in which April was attacked,
<v Speaker 4>her clothes nearly ripped off, and her head bashed and
<v Speaker 4>neck stopped. The police got a search warrant for her
<v Speaker 4>cell phone and began to compare her GPS data to
<v Speaker 4>what they already knew. They were working the case. Twenty
<v Speaker 4>four to seven. In shifts, they performed several more searches
<v Speaker 4>with and without the aid of dogs. They began interviewing
<v Speaker 4>all registered sex offenders in the area, and once again
<v Speaker 4>they asked the public to help locate the owner of
<v Speaker 4>an Enduro style off road motorcycle, possibly colored and blue
<v Speaker 4>and white, but this time they released a composite sketch
<v Speaker 4>provided by Amy.
<v Speaker 31>Police released this sketch of a man they want to
<v Speaker 31>talk to. He's a white male with sandy or reddish hair.
<v Speaker 31>Police aren't certain about his height, but say he's not
<v Speaker 31>excessively short.
<v Speaker 19>We're just telling the public, if you see this person,
<v Speaker 19>then you know I see if they're exhibiting some type
<v Speaker 19>of behavior too, and that's what we're really looking at.
<v Speaker 19>A lot of times when these people commit these type
<v Speaker 19>of crimes, they'll either change their work habits, so they'll
<v Speaker 19>do some different things in order to make it a
<v Speaker 19>little they're not themselves. We're pretty sure that somebody this
<v Speaker 19>person may have talked to somebody. If somebody has talked
<v Speaker 19>to you or something that you think is suspicious, give
<v Speaker 19>us a call and let us look at it. We'll
<v Speaker 19>determine if it's a good tip or not.
<v Speaker 4>And the tips came flooding it In a matter of days,
<v Speaker 4>the police had over four hundred tips. One officer the
<v Speaker 4>day after April's death was following up on the sighting
<v Speaker 4>of a motorcycle and it fit the description when he
<v Speaker 4>spotted another motorcycle.
<v Speaker 1>I seen it as I'm driving by.
<v Speaker 16>I turned my car around, pulled into the driveway, took
<v Speaker 16>a little better look at it from inside my car,
<v Speaker 16>snapped a couple photos of it with my cell phone,
<v Speaker 16>and snapped a photo of the address of the house,
<v Speaker 16>and then I proceeded back to the command center. I
<v Speaker 16>wanted to see if this was in fact the type
<v Speaker 16>of bike that the tip was speaking about, the on
<v Speaker 16>road off road style bike. Possibly it was and so
<v Speaker 16>at that point we made a determination to go back
<v Speaker 16>out there, make contact with the homeowner and gather some
<v Speaker 16>more information about the bike.
<v Speaker 4>When he returned to the house, the motorcycle was gone.
<v Speaker 4>They questioned the homeowner, who told them that the bike
<v Speaker 4>belonged to a friend of his, James Vencallis. They found
<v Speaker 4>his address through motor vehicle records and wants to go
<v Speaker 4>pay him the visit. Say hello, hi.
<v Speaker 16>James went to the front door, knocked on the door.
<v Speaker 16>An older gentleman answered. I asked to speak to James
<v Speaker 16>van Callis. He said he was James Vancallis. I asked
<v Speaker 16>him if there was another James van Callis, maybe a son.
<v Speaker 1>He said there was.
<v Speaker 16>I asked him if I could talk to him. He
<v Speaker 16>yelled in the house for James van Cals or James
<v Speaker 16>awready called him. At that time the defendant came to
<v Speaker 16>the door. He ended up coming out on the porch.
<v Speaker 16>The original James van Cals to answer the door. It
<v Speaker 16>was a determined later that's his father. He also came
<v Speaker 16>out on the porch as well as a female came
<v Speaker 16>out on the porch.
<v Speaker 4>Thirty two year old James Donald ben Callis lived with
<v Speaker 4>his father, sixty six year old James Bernard ben Callis.
<v Speaker 4>Everyone called him Jim. His mother, Brenda Poopy also lived
<v Speaker 4>there and yes that's really her name. His girlfriend, Crystal Stabler,
<v Speaker 4>also lived there too, along with their three year old
<v Speaker 4>James kind of fits the description too. He has a
<v Speaker 4>slender build and other than the hair, he looks like
<v Speaker 4>the composite sketch.
<v Speaker 16>I asked the defendant some questions.
<v Speaker 3>What did you ask?
<v Speaker 16>I told him we were doing an investigation in Armida.
<v Speaker 16>I asked him if he was in Armida the day before.
<v Speaker 3>He said he was.
<v Speaker 4>He cooperated with the officers and answered their questions, albeit vaguely.
<v Speaker 4>He gave approximate times for his whereabouts that day. He
<v Speaker 4>said he left home on his bike at around five
<v Speaker 4>pm and he ran by his friend's house, but he
<v Speaker 4>wasn't home. He continued to Armida and stopped at the
<v Speaker 4>Marathon gas station to rest a bit. The seat on
<v Speaker 4>the bike was a bit uncomfortable. Then he went to
<v Speaker 4>his brother's house.
<v Speaker 6>It was casual.
<v Speaker 13>It was just us, you know, askeding about you know,
<v Speaker 13>his his wharebouls and everything in Armida, and it was
<v Speaker 13>very casual, very.
<v Speaker 32>Front And what about the next morning, about twelve hours later,
<v Speaker 32>when you asked him the riccy happened.
<v Speaker 6>It was it was so friendly and he was busy,
<v Speaker 6>but it was so Did you have contact with him
<v Speaker 6>then later in the day hard waves and yes, a phone.
<v Speaker 16>I initially called him later in the afternoon there was
<v Speaker 16>no answer.
<v Speaker 6>I left the message and then received a phone call.
<v Speaker 3>Back from him and.
<v Speaker 6>Yes, yes I did, and what was back? He was
<v Speaker 6>very upset, uh to the point where he was I
<v Speaker 6>rate on the phone.
<v Speaker 13>He was yelling at me down the phone, telling me
<v Speaker 13>that it was a witch hunt, that we are trying
<v Speaker 13>to call and talk to all kinds of people and
<v Speaker 13>take people cell phones.
<v Speaker 6>It was just more of an out of control typephone call.
<v Speaker 4>James ben Callis didn't like the police because he had
<v Speaker 4>a record. In two thousand and five, he was convicted
<v Speaker 4>of breaking and entering, for which he got probation. Then
<v Speaker 4>in two thousand and seven, he was convicted of failure
<v Speaker 4>to pay child support and sentenced to five years probation.
<v Speaker 4>He quickly violated that probation by continuing not to pay
<v Speaker 4>child support and was put in prison for about a year.
<v Speaker 4>When April was murdered, he hadn't been out of prison
<v Speaker 4>that long. The elder Van Callis also had a record,
<v Speaker 4>but is that really a surprise. In nineteen ninety five,
<v Speaker 4>he pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual conduct.
<v Speaker 4>One victim was between thirteen and fifteen years of age
<v Speaker 4>and the other well, the other was younger than thirteen.
<v Speaker 4>He is a registered sex offender. James was in Armada
<v Speaker 4>that day and at that time he owned an Enduro
<v Speaker 4>style motorcycle and he fit the description well enough. When
<v Speaker 4>the police conduct an investigation, they follow a lead until
<v Speaker 4>it bears fruit or fizzles out. They started to investigate
<v Speaker 4>him and tried to verify his story. Either he did
<v Speaker 4>it or they would have to rule him out. But
<v Speaker 4>James didn't like being investigated and quickly went from cooperative
<v Speaker 4>to combative. So they took their suspicions to the judge.
<v Speaker 6>We didn't have a good search warrant.
<v Speaker 19>To judge went and sign it.
<v Speaker 3>We wouldn't be there.
<v Speaker 24>He is a person of interest in our investigation in Armida.
<v Speaker 16>We are looking at him.
<v Speaker 4>After trying to contact James several times to get a
<v Speaker 4>written statement and ask a few more questions, they were
<v Speaker 4>only met with hostility, so they filed for a search
<v Speaker 4>warrant for his residents. The FBI, Michigan State Police, the
<v Speaker 4>McComb County Sheriff's Office, and the Armada Police descended on
<v Speaker 4>the Van Callis property, some fifteen miles northeast st of Armida.
<v Speaker 4>James immediately protested and there.
<v Speaker 16>Was other details that we wanted to discuss with you,
<v Speaker 16>and we're not able to get them.
<v Speaker 20>How do we how do we do it?
<v Speaker 14>My back?
<v Speaker 1>Did I put my friend?
<v Speaker 14>My parents?
<v Speaker 33>I put my foot and you're not doing that, Jimmy.
<v Speaker 16>It's gotta stop generalizing everybody, because everybody out.
<v Speaker 3>Here is if somebody touched your parents.
<v Speaker 14>What would I do if somebody touch my parents?
<v Speaker 16>Well, not being in possession, you're in and they're coming
<v Speaker 16>to my house and doing a search.
<v Speaker 1>One't So it's hard for me to say arbitrarily.
<v Speaker 3>If somebody sends me wonder you wonder.
<v Speaker 14>We're here it We were walking right up here, We
<v Speaker 14>are here, we are here, we are don't shoot. Here's
<v Speaker 14>our hands, here's our hands and they're dragging us.
<v Speaker 9>Right, he's just talking.
<v Speaker 15>I'm not nervous.
<v Speaker 6>I know I'm nervous. You are too.
<v Speaker 15>Don't starts about once because.
<v Speaker 1>You got FBI, State Police and sheriffs here.
<v Speaker 10>I would.
<v Speaker 14>I'm nervous kissing ship the same way I was Julie
<v Speaker 14>watching mouth.
<v Speaker 6>That is true.
<v Speaker 14>You can't go anywhere without getting your next step done.
<v Speaker 9>Apparently you can't ride your.
<v Speaker 14>Motorcycle pour An here on because somebody's gonna say something.
<v Speaker 10>You're gonna get your next steps on.
<v Speaker 4>The team that first served the warrant was apparently a
<v Speaker 4>little rough with the Van Callises. James was complaining about
<v Speaker 4>how his parents were treated and that his neck was
<v Speaker 4>stepped on. He didn't want to answer any questions about
<v Speaker 4>April's murder. An outright refused to provide a written statement
<v Speaker 4>for what he already said.
<v Speaker 14>I'm not right nothing or even the best. That's a
<v Speaker 14>form of a mission, and I'm not going to say
<v Speaker 14>they have.
<v Speaker 6>Some variant from my story.
<v Speaker 14>I gave you in my written one and have ah
<v Speaker 14>fuck that shit.
<v Speaker 6>I gave you two savans.
<v Speaker 28>Other than that, I don't recall anything of that name.
<v Speaker 4>These questions seemed to trigger his anger. He began fluctuating
<v Speaker 4>between two extreme emotions. One moment he was calm and collected,
<v Speaker 4>and the next he flew into a blind rage.
<v Speaker 6>James, give me staff that we can't get.
<v Speaker 32>Right now, okay, because if you're gonna raise your voice
<v Speaker 32>like that, well I got no problem.
<v Speaker 10>Boy.
<v Speaker 3>James got quite a bit of a temper when he
<v Speaker 3>gets going on.
<v Speaker 16>You don't like it when he's court, Well, it sounds
<v Speaker 16>like when he's when he's not in charge.
<v Speaker 3>It sounds why you gotta be so rude to us?
<v Speaker 3>Can you be nice for two seconds?
<v Speaker 19>You have to be rude?
<v Speaker 14>Give me, I want hitting the car?
<v Speaker 1>Shut up.
<v Speaker 4>The officer was right, James didn't like it when he
<v Speaker 4>wasn't in charge. In fact, that was evident every time
<v Speaker 4>he opened his loud mouth. When he wasn't berating them
<v Speaker 4>at the top of his lungs, he was threatening the
<v Speaker 4>officers with a lawsuit.
<v Speaker 14>So you guys through my door with a warrant just
<v Speaker 14>for material that's not.
<v Speaker 32>I gotta look good.
<v Speaker 30>There was well, there were some allegations that you know,
<v Speaker 30>you were hot headed and there was some weapons in
<v Speaker 30>the in the house.
<v Speaker 6>Who had allegations of that?
<v Speaker 3>Who's the accuser?
<v Speaker 1>Boy?
<v Speaker 3>I can't tell you.
<v Speaker 14>All right, they turn up.
<v Speaker 31>On you out.
<v Speaker 30>Yeah, you sound like a smart guy, man, I mean,
<v Speaker 30>did you ever think about going to college or was
<v Speaker 30>that not on the radar for you.
<v Speaker 14>Or people that go to college are the ones that
<v Speaker 14>can't learn from the book.
<v Speaker 20>Yeah.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, that's a hard stance to take when you're an uneducated, unemployed,
<v Speaker 4>thirty two year old who spent time in prison for
<v Speaker 4>not paying child support. But it didn't stop James from
<v Speaker 4>trying to sound smart and make things personal.
<v Speaker 14>What your hand, don't make me sue you as an individual,
<v Speaker 14>I'll put a personal mean on your house. I'll put
<v Speaker 14>a you.
<v Speaker 6>You came here, you respond, yes, sir? You assue me
<v Speaker 6>in the car, I'll wait. Oh god, So anyway, I'm done.
<v Speaker 11>I got to tell you, ma'm I'm sorry, but I'm
<v Speaker 11>done putting up with him.
<v Speaker 27>I'm done.
<v Speaker 16>I only have patience so long that I try to
<v Speaker 16>get people an understanding, you know. But then when he
<v Speaker 16>when he starts making it a little more personal, I'm
<v Speaker 16>not going to sit here listening to him.
<v Speaker 3>Making your mother's gonna arrest you. I hope that's a
<v Speaker 3>threaten man will don't don't get.
<v Speaker 4>And when he wasn't threatening a lawsuit, he was letting
<v Speaker 4>the officers know how he really feels about them.
<v Speaker 14>Every time, man, every time you show up, it's always enoughing,
<v Speaker 14>but bad news. It's never good. I mean, I probably
<v Speaker 14>told you sometimes I don't even want to pull over
<v Speaker 14>when they're pulling me over. You know what, I'm the
<v Speaker 14>kind of guy who wants to slam on his brakes
<v Speaker 14>and make you asking me and hope that I hurt
<v Speaker 14>you and not no offense, because that's the way they
<v Speaker 14>make me feeling no offense.
<v Speaker 2>But you know what I mean.
<v Speaker 14>But you framed me out and I slammed on the brakes.
<v Speaker 14>I'm sorry they you went through the windshield kind of shit,
<v Speaker 14>you know. I mean, they fucked with me too much.
<v Speaker 14>I want to give him a piece of my mind.
<v Speaker 14>But when it comes to my homegun anytime, I can
<v Speaker 14>give him a piece of my mind.
<v Speaker 6>Fucking people.
<v Speaker 14>Hey, when you leave, I hope you wrap your cruiser
<v Speaker 14>around a fucking telephone ball.
<v Speaker 4>James seems to have a cruel disregard for the police,
<v Speaker 4>perhaps everyone as well, well everyone except maybe this one
<v Speaker 4>FBI agent situation like this.
<v Speaker 14>I wouldn't normally say this, but you're pretty I was
<v Speaker 14>telling him in the house.
<v Speaker 6>I said, they're allows.
<v Speaker 4>Amid the multi agency search of his home, he decided
<v Speaker 4>to hit on the blonde FBI agent hubba hubba.
<v Speaker 6>You know.
<v Speaker 14>Yeah, that was one of those work for the But
<v Speaker 14>I'm so much of a criminal. Abody a chance gonna
<v Speaker 14>have your card? Is it because I us in my backyard?
<v Speaker 14>Maybe how about you take my number?
<v Speaker 31>And probably.
<v Speaker 14>Mom? I was hitting on her and she told me
<v Speaker 14>to leave me, leave her alone. I was hitting on her,
<v Speaker 14>She told me to leave her alone. I asked her
<v Speaker 14>for her phone number, and she says, and I go, well,
<v Speaker 14>if you don't won't take mine, can I give you mine?
<v Speaker 1>She's like, I won't call.
<v Speaker 6>I'm like that with every girl.
<v Speaker 1>I mean, hey, you know what it is.
<v Speaker 14>You can't help myself?
<v Speaker 6>She blushed.
<v Speaker 4>It he couldn't help himself. He was like that with
<v Speaker 4>every woman he met. In fact, he was so preoccupied
<v Speaker 4>by this woman that the officers had to ask her
<v Speaker 4>to leave.
<v Speaker 30>Tell this young blonde lady and to stay away because.
<v Speaker 3>He keep getting the bed.
<v Speaker 4>Once they had his whole attention, they lit't know why
<v Speaker 4>they were there.
<v Speaker 6>What's that you said he's got? But he says he's
<v Speaker 6>got me in Arvado forty minutes.
<v Speaker 3>That's on account for it.
<v Speaker 30>Well, and that's just to inform you why we're here.
<v Speaker 3>What brought it here the third time.
<v Speaker 14>So I'm not a suspect, but you have there's forty
<v Speaker 14>minutes that did't'count for my.
<v Speaker 3>Brother's that right? Well, well, I'm wanting to talk to
<v Speaker 3>you about it.
<v Speaker 16>If you're if you're on a bike.
<v Speaker 14>They're just in town and we're looking.
<v Speaker 21>For somebody right now at the top.
<v Speaker 6>You on a bike, and I hope you everything I know?
<v Speaker 14>Okay, hold time. The forty minutes is exactly how I
<v Speaker 14>said it. If you're trying to remember, make me remember
<v Speaker 14>time now. I don't recall.
<v Speaker 27>I really don't.
<v Speaker 3>And that's what's the time.
<v Speaker 14>It's been some time now. I don't think I couldn't.
<v Speaker 31>That's why I tried to do it the other day.
<v Speaker 6>I wish you would.
<v Speaker 1>Why don't you have me write down when you were here?
<v Speaker 10>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>I don't remember anything now is what do.
<v Speaker 14>You recall the second time I came here?
<v Speaker 1>It was very late at night.
<v Speaker 16>You're in your box your first time. No, I know,
<v Speaker 16>I had to back up myself in the middle of
<v Speaker 16>my sentence. The first time we come it's late at night.
<v Speaker 15>We know we pull people out of bed.
<v Speaker 1>So the next day when I come here, what was
<v Speaker 1>the first thing I said?
<v Speaker 16>Can we go write all of this down?
<v Speaker 20>Nope, I'm busy.
<v Speaker 4>He claimed that he didn't remember specifics now it had
<v Speaker 4>been a long time. Just to clarify, this was July thirtieth,
<v Speaker 4>only six days after April's murder.
<v Speaker 14>No, going through a town that someone gets murdering does
<v Speaker 14>not make your mother's suspect.
<v Speaker 6>And we never had have you heard of it?
<v Speaker 4>Does?
<v Speaker 15>Well?
<v Speaker 31>You know what, that's a good point.
<v Speaker 34>You made a good But at the time this happens, absolutely,
<v Speaker 34>you're right.
<v Speaker 1>Anybody and everybody could be a suspect.
<v Speaker 4>Right, anybody and everybody could be a suspect. But not
<v Speaker 4>everyone owned a motorcycle and helmet just like the ones
<v Speaker 4>described by witnesses. Not everyone was wearing clothes that matched
<v Speaker 4>the description. Just James ven Callis was. But they weren't
<v Speaker 4>there just to ask questions. They were there to prove it.
<v Speaker 15>So where's my bike going day? And she's in my bike?
<v Speaker 15>Ride on my fucking bike today, you're going.
<v Speaker 6>To get a rescue?
<v Speaker 3>No, not.
<v Speaker 1>Gonna get your rescue?
<v Speaker 4>And when it don't look at Ham, his mother just
<v Speaker 4>wanted to let them do their job. Honestly, he was
<v Speaker 4>protesting way too much. It made it seem like he
<v Speaker 4>had something to hide, and he was hiding something. You see,
<v Speaker 4>the Van Kalis family had a large marijuana grow operation.
<v Speaker 4>This isn't necessarily illegal, as Michigan allows marijuana medically and
<v Speaker 4>allows people to grow their own. You can even grow
<v Speaker 4>plants for other people who have their medical cards. The
<v Speaker 4>problem is you're only allowed to have twelve plants maximum
<v Speaker 4>for each cardholder. That's thirty six plants. The Van Callis
<v Speaker 4>family had fifty two, and I guess the stress of
<v Speaker 4>the situation was getting to them because all they wanted
<v Speaker 4>to do was to take their medicine.
<v Speaker 14>We're not breaking the laws sold whoever's in church.
<v Speaker 6>I had it on my If I had a joint
<v Speaker 6>right here, right, we'd let it up right now.
<v Speaker 14>There's not a damn thing you can say about round
<v Speaker 14>private joint up federal.
<v Speaker 30>You can say you have a federal one agency here
<v Speaker 30>with this guy.
<v Speaker 1>But I don't make a ship.
<v Speaker 6>I don't give a shit.
<v Speaker 3>We have a well sung on my left.
<v Speaker 4>Kno, even if your state allows medical or recreational marijuana,
<v Speaker 4>it's still illegal federally. The Van Callis men weren't getting
<v Speaker 4>out of this one unscathed. Both father and son were
<v Speaker 4>arrested on drug charges. The authorities seized his bike and helmet,
<v Speaker 4>along with the clothes he said he was wearing the
<v Speaker 4>day of the murder. They took his pants, his shirt,
<v Speaker 4>and his shoes. The one thing they couldn't find was
<v Speaker 4>his hoodie, which had been accidentally thrown away. The pants
<v Speaker 4>had what might be blood on the cuff, but the
<v Speaker 4>real reason they were there were for his shoes.
<v Speaker 34>The imprints on the victim's neck were so significant, him
<v Speaker 34>vivid that we felt that if we could find those
<v Speaker 34>shoes that we could match.
<v Speaker 4>Up whoever killed April stomped on her neck so hard
<v Speaker 4>it left an imprint of the bottom of the shoe.
<v Speaker 4>It was also so hard that it collapsed her airway,
<v Speaker 4>ultimately leading to her death. But when they checked the
<v Speaker 4>shoes that James said he wore that day, they didn't match.
<v Speaker 4>The Van Callists men would remain under police custody under
<v Speaker 4>federal drug charges while the authorities tried to find more
<v Speaker 4>evidence connecting him to April's murder. After the murder of
<v Speaker 4>April millsap on the Macomb Orchard Trail one evening in
<v Speaker 4>July twenty fourteen, the police were looking for a person
<v Speaker 4>on a motorcycle, and the one with the motorcycle was
<v Speaker 4>the last one to see April alive, according to statements
<v Speaker 4>by many witnesses. When they discovered James Van Callis owned
<v Speaker 4>a motorcycle like the one described, they asked him a
<v Speaker 4>few more questions. When he became evasive and hostile. The
<v Speaker 4>authorities got a search warrant for his house. They wanted
<v Speaker 4>to see if the shoes he wore that day matched
<v Speaker 4>the tread pattern found on April's neck. Little did they
<v Speaker 4>know they would discover a large marijuana grow operation. Both
<v Speaker 4>James and his father, Jim were arrested on federal drug charges.
<v Speaker 4>They sat in jail while the authorities tried to build
<v Speaker 4>their case against James. Months would go by and the
<v Speaker 4>police would redo interviews and try to find out as
<v Speaker 4>much as they could, gathering all of the circumstantial evidence.
<v Speaker 4>After serving the search warrant and seizing all of his stuff,
<v Speaker 4>they didn't find anything. They didn't find DNA fingerprints, hair, nothing,
<v Speaker 4>and the shoes he said he wore didn't match the pattern.
<v Speaker 4>So they talked to his father, who seemed a little
<v Speaker 4>too comfortable in his orange jump seat.
<v Speaker 3>Did Jimmy Udis murdered that earl.
<v Speaker 14>No, they didn't kill that earl. No, even by accident.
<v Speaker 19>No, how you know, I don't.
<v Speaker 14>I don't want my son knowing all.
<v Speaker 6>My kids he can run on a straight arrow for
<v Speaker 6>the last while, for the last year anyway, because of
<v Speaker 6>a year before leading in prison.
<v Speaker 4>He didn't think his son was capable of doing such
<v Speaker 4>a thing, you know, because he turned a few new
<v Speaker 4>leaves over or some shit in prison. So the officer
<v Speaker 4>tried to paint a scenario to see if it changed
<v Speaker 4>his mind.
<v Speaker 2>He've got that explosive temper, and maybe something just went
<v Speaker 2>too far that day.
<v Speaker 6>There's a chance encounter. Maybe. You know how Jimmy is
<v Speaker 6>with the lady.
<v Speaker 4>He's a lady man.
<v Speaker 6>Wait, the lady man, the extra cargoon, and so many
<v Speaker 6>rejects him.
<v Speaker 10>He's done.
<v Speaker 21>This is too well, now, that.
<v Speaker 6>Don't happen that way. It don't happen. Well, it's not
<v Speaker 6>it's not like.
<v Speaker 26>You know, he doesn't know the consequences of what would
<v Speaker 26>happen something.
<v Speaker 3>Most are really not you know, people's personality town.
<v Speaker 6>You know, I'm on a lifetime registry.
<v Speaker 1>He knows this.
<v Speaker 6>He's lived with it for the last twenty years, with him,
<v Speaker 6>so he knows.
<v Speaker 4>So you know, his son wouldn't have lost his temper
<v Speaker 4>because he would have never talked to an underage girl.
<v Speaker 4>He knew better. Messing around with little girls leads to trouble.
<v Speaker 4>It was a lesson he learned from his father, a
<v Speaker 4>registered sex offender. Another lesson he earned from his father,
<v Speaker 4>the self profaned asshole, was not to beat women they
<v Speaker 4>charged for the.
<v Speaker 6>Whole time that we've done. Whether I do euro up
<v Speaker 6>all time, Yeah, that's why I'm still with her, still
<v Speaker 6>making it up.
<v Speaker 3>Do you think give me your to pick up some
<v Speaker 3>of your.
<v Speaker 6>Bad habage from there? No, he wouldn't be beating up
<v Speaker 6>all the girlfriends.
<v Speaker 3>But you've never seen an be of the show. Friend,
<v Speaker 3>there is no even the girlfriends never said anything.
<v Speaker 6>Nobody ever said anything.
<v Speaker 4>He knew his son and just didn't think he was
<v Speaker 4>capable of murder. He'd been on the straight and narrow
<v Speaker 4>for nearly a year. He went on to support his
<v Speaker 4>claim by saying his son is a thief, not a murderer.
<v Speaker 4>But that's not really a very strong argument. It would
<v Speaker 4>take until October twenty fourteen for the county to finally
<v Speaker 4>press charges.
<v Speaker 25>In cooperation with the Armida Police Department, Michigan State Police,
<v Speaker 25>mccon County Sheriff's Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today
<v Speaker 25>we announced charges against James Donald van Kallis for the
<v Speaker 25>murder of April down Milsap in the city of Armada.
<v Speaker 4>He was charged with first degree premeditated murder for the
<v Speaker 4>amount of time it takes to exphyxiate a person. Surely
<v Speaker 4>he had time to change his mind or call for help.
<v Speaker 4>They also charged him with assault with intent to commit
<v Speaker 4>sexual penetration because it was clear what his intention was
<v Speaker 4>before he got interrupted, killed her, and then ran away.
<v Speaker 4>Of course, in all his worldly knowledge from all the
<v Speaker 4>books he read instead of going to college, James pleaded
<v Speaker 4>not guilty and proceeded to trial. In the trial, the
<v Speaker 4>prosecution paraded around witness after witness that placed him on
<v Speaker 4>the trail that day. They all saw a different little
<v Speaker 4>piece of the picture. One noticed his clothes, a couple
<v Speaker 4>others noticed his eyes, and one woman saw his face.
<v Speaker 4>All these pieces put together described James. They went over
<v Speaker 4>April's GPS data and created a map of her last movements.
<v Speaker 4>They pointed out that all of a sudden, her phone
<v Speaker 4>was moving at twenty two miles an hour. When they
<v Speaker 4>cross reference to the timestamps with local surveillance systems, they
<v Speaker 4>saw a picture of a man on an Enduro motorcycle
<v Speaker 4>that was blue and white. They talked about the shoes
<v Speaker 4>they seized and how they didn't match the pattern on
<v Speaker 4>April's neck. They theorized he destroyed the real shoes he
<v Speaker 4>was wearing that day. He said he was wearing a
<v Speaker 4>pair of k Swiss tennis shoes, but the one witness
<v Speaker 4>specifically remembered high tops pictures from social media. Should he
<v Speaker 4>owned a pair of high top Nike air Jordan's flight
<v Speaker 4>the power addition, the point is that these particular shoes
<v Speaker 4>match the tread pattern on the victim's neck. I guess
<v Speaker 4>that's the power. They were referring to, the power of
<v Speaker 4>the state att someting to arrest a criminal. They also
<v Speaker 4>talked about the lack of DNA found on the helmet
<v Speaker 4>the theorized weapon he used to incapacitate her. It wasn't
<v Speaker 4>that they didn't find April's DNA, it was that they
<v Speaker 4>didn't find any DNA at all. The helmet had obviously
<v Speaker 4>been cleaned inside and now, but their star witness was
<v Speaker 4>James's ex girlfriend Crystal Stapler. She described him as controlling
<v Speaker 4>and abusive.
<v Speaker 28>What about if he wanted to use the computer during
<v Speaker 28>the day, I couldn't. Was there a home following it
<v Speaker 28>in there in your portion of the house?
<v Speaker 27>No?
<v Speaker 6>If James was how would you communicate with through.
<v Speaker 10>His mom or dad?
<v Speaker 6>Did James have a phone yes? Did James have a
<v Speaker 6>driver's license yes? Did James have a computer yes? Did
<v Speaker 6>James have a car yes?
<v Speaker 3>Did you have a car?
<v Speaker 10>No?
<v Speaker 6>Why not? It wasn't well, but you had the same
<v Speaker 6>with the driver's license. Was he controlling these aspects of
<v Speaker 6>your life?
<v Speaker 3>Yes?
<v Speaker 4>He controlled her to the point that she feared him.
<v Speaker 4>Because of this, she wasn't immediately truthful with police.
<v Speaker 6>Why is it that you're not telling him everything right away?
<v Speaker 6>Why don't you scared up James? Why are you scared
<v Speaker 6>of James?
<v Speaker 1>Because he was abusive, been controlling?
<v Speaker 6>He ever hit you? Yes?
<v Speaker 4>It seemed like he did, in fact pick up Dad's
<v Speaker 4>bad habit. She went on to recall the night April died.
<v Speaker 6>Would you describe how he is dressed when he leaves
<v Speaker 6>the house of a white T shirt with football logos
<v Speaker 6>on it and gray camel pants.
<v Speaker 1>And his black and white shoes.
<v Speaker 6>What type of shoes was he wearing?
<v Speaker 4>Her testimony contradicted James's statement that he wore the case
<v Speaker 4>Swiss shoes, but this wasn't the only damning evidence. She
<v Speaker 4>recalled that when he returned that night, he was acting
<v Speaker 4>normal until he thought she was sleeping.
<v Speaker 1>I wake up and see him cleaning his shoes?
<v Speaker 6>Okay? And what part of the shoe is he cleaning? Okay?
<v Speaker 6>And you ever seen him clean and shoes before?
<v Speaker 4>When she asked why he was cleaning his shoes, he
<v Speaker 4>said because he got oil on him. She didn't question
<v Speaker 4>him further, even though the middle of the night seemed
<v Speaker 4>like a really weird time to be cleaning your shoes.
<v Speaker 4>After that, she never saw those shoes again.
<v Speaker 32>Does he say anything to you when he comes back
<v Speaker 32>to bed, Yeah, that he messed up and he needed
<v Speaker 32>me to stand by.
<v Speaker 6>His side when he first comes back into bed. Has
<v Speaker 6>his demeanor toward you changed?
<v Speaker 5>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>How is his demeanor now? Love? Was it that way
<v Speaker 6>when the Julie was a bed several hours earlier?
<v Speaker 10>No?
<v Speaker 6>When his move like that changes, what does that means you?
<v Speaker 22>He did something wrong?
<v Speaker 4>While he didn't admit to anything specifically, the timing of
<v Speaker 4>this statement to Crystal was suspicious, but the following day
<v Speaker 4>she found something even more suspicious.
<v Speaker 6>How you asked to wash his clothes?
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, he wanted me to do a little laundry, Okay.
<v Speaker 27>Is that you?
<v Speaker 4>Yeah?
<v Speaker 10>Why?
<v Speaker 1>Because he never really wanted.
<v Speaker 6>Me to wash his clothes.
<v Speaker 3>He wore the same clothes all the time.
<v Speaker 6>What were you ask to wash on the morning of
<v Speaker 6>the twenty five the car.
<v Speaker 3>Hard heading in his pants in that shirt?
<v Speaker 28>Did you find something unusual in the car art jacket
<v Speaker 28>after you washed?
<v Speaker 10>Yeah?
<v Speaker 6>What was it that you found?
<v Speaker 3>Like wanted up hair and like shavings of grass or
<v Speaker 3>phil like hay.
<v Speaker 4>She didn't recognize the hay as anything from the yard,
<v Speaker 4>and the hair certainly wasn't hers. All of this odd
<v Speaker 4>behavior she kept to herself, Like when James gave his
<v Speaker 4>family instructions, what was he telling to.
<v Speaker 1>Everybody in the house to tell him that he was
<v Speaker 1>wearing case with shoes?
<v Speaker 6>Was he wearing case Swiss.
<v Speaker 3>Shoes that night?
<v Speaker 4>No. Out of fear for James, she wouldn't tell police
<v Speaker 4>any of this until the third interview, when she knew
<v Speaker 4>he was already in jail. All of this information really
<v Speaker 4>cast James in a bad light. But it did fit
<v Speaker 4>the theory that James hit on young April that day
<v Speaker 4>on the trail when she rebuffed his advance, he hit
<v Speaker 4>her over the head with his helmet. He dragged her
<v Speaker 4>into the bushes. He started to assault her when Amy
<v Speaker 4>rode by on her bike. He got nervous, abandoned his plan,
<v Speaker 4>stomped her to death, and fled. And just in case
<v Speaker 4>any of the jurors were on the fence about this theory,
<v Speaker 4>they read off some of James's Google search history. Here
<v Speaker 4>are just a few excerpts. Do young girls like older men?
<v Speaker 4>Why would this girl say I'm too old for her
<v Speaker 4>and still hit on me? What does it mean when
<v Speaker 4>a girl tells you that she has a boyfriend? How
<v Speaker 4>to have sex with a girl? How to make a
<v Speaker 4>g girl who does not want you want you? Notice
<v Speaker 4>the key phrases in all of those searches. He wants
<v Speaker 4>to know how to get a girl, not a woman.
<v Speaker 4>Needless to say, the jurors weren't on the fence at all.
<v Speaker 32>The biggest line of garbage I've ever heard.
<v Speaker 4>The evidence is just overwhelming.
<v Speaker 32>Circumstantial as it may be, it's still overwhelming evidence. Count one,
<v Speaker 32>first degree premeditated murder, we find it offended guilty. Count two,
<v Speaker 32>first degree fell any murder, you find it offended.
<v Speaker 1>Guilty.
<v Speaker 32>Free kidnapping, we find it offended.
<v Speaker 6>Guilty. Count four assault ale.
<v Speaker 32>Intent to commit sexual penetration, we find it offended guilty.
<v Speaker 4>James was found guilty on all counts. He tried to
<v Speaker 4>remain stoic when the verdict was read, but he had
<v Speaker 4>a little eye twitch when he heard the decision. April's
<v Speaker 4>family erupted into celebration as he was led from the court.
<v Speaker 4>At his sentencing, April's mom, Jennifer, gave her statement, I
<v Speaker 4>help the.
<v Speaker 12>Rain pierces you like bullets. I help the sun burned
<v Speaker 12>to like fire burnt skin. I help the four walls
<v Speaker 12>closed it on you and Tokyo.
<v Speaker 3>I hope those steal barns are your only friends.
<v Speaker 33>I hope and you close your eyes, you see only
<v Speaker 33>April over and over and over again. You will die
<v Speaker 33>behind those bars alone. I hope that the inmates know
<v Speaker 33>that what you did, because.
<v Speaker 3>I hear the bunishment can be very ugly.
<v Speaker 12>I hope they say all their rage and anger just
<v Speaker 12>for you, you, James, I damn thief.
<v Speaker 1>You're still on beautiful daughtist life. I pity you, and
<v Speaker 1>I hate you, and I can never forgive you.
<v Speaker 4>Her pain was palpable. She thanked the judge and sat down,
<v Speaker 4>sniffing into a tissue. Next, James addressed the court once again,
<v Speaker 4>demonstrating his intelligence or lack thereof.
<v Speaker 14>Well, first off is that there is no evidence that
<v Speaker 14>shows that I've done anything wrong. There is nobody that
<v Speaker 14>can say they've seen me commit any crime. There is
<v Speaker 14>nobody that can id or has id my motorcycle as
<v Speaker 14>being on that trail that day. None of the witnesses
<v Speaker 14>could positively positively identify me. They said that they seen eyes,
<v Speaker 14>which is if that's the case, how many people have
<v Speaker 14>eyes that are that shape. This is a sad chain
<v Speaker 14>of events that somehow I'm wrapped up. Then I don't
<v Speaker 14>know how to have an atta family understand that I
<v Speaker 14>don't know her. I've never met her. I I'd never
<v Speaker 14>seen her before.
<v Speaker 4>He goes on like this for a while before he
<v Speaker 4>starts complaining about inconsistencies and discovery files.
<v Speaker 14>There's a fraud that's been perpetuated in this case by
<v Speaker 14>whoever put the case together to put it on that
<v Speaker 14>hard drive. My attorney has witnessed. I have brought it
<v Speaker 14>up to my attorney several times. He could testify right here,
<v Speaker 14>right now, if you were to ask him if what
<v Speaker 14>I'm saying is the truth.
<v Speaker 1>The reality is.
<v Speaker 6>I understand that you're on her, but.
<v Speaker 1>Please, I didn't interrupt you.
<v Speaker 21>Thank you.
<v Speaker 2>The reality is we're here to send you anything you
<v Speaker 2>want to say regarding an appeel.
<v Speaker 1>You can do that as soon as you're done with me.
<v Speaker 14>I'm just asking for emotion for child the noble on
<v Speaker 14>the grounds that time.
<v Speaker 4>This idiot was arguing appellate issues and trying to call
<v Speaker 4>for a mistrial at the sentencing. Does nobody watch law
<v Speaker 4>and order anymore?
<v Speaker 1>Asked to the star of the first degree murder, it
<v Speaker 1>says of the four that you served life in prison
<v Speaker 1>with no chance to parol.
<v Speaker 4>Shortly after his tirade, he was sentenced to life in
<v Speaker 4>prison for first degree murder, another life term for felony murder,
<v Speaker 4>eighteen years and nine months for kidnapping, and six years
<v Speaker 4>and eight months for assault with intent to commit sexual penetration.
<v Speaker 4>I don't think I have to add that up for you,
<v Speaker 4>but it's more than necessary. Really, I'm not sure there's
<v Speaker 4>much more you need after life. Immediately following the sentencing,
<v Speaker 4>his mother claimed her son was framed because the authorities
<v Speaker 4>needed to pin it on someone. Yeah, that's how idiots
<v Speaker 4>think the system works. Cops don't work on a quota people.
<v Speaker 4>Maybe prosecutors, but not cops. Later, in a phone interview
<v Speaker 4>from prison, James claimed his ex girlfriend was told what
<v Speaker 4>to say on the stand and forced to testify or
<v Speaker 4>else her kids would be taken away. I'm not sure
<v Speaker 4>that CPS does that either, but okay, James whatever. A
<v Speaker 4>couple of years after his incarceration, he would file for appeal,
<v Speaker 4>citing a bunch of reasons he probably thought would work.
<v Speaker 4>It was denied. James Donald van Callis remains in prison
<v Speaker 4>to this day. Meanwhile, the village of Armada started to heal.
<v Speaker 4>They built a memorial park for April at the Fulton
<v Speaker 4>Street entrance to the trail, and four years after her death,
<v Speaker 4>the high school presented her mother with an honorary diploma.
<v Speaker 4>James van Callis thought he was above the law. He
<v Speaker 4>saw himself as superior. He thought that the law didn't
<v Speaker 4>apply to him. The truth, however, was far from that.
<v Speaker 4>He still wasn't paying child support, He controlled many aspects
<v Speaker 4>of his girlfriend's life and manipulated her constantly. He was
<v Speaker 4>growing more than the legally allowed amount of marijuana and
<v Speaker 4>speeding through town on his bike without a motorcycle license.
<v Speaker 4>He was riding on a trail where it wasn't allowed,
<v Speaker 4>And all of that could have been forgiven if he
<v Speaker 4>hadn't hit on a fourteen year old girl on a
<v Speaker 4>remote walking trail and then flew into a rage when
<v Speaker 4>she denied him. And in fact, while we're on it,
<v Speaker 4>why hit on a young girl? Why hit on a
<v Speaker 4>girl at all if you have a girlfriend at home, Well, James,
<v Speaker 4>that's because you don't give a shit about anyone else's
<v Speaker 4>feelings except your own. You put your desire above and
<v Speaker 4>ahead of anyone and everyone. This pursuit for validation in
<v Speaker 4>the eyes of a young girl who was just mining
<v Speaker 4>her own business led to your downfall. Amy interrupted this
<v Speaker 4>baby man, which is the only reason April millsap wasn't
<v Speaker 4>sexually assaulted. In addition to being murdered, James van Callis
<v Speaker 4>was callous, utterly indifferent to the law and to the
<v Speaker 4>rules we've agreed upon in society, these rules that we
<v Speaker 4>have because the end of the day, We're all human.
<v Speaker 4>We all make mistakes, we all do things we shouldn't.
<v Speaker 4>At times, we sometimes even break the law. But there
<v Speaker 4>is a distinction. There is a differentiation between us and them,
<v Speaker 4>because some of us will get up day after day
<v Speaker 4>after day and even though we know at the end
<v Speaker 4>of the day we'll fail. We will be imperfect, we
<v Speaker 4>will make mistakes, we may even occasionally hurt someone. At
<v Speaker 4>least we tried to put in the effort to be
<v Speaker 4>a better person. At least we're the kind of people
<v Speaker 4>that try. Thank you so much for joining us once again.
<v Speaker 4>If you like our show, please go check out our
<v Speaker 4>website and if you could join Plus starts at only
<v Speaker 4>ten dollars a month and it really goes towards helping
<v Speaker 4>us produce these. You can find it along with our
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<v Speaker 4>with a sword Scale branding over at sword and Scale
<v Speaker 4>dot com. Until next time, stay safe, she
<v Speaker 10>M