383: The Exorcism Confession: Murder… or Something Else? | Bethany Deaton

On a warm August day in 2012, 26-year-old Bethany Deaton married the man she believed she’d build her future with, but just two months later she was found dead inside her minivan in a quiet area that didn’t match the circumstances of her final moments. What was first described as her taking her own life began to raise questions as details emerged that didn’t quite align, and people close to her started pointing to changes in her behavior and the influence of those around her. As investigators took a closer look, the situation became harder to explain, with new information suggesting that what happened to Bethany may not have been as straightforward as it first appeared…. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources 48 Hours | ABC News | CBS News | Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri | Fox 4 Kansas City | Houston Press | IHOPKC | KSHB 41 | KMBC | Kansas City Star | Law & Crime | NBC News | Suffocation Using Plastic Bags: A Retrospective Study of Suicides in Ontario, Canada (Journal of Forensic Sciences) | The Talking Llama | Unresolved | Wade Family Funeral Home••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 0:59Speaker 02

  Sheriff's deputies found Bethany Deaton's body in a car at Longview Lake with a plastic bag over her head. To her, Tyler was someone who seemed to be passionately pursuing God and pursuing a meaningful life.

• 1:11Speaker 03

  Some of the things he was saying were incoherent and borderline insane. This is when I would say it became a full-blown cult and a very dangerous cult. Something wasn't quite right.

• 1:21Speaker 04

  You've been described as a cult leader. Okay. True? I don't think so, no.

• 1:30Annie Elise?

  Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serial Ashley.

• 1:53Annie Elise?

  Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to an all-new episode of Serial Ashley with me, your host and your true crime bestie, Annie Elise. And it is Monday, which if you guys are new here, let me just tell you what that means, okay? Da-da-da-da, drum roll. No, I'm just kidding. Mondays are when we do our full-on, like, you know, full send deep dives into a case where we are going through... Not only all of the FOIA documents, the police interviews, the case files, the court documents, but we also will look to social media, to Reddit, we'll reach out to families, and we just collect all the information possible to deliver you the full entire

• 2:35Annie Elise?

  deep dive on the case. Then on Thursdays, we do a show called Headline Highlights, where I break down everything happening in a week in the true crime world, whether it's case updates, new cases, whatever it may be. But Mondays, like today, these are our deep dive days. And so today's case, it's not only a wild one, they all are in their own way, but it's one where there is a twist at the final 15 minutes, final 10 minutes, call it, that nobody, not even myself when I was researching it, would see coming. It is such a roller coaster of emotions and kind of like a roller coaster where you're

• 3:16Annie Elise?

  angry a lot of the time, too. But it is definitely a wild one. And I want to get right into it. Also, really quickly, before we get into today's episode, I do have an exciting announcement. We are officially launching spring merch tomorrow to the public at annieelise.com. Lots of things, lots of bestsellers that are coming back, like our tumblers, our safety kits, our apparel, all of the things. And if you want to shop it early, you can do so right now by signing up on Patreon, patreon.com/annieelise. You will not only get a merch discount code, but you also will be able to shop before it goes available to the public, so that you can secure everything you want before it sells out. So again, annieelise.com.

• 3:58Annie Elise?

  It goes live tomorrow to the public, but you can shop it right now if you go to patreon.com/annieelise. So today, we are going back to 2012. And on August 18, 2012, it should have been a day that was full of laughter, a day full of celebration and just happiness, because it was the day that Bethany Lydley and Tyler Deaton were getting married. Now weddings really do have that way of making everybody just feel like they're encapsulated in this like perfect, magical little bubble for the evening, or for the afternoon, if that's when the wedding is. Yet something about that day didn't feel like that. Something just felt off. Now Bethany had always dreamed of falling in love and getting married one day.

• 4:39Annie Elise?

  She was somebody too, who had known for years exactly what her wedding dress was going to look like. The floral arrangements, what every single detail would be. I mean, she knew how she wanted her hair done. She was prepared, she was excited, and it was something that she had looked forward to since she was a little girl. And let me just say, she looked absolutely beautiful that day. Her hair was up in this like very carefully curled updo. She was wearing this beautiful white dress that was decorated with jewels at the top and just like looked stunning. She had this bright red, pink and purple flowers in her bouquet. She looked great. However, that day, everybody else in her life who had been lucky enough to know her and love her, felt like something was off.

• 5:22Annie Elise?

  They couldn't help but have this gut feeling just kind of nagging at them. She looked beautiful, everything was planned, everything was great, but something didn't feel right. They almost felt like she didn't seem that happy. And she should be happy, I mean, it's her wedding day. She was smiling for all the pictures, but it was almost like her smile wasn't fully reaching her eyes. Like it was just staged, just being put on for show. And her best friend described the way that Bethany looked that day by saying, quote, "She's still beautiful, but it's almost this faded, wilted kind of beauty." Like, this isn't Bethany anymore. Her other family and friends also had described the ceremony itself as being,

• 6:03Annie Elise?

  quote, "weird, awful, uncomfortable, difficult to watch, and a mistake." Now, I know that weddings are not about the guests. It's about the people getting married, right? That's what matters. But you got to admit, those are some very strong words. A mistake, difficult to watch. I mean, tho- those are incredibly negative words and ki- kind of quite frankly, ominous ways to describe somebody's wedding. Now, to put it bluntly, nobody in Bethany's life was very stoked on her new husband Tyler. And that's for a lot of different reasons, which we'll get into here shortly. But the truth was, Bethany was a grown woman. She was 26. ...years old, almost 27 years old to be exact. And she was grown up enough to make her own decisions.

• 6:46Annie Elise?

  And that was something that her family and friends knew that they had to respect. So everybody now on this wedding day, they were kind of just like ignoring the weirdness of the day, the feeling like she wasn't fully happy, the feeling like this was a huge mistake. And they just set their own personal thoughts aside that they had against the relationship and against Tyler, and they just moved on. They still supported Bethany and celebrated with her, no matter what. They loved her, they cared about her, and it was still her wedding day. So it was still the day that she had dreamt of as a little girl. They wanted her to be happy. Then, at the end of the night, Bethany's mom Carol snapped a photo of her that her family would cling to forever. It was just Bethany in the frame. She was waving goodbye from an open car window, saying goodbye to all of her friends and

• 7:29Annie Elise?

  family that had been gathered outside, and she and Tyler were pulling away. And for the first time that night, she actually looked truly happy in this photo. She was glowing. So it almost made her loved ones breathe this sigh of relief, like maybe they had gotten all of this wrong. Maybe Bethany was happy after all. Maybe this was just the beginning of a very fun, lifelong adventure she was about to have. However, that hope was quickly smashed. Because just two months later, Bethany's family received devastating news. Bethany's body was found in the backseat of her minivan. The van was parked in a picnic area overlooking what is called Longview Lake in Kansas City, Missouri.

• 8:11Annie Elise?

  It was a place where people typically would come to picnic, they would spend time with their friends, they would just be hanging out. It was certainly not the kind of place where you would find a dead body. Yet, inside the van, there was Bethany. And Bethany's head had been covered with a plastic bag. Next to her body was an empty bottle of Tylenol PM Pills. And then, next to the empty bottle, was what appeared to be a goodbye note. A note to show that when she got inside her minivan that day, she never planned on coming out of it alive. The note read, "My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn't be a real person, and what's the point of living if it's too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago.

• 8:55Annie Elise?

  I knew it all and refused to listen." Maybe Jesus will still save me. Bethany was just 27 years old. Now, without even going any further into this case, I am curious where your mind is going when I'm describing this scene. Because the empty pill bottle and that note, I mean, yeah, it seemed pretty straightforward. But then the bag on her head? That seemed a little bit different if this were self-harm. I mean, just a tiny bit. Now, the key detail here, too, was that the bag was loose. It wasn't tied, it wasn't duct taped around her neck. It looked as though it had just been quickly placed over her head. And that's not to say that plastic bags are completely out of the ordinary in cases of people taking their own lives.

• 9:40Annie Elise?

  In fact, when I did a little bit of digging, I learned that it's actually somewhat common. But it still didn't feel like everything aligned perfectly with what you normally would think you would see at a scene like that. And there were some other details that seemed strange as well. Next to her body and that empty pill bottle, there were thank you cards. Thank you cards for everyone who had attended the wedding and given Bethany and Tyler gifts just two months earlier. Half the cards were filled out, too. The others, though, hadn't been written on yet. So that made investigators pause for a second because on its face, that detail felt a little off, right? I mean, why would somebody sit down and write these thank you cards if they were planning to take their own life? It doesn't exactly line up.

• 10:25Annie Elise?

  Same thing could be said for the Ellen Greenberg case, if you're familiar with that case. It was a case that was ruled self-harm that nobody believes was truly what happened. And she had been preparing a fruit salad right before she took her life. So it's things like that that just weren't really making sense. However, just as quickly as the thought crossed their minds, they started to just push it aside. And their reasoning for that was pretty simple. When somebody is having self-harm ideations, you can't always apply logic. People don't always behave in ways that make perfect sense. Sometimes they give things away. Sometimes they tie up loose ends. Sometimes they act completely normal. So while, yes, it struck them as odd, it wasn't quite enough to raise a huge red flag.

• 11:07Annie Elise?

  Now, before any official cause of death was released, word had spread fast. And the truth was, considering everything that was at the crime scene, the rumor was that Bethany had taken her own life. But right away, there were differing reactions and different points of views when it came to Bethany's death. There were those who believed that Bethany could have and would have taken her own life, but then there were also those who just didn't believe it. And as for Bethany's new husband Tyler, well, he was the type of person who did believe it. He was the first person that the investigators got into contact with after finding Bethany's body. Detective Penny Cole was the investigator on the case and also the one who broke the

• 11:48Annie Elise?

  news to Tyler, telling him that his new wife of only a couple of months was deceased. Now, you'd think that, given how young Bethany was and the fact that they had just gotten married and were starting their life together, that his reaction would be one of devastation, denial, right? Maybe even just complete being distraught. However, Detective Cole claimed that Tyler's reaction wasn't at all what she expected it to be. She didn't say exactly what he said or did, but she was taken aback by it. Her exact quote was, "When I spoke with Tyler, I did not see the reaction that I expected from a newlywed at all, and it kind of made the hair on the back of my neck stand up."

• 12:29Annie Elise?

  So as I mentioned, Tyler believed that Bethany did do this to herself. However, Bethany's mom and dad, they were the type of people who did not believe that Bethany had taken her own life. And first of all, they were told this news by their close family friend. Tyler wasn't even the one to tell them. He claimed that he did try getting ahold of them, but he just couldn't, so that's why they weren't able to find out directly from him. But either way, with the way that the news was delivered to them and not being by Tyler, her husband, they immediately felt like something was off. The medical examiner ruled right away that Bethany's death was self-inflicted. But even with that official ruling, Bethany's parents didn't believe it.

• 13:11Annie Elise?

  Her mom told the medical examiner and also the police that they needed to take a look at everything, that it just was not possible. Now, unfortunately, the pushback that Bethany's family gave the investigators didn't really change anything. By that point, their minds were already made up. From their perspective, there was nothing at the scene that screamed or even indicated foul play, nothing that was obviously out of place, nothing that in their eyes demanded a deeper look. So when the medical examiner's initial findings lined up with their theory, I mean, it only reinforced their confidence. But that is not where the story ended. Because as it turns out, there was a lot going on in Bethany's life at the time of her death. Now, before I explain everything that was happening, I do have to tell you a little

• 13:55Annie Elise?

  bit more about Bethany herself, just so that you can get the full picture of who she was and what was going on. Bethany was born and raised in Texas. Growing up, she and her four siblings were homeschooled, and from a very young age, she was just incredibly smart and very inquisitive. She loved school, and her favorite subject was writing. After high school, she ended up getting a writing scholarship to the Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. And college was Bethany's first taste of the real world. It was the first time that she had been around a ton of teenagers her own age, the first time that she had been away from home for an extended period of time. And she was extremely determined

• 14:34Annie Elise?

  to do well. And she did just that. She managed to excel academically and socially. The other most important thing to Bethany and to her family was her faith. Her religious beliefs meant a lot to her, and they guided her in her everyday life. She became part of a Christian club that was on campus, and through that, she found a core group of friends, which they didn't just talk about religion, they talked about other stuff, too. And other members of the group also shared in Bethany's love of Harry Potter, and that's something they bonded over. And that wasn't the only thing she found in this group. She also developed a crush, which maybe arguably was her first crush ever in life, given that she was homeschooled the majority of her life. And the guy who caught Bethany's eye was a fellow student

• 15:17Annie Elise?

  named Tyler. Now, when anyone met Tyler, the first thing that they usually noticed about him was his height, because he was a very tall guy, and then he had like some short, cropped-in brown hair. But he also had this way of captivating people, captivating them in a way that just made them feel seen. So pretty soon after meeting Tyler, Bethany decided that he was absolutely the perfect guy. He checked a lot of the boxes of what she was looking for in a partner, too. He loved God, he was working on going on mission trips to help other people. He genuinely seemed like this super charismatic and kind person. I mean, it seemed like she hit the jackpot. He and Bethany continued getting to know each other more and more in this group setting.

• 16:00Annie Elise?

  And then eventually she introduced Tyler to her family. Now Bethany was pretty much head over heels for Tyler from the very moment that they met. However, Tyler was a little bit slower to reciprocate those feelings. Apparently, he was super focused on a lot of other things at the time, the biggest being their religious club. He saw it as his personal mission to grow this group. So he was always trying to recruit new people to join. And because he was so charismatic, it worked. More and more students started showing up for the meetings and the group activities. Now, according to Tyler, he thought that the reason that this group was getting so popular wasn't because of religion. But rather, it was because of him. He thought that people saw him as this spiritual leader, this, you know,

• 16:45Annie Elise?

  amazing person to look up to. And I have to say, it went to his head pretty quickly. Because when the group started getting more popular on campus, Tyler then deemed himself as the leader of the group, even though they didn't really have a set leader. It was just a shared group interest and activity. Yet he took it upon himself to identify himself as the leader and also lead discussions and prayer. Then, as time went on, Tyler started acting like he was chosen to be in a position of power within the group. And when he started to feel like he had that power, he did some very odd things around campus. Things like holding prayer sessions where he would claim to heal the sick and where he would start claiming that he was warding off evil spirits.

• 17:29Annie Elise?

  Which, you know, this is probably a recipe for disaster, right? You have a charismatic man, a religious group, deems himself as the anointed or appointed, I don't know what the right word is, leader. The only thing that's missing before calling this a cult is long hair, right? I mean, he had Short dark hair, but like if he had long hair, it would read cult all over it. He also started telling the group around this time that they needed to come together and pray even more than they already were. And his reasoning was that because the more prayer they did, the more miracles would happen around campus. And once that happened, more people would start joining their group. So the group listened, including Bethany, who still had this crush on him.

• 18:10Annie Elise?

  And around this same time, two major developments occurred that would change the course of everything. First, Tyler started experimenting with various different titles for himself. I guess he no longer resonated with just being the group leader. He decided that he actually wanted people to call him something, call him something bigger. And I'm sure you know where this is going. He settled on the idea that he was a prophet. So screw the long hair. Now that you added the word prophet into the mix, it reads cult, cult, cult, cult, cult, cult. And the whole prophet thing really wasn't the only major storyline in Tyler's life. It was just the one that he was the most open about. Because the truth was, there was something else going on behind the scenes, something

• 18:54Annie Elise?

  that would complicate everything and, truthfully, would completely reshape Bethany and Tyler's relationship from the inside out.

• 19:08Annie Elise?

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• 19:53Annie Elise?

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• 20:31Annie Elise?

  So Tyler and Bethany were seeing a lot of each other because they were in this group together. But as I said, Bethany totally had a crush on Tyler. So they were hanging out together all of the time, and then they also started flirting during these meetings. However, Tyler never actually made a move or took her out on a date. He seemed to just kind of flirt with her a little bit and lead her on, and then, you know, back off and leave things, you know, go cold, I guess you could say. And there was a pretty big reason for that, because behind closed doors, Tyler was struggling with his sexuality. And he could probably sense that as time went on, Bethany was picking up on that a little bit too. I mean, again, nothing was happening between the two of them, yet she totally thought that they were a perfect match.

• 21:13Annie Elise?

  But eventually Tyler confided in Bethany that he might be gay. But he also told her he didn't want to be. Tyler said he felt like being gay was wrong and that he needed to find a way to overcome it, which I have to say is just so incredibly sad for him. But it was also a big weight for Bethany to carry, especially since she was so into him at this point too. It probably felt a little bit like a blow. But whatever Bethany was feeling about Tyler's confession, she completely kept it to herself. And look, maybe she believed him. Maybe she thought that he could figure out a way to get past it if he just prayed hard enough, especially considering he's the prophet. And that's exactly what Tyler tried to do.

• 21:53Annie Elise?

  He decided to go even deeper into religion and become that self-proclaimed prophet that he thought he was. And it was around this time that he turned his innocent college church club into something way more serious. In 2007, Tyler attended a convention for a church that was called the International House of Prayer, also known as IHOP for short, not to be confused with the Pancake Place. And the convention that Tyler went to was in Kansas City. And Tyler didn't let anyone else go with him. He went completely on his own. He wanted to experience it for himself, which really fits in with what we know about him so far. I mean, remember, he was a prophet, so everything had to go through him first.

• 22:35Annie Elise?

  So anyway, during this convention, Tyler was apparently super moved. It was a multiple day thing with hours and hours of prayer, music, worship, teaching events, speakers, I mean, a typical convention setup where there's always something going on. And when it was over, Tyler went back to campus, just completely rejuvenated. He had all of this energy and excitement, telling Bethany and the rest of the group that he had a profound experience. He just knew that he was meant to be a part of IHOP. And he told his college group how IHOP prays 24/7, literally around the clock. Now, when the group heard that, they were intrigued, yes, but they were also realistic. They were college students. They had exams to study for.

• 23:20Annie Elise?

  They had a life. There was no way that they could pray 24 hours a day. Plus, the IHOP church was states away, so they couldn't be official members. But Tyler, he had bigger plans for everyone. Right when Bethany and the other members of the group graduated from college, Tyler dropped a bomb on them. It was a proposal that would ultimately change their lives, and not in a good way. Tyler said that their religious club was going to continue on, yes, but not in Texas. He was moving everyone to Kansas City so that they could join IHOP. Now Tyler knew that he couldn't force everyone to uproot their lives, but he highly encouraged them to all make this move.

• 24:01Annie Elise?

  And even though some people did push back and some even refused, others went, including Bethany. All in all, Tyler convinced 20 members to pack up their lives in Texas and move all of the way to Kansas City. Because IHOP wasn't just a church, it was a rapidly expanding community. They owned hundreds of acres of land, and they poured millions of dollars into buildings and infrastructure for their followers. It was almost as if they were trying to make the area more of a small town where then religious movement could happen. Now, at this point, Bethany knew that Tyler was gay, right? But she was still holding out hope that his prayer had worked, like maybe he had, as they say, prayed the gay away. She also believed in the mission of the group.

• 24:46Annie Elise?

  Remember, she came from a religious upbringing herself. But what I don't think she realized was how wrapped up she would become in Tyler's grand plan. However, it seemed to be the most important thing to her, despite having just graduated from college. I mean, this really should have been the start of the next chapter of her life, one where she could put her degree to work, get her first real job, and start enjoying life, move forward. But instead, she became more and more withdrawn from her own family, and became more and more deeply ingrained in Tyler's life and the mission that he was on. Bethany's family also started to take notice, and it made them more than a little concerned. Her family knew that being involved in church was one thing, yeah, but I mean, moving across

• 25:30Annie Elise?

  the country to join a massive prayer-based community? That was another thing. And there was another reason that Bethany's family was getting concerned. They knew that she liked Tyler as more than a friend, but it didn't seem like he felt the same way. And they knew that. So in their eyes, Bethany was following this guy who had been stringing her along since freshman year. She's now uprooting her life, following him across states in this prayer-based group. What's happening here? Like, what's happening to our Bethany? But Bethany had her mind made up, and once she had moved with Tyler and a handful of other group members, praying became their entire lives and their jobs. Seriously. Think of IHOP almost like this big college campus.

• 26:15Annie Elise?

  There were dorms that were totally separated by gender, yet if there were any married couples, the women could move into the men's dorms with their husbands. But you could basically pay your rent at these dorms by participating in internships or in trade-off programs. Although I don't know for sure if that's how it worked for Tyler, Bethany, and the rest of the group. But the point is that from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Bethany would spend her entire day just analyzing biblical theology. Then she would get a two-hour break from about 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. But after that, Tyler made it mandatory that she and the other group members had to be back in the prayer room to worship until midnight. So free time was practically nonexistent. And just think about that schedule. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You're studying, you're reading

• 27:00Annie Elise?

  the Bible, you're doing all the stuff. You have a two-hour break, but then from 6 to 12, 6 to 12, another six hours, you're just worshiping, straight, for six hours. But Bethany did it. She trusted Tyler, she trusted the vision. And after getting Bethany fully immersed in IHOP and getting her away from her family, at that point, out of nowhere, Tyler decided to ask Bethany out on a date. Which I have to say, to me, it feels very strategic, like a tactic. He finally isolated her, he got her away from friends and family, you know, fully believing in his mission and everything that he wants. He knows that she's into him, he's flirted with her before. So now, let me, you know, throw out my fishing rod and

• 27:45Annie Elise?

  reel her in using a promise of romance, because now I really want to hook her, I really want to keep her. At least, that's the way I see it. Now, obviously, getting asked out by Tyler at this point surprised Bethany because she thought that he was gay, but he claimed that one night when they were in the prayer room, he was totally overcome with a wave of affection and love for her. Almost like it was some sort of revelation. Now, I can't say for sure what Bethany thought. I mean, maybe she really did believe him, or maybe she was just looking for any affection at that point. Because the truth is, the group was basically hidden away from the outside world, all thanks to Tyler. So she could have just been desperate for something, but whatever Bethany's reasoning was, she agreed to go out with him. And unfortunately,

• 28:29Annie Elise?

  when that happened, Bethany's family's worries about her moving out of Texas started to solidify. They rarely saw her, let alone talked to her. And not for lack of trying either. They would call her, text her, but her communication with the people that she used to talk to almost every single day became less and less. Then, once Bethany and Tyler's relationship was official, he leaned even harder into religion. And he really started to focus on this self-appointed prophet identity. Around this same time, he also gave the group a new name. He started calling them "the community." Now Tyler's teachings and his sermons to the community also became more erratic and intense.

• 29:13Annie Elise?

  He started warning the community about the end of times, how he knew that they were near, yet he had a little bit different of a spin to it. He called it "the great tribulation." And he warned that when the time came, quote, "good people would have to battle evil people for their souls." And I'm not talking about a spiritual or a mental battle. We're talking about an actual, physical battle. And I want to clarify, Tyler and his intense teachings, these were completely separate from IHOP. To Tyler, IHOP was like the jumping off point to start digging deeper into religion. But basically, they didn't want to claim him as their own. So it's almost like he had this radicalized little split version that he started with his group or his, you know, quote, "community."

• 29:57Annie Elise?

  And think of it almost as somebody going to church and being a part of the congregation, but then going home and interpreting everything that was said during that sermon as something entirely different, way different. And that's pretty much the relationship and dynamic between IHOP and Tyler. So the people in the community, Bethany included, quite literally believed that they could go into battle at any point during the day. So whatever spare time they ever had left in their days, it was now dedicated to stockpiling items, food, different paper goods, whatever it could be, and also simultaneously physically training for the battle that was to come. Now, obviously, in order to stockpile things, Tyler knew that money was needed.

• 30:39Annie Elise?

  So while he didn't want people to work, he did start encouraging them to take little odd jobs outside of what they were already doing with IHOP so that they could get some money and then contribute it toward the cause. And Bethany jumped at the opportunity. However, her job wasn't an odd job like everyone else's. It was the real deal. In 2011, Bethany started nursing school. And honestly, knowing everything that we do know about Tyler and the community, I'm genuinely shocked that he even allowed her to go. Maybe he knew that nursing would eventually bring in more solid income compared to what they were used to. Maybe he thought that her having some sort of knowledge of the health industry would come in handy. I really don't know. But either way, it was like nursing was her calling.

• 31:23Annie Elise?

  She was empathetic, gentle, caring, and whenever she was in nurse mode, it was like she was a totally different person, like the person she had been once before, before Tyler, a person with hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Even though Bethany had an escape from the community for at least part of her daily life, it wasn't enough for her to get away completely. Life with the community was hitting Bethany hard, and it was clear that she was not doing well. Her mental health was starting to fail, and she wasn't happy, she was miserable, and it was obvious to everyone around her, which Tyler must have noticed it as well, because around the same time, he started telling every single member, including Bethany, that they needed to cut themselves off from anyone in their lives who either didn't agree

• 32:07Annie Elise?

  with Tyler, or were questioning him and questioning the community. He also decided that he was going to kick out any members who disagreed with anything that he said. And one of those members is named Bose Harrington. Bose had been with the community for years, and take a listen to what Bose said that his time was like with the group.

• 32:26Speaker 03

  I wasn't allowed to read or write, or do anything particularly creative. Tyler felt that that was my escape from other people. He felt like I had repressed, a deep-seated animosity towards everyone else in the group, and that it needed to be drawn out and purged away by being in the presence of other people without any kind of mediating thing, like a journal or books. There was a sense in the group that I wasn't really engaged in the way that I needed to be, that I didn't really want to be there, and that caused

• 33:07Speaker 03

  problems. It separated me from everyone in the outside world. I didn't have any friends who weren't in the group. I had cut off connection with them, not always intentionally.

• 33:20Speaker 03

  I felt depressed and alone all the time.

• 33:25Speaker 03

  I didn't really feel like I could trust a lot of people in the group. Over time, I realized that they didn't all have my best interests at heart.

• 33:35Annie Elise?

  Eventually, Tyler let Boz back into the group, but it seems like the only reason he did that is because the Greater IHOP Organization made him do it. And when Boz got back in, Tyler made it his mission to treat him as horribly as possible. He would force Boz to eat all of his meals on the floor. He would constantly berate him. He would verbally abuse him and put him down. It was awful. But Tyler was gaining so much power and control. One of the past members of the community who made the decision to not move to Kansas City had described their former friends as, quote, "shells of themselves" and saying, "Once you went to Kansas City, you didn't leave." Now Bethany witnessed all of this,

• 34:19Annie Elise?

  so it's really no wonder why she was struggling mentally. And she and Tyler only hung out by themselves twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays, despite living on the same property. And even though it was the same property, Bethany lived in the girl's house and Tyler lived in the boy's house. But all of that was about to change because in February of 2012, Tyler proposed to Bethany. And she said yes. Now, for this very brief moment, it looked like things were finally turning around for Bethany. But here's the truth of the matter. If we were just talking about a toxic relationship here inside a strange religious group, we probably wouldn't still be talking about this today, right? But we're talking about it for a reason, because there's a homicide involved.

• 35:02Annie Elise?

  And here's the thing, what comes next? It is going to blow your mind because it's not just allegations that are disturbing and unsettling, but there are also confessions. Confessions that unravel a twist so bizarre that it sounds like it is something out of a horror movie.

• 35:26Annie Elise?

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• 36:11Annie Elise?

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• 36:31Annie Elise?

  Now, I will say this. The engagement brought some happiness and excitement back into Bethany's life, at least for a little bit. She threw herself into the wedding preparations, almost, in my opinion, to be like a distraction. Almost like if she pretended that everything was normal and happy, then that would become the reality. And they decided that they would get married that August. But the problem was, not everybody was super happy for Bethany. Her family wanted to be, but they just knew in their gut that something was wrong. That Bethany was like a shell of her former self. They knew that she had lived a seemingly normal life up until Tyler came into the picture, so the thought of them now being married? It was honestly worrisome. Yet still, the wedding was happening, whether Bethany's family liked it or not.

• 37:16Annie Elise?

  And when their wedding day finally rolled around in August, the wedding ceremony itself was really religious. But not in a normal way. Bethany's family described it as being something more like a ritual than a wedding ceremony. Almost like Tyler was marking her as his property. And after the wedding, Bethany should have been the happiest that she had ever been. But that wasn't the case. It turns out that those first few weeks as newlyweds were actually some of the lowest points of Bethany's life. According to Tyler, Bethany started acting way more depressed and it seemed like she was always very upset. He claimed that she was also starting to say some very concerning things about how she felt her soul was ruined and how she was going to go to hell because of that.

• 38:00Annie Elise?

  But the truth was Bethany had been hoping that by marrying Tyler, it would change him. That they would be a happy couple and that he would love her completely and he would treat her how she deserved. I mean, now they could move in together instead of being separated in the IHOP dorms. They could even start a family together and that's something that Bethany had always wanted. But apparently, those things were the least of Tyler's priorities. Even on their two-week-long honeymoon, Tyler barely gave Bethany any attention. Bethany said that she just hung out by herself and spent her time reading the Twilight series books. And she had made it very clear to Tyler before the trip that she wanted them to begin trying for a baby right away. But that didn't happen. In fact, they didn't have sex at all on that trip.

• 38:43Annie Elise?

  Now, remember, Tyler had been battling those, quote, "demons" that he thought he had for being gay. So to me, it seems like he just really couldn't fake how he felt, at least not in the bedroom with a woman. But what Bethany didn't know is that Tyler had been having sex, just not with her. In the weeks leading up to their marriage, Tyler began having sex with male community members. And he framed it as needing to, quote, "practice" for his and Bethany's honeymoon, which I don't know the complete details of it, like if it was consensual or not with these guys, or if Tyler was completely taking advantage of the power that he had over them. But regardless, Tyler and these men were engaging in sexual activities and they kept it completely hidden from Bethany.

• 39:28Annie Elise?

  She had no idea what he or anybody else was doing behind her back. Which, I have to say, it's not really that shocking when you think, hear of it, but it is kind of like, what the fuck? Like, and to say you need practice and you need these guys' help, like... Uh, I don't know if that's how it works. I just can't even imagine how Bethany would have felt if she had known that Tyler was like sleeping around with other men in the community. So all of that to say, the lack of affection, it definitely put a strain on their new marriage. It also made Bethany realize that just because they were married, it didn't mean that things were suddenly going to be different. And that realization hit her very hard. After the honeymoon, Bethany's depression was getting so bad that Tyler and the other members of the community started writing emails to one another about it.

• 40:13Annie Elise?

  Almost like it was something to problem solve with one another, instead of just showing her genuine sympathy, getting her help, reaching out to her family. It was like they were going to take this problem on themselves and try to figure out a solution. Those emails were dated on October 16th, 2012. In them, some of the community members were specifically saying that Bethany seemed like she was, quote, "close to snapping", and that they were worried that she would lose her job because of it. Which it seemed like, again, that was one of the primary concerns. Oh, if she's losing it, if she's about to snap, what's going to happen to our income for the group? Rather than like, hey, what's going on with Bethany? We need to get her help and make sure that she's okay. They just didn't seem all that worried about what Bethany was actually going through.

• 40:56Annie Elise?

  It seemed like they were more concerned about the paycheck that was coming in. And I imagine it was probably going directly to Tyler and dispersing out to the rest of the community. Then, on October 23rd, just a week later, Bethany was having a very difficult day mentally. She filled up a cup with windshield wiper fluid, and she walked into the house where Tyler was sitting, and she started confronting him about everything. Now, when Tyler realized what was in her cup and that she planned on drinking it, he managed to get the cup out of her hands and he called the police. When law enforcement arrived and asked her if she had any self-harm thoughts, she told them, quote, "It would be easier to die than to change." So because of that, the police put her in protective custody at a medical center nearby.

• 41:40Annie Elise?

  Bethany was only there, though, for two days, and she made it clear to the doctors and the medical staff that she felt like she was damned, that she would never be able to reach salvation once the second coming came, that she was doomed. Which, by the way, thanks to Tyler's teachings, she thought that the end of times were going to be sooner rather than later. So she thought that this was all looming over her and like it was about to happen tomorrow. In fact, when she was being released, one of the nurses asked if she was still having thoughts of taking her own life and her response was, quote, "Well, it could lead to that." Which I have to say, I don't work in the mental health business. I don't know what regulations are in place, but if you're putting somebody on a hold and they're still expressing those kinds of ideations and those thoughts

• 42:25Annie Elise?

  that are very concerning, why are you releasing them after only two days? Shouldn't there be some sort of measures in place to protect them? So by her being released and saying, "Yeah, it could lead to that," sure enough, it did. Because just a couple of weeks later, she was found dead with that note next to her. Because remember, this all happened on October 23rd and by October 30th, 2012, Bethany was found dead in the back of her own minivan that was parked near the lake in Missouri. Investigators also had found that plastic bag over her head, a handwritten note, Tylenol PM, but also, like I said, there was something about the scene that just did not sit right with Bethany's family.

• 43:08Annie Elise?

  So for that, they pushed for an autopsy. However, the medical examiner eventually ruled that it was in fact self-inflicted and likely her cause of death was asphyxiation. And after that, her body was released to her family so they could begin planning a funeral and a memorial service. Bethany's funeral was held on November 9th, but to her family, there had been no closure. They were just incredibly shocked and confused as to how everything in Bethany's life had led to this point. It also seemed like they still didn't fully agree with the investigator's findings. There were just too many things that did not make sense. Things like the fact that a registered nurse with knowledge and access to heavier medications would choose Tylenol PM to take her own life. Or

• 43:53Annie Elise?

  that this bag would just be loosely placed over her. There were a lot of things that just did not add up. Still, though, her family had to lay her to rest. So they got ready that morning. They headed off to the cemetery and they planned on saying their final goodbyes. However, as they were on their way, Bethany's mom heard her phone ring. And it was a phone number that she didn't recognize. When she answered, it was the investigators on the other end of the line. And they sounded frantic. And very quickly, they said to her, "Do not bury Bethany."

• 44:32Annie Elise?

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• 45:18Annie Elise?

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• 45:59Annie Elise?

  So her family is on the way to lay her to rest. They receive this phone call from the investigators panicked, frantic, just yelling out, "Do not bury Bethany." And as it turns out, earlier that morning, someone had walked into the police station and had confessed to murdering Bethany. But it wasn't Tyler. The person who confessed to Bethany's murder was somebody very unfamiliar to Bethany's family. It was a 23-year-old man named Micah Moore. Micah had been a longtime friend of both Tyler and Bethany and was also part of the community. But the truth was Bethany's life within the community had been such a mystery to her family that they didn't even know who this person was. Micah had met both Bethany and Tyler back at Southwestern University during his freshman

• 46:44Annie Elise?

  year. Apparently, he had taken acid and the trip that he had was something that just, you know, changed him, according to his friends and roommates at the time. So when Micah had learned about the prayer group, he decided to join, hoping that it would not only fix his relationship with God and religion, but that it would fix him as a whole. And he was one of the originals within the group, long before they ever moved to Kansas City. But the closeness that Micah had with some of the other members of the community, it extended much farther than just the prayer sessions. It turns out that Micah ended up being one of the men that Tyler had a sexual relationship with, which made Micah's confession seem almost a little more credible. He had insider knowledge, he had close connections. Yet still, why would he want to kill Bethany?

• 47:29Annie Elise?

  Why would he want to kill someone that he considered a good friend? Well, here's exactly what Micah confessed. Micah explained that Bethany had been dosed with an antipsychotic drug called Seracquel, and that this was done to make her loopy and out of it. Then, once she was in no right mind to be able to fight back, Micah placed that white trash bag over her head, and then he tightened it until she couldn't breathe. He claimed that he held the bag there until Bethany's body started to shake, and he kept holding it until her body stopped moving completely. Then he said that as an extra precaution, he took a quick look at her face, just to make sure that she was dead, and that when he saw that the bag had been inhaled through

• 48:12Annie Elise?

  her mouth, he figured, "Okay, she definitely is dead." But that wasn't all that Micah confessed to. Micah also dropped a bombshell. He claimed that the reason that he killed Bethany was simple. It was because Tyler, Bethany's new husband, told him to. Micah claimed that Tyler wanted Bethany dead, but not because he didn't love her or because he regretted marrying her. I mean, the reality of this confession was far more sinister. Micah confessed that for months, Bethany was being sexually assaulted by multiple different men in their community, himself included. Now, remember how I mentioned earlier that after the community moved to Kansas City,

• 48:53Annie Elise?

  IHOP, the bigger, like umbrella, organization, required women to live in one house and men to live in another? Well, those rules applied to single members only. Once Tyler and Bethany were married in August of 2012, she was able to move into the men's house. And unfortunately, that made her susceptible to all sorts of sexual assault that Micah was now alleging had happened. Michael explained that from August up until her death in October, Bethany was being drugged with the very same drug, Seracel, over and over and over. Michael said that he and some of the other male members of the community would wait until it had been slipped into her water bottle, and then, once she was incapacitated, they would assault her.

• 49:36Annie Elise?

  Now, from what I can tell, Michael never specified who these other members were, or at least if he did, their names don't seem to be out there in a big, public way. But Micah added something even more sinister in his confession. He claimed that Tyler knew about these assaults, and that he never did a single thing to stop it. Which, can you just imagine? You get married, you think, "Oh, now I can finally sleep in the same bed, under the same roof as my husband, it's gonna be great." But meanwhile, you have all these men who had been isolated and caged up and probably, you know, have their own, not, I don't wanna say perversions, but like fantasies or needs. And then this woman is brought into their house, and they think, "Oh, we're gonna drug her, we get to get all of our sexual frustration out on her, our needs, our wants."

• 50:20Annie Elise?

  It's so diabolical when you truly sit and think about it for a moment. And unfortunately, this is where things do get a little bit confusing. Micah had said that Tyler orchestrated Bethany's murder because he was afraid that she was gonna go to the police. Which, to me, that sounds like there was probably a moment where Bethany woke up and realized what was happening. Because why would Tyler be scared that she was gonna go to the police if she was subdued every single time by this drug and had no knowledge of what was happening? Although, I also will say this. No, I don't know, actually. That could be an argument. I would say, once you wake up, women are usually pretty in tune with their body. They know if something has happened, and maybe you even hear chatter. But maybe she did wake up during one of these assaults.

• 51:03Annie Elise?

  We don't know. But Micah said that Tyler was paranoid enough about the police getting involved and the community being ruined, that because of that, the only solution was that Bethany needed to die. And Micah even claimed that there was proof of these assaults. He said that there were videos on one of the men's iPads. So with that confession, Micah was arrested and he was charged with Bethany's murder, obviously. Then, after that, investigators got into contact with Tyler, because he obviously needed to be looked at way harder after everything that Micah had alleged. But he didn't agree with Micah's version of events. In fact, Tyler denied ever instructing Micah to kill Bethany. And he also denied the entire story about community members assaulting Bethany, no

• 51:48Annie Elise?

  less him knowing about it. However, he did take some responsibility for her death, just not the way that you might think. His exact quote was, "Do I feel like I have really real responsibility for what happened? Yeah, yeah, I do. Bethany deserved a straight husband, and she, she got a gay one, and she shouldn't ever have to experience that." So at this point, I mean, at least now, it was apparent that Tyler wasn't trying to hide his sexuality anymore. But they couldn't prove that he was behind her murder. They didn't have the evidence or any of the alleged video footage that Micah said existed. And shortly after Micah's confession, there was another huge twist. Micah got a lawyer,

• 52:29Annie Elise?

  and his lawyer said publicly that Micah actually didn't kill Bethany. Which, that's not all that shocking. Generally, if you confess to something, and then you get a lawyer, they're always going to advise and try to take the road up, "It was a false confession. They actually didn't do anything. They're going to try to backpedal as much as they can to protect their client." So that's not a huge shock. So here Micah was, now backpedaling the entire thing. And after lawyering up, Micah's excuse for confessing to the murderer was that apparently the leaders of IHOP had performed

• 53:02Annie Elise?

  An exorcism that day. And I guess they exercised a confession out of him. I really don't know. But his lawyer claimed that during the exorcism, they were speaking in tongues and they were yelling at the community members, telling them that they had killed Bethany. Which, I really don't know how Bethany's family coped with all of this during this time. I mean, from being told that their daughter took her own life, to then learning that somebody had confessed to her murder, to then hearing that it was a false confession and the confession had been brought out through an exorcism. I mean, talk about a roller coaster. And sadly, it only gets worse from here. I don't know if Micah just had a really good lawyer or what, but that lawyer was able to find every single crack in the case against Micah.

• 53:46Annie Elise?

  And to be honest, there were a lot of cracks. The first thing was that Micah said that Bethany had been drugged before he suffocated her. And here's the thing, the medical examiners found no trace of sarcoquel in her system. None whatsoever. Micah had claimed that the sarcoquel had been given to Bethany in her water bottle, but there was also no water bottle found at the crime scene, only a soda can. Which regardless, the liquid inside of it was tested and there was no presence of sarcoquel. Micah also had claimed that there were multiple videos of evidence on those iPads, remember? The ones that he mentioned where he said that it showed all of the assaults? However, those electronics were all seized and there wasn't a single thing found on them.

• 54:28Annie Elise?

  Apparently, even Bethany's autopsy showed no signs of sexual assault. Which, I don't know how that works. I'm not a doctor, I don't know how you would look for that, but how would they be able to know if there was sexual assault or consensual sex recently? I mean, sure, the argument could be certain injuries and things like that, but how could you really, truly tell based on anatomy alone? If you get what I'm saying. Just because you're assaulted doesn't mean that there are bruises, scratches, or internal damage left behind. That's not how it works. Newsflash to anybody who thinks otherwise, like, you're not always going to be wearing the damage on you just because it occurs, okay?

• 55:10Annie Elise?

  But I will say this, one thing that was in the court documents that... I didn't love because it felt a little bit like an invasion of privacy. But Bethany's journal was brought into the mix and it was brought in to prove that she had never been assaulted because these documents claimed that according to her journal entries, she was still a virgin, which, you know, the argument could of course then be like, oh, well, that's how they determined through the autopsy that no sexual assault happened her, everything was still intact down there if she was still in fact a virgin. But my thought process with that is, is that if she was just journaling this and if it wasn't an anatomy driven thing, then maybe, yeah, she never did have sex that was consensual. So she was technically still a virgin.

• 55:52Annie Elise?

  I mean, I just don't feel like that proves whether or not somebody was assaulted, especially without them knowing. She could have also never had woken up to any of these assaults and not known. And so she could still very well think that she's a virgin. I mean, I don't know. I think to me, it just proves that she never had consensual sex. But again, we don't know the exact details of the autopsy and why they made that determination. I hope she was never sexually assaulted. We just truly don't know. But still, there were some other things about the crime scene that were very difficult to wrap your head around too, like the fact that Micah said that Bethany was in the front seat, but her body was actually found in the third row of the minivan. Also the fact that there was no DNA evidence to prove that anyone else had been in the

• 56:36Annie Elise?

  van that day, nobody besides Bethany herself. Then there was also the actual video evidence. Micah claimed that he killed Bethany at 10:00 AM, but there was surveillance video footage of him at one of the IHOP classes during that window of time. There was also surveillance footage of Bethany at Walmart around the exact same time and at Walmart, she was buying Tylenol PM, the same bottle of pills that were found near her body in the minivan. Now, I'm not saying all of this because I don't believe that Bethany was killed. I've been in the true crime world long enough to know that anything is possible, but I'm bringing it up because the prosecution decided that with all of this, there just wasn't enough evidence against Micah or any of the other people that he had initially said were

• 57:21Annie Elise?

  involved. So just two weeks before Micah's trial was about to start, the charges were completely dropped.

• 57:27Speaker 06

  After nearly two years, Micah Moore now walks free. We just hear relief. I mean, clearly, he's thrilled. He's glad to have this cloud removed from him. These were kids that lived in a community that were really, really good friends of his. And his statements, I think, hurt everybody.

• 57:45Annie Elise?

  The police claimed that Bethany's case would still be an open investigation. But even now, whenever you search this case or do any sort of research, the most recent updates seem to be from 2014 and 2015. I do know that Bethany's dad has spoken out, and his thoughts are pretty straightforward, saying, quote, "In my particular understanding of the facts, as we've come to know them at this point, I believe Bethany was severely depressed, to the point of being suicidal. And I believe that she wasn't properly cared for or protected in a very fragile state. And I do think she took her own life." I'm not sure if Bethany's entire family feels the same way, or if any of them still have those lingering thoughts or questions

• 58:28Annie Elise?

  about her death being a homicide, and then later being staged as something else. But there are a lot of people out there who do believe that. And as abrupt as it might seem, that's really where this case lands. Nobody has ever been charged with Bethany's death, and I really don't know if they ever will be. And I couldn't find much out there about Micah and what he's up to these days. As for Tyler, he ended up being kicked out of IHOP after the entire community turned against him. He apparently moved back to Texas to be with his family, and he tried to live a somewhat normal life. He got a job teaching high school math, which, that freaks me out. Like, he's in a room full of children, and that doesn't feel safe. And sure enough, that didn't last for long either, because people got word of who he was and what he was known for,

• 59:11Annie Elise?

  and he was immediately let go, so, amen. But, not to be a pun, but amen, Tyler. And since then, it seems like he's been out of the media and out of the headlines as much as possible.

• 59:22Speaker 07

  In the course of 10 days, I lost Bethany first to death, which is worse than the other ones, because it's so absolute. And then I lost all my friends. They, like, went from being really supportive to gone. And I lost the church that I was a part of, people I trusted in leadership. They were gone. I would describe myself now as someone who still loves God.

• 59:58Speaker 07

  Someone who still thinks God is, and a relationship with God is so worthwhile. I literally wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for my relationship with God. I'm the only one who didn't bail when everybody else did.

• 1:00:09Annie Elise?

  Bethany's death remains as complex as those last few years of her life. Some people might call it a mystery. Others consider it a case of somebody who didn't get the help that they needed. But honestly, I think maybe it's a little bit of both. I certainly think that it's very dangerous when you get wrapped up in a cult or cult-like mentality. And she already had the religious foundation. And it seems as though things were radicalized when she met Tyler and started following him. And whether she followed him because she truly believed his word and his teachings, or because she was attracted to him and loved him, whatever the driving force was, we don't know. But it was enough that she moved with him. She isolated herself with him and then married him.

• 1:00:53Annie Elise?

  And then her life ended just a couple of months later. And I want to go back really quick and let me pull this up. When we go back to the note, "My name is Bethany Deaton. I chose this evil thing. I did it because I wouldn't be a real person. And what is the point of living if it's too late for that? I wish I had chosen differently a long time ago. I knew it all and refused to listen. Maybe Jesus will still save me." So what is it that she's referring to? What did she choose? What did she choose? "I chose this evil thing. I wish I would have chosen differently a long time ago. I did it because I wouldn't be a real person. And what's the point of living if it's too late for that?

• 1:01:35Annie Elise?

  What is it that in this note she was struggling with so much? And that she thought that she chose and that she's hopeful that Jesus will still save her? I don't know. Maybe I'm just missing something here and I don't know how to read between the lines because I didn't grow up in the church. I grew, I am religious and I have my own path that I follow. But maybe there's something I'm missing. I don't know. So please let me know what you guys think in the Q and A section on Spotify and in the comment section on YouTube because I'm at a loss here. And I'm curious to know from you too. Do you think that this was cut and dry and Bethany did this to herself? Or do you think that there is more to the story? I could see if it was self-harm, her taking a bunch of sleeping pills,

• 1:02:19Annie Elise?

  putting the bag over because she knew that she wouldn't wake up to block the bag once it got to that point, but... I mean, it's tough because I don't think Tyler's innocent in all of this. Not saying he's the one who murdered her, but like certainly isolated her and drove her to this mental state, in my opinion. And if what Micah said was true, like, why did he just say all this? Why would he just make all of that up? That she was being passed around guy to guy and being dosed with Sarah Quell and all these things? Like, it's just a very odd case. So I am curious to know your thoughts. So let me know in the comments section and the Q and A section over on Spotify. And really quickly, as a reminder, before you go, merch does launch tomorrow, but you can shop it right now.

• 1:03:03Annie Elise?

  Be one of the first to shop before it sells out. Go to patreon.com/AnnieElise, sign up there. Otherwise, it goes fully public tomorrow. Everything is on there. Apparel, safety kits, tumblers, accessories, sticker packs, the works. So really excited about this collection, too. It always sells out very quickly. So now you can shop it right now, patreon.com/AnnieElise, or tomorrow at annieelise.com. In any event, I appreciate you hearing Bethany's story, keeping her voice alive, her memory alive. And I just hope Tyler stays the hell away from a lot of people. I don't know. So take a moment, please. Don't forget, if you're watching on YouTube, press the subscribe button and the like button really quick. It helps push this video out.

• 1:03:48Annie Elise?

  If you're listening on the podcast, make sure you're following the podcast so that you don't miss future episodes. And I will be on the mic with you again very, very soon. Until the next one. Be nice, don't kill people, don't join any cults, and be cautious around guys named Tyler. All right. Bye.