Pod Insights True Crime with Kendall Rae A Matching Towel, Missing Gun & Mother’s Testimony: The Case Of Halee Rathgeber About this episode In late April 2017, 20-year-old Halee Rathgeber was found murdered in the parking lot of a soccer field in Warrick County, Indiana. Friends described Halee as kind, ambitious, and devoted to those she loved, making her death all the more difficult to comprehend. As investigators pieced together her final movements, the search for her killer led them deep into her inner circle, where questions of trust and betrayal quickly came to the surface.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
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1:06 Kendall Rae? Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today and welcome to the show. If you are new, make sure to subscribe so that you never miss an upload from me. And yes, it is me. It is actually me, as in real-time me. I am not pre-recording this episode. I am back from maternity leave. It feels really good to be back. I had a really nice maternity leave, a nice, long break. I was able to just spend a ton of time with my baby boy, who I know Josh did an episode for me, and so he probably told you guys his name. I think he did. But I have a lovely little son named Truman. I had such a wonderful birth experience.
1:50 Kendall Rae? I do have a whole episode talking about all of that in detail on my other podcast, The Sesh. I will have that linked below if you're interested in hearing about that. But wow, it was a really redemptive birth experience for me because the first one was, it was rough. But anyway, I'm just doing better than ever. I'm feeling so refreshed and excited to be back. And yeah, just really loving life, feeling extremely grateful. And I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who stuck through this time with me. I'm so glad I didn't, I don't think I, or maybe I had one dark week while I was gone. Um, but for the most part, an episode went up every week and I worked really hard in advance to make that happen.
2:32 Kendall Rae? Obviously I started recording before I was even pregnant and I know you guys thought that was really funny, but just for my own uh, mental sake, I just wanted to do that. I don't know. I like to be prepared these days. I don't know, there's something about becoming a mom that just makes you, I don't know, maybe it's just me. I feel like I've become a lot more type A when it comes to organizing my life. But yes, I am back doing great, not pregnant anymore. I feel like I can breathe. I literally had some oxygen here on the table towards the end um, of my pregnancy, because it was getting so hard for me to just get through my sentences. It's crazy how crushed your lungs become and my son was, well, he actually ended up not being that big. They told me he was going to be nine pounds, 11 ounces and he was only seven 13.
3:17 Kendall Rae? Um, and it was actually just a ton of amniotic fluid that was like crushing me. So it just feels so good not to be pregnant and to have my boy and he's healthy and I'm just so happy. I love his name and he was not named after the Truman Show, although I do love Jim Carrey. And I watched the Truman Show when I was on my baby moon uh, in Paris. And that just confirmed that I wanted to name him that, but it's actually a family name. Uh, he's named after Josh's great grandfather and his aunt suggested the name to me. And you know, I'm sure a lot of you out there have experienced this with your own kids, if you have them, that like, once you hear the right name, sometimes you just know. And as soon as I heard it, I was like, that is his name. He is supposed to be Truman.
4:01 Kendall Rae? And then I named him Truman James after my father, my dad, it just means so much to me. And so it was really, really special. Um, I have some clips on my Instagram. I made some birth vlogs. If you're interested in watching those, they're very special to me. And it was uh, meaningful this time to be able to share those comfortably, because I can't even watch the footage from my first birth, because I was so. Like traumatized from the whole thing. So for it to be this way this time just was amazing. But yeah, I am back and it's been, like I said, such a great maternity leave. I also had the amazing experience of going to New York to accept a Webby Award, which was really, really cool during my leave. And I also won an indie PAC award.
4:46 Kendall Rae? I wasn't able to make it to South by Southwest to accept that because I was 38 weeks pregnant at the time. But yeah, just a lot to celebrate and feeling so good. And now I'm just rambling, but I just wanted to catch up with you guys a little bit. I hope you guys are all doing good. Another little housekeeping thing, I know that I said before I left that when I came back officially, I would be in a different studio and I'm not. I'm probably going to be in this studio for about another month. We are in the process of building out new studios for all of our shows and they are really, really cool. And taking a lot longer than we thought because we actually had a building made and it's just, it's a lot to put it all together. But I'm still here.
5:30 Kendall Rae? It's kind of nice to be here again and I still get to have my kitty Lily here for the next couple of weeks with me. She is really my emotional support. One more housekeeping thing before we get started. We do have a new summer launch for our merch available at milehighermerch.com. We have some really cool designs. They're very summer themed and I really like the way that they turned out. And I just wanted to remind you guys that 100% of the proceeds from all of our merch for all of our shows. So everything on that website goes directly to our foundation and 100% of that goes directly to funding grants for victims of crime, their families and also like-minded nonprofits.
6:15 Kendall Rae? So if you, you know, enjoy true crime content and you would like a way to give back to the victims of it, it's a great way to do so while also getting to treat yourselves to some very pretty merch. Okay, enough blabbing. I am of course here to tell you about a case. And this specific case I have been wanting to talk About for a while because I am so curious to hear all of your thoughts on it. And it was a case that I was supposed to record before I had my son. Literally the week before he was born or like days before he was born. And I just got to the point where I could like barely move. I was so uncomfortable and I was just like, I cannot, I cannot sit down and record for a couple hours.
6:58 Kendall Rae? So I am here to tell you about it now. And I wanted to start this episode with a question for all of you. I want you to think for a second. If someone that you love were to tell you that they killed someone, even if it was accidental, what would you do? I think that answer is probably very different for everybody. And I would actually love to hear your response to that below if you care to share. But in today's case, the perpetrator actually did tell his mother that he had killed someone.
7:37 Kendall Rae? And what she said on stand in the trial completely changed the direction that it was going. I'm going to be telling you about the tragic murder of a beautiful, young 20 year old woman who was really going places in life. Her name is Haley Rathgeber and she was a nursing student who lived in Indiana. And her life was very suddenly taken from her. And one thing that I really admire about Haley and enjoyed learning about her was how she was so strong willed and she was really someone who truly believed in standing up for what is right.
8:22 Kendall Rae? And that inspired me to tell you all her story. Her family has also gone on to do some really incredible things in her honor. And I'm very eager to tell you guys more about those efforts as well. Okay, so Haley Rathgeber was born on December 3rd, 1996 in Evansville, Indiana, to her parents, Theron Rathgeber and Heather Collins. She was the oldest daughter of three. And when each of her sisters, Emily and Kylie, were born, she stepped right up into her role as big sister. And hearing about the way that she was as a big sister. Made me think that she was meant to be the firstborn. She was meant to be a role model to her younger sisters.
9:04 Kendall Rae? And according to Heather, Haley was always asking to hold them right from the beginning, to change their diapers. And as they all grew older, her love for them only grew stronger. And she was also a very protective big sister, and she really would have done anything for either of them. And that energy carried into her friendships in life as well. Haley was constantly looking out for her friends, so much so that they even called her the mom of the friend group. And she definitely just had that natural instinct to look after the people that she cared about. And I'm positive that's one of the many reasons that she was as loved as she was. And people seemed to also just be drawn to her energy and loved being around her energy.
9:46 Kendall Rae? Almost everything that I came across when looking into her case really mentioned that she had this special way of making people feel special, feel loved, making them smile, and just bringing joy to them overall. You know how sometimes you'll be around someone who just has that natural energy and you'll see them smile? And they're just so genuinely happy that it sort of rubs off on you and you have a better day just from being around them? I think that's what Haley was like. Her attitude was just infectious, and according to her mom, she was also a very driven person. She was very compassionate, she was sweet, and she was a little bit stubborn.
10:29 Kendall Rae? And I think as a woman, being stubborn is a wonderful quality to have. And what stood out to me most was how much she, like I said, really valued standing up for what is right. And this bit here is disturbing and heartbreaking to hear, but it is important to this story, so I needed to share this. But when Haley was only 12 years old, she was having a sleepover at a friend's house. And I'm sure a lot of you can already tell where this is going, but that friend's older brother attempted to molest her. And at first, she wasn't sure if she should tell her parents, but as soon as she had Found out that she had done this to another little girl, she spoke up. She even testified against him, and that testimony helped put that monster behind bars.
11:14 Kendall Rae? And the fact that she went through that as a child and then had the courage to speak up and testify just says everything about the kind of person that she was. And her parents really attribute a lot of her ability to do that and a lot of who she was to her faith. Her dad used to pray with the girls every night, and he said that those prayers really shaped her and the value that she placed on caring for others. Haley's motto was "Love everyone for no reason at all." And I'd say that is exactly what she did. And I also have to say, I love that motto. Love everyone for no reason at all. I've never heard that before, and I think that really rings true.
11:57 Kendall Rae? And given the type of person she was, nobody was surprised to hear that she wanted to pursue a career in nursing. And after graduating from Castle High School in 2015, as a two-time recipient of the Presidential Award and member of the National Honor Society, Haley went on to attend the University of Southern Indiana. And in the time that she was there, she took getting her degree very seriously. She was on the dean's list every semester and could almost always be found deep in her studies. And the times that she wasn't studying, she was working. And in 2017, she had a job at Texas Roadhouse, and that's where she met her future boyfriend, Isaiah Hagan.
12:40 Speaker 03 Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.
12:55 Speaker 04 People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to "I'm deathly allergic," in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.
13:06 Speaker 03 And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.
13:11 Speaker 05 One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.
13:17 Speaker 03 So join us and hear their stories and more. Because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At The Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At The Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.
13:37 Speaker 00 ChatGPT for Teens is designed to help teens learn, think critically, and grow their skills. ChatGPT for Teens supports active learning by breaking concepts down. Rather than giving teens the answer, Study Mode helps teens work through problems, and interactive quizzes test their knowledge and provide immediate feedback. Safety protections are on by default, and parental controls offer families additional options, like setting study hours and quiet hours. Visit chatgpt.com/parents to learn more.
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14:40 Kendall Rae? Now, Isaiah was two years older than Haley, and according to their friends, they seemed like a pretty good couple. However, their relationship didn't last very long. It ended up coming to an end because they decided that they were better off as friends. It kind of sounds like it was a, you know, they tried to be more than friends, but then just realized they were better off as friends type situation. And honestly, you guys, nobody had any reason to believe that her life was in danger. But that all changed on April 24, 2017. That morning, her mother Heather was doing her, you know, daily scroll on Facebook when she suddenly came across an article about a body that had Been found at the Alcoa Soccer Field in Newburgh, Indiana.
15:25 Kendall Rae? And at first, she didn't jump to the worst case scenario, but of course, she did want to check in on each of her daughters. And the only one that she wasn't able to get ahold of, though, was Haley. But she still didn't panic because she did know that Haley had a big test that day. And she figured that, you know, she's probably still studying or something. However, later on that day, she did end up starting to panic because she found out that Haley had missed that test, which was super, super out of character for her. I mean, she was an excellent student. And it was also not like Haley to have her phone off, but all of Heather's calls were just going straight to voicemails. So that's really when the red flags started to pop up.
16:08 Kendall Rae? And even in that moment, of course, she didn't even want to entertain the idea, to even think that that body could belong to one of her daughters. And it sounds like she really tried to exhaust every other possibility before she even let her mind go there. So the next thing that she did was ask a friend of Haley's to go over to her apartment to check on her. However, that only made them worry more. When her friend Ansley went over there, Haley's car was there, but she was not. Now, meanwhile, her little sister Emily said that she just had this gut sinking feeling that something was terribly wrong. She'd been driving to work with a friend. And before she even saw anything about a body being found, she says that she just knew something bad happened.
16:54 Kendall Rae? And it was actually such an overwhelming feeling that she had her friend turn around and bring her home, which is when she learned that Haley was missing. And ultimately, that afternoon, their family got the confirmation that no one wanted to believe. Heather had reached out to a detective that she was friends with. And after the information she provided him was sent to the Warwick County Sheriff's Office, they were able to match a photo from her Facebook with the body at the soccer field. And her tattoos were what they specifically used to make the identification because unfortunately, there was nothing at the scene to help them determine who she was. Her phone and wallet were missing. And besides a blue towel that was left near her body, investigators weren't able to retrieve anything else.
17:37 Kendall Rae? So clearly, evidence wise, the scene was really lacking. And all they knew is that she had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the back of her head, and that she had been alive for some time after she was shot. And to investigators right away, the fact that she was shot in the back of the head told them that it's possible she was with someone that she trusted. Investigators were literally on their hands and knees, cutting the grass with scissors to find a bullet casing, but nothing was left behind. And to make matters more difficult, this was a pretty remote area. So it was unlikely that anyone had seen or heard anything. So they really had to rely on Haley's family to try and help point them in the right direction,
18:22 Kendall Rae? to figure out who would have possibly wanted to do this to her. And even though they're going through the agonizing pain and confusion of losing their daughter, wondering how this could have happened. I mean, it was not on their radar at all for their daughter to be shot in the head. It was so just shocking beyond words. But Heather did say that there was someone that she thought could have been responsible. And that was a guy named Thaddeus Rice. And there is a story when it comes to Thaddeus Rice. So let me give you some context. So earlier that year, around January or February of 2017, Thaddeus, who goes by Thad, started dating one of Haley's friends, Jordan. And Jordan was the mother of a little boy named Jackson,
19:07 Kendall Rae? who was about 18 months old at the time. Well, Thad had apparently moved in with them pretty fast. And in early April of that year, he called 911 after accidentally tripping down the stairs while holding Jackson in his car seat. And he claimed that this happened because he tripped over his diaper bag. And this was, as you can imagine, just a horrific situation. And sadly, after two days of receiving care, baby Jackson did not survive. Now, here's where Haley comes into that situation. So being the type of person that she was, she wanted to, of course, really be there for her friend Jordan through this
19:49 Kendall Rae? very tragic, traumatizing time. And this was also with another friend of theirs. They told Jordan, when she was at the hospital with her baby while he was still, you know, receiving care, they told her that they would go back to her house and just grab her some essentials, some clean clothes that she didn't have to leave her baby. So she went over to her place and while she was there, Haley noticed that the diaper bag that Thad claimed that he tripped over was not near the staircase, it was over near the couch. And she started thinking about that. And it became obvious to her that maybe Thad's story wasn't true.
20:32 Kendall Rae? And right away, she was freaked out. She didn't know what to do with this information right away. So she confided in her mother about it. And Heather said that Haley was really conflicted about whether or not she should say something, but Jackson was actually her godson. So she ultimately decided, being the person that she is, that saying something was the right thing to do here. And in the end, Thad ended up being found guilty of reckless homicide and neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Now, to be clear, so no one gets confused, he had not been charged by the time that Haley was killed. Both Jackson and Haley's deaths happened in the same month, though.
21:13 Kendall Rae? So of course, when Heather was asked who she thought could have potentially murdered her child, she immediately thought maybe Thad could have been responsible. I mean, he clearly would have the motive. He knew that she had that information and that it would incriminate him. And another reason that Heather was so suspicious of him was because the day after Haley was killed, someone showed her a Snapchat video that he posted where he was holding a gun. And then she also learned that Haley had visited her friend Jordan on the night that she was killed.
21:51 Kendall Rae? Between them revealed that Haley was coming to her place to get her wallet. And Heather wondered if that was there and decided to kill her to keep her quiet. And this certainly would make a lot of sense in theory, right? I mean, it's definitely something I would think about if I was in Heather's position. However, when investigators looked into this, he had an alibi. He refused to talk to the cops, but Jordan did. And she said that the two of them were at the house together all night. And security footage from their neighborhood confirmed that Haley came and that she left alone. So as much as it did seem possible that he could have been involved, investigators had no evidence to support that theory at all. Luckily for them, though, another suspect came to their attention.
22:36 Kendall Rae? And that person was Haley's ex-boyfriend, Isaiah. It turns out that security footage from outside of her apartment showed that Isaiah was the last known person to see her alive. He could be seen picking her up shortly after 10:30 PM on the night of April 23rd. And after that, she was never heard from or seen again. Now, this obviously, and rightfully so, raised some eyebrows with investigators. And they ended up deciding to talk to one of his and Haley's mutual friends to try and learn more. And they definitely did. This friend was a guy named Jake Allen, and he said that he was actually with Isaiah later that night.
23:18 Kendall Rae? And according to him, he and Isaiah had met up a little bit before midnight to play some video games. And then around 2 AM, the two of them went to Walmart, which was confirmed by footage at the store. But Haley wasn't with them. And well, according to Jake, Isaiah told him that just before the two of them met up, he drove Haley to a local park a few miles away from the Alcoa Soccer Complex. And he told Jake that she was meeting up with someone and he just gave her a ride. And Jake even admitted to investigators that he thought this story was strange. And it is. I mean, Isaiah didn't even seem to have any idea who Haley was meeting up with, which was really weird. He just said she was meeting up with someone.
24:03 Kendall Rae? And he said that historically Isaiah really had been a good dude, but he was way too protective to willingly just drive Haley to meet up with someone else. And then Jake also told investigators that he had recently been hearing stories that Isaiah had been stealing from people. And one of those people happened to be Haley. Now, she did willingly loan him $600 for his rent, but he also tried to take another $600 without her permission. He actually took her checkbook and wrote himself two checks for $300 each, one of which bounced and the other went through.
24:45 Kendall Rae? And despite that, though, Haley forgave him because, first of all, she's a wonderful person, but also he promised to pay her back. But to investigators, it started to look like he may have a motive.
25:03 Speaker 03 Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At the Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel.
25:18 Speaker 04 People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation to I'm deathly allergic in a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.
25:29 Speaker 03 And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.
25:34 Speaker 05 One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.
25:40 Speaker 03 So join us and hear their stories and more, because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At the Table, the food allergy podcast, on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At the Table and start listening on the free iHeart Radio app today.
26:00 Speaker 00 ChatGPT for Teens is designed to help teens learn, think critically, and grow their skills. ChatGPT for Teens supports active learning by breaking concepts down. Rather than giving teens the answer, study mode helps teens work through problems, and interactive quizzes test their knowledge and provide immediate feedback. Safety protections are on by default, and parental controls offer families additional options, like setting study hours and quiet hours. Visit chatgpt.comPARENTS to learn more.
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27:04 Kendall Rae? So just three days after finding Haley's remains, they end up bringing in Isaiah for questioning. And quite frankly, he seemed pretty calm about the whole thing. They say he was quiet and not too emotional, even when they really pressed him for questions. And believe me, they pressed him. In fact, the guy who was interrogating him actually pulled his chair up right in front of him and got in his face a few times in an effort to get Isaiah to tell the truth. But he just sat there and continued to tell one bullshit story after the next. And mind you, Isaiah had actually called the police to tell them he was with Haley on the night that she died. That's right. He had called them literally the day that she was found
27:47 Kendall Rae? and told them that they had been together the night before. So it's not like he was denying that. What he was denying was having anything to do with her murder. And his initial story seemed to be the same one that he told Jake, that he had picked Haley up and dropped her off at that park to meet with someone else. The problem with that, though- Was that the park's security cameras never captured either of them there that night? Plus, Isaiah and Haley's phone records placed them at the soccer field, not this other park. Both of their phones could be seen traveling to the Alcoa Soccer Complex together that night, which, when confronted with this, immediately made Isaiah change his story.
28:30 Kendall Rae? And once he was caught in that lie, he said that he had been too scared to tell the truth before. But his new truth was that they did go to the soccer field. But he swore up and down that he left her there alive and well. He also said that she had her phone and wallet with her when he had left, and that she had gave him $200 that he claimed she owed him. Now, these investigators knew right off the bat that this was complete bullshit. I mean, it's pretty obvious, right? Especially the part about her phone. Despite the fact that her phone had been shut off while they were at the park, investigators say it later pinged with Isaiah's phone back in Evansville. And that would have been after they believe she was killed.
29:15 Kendall Rae? And when confronted with that, Isaiah, no surprise here, changed his story once again, and then again, and again. In one version, he tried to say that Haley had left her phone in his car accidentally, which is like slightly more believable than this next bullshit he tried to sell them. Because next, he tried to tell them that he actually saw her phone on the road, and he decided to get out and pick it up. Yeah, that's right. He said it was just lying there when he was driving, and he, you know, stopped to pick it up. And then he also said that he threw it out of his window the next morning, because he, quote, "got scared." But investigators, of course, were still suspicious of him,
29:59 Kendall Rae? because they knew that Isaiah texted Haley after he allegedly dropped her off, and then texted her again the following morning. So if he knew that she didn't have her phone, because she either left it in his car, or had, you know, left it on the road, lost it on the road, and he found it, either way, he's saying he has the phone, but... He's also saying that he's texting her. What reason would he have to do that? You know, I mean, it just doesn't make any sense. And according to investigators and really to anyone with a brain, this is very obviously so he could establish some kind of distance from his knowledge of what happened. But since they didn't have any concrete evidence to hold him there, they had to let him go.
30:43 Kendall Rae? However, they did bring him back two days later. On April 29th, Isaiah had his second interrogation. And in it, he continued to build on his version of the story. And one thing that he mentioned was that after he left Haley at the soccer field, he went to her apartment at her request. Isaiah said that she had asked him to sell two concert tickets that she had and that she had given him her apartment and car keys to go find them. And footage outside of her apartment confirmed that he went there around 5:00 in the morning on the 24th. The thing is, this only really helped them to confirm the theory that money was his motive.
31:25 Kendall Rae? I mean, we all know that Isaiah had owed her several hundred dollars, including what she had lent him and also what he stole. And according to investigators, he also owed his dad money, $300 to be exact. After speaking with both of his parents, they learned that on the night Haley was killed, Isaiah came home and put $210 on the counter for his dad. He also left a note saying that he knew he owed him another $90. Now, don't forget, Isaiah had claimed that Haley had given him $200. And I'm guessing that that is the money that he left for his dad. And I say that because according to the affidavit, at 11:11 PM on the night that she was killed,
32:08 Kendall Rae? Isaiah's dad texted him saying, "Got the money yet?" To which Isaiah replied, "Waiting for her to get off, but I'm getting it for sure." So it sounds like his dad, right? Must have known that this money was coming from Haley. The question here is whether or not Isaiah got that money from Haley willingly, or did he steal it? And if you side with investigators, they don't believe that she just handed it over to him like he said. And this is just shocking. I mean, it's shocking no matter how much money that someone will kill for, but $200 is definitely...
32:48 Kendall Rae? Just, I don't even know how to explain it. It is so bizarre for someone to kill someone over $200. But they believe that he killed her in order to take that money from her. And of course, that wasn't something that he would admit. Apparently, he did say that he felt, quote, "responsible for her death." But that, of course, wasn't an actual admission of anything. And eventually, he asked to speak with his mom. And after she came in and they spoke, he stopped talking altogether. And by that point, they felt like there was enough to arrest him. So they did, and they booked him on two counts of murder,
33:29 Kendall Rae? one count of robbery, and one count of obstructing justice. But here's what was tricky. In terms of physical evidence, they really didn't have anything concrete. And like I said earlier, the only thing that they found at the scene was that blue towel. But when it had been processed, only Haley's DNA came back. However, investigators were still able to link it to Isaiah because when they searched his parents' house on the day before, they found the matching towel set. They also learned that one of his parents' guns was missing. So yes, the evidence was circumstantial, but they did feel like it was enough for a conviction.
34:12 Kendall Rae? During his trial, though, which began in summer of 2018, the path towards getting Haley justice wasn't as straightforward as anyone had hoped. Circumstantial cases are definitely winnable. I mean, we've talked about many of them over the years. But of course, there's always that, you know, underlying worry that without direct evidence, the outcome could go either way. And the defense, as they do, definitely tried to hammer in that doubt repeatedly. Besides the fact that Isaiah's phone placed him at the soccer field, they argued the prosecution couldn't actually prove that he murdered her. There was no bullet, there was no gun, no DNA that linked him to the actual shooting. Instead, the defense argued that investigators
34:57 Kendall Rae? unfairly zeroed in on Isaiah and failed to look into other possibilities. Possibilities such as that. They said that he was one of the last people to see Haley that night and that he would have a strong motive to do it. And then another reason that they argued that Isaiah was innocent had to do with his phone records. So, as I mentioned earlier, he and Haley's phones were pinged together that entire night. And according to the defense, a few hours after she was murdered, her phone pinged at the soccer field, whereas Isaiah's phone pinged in Evansville, which in their minds proved that they were not together.
35:38 Kendall Rae? But the prosecution theorized that the location of this ping was just her phone connecting to the tower it was closest to when it first powered down. And I definitely have some questions about all of that, especially since an FBI agent testified that her phone was traveling towards Evansville later that morning too. So that's definitely a gray area for me, but ultimately it doesn't sway me from what I personally believe to be the truth. And I believe what prosecutors were saying. I believe that Isaiah is guilty. They argued that Isaiah was in debt, not only to friends and family, but also in debt to a collections agency for his student loans
36:22 Kendall Rae? and that he killed Haley over the money. And it may not have been a lot of money, but it was money nonetheless. And, you know, I've covered cases where people have killed over less than $200. So even though it's hard to believe someone would do that, it happens. The prosecution also pointed to that blue towel and the missing gun as part of their evidence, as well as Isaiah's ever-changing story from his two interrogations. But despite all that, of course, reasonable doubt was definitely in the air during the trial. And on certain days of it, Haley's supporters were genuinely starting to worry that he might get away with her murder. That was until the day that his mother, Isaiah's mother, was called in to test.
37:07 Kendall Rae? And this changed everything because when Donna took the stand, she dropped a bombshell that literally had Isaiah's defense attorney stumbling to try and recover from. Remember when I mentioned that he asked to speak with her during his second interrogation? It turns out that he confessed to killing Haley and throwing the gun in the dumpster.
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40:11 Kendall Rae? Now, he said it was an accident. Okay, but still. And just so you know, Donna was not sharing this in hopes of getting him convicted. They described her as a quote reluctant witness, but obviously she couldn't lie on the stand.
40:29 Speaker 07 Drama in a Warwick County courtroom today. The mother of Isaiah Hagan testifies against her son and reveals new details about the death of Haley Rathgaber. Thank you for joining us. I'm Shelley Kirk. Hagan's trial continues with a short day of testimony today, but there was a bombshell. Eyewitness news Stuart Hammer was there. He joins us now with details. Stuart. Shelley, Isaiah Hagan's mom Donna took the stand today and gave testimony that Isaiah killed Haley Rathgeber, but he said it was an accident. According to Donna, Isaiah told his mom, once he was in custody, he shot Haley but didn't mean to. And then he threw the gun at a dumpster. Donna says she has a missing 9mm pistol and doesn't know where it is.
41:11 Speaker 07 She says Isaiah explained he would never murder anyone and Isaiah said he's innocent. Before Donna testified, defense attorney Mark Phillips. And prosecutors argued at length over issues on testimony. An expert witness was answering questions about the cell phones of Hagan and Rathgeber. And a barrage of objections from both sides made it difficult to follow. Phillips was visibly frustrated with witnesses and Judge Granger. And at one point, the judge threatened Phillips with contempt of court. Wow, and it sounds very emotional. What made it so emotional today? Phillips just told me he wasn't prepared for that testimony that Donna gave. And he asked to adjourn for an extra day so that he could prepare next week for some more questions. And, and how did Isaiah Hagan react when his mom was testifying, saying these things?
41:54 Speaker 07 Yeah, well, Donna actually glanced over a couple of times during her testimony. And I was sitting directly behind Isaiah. And I couldn't see his face, but he didn't look like he showed much emotion at all.
42:02 Kendall Rae? So, yeah, her testimony was completely unexpected and left many jaws on the floor. And it also left a lot of people in the courtroom in tears. It was so shocking that the judge ended up calling a recess. And during that time, the defense had to figure out what they were going to do to spin this. And what they ended up doing was they got Donna to admit that the reason she said what she said was because she thought if the jury believed it was an accident, they would give him a lesser sentence. But what surprised me a lot was the fact that Donna said that she doesn't think her son would be capable
42:41 Kendall Rae? of murdering someone, which of course I can see, I can understand why a parent would have such a hard time wrapping their minds around that, would have such a hard time accepting and admitting to themselves that their child is capable of murder. And I think, you know, we all want to believe the best in our kids. But he legitimately confessed to her that he did it. And the jury, you know, once they heard that, they couldn't unhear it. They could not get past that. And so in less than four hours, they found him guilty on all four counts. Now, as you can imagine, this was a massive relief for Haley's family and friends,
43:26 Kendall Rae? especially because there were parts of the Trial where they didn't know if Haley was actually going to get justice. So for them to finally have that justice for her was massive. And I'm not sure if anything can take that pain away. But I have to believe that there's relief in knowing that the person responsible was held accountable for their crimes. And Isaiah accepted a plea after the fact and received a 60-year sentence in prison. And although the appeals court reversed a few of his charges on the grounds of double jeopardy, the outcome remains the same. He is still sentenced to those 60 years. Another emotional day in Warren County after an emotional trial that lasted about a month.
44:09 Kendall Rae? The man convicted of murdering Haley Rathgeber in April of last year has been sentenced.
44:15 Speaker 00 Eyewitness News Sam Neff has our continuing coverage. After Isaiah Hagan was found guilty of murder, his attorney Mark Phillips and prosecutor Michael Perry agreed to a 60-year plea deal. Today Judge Greg Granger issued that 60-year sentence, but not before what the defense called some surprising conversation.
44:34 Speaker 07 And never in my career have I ever seen what occurred in that courtroom.
44:39 Speaker 00 Phillips says Judge Granger made some comments suggesting Hagan was not remorseful toward the Rathgeber family.
44:45 Speaker 07 Not one time in the courtroom did Isaiah Hagan engage in any behavior that I felt was inappropriate, disrespectful, jovial.
44:55 Speaker 00 Some members of that family spoke today as well in memory of Rathgeber.
44:59 Speaker 04 You know, there's always going to be a gaping wound in the hearts of Haley's family and no amount of sentencing or, you know, finality will ever be enough for them.
45:11 Speaker 00 Phillips says there were also talks of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, even though it was his understanding the sentence was already agreed upon, and says Judge Granger suggested the defense did some things wrong in the trial.
45:24 Speaker 07 I've never had that happen and I'm, I'm really, really troubled that the judge would say that.
45:32 Speaker 00 Phillips' client will be appealing his guilty verdict, but the judge recommended he could use a fresh set of eyes and appointed Hagan an attorney out of Pike County.
45:40 Speaker 07 My eyes are fresh and my eyes are clear. To appoint someone who was a chief deputy prosecutor in a county where my client is housed during the penancy of this trial, I don't understand.
45:52 Speaker 00 As for Perry, he
45:53 Speaker 07 They assist the attorney general in the appeal if asked, but other than that, his work is done. We got the verdict that we believe we would get when we proceeded with this case. You know, and the term closure gets thrown around quite a bit. I don't think there's any such thing.
46:09 Kendall Rae? So yes, he did try to appeal. However, just this past February 2026, a judge denied his request for post conviction relief. And this is something crazy that I just had to mention, but there is a Dateline episode on this case. And after it aired, someone came forward and they claimed that they had new evidence that would exonerate Isaiah. This person said that they had proof that Thaddeus was the one who actually killed her. But yeah, that didn't end up going anywhere and it is still very much believed that Isaiah is guilty. But I feel like I had to at least mention that.
46:51 Kendall Rae? But enough about Isaiah. I don't want to waste any more time talking about him. Instead, you guys know I always do my best to try and wrap up these episodes wherever I can by telling you about any efforts that the family has made to honor the victim. And Haley's family and community have really honored her in such a beautiful way. For starters, I want to give a huge shout out to Texas Roadhouse, which I never thought I'd say that. I'd never thought I'd be shouting out anything other than their delicious, uh, what is it? The cinnamon bread, cinnamon butter? I don't know. Good stuff. But shout out to them for being incredible because right after she was killed, the location that she worked at shut down for a day
47:33 Kendall Rae? to give their employees space to grieve, which I thought was really cool, especially for a big franchise. And they also paid for her funeral, or at least parts of it to my understanding. Plus, they helped sponsor a scholarship in her name at her college. This scholarship fund in Haley's name was designed to support students going into nursing at the University of Southern Indiana. And every year, her family puts on events to help raise money for it. Every year, there is a Haley Open, which is a golf scramble. They've also So raised thousands of dollars doing this, which is just fantastic. And her family also recently started hosting an annual Haley Rathgeber Nursing Scholarship Prom, which I thought was super cool, super unique.
48:16 Kendall Rae? This year's was themed a night in Wonderland. It was kind of, you know, Alice in Wonderland themed and I just thought it was really cool. I'll put the event flyer up on the screen so you guys can see it. And their first event was in 2024, which they raised over $16,000 in that night alone. And I want to link the Facebook page associated with the scholarship. If any of you want to stay up to date on the events that they're hosting. They also do have a GoFundMe as well, which I'm going to have linked for you too. And I also just wanted to say that in watching interviews with Haley's family. Oh my gosh, I was just brought to tears. I got so emotional, especially hearing her sisters talk about how much they still miss Haley and just how much they loved her and looked up to her.
49:00 Kendall Rae? And they said that they just feel like they are still waiting for her to come home one day. And that just absolutely broke my heart. And I wish nothing but the best for them all. They seem like a really great family. April will be nine years since she was taken from them. And I just hope that in that time, they've been able to find as much healing and peace as possible. Haley really just sounded like such a warm and kind human, not to mention super intelligent and going to do amazing things in life.
49:39 Kendall Rae? And she just seemed to make so many people's lives better just by being herself, just by being in their presence. And it's just heartbreaking when things like this happen to people like that, especially at such a young age, especially when it's all for something like money at the end of the day. No matter the amount, it's just shocking and so disappointing. But that is going to be it for me today, you guys. Like I said, I really want to hear your thoughts on this case. I hope we can send Haley's loved ones some support in the comment section and also on their Facebook page as well.
50:23 Kendall Rae? You know, that always, I think, goes a long way for families to know that people are still thinking of and remembering the legacy of their lost loved one. That will be it for me today, you guys. Thank you so much for joining me. And again, thank you for all of your kind words and support during my maternity leave. It really means a lot, especially those of you who have reached out to me, you know, on social media and stuff in the time that I was pretty logged off of YouTube, which was good for me. I feel so refreshed now to be back and I'm excited for what the future has in store.
51:04 Kendall Rae? Sorry, I'm dripping over my words at this point, but yeah, I have a lot of exciting things coming down the pipe and some very exciting plans for this show and my other shows. And I just am so thankful to do what I do and I know that I'm able to do all of this because of all of you who have been supporting me, you know, some of you for like, what, 15 years now since I started YouTube? I think it's almost 15 years, something like that. I think we're going to hit 15 in August. I might be wrong, might be 16, it might be 14. Who knows? It's been a long time and I am just very grateful.
51:46 Kendall Rae? So, thank you and I will see you next week. And I almost forgot, until then, stay safe out there.
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