332: Kohberger Hits Back, Woman Escapes Captivity, Melodee Buzzard Missing & Mom Refuses to Talk

This week on Headline Highlights: new updates have surfaced in the Bryan Kohberger case as he tries to weasel out of paying restitution to the victims’ families. A French woman who was held captive by a couple for five years has finally escaped, shocking investigators with the details of her confinement. Police are investigating the murder of 25-year-old Chloe Henry, whose body was found dumped in a ditch just ten miles from her hometown of Moeres, New York. In a bizarre case out of Texas, a woman was arrested after running over her husband with an SUV, claiming she “tried to hit him, not kill him.” And the search intensifies for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, while her mother refuses to cooperate with investigators. 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 Where is Madalina Cojocari? | Little Girl Vanishes and Parents Point The Finger At Each Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZb0vbrHGw🔎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 ABC13 | CBS 6 Albany | Daily Mail | Herald Scotland | Idaho Statesman | KHOU 11 | Law & Crime | Miami Herald | NewsBreak | New York Post | New York State Police | People | Yahoo News | 1011 Now••••••••••••••••••🚨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.

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• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:31Annie Elise?

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

• 1:53Annie Elise?

  Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to an all-new episode of Seriallessly. With me, your true crime bestie and your host, Annie Elise. And, look, for all of you who are watching this on YouTube, I am coming to you fresh-faced. I just got microneedling done, which I do microneedling like four times a year. I swear to God, it has changed my skin entirely. I don't do the vampire one where they like take your own plasma and blood and spin it and put it on your face, but I just do the regular one with like exomes and stuff. So anyway, I just got microneedling done, and so... For the first 24 hours, you're not supposed to put anything on your face because your pores are like the most open they will be. So I'm coming to you fresh faced. I've got no makeup on. I'm

• 2:38Annie Elise?

  super, super shiny and like, bleh, super glowy. So maybe it's a jump scare. Um, for those of you who are listening to the audio version, you're welcome. At least you don't have to see this. Um, no, but honestly, microneedling has like changed my life. So not a sponsored ad, just telling you the truth. Uh, but no, so we have a lot to go over today. We have only one update in a case that I want to talk to you about, just because this guy is like the scum of the earth and I need to tell you what's happening. And then we have a lot of new cases, some that I know a lot of you have been wanting answers on and have been like sliding in my DMs on Instagram, emailing us. And so I want to get to all of it. Before we get to that, I gotta say, thank you, thank you,

• 3:21Annie Elise?

  thank you. Tour has officially wrapped. This week, we're the final shows in Portland, Tacoma, San Francisco. You guys brought the energy. I freaking love meeting you guys in the wild. It is like the peak of my existence. I'm not exaggerating, whether it's Crime Con, Tour, people who have come up to me in airports, meeting you guys in real life just makes me so happy. And I feel like, it sounds so crazy now that I say this out loud, because I'm probably like adding fuel to a parasocial type situation, which isn't good, but I feel like you guys are my friends. When I'm here in my studio, talking to the camera, talking to the mic, I feel like you are literally right behind the camera and I'm talking with you. So when I see you in real life, literally, I hug you

• 4:05Annie Elise?

  guys. I'm so excited. We're talking and like, I just love it so much. So we officially wrapped this year's tour this week and the shows were amazing. You guys are all amazing. I just want to thank you guys again so much for your support, for coming out, for sharing your stories with me, for sharing certain mementos and big moments of your life with me. You can see in my studio, I've put all of it on the bookshelf behind me. So I feel like everything you guys have given me, it's right here. It's like, I feel like you're with me and I feel like we're all together. And again, I know that probably sounds so fucking crazy when I say that out loud, but

• 4:41Annie Elise?

  I don't know, whatever. Call me crazy. I feel like we are all friends, so suck it. Um, no. So anyway, I don't think I'm gonna be going on tour next year. I think I'm gonna take a little bit of a break. I will go to CrimeCon, I'm sure. It's in Vegas next year. I think it's in May of 26. And maybe I'll go on tour. Maybe I'll do like one or two shows, but this one was definitely a bit draining. It was, what, 17 or 18 cities and it just was a lot and I think I just wanna like pause for a moment. Uh, but yes, it was, it was very rewarding and um, I loved meeting all of you guys. So let's get into this first update because this freaking douchebag is back on my radar. I don't even know why he still is alive, to be quite honest, but it is Brian Kohberger.

• 5:25Annie Elise?

  And this piece of garbage, piece of filth sewer rat is actually now hitting back at the victims' families, saying, "Uh, I don't need to pay restitution because you guys all made enough money off your GoFundMes." Like, are you kidding me? The freaking audacity of this creep. So let me break it down for you. Attorneys for Brian Kohberger are now asking a judge to excuse the convicted killer from paying tens of thousands of dollars to the families of the Idaho victims, claiming that the families have already raised enough money through GoFundMe. Now, as a reminder, he was ordered to pay nearly $290,000 in restitution when he pleaded guilty back in the summer to the horrific quadruple murder, but

• 6:10Annie Elise?

  the prosecutors also recently requested about $30,000 more so that they could cover the victims' families' travel expenses during the case. But Brian's defense team is firing back, saying that because several of the GoFundMe pages raised tens of thousands of dollars for those exact same expenses, one totaling to over $73,000, another to $48,000, and a third for more than $85,000, they're arguing that because of that, the families, quote, get this, "did not suffer an economic loss, not one that requires reimbursement." They also claim that Brian has no ability to pay, not now, not ever, since he is serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho's Max Security Prison, which-

• 6:54Annie Elise?

  Let me get to that in a minute because there is a way this douchebag can pay and I'll tell you about it. So anyway, a virtual hearing is scheduled for November 5th where the judge will decide if Brian's restitution can be reduced, or if he's going to remain on the hook for every single penny. And honestly, a lot of people are outraged by this, rightfully so. And I think a lot of people are kind of saying what I know I'm thinking and what I'm sure many of you are thinking, that commissary money, that is income. So, any money that is being put on his books by his mommy, his daddy, his sister, who is basically unfortunately, his identical twin, not real, but looks exactly like him. I mean, imagine having to walk around with his face for the rest of your life. But, they're putting money on his commissary books,

• 7:37Annie Elise?

  right? That is income. He's allowed to buy a cup of noodles, a book, you know, shaving cream, whatever the hell he wants to buy. That money should go directly to the victims' families. He should have to pay for the rest of his life. He shouldn't be allowed to buy cushy things to make his life more comfortable and easy in prison, and have accessibility to those funds. Those funds, in my opinion, should be directly rerouted to restitution. I don't know, he, I think, he just needs to feel what he has done. And he will not feel that way if he doesn't have actual repercussions. Being in prison is not enough of a repercussion, in my opinion, for him. And I think a lot of this too, this could just be me, curious

• 8:18Annie Elise?

  to know what any psychologists or, you know, professionals in the space think. But I think by him doing this, I think he is in a sick way trying to get control back. I think he's trying to have some sort of level of control and just continue to like, fire back at these victims and their families. It's so twisted and so sick. So, we will see what happens during that hearing. Again, it is scheduled for November 5th, so possibly we'll be in next week's updates, or maybe the updates after that. But, I'm gonna watch this closely and this guy, it's just like... I really wish the firing squad got ahold of him. Although I do love the idea of him being a little bit tortured in prison.

• 9:01Annie Elise?

  I'll be honest, that does, you know, make me sleep a little warm and fuzzy at night. But I think a firing squad would have been nicer just to get him out of our lives forever. Um, okay, so this next case, this is actually very wild because this next story is out of France. And it's honestly one of the most disturbing things that I have read in a while. A woman in her 40s escaped after allegedly being held captive for five years by a couple in France. It's this small town called Saint-Mulhouse in western France, but she was held captive by them for five years. Now she managed to slip away on October 14th. And when she did, she was barefoot, she was freezing, she was in total shock.

• 9:44Annie Elise?

  And she had escaped the garage where she had been imprisoned. And I'll tell you a little bit more about the conditions in a moment here. But she ran to a neighbor's house begging them for help, which luckily that neighbor was home and immediately called the police. Now, when the officers got to the property, they found that the garage door had been completely sealed shut from the outside by using concrete blocks, just barricading it so that it was completely just, you know, literally sealed. Inside the garage, there was like this little deck chair where she apparently had to sleep. That's where they forced her to sleep. A plastic pot that she used as a toilet. And then evidence that she had been fed porridge, which is kind of like oatmeal, but it had been mixed with dish soap.

• 10:28Annie Elise?

  They also reported that when they approached this woman and found her, she was described as, quote, "very thin", and that she had lost almost 50 kilograms, which I think I did the math and it's more than like 100 pounds. So she was like emaciated, very thin, very malnourished. And she also had the signs of hypothermia. Her skin had been washed with bleach. Dish soap, as I said, had been found in her food. And the authorities also believe that she had been drugged. So the police arrested two people. Get this, a woman in her 60s and her boyfriend who was 18. Eighty-two years old. They both have been charged with kidnapping, torture,

• 11:10Annie Elise?

  and what prosecutors are calling, quote, "acts of barbarity." Now, here's where it gets even worse. The investigators say that the victim originally lived there as a roommate with the female suspect, who, by the way, is a nursing assistant. But then, after the suspect's boyfriend moved in, things allegedly escalated. The woman was forced to live in a tent in the garden. Then she was moved and locked into the garage full-time. And the couple also allegedly systematically drained her bank accounts and stole her social security benefits for years. So it seems like this was kind of an issue or like a control play, trying to get off on the control and the power play of it all, but also the financial benefit of her bank account

• 11:54Annie Elise?

  and continuous social security benefits. Now, when questioned, both of the suspects admitted to part of the facts. However, they allegedly are trying to downplay just how serious it was, which the authorities obviously aren't buying it. The physical evidence matches this woman's story exactly. There's no way of getting out of it. And she's now being treated for hypothermia, severe malnutrition, and the prosecutors say that she is extremely fragile. However, she is safe. She is recovering. But the officials say that this could be one of the worst captivity and torture cases that France has seen in recent years. Just appalling and awful and so sad. And you know what it really does illustrate? This woman was in her 40s,

• 12:39Annie Elise?

  and it's been five years that she's been held captive. This can happen to anyone. It doesn't discriminate on age, gender, race, any sort of thing. Things like this can happen to anyone, which means you just have to really always be extra cautious, who your roommates are, who your partner is, who you're getting involved with, because we're seeing more and more of weird shit like this surface, you know? Now, let's get into this next case, because it's about a 25-year-old young woman who goes missing, and unfortunately, it just ends in heartbreak, but also a lot of questions. So this week- A small New York town is completely reeling after a 25-year-old Chloe Henry was found murdered. Allegedly, she had been murdered by her husband.

• 13:23Annie Elise?

  Now, let me back up a little bit because Chloe was first reported as missing a couple of weeks ago by her family. It was after they hadn't heard from her in over 36 hours, something that they described as being, quote, "highly unusual." And the last time that anyone saw her, she was with her 33-year-old husband, Keith Henry. They were together in Plattsburgh, New York. So, her family was worried. They reported her as missing, and they also took to Facebook, and they created a post which read, "My niece Chloe is missing. Please help us find her. She was last seen with her husband Keith Henry in downtown Plattsville. If anybody has any information or think that they may have seen her, please contact us or the NYSB. She is approximately 5'2", she has brown eyes, long brown hair, she was wearing blue

• 14:08Annie Elise?

  jeans and a hoodie, and a pair of cheetah-printed Crocs on her feet. Please help us find her. We just want her home safe." Police can't officially classify her as missing until 10:10 p.m. tonight. She hasn't been heard from in over 36 hours. She hasn't checked in on her babies. This is highly unusual for her. Now, unfortunately, just two days later, her body was discovered along Ridge Road in Chazzy. It hit her body had been dumped in a ditch near the Lake Alice Wildlife Management Area, which was just 10 miles from her hometown. An autopsy later revealed that Chloe had been shot in the head and in the back. And the medical examiner, of course, with that, ruled her death as a homicide.

• 14:51Annie Elise?

  Now, according to the police, they believe that Keith allegedly shot Chloe while the two of them were inside his car in Peru, New York, which is about 25 miles away from where her body was found. They then alleged that he drove off, discarded her body, and headed home. So, he's now being charged with second-degree murder and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He's also being held without bail. Why he has the two counts of endangering the welfare of a child? It's a little unclear. I have heard reports that the children were in the car with him when this happened. I- Have heard reports of neglect, all alleged at this point. Information is still starting to surface because this is a newer breaking case.

• 15:33Annie Elise?

  Meanwhile, Khloe's coworkers at the nursing center described her as beloved by residents and staff alike, saying that she was taken far too soon. Now, what's interesting in all of this is although it seems very clear cut from the arrest, what the police are alleging, the evidence of where the gunshot wounds were, it looks on the surface to be a domestic dispute. The police haven't shared any sort of motive. They haven't shared why Keith would want to kill his wife Khloe, why he would then dump her body, what sparked this in the car. So I think a lot more to come and we will certainly keep our eyes on it.

• 16:15Annie Elise?

  All right, I feel like we need to just have an honest conversation here in the circle of trust. Can we talk about how literally everything seems to be getting more expensive? Groceries, gas, rent, you name it. And apparently, your wireless bill wants to join in on that party too. But here's the thing, it doesn't have to. Mint Mobile is making it so much easier to stop overpaying for wireless with plans starting at just 15 bucks a month. And you're not sacrificing quality either. All plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and access to the nation's largest 5G network. You can also use your current phone and your current phone number. You just sign up online and you are good to go. Now, I changed carriers probably a year and a half ago at this point to Mint Mobile.

• 16:59Annie Elise?

  And when I tell you, not only was it the best decision of my life, I now have like service in places my husband doesn't even have service, but it was so easy. It took me 15 minutes, kept my phone, kept my phone number. It was the best. So for a new wireless plan starting at 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/ae. That's mintmobile.com/ae. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

• 17:36Annie Elise?

  Okay, now this next case comes out of Pasadena, Texas. On Monday, October 20th, at around 3:30 in the morning, police in Pasadena got a call about a man who was lying unresponsive on the sidewalk after being hit by a car. And when they arrived, they found 42-year-old Leonardo Mendoza suffering from very serious injuries, injuries that were consistent with being hit by a car, like that call indicated. Now, first responders did what they could at the scene, and they took Leonardo to a nearby hospital. But unfortunately, he died shortly after. Now, when the police were trying to figure out what happened, they realized that there had been no car at the scene, even though that's what the person who called 911 said that they saw. They saw him being hit by a car.

• 18:21Annie Elise?

  So when the police started questioning this witness, they said that they had seen a black Chevy Tahoe driving behind him. Then it jumped the curb, it hit him as he was walking through a parking lot, and it took off. The person just completely sped off and wasn't seen again. So of course, the next question was, "Okay, well, who was driving this vehicle?" Well, the only way to find out was to ask his family. And family members were very quick to identify the vehicle based on the description. And sure enough, it belonged to his wife, 37-year-old Alina Gonzalez Morales. Now, when the investigators first contacted Alina, she told them she had just gotten home from a party. But when they let her know what had happened to her husband,

• 19:04Annie Elise?

  suddenly, her story started to change. Alina said that the two of them had been arguing that night after she got home at around 2:00 a.m. The argument started in the house, and then it eventually moved outside. He apparently had walked away on foot, trying to just cool off, have some time to cool down, and he was gonna go get his car from the nearby Kroger. Now, I'm assuming, I'm just gonna read between the lines here, I'm guessing they went to the party together, they were drunk, maybe they took an Uber home, maybe they walked home, but left the car behind at the local Kroger. I don't know, maybe his car was there for a different reason. I'm just speculating here. But for whatever reason, she decided to follow him in the Tahoe. And that's When she drove up over the sidewalk and hit him,

• 19:46Annie Elise?

  which I want to just pause here for a second because that is a huge escalation, right? It's not said anywhere what this argument was about, but for her to follow him and then just decide to jump the curb and hit her husband with her car seems very extreme and of course, very intentional, right? I don't know, it just seems a little over the top, but mind you, this was all caught on surveillance footage, which I'm going to play that for you here. For those of you watching on YouTube, but for those of you who are not, I'll describe it as it's going. Now in this footage, it appears to be the early morning hours because the sun definitely is out. And you can see that she is driving and it's kind of like this sidewalked area. You can see like things are chained off. The crime scene tape is still hanging.

• 20:29Annie Elise?

  But you basically see him almost running, not just walking, and this is 3:25 a.m. And then she's speeding after him, like going fast and he's running away from her, which is like, obviously he must have known that she was going to do something and that he was fearful, right? The actual collision itself is not caught on surveillance or it at least hasn't been aired yet. So part of me is wondering, I mean, I don't think that she was just driving after him to like, talk to him, to cool down, to talk about the argument. She was so drunk that she like hopped the curb and hit him. Because again, in this footage, you see him running away on foot and her headlights going full speed toward him. So I think he knew that he was being chased down by her and hunted by her.

• 21:13Annie Elise?

  According to the arrest affidavit, Alina was taken into custody and the police say that she did show signs of intoxication. She reportedly told the investigators that she quote, "meant to hit him, but didn't mean to kill him." Like, I'm sorry, hello, as if that's any better, like, oh yeah, I did mean to hit him with my car, but I didn't mean to kill him. Like, are you out of your freaking mind? So that statement, if confirmed in court, it could play a major role in how this case unfolds legally. Alina was booked into the Pasadena Police Department Jail and then later transferred to the Harris County Jail for processing. She's facing murder charges and she's being held without bond. The investigators are reviewing whether intoxication or intent will be key factors in this case.

• 21:57Annie Elise?

  And of course, this is all still alleged, but tox reports and official court filings that are still being worked on will actually tell us what led up to this fatal confrontation. Obviously, it appears on the surface that it was a drunken rage and that this argument just escalated. But could her defense team argue that it was accidental? That she was drunk and accidentally jumped to the curb and hit him? I don't think so, because if they can get that statement into court record that she meant to hit him, but didn't mean to kill him, that would take accident completely off the table. Not to mention, again, in that footage, you can see he is clearly running from her. So we will see what happens and it's just another reminder, don't drink and drive,

• 22:41Annie Elise?

  don't drink and fight, don't drink in huge copious amounts and, I don't know, just don't do it. Now, this next case I want to talk about has been all over the internet. Everybody is talking about it. There are so many rumors and so many allegations that I'm really going to try to keep this to just the facts. Even though some updates have come out over the last few days, it hasn't officially been verified. Once it is, I will certainly let you know. And if for some reason there is a fact that is verified at the time, that was not here at the time of this recording, I will put it in the show notes below. But it's the case of Melody Buzzard. She's a nine-year-old girl who went missing and it is really unsettling

• 23:26Annie Elise?

  because now her mom is just refusing to cooperate. So it's a case out of California that has left everybody asking the exact same haunting question. Where is nine-year-old Melody Buzzard? This little girl from Lompoc hasn't been seen in more than two weeks. And what's even more troubling is that her own mother refuses to say where she is. Sounds a lot like Lori Vallow, right? Circa 2020 with Hawaii and she refused to turn over the children. Now here's what we know. The investigation began when a school administrator realized that Melody hadn't picked up her assignments in nearly two months. So that triggered a welfare check and by October 14th, police officially opened a missing persons case.

• 24:09Annie Elise?

  During their investigation, detectives quickly discovered that Melody's mom, 40-year-old Ashley Buzzard, had recently taken a 1,500-mile road trip to Nebraska. She had rented a car to do so as well, a Chevy Malibu, a white Chevy Malibu, let me just be clear. And surveillance cameras confirmed that Melody was with her mother on October 7th during this road trip. But when Ashley returned to California, she was alone. Melody wasn't with her. And that was the last verified sighting of Melody, October 7th. Since then, her mom Ashley has refused to answer any questions about her daughter's whereabouts. And the investigators describe her as, quote, "completely uncooperative."

• 24:53Annie Elise?

  She's ignored visits from Child Protective Services. She's dodged questions from family. And according to neighbors, she has barely left her house in days. However, just last week, she finally did emerge and what she did next when she emerged, it has everybody even more alarmed. Exclusive photos that were obtained from the Daily Mail show Ashley walking out of her home and walking directly past her daughter's missing person poster. Then she gets into a black Lincoln sedan that was being driven by a friend and she takes off. After that, she was then spotted at two different rental car offices in nearby Santa Maria, trying to rent yet another car.

• 25:34Annie Elise?

  Now she was denied both times, reportedly due to unpaid credit card debts and court cases over thousands of dollars in defaulted accounts. But just moments after returning home from trying to rent that car, social workers pulled up and Ashley refused to open the door. Neighbors say that she was handed a 72-hour notice ordering her to either produce Melody or disclose where she is. Otherwise, she would face arrest, which, again, that is very reminiscent of Lori Vallow. If you guys followed that at the very beginning, you know that she and Dumbbell Chad fled to Hawaii. They were given a court order to disclose the children, to deliver the children, whatever it is. Otherwise, they would be arrested,

• 26:16Annie Elise?

  which ultimately Lori Vallow was. Meanwhile, as this is unfolding, police cars have been circling the neighborhood and unmarked units are reportedly parked near her home. The FBI has also now joined the search, calling the case, quote, "perplexing and clearly suspicious." Authorities say that their primary goal right now is simply to verify that Melody is alive and safe. Family members are, of course, desperate for answers, and Melody's aunt, Elizabeth Mesa, told reporters that she hasn't seen this little girl in over four years, because apparently her mom, Ashley, cut off everyone. She said that Melody had been homeschooled, isolated, raised mostly in seclusion, and she also described her sister, who is Melody's

• 27:00Annie Elise?

  mother, Ashley, as mentally unstable and financially struggling. Now, this whole homeschooled thing and isolation, I want to talk about that for a moment, because it is no secret, and I've talked about this before, especially since 2020 and the pandemic, it has given parents, guardians, caretakers, new excuses to homeschool their children. Some homeschool for the right reasons, 100% to each their own, that's totally fine. But it has given certain caretakers, dangerous caretakers, an excuse to isolate them, so that nobody can see what's going on behind closed doors, so that if there is any sort of physical harm, malnourishment, certain types of behavior, that...

• 27:47Annie Elise?

  They withdraw them from school. Nobody will be able to see any markings or anything like that, any indicators of anything happening inside the home. And they just isolate them and nobody questions it. And we have seen a huge uptick in that, especially since 2020. And it is awful. It is absolutely awful. So, speaking too, to her financial struggles. Ashley apparently has previously filed for bankruptcy. She lives on social security income and she's currently being sued by creditors over several unpaid accounts. Yet despite all of that, she somehow has kept up with paying the rent on her home, which is a pretty nice three-bedroom house that is, you know, right there in the city,

• 28:30Annie Elise?

  but now is surrounded by posters of, from all of her neighbors who are demanding, "Where is Melody?" Former FBI agent Brad Garrett told ABC News that this case is clearly suspicious, noting that the last thing that any parent would do if their child were missing is refuse to cooperate. He also pointed out that the investigators will likely be analyzing Ashley's entire route to Nebraska, that road trip, looking at gas station receipts, hotel charges, toll data from taking the toll roads, to analyze all of that and see if Melody can definitively be placed along that trip. Or when was she last seen? Are there any other markers? But for now, there are more questions than answers and the sheriff has publicly pleaded

• 29:13Annie Elise?

  for anyone who might have seen Melody or her mother between California and Nebraska to come forward. Because right now, nobody knows if this little girl is safe, if she is with someone safe, or if something far worse has happened. So, please, share this episode, the link to this episode, the link to this video, share it wherever you can because there needs to be answers. We, we need answers. What happened to Melody? And you know what it's giving? It's giving Madalena Kojakari. I don't know if you guys remember that case. I covered it a while back. It still is unsolved, unknown. She essentially vanished and her mom didn't report her missing for months. And it was kind of the same thing. The school started asking like, what the hell's going on? And that's what prompted the investigation. Her

• 29:58Annie Elise?

  mom then went on like a spiral saying that she was hiding her, that she's safe, that I think she had said she sent her to Romania. But then there was some really weird stuff with the stepdad. They were both arrested. There were allegations of drug cartelling and drug muling. I mean, all sorts of things, which I actually will link that episode in the show notes for you, so that you can get fully caught up with that case. But that is what this case is giving right here. Anytime a parent won't serve up where their child is, that is a massive red flag. Even if you're putting them with a family member, or they're staying somewhere else. The fact that you are refusing to cooperate with this investigation,

• 30:39Annie Elise?

  and you will not just verbally say where your daughter is, red flag. Red freaking flag. So I'm going to be all over this case. I will probably do a deep dive in the near future. Let me know in the comment section if you want that deep dive, because I'm going to be all over this. This is not sitting right with me. Something is weird here. And we got to figure out what's going on. Thank you guys so much for tuning in to another episode of Headline Highlights with me. As a reminder, if you need more true crime content to binge, a brand new episode just released on Tuesday on the new Tend to Life podcast. It's also available on YouTube. But we did a full deep dive into the John Wayne Gacy case, which I have never covered that case before, because quite honestly,

• 31:22Annie Elise?

  I've been very scared too. It's one of those cases that freaks me out. But not only do we do a deep dive into that case, but there is a new series called Devil in Disguise on Peacock, and it's all about John Wayne Gacy. And we spoke directly with the lead actor who played Gacy. We interviewed him. You also probably will recognize him from Severance. He's the brother of Rickon. He was also the brother in Orange is the New Black. I can't remember his name in that. But you would recognize him. So we sat down and interviewed him. And the showrunner of the series to just try to understand what it was like getting into that mind of Gacy to play that role, how the series came to life. And so we share that interview with you as well. So anyway, you can get that either here on your podcast

• 32:03Annie Elise?

  app, whichever app you're using, Apple, Spotify, iHeart, whatever. We released it on Tuesday, but it won't be in this feed. You'll have to search 10 to life. And while you do that, make sure you're following that podcast because we do drop new episodes every single Tuesday. So you'll have a new episode between these two podcasts every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday as the bonus episodes, which you can get access to those directly through Apple Podcasts or through Patreon, patreon.com/AnnieElyes. That was a mouthful. That was a freaking mouthful. All right, guys. So go binge all of that content, listen to those episodes, and I will be back on the mic with you very, very, very soon. But

• 32:45Annie Elise?

  until then, be nice, don't kill people, don't join any cults, and don't refuse to cooperate if your child goes missing, which God forbid, hopefully they don't go missing, but if they do, don't refuse to cooperate. Just be a good parent and get at Brian Koberger out of my freaking face. That's what I'm gonna like end this on. Okay. Bye, guys.

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