Latest / The Mind of a Man / Girlfriend Realizes Police Have Discovered Her Horrifying Secret_ The Murder of George Cox Jr

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Girlfriend Realizes Police Have Discovered Her Horrifying Secret_ The Murder of George Cox Jr · The Mind of a Man

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: In the autumn of 2024, investigators in Cleveland, Ohio faced
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: a bizarre set of circumstances. A son and young father
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: had been missing for over a week. The apartment where
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: he was thought to be living was found cleared out.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Both he and all of his belongings vanished seemingly overnight.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: There were no cameras. In fact, there was no record
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: of the man even living in the building. But what
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: investigators did find were signs that something very sinister had
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: happened inside that apartment.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Went in the door, went in the unit. There's blood
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: all over on the floor.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: You can see where it's been mopped up all on
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: the floor. You checked the whole unit?
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Yes, I walked through.
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: The whole unit.
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: The door is unlocked.
• 0:49
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Hi there. I'm Kevin, and welcome to Just Thought Lounge.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Today's case is a recent one out of Ohio. the
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: story of a murder with some missing pieces, and of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: a perpetrator so confident they believed they could talk their
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: way out of suspicion. Let's take a look. On November 8th, 2024,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: Sonia Calloway contacted the Cleveland PD, to report that her
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: 32-year-old son, George Cox, known as June, was missing. His
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: last known communication had been in late October, after which
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: his phone appeared to have been disconnected. Calls went straight
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: to voicemail. George's father, George Cox Sr., spoke with his
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: son most days. Deeply concerned, he had traveled to Ohio
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: from Detroit to meet with detectives outside of an apartment
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: building on Bosworth Avenue. his son's last known address. George Jr.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: 's phone location shared with his father last pinged near
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: his building on October 19th, the last day anyone had
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: heard from him.
• 2:09
  Speaker 6: When I talked to the people at the bar, he
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: said he do have a camera that's facing his way
• 2:14
  Speaker 6: and that they running the footage back from the date
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: that we gave him.
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: But then the.
• 2:17
  Speaker 6: Guy said he about 99% sure on the 20th he
• 2:21
  Speaker 6: saw a small U-Haul here, which was the next day
• 2:24
  Speaker 6: after his last known location.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: He George Sr. had already been into his son's apartment.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: The door was left unlocked. Inside, it had been cleared out. George,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: along with all of his belongings, had vanished. Though the
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: apartment was nearly void of furniture, there may have been
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: something left behind. Remnants of a cleanup.
• 2:46
  Speaker 7: Went in the door, went in the unit.
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: There's blood all over on the floor. You can see
• 2:49
  Speaker 6: where it's been mopped up all on the floor.
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: You checked the whole unit?
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Yes, I walked through the whole unit.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: The door is unlocked.
• 2:55
  Speaker 8: It's open.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Detectives made their way inside. The apartment door was ajar.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Entering the unit, detectives found it nearly empty. A sofa,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: its cushions removed, sat in the living room. A matching footstool,
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: also missing its cushion, was in the middle of the room.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: A small table remained in the corner, and another by
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: the entrance to the hallway. Random items had been left
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: out in the kitchen. That George had moved out of
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: his home abruptly and had since ceased all communication with
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: family was unsettling. What detectives spotted on the floor of
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: the living room was even more disturbing. Just as George Sr.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: had stated, detectives spotted suspected blood on the floors, the baseboards,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: and the walls. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: cleanup was not isolated to the living room. There were
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: smaller spatter stains coupled with larger areas that had been
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: partially cleaned in the hallway, on internal doorknobs, and by
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: the front door. They told the story of a severe injury,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: an attack that moved around the whole of the apartment.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: I mean, look at that.
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: It's smeared for sure.
• 4:15
  Speaker 9: I left my hand laying there.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Detectives called back to the station. George's missing persons case
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: was about to be recategorized as a homicide.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: There are some questionable stuff over here.
• 4:33
  Speaker 7: There's no question about it.
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: It's questionable. Let's just do it. Yeah, that looks good
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: to me. All right, and then we also have the couch.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: The wall looks cleaned behind the couch.
• 4:48
  Speaker 8: Beautiful. Okay.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: All right, and then... There's a spot over here.
• 4:54
  Speaker 10: Yeah.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: So I kind of think, yeah, I mean, you can
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: see all these.
• 5:02
  Speaker 8: You can see it all over the place.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: So I.
• 5:08
  Speaker 10: Think, I think we need to.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: Luminol testing later revealed a horrific scene. Detectives stated that
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: the apartment lit up worse than a Christmas tree, more
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: like the Northern Lights, though this analogy hardly suited the
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: dire circumstances. There were few leads. The most pressing was
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: connecting with George's girlfriend, Diamond Vaden. According to his family,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: the two had lived together at that apartment on Bosworth Avenue.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Their relationship was a rocky one. The only problem was
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: neither of their names were on the lease for the unit.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: There was no record of the two living there, only
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: the recollection of the landlord.
• 5:57
  Speaker 11: So I was able to get the leaseholder. Well, I
• 6:02
  Speaker 11: talked to the manager. That was the management up here.
• 6:05
  Speaker 11: Cameras don't work upstairs. Simon, in his words, is this
• 6:12
  Speaker 11: guy Ezekiel who is the leaseholder's girlfriend who's not really.
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Supposed to be here.
• 6:19
  Speaker 11: Ezekiel's in prison right now. I'm going to look. The
• 6:21
  Speaker 11: mail's stacked up. His name's on there. So he's the
• 6:26
  Speaker 11: actual leaseholder through like Eden, like a CMHA program.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: Well, I just got the phone with her.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: She goes, we're at the wrong apartment.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: She lives at 3688 Bosworth.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: It seems that the bloodied unit was the home of
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: a man named Ezekiel.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: George, you ever... Did you ever meet your son here before?
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: I'm being told this is the wrong address.
• 6:51
  Speaker 8: Yep.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah. It's right down the road.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: So you never came here before and saw him?
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: Who took you in there?
• 7:05
  Speaker 7: My granddaughter.
• 7:13
  Speaker 8: Your granddaughters. Today. Today.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: That's when I walked right by the other guy.
• 7:17
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 7:17
  Speaker 7: I said, hey, I came in here and I need
• 7:19
  Speaker 7: you to let me in. Hang in here.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: We're going to run down there to where she allegedly
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: is at.
• 7:23
  Speaker 8: All right?
• 7:23
  Speaker 7: We'll be back.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: Diamond was found at her home on Bosworth, just down
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: the street. She was waiting outside for them with her mother.
• 7:35
  Speaker 7: Not really, but I guess. That's the one that was
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: on the Instagram.
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: The one that's on the reports. Oh, I don't know.
• 7:46
  Speaker 12: I don't know.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: I stay here, though. With who?
• 7:49
  Speaker 7: I stay here with my friend. I can confirm it.
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: Okay, yeah, let's go in your apartment real quick.
• 7:52
  Speaker 12: No problem.
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: Does George live here?
• 7:55
  Speaker 13: No, but we, you know, he was in my space,
• 7:58
  Speaker 13: you know.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: Well, where's George live at?
• 8:00
  Speaker 7: George live with his sister and you.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: George live with his sister and you.
• 8:04
  Speaker 8: Yes.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: But he, you mean he comes and stays there with you?
• 8:07
  Speaker 7: He comes, but he don't have any clothes here. He
• 8:10
  Speaker 7: don't have any clothes here.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: Did they have any clothes here?
• 8:13
  Speaker 8: No.
• 8:13
  Speaker 7: Our friend stayed here with me, but he don't have
• 8:16
  Speaker 7: any clothes here. We just have my room.
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: Where did we be at?
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: That's your mom?
• 8:21
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: Diamond Vaden and George Cox Jr. had been dating for
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: roughly four years before he went missing. They did not
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: share any children, though each had a child from a
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: previous relationship. Family members on both sides referred to the
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: relationship as toxic. They argued frequently, and their disagreements could
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: turn physical. Indeed, George had a lengthy record of arrests,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: which included reported incidents of abuse with his previous girlfriend. Diamond, however,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: insisted that this behavior was not present in her relationship
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: with George. She dismissed physical altercations that had taken place
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: as insignificant. She characterized their romance as passionate as opposed
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: to violent.
• 9:15
  Speaker 12: We have had times where we fought, of course. We
• 9:21
  Speaker 12: didn't disagree on a lot of things, but we worked.
• 9:25
  Speaker 12: And he was like the best boyfriend I ever had.
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: Because he's got a long history with domestic violence.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: Not against you.
• 9:31
  Speaker 7: That's with his baby mother.
• 9:32
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: It's not with me.
• 9:33
  Speaker 10: A lot of questionable.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: It's not with me.
• 9:38
  Speaker 10: Okay.
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: Me and him didn't get to that.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Diamond last saw George around October 18th when he left
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: her place on foot to meet with a friend. Over
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: the following days, she called his cell phone several times.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Each attempt to reach him went straight to voicemail. Eventually,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Diamond made contact with a friend of George's who she
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: said confirmed that he had been arrested and was in
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: custody out of state awaiting extradition. Indeed, rumors had been
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: circulating that this was the case, supported by the widely
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: known fact that George had out-of-state warrants for various non-violent offenses.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: These rumors delayed and confused the search for him in
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: the days immediately following his last communication. Cleveland PD could
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: now confirm, however, that he was not, in fact, being
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: held in custody anywhere in the country.
• 10:31
  Speaker 7: What do you think happened to George? To be honest,
• 10:40
  Speaker 7: I think he okay. I don't think nothing happened to him.
• 10:44
  Speaker 8: No?
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  Speaker 14: No.
• 10:45
  Speaker 8: Because.
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  Speaker 10: Why would somebody do something to him?
• 10:48
  Speaker 7: Well, that was going to be my next question.
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: Would anybody want to do.
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  Speaker 10: Anything to him?
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  Speaker 3: I don't know.
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  Speaker 7: Anything.
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  Speaker 3: Why ever?
• 10:57
  Speaker 7: He'd get out of jail.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: He'd meet guys.
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  Speaker 7: Kick it out of their own streets. Don't really get
• 11:01
  Speaker 7: to know them.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: So he wouldn't have come across somebody that he maybe
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: was fighting a lot or had arguments with?
• 11:09
  Speaker 8: No, not.
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: But you want to know what?
• 11:11
  Speaker 13: He would tell me that he got cool with somebody
• 11:13
  Speaker 13: that threatened his mom.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: And I was like, why would you do that?
• 11:16
  Speaker 7: Anybody threatened my mom, I wouldn't deal with them.
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: So you don't know of him having any issues prior
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: to him going missing, where he was arguing with people,
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: maybe something he pissed somebody off?
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: Nah.
• 11:26
  Speaker 7: Nah, with his dad. His brother said he do have
• 11:30
  Speaker 7: a problem with when he drinking.
• 11:33
  Speaker 12: He do have a problem with police officer.
• 11:37
  Speaker 7: When they arrest him, he's crazy. He gets into arguments
• 11:42
  Speaker 7: with people. When he's drinking, So he's a bad drunk.
• 11:45
  Speaker 7: Even when he's irritated at the walk out of them,
• 11:49
  Speaker 7: he's mad.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: Has George ever been diagnosed with any mental health issues?
• 11:52
  Speaker 8: I'm not sure.
• 11:53
  Speaker 7: I always thought my baby was just crazy enough for me.
• 11:57
  Speaker 10: Yeah.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Well, he might be. Don't rule it out.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: What about you?
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: While Diamond downplayed George's behavior, her mother refused. She told
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: detectives about George's temper and times in which he had
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: lashed out and destroyed property. During one incident, she claimed
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: that George had broken every window in her car.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Once she met this.
• 12:19
  Speaker 10: Guy, my daughter's life totally changed.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: She cut everybody out.
• 12:23
  Speaker 8: It was just her.
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: And him, her and him.
• 12:25
  Speaker 12: Then it got to the point where she wanted to
• 12:27
  Speaker 12: come over and see my grandson, but she had this
• 12:29
  Speaker 12: dude with her.
• 12:30
  Speaker 10: And I said, no, this guy will literally, because I
• 12:33
  Speaker 10: wouldn't let.
• 12:34
  Speaker 6: Her come to the house, he would come, bust all
• 12:37
  Speaker 6: my house windows out, bust all my car windows out.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: And I just couldn't deal with her.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: The conversation with Diamond and her mother was potentially revealing
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: of George's character. Detectives were left with questions relating to
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: what kind of trouble George Cox Jr. could have found
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: himself in, or what dangerous circumstances his temper had landed
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: him in.
• 13:11
  Speaker 10: That's what I'm saying. This young man was doing all
• 13:14
  Speaker 10: kinds of s * * *. He was having gunfights.
• 13:17
  Speaker 10: He was in the streets. He was jacking people.
• 13:19
  Speaker 7: He ain't obeying the law.
• 13:21
  Speaker 10: He has no respect for authority.
• 13:22
  Speaker 8: It's just awful.
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: He had no respect for me.
• 13:25
  Speaker 10: So I didn't understand how he cared for her. They
• 13:28
  Speaker 10: was very toxic.
• 13:29
  Speaker 7: They fought.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: They did.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: There were also other considerations. First, that the landlord, a
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: man named Joe Fasino... who owned the building with the
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: bloody apartment at 3644 Bosworth, claimed to know Diamond Vaden.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: He said that she had been living in apartment 201
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: with George. Diamond, conversely, insisted that she had never once
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: even stepped foot inside the building. She did not know
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: anyone named Ezekiel and had no connection to the crime scene.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: There were no working cameras to contradict that claim.
• 14:06
  Speaker 8: You sure you've never been down there?
• 14:07
  Speaker 7: No, I'm pretty sure.
• 14:08
  Speaker 5: I'm sure.
• 14:09
  Speaker 8: I'm sure. They know who you are.
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: And they said you've been going in there after this
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: guy was in jail.
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: Well, who?
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: Whoever owns that apartment.
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: Oh, I don't know.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel owns that apartment.
• 14:19
  Speaker 7: I don't know who Ezekiel is.
• 14:21
  Speaker 10: But they said he's in jail and that you've been
• 14:23
  Speaker 10: in and out of that apartment.
• 14:24
  Speaker 7: And I have keys here. I don't have keys.
• 14:27
  Speaker 8: I know.
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: Yeah, it don't make sense. That's why I thought at
• 14:29
  Speaker 7: first I told my mom.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: You're not going down there to party?
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: I'm not.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: I promise you.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: Diamond explained that both 3644 and her building at 3688
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: were owned by the same person. The landlord simply confused
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: the location where he had seen her, she said. Perhaps
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: the landlord's claim that Diamond had been living in the
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: apartment that was now an active crime scene could be
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: explained away by a mistaken recollection. But what happened next
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: set things straight. Only minutes following her interview with detectives,
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: Diamond called Ficino, the landlord. She connected with him while
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: he was actively on the phone with the detectives who
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: had just interviewed her. They were seeking to verify her story.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: She was looking to reinforce it. Ficino promptly and covertly
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: looped detectives into a three-way call. Listening in, they heard
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Diamond tell him a story about who he could say
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: cleaned out apartment 201. She also told him, I ain't
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: got nothing to say, and you don't either. It was
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: very clear Diamond was lying about where she lived, and
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: she definitely had something to hide. Two days after the
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: discovery of the scene at 3644 Bosworth, Diamond Vaden was
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: invited into the station for a formal interview.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: Did you.
• 16:04
  Speaker 10: Guys have lunch today?
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: Did you guys have lunch today?
• 16:15
  Speaker 8: Well, hell no.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: In the intervening days, the crime scene had been processed.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: Tests showed that the luminal markings in the apartment were
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: in fact blood. Whether it was a match to George Jr.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: was still unknown. undetermined.
• 16:32
  Speaker 8: You called Joe.
• 16:34
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I called Joe.
• 16:36
  Speaker 8: We were on that call.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I called Joe.
• 16:38
  Speaker 8: Yeah, but we were on the call.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And listened to the call and you told him
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: specifically not to tell the police about you guys staying
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: in that apartment in 201. Me?
• 16:50
  Speaker 8: Yes.
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: Well, I don't, I don't, I don't know.
• 16:54
  Speaker 13: I probably did, but I don't, I don't, I never
• 16:57
  Speaker 13: actually stayed there.
• 16:58
  Speaker 8: I can understand.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: So we're kind of in a really bad spot right
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: now for you, right?
• 17:13
  Speaker 8: Where you need to... I'm being honest. At this point,
• 17:17
  Speaker 8: you kind of be fully truthful.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm being fully truthful.
• 17:22
  Speaker 8: And we need to know about the bad thing that
• 17:23
  Speaker 8: happened in that apartment.
• 17:24
  Speaker 7: What happened in that apartment?
• 17:25
  Speaker 8: That's what we're here to find out.
• 17:27
  Speaker 7: And that's what I'm doing.
• 17:28
  Speaker 8: We don't know the specifics, but we can tell you
• 17:30
  Speaker 8: that something very bad happened in that apartment. Well, I
• 17:34
  Speaker 8: don't know.
• 17:35
  Speaker 10: Have you ever seen... Um, you, you watch true crime
• 17:38
  Speaker 10: shows ever?
• 17:40
  Speaker 7: I watch First 48.
• 17:41
  Speaker 8: Okay. Are you familiar with, um.
• 17:44
  Speaker 10: Luminol or Blue Star?
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: No.
• 17:46
  Speaker 8: Things like those.
• 17:47
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: So those are chemicals that we use to detect the
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: presence of blood even after it's been cleaned up.
• 17:52
  Speaker 8: Okay.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: And, uh, the living room in that apartment blows like
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: a Christmas tree.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: Are you serious?
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: And that's an apartment that you've been very, very thoughtful about.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: keeping your name away from?
• 18:08
  Speaker 13: Well, I haven't, I don't have any proof that I
• 18:10
  Speaker 13: stayed there.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying? That wasn't my apartment.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: What we've done with that apartment is we collected swabs
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: from everywhere. Okay.
• 18:17
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: From door handles, bathroom fixtures, closet doors, hallways, kitchen appliances.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: And we collect DNA from all of those places, right?
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: unquestionably your dna will come back to that.
• 18:35
  Speaker 7: Part oh yeah we'll see we'll see.
• 18:38
  Speaker 10: Well i i mean i'm going to tell you when
• 18:40
  Speaker 10: it does and you've not.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: Been forthright about being in there it's going to make
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: you a number one suspect for anything that happened.
• 18:49
  Speaker 13: Well i'm ready for any results that you guys have
• 18:53
  Speaker 13: because i've been truthful if that if that wasn't the
• 18:55
  Speaker 13: case i wouldn't.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: There's a you know the problem is you're not being
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: truthful about saying that.
• 19:03
  Speaker 8: Were staying in that apartment.
• 19:05
  Speaker 13: Well, at the end of the day, witnesses is going
• 19:08
  Speaker 13: to say what they think and what they know because.
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: They've seen us out there.
• 19:13
  Speaker 8: They've seen us. No, no.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: You're saying that they may have seen you at the
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: Bosworth Tavern in front of the building. Yeah.
• 19:19
  Speaker 10: These people say you were staying in that apartment with George.
• 19:23
  Speaker 13: Okay, so people know George around there?
• 19:26
  Speaker 8: And they're going to be 12 to 1. Okay.
• 19:29
  Speaker 10: That you were there and then we're going to have
• 19:31
  Speaker 10: your DNA in this place.
• 19:32
  Speaker 8: Okay.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: Investigators had not only processed the scene, they had searched
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: the second.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: Apartment Investigators had not only processed the scene, they had
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: searched the second apartment on Bosworth where Diamond was now staying,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: the home she claimed to have lived in for the
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: previous eight months. It was leased to a man named
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: William Rogers, who gave investigators full access. A handful of
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: items were seized for testing. A mop and bucket with
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: suspected blood. a pair of purple slides from a bedroom closet,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: a black and silver Ruger handgun located under a mattress,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: as well as a pair of black Hunter brand boots,
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: which sat out in the living room. It was the
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: final pair of boots that held the most interest. Once again,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: luminol testing revealed what the naked eye could not detect.
• 20:32
  Speaker 10: And we collected some boots that belonged to you from
• 20:35
  Speaker 10: that apartment.
• 20:37
  Speaker 8: And they have a good amount of blood on them.
• 20:42
  Speaker 10: So I think at this point, again, I can't tell
• 20:48
  Speaker 10: you exactly what happened.
• 20:49
  Speaker 8: I don't know exactly.
• 20:49
  Speaker 7: I don't think that's what I'm saying, but.
• 20:51
  Speaker 8: We are headed very quickly to.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: Figuring that out.
• 20:55
  Speaker 7: You guys can go to Will's house. He don't mind.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: We're there right now.
• 20:59
  Speaker 8: We're done.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Do you understand what I mean?
• 21:03
  Speaker 10: We've collected boots. Um, we collected a revolver.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, that must have been his.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: And we've collected some cleaning supplies and a mop.
• 21:14
  Speaker 8: Uh, but most importantly, these that are your.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: Size, not Will's size, with a lot of blood on them.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: When it does turn out to be his blood.
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: That's right. What is going to be the excuse for that?
• 21:28
  Speaker 10: It's not going to be no excuse.
• 21:30
  Speaker 13: Because I don't think that his blood was on any.
• 21:34
  Speaker 10: Of my boots or anything.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 21:36
  Speaker 10: Because, you know.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: I would never hurt him.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm not saying that you did hurt him, but
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: it seems like maybe you were part of cleaning up
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: somebody who hurt him.
• 21:46
  Speaker 8: No, I wasn't part of it.
• 21:47
  Speaker 10: I haven't worn those boots.
• 21:48
  Speaker 8: In so long.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: I think that.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: The bottom line is here, there are just way too
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: many things pointing to your involvement.
• 21:59
  Speaker 7: Yeah, of course. That's how it is because I was
• 22:02
  Speaker 7: close to him.
• 22:03
  Speaker 10: No.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: No.
• 22:04
  Speaker 7: No.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: It's not because you're close to him. It's because of
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: all the things that we just pointed out to you. Oh, right.
• 22:09
  Speaker 10: You've been lying to us about your association with that apartment.
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: I never stayed there, though.
• 22:16
  Speaker 8: Unfortunately, it started with a lot like you had something
• 22:18
  Speaker 8: to do with it.
• 22:19
  Speaker 15: I did not.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: And... I'm not telling you what it is that happened
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: in that apartment, but I'm telling you that we know
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: that something happened in that apartment and we're getting very
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: close to figuring it out.
• 22:30
  Speaker 8: You want to get ahead of that.
• 22:32
  Speaker 10: Yes, of course.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Diamond agreed to a buckle swab for DNA testing. She
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: also agreed to hand over her cell phone for investigators
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: to extract the data. On May 16th, 2025, Kayakers on
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: the Huron River in Erie County caught sight of what
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: appeared to be a human body, wrapped in a blanket,
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: floating in the water.
• 23:00
  Speaker 15: The Huron Fire Department was eventually able to recover the
• 23:04
  Speaker 15: remains from this marsh area. It was a tough job
• 23:08
  Speaker 15: because of the location where the body was at.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: It was roughly 1,000 feet from the State Route 2
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: bridge and had come to rest next to some vegetation.
• 23:17
  Speaker 15: The body was wrapped in a bed sheet. and had
• 23:20
  Speaker 15: ropes tied around it, both near the feet and also
• 23:24
  Speaker 15: near the waist area. Now, those bindings were not very tight,
• 23:28
  Speaker 15: but again, the fact that there were ropes wrapped around
• 23:31
  Speaker 15: it in a bed sheet certainly could indicate that there
• 23:35
  Speaker 15: was some foul play. It was pretty significantly decomposed. The
• 23:39
  Speaker 15: coroner's office is able to tell us it's the body
• 23:41
  Speaker 15: of a black male. They believe 20s to 30s, but
• 23:46
  Speaker 15: that's kind of a rough estimate at this point.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: The body was recovered and sent to the Lucas County
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: Coroner's Office for examination. Testing confirmed they had located George
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: Cox Jr. The medical examiner wrote that the clandestine nature
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: of the body's disposal suggested non-natural causes. Furthermore, the police
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: investigation to that point indicated a violent death. Yet, with
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: the time that had passed, the autopsy was limited. Both
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: the cause and manner of death was ruled. Where the
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: autopsy failed to reveal a full picture, the data from
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Diamond Vaden's phone filled in the gaps. Though her searches
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: had been deleted, her browsing history was nonetheless recovered. It
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: told the story of George's murder. George was last seen
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: on October 18th. and spoke with his mother on the
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: morning of the 19th. By just past 12.30am on October 20th,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Diamond was accessing pages on the question and answer platform Quora,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: then Reddit. She read a response to the query, what
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: are the chances to survive in real life if you
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: get stabbed in the abdomen multiple times? 15 minutes passed
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: before she accessed answers to the question, If someone is
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: stabbed with a knife or similar foreign objects, is it
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: advisable to pull it out from the body or leave
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: it in? Two minutes later at 1254 AM, casual question,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: if someone gets stabbed, which wounds are directly fatal and
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: which are not? Also incriminating was her activity in the aftermath.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: On November 6th, she twice accessed an article about a
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: body found in a body of water. It was entitled,
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: 33-year-old man who went missing, found dead in river. With
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: an arrest warrant for murder in hand, investigators located Diamond
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: living at a new address with a new boyfriend. His
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: name was Emmanuel. Messages between them recorded her threatening him.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: After he failed to return her calls, she wrote, You're
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: going to be missing next. Diamond Vaden agreed to speak
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: with investigators once more. Testing had since confirmed that the
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: blood found in the apartment and on the hunter boots
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: seized from Diamond's residence was in fact a match to George.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Investigators had also uncovered text messages between Diamond and Eden,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: the housing support non-profit through which her ex-boyfriend Ezekiel had
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: leased the unit. Pretending to be Ezekiel's sister, she had
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: acquired a set of keys to the home, then she
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: and George had moved in.
• 26:41
  Speaker 8: Why are you pretending to be Ezekiel's sister?
• 26:44
  Speaker 11: What do you mean?
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Who told you that?
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: Um, I got the text messages from Eden that you
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: were at.
• 26:50
  Speaker 7: You know I'm not his sister.
• 26:51
  Speaker 8: I know, I know. Why are you going to settle that?
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: You also told the landlord that as well.
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: Okay, why?
• 26:57
  Speaker 10: Why were you doing that?
• 26:58
  Speaker 8: Just staying in the apartment for free?
• 27:00
  Speaker 7: No, I wasn't staying there. I was just trying to
• 27:04
  Speaker 7: get an apartment.
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: That's what I was talking to him about.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Diamond continued to refuse that she had any connection to
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: the apartment at 3644. She was confronted with the evidence
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: from her phone data and dismissed it. There was one
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: final piece of clear evidence. A matching sheet to the
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: fitted one found with George in the river was located
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: in the house search of Diamond's apartment.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: When you went in, you were following on the night
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: of October 19th, okay?
• 27:32
  Speaker 10: And you had a bunch of Google searches.
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: Well, you deleted a lot of the Google searches, but
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: you didn't delete the pages.
• 27:41
  Speaker 8: Okay?
• 27:42
  Speaker 10: So why are you Googling things like, how long.
• 27:45
  Speaker 8: Does it take? Should you remove a knife after stabbing
• 27:48
  Speaker 8: somebody in the stomach? Why would you be Googling something
• 27:51
  Speaker 8: like that?
• 27:51
  Speaker 10: I don't know. I always just Google s * *
• 27:54
  Speaker 10: * like that.
• 27:56
  Speaker 7: I Googled some weird s * * * the other day.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, because it doesn't make any sense. It makes
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: no sense.
• 28:01
  Speaker 9: You know, how long should you remove the knife or
• 28:04
  Speaker 9: leave it in? I don't remember saying that. Well, you
• 28:07
  Speaker 9: didn't say it. You searched. George is found in the sheet.
• 28:12
  Speaker 9: I don't have to wrap anybody up in the sheet.
• 28:16
  Speaker 9: I don't have to do that.
• 28:18
  Speaker 7: I have a brother that I love truly. I don't
• 28:20
  Speaker 7: have to do that.
• 28:21
  Speaker 10: And that's somebody's brother.
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: And at the end of the day, that's * *
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: * *.
• 28:26
  Speaker 10: I don't have to do that. I don't have to
• 28:30
  Speaker 10: kill anybody. Well, you did.
• 28:33
  Speaker 8: I don't know a lot of people, but if you
• 28:34
  Speaker 8: had to, but you did.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Making no progress, detectives moved on to questions about the cleanup.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: How had she managed to remove George from the apartment,
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: transport and dispose of him in the river, and clean
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: out the entire home in two days? She must have
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: had help.
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: So let me tell you, you are by yourself.
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: Okay? Wait, so I did something and I.
• 28:59
  Speaker 8: Was with someone?
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: I think you get help. I think you get help.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Somebody helped you clean up. Somebody helped you. You called
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: somebody afterwards. Somebody came there like, because this body is
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: not there. So somebody helped. And that's how you help
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: yourself out. I mean, that's all. This is where we go.
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: We interview.
• 29:17
  Speaker 8: I talk to you.
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: And then I go back to the prosecutor and say, listen,
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: we talked about it.
• 29:23
  Speaker 8: She understands.
• 29:24
  Speaker 14: She feels remorse. She has told us about it. She's
• 29:28
  Speaker 14: willing to work with us on who else is involved.
• 29:31
  Speaker 14: And that's how we get a little sympathy. a little
• 29:34
  Speaker 14: bit of movement.
• 29:35
  Speaker 8: With the posture.
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
• 29:30
  Speaker 8: Eventually, Diamond Vaden did admit her guilt. After she was
• 29:33
  Speaker 8: indicted in the summer of 2025 on two counts.
• 29:36
  Speaker 14: Of murder, felonious assault, and one count of tampering with
• 29:41
  Speaker 14: evidence and abuse of.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: A corpse, She opted to accept a guilty plea on
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: one count of involuntary manslaughter, in addition to the lesser charges.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: A condition of her plea was to name the individuals
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: who assisted her in the cleanup of the crime scene
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: and disposal of George's body in the river. She offered
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: two names. The first was her roommate, William, and the second,
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: a man named Donald, who was known around the area
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of Bosworth. Though efforts were made to verify Diamond's accusations
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: against her alleged accomplices, no charges were ever filed against
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: either man. Diamond's sentencing hearing took place on March 11, 2026.
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: George Cox Sr. offered a victim impact statement to the court.
• 30:48
  Speaker 6: You know, when we first realized George was missing, I
• 30:51
  Speaker 6: reached out to the defendants. and spoke with her, and
• 30:55
  Speaker 6: she told me, she said, Dad, I would never do
• 30:58
  Speaker 6: anything to hurt George.
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: She called me Dad, knowing.
• 31:02
  Speaker 6: That my son was floating in the river somewhere with
• 31:05
  Speaker 6: his body just decomposing, knowing that he had been hog-tied,
• 31:09
  Speaker 6: wrapped in a sheet, thrown an hour and 15 minutes away,
• 31:12
  Speaker 6: and thrown in the water like he was just garbage
• 31:15
  Speaker 6: and trash.
• 31:16
  Speaker 10: And just to concur with what Candy.
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: Said, he wasn't trash.
• 31:20
  Speaker 8: He was a sonner.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: He was a father.
• 31:22
  Speaker 7: He was a nephew.
• 31:23
  Speaker 3: He was a brother. He was a friend. He was
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: a lot of things. May not have been perfect, but
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: who is? But he definitely didn't deserve to die like that.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: When Diamond was offered an opportunity to speak, she offered
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: a vague apology for what she called an unfortunate circumstance.
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: There was no mention of what specifically motivated her to murder.
• 31:50
  Speaker 4: For what happened to George.
• 31:52
  Speaker 8: What happened to George?
• 31:54
  Speaker 10: George died.
• 31:58
  Speaker 13: So, like my lawyer told me, she didn't want to
• 32:00
  Speaker 13: make it about me, but I feel that it would
• 32:02
  Speaker 13: be better if.
• 32:03
  Speaker 8: I was to.
• 32:04
  Speaker 4: How did he die?
• 32:06
  Speaker 7: What happened?
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: He was beat up and he was dead.
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: By?
• 32:14
  Speaker 8: By me.
• 32:19
  Speaker 4: Asking if somebody was stabbed in the abdomen, how long
• 32:23
  Speaker 4: it would take them to.
• 32:27
  Speaker 8: Survive.
• 32:30
  Speaker 4: Was he alive after you had stabbed him in the abdomen?
• 32:34
  Speaker 4: And he was bleeding out? So you had an opportunity
• 32:38
  Speaker 4: to call 911 on his behalf. The detective said that
• 32:43
  Speaker 4: there's blood all over the house. Did he go to
• 32:46
  Speaker 4: different areas of the house?
• 32:47
  Speaker 8: Yes.
• 32:50
  Speaker 4: While he was bleeding.
• 32:56
  Speaker 7: He just told me to save him.
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: Try to save him.
• 33:01
  Speaker 4: And why didn't you?
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: Save him?
• 33:04
  Speaker 7: He's asking.
• 33:05
  Speaker 4: He's bleeding out. There's blood all over the house. This
• 33:08
  Speaker 4: has taken a long period of time. You've Google searched
• 33:11
  Speaker 4: how long does it take someone to die after being
• 33:13
  Speaker 4: stabbed in the abdomen multiple times.
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: Just panic.
• 33:17
  Speaker 10: I panicked.
• 33:19
  Speaker 8: Panicked.
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: You would rather have seen him die then than get help?
• 33:29
  Speaker 4: This was your Google search, right? How long does it
• 33:32
  Speaker 4: take someone to die?
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: Despite her confession, half-hearted apology, and claims of panic, the
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: judge rejected leniency. He pointed to the callous searches made
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: on her phone while George was dying. followed by her
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: coordination with at least one accomplice to bind, transport, and
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: dump his body. Her lies to family and police in
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: the weeks that followed were interpreted as signs of her
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: lacking any remorse. Diamond Vaden was sentenced to a minimum
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: prison term of 19 years and 7 months. The maximum
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: term she will serve is just over 25 years, followed
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: by post-release supervision. And that was the tragic case of
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: George Cox Jr. Thank you for joining me. And a
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: thank you to everyone who watches and supports JTL. This week,
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: I'd like to welcome our newest Sherlock Holmes members. Vice
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: in My Head, Tanya, Tammy McCoy, Longarm, Irma Linda Hernandez,
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: Mario Carrasco, Daniel Afar-Leckie, Flawless Hair Productions, Blondie Wu, Michelle F., Jaminda,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: Diamond Painting Princess, Chandra Harper, CJ, Luna Tickles, Regina Perry,
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: and Claudia. It's great to have you all in the lounge.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: My name's Kevin, this is Just Thought Lounge, and I'll
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: see you in the next one.
• 35:06
  Speaker 5: I need that feeling that you brought Who learned the
• 35:22
  Speaker 5: lesson that you taught? To make a kill is what
• 35:26
  Speaker 5: they saw. Found out the lounge.
• 35:29
  Speaker 10: Just what you thought.
• 35:31
  Speaker 5: Found out the lounge just what you thought.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Found out the lounge just what you thought.