Latest / NO FILTER / She Was Kidnapped_ Then Joined the Killing Spree_ The Disturbing Case of Mary Rice

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She Was Kidnapped_ Then Joined the Killing Spree_ The Disturbing Case of Mary Rice · NO FILTER

0:01
Speaker 1: For one week in early February twenty seventeen, communities across
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Speaker 1: northern Florida, as well as southern Georgia and Alabama lived
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Speaker 1: in fear of a killer on the run. It was
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Speaker 1: a case that a local sheriff described as the type
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Speaker 1: that law enforcement fear most, a known killer, choosing his
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Speaker 1: victims frequently and randomly. As the killer evaded capture, he
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Speaker 1: appeared to have company police track the couple's movements across
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Speaker 1: state lines. As they did so, they began to question
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Speaker 1: if his companion was in fact his captive or his accomplice.
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Speaker 1: Hi there, I'm Kevin, and welcome to Just Thought Lounge.
0:44
Speaker 1: Today's case is truly a terrifying one. It's a story
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Speaker 1: of peaceful communities terrorized by a violent murderer and multiple
0:53
Speaker 1: lives lost from the chaos. Not all the evidence that
0:57
Speaker 1: emerged was black and white. Take a look. The city
1:13
Speaker 1: of Milton is the county seat of Santa Rosa in Florida,
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Speaker 1: just north of Pensacola. It is located near the coast,
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Speaker 1: not far from the Alabama state border. In its early
1:24
Speaker 1: days after the city's founding, Milton was known as an
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Speaker 1: extremely rough town. Judges from Escambia County would sentence criminals
1:32
Speaker 1: to be confined to Milton, earning the city the nickname
1:35
Speaker 1: Helltown by its residents. On January thirty first, twenty seventeen,
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Speaker 1: it was a sunny day with clear skies over Milton.
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Speaker 1: In the early morning hours, a guest of a local motel,
1:47
Speaker 1: the Emerald Sands Inn, called for security after hearing what
1:51
Speaker 1: they believed had been about six gunshots ring out from
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Speaker 1: a nearby room. The front desk clerk knocked on the
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Speaker 1: room door to investigate. Entering the room and viewing briefly
2:02
Speaker 1: the scene inside, she called nine to one one, Hello.
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Speaker 2: Hello, what's going on? I had a best comment on
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Speaker 2: it that they heard multip what they felt they heard
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Speaker 2: multiple gunshots. So I grabbed my key and I went
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Speaker 2: down and I knocked three different times like I was
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Speaker 2: supposed to. And all I do was put the pew
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Speaker 2: of the door, open the door, and I seen Hurd
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Speaker 2: laying halfway in the bathroom, him laying in the bed
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Speaker 2: and everything's covered in blood.
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Speaker 3: How many gunshots did you hear?
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Speaker 2: They said, five to seven?
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Speaker 3: Are they dead?
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Speaker 2: I don't know. They might walking him.
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Speaker 1: When responding officers arrived, they found two victims, thirty year
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Speaker 1: old mother of three Alicia Greer and her good friend,
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Speaker 1: thirty nine year old Jacqueline Moore, both had been gunned
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Speaker 1: down inside the room buy the same weapon, likely by
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Speaker 1: a single shooter. It did not take long for detectives
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Speaker 1: to narrow down their main suspect upon checking into the
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Speaker 1: room under Jacqueline's name, Alicia had informed motel's staff that
3:02
Speaker 1: she was in hiding from a dangerous ex boyfriend. Alicia's father,
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Speaker 1: Wayne Lane, explained that his daughter had become involved a
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Speaker 1: few months prior with a man named William Billy Boyette.
3:16
Speaker 1: Billy was no stranger to local law enforcement. He had
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Speaker 1: a lengthy violent history, particularly with women. The grieving father
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Speaker 1: could not explain what his daughter had initially seen in Billy.
3:28
Speaker 1: The two met and began dating the previous Thanksgiving. Friends
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Speaker 1: had warned Alicia that Billy was not the prince Charming
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Speaker 1: she thought he was. Unfortunately, she had missed the signs
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Speaker 1: that her friends initially saw. One week before her death,
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Speaker 1: Billy attacked Alicia in a jealous rage, sending her to
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Speaker 1: the hospital with injuries to her head and neck. According
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Speaker 1: to the police report that she later filed, he accused
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Speaker 1: her of cheating on him while holding her hostage in
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Speaker 1: her home and later stealing her car. She filed multiple
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Speaker 1: charges against him. Fearing retribution. She had gone straight from
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Speaker 1: the hospital to her mother's then to the Emerald Sands
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Speaker 1: with her good friend Jacqueline, but less than thirty six
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Speaker 1: hours after her release from hospital, Billy had tracked her down.
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Speaker 1: The officer's suspicion that Billy Boyette was involved was further
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Speaker 1: confirmed after a witness reported that she saw a man
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Speaker 1: matching his description outside the women's room right before hearing gunshots.
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Speaker 1: Police also learned that his mother had rented a black SUV,
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Speaker 1: which was also spotted at Emerald Sands on the day
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Speaker 1: of the murder. DNA testing inside the room later confirmed
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Speaker 1: that Billy had been there. This was not a who
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Speaker 1: done it. The only question at this stage was where
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Speaker 1: Billy Boyette had fled.
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Speaker 4: Thirty year old Alicia Greer and thirty nine year old
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Speaker 4: Jacqueline Moore. Their bodies were found Tuesday morning inside a
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Speaker 4: motel room at the Emerald Sands Inn. Deputies are looking
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Speaker 4: for William Boyett Junior, a person of interest in the case.
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Speaker 4: He is considered armed and dangerous.
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Speaker 1: Public outcry over the release of an obviously violent criminal
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Speaker 1: descended upon county officials rapidly and loudly. Forty four year
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Speaker 1: old Billy Boyette had several previous violent criminal accusations, including
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Speaker 1: domestic violence and a stabbing that went unpunished. The state
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Speaker 1: attorney was forced to drop charges when victims wouldn't testify
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Speaker 1: or couldn't be found to stand up to the offender.
5:26
Speaker 1: In June twenty fifteen, a woman in Pensacola called nine
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Speaker 1: one one and whispered to dispatchers that her boyfriend was
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Speaker 1: trying to kill her. He had strangled her and taken
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Speaker 1: away her phone in an attempt to keep her from
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Speaker 1: seeking help. Somehow, she had managed to place the call
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Speaker 1: hiding in another room. When Escambia County deputies arrived on scene,
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Speaker 1: the woman directed police to a bedroom where her attacker
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Speaker 1: had passed out with a large kitchen knife in his hand. There,
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Speaker 1: deputies found Billy Boyette. He was booked into the case
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Speaker 1: Tony Jail and faced charges of kidnapping, battery, and aggravated assault,
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Speaker 1: to name a few. However, he spent less than a
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Speaker 1: year in custody before he was released when prosecutors were
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Speaker 1: forced to drop the charges against him because his victim
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Speaker 1: could not be found.
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Speaker 5: It's very frustrating. That problem with prosecuting domestic violence cases
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Speaker 5: and other cases as well, depends on the cooperation of
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Speaker 5: not only the victim but the witnesses. And determined that she,
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Speaker 5: although she'd talked to she just was not going to
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Speaker 5: cooperate one go to show up for court, So it's
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Speaker 5: extremely frustrating.
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Speaker 1: Billy Boyette had been arrested at least three other times
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Speaker 1: in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties in as many years,
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Speaker 1: but never served more than a year in jail for
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Speaker 1: the offenses. Alicia's family believed that her refusal to drop
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Speaker 1: the charges against him was the reason she was killed.
6:59
Speaker 1: In the after math of the Emerald Sans murders, another
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Speaker 1: local family was also growing concerned. Reports surfaced that since
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Speaker 1: his most recent release from prison four months earlier, Billy
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Speaker 1: had been spending time with another woman, thirty seven year
7:13
Speaker 1: old mother of two Mary Rice. On the day of
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Speaker 1: the murders, numerous friends began contacting Mary's mother. If she
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Speaker 1: was not one of the victims, they believed that she
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Speaker 1: was in danger. Mary had left her two young children
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Speaker 1: in her mother's care. The last text message that Mary
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Speaker 1: had sent was dated February first, the day following the murders.
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Speaker 1: She was fine, she said, just taking a short break
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Speaker 1: out of town and would be home by February third.
7:43
Speaker 1: After these two days passed with no further communication from Mary,
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Speaker 1: family members filed a missing person's report with the Santa
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Speaker 1: Rosa Sheriff's Office. Police released Mary's photo to the media.
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Speaker 1: They believed that she was in danger and in the
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Speaker 1: company of Billy Boyette. Less than an hour drive southwest
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Speaker 1: of Milton is Lillian, Alabama. Lilian is a small, quiet town.
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Speaker 1: It's the type of area where locals regularly leave their
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Speaker 1: doors unlocked. The community is close knit, everyone knows one another.
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Speaker 1: The town's blissful contentment was harshly interrupted on the morning
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Speaker 1: of February three, twenty seventeen. Local resident Peggy Phillips Bros.
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Speaker 1: Was driving home in the early morning after completing her
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Speaker 1: shift as a healthcare worker for the Baptist Hospital For
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Speaker 1: thirty years. Peggy had worked tirelessly as a respiratory therapist.
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Speaker 1: She was also the caregiver to her disabled husband. Peggy
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Speaker 1: enjoyed her work, but just the day before, she had
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Speaker 1: told her sister Gina that she was making plans to
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Speaker 1: retire early. Her son and her daughter in law were
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Speaker 1: expecting a baby in one week's time, the second grand
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Speaker 1: child for Peggy. She planned to retire early to spend
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Speaker 1: more time with the growing family. But Peggy did not
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Speaker 1: make it into her front door that morning. She was
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Speaker 1: gunned down in her front yard after parking her white
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Speaker 1: Chrysler in the drive. The rented black suv driven by
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Speaker 1: Billy Boyette was found dumped in a parking lot hours later,
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Speaker 1: roughly three miles from Peggy's home. Surveillance video from the
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Speaker 1: day of the murder showed Billy alongside Mary Rice driving
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Speaker 1: around Lilian, first in the black suv and later in
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Speaker 1: a white Concord Peggy's vehicle. The two were observed driving
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Speaker 1: those same vehicles near her home. Neighbors reported hearing a
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Speaker 1: loud pop before they saw the Concord and the suv
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Speaker 1: drive away from the area. Peggy's father in law found
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Speaker 1: her lifeless body outside on the ground near where she
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Speaker 1: had parked her car. She died from a gunshot wound
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Speaker 1: to the head. Police believed that Peggy was killed for
10:02
Speaker 1: no other reason than that she was a woman alone
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Speaker 1: and had a vehicle that Billy wanted. He continued to
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Speaker 1: flee from authorities in Florida.
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Speaker 3: It's crazy, devastating and know that something like this happened
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Speaker 3: here somewhere where you don't. It's like, this is.
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Speaker 6: Mayberry, so uh, this is our may Berry. Everybody's a
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Speaker 6: tight knit community. We all look out for each other.
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Speaker 6: And it's just sad because she had no enemies. She
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Speaker 6: was a loving person and just I hope they catch them.
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Speaker 1: When officers searched the abandoned black suv, they found a
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Speaker 1: handful of receipts from purchases made by Billy and Mary
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Speaker 1: over the previous few days. Investigators obtained store security camera
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Speaker 1: footage from multiple locations shown on the receipts, effectively tracing
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Speaker 1: their movements since leaving Milton. The footage began to cast
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Speaker 1: out on the role being played by Mary Rice. Perhaps
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Speaker 1: she was not an unwilling participant after all. On February second,
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Speaker 1: cameras at a Walmart in Crest View, northeast of Milton,
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Speaker 1: showed Mary purchasing two boxes of thirty eight caliber ammunition,
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Speaker 1: hand warmers, and a sleeping bag. Billy was known at
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Speaker 1: that time to have one gun in his possession the
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Speaker 1: murder weapon, a thirty eight caliber handgun, while she was
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Speaker 1: inside the walmart. The police believed Billy was waiting for
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Speaker 1: her in a car outside. The receipts traced back to
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Speaker 1: additional purchases as well, from days earlier, one from a
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Speaker 1: CVS pharmacy in Longwood, dated January thirty first, the date
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Speaker 1: of the first two murders. Longwood is a six and
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Speaker 1: a half to seven hour drive from Milton. It seems
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Speaker 1: that Mary had been on the road with Billy since
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Speaker 1: that date. Security footage captured the two only an hour
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Speaker 1: after Alicia and Jacqueline were killed in their motel room.
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Speaker 1: After viewing this footage, county and state law enforcement stopped
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Speaker 1: referring to Mary as a victim and named her as
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Speaker 1: an accomplice in what had become a multi state killing spree.
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Speaker 1: These developments came as a shock to her family and.
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Speaker 7: Heart ranching to find out that she's even involved in
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Speaker 7: all this stuff. At first, I thought they were just friends.
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Speaker 7: Somebody later told me that they had just started dating.
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Speaker 7: I don't know if that was credible or not. This meaningless,
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Speaker 7: senseless killing and rampaging, no, it's nothing like her. We
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Speaker 7: just want to see her home safe and find out
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Speaker 7: the truth of what's going on.
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Speaker 1: In Beulah, Florida, Loretta Crocker lived just down the road
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Speaker 1: from her twenty nine year old daughter, Kayla. On the
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Speaker 1: mornings she was scheduled to work, Kayla would drive her
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Speaker 1: eighteen month old son to a family member's home before
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Speaker 1: her shift at a nearby McDonald's. It was nearly six
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Speaker 1: thirty am on February sixth, and Kayla hadn't dropped off
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Speaker 1: her son for her six am shift, so Loretta popped
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Speaker 1: down to her daughter's home to check in. She found
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Speaker 1: Kayla's car, a two thousand and six Cobalt, gone from
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Speaker 1: the driveway. The front door was locked. Loretta went home
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Speaker 1: quickly to retrieve a spare key. When she returned, she
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Speaker 1: entered the house, she found Kayla in the nursery. She
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Speaker 1: had a gunshot wound to the head, but was still breathing.
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Speaker 1: Her hands had been bound in shoelaces and her midsection
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Speaker 1: tied to a chest of drawers by a makeshift rope
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Speaker 1: to prevent her from leaving the room. Loretta managed to
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Speaker 1: release her daughter from the restraints and spoke to her
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Speaker 1: in an effort to keep her conscious, she was unresponsive.
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Speaker 1: Kayla was rushed to the hospital.
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Speaker 8: We're obviously not going to lease a lot of information
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Speaker 8: on this Crocker. She is currently in one of the
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Speaker 8: local hospitals. She did sustain a gunshot wound, I'm sure
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Speaker 8: there was. Additionally, she had a two year old son,
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Speaker 8: who was also president.
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Speaker 9: In the house.
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Speaker 10: He is unharmed. To the best of our knowledge. She
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Speaker 10: did not witness this seems to be relatively calm. He's
14:02
Speaker 10: with his grandmother right now. Imagine, we don't want to
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Speaker 10: give you all the techniques that we're going to employ here,
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Speaker 10: you know, to find mister Boyette and his accomplice. Miss Rice,
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Speaker 10: we believe is the lady.
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Speaker 11: That is with him.
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Speaker 10: So for the family members of Miss Rice would be
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Speaker 10: concerned about whether or not she's still alive. To the
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Speaker 10: best of our knowledge, she is. I want to assure
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Speaker 10: the public We've called in all of our available resources,
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Speaker 10: and we have a Florida Department of Law Enforcement engaged.
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Speaker 10: US Martians are engaged, of course ourselves, Santa Rosa, any
14:30
Speaker 10: law enforcement agency in our area and of course out
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Speaker 10: of state, with Baldwin County.
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Speaker 2: And the appropriate police departments in Alabama. Highway control.
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Speaker 10: Again, we need your assistance. He cannot hide unless someone
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Speaker 10: does not report something that they have seen. We don't
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Speaker 10: care how small your information is or how insignificant you
14:48
Speaker 10: may think it is at the time. Please please pick
14:51
Speaker 10: up your phone and give us a call. Do not,
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Speaker 10: I repeat, do not attempt to contact or engage with
14:57
Speaker 10: mister Boyette. This gentleman has gone on far and above.
15:01
Speaker 10: You know what we normally deem as incorridibal. Now this
15:04
Speaker 10: gentleman is a killer. He's shown that for Quitter time
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Speaker 10: and time again.
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Speaker 1: Officers found the concord owned by Peggy Brose, abandoned three
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Speaker 1: miles from Kayla's home. It had a flat tire. Later
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Speaker 1: that morning, witnesses reported seeing Mary Rice driving Kayla's Chevy Cobalt.
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Speaker 1: Surveillance photographs from a game camera in a wooded area
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Speaker 1: in Escambia County showed the couple carrying items through the woods.
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Speaker 1: This camera was near to the location in Beulah where
15:36
Speaker 1: Kayla was shot. Based on the items purchased from Walmart
15:40
Speaker 1: and the game camera pictures, it was believed that you
15:43
Speaker 1: were hiding in the wooded area. This posed additional hurdles
15:47
Speaker 1: for law enforcement. Billy Boyette was said to know the
15:50
Speaker 1: woodland like the back of his hand. Law enforcement issued
15:54
Speaker 1: warnings to residents across state lines. Do not travel alone
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Speaker 1: and less absolute necessary, lock your doors, keep your eyes
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Speaker 1: open for Billy and Mary, but if you should see them,
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Speaker 1: do not approach.
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Speaker 10: It's difficult to speak about this, ladies and jomen, because
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Speaker 10: these are the cases that we in law enforcement fear,
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Speaker 10: where we have what is apparently with the last two
16:17
Speaker 10: victims anyway, a random selection, and so therefore, much to
16:24
Speaker 10: our disappointment and much primarily to our frustration. You know,
16:28
Speaker 10: we're chasing a lot of shadows and a lot of rumors.
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Speaker 10: You know, we've asked our citizens from our first press
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Speaker 10: conference again to practice situational awareness until such time that
16:38
Speaker 10: we get to mister boy and miss Rice and custody.
16:41
Speaker 10: You know, again, practice some common sense when you go
16:44
Speaker 10: to work, when you come home, make sure a friend
16:46
Speaker 10: or a family member knows where you are, what your
16:48
Speaker 10: expected time of arrival is. Again, these may seem like
16:51
Speaker 10: measures in the extreme, but you know we're dealing with
16:53
Speaker 10: an extreme situation here. Let me tell you just how extreme.
16:57
Speaker 10: We've received information from more than one sir on mister Boyett.
17:01
Speaker 10: He is a member and has been a member for
17:03
Speaker 10: a long time of the drug culture. He's a known
17:06
Speaker 10: to be a heavy user of spice. These people stay
17:08
Speaker 10: awake for four or five six days at a time.
17:11
Speaker 10: So again, he's made this statement to many, many people
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Speaker 10: that he will not be taken alive.
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Speaker 1: It's probably not surprising that in this atmosphere of fear
17:20
Speaker 1: and uncertainty, social media and misinformation about the case was
17:24
Speaker 1: spiraling out of control. Rumors relating to the couple's movements
17:29
Speaker 1: circulated as facts across Facebook and other platforms. There were
17:33
Speaker 1: reports of additional murders being attributed to the killers. Applications
17:37
Speaker 1: for concealed carry permits across the area skyrocketed.
17:42
Speaker 10: When you put out information that this murder was as
17:44
Speaker 10: a result of a Craigslist post which turns out to
17:47
Speaker 10: be completely false, or when you put out information on
17:51
Speaker 10: your different social media platforms and groups that you have
17:54
Speaker 10: formed that Mary Rice was shot and killed or someone
17:57
Speaker 10: has been arrested, then understands something that requires a reaction
18:01
Speaker 10: from us in law enforcement. And I will tell you
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Speaker 10: that some of these rumors have been fueled by the media.
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Speaker 1: Kayla Crocker sadly died in the hospital less than twenty
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Speaker 1: four hours after she was discovered by her mother. While
18:16
Speaker 1: her family and friends mourned, communities across northern Florida, southern Alabama,
18:21
Speaker 1: and beyond grew fearful. Hundreds of supposed sightings were reported
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Speaker 1: to law enforcement from across the country, nearly all of
18:29
Speaker 1: them unverified. That is until a call made around two
18:34
Speaker 1: thirty pm on February seventh, Kayla's two thousand and six
18:37
Speaker 1: Cobalt had been spotted by an anonymous caller in West Point, Georgia.
18:42
Speaker 1: That caller had seen the car at a nearby convenience
18:45
Speaker 1: store and recognized it from new stories as the one
18:48
Speaker 1: that Billy and Mary were last known to be in
18:51
Speaker 1: possession of. That anonymous caller followed the pair to the
18:55
Speaker 1: West Point Motel, where the couple emerged from the vehicle
18:59
Speaker 1: and entered a Deputies from the Troop County Sheriff's Office
19:03
Speaker 1: confirmed that the Cobalt was the soul and vehicle.
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Speaker 12: The U S.
19:08
Speaker 1: Marshals and the Georgia State Patrol Swat team were called
19:11
Speaker 1: in and surrounded the building. A standoff ensued that lasted
19:16
Speaker 1: approximately three and a half hours. Police had every reason
19:20
Speaker 1: to believe that Billy was still in possession of the
19:23
Speaker 1: thirty eight caliber handgun, but it was unknown if he
19:26
Speaker 1: had managed to acquire any further firearms throughout the course
19:30
Speaker 1: of the week. Regardless, law enforcement did not negotiate for
19:34
Speaker 1: a surrender. They had declared their intention to capture Billy
19:38
Speaker 1: Boyette one way or another. Just the day before, the
19:42
Speaker 1: Santa Rosa Sheriff Bob Johnson had warned that the end
19:46
Speaker 1: of the line for Billy was either prison or a cemetery.
19:51
Speaker 1: The choice, he stated, was Billy's. As the couple refused
19:55
Speaker 1: to exit willingly, the swat team eventually forced their way
19:59
Speaker 1: into to the room. As they did so, Mary Rice surrendered.
20:04
Speaker 1: A few moments later from outside the motel, the sound
20:07
Speaker 1: of a single gunshot rang out. Billy Boyette was found
20:12
Speaker 1: dead in the room with a gunshot wound to the head.
20:15
Speaker 1: His choice was not to go back to prison.
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Speaker 12: Weeks of search for them.
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Speaker 2: Billy Boyette, Mary is dead, Mary Rice is in custody,
20:27
Speaker 2: and it all happened here.
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Speaker 12: They weren't coming out.
20:29
Speaker 13: It's right good.
20:30
Speaker 8: And he even said that at one point they were
20:32
Speaker 8: opening the court and.
20:33
Speaker 4: Curtains and waving.
20:35
Speaker 3: I said, is that a form of counting?
20:37
Speaker 10: And he said he's not going to speculate, but essentially, yes,
20:40
Speaker 10: it could be.
20:41
Speaker 2: He did say that Mary Rice looked very shaken, visibly
20:44
Speaker 2: shaken when she had come out.
20:45
Speaker 3: Of the hotel room, and then it was like you
20:47
Speaker 3: said after that that they did hear a single gunshot.
20:50
Speaker 12: In the hotel room.
20:54
Speaker 1: In the motel room, investigators found more receipts from purchases
20:57
Speaker 1: made by Mary over the course of the week, along
21:00
Speaker 1: with handwritten notes listing the items for a purchase which
21:03
Speaker 1: appeared to have been written by Billy. Advertisements for various
21:07
Speaker 1: guns for sale were circled, suggesting that the couple were
21:10
Speaker 1: seeking additional weapons. That Billy had clearly allowed Mary to
21:14
Speaker 1: surrender instead of harming her. Indeed, that he appears to
21:18
Speaker 1: have waited for her to be safely apprehended before firing
21:22
Speaker 1: his weapon provided further indications to investigators that she was
21:26
Speaker 1: not his captive, but rather his accomplice. When Mary sat
21:31
Speaker 1: down with investigators for questioning, she denied any direct involvement
21:35
Speaker 1: with the murders. Mary told the detectives that after the
21:38
Speaker 1: Emerald Sans murders, Billy came to her home in the
21:41
Speaker 1: middle of the night with a gun She said he
21:43
Speaker 1: told her to pack a few things and leave with him.
21:46
Speaker 1: Mary recounted that he was bleeding from the head at
21:49
Speaker 1: the time and kept saying it was an accident. Police
21:53
Speaker 1: searched her trailer and found evidence that she had in
21:56
Speaker 1: fact left in a hurry, leaving behind valuable items, hazardly packing,
22:01
Speaker 1: and failing to arrange for anyone to care for her pets.
22:05
Speaker 1: Her children, however, were already with family from the moment
22:08
Speaker 1: that Billy arrived at her trailer covered in blood, She
22:12
Speaker 1: said she had been an unwilling participant. She said he
22:15
Speaker 1: repeatedly told her that he would kill her and knew
22:18
Speaker 1: where her children were, threatening to kill them as well
22:21
Speaker 1: if she disobeyed him. She described the crimes free as
22:26
Speaker 1: Billy hunting people. He had to look like a wild animal.
22:30
Speaker 1: I've never seen anything like it, She told them, serious.
22:41
Speaker 14: Kids into the fall, she was gonna kill me.
22:53
Speaker 12: Oh my god, Grace was near today.
22:58
Speaker 1: Mary received medical treatment following her surrender. She had cuts
23:02
Speaker 1: up and down her arms. She further claimed that Billy
23:06
Speaker 1: had forced himself on her earlier that day. A rape
23:09
Speaker 1: kit was performed that could not rule out a non
23:12
Speaker 1: consensual encounter. Detectives needed to determine the level of her
23:16
Speaker 1: involvement with the murders. In offering these details, Mary's story
23:21
Speaker 1: began showing some holes. She said Billy wouldn't allow her
23:25
Speaker 1: to eat and kept her in the basement of an
23:27
Speaker 1: abandoned building for several days. Between security camera footage and
23:32
Speaker 1: witness accounts, the two seemed to have been together throughout
23:36
Speaker 1: the entire week. Mary further claimed that Billy continuously smoked
23:40
Speaker 1: spice and forced her to roll his drugs, but she
23:44
Speaker 1: said she never consumed any of the substance. Billy's autopsy
23:48
Speaker 1: would later reveal that there were no drugs in his
23:51
Speaker 1: system when he died. After the murder of Peggy bros
23:55
Speaker 1: in Alabama on February third, authorities located surveillance showing a
24:01
Speaker 1: woman getting out of the black suv in the parking
24:04
Speaker 1: lot near Bower Road in US ninety eight and into
24:08
Speaker 1: Peggy's white Chrysler. The woman they believed was Mary Rice.
24:13
Speaker 1: She was driving the black suv alone. Investigators surmised that
24:18
Speaker 1: if she was accompanying Billy Boyette unwillingly, this gave her
24:22
Speaker 1: the perfect opportunity to escape detectives from the Santa Rosa
24:27
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's office observing the video surveillance of the purchase
24:31
Speaker 1: at Walmart, came to a similar conclusion. In that video,
24:36
Speaker 1: Mary was observed exiting a black Ford Edge while another individual,
24:40
Speaker 1: presumably Billy, waited in the vehicle. Mary appeared to have
24:45
Speaker 1: entered the Walmart alone, taken her time with her purchases,
24:49
Speaker 1: never asked for help from employees or fellow shoppers, then
24:53
Speaker 1: returned to Billy in the suv.
24:59
Speaker 12: She know the thing at the incident at the almost
25:02
Speaker 12: stands in.
25:04
Speaker 3: Did that happen before you beat you up?
25:06
Speaker 12: Yes, yes to my knowledge. All right, Wait where did
25:12
Speaker 12: you go from there?
25:14
Speaker 15: And then we were riding in any man going to
25:20
Speaker 15: its walls in a gun place?
25:25
Speaker 12: Did you stay out in the car? No? Yeah, listen,
25:30
Speaker 12: he was was watching me and listening. Did you get
25:34
Speaker 12: a Walmart?
25:36
Speaker 7: A mission?
25:39
Speaker 9: Eight?
25:42
Speaker 13: Okay?
25:44
Speaker 16: How much to two boxes? This is what what you
25:49
Speaker 16: were saying in the woods. Were you guys still on
25:52
Speaker 16: the suv the black issue of the darker SUVs?
25:56
Speaker 12: Yes, because you ride, I got got trick. I can
26:03
Speaker 12: just ride.
26:03
Speaker 3: Don't let's go right here in your ear we wring
26:06
Speaker 3: always say he's.
26:07
Speaker 16: Talking about getting another white What happens then.
26:13
Speaker 12: I don't know. He comes back with white car. He's
26:15
Speaker 12: going five.
26:16
Speaker 10: Minutes, so he goes off with the black the dark
26:20
Speaker 10: s u V.
26:20
Speaker 3: He comes back with the white car.
26:22
Speaker 12: Yes, yes, true, Where.
26:24
Speaker 17: Did you leave me?
26:25
Speaker 12: Let me at that tap to the treat yes, and
26:30
Speaker 12: lit with him. He had a gun on me then that.
26:35
Speaker 15: I didn't need to drink clampson with the water or anything,
26:39
Speaker 15: and lay in the floor.
26:43
Speaker 12: Kind of good to the side. I had to follow
26:46
Speaker 12: him in this white car parking area.
26:50
Speaker 3: Which which har were you driving?
26:53
Speaker 12: I had drive the black one. He was in a
26:56
Speaker 12: white one.
26:57
Speaker 15: When we talk, the black one, the person sane. He
27:02
Speaker 15: took me in my hair and I ended up him.
27:14
Speaker 9: Seen.
27:19
Speaker 1: There was never a third individual spotted by witnesses, nor
27:23
Speaker 1: an indication of another man shown on any of the
27:26
Speaker 1: video footage across multiple locations. Mary continued to deny any
27:31
Speaker 1: involvement in Peggy's death, claiming that she was not at
27:35
Speaker 1: the scene of the murder. Instead, she alleged that Billy
27:39
Speaker 1: duct taped her to a tree in a wooded area
27:42
Speaker 1: on the outskirts of town. Some time later, Billy returned
27:46
Speaker 1: driving Peggy's car.
27:50
Speaker 17: If I tell.
27:51
Speaker 18: You sad, numerous people saw you and Billy following the
28:00
Speaker 18: person of the white cars.
28:01
Speaker 16: You were homes where the white car was taking.
28:04
Speaker 12: It was just you and Billy right right.
28:07
Speaker 19: And then and then when you guys got to the
28:10
Speaker 19: it's actually a food tiger.
28:12
Speaker 12: What the parking lot was. There's there's surveillance of both
28:16
Speaker 12: you guys, Billy getting.
28:18
Speaker 19: Out of white car and unloading stuff out of black
28:21
Speaker 19: har You get out of the black car and.
28:23
Speaker 18: Helping move stuff from the black car white car as well,
28:26
Speaker 18: and then you both get in the white car.
28:27
Speaker 19: Lean So, like I said, and there was a third
28:31
Speaker 19: personal there. Okay, why did you tell me? And well,
28:38
Speaker 19: I understand your shared and I.
28:39
Speaker 12: Mean, this is a the truth makes more sense than
28:43
Speaker 12: the story, you know, Okay, Okay, Well, thank you, that's
28:48
Speaker 12: the only thing. Thank you for being honest. I know.
28:54
Speaker 1: Mary admitted that she was present when Billy shot Cayla Crocker.
28:59
Speaker 1: She entered the whole and, at Billy's direction, tied up
29:02
Speaker 1: the young mother with rope, but she maintained that she
29:05
Speaker 1: did not shoot Kayla. Mary insisted that she was outside
29:10
Speaker 1: the house when she heard a gunshot. Mary Rice was
29:14
Speaker 1: indicted on charges of accessory after the fact for the
29:17
Speaker 1: murders of Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore. She faced a
29:21
Speaker 1: capital murder charge in Alabama for the death of Peggy
29:24
Speaker 1: bros and first degree murder in Florida for the murder
29:28
Speaker 1: of Kayla Crocker.
29:30
Speaker 11: Have anything to say at all anyone in north west
29:33
Speaker 11: Florida to your family?
29:36
Speaker 17: Were you fleeing or were you a hostage?
29:41
Speaker 14: You said his joy.
29:42
Speaker 1: Then Mary was extradited from Georgia to Florida to stand
29:47
Speaker 1: trial for the accessory and first degree charges in Alabama,
29:51
Speaker 1: where she faced a potential death sentence if convicted. The
29:55
Speaker 1: DA was also keen to seek justice, but that trial
29:59
Speaker 1: would have to wait. Mary remained in custody in Florida
30:03
Speaker 1: under a seven hundred fifty thousand dollars bond. Meanwhile, her
30:08
Speaker 1: defense team prepared to argue that Mary had been a
30:11
Speaker 1: victim for most of her life, a pattern that continued
30:15
Speaker 1: when she crossed paths with Billy Boyett. Investigators had learned
30:21
Speaker 1: that Mary and Billy had first become involved months earlier,
30:25
Speaker 1: exchanging letters as penpals while Billy was still in prison.
30:30
Speaker 1: After his release, he moved into Mary's trailer in Milton,
30:33
Speaker 1: and the two began a romantic relationship. Mary had a
30:38
Speaker 1: history as an abuse victim, beginning with allegations towards her
30:41
Speaker 1: stepfather when she was only eleven years old. By her
30:45
Speaker 1: teenage years, Mary was battling drug and alcohol dependence. Court
30:49
Speaker 1: records confirmed that she was seeking counseling and to leave
30:52
Speaker 1: her family home by the age of sixteen. Over and
30:56
Speaker 1: over in the past, those that she had trusted had
30:59
Speaker 1: betrayed her. She had been robbed more than once in
31:02
Speaker 1: recent years by close friends whom she had offered a
31:05
Speaker 1: room to stay. One of these robberies had cleared out
31:08
Speaker 1: all of her belongings just before Christmas. Just as Billy
31:12
Speaker 1: was known to the local court system as an offender,
31:15
Speaker 1: Mary was known to appear in court as a victim.
31:19
Speaker 1: To some, Mary's past left her vulnerable and susceptible to
31:23
Speaker 1: manipulation by a man like Billy. To others, it seemed
31:27
Speaker 1: that Mary's life of victimhood had beaten her down and
31:31
Speaker 1: finally she had snapped and chosen to become the perpetrator.
31:36
Speaker 20: My first impression, as she was scared to death, she
31:38
Speaker 20: was lucky to be alive, very grateful to be alive.
31:41
Speaker 20: She was not a willing participant in anything. She was
31:46
Speaker 20: there because of threats and abuse from mister Boyet. She
31:51
Speaker 20: is as much of a victim in this case as anybody.
31:54
Speaker 20: If someone's life is threatened and their famili's life is threatened,
32:01
Speaker 20: they might be willing to do things that they wouldn't
32:04
Speaker 20: otherwise do. I look forward to representing miss Rice. I
32:08
Speaker 20: think she's got a good case.
32:11
Speaker 1: When the trial commenced in twenty eighteen, defense attorney Kenneth
32:15
Speaker 1: Brooks portrayed Mary as paralyzed with fear. Billy had manipulated
32:20
Speaker 1: her for months prior to the spree, he said, giving
32:23
Speaker 1: her things she wanted, like affection, in order to control her.
32:27
Speaker 21: The evidence will show that she was basically tortured and
32:31
Speaker 21: if she didn't do exactly what he wanted to do
32:33
Speaker 21: at exactly the time he said to do something, he
32:37
Speaker 21: would use pain to bring her back in line. You'll
32:41
Speaker 21: hear about evidence of cigarette burns on her body, cut
32:47
Speaker 21: wounds on her hands, wounds across her forehead from pistol.
32:55
Speaker 3: It started in Florida and it ended in Georgia, and
32:59
Speaker 3: there was a whole lot going on in between. You
33:03
Speaker 3: are going to see traces of Billy and Mary's whereabouts
33:07
Speaker 3: some of the places they traveled, some of the things
33:10
Speaker 3: that they purchased, and you will see this through receipts
33:14
Speaker 3: that they left behind. She actually went inside Kayla's home
33:18
Speaker 3: and helped tie her up. Kayla Crocker's hands were bound
33:21
Speaker 3: in front of her tightly with some shoelace type strings.
33:28
Speaker 1: Mary not only bought ammunition, but also outdoor gear so
33:32
Speaker 1: she and Billy could hide in the woods after the
33:34
Speaker 1: first two murders. While the couple was on the run
33:37
Speaker 1: from police, she made several stops at convenience stores. She
33:41
Speaker 1: refueled the vehicles and bought a roadmap. These actions, the
33:45
Speaker 1: state argued, directly aided Billy's efforts to evade the police.
33:50
Speaker 1: Mary also arranged to meet with a man who was
33:53
Speaker 1: selling his rifle. She paid cash for the weapon. The
33:56
Speaker 1: exchange took place on his front yard, where the man
33:59
Speaker 1: testified that he could see into the vehicle she had
34:02
Speaker 1: driven to his home. He did not see anyone else
34:05
Speaker 1: waiting while Mary handed over the money and took the gun.
34:09
Speaker 1: She did not ask him for help. Had she done so,
34:12
Speaker 1: he would have protected her.
34:17
Speaker 3: If this lady had asked you for help or to
34:20
Speaker 3: call nine one one, would you help her, of course.
34:25
Speaker 3: Did you have a firearm money at that time?
34:27
Speaker 2: Yes?
34:27
Speaker 3: I did, And were you on your property?
34:30
Speaker 17: Yes, I was.
34:31
Speaker 1: Assistant District Attorney Jensen entered hours of surveillance footage from
34:35
Speaker 1: multiple stores into evidence, showing pieces of it to the jury.
34:40
Speaker 1: Mary Rice can be seen going into a Walmart and
34:43
Speaker 1: browsing cosmetics, and a GNC buying a dietary supplement and
34:47
Speaker 1: signing up for the store's loyalty program, and in a
34:50
Speaker 1: gas station buying bud light. Testimony from store employees painted
34:55
Speaker 1: a murky picture. However, some witnesses testified that they detected
35:00
Speaker 1: thing unusual about Mary's behavior. Others stated that they thought
35:04
Speaker 1: she could have been under the influence of something or
35:07
Speaker 1: perhaps have been up all night partying.
35:10
Speaker 12: Scared, No, ma'am, she was in distress.
35:14
Speaker 9: No, ma'am.
35:18
Speaker 3: Missus Rice had passed you though, or asked.
35:22
Speaker 12: You for How would you help her?
35:24
Speaker 13: Yes, I would have.
35:28
Speaker 1: Receipts found in Kayla's car as well as the Georgia
35:31
Speaker 1: hotel room led police to footage from an Alabama Dollar
35:35
Speaker 1: General store, where Mary, accompanied by Billy, purchased more supplies.
35:40
Speaker 1: The clerk at that store testified that she could recognize
35:44
Speaker 1: the signs of an abuse victim, and she saw them
35:47
Speaker 1: clearly when serving Mary Rice that day.
35:51
Speaker 13: How did she appear to you scared? Did she have
35:57
Speaker 13: any words with you?
35:58
Speaker 2: No?
36:00
Speaker 13: Did you try and strike up a conversation with her?
36:03
Speaker 22: I asked how they were doing, which is part of
36:07
Speaker 22: our customer service.
36:08
Speaker 9: How are you doing today? And he said to me,
36:13
Speaker 9: I just killed my girlfriend?
36:14
Speaker 13: Okay? What was your response to that?
36:18
Speaker 22: I thought he was joking, okay, And I said, I've
36:22
Speaker 22: done a lot of things in my life, but I've
36:24
Speaker 22: never done something like that.
36:27
Speaker 13: Were there any mannerisms that you noticed? Was it matter
36:29
Speaker 13: of factly? What was it?
36:31
Speaker 22: It was a matter of factly. Yeah, So it's just
36:33
Speaker 22: straight out. That was just a statement, like.
36:37
Speaker 11: Your experience with abused women is partly your experience, yes, sir,
36:43
Speaker 11: You were also with other women have been abused.
36:45
Speaker 9: Yes, sir. And I've been through therapy.
36:48
Speaker 11: You've seen what abused women look like, yes, sir, when
36:51
Speaker 11: they're hit they've hit rock bottom?
36:53
Speaker 13: Correct, Yes, sir, nothing for the good.
36:57
Speaker 9: She didn't look scary. I mean, I wasn't knowing what
36:59
Speaker 9: this is. Situation was Well.
37:01
Speaker 3: That's my question though. So you have this man who
37:03
Speaker 3: just said, I kill I just killed my ex girlfriend,
37:06
Speaker 3: and he's with a girl who looks scared to you,
37:10
Speaker 3: and there's not some thought there to maybe call nine
37:13
Speaker 3: one one.
37:14
Speaker 9: Yeah, I thought he was joking, but.
37:18
Speaker 3: You just said he said it very matter of factly
37:20
Speaker 3: he did, and you said he's motioning to her. Was
37:27
Speaker 3: he laughing at all? Was he smiling.
37:32
Speaker 1: Mary's correspondence with Billy prior to the crime spree played
37:35
Speaker 1: a significant role in establishing the nature of their relationship.
37:40
Speaker 1: Text messages sharing I Love yous in the months before
37:43
Speaker 1: the murders, for instance, supported the States theory that Mary
37:47
Speaker 1: was a willing accomplice who would do anything for the
37:49
Speaker 1: man she loved. Correspondence from Mary to family and friends
37:53
Speaker 1: while in custody after the crime spree have a different tone.
37:58
Speaker 1: She questioned why the public thing she was with Billy.
38:02
Speaker 1: In a letter dated February fourteenth, she wrote to a friend,
38:06
Speaker 1: I did meet a true monster. I do not deserve
38:09
Speaker 1: to be locked in this cage. Mary chose not to
38:14
Speaker 1: take the stand to tell her version of events directly
38:17
Speaker 1: to the jury. Her mother and brother testified on her behalf,
38:21
Speaker 1: telling jurors that the Mary they know would not have
38:24
Speaker 1: willingly hurt anyone. The trial lasted five days. The jury
38:29
Speaker 1: took just two hours to reach their verdict on all charges.
38:36
Speaker 23: Verdict, as to the charge in count one, we the
38:38
Speaker 23: jury find the defendant Mary Rice guilty of first degree
38:42
Speaker 23: murder as charged in the indictment. As to the charge
38:46
Speaker 23: in count two, we find a jury, we the jury
38:48
Speaker 23: find the defendant Mary Rice guilty of accessory after the
38:52
Speaker 23: fact to first degree murder as charged in the indictment.
38:55
Speaker 1: Mary Rice was promptly sentenced to life in prison for
38:58
Speaker 1: the murder of Caleb Crocker. She is to serve thirty
39:02
Speaker 1: years consecutively for being an accessory after the fact in
39:05
Speaker 1: the murders of Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore. Despite the
39:12
Speaker 1: steps taken by officials in Baldwin County, Alabama, to have
39:15
Speaker 1: her extradited to face a murder charge there for the
39:18
Speaker 1: death of Peggy bros it seems this will not happen
39:21
Speaker 1: anytime soon. Legal experts say that her appeals process must
39:26
Speaker 1: run its course or at least eighty percent of her
39:29
Speaker 1: current sentence amounting to thirty years, before Florida would release
39:33
Speaker 1: her to face trial in Alabama. The possibility that the
39:38
Speaker 1: state will seek the death penalty. There upon her extradition
39:41
Speaker 1: will also slow this process.
39:45
Speaker 17: One source in Florida told us it could be decades,
39:49
Speaker 17: and we're hoping that that is wrong. We're doing our
39:53
Speaker 17: our due diligence and trying to make sure we get
39:56
Speaker 17: everything done so that we can get her back here
39:59
Speaker 17: as quickly as we can. When this process gets drawn
40:02
Speaker 17: out as long as they can, sometimes it is not
40:06
Speaker 17: justice or our victims or their families.
40:12
Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, Mary's first appeal of her convictions in
40:16
Speaker 1: Florida failed. That was the terrible case of William Boyette
40:23
Speaker 1: and Mary Rice. Thank you for watching and supporting our
40:27
Speaker 1: work here, and a special thanks to Natalie Weston for
40:30
Speaker 1: taking the extra step and joining our members lounge. I'm Kevin,
40:35
Speaker 1: this is just thought lounge, and I'll see in that
40:37
Speaker 1: next one when the.
40:39
Speaker 10: Scene, Please tell me who the scream saves. I can
40:41
Speaker 10: hear the crimes repeat. Gotta take my time because these
40:43
Speaker 10: crimes get deep, but these stories can't.
40:45
Speaker 22: Hih.
40:45
Speaker 10: Let me find my seat, Kevin, go ahead and settle in.
40:48
Speaker 10: Gotta be selective, doing all the research, keeping it objective,
40:51
Speaker 10: always being effective.
40:52
Speaker 12: Can say he got a neck pick it a litter.
40:54
Speaker 10: You see how Nuton got his back.
40:56
Speaker 12: Yeah, the content that you need is could be a
40:58
Speaker 12: new sign. We're talking to common as they got in.
41:00
Speaker 10: The few lines tuned in and it like love that
41:02
Speaker 10: it's tuc It was like the whole world is online
41:05
Speaker 10: for true crime. Watch him on the run, but it's
41:07
Speaker 10: not a race.
41:08
Speaker 12: Really hard to disappear it poof without a brace.
41:10
Speaker 10: Sure, lock homes with the.
41:11
Speaker 12: I'll put you in your place.
41:12
Speaker 3: Got my smoking pipe, only right, I crack another case
41:14
Speaker 3: like like.
41:17
Speaker 12: I need that feeling.
41:19
Speaker 17: That's your boy.
41:22
Speaker 12: Don't learn the lesson that you taw Tu Naga killing
41:27
Speaker 12: is what they saw found out the line just what
41:32
Speaker 12: you thought