Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / What Really Happened to Tamla Horsford? Part One

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What Really Happened to Tamla Horsford? Part One · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Tamler Horsford arrived at the gathering at approximately eight thirty pm.
• 0:05
  The forty year old African American mother had prepared dinner
• 0:08
  for her five sons and her husband, Leander, prior to
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  departing to celebrate the birthday of her friend Jean Myers.
• 0:18
  Myers had invited a group of mothers, most of whom
• 0:21
  had connected through the local youth football league, to enjoy
• 0:24
  the evening together, Aiming to prevent anyone from drinking and driving.
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  Horsford brought along a bottle of tequila and a small
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  overnight bag, and shortly after her arrival, she changed into
• 0:38
  white pajamas adorned with paw prints. The event, which took
• 0:44
  place on the evening of November third, twenty eighteen, was
• 0:48
  initially intended to be an all female gathering. However, Meyer's
• 0:53
  boyfriend Jose Barrera and Tom Smith, the spouse of another guest,
• 0:59
  ended up remaining at the party. Ultimately, the group, later
• 1:03
  referred to by advocates for Horsford as the Forsyth twelve,
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  consisted of nine women, two men, and one husband, who,
• 1:12
  according to police interviews, only dropped off and picked up
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  his wife. Among these twelve individuals, eight had planned to
• 1:21
  stay overnight, including Tamler. As the women enjoyed drinks, engaged
• 1:26
  in conversation, and followed the LSU Alabama game upstairs, Brera
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  and Smith occupied themselves with football in Meyer's completed basement.
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  During this period, Horsford, the only regular smoker present, frequently
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  stepped out onto the balcony to smoke cigarettes. She also
• 1:47
  partook in marijuana that evening, although Meyers requested that she
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  refrain from doing so. Meyers later recounted that she had
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  playfully referred to Horsford as the female Bob Marley during
• 2:00
  their discussion, while also noting that Barrera, a pre trial officer,
• 2:05
  disapproved of such behavior. Eventually, the men joined the gathering,
• 2:11
  and the group played cards against Humanity. Photographs and videos
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  taken during the game depict Horsford's smiling and appearing content.
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  Although she had consumed tequila and was later found to
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  have a high blood alcohol concentration, the available evidence, including photos, videos,
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  and witness testimonies, suggests that Horsford did not seem excessively
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  intoxicated that night. Guests who were not staying overnight began
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  to depart around eleven thirty p m. While those who
• 2:46
  were staying gradually went to bed over the following hours.
• 2:51
  Police interviews indicate that Horsford was still awake after Meyers
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  and Barrera went to bed at approximately one thirty a m.
• 3:00
  The last individual to see Horsford was Bridget Fuller, who
• 3:04
  was collected by her husband at one forty seven a m.
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  In her account, Fuller mentioned that Horsford was consuming a
• 3:13
  bowl of gumbo and expressed her intention to smoke a
• 3:17
  cigarette before retiring for the night. Within the subsequent ten minutes,
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  the home security system recorded the back door opening, closing,
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  and then opening once more for the final time at
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  one fifty seven a m. The following morning, around eight
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  forty five a m. Madeline Lombardy, the aunt of Myers
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  residing in the house, entered the kitchen to prepare her
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  morning coffee. In her police interview, Lombardy recounted witnessing a
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  disturbing sight through the window in the back yard. The
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  white dog print wonsie it was Horsford, lying face down
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  in the grass and unresponsive. After offering a prayer, Lombardy
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  ascended the stairs to locate Myers, informing her that something
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  seemed to miss with her friend from the Islands. Horsford,
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  originally from the Caribbean, had relocated to the US at
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  the age of eleven. Forsyth County nine one one received
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  a call shortly before nine a m. During the conversation,
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  both Meyers and Barrera were present. She is not moving
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  at all. She is not breathing. She is lying face
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  down in the yard. She appears to be rigid. Barrera
• 4:36
  informed the dispatcher she had been drinking and it seems
• 4:41
  like I suspect she may have fallen from the balcony,
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  Meyers added. Horsford was declared dead at the scene and
• 4:48
  her remains were sent for an autopsy. However, prior to
• 4:52
  the autopsy report's return, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office began
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  to pursue the theory that Horsford's death was accidental, resulting
• 5:02
  from a fall from the second story deck. The investigation
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  remained open for nearly four months until the FSCO reached
• 5:12
  its official conclusion on February twentieth, twenty nineteen, two weeks
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  after the State of Georgia Medical Examiner issued their final findings.
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  The FSCO referenced the toxicology report, which indicated the presence
• 5:28
  of THCHC and recorded her blood alcohol content at point
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  two three eight, nearly three times the legal driving limit.
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  Given that such a BAC is typically associated with blackouts,
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  impaired coordination, and potential vomiting, the FCSO concluded that the
• 5:47
  consumption of marijuana and alcohol likely played a role in
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  the fall. Additionally, they considered the door alarm log and
• 5:55
  an unlit cigarette, along with a lighter that Barrera claimed
• 5:59
  to have discovered on the upper deck collectively. This evidence
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  led investigators to determine that Horsford had likely gone outside
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  for a cigarette around one fifty seven a m. And
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  inadvertently fell to her death.