Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / Kevin Underwood set for execution in Oklahoma girl's brutal killing

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Kevin Underwood set for execution in Oklahoma girl's brutal killing · Murder Files Unsealed

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Speaker 1: This one. This one is going to be tough. We're
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going to we're diving into the case of Kevin ray Underwood.
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This guy, he's facing execution and get this on his
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forty fifth birthday. Wow, yeah, forty fifth birthday. And it
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all goes back to a really, really awful crime that
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he did back in two thousand and six, the murder
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of a ten year old girl, Jamie Rose Bollin, nicknamed
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cobber Top.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: It's one of those cases that really sticks with you
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even after you know all this time.
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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, absolutely. And I guess our goal today is
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to go deeper, right deeper than the headlines, to really
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try and understand, like what goes on in a person's mind,
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what could even lead someone to do something this horrible.
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What does it say about, you know, mental illness and
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the criminal justice system.
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Speaker 3: I think those are some of the big questions this
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case raises. And I think we should, you know, right
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off the bad, acknowledge that we're going to be talking
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about some really you know, disturbing things. It's not light
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subject matter, but it's important, No.
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Speaker 1: It's important. So let's start with the basics. What happened.
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It was April twelfth, two thousand and six, when Underwood
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he lured Jamie into his apartment, and the way he
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did it, he promised her she could see his pet rat.
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Oh gosh, and there were neighbors, so you know, any
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kid who loved animals, Yeah, Jamie probably wouldn't.
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Speaker 2: Think twice, right, that makes sense.
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Speaker 3: It's it really shows how much trust there was there
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and how you know, terribly violated that trust was, Yeah,
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for sure.
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Speaker 1: And once Jamie was inside, Underwood attacked her. He beat
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her with a cutting board, and then he suffocated her,
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and then he tried to you know, the details are
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very disturbing, but attempted to decapitate and sexually molest her body.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just unbelievable, the brutality.
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Speaker 3: And what makes it even more chilling, you know, when
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the police found Jamie's body two days later, hidden in
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a plastic tub in Underwood's closet, he just, he reportedly said,
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and this is a direct quote, go ahead and arrest me.
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Speaker 2: She's in there. I hit her and chopped her up.
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I'm going to burn in hell.
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Speaker 1: I mean, it's a confession that leaves no room for doubt,
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but it does open up a whole other set of questions, right,
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I mean, how does a person even get to that point?
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What could pop simply make someone do something so horrific?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, And to even begin to understand that, we need
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to look at, you know, Underwood's life before this crime.
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What we see as well. He was a troubled guy
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from a very early age.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely troubled. The sources describe him as like a
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lifelong outsider. Yeah, you know, he was bullied, He had
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a really hard time connecting with other people, struggled in
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social situations. I mean you can kind of imagine him
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right as someone who just never really fit in, always
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felt out of place.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, it's it's really important to remember
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that feeling isolated, disconnected, especially when you're a kid or
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a teenager, that can leave like deep scars, impact your development,
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your sense of.
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Speaker 1: Who you are for sure. And then you've got his
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family life, right, I mean, it wasn't exactly a supportive,
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you know, stable environment. His father was super demanding, and
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Underwood always felt like he could never measure up, you know,
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never good enough. And he also had a rough relationship
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with his mother, who, from what I read, had a
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history of being you know, violent, like out.
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Speaker 3: So it's like you have this combination, right, social isolation
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plus a chaotic home life. No, look, this doesn't excuse
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his actions at all, but it does I think give
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us some context for some of the struggles he was
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up against.
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Speaker 1: It's like he was carrying around all this baggage, you know,
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all this pain and frustration from when he was really young,
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and then you add the mental health stuff on top
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of that, which is like a huge part of this
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whole story. Underwood, he was diagnosed with a bunch of
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different things, schizotypal personality disorder, bipolar disorder PTSD, and sexual
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impulsivity disorder.
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Speaker 3: That's right, and just for you listening to really, you know,
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wrap your head around this case understanding those diagnoses. It's crucial.
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Takes schizotypal personality disorder basically, it can really make it
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hard to tell what's real and what's fantasy. You know,
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they might have offbeat thought patterns and often have a
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hard time socially. It can lead to the sense of
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isolation paranoia, like everyone's against them.
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Speaker 1: I see, that makes sense. So you've got this guy
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dealing with all these mental health challenges and he's carrying
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the weight of this tough pass. I mean, it's it's
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almost like a powder cake just waiting to explode.
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Speaker 3: It's. Yeah, it's this tragic mix of things. And what's
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really really sad is Underwood, he knew he was struggling.
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He kept a blog, you know, where he would just
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sort of pour his thoughts and feelings out, and in
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one post he wrote, pretty much, the only time I
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believe in God is when I want to blame him
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for something, or when I'm really depressed, I cry and
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beg him to make me better, to make whatever is
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wrong in my brain go away, so that I can
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live like a normal person.
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Speaker 1: Wow, that's powerful stuff. Yeah, it's almost like a cry
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for help, isn't it like a desperate plea to escape
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all this? You know, this inner torment it is.
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Speaker 3: It really speaks to the internal battle he was fighting.
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You know, he knew something was wrong, but he just didn't.
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Speaker 2: Know how to how to fix it.
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Speaker 1: And sadly, it seems like, you know, instead of getting help,
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he just withdrew like more and more into himself and
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into this world that was getting darker and you know,
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just more disturbing.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a big part of this, That Internet and
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how it fit into Underwood's life. His mental health, you know,
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was going downhill. He turned more and more to the
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online world.
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Speaker 2: It became, I.
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Speaker 3: Guess, his escape, but also kind of a breeding ground
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for those darker impulses he was feeling.
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Speaker 1: Right, because he would post some well pretty disturbing stuff online,
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like even jokes about cannibalism. And I think it's important,
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you know, to understand that these weren't just some you know,
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agy jokes, right, they were a glimpse into these really
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messed up fantasies that were taking over his thoughts exactly.
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Speaker 3: And this is where, you know, it gets really interesting.
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I think we need to ask what did those posts
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tell us about, you know, where his head was at.
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Were they his way of dealing with these thoughts, trying
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to like distance himself from them through this dark humor,
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or were they something deeper, a real fascination with violence,
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with doing something wrong.
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Speaker 1: It's uh, it's a chilling thought for sure, but I
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guess we have to consider it if we want to
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get to the bottom of what led to Jamie's murder.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, to do that, let's look closer at the crime itself,
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how it all went down. Jamie wasn't just a random target.
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Underwood lived in the same apartment complex, and he had
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been thinking about about kidnapping someone, molesting them and even
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you know, even eating their flesh.
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Speaker 1: Gohd, that's that's almost too awful to even imagine.
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Speaker 3: It is, and it points to a level of planning
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of you know, really going down this rabbit hole of
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a dark fantasy world and sadly a world that that
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he would soon make real.
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Speaker 2: It's just it's mind blowing, you know, the level of planning.
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Speaker 3: How he basically took these these dark fantasies from the
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Internet and turned them into into a real life nightmare.
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Speaker 1: It really is, and it makes you wonder, right, could
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this have been stopped? I mean, if someone had seen
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those posts, those online rants about about cannibalism, the dark humor,
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could that have been like a red flag? Should someone
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have done something?
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Speaker 3: You've hit on a really important point in these cases.
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You know, we always ask was the Internet the cause
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or was.
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Speaker 2: It just like a symptom.
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Speaker 3: Did it push him over the edge or was it
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just you know, a way for him to vent what
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was already going on in his head.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's a tough question.
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Speaker 3: What do you think It's almost never like a simple
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A to B thing. It's more complicated than that. But
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I think we can say that the Internet it gave
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him a platform, you know, a place to share these thoughts,
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to connect with maybe other people who felt the same way,
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and that might have made it seem i don't know,
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more okay, more normal in his own mind.
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Speaker 1: And that brings us back to those mental health diagnoses. Right,
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you explained this schizotypal personality disorder earlier. What about the others?
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How do those fit into all of this?
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Speaker 2: Right?
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Speaker 3: So, Underwood he was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder. That
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means you would have these these really intense mood swings,
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going from you know, super high manic energy to these
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really really low depressive states. And when someone's in that
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manic phase, they can be impulsive. You know, thoughts are racing,
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they might do things they wouldn't normally.
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Speaker 2: Do, take risks.
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Speaker 1: So imagine that on top of you know, already having
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trouble separating reality from fantasy, like we talked about with
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schizotypal personality disorder. That's a scary combination, it really is.
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Speaker 3: And then you layer on the pta SD diagnosis, which
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a lot of times comes from some kind of trauma
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in the past. Now Underwood, he never publicly talked about
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any specific trauma, but we know his childhood was well,
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it was pretty messed up and PTSD it can show
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up in a lot of ways, you know, flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety,
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just feeling emotionally numb.
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Speaker 1: It's like his mind was just under attack from all sides.
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Speaker 2: That's a good way to put it.
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Speaker 3: And then there's the sexual impulsivity disorder. A lot of
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people don't really understand this one. It's not just about
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you know, having a high sex drive. It's about not
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being able to control these really intense urges and that
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can lead to some pretty harmful behavior.
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Speaker 1: So we're talking about this really really complex mix of
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mental health issues, right, and then you pile on a
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difficult childhood and more and more isolation. It's like all
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these things were coming together pushing him further down this
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really dark path.
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Speaker 3: And the saddest part, it seems like, well, like the
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support he needed, the people who could have helped him
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maybe even stop this, they just weren't there.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a big question in this case, isn't it
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Could it have been prevented? Were there like miss chances
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times when someone could have stepped in.
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Speaker 3: We can never know for sure, but it's pretty clear
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that if his mental health issues had been caught earlier,
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if he'd gotten treatment, maybe things would.
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Speaker 2: Turned out differently for him and for Jamie.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, what if someone you know had noticed the signs,
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the disturbing stuff he was posting online, him pulling away
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from people, the struggles he talked about in his blog.
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What if he'd gotten the help he so obviously needed.
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Speaker 3: Those are the questions that haunt us, you know, And
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it just shows how important it is to talk about
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mental health, to break down the stigma, to make it
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easier for people to reach out for help without feeling
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ashamed or like people will judge them.
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Speaker 1: We really do need to do better as a society
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to see mental health as like a crucial part of
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being healthy overall.
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Speaker 3: It's not just on individuals, you know, to take care
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of their mental health. We need to build a system,
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a safety net that catches people before things get you know,
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too bad.
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Speaker 1: So we can't change what happened, but we can learn
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from it. We can fight for better mental health resources
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and make sure people have the support they need.
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Speaker 3: Exactly because if we want to prevent tragedies like this,
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we have to start by seeing mental health as a
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public health issue, something we all need to be concerned
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about and do something about.
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Speaker 1: Right, well said. So let's move on to what happened
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after the crime, the legal stuff. Like you said before, Underwood,
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he confessed right away.
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Speaker 3: He did, and it was a chilling confession for sure,
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But it also I think tells us something about his
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mental state at the time. It seemed like he like
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he understood the seriousness of what he'd done, but also
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believed that, you know, he was going to hell. It's
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like this weird mix of awareness, guilt, and maybe like
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a distorted view of reality.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I get that. And his lawyers later on, they
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would argue that his mental illness was a big factor
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in all of this and his actions, and that the
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jury should take that into account when deciding his sentence.
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Speaker 3: That's a common approach in these cases, you know, the
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defense tries to present a picture of the defendant's mental state,
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how it might have contributed to what they did. It's
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not about making excuses, but about giving the jury more
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information so they can decide what the right punishment is.
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Speaker 1: So let's talk about the trial itself. It happened in
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two thousand and eight, and I'm guessing given his confession
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and the evidence of the crime scene, the prosecution probably
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had a strong case.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: They really focused on the brutality of what happened.
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Speaker 2: You know.
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Speaker 3: They went into detail about Jamie's last moments and stressed
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how much planning went into it. They brought up his
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online activity, saying, those disturbing posts about kidnapping and cannibalism.
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They showed that, you know, these fantasies were getting worse
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and worse and then ultimately led to this horrible crime.
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Speaker 1: And what about Underwood's defense team, what was their strategy?
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Speaker 3: Well, like you said, they really zeroed in on his
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history of mental illness. They said that his actions were
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driven by, you know, this combination of severe mental illness,
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trauma from his childhood, and being so isolated from other people.
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They weren't saying he was some you know, evil mastermind,
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but that he was a very person who needed help
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but never got it.
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Speaker 1: So it's basically the prosecution saying he planned it all out,
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versus the defense saying he wasn't in his right mind
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because of his mental illness.
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Speaker 3: Exactly, and in the end, the jury sided with the prosecution.
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They found Underwood guilty of first degree murder, and.
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Speaker 1: I'm guessing that came with a pretty heavy sentence.
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Speaker 2: It did. The jury.
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Speaker 3: They talked it over for a long time, but they
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decided on the death penalty, and that decision it kicked
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off years and years of appeals and legal battles as
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underwoods lawyers tried to get his sentence reduced or thrown out.
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Speaker 2: Altogether.
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Speaker 1: It's just it's a really tough case to wrap your
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head around on so many levels. You've got this innocent
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little girl, Jimmy Bolan, whose life was cut way too short,
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and then you have Kevin Ryan Underwood, who was obviously
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really messed up, struggling with all these mental health issues,
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and he commits this horrific act.
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Speaker 3: It forces us to confront some really uncomfortable questions, you know,
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about personal responsibility, the role mental illness plays in crime,
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and how our justice system handles these situation.
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Speaker 1: And I think it really underlines how important it is
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to have open, honest conversations about mental health if we
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want to prevent things like this from happening again, and
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to make sure that people who are dealing with these
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problems get the support and treatment they need.
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Speaker 2: You're absolutely right.
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Speaker 3: It's not just about one case or one crime or
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one person. It's about understanding how mental health and the
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justice system are connected and building a system that is
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fair but also you know, compassionate.
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Speaker 1: It really gets you thinking about the death penalty, you know, like,
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how does it apply in a case like this. Underwood's lawyers,
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they fought really hard to get his sentence changed, saying it's, well,
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it's just inhumane to execute someone who's so mentally ill.
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Speaker 3: It's a huge debate in this case. It puts those
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ethical questions front and center. On the one hand, some
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people say the death penalty it's the only fair punishment
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for certain crimes, right that it brings closure to the
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victim's family and stops other people from doing the same thing. No.
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Speaker 1: On the other hand, you have people who say the
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death penalty it's just plain wrong, cruel, and unusual, no
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matter what the crime is. And they point to cases
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like this where mental illness is such a big factor,
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and they ask, is it really justice to execute someone
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who might not have even understood what they were doing.
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Speaker 3: It's complicated, there are no easy answers, and for Underwood.
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It all played out in these appeals, these legal battles
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that dragged on for years.
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Speaker 1: His lawyers, they filed appeal after appeal, trying to challenge
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his conviction, his sentence on all kinds of grounds. They
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said there were mistakes made during the trial, that Underwood's
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mental state, you know, his competency wasn't really looked at
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closely enough, and that the way Oklahoma does executions it's unconstitutional.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, they raised some big issues about fairness, the right
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to a fair trial, and you know the possibility of
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executing someone who doesn't even grasp what's happening to them.
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Speaker 1: But even with all that, every single appeal was denied,
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even when they tried to take it to the Supreme.
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Speaker 3: Court, which brings us to the clemency hearing, right that
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last chance to try and convince them the Oklahoma parted
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and Parole board to change.
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Speaker 1: His sentence, and those hearings they can get pretty intense.
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The victim's family they're there begging for justice, wanting the
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person who took their loved one to pay the price.
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And then you've got the person who's been convicted, their family,
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their supporters, they're often pleading for mercy, a second chance,
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or at least, you know, a less harsh punishment.
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Speaker 3: It's like these two sides, two completely different views of
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justice and what it means to punish someone. And in
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Underwood's case, both sides they really laid.
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Speaker 2: It all out there.
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Speaker 1: Underwood, he even spoke to the board himself, said he
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was sorry for what he did, that he knew he
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caused Jamie's family so much pain. He reportedly said, I
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recognize that although I do not want to die, I
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deserve to for what I did, and if my death
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could change what I did, I would gladly die.
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Speaker 2: Wow.
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Speaker 3: It's like you can hear the struggle right. He knows
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what he did was terrible, but he still wants to live.
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It's human nature.
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Speaker 1: And then Jamie's family, they talked about their loss, how
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Underwood had destroyed their lives. They said he did didn't
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deserve any mercy, that he had to face the consequences.
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Speaker 3: Jamie's sister, Laurie Pate, she spoke directly to Underwood. She said, you,
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Kevin Underwood, do not deserve clemency. We as a family
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deserve closure. Knowing that the monster that ended a precious
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life can no longer walk this earth and hurt others,
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but will suffer in the eternal fires.
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Speaker 1: Man powerful words. You can just feel the pain, the anger,
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the feeling that you know nothing can ever make it right.
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Speaker 3: And it just shows you these crimes they don't just
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affect the victim and the person who did it. It
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ripples outward, you know, to their families, their communities, everyone.
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Speaker 1: So the board, they listened to everything, everyone, then they
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talked it over and in the end they all voted
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against recommending clemency for Underwood, and that.
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Speaker 3: Pretty much sealed his fate unless some you know, last
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minute legal thing happened.
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Speaker 1: So here we are just a few days away from
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Underwood's execution and this whole case it's brought up a
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lot of strong feelings, a lot of debate about mental illness,
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the justice system, and whether the death penalty is ever
16:59
the right answer.
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Speaker 3: And I think stepping back from the details, it's important
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to ask what have we learned? What are the big
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takeaways here?
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Speaker 1: Yeah, we can't just rehash what happened, right, We have
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to grapple with these questions. How do we balance justice
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with the fact that mental illness is real and it
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affects people's actions how can we stop this from happening again?
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And what does it even mean to build a society
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that's fair but also kind.
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Speaker 3: Those are the questions that stick with you, you know, long
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after the news stories are gone. They make us really
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think about our justice system, how we treat people with
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mental health problems, and how we take care of each other.
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Speaker 1: This deep dive it's been tough, I'll admit, but I
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think has been important. We've seen the dark side of humanity,
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but we've also talked about empathy, understanding and hope.
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Speaker 3: We can't change the past, but we can learn from it,
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and I think the biggest lesson here is that we
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all have a part to play in making the world
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a better place. A world where things like this are less.
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Speaker 1: Likely to happen, a world where we treat mental health
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with the same seriousness as physical health, where people who
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are struggling can find support and compassion, not judgment and isolation.
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Speaker 3: In a world where we seek justice. But we also
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understand that people are complex and that sometimes change is possible.
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Speaker 1: This case, it's been disturbing, no doubt, but it's given
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us a lot to think about. And as we wrap
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up this deep dive, I hope you the listener, you're
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walking away with a sense of how serious these issues are,
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but also that things can get better.
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Speaker 3: Thanks for joining us on this journey. It's been a
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difficult one, but an important one.