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The HORRIFYING Slaying Of Rebekah Gay · The conspiracy

0:00
Speaker 1: Halloween is supposed to be a night of innocent scares,
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Speaker 1: plastic skeletons, fake cobwebs, children giggling in superhero costumes. It's
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Speaker 1: a night where monsters are make believe and fear is
0:12
Speaker 1: just for fun. But on October thirty first, twenty twelve,
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Speaker 1: in a quiet Michigan trailer park, something truly evil walked
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Speaker 1: through an unlocked door, and an unsuspecting family preparing for
0:23
Speaker 1: trick or treating like any other, would be forever shattered
0:27
Speaker 1: by someone they never thought to fear. Crime, conspiracy, cults,
0:31
Speaker 1: serial killers, and murder all things that I love to consume,
0:35
Speaker 1: and I know you do too, you sick, twisted, beautiful,
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Speaker 1: intellectually minded. Today we're doing a little bonus episode, a
0:42
Speaker 1: little mini bonus episode, because it is spooky season, and
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Speaker 1: what is spookier than real life monsters? Literally nothing, but
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Speaker 1: this case is it's a doozy. So without further ado,
0:56
Speaker 1: let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go mock five down the highway,
0:59
Speaker 1: slamm of the breaks and bust, so this wind shield
1:01
Speaker 1: into this Halloween crime case together. Born on March twenty sixth,
1:20
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight, in Midland, Michigan, Rebecca grew up as
1:23
Speaker 1: one of four children in the Gay family. Her parents,
1:26
Speaker 1: Thomas and Sally Gay, raised her alongside her brothers James
1:30
Speaker 1: and Aaron, and her sister Deborah, and from an early age,
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Speaker 1: Rebecca showed a gentle spirit and caring nature that would
1:37
Speaker 1: define her entire life, and at Bullock Creek High School,
1:40
Speaker 1: where she graduated in two thousand and seven, teachers and
1:43
Speaker 1: classmates remembered her as a quiet, pretty girl with a
1:47
Speaker 1: very generous heart, and she also joined the equestrian team,
1:50
Speaker 1: channeling her love for animals, and volunteered for the school's
1:53
Speaker 1: Archery Shoot fundraiser, an event designed to help families facing tragedy.
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Speaker 1: That sense of putting as first would become her defining
2:02
Speaker 1: characteristic and Superintendent Charlie Schwedler would later recall her as
2:07
Speaker 1: a sweet, sweet girl, a simple description that captured the
2:11
Speaker 1: essence of who Rebecca was, and even as a teenager,
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Speaker 1: she was already planning her career path studying cosmetology while
2:18
Speaker 1: still in high school, and after graduation, she completed her
2:21
Speaker 1: training at in Session School of Cosmetology, ready to pursue
2:24
Speaker 1: her passion for helping people feel beautiful. But Rebecca's world
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Speaker 1: changed forever when she became a mother to Conway Cliff Kelly,
2:32
Speaker 1: who was born around two thousand and nine so which
2:35
Speaker 1: is twenty one years old. She found herself navigating single motherhood,
2:39
Speaker 1: but those who knew her said she embraced it with
2:41
Speaker 1: her whole heart, and Conway became her pride and joy,
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Speaker 1: the center of her universe. And every night, without fail,
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Speaker 1: Rebecca followed the same loving routine, story time, then prayers
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Speaker 1: with Conway before bed, and her Bible and devotional sat
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Speaker 1: on the nightstand next to her bed, just a testament
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Speaker 1: to her deep Christian faith that guided her through life's challenges.
3:03
Speaker 1: And her family would describe her as totally devoted to
3:06
Speaker 1: her son and very family orientated, caring for others before herself.
3:11
Speaker 1: She was a very hands on mother who made sure
3:14
Speaker 1: Conway felt loved and secure despite the challenges of single parenthood,
3:18
Speaker 1: and she maintained a cooperative relationship with Conway's father as well,
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Speaker 1: also a Middland resident, ensuring her son had consistent time
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Speaker 1: with both parents. So a hard worker chasing stability, Rebecca
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Speaker 1: worked as a stylist at bo Rick's Haircare, using the
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Speaker 1: skills she'd learned in cosmetology school to build her career,
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Speaker 1: but like many single mothers, she needed more stability and
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Speaker 1: better hours to balance work with raising Conway. So in
3:44
Speaker 1: twenty twelve, she made the difficult decision to leave her
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Speaker 1: cosmetology career and took a job at the Goodwill store
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Speaker 1: in Mount Pleasant. And it wasn't glamorous work, but Rebecca
3:54
Speaker 1: approached it with the same dedication she brought to everything else,
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Speaker 1: and her work ethic didn't go on noticed, and by
4:00
Speaker 1: October twenty twelve she had been promoted to a management position,
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Speaker 1: so clearly her hard work and dedication was paying off.
4:08
Speaker 1: And to make her commute easier and to save money,
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Speaker 1: Rebecca moved to a mobile home in Broomfield Valley Trailer
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Speaker 1: Park on Coldwater Road in Broomfield Township, Isabella County, about
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Speaker 1: eleven miles west of Mount Pleasant, and the trailer park
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Speaker 1: was modest, but Rebecca made it a home for herself
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Speaker 1: and Conway. So those closest to Rebecca described her in
4:30
Speaker 1: remarkably consistent terms. Her mother Sally, called her the family's
4:35
Speaker 1: heart and soul, and co workers at Goodwill found her
4:38
Speaker 1: reliable and hardworking, and by fall of twenty twelve, Rebecca's
4:42
Speaker 1: life was looking brighter than ever because on top of
4:45
Speaker 1: everything else, you know, getting a new home and getting
4:48
Speaker 1: a new job and getting a promotion, she actually found
4:51
Speaker 1: love again with Aaron Quinn and soon the two were
4:54
Speaker 1: engaged to be married. So she was building a blended family,
4:57
Speaker 1: looking forward to a future that included both con and Aaron,
5:01
Speaker 1: and she was succeeding at her job, providing stability for
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Speaker 1: her son, and surrounded by family who adored her, and
5:07
Speaker 1: even her nieces and nephews looked up to their aunt Rebecca,
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Speaker 1: who always made time for them as well. So all
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Speaker 1: in all, life was looking really good for Rebecca and
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Speaker 1: her new family, and one of her favorite holidays was
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Speaker 1: coming up and that was Halloween. So October thirty first,
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Speaker 1: twenty twelve should have been a magical day because that
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Speaker 1: Halloween season, Rebecca decorated with eight scarecrows and hung pictures
5:31
Speaker 1: of pumpkins and other festive decorations, creating a warm, cheerful
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Speaker 1: environment for her three year old son, who.
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Speaker 2: Was very excited to retreat.
5:40
Speaker 1: And she'd made plans with Aaron to take three year
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Speaker 1: old Conway trick or treating that evening, so it was
5:46
Speaker 1: supposed to be one of those perfect family moments, a
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Speaker 1: young mother watching her little boy's face slide up as
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Speaker 1: he collected candy in his Halloween costume, building memories.
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Speaker 2: That would last a lifetime.
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Speaker 1: But she would have to work that day because she
5:58
Speaker 1: was actually scheduled to work work at Goodwill during that
6:01
Speaker 1: day and then come home and get Conway ready for
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Speaker 1: his first real Halloween adventure with his mom and her fiance,
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Speaker 1: and she had the whole costume ready and the plans
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Speaker 1: were set, but unfortunately, Rebecca never made it to work
6:15
Speaker 1: on October thirty first, twenty twelve. So when Rebecca didn't
6:19
Speaker 1: show up for her shift at the Goodwill store that
6:21
Speaker 1: Halloween morning, her coworkers knew immediately something was wrong because
6:26
Speaker 1: this wasn't like her. Rebecca was reliable, dedicated, never one
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Speaker 1: to miss work without calling. So concerned, a coworker drove
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Speaker 1: to her trailer in the Broomfield Valley Trailer Park to
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Speaker 1: check on her, and what they found was unsettling. Zabrecca's
6:41
Speaker 1: car was still there from the door to her mobile
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Speaker 1: home was unlocked, and her purse sat on the counter
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Speaker 1: completely untouched. And Rebecca was gone, and so was her
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Speaker 1: three year old son, Conway. In the eerie silence where
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Speaker 1: there should have been the sounds of a mother and
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Speaker 1: child preparing for Halloween set chills through everyone who learned it,
7:02
Speaker 1: so police recalled immediately and the Isabella County Sheriff's Department
7:06
Speaker 1: launched a missing person's investigation, and deputies began canvassing the
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Speaker 1: trailer park area, knocking on doors asking neighbors when they'd
7:14
Speaker 1: last seen Rebecca, and the timeline they pieced together was
7:17
Speaker 1: thin because she'd last been seen the previous evening October thirtieth,
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Speaker 1: and now more than twelve hours later, she had vanished
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Speaker 1: without a trace. So his words spread through the small community.
7:29
Speaker 1: Concern turned to fear, and Pastor John D. White, who
7:33
Speaker 1: was engaged to Rebecca's mother, Sally Gay, stood before his
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Speaker 1: congregation at christ Community Fellowship Church and asked the fourteen
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Speaker 1: members to pray for Rebecca's safe return, and Sally Gay,
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Speaker 1: Rebecca's mother, was just beside herself with worry, desperately hoping
7:51
Speaker 1: her daughter would walk through the door at any moment.
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Speaker 1: Then came a small relief in a growing nightmare, and
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Speaker 1: Conway was actually found safe by John White, and John,
8:03
Speaker 1: knowing that Conway's father was very worried, about him. Dropped
8:07
Speaker 1: Conway off at the biological father's work, which was at
8:11
Speaker 1: the Midland Meyer grocery store, and the police were called,
8:15
Speaker 1: and luckily Conway was unharmed, but he couldn't tell anyone
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Speaker 1: where his mother was. He was only three years old
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Speaker 1: after all. So for twenty agonizing hours, Rebecca's family just
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Speaker 1: clung to hope because maybe she had just gone somewhere
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Speaker 1: and maybe there was an explanation, maybe she would come home,
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Speaker 1: and Sally Gay prayed desperately, begging God to bring her
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Speaker 1: daughter back safely. So initially police had few leads. They
8:43
Speaker 1: questioned neighbors and Rebecca's fiance, Aaron Quinn, and her ex boyfriend,
8:48
Speaker 1: basically anyone who might have had contact with her. But
8:52
Speaker 1: there was another name that came up, and that was
8:54
Speaker 1: John White, the fifty five year old pastor who was
8:58
Speaker 1: engaged to Rebecca's mother. So police naturally started to look
9:01
Speaker 1: into who he was, and what they found was pretty shocking.
9:06
Speaker 1: So the congregation at Christ Community Fellowship and the community
9:10
Speaker 1: in general thought they knew Pastor White. He preached about redemption,
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Speaker 1: about being born again, about how God could change anyone,
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Speaker 1: and he often told them quote, we need to check
9:21
Speaker 1: closely the seeds we sprout in ourselves. Nothing can be
9:25
Speaker 1: hidden from God unquote, but White had plenty hidden so.
9:30
Speaker 1: Born nineteen fifty seven, John Douglas White had spent time
9:33
Speaker 1: in the Navy and worked as a long hault trucker
9:36
Speaker 1: before his life took a violent turn, and his first
9:39
Speaker 1: known attack came in nineteen eighty when he was just
9:42
Speaker 1: twenty two years old, living in Battle Creek, Michigan, and
9:46
Speaker 1: married at the time. White invited a seventeen year old neighbor,
9:50
Speaker 1: Teresa Etherton, to his basement to see his stock car
9:53
Speaker 1: racetrack set up, so she would come over and they
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Speaker 1: would go down there, and then without warning, he would
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Speaker 1: attack her her fifteen times and attempting to store her,
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Speaker 1: and as she lay there dying, White told her verbatim,
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Speaker 1: you're going to go now. I'm really sorry you had
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Speaker 1: to go like this, but what the You're just a woman,
10:18
Speaker 1: a monster. But luckily and miraculously Etherton survived, hence why
10:24
Speaker 1: we got the verbatim quote, and White was luckily arrested
10:29
Speaker 1: and sent to prison, but unfortunately won an appeal on
10:32
Speaker 1: the grounds that his attorney hadn't raised.
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Speaker 2: An insanity defense and.
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Speaker 1: Incredibly, he was released in nineteen eighty three after serving
10:41
Speaker 1: just two years, with two years of probation and mandatory
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Speaker 1: mental health treatment. And one of the most terrifying things
10:49
Speaker 1: is that years later, Etherton was standing in line somewhere
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Speaker 1: when she recognized a voice, turned around and found White
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Speaker 1: smiling at her. Feel so bad for this woman and
11:01
Speaker 1: nothing happened, But just knowing that he is now free
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Speaker 1: after serving only two years for trying to murder her
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Speaker 1: was horrifying because her attempted killer was free. But White
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Speaker 1: would go on living his life, and he would actually
11:15
Speaker 1: get remarried and would go on to have his own children.
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Speaker 1: But his violence toward women continued, and on July eleventh,
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Speaker 1: nineteen ninety four, twenty six year old Vicky Sue Wall
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Speaker 1: disappeared from Comstock Township, Michigan. And Wall actually worked at
11:29
Speaker 1: the same textile company where White did maintenance work, and
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Speaker 1: the two were having an affair, despite White having two
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Speaker 1: children and another baby on the way with his wife,
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Speaker 1: and surveillance footage showed Wall getting into White's black pickup
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Speaker 1: truck at three am, and this would be the last
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Speaker 1: time anyone saw her alive, and six weeks later, her
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Speaker 1: badly decomposed body was found dumped in a rural area,
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Speaker 1: not dressed except for a shirt and bra around her neck,
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Speaker 1: and White refused to cooperate with police or take a
12:00
Speaker 1: lie detector test, but luminal testing revealed blood evidence in
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Speaker 1: his truck. But with limited evidence, prosecutors offered a plea
12:07
Speaker 1: deal and White pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and
12:12
Speaker 1: received eight to fifteen years in prison. And while incarcerated,
12:16
Speaker 1: White made a chilling admission to a prison psychologist, and
12:20
Speaker 1: he said that he had persistent violent fantasies about killing
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Speaker 1: women and having relations with their corpses. Who the why?
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Speaker 1: And just wait, because this is this is making me mad,
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Speaker 1: knowing that, knowing a psychologist knew that, and all this,
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Speaker 1: and then just wait, It's about to get a lot
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Speaker 1: worse because this critical information somehow never made it to
12:43
Speaker 1: the parole board or to the communities where he would
12:47
Speaker 1: later live. And he was released in two thousand and
12:51
Speaker 1: seven after serving only twelve years for murdering someone. And
12:57
Speaker 1: White would just migrate north to Isabella Care and that
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Speaker 1: is where he found religion and reinvented himself as a pastor,
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Speaker 1: the perfect front leading the tiny christ Community Fellowship Church
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Speaker 1: in Mount Pleasant, and he would live in a trailer
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Speaker 1: and began dating Sally Gay, Rebecca's mother and devoted member
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Speaker 1: of his congregation. And Sally had no idea about the
13:22
Speaker 1: full extent of White's past, and neither did her daughter, Rebecca.
13:27
Speaker 1: And by twenty twelve, White was engaged to Sally and
13:30
Speaker 1: had become a fixture in Rebecca's life as he lived
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Speaker 1: one street away, and he often babysat her son, Conway,
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Speaker 1: and obviously he was going to become her stepfather. But
13:40
Speaker 1: all the while, those violent fantasies he confessed to the
13:44
Speaker 1: prison psychologist were still there, just waiting and simmering, and
13:50
Speaker 1: then hit a boiling point because White had inserted himself
13:53
Speaker 1: into the family's life in troubling ways, because he lived
13:57
Speaker 1: in the same trailer park just one street over from Rebecca,
14:00
Speaker 1: like I said, and neighbors reported seeing him frequently cutting
14:03
Speaker 1: through yards to get to her home, and he babysat
14:06
Speaker 1: Conway regularly while Rebecca worked, and he was responsible for
14:10
Speaker 1: the Wednesday custody exchanges, dropping Conway off with his father
14:15
Speaker 1: like he did when he found Conway on October thirty first,
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Speaker 1: twenty twelve, but it was an arrangement that showed how
14:21
Speaker 1: deeply Rebecca had trusted him. She trusted him with her
14:25
Speaker 1: own child. But having known that information that all the
14:28
Speaker 1: prison systems, that the judicial systems just didn't think was
14:32
Speaker 1: relevant for the public to know, I can't imagine she
14:36
Speaker 1: would want to be within six thousand feet of him.
14:40
Speaker 1: But most significantly, White couldn't explain his movements on the
14:44
Speaker 1: night of October thirtieth and the early morning of October
14:47
Speaker 1: thirty first, because a story just kind of kept changing.
14:51
Speaker 1: First he said that he hadn't seen Rebecca, and then
14:54
Speaker 1: he admitted he'd been at her trailer. And the more
14:57
Speaker 1: investigators press, the more his composure starts to crumble. So
15:01
Speaker 1: on November one, twenty twelve, investigators, now having done their homework,
15:07
Speaker 1: knew about Teresa Etherton and about Vicky Sue Wall John's
15:11
Speaker 1: previous victims, so they knew White had a pattern, and
15:15
Speaker 1: during interrogation, detectives played on White's religious persona, telling him
15:20
Speaker 1: that Rebecca's body would deteriorate in the cold, wet weather
15:23
Speaker 1: and that her family deserved to give her a proper
15:26
Speaker 1: Christian burial. They just basically tried to appeal to whatever
15:29
Speaker 1: humanity might be left in him, which but I don't
15:32
Speaker 1: think there is. He's a depraved, sadistic monster.
15:38
Speaker 2: But okay.
15:38
Speaker 1: But after intensive questioning and just not being able to
15:42
Speaker 1: come up with any sort of alibi, John Douglas White
15:45
Speaker 1: broke down and confessed to the details of the murder
15:49
Speaker 1: and they were horrifying. So, based on White's confession, physical evidence,
15:54
Speaker 1: and the investigation, prosecutors pieced together the timeline of October
15:58
Speaker 1: thirtieth to thirty firs Verse twenty twelve. And this is
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Speaker 1: the reconstruction of that night. So sometime in the late
16:05
Speaker 1: evening of October thirtieth, White sat in his trailer, drinking
16:09
Speaker 1: beer and watching Neckroof And for those of you who
16:14
Speaker 1: don't know what that is, basically it is, you know,
16:19
Speaker 1: inappropriate videos of people having relations with other people that
16:23
Speaker 1: aren't alive.
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Speaker 2: It is the sickest thing in the world.
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Speaker 1: And he's just watching it casually, just feeding his long
16:32
Speaker 1: held fantasies about with dead women. But as we know,
16:35
Speaker 1: these weren't new desires because he confessed them to the
16:39
Speaker 1: prison psychologist years earlier, but now.
16:41
Speaker 2: He decided to act on them.
16:43
Speaker 1: So in the early morning hours of Halloween, White walked
16:47
Speaker 1: the short distance to Rebecca's trailer, and he knew she
16:50
Speaker 1: would be asleep at this point, and he knew Conway
16:53
Speaker 1: was there as well, most likely asleep, and he also
16:57
Speaker 1: knew that the door would likely be unlocked because this
17:00
Speaker 1: was a small community where neighbors just trusted each other,
17:03
Speaker 1: especially family, so White would enter easily and silently, and
17:08
Speaker 1: he would make his way to Rebecca's bedroom and she
17:11
Speaker 1: was asleep, just like he suspected, with her Bible and
17:14
Speaker 1: devotional on the nights stand beside her, having read it
17:17
Speaker 1: before bed, completely unaware that a monster had entered her home.
17:23
Speaker 1: And that is when White would strike, and he would
17:26
Speaker 1: hit Rebecca with a rubber mallet, striking her head multiple
17:29
Speaker 1: times until she was unconscious, and these strikes were severe
17:33
Speaker 1: enough to incapacitate her, but not kill her at this
17:36
Speaker 1: point because White wanted her dead, but on his terms.
17:41
Speaker 1: And he then produced a zip tie, something he had
17:44
Speaker 1: brought with him, showing premeditation, and he would wrap it
17:48
Speaker 1: around her neck and pull tight.
17:50
Speaker 2: And that is how.
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Speaker 1: Rebecca Gay, at twenty four years old, a single mother
17:55
Speaker 1: to Conway and daughter of Sally Gay, died in her
17:59
Speaker 1: own bed, and it would be from exphyxiation, and that
18:03
Speaker 1: is when White would do the unthinkable, and he would
18:06
Speaker 1: remove Rebecca's clothing and do what he was watching previously
18:12
Speaker 1: that I'm not going to talk about because you can
18:15
Speaker 1: put that together on your own. But he would claim,
18:17
Speaker 1: while confessing that he didn't remember exactly what happened, but
18:22
Speaker 1: it is heavily believed that he acted out on those fantasies.
18:27
Speaker 1: And when he was done, he wrapped her body in
18:30
Speaker 1: something from the trailer and dragged her out into the darkness,
18:34
Speaker 1: and he would dump her body in a ditch about
18:36
Speaker 1: a mile away behind some pine trees, leaving her exposed
18:40
Speaker 1: to the elements like she was nothing to him.
18:43
Speaker 2: And then, and.
18:44
Speaker 1: This detail reveals the true depth of his depravity, White
18:48
Speaker 1: would return to Rebecca's trailer because Conway, her son, was
18:52
Speaker 1: still sleeping, completely unaware his mother had just been murdered
18:56
Speaker 1: in the next room and dumped a mile away, and
19:00
Speaker 1: White stayed in the trailer until morning and then got
19:03
Speaker 1: Conway up, dressed him in his halloween costume as if
19:07
Speaker 1: it was a normal day, and drove him to the
19:10
Speaker 1: Meyer parking lot in Midland to meet his father, and
19:14
Speaker 1: he handed over the child whose mother he had just
19:17
Speaker 1: murdered and acted like nothing had happened. So after getting
19:20
Speaker 1: the confession from John White, they would discover Rebecca's body
19:24
Speaker 1: in that shallow ditch behind a cluster of pine trees
19:28
Speaker 1: where John said she would be, and like I said before,
19:30
Speaker 1: it was approximately one mile from her mobile home, and
19:33
Speaker 1: he would leave her out there, exposed to the cold
19:36
Speaker 1: October weather, and the medical examiner would determine she had
19:40
Speaker 1: been beaten in the head multiple times with a blunt
19:42
Speaker 1: object and with a zip tie that was tightened around
19:46
Speaker 1: her neck until she was deceased, and all of her
19:49
Speaker 1: clothing had been removed except for a shirt, and she
19:52
Speaker 1: had been dead for over twenty four hours by the
19:55
Speaker 1: time she was found. So Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick
19:59
Speaker 1: initially charged White with first degree murder, which could have
20:03
Speaker 1: resulted in life in prison without parole, because the evidence
20:06
Speaker 1: was overwhelming White's confession, the body location, he provided, his
20:10
Speaker 1: history of violence against women, and the physical evidence at
20:13
Speaker 1: the scene. However, in March twenty thirteen, White agreed to
20:17
Speaker 1: plead guilty to second degree murder in exchange for prosecutors
20:22
Speaker 1: not seeking a life sentence. Just scummy little asshole, and
20:26
Speaker 1: this plea agreement meant White would face twenty nine to
20:30
Speaker 1: sixty years in prison, and some of Rebecca's family members
20:33
Speaker 1: were frustrated by the deal, feeling White deserved the harshest
20:37
Speaker 1: possible punishment, but prosecutors explained it would spare the family,
20:41
Speaker 1: especially Sally Gay, from a lengthy trial and ensure White
20:45
Speaker 1: would likely die in prison given his age, because he
20:48
Speaker 1: was fifty five fifty six at this point. So during
20:51
Speaker 1: the plea hearing, White stood in his orange jumpsuit and
20:54
Speaker 1: admitted his guilt, and he would show no emotion as
20:58
Speaker 1: he re counted killing Rebecca. The courtroom was packed with
21:02
Speaker 1: Rebecca's family and friends, many wearing White t shirts with
21:06
Speaker 1: her name printed on them, forced to listen to the
21:08
Speaker 1: man who destroyed their lives, just casually describing his crimes.
21:12
Speaker 1: So on April thirtieth, twenty thirteen, John Douglas White faced
21:16
Speaker 1: sentencing before Judge Mark Doothy, and the judge had received
21:20
Speaker 1: numerous letters from people whose lives Rebecca had touched, all
21:24
Speaker 1: begging for the maximum sentence, and Sally Gay, Rebecca's mother
21:28
Speaker 1: and White's former Friance, spoke for twenty minutes and her
21:32
Speaker 1: pain was palpable as she addressed the man she had
21:36
Speaker 1: once planned to marry, the man she had trusted with
21:39
Speaker 1: her daughter and grandson, saying quote, Rebecca was always kind
21:43
Speaker 1: to you, She spent time with you, defended you. And
21:47
Speaker 1: then she would describe her daughter as the heart and
21:50
Speaker 1: soul of the family, someone who had been stolen from
21:53
Speaker 1: them by a man they welcomed into their lives. And
21:57
Speaker 1: Rebecca's sister, Deborah, also spoke, making it an impassioned plea
22:01
Speaker 1: for the creation of a violent offender registry, saying quote,
22:05
Speaker 1: my sister might be alive if she had known about
22:08
Speaker 1: White's violent history unquote, and she argued that just as
22:12
Speaker 1: communities are notified about sexual offenders, they should be warned
22:17
Speaker 1: about people with histories of violent crimes against women agree,
22:21
Speaker 1: and Aaron Quinn, Rebecca's fiance, submitted a statement about losing
22:24
Speaker 1: the woman he planned to marry, and Conway's father spoke
22:27
Speaker 1: about how his son would grow up without his mother
22:30
Speaker 1: now and extended family members described the whole left in
22:33
Speaker 1: their lives with her gone, and prosecutor Larry Burdick argued
22:36
Speaker 1: for the maximum sentence, telling the judge quote, this defendant
22:40
Speaker 1: should never ever ever walk free in her society again unquote,
22:45
Speaker 1: and White's attorney, James Paul, tried to argue for leniency,
22:49
Speaker 1: claiming White was remorseful and had been haunted by these
22:52
Speaker 1: fantasies rather than actively embracing them.
22:56
Speaker 2: Like the how do these people? How are they?
23:00
Speaker 1: I mean, I know it's a job, but like how
23:02
Speaker 1: do you live with yourself anyway? But the argument obviously
23:05
Speaker 1: fell flat in a courtroom full of people whose lives
23:08
Speaker 1: had been shattered by White's actions, and when given the
23:11
Speaker 1: chance to speak, White offered only a brief statement saying, quote,
23:16
Speaker 1: I'm sorry for my crime. That's all I have to
23:18
Speaker 1: say unquote. No explanation, no remorse, no acknowledgment of the
23:24
Speaker 1: pain he had caused, just pure evil. And Judge Doothy
23:29
Speaker 1: was visibly disgusted by the crime and White's history, and
23:33
Speaker 1: he would impose a sentence of fifty six to eighty
23:37
Speaker 1: five years in prison, and given White's age of fifty
23:40
Speaker 1: six at this point, it was effectively a life sentence,
23:44
Speaker 1: and the judge made it clear that White should never
23:46
Speaker 1: be free again, stating that he was quote a danger
23:50
Speaker 1: to society unquote and had shown a pattern of escalating
23:53
Speaker 1: violence against women, throughout his entire life. So John Douglas
23:57
Speaker 1: White was sent to the Michigan Reformatory to be serving
24:00
Speaker 1: his sentence, and prison officials classified him as a high
24:04
Speaker 1: profile inmate given the nature of his crime and his
24:06
Speaker 1: status as a former pastor who had murdered a young mother,
24:10
Speaker 1: basically saying he would be a giant target in jail.
24:14
Speaker 1: But unfortunately, White wouldn't serve even five months of his sentence,
24:20
Speaker 1: and on August twenty eighth, twenty thirteen, at approximately four am,
24:25
Speaker 1: corrections officers conducting routine rounds found White having tied bed
24:30
Speaker 1: sheets together completely unsubscribed. If you know, you know, I
24:35
Speaker 1: can't I can't say that word. Otherwise YouTube is going
24:38
Speaker 1: to to take this video down, basically, and prison staff
24:42
Speaker 1: attempted to revive him, but it was too late. John
24:46
Speaker 1: Douglas White was pronounced dead at fifty six years old,
24:50
Speaker 1: having taken the coward's way out rather than face decades
24:54
Speaker 1: in prison for his crimes and for Rebecca's family. White's
24:58
Speaker 1: death brought mixed emotions. Some felt cheated that he had
25:01
Speaker 1: escaped earthly punishment, but others were relieved that they would
25:05
Speaker 1: never have to face him at parole. Hearings or worry
25:08
Speaker 1: about him potentially being released, and Sally Gay, when told
25:12
Speaker 1: of White's death, said she felt.
25:14
Speaker 2: Numb in that it didn't bring Rebecca back.
25:16
Speaker 1: But this case in particular highlights profound systemic failures in
25:21
Speaker 1: preventing repeat violent offenders from re offending, because despite White
25:25
Speaker 1: admitting to prison mental health professionals that he had violent
25:29
Speaker 1: fantasies about killing women and doing terrible things to them
25:32
Speaker 1: after the fact, and despite Michigan Departments of Corrections sending
25:36
Speaker 1: warnings to law enforcement agencies in two thousand and seven
25:39
Speaker 1: labeling him dangerous, White was still able to become a
25:43
Speaker 1: pastor and gain the trust of a new family and
25:47
Speaker 1: commit another murder. But in the years since Rebecca's murder,
25:51
Speaker 1: her family has worked to create meaning from their tragedy,
25:55
Speaker 1: and Deborah Gay has been the most vocal advocate pushing
25:58
Speaker 1: for legislation that would create a violent offender registry similar
26:02
Speaker 1: to fender registries, and their argument is simple but powerful.
26:06
Speaker 1: If Rebecca had known about White's history of violence against women,
26:10
Speaker 1: she might never have let him near her son or herself,
26:14
Speaker 1: and might never had trusted him at all, and might
26:18
Speaker 1: still be alive today. And Conway who was just three
26:21
Speaker 1: when his mother was murdered, has been raised by his
26:24
Speaker 1: father with support from both sides of the family, and
26:27
Speaker 1: the family established a trust fund for Conway's education and
26:30
Speaker 1: future needs, ensuring that Rebecca's son would be provided.
26:34
Speaker 2: For despite losing his devoted.
26:35
Speaker 1: Mother, And every Halloween is particularly difficult for the family,
26:40
Speaker 1: is what should be a day of childhood joy and
26:43
Speaker 1: community fund is forever tainted by the memory of October
26:46
Speaker 1: thirty first, twenty twelve, and Sally Gay has spoken out
26:50
Speaker 1: about how she can barely function on that day, just
26:53
Speaker 1: overwhelmed by memories of those twenty hours when Rebecca was
26:57
Speaker 1: missing and the horrible revelation that fallows. And the family
27:01
Speaker 1: actually holds memorial services for Rebecca every year, gathering to
27:05
Speaker 1: remember the young woman who was the heart and soul
27:08
Speaker 1: of their family, and they share stories about her kindness,
27:11
Speaker 1: her devotion to Conway, her hard work, and her dreams
27:14
Speaker 1: for the future. And they keep her memory alive for Conway,
27:18
Speaker 1: ensuring he knows what an amazing mother he had, even
27:21
Speaker 1: if he can't remember her clearly. And in twenty twenty two,
27:25
Speaker 1: on the tenth anniversary of Rebecca's death, the family actually
27:28
Speaker 1: organized a memorial run slash walk to raise money for
27:32
Speaker 1: domestic violence prevention and victim support services, and over two
27:36
Speaker 1: hundred people participated, showing that even a decade later, Rebecca's
27:40
Speaker 1: story continues to touch people and inspire action. So this
27:44
Speaker 1: is not a story about John White, the disgusting, depraved monster.
27:49
Speaker 1: This is Rebecca's story, the story of a young woman
27:52
Speaker 1: who loved her son fiercely, who worked hard to build
27:55
Speaker 1: a better life, who believed in second chances and saw
27:58
Speaker 1: the good in people. And she was a daughter who
28:01
Speaker 1: made her parents proud, a sister who was the heart
28:04
Speaker 1: and soul of her family, a mother who read bedtime
28:07
Speaker 1: stories and said prayers every single night, fiance planning a
28:11
Speaker 1: future full of love, and an aunt who brought joy
28:14
Speaker 1: to eight nieces and nephews who will grow up with
28:17
Speaker 1: only memories of her. Rebecca Gay deserved to watch her
28:21
Speaker 1: son grow up, and she deserved to marry Aaron Quinn.
28:24
Speaker 1: And she deserved to celebrate holidays with her family for
28:27
Speaker 1: decades to come. So let's choose to remember Rebecca Gay.
28:31
Speaker 1: She mattered, she was loved, and she should still be here.
28:34
Speaker 1: And that is it for today's video. I know it's shorter,
28:38
Speaker 1: than normal. Let me know if you guys are okay
28:40
Speaker 1: with these types of episodes, maybe I'll throw in little
28:43
Speaker 1: mini episodes here and there. Let me know what other
28:45
Speaker 1: cases you want me to dive into down below. I
28:49
Speaker 1: really appreciate you being here, and I hope you have
28:51
Speaker 1: a very very very safe and fun Halloween.
28:56
Speaker 2: And until next time, I will see you, beautiful face. Okay,
28:59
Speaker 2: stay safe.
29:00
Speaker 1: The