Latest / Minor Mischief Podcast / Evan Miller v. Alabama
Transcript
- Kiki George: happens when I didn't really mean to, but it happened anyway. This is the Minor Mesh of Podcast and this is the story of Evan Miller, the Alabama. Welcome back, friends. Welcome back. Welcome back to another episode of the Minor Mischief Podcast. I'm your host and homegirl for the time being, Mrs. Kiana Amir. And thank you for hanging out with me. Ciao. Today's story reminded me that sometimes it's okay to quit while you're ahead. So let's get into it, shall we? We shall. For today's story, we are traveling down to Alabama, over 20 years before Chair Teenth the little town of Moulton, Alabama. Moulton, aka the friendliest little town in Alabama, sits about an hour southwest of Huntsville, Alabama, and an hour and a half from the Tennessee, Alabama border. Moulton hosts a population of about 3,500 people and sits in the foothills of the Bankhead National Forest. I wonder what kind of creatures reside there. I am so heavily invested in like Appalachia lore, creepy creatures lore, Bigfoot lore, Jersey Devil lore, like anything that is not a creature you would see each and every day, tell me all about it, right? So I definitely wonder, like, I could seriously go down a rabbit hole, and I probably will after I get done recording this episode. In Moulton, Alabama, we meet Evan Miller, who is our mischief maker, Colby Smith, who is his friend, and Cole Cannon, who is the star of our show, but also unfortunately our victim. Evan Miller was born in November 1988 to his parents, David and Suzanne Miller. According to the Alabama Department of Human Resources, or DHR, which is really like the Department of Children and Families, like social services in their areas called DHR. Evan was the youngest of three children. He has an older brother named John and an older sister named Aubrey. Evan, like many of our other mischief makers, he had a pretty rough childhood. With DHR visiting the home frequently as early as Evan being nine months old. So David and Susan Miller were both said to have substance abuse issues. And David was extremely violent. And I read an article that said he was the typical like angry drunk. Like he would get drunk and he would start abusing his family. And Susan, she was said to have substance abuse issues as well. And she enjoyed her alcohol as well. And David was not only abusive to Susie. He was also abusive to the children as well. Now, Susie wasn't perfect by any means. She had her own substance abuse. She loved her alcohol. They said her drug of choice was cocaine. But like Mr. Rogers, Miss Susie did not discriminate and she was willing to do whatever drugs came her way. Even though she, you know, had these long histories of substance abuse and it definitely impacted and affected their childhood. The people that knew the family, people that knew Susie, people that knew the kids. They said she was overall a good mom. It's just that her substance abuse got in the way. Because, you know, how could you be a good mom if you're high all the time? Like, how could you be a good mom if you can't get out of bed? You know, how could you be a good mom and be neglectful at the same time? Is my question. Or maybe she had moments, maybe there were moments of like recovery where she was doing really well. And then maybe she fell back into the cycle. I'm not sure. But what I do know is that. There are sources that say she was actually an amazing mom to her children. However, her substance abuse issues and her drinking issues did get in the way of her being the best that she could be for them. So throughout Evan's childhood, there were numerous reports of abuse and neglect. Additionally, because of Susie and David's drug use, the lives and environment that they provided for their children was highly unstable. They were constantly in and out of jail. Like I think they said, Each of them had 14 offenses by the time Evan was 14 years old. So at 14 years old, your parents have been to jail at least once a year, you know? And because of their record and the drug use and the substance abuse and the alcoholism, they were unable to keep stable employment or housing. There were multiple evictions on their records. And court records did mention though that David was an on the road trucker. So he did work some, but it was just not a stable income to take care of his family. Some notable instances of abuse were one time in 1989, a DHR worker came to the house because DHR did not just get involved in the family's life just after Evan's birth. You know, they had four cases before Evan was even born with Aubrey and with John of abuse and neglect and just things that they had gone through in the house. So by the time Evan was born, they're just like, we know this family. Like we know the Millers, we're gonna end up there. We're sure we're gonna have to investigate. So DHR goes out to the house. It's 1989. Evan is nine months old and they knock on the door and David and Susie are completely exposed. Like they're just completely naked. There were no utilities, no food. The kids were naked. And they said Evan's diaper was so soiled, like he could literally not fit anything else in there. It was bursting at the seams. So DHR at that point, they're just like, you know what? We're gonna take the kids for one day and y'all need to get it together. And so they did. They took the kids for one day, returned them the next day, and went about their business. At age five, DHR was called on the family because Evan was found wandering the streets completely unsupervised and half naked. And the kicker is nobody was looking for him. Now, I don't know what time of the day this is because kids are smart and they learn how to unlock things. They learn how to do these things. But like if it's in the middle of the night, like it's not an excuse. But I can understand maybe everybody fell asleep. He woke up and decided to go wander out. But to me, I'm just like, what time of the day was this? Like, I need more context. At the age of six years old, Evan had a failed suicide attempt. I'm not sure if he swallowed something or tried to hurt himself because they did leave that part out of the records. But since his initial suicide attempt, Evan was said to have attempted suicide at least three more times by the age of 14. Throughout the years, DHR reports mandating Evan's parents multiple times to complete substance abuse. and parenting classes and they just never complied. So they would get in trouble, DHR would take their kids. They would be like, listen, you need to go to this substance abuse class and you need to go to this parenting class in order to get your kids back. And they were just like, Mm, nah. I don't think I want to. I don't feel like doing that. It's just not gonna happen. And so then they would get mandated and they wouldn't. And you know, the cycle just continued. At the age of nine, Evan called DHR on his own father because apparently Evan was thirsty. And like I said, their home was constantly without food and drink. They were constantly facing evictions. They were constantly scrambling for money. Evan was getting picked on at school because he had like really raggedy clothes and he smelled funny. And you know, I just want to take this time. I know I say this every episode that we go through this, but I do want to implore everybody to please like If a kid is smelling funny or that means there's some neglect going on, right? Because if you're paying attention to your child, your child should be clean. And or you may not know. Like I have met people who have kids who is just like, that's totally appropriate to not bathe them every day or bathe them once a week or whatever, because that's what they do. And it's like, I understand, but they smell and the kids are picking on them because they smell. So if you are seeing a child that smells or is in a bad way, maybe have a conversation with them. Maybe, you know, talk to them about what it is that they have going on at home. Maybe they just need some resources. Maybe they just need some help, you know? And I do implore parents of children to talk to your kids about those things. Like just because someone smells different or looks different or wears different clothing, don't pick at them. You don't know what somebody's going through. But throughout Evan's childhood, he was bullied mercilessly because He smelled funny. His clothes were raggedy. His clothes were torn. He wasn't clean. Like he had all these things going on at home. And instead of, you know, someone taking the time to say, you know, Evan is everything okay, they picked on him. And so that really did a number to his self esteem. So Evan's around nine years old at this point. And there's no food, there's no drink, there's nothing. And David comes home and he's drinking a ice cold soda. And so Evan at this point, he's parched, he's hungry, he's going through all the motions, and he's just like, bro, I'm about to die of thirst. And so he looks at David's soda, and it looks at him, and he looks at it, and it looks at him, and he looks at it. And he's just like, Yeah, I'ma drink that. And so he drinks it. And David beat Evan mercilessly for having the nerve, gall, and audacity. To drink his soda. As horrible as David was to Evan, though, Aubrey did admit that John, him being the oldest sibling, John actually was the sibling that faced the most violence. Like David was, he beat John relentlessly, with one occasion of him beating John so bad that he had put his head through the door. I just that's. He was just like, you know what, y'all? We don't have no power, but we have this grill. And so he gets the grill, he puts it inside. It's a charcoal grill. He puts the charcoal in it. He lights it. And he's just like, there, we have heat. Everybody go to bed. And so the entire family got carbon monoxide poisoning because of that. Life was not always spent together with the family, though. Evan and his siblings did grow up in and out of the foster care system. Because again, DHR is constantly getting called. They're getting moved. They're getting placed into foster care. And the Alabama DHR said that their main goal was not to keep the children from David and Susie, but to rehabilitate them. So we're gonna take your kids. You need to get better. As soon as you're better, we're gonna give you your kids back. But it was just like I said, it was just a cycle. And they constantly were going through the cycle of. In and out of foster care, in the home, out of the home, and all these things. And that really does do a number to the child's stability because every time they go to a different foster family, they're going to a new school. And it's one thing to always be the new kid out of school, right? Because that was my childhood. We moved so much. And sadly, the cycle has repeated itself because my daughter went to five elementary schools. Cause we moved so much. She went to five elementary schools and she's on her second middle school. But I have vowed that I am not. moving her again. She will find stability in this lifetime. So help me God. I'm not moving her again. I don't care what I have to do. But I had the same thing. And it's one thing to be the kid that's always starting over because then it's like now you have to make new friends. You have to figure out the lay of the land. How do the kids do things here? How does this work? And on top of that, it's like you have to figure these things out and then you smell. And then you have ripped clothes and then your hair is disheveled. And then you may be the kid with lice, you know? And that does a number to your reputation as well. So Evan is just at this point like going through it. And he's just feeling like a plastic bag in the wind. He's just uncared for, left to his own devices. And I hate to put it like that, but I feel like their upbringing was a huge disservice to their character. And then when I hear things like this, it makes me curious because the cycle of abuse does not always start with that person. So I'm curious as to what David and Susie's childhood was like because if you want me to be honest, there was probably abuse and neglect in their childhood as well. I'm not making excuses for it, but what I am saying is that typically, and this is not every case, I understand, because there are some people who have wonderful upbringings that turn into abusers. I was married to one. But there are also people who abuse because that's all they know. That's how they were raised, right? Like I said, they were just in this cycle. And this cycle was heavily disrupted in July 1999 when the children were placed in foster care with a loving family called the Adamsons, where they remained for about 17 months. In the year 2000, David and Susie got into a super heated argument. Like they are fussing and fighting, they're tussling. And David gets mad and he points a gun at Susie's head. I didn't find anything that said he fired the weapon, but the police were called and David was like, you know what, I gotta get out of here. So he fled Alabama to avoid jail time. He moved back to Indiana, which is where he was from, and he never returned home. At this point, the children were once again placed into foster care and they stayed there until about 2002. So at the time of our story in 2003, Susie and the kids were living in a trailer next to the trailer belonging to Cole Cannon. Cole Columbus Cannon was born on February 12, 1951, to Letty and Lena Cannon. Cole came from a pretty large family. He had five brothers and five sisters. And he was a painter by trade, and he was allegedly a collector of, you know, fine things. Like he collected baseball cards, memorabilia, things of that nature. Now, Cole, like I said, he was a painter by trade. That was his day job. But allegedly, on an allegation, the words on the street were Cole, you know, he sold a little dress. He's a little work on the side. You know, he had to make ends meet, right? And he was known in the neighborhood as somebody who may have a little something if you have a little money to buy a little something, you know? So it's July 15, 2003. And 2003, honey, what a time to be alive. We were still using Nokia bar phones, with the little snake game on them. Apple had just released iTunes. And I remember cause Mary J. Blige had a song, I think, with Method Mem. And in this video, I can't remember the song, but in the video, I remember her holding the iPod like iTunes, you know, like such a marketing advertisement. I can't remember the name of the song. It's gonna drive me crazy, but she was sitting on like a fire escape and all that. And Juicy Couture tracksuits, baby. my gosh, on everybody, baby fat, which baby fat is back. Crazy in Love by Beyonce had just been released, and we were all, Unpopular opinion because Dangerously in Love came out and chapter two by Ashanti came out in the same summer. Unpopular opinion, I liked Ashanti's album better. Don't come for me in the comments. Don't come for me in the comments. Dangerously in Love was a great album. Don't get me wrong. I just liked chapter two better. Like it had me in a chokehold, track for track, word for word, bar for bar. Your girl was in a chokehold. Regardless. It's a beautiful Tuesday night. It's July 15th, 2003. And we find Susie and Evan in their trailer. Evan, at this point, he's at his school and he makes a friend. And his friend is 16-year-old Colby Smith. And so Colby and Evan at this point, because of summer break, they had known each other about four or five months now. And they're getting along great. Like they're they're friends, right? And so Evan is just like, Mom, do you think it'll be cool if Colby spends the night with us? And Susie's just like, well, I don't see a problem with that. That's fine. This is great because it's like at this point, finally, Evan has a consistent friend. They're going a couple months strong. This is a good friendship, right? So Evan and Colby are hanging out. Susie's at the house. Everybody's at the house chilling. And they hear a knock at the door. Susie goes to answer the door and it's Cole. It's around midnight. So she's like, Cole, like, what's going on? Why are you here? And Cole is just like, listen, Susie, I've been turned up in my trailer, okay? I have been drinking. He was drinking whiskey. He's like, and I got hungry. Cause you know, one thing about when you start drinking is you're gonna get snackish. You want some chips, you want some some something. And so at this point, Cole is snackish and he's like, I gotta make myself something to eat. But Cole is drunk. So Cole accidentally burns his dinner. So he's at Suzy's door, like, Susie, girl, I messed up. I am Outta here. And I started making myself something to eat for dinner and I burnt it and I really don't have nothing else. Do you have anything? You have any leftovers or something? And Susie's just like, You know what, Cole? As a matter of fact, I do. I have made some spaghetti. Come in, let me fix you a plate. You can have some. And so he comes in and he's just like, Hey Evan, what's up, Evan's friend? And him and Susie walk to the kitchen and Susie fixes him some spaghetti. And Cole sits down, he's eating. Him and Susie are, you know, Chit-chatting and Evan and Colby are just like, Well, if he's here, his trailer's empty. And I know he got some good stuff in there because Colby's selling drugs. And so Cole is eating and he's talking to Susie and they sneak out and they go over to his trailer. And so they're just like looking for a little weed, a little money, some pills, something. Help me. And they get there into his trailer. And actually, I'm just gonna say house, because I don't know why they make it such a big deal, like, he lived in a trailer. Who cares? I don't care if you live in a hut, an apartment, a condo, a trailer, a mansion, transitional housing. A house is still a house. I know that's not what Luther said, but that's what I say. It's a roof over your head, it's walls that you live in and you're not sleeping outside. So they went over to Cole's house. So Evan and Colby go over to Cole's house and they're kind of digging through stuff and they didn't find anything, but they're just like You know what? I'm pretty sure these baseball trading cards are worth money. So they pocket those and then they head back to Evan's house. At this point, Cole is done eating. He's rubbing his belly and he's just like, All right, Susie, girl, you really did your thing with this spaghetti. Thank you for saving my life. Because there's nothing worse than being drunk and snackish and not having anything to eat. So he's just like, This is great, you know, thank you so much, Susie. I'm gonna head back to my place. I'll chat with you tomorrow. So he's walking out of the house and Evan and Colby are just like, Hey, do you mind if we come over with you? And Cole is just like, I mean, sure, you know, I'm just gonna go home and do what I do at home. So yeah, come on. So the three go back to Cole's house. And Evan and Colby at this point, they're thinking, listen, Cole is already drunk. He's about to be high. So let's just chill with him for a second. When he falls asleep, let's go through his pockets and see what he got in there. And this is where I feel like they lost the plot. This is where I feel like they lost the plot. This is where I feel like they lost the plan. Because if you go through if you are going over to this man's house and you're just like, let's rob him when he falls asleep. He is going to wake up. And when he wakes up, he's going to realize that the things that were in his pocket are no longer in his pocket. And then he's going to realize that you were the last person with him. And then he's gonna beat your ass. But I digress. But this is where I feel like they lost the plot. We gotta think things through, friends. Because this was never going to end well. That's neither here nor there. So Evan and Colby, they're over at Cole's house playing video games. They're drinking, they're smoking. And I'm not anti 420 by any means, but I'm just saying, like, the amount of cases that we have covered with kids smoking weed is alarming. And just a reminder to hold off until your frontal lobe develops, because none of these cases went well. And it always started with They were smoking a little weed. I'm not saying don't ever. I mean, sure, don't ever, because it's an illicit drug, right? But if you do, just wait till you're an adult. Also, honorable mention don't have sex until you graduate high school or college. Just seriously. Things happen, mistakes happen, babies happen. At least wait until you're a little bit older. At least wait till you beat teen pregnancy and then pop off. But even then, still use. Lots of protection. Thank you. Back to our story. So Cole at this point, they are smoking. He is drunk. He has had a great night. His belly is full of Susie spaghetti. And he passes out on the couch. And Evan at this point, he's just like, bingo, we got action. He pulls Cole's wallet out of his pocket and takes it into the bathroom where him and Colby find $300. And so they split the $300 amongst themselves. They take Cole's wallet and try to sneak it back into his pocket when Cole wakes up and he's like, boy, what the hell are you doing? And he places his hands around Evan's throat and he starts choking him. Colby reacts quickly because he's just like, bro, you're strangling my friend. And he grabs a baseball bat and hits Cole over the head with it. So at this point, Cole is holding his head and he lets go of Evan. And so Evan jumps on top of him and starts punching him repeatedly in the face, over and over. And at this point, Cole is like, Evan, chill. That's enough now. Evan, you need to chill. Evan, stop. That's enough. Evan, that's enough. Evan is not hearing it. He is constantly punching Cole, right? So Evan unfortunately does not listen to any of Cole's pleas for help. And he picks up the bat that Cole be dropped nearby and he starts hitting Cole repeatedly with the bat at this point. So Cole is on the floor at this point, and Evan throws a sheet over his head and says, I am God. I have come to take your life. And he hits him over the head one more time with the bat and a final blow. Evan and Colby leave Cole's house and they head back to next door to Evan's house. And at this point, they're just like, Did we just do? And Colby, I'm sure at this point is like, ain't no we about it. I hit him once. I hit him once. But Evan's like, my gosh, at some point somebody's gonna find his body. And we need to go dispose of the evidence. So let's just head back over there because we left things a mess. There's blood everywhere. We really need to clean up and hide the evidence. So they go back to Cole's house and Evan lights a fire on a couch in the back bedroom. And then they light a fire on a different couch. So as they're leaving the second time, Colby turns to Cole and hears him faintly ask, like, Why are y'all doing this to me? Cause Cole is still on the floor. Evan thinks Cole is dead. Colby at this point realizes, no, Cole is still alive. So Evan walks ahead of him. Colby takes the towel and rolls it up and places it under Cole's head to kind of soak up the bleeding, to say, you know what? Let's let's try to stop this. And so he puts a towel there to soak up the bleeding and then he plugs up the kitchen sink so that it overflows in an attempt to stop the fire. So he leaves it running and then he's just like, okay, the water. It's gonna stop the fire. I put this towel under his neck. It's gonna soak up the blood. It's gonna at least hold it right there. And then by the time he wakes up, or by the time, you know, he gets up, he'll just be wet, but he'll be alive, right? So he leaves the house and he comes back ten minutes later. And he's getting ready to walk into Cole's house when he hears Evan coming up behind him. And so Evan is like, what the hell are you doing? And Colby's like, you know, I'm not doing anything. I'm just let's let's head back. So at this point, the house is engulfed in flames and neighbors notice it and they call 911. The fire department responds to the scene led by Fire Marshal Rick Montgomery. Immediately upon responding to the scene, they realize that this fire seems atypical. They enter the home and decide to focus on the back bedroom because they're just like, this is like suffered the most damage. So let's see what's going on in here. So as they're walking through the house, they notice blood spatter on the wall. And they're just like, well, that's odd. Why would there be blood spatter on the walls if this is a fire? But they keep walking. And then they discover Cole's dead body laying in the hallway leading to the back bedroom. So at this point, they're just like, this is no longer a fire investigation. The police need to be involved. So they turn the crime scene over to investigator Tim Sandlin. Tim searches Cole's home and after speaking with his family, he identifies some missing items, such as Cole's wallet, his ID, and the trading cards. In a statement, Cole's daughter Candy says, When my family received the news that there was an quote unquote accident, we went directly to our father's trailer. Let me preface that I have worked in the criminal justice system for 13 years. I have taught as an adjunct professor for the last six years at a university, which includes juvenile justice issues. At the time of my father's death, I was working as a child abuse investigator in Lawrence County, Alabama. So I knew of Evan and his family. Yes, he was in foster care, and anyone that encountered him, mental counselors, teachers, had the same thing to say. Evan is manipulative. He was in the truck with two others and they spun out in the gravel when we arrived. His mother was spatting off saying my dad fell down and hit his head, and that's why he was bleeding, and he died from falling asleep holding a cigarette. I ignored her for various reasons. It was clear that this was no accident after our arrival. So They're at the house with investigator Sandlin. Obviously the family's not in the house because it's an active crime scene, but Investigator Sandlin is searching. They find Cole's wallet, but they notice that his ID is still missing. He then finds a bloody baseball bat under the couch. He walks next door and he asks Susie, like, Susie, have you seen anything or have you heard anything throughout the night? I'm not But I do know that Susie did turn over the baseball cards to the investigator, even though she claimed that Evan had nothing to do with it. So he looks at the baseball cards and he's just like, okay, this is cute. Evan, Susie, do y'all mind coming down to the station with me? Like, just get in my car. We're gonna ride down together. So they're at the station. Investigator Sandlin reads Evan his Miranda rights. And he's just like, All right, Evan, what happened last night? And so Evan is just like, I really don't know anything. I don't know nothing about this fire. I don't know n I didn't even find out about this until I woke up this morning. Like I was in my bed. And so he's just like, hmm, interesting. Anything else you wanna tell me? And Evan is like, Well, yeah, I mean, we hung out with Cole last night, but I didn't go to his house. He came over, he ate some of mom's spaghetti. You know, my palms are heavy, knees weak, something, whatever Eminem said. This vomit on my soda already, mom spaghetti. And he's like, hmm, interesting. So he said, All right, Evan, from the time you found out this morning what happened to Cole to the time you last saw him last night, I want you to work backwards and tell me play for play everything that happened. And so as soon as he said that to Evan, he said, Evan immediately became irritated. Like, I already told you what I know. Investigator Sandlin's words, not mine. Susie then leaves the room and investigator Sandlin and Evan, they're alone at this point and they're like shooting the breeze at this point. He's like, Evan, what happened? And at this point, Evan's story changes. And he's just like, okay, last night we were getting ready to call it a night. Cole came over and he was just like, Hey, can I use y'all phone? And so we were like, sure. He comes in, he uses the phone, and we go back to his place. And while we were there, I saw these trading cards. My friend Colby was there. They look like they may be worth some money. So we kind of noted it. And then we were just like, We'll come back later for that. So then later, Cole comes back to our house and he's just like, Y'all got something to eat. And so he comes in and he, like I said, is eating mom spaghetti. And, you know, me and Colby at this point, we're just like, I mean, he ain't at home. So we go and we take the baseball cards that we saw earlier. And then about two or three in the morning, Cole is getting ready to go back home. And we're just like, can we come back with you? And he's just like, sure. So we go over there and we drink a beer with him. And then he got really drunk. And he couldn't even stand up. And then he fell his he fell because, you know, he's drunk and he's staggering. And so he falls and he hit his nose and lip on the table. And I was trying to help him up and he grabbed me by the throat. And then Colby came and pushed Cole off of me. And then Cole grabbed a bat and hit me in the arm. And then Colby took the bat away and hit Cole and then he threw it down. I kicked it underneath the couch and we ran. But wait, we didn't really run, because I did punch him in the face a couple of times. And then I noticed Cole's wallet was laying on the floor, right? And instead of just leaving it there, I was just like, I'm gonna take this money and I'm gonna take his driver's license. And then my mom showed up at the door, banging on the door, and she was like, Call the police. Y'all better get out this man's house right now. And so then we took off. And that was it. And then as we were leaving, Cole was like, why'd y'all beat me up? And but he was alive, I swear. He was alive when we left his house. And so investigator Sandlin is like, hmm, I'm gonna type up everything you just told me and I just need you to sign it, okay? And so he walks out and he's like, this freaking kid is lying. On July 23rd, 2003, he goes back out to Cole's house to further investigate. At Cole's house, he is met by Deputy Fire Marshal Lyndon Blackston and a few other members of law enforcement. During the investigation, Deputy Blackston noticed blood spatters on the wall, a table, a pillow, and a towel. Deputy Blackston also identified four points of origin for the fires, including a large one in the back bedroom, like I mentioned earlier, which spread down the hallway, a second one on the bed, which had been completely consumed, a third one on the couch, and a fourth one which came from a cushion that had been placed on the floor before being set on fire. So at this point, no one is really thinking Cole was murdered because An autopsy was performed and the cause of death was smoke inhalation. So they're just like, yes, something happened. Yes, he got into a fight or fell or whatever. But according to the pathologist, Dr. Adam Craig, he died of smoke inhalation, case closed. But they're just like, what caused the fire? Because for there to be this many points of acceleration, something happened here. And it does lead me to ask the question, I wonder how Colby's parents took this. I don't know anything about Colby or his pants. I couldn't really find much in the records. But do you know how pissed I would be if I allowed my son to spend the night at a friend's house? And now you're being questioned for murder? You would have to peel me off everybody's ass, including my child. Because what are you doing? I let you out the house for one night and you murder somebody. my gosh. The police wouldn't they would have to arrest me for beating my child right in front of them. I promise you that. But that's neither here nor there. Cole's funeral was held on Sunday, July 27, 2003, at the Roselawn Funeral Home Chapel. And he was subsequently laid to rest at the Roselawn Gardens in Morgan County, Alabama. Investigator Sandler, he's continuing to work this case because he's just like, I cannot get this round circle to fit into a square peg. Like it's not making sense. I hear what you're saying that he died of smoke inhalation. But this crime scene does not say smoke inhalation. And so at that point, he requests for Cole's body to be exhumed and that a full autopsy be performed. Cole's body was exhumed on August 1st, 2003, and Dr. Adam Craig then performs a full autopsy. During the autopsy, Dr. Craig discovered several injuries not caused by the fire, including a two-inch contusion to the left side of the forehead caused by blunt force and six rib fractures on both sides of his body. Dr. Craig was also able to determine from hemorrhaging that these injuries occurred before Cole died. Toxicology analysis showed Cole's blood alcohol level to be 0.216. I mean, he was drinking, it is what it is. Based upon these findings, Dr. Craig reaffirmed his initial finding that the cause of Cole's death was inhalation of products of combustion, but added multiple blunt force injuries and ethanol intoxication, which were Added as contributing factors that made it more difficult for Cole to breathe in the fire or to escape from the trailer. So basically, what the report was saying was that: okay, the fire was there. Cole did die from smoke inhalation, which he did. The injuries that he sustained during his fight with Evan were not his cause of death. His cause of death was smoke inhalation. But the second report that Dr. Craig performed. basically made it seem like, okay, so Cole was drunk, he passed out, a fire started, and because he was drunk, he did not have the wherewithal to say, my gosh, I'm in danger. And so he died from smoke inhalation. Had he just been drunk and high, he would have I mean he would have woken up late. But he dang sure would've gotten up and gotten the hell out of that house. But that's neither here nor there. On August fourth, two thousand three, Craig was taken into custody because he was a liar. I mean, let's just call it spade a spade. He did lie to the police. He did tell them two different versions of what happened. And they were just like, We have enough to charge you at this point because we know that you basically assaulted Cole. And had he not had these injuries, he would have been able to make it out of that fire alive. So we're gonna hold you. We're gonna continue to investigate, but we are gonna hold you. On August fourth, two thousand three, Evan was taken into custody and taken to the Tennessee Valley Detention Center. At this point, they're just like, listen, Cole would have made it out alive had you not interfered with this. Had you not beat him down, had you not, you know, hit him with the bat, had you not started like we we we have enough to charge you at this point, at least just for the assault, until we figure out what else is going on. So they have Evan in custody. And while Evan is in custody, he underwent two separate mental health evaluations. On the way to the first evaluation, he was transported by Deputy Tim McWarder, who engaged in some small talk with Evan as they traveled. He made it a point not to ask Evan about the investigation, but Evan then asked him, like, if I told a lie, but I wanted to go back to tell the truth, would I get into trouble? And then Evan continued to say. I deserve to do some time in a correctional facility. And I'm not innocent in this. And that I I I did do it. I did assault Mr. Cannon. I didn't I did assault Cole. Like I did beat him up. And so Detective McWater is just like, I mean, Deputy McWater is just like, okay, interesting. I didn't ask you any of that, but okay. I'll just no take that for a rainy day. So they go through the visit, it's done. Evan goes back to the detention center. Deputy McWarder picks him up a separate time, a second time for another mental health evaluation. And Evan at this point, he's in the back and he's just like, Man, I was really messed up the night that cold lied. Like I had taken two clonopin pills. I drank almost an entire fifth of whiskey. I don't remember everything that happened. Like my memory ain't too clear. You know what I'm saying? I do remember. Me and Colby, we went over to Cole's house because we I Cole usually got some acid and we wanted to try something. But when we got there, Cole didn't want to talk about nothing except music. And we were trying to leave. And Evan grab, I mean, and Cole grabs me by the neck. And that's when, you know, things got physical. I slammed him really hard because I was so angry. Because how dare you put your hands on me? Evan also admitted to deputy to Deputy McWarder that he knew an Autopsy would probably show bruises and other injuries because he had roughed Cole up pretty good. He continued to claim that he couldn't remember everything that happened that night, but he said that the more that he thought about it, the more he started to believe that he may have been the one that started the fire. The next morning, Evan woke up and Colby was telling him that Cole had died in the fire and the guilt and the weight of everything that happened started to sit on him. Evan at this point, he's just running his damn mouth. He is using Deputy McWarder as a diary. And unfortunately, or fortunately, I suppose, Deputy McWarder is a mandated reporter. So Evan was then charged with two counts of capital murder, and he continued to sit in the detention center awaiting trial. In March 2004, it was determined that Evan should be tried as an adult. And Evan was indicted by a grand jury in January 2006 on the two counts of capital murder. One count of capital murder. for murder during a first degree robbery and count two for murder during a first degree arson. His trial began in October 2006, presided by Judge Philip Reich at an all-female all-mom jury. Hmm. Talk about a jury of not your peers. And I don't even see how that was legal to be honest, because every mom and or maybe they thought that it was fair to say because if They were Evan's mom because Susie did testify at the trial. Aubrey testified at the trial. They testified to how messed up their upbringing was. Like Aubrey was just like our p like we really had a horrible childhood. And the Abramsons or the Adamsons, it was the Adamsons, I believe. I said it earlier in this episode. The Adamsons, they even testified on Evan's behalf and they said, like, listen, Evan may be a lot of things, but he's not a cold-blooded killer. He's misguided. A little manipulative, a little toxic, but he really like the more they spent time with him, the more they got to know who he was, the more that this tough exterior shell started to crack, and the more they got to see who the real Evan was. And what they were trying to do was paint the picture of the real Evan. They wanted everyone to see like this cold-blooded murderer that the prosecution, that basically the state of Alabama, is saying that he is, is not who he really is. He is actually A good person. Like he's a good friend. He is a good brother. And he had never really been in any trouble. Like by the time Evan was nine, he had been on antidepressants, antipsychotics. Like they were just like, there's actually an issue here. And one of the Adamson children, you know, testified on Evan's behalf and was just like, Evan has been alone with me multiple times. Like he has never been mean to me. He's never been hateful for me. Like, yes, I've seen him catch an attitude a couple of times. Yes, I've seen him angry, but he has never been this person. And they really just tr did their best to paint Evan as someone who probably deserves some time, but they wanted his mental health to be taken into consideration. And so they went through the trial, the jury was sent out to deliberate. And they sat and they think, think, think. And they returned with their verdict and they found Evan guilty. During sentencing, Evan was sentenced to a life in prison without the possibility of parole. Which brings me to where are they now? Well, like I said earlier, Evan is currently serving his life sentence at the St. Clair Correctional Facility with no release date in sight. I did read a couple articles that stated during Evan's child, a DNA test was performed and found out that he was not the biological child of David Miller. And that has nothing to do with this story and nothing to do with the T in China, but I did find that very interesting and I don't know how to feel about that. I'm like, did David know? Did he have suspicions that Susie was stepping out on him? I mean, he raised Evan as his own, so I don't think so. But did that change their relationship afterward? Do they have a relationship afterward? Because remember, David fled from their lives in 2000. So I just wonder, you know, Susie, she has been there for Evan. She has definitely advocated on his behalf. She continues to show up because Evan has filed at least three appeals by now. The most recent one in October 2025, which was denied by a five-four vote. And there are numerous sites that advocate for Evan's resentencing. Basically, there are other teenagers in Alabama that have committed similar crimes. And because of their age, they did not receive life. And so a lot of the talk behind Evan's sentencing and behind his appeals is how could you do this for me, but not for them? You know? So there are like a lot of I dare say help sites, like a lot of I don't want to say help sites, but like a lot of justice sites, a lot of advocacy groups. There we go. That was gonna drive me crazy. There are a lot of advocacy groups that do work to see what they can do about Evan's case. And I do believe that at some point he will win an appeal because he was 14 at the time of the crime in 2003. That was 23 years ago. So Evan's a year older than me. So he'll be about 38. I feel like I would say let him out at the age of 40. Honestly, that would just be my personal because at that point it's like he spent over half he has been in prison more than he has been out. And I'm not saying that this excuses what he did, but I do feel like at the age of 14, we should take some things into consideration, right? He's 14 years old. I do feel like depending on how he has been. in prison, which I did not see any disciplinaries, that doesn't mean they don't exist. I just have not seen any. Like Craig Price, by all means, leave him in there. He has been cutting up since the day he has been arrested. Evan, you know, he I do believe that there is a fair chance that he has been rehabilitated, which is what the prison system is for. So I mean, I would say, I would say let him out at the age of forty. That's in two years. I would say like he should win one of those appeals. That that's just my personal opinion. Colby, how I get in this, Smith pled guilty to felony murder in October 2006, and he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. He is currently serving his sentence at the Staten Correctional Center. And I definitely feel like for Colby, free him. I I I don't think Colby deserved life. I understand why he got life. I just don't feel like he deserved life because, and granted, he could have done more. He could have done way more, way more to help Cole. I do believe that once he saw Cole there begging for help, like, why'd y'all do this to me? Once he realized that Cole was still alive and incapacitated to the point he couldn't move, I do feel like he should have called the police and been like, Hey, like, you know, because what would have happened? Like, yeah, y'all would have probably went to Juvie for the drugs and for beating him up, but you wouldn't have done life about it. However, on the flip side, as a sixteen year old kid, That just saw your friend beat somebody unconscious with a baseball bat and then say, I am God, I have come to take your life. I would be afraid. I would be like, I'm going to bed when I wake up in the morning, I'm going home. I'm going home. I might tell my mother. But I just feel like Cole, like he'd only known Evan for a couple months. So it's just like getting wrapped up in serving a life sentence for something that you truly He really didn't do nothing. Yes, he hit Cole one time because Cole was choking Evan. I get that. He defended his friend. But that was it. Like that was the extent of his involvement. He even flooded the place because he was just like, Well, what kills fire? Water. I'm gonna flood this place so that this fire doesn't have an effect. Although Cole could have drowned. But you know what I'm saying? Well, maybe not. Maybe it wouldn't have been enough water. It was just from the kitchen sink. No, I just feel like free, free, free Colby. He does not deserve to be doing life about this. In my opinion. Y'all let me know if you think differently. But in my opinion, I don't feel like he should be doing life about this. Susie, like I said, Susie has she been holding Evan down. She has. She has definitely advocated on his behalf. She has definitely spoken up on his behalf. She has admitted, you know, to her. role in Evan's demise. She has admitted to things that she has done. And it's just sad and it's unfortunate because How we raise our kids, most of us do the best that we can, right? Most of us do what we know how. I am of the belief that anyone with substance abuse issues, they're trying to feel something. Like they are numb. And that is all they can feel. And so in Susie's case, I just feel like unfortunately, the substances, they got the best of her. And I hate to say that, but you know. Everybody was just like she was such a good mom if it wasn't for those drugs. She was such a good mom if it wasn't for that alcohol. She was such a good mom if it wasn't for that coke. I wonder if she did crack. They said Susie did not pass up no drugs, okay? She probably does Probably wasn't there. Doing whatever. But I do feel I I know she feels guilty because it's just like, damn, I was high and my son was killing our neighbor, you know? I just, I really, there were no winners in this case. Like there's no winners ever in any case, but yeah. Which brings me to my final thoughts. My final thoughts is don't do drugs, kids. Don't do drugs. Your brain has not developed. And I feel like in a lot of these stories, it starts off with, he was doing drugs and then. And like I said, I don't feel like me personally, I'm just not of the belief that weed is a gateway drug. I know people, I know tons of people that smoke a little weed and they've never touched an another thing else. One of my favorites is and I don't know her personally, but I hear her say this all the time, Taz from Sisters Who Kill. She always says, Any drug that'll make me Go my entire life trying to chase that first high, I don't want no parts of it. And a lot of people think that way. They're just like, yeah, I may get high when I smoke, but there's a limit to that high. Like you might eat the whole house up. But that's it. That's really it. I cannot think of, I don't know anybody. I'm not saying this never happened, but I don't know anybody who's just like, I'm I smoke weed. I'm gonna go do heroin about it. Like I j I just have not met anybody. Usually it's just like I'm afraid of that because I've seen what that has done to people. I feel safe over here. But there are people too that, you know, make they they do other things. And I just feel like I feel like she is totally right in that statement. I would not want to do anything. I would not want to put any substance in my body that brings me to a point where I. go my entire life chasing that first tie. Because that's really what happens. I used to work in an addiction recovery center. And the people that were on heroin, they were just like, I want to feel like that again. And they can't. Like when you're doing heroin or, you know, crap, that first high is so good that it's just like you really go your entire life chasing it. And you're just never able to meet that need. And I really feel like that's what Susie was going through. She was chasing her first high. And I feel like she was also being very numb. But unfortunately, because she was chasing that, her kids were chasing other things. And it ended in what happened to Cole. Now, Cole's daughter, what's her name? Candy? I think her name was Candy. She's not letting up. She is not in the mood for y'all to be trying to let Evan out. I I'm gonna be so for real. She, as of recently, is just like absolutely not. I'm showing up I'm showing out. I don't get my dad back. Because one of her sister was pregnant at the time of Cole's death. And she's just like, now my niece or my niece or nephew, I don't know. Now they don't get to meet their grandfather. Now my kids don't get to know their grandfather. Like he he took him from us, which I understand. I underst I get it. Like, I get it. Because I, you know. You want them to take you want them to give what they took from you. You took a life, I feel like you should lose yours. You know what I'm saying? And it's true. Like I completely agree with her, but it's just like he was 14. And I don't want to say he didn't know any better, because obviously he did. He knew enough to lie about it. But I don't know. I just feel like I feel like he's been in jail for 23 years. Like if he has been good. I I would say he's been re rehabilitated. But that's just my personal opinion. I also did not lose my father in this story. So I get why she would feel like it would never be enough. And I completely understand that. And also she said that he didn't show remorse. And I get that too. It's like you took something from me and you're just You're okay about that. And yeah. That's the end of our show. Keep up with me. Follow me on TikTok, Minor Mischief Podcast on Instagram, Minor Mischief Pod. Case suggestions, wanna chat, wanna Kiki, wanna ha ha. send me an email, minor mischiefpodcast at gmail.com. This friends is Minor Mischief first year anniversary. Yes, that's right. I have been here for a whole year. For those of y'all that have been rocking with me for since day one, thank you. For those of y'all that started at episode 20 and listened to all of them, thank you. For those of y'all who may be listening to me for the first time, thank you. Leave a review, rate the show, write me, put a comment, help me really push the show out there. I was talking to a friend of mine today and I'm like, marketing is my like, it is not a strong suit for me. I don't do well, but I really have to get in there because I really wanna push the show out there. I do have a s an announcement, I suppose. We are branching off. We're having another podcast. It's gonna come out next week. It's called Past the Popcorn. And that's gonna be a podcast where me and my best friend we review horror movies. And so our flagship episode is next week. I'm gonna I'm not gonna shut up about it. I'm gonna bring it back. I'm gonna remind you next week. Cause if you're interested in that kind of thing, listen to that one as well. So I'm really excited about that. He's super excited about it. We are just, we're gonna have a time and we're just gonna continue to grow. So thank you for supporting me. Thank you for loving on me. Thank you for leaving a comment. Thank you for following me on social media. Just thank you. Tell a friend to tell a friend about the show. Leave a review and share the show. That would mean the world to me. Anyways. Thank y'all for tuning in. I'll see you next week, same day of the week. And until then, stay mischievous, friends.