WANTED: Justice for David Carter

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Speaker 1 Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers.

Speaker 2 And I'm Britt.

Speaker 1 And I'm going to do something a little different today. I'm kind of starting with a spoiler.

Speaker 1 I'm going to tell you that today's story ends with a plea to the public to be on the lookout for someone who committed a heinous crime, one that only very evil, very twisted people could do.

Speaker 1 And in this person's act of violence, they took the life of a 39-year-old dad who was devoted to his son and his family and worked hard to provide for them in a small suburb outside of Detroit, Michigan.

Speaker 1 And I said it's a spoiler because this person is still on the run.

Speaker 1 So I need you to listen carefully to every detail so you can help us find them and finally bring justice to a family that's been waiting over five years for it. This is the story of David Carter.

Speaker 1 Tasia Carter Jackson is going about her regular Tuesday morning routine in October 2018 when she gets a call from her brother's coworker asking if she knew where her brother David is.

Speaker 1 This coworker tells her that David was a no-show for work on Sunday and Monday and today, Tuesday, which immediately alarms Tasia.

Speaker 1 According to Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries episode, it's just not like him to skip one day, much less three. So something must be very wrong.

Speaker 1 And that's when Tajia remembers that on Sunday, David had sent sent a text to his son DJ saying that he was sick and he would need to skip their typical Sunday night get-together.

Speaker 1 DJ was supposed to go to his house and he's like, no, you know, just stay there. I'm not feeling so good.
So she wonders if things had gotten really bad.

Speaker 1 If like he couldn't even pick up the phone to call into work, someone needs to go check on him. So Tasia and her husband head over to his apartment to see what's up.

Speaker 1 Now, when they arrive, they see that David's car is parked in front of his place.

Speaker 1 So they kind of breathe this like tiny sigh of relief until they walk up to his apartment and they find that his front door is unlocked. And Tasia knows this is entirely out of character for David.

Speaker 1 Melvindale, Michigan, where he lives, isn't necessarily a dangerous place by any means, but David's, again, just not the kind of guy to leave his door unlocked.

Speaker 2 Well, not many people are in this day and age.

Speaker 1 No. So like right away when she sees this, like major alarm bells.

Speaker 1 She immediately calls her dad and she calls DJ's mom, Samia, to come over because she's like, something's, something's very wrong here.

Speaker 2 And I assume that David and Samia aren't still together.

Speaker 1 No, I don't think they've been together for like a while at this point. I mean, David's even dating someone else, but he and Samia still have a really good relationship.

Speaker 1 So they call them to come over, but like, they don't wait around. With a little apprehension, they open the door, they walk in, only to find that his place is a straight up mess.

Speaker 1 And not like a, I've been a sick dude mess, because that doesn't even apply to David. According to Tasia, David is a very tidy guy, and this place just doesn't even look like it belongs to him.

Speaker 1 Everything's out of order. His bed isn't made.
There's no sick David laying around or honestly anywhere in the apartment.

Speaker 1 So Tasia and the group start looking around for any clues as to what could have happened or where he could be.

Speaker 1 According to an America's Most Wanted episode that aired in March of 2021, they don't get very far into their search before Tasia looks under his bed.

Speaker 1 And when she does, she sees a huge red stain and an empty bottle of peroxide. Samia's here by this point.

Speaker 1 She calls her in to look at it and she pulls the comforter and sheets off the bed and they see even more red stains on the mattress and what appears to be a bullet hole at the top.

Speaker 1 Tajia then yells for her dad to come and when he steps in, he takes a moment to take it all in. Not just the bed, but the whole room.

Speaker 1 And what he sees when he does that is another small bullet hole, this time in the closet door across the room from David's bed?

Speaker 1 And in that moment, like his military training immediately kicks in and he tells everyone, okay, we need to get out of this apartment right now, because I'm pretty sure we just walked into a crime scene.

Speaker 2 I mean, bravo to him. I feel like far, far, far too often we hear about people coming in and seeing a scene like this and disturbing it even more.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 So David's dad, Elton, calls police, tells them that something bad has happened to his 39-year-old son, but he has no idea where his son is actually at.

Speaker 1 And police take this call seriously and move quickly into investigative mode. Reporting by Rod Maloney and Derek Hutchinson for Click on Detroit says by 4 p.m.

Speaker 1 that same day, which is Tuesday, October 2nd, police have secured the crime scene and are combing through his apartment. Investigators spend over 24 hours clocking everything in David's place.

Speaker 1 And truth be told, I don't know what is standard for a crime scene. I mean, there honestly might not be a standard for how long you're there.

Speaker 1 It might come down to like how good your lead investigator is or how good the tech teams are.

Speaker 2 But it just sounds like these are all pretty good and really thorough.

Speaker 1 Yeah, it just seemed like a long time to me, like a full 24 hours is like, you're going through everything.

Speaker 1 Yeah. Now, even though they're going through everything, in all the research, I couldn't find anything giving a list of specific evidence that was collected.

Speaker 1 I mean, we know what Tasia found, and I assume all of that got collected and processed, but there's nothing stating if they found anything else, like if any bullets or casings were actually recovered or any of his electronics, things like that.

Speaker 1 But the thing I know that they don't find is David.

Speaker 1 So while law enforcement is going over his place with a fine-tooth comb, David's family sets out to find answers, starting with David's girlfriend, Tamara Williams, who goes by Tammy.

Speaker 1 Taja calls her to see if she knows where David's at, and she tells her, nope, I haven't talked to him or seen him since Sunday. Which like Sunday is when his son last talked to him too.

Speaker 1 Fine, like that might have made sense a few hours ago when everyone just thought he was sick.

Speaker 1 But now all of their hackles are up because David and Tammy, the two of them had been like glued at the hip for the last six months. So like, what do you mean you haven't talked to him in days?

Speaker 2 I mean, not to mention there's a bullet hole where his head should be

Speaker 1 in bed sick. Right.

Speaker 2 Is she saying she even tried to get a hold of him? Like she couldn't get a hold of him or she was like, oh, weird. Like, I guess he's just MIA.
I haven't heard from him.

Speaker 1 I think it's more the latter. Like, she's kind of just dismissive of Tasia.
She doesn't even offer to call him or tell her that she's tried talking to him.

Speaker 1 I mean, she doesn't even offer to help look for him now that they are. So it just feels all sorts of wrong.
Though it doesn't help that Tasia already isn't Tammy's biggest fan.

Speaker 1 And all along, Tasia has kind of felt like she's the only one who could see through Tammy's act. Like Tammy had gone to high school with David and back then she was friendly and outgoing.

Speaker 1 But I guess when Tammy was reintroduced to David through a mutual friend, now that obviously they're much older than high school age, Tasia could just tell that something was off with her.

Speaker 1 Tammy was super jealous, super controlling, obsessive even.

Speaker 1 Like she wants David all to herself, which recently had included keeping him away from his own son. And like, forget DJ's mom, like she did not want them on good terms.

Speaker 2 Did Tasia ever try talking to David about Tammy?

Speaker 1 I don't know if she did or not, but I think David was actually coming to the realization of a lot of the same stuff, whether that was through his sister or even just on his own, because he had actually confided in Tasia about a fight that he had with Tammy a few days before.

Speaker 1 And Tasia was pretty sure that David said he was going to be leaving Tammy.

Speaker 2 Which, if you're with someone like Tammy, that's incredibly dangerous territory. I mean, it sounds like she's one of those, if I can't have you, no one can, kind of people.

Speaker 1 Yeah, that's the fear that has been planted in the back of Tasia's mind since she found that bullet hole in David's bed. So the family keeps calling around and Tajia decides to take to Facebook.

Speaker 1 According to reporting by Kayla Clark for Click on Detroit, they set up a Facebook page called Help Find David Carter and they start posting about his last known location, what he might have been wearing, and to be on the lookout for anyone matching his description.

Speaker 1 And these Facebook posts get the attention of people at David's son's school. DJ actually explains on his own TikTok how word got to him.
And I want you to hear it straight from him.

Speaker 3 So I'm at school and I'm in class and my coach just calls me on my classroom and was like, yeah, like, is everything okay? Like, everything good? Like, what's up? I'm like, what you mean?

Speaker 3 Like, what you talking about? He goes,

Speaker 3 he goes and say, like, yeah, like, you haven't seen what Tasia put out on Facebook? I was like, nah, like,

Speaker 3 what she put out. So that same day, me and my dad was texting, you know, I'm making sure that he's good, checking up on him and stuff like that.
And, you know, he's texting back.

Speaker 3 So me and him have a little conversation.

Speaker 3 and um i'm like nah i haven't seen what tasia put out on facebook i don't know if you know you guys know who tasia is i will tag her and she also did explain the story as well on her tick tock so i was like yeah i haven't i haven't seen what she put out what is it you know what i'm saying so he goes and shows me and uh

Speaker 1 i almost dropped to my knees when i seen this DJ said he couldn't understand what was happening because he said he'd literally just been texting his dad over the last few days like nothing was wrong.

Speaker 1 So he had to go back to class with just the most wild thoughts running through his mind. And the thing that keeps replaying over and over in his head was the interaction he had with Tammy on Sunday.

Speaker 1 So I told you that David canceled plans with him over text, said he was too sick, his son shouldn't come over. But the details of what went down are far more eerie than just that.

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Speaker 3 My dad texted my mom saying that he was feeling really sick and he didn't want the kids to be around. So she said that it was cool, whatever.
So we ended up going to my grandma's house, right?

Speaker 3 Or she told us to go to my grandma, my grandma's house. And

Speaker 3 so it was, which is cool with me. So I told her I need to go to my dad's and grab a few things that I forgot over there before we go.
So she's like, okay. She said, okay, cool.
Go ahead. So boom.

Speaker 3 So we ended up getting to my dad's and I see Tamara walking to the trash can. And I said hey to her, but she ended up, she just took off running back to my dad's apartment.
And I thought it was weird.

Speaker 3 So I was like, whatever. So I just parked the car, got out and went up to his,

Speaker 3 went up to his door. So as I went to the door, the door was locked.
So I was like, I thought she saw me. whatever.
So I locked the door. I go in.

Speaker 3 And when I went in, she popped up in my face and was like, hey, David, what's going on? Like, what you doing here? And stuff like that.

Speaker 3 I was like, yeah, I just came here because I forgot a few things. You know what I'm saying? Before I go to my grandma's.
And she was like, okay, all right, cool.

Speaker 3 So I walk around, see if I can find it. You know, I go in my room.
His clothes is on my bed, which is weird. He's a neat freak.

Speaker 3 I'm still walking around going to the bathroom. Couldn't find it.
But she ended up closing his bathroom door. So I was like, okay.

Speaker 3 His door, his bedroom door was closed. So I'm like, okay.

Speaker 3 You know, but mind you, it's a regular day for me. I'm not thinking of nothing crazy.
So I couldn't find what I needed. So I just leave.

Speaker 1 The interesting thing to note is that the reason Tammy gave for David not being there when DJ dropped by was that he was out for a walk.

Speaker 1 Now, mind you, when DJ tried to call his dad to tell him he was coming over to get his stuff, his dad just texts back like, oh, I'm too sick. I can't even talk on the phone.

Speaker 2 But he feels good enough for a walk.

Speaker 1 Yeah, a brisk walk for a sick man, I might add. Like it's around 50 degrees at this point.

Speaker 2 Okay, so let me get this straight. Tammy's the last person to see David.
She's acting super strange towards DJ and Tasia.

Speaker 2 And then there are these bloodstains on the bed.

Speaker 1 Check, check, check.

Speaker 2 What are police waiting for?

Speaker 1 I think they're waiting for David, or, I mean, more likely at this point, his remains to show up. But he hasn't.
So sometime around 4 p.m.

Speaker 1 on Wednesday, October 3rd, they take down the crime scene tape. They pack up and leave David's apartment.
And it seems like whatever they found there.

Speaker 1 Again, I still think they're waiting for David because whatever they found at the apartment doesn't seem like enough to indicate what exactly happened or where he could be.

Speaker 2 I mean, like from what I know, it feels like we know what happened, but it's like something bad for sure happened. But they don't know what.
Someone was involved. David's not here.

Speaker 2 We need a few more pieces of the puzzle to really act.

Speaker 1 Exactly. So they head out to the surrounding areas to search for any clues.
And that takes them over near an intersection by his place. And it's less than like a mile away.

Speaker 1 I'm not sure why they they focus on this specific area.

Speaker 1 I don't know if it was because Tammy said he went for a walk or what, but for whatever reason, they're really focusing on a radius around his apartment that's like a walkable distance.

Speaker 1 But this whole time, nothing turns up for them that morning. And that's because what they're actually looking for was much further out.

Speaker 1 You see, that afternoon, they get word about a bulletin that was put out by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Speaker 1 It was a notice to surrounding areas about remains that they had found in a small town in northern Ohio.

Speaker 1 Apparently, the Ohio Department of Transportation, or ODOT, was out mowing grass along I-75 Monday morning, October 1st, when a worker noticed a sleeping bag in his way.

Speaker 1 In the Unsolved Mysteries episode, they say that the guy went to move the bag and he realized that it was really heavy. So there had to be something inside of it.

Speaker 1 And at first he assumed it was an animal, but then his intrusive thoughts must have kicked in because he started thinking something even worse. What if this is a child in this bag?

Speaker 1 And that thought made him immediately call the police. And when officers arrived, they're the ones who opened the bag and discovered that it was in fact human remains.
But it wasn't a child.

Speaker 1 It was just parts of an adult body. just the bottom, torso, and legs of a male.

Speaker 1 So they immediately secured that scene, got got cadaver dogs out to search the area looking for the rest of this man, but that's all they were able to find.

Speaker 1 So those remains get sent off for an autopsy. And during that, they found a unique tattoo on this man's upper left leg.
It was a pit bull with red eyes.

Speaker 1 And that's what I'm pretty sure stood out to the detectives in Michigan when they saw the bulletin, because David's family had told them that he had the same tattoo on his upper left leg.

Speaker 1 Sam Shriver reported in the Lyman News that these remains were first discovered at 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning.
Again, this is October 1st.

Speaker 1 Now, at that point, David's family didn't even know he was missing.

Speaker 1 So, by the 3rd, when detectives in Michigan are investigating David's missing persons case, the tattoo on the leg helps them identify the remains as 39-year-old David Carter.

Speaker 2 So, I know you said northern Ohio, but where exactly was he found? Are we talking right over the Michigan-Ohio border?

Speaker 1 No, so Melvindale is about 45 minutes from the state line. And where David's legs and torso were found are an hour south of that into Ohio, right outside of Finlay, Ohio.

Speaker 1 So it's not like somebody just like, you know, popped 15 minutes over the line and like left him.

Speaker 1 They took a trip there.

Speaker 1 Now it takes a little bit for police to get their ducks in a row, but by Friday, October 5th, they have a person of interest in custody. And who that person is will be no surprise to anyone.

Speaker 2 It's Tammy.

Speaker 1 She is arrested in connection to David's murder, but not charged. They are still, they say, missing a crucial piece of evidence, his upper body parts.

Speaker 1 Because I think the problem is like his lower body isn't telling them a thing about how he was murdered. So they're hoping that they can find his other half and help break through the mystery.

Speaker 1 Or I think by arresting her, they're hoping she will. do a confession or maybe lead them to the rest of his remains.

Speaker 2 So are the bullet holes in his bed and wall not enough? I don't know, man.

Speaker 1 I mean, this is where the process really breaks down because it seems like it's the prosecutor's office who is saying, like, I get that you have all like the pieces kind of, but like it's not enough to actually charge her.

Speaker 1 So long story short, she ends up walking free. And then there's really no urgent pursuit of her.
She just kind of slips off the radar for the time being while their investigation continues.

Speaker 1 Reporting from Fox to Detroit reports that on Monday, October 8th, they hold a vigil for David at McGinty Park, which is where he often helped coach the Melvindale Junior Football Club.

Speaker 1 And while the community is mourning, there is some more found on October 10th. That's when investigators are back out along I-75 processing the area where the sleeping bag was found.

Speaker 1 They're further north from the initial search area, and that's when detectives find a small black duffel bag with red straps. And as they unzip the bag, they see some grocery bags inside.

Speaker 1 And when they pull those bags out, there is a human head, David's head. And an autopsy shows that he has been shot in the head just below his left earlobe.

Speaker 2 This matches exactly what the crime scene already told us.

Speaker 2 Let's go get Tammy.

Speaker 1 That's not what they do, though. Not yet.
They want all of David first. And they don't get that until October 16th.

Speaker 1 That's when the Ohio State Highway Patrol finds a small multicolored suitcase, like a carry-on size, along I-75, about 20 miles north of where the sleeping bag was found.

Speaker 1 Once again, detectives find themselves unzipping this bag. And inside, they find a large comforter and wrapped inside are hands, arms and an upper torso.

Speaker 1 And with that, they finally have David's complete set of remains. And with all of his remains found, the coroner is able to put together a bigger picture of what exactly they think happened.

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Speaker 1 The first set of remains gave no indication on David's cause of death, but once they run a toxicology report, they find antihistamines in his system.

Speaker 1 And so that, paired with the gunshot wound to the head, makes the coroner believe that he was maybe given some kind of sleeping aid to make him drowsy.

Speaker 1 And then he was likely shot either while he was sleeping or when he was not alert enough to fight back because he has no other injuries or anything that even looks like defensive wounds.

Speaker 1 Plus, they say that he had to have been shot at really close proximity. In the Unsolved Mysteries episode, the coroner speculates that David must have had almost direct contact with the gun.

Speaker 1 And they don't say why they think that, but I'm assuming it's because of some kind of like gunpowder residue or tattooing from the gun, but that's just me speculating.

Speaker 2 So was someone likely standing over him, which would be like why they saw what they believe to be the bullet hole in the mattress.

Speaker 2 Because if that's the case, like I'm not really sure how there's a hole in the mattress and across the room, like on that closet door.

Speaker 1 Valid question. I don't have the answer to that because you're right.
Like the angles aren't totally aligning for me.

Speaker 1 The bed one can make sense like if he was laying on his side because again, it's like coming in, what do they say, by his ear? Earl lobe.

Speaker 1 Yeah. The closet one doesn't make any sense.
So I'm really not sure. And it's possible the other one isn't related, even though, again, I have no no idea.

Speaker 1 The hole in the mattress surrounded by blood is the one that they think like actually, like, that's where he was when he died.

Speaker 2 If he was shot while he was asleep or drowsy, there's no evidence of him fighting back, no defensive wounds or anything. Why is his place trashed? Like, if he's usually tidy, like, and this happened

Speaker 2 not calmly, but not in any sort of disturbance. I guess I don't get why his place was such a mess.

Speaker 1 I don't know.

Speaker 1 And I don't know that that's going to ever be explained until there's a trial or even if they have like a theory. I know that DJ said he saw Tammy taking the trash out on Sunday.

Speaker 1 So it's possible she made that mess. I mean, he had to have been dismembered by someone.

Speaker 1 Someone spent time in that apartment with him. So it could have been that person.
And right now they're speculating that person is Tammy.

Speaker 1 And it's important to note, like, actually investigators don't bring up the details about his apartment being messy. Like, so I don't think it was like totally trash.

Speaker 1 It just didn't look normal for David. Like Tajia's the only person person bringing that up.

Speaker 2 Right. Cause she would have this like background on David knowing that this isn't him versus the police just being like, well, this is a crime scene regardless.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 So I mean, it's the thing that made her like realize something was wrong, but I don't know that it like plays into any kind of theory or if it's an important piece.

Speaker 2 Are they able to determine what kind of gun was used to kill David?

Speaker 1 No, and that's because they still can't find the murder weapon anywhere. And again, I don't know if they found any casings or anything like that.

Speaker 1 Someone could have taken those with them, or if they found them, they're not releasing it.

Speaker 1 Now, it's worth noting that the coroner believes David's death was quick, just a single gunshot wound to the head. But then he says that the dismemberment happened all post-mortem.

Speaker 1 But here's the wild part. They believe David was dismembered, not with a saw, not with like any kind of surgical weapon.
but with a kitchen knife.

Speaker 1 And the coroner says, if you're doing something like that with a kitchen knife, it would take a long time for anyone to cut his body into as many pieces as it was in with a single, again, kitchen knife.

Speaker 1 So someone spent time in his apartment with his remains.

Speaker 2 And we already know who was in his apartment.

Speaker 1 Well, there's no question about it. I mean, not for David's family.

Speaker 1 Once the autopsy is finished and all of David's remains are accounted for, that's when his family holds a memorial on October 27th in remembrance of all the light that he brought into this world.

Speaker 1 And while mourning their loss, I mean, there's this question kind of looming over them, like, why hasn't Tammy been arrested yet? To them, all signs are pointing to her being his killer.

Speaker 1 So that memorial is on October 27th, but it isn't until almost two months later on December 20th. that the U.S.

Speaker 1 Marshals issue a felony arrest warrant for Tammy for first-degree murder, moving a dead body, and tampering with evidence.

Speaker 1 Once this warrant goes out, David's family really gets their hopes up that Tammy will be arrested quickly.

Speaker 1 But what they don't know and what they won't find out until January is that Tammy actually fled Michigan back in October, around the time she was first released. Like she just...
rain.

Speaker 1 Of course she did. They pull her credit card statements and find out that the last place she visited in Michigan was Ann Arbor on Wednesday, October 17th.

Speaker 1 She had dinner and drinks at a restaurant the night before and then stayed at a hotel.

Speaker 1 And on the morning of the 17th, she took an Amtrak to Chicago and then another to Penn Station in New York and then checked into another hotel and left on the 18th.

Speaker 1 And mind you, they're able to track this because the whole time she's using her real ID

Speaker 1 because she could. She wasn't even a wanted person at that point.
Right.

Speaker 1 Now, reporting by Click on Detroit says that at the time of David's murder, Tammy was working as a phlebotomist and she has prior experience working in the medical field, But she also worked as a travel agent and would travel to different countries in addition to being well connected throughout the U.S.

Speaker 1 Like she has relatives in Michigan and New York and Atlanta.

Speaker 1 We know she's been to Chicago and she's also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, which I for sure had to look up because I had never heard it before.

Speaker 1 And I guess it's this like co-ed fraternity. It's kind of connected to the Masons.

Speaker 1 So detectives are worried that with all of these connections, like people could be helping her or even funding her time on the run.

Speaker 1 Specifically, the Order of the Eastern Star, like they're kind of associated with money and power, and she could be using that to her advantage. But detectives don't actually have proof of that.

Speaker 1 That's just like a theory. And by now, even though she was using her name and her cards in the early days, They do think that she's using an alias.

Speaker 1 Detectives can link her to at least one confirmed name, Latoya Williams.

Speaker 1 And they did this because she had used a credit card with the name Latoya on it in the Bronx at a fish market sometime around October 2020. And that means that there could be other aliases.

Speaker 1 But she also still could be using names that are connected to her real name. Like, remember, her real last name is Williams, and she used Latoya Williams.
So it's also a pretty common name.

Speaker 1 So it's not like that's going to stick out. Now, unfortunately, that fish market in the Bronx is pretty much their last Tammy sighting.

Speaker 1 So with the pursuit going cold, investigators aim for a big media push to help them get word out about Tammy.

Speaker 1 In March of 2021, she's featured on America's Most Wanted and they tell the public that U.S. Marshals are elevating the investigation and upping the reward to $10,000.

Speaker 1 Then by September that same year, detectives think they might have something when Tammy's mother, Verdine Day, who was a retired Detroit Firefighters Association treasurer, is accused of stealing over $200,000 from her union.

Speaker 1 Oh my God. And they allege when they arrest her that she spent this money on these big trips and other expenses.

Speaker 2 Or she was giving it to her daughter who's on the run for murder.

Speaker 1 Which is what I was initially thinking when I was going through my research. But I looked into it and she had been embezzling money like since 2015.
So all the way from 2015 to 2019.

Speaker 1 She just wasn't charged until 2021. And I guess they found receipts, bank statements showing that all of the money really was spent on on like cruises and vacations, things like that.

Speaker 1 Now, it doesn't mean that she wasn't helping her daughter in some way, but all of like her stuff started way before Tammy went on the run.

Speaker 1 So now that she's in the wind, David's family are still trying to wrap their minds around how she could have done something this horrific. I mean, they are shocked by how this thing unfolded.

Speaker 1 So even knowing all of this about her mom, about like who could be helping her, none of it leads detectives any closer to finding Tammy.

Speaker 1 But that's not the end of the line, because in 2022, Netflix Unsolved Mysteries features David's case. Now, that feature was huge for public attention.

Speaker 1 I mean, that's how I first learned about David's case.

Speaker 1 But ultimately, the episodes don't turn into anything useful in the search for Tammy. And so in September 2023, Tammy earns a spot on the 15 most wanted fugitives list.

Speaker 1 And the reason she's most wanted, like there's this fear that law enforcement has.

Speaker 1 They are really worried that she could be out there with another man who has no idea how dangerous she is, what she's actually capable of.

Speaker 1 Now, I know we can't give these a ton of weight, but Britt, you tell me you spiraled a little bit when I first mentioned this case. Can you tell me what you found?

Speaker 2 Yeah, so it was on Reddit. So take that with as much salt as you want.
A lot of what I found was posted after the Unsolved Mysteries episode aired in 2022.

Speaker 2 And everyone on Reddit was talking about, you know, they were sure that she'd be captured in like a week. But those posts were from a year ago.
And she's, I mean, still on the run.

Speaker 2 One thing that really stood out to me was that there were a few accounts that said they swore they saw someone who looked exactly like Tammy in Paradise, California, and in other parts of California too.

Speaker 2 Of course, I want to add a huge disclaimer here. This is Reddit.
These are anonymous accounts. Anyone can say anything.

Speaker 1 And claim to be anyone.

Speaker 2 Exactly.

Speaker 2 But what I found super interesting is that the research and the news articles kind of makes it seem like, yes, she could be anywhere, but she's probably in New York or on the East Coast somewhere.

Speaker 2 But there's the same possibility she could be anywhere.

Speaker 1 Literally in the world.

Speaker 2 Anywhere else in the world. Yeah.

Speaker 1 And I know there's, again, Reddit, no way to fact check this. Did any of them say that, like, are they just posting this on Reddit or are they reporting this to police as well?

Speaker 2 Yeah, so the people who claim they saw her also say, yeah, we submitted tips. So who knows?

Speaker 2 But a few other people on Reddit pointed out that she could probably just be someone with like a face you know. I mean, her large tattoo is her most striking feature.

Speaker 2 And I'm sure she's probably covering that up and changing her looks pretty frequently to stay as incognito as possible.

Speaker 1 Yeah, and we'll give details on that at the end so you guys at least know what to look for. But I think this is a perfect time to remind all crime junkies of our number one rule.

Speaker 2 Uh, you never really know anyone ever ever, exactly.

Speaker 1 Because David's family thought they knew Tammy. She'd gone to high school with him, she'd been around the community, they were connected through a mutual friend.

Speaker 1 I mean, come on, she wasn't a stranger by any means, right?

Speaker 2 I also think it's a great lesson in trusting your gut. I mean, the signs that Taja saw were early warning signs of domestic violence.

Speaker 2 No, I don't think anyone had any idea that Tammy would escalate to murdering and dismembering David in cold blood.

Speaker 1 Because you never really know anyone. Trust me.
Exactly.

Speaker 1 So Brett, can you share her description so people can keep an eye out for her? Of course.

Speaker 2 This year, in 2024, she is 44 years old. She's 5'5 and around 190 pounds in 2018 when she went on the run.
So that could be different today.

Speaker 2 She has black hair and brown eyes, but she did often wear wigs and even wore her natural hair many different ways. So I would say maybe don't get too caught up on her hair style or color.

Speaker 2 Now, this tattoo, she has a large tattoo of six roses on her left shoulder, and it's pretty identifiable, if you ask me. So she probably wanted to cover it up.

Speaker 2 And if she's had it covered, like professionally, there might be a tattoo artist out there who could help. lead detectives to her.

Speaker 1 Yeah, or if there's a doctor out there who's like removing a tattoo,

Speaker 1 absolutely. The one other thing I want to call out is that she does have some smaller tattoos, one on her right foot.
She's got some on her back and thighs. It's never specified exactly what they are.

Speaker 1 Same thing, though. She could have had those covered up, removed, whatever.

Speaker 1 So if you have any tips, or if you're harboring Tammy or helping her evade law enforcement, not only are you endangering yourself, you're also endangering other families who might not know anything about her violent past.

Speaker 1 I mean, the ease in which she murdered, dismembered, and then discarded David Carter is a testament to just how dangerous she really is.

Speaker 1 So if you believe that you've seen Tammy Williams recently, U.S. Marshals have a 24-hour tip line that you can call into at 1-877-WANTED2,

Speaker 1 or you can send information to them using the USMS Tips app. There is a reward that has been increased to $25,000.

Speaker 1 You can see her picture if you are listening to this in the Crime Junkie app, or we're going to post it on social media as well and on the blog post for this episode. Do the right thing.

Speaker 1 Help David's family find justice. The time is now.
And Crime Junkies, I hope you've listened carefully. We have a wide network, one that I am continuously amazed by.

Speaker 1 I believe that if we stay vigilant, we will be the ones to help find Tammy and bring her to justice. I believe in you guys.

Speaker 1 And on the off chance that you're listening, Tammy, it's time to turn yourself in. You can't keep running forever, and it's time to face the consequences of your actions.

Speaker 1 There is a young man who deserves closure and answers for the father he lost in such a pivotal point of his life. And that's something that he'll have to live with forever.

Speaker 1 You can find all the source material for this episode on our website, CrimeJunkiePodcast.com.

Speaker 2 And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Crime Junkie Podcast.

Speaker 1 We'll be back next week with a brand new episode.

Speaker 1 Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So, what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve?

Speaker 4 Have you ever experienced something truly unexplainable?

Speaker 4 A moment that felt almost like a vivid dream, leaving you with a lingering sense of wonder, leaving you questioning everything you thought you knew?

Speaker 1 Perhaps it was a fleeting glimpse of something extraordinary, a chilling whisper in the dead of night, or an undeniable premonition that comes to life.

Speaker 1 I'm Yvette Gentile, and I'm her sister, Rasha Pecaro.

Speaker 4 Each week on our podcast, So Supernatural, we partner with the one and only Ashley Flowers, host of the number one true crime podcast, Crime Junkie, to take you on a journey of the world's most mystical mysteries.

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