Episode 299
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Hey, if you listen to iHeart K-pop with JoJo, let me say thank you and turn you on to something next level.
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Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.
Listener discretion is advised.
I will murder you.
I will murder you.
You fucking.
I will murder you.
I will murder you.
I will fucking murder you.
Why do we play this dumb music at the beginning of a show about murder?
I don't know, Karen.
Why do you listen to murder for entertainment?
It's a contradiction, isn't it?
This is episode 299 of Sword and Scale.
You know the drill.
So, when I started this podcast, I didn't realize I was actually starting a small business.
Yikes.
There's nothing small about about a small business.
You're working all of the time.
Thankfully though, I have a partner with all the tools that I need to be successful.
You may have heard of them.
Their name is Shopify.
Shopify's point of sale system is a unified command center for your retail business.
It brings together in-store and online operations across up to a thousand locations.
Imagine being able to guarantee that shopping is always convenient.
Endless aisle, ship to customer, buy online, pick up in store.
All these things are made simpler to customers so they can shop how they want, and staff have all the tools to close the sale every time.
And let's face it, acquiring new customers is expensive.
With Shopify POS, you can keep shoppers coming back with personalized experiences and first-party data that give marketing teams a competitive edge.
In fact, it's proven.
Based on a report from EY, businesses on Shopify POS see real results, like 22% better total cost of ownership and benefits equivalent to an 8.9% uplift in sales on average relative to the market set surveyed.
So if you have a retail or online business, then I'll tell you what, Shopify is a fantastic partner to have on your side.
Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify.
Sign up for your $1 a month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/slash sword and scale.
All one word.
Just go to shopify.com/slash sword and scale and sign up.
You'll thank me later.
You will.
Shopify.com slash sword and scale.
It was a busy August evening at a hospital in Georgia.
Julian Reyes was sitting in a waiting room in his gray sweatsuit.
His fiancé, 30-year-old Ashley Bocanegra, had suddenly died.
Detectives had just arrived at the hospital and sat down across from Julian.
How are you doing, sir?
Detective, this is Detective Blackburn.
First, I just want to say I'm really sorry for your loss.
We're going to do everything we can to find the people responsible.
You know what?
please.
Oh, man.
I know this is really difficult right now.
Doesn't even seem real.
It's like,
oh, my God, every day is just a normal day.
It doesn't even seem real.
Of course, it didn't seem real.
When Julian left the house that morning, his fiancé was in good spirits.
Ashley was an active, thriving, working mom of their seven-year-old son.
Now,
she's dead.
A few hours earlier, Ashley had called Julian for help, telling him that she had been jumped.
You know, she called me
and she was just like really out of breath.
So, she trying to get it out.
Henry, Henry, Henry.
I'm like you calm down.
What happened?
What happened?
I just got jumped.
I just got jumped.
I got Henry.
Alright, I'm on my way.
I let my job know.
I left.
I came home.
She's on the bed, just like gasping for air.
And when she called you on the phone, did she tell you who did this to her?
She told me two females.
She recognized them?
No.
Did she describe them?
One was a
dark-skinned,
heavy-set woman
and then one was a light-skinned thin woman.
That's all she said.
I asked her, Who are they?
Do you know them?
Have you seen them before?
No, I've never seen them before.
I have no clue who they are.
During her labored breaths, Ashley described the woman who jumped her.
She was shaken up, exhausted, and kind of embarrassed.
She had been beaten up very badly, barely able to defend herself against two other women.
Still, she swore she didn't know who they were.
Not a clue.
When you got home, did it appear that maybe she had cleaned her wounds up or anything like that, take a shower, like with a washcloth and like bopping into it.
Fresh.
Fresh.
Like, I mean, did you see any paper towels or like rags in the apartment where she was?
No.
When I got home, I opened the door.
I said, where are you?
I'm in here.
She's in the bedroom.
I turned the light.
She took all her clothes off.
She was completely naked on the bed.
Ashley looked awful.
Her skin was raw and red in places where she'd been hit.
Her hair was tangled and matted, and one side of her face was scraped, leaving angry marks that told the story of what she'd been through.
Ashley tried to sit up and talk to Julian, but vomit spewed out of her mouth instead.
When she threw up, did you look at it?
What did it look like?
Um,
it was red.
Um, when we was in the car, I gave her a black bag to throw up, and I didn't see it.
She said, I think I'm throwing up blood.
I get her dressed, we leave, and we go straight to the foresight.
They
do what they do, they scan her oxygen, IV,
naulular medicine,
whatever they can do to make her feel better.
And then the doctor told me that she was like something different scanner that had the smell of blood
by her kidney,
you know, and that's when they decided to
fly her out here.
When Ashley arrived at the hospital, she had severe internal bleeding.
She couldn't breathe and was put on a ventilator.
When the doctors discovered all the blood was pooling around her kidneys, they decided to airlift her to another hospital for surgery.
She died en route.
She was banged up.
She was banged up.
But what got her was
because she told me,
she had gotten bit bit on her cheek.
She like, she bit me on my cheek, she bit me on my arm, she they kicked me in my ribs while the big heavyset one was on top of her.
The other one was kicking her
in her rib cage.
Okay.
And
obviously, that's what caused it.
You know, and she said that they were using any weapons.
She didn't say anything about weapons.
They were fighting.
She said it happened so fast
that she didn't have a chance to do anything.
It was just, they just ganged up on her.
Before she died, Ashley had been able to describe the woman who attacked her, as well as some of the beating.
It was all melting into fragments as she lay dying on the hospital stretcher.
Now, Julian was left to try to make sense of it all.
And I just don't know why.
I just don't know why.
You know, because we've only been back in Georgia.
We recently just moved back
less than a year ago.
When was it?
We moved back in December of 2021.
Okay.
After my mom passed.
My mom passed in November, right before Thanksgiving.
We moved back in December to be close to family.
Eight months later, nine months later, this happened.
And it's like, there's no reason.
Like,
I don't even get it.
You know?
Why would anybody want to do that?
You know, it was like random.
She was going out to get me a birthday cake.
Today, my fucking birthday.
She was going out to give me a birthday cake.
Yes, it was Julian's birthday.
And instead of enjoying a delicious cake with frosting and candles and maybe a birthday card and some balloons, maybe a couple pictures with the fiancé and the son, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Now he's sitting in a hospital waiting room.
talking with a detective about Ashley's murder.
Now that's a twist.
Ashley and Julian were both from New York City.
The projects, to be exact.
They'd met in middle school.
We've been together 10 years.
We've known each other since fucking eighth grade.
Though they met in school, Julian and Ashley didn't start dating until years later, when they reconnected.
Until 2012 is when we finally kind of reconnected on Facebook.
You know,
I finally, I was old enough, I had the courage that I don't,
you know,
come out with me with my birthday.
You know,
and she came home before my birthday.
Eight days later, we're together.
So not only was it Julian's birthday, but today also marked 10 years since their first date.
The timing couldn't be any more cruel.
A milestone meant for celebration was now twisted into a gut-wrenching loss.
Julian and Ashley had grown up together, but they'd always dreamed of leaving New York City.
Julian's family started trickling down to Georgia, and they followed.
That same year, their son was conceived.
But the couple had gone back and forth between New York and Georgia for about a decade, never really able to cut ties with the Big Apple.
As crime rates rose and the constant chaos of New York seemed unavoidable, they said goodbye to the North and called Georgia their home.
We were both New Yorkers, so we always wanted to eventually go back.
So we decided to go back last year.
We moved in January of 2021.
Being back
and going back to where, you know, to visit our mom,
it was just like,
we forgot what we left.
We don't need this shit.
Like, there's just so much.
And we seem to lose.
by all these random shootings and beatings and stabbings.
They moved to escape the violence of New York, but mostly they wanted a better life for their son that's where our world evolves around
you know so when my mom passed away we decided you know what we leave in this shit we're going back to georgia where we don't have to deal with this nonsense
and then we come back to georgia and deal with the same shit that we tried to leave
the irony was chilling This young couple, raised in the unforgiving sprawl of New York City's projects, had chased a dream of a better life in the suburbs of Georgia.
But it was as if the darkness they left behind had tracked them down.
Kind of like,
what's that movie?
Final destination.
The final destination franchise is what I'm thinking of.
It's as if when death comes, you have to hurry up and set the placemats out because they ain't leaving.
So it's like you're fucking, you're never, you're not safe anywhere, you know.
But I try to do the best I can to give my family the best I can.
Give them
the best chance possible.
And it's like getting their fucking work.
Like I said, we're going to do everything we can to find these people.
Make sure they pay for what they did to you and your family.
Though Julian supported the family on his income, Ashley had taken a job at Florin Decor to bring a little extra money in and give her some independence outside of her role in the home.
She'd been promoted to night manager and was working the overnight shifts, which had put a strain on the couple.
The couple started bickering.
Julian supported her desire to work, but kept reminding her that they didn't need the money.
Plus, she didn't like working overnight shifts.
It just seemed unsafe.
Ashley was adamant about keeping her job, and making time for one another became really hard.
There's only so many hours in the day, you know?
They'd been fighting for the last week.
And it's like, I could have spent those last few days
rekindling and saying I'm sorry, you know, I'm sorry for starting some bullshit, you know,
and now we'll never get that chance again.
Julian sat there baffled as to how this happened to his wife.
She even she told the nurses,
it just came out of the blue.
Like, I can't even tell you why, you know,
I have no clue.
You know,
I go to work every day.
All I do is work and come home.
You know, and that's all I do.
So
if I had any slight idea of
what could have caused this,
I would definitely say something.
But it's like, I don't even know.
I don't even know.
Like I said, we've only been back in Georgia nine months and we don't do anything.
We literally work and go home every day.
This attack did not feel random.
Ashley was not robbed.
In fact, she didn't even have her purse on her.
Two women had brutally beaten her, working together to hold her down, kick her, punch her, bite her, and scratch her.
They left her gasping for air and bleeding from the head.
It was savage, like an animal.
But Ashley swore she didn't know them, and Julian believed her.
Julian believed a lot of things.
To detectives, it felt like there was more to the story.
Maybe, just maybe,
Ashley had taken a dangerous secret to her grave.
So when I started this podcast, I didn't realize I was actually starting a small business.
Yikes.
There's nothing small about a small business.
You're working all of the time.
Thankfully, though, I have a partner with all the tools that I need to be successful.
You may have heard of them.
Their name is Shopify.
Shopify's point-of-sale system is a unified command center for your retail business.
It brings together in-store and online operations across up to a thousand locations.
Imagine being able to guarantee that shopping is always convenient.
Endless aisle, ship to customer, buy online, pick up and store.
All these things are made simpler to customers so they can shop how they want, and staff have all the tools to close the sale every time.
And let's face it, acquiring new customers is expensive.
With Shopify POS, you can keep shoppers coming back with personalized experiences and first-party data that give marketing teams a competitive edge.
In fact, it's proven.
Based on a report from EY, businesses on Shopify POS see real results, like 22% better total cost of ownership and benefits equivalent to an 8.9% uplift in sales on average relative to the market set surveyed.
So if you have a retail or online business, then I'll tell you what, Shopify is a fantastic partner to have on your side.
Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify.
Sign up for your $1 a month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/slash sword and scale.
All one word.
Just go to shopify.com slash swordandscale and sign up.
You'll thank me later.
You will.
Shopify.com slash sword and scale.
Hey, if you listen to iHeart K-pop with Jojo, let me say thank you and turn you on to something next level.
Hello, Soju's sparkling Soju.
It's light, sparkling, and packed with five delish flavors.
My two faves, peach and Asian pear.
Oh my god.
Smoother than hard seltzer and much more fun than beer.
This drink is all about good times and sharing vibes.
And trust me, once you try it, you'll get why everybody's talking about it.
Order now and take 15% off your first order.
Just enter code JoJo15 at checkout at hellosoju.com.
Hello, Soju.
Every sip is a hit.
Please enjoy responsibly.
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In the quiet city of Beaufort, Georgia, Ashley Bocanegra's life ended violently.
She told everyone she was ambushed by two strangers.
It happened in the middle of the afternoon as Ashley walked to pick up a birthday cake for her fiancé Julian.
Out of nowhere, two girls sprang out of the bushes outside her apartment complex and pounced.
In broad daylight, they beat her mercilessly, leaving her gasping for air.
Barely holding herself together, Ashley stumbled back to her apartment and called Julian for help.
At the hospital, things only got worse.
Her breathing faltered.
Her lungs started to collapse, and her body started to shut down.
Slowly, piece by piece, it gave out.
By the end of the day, Ashley was gone.
She was only 30 years old.
It was her fiancé's birthday and the the 10-year anniversary of their first date.
Now, Julian was left heartbroken and puzzled as to why this happened.
The more he talked with detectives, the more he questioned what Ashley had told him before she died.
You know, I have the camera right at home, so all I see is like the typical neighbors we have walking the dogs.
When we leave,
there's nobody in front.
There's really nobody ever walking around.
There's nobody ever really walking around.
Everybody's just getting in their car and leaving.
Julian and Ashley had a ring camera on their front door, so their daily movements were tracked.
The apartment complex they lived in was one of those cookie-cutter apartment communities with a gym, a pool, a little park, and plenty of green space between the buildings.
People keep to themselves, shuffling to and from the parking lot to their own suites after work.
Ashley had described her attackers as a young Hispanic female and a heavy-set black woman.
That was all she knew.
With that description, I can't even put a faith to it.
Like, I don't even have a clue.
Like, I don't know if they lived there.
I don't know if they just happen to stumble in there.
I don't know if there was an actual reason
for picking her.
I don't know.
The way she's explaining it and what all the injuries you observed, it seems personal.
So maybe it was something very little to her, little to you, like you're overseeing, and then go back to it.
It's like, oh, like, for example, with my girl, if some girl smiles at me, right?
And she's like, oh, what was that about?
Right?
If she, you know,
she gets extremely jealous about it, whatever.
Do you think of any situation where like maybe some guy was being friendly?
She just was being friendly back just to be friendly.
I didn't know maybe that guy had like a girlfriend, and then this girl is now retaliating.
Julian shook his head no.
Then, after a long pause, he admitted something.
Remember how he said they'd been fighting earlier that week?
What he hadn't mentioned was why.
It all started with a suspicion that he could not shake.
The suspicion that Ashley may have been cheating.
I don't know.
It's like I get these little moments where any little thing you do
would make me believe
Did you just have like a feeling that she was doing that or something?
I had no type of proof.
It was just.
Do you guys have each other's passcodes to each other's phones?
Um, she doesn't have mine.
Okay, but you have hers?
I I know hers.
You never found anything on her?
I know her.
I don't look.
Okay.
You know, I I
boundaries, you know what I mean?
I don't care if you give me your code.
I don't look.
Any like weird uh behavior, like maybe with a ring camera, you've noticed her going in and out of the house.
Okay.
No, normal.
Julian said that jealousy had been an issue for both of them over the years.
Was it just you guys just talking, or was there actually?
No, I don't we
never really argued.
No, I mean like the with like the the cheating.
Was it just saying it just uh because of just jealousy or did actually something actually happen?
Well,
previously in our earlier years, we've been together 10 years.
Okay.
In our earlier years, I did fuck up and cheat.
In New York?
In New York.
Okay, nothing here.
Nothing here.
Okay.
Just living New York.
I was sent that day, you know, she always had her doubt about me.
Gotcha.
Maybe Julian had his suspicions due to his own guilt about his own past.
Cheaters often accuse their spouses of cheating.
But the bottom line was that he had no proof.
Ashley never went anywhere without him.
It seemed logistically impossible for her to manage an affair.
All she did was take care of their son and go to work.
The ring camera proved it.
I'm not trying to get in your personal business or anything, but I mean, you weren't talking to any female on the side.
Like, does this matter?
Like, these females that.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
You want to say maybe I've gotten jealous?
I know nobody here in Georgia.
You know, you know what I'm saying?
I just didn't have to go to the gym.
Surprisingly, I've been on
I don't know anybody.
So these descriptions that she gave you, they're not nothing familiar.
The police were getting nowhere.
There was no shady business on Julian's end that could have provoked this deadly midday attack.
Keep in mind, Ashley died late in the evening.
But she'd been attacked around 1 p.m.
in the afternoon.
Around that time, a 911 call came in from Ashley's apartment complex.
Hi, I've worked here at an apartment complex, and there was two girls fighting,
and she's really bloody.
I can see the blood from where I'm at.
We were fighting in the apartment complex in the parking lot, I mean, on the street.
Okay.
What is the address of Two Cross Street?
The woman who called 911 worked at the leasing office in the apartment complex and had seen the fight on her way to work.
And you said one of them is bleeding?
Yeah, I can see her forehead from down here sleeping.
The girl had her on the ground.
It's a black girl, and I can't tell if it's two white girls or two Spanish girls.
Okay, so it's three of them, three girls?
Three girls all together.
Okay, three girls, okay.
Have you seen any weapons?
I have been.
They're arguing right now.
They stopped fighting, but they're arguing now.
Policing manager watched from her car down the road as Ashley's attackers screamed at her.
while she was on the ground.
Ashley hugged her knees to her chest, flipped back her curly mess of hair, and suddenly sprung up to her feet.
I think they might be together because the girl who got beat up is following them.
Ashley was following her attackers.
The leasing manager watched intently, trying to piece together exactly what was happening.
As she trailed the two women, her unease set in as to where this strange pursuit might end.
Thought they were tight from where they were.
They started walking towards me, so I'm driving away.
Okay, that's fine.
But I'm trying to see what building they go to.
They're going to building 300, the high end of 300.
According to the leasing manager, one witness to the fight, Ashley, had followed the girls who attacked her into the 300 building.
But that is not where Ashley and Julian lived.
In fact, at the hospital, the nurse who tended to Ashley had also reported the assault to the police.
When the cops called to talk to Ashley before she died, the cops were able to get her side of the story.
So, what happened?
Well, I was because right now it was my fiancé's birthday, so I went to go rest up my friends to go, you know, grab them the cake and stuff like that.
So, I was outside waiting for my um Uber.
So, I see these two females walking around.
They look kind of iffy, like they was like, you know, getting into something, but I didn't think anything of it.
And then they started me.
All I hear is oh
that match she matches the description and then out of nowhere
they just came in and attacked me out and I don't know like the breezes or anything like that so
unless they were looking for somebody or what but
sorry keep calling
Ashley said the women called out she matches the description before they attacked her she said she was blindsided yet she was adamant she did not want to pursue charges.
Ashley's refusal to press charges just didn't add up.
This was an unprovoked attack, according to her.
Her hesitation made no sense.
Something about the situation just felt off.
The police didn't have to look very far to find Ashley's attackers.
The witness who called 911 led them straight to a building in the same complex where Ashley lived.
Apparently, her attackers were her neighbors.
Two officers knocked on the door, and a young man answered.
We just want to make sure everybody's good, so that's why we're here.
That's fine, but we'd rather y'all come out here.
Can they come out?
The females that are in there.
Yeah.
At this point, all that officers knew was that a fight between three women had been reported.
They had no clue that Ashley had been sent to the hospital.
They just needed to get details about this assault.
The young man at the door stepped aside, and a heavy-set black woman walked to the open breezeway.
She was breathless and sweaty, wearing a white t-shirt and yoga pants.
This girl, she came to my house, she's gonna sleep on my fiancé.
She works over there and she's his manager and she keeps on forcing him to have sex with her after he then cut it off or she was going to fire him and we ended up fighting right there when she approached my home.
This is my home.
She lives all the way over there.
Is everybody in the house right now?
Oh, just me.
I'm the only one that fought.
Just me, the girl she left.
The woman who fought Ashley was 27-year-old Antonetta Stevens.
Though she was shaking with adrenaline, she claimed that Ashley had confronted her at her front door.
That means there was no street brawl, no random attack.
Then they fought.
Apparently, Ashley had been sleeping with Antonetta's fiancé, Daniel, who was the one who answered the door.
Antonetta claimed that Ashley was Daniel's boss at floor and decor,
and she had been forcing him to have sex with her.
How about that?
I'm very heartbroken.
I got you.
I'm very in the middle of the moment.
I got you.
I got you.
So we're going to make sure everybody's okay because a third party called number one.
Antonetta let officers inside.
In the living room, Danielle and Antonetta's toddler was watching TV.
Antonetta's sister-in-law, Janine Gonzalez, was there too.
She admitted that she had also been a witness to the fight.
All right, so kind of slow it down.
You were
going
the female that he's been sleeping with.
Him?
Yes, my fiancé that I've known for five years.
We moved here together from up north.
He has worked, he's worked, he works at Floren Decor.
He's been sleeping with his manager.
And that's who was here.
Yes.
Okay.
And I've been feeling it for some time now.
Okay.
Yesterday, I'm walking to Quick Trip.
I see them walking together.
And you're a woman.
You know our intuition.
I know that's the girl.
I seen her.
We argued yesterday.
He broke it up.
It was fine.
According to Antonetta, she had caught her fiancé, Daniel, walking to the corner store with Ashley.
This was all the confirmation she needed to secure her feeling that Daniel had been sleeping with Ashley.
This morning now, she's calling, calling, testing, testing, testing, saying that she's going to be coming here.
I waited for her and then I fought her because I'm just enraged.
I'm very heartbroken.
You see, I started packing my stuff yesterday.
Nothing is even in bags.
I'm just mentally out of it right now because this is a person that I want to grow old with.
This is a person I want to share my life with.
And I feel dirty.
I feel disgusting.
I feel heartbroken.
And I feel
like
Antonetta was fired up.
Clearly.
She alleged that Ashley had shown up at her front door asking for a fight.
So they duped it out.
Then Ashley left.
But I'm okay right now.
I'm not going to be going out hating anybody.
I'm not investing society.
I'm just very heartbroken.
We just had to make sure everybody was good because we got a call.
The adrenaline was raging through Antonetta, and she couldn't stop talking.
She's actually cheating on her family, too.
Go figure.
You know, the husband and she.
She drive all five times.
No, she walked.
I don't know if she has her own car, but you know, I don't know.
I hope her husband finds the hell out because why do I have to be the only one in shambles in my life?
But
what was her name?
I have no idea.
You don't know her name?
I'm assuming he's not going to tell me her name.
Probably not, because he probably wouldn't want me to find out.
How old is she?
30.
30.
What does she look like?
Hispanic female.
Yeah.
Black hair
with kind of like highlights, curly, no color highlights.
Messed up teeth.
Really big jaw.
Of course, the man who this fight had erupted over, Daniel, you know, the prize.
He just sat there quietly while his angry fiancé rattled off catty remarks about his mistress.
Just sitting there like a grown baby.
It's amazing.
But I'm not going over there, just to let you guys know.
I'm not going to go on a manhunt looking for her.
I don't care.
I already handled my business.
Yeah, like I said, it's not considered domestic violence.
Y'all went at it together, so it would be if you want to prosecute, she wants to prosecute, then technically both of y'all will go to jail.
So
if you're not wanting to worry about it, then
we're going to go our separate ways and not worry about it.
Thanks.
Appreciate it.
Oh, you want anything done to her?
Nope.
Nope.
I think she's got enough, you know.
Like Ashley, Antonetta was firm.
She did not want to press charges.
This was street justice.
She didn't need no cops, you know?
Her claim that Ashley had shown up at her door only deepened the confusion, and none of it added up.
Buried within the strategic white lies of both Ashley and Antonetta's stories was a truth.
Neither woman seemed to be willing to share.
I'm guessing you're going to pack all your crap up and get out here.
That's why your clothes are on the couch.
Or y'all going to try to work this out?
Can y'all have a kid?
I don't know.
What's your plan?
He works right there.
So would I be a horrible woman and tell you to quit your job?
And then you have to work with this woman and I have to sit here.
I work from home.
I'm in this house 24-7.
I cook, clean, work.
That's all I do all day.
It's probably why I lost my mind like that.
Antonetta worked from home while Daniel did overnights at Florin Decor with Ashley.
Their fare grew in the shadows of the home renovation depot, hidden under stacks of tile and carpet swatches.
Through long nights stalking shelves, Daniel and Ashley fell hard for one another.
Their shifts became an escape, a stolen chance to leave their other lives behind and be together in secret.
It was kind of the perfect affair.
No CD hotel meetups were required.
All sex was maintained at work.
But once Antonetta figured out what was happening, the party was over.
Now, she was livid and threatening to leave.
So I don't really know, but I think I want to leave though.
So I'm in a process.
I just don't know where to go.
As I did say, I'm from up north.
I don't really have family out here, you know.
So I put all my eggs in one basket just for this to happen.
I want you guys to take me for a weekend.
I don't really need a break in this in this house.
Be careful what you wish for.
There you go.
Seriously, be careful what you wish for.
As officers prepared to leave, Antonetta joked that she wished that they could take her away for the weekend.
Well,
they can.
She had no idea at that very moment, Ashley was being admitted to the hospital.
And by the time the night was over, she wouldn't be leaving on her own two feet.
She'd be leaving in a body bag.
Texts between Daniel and Ashley from the morning of the attack showed that they'd been swooning over each other.
They were falling in love.
Since I've met you, you've made everything so much better and bearable.
I don't know how to explain it.
Wow.
Ashley, you really make it hard not to want you or keep falling for you.
I can tell you how I feel and not worry about your reaction.
I feel secure around you.
I don't know why, but I just do.
Just know it's gonna be like that.
Be yourself, Ashley.
I want Ashley, not someone else.
The conversation ended up with Ashley telling Daniel to get some rest.
He signed off, saying he was about to have a nap.
An hour later, he started texting Ashley again.
Where you at?
I need to see you.
LOL, I'm in bed.
I want you here so bad.
Meet me, please.
I'm going through it.
I got kicked out.
Are you serious?
Let me put on something real quick.
I.
I'm outside.
Okay, bout to come out now.
Not only did Ashley and Daniel work together at Florin Decor,
but they lived in the same apartment complex.
Ashley's husband, Julian, was at work when she allegedly left to get his birthday cake.
But really, she was rushing out to meet Daniel because he had texted her saying that Antonetta had just kicked his cheating ass out of the house.
Ashley put on her green leggings and crocs, as he would, and left the house with only her iPhone.
The ring camera on her front door was the only witness to her leaving.
She walked around looking for Daniel, texting him as she searched.
He said he was on his way, that Antonetta was furiously packing.
that she was crazy.
Ashley texted back how sorry she was as she crossed the road towards their meeting spot.
And that's when it happened.
Antonetta and her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Janine,
came storming onto the street.
Janine had her phone recording, the only truthful witness to the fight.
Antonetta sprang into action.
Perhaps that's a bit hyperbolic.
She was a very big girl.
Regardless, she tackled Ashley to the ground.
She grabbed fistfuls of her hair, smashed her head into the pavement, and punched her repeatedly.
Her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Janine,
egged her on like a deranged cheerleader.
Let's not pretend that World Star hip-hop was not a cultural phenomenon.
You're gonna get fucked up.
Get the fuck oof off my hair, bitch.
Get the fuck oof off my hair, bitch.
Get the fuck oof off my hair.
Ashley's small body was powerless against Antonetta.
After all, she was twice her size.
Consumed by rage and jealousy, Antonetta straddled her, fists crashing down as she unleashed everything she had
on Ashley.
Say hi to Daniel.
Get off me.
Say hi to Daniel.
Get the fuck off.
You know, he said I could come out here and fuck you up, right?
You know that, right?
He's in the house with our son, bitch.
He said I could fuck you up.
Yep, this is what we do.
If I get mad and he knows I'm leaving, he feels sad.
He says, I'll let you fuck her up.
That's what I'm doing.
Fucking you up.
Are you ready to die over, Dick?
Real crazy.
Yep, you are.
At this very moment in the video, the leasing manager drove by.
She stopped when she saw Antonetta on top of Ashley, using handfuls of her curly hair to keep her skull pinned to the pavement.
Right, you his manager?
I'm getting you fired, bitch.
That's bias.
That's a conflict of interest.
I'm showing this to the job.
You're fucking my nigga while he's on the clock.
Fucking my nigga going there trying to ruin his family, bitch.
He has a whole son.
You're mad for him?
Ashley was losing strength.
She put up a fight, but now her breathing was slowing as Antonetta sat on top of her stomach, crushing her and banging her head.
Then Antonetta pushed herself up and started whipping Ashley across the pavement like a ragdoll.
I will murder you.
I will murder you.
I will murder you.
I will fucking murder you.
Antonetta and Ashley's rail-thin body twisted over itself like a wire hanger bent beyond recognition.
She shook her, punched her, and screamed in her ear.
Stop, you saw lucky my nose is hungry so I was going to do worse to you right now.
I will do worse to you.
I will do worse to you.
I will do fucking worse to you.
That's why he was trying to protect you, but now he don't care for you to get your ass beat.
He let me do this.
He let me.
You're getting fired.
You're getting fucking fired.
You're getting fucking fired.
You're getting fucking.
I'm fucking done.
The fight was completely one-sided.
Antonetta dominated Ashley, punching her over and over with hard, angry fists.
Well, Janine held the camera and continued cheering on her sister-in-law.
Janine was giddy, like the bad teenager that she was, completely devoid of morality.
Then, when Antonetta was done beating Ashley, she held her in place and called to Janine.
That's when Janine backed up, took a running start, and drove her foot into Ashley's side with brutal force.
Over and over, she kicked her mercilessly, cackling and screaming, like a deranged wild animal.
Like something with rabies.
She wanted to show her beloved sister-in-law exactly how tough she really was.
So,
she killed someone.
Go ahead.
Bitch, bitch.
Wanna jump in there?
Yeah, we could do that.
You done?
You tapping out?
Yeah, I'm done.
I'm like, like, you just put enough.
Wow.
Messed with a crazy ass bitch.
When Antonetta and Janine were satisfied, she took Ashley's Crocs and her cell phone, leaving her sitting on the blacktop, trying to fix herself up and salvage what little pride she had left.
And he knows I'm crazy.
Say her face looking dumb.
Bitch.
Hey, don't do this again because you're gonna have to make me fight another bitch.
Go home.
Let's go.
But Ashley needed her phone back, and she wasn't going to let Antonetta and Janine take it.
And so, even though she had been shamelessly beaten, she followed them back to their front door.
She was woozy and breathless as she trailed them.
Antonetta and Janine screamed at her to go home, but she didn't relent.
The screaming between the three women was so loud it woke up Daniel, who had been asleep the entire time.
Can you imagine that?
This is all your fault and you're just sleeping through it.
Unlike Antonetta had professed during her brutal beating of Ashley, he had not okayed any of this.
As he walked into the living room, Antonetta burst inside, yelling.
Let me repeat what Antonetta said in case you missed it.
Daniel, your bitch is outside.
I just fucked her up.
I used your phone to write her, and I recorded it.
There it was.
This 14-minute video held it all.
A motive, a plan, the murder, and a confession.
All recorded by Antonetta's trusty 17-year-old accomplice.
What a fucking idiot.
When Daniel figured out what was going on, he opened the front door and saw Ashley there.
bloody and shaken up.
Stunned to find his boss and his secret girlfriend at his front door, he quickly slammed it in her face, then found her phone and gave it back to her.
She snatched it and scurried home.
Daniel was overcome with guilt.
He immediately started texting Ashley from the privacy of another room.
Ashley, please.
Are you okay?
Nah, I'm good.
Leave me alone.
Please talk to me.
I can't breathe and my heart is skipping a beat.
I'm about to go to urgent care.
Bye.
No way.
Please.
Your fucking sister kicked me in my back.
I was good until she did that.
Ashley, I really want with all my good intentions.
I want to see you and check on you.
I feel sad.
I can't believe your face and body are hurt.
Talk to me or let me see you.
Fuck, I'm sorry.
Sorry I wasn't there.
In the light of truth, Ashley's secrecy at the hospital made sense.
While she never told Julian or the police that she knew her attackers.
She couldn't risk her husband discovering the affair, especially not with their 10th anniversary and his birthday on that day.
Antonetta refused to press charges, knowing full well she had set this storm in motion, luring Ashley out with a message from Daniel's phone.
It wasn't like she claimed.
Ashley didn't come to her looking for a fight, but as the chaos simmered, one fact remained.
Ashley was still alive when they left her.
Neither Antonetta nor Janine realized that their cruel plan to teach Ashley a lesson about infidelity had already spiraled into something that they couldn't lie their way out of.
Something that they wouldn't be confronted with until hours later, after the adrenaline rush had subsided and their kids had fallen asleep.
It was about 4 a.m.
when the police came back to Antonetta and Daniel's house and knocked on the door.
Hey!
Hi.
I'm Detective Carter with Wornette County Police.
Are you here?
Your internet?
Yes, hi.
Hey, this is Detective Poppy, Sergeant Poppy.
Hi, miss me.
We know that there was like an incident that happened earlier today.
Has anyone called you about it since?
Was somebody supposed to?
Well, we just got another call about it.
So I guess the girl went to the hospital
and she died.
She died.
She's dead.
so but we know that there was like an altercation that happened beforehand that was usual she came here yeah we understand that yeah so but we because of it and going to children
yeah i'm not that person i get it
the lack of remorse here is astounding it truly says something about the state of our society today
What exactly?
I'm not really sure.
I'm not a sociologist.
Is that who does things like that?
I don't even really know.
But I can tell you that as a human being, it feels disgusting.
Antonetta sounds like she's just been told her pizza delivery will be late.
Not that the girl she beat up, another human being, has died.
I don't think I could ever fully understand the complete lack of empathy and sympathy that it takes.
to do something like this and then be so cold and callous about it.
it.
But because of that, we have to kind of talk to you guys and get a more formal statement.
Wow, I'm so sorry about that.
Yeah, that was not my intention.
I've been mentally going through a lot.
I
have bipolar depression and I'm just going through a lot right now.
And, you know, I came here from up north with my fiancé.
That's him.
Of course, she has bipolar depression.
Of course, right?
Who doesn't?
It's 2025.
Everybody has mental illness.
You're not special.
She's mentally been going through a lot, as if this fucking matters.
Seeing as she's just murdered someone with her bare hands.
But sure, it's all about guns.
I came here with my fiancé to start a new life, buy a house, everything like that.
And I never expected him to
basically cheat on me with someone at the workplace.
You know what I'm saying?
So we would like to get like a formal statement, so we're going to ask that you come up to our headquarters and talk that.
It's just right up the street.
Okay.
All right.
I hear kids.
Is there someone else here?
Yeah.
There's someone here with them?
Yeah.
Okay.
Were they involved at all?
No.
Okay.
All right, so it was just you two guys.
If you don't mind, if we could just get some shoes, it'll be quick.
We can get an ounce.
Okay.
But their time at the police station wouldn't be quick.
Antonetta and Janine's reckless decision to film their assault had already set set the stage for disaster.
But it wasn't just the evidence that left investigators disgusted.
In the interrogation room, something unexpected emerged.
Something that would shift the entire case and reveal a darkness no one could see coming.
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30-year-old Ashley Bocanegra had been attacked by Antoninette Stevens and Janine Gonzalez in their apartment complex.
Ashley was having a secret affair with Antonetta's fiancée, Daniel.
You see, she was his manager at the Florin Decor, a place that sells a bunch of tiles and flooring and shit.
When Antonetta discovered the affair, she used her fiancé's phone to lure Ashley to a meetup spot, where she and her sister-in-law, Janine,
beat Ashley up until she had to be hospitalized.
Hours later, Ashley succumbed to her injuries and died.
Now Antonetta and Janine were on the hook for her murder.
not just a malicious catfight.
They were taken down to the police station and the officers finally got Daniel alone so they could talk with him about what had happened.
Daniel admitted that he'd found out about the fight after Ashley showed up at the door looking for her phone.
He felt terrible for slamming the door in her face, but he was stunned to see her there how did she look when you when she opened the door
she looked up yeah okay
i mean when you say she you're talking about airplane yo and when you said they took her phone yeah so they could text um so they could text her yeah
whatever okay she got one how do you know so sorry how do you know that they took her phone did she tell you she she knocked on the door and yelled please, I just want my phone.
Daniel explained that he and Antonetta had been having relationship problems long before his affair with Ashley.
He'd wanted out of that relationship and he was preparing his exit.
You and Antonetta are having relationship problems already.
Yeah, no, it's deep.
Like, it's deep.
You got a kid and everything, so it's like, it's a more.
I'm, I made, I go off the respect.
I have a kid with you, I'm going to respect you regardless.
But if I'm not with you, then I don't have to, I don't have to.
like i don't i don't have to do that part anymore i can just take care of my kid and if you need help i'll help you like it's not like this is fresh like i'm over here cheating on this woman i'm not i we've been like this has been a toxic environment and she's just been trying to figure out what to do and i've been trying to figure out what to do but but she doesn't want nobody to leave i'm telling her like i'll leave i'll live in my car i'll do whatever but
daniel had made it clear that he wanted to leave even if it meant living living in his car.
What is it with these grown adults that can't get their shit together?
Anyway, Antonetta refused to let him go.
Because that's how it works.
This sucks, man.
I know.
Is she hurt?
I see no.
Like, real bad.
So, I'm just,
I'm not gonna make a show.
I'm not gonna go in yelling.
Well, yeah, we got a call from the hospital a while ago, and she actually passed away from the hospital.
No, stop playing with me.
No, please.
Please stop playing with me, Chad.
Please stop playing with me.
Daniel broke down in uncontrollable sobs when the officers told him Ashley was dead.
He was panicking, and it seemed like he was the only one who had been truly devastated by her sudden death.
The baby, the baby, the baby, the baby.
Daniel was shattered.
The woman he loved was gone.
Murdered by the very person he'd been trying to escape.
Every breath breath felt heavy, weighed down by the cruel truth.
Ashley was dead because
of him.
So, wow.
Now you know why we're here.
It's more than just a little fight.
I felt the hole in my heart
as soon as he left.
I really fucking came into
fucking horse.
How am I gonna fucking do this?
Listen, you just gotta take a breath and give yourself some time.
The officer left Daniel with his thoughts and his son to keep him hopeful.
They had two murderers waiting for them at the police station.
The ringleader, Antonetta, was first.
After having her rights read to her, she did the smart thing.
Sort of.
Have these rights in mind?
Do you wish to talk to us now?
Well, I do want to speak with the lawyer just because of how sensitive the situation is.
I will say that, you know, I
don't go out looking to harm anybody.
That's not my intention.
I do feel, you know, very remorseful about anything that has happened with that young lady.
I'll also say that, you know,
it wasn't my intention to even get into an altercation with her today.
She came over to my place of residence looking for my fiancé.
We argued.
I was hit.
We fought.
I feel really bad, but, you know, I really,
I'm, I don't know.
I'm just, no.
It's just, it's just too much.
It's just too much.
She really trails off there, doesn't she?
Real low energy, low confidence biach.
Antonetta clung to her story, ignoring the damning video evidence on Janine's phone.
Maybe she was dumb enough to think that the cops would never find it.
I don't know.
I wouldn't put it past her.
But because she wasn't willing to talk, she was thrown in jail.
17-year-old Janine wasn't as sharp as her sister-in-law.
She'd stayed quiet when the police first showed up.
But the moment a female detective strolled into the interrogation room, mirroring her tone and attitude, Janine's face lit up.
All it took was a little imitation for her to believe she'd found a friend.
Hey!
At least it's not blazing hot in here, right?
You look comfy.
Can you sit right here for a moment?
He's dirty.
Where's the dirty at?
I swear, I swear it was just.
Girl, you serious.
I know I met you at your apartment.
Hey, I'm Detective Carter.
This is Detective Araya.
He's still trying to get filled in on everything.
So
basically her sister-in-law, there was a situation with her,
her brother.
There's a whole situation, whatever.
We just got through talking to Antoinette.
So basically, we just got to get your side now.
Because you are in here, he has to read some stuff to you.
So he's going to be the lead detective, so he's going to do most of the talking.
But I'm just in here because I'm kind of familiar with it.
But I'm here too.
So
Janine smiled at her, falling for the trick that this cop was somehow in the room for her benefit.
Just go through basically since I was in there and I'm playing casual basically.
So what happened?
So, like,
let me start to where it leaded.
Okay.
Oh,
okay.
So,
like,
since I've been down here,
they have been on good terms.
So, you know, arguments back to back.
Janine confirmed that Danielle and Antonetta were on the rocks.
Things were bad.
So, like, you know, they're arguing or whatever.
So,
my brother,
him being a man,
cheats.
Like always, you know, he's feeling less than he thinks it's okay to cheat.
So, you know, he tells me
he tells me who is he cheating with and stuff now me and my stepsister i mean not my stepsister my sister are a lot we're very close like so close like you understand
like she's more of a sister to me than my brother's a brother to me you know yeah so like we're very close and toneta was the sister janine never had She had visited her every summer.
So when Daniel admitted he was seeing Ashley, Janine couldn't wait to share the juicy gossip.
So once he told me,
I was just like, ooh, that feller.
To teenage Janine, this was all a game.
The fact that Daniel, Antonetta, and their son were a family meant nothing.
She was riding high on the thrill of being the gatekeeper of his secret.
In case you haven't figured it out, kids are dumb.
Especially teenagers.
If you're looking for them to guide you, boy are you lost.
Two days prior before this day,
we were just chilling.
She was working and Daniel did something to her to make her upset.
So we were talking or whatever.
And I was just like, oh, I forgot to tell you.
No, I didn't forget.
So I was like,
told her what happened.
He explained, cheated or whatever.
She's like, oh, really?
She's upset or whatever.
I was like, don't tell him that I think you.
Because he was going to be that.
He explained how the girl looked to me, though.
And, you know, curly air put a recent skinny girl.
So I was like, all right.
So then I explained it to Afnetta.
So
the next day after that, we went to the store.
Last night.
Last night.
We went to the store last night and we were walking to Crip Trip.
Cook Trip is right there, you know.
I thought it was like y'all walking earlier.
I thought that was you guys.
Okay, so we walked to Cook Trip.
As we're walking to Crip Trip, both both of them are walking together from cook trip.
So they're just not leaving and we're just not coming.
So Antonetta is like,
is that Daniel walking?
So now she runs to him like, who is this?
The feud had been boiling for 24 hours.
Janine told Antonetta about Ashley and then Antonetta and Janine caught Daniel and Ashley walking to the corner store on their work break.
Janine kept talking to officers as if she was gossiping with her girlfriends on FaceTime.
Her story was a far cry from the truth.
She lied and said Ashley came to the door looking for a fight.
And she come to the house, you know, big fight.
Big fight.
So
after the fight, um
we took her phone.
We were gonna call her husband to let her know that, you know, took this or something out.
So did she knock on the door at first or you guys just saw her outside?
Outside.
She didn't knock.
She didn't get the cancer.
Okay.
Because they all got this bitch coming.
I'm about to beat her up.
Shit, yeah.
Did you guys start yelling at her before you guys approached her or how that got down?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Tell us about that.
It wasn't really all, bitch.
It was just like, yeah, you can't see my nigga?
And then.
It was just fighting at that.
She knew what it was because she got ready to, you know.
And then it was just fighting.
Who was fighting
um the girl tonight everybody no girl
no
yeah
of course you did i knew you did just just a little bit you got just because like you said that's your homegirl
it's amazing how this detective just mirrors janine's style of talking right back at her and every time she falls for it she relaxes her body and slips up again.
Tell me about that.
I didn't go crazy though, because she's small as
Like,
you're enough already.
I don't need to be punching her, dragging her.
I don't need to do all that.
I'm good.
I'll give him a little hit, and then that's it.
Where'd you get it in at?
I don't know.
I know Eddie, though.
Janine kept changing her story.
First, it was Ashley who woke Daniel up.
Then, wait.
It was Antonetta who woke him up.
Her lies were getting tangled and frayed as she tried to keep her story story straight.
Did you guys text her?
No, I mean from his phone.
Oh, from his phone?
No, I don't think so, no.
Okay.
You sure?
Yeah.
Because you messed up your story a little bit.
I already read the messages.
You messed up a little bit.
What was the message?
He wasn't getting kicked out.
Oh, what?
Yes, he was.
I don't know.
What the hell?
You sure it was text messages just a fight, or was it something else?
I don't know.
You don't know what you want to tell us.
You're even honest this whole time.
It's fine.
She'll be straight up.
She's smart.
No, that's a smart move because you know you text us saying, come over on the beach your ass.
She's not going to come over like that.
You know,
y'all for smart.
Y'all finessed the hell out of that girl.
Of course.
She, she knows.
No, she was going to come fight regardless, to be honest.
Janine's lies were like a bad high school rumor, spreading fast but falling apart under the slightest scrutiny.
She was too oblivious to grasp the fact that she wasn't walking out of this police station scot-free with her cell phone in her jean shorts.
Earlier today, she didn't know that she was walking into a fight.
No, she's dead.
I don't know if that shit is crazy.
Do you know how she died?
Like...
From fighting.
From the injuries of her death.
So they had to do an autopsy, but it was that ever
as a result of her
the injuries she sustained during the fight.
That shit's crazy.
How does it make you feel?
That shit make me feel like I'm going to hell.
I'm not going to lie.
I heard she was pretty fucked up.
I don't know.
Damon thought, he said, when I opened the door, I saw her.
I was like, oh shit.
And I had to slam the door because she was so fucked up.
He did do that.
He did do that.
He did do that.
He did do that.
The careless and sinister nature of her affect is terrifying.
People like this actually exist in society and sometimes they vote.
This girl has absolutely no remorse for the fact that she helped murder someone.
Nor does she even really care that Ashley was being an alleged homewrecker.
Trying to ruin and break up your family.
I'm sure that made you upset.
I wasn't upset.
No?
No, they've been on a rocky roll for a minute.
Like, I've been when he was cheating
when he told me.
So I was just like, what do I expect from this?
Is it her first word, even though?
You were scared that he was going to go off with her.
Was that scared he was going to go off for her?
To be honest, me and my brother isn't really that close.
We're trying to work on it.
So it's just like
I don't know.
It just makes it easier when families together.
You got your sister, you got him.
Yeah, but
I don't live with those world.
You know, I don't really feel that family connection.
And it's like me and her are close and I come visit her.
And he's just like, my brother.
With that, they left Janine alone.
In the interrogation room, she laid her head on the desk and slept on it like a pillow, like little kids do in preschool.
She played with the scrunchie around her wrist.
Then the detective came back in.
Alright, so
we're going to have to book you into jail.
Your charge is going to be agg battery, alright, for the fight.
Okay.
Aggravated battery.
Oh, aggravated battery?
Yeah.
So it's just basically just a little more serious than just a regular battery.
But we have to take the phone for evidence.
Ah, Danine's phone.
The only character in this entire story capable of telling the truth.
So, what happens?
We're gonna go to the jail, we'll get you booked in, fingerprinted, photo, all that.
And then, what else?
Wait for a court.
So, you clear in your charges?
Yeah, I guess.
Yeah, it's robbery.
Robbery?
What?
Robbery?
Yeah.
We didn't steal her phone.
We took it so she could come to the house.
Oh, you took it.
Yeah,
she got her phone back.
I told you, she wasn't leaving unless she got, we gave her back her phone.
We just did it so we could call her husband before we changed her up.
Okay.
Yeah, phone jail.
She got her phone.
She said it was okay for you to take it?
No.
Okay, yeah, that's a robbery.
The other charge is murder.
Murder?
Yep.
You've been charged with murder.
Me?
Yep.
That's too bad.
That's deep, right?
Yeah, that's fucking insane.
Yeah.
No, no, no, no.
What?
Murder?
I couldn't laid hands on her.
I only told this plot.
You want some of this, Janine?
Yeah, I do.
Bitch.
Wow, go ahead.
Bitch.
Bitch.
It was Janine's foot that delivered the fatal blows, the ones that pushed Ashley past the point of no return.
The sheer force of them
big-ass hams, as those final kicks caused bleeding in Ashley's lungs, sealing her fate in a brutal, merciless instant.
Though it would take hours for Ashley to actually die, Janine's part in this beating was the nail in her coffin.
Antonetta and Janine were charged with felony murder, robbery, and aggravated battery.
They waited in jail for their day in court.
When it was Janine's turn, she sat beside her court-appointed lawyer, tears streaming down her acne-splotched face, as she argued she was just a bystander and deserved a manslaughter charge instead.
But the video
disagrees.
There was no spinning the truth.
That was all caught on 1080p.
Actually, it could have been 720 or 480, who knows?
This ain't a camera, of course.
But after weeks of wrangling, both Antonetta and Janine took their plea deals.
20 years for voluntary manslaughter and robbery by force.
Two decades in Arendelle State Prison will do things to you.
There's plenty of time to relive every reckless second.
Every cruel decision, every moment of that recording is on Janine's phone.
Plenty of time to regret it all.
Microsecond by microsecond.
But would either of these women be capable of such introspection?
I doubt it.
After all, it takes a little bit of intellect to have a conscience.
It's ironic.
Ashley and Julian came to Georgia from New York searching for a better life.
A fresh start from the chaos of the projects and their tangled past.
Antonetta and Daniel came for the exact same reason, even from the same state.
But neither couple was truly in a good place.
Your geographic location doesn't really matter much if the core of who you are is all fucked up.
The trouble they tried to escape followed them across state lines, growing into an unstoppable force when Daniel and Ashley started falling for each other during their night shifts at Flore and Decor.
Daniel and Ashley found one another because they weren't happy in their own relationships.
They wanted something more, and when a new town, a new house, and a new life wasn't enough to fill the void, what they wanted was a new person to be with, not a change of scenery.
Daniel was a man trapped with a woman he didn't like, bound by a sense of duty to their son.
His affair with Ashley was a spark of hope in a life that felt dim and joyless.
Every moment with her was electric, and Ashley felt the same.
We all heard Daniel's sobs when she died.
Who knows what they talked about in those quiet moments together.
Maybe they dreamed of turning their affair into something real and long-lasting.
Maybe they even imagined leaving their partners and starting fresh together.
But those dreams died the minute Daniel confided in his teenage sister.
Janine was the little piece of the past that came down to Georgia that summer and threw gasoline on the fire.
A child who didn't create the situation, but she surely made it go from bad to fatal and pretty fast.
For Julian, for their son, for Daniel, and for all of those who loved Ashley, one heartbreaking reality remains.
Sometimes a fresh start isn't enough.
to leave the troubles of the past behind.
And if you find yourself being miserable and you want to just patch it up instead of discovering and fixing the actual problem,
well then, don't worry, because the problem will eventually
find you.
Episode fifteen, titled Burn of Sword and Scale Television, is out now at swordandscale.com.
It's a harrowing tale of a couple teenagers that just wanted to buy some pot.
And bad things happen.
State of the world these days, I swear.
It's like parenting took a decade off once they invented the iPad.
I'm going to go record some more.
Maybe you should try being a mom.
Hey, it's Brian Christopher.
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