The Unraveling — Sandy Beal E7

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.

Speaker 2 Lily is a proud partner of the iHeartRadio Music Festival for Lily's duets for type 2 diabetes campaign that celebrates patient stories of support. Share your story at mountjaro.com/slash duets.

Speaker 2 Mountjaro terzepatide is an injectable prescription medicine that is used along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar, glucose, and adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Speaker 2 Mount Jaro is not for use in children. Don't take Mount Jaro if you're allergic to it or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2.

Speaker 2 Stop and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or vision changes.

Speaker 2 Serious side effects may include inflamed pancreas and gallbladder problems. Taking Maljaro with a sulfinyl norrhea or insulin may cause low blood sugar.

Speaker 2 Tell your doctor if you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be or taking birth control pills and before scheduled procedures with anesthesia.

Speaker 2 Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and may cause kidney problems.

Speaker 2 Once weekly Mount Jaro is available by prescription only in 2.55, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 milligram per 0.5 milliliter injection.

Speaker 2 Call 1-800-LILLIRX-800-545-5979 or visit mountjaro.lilly.com for the Mount Jaro indication and safety summary with warnings. Talk to your doctor for more information about Mountjaro.

Speaker 2 Mountjaro and its delivery device base are registered trademarks owned or licensed by Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries or affiliates.

Speaker 1 Deborah had to have surgery. I had hip surgery in November of 2024.

Speaker 4 Her United Healthcare nurse Crystal checked on her.

Speaker 5 We do a routine call after surgery and I could tell that she was struggling.

Speaker 4 Deborah needed help.

Speaker 1 My infection markers were through the roof.

Speaker 4 And Crystal knew what to do.

Speaker 5 I called the hospital and said she's coming in and got Deborah the help she needed.

Speaker 1 Crystal and United Healthcare saved my life.

Speaker 4 Hear more stories like Deborah's at UHC.com. Benefits, features, and/or devices vary by plant area.
Limitation and exclusions apply.

Speaker 7 I already love same-day delivery with shipped, but it's so much better since I signed up for Target Circle 360.

Speaker 3 Why?

Speaker 7 Because I no longer pay price markups from the majority of stores through Shipped. Only a handful of alcohol retailers and items don't count.

Speaker 7 That means no markups on groceries, pet food, even home goods and makeup. So to recap, I have more time to catch up on life while someone shops for me and I spend less.
It's a win-win.

Speaker 7 Order now at shift.com/slash 360.

Speaker 8 Terms apply.

Speaker 9 This is Jonas Knox from Two Pros and a Cup of Joe.

Speaker 11 And on Fox One, now you can stream your favorite live sports so you can be there live for the biggest moments.

Speaker 12 That means NFL Sundays, college football games, NASCAR, MLB postseason, and more.

Speaker 10 With Fox One, you'll get it all live.

Speaker 17 Edge of your seat plays, jaw-dropping, high-octane moments, and that feeling like you're right there in the action.

Speaker 14 Fox One, we live for live, streaming now.

Speaker 8 This is Bowen Yang. And Matt Rogers.
From Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers. And Bowen Yang.
This episode of Los Culturistas is brought to you by Malibu.

Speaker 18 501 shouldn't just mean the end of work, it should mean the beginning of fun.

Speaker 8 Yes, with a Malibu cocktail, it's like a mini vacation without ever getting on a plane. Because you deserve to unplug, disconnect, and live in the moment.

Speaker 3 I love to enjoy cocktail with my friends at a local watering hole, a classier bar, or at home.

Speaker 12 I'm going to say it, the beach could be an amazing place to drink.

Speaker 8 Clock off with Malibu because life's too short not to do whatever tastes good. Sip easy.
Enjoy Malibu responsibly.

Speaker 18 Copyright 2025, imported by Perneau Ricard, USA, New York, New York.

Speaker 20 Before we begin, please note: this series includes talk of suicide and sexual violence. Please take care while listening.

Speaker 21 So I had to be at a friend's house in Annapolis at six, and it was 3, and I'm like, I got time, and I have an address, so I'm going to go to his house. And then I could say hello.

Speaker 22 Douglas's house.

Speaker 21 Douglas's house, right.

Speaker 20 Kim has never forgotten about Doug, the married state trooper who was in a relationship with Sandy before her death. In fact, she has amassed an impressive file on him.

Speaker 20 She's paid for background checks on his name, studied his wife's Facebook page, researched the properties the couple own.

Speaker 20 She even went to the trouble of requesting Doug's training records from the state police.

Speaker 20 And she's done all this because of her suspicion that Doug knows why Sandy was in the poll yard that night.

Speaker 20 She thinks he might have been with her because in the months before Sandy's death, they had an intimate relationship. One that led, according to Sandy's writings, to a pregnancy and an abortion.

Speaker 20 And on the night of her death, Sandy was dressed up like she was meeting someone for a date. The medical examiner found, quote, numerous well-preserved spermatozoa inside her body.

Speaker 20 And the location of Sandy's death, the poll yard, it was a local cop hangout a mile from where Doug worked. In the car with Sandy was a letter for him.

Speaker 20 As much as Kim has wanted answers from Doug, she has always been too afraid to reach out to him directly, worried about how he might react to her meddling.

Speaker 20 But on her last trip to Maryland, she decided to pay him a visit.

Speaker 21 So I'm driving down this little cul-de-sac,

Speaker 21 and I'm thinking, you know, nothing. I'm not nervous or anything.
And so I keep going, and there's this little dinky road because I see a house out in the woods.

Speaker 21 So I've already gone down this wooded path. I'm driving down this road and my brain must have registered the sign that said video surveillance.

Speaker 20 Stapled to a tree trunk was a sign that warned visitors they were being recorded.

Speaker 21 And then all of a sudden I see his house. I trust my instincts.
And I just hit my brakes.

Speaker 21 Now, because now I'm like, I'm going deeper into the woods and it's getting a little creepier.

Speaker 21 And

Speaker 21 so

Speaker 21 I stop and I start thinking, okay, I'm getting, I'm like taking a little bit too much risk. I'm going to back out.
So I back out and leave my hearts like racing.

Speaker 20 Kim left without making contact with Doug. Her courage had only taken her so far.

Speaker 20 What Kim didn't know at the time was that Doug had recently had another unexpected visitor.

Speaker 20 Just a few days earlier, a Prince George's County police detective showed up on Doug's doorstep, asking questions about Sandy.

Speaker 20 From iHeartRadio, I'm Melissa Jeltson, and this is What Happened to Sandy Beale, an iHeart Original Podcast.

Speaker 20 Chapter 7

Speaker 20 The Unraveling

Speaker 20 I'll come back to Doug later, but first I want to explain why Kim was in Maryland to begin with.

Speaker 20 She had been invited to meet with a cold case detective, Bernie Nelson, at the Prince George's County Police Headquarters in Forestville.

Speaker 20 Kim had never met Bernie before, but she'd known of him since 2006.

Speaker 20 He's the one who answered her call when she first tried to get the police report.

Speaker 20 And he's also the one, in 2019, who actually tracked it down, going to Detective Shyzelski's house to physically retrieve it.

Speaker 21 I mean I've heard this man's name since 2006 and it's 2021

Speaker 21 so that was kind of exciting that I was going to finally meet him.

Speaker 21 He could have just blown me off but he didn't.

Speaker 20 And so on a brisk morning in October Bernie and Kim finally met in person. wearing masks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaker 20 Kim wasn't permitted to record their conversation, but she invited her sister along and she took diligent notes.

Speaker 20 I've used these contemporaneous notes, interviews with Kim, and written responses from PG County to create this account of the meeting.

Speaker 21 So this is 11 o'clock on Monday morning and he asks,

Speaker 21 so how did all this podcast stuff happen?

Speaker 21 And so he was very interested and

Speaker 21 I encouraged him. I'm like, I really think it's in your best interest to allow them to interview you because

Speaker 21 he's stating, he goes, well, we don't think that we should have to do it because we've done our due diligence. We've done everything that we can.

Speaker 21 And the powers to be believe there's nothing else that we can do. And I'm like, what?

Speaker 21 How can you say you've done everything? I've got all these questions and we've had questions for years.

Speaker 20 Kim was excited. but nervous.
A previous meeting with the state police years ago had left Kim feeling intimidated.

Speaker 20 She brought with her a list of questions for Bernie so that she wouldn't forget what she wanted to say.

Speaker 21 And this guy was calm and

Speaker 21 was wanting to educate me on his part, on how they saw it.

Speaker 20 Bernie told her that the department had 1,300 coal cases and very few staff to work them all, but he had taken the time to get familiar with Sandy's case.

Speaker 20 He knew, for instance, about the ride-along notations in Sandy's calendar, the names and numbers of local police officers in her address books.

Speaker 20 Kim told Bernie what she thought, that a number of cops had taken advantage of Sandy, pursuing inappropriate sexual relationships with the teen.

Speaker 20 And to her surprise, he didn't dispute it.

Speaker 21 He agreed that at the time, 77, the climate was not there for females to be police officers, and they didn't want her. They did not want females to be there.

Speaker 21 He agreed that all these officers were inappropriate. None of their behaviors was becoming, and today they would have all been terminated, or at least they should have been, in his opinion.

Speaker 21 And Nelson's going, I don't condone any of their behavior. He was disgusted as we were talking.

Speaker 21 And I just was floored that he was being so accountable.

Speaker 20 Bernie told Kim that he understood why the Beale family was so suspicious of PG County police, given the circumstances. And he came across as sincere to Kim.

Speaker 21 I mean, he's like, I understand why you guys doubt everything.

Speaker 20 He also credited Kim with the amount of stuff she'd been able to dig up on her own, acknowledging her fierce commitment to the case.

Speaker 21 He said, you've done your homework. He said, you did a good job with this.
And he's like, that's another reason that I wanted to follow through because I knew you're not going to let me go here.

Speaker 20 While Bernie was telling Kim all of this, there was another cop in the room, Detective McDonald. He remained fairly quiet throughout the meeting.

Speaker 20 Kim didn't even know why he was there until he started telling her about his recent visit to Doug's house.

Speaker 20 Just days earlier, Detective McDonald had surprised a retired state trooper at his home and questioned him about his involvement with Sandy.

Speaker 20 I was able to confirm with PG County Police that this visit took place.

Speaker 21 So McDonald called him outside the house and he said, I questioned him for an hour and a half. An hour and a half? That's a long time to visit with somebody.

Speaker 20 According to McDonald, Doug admitted that he'd had a relationship with Sandy, but he downplayed its significance.

Speaker 21 He said he did not know she was pregnant. He did not know she had an abortion.
He didn't pay for any abortion.

Speaker 20 Doug confirmed that the poll yard, where Sandy was found dead, was a local hangout for state troopers and a place Sandy had gone before.

Speaker 20 The Beals, including Kim, had suspected this for years.

Speaker 21 He told McDonald that Pepco Utility Yard was the common spot for Maryland state police that gathered, and it was called the 88.

Speaker 21 Don't know what that means, but the spot was called the 88. He said girls, including Sandy, would come and socialize with the cops.

Speaker 21 He said it was kind of like a groupie thing, like they followed a band and that the cops would just scatter there.

Speaker 20 But that was the extent of the information Doug would share about Sandy. He denied being in the poll yard the night of Sandy's death or having anything to do with it.

Speaker 21 He said he had not been in the poll yard that evening. He said, I didn't know that she was dead until my supervisor brought me in a few days later.

Speaker 21 He said, my supervisor reported to me and then I was questioned. The Maryland State Police did interview him, made him do a polygraph.

Speaker 20 Doug stated that after Sandy's death, his employer, the Maryland State Police, opened an internal investigation on his relationship with the teen.

Speaker 20 He said he was polygraphed to determine if his actions violated the agency's code of conduct.

Speaker 20 So Doug was questioned back then, but not by Prince George's County Police, who were investigating Sandy's unnatural death. Rather, he had to answer to his employer.

Speaker 20 who probably learned of the improper relationship from Detective Shyzelski.

Speaker 20 All of this, it happened behind the Beale's back.

Speaker 20 Joanne, Sandy's mom, was never informed about this investigation, despite the fact that she called the state police looking for Doug and expressed her concerns about the relationship.

Speaker 21 I want to know what else they learned from him, and I'm sure it's stuff they didn't want me to know because it was going to hurt my feelings.

Speaker 20 In Kim's eyes, Doug had always existed in this protected bubble, bubble, untouchable, living above the law.

Speaker 20 Now, learning that he hadn't completely evaded scrutiny, that he was compelled to explain his relationship with Sandy on his front lawn no less, it left her feeling elated.

Speaker 20 To be clear, Kim didn't believe that Doug told the whole truth, and she had so many more questions for him.

Speaker 20 But it felt like a small victory that he had acknowledged and confirmed his relationship with Sandy.

Speaker 20 Because this was something I'd tried to get him to do to no avail.

Speaker 20 Doug never responded to my many letters and emails, even though I have an email tracker and I could tell that someone had read my messages often many times soon after I sent them.

Speaker 20 But Doug wasn't able to ignore a detective on his doorstep. And so, four decades after Sandy's death, he was forced to remember her.

Speaker 1 Tired of spills and stains on your sofa?

Speaker 1 WashableSofas.com has your back, featuring the Annibay Collection, the only designer sofa that's machine-washable inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices.

Speaker 1 That's right, sofas started just $699.

Speaker 1 Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabrics.

Speaker 1 Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity, and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime.

Speaker 1 Check out washable sofas.com and get up to 60% off your Anibay sofa, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund.

Speaker 1 No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back.
Upgrade now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 1 Top reasons data nerds want to move to Ohio. High-paying careers for business researchers, analysts, project managers, and more.
So many jobs, you can take your pick. What else does the data say?

Speaker 1 How about a bigger backyard, a shorter commute, and a paycheck that goes further? So crunch the numbers and our world-famous pickles. It all adds up: the career you want and a life you'll love.

Speaker 1 Have it all in the heart of it all. Dive into the data at callohiohome.com.

Speaker 6 Every business has an ambition. PayPal Open is the platform designed to help you grow into yours with business loans so you can expand and access to hundreds of millions of PayPal customers worldwide.

Speaker 6 And your customers can pay all the ways they want with PayPal, Venmo, Pay Later, and all major cards so you can focus on scaling up.

Speaker 6 When it's time to get growing, there's one platform for all business, PayPal Open.

Speaker 3 Grow today at PayPalOpen.com.

Speaker 6 Loan subject to approval in available locations.

Speaker 11 This is Jonas Knox from Two Pros and a Cup of Joe, and on Fox One now, you can stream your favorite live sports so you can be there live for the biggest moments.

Speaker 12 That means NFL Sundays, college football games, NASCAR, MLB postseason, and more.

Speaker 10 With Fox One, you'll get it all live.

Speaker 17 Edge of your seat plays, jaw-dropping, high-octane moments, and that feeling like you're right there in the action.

Speaker 14 Fox One, we live for live streaming now.

Speaker 24 Wanna bourbon with the story? American-made wild turkey never compromises, aged longer for more bold, rich character.

Speaker 24 Our pre-prohibition-style bourbons are distilled and barreled at a low proof to retain the most flavor. Most bourbons aren't.
Well, we aren't most bourbons.

Speaker 24 Wild Turkey 101 bourbon makes an old-fashioned to bold-fashioned for bold nights out or at home. Now, that's a story worth telling.
Wild Turkey, trust your spirit.

Speaker 24 Copyright 2025, Capari America, New York, New York. Never compromise, drink responsibly.

Speaker 20 The cold case detectives never explained to Kim why they visited Doug, and I can't say for sure because Prince George's County Police declined to make anyone available for an interview.

Speaker 20 But my instinct is not that they suspected Doug of murder, but that they wanted to show the Beals that they'd done something.

Speaker 20 Because despite the recent visit to Doug's house, The PG County Police Department was still convinced that Sandy died by suicide.

Speaker 21 He stated that they believed that there was no foul play, that no further investigation needed to be done, and they didn't need to investigate anything further because they felt there was nothing criminal in nature.

Speaker 20 Bernie told her that based on the forensic evidence at the scene of Sandy's death, it was indisputable that she died by suicide. But Kim had seen all the same evidence as Bernie.

Speaker 20 and had come to a dramatically different conclusion.

Speaker 21 And we're going back and forth arguing. And he's like, no, and so I pull out all my notes and I put them out there.

Speaker 20 For years, Kim had been compiling what she believed were the most compelling pieces of evidence that cast doubt on the theory of suicide.

Speaker 20 Now Kim went over each point one by one.

Speaker 20 There was the gun discovered without any fingerprints. There was the cardboard found under Sandy's tires.
which indicated to Kim that Sandy was trying to leave.

Speaker 20 There was the fact that Sandy's body was discovered so so close to her boyfriend's place of work, and yet he was not interviewed by Prince George's County Police as part of the death investigation.

Speaker 20 There was the sperm inside Sandy, sperm which could now be tested for DNA and could potentially solve the question of who was last with Sandy.

Speaker 20 But most importantly, there was the strange location of the gunshot wound. Why would Sandy, who was left-handed, reach across her body to shoot herself in the right side.

Speaker 21 So we get into the trajectory part, and I told him that I didn't understand how one could shoot themselves in the manner that you're saying, and if she had, in fact, committed suicide.

Speaker 21 And he goes, she was stepped, she was shot in the stomach. I'm like, no.

Speaker 20 Ever since I met Kim, she has described the bullet as having penetrated Sandy's right side and exited through the left side of her back.

Speaker 20 Kim is not wrong, but when you look at the evidence a little more closely, a more nuanced picture emerges.

Speaker 20 According to the autopsy report, the entrance wound was in Sandy's abdomen, less than three inches to the right of her midline, not in her flank, as Kim had described it.

Speaker 20 It's a slight difference, but an important distinction when it comes to visualizing how someone would inflict such an injury.

Speaker 20 To be told that she was mistaken about the location of the entrance wound, even by a small distance, was genuinely confusing for Kim.

Speaker 21 And she, and I said, but she couldn't have possibly, she couldn't have, she was, couldn't be a contortionist and do this. And he's like, Kim,

Speaker 21 she took the gun, she braced it on the steering wheel,

Speaker 21 and she used her thumbs, and she put it to her stomach because it was a direct shot to the stomach. It went through right here and it came right out

Speaker 21 behind

Speaker 21 her back.

Speaker 20 The trajectory of the bullet had never been explained to Kim in this way. Instead of traveling from right to left, Bernie showed Kim that the path of the bullet really moved from front to back.

Speaker 20 There was a deviation of about five inches, but that could be accounted for by the angle of Sandy's body or the angle of the gun or a combination of the two.

Speaker 21 And he says,

Speaker 21 But there was gunpowder on the steering wheel. And I'm like, what?

Speaker 21 And it was kind of like this thing came at me where all of a sudden things were becoming clear. And I'm like, what do you mean there was gunpowder on the steering wheel?

Speaker 21 And he goes, yes, there was a spray of gunpowder on her hands, the gun

Speaker 21 on the steering wheel and forward. And I'm like, oh, God.

Speaker 20 Kim had never heard about gunpowder being on the steering wheel of Sandy's car. The detail wasn't in the police report, and no one had ever mentioned it to her before.

Speaker 20 But now she imagined it.

Speaker 21 What he said was that's how it got on her hands, that everything goes backwards, that this the gunpowder sprays back.

Speaker 21 That's what they said.

Speaker 21 And I don't know anything about it, but as he's telling me this, my whole body's going, oh God, this is, you know, it was the first time I was able to see that it's a possibility.

Speaker 21 And I just was like, I

Speaker 21 started crying, and I, we only had masks on, so all I could see was his eyes, and his eyes were watering up, too.

Speaker 20 At that moment, Kim's certainty in the facts that she had been repeating for so many years started to break apart. It was a disorienting and destabilizing feeling.

Speaker 20 She was able to glimpse an alternative version of events for Sandy's death that made just as much sense as the one she had believed for so long.

Speaker 20 After Kim and her sister left the meeting, they drove immediately to the poll yard where Sandy had died. They sat in the car, their heads buzzing with the information they'd just received.

Speaker 20 And it was here that Kim's sister began talking.

Speaker 21 We went straight from there to Pepco Utility Yard to just kind of like debrief and

Speaker 21 chill and look.

Speaker 21 And she just got very sad. She's like, I wish that I just knew.

Speaker 21 I wish that I could have just told her that this too shall pass and this doesn't have to be, but I know exactly what she was going through if she was sitting in that car by herself.

Speaker 20 Kim's sister confided that she had been in Sandy's position before. She's too had thoughts of suicide a number of times during her life.

Speaker 20 Kim later described this moment to me as one of the most vulnerable she'd ever shared with her sister. Kim listened to her sister talk while looking out at the pole polyard.

Speaker 20 She'd visited the location nearly a dozen times as part of her investigation into Sandy's death, and she'd pictured all the ways Sandy could have died at the hands of another.

Speaker 20 Now she saw the scene through her sister's eyes.

Speaker 21 Just like Kim, I can tell you that the desire to commit suicide is really hard and it's not a pleasant place to be and I know exactly what she was tormented with at that moment.

Speaker 1 Life's messy. We're talking spills, stains, pets, and kids.
But with Anibay, you never have to stress about messes again.

Speaker 1 At washable sofas.com, discover Anibay Sofas, the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out, starting at just $699.

Speaker 1 Made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics. That means fewer stains and more peace of mind.

Speaker 1 Designed for real life, our sofas feature changeable fabric covers, allowing you to refresh your style anytime. Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly.

Speaker 1 Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes. Plus, they're earth-friendly and built to last.
That's why over 200,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today.

Speaker 1 Visit washable sofas.com now and bring home a sofa made for life. That's washable sofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 1 Top reasons your dog wants you to move to Ohio. Amazing dog parks to stretch your legs.
All four of them. Dog-friendly patios.
Even gourmet hot dogs loaded with the good stuff. Bone appetite.

Speaker 1 And Ohio has so many high-paying jobs, you'll be top dog in no time. Jobs in technology, engineering, science, advanced manufacturing, and more.
The career you want and a life you'll love.

Speaker 1 Have it all in the heart of it all. Go to callohiohome.com.

Speaker 6 Every business has an ambition. PayPal Open is the platform designed to help you grow into yours with business loans so you can expand and access to hundreds of millions of PayPal customers worldwide.

Speaker 6 And your customers can pay all the ways they want with PayPal, Venmo, Pay Later, and all major cards so you can focus on scaling up.

Speaker 6 When it's time to get growing, there's one platform for all business, PayPal Open.

Speaker 3 Grow today at PayPalopen.com.

Speaker 6 Loan subject to approval in available locations.

Speaker 9 This is Jonas Knox from Two Pros and a Cup of Joe.

Speaker 11 And on Fox One, now you can stream your favorite live sports so you can be there live for the biggest moments.

Speaker 12 That means NFL Sundays, college football games, NASCAR, MLB postseason, and more.

Speaker 10 With Fox One, you'll get it all live.

Speaker 17 Edge of your seat plays, jaw-dropping, high-octane moments, and that feeling like you're right there in the action.

Speaker 11 Fox One, we live for live, streaming now.

Speaker 24 Want a bourbon with the story? American-made wild turkey never compromises. Aged in American oak with the darkest char.

Speaker 24 Our pre-prohibition style bourbons are distilled and barreled at a low proof to retain the most flavor. Most bourbons aren't.
Well, we aren't most bourbons.

Speaker 24 Wild Turkey 101 bourbon makes an old-fashioned or bold-fashioned for bold nights out or at home. Now that's a story worth telling.
Wild Turkey, trust your spirit.

Speaker 24 Copyright 2025, Capari America, New York, New York. Never compromise.
drink responsibly.

Speaker 20 I was in Spain on vacation when all of this was happening, and my phone lit up with a text from Kim.

Speaker 20 She had gone right from the poll yard to the airport, and as she waited for her flight back to Texas, she gulped down a glass of wine, and she texted me this line, quote, I think she committed suicide.

Speaker 20 When I read this, I was stunned. I had told Kim a lot of information over the last few months that complicated the story she believed about Sandy's death.

Speaker 20 She took it all in stride, but her confidence in her stance remained strong. Now she had completely reversed her position, abandoning a belief that had driven her for so long.

Speaker 20 This belief, it was a part of Kim. It dictated how she spent her free time.
It reached into her professional life and informed how she identified with her clients. It molded her personality.

Speaker 20 How could a single meeting change her mind?

Speaker 20 What could Bernie have said or done to persuade her?

Speaker 23 I mean, look, think about, you know, yourself and what you believe about this story, right? Or like, what would it take to convince you of a different narrative?

Speaker 23 And I think when you think about it that way, you realize that, you know, getting entrenched in a system of beliefs is actually shockingly easy like that's what we do as human beings stephen sloman is a professor of cognitive linguistic and psychological sciences at brown university he studies how people think how do you actually change minds

Speaker 23 the traditional way to think about it is that if you just see enough evidence then finally you'll change your mind.

Speaker 23 I think it's very clear that's false. In fact, in the literature, there are people who propose what are called backfire effects.

Speaker 23 You take people who feel strongly about an issue and you show them evidence that's inconsistent with their view.

Speaker 23 And in some conditions, people come to feel even more strongly the way they felt before, despite the evidence.

Speaker 20 If you bombard someone with information that challenges their beliefs, they're likely to double down on their original stance, but listen to them, really listen, and the opposite might happen.

Speaker 20 Research shows that people who are genuinely listened to feel safer in the conversation and experience less anxiety. As a result, they're less defensive and better at seeing both sides of an argument.

Speaker 20 And they walk away from the conversation with a more nuanced perspective.

Speaker 23 But if we're talking about how to approach an individual to change their mind, well, the first thing you do is you acknowledge where that person's coming from, right?

Speaker 23 You don't have to agree with it, but you have to give the person the sense that you understand them and you understand their values, right?

Speaker 23 If you can acknowledge their most sacred values first, that's a really good entryway. Then the person feels respected.
and feels like they're talking to someone who understands them.

Speaker 23 So that's step one.

Speaker 20 Hearing this, it sounded almost exactly like what Bernie did. Kim told me how he acknowledged that PG County police had mistreated Sandy and how wrong it was.

Speaker 20 He didn't try to minimize it or shrug it off as every other police officer had in the years Kim had been asking questions.

Speaker 23 Step two.

Speaker 23 is not to enforce your own view on the person. What you have to do is sort of elicit, you have to be kind of platonic about it.

Speaker 23 That is, you have to elicit that person's perspective and then start asking them questions so that they can see themselves where the inconsistencies are in their story.

Speaker 23 And then, if you can fill them in, you might very slowly, gradually be able to sort of turn the corner and allow them to integrate the information with a different narrative, a new narrative.

Speaker 20 I thought of Sandy's gunshot wound. Kim had walked into the meeting believing one thing about its trajectory and was shown gently that she was mistaken.

Speaker 20 I wondered if that moment opened the door to her being able to see other possibilities.

Speaker 23 Narratives, you know, have teeth that sink into all aspects of our lives, especially when they concern really important things like the death of a child.

Speaker 23 You have all of this knowledge that's kind of sitting together in this tight little story.

Speaker 23 And you have to loosen up the whole thing. And then when it falls apart, it falls apart as a whole and reshapes as a whole.

Speaker 20 What Kim experienced in that meeting with Bernie may best be described as an epiphany. And I don't think it was the individual revelation of gunpowder on the steering wheel that triggered this change.

Speaker 20 I think it has a lot more to do with how she was treated during the meeting and what Bernie was able to offer her.

Speaker 20 Recognition, acknowledgement, a sympathetic ear.

Speaker 21 I was heard

Speaker 21 and I was disarmed with his empathy and his

Speaker 21 compassion. I just, I mean, I, I, I just was blown away.

Speaker 21 And then, I don't know for whatever reason, maybe it was his demeanor and the way he was presenting it opposed to how it was presented in the past.

Speaker 20 Kim's previous experience with Prince George's County Police was dotted with contentious interactions, instances where she was brushed off or treated as a nuisance.

Speaker 20 All the things she'd found suspicious, Sandy's address books, the ride-alongs, her close connections to local police officers, were dismissed as insignificant.

Speaker 20 And Kim was made to feel as if she was losing it, seeing things that weren't there. For the first time, a PG County police officer acknowledged that she was justified in her suspicions.

Speaker 20 Sandy's involvement with police was relevant. It did matter.
And Bernie went so far as to say that it may have contributed to Sandy's decision to take her own life.

Speaker 21 I saw it was focused on these eyes and his eyes were

Speaker 21 just kind.

Speaker 21 And he cared and it was like he could see the pain and he could even, I mean, he felt the pain.

Speaker 21 He wasn't in tears, but he just had those eyes, and they were so compassionate that it was, there was a connection of, you really got to get, it was like, you really have to believe me.

Speaker 21 It was like he was almost begging me,

Speaker 21 you know, almost get yourself out of this misery that you're in because it's just the truth.

Speaker 20 When Kim texted me, quote, I think she committed suicide, it was a bold statement. And in our following conversation, she sounded confident that she now knew the truth.

Speaker 20 But letting go of a core belief after all those years is not a linear process.

Speaker 20 There were days, minutes, hours where her suspicions resurfaced and her doubts rushed back in, only to later subside, like a pendulum swinging back and forth. She texted me about the experience.

Speaker 20 Quote, I find myself shifting often from knowing she was killed and grieving how much she was really hurting.

Speaker 20 Kim was undergoing the painstaking process of rebuilding her understanding of Sandy's death after her tightly wound belief had started to unravel.

Speaker 21 I'm still struggling with the transition of changing the words from killed to took her life or whatever.

Speaker 21 That's different because it does, I still have that resistance in my head to it. I don't want to believe that that's the truth.

Speaker 21 But I do know that what she was facing was really horrible.

Speaker 20 How do you feel about letting some of that stuff go?

Speaker 21 I feel like I let her down, but I feel like a fool, but I still have questions.

Speaker 21 I feel like I wasted your time and I feel like I wasted the Beatles' time because it just felt like a...

Speaker 21 Why did you make this into something that it wasn't? I don't know.

Speaker 21 That's what I've been struggling with.

Speaker 20 After Kim flew home to Texas, she knew she had to tell the rest of the Beals what she now believed about Sandy's death. But she didn't want to do it over the phone.

Speaker 20 She couldn't bear the thought of having four individual conversations where she tried to put into words what had happened during her meeting with Bernie.

Speaker 20 And so she packed her bags once again and booked a flight to Maine.

Speaker 20 Before leaving, she penned an email to Bernie to say thank you. He wrote back right away.
Here's Kim reading some of his email.

Speaker 21 And as I said before, I'm very sorry about what happened to Sandy.

Speaker 21 She was put through far too much by people who should have known better and whom she trusted and looked up to. It is shameful.

Speaker 21 and has caused a young lady with a promising future to die at a very young age.

Speaker 21 I hope that answered your question satisfactory and please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions. Have a safe trip.

Speaker 20 What happened on that trip is on our next and final episode.

Speaker 21 We've come a long way with this.

Speaker 21 You have

Speaker 21 dug and dug and dug and dug.

Speaker 7 So in my mind

Speaker 22 I think we've come to the end of the road.

Speaker 22 Win to lose a draw.

Speaker 20 What Happened to Sandy Beale is hosted by me, Melissa Jeltson. It's written and produced by me and Katrina Norvell.
The podcast is edited by Abu Safar. Sound design by Aaron Kaufman.

Speaker 20 Jason English is our executive producer. Research and production assistants by Marissa Brown.
To find out more about my investigation, follow me on Twitter at Quasimato. That's Q-U-A-S-I-M-A-D-O.

Speaker 20 Thanks so much for listening.

Speaker 1 Time for a sofa upgrade? Visit washable sofas.com and discover Anibay, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices, with sofas starting at $699.

Speaker 1 Anibay brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly.

Speaker 1 Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy.

Speaker 1 Liquid simply slides right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink-in feel or a supportive memory foam blend.

Speaker 1 Plus, our pet-friendly stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price.

Speaker 1 Visit washable sofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns.

Speaker 1 Shop now at washable sofas.com. Offers Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 19 Drew and Sue and Eminem's Minis.

Speaker 25 And baking the surprise birthday cake for Lou.

Speaker 25 And Sue forgetting that her oven doesn't really work.

Speaker 19 And Drew remembering that they don't have flour.

Speaker 3 And Lou getting home early from work, which he never does.

Speaker 25 And Drew and Sue using the rest of the tubes of Eminem's Minis as party poppers instead.

Speaker 7 I think this is one of those moments where people say, it's the thought that counts.

Speaker 19 M ⁇ Ms, it's more fun together.

Speaker 1 Top reasons data nerds want to move to Ohio. High-paying careers for business researchers, analysts, project managers, and more.
So many jobs, you can take your pick. What else does the data say?

Speaker 1 How about a bigger backyard, a shorter commute, and a paycheck that goes further? So crunch the numbers and our world-famous pickles. It all adds up.
The career you want and a life you'll love.

Speaker 1 Have it all in the heart of it all. Dive into the data at callohiohome.com.

Speaker 26 Since 1983, Nissan has been building award-winning vehicles right here in America. And this summer, they're making it easier to drive one home.

Speaker 26 No new tariffs, just lower MSRPs on the Rogan Pathfinder. So you can get the car you want at a price that feels right.
But don't wait.

Speaker 26 These deals are only here for a limited time and while supplies last. See why Nissan is number one for new vehicle quality among mainstream brands.
Learn more at nissanusa.com.

Speaker 26 For JD Power 2025 award information, visit jdpower.com/slash awards.

Speaker 1 Ah, Smart Water Alkaline with Antioxidant. Pure, crisp taste, perfectly refreshing.

Speaker 8 Whoa, that is refreshing.

Speaker 1 And a 9.5 plus pH. For those who move, those who push further, those with...

Speaker 8 A taste for taste?

Speaker 1 Exactly.

Speaker 7 I did take a spin class today after work.

Speaker 2 Look at you.

Speaker 1 Restoring like a pro.

Speaker 8 I mean, I also sat down halfway through.

Speaker 1 Eh, close enough. Smartwater alkaline with antioxidant.
For those with a taste for taste, grab yours today. This is an iHeart podcast.