Show full transcript 0:43 you'll have friendly, knowledgeable people 0:45 to help you with everything, 0:47 from applying and financial aid 0:49 to tutoring and career development. 0:51 At Southern New Hampshire University, 0:53 knowledge can be life changing. 0:54 Get started at snhu.edu-slash-betrayal. 0:58 That's snhu.edu-slash-betrayal. 1:02 The softest part of family time has a name. 1:05 Serenoni. 1:06 Bedtime stories, movie nights, early mornings before the world wakes up. 1:12 Those are the moments Serenoni was made for. 1:14 Crafted with luxuriously soft fabrics and lasting quality, 1:19 Serenoni is more than a blanket. 1:21 It's the one your family will remember. 1:23 visit sarinoni.com, spelled S-A-R-A-N-O-N-I dot com. 1:28 To find the blanket you'll reach for at bedtime, 1:31 movie night, and every quiet moment in between. 1:34 Sarinoni. 1:37 I'm Melissa Jeltzen, host of the What Happened to Her podcast. 1:41 We're kicking off the season with the Sandra Burchmore 1:44 story, a case the police rode off as a suicide 1:47 in a snowstorm. 1:48 Her family never bought it, 1:50 and the man they suspected wore a badge. 1:52 You never know who that devil is 1:54 is because he's wearing a disguise. 1:56 Sometimes it's a police uniform. 1:58 And you can get access to all episodes 100% ad-free 2:02 with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription, 2:05 exclusively on Apple Podcasts, 2:07 available only to iHeart True Crime Plus subscribers. 2:10 So don't wait, head to Apple Podcasts, 2:12 search for iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today. 2:16 Lisa, tell them about our new show. 2:19 We have a new podcast. 2:20 It's called Don't Lie to Me. 2:21 I'm Lexie Iwanio. 2:23 We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. 2:27 And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, 2:31 occasionally different opinions, and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. 2:35 Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business. 2:40 Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 2:50 Last we left Adam Mejia, he was on the phone, calling his mom. 3:01 He was being arrested for stalking Carl, Carl's boyfriend Drew, and his best friend Paul. 3:09 It was a crime Adam didn't commit, and now he was being taken to jail. 3:15 When I got into the cell, I just sat there and I prayed, I'm like, God, please let the 3:19 truth come out. 3:20 Please just let this truth come out. 3:22 Let the truth come out. 3:23 I don't know how many times a day I prayed that bring me peace and comfort and let this 3:28 truth come out, let it be told. 3:31 And now the truth is coming out. 3:47 I'm Adre Gunning and this is Betrayal Season 6, Episode 4, The Wrong Guy. 3:57 I'm a little nervous. 4:00 What you're feeling is the normal response. 4:02 Really? 4:02 You wouldn't know. 4:03 Yeah. 4:04 I do this for a living and even when I get interviewed, I start to get... 4:09 Okay. 4:11 Let's just start with you introducing yourself. 4:14 Okay. 4:16 My name is Adam Mejia. 4:18 I am 34 and from Wisconsin. 4:22 After several weeks of discussions, 4:24 Adam Mejia agreed to talk with us. 4:27 It wasn't an easy decision for him. 4:29 He knew we would be talking 4:30 about some of the hardest moments in his life. 4:34 So you can understand he was scared. 4:36 I thought I would be looked bad upon for having a past I was like am I gonna be made the bad 4:45 guy you know I didn't know the fear makes sense when it came to framing the bad guy Adam was 4:53 an easy choice after all he was a convicted felon as you heard in episode one Adam had 5:02 four DUIs. And on his last one, he was sentenced to 15 months behind bars. 5:09 Not only was I in jail, but I was in one of the worst jails in Wisconsin. 5:13 You were in there with really violent people. 5:15 I was. 5:17 Dodge Correctional Institution, where he finished out his sentence, 5:21 houses gang leaders, rapists. People such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Geen, and Chris Watts 5:26 have called this place home. 5:28 I fought for my life in there, 5:32 and I've never fought in my life. 5:35 I was harassed, I was bullied. 5:37 I heard people calling me, faggot. 5:39 You're gonna get your ass beat, faggot. 5:41 I had to fight. 5:43 Am I proud of it? 5:44 No, but I had to take care of myself. 5:47 Those kinds of environments, they can change a person. 5:51 And as the months passed, 5:52 Carl worried about how prison was changing Adam. 5:55 He thought about the night of Adam's accident over and over and over again, and he worried 6:01 Adam blamed him for his incarceration. 6:04 He said it quite frequently that, like, yeah, he was upset that I didn't call an Uber. 6:09 If Carl would have stopped him from getting behind the wheel the night of the accident, 6:14 Adam wouldn't have been in prison. 6:16 So when Carl started getting threatening texts and they appeared to come from Adam, it all 6:21 felt easy to believe. 6:22 My axe is out for revenge." 6:26 For Carl, everything added up to one coherent narrative. 6:30 Prison had hardened Adam, and now he was trying to make Carl suffer as he suffered. 6:37 But when I spoke to Adam about being locked up, I quickly realized that wasn't the real 6:43 story at all. 6:47 In this episode, you're going to hear Adam's perspective, what was really going on with 6:52 Adam while Carl was experiencing months of harassment. 6:56 To understand how Adam came to be cast as the bad guy, 6:59 we have to go back to the beginning of Adam's story. 7:04 As a child, I enjoyed life. 7:06 I was the kid that would play in the woods all the time 7:09 with his buddies, swing on vines, 7:11 catch snakes in the grass. 7:14 I was hanging out with all the kids outside. 7:17 But he knew pretty early on that he was different 7:19 than the kids he hung out with. 7:21 I came out at the age of 13. 7:24 He was just a kid, wanting connection, and he tried to find it online. 7:29 I decided that I was going to meet my first boyfriend off of my space. 7:36 The person made me feel loved, made me feel wanted, but he had other intentions. 7:45 This boyfriend claimed he was 16 and turned out to be 24. 7:49 Adam was still only 13. As a heads-up, he is about to discuss an experience of childhood sexual 7:58 assault. We went to a neighbor's house and he put an ambient in a shatabaka. It was the first time 8:09 I had to drop alcohol and I woke up next to him naked. After that incident I just turned 8:18 into a different person. 8:21 Adam tried to keep what happened to him a secret, but his mom, Michelle, could tell something 8:26 was wrong. 8:28 For a period of time, he became more not caring about himself. 8:35 He went through a period of cutting, and I had to kick his door in. 8:39 She said, something happened to you. 8:42 You're not the same person. 8:43 and then what happened? 8:46 And I just bawled and I told her I was sexually assaulted 8:52 and she flipped out. 8:55 Adam's mom helped him to report the assault to police. 8:59 His attacker went on to serve five years in prison, 9:02 but the assault took a huge psychological toll. 9:06 Michelle tried to be there for her son. 9:08 She took care of me, but it's the person themselves. 9:12 If they are not fully taking in the help and understanding, 9:18 it's not going to benefit them. 9:20 And I would say after that, my life spiraled. 9:24 I would take cold medication to get high off of 9:28 anything that would numb the pain I would run with. 9:33 You just wanted to be checked out. 9:35 Absolutely. 9:36 Absolutely. I was huffing gasoline at the age of 16, thank the Lord I had my dog, because 9:44 the gas can fell on top of me and drenched me in gasoline and I passed out. I woke up 9:48 in a psychiatric hospital. 9:51 No interventions work to get him on track. By 21, alcohol became his drug of choice. 9:57 I realized that I had a problem when I turned 22 after my second OWI. 10:07 OWI stands for Operating Wollontoxicated. 10:10 In Wisconsin, it's what they call a DUI. 10:13 By 2012, when Adam was in his early 20s, I realized, oh shit, this isn't normal. 10:22 I can't stop. 10:23 Yeah, if it's one, it's 12. 10:26 If it's 12, then I go to the bar afterwards. 10:29 And then it became where I was buying booze with change. 10:35 And then I realized I started developing patterns. 10:38 I would hang out with this group of people. 10:41 They would realize I had a problem, try to help me, 10:44 and I would cut them off cold and say, fuck off. 10:47 But Carl was different. 10:48 Carl accepted Adam in a way few people had. 10:53 When Carl loves, he loves. 10:55 Carl would do anything. 10:57 No matter what the circumstances were with dating, 11:00 I know for a guarantee fact that Carl would always be there. 11:03 Because we did have a great friendship. 11:06 We could just literally act like stupid dumbasses 11:09 and scream out the window and dance in the car. 11:13 And nobody judged because we both were just goofy together. 11:18 We were best friends for five years and then we dated for like eight months. 11:23 Sometimes friends are just not meant to be together. 11:29 I feel like when we got into a relationship, it was a bad patch and toxic. 11:36 And I wish that didn't happen sometimes because I feel like we would still be best friends to this day. 11:42 Adam knew that he could count on Carl. 11:45 During COVID, Adam had a particularly hard time. 11:49 He's a nurse, and in 2020, he was treating the pandemic's most vulnerable patients. 11:55 The elderly. 11:57 I was taking care of patients and watched 80 people die. 12:00 And I remember there was a 105-year-old patient I had to call the family on and let them know 12:05 that they couldn't come in, and he was passing away. 12:09 And that really affected me. 12:12 I went to the liquor store on my break, and I didn't go back to work. 12:16 I drank it in the parking lot, and Carl was there for me during that. 12:22 As we heard from Carl's perspective, that relationship was rocky. 12:27 Carl tried to be supportive, to do anything to cheer him up. 12:32 Oftentimes, that involved alcohol. 12:34 And that's where it started spiraling with our relationship. 12:39 We would drink together, and we tried to live that happy little life 12:45 of having our own place, both working, 12:47 having our apartment. 12:49 And at the time, Carl, I would say was enabling my alcoholism 12:53 because we would go to the bar. 12:55 He knew I had a problem with alcohol. 12:58 I would get fucked up and then we'd get home 13:01 and he'd yell at me for getting too fucked up. 13:04 Maybe it was his only way of trying 13:06 to find connection with you. 13:08 I think that was because I loved booze 13:11 And I mean, what other way to show an alcoholic 13:16 that you love them than to buy them booze? 13:21 They were living two different realities. 13:23 Carl saw drinking as part of their social life, 13:26 something they could do together. 13:29 But for Adam, it was something he needed for survival. 13:32 It just messes you up when you feel like 13:35 your body actually needs this alcohol to live. 13:40 I would be so sick if I didn't drink I remember praying on my knees in the 13:46 kitchen of our apartment for me not to drink that day and then I would go and 13:51 drink and then I would pray to stop feeling drunk and I would drink a half 13:58 a pint of vodka and then go to the bar and drink more and then come home 14:03 shloshed, gone. 14:05 And the next day I would pray for the hangover to stop. 14:09 I was a mess. 14:10 Anyone that had to deal with me 14:12 as I was actively drinking, I feel sorry for him 14:16 because I was disgusting. 14:19 I was wild. 14:23 Adam knew something needed to change. 14:26 Two weeks before I moved out, I called Rogers Rehab 14:29 and they put me on a waiting list. 14:32 I called numerous times and I couldn't get in. 14:37 While he was waiting for an opening, 14:39 Carl reached a breaking point. 14:41 Carl said he wanted to take a break. 14:43 It's like, you're gonna break up with me, really? 14:46 And I was an alcoholic and I was immature 14:49 and I was like, I'm moving out, have fun. 14:54 I moved out that week. 14:56 I was depressed. 14:58 I drank even more. 14:59 and that led up to the car accident. 15:04 Can you talk about that a little bit? 15:07 I was at work. 15:09 After work, I went to the bar, had a few shots. 15:13 And then because the bar was so close to my old house, 15:18 I went to the house. 15:20 I wanted to see the dog. 15:22 Adam missed Wrigley, the dog they adopted together. 15:25 He didn't realize he was walking in on a birthday party. 15:29 I didn't remember it was his birthday 15:31 because I was so drunk. 15:32 And then Carl opens the door and his whole family is there. 15:36 And then I remembered, oh, fuck, it's his birthday. 15:40 And I'm making a fool out of myself. 15:43 And I know to this day, the look on Carl's face, 15:48 he wanted to help me. 15:50 And then he shut the door on me. 15:52 Adam felt like he had to get out of there. 15:55 I went into my car and I put my cell phone on the mount. 16:01 I was driving on the back roads and I remember my cell phone dropped 16:07 and I went to go grab my cell phone off the floor 16:10 and I was so drunk that I lost control a little bit 16:15 and then I was like, oh shit, I'm really drunk, I shouldn't be driving. 16:18 and I went probably a minute down the road 16:24 and I blacked out. 16:34 I remember the impact. 16:36 Like the airbag hitting me. 16:39 And I remember hearing the glass shattering along the concrete. 16:45 I remember getting out of the car 16:48 and running over to the person that I hit to see if they were okay. 16:53 day, and the guy told me that he was okay, but I don't know how I got out of the car. 17:00 I don't remember any of that. 17:02 It's a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. 17:06 Both cars were totaled. 17:08 The rear end of the other car was crushed. 17:11 The back windshield was missing, and there was debris scattered all across the roadway. 17:16 But we've had to gather all that from crash photos. 17:19 Because for Adam, the entire incident is a blur. 17:24 I was gone. I was so gone. I literally woke up and I was in jail. 17:51 The softest part of family time has a name. 17:54 Saranoni. Bedtime stories, movie nights, early mornings before the world wakes up. 18:01 Those are the moments Saranoni was made for. 18:03 Crafted with luxuriously soft fabrics and lasting quality, 18:26 I'm Melissa Jeltson and in my new podcast What Happened to Her, I'm bringing you new 18:31 stories and conversations every week. 18:34 Stories about women whose deaths were too quickly ruled a suicide. 18:38 She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. 18:45 Stories of survival. 18:47 The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck 18:51 because by all rights, I should be dead. 18:53 Cases that everyone else called closed. 18:56 They can't convict her, right? 18:58 Like, she has so much evidence. 19:00 These stories all start in the same place, 19:03 with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, 19:06 that didn't protect her, that didn't see her. 19:09 No child should ever experience that. 19:11 And we were babies. 19:12 She did all of these brave things 19:14 and came out and spoke about it, and he got a year. 19:19 I never know who that devil is 19:20 because he's wearing a disguise. 19:22 Sometimes it's a police uniform. 19:25 Listen to what happened to her 19:26 on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 19:29 or wherever you get your podcasts. 19:31 Lisa, we should tell them about our new show. 19:34 Oh my god, Lexi. We have a new podcast. It's called Don't Lie To Me. I'm Lexi Iuano. We're two best friends, 22 years apart, but so close at heart. 19:44 And I'm Lisa DiGiulio, the old one, which means we have wildly different references, occasionally different opinions, and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. 19:53 I'm not going to get anywhere fighting. That is wild. I learned that about you today. 20:00 Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, good taste is my business, and I've always 20:06 got something to say. 20:07 If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world. 20:12 We're going to talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older, and a little wiser. 20:17 We're best friends, but we don't always agree. 20:19 Because you told us how accommodating you are. 20:21 Obviously, I would do what I think I could do to fight the fight, but there's only 20:25 so much fight I can fight. 20:27 Don't lie to me. 20:28 Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me liar 20:34 Listen on the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I don't really care 20:41 I'm Hamza and I'm Martin and we're the hosts of out of character. It's a podcast 20:45 I know there's a lot of them going around but why should you listen to ours? 20:49 Well, we're only the best podcast in the entire world and we talk about pretty much everything under the Sun for example 20:55 Music we're listening to underground music trending music drama in music worlds 21:02 Yes, sometimes we even talk about just everyday mundane situations in our lives like the cool uber driver 21:08 We just had or the food we just say that is surprisingly delicious 21:12 Or we'll talk about the med gala and the looks that they wore. Are they awesome? 21:16 Are they trendy come find out because our opinion matters and so does yours and 21:21 This is a place where all of our minds can come together and connect 21:25 So what are you waiting for come connect with us listen out of character from Will Ferrell's big money players network on the iHeart 21:31 Radio app Apple Pods or wherever you get your podcasts after his fourth drunk driving incident Adam was arrested 21:41 His mother Michelle had the opportunity to bail Adam out while he awaited sentencing. I 21:48 Could have put my house up as collateral 21:50 But you weren't gonna do it. No 21:53 Why not? 21:55 Because this was the fourth time, and I didn't want him to keep doing it. 22:03 It's like first, second, third, how many times is it going to take? 22:09 If he didn't go through the whole process, he wasn't going to change. 22:16 He was sentenced to serve 15 months in prison, and the places where he served time 22:21 were no country clubs. 22:24 There were inmates dying from overdoses, 22:26 from getting drugs. 22:27 There were inmates dying 22:28 from slamming their head against walls. 22:31 I've seen people throw up blood 22:32 and CO said, well, clean it up. 22:35 And we're like, we have no cleaning materials. 22:37 We're using our sheets 22:39 just to clean up blood and vomit off the floor. 22:43 Immediately, Adam was targeted for being gay. 22:46 On the first night, 22:47 I stayed up 24 hours 22:50 because I was afraid someone was gonna come murder me. 22:53 In the coming months, he was often sexually harassed. 22:56 There was even a time 22:57 when a man threw himself onto Adam naked. 23:01 I'm not gonna lie, I beat the shit out of him. 23:03 I didn't get charged with anything 23:04 because the CO's in care. 23:07 CO stands for correctional officer. 23:09 And at times, the CO's could be worse than the inmates. 23:13 I ring a bell to ask for a garbage bag 23:17 And the CO says, why are you going to put yourself in it? 23:20 When I was strangled from behind, nails dug into my neck. 23:25 The CO's watched it happen. 23:30 Pelt strong throughout the beginning of his sentence. 23:33 But as the months dragged on, he was worn down. 23:37 I wanted to kill myself. 23:40 I couldn't handle it anymore. 23:42 Couldn't handle the harassment. 23:44 I couldn't handle every second being called a faggot 23:47 as I walked to the bathroom. 23:48 room. I couldn't fight anymore. I was done. I just kept praying. I'm like, please God, 23:54 just take this away." 23:55 And then one day, after he'd already served over a year, there came a moment he'd never 24:01 forget. 24:02 I was sitting on my bunk, completely depressed. And then I look out the window and there's 24:08 a dove sitting in barbed wire. And it was a dark sky and it was very light. And I thought 24:15 to myself oh my gosh that bird's gonna get hurt and then the bird just flew away the bird didn't 24:20 get harmed and he was sitting on barbed wire and I felt like it was a message from God that it's 24:26 gonna be okay look at the bird he realized the rest of his time in prison didn't have to only be 24:35 a time of struggle it could also be an opportunity a fresh start for the first time in a long time 24:43 He was off all drugs and alcohol. 24:46 I was sober that whole time, and I was learning myself. 24:51 And I feel as though if someone would have bailed me out, I would have probably gone 24:57 back to it. 24:59 And my mother told me absolutely not. 25:02 Hard love here, honey. 25:04 Hard love. 25:04 I'm not doing it. 25:06 I hated her for it. 25:07 I'll tell you that much. 25:09 But now I love her for it. 25:10 I needed that time to mature. 25:15 I needed to sit, rest, and just be silent 25:19 and hear my own thoughts, and I did. 25:24 And then I was released 16 months later and I'm sober. 25:34 Adam was released from prison in February of 2023. 25:37 In those first few months after his release, 25:40 Adam was focused on building a new life, staying sober, 25:44 finding a job, establishing a routine. 25:48 But in May 2023, out of the blue, 25:51 he got a strange text from a mutual friend of him and Carl. 25:55 She messaged me and she was like, 25:59 you need to leave Carl alone. 26:01 I don't understand why the first thing you do 26:04 is you get out and you start harassing Carl. 26:07 And I'm like, hold on, what are you talking about? 26:12 Adam and Carl had seized communication shortly after Adam went to jail. 26:17 It had been nearly a year and a half since a word had passed between them. 26:21 But this mutual friend had evidence that Adam had sent messages. 26:26 So she sent me screenshots. 26:28 And the screenshots show a profile picture of me in my nursing uniform on Grindr. 26:36 And they showed texts between Adam and Carl's friend Paul. 26:39 with Adam warning Paul that Carl was no good. 26:43 He's a pathological liar and a sex addict 26:46 that switches up his boys on the daily. 26:49 I said, I can definitely reassure you, that is not me. 26:53 One, I don't speak like that. 26:55 And two, Carl knows me very well. 26:57 I hate Grindr. 26:59 Why would I be on Grindr? 27:01 Adam assured their friend. 27:03 He had no interest in communicating with Carl. 27:05 I care about Carl, I wish him the best, 27:07 but we're in two different stages of our life 27:10 and I'm trying to get my life together. 27:12 I don't need this drama. 27:14 What were you thinking? 27:16 I literally was like, what the fuck is going on? 27:20 Like, I was right about ready to go to bed. 27:22 I stayed up half the damn night 27:24 because I'm like, I just got out of prison. 27:28 Adam was being especially careful 27:31 because he was on probation. 27:33 He had to meet with his probation officer regularly. 27:35 And if he was found to be violating any of the terms, he could be sent back to prison. 27:42 In prison, I heard so many stories about people being on PO and it's easy to get put back 27:48 in jail. 27:49 I thought Carl hated me from the whole situation with the car accident and for my being drunk, 27:56 that whole relationship, I thought he had built up anger and he was going to come 28:00 after me. 28:00 Maybe it sounded a little paranoid. 28:04 But after all that he went through behind bars, 28:07 Adam had PTSD. 28:09 Going back there was his worst fear. 28:12 Seeing this text, his mind started to spin. 28:16 He worried that Carl was already trying to get his probation revoked. 28:21 During a routine meeting with his probation officer, 28:24 Adam's fear was validated. 28:27 She's like, do you know a Paul, a Carl, and an Andrew, and I'm like, I know a Carl. 28:35 And she's like, well, he is calling and saying you're harassing him. 28:39 They're all calling and saying you're harassing them. 28:42 Adam was confused. 28:44 He was being accused of harassment, but these people were strangers to him. 28:49 He had no idea who Andrew was, and he knew Paul in name alone. 28:54 And I told my peel that I'm like I never even met that man and she's like I know calm down 29:00 I know you had no part of this because you have told me from day one that you think that something like this might happen 29:05 So we're gonna put it on the back burner for a little bit if it happens again. I have to question you 29:11 I'm like, okay cool. So a few weeks go by and I get a phone call and 29:19 She's like honey. It's happening again 29:24 Adam felt a wave of panic. 29:26 The PO told Adam about new messages he'd supposedly sent, 29:30 but they couldn't have been him. 29:32 These texts were sent at times he would sound asleep 29:35 or when he was in the middle of busy workshops. 29:37 Adam sent all the evidence he had. 29:40 Watch logs from my sleep, my work schedule. 29:44 She believed me, it was good. 29:47 But then Adam got a new probation officer, 29:50 one who didn't know him yet. 29:51 Now, he was receiving reports that Adam was harassing Carl and law enforcement down in 29:57 Kenosha was getting more and more convinced of Carl's version of events. 30:02 I wanted to prove I was in the clear. 30:06 I had nothing to do with anything. 30:07 They changed my number and I got off social media and it was still happening. 30:12 I had detectives calling me telling me I was doing this stuff and I said no. 30:19 home. I would never do anything like this. Ever. They wouldn't listen. They would not 30:26 listen. He was being framed. And he didn't know where to turn for help. How do you report 30:33 it to police when police are the ones telling you, you're doing this? Adam remembers the 30:40 day he realized just how serious these accusations had become. When I was served restraining 30:47 orders from Andrew and Carl. I was fucking terrified. I got a lawyer." 30:55 Carl was taking this to court. To Adam, the possibility of returning to jail now felt 31:01 closer than ever. Especially once Adam saw the evidence against him, the calls and texts 31:06 that he supposedly sent. Whoever was behind all this, they knew what they were doing. 31:12 It looked so legit. The conversations. I asked my mom, I'm like, do you think I really did this? 31:21 His anxiety was so severe and the messages were so convincing that he began questioning his own mind. 31:28 I started to think that it was me that I could have possibly done this and not be aware of it. 31:35 I thought maybe I could have sundowning after four and you started doing things that you don't know, you know. 31:41 and my mom's like, no, you didn't do it. 31:45 And I'm like, well, I'm starting to think 31:47 maybe I'm not fully here. 31:51 I thought maybe I was going crazy. 32:11 The softest part of family time has a name, 32:15 serenity, bedtime stories, movie nights, 32:18 early mornings before the world wakes up. 32:21 Those are the moments serenity was made for. 32:24 Crafted with luxuriously soft fabrics 32:27 and lasting quality, Saranoni is more than a blanket. 32:31 It's the one your family will remember. 32:33 Visit saranoni.com, spelled S-A-R-A-N-O-N-I dot com. 32:38 To find the blanket you'll reach for at bedtime, 32:40 movie night, and every quiet moment in between. 32:44 Saranoni. 32:59 She was starting to get worried and get scared for her safety. 33:05 Stories of survival. 33:07 The only difference between me and her, frankly, was a little bit of luck 33:11 because by all rights I should be dead. 33:14 Cases that everyone else called closed. 33:17 They can't convict her, right? Like, she has so much evidence. 33:21 These stories all start in the same place, 33:23 with a woman failed by a system that didn't believe her, 33:27 that didn't protect her, that didn't see her. 33:30 No child should ever experience that. 33:31 And we were babies. 33:33 She did all of these grave things 33:35 and came out and spoke about it, and he got a year. 33:39 I never know who that devil is 33:40 because he's wearing the skies. 33:43 Sometimes it's a police uniform. 33:45 Listen to what happened to her 33:47 on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 33:49 or wherever you get your podcasts. 33:52 Lisa, we should tell them about our new show. 33:54 Oh my god, Lexi. 33:56 We have a new podcast. 33:58 It's called Don't Lie to Me. 33:59 I'm Lexi Iwanio. 34:00 We're two best friends, 22 years apart, 34:03 but so close at heart. 34:05 And I'm Lisa DeGilio, the old one, 34:07 which means we have wildly different references, 34:09 occasionally different opinions, 34:11 and at this point in my 50s, I've lived it all. 34:14 I'm not gonna get anywhere fighting. 34:16 That is wild. 34:18 I learned that about you today. 34:20 Now in my 30s, being the founder of new shoes, 34:23 Good taste is my business, and I've always got something to say. 34:28 If men were just honest about this, there would be so much more peace in the world. 34:32 We're gonna talk about dating, relationships, beauty, getting older, 34:36 and a little wiser. We're best friends, but we don't always agree. 34:39 Because you told us how accommodating you are! 34:42 Obviously I would do what I think I could do to fight the fight, 34:45 but there's only so much fight I can fight. 34:47 Don't lie to me. 34:48 Don't lie to me. 34:49 Don't lie to me. 34:52 Don't lie to me. 34:53 Don't lie to me. 34:53 me liar listen on the iHeartRadio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your 34:59 podcasts I don't really care I'm Hamza and I'm Martin and we're the hosts of Out of 35:04 Character it's a podcast I know there's a lot of them to listen to these days how 35:09 are you gonna get to us well there's a specific reason why you should listen 35:12 us we are the best podcast in the entire world I swear I know bold but 35:17 why don't we list some of the things we might talk about on a regular 35:20 episode. So sometimes we'll talk about, I don't know, the Uber driver we just had. 35:24 And how nice they were or if we tip them or not, come and find out. 35:29 Sometimes we'll talk about that weird news story from last week. 35:32 It's the one you're thinking about, trust me. Or maybe we'll talk about music and what's 35:36 happening in the underground or drama and music or TV shows or the Met Gala and what the actors 35:42 wore. What we're saying is we're not afraid to talk about everything under the sun. And if 35:46 If you wanna see what that's like, come join us. 35:49 It's a place where everyone can hang out, anyone. 35:51 Wherever you're from, whatever you're like, you're welcome. 35:55 Listen out of character from Will Ferrell's 35:57 Big Money Players Network. 35:58 On the iHeart Radio app, Apple Pods, 36:00 or wherever you get your podcasts. 36:05 Adam's mother Michelle knew her son 36:07 wasn't behind the harassment. 36:09 Not only because she trusted him, 36:12 but because she was getting targeted too. 36:15 She was getting calls from unknown numbers 36:17 at all hours of the night, 36:18 just like Carl and Drew were. 36:21 And one evening around 11 o'clock, 36:23 Michelle noticed a strange truck outside of her house. 36:27 I saw the flashing lights first. 36:29 What are these flashing lights doing? 36:31 I went outside, I'm like, can I help you? 36:34 Oh yeah, we got a call that we're supposed to pick up a car. 36:37 And I'm like, no, I don't have a car 36:41 for you to pick up. 36:42 I had no idea what was going on. 36:45 There were phone calls being made to me 36:48 me at this time that were bizarre. 36:51 But here's somebody standing in my front yard 36:53 coming to pick up a vehicle at 11 o'clock at night. 36:57 And I'm just like, you gotta be kidding me. 36:59 And then it kept getting more and more and more. 37:03 And then I locksmiths calling me, 37:05 yeah, you need to have your locks changed. 37:07 Just bizarre things. 37:10 In her mind, it was so clear 37:12 that Adam wasn't behind this. 37:14 Why would her own son harass her? 37:16 They loved each other." 37:18 Meanwhile in Kenosha, Carl Bryan was sitting at his computer, 37:22 continuing to add to his spreadsheet, 37:24 certain that his ex, Adam, was behind every message. 37:29 But Adam and his mother had their own theory. 37:32 I honestly thought Carl was involved. 37:34 Carl was the only one I knew. 37:35 And I was like, why is he taking it out on me? 37:38 And then in early November, 2023, 37:42 Michelle received an anonymous message 37:44 that made her blood run cold. 37:46 He knows what he's done, 37:48 and he will pay the consequences for breaking the law. 37:51 Can't wait to see it. 37:54 They were talking about her son. 37:57 She was right there with Adam, 37:59 terrified that he'd be sent back to jail 38:01 for something he didn't do. 38:04 And she was scared for her own safety. 38:07 I was not sleeping. 38:09 I was afraid to go outside. 38:11 I took my gun outside with me 38:13 because I didn't know what was going on. 38:16 And then I started having nightmares 38:18 about someone standing outside my window. 38:21 I was always looking, always looking after that. 38:26 She knew her son would never put her through that kind of hell. 38:30 Through it all, she stayed grounded in that truth. 38:33 But more and more, Adam was losing his grip on reality. 38:38 Because I had people telling me I'm doing this stuff, 38:41 I thought I was losing my fucking mind. 38:44 Like, what if I did do it and I just don't remember? 38:47 By this point, Adam had a new boyfriend, Josh. 38:51 And Josh had a front row seat as Adam fell apart. 38:54 Josh would reassure me all the time, 38:56 babe, I was with you. 38:58 You didn't do any of that. 39:00 And I'm like, Josh, how is it that all of these people 39:04 are telling me I'm doing something and I didn't do it? 39:08 What is that like to feel that someone else is recreating reality? 39:15 I felt my skin crawl every day. 39:19 I was paranoid. 39:21 I would lock the door when Josh would leave. 39:25 I started drinking again, which only made matters worse, you know? 39:30 And then when I did drink, I'm like, 39:34 did I do something when I was drunk? 39:38 I had panic attacks. 39:40 I lost a lot of weight. 39:42 I was vomiting every day. 39:45 I was sick.
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