Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences.
Listener discretion is advised. I'm your host Mark and I'm Courtney and this is Mountain State
Mysteries, a look back on season 1.
Welcome to a new bonus episode where we are going to take a look back on all of the cases we
covered in season 1 of Mountain State Mysteries. We really can't start this episode without
thanking all of our listeners. Because of you, we reached places that we never thought we would.
Without you, we really wouldn't be getting ready for season 2.
So Courtney, are you ready to talk about the cases from season 1?
You bet. Our first episode murders at the country club, the double murder of Nellie May Rand and
Elmer Ray Bailey. I think it's safe to say this case holds a very special place in our hearts.
I'd be lying if I say we didn't talk about it almost every single day now.
I would honestly agree that this right here is the case that holds a special place in our heart.
This is one that we have been most invested in. I can honestly say this is the one that we have
spent the most time on. To this day, we still go out and we still make the strive. We still research
more and more and more upon this case. Anything that is involved with this case,
you can almost say that we're there. Right, Mark?
And now with the Kindred Spirits episode that's out,
and a new book by the amazing author Agnes Keatley, there's new pieces to the puzzle of
this case being put together. We actually got to meet Agnes at the showing of Kindred Spirits
at the Black Knight and she is one of the sweetest women we've ever met. She told us about her book
and told us that we need to come to her book signing. We kept it word and we went in the very
first thing she said to us was when are we going to record? So in one of our future episodes,
Agnes will be appearing on here with us and we're actually going to go more in depth
about Nellie and Ray's case. Court, we also have to mention how we got to meet Nellie's great nephew.
He was a super nice guy and talked a little bit about the case with us
and how we were actually in the same room as Ray's great niece but we just didn't know it at the time.
Episode two, missing the soldier on Bolt Mountain, James Lee Haynes. I think it's safe to say we've
both known this story our entire lives growing up hearing about it, knowing people who confessions
happen to him. You know it's crazy to think like there comes a point where we have just
simply passed where he was murdered and at times you don't even really think about oh this is someone's
murder spot or anything of that nature but it's definitely changing now especially when
you drive over the mountain you go past where things supposedly happened and in the end you
still don't even begin to have an ounce of a clue whatever happened to him. Right I think you know
it's also safe to say this is one case the ball was dropped on. Having three men going around
and bragging about what they did but sadly not having enough evidence to tie them to the case
it's just something I absolutely hate. Our third case was the tragic murder of Elizabeth May Williams
AG. This case actually happened in our family's hometown of Oceana and after our case was actually
aired I received a message from a woman who has a very close family friend and how she went to
school with the killer's brother so it kind of hit home a little bit on that one because
it was a little bit more personal at that given moment. Crazy enough my cousin's grandfather
was a constable at the time which for anyone that doesn't know what that is it's basically just a cop
he always said that it was a bloody scene and that the way they knew he put the hatchet in the box
is because he had to open the box with the hatchet and the box was absolutely covered up in blood.
And another thing too that this is another case that was definitely the ball was dropped on
because I don't feel this the murderer got enough time for what he did.
Our fourth case which is most difficult case that we have covered is the case of baby Christian
and both of us trying to get through this case was extremely hard.
I feel so much injustice was done on this for the baby how so many years later they still
do not know who baby Christian belongs to. I mean I feel now with the way that we are able to use
23 and me and how that right there single handedly has brought so many killers and have given the
family so much more peace now. I mean you look at it 23 and me is what helped solve the murders
out in California that were going on that. Golden State Killer. Yeah the Golden State Killer I mean
that was what was used to be able to track down the murder and I just feel now that maybe
if there was a way to be able to get DNA from baby Christian maybe they can run that and use
that site or something of that nature to try to tie in. I would also like to say too that this right
here is a case that I will always bring up if you have postpartum depression do not hesitate to reach
out to your doctor and get the help that you need. I'm a very firm believer that your mental health
is very important and I always seek treatment for your mental health because that is so important
and you know we just want you to receive help. I really think when you take a trip to Harpers Ferry
and visit his grave for weeks after this case was released I was still looking into info on it and
I mean it was hard to come back because I mean there really isn't much which I don't know if they're
keeping it close to the vest or if they're just not really looking into it but it's just never
set right with me how someone could just do that to a baby like like you said there's so many more
options than just tossing him over the bridge and like you I really wish they would do 23 and me
and just lock the people up that did this to him. Missing Cretchen Fleming which was our first bonus
episode which was also my first solo episode I can still remember the day like it was yesterday
it was a Tuesday and I was on my way home from work I texted Courtney I'm like hey we really
need to cover this case I want to say you were out of town at the time I'm not too sure I think
you might have been at your mom's where you were working um I was out of town working yeah so I ended
up plugging everything up and recording in my closet editing it and posting it like right
before I had to lay down and basically sleep a little bit before I went back to work um one thing
about this case is a lady that I work with actually lives in Parkersburg and her daughter
actually went to school with Gretchen. No way. Yeah I didn't know that part. They have their own
theory on what they think happened to her and it's a theory that I've had for a long time but
she had told me that there was people coming out of the woodworks on this girl's case right here
um personally um my personal personal belief is I honestly feel that she was sex trafficked
I really do um I pray to God that this girl is safe and that there's nothing
happened to her I honestly really do. I say it looks different I know that sounds awful like
I wish she would be finding stuff but I don't know I just feel like it's another
Judy Petty case and that is just going to go under the cuff. Case number five the murder
of David Van. I can honestly say that both of us can agree with this right here that this was the
hardest case for us to cover. Not so much because of what happened is because there is no information
on the case that took place in 2016. Right I mean we dug and dug no newspaper articles
really no articles online but we actually went to go visit the crime scene and we took my dad
because he knows Lake Stevens like the back of his hand and when I tell you he got invested in this
case right then and there I'll just say the crime scene makes no sense. He would have had
it been right in plain sight right in the open someone would have had a scene something going on
and just to think that he was murdered and no one saw it makes absolutely no sense to me
and a few months later Courtney and I was actually going out I'm not sure if we were doing research
or if we was just going to get food or something I honestly can't remember but I actually ended
up getting a message over Facebook and that message made it so clear as to what happened
and other things about him that I believe this case will never be solved. And I would just like
to really honestly throw this out here when we say we research we research I mean with this case
in particular we have actually made how many jobs with this case going from Harbor Freight to Lake
Stevens and we have traveled multiple ways that we remotely thought that he could have went.
I want to say maybe five it's not as much as Nellie and Ray but it has to be at least five.
And also another thing is too when we do research we go to the library we we do newspaper subscriptions
anything that we can find about a case we we bring it out we will do anything that we can to make
sure that these cases are the best possible when we present them. This one oh it was hard it was
really hard it was really hard really really really hard. Episode six serial killer Harry
Powers part one I wish I could say we didn't get wrapped up in this case but just like every other
case we basically look at it religiously we talk about it and on top like you would think our text
would be like hey where are you doing later no it's murder murder case case case and then every now
then there's a bit of stupidity thrown in there. That is true but I mean it was just crazy like how
much stuff was on this case and we would literally send pictures of him to each other and hope it's
safe to say we still need to take a trip to Clarksburg to go to the museum we haven't been able to do
it yet because of our work schedules you know we've been sick on and off we've had other things go on
in life and we just we honestly just need to go because I want to see what they have in his little
archive and in his little exhibit. Yes and I mean one of my absolute favorite things that this man
was ever called that to this day it still cracks me up is flyby face well-dressed man.
It's legit one of the best things I've heard. It is it's honestly one of the best and the first
time we heard him called that way unreal um I think this is another case that I actually
researched and brought up to you. Yeah you're the one that brought it up. It was so crazy like when
I was going through all this. She like we have enough cases that she has sent me that we would be
good for season three. Yeah possibly season four. We like gave back to it we did a lot of research
and we found different things but what stuck out to me the most about this is when he was framed
and noted as the first serial killer in the United States. And one crazy thing is he's actually not
the first lonely hearts killer there was actually a man and woman yeah who was also um killers I
want to say I heard it on crime junkie like back in the day and then it just clicked one day yeah I'm
like oh my god yeah yeah. So episode seven was serial killer Harry Powers part two it was also
my second solo episode because Courtney was out with the flu then COVID. Yes um when that episode
was recorded um we actually pushed it back for a few days because I had the flu
in the end right about the time that I started getting over the flu three days later I got diagnosed
with COVID and I was sick for 10 days. I think I was at bingo when you sent me your text you sent
me a picture of your results and I'm like well this is gonna be a solo one again. He was like do you
want me to wait and I was like no just go ahead do it just do it I don't want to keep the people
waiting any longer. And recording this was a struggle I kept having technical difficulty issues to
the point where I had just had to buy a new microphone because mine like you could plug it up into my
phone and it just it wasn't recording you could plug it into my laptop it wasn't recording so I
just bought a new microphone but then I realized I made this episode longer than part one so by
the end of it I was just happy to have a story told. It was it was very difficult very in depth
um case because upon research upon this um we actually discovered that Raffer University
actually uses him in part of their psychology studies and we were actually able to gain a lot
information from the studies that Raffer University done. Episode eight was the murder of Walter Eugene
Crum. This right here in all honesty this was the case that never in a million years did we think
a backstory would come out the way a backstory came out on this episode. And I actually never
knew about this case but you're the one that sent me it and I'm like wait when did this happen?
Yeah this was a case that brought out sexual allegations rape allegations corruption I mean
you name it it was in this case and we grained it as much information as we had on this case it was
also a very difficult one for us to cover. Because most articles were just the same thing so we were
just kind of like putting the pieces of the puzzle together and yeah. It was it was a very very
difficult case to get through on that one right there um I can honestly say that case actually
brought me rage um with it because of other allegations that had came out. When Courtney
brought it to the table when we were brainstorming I did this for season one I didn't believe any of
this would be like I think I figured it would be just like he got shot it would be the end.
I was wrong I didn't think there would be this amount of corruption with it and you know I do
believe there's always a motive to murder no matter what but do believe tennis is getting away with
it I do believe that he knew what he was doing and I just believe he did have a motive for it at
the end of the day. Episode nine murdered Elvizona Hester Shoe the Greenberry Ghost our first real
dip into the crime and paranormal I know we talked about it in James Lee Haynes but this one
took the cake we've known this story our entire lives growing up we've passed the marker that's
on the side of the highway but in all honesty I think I can say for the both of us we really didn't
know this case as as well as we thought and I mean there's still stuff that I didn't even add into
our episode that happened in the story and I mean it's absolutely crazy. I mean everything from
the man being abusive to all the previous marriages he had had wanting a certain amount of
lives before he died yeah all that right there and this is still the only case that is known
from where a ghost actually helped convict a man of murder I mean it's still it it's one of the
most mind-blowing cases that we've had. Our latest episode episode 10 the mysterious death of Judy
Patty I honestly don't think we really need a touch on it because it's so fresh but I can definitely
say for a season finale this was another tough one it was hard to find information on it like this
I think a lot of balls were dropped in different courts so I just hope one day that her case can
really be solved and that her and her family gets the justice that is deserved. I'm just gonna put
this out there one last time somebody knows exactly who done it that's all I'm gonna say.
I think it's safe to say that season one was a wild ride I'm looking forward to season two
we've been doing so much research on the case and visiting a few places on it. This is a case
we've been passionate about for years and seeing things pop up here and there
we knew it was the right time to cover it. We don't want to give the case away just yet
so we will leave you with a hint it happened in the 1990s. Stay tuned for our state haunt series
coming soon.
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