2019: The Unsolved Case of Jessica McCormack

You're listening to one nation under crime, historical chronological, true crime podcast. But this week, well, I suppose today, not necessarily this week today, historical it's different. Yes. I'm Kayla I'm Leah, And this is something we've never done on Owen, UC before I was reached out to a couple of days ago, when we're recording this by a friend of someone asking if I would be willing to look at the information regarding something and try to bring awareness, I was very hesitant to do it because we've never done this. 

00:00:59

Yes. And we typically like, I totally like, we cover things that happened 200 years ago. Like there are descendants, but like everything's kind of Way in the past, right? We're a historical And this is different in a lot of ways. However, if we can bring awareness and help in some way, we've always said that that's what we aim to do. Yes. We aim to be an advocate for a lot of different things. We want to speak out and help other people. And in learning about this, it is something that has been pushed aside by a lot over the past few years. 

00:01:48

And it doesn't need to be, so this week we had our normal episode and then this is actually coming out on Thursday. So there are two episodes this week and this one is very different And this is definitely a first. It is. So this week we are going to discuss as well as our regular scheduled programming. We're going to discuss an unsolved case of Jessica McCormick. And you may think, why is this so different? 

00:02:31

We have unsolved cases, a lot. Exactly. Jessica was murdered in 2019. And her friend reached out to me and said, essentially, this is unsolved. We think it can be solved. We need help getting the word out there. And we've been doing all we can. Is there anything you can do? So this is how we are going to try to help. I'm going to discuss a lot of different things about Jessica. 

00:03:11

We're going to dig deep into who she was as a person. I have some quotes from her friend just for reference. I did ask how her family felt about this being discussed. I asked a lot of questions regarding is this okay? Is X, Y, Z. Okay. For me to say, to make sure we're not crossing any lines, right? We have to put context to it essentially been given permission and someone's blessing to discuss this case and they want this information to be out. 

00:04:00

So I don't want people thinking that we're just covering something because we found some, like, we've been asked to do this. I have made sure that it's okay. And so we're gonna just discuss this. It is heavy guys. This is something that's recent. So it is more heavy than, than our normal episodes are typically Because we can't tie this up with a bow. No, we can't. There's there. I believe it can be, but we cannot today, By the way, I'm learning all of this. Just like you are this th this is, this is a normal podcast in that I don't know that, You know, a general out Lon I've chilled you, some things to prepare you for Told me that is. 

00:04:47

And yeah, but like, I don't know the details or anything like that. I know that she's gone through the proper channels and gotten the MK and pay. It's a current case. What do you think? Should we do it? That sort of thing. But like, I don't know. Yeah. Leanne and I did discuss this beforehand and I was like, I don't know what to do with this. Yeah, I don't. So we did kind of discuss, but not really correct. So, Yeah. So we're going to go ahead and dive in to all of this. And there is a specific reason it is coming out on the day that it is. I will go ahead and say, I got emotional when I was reading the stuff from her friend. Like, I don't know how I'm going to do it's a lot. 

00:05:29

And there's, there's a lot because personally there are some personal ties that I pulled at me and I was like, oh, okay. So just to prepare, Jessica McCormick grew up in Carthage, Missouri, and she was born on June 15th, 1994, which would make today for 28th birthday. Jessica's mother died when she was 11. And her father has had his own personal struggles and has found himself in and out of incarceration at different times. Jessica has two brothers as well. And due to circumstances surrounding Jessica's family, she's not at the time of this case, very close to them. 

00:06:16

It's alluded to that. One of her brothers might have similar issues as her father, but the information was given to me, Jessica's mother did die of an overdose when she was 11. So you see where the ties come in? Yeah. My father did not pass away in the same manner, but he did have issues with drug addiction. So, which was there, there's a lot of interesting things that tie together. That there's a reason we were asked when we were asked to cover this, that like timing just can't really Right. Explain. Right. Like it can't. So I, like I said, she has two brothers as well. 

00:06:59

They are aware of things that her friends have been doing to bring awareness to this case. And it doesn't seem that they are opposed to any of it, but they're also not super involved in it as well. So just to kind of make that known, that is the situation with her family. And that is the reason why, while I don't have explicit, go ahead from the family. It's because they're not available. You don't have a correct date. Hey. Yeah, exactly. So much like most people that this kind of situation happens to Jessica's family. 

00:07:40

Wasn't very close to her. And so she kind of created her own family and we've seen that a lot. And a lot of people do that. And we've always been, we've always said your families who you choose, you choose your family. Like, that's just how it goes. And so that includes her friends, Candice, Meghan, and Kendra, and Candice is the friend that reached out to me and asked if we could do anything by July of 2019. Jessica was a mother to three daughters who at the time were roughly four, two and seven months old Toma. Those are rough ages of them at that time. 

00:08:21

And this was 2019. Candace had this to say about her friends specifically, Jessica was selfless. One of the things that really stuck out about Jessica for me was that everything in her life could be going terrible. And she would be more concerned with how you are. And if you were happy and making sure that you were going to do what made you happy and not everybody else, she was insanely proud of her children. She sent me multiple pictures of them daily and was very inclusive with them, making sure that they knew who Kendra and Megan and I were. We were all like figures to them. She was also very quick to defend people that she felt were weaker. And she was very headstrong. 

00:09:03

Jessica at this time had hit a rough patch in her life. And she had fallen back into a cycle of addiction, which according to her friends began in Jessica's late teens, possibly after high school, possibly during high school. Okay. And along with this rough patch came domestic violence between her partner, Muhammad, Tito, Muhammad it's Muhammad Muhammad is the name. He goes by Tito. So that's what we will refer to him as this. I will say, now this case involves domestic violence. 

00:09:45

It involves substance abuse and it involves addiction. People know my thoughts on drug addiction. If you don't, you should, it is a disease. It is one of the hardest things. Anyone can try to pull themselves out of, especially when you don't have family to be like biological family, to be a support system, you can have your friends, you can have everybody around you that is trying to help you and want you to do better. And it seemed as though for a while, she had like, it seems that thing, you know, she had, but guys like addiction is a daily struggle. 

00:10:33

Yes, it is not a, oh, I was done with that. And we've seen that, like, you've seen that even with like celebrities, like I know that that's super, you know, high, but like you've seen that people, it is a daily struggle that you decide, you have to decide, I'm not doing this because addiction is difficult. And as we see with this story, and as I've discussed before addiction has now been linked hereditarily to children of addicts. And can I tell you something? I saw one of my Facebook friends posted. 

00:11:19

I was so angry saying addiction is not a disease. No, because you chose to take that hill. You chose to, and I'm like, okay, Okay. One, I don't have time for your bigotry. That's so that's one. Let me see it. Let me see. Oh goodness. I was so angry. I mean, I understand, I understand the first one that you took, no, nobody made you That you know of there are extenuating, but yeah. In a normal, In the international situation. Absolutely. 

00:11:59

But you are predisposed and you have, you know, you have that one and you're like, oh, And This is how I want to feel all the time. Well, and it comes from a escapism at signs. It made me so angry and I lost a lot of respect for that person. Well, and it's, and I think that if you don't live through situations of it and you don't see what it does to people and you don't like, I have a highly addictive personality, like my psychiatrist and my psychologist know my family history. 

00:12:42

They stay on me. Like they are very aware that I am prone to addiction just based off of my family history and my body's biological makeup. It, I have to take more medication than a normal person because my system runs through it quicker, which also contributes to addiction. Right. So, and it's, and it's like, I have to have special authorization for my depression medication as they're like, you can't take this amount. And my doctor's like, no, she can. And she's fine. Like it's not over the amount because her body's burning through it so quickly. Yeah. So it's fine. 

00:13:22

And so I want to go ahead and make that known because while substance abuse does come through in this case, and it is kind of a thread that continues throughout. Yes. And I'm sorry, but if that is something you want to judge a person for, or if that is something that you believed devalues a human's life, because of that shame on you, because there is nothing that anyone can do. As far as that goes to D value their life. They're a person, Everybody has value. 

00:14:03

And everybody, everybody Has value. And every body has someone who loves them. Everyone, Everybody matters And no One deserves to be forgotten. And that is one thing that was kind of heartbreaking was one thing that her friend said to me was the attitude that came towards this case is a, she had it coming mindset. And she didn't and seeing there's a few times, you'll see. And as I was seeing the situation unfold, I was like, this is heartbreaking and I'm not going to, I'm going to get mad. 

00:14:54

You're going to get mad. I might cry. So there's that. And I don't cry, but I want to go ahead and just make that known that these are things that are going to come out in this discussion. There's not deep discussion or discussion around specific events that occurred regarding domestic violence. If that is something like you are personally sensitive to, it is a theme that that will be brought up, but I'm not going to go into specifics. There is one section that I will warn people before I discuss, because it involves something similar. 

00:15:34

And I will warn people when we get to that section, if they want to skip over it. So Jessica and Tito met in 2015, roughly from what I can gather from the timeline, they were both working at the Tyson plant. And Tito was Jessica's hourly supervisor. Jessica commented occasionally that Tito would sometimes give her candy when they were working together. And that's kind of how the relationship started informed. Not long after the two had a daughter together and before their daughter was born, they had a marriage ceremony at the mosque. 

00:16:15

I'm going to refer to Tito if I discuss him as her partner, because they were married in the eyes of their religion, but they were not married on paper like legally, legally. Gotcha. So, and we will discuss that as well to go ahead and put some context to it. T-to is Somalian. I couldn't get a clear read on whether he was very religious. It doesn't seem so, but Jessica did eventually convert to Islam. When I asked about her decision to convert. 

00:16:56

Cause I specifically asked and I asked for a reason I was very open with her friend and said, I'm going like, I'm sorry if something's like, I need to ask the questions. Like, and my question was in a lot of situations that we see with domestic violence situations, sometimes we do see people will convert to a different religion, or they will have large changes in their life, but it's influenced by their significant other to cut them off from others. And so that was why I asked, I said, tell me why, because I will go ahead and say, if you look up this case, you will see photos of Jessica where you can see her and you can see her hair. 

00:17:45

And then you will see others that you can't, I'm not posting any photos of Jessica specifically, because I don't know what she would've wanted. Right. Because she did convert to Islam. So when I asked about her decision to convert to Islam, Jessica's friend Candace said, quote, I think her original inspiration was just being surrounded by Islam, through her relationship with Tito. And the fact that in Noel, Missouri, which is where they live, there is a huge Somali, Kenyan and Sudanese population, all of which practices long, which I didn't know. I thought that was very interesting. You become friends with those types of people and you want to know what it's all about and what they're about. 

00:18:27

So you start looking into it. Jessica didn't convert to Islam out of her feelings for Tito. It was something she talked to me about extensively and my other friends. And it was a genuine love that she had for the religion and the beauty that she saw within it. So on a lot of the people that they worked with as well, also practice the same religion. So that's how she became aware of it is it was the environment that they were in. They do live somewhere that is a heavy, heavy Muslim Islamic population. And she said it was just something that she appreciated. And she decided that was a path she wanted to go. 

00:19:08

She didn't Feel pressured. Correct? Correct. So this is also where issues with people not caring about it. Come in, I'll say that the couple's relationship quickly spiraled after their daughter was born. And the two had begun intermittent drug use the domestic assault between the couple was said to be sporadic, but frequent enough for Jessica's friends and family, to be aware of it and notice it. And when the first signs of the abuse began everyone's opinion regarding Tito shifted, it was described as a cycle. 

00:19:49

Things between the couple seemed fine when they were sober, but once one or both of them relapsed the fighting and the abuse began again, her friend said, quote, we've recently been finding out that she may have been a little bit worse off on that path. And we were aware of which has made us feel terrible. Honestly, every single time Jessica and I talked about her leaving t-to she would tell me about the good that she saw in him. And that she knew was there. It broke her though. And an actual thing that she said to me once was that it crushed her, that he would never love her the same way she loved him, which like guys, that's why people stay in abusive relationships. 

00:20:30

Yeah. That is like, yeah, you hope for the good times. And you explain away the bad ones And you get really good at hiding. Yes. The bad things. Yes. And when she sent me that, like, it was so heartbreaking because I've, I've been in that situation of this person is never going to love me in the same way that I love them. And I love them so much. I don't want to leave, but I have to. 

00:21:14

Yeah. And so that kind of gives a little bit of background information. And I will say, I don't know if I put the quote in here, but I will say that her friend did say don't, don't be fooled. Like Jessica was also combative towards him. Like she, like, she wasn't just a victim. Like she did bite back like she did. And she said, and I'm sure there were times she started the argument. She said, but Tito was the aggressor from what I understand and was more often the one that was actually the one doing the abuse that was there. 

00:22:01

So, gotcha. I will say that in 2017 charges were brought against Tito in relation to a sexual assault with another woman. And this is the time where like, if this is not something you want to hear, skip forward. I cut out a lot in this quote that I got from a newspaper that directly refers to the report that was filed. I cut out a lot because this woman's story is not my story. And I will not say her name either. I know her name and I'm not going to say it. You can find it, but I don't feel comfortable telling her story. 

00:22:45

And I did cut out a lot of the specifics that occurred in this situation. So if you'd like to skip forward, I would do that. Now, according to the Joplin, globe quote, a probable cause affidavit in that case states that the woman who was 31 years old at the time called Muhammad to come and get her at an apartment in Noelle, they went back to his apartment, shared some shots of tequila and danced a bit together before she fell asleep. She later told investigators and I cut out the entire portion of that. And I just put in, in parentheses what happened that night and during the incident. Cause I don't feel comfortable talking about it. 

00:23:27

Right. So I'll just say I cut a big section of it out and put that in. And then this is kind of where it picks back up. She told him no again and bit him and ran into the living room of the apartment. She picked up a rod from the floor to defend herself and then he grabbed a gun from a kitchen cabinet, pulled the slide back on the weapon and told her to leave. According to the affidavit at that time, Tito was charged with second degree sodomy and unlawful use of a weapon in relation to the incident, Tito was incarcerated for roughly a month regarding these charges. My understanding is that he was out on bail because from some of the articles that I found the charges were still pending, he hadn't been like, he hadn't been, he was indicted. 

00:24:21

He was not Whose apartment was this hits. Oh, okay. Yes. I was confused for a moment. It was his. So when I asked about Jessica's feelings regarding the situation, this is what Candace had to say. Quote, we never got the full story. Jessica was just very adamant that Tito was innocent. There was a rumor that Jessica had changed her mind on that and was going to speak out on him on that. But I'm not completely sure. 

00:25:01

Hmm. Around this time a friend of Jessica and Tito, I will try and say his name as best I can. You can find his name in other places, which is why I will say his name here. Abraham <inaudible> I believe is how you say it. He kind of stepped into help. He worked with everyone at the Tyson plant and he was also subletting the apartment that Jessica was living into her, that she lived in a majority of the time. I think Tito was kind of in and out of it. Ybor Keim was always around, like in a friendly context. 

00:25:44

And when Tito was incarcerated regarding the 2017 incident, he would drive Jessica to work, help her out whenever she needed to go anywhere or just kind of be a friend who was there when she needed it, Ebraheem became a shoulder to lean on. And that formed into a relationship. It's not clear exactly when the relationship started, but Tito's incarceration was definitely a stepping stone in that direction. Jessica's friends were very actually supportive of the relationship beginning between her and Abraham. They were pretty sure that he was aware of the domestic violence in the relationship between Jessica and Tito and Jessica's friends thought that it was a move in the right direction to get her away from Tito. 

00:26:28

It sounds like that probably was a good thing. I will say. There was also drug use involved here as well. So it was kind of like What's What's yeah. Different what? Yeah. Like there's no abuse. No, but it was, there's still, it was hinted that there was some substance abuse there as well. And I'm not great. Exactly. Jessica is a let's see he, Abraham is discard is described as quiet and a bit shy at the time of Jessica's disappearance. 

00:27:11

It was speculated that Jessica was making plans to take her daughters and move to St. Louis with him. In fact, the last time that Jessica was seen by her friend, Megan, on July 14th, 2019, they had a discussion about the move to St. Louis. And Jessica said that it would be a fresh start. The plan was for it's Abraham or Abraham. It's very, there were two different ways to say it. He was going to come to Noelle on July 16th, just two days later and pick up Jessica and the girls to move to St. Louis. He was already living there at the time. So that was why he would be coming this way to get them because he was already living there. 

00:27:53

Gotcha. So here's where we're going to get into the timeline of events on July 15th, a wellness check and the department of human services was called Jessica's apartment due to a fight, heard in the apartment and concern of her friends, no one answered, but people could hear movement in the apartment, OMA, July 16th. And this is the day that she was supposed to be moving and leaving in the early morning hours of July 16th, Jessica made a nine 11 call that Tito was threatening to kill her with a knife, Megan, which is one of the friends then also received a call from Abraham that others had heard fighting in the apartment. 

00:28:35

So he wasn't there. So he in reamer, he was subletting, right? So he got a phone call saying, Hey, there's stuff going on in this apartment. So then he turns around and calls the friend, Megan, and is like, Hey, this is going like, this is what I'm hearing. Something's going down. Exactly. Also just kind of a side note here that we'll come back up, even though he was supposed to be picking Jessica up that day, his car had supposedly broken down. And that hasn't been from my understanding fully corroborated with police, that that assertion has not fully been like sussed out and say that his car was broken down. 

00:29:18

And there's a reason this kind of comes in, okay. The cops, this is kind of again, where, where things are odd. The cops showed up or didn't show up for the nine one, one call and tried to make contact with Jessica inside the apartment. They're conflicting accounts as to exactly who was dispatched, if anyone was dispatched. And if contact was actually made with Jessica, Where are the kids at this time? In the apartment. Okay. And from my understanding on something that I found the door to the apartment opened outward, not inward. 

00:29:58

So like, you know, when you go into your house, you open the door, inward, the door opened outward. Okay. So it's not like you could, You could with heat coming in because they would be able to pull it out. But you couldn't. They said like they had, supposedly it was tried. I don't know. I don't know. So like I said, a lot of different aspects to this Case. Okay. On July 17th, one of the friends Kendra called to talk to an officer and she said that she wanted to report her friend as missing because she hadn't heard from her. 

00:30:39

The officer stated that he would call her back to complete the report, but no call was ever returned on the same day. Megan received a few messages on Facebook messenger from Jessica or someone using Jessica's phone. Hm, July 25th Jessica's friend, Candice, who I've been speaking with, met Tito to get some baby formula that Candice needed. She said, quote, we met at a local burger joint in pine hill, Missouri, just for a brief moment. And he was in the car with two other Somali guys. I don't know. They told me they were heading to Dodge city, Kansas. 

00:31:20

T-to didn't appear to be any different than when I had seen him before, but he was really secretive about the formula. Instead of handing me a can of baby formula, like any normal person would have done. He'd given it to me in a duffel bag that later the police ended up asking for when I told them about it. Oh, That is Weird that this fair or That's odd, July 29th, a cyclist discovered a suitcase that held the decomposed remains of a female on the side of highway 59 in new L Missouri. Oh no. Candice said quote, whenever Jessica's body was first found, tons of people were commenting, asking where her friends were. 

00:32:05

There was somebody texting us from Jessica's Facebook messenger. We had our suspicions, it wasn't Jessica. And we were still looking for her despite hearing from her through there. But given there was somebody messaging us and acting like her. It was really an unfair judgment for the public to make. I recall messaging her and telling her that the person in the suitcase didn't sit right with us and to please get back to us and let us know it wasn't her. And I got a message saying something to the effect of I'm girl. I'm just tired of everyone's stuff. And Tito is starting in again. 

00:32:47

The day that Jessica's body was identified, the messages stopped No Identified, not bound On August 5th. Tito arrived in Des Moines, Iowa at a coworker's house with the girls before this incident, t-to also had a daughter with another woman that Jessica did take care of as well. She kind of served as you know, like a bonus mom to, to this little girl. Well, she had gone to go stay with Tito's sister somewhere else and had been there for a while. So we do know that this child was not, I'm not including her in the three. 

00:33:30

She would have been that fourth. Gotcha. So just to kind of like say that Tito's, let's see. After three days Tito left the three girls and a note saying that he couldn't take care of them anymore in a press release from the department of justice, it said, quote McCormick's children could not be located after her body was discovered and identified. An Amber alert was issued for McCormick's three children who were located at a residence in Des Moines, Iowa, and taken into custody on August 8, 20, 19. According to the affidavit, a woman who formerly worked with Mohamad at the Tyson plant and Noel told law enforcement officers that he arrived at her Demoine residence with the children on August 5th, 20, 19. 

00:34:20

She discovered he had left on August 8th, 2019. The affidavit says that she found a note from him informing her that he could not care for the children anymore. Okay. So August 8th was the day he left. Right. Okay. Making sure that's clear. So then also on August eight, the body in the suitcase was formerly identified as Jessica. Do-do a forearm tattooed dental records and a DNA sample obtained from a family member. I am not saying anything. 

00:35:00

And I'm just saying paid the dates are interesting. The same day she's identified as the day the girls were left. That is all I'm saying August 16th. One month after Jessica had called nine 11, the FBI searched her apartment A month. There were no answers on Tito for two years. He was gone. Hmm. July 28th, 2021 last year. 

00:35:43

Tito is finally found in Guatemala where he is an extradited back to the United States. It is believed that Tito thought he would be safe from extradition from Guatemala. And it appeared that like in the beginning, that could have been true. Guatemalan authorities were hesitant to extradite because Tito was a non naturalized citizen of the United States. However, it is believed something might have happened legally in Guatemala with him. And authorities like released him for extradition. Yeah. It's not clear what it was, but something occurred because they were hesitant in the beginning. But then they were like, okay, I can, At this time he only faces charges for kidnapping and faces up to 20 years. 

00:36:32

According to Tito's attorney, none of Tito's DNA was found on Jessica's body or the suitcase that she was found in. Okay. As of what would be Jessica's 28th birthday today, no one has been arrested and there are no answers. According to locals, the Noel police department and McDonald county Sheriff's office seem to be corrupt or at least hiding something. I am not saying this personally, I am saying this is all allegedly and supposedly, and that's that Jessica had prior issues with both agencies and even gone as far as to call out a Noel police department officer on Facebook regarding a seriously sketchy situation that involved one of her friends. 

00:37:22

And we'll get to that in a second. The underlying issue with the police seemingly started with Tito's 2017 charge for legal reasons. I will say a very specific police officer, very specific one. Okay. That is what I will say. Okay. I'm not getting sued. It can easily be found. I'll say that as well. But this officer began harassing Tito on Facebook and commenting on his statuses. 

00:38:03

This specific officer was also very open about his dislike for the Somali community and Noel, as well as large Muslim population. And there are posts by the specific officer that backup those claims That's disappointing. The officer was supposedly also harassing Jessica regarding the 2017 charge against t-to. Cause there were a couple, I guess that's all I could find. That's all I could figure, but I mean, it had nothing to do with her. I was just making sure I was understanding. Okay. One of Jessica's friends, I couldn't, I didn't get a name on which friend this was. 

00:38:45

I wasn't going to ask specifically. You'll see why. Okay. One of Jessica's friends was pulled over and ended up receiving a ticket for not using a seat belt by this same specific officer that had been harassing Jessica and PETA. The officer is said to have paid for the friend's ticket himself. And then reportedly asked the friend for nude photos. Once Jessica found out about this, she went to Facebook and publicly spoke out against the actions of the police officer on March 2nd, 2019. 

00:39:32

So just a few months before she disappeared, I'm not saying there is a connection. I am just saying these events occurred in the same year. That's all I'm saying. I'm not at all saying something occurred. I just noticed, I saw the date. I saw the post. It was shared with me and I seen it and I just looked at the date on it and thought, Hmm. Okay. So that was the same year. So the whole department is familiar with the name. Yes. Is what we're getting across here. Yes. I asked Candice who she thought was responsible for the murder of Jessica. 

00:40:17

This is what she said. We have no idea. We suspect it's whoever killed Jessica. We're torn on who we think did it or not. We think if someone did do it, they didn't do it alone. I'm starting to suspect someone else because I just found out that their alibi hasn't been thoroughly checked out. The cops haven't told us whether or not Jessica's case has been deemed cold or active. They're kind of sick of us asking about it. They haven't seemed to have been working on it since about a month after she was identified though. And that's kind of where it all sets. 

00:40:57

Wow. So as of today, there are no answers. I, based off of everything I have seen feel as though this could be solved. I believe if her phone was being used, I don't think it would be hard to find out where it was being used. And I'm very, you know, I understand open investigations, police officers cannot on, like, they can't say what they have and haven't done. I get that. Sure. 

00:41:38

And I'm not sure if the reason why this case has not progressed any is because the police might think that the suspect they suspect is already in custody for something else. I don't know what, but something else, again, I'm not getting sued, but I believe this could easily be solved. I don't think, I think based off of all of the information that I've received, this is something that could be dug into and I think answers could be found. 

00:42:20

And it's very frustrating. And I understand her friends frustration. Yes. What questions do you have? I have Thoughts. Okay. Or yeah, State. Yeah. It seems to me from what I, from what I heard and from what I understood, there was lack of action. Lack of lack of urgency. Yes. And well, and there's one thing, you know, when you said that with the messenger, you know, Kayla and I have a, a little code if ever one of us is taken, there's a, there's a question that we know to ask. 

00:43:14

And there's an answer to really know if it's the one, if it's, if it's really us, we've, we've worked that out. Cause we're weird. That way we do a, we do a true, true crime podcast. So we had a, we're kind of weird that way. But to me it seems like we've been painted with a broad brush. That is what I have gathered as well. And, and that there was just some inactivity or, or, or lack, lack of Gumption. Yeah. Just yeah, just yeah, yeah. 

00:43:55

Yeah. It took a month to get to the apartment For the, the, for the FBI to search the apartment. And that is what I gathered from, from things. I don't know if the apartment was checked out by the Sheriff's department. I'm not sure if, like I said, there's a lot of information that it's like, one article will say something and then the are another article from a different will like not completely contradicted, but it's a different. And so it's kind of like, okay, what's going on? 

00:44:38

It seems to me that, and you know, and we don't know the area, you know, because you know, some areas are more prone to more, more calls Right. Than others, but it would seem that there would be more urgency and in such things I would think so because They're, I don't know. I would think so, because it was known, there were three children in the house. That's why I Asked where were the kids? 

00:45:17

So they were said to be there and then, and Then there they disappeared. When were they, when was it decided that they were missing When they identified her body? Okay. That was the day that Nobody decided that she was really missing. I mean, didn't these kids like have a daycare or something that they went to. I don't know because of, they were young. So I don't know if it was a time when like the youngest was very young. So I don't know if it was a time where she was kind of there. I don't know. I don't know. Okay. Because she worked at the Tyson plant, then I would think that, I mean, she had to, however We've seen recently, Amber alerts not being sent out the day it's reported. 

00:46:09

Well sure. But what I'm saying is, So I don't know if there was an active, missing person report. That's what I'm saying. That's, that's, what's complicated to me. I mean, you know, she had somebody other than the friends, I mean, no friends, you aren't, I don't hold you responsible at all. People that say that are, it's just kind of would say maybe not that quite that wobbly really. Sorry. That came out way too wobbly. But yeah. I mean, with the kids not showing up for childcare or something, you know, somebody else was Exactly Her, not just the, And I think there was also some parts that were alluded to maybe, and it wasn't the friends that thought this, the friends hoped this was the case. 

00:46:57

I will say this, but they did not think that it would, there was a thought that maybe she just took the kids and left and with it being a domestic violence situation, I can see where some, where that might be a thought, however, and the friends were hearing from her on Facebook, even though the friends were like, something's not right. And they kept looking like, they were like, something's not right now. I did find an article where someone spoke with the friend, Megan. And she said, we really hoped. 

00:47:36

She just took off. Yeah. We really hoped. And when she got those first couple of messages on Facebook, that's kind of what they were like, we hope, but we don't think it's her. Like we, we don't. So it's, I don't know if that was then the thought of maybe she took the children and maybe that's where she is and they are her children biologically. So, so I don't, I, that, that part, I don't know. I did ask where they are today and could not get a clearance, what I will say. 

00:48:26

Hmm. Not by fault of anyone from what I have gathered, but due to the situation. Sure. That's A whole lot. I will say it appears when they were taken into custody, they entered the foster system in Iowa. Now, I don't know. And they don't know what has happened since then, but it's unclear. That's sad. So yes, just in case anybody was wondering, you know, like what happened? 

00:49:07

Yeah. That is, I was going to ask where they Were. So that is Jessica's story. That is the story that doesn't have a bookend, I'll say a bookend. Cause I hate to say like an end because your story never truly ends. Like it, it continues on, but there's nothing we can book end the beginning of her life, but we can't book end the end because we don't know what happened. And it said that we're, the suitcase was found. It had been thrown over like a embankment. 

00:49:51

I can't hear, but I'm rolling my eyes because that is just so distressed. So it's bad enough that, that someone's shoved her in a super, It was bad enough anyway, murder, but yeah, I mean, it's, it's, It's just adding insult to injury. So I think this can be solved. I think, I think there are enough pieces to piece together. I think, again, I am not a police officer. I am not disparaging any police officer who was working on the case. Again, like we said, open investigations, police are not required to comment on because it is an open investigation And we very much appreciate and respect all the first responders. 

00:50:38

I know many of them, For those that ask for nude photos, but just like You said, in every profession, there's good and bad ones that make your skin crawl and that are, you know, the ones that this Is one hand saying, You know, But yeah, We respect and appreciate the first responders. I have some in my family. Exactly. And you know, law enforcement firefighters, you know, all, all of them, you know, love them and respect them and appreciate all that they do because I could not do that. I, I don't know. 

00:51:20

I'm, I'm at a loss because I much like, I will say the last quote that I put in from Candace, when I asked, do you, I point blank said, who do you think? Did it? And in that last section I quoted from her, I did take out names. I will say that because I don't, while she I'm sure would be fine saying it, I don't want to point fingers anywhere. Right. Because this is all alleged and suppose it, and this is what I have found from gathering research. And I am not saying who did it? I am not saying anything. 

00:52:01

We're Laying out the facts that I'm presenting. Yes. I'm presenting what I have found and what I have been told. So that is, that is that. So yeah, I, I told her friend, I said, I, we haven't ever done anything like this and I don't know what help we can be. I have point blank side. I don't, I don't know how, I don't know what to do with this yet. And then I came up with it and I said, I think, I think I know. And in that I told her, I don't know if we'll get answers. I hope we do, but I don't know if we will get answers. 

00:52:45

However, if one person hears Jessica's story and is, or knows someone who is struggling with addiction or in a domestic abuse situation, I hope Jessica's story encourages them to get out. Yes. I hope it helps someone, someone, someone, somewhere it's Not Easy. No. And as we know, it's not, No, it's not. 

00:53:26

It's not at all. It's not an easy, like so many people say just leave, but it's not that simple. It's not Psychological. It's, it's, it's In need. It's financial. Sometimes it is. And it is. And that was what I said. I told her friend, I said, I don't know if we'll get answers. I hope her loved ones do. But my hope is that at least it can help someone who is struggling in some way or help a friend of someone who is struggling. See the situation more clearly and say, okay, yeah, here's some resources. 

00:54:09

Yes. So I do have those resources. I was going to say, you know me, so I'll go through kind of a few things. I'll put these in the show notes for this. If you're on apple podcasts, the show notes. If you just look at where the screen is, where the main place screen is with our title artwork there, and you just scroll down, that is where the notes for the episode are. So if you or someone, you know, may have any information regarding the murder of Jessica McCormack, please contact from my understanding right now, it is at the McDonald county Sheriff's department. 

00:54:51

That is what I found from some articles is that that was where it is now possibly either way. That would be a good place to start. If not their phone number is (417) 223-4319 that's 4 1 7 2 2 3 4 3 1 9. And that is the McDonald county Sheriff's department. If you need, or have anyone who does need the substance abuse and mental health services administration hotline, their number is 1-800-662-HELP. 

00:55:36

And that's 1-800-662-FOUR 3 5 7. Or they can go to S a M H S a.gov. Again, that will be down at the bottom in our show notes. And then last, but certainly not least the national domestic violence hotline. And that is 807 9 9 7 2 3 3 807 9 9 7 2 3 3. 

00:56:17

Or you can text start just the word start. That's it. 2 8, 8, 7, 8 8 2 8 8 7 8 8. Just text start. It's all you have to text. Wow. And I, then you can also go to the hotline.org. It's just the hotline. And one of the most heartbreaking things I saw today when I was looking at the information to, to be able to put the phone numbers and things in here is when I went to that website immediately, a pop-up comes up that says, if you believe your internet is being tracked, please hit the red X in the top right-hand corner. And this will not be tracked on your browser. 

00:57:00

And I was like one that's amazing. And two, like, I just want to cry like That. Someone might even be in that situation. And if you exit, like, and if it happens, like say somebody comes up and you like quickly, it redirects you somewhere completely different. Like it takes you somewhere else. Like where you're you're out. It's wow. Yeah. Like one the foresight to know that that can happen too, for them to have that on there. There's a reason that they know to have that on there. Exactly. And that's so sad, heartbreaking, and it's horrible. 

00:57:41

But if that is someone that, you know, you do know that that is happening, they have made the website to where, like it's very difficult to track, or they make you very aware of do this or that if you feel this is happening to you. And so again, if we can help anyone with any situation such as this, we hope to help this turned out being a lot longer than we thought it would. But I want answers for her, for her loved ones, for Her, for her kids And where they are like it. 

00:58:26

It's just, and I think that it's something that could have answers somewhere. And it's always the key phrase. Someone knows something, someone out there knows something that they don't know that they know that could help. And it is the authorities job to look into those leads. I will say that. So if somebody thinks they might know something, but it's like, eh, I'm not sure. Still tell them. Yeah. If it's still telling me nothing, it's nothing, but it's not, that's got to be something. So that is Jessica McCormick's case. 

00:59:07

I really appreciate her friend, Candace reaching out to us and giving us the privilege of discussing her friend. And this is something that I'm could reopen a lot of wounds for some people. And I understand that that's difficult, but when she came to me and keep in mind, like, I, she didn't tell me right out, like when Jessica's birthday was, I asked, because I didn't know if I would need it to look up any records or anything. And I just kind of said, Hey, you know, also what is her date of birth? 

00:59:49

Just in case I need it to look up anything about her. And she messaged me back in like a stream of text messages and like messages back and forth that I had sent because I was like, she'd send me like a list of answered things. And then she'd have another list of me. Like one message, like after another of, what about this? What about this? What about this? What about this? Like I CA I just had so many questions trying to piece things together. And so it was me who asked her, Hey, what is her date of birth? Like, I just need that. And she told me June 15th. And I was like, wow. Yeah. So that is why it's coming out today. 

01:00:31

And hopefully before her 29th we'll have more answers. So we greatly appreciate you guys listening. We know that this is not our normal episode that we come out with, but it was something that if a victim's family is going to reach out to us. Yeah. And it just fell into place. I mean, the timing was just, it all just fell into place. The timing of so contact and her birthday and everything. Yes. It was, it, it was yes. Kismet. So serendipitous. So anyways, that, that is the story for this, for today. 

01:01:15

And this is, you know, different episode from our normal. So anyways, we just really appreciate you guys listening again, if you have any information, scroll down in the feed for a show notes and you can see that information down there, we will see you guys on Monday for our regular episode. That's right. So we hope to see you guys then goodbye.