July 25, 2018

Lakemoor, Illinois

Officer Brianna Tedesco starts her shift. It’s 11:00 p.m. She’s scheduled until 7:00 a.m. Tedesco is dressed in her duty uniform of shirt, pants, and outer ballistic vest. She has her Lakemoor Police badge and name plate pinned to the outside of her vest and is wearing a duty belt which includes her standard duty gear.

Her body camera is equipped and, along with a squad camera microphone, she has a microphone clipped to her left shoulder. Listener, the body cam and microphones will give us insight into the worst day of Officer Tedesco’s career. And present to us the night that she peered the eyes later described as soulless.

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July 2009

Escambia County, Florida

Leonard “Patrick” Gonzales Jr., age 35, is broke. He’s desperate for cash. So desperate that his mom is paying his bills. Patrick, of course, finds this embarrassing. Against his wife Tabitha’s better judgment, he invested their savings into a Karate School. Savings that the two saved up together working at Long-Wiggins’ antique business.

But the Karate business, like 40 percent of businesses in the United States, went belly up. And that little venture has placed Patrick (and by extension Tabitha) in financial jeopardy. Patrick felt like he was letting his family down. Both his wife and his children. But he had an idea. His ticket out of this whole mess was 66-year-old Byrd "Bud" Starling Billings

Escambia County, Florida

Leonard “Patrick” Gonzales Jr., age 35, is broke. He’s desperate for cash. So desperate that his mom is paying his bills. Patrick, of course, finds this embarrassing. Against his wife Tabitha’s better judgment, he invested their savings into a Karate School. Savings that the two saved up together working at Long-Wiggins’ antique business.

But the Karate business, like 40 percent of businesses in the United States, went belly up. And that little venture has placed Patrick (and by extension Tabitha) in financial jeopardy. Patrick felt like he was letting his family down. Both his wife and his children. But he had an idea. His ticket out of this whole mess was 66-year-old Byrd "Bud" Starling Billings

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Magic Mind | Mental Performance Shot

Katherina “Katie” Allen is afraid of her husband. On Easter Sunday, the 42 year old woman packed her things and took the kids with her. The man she married, Kevin Allen, age 51, has a history of violence. A 20 year long rap sheet. Filled with domestic abuse and death threats against the four women he married in his life.

Katie was going to play it cool. She’d meet Kevin at Cracker Barrel for their daughter Kerri Allen’s birthday party. There, in a public space, she would tell her husband that she wanted a divorce. And if Kevin became violent there would be witnesses. Things don't go to plan.

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