MURDERED: Najah // Angie

[00:00] Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, and I have big news. One of my favorite seasonal shows, CounterClock, is back with a brand new season, and it is wild. Host Delia D'Ambra is digging into the 2008 Lane Bryant murders. I mean, this isn't just a recap. It is a reinvestigation. She's talking to law enforcement, people from the community, even sources who have never spoken publicly until now. And you know I love a show that asks all the questions. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 now wherever you get your podcasts. [00:30] Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. So, Britt, the story that I have today hits a little close to home for me, partly because, like, physically, both cases that I'm going to talk about are here in Indianapolis, but also because in one of the cases, I've actually been in direct contact with the family of the victim. You see, I recently got this email from a woman named Jalisa out in Vegas, and she told me that her sister has gone missing from my own backyard here in Indy, [01:00] really fast. And it was getting almost no attention. So I started looking into it, and she was right. There's almost nothing out there, but it's a very bizarre case that needs more eyeballs on it. And this case made me think of another story that's faded from the Indianapolis headlines that's incredibly similar. So today, I decided to tell you two stories. Two stories that are local to me. [01:28] Two stories of women who it seems people have been willing to write off. But these cases are far from cold and they just need enough people to care to help push the cases forward. So please listen close, everyone, to these stories. Share them with everyone you know, because in both of these cases, someone very specific out there holds the key to solving them. And these two women deserve justice.

[01:58] and Angie Barlow. [02:00] Music. [02:31] The first story I want to tell you is the one that started this all for me. The story of Najah Farrell. It was her stepsister, Jalisa, who wrote into us. And Jalisa has actually been a crime junkie her whole life. She says she's always been obsessed not only with these cases, but with the podcast specifically. And her world has been turned upside down now that she's living one of our episodes. So when I started looking into her sister's case, I couldn't even believe what I was reading. [03:00] consume a lot of traditional media, like watching the news or listening to the radio, isn't something that I get to do much anymore. Everything's on my phone. And not just because I'm busy, but that's just a lot of people our age aren't getting their traditional news the traditional ways anymore. Right. And I mean, it's why I think podcasting is so important to get information out. But anyways, let me tell you what I learned from Jaleesa. So Najah is originally from

[03:30] to a suburb on the west side of Indianapolis called Avon. And for those of you who don't have any like reference point for this area, it's really close. Like I have friends who live in Avon that I see all the time. Jalisa told me that Naja loved the schools and the community over there because you see, she was a bio mom to two of her own kids. And she was also fostering three other kids from an organization called Seeds of Life here in Indianapolis. Wow. Like as a foster and [04:00] I asked Julissa what made Nadja want to foster, and she said, really, like she was just the most giving person in the world who had this special soft spot for children. And she wanted to love and care for kids who didn't have someone to love and care for them. All in all, Nadja had built a pretty solid life for herself and her kids. She'd been dating the same guy for the past 10 years. He was the father of her youngest bio kid. [04:30] But in early 2019, things had begun to change for Najah. Not all at once, but little by little. For starters, she had been a stay-at-home mom for a while. After spending like five years working as a surgical tech at a local hospital, she had taken a break to focus on her kids. But now that they're all in school, she was looking for something to, you know, keep her busy. So she finds a job at Panera Bread working the early morning shift.

[05:00] pocket and she was off in time to pick her kids up from school. And I imagine the extra money was nice because in addition to this new job, things were also changing at home for Najah. Whatever feelings once were there between her and her fiance had begun to fade and the relationship ended. In early March, Najah asked him to move out. But anyone who's lived with a partner knows that this is a little more complicated than that. It can be hard to just like pack your bags and go. [05:30] period trying to figure out their new living arrangements. And they probably would have come to some resolution, except on March 15th, [05:39] Everything changed. That morning, Nadja had to get up super early for the new job that she just started at Panera. And when I say she just started, I mean just. Like March 15th was only her third day of orientation. Now, according to reporting from Katie Cox at RTV6, Nadja wakes up at three o'clock in the morning to make sure that she's ready for her 5 a.m. shift. And generally, this is what... [06:02] All of the news outlets report. She gets herself ready. She asks her fiance to get the kids up and get them ready later in the morning. She says goodbye to him and she walks out the door. Now, Jalisa tells me that Najah's car was seen on video leaving her apartment complex around 3.20 in the morning. And the rest of the day is pretty uneventful for the people surrounding Najah. The kids go to school. I assume her fiance goes about his day.

[06:32] a call that will change everything. [06:35] So later that afternoon, her phone rings and it's a social worker. The social worker tells Paula that Nadja's kids are all overdue for being picked up and they've tried reaching her twice, but she's just not answering or calling them back. Now, right away, this is incredibly concerning to Paula. Nadja is one of the most accountable people she knows. Like, Jaleesa told me Nadja was the person everyone went to when they needed something. [07:05] had all of these connections. She was just someone that you could depend on. So if she said she was going to be there, she would have been there. She would have never left her kids stranded. So Paula leaves work and she goes and picks up the kids and she also tries calling Najah on her cell phone. It would just ring and ring and ring, but no answer. When they get back to Paula's house, there was actually some family members staying in from out of town. They were there for like a [07:35] why she has the kids with her, and how she's worried something is wrong. [07:39] And they all kind of go back and forth together. And they have this interaction that I think is so important to emphasize. The family staying in town told Paula, like, we need to call police right now. But Paula says, you know, I think we have to wait a certain amount of time before we can call police. And the cousin who's there is like, listen, I don't think so. But let me call my friend who's a police officer in another state. And sure enough, that officer tells them, absolutely not. If she's gone and this is out of the norm, tell police right away.

[08:09] way they contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to report her missing. IMPD takes the report and then calls Panera, where Najah worked that day, to get some information, like when was she last seen, what time did she leave, was she acting normal, all of that. But everyone's concern grows when the manager at Panera tells them, [08:29] Oh. [08:30] Well, [08:31] Nadja never came in today. What? She was a no-call, no-show. Wait, so she hasn't been seen all day? Did Panera, like, try reaching out to anybody else? So, as far as I can tell, no. I mean, this is the food industry. Unfortunately, no-call, no-shows are probably pretty frequent. Assumptions clearly got made. Maybe she slept in. Maybe after two days of orientation, she wasn't up for the job. Either way, from everything I can tell, no one at her work notified anyone, which, like, I get not calling police, but I'm not. [09:00] I've had food service jobs before. Really, any job. You have to put down an emergency contact. And I don't understand why that person wasn't notified at 5 a.m. So we didn't lose, like, what, 12 hours? But... [09:13] Whatever the reason, no one knew. So over 12 hours passed where Najah was missing and no one had any idea. [09:20] Now that they do know, though, there's this little jurisdictional snag. Naja was reported missing to IMPD because that's where her work was located. But since she never actually made it into work, she was technically last seen in Avon. So the case gets transferred over to Avon police, which is a much smaller department. Now, one of the biggest issues in the case to me is Jaliza tells me that because Naja goes missing on Friday and no one really knows until the end of the day,

[09:50] and the case gets transferred, [09:52] Avon doesn't put a detective on her case until Monday. We already lost an entire day. And then they basically gave away a whole weekend. I know. And listen, I fully get that detectives are real humans with families and lives and they need some kind of normalcy. But I don't understand why Nadja's case wasn't actively worked right away. It just doesn't make any sense to me. But by Monday, a detective is assigned to the case and everyone is in agreement. [10:22] The fact that she didn't show up for work and that she never picked up her kids meant that she is in trouble. And police treated this case with the consideration that they were probably looking at foul play. [10:33] Now, concern continues to grow for her safety when day after day after day, the searches for her are coming up with, I mean, absolutely nothing. They're doing aerial searches. They're doing ground searches all over Indy's north and southwest side. But every time, nothing like she just vanished into thin air. [10:53] Then, less than two weeks out from her disappearance, construction workers find something on the side of the road. Random items, and some of them belong to nausea. [11:05] Now, police have been pretty cagey about what exactly they found and exactly where. The most they have said is that what they found was somewhere near I-[redacted address]. And I mapped this area out. It's about 20 minutes northeast of her home and like 16 minutes south of where she worked. But literally, this intersection is right on the route that she would have taken from home to work.

[11:35] released by the police. But I got some information from Jalisa. She told me that they at least have Najah's ID, credit card, and debit card. And it seems like they were thrown onto the highway. Now, she also said something else interesting in a follow-up email. She said that along with Najah's ID, police also found IDs from some people out of state. Though she doesn't know exactly whose or where they were in relation to Najah's stuff. So, I'm sure. [12:03] I can't make any kind of definitive conclusions about whether or not they're related at all. [12:08] Yeah, but I mean, if her family knows about it, personally, I would assume that they heard it from the police. And there's no reason the police would tell the family about these IDs if... [12:18] they thought they had nothing to do with the case. Yeah, I mean, I honestly don't know. Okay, but either way, did finding that stuff help narrow the search at all? Well, I couldn't find any sources that explicitly said they targeted their search based on where the items were found, but I have to believe it helped because just a few days later, they get a big break. On March 26th, police locate Naj's car, which was a black Nissan Altima, in the parking lot of a studio movie grill. [12:48] Now, what's crazy about this is that the parking lot was super close to the Panera where she worked. I read an article written by Justin Mack in Indy Star that said it was just two and a half miles away. So again, I decided to map it. I'm at least somewhat familiar with this area, so I thought it would give me, I don't know, like a better sense of the case. And this is when things start just to not make sense to me. First of all, when I map the Panera to Studio Movie Grill, it's just 0.8 miles.

[13:16] Point. [13:17] eight. So immediately I'm thinking one thing. It was placed there later. Bingo. They did a decent amount of searching in those early days. So to not find a car 0.[redacted address] that she was supposed to be heading to seemed absurd to me. And Jalisa told me that it wasn't there day one. She's confident of that. She said the car was found sometime after police had put out the info [13:47] having that car got too dangerous for someone. It was too hot, so they had to dump it. And they tried to dump it near where she worked, possibly to play into the narrative that she left it there. [13:59] Honestly. [14:00] That wasn't my biggest hangup. Because then what I did is I input the cross streets near Nadja's home to map her route from home to work. And this is when everything I thought I knew about the case started to fall apart. [14:18] You guys, we are finally rolling into summer, and I am ditching the sweaters, packing away the coats, but I am still wearing quince. Because quince is quality I wear all year round, in the field, on stage, at the office, quince, quince, quince. Their clothing and accessories are timeless and long-lasting because they focus on high-quality, beautiful everyday essentials, like 100% European linen pants, dresses, and tops with styles starting at $32.

[14:48] 80% less than similar brands. No lie, I have a silk skirt from a big department store and I have a silk skirt from Quince. And dead serious, my Quince one has held up way better and was way cheaper and machine washable because ain't nobody got time or money for dry cleaning, but I want to look like I do. So elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com slash crimejunkie for free shipping [15:18] Crime Junkie for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash Crime Junkie. [15:26] When you map Nadja's home to her work, it takes just 30 minutes to get there. Okay, so... So, her car left her apartment complex at 3.20. [15:40] There's no traffic at that time. So that puts her getting to work at around 350. [15:46] what on earth is she doing for an hour and 10 minutes before her shift starts? Because remember, her shift doesn't start till 5 a.m., [15:55] So I asked her sister about this. Like, would there be anyone she was meeting? Anywhere she stopped before work? Was this normal for her? And she insisted, no. She would have never left that early. It doesn't make sense. And almost offhandedly, Jalisa said something that sent a shiver down my spine. She said, no. [16:13] Plus, she left her work shoes and her coat at home. So, like she wasn't even heading to work. I mean, or she wasn't heading to work with her work stuff. So, Jaleesa makes the point of telling me when the car is seen on the camera at 3.20, it's too dark and grainy to actually make out who's driving. So, really...

[16:34] It may not have been Najah at all, [16:36] Now, obviously, this seems mad fishy, but police have never opened up about this stuff. None of the news outlets have reported on it at all. All I know is that the next thing police do is try to pull any and all surveillance video they can get from the areas around her home in Avon and around that Panera and Studio Movie Grill where her car was found. [17:06] I mean, basically, they have to go door to door, collect each video, analyze each video. I mean, it's a grueling task. But while they're doing this legwork, they get another huge break in the case. On Monday, April 8th, this is now three weeks since Nadja has been missing, the Avon police get a call from authorities in Crown Point, Indiana, which is up by Gary. This is pretty much like two hours northwest of where she worked and where her car was found. [17:36] "Hey, two guys were fishing a couple of days ago, and they pulled something out of the water." [17:43] It was a [17:45] foot. [17:46] And we think it might belong to your missing person based on a tattoo that's visible. [17:52] They said that the tattoo just said, [17:54] nausea. [17:55] And that's when they knew. Now, it took almost a month before Shakira Harris reported for RTV6 that police confirmed it was Naja's foot with DNA. But that was just a formality. Police knew. Her family knew. This was her. And, you know, when I was talking to Delisa, she kind of laughed because a memory was brought up for her. And as horrible and traumatizing as this all is for her, she said, I can't help but think of when Naja got that tattoo.

[18:25] her so much crap because they're like, who in the world gets their own name tattooed on their foot? It was kind of this running joke with them. But now, so many years later, it was that tattoo that told Najah's family where she was. But there was one problem. It was just the foot. They never searched the pond or the lake or wherever the foot was found? Oh, no. They searched in it, but nothing was ever found. Whoever put Najah's foot in the water [18:55] only put her foot in the water. I mean, it's now over a year later, and since the finding of her foot [19:02] nothing else has been discovered. You're kidding me. Nope. Did they get anything from all the security videos they were pulling like a year ago? So I don't really know. After that press conference a year ago, there hasn't been much else reported on nausea. Now, Jalisa tells me that police did pinpoint footage of her car being dropped off at the studio movie grill. And it actually doesn't come from the studio movie grill. Like they didn't have a camera. If they did, [19:32] in the same complex, but it shows Najah's car being parked and then a single car [19:38] what looks like possibly a man getting out of the car, [19:41] getting into another car and leaving. [19:45] So there has to be at least one other person who knows what happened besides our killer, right? Exactly. Do we know why they haven't released... [19:53] this video footage? Like... [19:55] A year has gone by. Nothing's happened. There has to be some information that, like, can be released to spark the public attention again or get people looking. Maybe these people could be recognized. Listen, I'm with you. Like, I don't know. I understand police silence, but it's also a year later. The family feels like everything is kind of at a standstill. And the newspapers haven't even really picked up the case or done much since last year.

[20:25] in here, but I'll show you the actual tweet that they sent out. [20:28] Yeah, the tweet just says, please retweet Najah Farrell case. March 15th, 2020 marks the one year mark since Najah Farrell was reported missing by her family. Our team continues to work with the Indiana State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [20:44] on this investigation. [20:46] And then there's a picture of her. Yeah. So they sent that out. Unfortunately, this is something that I didn't even think about. The anniversary of her case is also falling at the same time as all of this coronavirus outbreak. So getting any kind of like renewed exposure for her on the anniversary is really crazy. [21:06] And honestly, even Jalisa was like defensive of the police and media saying, listen, there there honestly just isn't even anything new to report. I understand that there's a lot going on in the press right now. I understand that there isn't even a lot of new information out there to re-report on. But I'm just baffled at how her case has just kind of disappeared. And so many people don't even know about it, especially when I mean, if you look at the facts of this case, something terrible happened to this woman. [21:35] rage that her family hasn't gotten the answers yet. I mean, can you even imagine your daughter, your sister going missing, finding their foot, only their foot, and still having no answers [21:47] a full year later. The police have to know more. I mean, [21:50] Absolutely. I think that's always the case. Police know more than they release. But why has there been no movement? Julissa says that they're running down some digital records. So it's not completely stalled. But she's worried that it will be if people don't keep talking about this case. You know, one of the things I can't really get past is you said earlier that she had moved from Gary to Indy back in the day, right? Yeah, yeah. Like 2006 or something. Right. I'm really familiar with northern Indiana because that's where I live. And Crown Point isn't that far away from Gary.

[22:20] So they're super close. Is there any, like... [22:23] connection between her old life in Gary and her foot being found in Crown Point? I don't know. Question mark? Maybe. Some. So her hometown was Gary. And according to Katie Cox's piece from RTV6, she said this, quote, police say Farrell does have connections to the Crown Point area in northern Indiana, but they could not confirm the details of those connections or how recent they may have been. [22:49] End quote. And I asked Jalisa about these connections because it was so vague. I didn't know what that meant. And she said, I'm not familiar with her knowing anyone specifically in Crown Point. And she's like, if she was, if she has connections, she's like, I, as the family member, was never informed of that fact. So if they are looking at something, I don't know what that would be. [23:06] Ugh. [23:07] Someone has to know something. What? That is what the police keep saying. [23:12] But the more and more Jaleesa and I talk, the more I'm convinced of a couple of things. First, whoever is responsible for Najah's death knew her well. All of her sisters used to share their locations with each other all the time. I mean, I told you, they were legit crime junkies. Jaleesa said that she has one sister who will literally check every single day and be like, why are you here? What are you doing? And she's like, girl, like, let me breathe. Well, here's the thing.

[23:42] turned off, but her phone was still on, which to me means someone knew that her family would try and track her that way. And the other thing that I'm pretty confident about is whatever happened to Najah happened to her closer to home than to her work. It didn't make sense for her to leave that early. Her coat and her work shoes were still at the house. And I'm sure that whatever happened to her [24:10] More than one person knows about it because there was one person driving her car and at least one more driving another car close behind for that person to get away in. Now, secrets are easy to keep. [24:23] when no one knows about them. [24:24] But someone out there knows a killer's secret, and I have to believe it's weighing on them. You know, there are three foster kids Naja had that had to go into new homes. Her two bio kids are living with family, but her oldest son, Thomas, lost his father six months before Naja went missing. So I can't even begin to imagine what he's going through. The trauma of losing two parents in less than a year is something that I can't even wrap my head around. [24:52] Naja's case isn't classified as a homicide because police can't do that without a cause of death. And they can't get that from just a foot. But Jaleesa says that it's being worked like a murder and her entire family is sure someone malicious took her life. [25:08] But where the rest of her is, or who that person is, is all still a mystery.

[25:14] I actually reached out to Deputy Chief Nugent for a comment and he said, you know, he can't give any specifics on an ongoing case. But he did say that he's been in contact with Crime Stoppers to explore new ways to get information out on Naj's case. And unfortunately, the stay at home orders that are enacted due to COVID-19 are kind of making it difficult to get exposure for the case. [25:44] to give up on Najah or her case. Because this is a local case, you can call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana if you know anything. The number is [redacted phone]. [25:55] 262 tips. And I cannot emphasize enough. I'm still on the board of directors there, so I know how it works. There is literally no way for Crime Stoppers people to even know who you are before they pass along the tip to police. I mean, they remove any identifying information. And if calling makes you nervous, you can also download the app called P3. It lets you do the exact same thing anonymously. There's no tracking IP addresses, nothing, I swear. So if [26:25] please, please call Crime Stoppers at 317-317-317-317. [26:29] 262-TIPS. [26:33] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades.

[26:53] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [27:00] wherever you get your podcasts. [27:03] The other local story I have for you is eerily similar. Like there's these weird kind of parallels. I mean, so many of the same elements. An abandoned car, grainy surveillance footage, and a family still desperate for justice years later. This is the story of Angie Barlow. [27:22] Now, in late 2016, Angie Barlow was this spunky little 19-year-old who was making it on her own in Indianapolis after leaving her small hometown of Muncie, Indiana. Angie didn't come from money or have a ton of means. And even if she did, she was pretty proud. She wanted to make her own way in the world, and she didn't like taking handouts. Part of the way she made her own money was by dancing at a local club here in Indy called Club Rio. [27:52] I mean, one of her closest friends was a girl named Mona, who was also her roommate. And good closest friend isn't even the right term for her. They were basically like you and me, but I mean, inseparable. They were sisters. [28:04] So one day, [28:06] Like I said, this is, you know, late 2016. Angie comes to Mona and she's like, look at this. I'm getting these weird text messages from a number I don't know asking if I do private dances. So Mona looks at the text exchange and it's from someone who hasn't given a name, but who says that she's trying to surprise her husband or her boyfriend for their anniversary. And husband or boyfriend, it's different depending on what source material you read. But this person wanted to surprise her significant other with this private dance.

[28:36] She's like, don't do it. It feels off. You don't know them. You don't normally do dances for people you don't know. And Angie agrees. [28:42] But this mystery texter is persistent. Over weeks and months, they keep checking in, keep offering. And in October of 2016, the offer suddenly seems way more appealing to Angie. According to an episode of Still Missing on Investigation Discovery, Angie had just taken a trip with her friends to Miami. And she was hard up for cash. So this idea of a private dance to line her pockets and help make rent seemed like an easy way to give herself a little financial breathing room. [29:12] her and tells them she's in. According to True Crime Daily, the texter asked her if she has any black or red outfits because she wants Angie's brawn panties to match hers. [29:22] Angie says she does, and the woman provides her the address and the gate code to the complex where she's supposed to go. [29:28] So the night of this dance of this party... [29:32] One of the most ominous things I have ever heard [29:35] ever heard about in any story happens. Angie does something that so many of us crime junkies have done before. Literally, I've done it before, partly as a joke, partly because there's this gut feeling deep down telling us that something is wrong. She takes a screenshot of her conversation with this mystery person. And Britt, I'm going to have you read it exactly. Exactly. [29:55] Mystery Person. [29:56] address is redacted, [29:57] GateCode is redacted. Angie. [30:00] Yes, I have a couple black and red outfits! [30:05] Okay, we gone get together. You get my address? Yes, I did. I will see you tomorrow at 10. I'll call, so...

[30:14] And then the message gets cut off? Yeah, just because the way she did the screenshot. Not for anything like crazy. So the night of this private dance, she sends that screenshot to Mona with this message. Doing a private party at this address. [30:27] just in case I go missing. [30:29] LOL. And then she adds three laughing emojis. No. Now, this isn't the last time anyone hears from Angie because around 1145, she posts to her Snapchat a selfie of her in what looks like a bathroom and she's all done up. And that is the last time Angie ever makes contact with anyone. [30:50] Now, Mona kind of thought she would see Angie at Club Rio later that night. She said it'd be normal for Angie to, like, come meet up with them, but she never shows. By the next morning, when Angie wasn't home and she wasn't responding to any messages from Mona, Mona starts to worry. She calls Angie's mom, Christina, who tells Mona she hasn't even heard from her either. And now Christina's worried, too. So she and her husband get in her car and start making the drive from Muncie to Indy. [31:14] Now, during this time when Mona can't find Angie, she's like, you know what? I am actually right by the address that she said she was going to be at. I'm just going to go over there. So she told True Crime Daily that when she got to the complex, she tried the gate code that was in that screenshot, but it wouldn't let her in and no one would answer. So like a true friend, she says, F this. And she just climbs over the gate and goes to the apartment that she knew Angie was at last night. [31:39] She knocks? No answer. She knocks harder? No answer. And when she peeps in the window,

[31:46] chills run down her spine. The place has been cleaned out. There's nothing and no one inside. And this is all wrong. Mona knows that they have to go to police. Now, it's interesting because two sources from the same outlet kind of conflict. The Still Missing series on IED says that Angie's friends report her missing, while an article written by Mike McFadden on IED's crime feed says that her mom came down from Muncie and she's the one to report her missing. [32:16] The Daily says that they both did. [32:18] I'm just going to go with that. To me, that's the most logical explanation. They both report her missing. So whatever is correct, Angie gets reported missing. And because of the disturbing last communications with Mona, police are quick to look into this. But even police is quick is sometimes a little too slow for family. So Christina calls the number Angie was texting. [32:38] When she calls and asks the person on the other end if they've seen Angie, this female voice says no. But Christina doesn't give up. She pushes. She tells her, listen, sometimes she goes by Diamond. Have you seen Diamond? And then the woman's story begins to change. [32:52] Oh yeah. [32:53] Her. [32:54] I know her. She was here the other night, but she left with some dude around like 3 o'clock in the morning. [33:00] This just doesn't feel right. And Christina's instincts are spot on because what police have learned in the early days of their investigation will flip this case upside down and make everyone close to Angie sure that something terrible happened to her. [33:16] Police learn that the apartment Angie went to that night and the phone number that was used to text her both lead back to two people.

[33:26] A woman named Raven owned the phone number, and she lived at the apartment Angie was supposed to go to with her boyfriend-slash-husband, Barron. Now, this is important because Angie knew both Barron and Raven. Why do you call him her boyfriend-slash-husband? [33:56] showed that they were married just four days before the text started coming to Angie's phone for the private dance. [34:05] They were husband and wife, but I don't think Angie would have known that, even though she knew the couple. So how did she know them? So... [34:12] She knew Raven and Baron from Club Rio. And the Still Missing episode purported that Angie and Baron might have had a thing. Casual, sexual, otherwise. The Indie Justice actually reports that there's this theory that maybe Angie and Baron had gotten together. There was an STD that was transferred to Raven. And Raven was mad. But again, that was reported once. And police are just calling it a theory. Now, [34:41] All of this is happening. Whatever happened between them, their relationship, is happening while Baron is with Raven. [34:49] hated Angie because of it. So everyone who knows Angie swears up and down. There is no way she would have gone to that party if she would have known who was going to be there.

[34:59] Police decide to pull security footage from the apartment complex where Angie did the party to see if it tells them anything. I mean, remember, Raven's telling Christina that Angie left with some guy around three o'clock in the morning. Well, when they look at the tape from those early morning hours, sure enough, they do see Angie's car on tape leaving at 3.29 a.m. [35:20] Amen. [35:20] But, [35:21] It's not just Angie's car they see. Following close behind is another car. [35:30] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [35:49] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [35:57] wherever you get your podcasts. [36:00] Right behind Angie's car, and I mean like right behind, is another car. And it's too dark to see who's driving either vehicle. But police can pull the license plate and they confirm that the car that followed her out was the car. [36:16] was Raven's. So police know it's time to bring Raven and Baron in for questioning. When they do, Raven has the same story she told Christina. She left at 3 a.m. I never saw her again. And the cops say, OK, and to be clear, you didn't go anywhere with her. And Raven says, nope, I stayed home. She left. No idea what happened to her. So then they drop the bomb. Then why is your car seen on video following Angie out of the complex?

[36:43] And that is when Raven shuts down and stops cooperating. Baron too. Police have a hundred more questions for them, but they won't talk. And this is where, for a moment, the case looks like it might stall out. With no Angie, no car, no physical evidence, and the only two people who last saw her not talking, police needed a big break and they needed it soon. Wait, I have a question. [37:13] Right, right. That's what everyone says. [37:23] That, to me, at least, just doesn't add up. Well, so police and Angie's family believe that other people were there that night, or at least one other person. Someone who could have opened the door or let Angie in, maybe get her relaxed off her guard before Raven and Barron showed up. Now... [37:40] This is concerning because this would mean a very clear setup to lead Angie into God knows what. But this would also mean that other people are involved and know what happened that night. Just like I said in our last story, secrets don't stay secrets long the more people that know about them. So the family decides to start getting the word out and putting pressure on. They pass out flyers. They're organizing searches. Anything they can do to make someone come forward. [38:10] one does. According to Mike McBadden, police don't get their first real break until 12 days later, when Angie's car is discovered about eight miles away from the apartment where she went to that party at.

[38:24] And here's the thing about the discovery of her car as opposed to the last story we talked about with Naj's car. When they find Angie's car, it's totally messed up. Like the outside has crazy damage, dents and scratches. The inside is just filled with trash. Literally like every floorboard is completely covered. Here, I'm going to show you the pictures just to give you a better sense because I heard someone say it and I still wasn't prepared for what I saw. [38:52] Oh my gosh. [38:53] You know me. I have quite a messy car, but I was not prepared for this. Yeah, I told you. I mean, and her family says Angie never left her car in any condition even close to that. Yeah, I mean, there's like, looks like medication bottles on the driver's side, like, floor and CDs everywhere. The trunk is packed. But, I mean, all this stuff here, I have to assume that's, like, good news. Like, a lot of potential for evidence. So, I mean... [39:21] I mean, I would think so, too. But if anything useful was found from the car, police haven't released that. I'm sure the family was just holding their breath after it was found, thinking, OK, any day now we're going to find Angie or make an arrest. But that's not what happened. Days passed. They turned into weeks. Angie's family keeps searching and longing for her. Advocates even make a Facebook page for Angie to help get the word out about her disappearance. But even that didn't do anything to help break the case open. [39:51] Christmas comes and goes, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Easter. No Angie, no arrest, no answers. And any chance of getting answers from those who last saw Angie were going to be hard because shortly after Angie went missing, both Barron and Raven up and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. What? Yeah, there would only be one more time that Christina would get to confront either of them.

[40:21] justice that she gets a call and it's raven she hasn't spoken to her since their first encounter when raven tried denied ever even seeing angie but this time raven was calling her christina presses her when she has her on the phone she wants to know what was talked about the last time she saw angie and according to christina raven replies [40:43] Aw, you wanna know what her last words were. [40:46] What the... [40:48] my thoughts exactly. [40:52] This call does nothing but torment an already grieving family who are still no closer to finding Angie. [41:00] And then, [41:01] In the summer of 2017, when all hope was feeling lost, something shifts. Was it a guilty conscience? Someone who finally felt safe now that Raven and Barron were far away? Who knows? But someone makes an anonymous tip to police about where to find Angie's body. The Facebook page for Angie says that the tip came in on the 20th, and it led police to the 53rd [redacted address], which is on the east side of Indianapolis. [41:31] I mapped it because apparently in these two cases, I think I'm going to solve everything with Google Maps. But it's about a [redacted address] southwest of the party that Angie went to. [41:41] It took some time before police would make the official confirmation, but eventually they announced that they have found Angie. Buried in the backyard of a residential home five feet underground. Who owned the home? Well, it was a rental, and obviously the guy living there got grilled, but he was found not to have anything to do with the case. He actually just recently moved in. But what's interesting is at the time Angie disappeared, the house was vacant.

[42:11] you [42:11] anybody could have put her there. Well, in theory, yes. But I mean, really think about everything we know about post-crime behavior. If you're going to dispose of a body, most people don't go somewhere that they've never been. And you especially don't go to a residential neighborhood hoping that you pick a backyard where no one is home and dig a five-foot hole. You have to know that no one lived [42:41] And according to Investigation Discovery Still Missing, that was exactly the situation for Barron. [42:50] His family used to live in the house where Angie's body was buried? Yep. I'm sorry, how much circumstantial evidence do we need to say, hey... [42:59] These are our people. I don't know. It feels like police are waiting for an actual smoking gun before they make an arrest. Now, most news outlets say that police won't release a cause of death. But again, that episode two of Indie Justice says that Angie was shot. Oh, so they're literally waiting for a smoking gun. It seems like it because after her remains are found, the circumstantial evidence keeps piling on. Though they can't tell when she was buried at the house, they do have some proof, [43:29] McQuaid's reporting that she was transported in a third vehicle, meaning not hers and not Raven's. How do they know that? I have no idea, but it makes me wonder if they know specifically the

[43:45] Like, who's this third vehicle is? And I have a hunch that they do, because even though most of the source material I have for this case says that the tipster who led them to the body was anonymous, the Still Missing episode said that police talked to a tipster who said that they were hired by Barron to bury Angie's body. Now, to be fair, they could be two totally separate tipsters, but it's just weird that they both have to do with finding the remains. [44:15] you [44:15] kind of set this case up like it was unsolved. [44:18] But we have two people who lured her to a place where she was last seen. One of them following her car out of the complex. A tipster who says he was hired to bury her. They find her remains in the backyard of a home that used to be rented by the family of one of the first two people who lured her to the party. Like, this doesn't feel unsolved to me. But it technically is, because no arrest has ever been made. [44:48] can't use him in court, which to me kind of actually makes me think that he wasn't the person who led them to Angie's body. Because to me, if you did that, if you say, hey, they hired me to bury her and then you take them to her. That seems pretty reliable. [45:02] That feels pretty reliable. So we could be talking about two different people. But honestly, I don't know, because there seems like so much other like hugely important circumstantial evidence that you could use to build a case. But they just don't think that they have enough. And understandably, Angie's family is frustrated. This October will be four years since she was murdered. Her mom has become an active part of the Facebook group to find justice for Angie.

[45:32] is searching for justice. I mean, someday she's angry at those who took her daughter and she's ready to fight posting things like this. [45:40] She matters. Her life mattered. She did a little bit of everything and excelled at what she did. Softball, basketball, volleyball, track and field and cheerleading. Angelina Barlow was a natural athlete with an amazing ability. [45:54] She was murdered. [45:55] Her life was cut short because of two cowards. There's a special place waiting for you both. [46:01] don't think for one minute you're going to get away with what you did. [46:06] And other days I think are harder for her and the sadness is almost too much to bear. And she posts things like this. [46:13] I hate that I have nightmares all the time. [46:16] This time, it was my daughter Angelina Barlow's funeral again. It's hard enough to bury them the first time. [46:22] But to relive it constantly can really take a toll on you. [46:26] God, I miss her. [46:27] The two people last known to be with Angie still refused to cooperate with police. And because they got married four days before they started texting Angie, they won't have to testify against one another should this case ever actually make it to trial. But that won't happen unless people out there come forward. Police say that they need cooperation from the public. They need someone to talk. [46:57] completely anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana. That phone number again is 317-

[47:04] 262 [47:05] tips. They have never given up a tipster and they will keep you completely anonymous. And if you don't know anything, if you've just been touched by these stories and want to help, there are a number of ways. We are making a donation to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana. You can make a donation as well, or you can make a donation to the Justice for Naja site, or you can participate in events that Angie's family does locally. We're going to link out to all of that on our website. Naja and Angie mattered. [47:32] their lives. [47:33] mattered. [47:34] And we can't let people get away with taking these two beautiful souls far too soon. [47:41] If you want access to those links I talked about, or if you want to see pictures or access to our source material for this episode, you can find all of that information on our website, CrimeJunkiePodcast.com. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Crime Junkie Podcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. [48:11] Thank you.

[48:34] you [48:35] you [48:37] you [48:40] you [48:43] Crime Junkie is an audio Chuck production. So what do you think, Chuck? Do you approve? [48:51] Okay, Crime Junkies, you know I absolutely love a twist and a turn, especially when it comes to people who turn out to be someone they're not. That's why I have been obsessed with the podcast Chameleon. Every Thursday, host Josh Dean deep dives into a scam so bizarre, it will leave you wondering, how did they get away with that? [49:09] It is truly one of my favorite podcasts right now and I've been listening for years. [49:13] I think you'll love it too. [49:14] Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.