A car left behind and a trail leading to a mystery | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website in 1993 breaking news in the small
northern Indiana city of Lockport always seemed to be from Chicago or South Bend
nothing shocking ever happened in the poor with 22,000 people there was hardly a report of any serious crime that
involved one of their own the community never worried about bad things happening
not in their quiet picturesque corner of the world until March 1993 not since the turn of the 20th century
had the city of La Porte talked so much about Murdoch back then local mother Belle Gunness had skipped town after
burning her own property down in staging a body inside to look like her own it was believed that over a 20-year period
she'd killed both her husband's all their children numerous boyfriends as well as all the
witnesses an estimated 40 people in total all for the apparent riches of life insurances by March 1993 nearly 100
years had passed since Belle Gunness shocked the community of La Porte Indiana but that spring they were about
to experience something else they weren't prepared for [Music] the city of La Porte is located in La
Porte County in Northwest Indiana an hour and a half east of Chicago that sits between the cities of Michigan
Geary and South Bend unlike major cities Laporte is one of those places where the population hasn't
grown much in the last 50 or 60 years hovering around 20,000 residents since 1960
let's see outdoorsy with a passion and hunting and fishing community people are very friendly down-to-earth and caring
Indiana is the smallest of the 12 Midwestern states for a small state and has more than 21,000 miles of fishable
streams and rivers along with 452 natural lakes and 580 reservoirs and although the port city has its own large
well-known lakes many prefer the solitude and peace of the more remote ponds outside the city quiet and
peaceful locations where it's possible to sit alone fishing all day without seeing another soul on the morning of
Friday March 26 1993 16 year-old Laporte high school freshman Reyna Reisen got up
for school she played the clarinet the flute into the oboe and was a dedicated member of the Laporte high school
marching band she was naturally clever where others around her worked hard for their grades Reyna seemed to just that
the knack it wasn't just school that kept Reyna busy she had three part-time jobs as well her favorite one being at
the local Pond Lake veterinary hospital where she would clean the kennels and feed the animals there was the dream job
for Reyna because that's what she wanted to do when she finished school become a vet
and to work with animals every day [Music] in the afternoon of March 26 1993 Reyna
headed home from school to change for her four o'clock shift at the vet hospital which everyone called the
clinic Reyna was working just a short two-hour shift and then she had a date with her
boyfriend Matt Elsa Rainer and Matt had been going out on and off since sixth grade but they had broken up recently
realizing they couldn't be without each other they had reunited and were both really excited for that day
Matt was locked by rayna's family he was a good influence on earth when Reyna left home for work she was wearing blue
jeans a sweatshirt black shoes and took with her Matt's high school letterman jacket a bomber jacket with the surname
also embroidered on the shoulders Matt had given it to her as a symbol that they were together and she was barely
without it walking out the back door of the house Reyna said goodbye to her youngest sister Wendy who was going to
the movies that no-brainer then jumped in her trusty teen coloured Ford LTD and drove to work parking in the vet
clinics carpark a thick fog settled over Laporte as dusk fell sometime around 7 p.m.
Matt ulcer arrived at rayna's house to pick her up for their day Brenna's mother Karen and her father Benny were
there but Raynor hadn't arrived home from work yet Benny invited Matt inside and after
waiting a while Matt used the phone to call the vet clinic after getting no answer he drove down to see if Reina was
still there when he arrived the clinic was locked up and there was no sign of Reina or her car
as the next day I rolled on both Matt and Benny started to worry Reina was not the sort of girl to change plans and not
tell anyone and she had been looking forward to her date with Matt all week Benny called Reina sister Lori who was
10 years older than Reina and who lived across town with her husband ray McCarty
brain has spent a bit of time there so they thought she may have decided to visit for some reason but Lori and Ray
hadn't heard from her either when rayna's younger sister Wendy arrived home from the movies she walked
into the living room and immediately knew something was wrong the air felt tense and everyone looked worried at
10:30 p.m. Benny and Wendy headed down to the Laporte City police station Benny had considered just calling but he
wanted to talk face-to-face with the officers even though it was clear rayna's family had genuine concerns
there was nothing the police could do it had only been a few hours since anyone had heard from Reina and they said it
wasn't unusual for 16 year olds to change their plans without letting others know if she still wasn't home
after 24 hours then Benny could return and file a missing-persons report the following morning Brenna's bed
remained made from the day before the room sat untouched her car wasn't in the driveway and no one had heard from her
Benny called everyone he could think of and soon teams of family and friends were driving around town to try and find
a sign of Raynor or her car her marching band friends got together and jumping cars with others
who had volunteered to drive out on the county roads Flyers were printed and taken around to local businesses but
these search efforts came up with nothing with that amount of people searching the port police realized that
they needed to step in it was looking likely that Reyna hadn't just decided to go off on her own accord after putting
an appeal out to the public someone called in someone believing they might have seen Reyna around 6:00 p.m. on
March 26 the night of rain is disappearance a man reported that he had seen a car pulled into the parking lot
at the plan Lake veterinary hospital there were two males in the front and it seemed like one was having a lover's
TIFF with a young girl standing outside the car the young girl fit rayna's description a
second witness then came forward with a similar account with the knowledge that rayna's boyfriend Matt also had driven
down to the clinic to look for her detectives immediately sought him out he was the logical person to speak to on
Sunday morning March 28 while Matt was being questioned by Laporte police a call came in to the station someone had
seen a tan colored Ford LTD parked on the side of a secluded Road nine miles northeast of Laporte Timothy short of
the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to County Road 280 where he found the vehicle matching rayner's a
license plate check confirmed it was hers Raina's car was pulled over on the side
of the road with the hood propped up as if it had broken down her car was unlocked
the keys were in the ignition and her purse was sitting on the passenger see the glove compartment was open and
its contents strewn onto the passenger side floor on the ground outside the driver's door was a broken hair clip
there were a lot of scenarios going through the minds of investigators had Reina broken down and someone stopped
and offered to help but then abducted her had she been hit by a passing car and dragged the thing concerning them
the most was her purse sitting in plain view in her unlocked car if she had broken down and accepted a lift or
started walking to get Hulk surely she would have taken her purse with her police look under the hood and could say
nothing unusual then they turned the ignition the car started on the first go there was no indication that anything
was wrong with the car at all and after calling a mechanic out to make sure their fears increased the breakdown had
been staged the search of the surrounding area came up with nothing there was no sign of a struggle and
there was no further sign of Reno Raina's family insisted she would never have driven there alone on a foggy night
there was an indirect route home from the vet clinic and was not the usual way she would have gone but if for some
reason she did she would never have left her purse inside the car when Larry Mitchell the evidence
technician for the city of Laporte Police Department examined rayna's car he found a note blood and two no other
physical evidence that pointed to foul play in 1993 if DNA was found it would be checked the safer belonged to the
victim if it didn't it would be checked against those known to the victim it was
mostly used to rule people out the large databases and systems in place today to
check DNA evidence didn't exist back then but DNA wasn't going to be a factor in this case there was none evidence
technician Larry Mitchell found wet newspapers and plant debris on the floor on the front passenger seat he believed
to these may have been soaked by wet towel being placed over them there was no logical explanation for the papers
and the debris to be there the location of the car was not near any water source
and although there had been a fog there had been no rain in the glove compartment was a school signet ring
that didn't look like it would fit a 16 year old girl the first person that approached about
the ring was rayna's boyfriend Matt Elsa he confirmed here given Reina his class
ring but the one that was showing him wasn't his his ring had his name engraved on it after taking another look
at the ring the police was showing him Matt had a pretty good idea who might have owned it but he was puzzled at how
they had found it in rayna's car jason Tibbs was a friend of rayna's she had dated him briefly in the seventh grade
and although they hadn't been together for a few years they'd remained friends even though Matt
and others close to Rana didn't approve Jason tibs was a school dropout and had been in trouble with the law it was well
known that Jason wanted to be more than just friends with Rainer he wanted to get back with her and was trying to get
her to leave Matt for him Matt didn't think he had anything to worry about but now Jason's ring had been found in
rayna's glove compartment he started to wonder if there was something going on he was unaware of with a lack of
physical evidence police focused on the circumstances leading up to rayna's disappearance and the people she was
close to the other thing they had to consider was whether two people may have worked together to harm Rainer they now
had three separate eyewitness accounts that placed another car outside the vet clinic around the time Rainer finished
work all three witnesses saw two males in the front seat of this car and they all witnessed some kind of argument
occurring had these two people followed reina when she left work or had she gone
with them willingly while tracing reina steps that evening police spoke to rayna's workmates Cheryl
Cheryl said that Reyna made a comment that evening she thought was unusual Rana said she didn't need anyone and
could take care of herself Cheryl left work early that evening as she wasn't feeling well
ordinarily she would have finished her shift at the same time as Rana six days had now passed and there was still no
breakthroughs with the local community deeply concerned and too many questions being asked of the police
Laporte police chief Jean Samuelson and police captain John Miller spoke to the press to ask for the public's help
Samuelson confirmed there had been no change in the status of the case and to that although Rana was still only
considered a missing person every day that passed made it more and more unlikely that she would be found alive
by this stage several agencies had become involved including the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office and the Indiana
State Police who brought in their helicopter the FBI had also been briefed a reward was announced for any
information leading to the safe return of Rana the family had raised $1,000 and an anonymous donor had increased the
reward to six thousand dollars hoping that a cash incentive would help draw someone out to give information
a wake after her disappearance brainers case was featured in a segment on America's Most Wanted and from that
another lead was called in an anonymous caller led police to fail Road a County Road two miles east of Laporte
and six miles south of where rayna's car was found hanging in a tree about 20 feet from the road was a black leather
jacket when officers approached and took a closer look they found - the name also
embroidered across the shoulders it was Matt else's jacket Raina's boyfriend there was hanging in the tree in a way
that suggested it may have been thrown from a passing car it was a wooded area and one that had already been searched
the day before by a state trooper who confirmed the jacket wasn't there at that time when police at for another
press conference to update the public on the developments in the case they also announced that a local bakery had added
five thousand dollars to the reward fund and Charlie Finley the former owner of the Oakland A's baseball team who had
retired just outside of town had added twenty five thousand dollars the reward for information had now hit 36 thousand
dollars the chief stated that it was his belief people in the community were keeping information from them he also
confirmed that three persons of interest all from LaPorte County had participated
in polygraph tests logically the person police had in the spotlight was rayna's high school senior boyfriend Matt Elsa
he had arrived at rayna's house around 7:00 p.m. the night she disappeared almost an hour after she was last seen
by the witnesses outside the clinic after arriving at rayna's house net spent the rest of the evening with her
family and had no significant amount of time unaccounted for to have gone back and done anything if he was responsible
for rayna's disappearance there was a short window he had the work in but it was possible detectives asked Matt if he
was aware that Reyna had been back in contact with Jason Tibbs they were wondering whether Matt knew and was
maybe angry about it leading to an argument Matt said he was aware Rana was in contact with Jason but he was
comfortable in his relationship and it didn't worry him next on the list of people spoken to was Jason Tibbs
Raina's family and friends nuyen and Reina had only been together for six months back in the seventh grade and
Rana had pretty much been with Matt ever since most people knew that Jason was still in love with Rana and he admitted
himself that he had sent her love letters since they had broken up she always knocked him back though and said
she was happy with Matt despite Jason's failed attempts to get back with Rana they remained friends sometimes Rana
would ask Jason to come to the vet clinic can keep her company while she finished her shift
Jason had dropped out of school he had a criminal record and terrain his family he wasn't the type of guy they would
choose Rana to be friends with when questioned about the class ring found in the glove compartment of rayna's car
Jason didn't hesitate in saying it was his he said Rana had recently had problems with her cast area and had
asked him to fix it while he was taking a look his ring got in the way so he took it off and put it
in her cloth compartment so wouldn't get lost he freely admitted to detectives that he still had strong feelings for
Raina and that he was devastated by her disappearance he had been one of the first friends to volunteer to go out
looking for her it was Jason who drove out to search some of the county roads with a marching band friend of rayna's
Jason told detectives that the night rana went missing he was out at the mobile home park on fáil road north east
of Laporte he was tutoring two teenage sisters Jamie and misty in maths and science he
arrived at 6 p.m. and he was picked up by his friend to chat between 9 p.m. and 2:00 9:30 p.m. after that he played a
game of CB radio fox hunt with other local kids until midnight fox hunt is a game where one person would be nominated
as the Fox driving out to an undisclosed destination the Fox was not allowed to move from that spot the other players
would radio them every few minutes and the Fox would respond each player would check the signal strength of the call to
gauge whether the signal was stronger or weaker than the last call this went on until the Fox was found a couple of
things in Jason's alibi stood out to detectives the trailer park where he said he was tutoring the two teenage
sisters was in very close proximity to where rayna's car was found and on that note why was a high school dropout with
a criminal record not known for his academic abilities tutoring school students detectives immediately got in
contact with the teenage sisters to check his alibi and did they confirm he was there apparently
maths and science were subjects that Jason was good at when he attended school detectives then questioned the
local kids who had played the game of fox hunt that night and they confirmed Jason took part in the game his alibis
were checking out after the fox hunt game Jason's friend Scott took him to another friend's place where they
watched TV and played darts until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning when he got home his parents and sister were
waiting for him and he went to bed when he woke up his mother told him rayna's mother had called to say she was missing
Jason's whereabouts sink the bay accounted for the entire night the police did one final check that question
to Jason's friend Chad to confirm he had picked Jason up from the mobile home park after his tutoring session
initially Chad said no but then he changed his story confirming that he had pictured Aysen up that night Todd was a
teenager who was worried he was being implicated in the disappearance of Rena and to the police were used to hearing
the changing stories of kids that age everyone else had backed up Jason's alibi that night so police didn't find
it suspicious given witnesses had seen two males with a female outside the vet clinic police pondered the possibility
that it was Matt Elsa and Jason tibs there together into the three of them were all arguing with each other but the
idea didn't make much sense Matt and Jason weren't friends so it's unlikely they were traveling the same car
together Matt and Jason were key people in the investigation and they both voluntarily took polygraph tests there
was a third person who had taken a polygraph as well the police didn't reveal who that third person was but
some had their suspicions another thing that wasn't revealed to the public was that out of those three
polygraph tests one showed signs of deception as the week's went on Raina's parents left their porch light on every
night hoping that she would come home they continued searching for her everyday refusing to rest until she was
found by Tuesday April 27 a month after rayna's disappearance her case had appeared twice on America's Most Wanted
the city was dumbfounded to think there was literally no sign of her no evidence
at all to suggest where she was finally free from the winter Frost's it was a mild and sunny spring day and when
school was out 14-year old Tracy went fishing with her family at a pond near range road two miles from Laporte around
4:30 p.m. Tracy wandered off along the edge of the pond a little bored she saw what she
thought was a turtle in the water and went to take a closer look as she got nearer she realized it wasn't a turtle
it was a shoe on a decomposing body covered by a log and branches her parents went for help and called 9-1-1
two members of the police dive team recovered the fully clothed body from the water when they put her on the
stretcher they could see two rings on her left hand one engraved mat Elsa and at the other
brain a ricin the ricin family was notified and although she would need to be formally
identified there was little doubt it was Reina as her remains were transported for an autopsy at the Memorial Hospital
in nearby South Bend a copy of rayna's dental records were ordered the autopsy and dental records confirmed the body
was Reynes the cause of death was asphyxia due to cervical compression strangulation there were no wounds on
her body but they believed she may have fought with her assailant or assailants and been knocked unconscious prior to
being strangled Raina's death was ruled a homicide and the investigation moved from being a
missing persons case to a murder investigation Raina's younger sister Wendy was sitting
in her bedroom talking with her cousin they heard footsteps getting louder and louder until her aunt
burst through the door stopping their conversation in its tracks Raina's older sister Lori arrived too
soon after as the family fell apart open news they had spent the last month praying the Reina would come walking
through the door again but that day when they got the news they all knew their lives would never be the same again when
Benny ran his father spoke to the media he said parents hug your kids before you
go out the door believe me you don't know how much I missed that Raina's room had been left untouched in
the hope she would return it was filled with awards and ribbons she had received
going to music solo and ensemble competitions one of her most prized wins was for her solo at the state comp Music
was just in her brain in knew what she wanted from her life already opening the doors and paving the way to achieve her
dreams everyone who knew Reina loved her no one could understand who would want to do this to such a kind and generous
person on May 1st 1993 Reina Reisen was laid to rest at the rolling prairie United Methodist Church hundreds of
people piled into the church and spilled out the front her white casket trimmed in pink with brushed nickel hardware and
adorned with flowers sat in the front of the church as mourners still reeling from the shock looked on
a tattered baby doll from her childhood a teddy bear and a clarinet set nearby as a shrine one by one people stepped up
to the casket and placed an orange ribbon upon it as a sign of respect the risin family sat in the front rows
Raina's parents and the grandparents unable to fathom burying their daughter and granddaughter her sisters Wendy and
Lory her brother-in-law Laurie's husband Ray and her boyfriend made Elsa also rung out with emotions the police
although allowing family and friends time to grieve had their eyes wide open they were watching everyone reports vary
but during 1993 around 25,000 homicides were reported in the United States and one third of those homicides were
carried out upon people aged between 15 and 24 the great majority of those were carried out in major cities Chicago just
an hour away had a reputation for violent crime there were 850 murders on record in the city that year but not
Laporte ask anyone from Laporte how many murders occurred in their city in 1993 and you'll likely hear of only one
Raina's murder took over the city residents feared that the murderer could be anyone in their friendly neighborhood
it was constantly spoken about in every cafe store and home police remained focused on solving the case they were
adamant that Rayna knew her killer or killers believing she had gone willingly to the rural area where her car was
feared they were confident that someone in LaPorte knew something and it was just a matter of time before they got
their break thank you for listening we'll be back shortly today's episode is brought to you by
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after Rainer disappeared Brenna's brother-in-law ray McCarty who was married to rayna's older sister
Laurie walked into the Laporte City police station detectives were not surprised the scene
when first investigating rayna's disappearance they had visited ray and Laurie's house to see if they had any
information that might help the investigation what was unknown to the public was that detectives had serious
concerns over Ray's whereabouts the night rana went missing and he was the third person who had participated in a
polygraph Ray was on probation at the time and although his probation period was nearly over the reason he was on
probation had set off serious alarm bells at Laporte City Police Station just over two years earlier ray had
pleaded guilty to the class D felony of child sexual molestation and he had served a three-year suspended sentence
the child he had sexually assaulted was Reina when Reina was just 11 years old 24
year-old ray McCarty who was already married to rayna's older sister Laurie at the time began the ongoing sexual
assault of Reina until she turned 13 in 1991 Rayner attended a clinic to terminate a pregnancy the father of her
child was listed as ray McCarty Ray was sentenced to serve three years on probation and complete counseling
records showed he had not completed the allocated counseling sessions but further concern to investigators were
the reports at the time that outlined a threat ray had made to Reina her parents
and Laurie if they ever told the police about the sexual assaults he would kill Reina
despite his crimes Laurie and Ray stayed together living on the other side of town his probation was nearly up and
they were trying to get their lives in their marriage back together they were working on it
the whole rice and family were working on it rayma cardi first spoke to detectives
when Reina went missing six weeks earlier his alibi then was that he was in the neighboring city of South Bend at a pig
farm to collect some money this concerned detectives South Bend was northeast of
Laporte and where Reina was found was more or less along that route but when Rey first gave that alibi Raina's body
hadn't been found yet so when it was discovered along that route detectives were extremely suspicious during a
second interview only days later Rey admitted to police that he had not told them the full story he wanted to add
that later that evening had been distracted by picking up a female hitchhiker and instead of going home he
drove her to the state line he then allegedly called Lori from a motel on Indiana State Road 39 later that night
he said he didn't tell them about the hitchhiker earlier because he didn't want Lori to find out and be upset on
May 7 1993 a search warrant was issued for the home of Rey and Lori both of their cars were impounded and sent to be
forensically tested a 44 magnum handgun ammunition and a stun gun were taken from the house on may 11th as lab tests
were being carried out Rey voluntarily walked into Laporte police station and wanted to change his story again he
confessed that he hadn't told them the entire truth about the night Reina disappeared around 5:45 p.m. that
evening Rey admitted he had stopped by the vet clinic to see Reina he said he was looking at a house for
sale across the street from the clinic he saw an his car in the parking lot and thought she might know where Lori was so
he went in to speak to her Reina told ready to go home as she was about to finish her shift and go on a date with
Matt Brase said he left straightaway into their conversation only lasted half a minute when Rey gave this third
version to police a further witness had come forward who stated they saw ray McCarty's car he
the same area that rayna's car was found the night she disappeared according to reports during the police
interview with Lori she said that following rayna's disappearance Rey had asked her an evacuee at the back of his
car although Lori later retracted this statement when reports came back from the lab after the search warrant was
executed it was revealed that the back of Ray's car showed evidence of blood but any hopes of a breakthrough were
quickly squashed when further testing revealed it was a deer blood Rey was a keen hunter despite Rey's changing
stories of his whereabouts that night and all the circumstantial evidence they heard police didn't have enough for an
arrest over a year went by his police continued to try and gather enough evidence for an arrest they felt they
were looking at the right people it was just a matter of the last puzzle piece falling into place it looked like that
puzzle piece came in early November 1994 a year and a half after Rana was murdered although it didn't have
anything to do with the people they were looking at police in nearby Grant County
had pulled over a VIN a man by the name of Larry Hall was being monitored by numerous jurisdictions he was known to
travel all over the Midwest to Civil War reenactments and the police wanted to question him in relation to two
attempted abductions in Georgetown and Illinois the young girls had given a license-plate number registered to Larry
Hall policing Grant County had spotted it and now they had him stopped along with the attempted abduction there were
also concerns that Larry Hall was involved in the murder of Illinois girl Jessica Roach whose body had been found
across state lines in Indiana after pulling the van over and confirming the driver was Larry Hall
police immediately arrested him on suspicion of attempted kidnapping after his arrest
Laporte police got a phone call when the back of Hall's van was searched police found a newspaper clippings of several
missing or murdered girls in women among the clippings were some about the disappearance of Reina ricin then they
found a bottle of prescription birth control pills with our ricin typed on the label when questioned Larry
Hall confessed he had abducted and murdered Reina the port police had that breakthrough Larry Hall further
confessed that he had killed more women than he could possibly count stating that they all looked the same and he
found it hard to distinguish one victim from the other but then he withdrew his confessions this process repeated
several times all confessed then recanted his confessions but for now they had him in custody on the attempted
kidnapping charges until they had time to build their case on the other crimes he was suspected of committing including
the murders of Jessica Roach and Reina ricin there were actually dozens of unsolved cases involving missing and
murdered women across the Midwest and police discovered many of those cases tied in to when Larry Hall was in the
area for Civil War reenactments tracing the Civil War reenactments and plotting them against the countless
murders abductions and attempted abductions they had on file police built a comprehensive picture of halls habits
and travels but no matter how hard they tried they couldn't place him in LaPorte
Indiana in March 1993 it just didn't add up Brina fit his preferred type of victim but unlike
halls other suspected victims Reyna was not raped or sexually mutilated there was the evidence of the news clippings
the recanted confession and of course the birth control pill bottle found in halls ban but after investigating every
pharmacy in the greater area not one pharmacist could verify the prescription being rayner's no pharmacy had
prescribed those pills toreno and many believed the label seemed too crudely taught to be authentic they briefly
entertained the idea that all abducted Reina in a joint effort with Rey McCarty but they just couldn't reconcile it
Larry Hall went on to sign a confession for the abduction and murder of Jessica Roach and three other girls but he
maintained his innocence in Reina reisen's case in June 1995 Paul was sentenced to life
in prison without the possibility of parole although he admitted to killing only four it's believed that number
could be well over 50 but the pieces just didn't fit in reign of reisen's case they realized that Hall was using
the newspaper clippings and the fake prescription pill bottle and rayna's name to fantasize about rayna's case he
enjoyed claiming her as one of his victims but she wasn't police could prove he wasn't in LaPorte when she was murdered
after what looked like a significant breakthrough police were back to square one police continued to investigate and
build a case against who they felt was the prime suspect ray McCarty in May 1998 five years after rayna's murder it
was finally agreed that there was enough evidence to take to a grand jury the grand jury was tasked with determining
whether there was enough evidence to indict ray McCarty for rayna's murder after reviewing all of the evidence and
witness testimonies and after issuing subpoenas for more evidence documents and sworn testimony the grand jury voted
to indict ray McCarty for the murder of Raynor finally the breakthrough everyone had
been waiting for Rey was formally charged and sent to jail awaiting trial he entered a plea of
not guilty after spending 15 months in jail awaiting trial newly elected LaPorte County prosecutor Robert Beckman
reviewed the case in August 1999 Beckman's review cited insufficient evidence to convict Rey and all charges
were dismissed Rey was free to return home an affidavit submitted by the prosecution read quote at no time has
any witness presented direct evidence that Raymond McCarty was involved in the disappearance and murder of Reina ricin
nor has anyone come forward with any admissions by Raymond McCarty that he was involved in the disappearance or
murder of Rona Reisen Raina's family has strongly asserted McCarty's innocence since day one
given his history many was shocked by the fact the rice and family didn't believe Ray was guilty the port police
were devastated they were sure they had their man and he was allowed to walk out
the door they were back to square one again coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of rayna's murder in 2003
the case was reinvigorated as part of ongoing reviews of cold cases but nothing new came to light until 2008 15
years after the murder and five years into the reinvestigation the port city police got a phone call an inmate at an
Indiana Correctional Facility who is imprisoned for an unrelated murder wanted to speak to investigators in
relation to the murder of Reina ricin Ricky Hammonds originally from Laporte told police he wanted to clear his
conscience of something in you he had spent some time thinking about his niece and thought that if something ever
happened to her and somebody knew anything about it he hoped that someone would come forward detective Williamson
of the Indiana State Police and detective airy from the port police went to interview Ricky Ricky stated he was
giving this information because he believed it was the right thing to do he didn't want to trade he didn't want any
benefit at all a recorder was switched on as Ricky began talking about that evening 15 years earlier in 1993 Ricky
was only 14 years old and was living on his parents farm in LaPorte on the evening of March 26th he had snuck into
the barn on their property and climbed up into the rafters alone to smoke a joint not long after his sister
Jennifer's silver Buick backed into the barn its rear end facing him he recognized the sisters boyfriend Eric
freeman driving Eric lived with him on the farm in the passenger seat was a friend of Eric's Jason tibs the high
school dropout who had been desperately trying to get back with Reina the two got out of the
car arguing and Rikki was sure he heard Eric yelling at Jason what the hell haven't at that point Eric opened the
trunk of the car where Ricky saw the body of a girl he didn't recognize lying face-up
she had no color in her face and she wasn't moving she was partially covered with a dark-colored jacket or blanket
during the argument Jason said to Eric I know what to do with her Ricky kept hidden in the rafters as Jason and Eric
got back in his sister's car and to left the barn it wasn't until Ricky saw the newspaper
and a photo of Rainer that he recognized who he had seen in the trunk of the car
Ricky said that he never confronted either Eric Freeman or Jason tibs about the incident
they were both older than him and he was scared they would kill him if he said anything he had kept the secret for 15
years he hadn't told another soul until now police tracked Eric Freeman to South
Carolina and detectives Arian Williamson went to speak to him they knocked on his
door and asked if you would like to answer a few questions Eric noted curious to say what they
wanted to speak to him about but as soon as the detectives mentioned rain of ricin Eric's demeanor changed and he
refused the talk the prosecutor at the time felt that with no confession or concrete evidence there simply wasn't
enough for an arrest they had the statement of Ricky Hammonds but inmate statements were notoriously unreliable
there was almost always an ulterior motive but the detectives kept pushing the prosecutor
if Ricky Hammonds was telling the truth then it appeared that Eric Freeman wasn't responsible for rayna's murder
ricky said Eric seemed to be arguing with Jason about it they believed if they could bring Eric in and confirm he
wasn't actively involved in the actual killing then they might be able to offer him immunity if he gave them the full
story of what happened that night the prosecutor caved and allowed the detectives to bring Eric in for
questioning Eric was uncooperative he denied having any knowledge about the murder of Reina
he claimed he had never even heard of her before the detectives made it clear to Eric that they had information which
contradicted what he was saying and they put immunity on the table but Eric continued to claim he knew nothing he
was released and allowed to return home but the detectives kept working on him finally after several months of pressure
Eric Freeman caved and agreed to give a statement in exchange for immunity but there was a problem the detectives
didn't have formal approval to offer Eric Freeman immunity they petitioned hard to get immunity granted but the
state was not going to make any rash decisions there had been huge swings in rayna's case over the preceding 15 years
there had been what looked like - sure thing prime suspects one a convicted serial killer one a relative
of rayna's who had assaulted her and threatened her in the past and gave three different versions of his
whereabouts the night she disappeared the state wasn't about to get excited over a jailhouse informant claiming to
know who was responsible if anything this was the least likely of the three scenarios so they took their time
considering this new twist in the case before making a decision on immunity they really took their time they spent
five years deliberating on whether or not to grant Eric Freeman immunity finally in July 2013 immunity was
officially granted and Eric freeman gave his account of what happened on the night of March 26th 1993 the
investigators held their breath as the recorder was switched on this was the information they had been waiting 20
years to hear the first thing Eric Freeman did was confirmed the account of Ricky Hammonds he then told his story on
the day Rana Reisen disappeared Jason tibs contacted Eric in the afternoon and asked him to pick him up and drive him
to the veterinary clinic so he could say Raynor Jason had previously introduced Rana to
Eric as his girlfriend so Eric thought nothing of it Jason told Eric they had stuff going on
and he wanted to try and work things here so Eric took his girlfriend's car and went to pick up Jason when Eric and
Jason arrived at the clinic Jason went inside to speak with Rainer and after a short time the two of them walked back
outside together that's when Eric noticed they were arguing Jason told Rainer how much he wanted to be with her
and he didn't want her to be with anybody else but Rana didn't want to talk to him
she was looking forward to her date with man Jason begged her to get in the car he told her that Eric would drive them
and they could just talk Rainer agreed and she got into the back seat of Eric's girlfriend's car Eric drove off and
Jason continued pleading with Rana that he wanted her back but Rana didn't want to borrow of it at one point at a spot
out of town on fail road either Rainer or Jason asked Derek to pull over he couldn't remember who it was Erik pulled
off the road and Jason and Rana got out of the car continuing their argument as they walked
to the rear of the vehicle Eric looked into his rearview mirror and saw jason punch reno causing her to fall to
the ground Eric got out of the vehicle and sought Jason on top of Rayna his hands around her neck strangling her
Eric yelled at Jason to stop saying you're going to kill her but it was too late
Rana wasn't moving Jason turned to Eric and told him to pop the trunk Jason put Rainer in the trunk
and told Eric to drive to his girlfriend's farm where Eric was living with his girlfriend his girlfriend's
parents and his girlfriend's brother Ricky Hammonds Eric driving to the barn and if they didn't know that Ricky
Hammonds was hiding up in the rafters during the argument between Eric and Jason in the barn Jason said if I can't
have her then no one can when they left the barn Jason told Eric to drive back to the vet clinic Jason drove off in
rayna's car and Eric followed in his girlfriends Buick with rayna's body still in the trunk Jason drove out to
the pond where rayna's body would later be found and with the help of Eric they dumped her in the water
Jason weighed her body down with logs because she kept floating to the surface Eric's description of the dumping of
rayna's body matched details the police had kept from the public in the hope that one day someone's testimony would
match those details and to now had heard from there Eric went home and Jason went
his own way later that evening Eric found the black letterman jacket belonging to rayna's
boyfriend and that also it was still in his girlfriend's car they had forgotten about it so he called Jason to come and
get rid of it when the tape recorder was switched off the detectives knew they had probable cause to arrest Jason tibs
on August 23rd 2013 over 20 years after rayna's murder police approached the house of Jason Tibbs the same house he
lived in in 1993 he was now 38 years of age into married with kids as he walked onto East driveway he was approached by
officers restrained and placed under arrest for the murder of Rana Reisen there was no damning DNA evidence no
swamp or wall of fluid tested in a cutting-edge crime lab they've got the breakthrough there was someone with
information who finally decided to come forward [Music] Raina's parents Benny and Karen risin
were at home in the Laporte house they have lived in since Rana was alive when the phone rang
Benny answered the detective on the other end delivered the news Benny had been waiting two decades to hear
Raina's family knew who Jason was they knew he was a friend of rayna's in middle school they were aware they had
dated as youngsters and they knew Jason was involved in the search for Raynor from the first morning she was missing
who was Jason who had been one of the kids to volunteer to drive others around one of rayna's been mates had driven out
of town with Jason that morning looking for her the Jason turned to the car around before getting too close to the
area where rayna's car would later be found regarding Eric's immunity Raina's family agreed that the police needed to
do whatever it took to solve their daughter's murder and if that meant giving immunity to an accomplice then so
be it at least they would have answers and the ability to understand what actually
happens that night the news of Jason tibs arrest spread like wildfire through a port a city which had never forgotten
Rana Reisen was now coming to terms with the fact that someone from their own community was responsible someone from
rayna's world who had continued to live amongst them throughout the following two decades people were glad to see some
resolution and dances it had been a bizarre case from the beginning when most cases grow cold there is barely a
suspect to point a finger at or maybe one that police just can't find enough evidence to arrest but in rayna's case
there seem to be more suspects than the investigators knew what to do with all seemingly with motive or means or both
the investigation had gone full circle back to Jason Tibbs but they now had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he
was the one responsible during the pre-trial hearing evidence was produced to which discredit adjacent
tips original alibis Chad his friend who supported Jason's alibi by stating that
he had driven out to the mobile home park to collect him that night after tutoring admitted that Jason had told
him to say that another friend of Jason's who had told police he was with Jason that night came forward and said
he had actually lied he was at work and had no idea where Jason was the two teenage girls who Jason said he was
tutoring were really interviewed and they said they had no recollection of Jason tutoring them that night it was
clear what the defense strategy was from the beginning they were going to try and
paint ray McCarty as the killer the prosecution sought to have the evidence regarding Rae McCarty's grand
jury indictment excluded from Jason's trial as well as evidence of his changing alibis and his threats to kill
reina according to law such evidence can be excluded if its value is outweighed by unfair prejudice confusion of the
issues or the potential to mislead the jury also before evidence of a third party being responsible can be
introduced the defense must show some connection between the third party and the crime after the defense and the
prosecution both made their submissions the judge ruled that Ray McCarty would be exempt from testifying about his
arrest and charge for rayna's murder but he could be questioned over the sexual assault of Reina and the threats that
kill her when the trial began 39 year old Jason Tibbs was escorted into the courtroom at LaPorte County Circuit
Court Raina's family sat together determined to see every moment of the trial through
determined to face the man who once said he loved Raynor who had continued to live in their
community in rayna's community all these years it was a trial with no forensic evidence to dissect no scientific proof
just folders full of eyewitness statements both credible and not so credible the prosecution case hinged on
the testimony of Ricky Hammonds and Derrick Freeman two convicted criminals coming forward with eyewitness testimony
after two decades the first words the prosecutor said in his opening statement were if I can't have her nobody can
quoting what Jason Tibbs was alleged to have said after rayna's murder he then told the jury that they would hear how
Jason Tibbs arrived a train has worked that evening to tell her not to go back to mad also but to date him instead when
Rana refused he told her to get into the back of their car under the pretense that they would just talk about it
instead he took her to a remote location and murdered her the defense stuck to their strategy of
taking the focus off Jason and putting it on terrain McCarty they also hammered away at Ricky Hammonds statement a
statement from a convicted murderer who simply decided to come forward after 15 years because he thought it was the
right thing to do defense attorney John Tompkins mocked the state's case by saying quote that was a good story
problem is it's not true ray McCarty took the stand and agreed he had changed his alibis for the night rana was
murdered but with good reason he also agreed he had sexually assaulted Rainer as a child but denied he threatened to
harm her or her family if they went to the police as Jason's alibis were knocked down one by one the jury began
to see the picture of a teenage boy scrambling to get people to back him up his alibis which hold up in 1993 no
longer did the game of fox hunt joined the list of Jason's faltering alibis the game did happen that night with many
of the local kids tuned into their CBS but no one actually saw Jason they only heard his voice on the radio he could
have been anywhere when Jason's alibis fell down the defense were quick to remind of the jury the Rae McCarty had
lied about his whereabouts that night the defense continued to hammer the jury with details about the sexual assaults
Rana suffered from Rae her aborted pregnancy to Rae and finally as a last effort to sway the jury
the defense held up the police statement made by Rainer against Rae in 1991 quote
Rae said that if I didn't do as he asked of me he would hurt me and he said that
if I ever told he would kill me on November 7th 2014 the jury sat for over five hours to deliberate their verdict
the courtroom packed with the Ross and family on one side and the Tibbs family on the other felt the weight of the
coming conclusion two families from the same community both forever changed the crowd hurried back in to hear the
verdict guilty the Tibbs family sought to loudly as the risin family cried quietly hugging each
other and hugging the prosecutor and police officers involved in the case one month later on December 19th 2014
Jayson Tibbs was sentenced one by one each member of the risin family told Jason Tibbs face-to-face of the pain and
anguish he had brought upon their family Raina's father played a mix up of home videos showing rayna's vibrant life from
beginning to end he finished by telling Jason that all he had left were the memories because of
what he had done quote hopefully now my family can find some semblance of peace from what we've
been through for the last 20 years Laurie Raina's older sister looked at Jason tibs directly in the eye and said
she would have no problem flipping the switch or pulling the trigger on him the defense quickly objected to that
statement but the judge allowed it when it was rain is younger sister Wendy's turn to get up she asked Tibbs if he
loved her so much why did you kill her she said it was because of her faith in God that she could forgive him
but she would not forget the prosecution requested a sentence of 55 years but the
judge gave a sentence of 40 years with a minimum period of 20 years Jason Tibbs will be eligible for parole
in 2030 for the defense immediately lodged an appeal they said that excluding ray McCarty's
indictment for the murder of reina as well as other evidence against ray was unfair to Jason
they also alleged that Ricky Hammonds had received the benefit in exchange for his testimony
despite the prosecution saying he had not the defense claimed ricky had received a reduced sentence
the court held an evidentiary hearing on the two motions and they denied both the
risin family set up a music scholarship in rayna's named the Reina rice and Memorial Scholarship the fund gives one
being member of scholarship every year the details can be found in the show notes in an interview with a local news
station Brenna's father Benny expressed the loud what all those who loved Erina were
thinking quote it really hasn't changed that much we can't hold her in our arms anymore we can't bring her back but
knowing that he will be put away so we can't do this to some other family is relief don't give up don't give up it's
not often you have a case that's 20 years old they get solved but you know tomorrow is a new day and that could be
the day that their cases are solved [Music] you [Music]

Case 79: Rayna Rison

In 1993, breaking news in the small Northern Indiana city of LaPorte always seemed to be from Chicago or South Bend. Nothing shocking ever happened in LaPorte... _ _ _

The Rayna Rison Memorial Scholarship

c/o Director of Music

602 F Street

La Porte, IN 46350

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-79-rayna-rison

Brief Summary

Reyna Reisen's murder case reveals a complex investigation leading to Jason Tibbs' conviction after 20 years.

Key points

Investigation Begins. As concern grows, police begin to investigate Reyna's disappearance, leading to troubling discoveries.
The Disappearance of Reyna Reisen. In March 1993, 16-year-old Reyna Reisen goes missing after leaving work, sparking a community-wide search.
Raina's Disappearance. Raina's case becomes a national concern as her parents refuse to give up hope.
Discovery of Raina's Body. Tracy finds Raina's body while fishing, leading to a tragic revelation.
Confession and Recantation. Larry Hall confesses to Raina's murder but later recants, complicating the investigation.
Grand Jury Indicts Ray McCarty. After years of investigation, Ray McCarty is indicted for Raina's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Reyna seemed to just have the knack.

Highlighting Reyna's natural intelligence and talent.

4:23WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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