Blue Christmas - EPISODE 8 (The Bakersfield Three) | Forensic Files

[Music] it's been several years now but I have a distinct memory of being in The Newsroom
crowding around a computer with several colleagues as we watched a video on Facebook of Matthew Queen and his new
girlfriend Sarah you're going to hold this okay a balloon or something like it popped and blue confetti poured out
it took me a minute to figure out this was a gender reveal Sarah was pregnant with Queen's baby and they were having a
boy if I remember correctly Sarah explained in the comments that Queen jokingly pouted in the video because
he'd really wanted a girl he already had three boys from his marriage instantly I
thought of the messages Queen had sent Jane before Bailey's disappearance saying he and Bailey were having a baby
girl the timing I just I was trying to do the math in my head the news created quite the buzz Jessica Bailey's friend
who was Queen's neighbor had the same thought as many of us what was the timing here she's pregnant already and
Bailey's been missing for only so many months like I just I don't know like in my head for a while I was trying to P it
together and I just was like this girl has to know something here's Bailey's best friend Maddie it's one of the
things that made me very I guess just like emotional towards the situation because it's one of those things like
how can you do that to somebody you know and not to mention she was only 20 years
old at the time as well when she got pregnant you know it's like here you are with a 43-year-old man whose girlfriend
just disappeared and you have no problem having his [Music] child I'm Olivia Lavo and this is the
Bakersfield 3 [Music] by my calculation Sarah would have gotten pregnant in either July or August
so roughly 3 to 4 months after Bailey went missing Bailey's mother Jane has always made it
a huge point to not let emotion overtake her and hearing this news was no exception she calmly did her best to
accept it and keep moving forward as she puts it I knew I couldn't be made to look like I was crazy or else I'd never
find Bailey she continued to do what she always did hang flyers every day and every time Matt Queen had a court
hearing she'd show up I let him know I wasn't afraid of him I wasn't going to stop looking for her by this point you
might remember that Queen was facing charges for the gun case when he and Bailey were pulled over together and a
newer case where he was arrested for being in possession of a gun after police saw it sticking out of his pants
on surveillance video as he dropped off all of bayley's belongings after she went missing often times in criminal
cases there are a lot of hearings many are insignificant and brief just to reschedule and continue to push it back
but no matter what Jane was always there in the audience SAR was there one time I I
would hand Flyers out to everybody there and say this is you know the bk3 Flyers
and I gave Sarah one and I said oh congratulations on your pregnancy I hope what happened to Bailey doesn't happen
to you and she just kind of giggled and other than making that comment Jane tried to not let the pregnancy or queen
and Sarah's relationship in general distract her from finding her daughter a month or so after the gender
reveal video surfaced I was packing up my bag at the news station on a Friday evening when I got a call from Jane she
was very excited to tell me her persistence to get the Bakersfield 3 featured on national news had finally
paid off she had been trying for months to get Dateline 48 Hours 2020 any big crime show you can think of
really to feature Bailey James and Micah's cases when I asked her what the show was her answer threw me off guard a
bit runaways gone wild all new Dr Phil Dr Phil obviously a show myself and I'd say probably most of the people
listening are familiar with but not the first show I'd think of when it comes to
covering an unsolved crime Dr Ville is no Jerry Springer his episodes tend to be more tame than that
but many of them do center around family drama whether it be struggling with your
out ofc control children or your spouse with a Wandering eye Jane asked me if I could be at the studio to tape the show
with her and the other moms that Monday morning pulling into the parking lot at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles it was
apparent this was going to be a different experience than any other national news program I've done such as
Dateline for example this had less of a news feel more Hollywood in the sense that guests had their own dressing rooms
and hair and makeup artists on hand Cheryl said It felt strange getting all dolled up as if you're going out to a
big party but instead you're going to walk out on a stage in front of a live audience of hundreds of people and
discuss how you believe your missing son has been murdered all three of them were
as quiet as I had ever seen them they wanted the case to get National exposure and hopes it would lead to new tips but
they were also terrified this wasn't just being interviewed by a local news reporter this was a highly produced
massive show watched by millions I was nervous too even though by that point I'd been covering the case for 7 months
I felt like for every answer I had there were a 100 questions that followed so when Dr Phil asked the million dooll
question about the Bakersfield 3 I could only give a pretty vague answer Olivia do you have you uncovered anything that
suggest what would know that would be so devastating that they would need to be silenced in this way one of the things
that makes this case so complex is I could save myself I've gotten so many different stories so many different tips
um from an array of people so it can be really tricky what to believe you kind of have to look at everything and see
okay what stories are are overlapping but something that uh myself and the mother we have strongly considered is
the possibility that Bailey Bailey knew what happened to Micah and that made her a liability of sorts that she had
that information the taping lasted several hours we were told the episode would air
sometime after the New Year Christmas music played in the background as we walked out of the overly air conditioned
Studio the moms were so emotionally exhausted they were almost zombie like as they said goodbye and got into a car
to head back to Bakersfield an hour into their Drive the phone rang someone from
Andy rapid DNA called to give a brief to the point message the testing on the leg
and the arm comparing to Mike and Bailey's DNA had been successful and the mothers would hear from detectiv shortly
this was Monday evening and the start of the clock where it seemed every second that went by was slower than the last
the next morning I was in court with my 17 News cameraman but I was out of my element instead of covering a criminal
hearing I was there to cover a civil harassment restraining order typically I'd only report on a restraining order
if it ended up being tied to a crime down the road in this case Not only was there no crime committed between the two
parties there wasn't even a restraining order yet in place today's hearing was to determine if the petitioner's claims
of harassment warranted one or not as I waited in the packed hallway shoulder-to-shoulder with sour-faced
people there to air their grievances I saw Jane Scurry down the hall per usual she was more chipper than you'd expect
for a woman in her situation she makes a conscious effort to be this way hoping it will make more people want to help
her D James's mom was behind her always there for moral support then Sarah walked in with her mother by her side
she had her long brown hair pulled back dressed professionally in a away with her baby bump quite
visible at that point I had never reported that Bailey had a close friend who moved in with Matt Queen after biley
went missing and got pregnant by him shortly thereafter short was an interesting perhaps suspicious looking
tidbit about the case but at that point reporting it felt a little odd as it was
essentially gossip yes I knew it was true but I couldn't say if it had any relevance to Bailey's case and both
Queen and Sarah had always turned down my attempts to speak with them so I didn't have their side other than a few
Facebook comments and messages but that day technically for the first time I had it all in writing
on an official document it wasn't a police report but rather Sarah's request for a restraining order against Jane
claiming Jane was stalking and harassing her in Matt Queen and now it was her time to go in front of a judge and make
her case as to why she needed the restraining order and Jane's time to defend her actions that Sarah said Rose
to the level of stalking Sarah started off with her points she shows up to every single one
of my court days to disrupt for us she's saying she's passing out fires but it's
it goes little fur that EV are trying to intimidate me to try and solve those same person's case which is all due to
Jan's words and the things that she has said on social media regarding it and her showing up to our house and all the
court dates and her options have gone too far and I'm afraid for my and my son's
safety Sarah told the judge that her doctor advised that for the safety of her unborn child Jane shouldn't be
anywhere near her I I am concerned about her daughter's disappearance nobody is trying to
solve I've given all the information I have the detectives Jane continues to try and create a Lynch Mob Source where
everyone's saying all these things about me on Facebook in terms of things being said
on Facebook I at that point hadn't reported anything about Sarah but Jane had months earlier when it came out that
Sarah and queen were taking down Bailey's missing flyers in their neighborhood Jane pledged to still
continue to hang them in that area even if she had to keep reposting them over and over on the 7-month anniversary of
Bailey's disappearance Jane made a Facebook video that really rubbed Sarah the wrong way here's a clip of it I
always hang Flyers up on light pole right here in front of the house that's the house right there I last saw her at
it Jane doesn't say the address or even the street name and the video is shaky as she tries to hang a flyer with one
hand and hold her phone in the other as that's happening she narrates Sarah driving by in her car I'm going to go
over here and hang one up right in front of their house just because I can't little [ __ ] piss me
off as Jane would put it it was a quick slip of the tongue a second where emotions came into play normally she's
always quite composed Sarah made sure to reference the little [ __ ] comment and
her request for a restraining order and she mentioned that people had commented on Jane's video saying someone needs to
get Sarah to talk after Sarah presented her side Jane was given the chance to respond and defend
her actions to the court I go to the court case is because he's the last person to have seen my daughter um and
the gun charges and stuff he is Bing involv in the same daughter in terms of hanging flyers in their neighborhood
here's what Jane told the judge I hang Flyers all over town they're just all over town but the last place my da was
at that I saw her Al light yes I do concentrate in that area but I by no way have ever posted I'll at the house this
is what Jane said about the hearing when we talked about it recently I wanted to
say a lot of things but I couldn't I just had to let it play out and then when Sarah slipped up and I saw my
spot this is what Jane is referring to as Sarah's quote slip up and itless do you think you're going to see her
walking around where you're putting up the fires in front of our house well why would I not see her do
you know something that I don't that's not what I was asking it wasn't a particularly dramatic
moment but Jane was still glad to have the opportunity to slip in the questions do you know something I don't know do
you know what happened to her why wouldn't I find her there after the hearing the judge took
some time to consider both arguments ultimately Sarah's request for a restraining order against Jane was
denied though it was an anticlimactic moment for Jane because at the time it was really the last thing she was
worried about she and Cheryl Micah's mom were still waiting for the DNA results that was Tuesday by Wednesday I was on
the phone with a detective myself asking what the holdup was I remember him solemnly saying with Christmas less than
a week out they were put plans in place to tell the families the results soon if
it were my child he said I'd want to know before Christmas they deserve that it's a strange concept but I understood
what he meant the first Christmas for all three moms without their children was already gut-wrenching enough as
people decorated their homes with string lights roped Christmas trees to the roof
of their cars and listen to music declaring It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year it was a glaring reminder to
the mothers they would never feel that Joy again during the holiday season this is a clip of a video Jane
made that week after she tried to go into the grocery store to pick up a few things and over 2 hours later realized
her cart was still empty as she described it she was in a complete Fog she missed Mother's Day her 21st
birthday now she's going to miss Christmas and the realization that my daughter's not going to be here for
Christmas I need everybody to pray for a Christmas miracle that I get my daughter
home and somebody be brave enough to call and tell us where she is D also showed more emotion than she
typically did here's a clip of her reading a letter aloud that she wrote to James for his first Christmas in
heaven dear James from your very first Christmas I've always loved being your mom and being one of Santa's
secret elves for you you made me whole when you took your first breath and now that your golden
heart has stopped beating my heart aches every moment of every day for you there were so many things and I just
can't imagine anybody wanting to take your life the only that I can think of is that whoever
did has to be broken so broken and Cheryl after the doct Phil taping and getting the call that results
would be coming soon well she spent the next few days quietly at home trying to process that answers were
coming that Thursday the call from detectives finally came asking the families for a meeting we met at Jane's
house and I guess detective Garrett had called in the troops from every the whole place looking back on it now it
feels like the place was packed so it's either mic or Bailey right cuz they're not going to invite
the whole neck of the woods right to come and find out it was neither so he knew walking in there that
somebody was going to come out with some information Cheryl and Micah's father Lance walked in with dye as they sat in
Jane's living room crowded by various law enforcement officials it was very surreal then someone from the Corner's
office started to speak and they told me first that Bailey's not a match for the
arm and she wasn't a match for the leg and my response was oh my God now I never know where to go look for
her as Jane broke down hearing that neither body part belonged to her daughter detectives turned to cherylyn
Lance which of course then leaves us we would all be sitting here if it wasn't Micah
right and so that's when they said that it it was indicated um a certain match with my D
that I had given the swab that I had given that day 5 days before Christmas Micah's family got the confirmation the
arm found in the duffel bag in the river belonged to him I don't celebrate Christmas anymore I
don't decorate for it I don't it was you know that's just a week that I go to bed I just can't function I don't
[Music] function um so Christmas is um difficult I'll never forget that day I had just a few hours at work before
heading home for the holiday days it was noisy in The Newsroom everyone was chattering about Christmas and New
Year's Eve plans when Cheryl called me on the other end of the phone all I could hear were her screams muffled
within deep sobs she didn't have to say anything when I did eventually have a conversation with Cheryl about the
horrific news I was a little surprised at what part of it she seemed to want to discuss the most they don't tell us
anything thing um so I don't know who they were but I know that there were some young people that found the the
duffel bag and opened it in the river that day and and realized that there was you know
a body part in there and they they did the right thing and they called law enforcement and they did they did the
scary thing they didn't just throw it back out in the river and run and have a story to tell right they they talk to
law enforcement and and that meant so much to us and we've Lance and I have always thought it
would just be wonderful to be able to speak to them and tell them how much we we love them we don't know who they are
but just thank you for taking if any of they hear this just thank you for taking
care of our son when you found [Music] him just thank you for not throwing him away
again Cheryl and Lance say that group of boys are their Heroes and they'll never
know how much they really mean to them nameless strangers who changed their lives who brought the confirmation that
changed everything in this case there were all sorts of rumors about who might be involved in this once we heard
law enforcement say that we knew okay there's something big about what's going on there's something crazy about this
case that's next time on the Bakersfield 3

EPISODE 8/15

Blue Christmas Another bombshell surfaces as the mothers of the Bakersfield Three brace themselves for answers that change everything.

When two friends go missing back-to-back, and in between their disappearances, a third friend is murdered, their mothers begin their own investigation. As the connections between the three cases are explored, the mothers navigate devastating twists and turns, including one revelation that shakes the community to its core.

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The Bakersfield Three Podcast https://casefilepresents.com/the-bakersfield-three/

----- CREDITS

Writing & Narration – Olivia Lavoice Audio Editing - Anthony Telfer Production and Music – Mike Migas Animation - Mat Rydzik, Paulina Szymanska

Special thanks to the mothers and family of the Bakersfield 3 & KGET News Station

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Brief Summary

The episode reveals the emotional struggles of families in the Bakersfield 3 case, focusing on Jane's search for her missing daughter amidst new developments.

Key points

The Gender Reveal. A gender reveal video sparks emotional turmoil as connections to a missing person emerge.
Dr. Phil Taping. Mothers of the missing children face the pressure of a national audience while seeking answers.
DNA Results. The families await devastating news about their missing children, leading to heartbreak.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

How can you do that to somebody you know?

Reflecting on the emotional turmoil of the situation.

1:27WatchMay 20, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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