Shaker Heights - Episode 4: Chinese Whispers | Forensic Files

Welcome to Shaker Heights. Episode 4. Chinese Whispers. 16-year-old Lisa Pruitt was stabbed to
death behind a mansion in Shaker Heights, Ohio on September 14th, 1990. Her murder remains unsolved.
This is the story of how the police detectives and a small town were led to believe the weird kid in school did it
based on nothing but testimony from a group of teens who were friends with Lisa's boyfriend Dan Dryford.
What you will hear are actors reading from actual police interviews conducted during the course of their
investigation. No words have been changed. And the interviews remain in chronological order so that you can see
how the case against Kevin Young was constructed. This is Detective Richard Maloney at the
Shaker Heights Police Department interviewing one Christopher N. Jones. Mr. Jones, can you continue your
statement? Dan was pretty angry about being a suspect or the way they portrayed that. Pretty
much from there many people came and left Dan's house that night. Eventually, me and Dan Messinger got a ride from
Scott Freiro to the Pruitt's house. We talked to Mr. Pruitt. We went up into their house and spent a little time in
Lisa's room. Then me and Dan Messinger were going to walk home. We got a ride about halfway
to Dan's house from Randy Stokes. We got back to Dan Dryfort's house and I spent the night there. We then
went down to Dan's basement and talked there for a while. Debbie Dryfort came down and we
discussed the possibility that Kevin Young might have done it. It started from Shane and John who had
heard about a month before that Kevin Young wanted to kill both Dan and Lisa because he had been with Lisa for 2
years and Dan had stolen her or taken her away from him. After a while, we went back up to Dan's room.
We just talked until pretty late and went to bed. Then the next morning, Saturday, September 15th, 1990,
Dan had to go to the police station and I got a ride home from Mrs. Dryfort. To the best of your knowledge,
who knew that Lisa was planning to come to Dan's house on Thursday night? Dan Dryfort, myself, Tex, and Kim Cole
may have because she was over at Lisa's house that night. So, they may have talked about it.
How long have you known Dan Dryfort? I've been friends with him since winter of 1989.
Could you briefly describe Dan Dryfort? He's had a rough family life. Because of that, he's been kind of
extroverted in a sense. He's pretty much always joking around. He's truly social.
If he feels something's different, he'll always put on show of being in a good mood, talking and stuff.
Under that, he's afraid to trust people. He's intelligent and he has a sense of what he should do.
Lisa was one of the only persons he really trusted. He hasn't had that many people that he
can trust. He loved her very much. How long have you been friends with Lisa Pruitt?
Pretty much the same as Dan. I had done some stuff with her before, but I became good friends with her that
winter of 1989. How long have you known Tex? I don't really know him that well. Just pretty much know of him.
And probably no more than 6 or 7 months. Could you briefly describe Tex? From what I know, he's not really
concerned with school, more rebellious. He's not really violent, but he's got a lot of anger at things.
Seems like a really nice guy as a person. How long have you known Kevin Young? I know him through Dan Dryfort, and
probably about 6 or 7 months also. Could you briefly describe Kevin Young? He's really touchy, very powerful,
a sense of that, a physical sense of strength, very angry. He likes to joke around about things,
but you never really know if he's serious or not. He's always on edge, like wired.
I really don't know him that well. Have you ever observed dramatic changes in Kevin Young's personality?
I haven't, but I've heard about these changes taking place. He always seems like he's sort of about
to burst out, or go over the edge or something. He makes you feel uncomfortable to be
around. Can you describe Kevin Young's relationship with girls? He takes things too seriously about
them. If they'll do anything, like be nice to him or something, he'll take that as a fact that they like
him more than they actually do. With the girls he's around, he's very possessive about them.
He misconstrues and takes too personally what their actions towards him are. Annie Conrad and I were at a party.
She was one of the girls I felt he was in love with, because he knew her from band.
I was kind of going out with her at the time. Whenever she would come over and talk to
me, or come and sit by me, he would give me these really dark glances. He was trying to get drunk and he was
acting really angry and hurt, kind of. He basically simmered down after I talked to him a little bit.
And he said to him that she didn't want to be around a guy who gets violent when
he drinks. He just made me feel really uncomfortable, basically. Can you think of any other example of
Kevin Young's behavior with girls? He asked Becca Boatwright to prom. But I can't really remember if she
refused. I believe she refused. He began to hate her for that and verbally disparaged her.
And he made a lot of rude comments about her. Seemed angry. He then asked Ellen Donald, who was a
freshman and he was a senior. She told him that her parents wouldn't let her go.
He seemed angry at her too about this. But that's all I heard. To the best of your knowledge, have any
of your friends abused Robitussin cough syrup? Yes, several. I tried it once and Andy Conrad, Becca
Boatwright and Dan Dryfort. And Tex and Debbie Dryfort also. Could you describe what effects using
Robitussin had on you? I took it along with alcohol. Nobody else really did that.
I became extremely nauseous. I couldn't see straight, really. I had distorted perception of what
things really seemed like. I became extremely talkative. Kind of dizzy, giddy feeling.
But really nauseous. That's the only time I ever tried it. How does a young man with no ties to the
crime scene become the main suspect in a murder investigation? It happens one flimsy story at a time.
Remember that game we used to play in school? Chinese whispers, we called it. The telephone game.
A rumor starts and it's passed like a virus through words from one person to another until it changes into something
new and all together dangerous. Listen for it in this interview with Jennifer Morgalis, a 16-year-old high
school student who was about to point the finger at Kevin Young simply because she heard his name at the right time.
When I first found out that Dan Dryfort had come back, I was in a Youth Ending Hunger meeting after school.
Judy Miller came into the room to tell me that Dan was back. She was very excited.
Once I realized who she was talking about, I was also very excited. Shortly after she came in,
Kim Rathbone came to the meeting and she was very excited and emotional, which is
how Kim gets. There was an element of surprise because we expected him to be in there longer
because he said he had fulfilled his requirements to be able to leave the program at the clinic.
Basically, we were all surprised and excited that he was back. I talked to Lisa Pruitt that night. It
was before her flute lesson. She was rambling on about how wonderful her life was and how wonderful that day
was. She was excited like the rest of us about Dan being back and especially because he was special to
her. She had been down about band camp and the beginning of the school year because
she couldn't do anything for him and she missed him a lot. And she kept saying that the only thing
bad about the day was that she could not see him as much as she liked. She saw him momentarily after school and
I asked her if she could go over later that evening and she said she had to go over to her flute lesson and her mom was
making a special dinner in honor of her getting her driver's license. She said her father and she might stop
at Dan's house after her flute lesson and her father only wanted to stop and say hi
so they could get home for her celebration. When we were talking about what a good
day it had been, she was listing the things that had made it that day. Primarily Dan being back and she got her
driver's license. I told her not to forget that I had given her a necklace that day that she
had ordered from my grandmother's jewelry store. When we were discussing her going to
Dan's house after her flute lesson, I mentioned, "Can't you see him later that night?" Because sometimes they met then
because with his family situation the way it was, they didn't get a chance to see each other often.
She said, "Yeah, I was planning on it." I think then we just talked for a few more minutes about everything was great
and then we both had to go. That was the last time I spoke with Lisa. So, I think that about wraps it up about
my impressions of the day that Dan came back. I also needed to talk to you guys about
Kevin Young. I found out that Kevin was a suspect or I heard the rumor that he was a suspect
on Saturday night right after Lisa was killed. It was Judy who told me that because she
heard it from Becca Boatwright. That was at Dan's house on Saturday night. The minute Judy told me I got
really upset. For some reason, it had never occurred to me before that he could be a suspect.
Because I was running through a list of people in my mind that I thought might be capable of doing something like this
or knew she might have been going over there. And although I thought of everyone I had ever seen at Arabica,
Kevin never came into my head. But the minute Judy told me, I believed it. I mean, not so much in my head, but in
some non-thinking way, I believed it. Because he was the only person that had ever entered my mind that I felt was
capable of doing something like that. That really shook me up. So, I started thinking about why I was so convinced
that it was he and the more I thought about it, I remembered about three or four conversations I had with him. Plus
the general knowledge that he was pretty disturbed. Rachel Lowenthal and Ted Folkman and
Aaron Miller and I had gone to see a Hunt for Red October at the Colony Theater.
I know it was a bridge night for my parents. Afterwards, we went to Arabica and Kevin
was there. And Eric and Anthony Garvin. They're brothers. Kevin started talking about gays and was
making offensive comments. And I always felt bad for him, but I was never able to tolerate it when he talked like that.
So, Aaron and I got up and went downstairs. And when we came back upstairs, they
were talking about Kevin's favorite topic of discussion. Which was how all women hated him. And how he hated all
women. And why he even tried to have relationships. This was how he had talked in the past,
but there was a specific time that I was reminded of as I listened to him talk that night. Which was another night when
I was up at Arabica and he was telling me and I think Rachel and I don't remember who
about a girl he had liked in middle school. I mean, one of those archetypical perfect people whose parents were going
out of town. And she was inviting Kevin over to her house. He got the impression that there would
be something of interest to him going on. Or just interest that she wanted to spend time with him.
He said when he got there, he was already a little bit drunk. And she and her boyfriend and I think
that some friends of hers were also there. I'm not sure about that. Had laughed at him and kicked him out.
They made him leave. He was upset about it and he went from this one situation to condemning all
women. He referred to women as [ __ ] and [ __ ] and [ __ ] That was the way he talked.
I I feeling bad for him that he would feel that way. I think except for that incident, that's
pretty much it. That's what I was thinking the night we saw Hunt for Red October and when I was
listening to him, I remember he was talking about Dan and Lisa specifically. He was saying that he could never get
any women himself and I'm sure they were derogatory. Usually he said, "I hate [ __ ] I hate
sluts." A lot of kids talk that way. It's an insecurity thing. He was complaining how
guys like Dan could get [ __ ] like Lisa to suck on [ __ ] and how Kevin didn't have anyone and raving on about how
unfair it was. The conversation changed to more normal topics. The next thing I remember that
scared me was that same night but later on when we were sitting out on the lawn in front of Arabica and Rachel and
myself and this guy Chris who worked at Captain Tony's and Kevin and I think one or two fight guys,
people who hang around school and don't attend classes and Kevin was talking about how he
didn't ever seem to have any successes with women at all. He said to Rachel and I that if we ever
got the chance he was sure we would reject him and our friends would reject him. He said that
if he would go out with a girl, he would call her a week later and she would put him off and ignore him
basically. He said how he didn't like to be ignored and said "I won't let people ignore me."
Rachel said, "How can you change how people feel? If they don't want to see you, there
isn't much you can do about it." And he repeated that he wouldn't be ignored and that people can make impressions on
people and it has been done. And then Chris who is a serious pragmatist said "Well, a good impression or a bad
impression?" Kevin said, "Whatever works." It was kind of chilling at the time and
worse when I remembered it in this context, in the context of what happened. Chris then asked Kevin,
"Well, are you talking like Hitler or something?" And Kevin said, "Well, it made an
impression, didn't it?" There was a silence and we changed the subject. I think the most recent time I talked to
him was when Dan was at the clinic and Rachel and Charlie Martin and I had stopped at Arabica and Kevin was there
with Ken Matsumoto. The two of them came and sat down next to us and were talking about Dan.
Ken said to Rachel, "I haven't seen you all summer. Where have you been?" She had been to Interlochen
and she was kidding and said, "I was in rehab." He believed her. And she said she was kidding and then we
talked about Dan and then Ken said, "Well, isn't Dan in rehab?" Neither Kevin nor Charlie said much
about the situation of Dan being at the clinic. Then Rachel and I set them straight
where Dan was and why. They talked about some ridiculous rumors they heard and Ken talked about when he
was in rehab. Then Kevin said, "Well, I'm sorry he's there." Meaning Dan. Kevin said, "I have some unfinished
business to take care of." I remember thinking that sounded ridiculous. I think I laughed at the time.
Then he said with him and the [ __ ] and it was either the [ __ ] or [ __ ] or [ __ ]
in reference to Lisa. Kevin continued and said, "I was going to [ __ ] with him real good,
but now he's not around." Or something along those lines. When Kevin said that, I looked at Rachel
and she looked at me and I said, "You don't need to talk about our friends like that." And he apologized
and said sorry and continued to talk about Dan. When Kevin said what I said before,
then Rachel said it was nice to know your friends support you when you're in trouble, and she was trying to
guilt-trip him into shutting up. As far as I remember, that was all I wanted to talk to you guys about.
When you refer to Lisa going over to Dan's house late late that night, did she usually go to Dan's house, or did he
come over to her house? I know she had gone over there at least once before, because she talked to me
about it. But I think more often he went to her house late at night. When I talked to Dan last night, he said,
"Whenever she came over, I waited for her." And it gave me the impression that she had gone over there more than once.
Have you ever known Lisa to use any drugs or alcohol? Drugs? No. When we were in Germany, she got a
little bit tipsy, and we all laughed about that because it was so uncharacteristic of her. Other than
that, no. Is there anything else that you wish to add to your statement? No. The date is now September 22nd, 1990.
It is 1 week after Lisa's murder. Kevin Young, the weird kid in school, is the primary suspect.
They have consulted with the FBI already about how to get Kevin to confess to the
crime. And only now do police detectives sit down for a formal interview with Kim
Rathbone, the 16-year-old girl who lives behind Dan Dryfort's house. She has been holding on to some very
important clues, though her memory is already a bit foggy. Are you a student? Yes.
Where at? Shaker Heights High School. What grade are you in? 11th. Are you aware this statement is being
recorded? Yeah. And is this being recorded with your permission? Yeah. Is your father aware that we are
recording this statement at this time? Yeah. Kim, could you basically explain how you know
Lisa Pruitt and also how you know Dan Dryford and go back and give me a little bit of background information on how you
know these people. I met Lisa once in fifth grade in the band and we both played the flute
together. And I didn't That's how I knew her in fifth and sixth grade. Seventh grade, I went to middle
school with her and we were all part of the same group. All kids that hung around together in middle school and in
high school. But I grew closer to her from eighth grade on as friends like closer friends. I know Dan Dryford
since sixth grade. He lives right behind me so we've always been people who if you can't find anything else to do, you
just go over to their house. So, I knew him better than I knew Lisa. He's one of
my very best friends and Oh, I went out with him in sixth grade which is nothing. It was like for a
month or something and we walked to school together and stuff like that. Is that all you want to know?
Okay. What contact did you have with either Lisa Pruitt or Dan Dryford on the date of Thursday, September 13th, 1990
to the best of your knowledge? Okay. Well, first I'll tell you about Dan first cuz he's
not Mhm. That was the first day that he came back from the hospital and Lisa and I were
sitting down together. I was helping her with chemistry which is funny because she's the smart one. And um
we were sitting down and he came around the corner like he'd been there the entire time.
So, um I saw him then, got hugs and everything cuz I hadn't seen him for a while except
for like on weekends when we had a pass home and uh then after school I went over and I was
cutting his hair cuz that was my special treat for seeing him at home. Because he
never let anybody cut his hair. I got to do that. And then my boyfriend asked to go to Danny's house. So he came
and picked me up and said hi to Dan and then we left. Not till I saw Dan, we were just talking. And uh
uh Lisa I saw at school. I had lunch with her and band with her and maybe now and then in the halls when everybody
else saw her. Oh and shaker right with her. That was tenth period. And that's when
we we had both finished our articles. So that's why we were seen in the halls on
our way home. We were anxious to get home. And um then I saw her briefly after school and then I went home. And then I
went home and I saw Danny and cut his hair. That's all I'd seen. Except I had heard her scream that night
not knowing that it was her. But I didn't know that she was coming over either. There's screams all the time around Lee
Road in South Woodland. And I was doing my history and I I had put it off. And when I heard the scream, woke up and
looked and walked through the house. And it happened toward the back of the house.
My little brother leaves his window open and our rooms are connected. We're through a bathroom and the bathroom
doors were opened and his window was open. And I hear her scream and I went off. And I looked in my window to see if
there were any bicycles or cars or anything. And there wasn't anybody. I thought it was weird. But I still
didn't do anything about it. And I found out Friday at like 7:00. 7:00 in the morning?
Yeah. And we didn't even know it was Lisa. It was like tapes and dogs and everything. And we didn't even know it
was Lisa and stuff. So my parents were all in front of the house. My grandmother lives with us and my brother
sleeps like a bump on a log and he didn't notice anything. And I guess my grandmother's windows were shut. I don't
know why she didn't hear. Do you remember about what time that was you heard those screams?
Around like 12:30, just a little bit after 12:30. I was hoping that it wasn't her, but but just from I heard from
other people and everything, putting everything together, it seems to be. So, I'm not even absolutely sure that it was
her. But it just seems like the normal way or How do you know about what time it was?
Were you aware then what time it was or did you just kind of hear what time it happened later and then
No, no. I glanced at the clock when I heard it. I don't know why because I was just like working really hard and it was
distracting me out of my work. So, I just glanced to see what time it was. So, you were awake at the time?
Yeah, I I was up. Doing your homework? Studying my history. Do you remember what the clock exactly
what the clock said? Mhm. In other words, between 12:30 and 12:45 because I went to bed at 1:00.
But it hadn't it was then. So that I understand you correctly, your bedroom faces Sedgwick?
Yes. On what side of the house? Towards facing the house. Towards South Woodland, say if you're
facing your house, is your bedroom towards South Woodland or towards Shaker Boulevard?
Woodland. My parents are towards Shaker Boulevard. The last time you saw Lisa Pruitt was on
Thursday at school, is that correct? And did you see her anytime after that? Mhm.
Did you hear or mention or did she tell you what her plans were for the evening?
No, I didn't even know that she had been over at Dan's house before. She had left
the house for the night. I didn't even know that she had been over there for then. I think I must have I don't even
remember what I was doing that night. Ate dinner with my family. That's about all I remember.
Sometimes you can hear from Dan's backyard. You can all the time here. If our screen
doors are open, you can hear what goes on in the houses themselves. So, I guess I just really
wasn't concentrating on what was going on over there. Describe for me as best you can, what the scream sounded
like. Like a scream. Like somebody was scared. I was just It didn't exactly sound like
a play scream. Like when you hear people are driving by and stuff. And that's why
I got alarmed. And I looked and stuff. But it still didn't actually occur to me that it might be somebody really getting
hurt cuz I don't know why. It was somebody being scared. Did it sound like a male or female?
Oh, a female. Definitely? Yeah. Did you hear was it a long scream or just like series of short screams?
Was it like continuous? Um It was uh It didn't last for hours, you know. It It was a long one and then
there was a long one and I don't know how you define which are short and which is long, but long.
Did you hear the person that was screaming yell out any words or any names? Or was it just a scream?
Just a scream. I didn't hear anything else. What time did you go over to the Dryford's house on that day?
Uh um It had to be after 4:00 because um it lasted until then. It wouldn't have been much after uh Oh,
I remember why my friend came over. We were studying for the history test in the afternoon also.
I just switched from a higher to a lower class and she was making me take the test anyway.
Uh Mm it must have been like 4:15 or 4:30 p.m. So, about half an hour or 45 minutes or something.
So, you went over there between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. and you were over there for about 45
minutes? Yeah, I guess so. Who else was at Dryford's at that time? Outside with us? No one.
Just you and Dan? Um yeah, me and Dan and Babbitt. After my boyfriend had come, he came
over and said hi. That's Brian Keating? Yeah, Brian Keating. Did you see anybody else at the
Dryford's house? Um I'm trying to remember whether his mom was home or not. I don't really remember whether anybody
was home. Did you go in the house at all? No, we stayed out in his backyard. In that porch area?
Yeah. And you cut his hair then, right? Yeah. In general, did you and Dan talk about
that day? Oh, well, he had just gotten back. He was telling me about the people that
he had seen and just for some reason I remember Brian coming over and saying, "Well, how do you like
freedom now?" I guess. Oh. Oh, I had sent him a care package. It was just mementos and stuff. When he had
entered the hospital, I gave it to his sister and his mom to bring. But I wanted some of it back because it was
the only things that I had about him. And he had stuff about me, so I still needed those things. So he returned them
back to me. Uh He gave me a little stamp just as a joke. Then like a big surprise was cutting his
hair. And we were talking about how short he wanted his hair and whether he wanted me
to put it in a point in the back or not. Just the way he wanted it and said that
he trusted me and I could just do whatever I wanted to. He had complete faith in me and uh
I guess that's just about it. Did he talk about his plans for the afternoon or evening?
No. Did he mention anybody was coming over that night to visit him? No. If I had the chance, then I was supposed
to call him again, but I had to study for the history and then eat dinner and then I had other work to do. So, I
didn't end up calling him. So, you never talked to him the rest of the evening? After that, no.
Okay. And did you talk to Lisa Pruitt at all the rest of the evening, either in person or on the phone?
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today. I'm going to ask you about some people that are friends of maybe you, friends of Lisa's, that
are friends of Dan's, or maybe all mutual friends. And tell me what you know about them. Do you know a fella
named Ken Workman? Uh-uh. They call him Tex? Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. How do you know him?
He's Debbie's boyfriend. Debbie who? Dryfort. He's Dan's sister's boyfriend. And I went to see Dan with him and her
and Andy once when he was in the hospital. Andy who? Conrad. She's a girl. And Becca
Boatwright. And he was really nice. He didn't look like the kind of guy that would be really
nice to somebody, just being the first time that I had met him. And I just liked him a lot. He was a really nice
person, and he seemed to care about Debbie a lot. Did you see him that evening? Tex?
Yeah. No, I had just seen Dan. Do you know Chris Jones? Yes. Okay. How do you know him?
From school. Yeah. I can't even remember how long I've known him. Probably just since ninth grade, but this year I have
more classes with him and stuff. I have study hall with him and lunch and English. He's really nice. He's a
sweetie. He has these odd necklaces that he wears and always lets me wear it if I
like it. He's friends with um Oh, I forgot to tell you. Tex, I think, had met Lisa a couple times, but he didn't
really know her. And then Chris knew Dan real well, and he knew Lisa real well, too.
How about Dan Messinger? I've known him since either seventh or ninth grade. Oh, and uh in ninth grade, I hung around
with him a lot. And that kind of drifted off, I guess. He knew Lisa real well, and he knew Dan real well, and him and
Dan used to go over to Dan's house, and they'd mess around with the camera and stuff like that. These odd pictures that
they would take. He was real good friends with both of them. He was really upset.
Do you know anyone that might want to hurt either Dan Dryfer or Lisa Pruitt that you are aware of?
That would actually do it? Or that I think might do it? That might saying somebody would actually do
something is you don't know. We we don't know. Yeah, I have a hard time believing that
anybody's capable of it, but my guess is Kevin Young. Kevin Young? Well, he used to threaten them all the
time. He used to say weird stuff. Like what? He said he wanted to Well, he was in a
mental or psych ward or something when he was a sophomore, and he said that he wanted
Generally, he said he wanted to get back at the rest of the world for putting him
through what he had been put through. And he was going to do something to make everybody remember him.
And he said that he was going to get Lisa. He said that how come Dan could get any
good girl he wants, getting something girl that he wants to and to suck his dick, but he can't get anybody, stuff
like that. He's scary. But you never think that anybody's actually going to do something
even though they talk. Have you ever heard of any of these threats from Kevin Young directly, or do
you just hear about them? To me? Not to you, but did he ever make threats against Dan
or Lisa in your presence? Um he Well, I sat next to him in biology because he couldn't finish it. His
sophomore year, when he was in the institution, whatever it's called. He must have said something like that every
now and then, not really often. But do you remember any instance that he actually made threats in your presence?
I don't remember a day. It was in biology he did that one. But you heard it. And you were present. Do you remember
what it was exactly, or as close to it exact as you can remember? He was saying like, well, it was nearing
senior project. Do you know what that is? No, explain it. That's in the high school when seniors
uh I think it must be in May or something. When seniors don't have to take their last set of finals because
they do like a project or working project or something. Okay, I know what you mean.
And they don't have to take the set of finals. And he was just um it was nearing then because he was only
in there second semester with me. And he said he was just so happy to be out of there, and he just wanted to hurry up
and get out. And he was going to make everybody remember him. That's the one when he was angry at the world for
putting him through this. But what I was talking about specifically, did he threaten Dan
Dryford or Lisa Pruitt directly in your presence? No, just the world. Just the world. And this was in his
senior year? Yeah. That he was going to make everyone remember him? What did that mean to you
in your mind? Well, it was kind of freaky to have something like that said to you. But I
guess I'm kind of weird because I just put those kinds of things out of my mind. Just
Kevin's weird. I'll stay away from him and that's it. And I won't have to worry then.
Brian Keating sat next to him in band all the time in that concert band. And he said that he used to hear Kevin
talking all the time. But he never thought anything of it and that he'd actually act on it.
Did you go on any of these band trips like to Germany? Like to Germany? Yeah. Was Kevin Young there?
Yeah. Did anything happen on that trip out of the ordinary? Significant? Uh that's when Dan and Lisa were really
kind of started like going out, I guess. Was there any difficulty on the trip with any member of the band?
Did anyone get in trouble? You mean with any relation to this or did anybody get in trouble in general?
No, not anybody. Anybody that's connected with this group of friends that we have discussed.
Um No, I don't think so. I remember this one girl, but she's in the band. And so
she had some kind of relation to Lisa, but I don't really know her. Did you see Kevin Young at all the day
of Thursday, September 13th, 1990? I haven't seen him for a long time. I haven't seen him since school, I guess.
Now I'm going to ask you a question and the answer, I I care about who's involved in what. But, did you ever hear
anything about any kind of parties at Dryford's involving Robitussin, drinking Robitussin to get high?
Do you mean did I ever hear of a party that we did that, or did I ever hear about them doing that period?
Did you ever hear about them doing that period? Yeah. Okay. What do you know about that?
I know it doesn't show up on your drug test. It always comes up negative, and you can just tell them that you had a
bad cold. Uh you want me to tell you who did it, or how they did it, or Yes. Both?
Yes. I don't really know how they did it. I could never figure it out really. I guess they drink a lot of it. Maybe they
like the taste. Were you ever present when anybody ever did this? Uh-uh. I just I saw the bottles, but I was
never present when they ever did it. Okay. So, how did you know? Just just by seeing the bottles that somebody
didn't just have a bad cold? Oh, no. No. Dan had told me about it. What did he tell you about it?
He told me that he got high off of those because that way he wouldn't ever really
be using any real drugs, and he could still feel good, I guess. And that was just uh
I can't remember who the people he said he'd done it with. They were I remember when I was there,
Jamie Greenfield was there with me in the same room, and I think Steve somebody. I don't remember. Do you know
who they are? No. They're friends of Dan's. I don't think they ever met Lisa. What are their names?
Jamie Greenfield and Steve something. They go to my youth group, and that's how they know Dan.
It's through the Unitarian Youth Group. I just remember it was in his dining room that they like took off the
bottoms, and he showed them to me. And I was just like, "What are those?" Dan showed you those?
Yeah. Dan pulled them out of like a paper bag full. I mean, not all the way up to the rim. There was like seven
bottles or something. Did he ever tell you what he felt like when he took Robitussin?
He said the first time that he did it uh I'm trying to remember the words he used, what he used to describe being
high. Did he mention, other than being high, any kind of unusual reaction or effect
that it had on him? Well, I remember him talking about his friend was just totally like out of it. Talking
about like going into a forest or something. Like, there are trees right there. Hallucinating or something.
Do you remember who the friend was he talked to? No. You have to talk to Dan about that.
He knows that, but I don't ever remember him talking about I mean, he never hallucinated like that. I don't think he
ever did it to the point where he was like that. Why are you asking me about the
Robitussin, anyway? It's just something that's come up in other statements and conversations.
So, we have to clarify that. Well, Dan doesn't drink anymore because he was ill with Robitussin. I don't even
know how he heard of it. I don't know how he did it, either. That's why I ask if you might have known
anything about it. All right, I'm going to turn the tape over to the other side now.
To your knowledge, would Dan Dryford have invited Kevin Young over to his house for any reason?
Lately? Yeah, lately. I don't think so, cuz he and uh am I allowed to swear on this?
Sure. He had called Kevin an [ __ ] which he is. I mean, he's a jerk, really. So, uh
I remember him talking before, like at the end of 10th grade. Who talked to him before?
Dan. He just said that uh that's when Bill DeMarco was there, and the three of us were sitting down,
and he said that. You know, you don't know who that is, either. Bill DeMarco? No.
He's home this weekend from Bowling Green. He just graduated last year, and I said, "Damn, I heard you'd been
hanging out with Kevin. Why?" And he said that he had done one or two things with Kevin, and decided that he was kind
of a jerk, and just Kevin kept hanging around. Kevin was kind of being pushy, but Dan
didn't want him around. I remember that. I hadn't even thought about Kevin since
back in the 10th grade. When was the last time you saw Kevin Young that you can recall?
That I think I recall ever talking to him, or just saw him? Last time you saw him.
In the 10th grade. You haven't seen him since then? Uh-uh. I didn't know if he went to college
early, or I didn't really care. So, that would have been in the spring or early summer of 1990, this year,
right? Yes. What do you know of Kevin Young's feelings towards Lisa Pruitt? If he had any feelings towards her.
Um, you mean out of his mouth? I don't really know, but recalling from other people's mouths, and just everything
that I've heard. You mean since Lisa's death, or before? Then, and before, but mostly since
Lisa's death. Um, that, uh, it seemed like he might have been jealous of Lisa spending time with Dan.
Not like him being jealous of Dan because he has Lisa. It seemed like it was the other way around, just from what
I've heard. It sounded kind of weird. Okay. So, this is what you've heard from other
people. Yeah. Who has been talking to you about it? Jennifer Margolis. I've seen her around
lately. Lisa and me and her had diet jokes going on. Which was? We had a Skirvanas sisters, and I had
just gotten grounded a lot in ninth grade. That's when it started and we just thought about a lot of weird names.
Jennifer was Svetlana, Lisa was Chicana, and I was a No No. And we were the Turkavana Sisters.
What sisters? Turkavana. It's just a name we made up and we had I guess we had taped a whole bunch of
commercials and put them all together. And it was something like Oh Henry bars and Sprite and something. And then it
was just like a simple thing. Uh just to make us laugh cuz we had sat next to each other like in a row in band
and uh once I was grounded they brought me a package of the pop and the ten of those Oh Henry bar thingies and gave
them to me in a care package to make me feel better because I was grounded. Have you ever heard or do you know of
Lisa Pruitt sneaking out of her house and going to Dan's house prior to the incident or Dan sneaking out of his
house and going to Lisa's? Have you ever heard of that? Have I heard it from them?
Yes. From Dan or Lisa? No. Have you heard of it from anyone else before the incident?
Yeah, but it wasn't even a big deal. It should have been but it wasn't. What did you hear?
That Dan used to go all the time like to Lisa's house. I don't think that I had ever heard of Lisa going to Dan's house
but he used to go to her house and they'd sit down in his basement and bring his guitar and they'd play and
sing songs but that's all I heard. I just kind of disregarded it. You never heard of Lisa coming to his
house. No. And he never talked about it to you. Not really. Well, he was gone for a
month. I had been working. I had drivers ed in the morning on weekdays and I worked in
the afternoon. So there wasn't really a lot of time for me to see him in the beginning of summer.
And then I had called him to see if he wanted to go out to a movie with me or something and that's when I found out he
was in the institution. So then every chance I got I talked to Debbie and his mom to see how he was
doing, things like that. What were you aware of, if anything? Or did Dan mention anything to you about
the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Dryford and Dan? How did they get along? Well, Dan and his father have always had
this thing going. I mean, it's a lot. It's a lot less worse now. I mean, I haven't uh
because I told you when the screen doors are open, you can hear everything. You could hear Dan's father screaming at
him for whatever reason. Just clean your room and shave and why don't you help me
with this and stuff like that. I always heard stories about what had happened when they were younger.
Like what? Like what? Well, they're kind of far-fetched. I never knew whether to believe them or
not. Um but I had heard that his father had gone violent with Dan and Deborah and I think
his mom. I'm not sure. And that's why Dan's started lifting weights in like the sixth grade. Um he wanted to stand
up to his father and uh I had heard it once. And this sounds really far-fetched, but I remember it
and I don't remember whether I heard it from Debbie or Dan. But when Dan was little, he had to use
the bathroom and his father said, "No, hold it as long as you could." And then he couldn't hold it any longer. So, he
ended up wetting his pants and his father got mad because he wet his pants and like
pushed his head into the toilet or something. It sounded very far-fetched and I had always known Mr. Dryford as
long as I've known Dan and I've always known him to yell, but I hadn't known him to use violence.
Is there anything that you know or anything that you feel that could perhaps help us in any way in this
investigation? You mean is there anything other that I could tell you, some tip or something?
Anything that you've heard or anything that might have thought about telling the
police or thought about calling us and letting us know, something that you heard, something that you feel that
maybe no one else has thought about, like maybe a threat or maybe some reason that somebody would want to kill Lisa
Pruitt. All I know is what I've heard, some of the rumors about who has texts and stuff
like that. And I really don't believe that Dan or Stan or Tex, either or any of the three of them, are actually
capable of They They wouldn't have done it because, first of all, they wouldn't have done it
to Dan. Stan or Tex wouldn't have done it to Dan. Tex wouldn't have done that to Debbie and they had no reason in the
world to hurt Lisa anyways. They barely knew her. I really strongly don't believe that they did it. That's just
all that I've really thought about to tell you, just who didn't do it. I don't know who did it.
Who is Stan? Who are you talking about? I heard that Stan was somebody. Stan's just a friend of mine. No.
You know Stan? Yeah. You know his last name? No. It's funny. I've known him since the
ninth grade, but I don't even know his last name. But I can recognize him from a mile away.
Can you describe him for me? He is big. Well, everybody's big to me, but he's big and he has long hair.
Probably down to his, well, well, it's shorter than his shoulders now. He looks awkward. He smokes.
I'm trying to remember whether he had an earring or not. I don't think so. Well,
maybe he does. I don't know about that one. Don't know. Just Just disregard that.
Does he go to the high school? Well, he was kind of He did last year and then he ended up dropping out and then this
year he was enrolled again and he was caught smoking on school grounds and he was suspended. Then he was caught on
school grounds when he was suspended. So, now he's supposed to pay something or serve something in jail. Or I don't
know. I don't remember what the outcome is, but he's supposed to go to school. The night that you heard the screams,
well, it was actually the morning of September 14th, 1990. Did you hear just before or just after that, did you hear
any other type of noise that might have caught your attention? why I thought it was so freaky cuz I
heard the scream and just looked and I couldn't see anything else. So, I just said, "Oh, it must have been somebody in
their car or something." You didn't hear any kind of maybe a car pulling away or screeching tires
or Not even the police when they came in the middle of the night. You went to bed about 1:00 a.m.
Mhm. Just about exactly. When the police were all around looking around, you didn't get up at all?
I didn't hear it at all. I was so tired from staying up so late studying. And the screams that you said you heard
seem to be coming from behind your house. Yeah, because my windows in my room are
closed and so was the I have two closets and the door to the hall, two windows and the door to the
bathroom. The only one that was open was the door to the bathroom. So, I figured
it came from any other direction, it would have sounded more muffled. Did you know Lisa to keep any type of
diary or anything like that? I knew that she always shared her thoughts with her friends. I knew that
she had little poems and stuff that she liked that she would share. Not worth sharing it with some of them.
Worth sharing it with certain people though. Who else besides yourself would you
consider to be her best friends? I don't think I'm her best friend. Just Jennifer was really close to her and
Rachel Lowenthal was very close to her and Kim Cole grew close to her in the the
Dan was really close to her and Judy Miller was close to her. I guess I'm kind of on the outskirts of
people that were close to her. Who would you say would be Dan's best friends? Dan's best friends? Well,
Lisa. He was very special to me. I don't know whether he would call me a best friend.
We spent a lot of time together. Used to share a lot of hidden thoughts. Uh I don't know if he would actually
call me one. I would like to think that I was one. Um he uh I I don't know who he would call his
best friends now. All of the people that I just named were close to Dan also. I know there was one guy that he met in
the institution with him, but I don't know if he would call him his best friend.
Do you know his name? Oh, he was just talking. Um I was just over at Dan's house yesterday, and he
was talking to him on the phone. Mike Pagel? Maybe? That's the closest I can call him. I
think that's it. His first name is Mike? Yeah. I answered the phone. I said, "This is the Dryhurst residence." And he
said, "Is Dan there? This is Mike." So, I'm really not sure on the last name. I know Bill DeMarco spends a lot of time
with him. Before they left, they used to call each other over the summer. Do you know a kid named David Branigan?
Uh-huh. He used to babysit for me. He lives a couple houses down. He's really nice.
Did you see him at all on Thursday? No, I didn't even know he was home. I just saw him last night at Arabica. I
was with my parents, and I just said, "Oh, wait a minute. That's David." And I went over and I said, "Hi."
The last time I saw him was I I think it was right when school was ending, and uh
he saw me in the hall and caught me, and took me to Arabica, and we were talking,
and he told me about this girl he met, and da da da da da. Do you know what the girl's name was?
Megan? I think he's rooming with her now, or he's going to be rooming with her soon.
I don't think he's going back to school this year, but he's working down at the in the flats at the Arabica.
He's working at Arabica? Yeah. I I forgot where he's working in the flats though. He told me, but I can't
remember. Is there anything else you wish to add to your statement? That would help you really? I don't
think so. And here we come to the moment the detectives make their move. It happened
on September 26th, 1990, 12 days after Lisa Pruett's homicide. Six police officers from Shaker Heights
drive down to Ohio State University in an attempt to get Kevin Young to confess to the crime.
They have been briefed by FBI agents on how best to do this. The profilers told them their best
chance would be to surprise Kevin and talk to him at night. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.
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Shaker Heights is directed and produced by True Crime Garage, co-produced by The
Philosophy of Crime, and narration written by James Renner. Stay tuned for episode 5.

Source: https://www.podbean.com/eau/pb-pwswh-d42984

Shaker Heights - Episode 4: Chinese Whispers www.TrueCrimeGarage.com

In the early morning hours of Friday, September 14, 1990, 16 year old Lisa Pruett was stabbed to death in Shaker Heights. This is a 6 part true crime series. The bulk of the story comes from actual police interviews. As the story unfolds, ask yourself, who do you think killed Lisa Pruett?Directed and produced by True Crime Garage. Co-produced by The Philosophy of Crime and narration written by James RennerA BIG Thank You to all of our voice actors!Jordan Bonaparte - www.NightTimePodcast.com Tyler Allen - www.MindsofMadnessPodcast.com Jessica Bettencourt - True Crime Garage & Scene of the Crime Podcasts Mike Bussing - Executive Producer of Truth & Justice with Bob RuffBob Ruff - www.TruthandJusticePod.com Tim Pilleri - www.CrawlSpace-Media.comAaron H - www.GenWhyPod.com & www.FramedPod.com Maggie Freleng - www.MaggieFreleng.com Bill Huffman - My Passion Case and Who killed Podcasts - www.SloBurnMedia.comMorgan - The Captain & Morgan Podcast Jessica Yuan - www.AsianMadnessPod.Podbean.com Melissa Lee - Victimology PodcastScotty Boombox - www.ScottyBoombox.com Jesse P Pollock - Author of “Death on the Devil’s Teeth” & “The Acid King”James Renner - www.PhilosophyOfCrime.com A BIG Thank You to Our Sponsors!

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Brief Summary

The episode details the investigation into Lisa Pruitt's murder, focusing on suspect Kevin Young and witness testimonies.

Key points

The Murder of Lisa Pruitt. 16-year-old Lisa Pruitt was stabbed to death in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and her murder remains unsolved.
The Last Conversation. A friend recalls the last conversation with Lisa before her tragic death.
The Weird Kid in School. Kevin Young becomes the primary suspect based on flimsy testimonies and rumors.
The Scream. A chilling moment as the narrator hears a scream at night, not knowing its source.
Kevin Young's Threats. A revelation about Kevin Young's disturbing threats towards Lisa and Dan.
The Confession Attempt. Police officers attempt to get Kevin Young to confess to Lisa Pruett's murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That was the last time I spoke with Lisa.

10:15WatchFeb 18, 2020

Tension

70/ 100High tension

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