A Fire, an Abandoned Car, and a Map to Nowhere | The Megan Sharpton Case

One Tennessee woman was in her final year of college, just months away from graduation, and she was anxious to land a fulfilling job and get real-world experience. She told family and friends about a job offer she had gotten on the outskirts of town, but before she could start her first day, her life was brutally ended by a cold, calculated killer. This is the story of a sinister plot that left a small town shaken to its core, and when the truth finally came out, her friends and family would never be the same again. Fall never arrives all at once. First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, an old cap finds a new scarf, because you don't simply step into the season. You create it, layer by layer, until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way at Ross. The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider is back at Taco Bell. The slider-sized crunchwrap with nuggets inside you love the first time, now with a spicy kick you're gonna love this time. Hidden Valley Diablo Ranch. Or you could order some crispy all-white meat nuggets on their own. Pretty sure you love those anytime. Every time. Okay, all of the times. The Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider. A brand new classic is back, only at Taco Bell. At participating U.S. Taco Bell locations for a limited time and while supplies last. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. My name is Kimberlea. If you've never been here before, it's nice to finally meet you. Now let me introduce you to Erica Megan Sharpton, known to her family and friends as Megan, or just Meg. She was born on October 24th of 1987. She was born in Oklahoma, Tennessee. Now, Tullahoma is 90 minutes south of Nashville, and it's about an hour northeast of Chattanooga on the border of Coffey County and Franklin County. Tullahoma's welcome sign says, a city as unique as its name. But Tullahoma has a warm and welcoming vibe. Like most small towns, it's safe, walkable, and everyone knows everyone else. Tullahoma is also in the middle of the Bible Belt, an area of the southern United States with a more conservative population. Churches pepper the countryside. The nearby town of Winchester is known for Tim's Ford Lake, which is a prime location to fish, camp, and swim. On the weekends, people drive from all over Tennessee and Alabama with their boats, ready to just chill out in their lake houses with their family. Fun fact, I actually owned a home in Tennessee, but it burned to the ground right after I sold it. It was devastating. Not as much for me as a new owner's, but just a little fun fact. Now back to the case. Megan's mom, Kelly Elizabeth Hale Sharpton, was a graphic designer from Milan, Tennessee. Megan had an older sister named Caroline, who actually went by Carrie, and two younger brothers, Alex and Will. Later, Kelly would welcome Cameron and Lee, who are Megan's half-siblings. And if you know me, I also have half-siblings, who I adore and consider to be my full siblings. And Megan was the exact same way. The family hopped around when Megan was younger, and she was able to find a place to live with her younger brother, which meant that they grew very close. Megan and Carrie were attached at the hip. They cracked each other up. Megan was known for her distinctive laugh and her witty sense of humor. And once Megan got Carrie laughing, it was all over and she couldn't stop. As they say, some people have really contagious laughs. Megan was one of them. She was a really cute kid with strawberry blonde hair and adorable freckles. She was an animal lover, a good student, and she was naturally. really talented at almost any hobby she set her mind to, especially drawing and painting. The Sharptons moved to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and then Hazel Green, Alabama. That's where Megan met her lifetime best friend and sidekick, Brittany Bailey. Megan was there for Brittany through thick and thin. Middle and high school can be brutal, but they had one another. And at 13, they liked to hang out after school and watch CSI and true crime TV shows. And one time Megan turned to Brittany and said if anything ever happened to her, she would leave a trail of clues behind so that investigators could find her. She told Brittany that she would put up a fight. If she went missing, never give up searching for her. It's pretty eerie considering what I know will happen later. But Megan assured Brittany that she was too smart for someone to take advantage of her, and Brittany agreed. Megan was intelligent, she was bold, and she was wise beyond her years. Watching true crime, both of the teens felt prepared for any dangerous situation, though at 13, they were still very naive. Brittany and Carrie said that Megan was the most compassionate person they knew. Megan was the kind of person who definitely got attention, but she never wanted to be the center of attention. She was an empath and a natural-born caretaker. It didn't matter who you were. If you were human, Megan cared about you. And that open-minded, free-spirited energy was so refreshing. In high school, Megan's family moved to the Ann Arbor, Michigan area where she attended Chelsea High School. Megan was always inviting kids to join her at the lunch table and making friends in unexpected ways. She excelled in art studio classes with her new friend, Brittany Leal. Now, Brittany liked to paint Megan's hand in class. I know it sounds kind of funny and strange, but one time their teacher thought that they should take a picture of this hand painting and actually turn it in for a grade because it was very creative and artistic. I have a picture of Megan showing off her hand. She and Brittany thought that it was pretty funny that their teacher was letting them do this for a grade. I think it's pretty creative and cool. But outside of school, Megan went out of her way to bring blankets and food to people who were experiencing homelessness, and she even became friends with them. Now, this definitely made her mother very concerned for Megan's safety, but Megan trusted people. She thought everyone deserved a friend, and I have to agree, I think the world needs more people like Megan. She was ambitious and she wanted to either go to college to be a vet or focus on art. To save up money, Megan worked at a dry cleaning business and then graduated high school in 2006. Now, the Sharptons moved to Fayetteville, Tennessee and then back to Tullahoma. It wasn't until Megan returned to Tennessee that she set her eyes on yet another career. One where she could truly help people, and that is nursing. She took some classes at Motlow State Community College and then worked towards her degree in practical nursing at Shelbyville, Tennessee College of Applied Technology. It's a trade school with campus locations in Tullahoma and Winchester. The program was tight-knit, and Megan had two very close friends in her cohort, Brittany Bailey and Wren Scherer. Now, outside of school, Megan had a larger friend group, including a guy named Chris Farrell. Now, in 2008, Chris and Megan got closer than friends, and they went on a few dates before they decided to make it official. She always wanted to fall in love, and she thought Chris was the one for her. They had a very passionate relationship, and friends noticed that wherever Megan went, Chris followed. They eventually became roommates and dated for almost four years. Now, over time, Megan grew into a beautiful young woman. She liked to wear her favorite color, which is purple, and tightline her eyes with black eyeliner, same. Megan also loved stars, so she wore star-themed jewelry and clothing, and I wore a stars and stripes shirt for her today. This is also for 4th of July, because this case takes place during the 4th of July weekend, and also yesterday was 4th of July. Megan loved stars so much, she even had stars tattooed on her, and she accumulated quite the collection of tattoos, actually. She had a magnifying glass, and she also had a magnolia leaf tattoo on her shoulder, a small tattoo on her chest, a star tattoo on the back of her neck, and a collection of six stars tattooed on her foot to represent each one of her siblings. I, too, am a big fan of stars, and I probably have about 50 tattooed on my body, but they're in places where you can't see them, indeed. But you know what they say about tattoos: once you get one, you become addicted, and you want to get more. They're expensive, though, and Megan was paying herself through technical school, so she definitely had to pace herself. Megan worked at a server at a Japanese steakhouse, and this was a restaurant chain with locations in Winchester and Tullahoma, and while Megan didn't love the service industry, it definitely played to her skill set, and she liked the flexible hours, and I'm sure she also liked the cash tips. Megan also picked up shifts at a nearby nursing home, where she could hone in on her nursing skills. Now, compiled with class and spending time with her family and friends, Megan was very busy, always going to her clinicals and shadowing and looking for ways to break into the nursing field. She wanted to gain as much experience as possible and land a really good job. She was set to graduate at the end of summer in 2012, with the official graduation ceremony in October, the weekend before the 4th of July. Her sister, Carrie, was visiting Tullahoma from out of town, and Megan was 24 now, with several of her siblings married with families of their own. She was an aunt to three nieces, Chloe, Lizzie, and Bailey, and Megan's younger brothers, Will and Alex, were in college. Will now lived in Chattanooga most of the year, playing football for the Mocs at UTC, and for Kelly, having most of her kids out of the house meant that she was always looking for ways to get the family together soon. So every Sunday they had a routine. Kelly would host a family dinner starting around 4 or 5 p.m. Megan and all of her siblings made a point to never miss a Sunday dinner unless they really had to. It was that important to them to put family first. At 3.45 on Sunday, July 1st, Megan called her mom and said that she had just woken up. Now, this was normal. Megan worked the Saturday night shift, and after a shift on your feet all night, it's hard to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and she slept in on Sundays. Megan told Kelly and Carrie she was planning to come to dinner that night, but she might be a few hours late. She explained that her plans were to take a shower, and then she needed to go to a prospective job interview. It was for a private caretaking job, which can pay pretty well. So it was really important for her to mislead some of the family. But she promised she would swim by Kelly's house as soon as she was done with the interview. Megan said she actually already did a phone interview, and now she'd pretty much gotten the job. She was just going to go meet her prospective patient for the very first time to ensure it was a good fit. And Megan was excited. This was a pretty lucrative gig, and she would even get a bonus up front. It was what she'd been working so hard to achieve. Everything seemed like it was coming together for her. Megan and her mom, Kelly, were also very close. She told her mom everything, and Kelly knew Megan was worried about getting enough experience in the nursing field before she graduated, and she was really tired of working as a server. This new opportunity would allow her to care for an elderly patient one-on-one. It would put her in a much better position after she graduated to find the job of her dreams. Before hanging up the phone, Megan told Kelly and Carrie she loved them and would see them in just a few hours. That night? Yeah. Dinner went by, and Megan never showed up. So, Kelly called Megan several times, but the calls went straight to voicemail. Now, at this point, Kelly figured Megan got busy with the patient, and then she probably just went back to her apartment that she shared with Chris. She wasn't too worried yet, and would call again in the morning once she thought Megan was awake. She was sure that Megan would have a lot to share about this new job and probably had a long night. But in the middle of that night, on July 2nd? At 1.20 a.m. Just hours after Megan didn't show up at her mother's house for dinner, a group of teenagers were driving home from a friend's house when they spotted a fire on the side of AWOL Road. They were in the middle of nowhere, close to Tim's Ford Lake and AWOL Bridge. There weren't any houses nearby. The closest building was a church about a half a mile away. And the fire was burning in a field, and since it was a hot, dry weekend in July, they called the authorities so that the fire wouldn't spread. The young man who called 911 spoke to the dispatcher, and when the dispatcher asked the location that the fire was near, he said, "That bridge going, like, to Tullahoma? It looks like a forest fire." He turned the car around and then parked near the blaze, watching, ready to call back if the fire did get out of control. Ten minutes later, Officer Charles Steins of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department responded to the call. The brush fire had died down by that point. And as he approached, the teenagers motioned to where the fire was still smoking. He could tell by the expressions on their faces that this was something more than a brush fire. The teenagers had gone closer to the fire in order to attempt to put it out, and that is when they noticed the body. When Officer Steins got close enough, he realized that he was looking at the partially clothed and charred body of a deceased young white female. She was lying in a patchy part of the grass, several meters from a wooded area, with no other evidence as to how she got there. He wasn't sure if a car had just backed into this area and just dropped her there, or what. But to him at first glance, this did not look like where she had been killed. Instead, this appeared to be a dump site. Steins called the department to send out backup, including detectives from the Homicide Department. And in the meantime, he went about extinguishing the fire. He knew that in order to preserve the scene, he could not use a fire extinguisher because the powder and the chemicals would destroy evidence. But he did have sterile water in the back of his police cruiser. This is usually used to collect specimens like blood droplets on swabs, but he brought it over and used it to put out the rest of the flames. Then he attended to the teenagers who had made that call, because they were traumatized by what they had found. This was the first time he had ever been in a scene and waited for detectives to arrive so they could get a full account of everything they witnessed. Homicide detective George Dyer responded to the call, as well as detective Todd Hindman. This was the very first homicide case that Hindman had ever led, and he was determined from the beginning to do everything right. Dyer and Hindman both commented that the crime scene looked like it was straight out of a horror movie. The young woman was blonde, possibly in her 20s. Dyer and Hindman were covered in soot. Her shirt was also covered in soot, but from the waist down, she was not clothed. Rigor mortis had already set in, but the fire couldn't have burned for more than an hour. So the investigators hypothesized that she had been killed before the fire was set. What's more is that the fire appeared to have been set between her legs. Yeah. And because of this, Dyer and Hindman assumed that this crime was one of a sexual nature, and that her killer had tried to burn the evidence. That's where most of the damage was actually concentrated. The young woman had visibly sustained blunt force trauma to the head, and as these detectives were examining her, they noticed they could actually feel the broken bones in her head as they shifted when they gently moved her head from side to side to determine what her injuries were. An autopsy would be required to be certain because it was hard to tell from all the burns and the soot. As far as the surrounding scene was concerned, there wasn't a murder weapon in sight. In fact, there was nothing in sight. No phone, no purse, no ID, or discarded clothing, and no sign of a struggle. The only thing they noted was her t-shirt, because it had some kind of emblem for a nursing program on it, and they wondered, was she a student, an educator, or even a nurse? They figured she was most likely a student, just judging by what they thought her age would be. Without much to go on and without any way to identify her, Detective Hindman took note of the victim's visible tattoos, including the magnolia flower on her shoulder, the star tattoo behind each one of her ears, and the stars on her ankle. And this is going to sound morbid, but it's actually the reason why I'm really glad I have tattoos. If a person is kidnapped or murdered, it can help them be identified. And speed is key when it comes to investigations, as morbid like I say that that might sound. Tattoos can withstand a lot of damage as well, even decomposition, so they really do provide telling signs to a victim's identity. Fortunately, the detectives did find some tire tracks, but then they realized they could not make plaster molds of them because they were in gravel. And if they would have tried, the gravel would have just gotten stuck to the plaster. So they really didn't have much use for them, except to maybe further their theory that the victim had been killed somewhere else, and the killer had driven to this rural location to dispose of them. So they decided to find a way to get them out of the way, and they found a way to get them out of the way. And they found a way to get them out of the way, and they found a way to get them out of the way. And they found a way to get them out of the way. could have been close to the victim's age. So the detectives wondered did they have anything to do with this? Well they looked very disturbed and they didn't seem to know anything about this young woman. They'd been hanging out at their friend's house playing pool according to them and they were there for the entire evening. They were completely sober and all of them corroborated each other's story. So at this point Hyman ruled them out as suspects and allowed them to go home. Now they did all provide their information so in the event they needed to be called back in they could be. Now it takes hours to process a crime scene and they still weren't any closer to figuring out who this girl was. And by the time they were finished it was light outside and they had more questions than answers. They took pictures of the body as well as the tattoos and Sheriff Tim Fuller posted the young woman's description on Facebook. Since it was Monday morning everyone was getting up early checking their social media before they went to work. And within just an hour the department had five calls from concerned parents and one of them was from Megan's mother Kelly Sharpton. Kelly was at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex which is a base for the U.S. Air Force where she did graphic design. She sat at her cubicle, logged into her computer, and checked Facebook. And that is when she saw the post about a Jane Doe that had been found deceased. The post described a young woman, blonde, possibly a nursing student, with star tattoos. And it asked anyone, friends or family members of one that would be missing to contact the sheriff's office. When Kelly read the part about the star tattoos she screamed in the middle of her office. She had just talked to Megan yesterday but this sounded exactly like her daughter's description especially because of the star tattoos. Kelly immediately contacted Detective Heinemann and they talked for a few minutes as he asked her to provide details about her daughter and as she did the detective confirmed that Kelly's daughter's characteristics sounded very similar to their victim. So Kelly was asked to drive to the station for a formal interview and to identify the body. As a mom I don't think I could make it to the station. That is literally one of my worst nightmares. When Kelly sat down with detectives she was distraught. She cried as Heinemann presented her with pictures of the young woman's face and tattoos. For Kelly that sight would never leave her mind. There was no doubt about it. It was her daughter Megan. She was inconsolable and I can't even begin to imagine that pain. The realization in that moment that your child is no longer alive. It's probably one of the worst pains of all. With a new baby that's been looking into my eyes the past two weeks I can tell you that it would be the worst pain for a parent to lose a child. Verse the air. Then the light. And slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress. A hoodie slips beneath a blazer. An old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season. You create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club saving up to 25%. And if you have, I am truly so very sorry. I feel for Kelly. And she tried to pull her emotions together. The detectives attempted to gather more information about Megan and her last known whereabouts so they could find out who did this to her. Kelly gave all the information she could, but she was in shock. She did her best to try to tell them everything she knew that she had spoken to Megan after she got out of class and just before her shift at the steakhouse where she worked. When she didn't show up for dinner, Kelly said she kept calling, but the calls, like I had told you, had gone to voicemail. She also let them know that Megan drove a 1995 red Mustang. That was an important clue because no vehicles had been found in the vicinity of Megan's body. So they decided to put out a bolo for Megan's car all across Tennessee and Alabama. After this, detectives let Kelly go home and grieve with her family. When Megan's sister, Carrie, got home, she found Kelly wailing. And she asked what was wrong. And Kelly said, "That's something I've never done before." And Kelly said, "That's something I've never done before." And Kelly said, "That's something I've never done before." And Kelly said, "That's something I've never done before." She said that somebody killed her last night. Carrie didn't understand. Her? Who? She couldn't process the words. And then she realized it was Megan. But she thought, "It can't be Megan." Carrie was in denial. And when Kelly said it again, she could not process the information. She felt an overwhelming sense of loss. It would take weeks to get it through her head that she would never hear her little sister's laugh ever again. Detectives Hindman and Dyer interviewed Carrie next. Carrie explained that she spoke to Megan the evening before on Sunday around 4 or 5 p.m., and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Megan seemed fine. I mean, anything could have happened to her after 4 p.m. When Dyer asked Carrie if she thought of anyone who would want to hurt Megan, Carrie just blurted out, "Chris did it." Yep, without a moment of hesitation, Carrie already had a prime suspect in mind. That was the only thing that made sense to Carrie, knowing all she did about her sister and her relationship with Chris. Megan's boyfriend of four years. When Dyer asked why Carrie thought Chris was responsible, she said it took a lot to get Megan mad, but with Chris, she had a very short fuse. And that's because he had a quick temper. As Carrie gave the detectives a rundown on Megan and Chris' relationship, it was clear that the couple were like oil and water. They did not mix. Now, every relationship does have its ups and downs, but theirs was going downhill. The couple started out really strong when they were younger. They were carefree, they were inseparable. But over time, with Megan taking her education and her career more seriously, and Chris not really ready to grow up and get out of the party phase, they began to clash. This was news to the officers because Kelly had briefly mentioned Chris in her interview, but she didn't give them any information about thinking Chris could be involved. But even if you are super close with your mom, you don't always tell her everything because you don't want her to worry about you. You don't tell her the same things you might tell your sisters. Maybe Megan felt comfortable telling Carrie the secret truths about her relationship with Chris, and maybe she tried to spare her mother. Carrie said that he was the only person that was with Megan every day, knew her schedule, and had access to her, which gave him an opportunity to do her harm. So Detective Hindman and Investigator Tips asked Carrie for Chris and Megan's address. The first thing they noticed when they showed up was that Megan's car was not there. However, Chris was home, as well as his roommate, Robbie. Chris was upset. He already heard about what happened to Megan because the word traveled fast. Chris told Hindman that the night before, he was actually concerned about Megan. He said when he was at work, he called Megan on his smoke break and it just went to voicemail. Then when he got back to the apartment, Megan wasn't home. But Chris just figured that she spent the night with her mom and her sisters after going over there for dinner because it was a holiday, and he knew all of her siblings would be around. But the next morning, Megan had not called or texted him. He claimed he reached out to Kelly, and then Kelly broke the news to him. He said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with Megan. When asked if they could search the apartment, he gave them consent. They went through that place from top to bottom, and Investigator Tips saw what he thought was some blood in one of the bathrooms, and they also found a couple unused syringes in Robbie's bedroom. They weren't sure if any of this was connected to what happened to Megan, but they collected the evidence and told both men they needed to come down to the station for formal interviews. But before they could even question Chris and Robbie any further, Hindman got a call that Megan's Mustang had been found in Bedford County. Now, the car was parked on the side of Three Forks Bridge Road, a country road northeast of Tullahoma and close to Shelbyville. It was a 30-minute drive from Awalt Bridge where Megan's body was found. Now, another department was in on this investigation, and Hindman had to rush to get to Megan's car to process the evidence, and he wondered if this could be where the initial crime took place. Megan's Mustang was in another rural area without any signage, and it was a really odd place and an odd way to leave a car. It was just sitting there on the side of the road, and when Hindman looked inside, it was cluttery. There were random things in the front and back seats. There was a water bottle, a lighter, cigarette, pack, but that's pretty typical of a young person. There was also nothing out of place, no visible signs of blood, no phone, wallet, purse, or car keys. However, there was a handwritten note. It was kind of tucked between the center console and the passenger seat. Now, that stood out among anything else. The handwriting was neat and bubbly, so Hindman assumed Megan probably wrote this note. It said, "Past 276 Highway, right off highway, no signs, with no signs underlined, and then small bridge with the address 850 Shafra Road underneath it." Clearly, these were directions to a location. The note was, like I said, close to the driver's seat, so it made sense that Megan was probably on her way to that location before she was killed. And I looked at it, and the way it was kind of in between that seat and the console, and I remember back in the day with MapQuest printouts, I would do the exact same thing. Or I would look at it, and I would say, "Well, I don't know if this is the right location." Or I would have it, like, laying on the passenger seat. The detectives knew that Megan was on her way to a new job, so they wondered, could these be directions to that location? Hindman was not familiar with this area, so he called the Bedford County Sheriff, who said that he also didn't know of a Shafra Road. In fact, when they put this location into Google Maps, the location didn't even exist. Now, I did notice a Shafner Road right next to where the road where Megan's car was found. There was no address of 850 Shafner either. However, the area over there on Shafner is also very rural. This whole area is. However, you probably know I love maps if you've been here for a while. And I took the roads on that note on Google Maps. And sure enough, after passing 276, like the note says, there is a small bridge on the right. And that is Shafner Road. But Google won't let me go down it or view the street on that road. But nevertheless, Megan ended up past Shafner and up at Three Forks Bridge Road, which is where Shafner naturally leads as you just keep going. forward. But why did she stop there? Did she pull over to get her bearings straight and then somehow come face to face with evil? Or did someone lure Megan to this location? Was she abducted and then taken to another location to be killed? And did Chris have something to do with this? After all, Megan was smart. She wouldn't just drive to an address that didn't exist, would she? Megan must have trusted the person who gave her those directions. Now that the detectives had the car, they sent it to the Nashville crime lab and Hyndman went back to interview Chris and Robbie. Now by this point, Chris was distraught when he was being interviewed and he said he had an alibi. He worked as a cashier at a local department store and on July 1st, before he left for work, Megan had told him that she had accepted that job offer and that a friend from her nursing school actually recommended Megan for the job. She also let Chris know she would return the next morning, most likely because she had plans to go straight to her mom's after the job interview and she'd probably be there late hanging out with her family so she would just sleep over. Chris said he got to work at the store around 5pm and he stayed until midnight while his roommate Robbie stayed home. But that didn't mean anything until Hyndman got his hands on security footage. When asked about the blood in the bathroom, Chris seemed really surprised at first. But then he recalled he had a bloody nose. Well, Hyndman wasn't so sure. Chris looked really nervous. He was visibly shaking. I mean, what are the chances, right? A bloody nose at the same time that your girlfriend turns up murdered? I mean, I do know from other cases that I've done that bloody noses aren't that uncommon, especially in certain weather. But still, it prompted Detective Hyndman to ask Chris if he and Megan had a good relationship. Chris said he said yes and he said he would never hurt her. So Hyndman asked if Robbie would hurt Megan and Chris said no. He trusted Robbie. They were really good friends. Hyndman then asked Chris if he knew anything that Megan was doing leading up to this new job offer on July 1st. And Chris said the day before, Saturday, June 30th, while Megan was at work, the phone rang and he picked it up. A guy had called a phone at Megan's apartment asking to get in touch with her about a job offer. Now Chris remembered Megan telling him that she listened to the voicemail and called the guy back on her personal cell phone. When Megan called this guy back, that's when he offered her the job. He had gotten her number from a woman in her nursing program and he'd heard really good things about Megan's work ethic and that she would be graduating soon. So she was the ideal candidate for the position. The man explained he needed someone to care for his elderly grandmother. So initially, Megan interviewed with this man over the phone. She was asked things about her abilities, the hours she would be available, and she got all the details. After the call, the man offered her the job and Megan accepted. Then the guy invited her to come meet his grandmother on Sunday night to make sure it was a good fit for both of them. Other than that, Chris told Detective Hyndman he really didn't know much else, just that the person recommending Megan was a nursing student named Naomi, who Megan had classes with. But after everything Carrie had told Hyndman, he felt that Chris was leaving something out. So he questioned her. Chris said they were just like any other couple. They tried to make it work, despite their arguments, which had definitely increased since Megan and Chris moved in together. Being roommates can either make or break a relationship, even platonic ones. Chris also mentioned some of the tension was around Megan's impending graduation. She was ready to start her career. Chris was so happy for her, but he was still young and wild and free. He worked, but he just didn't have Megan's same ambition. He wasn't at that stage in his life yet. So when you're young and you want different things in life, that could put a lot of pressure on a relationship and create misunderstandings and strife. So Detective Hyndman asked Chris if the relationship ever got physical and Chris said no. He would never lay a finger on Megan. He loved her. But remember how confident Carrie was about thinking Chris was responsible for what happened to Megan? And if he was, of course he would deny hurting Megan. And of course he would say the relationship was good and that he would never hurt her. But so far there was also no direct evidence against him. Next, Detective Hyndman talked with Robbie. Now he was Chris's friend before moving in recently and this is when things take an unexpected turn. Robbie had a much different personality than Chris. He was more reserved and serious and he had a little bit of a darker personality. He wasn't a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. Instead, he was more withdrawn. He looked at Hyndman straight in the eye and said, "Look, I'm not the killer. I want y'all to find out who killed Megan." That was convincing, but Hyndman felt that Robbie was acting shady. Robbie had just moved into the apartment. What are the odds that his move and Megan's murder lined up? And on July 1st, Robbie didn't have an alibi at all. He was alone in their apartment from 5 p.m. when Chris left to midnight when Chris returned and saw him there. What if Megan got home and Robbie was waiting for her and then he killed her and got rid of the evidence? Robbie wanted to prove that he was concerned about Megan, so he showed Detective Hyndman his text messages between him and her throughout the night and even into the early morning hours. He was texting back and forth with Megan and then she just stopped answering. But Robbie kept texting asking if Megan was okay. Robbie had texted her considerably more than her own boyfriend Chris. So was he just texting her to maybe pretend he was concerned and create himself an alibi? Because that's what it looked like to detectives. So they decided to put a little more heat on him. Hyndman confronted Robbie with the syringes and the needles that they found in his room and Robbie admitted that he was battling addiction in secret. He said that neither Chris nor Megan knew that he was doing drugs and they definitely didn't know that he was keeping those items in the house. The paraphernalia had nothing to do with Megan's case and neither did the blood in Chris's bathroom. But with this new information, Hyndman asked if Robbie was keeping anything else a secret. Robbie was honest. He said that in the months since he moved in, he and Megan had turned from acquaintances to friends and then recently it had turned into more than friends. A few weeks ago they both acted on their feelings and they knew they wanted to be together. That's why Robbie was texting her so much. Robbie said it was a secret and that Chris didn't know. But then Megan had actually discussed wanting to break up with Chris and Megan was planning to do it very soon. They didn't know how to tell Chris because they both cared about him. But the detectives thought could Chris have found out and became angry. Had Chris concocted this entire story about some job interview so that he could meet Megan on this rural desolate road and hurt her? Or did he hurt her in the house and then abandoned Megan's car and then craft that note to lead the detectives off track? Or another theory detectives had was that maybe Megan told Robbie that she didn't want to break up with Chris and it was Robbie who got angry and maybe he was responsible. Hyndman knew when it came to love triangles there were dozens of scenarios and plenty of room for jealous rage. So Hyndman went back and spoke to Chris again and this time he was blunt. He told him he had information from Robbie that Megan planned to leave him and start dating Robbie instead. And Chris looked flabbergasted like he had no idea. And then he got really upset. Hyndman pressed him more and more saying that it made sense why he would want to murder Megan if he knew that she planned to leave him for his friend. It also made sense why Chris would get angry and maybe accidentally take things too far if that's what happened. Chris collected himself and then he said no. He didn't know what happened to Megan and even if she had planned to leave him or left him for Robbie he would never hurt her. He still loved her. If anything this was a violation of the bro code he had between him and his friend. He led him into his home and then he stole his girlfriend. Chris and Robbie both agreed to take polygraph tests. They were asked very pointed questions like did you kill Megan and by the end of the day and many different questions they both passed. You can pass a polygraph and still be lying. They aren't a true method of ascertaining truthfulness of someone's statements. Robbie and Chris were still suspects but they had moved significantly down the list until further investigative measures could be taken to either eliminate them or prove they were involved. Carrie still thought that Chris was responsible and on the contrary Megan 's friend Brittany thought Robbie was responsible. Megan had gone to Brittany in the weeks before she was murdered and confided in her that she and Chris had drifted apart. She told Brittany she loved Robbie. Brittany hadn't met Robbie yet but from Megan's description she believed he could be a little rough around the edges. Now Brittany didn't know about Rob's struggles with addiction at the time but she still thought Robbie had done this. And you know what? So did Detective Hindman. But as an investigator, those biases can give you tunnel vision and they can cloud your understanding of the entire case so Heinemann fought to keep an open mind. By the end of the day on July 2nd news had spread all across town and beyond. Actually Nancy Grace even talked about this case on her show so it was definitely getting a lot of publicity. Megan's instructor at her nursing school had the impossible task of telling Megan's friends and classmates in her program about what happened. Megan's close friend Ren got a call from the instructor and she thought for sure it had something to do with her grades or an assignment and that was because of the seriousness in the teacher's tone of voice but then she got the shock of her life when she heard the words I think Megan is dead. It confused Ren. She had just seen Megan. What did she mean she was dead? But the teacher explained that she heard the news that Megan had actually been murdered and then it finally hit Ren. She said she didn't usually cry that often but when she heard the news about Megan she cried harder than she ever cried before and she screamed at the top of her lungs. Many people in the community actually wondered if there could be a serial killer passing through town. After all Megan had been found on the side of the road. Plus it was the weekend before the 4th of July so there were plenty of people coming into town from all over to hang out at the lake. The thought of some evil person walking free down their small streets was enough to keep them up at night. The only information at this point that Detective Hyman had that stood out was that call from the man offering Megan a job so he decided to dig a little deeper into this job offer. He didn't have much to go on but he knew the name Naomi from Talking to Chris. Now Hyman was able to gain access to records from Megan's practical nursing program and there was no one currently enrolled with the name Naomi but there was a Naomi Jones that had graduated the year prior and they would have been in class together. Her address was still on file. Naomi lived on a street called Beller Drive in Tullahoma in a cute brick house in a nice suburban subdivision. Hyman pulled up to her home, walked up and knocked on the door. No one was home but instead of calling it a day he pulled the lawn chair out from his vehicle, placed it in the front of the house and Detective Hyman just sat there for over an hour waiting for Naomi to return. And I love detectives that actually go above and beyond. Now he wasn't playing close so one of Naomi's concerned neighbors came over and asked what are you doing. I also like neighbors who look out for one another. Well Hyman explained he was a detective investigating the murder of a local woman named Megan Sharpton and he needed to speak to Naomi Jones. The neighbor knew Naomi so he gave her a call and then he handed the phone to Hyman so he could talk to her. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at bjs.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer new members only. BJ's home of the save. Hyman told Naomi he was detective Todd Hyman from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and that he was investigating the death of a young woman named Megan Sharpton. He had some questions for Naomi. He wanted to know first and foremost, if Naomi even knew Megan Sharpton. Naomi said they had been in class together Megan's junior year, but that she didn't know Megan all that well outside of class. They weren't friends. They didn't hang out. They were just in the same nursing program at the time and they had done clinicals together. But that was it. Hyman then asked Naomi whether she had ever recommended Megan for a nursing job. And Naomi said she didn't. She didn't know about any job offers and she wouldn't recommend Megan for anything. Now Hyman was kind of confused by the way that Naomi phrased that. Naomi wouldn't recommend Megan or she hadn't recommended her. He felt like Naomi was implying that she didn't really like Megan. At least that's how it came off. But maybe Naomi just meant she didn't know Megan well, so why would she recommend her for a job? Which makes sense as in I wouldn't recommend her for anything because I don't know her very well. Hyman really didn't feel like he gained anything new from their conversation except that either Chris misheard who recommended Megan for this job or it was a different Naomi. The sheriff's office put a call out for tips and on Wednesday, July 4th, a man called the station saying he'd found a pink purse while fishing in Rock Creek Greenway. Inside this purse was Megan's driver's license and her social security card, but they still hadn't located her cell phone. Now I'm going to show you where this purse was found on this map if you are watching this video. It's right here near a popular fishing spot. And it's closer to the place where Megan's body was found on Ewalt Road, only about a 14-minute drive. And her car was then found further away up on 3 Forks Bridge Road. And remember that is where those directions kind of led. So either Megan was near the creek when she was killed or the perpetrator had actually taken her things there to this separate location just to throw investigators off and make it harder for them to piece all this evidence together. I think it's crazy that this happened. But then again, it probably stood out, but you'd think if you were really trying to get rid of evidence, you would do something more than just throw it near a popular fishing spot. But because Megan's phone wasn't in her purse, detectives requested her phone records from her provider as well as GPS tracking data. But all of that can take weeks to process, even six months. They were really hoping it would give them an idea of the series of events that took place before Megan was murdered. Megan's autopsy results had come back by this time. And now Detective Hindman was able to finally update her family on the investigation. The past few days had been so hard on her mom Kelly and her sister Carrie. Kelly's energy had slowly faded over the course of the week. And Carrie was really hoping that they would solve this case soon because their mother wasn't the same, which was to be expected. The case was consuming Kelly's every moment. The autopsy was even more difficult to process. Megan's mother had been in the hospital for a long time and had been in the hospital for a long time. She was in the hospital for a long time. And she was in the hospital for a long time. And it appeared to have been at point blank range. When she was initially found, the officers had not seen this gunshot wound because of all the black soot that was covering her face and head. She also sustained blunt force trauma to the head and her skull was broken into several pieces. The coroner believed that she was most likely hit with the gun. The bullet was believed to be a.22 caliber testing. Now to wound someone directly in the face you have to be really cold-blooded. That is very personal. It's up close or it's just plain evil. Either way I can't even begin to imagine the heartache that her family was feeling knowing what happened to her in her final moments. It makes my stomach turn and I am so so sorry. But now there was even a little bit of positive news as far as being able to catch this killer because despite the fire's damage DNA from a male perpetrator in the form of semen was recovered from inside Megan's body. The DNA was then sent to the crime lab. The man's attempt to erase the evidence had been unsuccessful. There is a common misconception that fires will burn hot enough to destroy evidence but in this case the fire actually created more evidence. Not only did it preserve the male DNA it also narrowed down the time frame to the extent that it was able to catch the killer. The fire was then sent to the scene in which Megan was deceased. Megan's autopsy showed no signs of smoke inhalation meaning that the fire was set after she was attacked. So arson analysts determined that the fire was set around 1 18 a.m. I don't know how they know this but this was the time they gave which meant that that 9-1-1 call that came in around 1 20 actually occurred just minutes after the perpetrator left that fiery scene. We also know that rigor mortis sets in after a few minutes after the perpetrator left the scene in a few hours which means that Megan was killed long before she was set on fire. Her time of death was somewhere between 5 p.m and 11 p.m when Chris said that he was at work and Robbie would have apparently just been home alone. After this Hyman wanted to confirm Chris's alibi so he went to the department store and he gained access to the surveillance footage. It turned out Chris worked until midnight just like he said. If Megan's car was near Shelbyville and she was found close to her that didn't give Chris very long to commit murder and arson before 1 20 a.m. Therefore he was ruled out as a suspect but he might know more than he was letting on. A week and a half after Megan's murder the case was receiving national attention. People were calling in tips left and right and the Sharptons began raising money for a reward but there were no promising leads. It was scary. This was the biggest case Tullahoma had seen in decades. People in the surrounding towns were double-checking their doors and their windows. They were scared to leave their houses. at night without either a friend or their partner. And rumors were also spreading quickly and Hyndman was inundated with calls about another case of yet another young blonde, a 20-year-old nursing student named Holly Bobo. She had gone missing from Darden, Tennessee in October of 2011, about nine months before Megan was found. Even though Darden was a two and a half hour drive away, people couldn't help noticing the similarities between Holly's case and Megan's. Holly had apparently been abducted right from her home and Detective Dyer responded to several calls asking if there was a serial killer on the loose, like targeting nursing students for some reason. So he personally reached out to Decanter County law enforcement and explored possible connections between Megan and Holly's cases. I've had a number of requests to cover Holly's case and it's definitely on my list. What's interesting is I've already done a number of cases involving nurses and it's most likely because it's a very popular career, but it's also quite eerie as well. It almost deserves an entire playlist on my channel, there are so many. But by this time in Megan's case, her car came back from the crime lab after three weeks and unfortunately there was nothing of evidentiary value found inside or on the outside of the vehicle. Another dead end. It had been nearly a month and Detective Hyndman was starting to lose hope and that's when he got a call from Megan's boyfriend Chris. Chris wanted to help. He was kind of already helping doing his own investigation and he had been really digging into Megan's job offer. He called Hyndman to tell him he realized the initial offer actually came through on an old phone Megan used to use but no longer did because she had gotten a new one. I don't know how that all works because I thought if you got a new one you know everything would be transferred over but this was 2012 so maybe it was different back then. Chris checked the call, log and he found a record of the initial missed call from this unknown phone number that wasn't programmed into her phone. So he gave that number to detectives. When they called nobody answered but now they had a number they could trace. Usually when you're tracing calls back to an owner you get a full report the owner's name, address, email, and phone carrier. But when Detective Hyndman traced this call back he found out it belonged to a burner phone and I am sure most of you know what a burner phone is. They're cheap prepaid phones you can just buy at the last minute. They're unregistered and there's no connection to the owner and they're called burners because they're typically connected to crimes and they're disposed of after they're used for the crime and therefore they're burned or thrown away. But they're also normal innocent reasons to buy a burner phone. Maybe you don't want to pay a bunch of money for a cell phone contract or be locked in or your phone number has been compromised. You're getting a bunch of space. Spam messages from bots. Maybe you need a second phone for work. But there are also a number of sketchy reasons to buy a burner. Secret relationship, drug deals, human trafficking, or maybe because you committed a murder. Detective Hyndman could trace the number to where it was purchased. It was a store in Tullahoma so he called the store's loss prevention department. He actually knew the woman in charge. He had known her since childhood. She was willing to help do whatever she could. Well he asked to get receipts of all the burner phone sales from the day that that phone was activated and a few days before and after and then to look up all the footage from those sales on security cameras. There were about a dozen sales. Most of the people purchasing these burner phones didn't raise any red flags except for one because they would also be looking for a guy, remember? So there was this guy in the footage. He was wearing a white shirt, a baseball cap, and you couldn't really see his face but that's one red flag. He was hiding his face. The other thing that caught detective Hyndman's attention was that this guy already had a cell phone. He could see it on the counter in the footage but he's buying a burner phone for 20 bucks. So there had to be a reason he needed this phone and it wasn't because he just needed a phone in general because he already had one. This also took place just one week before Megan's murder and on top of all that he paid in cash. So his name wasn't on file. So as they're watching this footage he walks out of the store all the way across the parking lot almost out of sight of the cameras to a red pickup truck but the camera is way too far away to get a license plate. So obviously this guy has something to hide. He parked so far away. So Hyndman froze the footage and took screenshots and then he sent these screenshots to everyone in the department hoping that someone knew who this guy was and literally just minutes later he got a text from another officer saying he knew who it was. A guy named Timothy Gifford. Timmy as people called him. He was a known local marijuana dealer. So now detective Hyndman put out yet another bolo. This was to local law enforcement for a red pickup and Timmy himself. It was now mid-September and the next day on September 24th a Tullahoma detective said Timmy was working part-time at an upholstery store. So Hyndman went over there found Timmy at the store and told him to call back to the station because he was a suspect in a murder case. Now Hyndman told Timmy it was clear he killed Megan. He showed him the footage of Timmy buying that burner phone. Hyndman said he needed to come clean because they were going to prove it with DNA evidence. The detectives had a theory. He targeted Megan for unknown reasons, bought the burner phone, called her on her old number pretending to have a job offer for her just to lure her into the wilderness where he could abduct her, have his way with her, and then later kill her and dispose of her body by burning it. Well Timmy denied that he had anything to do with Megan's death. He said he didn't know who Megan was and he didn't want to be arrested because he was innocent. He even said he bought the burner phone for a friend. It wasn't even his. Sure. The detectives definitely weren't buying it. Hyndman then challenged Timmy saying that they find it very strange that he'd be buying this phone for someone else but Timmy interrupted and said no no no no I bought it for my friend Donnie. He just had surgery and he couldn't drive so I was helping him out and in return Donnie was giving Timmy some of his pain pills. That was their little agreement. Timmy considered it to be fair payment. He didn't explain what kind of surgery this Donnie person had gotten that made him unable to drive but I guess if you're on painkillers you probably shouldn't be driving. Timmy then said he borrowed Donnie's red truck to go buy the burner phone so the truck didn't belong to him either. It was all Donnie. Sure. So of course the detectives want to know more. So Timmy explained that not too long after he got him the burner phone Donnie wanted Timmy's help negotiating a deal between Donnie and Timmy's brother Paul. Timmy explained that Donnie had started sending him pictures saying he needed Timmy's help. He needed him to babysit his kids. He was trying to get a new vehicle. He wanted to trade in his red pickup truck for a Mustang. Timmy thought that was really odd and he tried to tell Donnie you don't want a Mustang because he's got three kids. So instead Timmy played the middleman between Donnie and his brother Paul and tried to convince Donnie to trade in his pickup for Paul's Dodge Durango instead. Now Timmy didn't know Megan drove a Mustang but that's another weird coincidence that this Donnie person happens to say he wants a Mustang. Weird. But what Timmy thought was weird was that Donnie would even want a Mustang because he had an infant and two seven-year-old twins to take to and from school. Paul's Durango was much bigger so that trade made more sense and they made it happen. But when Paul got the truck from Donnie all the carpet interiors were replaced. Donnie had purchased new door panels and the car was detailed to the extreme. If you're going to sell a truck it makes sense to clean it but Paul agreed to trade cars as is. They didn't have to do anything to it. He asked why the inside was brand new and Donnie said his wife suggested it because he planned to sell it. So you know make it look nice so you could sell it quicker. Paul was happy. I mean who's going to turn down a brand new interior of a truck? But you don't clean a car like that unless something happened in that car and you don't just go around trading your car unless you don't want receipts or a paper trail to show you got rid of it. Very suspicious but it did seem like Timmy was telling the truth. So Hindman applied for a search warrant for this red truck. In the meantime he went about locating this Donnie person who was actually well known to Franklin County Sheriff's Office for a number of reasons. Donnie Jones was a 37 year old with 12 prior convictions including forgery, stealing, drug dealing, and he had been accused, not convicted in charge, but been accused of taking advantage of young women. You know the r-word. He searched time and afterward he actually worked as a police informant. I'm sure you know what this is. Someone with a criminal lifestyle who cuts a deal with the police to provide information and help arrest other criminals. So informants have connections in the drug trafficking world and police will turn a blind eye to their criminal behavior so they can allow the informant to meet even more dangerous criminals so they can make even bigger busts. It's interesting that police informants have been around as long as police and there are a lot of debates on whether it's It's ethical to keep allowing this practice, but I guess it works. Donnie was well known to police and had been out of jail for quite some time now. The question was, how would he know Megan Sharpton? And what would be his connection to any of this and to her murder? Detective Hindman found Donnie's address and that's when he realized Donnie Frank Jones Jr. lived on Bel Air Drive, just like Naomi. But he didn't just live on the same street, he lived in the same house because Naomi, Megan's former classmate in nursing school, was Donnie Jones' wife. Wow, the wheels are starting to turn. Things are starting to make sense. There's a connection. Hindman knew this guy had to be involved in Megan's murder. He just had to figure out the details of how Donnie orchestrated this crime and how he was going to arrest him. Hindman went to Donnie and Naomi's house once again on September 25th, 12 weeks after Megan's murder and knocked on their door. Donnie was kind of a big guy. He was over six feet tall and he had a hairstyle that can only be described by me as micro bangs. The officers asked Donnie if he knew Megan Sharpton and if he had anything to do with her murder. Donnie said he never had any contact with Megan. The officer said, "But you did know her." And Donnie said, "Yeah, I did know her. "I don't know much about her, but he knew of her." So the officer asked, "When was the last time you talked to Megan?" And Donnie told them he doesn't talk to her. He's never talked to her. But then he said, "Wait, I take that back." He told them when his wife was going to school one day, both of the girls needed a ride because the weather was bad. He described this time when Megan and Naomi went to their clinicals during Megan's junior year and it was raining. So Donnie and Naomi picked up Megan and she rode in the back of their car. Donnie said he didn't really talk to her during that time and he never saw her again. Very interesting. If Donnie wasn't gonna admit to having a conversation with Megan, maybe he would admit to purchasing the burner phone to call her. But Donnie said he never asked Timmy to purchase a phone for him. Wow. So did Timmy borrow Donnie's car to pin the blame on him? Or was Donnie lying? The officers were not sure. But it was clear that Megan and Donnie definitely had a connection. Donnie said he had nothing to hide. When asked what he was doing the night of July 1st, he said he was at home watching his kids. He said that having a nine month old and two seven year olds meant that he did nothing but be a dad. He didn't exactly say it like that. He actually threw around the F word a few times saying, "I'm with my kids all the effin' time. That's all I effin' do." Sounds like he's really happy about being a dad. But being at home with your kids isn't an alibi, especially at that age. They can't vouch for him. The detectives knew from Timmy that Donnie would ask Timmy to babysit when he was busy. And Naomi could have been looking after the kids at night. So the officers asked Donnie if they could search his house and he said no. He said that his lawyer had told him it was a bad idea to let officers search his house without a warrant. That was a problem. The officer did not have probable cause to get a warrant at this time because they weren't sure what they would be searching for and they couldn't tie the specific house to Megan or her murder. However, they could put Donnie under surveillance and dig into his personal life even more, so that's what they did. But surprisingly, Donnie did end up consenting to providing a DNA swab. And I think I know why he wasn't concerned about that. I'm sure you can guess, but let's just wait. One afternoon, while they were doing surveillance on him, it was September 26th, the day after they knocked on his door, they spoke to a little boy that came up to an unmarked police car. The little boy asked the men inside if they were cops and he explained that he wanted to be a cop one day, but that his daddy told him not to talk to them. And then he mentioned that his dad took him shooting all the time. Well, they asked this little boy if his dad was Donnie Jones and he said yes. Well, Donnie was a convicted felon. He was not supposed to be in possession of a firearm. This gave them the probable cause to search his home. So the next day, on September 27th, they went out there with a search warrant. They made their entrance in a bold way with 45 caliber Glocks. They raided his home. And even with a rifle pointed right at him, Donnie still acted really cocky. And he almost caused a scene. Detective Tip said he already prepared himself to use his firearm if anything got out of hand. But lucky for Donnie, he cooperated and they searched the premises. The search of his home and vehicle took nine hours, but they found exactly what they were looking for, a reason to arrest him. Donnie owned a 30 caliber hunting rifle, which he kept in the trunk of his car. This was the only gun they found. And it did not shoot 22 caliber bullets like the one that was found on Megan's body. There was also no evidence of Megan's murder in this home. No clothing, no blood. However, like I explained, Donnie was a convicted felon. So he couldn't register guns in his name. It's illegal to possess an unregistered firearm. So Donnie was arrested and taken to Coffey County Jail. At least they had him where they wanted him until they could prove he murdered Megan. Around the same time, the red truck that used to be Donnie's was being processed. The interior of the truck was heavily sanitized. There was no DNA evidence tying the truck to the crime. And Hindman was frustrated. He updated the Sharptons on the case once again, showing Carrie the surveillance footage of Timmy buying that burner phone. Carrie said she had never seen Timmy in her life. He asked Carrie and Kelly if they had ever seen or heard about a Donnie Jones, and neither of them had. It made the murder feel even more senseless to them. The fact that no one was behind bars while family and friends gathered for Megan's funeral and celebrated her life was excruciating. At least when Robbie and Chris were the suspects, they appeared to have a motive. But what would Donnie's motive be? Well, I could guess, and I'm sure you could too. Well, just three days after Donnie's DNA was put into CODIS, there was a match. Donnie was the major contributor to the male DNA that was found during Megan's autopsy. They pulled Donnie into an interview room, and Detective Dyer asked him if he had seen Megan on July 1st, and Donnie said no. Dyer asked him if he had cheated on Naomi with Megan at any point, and Donnie said no. Dyer then asked if he ever dated or had a relationship with Megan, or been in contact with her outside of that drive he said they took to school. Donnie said no. So then Dyer asked him, "Well, then why is your DNA found inside Megan's body?" and Donnie's face dropped. Yep. How are you going to explain that? That's when Donnie got really angry. He had been caught in a lie. He thought he was slick, that burning away the evidence would be enough to get away with this crime. He was so confident about giving his DNA sample, but he was wrong. However, Donnie wasn't done with his trail of lies. He then changed his story. I've heard this many times before, he said, "Oh, wait, no, I did have sex with Megan." And it was consensual. And that just makes me sick to think about all that I know, and knowing everything that we know. There's no way. Donnie said he had kept it a secret because he didn't want the detectives to pin Megan's murder on him. You would think Donnie's lies would be enough to arrest him, but no. Hindman and Dyer knew that the district attorney would not consider this to be solid enough evidence to make a case against him. All this would do was prove that he had sex with Megan. It doesn't prove he murdered her. But when they found out about Donnie's claim that Megan consensually had sex with him, she was shocked. She said in no world did it make sense why Megan would have relations with a man that was 13 years older than her, especially when she had feelings for someone else and she was getting out of another relationship. But I do understand the police didn't want to make any assumptions based on Donnie's long history of arrests. They wanted to make sure they had the right man and ample evidence to back it up, just because he was a criminal doesn't mean he committed this crime. Well, recall that they requested all of Megan's cell phone information. In addition, they put in a request for Donnie's cell phone data and GPS records. They also requested the burner phone records, as well as Timmy and Naomi's personal cell phones. Time was ticking away. They were almost to October now. But at least Kelly and Carrie could rest easier knowing that Donnie was behind bars. But Megan's case was still an open investigation. They were trying tirelessly to find another connection between Donnie and Megan. Sometimes Kelly would text Hyndman at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning with questions about her daughter's case, and he reassured her and gave her as much information as he could. On October 26, a graduation ceremony was held for the 18 nursing students in Megan's class at the Highland Hills Church of Christ in Tullahoma. A seat was decorated in Megan's honor, and Kelly accepted an honorary degree in Megan's name. She said in an interview that it was bittersweet. She said that Megan had worked so hard for this, and now she would never become a nurse. Megan's friends that graduated with her and did become nurses said that they would carry on Megan's legacy. It wasn't until November that the cell phone results came back. All the data from the GPS towers had been plotted in points on a map showing the movement of Megan, Donnie, Timmy, and Naomi's phones on the first of July. Officers thought that Timmy was involved, but the only time Timmy was near the burner phone was on Wednesday. the day he bought it. Naomi's phone record showed that on the night of the first, she was across town, nowhere near Donnie's phone or the burner phone or her house. She was at work, so they did not believe that Naomi was involved. Hindman noted that on June 30th, while Megan worked at the steakhouse, their burner phone placed a call to Megan's old cell phone. Later, there was an outgoing call between Megan's current phone and the burner phone. Donnie's phone was in the same GPS location as the burner, which means Donnie was the one calling Megan. Now they know that it had to be him that crafted this elaborate story about needing someone to take care of his elderly grandmother, giving Megan a fake address and promising to give her money up front for this lucrative job that she just couldn't turn down. The afternoon of July 1st, there was another outgoing call from Megan's current phone to the burner phone, around the same time that Megan was supposed to arrive. At that location, off the so-called 850 Chauffeur Road, the GPS data converged. It was clear Donnie abducted Megan, most likely a gunpoint, forced her into his vehicle, and drove southeast. The phones lingered at two other locations, the place in Franklin County where Megan's body was found, and another location near Winchester on the outskirts of a farm. Now Hindman put two and two together and figured the farm was where Megan was found. Donnie was the only one who knew that. This is where Megan must have been forced into intercourse and murdered. By the way, there is your motive: sickening and heartless. A woman is treated as disposable because of a man's desire. Detective Hindman drove out to this location of the farm where he suspected Megan to be killed. There is a secluded road that leads to a gate and onto this farm, and guess who this farm belonged to? The Jones family. Hindman found a field on the edge of a river that would be a great camping spot with a fire grate and a burn barrel. Burn barrels are large, they're made of metal, and they're used to get rid of trash and natural debris without putting those things in the landfill. It's safer than burning things out in the open. And at the bottom of that barrel, detectives found burnt scraps of a thin black and purple scarf patterned with stars. And that actually made me tear up when I saw it. Hindman brought this scarf back to Megan's home, to Megan's mother and sister, and Carrie said it was Megan's. Carrie had actually given it to Megan as a present. Carrie and Kelly felt it in their hearts. Megan deliberately let that scarf fall from her neck, and she left it there as a clue. Remember, she liked to watch true crime, so it could be true that she knew in her final moments it would lead back to her and her killer. Donnie might have tried to burn away the evidence, but Megan was smart enough to leave behind bits of evidence. First the air, then the light. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25% off grocery store prices. And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at bjs.com/mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer, new members only. BJ's, home of the save. and pieces to lead the police to Donnie. Look at this scarf. Look at the handwritten note. Without a doubt, Donnie did this. And now we know that Robbie and Chris were innocent. They had secrets, but they were still young, and they were trying to figure out what they wanted in life, and they both cared deeply about Megan. On November 15th of 2012, Donnie was charged with aggravated kidnapping, forced intercourse, and first degree murder. He was transferred to the Franklin County Jail, where he was held without bail. Thank goodness for technology. Because without that phone data and GPS, we wouldn't have put these connections together. But the phone data couldn't explain why and how Donnie targeted Megan. Did he ask his wife for Megan's phone number? Did he actually search through Naomi's phone looking for targets? Well, we know he was with Megan in his car the year before. That's all it took for this man to want to have his way with her, and he didn't care what extreme he had to go to in order to get what he wanted. It's disgusting. Even with all the evidence against him, in Donnie's preliminary hearing, he pleaded not guilty. Not even a surprise to me. But District Attorney Mike Taylor built a case against him. There was zero evidence that Naomi knew anything about Donnie's actions, but they didn't need Naomi's testimony. The contents of the burner phone were enough to tell the full story. In the week Donnie owned that burner phone, he had messaged not one, not two, but dozens of young women. Attorney Taylor tracked down these women and realized that every single woman was a nurse. They were either still in school, working at a nursing home, or doing hospice or in-home services. Donnie would contact these women, offering them caretaking jobs with upfront pay and a false address. It was all the same. Donnie had a lot of money, but he didn't have enough money to buy a house. It was all the same. It was all the same. It was all a scheme to lure these poor women to their deaths. Taylor was never able to find Megan's phone or the murder weapon. He also never publicly recommended Donnie for the death penalty, because after seven months, Donnie chose to plead guilty. On February 4th, 2013, Donnie was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Megan's mother, Kelly, had been the main spokesperson for her entire family, trying to keep Megan's name alive through this very dehumanizing process. We sometimes forget that these victims are humans. She said that she didn't believe in the word justice. She didn't think it applied to Megan's case, at least. Kelly said justice is a word for the world, not for families of victims. It's sad, but it's true. The sentencing was a relief, but a month later, Donnie filed paperwork to rescind his guilty plea. Yes, he did. And Kelly called him a coward. Donnie said his lawyer had forced him to plead guilty, and Donnie could easily prove he was in another location when Megan's murder occurred. Really? How? How are you going to do that? What proves that he was in a different location when your cell phone, the thing that landed you behind bars, is tracking with the burner phone with the victim's phone? Donnie was selfish, and for Megan's family, it felt like this nightmare would never end. Kelly and Kerry funded the construction of a meditation garden in Megan's honor. It was somewhere that Kelly went to decompress and to think about her daughter. Brittany and the rest of Megan's friend group got star tattoos on their feet and behind their ears. And then the Sharptons commissioned artist Bob Clemens to construct a memorial at Megan's final resting place. Instead of just putting a cross on the side of the road, which Kelly felt would be meaningful but not unique to Megan, Bob created a seven-foot-tall sculpture. It rotates with the wind and is made with 24 silver metal stars. It turns out Bob didn't even know that Megan was 24 years old. It was just a coincidence. But if you believe in fate, I think this sculpture is exactly what Megan would have wanted. And her family said that as well. Kelly actually painted her own memorial tribute to her daughter, a piece with 24 layers. Each of these pieces is made of gold and silver, and it was made with gold, silver, and silver. Each layer represented a different scene from Megan's life, and it sat outside the sculpture. As the wind and the rain washed away each layer, Megan's life played out in reverse. That is so deep and so unique. I've never heard of anyone doing anything like this. But Kelly really struggled. Losing Megan impacted her. It felt like there was a gaping hole in her life, like nothing would be right again. Kelly sought out friends, family, and meaningful connections. She would go to her son's football games along with her fiancé, Don. She visited her grandchildren, and she tried to move forward. But in November of 2013, at the age of 47, Kelly sadly took her own life. Carrie said that her mother is now by Megan's side, where she wanted to be. And it makes me so sad. It's clear that she was in a lot of pain, and this pain was caused by the man who took away her daughter's power. If you're in a situation like this, you're never just taking someone's life. You're causing a ripple effect on an entire community. A number of lives are impacted, and now even ours will be. Megan's killer doesn't even deserve to be called by his name, so I'm going to call him what he is: a monster. This monster caused so much pain and suffering for his sick desires. And Kelly spent her last days on this earth advocating for victims' families. I hope to honor her name as much as I do Megan's. In 2014, a special hearing was held for the monster, and his new attorney withdrew the plea request. It was confirmed. He would stay in prison. But the damage was done. As for Naomi, a lot of people felt that she was involved. In 2017, she divorced the monster, who is currently incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex. If you ask me, that is three years too late for her to file for divorce. I don't want to speculate on whether she was involved or not. If she wasn't involved, I do wish the best for her and her family. It must be very, very sad, complicated, confusing, and hard to deal with something like this happening. But finally, I want to let you know that Holly Bobo's case was not connected to Megan's. It has been solved, and it was just a horrible coincidence that she and Megan shared so many similarities and that they both left this world way too soon. Megan's story scares me because it can happen to anyone. We rely so much on technology. And I'm sure that you have gotten messages to your email or your phone number that turn out to be a scam. People take advantage of young people by tricking them with things like job offers that are too good to be true. Megan was smart, but she knew Naomi. She had even met Naomi's husband, so she didn't realize that this was a trick. It was only through Megan's own actions, writing down the address, leaving it in her car, leaving her scarf at the crime scene, and telling Chris, Kelly, and Carrie about her job, that the detectives were able to imprison her killer before he struck again. If it hadn't been Megan, it would have been another young woman, and maybe more than just one. Megan's family have experienced a deep loss, but are able to take solace knowing she sacrificed her life for the good of others. Megan was a caretaker at heart. She wanted to make a difference in people's lives, and she did. In a way that nobody would have wanted or expected. Megan was the brightest star. I hope by telling her story, not only does it give space for Megan to shine, but to guide other young people to safety. If you're ever going to a new job, a new location, please tell someone where you're going, and if you can bring someone, do it. Make sure you're safe. And please do your best to check the facts before you trust anyone. To all of you watching, when you see a star, remember Megan. And thank you so very much for being here today. Please share this story with someone that it could help. And I hope to see you in one of my next videos. You create it layer by layer. Until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way, at Ross. $10 per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's, home of the save.