Her Killer Wrote A Detailed “Murder Journal” On The Run!? Angela Bledsoe’s Story

[MUSIC] Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so very much for joining me today. And if you're new to the show, then welcome. Be sure to subscribe, follow whatever it is you do on the audio platforms, modify Apple podcasts, all of that so that you never miss an upload from me. So you guys today, we are going to get into a case that is just wildly upsetting. It is extremely frustrating. It's one that, as I was researching for this episode, I just found myself getting so emotional. And I am a very emotional person, granted I get emotional about all the cases I cover, but something about this case, just there were so many times where I would just get full body chills while learning about the details and just felt so incredibly sad that this is a reality that so many women and men to face, it involves cheating, it involves an international manhunt, outrageous journal entries, and so much more. It is just absolutely insane to say the least. I'm going to be telling you about the murder of Angela Bledsoh. And her story is truly a cautionary tale. Now domestic violence is definitely something that comes up on my show. It's something we talk about all the time and there's a reason for that. Annual statistics on intimate partner violence show that both women and men are experiencing victimization at significant rates, which is just the horrible reality that we live in. And unfortunately, as most of you know, the most dangerous time in a domestic violence relationship is when someone is trying to leave. So when we talk about cases like Angela's, it feels very important. And it's never done to scare anyone, of course. It's to spread awareness about these dangers. And in hopes that maybe it can help someone who might be in a similar situation. And with those statistics, I guarantee there are people even listening to this episode who are in a similar situation. And so as always, I will have resources linked for you guys in the description and show notes of this episode. And also, if anyone is comfortable sharing any additional resources they know of or guidance, advice in the comments, that is always very appreciated. And I see that every time I do an episode like this, seeing you guys talk with each other and share your stories or help each other is always so uplifting. And it makes me feel like doing these episodes even though they are difficult. It's very worth it. Before getting into this episode, I just wanted to thank you all for listening to and supporting my show and also any of the mile hire media shows. Your support makes it possible for us to continue funding grants through my foundation, Higher Hope, which supports victims of violent crimes, their families, and like-minded nonprofits. And with that, let's get into today's case. By, of course, talking about Angela and who she was. Angela Michelle was born on February 11th, 1974, to her parents Ray and Gaynell Bledso. She grew up in Maryland alongside her three siblings, Diedra, Lisa, and Ray. And throughout her life, her loved ones described her as a very soft, spoken and gentle person, yet still able to deeply connect with other people. She was also highly ambitious and driven. She was an honorable student and her determination really carried her through every stage of her life. After high school, Angela, who by the way, her loved ones call her Angie, attended Florida A&M University. And she truly thrived there. Alongside majoring in business, she was also deeply involved in student government and also her sorority Delta Sigma Theta, where she actually served as the chair of the Economic Development Committee. And she was very involved in the school, even post-graduation. In fact, she acted as the parliamentarian for the FAMU National Alumni Association. And there are so many things that people in her life loved about Angela. But one thing that I really like and I think so many people about her loved is the fact that even though she was very successful and juggling a lot in her life and, you know, just thriving in so many different ways, she really remained humble. For example, of how successful Angela was. After graduating college, she had 11 job offers. Very impressive. And the one that she took landed her in a financial consulting position in New York City. And she was so successful with that that at 27 years old, she was able to purchase a brown stone in Brooklyn, which is very impressive, but it wasn't ever something that she bragged about. Instead, her focus was really lifting other people up, helping people succeed alongside her, especially other black women. And it's those qualities that people remember most about her. Plus the fact that she was a very compassionate leader. She was a problem solver and a great role model. Angie clearly had a lot going for her, right? And like many people, she wanted someone to share this future with, share her life with. And for her, it was very important that she could meet someone that could match her drive. She wanted someone who was also disciplined and hardworking and had big goals in life. And around 2009, she thought that she had found that with the man that she was working for, actually. Now his name was James Ray III. And he had previously hired Angie to work as a financial consultant for his insurance brokerage firm. Now for some quick background on James because it is important to the case. Prior to all of this, he had been a Marine. He was also a New York City cop and also a pretty prominent attorney. So obviously to Angie, he had the drive that she was looking for in a partner. You know, someone who could challenge her and keep up with her really. But the thing with James is he also had quite an ego. And he seemed to be someone who really valued the opinion of others way too much. In other words, cared way too much about what other people thought of him. I will say I'm not completely sure when or how their professional relationship ended up becoming romantic. But it did. And at first, her loved ones thought of them as a pretty good match. I mean, they seemed like a power couple among their peers. And Angie was very in love. Her sister Lisa remembers meeting him at their dad's surprise birthday celebration. And she said the two of them were dancing and laughing all night. It seemed like they were having a great time. It all seemed to start off very, you know, whirl windy as far as I can tell. But it also started off on a lie. It turns out that James, who by the way was 11 years older than Angie. Not that it's that important, but I felt like I should mention that. Turns out he was married and had two adult children when they began dating, which her family says came as a complete shock to her. So he was hiding it from her. Despite that, though, she did decide to stay with him. And I'm going to be honest, I can't speak to why she continued to date him after being lied to about something so massive. But I will say that based on the interviews given by her family members, they also sounded very confused by this too. I don't think they believed that this was in her usual character. However, they have said that they think James must have been incredibly charming. And this is obviously pure speculation. But I do wonder if maybe he was promising her that he would leave his wife. And I think maybe that could explain why she continued dating him. But I don't know that for certain. Her loved ones also said that Angie sort of lived life with rose colored glasses. And that love may have blinded her. I do know that some people were hoping that they would break up before it got any more serious. But that didn't happen. In fact, Angie did end up getting pregnant in 2012. And she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. And I'm not going to share her daughter's name out of respect for her privacy. But for the sake of the case, I'm going to call her Amy. So yeah, Angie gave birth to Amy. And everyone says that she was just an incredible mother. It was absolutely meant to be a mom. And she really lived for her daughter. She practically raised her alone, might I add. Before you have a baby, you just have no idea how much you're actually going to be spending on diapers. It's something that you buy again and again. And that cost adds up quickly. But paying more doesn't always mean getting better performance, which is something that I have learned. Parents want to diaper that delivers on absorbency, comfort, and quality without feeling like they have to overpay for it. 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Try Gusto today at gusto.com/tckr and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months free of payroll at gusto.com/tckr one more time gusto.com/tckr. (soft music) For the first few years of their daughter's life, James was living with his other family in Montclair, New Jersey and Amy and Angie were living in New York. And for many reasons, Angie was the only reliable parent to her. But things changed in 2015 when James separated from his wife and Angie and Amy moved in with him. With the hope that this would turn things around. However, as I'm sure you probably could guess, it was not the step forward that she had hoped for. Even though you could say James technically stepped up and became more involved in his daughter's life, his relationship with Angie started to get way worse. She confided in friends that things were not going well between them so much so that in journal entries about her relationship, she described James as a dictator. She said he was controlling, that he was a bully, and that he tried to "dominate every aspect of their lives." You would call her lazy. He would talk down to her in front of others. And this gives me the ick of all icks, but he would even send her Bible verses about how women need to be submissive to their husbands. He truly seemed to get off on making her feel small. And despite staying together for another few years, things never improved. The reality was that by the fall of 2018, Angie was in the relationship, but she wasn't in the relationship, if you know what I'm trying to say, like she had checked out emotionally speaking. Sources say that she wanted her daughter to be in one home with both parents, which I'm guessing was a huge reason why she even stayed with James at all. But the problem was that he could sense that she was slipping away. And not even just slipping. Angie was preparing to leave his sorry ass. By October of 2018, Angie was scheduling appointments to look at other living arrangements, but I'm guessing because she knew how dangerous it would be to tell him that she was doing this she kept it a secret, at least at first. Because unfortunately, James figured out that something was going on. And in October of that year, he got their daughter to tell him Angie's passcode and he ended up using that to go through her phone and what he found completely set him off while he was going through her text messages. James learned that Angie had been seeing another man named Bakari Burns behind his back. And the messages between them were supposedly pretty spicy and when he found them, he was pissed. According to texts that Angie sent her sister Lisa, she woke up around 5 a.m. one morning to James sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking his leg. She said he was acting like he was about to "mentally explode." And James told her that she was demonstrating signs of cheating. And in that message, she also told Lisa that he threatened her. He told her that if he found out she was cheating, he would beat both of them up. And so I think like any sister would do in that situation, she encouraged her to get the fuck out of there. She didn't think her sister was safe being around him any longer and I believe Angie realized that. Hence the steps that she was taking to leave. And also, before I go any further, I did wanna say a few things about this whole situation and then I wanna move on and not dwell on it. But I know this will come up in the comments so I might as well just say it. First, there's an obvious cheating double standard going on here. James clearly didn't have an issue when he was making Angie the other woman when he was married, but then when she was unfaithful to him, it literally ignited a monster inside of him. Mind you in 2013 when he was still with his wife and Angie, he was sued for sexual harassment by a young woman at his company. I guess he was making really weird comments to her about polygamy and also was insisting that she feed him with chopsticks. And I'm sure by this point, you also consider James a massive piece of shit. That is just scratching the surface of how horrible this man actually is and you will hate him even more, just as much as I do by the end of this episode. But yeah, it's just frustrating that he's allowed to be a cheater. But when Angie does it after being emotionally abused by him, suddenly, that's not okay. Obviously, I'm not condoning cheating in any way, duh. But I think it's worth pointing out that he held her to a different standard. I also would hope that I wouldn't even need to say this, but because I know the internet so well and I know there will be weird comments putting aside all feeling about cheating, nothing Angie did will ever justify James's response to it. Full stop, there's just no other argument there. And this is fully just my opinion, but I think Angie's situation ship, you could say with Bakari, was almost a way out for her. I mean, she was checked out of her relationship with James who was unloving, controlling, abusive, and she had found someone who I'm guessing gave her a sense of hope. Of course, in a perfect world, she would have left James first, right? But I think she was in a situation where she truly felt like she couldn't, like it was unsafe and she has a daughter to consider. And also in a perfect world, James wouldn't have done what he did. And for anyone doubting, James's level of unhinged just listen to this, okay? So after we know that he was aware of Bakari, he wrote up a prenup for Angie, mind you, they weren't married. Let's remember that in this document, it stated that if one person in the relationship cheated on the other, they would owe that person $300,000 for each act. Which to be clear, when Angie read this, she thought it was completely ridiculous and absurd. And it was very obviously just an attempt to control her and she was never going to sign it, especially knowing that she was planning to leave him. And I'm sure you guys are curious about this Bakari guy. And some of you may actually recognize him. He is a city councilman in Florida. But to Angie, he was actually an old friend. The two of them knew each other back in college, but they had just drifted apart after school. However, in fall of 2017, when she went back for home coming weekend, the two of them reconnected. And between the fall of 2017 and the fall of 2018, they had actually only gotten together physically on four different occasions. And according to family members, she kept this a secret from them for a lot of that time as well. When loved ones found out about him, though, they say that Angie never described the two of them as dating. They did, however, think that he was someone she had feelings for. And to say that James did not take this news lightly would be an understatement. Shortly after he found their text messages, James actually made Angie call up Bakari so that he could speak with him. And he said, as you can imagine, a bunch of crazy shit. And at first, James was asking him if he was aware that he even existed, you know, doing the whole, did you know she sleeps in my bed? I'm a man here, me wore a type of bullshit. Then James started talking about how they needed to confront Angie together, to which Bakari literally said he didn't have anything to confront her about. And I'm sure there was a lot more that was said. But as far as we know, as the conversation was wrapping up, James basically threatened him saying he might be coming down to Florida to pay him a visit, essentially. And it was all very out of control sounding so much so that Bakari even filed a police report about it. And as for Angie's response to all of this, she had officially reached her breaking point. And she sent James this long message telling him that she was done with him. And it reads in part, James, I was done a while ago. I was halfway done when you had your psychiatric episode and disappeared for a few days. I was done when I learned that you were still playing house with Cheryl. Well, I was left alone to raise the little one. I was done after having no help with a newborn and a toddler. I was done when your divorce took two years. I was done every time I realized that you do not value my time. I'm done. And she really was finished with him. Like I said, she was starting to look at other living situations. And on October 22nd of 2018, she had an appointment with a realtor scheduled for 11.30 a.m. But Angie never showed up and of all the people to alert the police that something was wrong. James's brother was actually the one who first called 911. His brother, whose name is Robert, made the call at 1148 that night, but only after a very strange series of events. Starting with James asking him if they could meet up for dinner. Around 6 p.m. that evening, the two of them, plus James's daughter and Robert's wife, all met at a longhorned steakhouse in Piscataway, New Jersey. And right away, Robert could tell that something was off. When they all pulled up, Robert's wife took six-year-old Amy inside the restaurant, and then Robert and James stayed in the parking lot talking. And he was acting super bizarre. For example, he was wearing sunglasses, despite the fact that the sun had already set, and he was just acting weird and nervous and fidgety. And James ended up asking Robert if he could watch Amy for the next week. And Robert found it strange, understandably, that he was being asked out of the blue to watch his niece for an entire week. Which, of course, he agreed to, but it felt weird how sudden it was, right? And James clearly was prepared for him to say yes, knew that his brother would come through for him in that way, because he already had suitcases for her packed and he pulled out a few out of his car and gave them to Robert for his daughter, Amy, while she was with him. And then things got even stranger when they went inside. James refused to eat any food, even though he had asked them to go to dinner. And then he also made this really cryptic comment about Robert knowing everything in the next 24 hours. And then James asked his brother if he would take a picture of him and his daughter. In hindsight, I think he knew that this would be the last time he ever saw her. And I say that because after taking this photo, James announced everyone that he was going to the bathroom. But in reality, he was bailing. He jumped into his BMW and peeled out the parking lot before anyone could stop him, which Robert did try to do. When he wasn't able to stop him, though, he got into his own car, thinking James just must have driven home. But when he got there, his car wasn't in the driveway. And I'm sure the dude must have been thinking what the fuck? Because literally, what the fuck? But anyway, he finally decides to give up and goes home, because he had a 70-mile drive ahead of him and he wanted to get Amy back safely to their house and get her to bed as soon as possible. But that's where it all came to a head. Support from today's episode comes from Square, the business platform that helps sellers become neighborhood favorites. Whether you're gearing up for busy season or just trying to keep up with the everyday demand, Square keeps your business running smoothly, from payments and POS to online orders, inventory staff, and more all in one place. So you can focus on your customers, not your to-do list. Ready to grow or streamline how you run things? 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Not only did James leave him with a copy of his last will and testament, but the suitcase also contained bank cards, two different checks totaling more than $20,000, a full itinerary for an RE paid for Disney Cruise, as well as a typed one-page letter that outlined everything James said happened earlier that day. And this letter was what prompted Robert to call the police. Because in it, James wrote that he killed Angela earlier that morning. Now, unfortunately, the 911 call is copyrighted so I can't play it, but basically, Robert tells the dispatcher that he's pretty sure a homicide took place at his brother's house in Montclair. And the letter he wrote his brother reads in part, "Robert, please take good care of my daughter for me and let her know that I truly loved her. I was about to clean my guns and Angela picked one up as she was going to shoot me. I reacted in the heat of the moment, ease down and couldn't stop firing. I am scared and don't want the long burden of a trial to prove my point." So there you have it. James said that he killed Angela in self-defense, but the truth was something much different. When officers with the Montclair Police Department arrived at their house and burst through the front door, they found Angie's body, lying lifeless in the kitchen. They discovered several guns throughout the house, along with a total of four bullet casings, one in the kitchen, and three more neatly lined up on a gun case in the living room. And one gun in particular was found in a pool of her blood lying near her body, and this one will be important to remember. Her phone was also found on a stool in the kitchen, almost as if it had been strategically placed there. And the scene absolutely did not read like self-defense. I mean, for starters, if that was the case, it's very unlikely that James would have taken off the way he did, plus Angie's injuries told a completely different story. Based on a combination of the autopsy in the crime scene, investigators determined that the attack originated in the living room, where she was first shot while sitting on the love seat. From there, she stood up and moved towards the kitchen. And while doing so, she was shot again this time in the back. Now, this caused her to fall down, which is when they theorized James attempted to shoot her, but missed, hence the bullet casing and damage to the kitchen floor. And then finally, he shot her once more in the head, with a trajectory that suggested he was standing above her. So yeah, very clearly not a self-defense shooting, and with that, the manhunt for James begins. And that started with piecing together the timeline of events from that day. Now, interestingly, during the chaos of the attack, a wall clock had fallen into the kitchen sink. And I have never heard of anything like this happening. It is so eerie, but the battery actually got knocked out when it fell, freezing time at 11.14am, which is approximately when investigators estimate, Angie was killed. And there is something about that that, I don't know why it makes me just so incredibly emotional. I could just cry right now thinking about it. It gives me full body chills. It's just bizarre. And it feels like it was meant to happen that way, to help investigators, but also for it to be stuck at the time, that she died. I don't know. There's just, there's something about it that I don't even know how to put into words. It's, it's, anyway, though, from 11.14 forward, investigators determine that James spent hours plotting his escape. During this time, they say that he was writing his will. He was going to the bank, and he was preparing the letter that he placed in Amy's suitcase. Afterward, he was on his way to pick his daughter up from school. And they learned that he made a very eerie phone call to a female friend of his. And I have no idea why, but he actually did end up recording this. And it's also copyrighted, so I can't play it for you. But he basically just spirals about Angie. He's talking about everything that he did for her, and how he's worried about his daughter's well-being. And then he says some crazy shit along the lines of, "If I'm not around for any reason, can you promise me to look out for my daughter?" Then he also said something really weird and eerie about how sometimes you have to protect people in a way that's unconventional and a little crazy. He also says it takes a certain kind of person to understand that protection even if they don't agree with it. And he straight up said that he was intentionally not telling her everything. Which obviously, investigators were certain that he was referencing Angie's murder, because they knew that she was already dead by the time that he made that call. Now, after that call, at approximately 4.30pm, video surveillance from Amy's school showed that he went and picked her up. And following that, he made another two phone calls, one to his oldest daughter, and one to his other son. And then, as we know, he went to Longhorn's stay-couse to leave his daughter with Robert. But the big question is, how did they find him? Well, initially they put out a Bolo, as well as a red notice, which is effectively the global version of a Bolo that gets sent out through Interpol. And after a week on the run, James was captured in Cuba. of all places, attempting to make entry into the country. And it was Mexican authorities who alerted the FBI that he had boarded a flight in Monterey, Mexico. And by the time he touched down, they were able to arrest him before he even made it through customs. And wanna know one of the craziest parts of this whole capture, when they brought him in, he had his duffel bag with him. And in it, they found an 18-page handwritten journal. And in it, he had outlined everything he said happened from the morning he woke up on October 22nd through his entire escape. And let me tell you, he painted a very obscured version of events. Now this journal is totally bizarre. He actually titled it as if it was a book. And he titled it on the move. And apparently it actually did read more like a carefully calculated thriller novel than a journal. And in it, James wrote about everything in third person, even changing everyone's name, including his own. He calls himself Jack, he calls Angela Mousey, and then he called their daughter Snookums. And this whole thing was written in a way to try and manipulate the reader into believing his version of events. And let me just tell you, his delusion was through the fucking roof. And not only that, he had also written that he wanted this journal to be published as a book. I mean, it was very clearly what he was going for, right? And he claimed it would be a best seller and that he wanted the proceeds to go to his daughter if they were able to get it published. I truly think that he thinks he was really doing something by writing this. But at the end of the day, it just made him look way more guilty. Listen to this. When investigators looked through it, they quickly believed that his intention with this journal or this book, whatever he was trying to do was to make it his get out of jail free cart. And it was really his explanation for why he had to kill Angela, how there was no other option for him, not because he wanted to, but yeah, because she forced him to, essentially, that she gave him no other choice. He even wrote that his plan was to go home and take his life after leaving his daughter with his brother, but he basically got scared when he drove by the house later that night and saw the police lights hence his decision to go on the run. Here's a quote from it. This writing is an account of what might be either my last days on earth or my journey travels and experiences before the outcome of the trial for self-defense. Any actions I may take during my final days was out of pure necessity. And it's super fucking eerie and also just really cringe that he is almost trying to like convince himself that what he wrote is true or his own sake. I mean, just take a listen at this part in which he explains what happened that day. I rose with my morning routine of stretching. On our way back from dropping our daughter off at school, we spoke about us working to improve our relationship. Upon arrival at home, she said there were a few errands that she was going to run. Since I was home alone, I decided to clean my weapons. I came out of the bathroom and Angela had one of the weapons in her hand. Angela's conversation went from going to run errands to reflecting about her frustrations of our relationship on what she called the worst years of her life. As she continued to rant about all the dysfunctional things in our relationship with a weapon pointed at me, I remember feeling nervous, scared, and out of options. James then described how he picked up one of the weapons on the table and fired it in her direction. He said he freaked out and he wasn't sure if he had hit her, so he ran into their bathroom for what felt like an eternity. And then when he came back out, he said there was a trail of blood leading to their kitchen. And when he went in there, he claims that Angie pointed the gun at him again. And the journal says she lifted her arm and pointed it at me again. Out of reaction, I fired in her direction and it seemed like I couldn't stop firing. I honestly believe there was no other choice that she would have fired first. He also wrote about his attempt to flee, starting with how after leaving his daughter with Robert, he dropped his car off at the Newark airport. And then from there, he says he attempted to blend in with a homeless camp, but after realizing he wasn't cut out for that life, he went to a truck stop and hitchhiked his way from Philadelphia down to Texas. And that's where he boarded a bus to Monterey and booked a flight to Cuba. And since Cuba doesn't routinely extradite fugitives to the US, investigators believe that specific choice was strategic. He was an absolute idiot though, because he used Angela's credit card multiple times along the way. So they were able to trace his movements as he went. But one thing investigators never were able to find was the murder weapon, unfortunately. And they found this out because as they were looking through his journal, he had talked about how he stripped it down and dumped it into multiple trash cans. So they realized they probably would never locate it. But honestly, they didn't need it to prove that this was intentional homicide. I wear loungewear all year round, but I will say we are heading into the official loungewear season and I could not be more excited. And I've got my skims cotton pieces ready to go. They're cotton jersey, they're cotton rib, they're lightweight cotton, everyday cotton. And during the warmer months, I'm still rocking the cotton jersey fold over pants because they're nice and lightweight, they're breathable. I can even sleep in them. They're unbelievably soft. They have the perfect amount of stretch. And they somehow make you feel cozy and comfortable while still looking flattering. You can wear them for everything, including lounging around the house or running errands going out to dinner and you're gonna feel effortlessly put together. Also, I live in tanks year round. So I am always looking for ones that are gonna hold up over time and the skims cotton rib tank has become one of those pieces that I reach for constantly because it's so easy to wear. It's soft, it's flattering. It has just the right amount of stretch to hug your body without feeling too tight. I love that it keeps its shape throughout the day and doesn't get baggy after a few wears. I'm a huge fan of everything skims has to offer everything from their robes, which are my fave to their pajamas, excellent. Can't wait to get some more pairs for this year. And of course, their intimates, their bras, their underwear, they're the best. They are the only bras that I wear. So shop skims cotton in all of my favorite pieces at skims.com and after you place your order, be sure to let them know that I sent you. Select podcasts in the survey and be sure to select my show in the drop down menu that follows. (gentle music) In addition to the crime scene evidence that I talked about before, remember how I said that there was a gun lying next to Angie's body in a pool of blood? Well, it turns out that that gun was clean. There was a little bit of blood on it, but that's only because he placed it strategically to make it look like she had been carrying it. Meaning that James' allegation that she held it up and was pointing it at him was completely untrue. But why? Why did he say that Angie wanted him dead? What was her so-called motive for pointing this gun at him? Well, according to his fucked up murder journal thriller book, it was because he wouldn't give her permission to take his daughter and move to Florida. I will say though, for as outlandish as that journal was, it was incredibly helpful for the prosecution during this trial because they were able to use it to directly contradict the actual evidence. Now, due to the pandemic going on at the time and the just general slowness of the justice system, it took a few years before James actually went to trial for murder. But in March of 2023, his time in court finally arrived. And I don't think you guys need me to re-explain all the evidence again, so I will spare you, but there are a few things I wanted to mention. Starting with the fact that his defense attorney was an absolute shark. She has a reputation for being ruthless in the courtroom, and I can see why in this case was no exception. Without any hesitancy, she ripped Angela's character to shreds. She painted her as a cheater, a home wrecker, and a gold digger. And it was so brutal the way that she spoke about her. I'm not going to repeat a lot of it because it's so upsetting. But it got to the point that Angie's dad actually fainted in court and listening to his interviews, talking about what this experience was like. Absolutely breaks my heart. The defense described her as having a big sexual appetite, and that she was after her next culprit. They said that she was the aggressor in the relationship, and that James truly believed it was a shoot-orget shot situation. And their proposed motive was that Angela wanted to move to Florida, with their daughter to be with Bacari. But the prosecution set the record straight. They asserted that James was the abusive one in the relationship, and James was the aggressor when it came to Angela's death. And they said that he had multiple motives when it came to her murder. But his final straw was finding out that she had been unfaithful. Basically, his very fragile, pathetic little ego could not stand the thought of her moving on with another man. And rather than just break up with her, he murdered her. His brother, who has been fantastic throughout all of this, actually took the stand against him, which I'm sure had to have been difficult. an emotional but it was very important. Robert was able to speak to James's state of mind that day and paint the picture of a man in distress. And to be clear, not in distress because he shot someone in self-defense, but in distress because he killed his girlfriend and was trying to run from it. Now, Bakari also testified and his testimony was very important as well because he spoke to the nature of his and Angela's relationship. He also talked about the phone call between him and James right after James found out about the affair. And Bakari said that he could tell that James was agitated on the call, mentioning his veiled threats about going down to Florida to handle this. James's tone was apparently so alarming that he said he lied to James about being intimate with Angela because he was afraid for her safety. And of course, he was also afraid for his own safety, especially when James was on the run. Once he had heard the horrific news about Angela's murder, Bakari left his house and went from one hotel to another just out of fear that James may be coming to kill him, which if I were in his shoes, I would do the exact same thing. And her loved ones felt the exact same fear. Before anyone knew where he was, they were terrified that he was going to just show up at places like her funeral, for instance, and try to hurt one of them. Thankfully, though, that didn't happen. And lastly, I do want to touch on testimony from Angie's sister Lisa. She was able to speak about how terrible the relationship between her sister and James was, mentioning that she had reason to believe Angela's life was in danger while they were together. For example, before her murder, Lisa had texted her saying, Angie, you need to get out of their ASAP. I am worried about you. Of course, there was a lot more to the trial than that, but a lot of it was things that we have already been through. And it did go on for six weeks if you can believe that very, very long, but I think we can all see as clear as day what the truth is. And the jury definitely did, too, because even after a six week trial, it took them only three hours to come back with a guilty verdict. And James, he maintained that cold expression during the verdict reading that he had throughout the entire trial. To be clear, though, while this did mean justice for Angela, and that is fantastic, it didn't take away from the fact that she is gone. Her daughter will still never get her mom back. She'll live the rest of her life without her, and she'll forever have to live knowing that her dad is the reason why. And on top of the pain of that, she and the rest of Angie's loved ones suffered in major blow when just days before James was set to be sentenced on Father's day of all days. He took his own life. His body was found in his jail cell, and to this day, they have yet to release an official cause of death. And while I'm sure a lot of you, you know, have the opinion that the world is better off without him and who cares. The tough thing about it, though, is that and this is so frustrating you guys, but this action actually meant that the conviction no longer stood. Yes, you heard that right in the state of New Jersey, a conviction does not stand until the perpetrator is sentenced, meaning Angie technically did not get justice after all. And this also meant that her family couldn't read their victim impact statements. And it just broke my heart when I found out they weren't able to read those statements because that is such a huge part of the healing process, the grieving process. It's something that every family who has a loved one murdered should be able to do if they want to do it. And for them to not have that opportunity is just heartbreaking to me, especially with how long they had to sit through this trial, how long they had to wait for that justice. The way that the trial brought up so many emotions, especially with the defense team, just being absolutely ridiculous and putting them through all of that. I mean, just crushing Angela's character to the point where her dad fainted and for them not to be able to get to say their peace in a way is just it's devastating. I do believe there is peace in knowing that he can never hurt anyone again, but I just know it has to be really upsetting for her loved ones. And I know it is they have made that very clear and I want to be sure to honor that. And speaking of honor, Angela's family wanted to find a way to honor her legacy. And they did that by creating an endowment to fund a scholarship in her name at Florida A&M University. Angela spent her life cherishing the opportunities that came from her college experience. So they wanted to help others in her name, which I thought was such a beautiful way to really honor the person that she was and something that she would have highly valued, I believe. Now I wasn't able to find a working link to make donations. So if any of you come across it or know how to access that, please feel free to post a comment so that I can pin that or add it to the show notes of Spotify and Apple podcasts because I would love to be able to support that myself and have all of you be able to support it if you're interested as well. But I'm not sure if they're still actively taking donations at this time, but before I go, I do want to share that her daughter seems to be doing incredibly well, which is great news. She has been in her Aunt Lisa's care after their family fought for custody in three states. And this was super cool to learn, but I guess she is now fluent or nearly fluent in both Spanish and Mandarin. So very, very impressive. And I have no doubt that she will end up being just as successful and driven as her mother in life. And I know that there will forever be a lot to process and a lot of hard times for everyone in their family, including her. But I do find some comfort in knowing how supportive they have all been to one another and how well taken care of her daughter is in the hands of her Aunt Lisa, who just seems like a wonderful caretaker. Now, like I said at the beginning of today's episode, domestic violence is a theme that we talk about time and time again on this show. And I think Angela's case really highlights a lot of warning signs that are important to be aware of. Domestic violence rarely starts out with an extreme, right? Abusers first work to earn your trust, love bomb you, and then over time they break you down and you start to see the cracks until it gets to that extreme. And James got Angela under his control by being incredibly charming. And only after she abrooted her life to live with him, did he start belittling her? I mean, as I said earlier, she literally described him as a dictator. But his abuse was psychological, which sometimes I'm not saying this is necessarily Angela's case, but it can be hard for someone experiencing that type of abuse in the moment to recognize, oh, okay, this is what's happening here. If someone hasn't told you before, let me tell you now, it is not normal for your partner to make you feel bad about yourself and to control you in that way. It is not normal for someone your with who is supposed to love you to make you feel like you are small or like you are constantly being monitored, controlled or surveilled by them. Behaviors like this can absolutely escalate over time, sometimes very, very quickly, as can your risk of harm, both emotionally and physically, and other non-physical signs of abuse to be aware of include isolation, extreme jealousy, dominating behavior, gaslighting and shifting blame. Now, of course, that's not a comprehensive list, and there are some really great resources out there to learn more about the warning signs of domestic violence, as well as support for how to safely get out of an unsafe relationship, which is very difficult to do sometimes, and sometimes you need that help. And I, of course, will have all of that linked in the description and show notes for you all. Like I said, you guys are just so great about leaving advice and support for one another, so I know it will be there, and I'm looking forward to seeing that in my comment section because it's always very encouraging to see. That is going to be it for me this week. You guys, I will, of course, be back next week with another case, but until then, stay safe out there. [Music]