[Vigil] - Mary's Voice - The Case of Mary Collins - Charlotte, North Carolina

Welcome to least of these where I cover the cases that need it most because every life matters and everyone deserves justice. I'm your host, Leah D. Today things are going to be a little different. March 28th of 2026, Mark's six years since Mary Collins was brutally murdered at the hands of people she trusted. I covered Mary's case not too long after I started this podcast and Mary's story is one that will stick with me for the rest of ever. Her life and her family's fight for justice has made a huge impact on me, this podcast and how I bring you the stories each and every week. Every case is important and in some way or another they all stay with me but Mary's story has impacted me in a way I'm not sure I can put into words and I know a lot of you out there feel the same way. Every year on the anniversary of Mary's murder we stand with her family to honor her life through an online vigil and this year will be no different. But before we get into the details of the vigil let's talk about what has happened in Mary's case over the past year. As many of you know in six years only one of the four involved in Mary's murder has been held accountable and she was given a plea deal. That was Kelly Lavery, she pled guilty and was sentenced to a total of 32 years behind bars. Lavi fam James Salerno and America deal are all still awaiting trial. At one point both James Salerno and America deal were out on bond out walk in the streets. James Salerno's bond was later revoked. He was involved in a hit and run while on bond in 2024 but that doesn't appear to be the reason for the revocation. However at some point after that his bondsman revoked his bond and he is now behind bars. The same cannot be said for America deal, she is out free as a bird despite multiple violations of her conditions. WCNC Charlotte reported that in a bond review in October of 2025 prosecutors alleged that deal repeatedly violated the terms of her release by missing curfew, failing to charge her ankle monitor and missing payments for her electronic monitoring. Prosecutors wanted deals bond revoked. Mary's family was in court for the hearing, of course they also wanted America deal back behind bars, believing she should have never been given a bond in the first place. The judge however denied the motion and not only ordered that deal would remain on bond also ordered her electronic monitoring device be removed, leaving her only condition a six p.m. to six a.m. curfew. For Mary's family it was another blow. Mary's grandmother Mia said the ruling felt like a painful reminder of the system's failure to protect Mary in life and now even in death. Six years after Mary Collins was murdered her family still waits for some semblance of justice. There has been no update as to when trials for the remaining three will begin. The family has recently been told that some of the delay is due to an error in DNA testing. The error wasn't an actual evidence from the case but a control. Regardless it's a likely DNA evidence and Mary's case will have to be retested. Mary's case wasn't the only one affected by the mess up at the lab. There is a backlog of cases waiting to be tried in Mecklenburg County for a variety of reasons. Families waiting endlessly for their loved ones' cases to be tried. Every year from March 28th to April 5th Mary's family holds an online candlelight vigil marking the days she was trapped inside Fam and Labory's apartment. For the past four years I've had the honor of joining in along with many of you supporting Mary's family and honoring the life of a beautiful soul taken far too soon. At the request of Mary's family I am re-releasing all of the episodes and updates on Mary's case. I'd like us all to take the time to not only honor Mary but to remember what families of victims go through in their fight for justice. It doesn't end with an arrest, it doesn't end with a trial, it just doesn't end. These families fight a never-ending battle because even after convictions there are appeals and hearings. Long after the reporters and cameras leave the family is still there fighting behind the scenes to ensure that the perpetrators stay behind bars. I'll be posting information in the show notes on how you can participate in the online vigil. Let's continue to stand with Mary and her family and demand that justice be served. And with all that said, let's get right to it. Mary Santina Collins was born on July 6 1999. She was beautiful with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. From her first day on this earth she captivated the hearts of her entire family. Mary lived with her grandparents and while her grandmother was her main caretaker, there were plenty of other hands around doting on Mary. Her mom and aunts were always a huge part of her life along with her sisters, brother and her many cousins and extended family. When Mary was three months old her grandmother started to notice that something was different and it started with feeding issues. They had to feed baby Mary sitting up in order for her to keep anything down. As time went on, concerns grew when Mary started missing those baby milestones. For instance, when Mary was first shown herself in the mirror she didn't engage. Didn't make eye contact but instead seemed to look past herself. Her grandma voiced her concerns to doctor after doctor, but she was dismissed. She had raised five children at this point. I mean she knew what she was doing, but nonetheless it seemed no one was listening and further just about the time she'd raise a little hell about a specific milestone, Mary would then meet it. But if anyone thought that would stop her from advocating for little Mary, then they would be severely mistaken. She kept detailed notes, researched and sought the help of specialist. Her persistence paid off and at the age of three, Mary was diagnosed with 22Q, which is sometimes known as the George syndrome. According to 22.org, 22Q 11.2 deletion syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by a micro deletion of chromosome 22, which is present from the time a child is conceived. The 22Q deletion is almost as common as down syndrome. It is present in one out of every one thousand live pregnancies, in one in 68 children with congenital heart disease, and in five to eight percent of children born with cleft palate, the deletion has the potential to affect almost every system in the body and can cause a wide range of health problems, although no two people are exactly alike or affected in the same way, and the range of severity differs, much like the autism spectrum. At the time and even to this very day, many doctors aren't familiar with the diagnosis, nor do they understand the widespread variability, which unfortunately leaves many families searching for resources for years, just as Mary's family had. The diagnosis itself wasn't that important. Mary was Mary, and she was far more than any disability, but it's what the diagnosis would provide. If they understood what Mary's challenges were, they would be able to advocate for her and try and get the resources Mary needed. It was around the same time that doctors discovered that Mary was born with a submucous cleft palate, something that's pretty common for those with 22Q. According to Kid's Health, a submucous cleft palate, or SMCP, happens when the roof of the mouth or palate doesn't form properly when a baby is developing in the womb. This cleft is an opening underneath the mucus membrane or the tissue that covers the palate, and while a typical cleft palate is noticed when a baby is born, because the cleft and submucous cleft palate is under the tissue, it's harder to see. There are varying degrees of this type of cleft palate, and Mary's was the most severe, causing both speech and feeding issues, and it would require surgery. The surgeon told Mary's family he didn't know if she'd ever speak, but he just didn't know Mary. Little Mary had a lot to say. She was already communicating with signs in her entire little being, and kept a notebook with her, every person caring for Mary, riding down each sign as she learned them, the first sign she ever learned was front. You see, Mary always wanted to have and to be a friend. I want you to remember that because it's going to be so very important later. Mary had her challenges, and while she was sweet-natured, she was born with a fire in her soul and would let nothing hold her back. By the age of six, she did speak, defying all the odds. Her speech was impaired and only those closest to Mary could understand, but she was speaking. Mary had found her voice. It was different, it was unique, but it was hers. Different and unique, just like Mary. At eight, her grandmother took her to Duke University to take part in a study for 22Q. As I mentioned, the disorder was and still is relatively unknown to many doctors. This study would not only help Mary and her family, but others like them, so she and Mary decided to participate in that 22Q clinic study at Duke. Her grandmother was looking forward to answers of how to better help Mary. Mary was looking forward to the $100 she would be getting paid to do the study. After all, she was eight. $100 felt like a million. She completed the study and had the money in hand. She could have spent it on anything she wanted, but sweet Mary chose to donate every dime to the smile train, a non-profit who among other things covers the cost of cleft palate surgeries for children across the world. Mary wanted to give someone their smile and their voice. Her family was touched. They raised the rest of the funds to cover the full cost of a surgery for a child. They all met up and prayed over the check before sending it off. And not only did Mary get her $100, her grandmother got the answer to questions, she had asked to anyone who would stand still for half a second. And Mary was diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities, and they gained a better understanding for how they could help Mary. And that's just what they did. Her grandma had always been a fierce advocate for Mary from the day she was born. And as you'll see, that would and will never change. As Mary grew, her personality began to blossom. By the time she was a teenager, she had a love for music. And the girl had taste, loving everything from Kurt Cobain to Pretty Reckless and even the King himself, Elvis Presley. She'd sing her heart out along with the grates and dance around in her room. Mary had a knack for photography and it seemed the light was attracted to her. She was beautiful with a bone structure and thick hair that any high-fashion runway model would envy. But you couldn't have told her that because as gorgeous as she was, she was equally shy. While she and her sisters would set up photo shoots, Mary rocking everything from combat boots and nirvana tees to fancy dresses and heels. Many of these photographs were never shared with the world and instead kept safe right there on her computer. She loved all things makeup and hair and watched YouTube videos teaching herself to apply the perfect winged eyeliner and dyeing her hair and buying wigs in every color of the rainbow from bright blue to flaming red and anything and everything in between. She had a special sense about her and her family always felt she could see things they couldn't see. She was kind, trusting, quirky, funny and her inward beauty exceeded the outward and that's saying a lot. Mary was named after her great-great-grandmother, Mary, a name that holds a lot of meaning in her family. Her middle name Santina was after her great-grandmother and also means saint and Italian and that middle name almost defined her. Almost. While she definitely had a sweet nature, she never lost that spark. In fact, as she grew that little flame in Mary's soul that had fueled her overcoming so much, only burned brighter. She had an impeccable sense of humor and loved to pull one over on her friends and family and every now and then get into a little bit of harmless mischief. Through high school, she remained close with her siblings, aunts and had a few close friends. But after school, those friends were moving on, going to college and Mary just wasn't quite ready yet. Don't get me wrong, they stayed in touch and they all still love their Mary and I have no doubt that given the opportunity, Mary would have pushed through and gotten there on her own time. But due to her diagnosis in March of 2020, while she was 20 years old, according to her family, in some aspects her functions and cognitive abilities were more like those of someone who was around the age of 15. Her grandmother struggled with allowing Mary the freedom to continue to blossom and shine by keeping her safe. She knew the world could be cruel, especially cruel to someone as beautifully unique as her Mary. And Mary wouldn't see that coming. Cruel didn't exist in her. She loved deeply and fiercely and she trusted and forgave the same way. March of 2020 was a shit show for the entire world. The pandemic had made its way to the United States and at the time there were so many unknowns. Businesses were shutting down and essentials were hard to come by. It was especially troubling to Mary's grandmother because not only did she not know how detrimental catching COVID-19 could be for Mary due to her 22-q diagnosis, which does affect the heart. Even medical professionals didn't know. And further, she was in contact with family over in Italy, which had some of the most strict lockdown procedures. She worried that could soon be happening in the US, so she did her best to stock up on essentials and follow the quarantine guidelines for the city of Charlotte at the time. She, Mary, and the rest of the family quarantined, and by March 28th, Mary was a little frustrated with it all. She wanted to go out and do something and was tired of looking at four walls. An opportunity presented itself when she was contacted by Kelly Lavery, a girl Mary knew through one of her friends in school, Lavi Fam. You see, Mary had briefly dated Fam, and by date, I mean hung out with him and the presence of their families for the most part. You know, they were only in high school, and while the relationship ended, there were seemingly no hard feelings. As I've said, Mary was very forgiving. Lavery and Mary communicated back and forth, and Lavery invited her over to the apartment she shared with Fam. Lavery claimed they'd have a girl's night in at the apartment, hang out, and do what you do with your girlfriends. Mary was excited, maybe a little bit apprehensive, because of previous experiences with Kelly, which we'll get to in a minute. But the girl was ready to get out of the house. She missed her good friends. She had already been quarantined for weeks, and this would be fun. Kelly offered a new friendship. But her family didn't share in the excitement for a couple of reasons. One, that was the same day the North Carolina governor had shut down the state. And they didn't really like Lavery, and believe me, they had their reasons. She was four years older than Mary, and they knew about some comments made by Kelly to Mary over social media. According to screenshots of Mary's personal Facebook page, and comments under a photo Mary posted of herself wearing a distressed denim jacket, her hair browned at the time and parted to the side, the light illuminating her perfectly done brows and natural beauty. Lavery commented, "Yikes!" followed by Fam's comment of, "U." And if that wasn't insulting enough, Lavery, responding to no one, in nearly unintelligible slang, which I'll interpret for you, kept going, "Have you ever thought maybe just maybe? It's because you ain't shit." Further adding, "I'd want to disappear ASAP, to be honest." Classy, I know. And as you'll soon learn, class wasn't a word Lavery had even so much as looked up the definition of, and judging by her skills of the English language, it appears she might have never actually met a dictionary. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. And that wasn't the only instance, according to one of two excellent articles done by the Queen City nerve. Lavery had bullied Mary on several occasions, and at least once told Mary that she should kill herself. Lavery would always be sure to apologize and make up with Mary, manipulating her with the promise of friendship, something we've already established was very important to Mary. You can see why Mary's family had concerns. However, they could have never imagined the depths of the depravity that is Kelly Lavery. No one could. From Geico's subconscious news, I'm Tammy Racing Thoughts. Tonight, you just left for work and had a non-specific feeling that something was happening to your place and it wasn't good, Dan. Exactly Tammy, it could be smoke damage, theft, or just too much caffeine, but you can't stop thinking about it. But with renders insurance through Geico, your stuff is covered, so you don't have to worry. And that's great, because the weekend has come up and it's chock full of social obligations that are ready to feel bad for. Oh boy, will they dad? It feels good to worry less. It feels good to Geico. Lavery paid for an Uber for Mary and had it sent a picker up. The reason for the Uber, Mary didn't drive. Due to her different abilities, she could not navigate her way around her own neighborhood, much less a city as big as Charlotte. It was one of her biggest challenges. And the reason her family always tried to make sure she was with someone trustworthy and relied on them to make sure Mary made it to and from her destination safely. And the reason her family had an app on Mary's phone where they could track her location and knew where she was at all times. They wanted to make sure that is Mary made her way out into the world if she got into trouble due to her navigation skills and the fact that her speech was impaired. Someone could be there in a hop skip and a jump to get her back to where she needed to be. On Saturday, March 28th at approximately 230 pm, that Uber ordered by Lavery arrived at Mary's family home to pick her up. Her grandmother protested again and even asked the Uber driver not to give her a ride. According to that article on Queen City Nerve, the Uber driver told her grandmother, "She's grown. I'm taking her." And the car drove off, taking Mary to the yard's apartments in Noda where Lavery and Fam lived. No one could have imagined the horror that was about to unfold over the next eight days. Mary's grandmother went back in the house and began cleaning and making preparations. She knew that upon Mary's return, she would need to quarantine again so she wanted to make sure everything was set up and ready for Mary when she came home. She checked Mary's location. She knew she had arrived at Lavery and Fam's apartment. The day wore on tonight and she hadn't heard from Mary. She began to worry a bit. Mary's family and friends, her grandmother included, had tried texting and calling her but she didn't respond. That wasn't like Mary but she focused her attention on the cleaning and tried to brush it off. Maybe Mary was just annoyed with her not wanting her to go or annoyed with the whole pandemic situation or maybe the answer was even more simple and Mary's phone had died. She expected to hear from her at any second but she didn't. All through the night, there was nothing from Mary. The next day, March 29, 2020, that feeling in the pit of her grandmother's stomach had grown. Maybe something was off. Someone in the family should have heard from her by now. They were in constant communication so radio silence didn't make sense and not only had Mary not called or texted, there was no activity on her social media which was odd. But there was activity on someone else's social media. There was a post on Lavy Fam's Twitter account. It was a video, a video showing Fam, Lavery, and Mary together at the Noda apartment picking up a sushi delivery. Her grandmother breathed the sigh of relief. After all, sushi was Mary's absolute favorite food and her sweet Mary was smiling in the video. It's a short clip and while Fam's Twitter account has been taken down, WCNC News got access and broadcast clips of that video on a story done covering Mary's case. In the video, you can clearly see that Fam is the one recording. He records as a three of them walk down a hallway at the apartment, Fam walking in front and carrying the takeout sushi, holding it up to the camera and saying, "We got sushi with Lavery and Mary walking behind him. Lavery, her arm around Mary who was walking looking down at the ground. They made it to the elevator. Mary is smiling. Lavery tilts her head to the side looking at Mary and smiling. She then turns, smiles for the camera and makes a gesture with her hands. Lavery held her hand with her thumb over her middle and ring finger, extending only her pinky and index finger. A gesture that can be associated with many things, but most often is known as the sign of the horns or the devil's horns. A sign that by itself means nothing. It's thrown up at rock concerts all around the world as a way to say rock on or hell yeah. It's not something I or anyone else for that matter would even notice or feel the need to mention. However, by the end of this episode, you'll know why I did. Lavery then turns her hand upside down and points downward, mouthing something that I can't make out. And while this video disturbs me to my core, at the time it was posted, it didn't raise any alarm bells. Mary was smiling. On any normal day, this would be nothing more than a video of three friends hanging out and getting sushi. And according to Mary's voice, that was all seemingly by design. The video gave her grandmother a false sense of security. Mary was okay. She was with her friends. I'm using that term very loosely and she was enjoying her favorite meal, something she had done with fam during their brief relationship. This was good news. For a short time, it eased her mind and she decided she would just wait for Mary to text her. But the text didn't come. By the next day, March 30th, with no word from Mary, all bets were off. Her grandmother headed to fam and Lavery's apartment to go and pick her up. She knocked on the door and Lavery and fam answered. Her grandmother asked them where Mary was and they told her that Mary had left their apartment earlier in the day. But she knows that's a lie. She screams Mary's name but Mary doesn't answer. She asked to take a look around the apartment and they allow her inside. But they forbid her from going into the backmaster bedroom. There's no sign of Mary. She leaves the apartment and searches all around the complex hours past. But she couldn't find Mary. At this point, she's frantic. She called 911 and the operator incorrectly informed her that she had to go home to make a report. But she doesn't want to leave. Her gut is telling her that Mary is in that apartment. Something is so very wrong. She needed the police. So against every fiber of her being, she left to go home and file the report, believing that law enforcement would get into that apartment and get her girl. But that's not what happens. Although her grandmother pledged with officials informing them that Mary was differently abled and had never lost contact with her family, she hadn't ran off or wandered away. And even if she had, it was urgent that someone find her. Mary's life was in danger. Another night passes. The desperation Mary's family felt was overwhelming. She hadn't made contact with anyone. And further, since Mary's phone was on a shared family plan, they could see that there had been no activity on her phone whatsoever. A phone that if by some snowballs chance and hell, she had left that apartment of her own accord, she would have needed to navigate March 31, 2020. An official missing person's report was filed with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. This was not what Mary's family wanted. They knew Mary was in grave danger. They didn't believe she was missing. They felt she had never left that apartment. However, law enforcement didn't see things the same way. Flyers were made by Mary's mother and community members. They read, Mary Santina Collins was last seen on March 28, 2020 at a friend's house on Rollerton Road in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was wearing a black and gray striped shirt. She took an Uber from her grandmother's house where she lives to her friend's house and no one there knows where she went or saw her leave. Full stop, lavery and fam were claiming that not only did they not know where Mary had gone, neither of these two dimwits had seen her leave. Smells like bullshit to me. They were her friends. How many times have you gone to visit a friend and then just dipped out without so much as a see you later? I'm going to take a wild guess here and say it's probably somewhere along the lines of precisely never. The flyer went on to list the name of the detective assigned to Mary's missing persons case, Detective Jonathan Gaskin of CMPD. An officer, not Gaskin, finally went to the yard's apartments in response to the prior 911 call and knocked on the door of lavery and Fams apartment. There was no answer. So the Officer left without speaking to anyone. Her grandmother headed back to the apartment. Once she arrived, she was unable to gain access because these are pretty upscale apartments with surveillance systems and locked gates, preventing anyone from just strolling on in or out. She made it onto the premises, but in order to get to the actual apartment, there was a secondary system of gates, coordinating off the individual apartments. So again, she looked around the complex in the areas she was able to get to and called the office manager of the apartments. As it turned out, due to the lockdown, employees were all working from home, but she was able to reach the office manager who told her he would review the surveillance footage in an attempt to find Mary. According to Mary's voice, by the afternoon, Detective Gaskin called. He informed her grandmother that he couldn't make it out to the apartments that day to look for her, but she could call 911 again. She told him that Mary was in danger. She wasn't just missing and she needed immediate help. He told her he didn't need to respond to the scene. He could work the case from where he was. Hold up, what? What's this guy gonna do from wherever he is? This was urgent. Her grandmother explained that the manager was gonna take a look at the video. She's already contacted him. And so knowing this, he put on his pants and headed down to take a look too, right? Or sent over another detective. I mean, the apartment complex was willing to assist. If Mary left that apartment, it would have been captured. They could see the direction in which she traveled and that would give them something to go on. This was huge. But apparently, Gaskin didn't see it that way because he didn't respond to the scene and sent no one. Instead, he just said, that's good. Sir, it's only good if you use it to find Mary. Seeing she was getting absolutely nowhere, Mary's grandmother got off the phone and dialed 911 again. And again, explain the urgency of the situation, pleading for help. At this point, Mary's mother and one of her friends met her grandmother at the apartment. An officer responded to the 911 call and the officer and Mary's mom walked up to the apartment door and knocked. Fam answered the door. She refused to allow the police officer inside the apartment, but did agree to allow Mary's mom inside and even into the back room where someone was sleeping on the bed covered in a sheet. Fam claimed it was slavery. And even as she took a look around the bedroom, whoever was under that sheet didn't move or get up or ask what the hell was going on. At this point, Mary's mother was unaware that there was a second bathroom and likely felt uneasy walking around by herself and an apartment with the last person her daughter was known to be with with someone lying under a sheet. Seeing nothing related to Mary, she left. Mary's mother and grandmother are more convinced than ever that something has happened. But what? The responding officer spoke to the manager of the complex and for reasons unknown to Jesus and his multitude of angels, the officer advised him not to look at the cameras. Understandably, this sent Mary's family into a panic and no one knew it at the time, but this decision by the responding officer would be extremely detrimental and footage would ultimately be lost. Another night fell without Mary. On April 1st, five days since Mary has left her home, Mary's family realized that despite every attempt they made to make law enforcement understand the gravity of the situation, they weren't being heard or understood or some combination of both. They begged detective Gaskin to look at the video surveillance and they were informed incorrectly that he would need a search warrant in order to do that. They insisted that he speak with labor in fam and get answers. They can prove that was the last place Mary went, but nothing had really been done. According to Mary's voice, they felt alone, abandoned by police, but they weren't about to give up. How could they? Mary was their heart and soul and they would have marched through hell's gates to rescue her if that's what it took. They took matters into their own hands, printing, passing out and posting flyers, taking to social media and asking anyone who would listen if they had seen Mary or they could help them search. Search parties were organized. Family members stayed posted up around the yard's apartment, keeping an eye out for Mary or anything that could lead them to her. They were warned by detective Gaskin that they shouldn't bang on the apartment door and that laborian fam felt threatened by their presence. One would think if laborian fam really didn't know anything about where Mary had gone, they'd stop whining about being threatened and get out there and help her family search, right? Since they were her supposed friends, look for Mary, wine to police. They went with the second option, but they must not have felt too threatened since they messaged multiple family members asking if anyone had heard from Mary and eventually shared her missing flyer on their social media. Another night passed. The next morning on April 2nd, search parties led by Mary's family and friends and volunteers from the community headed out. They searched train tracks, wooded areas, construction sites and dumpsters. Her family, friends and the community were sifting through trash, looking for their beautiful Mary. Where were the police? Your guess is as good as mine. They brought out drones and hired bloodhounds to aid in the search and by they, I still meet her family and friends. Her grandmother spoke with Detective Gaskin who informed her that he had searched the apartment. She insisted that laborian fam had something to do with Mary's disappearance and according to Mary's voice, he responded, "Do you not understand she's not there?" Another night passed without Mary. On April 3rd, 2020, Mary's family is beyond tired of pleading with a detective to review the footage. They not only called the office manager and got his permission, but permission was granted from the corporate office all in the span of 10 minutes and they were informed unequivocally that no search warrant was needed. Again, why hadn't police reviewed the footage? Mary's family watched hours upon hours of footage and didn't see her anywhere. They were unable to view the video of Mary entering the apartment because it was a new month. Mary had arrived on March 28th and though only a matter of days had passed, all footage for the month of March had been deleted because that was the policy of the complex. Even more devastating, the footage had been deleted just an hour before they arrived and there was no way to recover it. They placed a call to Detective Gaskin to let him know that they had received permission from corporate to bring their own hired bloodhounds to the apartment. The dog handler just needed him to sign off on it but he didn't respond in time and due to the limited hours of operation because of the pandemic, the opportunity was missed. Another punch in the gut for Mary's family and they just kept coming. According to screenshots posted in the Mary's Voice Facebook, a former homicide detective had inquired about Mary's case and they were told that CMPD was just now seven days after Mary vanished, taking her case seriously because they had received information that Mary had done this before. This was confirmed by a local TV station who also inquired about Mary's case and they were told about the same story. CMPD didn't think Mary was in danger. Nothing was farther from the truth and it begs the question, who had told police this? And why? And why in the name of everything that is holy, did Gaskin not ask the family about this story of Mary running off? Did he not check for reports? Because if he did, he would have found nothing. It's now April 4th, 2020. Team Mary is up and added early that morning. Her mother went down to the complex to finish viewing the rest of the footage, desperate to find her daughter. At the same time, she consulted trafficking experts, grasping for. anything that had a remote chance of bringing Mary back to them. As a day wore on and night fell once again, her grandmother was overwhelmed with a feeling that she didn't want to leave the apartment and would rather sleep right there on the grounds. She sensed Mary was near, they all did. A phone call at 10pm changed everything. Her family had been right all along, Mary had never been missing. The call came from someone Mary's grandmother had given her number to in the local area, just in case they spotted Mary. When she answered the phone, the person on the other end informed her that Mary had been found and there was an ambulance on scene at the apartment, which led them to believe Mary was alive. She rushed over to a nearby hospital ER, but due to COVID restrictions, she wasn't allowed in. She stood outside and had someone go and check. She was informed that Mary wasn't there, so she hopped back into her car and began driving to another nearby hospital, but on the way her phone rang again. This time it was her son-in-law who told her she needed to get home. She was so distraught she couldn't even remember how to get there, but somehow she did. She, along with other family members, waited anxiously until two police officers arrived. Two uniformed officers, the family had never met, informed them that their precious Mary had been murdered in that apartment. The details so horrific, Mary's grandmother couldn't even bear to hear them all. She left the room rage-taking over her body as she wondered where in the hell was detective Gaskin. Why hadn't he notified her? And how had this happened after they had begged and pleaded for someone, anyone, to save Mary? It was too late. Mary was gone. Her family and friends were crushed. After a sleepless night, her grandmother awoke the next morning and took a candle from Mary's room to the yard's apartment at dawn to pray. It was April 5, 2020. Mary's mother's birthday. The truth about what had actually happened during those eight days, Mary's family and the entire community were out searching for her was absolutely brutal and horrific and it would all be revealed through search and arrest warrants, probable cause affidavits, later bond hearings, and other court documents. Before I get into it, while I don't normally give trigger warnings, the details I'm about to discuss are extremely graphic and disturbing. What investigators believe these monsters have actually done is beyond any standard of human decency or comprehension. Now is your chance to turn this episode off. On the night of April 4, 2020, investigators acting on a credible tip obtained a search warrant for Lavery and Fam's apartment at the yards in Noda. According to that warrant, when officers arrived, they made contact with Lavy Fam as he exited the apartment. Investigators called out to Kelly Lavery, but got no response, so they made entry. It was located in a bed in the apartment, possibly under the influence of an unknown substance. They had to wake her up and escort her out of the apartment. With both Lavery and Fam out of the way, investigators began to clear each room. They made their way to the master bedroom, pulled off the blankets, and discovered what appeared to be a body wrapped in black contractor grade trash bags inside the mattress. They cut away the plastic bags and found Mary's body wrapped in layers of duct tape along with this detergent and pumpkin spy shower gel, and an attempt to mass the odor of decomposition. Mary's identification and bank card were also located hidden in the bedroom under a stack of papers. The blood was found in both the master bedroom and bathroom. Surround rap, duct tape, and a box for contractor grade trash bags were also discovered. An iPhone located in the bed where Lavery was sleeping was also taken as evidence. Needless to say, Lavery and Fam were arrested and booked on charges of kidnapping, murder, and concealing a death. More arrests were coming. What had led police to finally search the apartment? That credible tip. The ones cited in the search warrant. As it turned out, they had received that same credible tip, not once, but twice. And this was actually the second time they had searched the apartment, failing to locate Mary's body or any of the evidence on their previous search. This would later state that the reason they missed everything during that initial search was because it was a consent search agreed to by Fam, and it wasn't as detailed as the second. They were given access to the master bedroom and the mattress was lifted. Fam had even spoken calmly with the missing person's unit still claiming Mary had left. They were likely just feet away from her body as they spoke. Detective Brian Crumb with the Charlotte Mecklenburg police would later speak to Michelle Bowden of WCNC Charlotte attempting to explain, stating, "The way everything played out, it wasn't obvious. Even my folks, when they went back with the search warrant, they were shocked at how well she was concealed. We ultimately had to open the mattress in order to find her. She was fully concealed inside the mattress." Note how he says, "Even my folks." His folks were homicide detectives who weren't brought into this investigation until April 4th, otherwise known as the day Mary's body was found, according to their probable cause affidavit. And while the affidavit doesn't explicitly state that the first search was conducted by the missing person's unit, it does make note that from March 30th until April 4th, missing person's detectives were to quote, "investigate the case and follow up on leads." That first search had taken place on April 2nd. And if you recall, according to Mary's voice, Detective Gaskin told Mary's grandmother right around that exact same time, he had searched the apartment and insisted that Mary wasn't there. I'm no mathematician, but 2 plus 2 equals 4. It wasn't until there was a change in investigators that Mary was found. Is it possible? Gaskin didn't take the search of the apartment seriously, and the same way he seemingly didn't take Mary's case seriously, or had he just sent a random, uniformed officer because he was yet again unavailable? Let's get back to that two-time credible tip. According to court documents, just before that first search of the apartment, on April 2nd, a witness came forward to police and told them that Jimmy Salerno was bragging about being at a party with Mary, and that fam and lavery had tied her up, beat her in a bathtub, and later hid her body in a mattress, planning to burn the mattress with Mary's body inside. But who was Jimmy Salerno, and how did he know all this? Jimmy Salerno was actually 21-year-old James Robert Salerno, who although he was barely old enough to buy a pack of smokes already had a criminal record, dating back to 2017, including charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and more recent charges of reckless driving and a hit and run. We're off to a great start. Salerno was a friend of fams and someone Mary had actually met at one point, although she couldn't stand him and thought he was mean and rude. It seems likely that if Mary had known this douchebag was going to show up, she would have never gone over there in the first place. When the witness who reported the first tip realized that Mary hadn't been found, on April 4th, they reported the story Salerno had told them yet again to investigators, this time bringing a second witness who had also heard Salerno make these statements. This was a tipping point in which homicide detectives were brought in. The day after Mary had been found and Lavery and Fam had been arrested, on April 5th, 2020, James Salerno was also arrested and charged with kidnapping, murder, and concealing a death. art. Topsy was performed on April 6, 2020. Mary's body was covered in bruises, most notably a large bruise covering most of her scalp. It was evident that she had been beaten. And that wasn't all. The medical examiner counted 133 cutting wounds in total, all over Mary's body. These wounds varied in type and severity. There were approximately 74 superficial cutting wounds, 28 shallow cutting wounds, 31 deep cutting wounds, 17 superficial stab wounds, and 7 shallow stab wounds. And while there were multiple stab wounds, not a single internal organ or major blood vessel were affected, the medical examiner determined that Mary's cause of death was due to multiple sharp trauma injuries or in simple terms. Mary Santina Collins, led to death and without any major blood vessels or internal injuries, her death likely wasn't over quickly. There really are no words. Mary had been lured out of her apartment with promises of sushi and friendship, attacked, stabbed, beaten, tortured, and murdered. But why? The investigation continued. The weeks ticked on and on May 12, 2020, 18-year-old America deal was also charged in connection to Mary's murder. Deal was charged with felony accessory after the fact and concealing a death. She turned herself in, but not to the Charlotte Mecklenburg police. Oh, no, deal had fled and was on the other side of the country, hiding out in Colorado. According to court documents, investigators were able to tie deal to the crime through various communication platforms and social media. Through these communications, they were able to place deal at the scene, communicating with Solano, who she had met on Tinder. And if that wasn't damning enough, her fingerprint was found on evidence at the scene. At her bond hearing, attorneys arguing for deal would claim she was forced into helping hide the body. The attorney stated, "She described Kelly the co-defendant in her words, the ringleader, and that Kelly was giving orders to everyone else as far as what should be done." Deal ultimately bonded out of jail on September 18, 2021, and is reportedly living with her family in Clover, South Carolina, awaiting her trial. But it would seem not everyone in her family is happy deal was able to post bond. And while she was still in jail, they said so publicly. According to screenshots posted on the Mary's Voice Facebook page deals own sister with the same last name wrote in a comment. I know her personally, as I am her sister, and I can tell you that the cell she is sitting in is exactly where she belongs. The majority of her own family believed this in their hearts as well. Going on to say, "This type of crime was just in the shadows, waiting for her to escalate and perform. Innocent people don't flee to Colorado. After one of the other three involved, tell them he or she is about to be arrested for a murder. You go to the police and file a report on the information you just received. If they made you clean up and dispose of the body, then why didn't she go to the police once the other three were in custody if she supposedly feared for her life? You don't fear for your life if those others are in a jail cell." She was with this gang the entire week that Mary was missing, doing drugs and God knows what else. But she conveniently wasn't there when a 19 year old girl with a cognitive impairment was murdered. That's bullshit. If that doesn't tell you something, I don't know what will. Deal made some social media post of her own after Mary's murder. On April 29, 2020, she shared a to-do list. On the list, number one, praise the Lord. Number two, break the law. Number three, take what's mine. Number four, take some more. The following day on April 30, she wrote, "It's a good ass day not to give a fuck. Let me tell ya." And on May 5th, who the fuck else wants deleted? That made 16 people today. Who's fucking next? And while we're on the topic of social media, slavery and fam also had a habit of posting and commenting, on his Twitter, which according to search warrants, has been seized as evidence by investigators, fam, who went by the handle "dead fuck" posted on April 4th. The same day Mary was found. He posted an image of a cartoon duck holding a knife. He captioned it, "Yes. This son of a bitch." And "lavery." Well, it appears she was an internet troll who liked to brag about her daddy's money. I'm sure he's so freaking proud. In comments on Instagram, in an argument provoked by "lavery" with someone who shall remain nameless but is not connected to the case, free proclaimed. I graduated with a 4.0 in honors, so I don't think so. I'm living rent-free, bills-free. My entire life is handed to me on a diamond encrusted platter, so I don't think so, sweetie. Not my fault. I'm so perfect. I can get a cold-hearted in-word to propose in four months. Oh, where to begin? It's difficult for me to repeat that last sentence, even after cleaning it up. It's also hard to buy that 4.0 honors bullshit when commas, capitalization, punctuation, and any basic understanding of grammar has left the building. I mean, if you're going to brag about a 4.0, you might want to at least fake it. Also, I wouldn't brag about being a blood-sucking leech, but apparently "lavery" thinks it's some kind of badge of honor. You and you alone, sweetie. And let's get real. I've seen the mug shot. You're not the prize you think you are, and we'll just leave it at that. Further screenshots reveal "lavery" saying she's sorry for bullying someone else online, and she did it because she was bored. Perhaps a job would come in handy here. And then there's a good old high-school yearbook, which photos were taken of and posted online. "lavery's senior photo" is posted, and underneath her responses to prompts are printed. "future career plans" undecided. In 10 years, I will be richer than all of you. I'm pretty sure "inmate" isn't exactly a career path. There are no diamond-encrested platters in the big house, but hey, she'll still get to live rent-free. Solid plan, you insufferable little shit. Kelly Lavery, Lavi Fam, James Salerno, and America Deal are all currently awaiting trial. What do you say, Charlotte? Let's keep this scum off the street, lock them up, throw the key in an incinerator, never to be found again, and call it a day. Mary represented everything right and good in the world. Her grandfather, who she called Papa, wrote a letter to the court that was read aloud at one of Deal's bond hearings, in which he wrote in part. Mary was born with Velocardiophacial syndrome, a chromosome deletion specifically the 22Q chromosome. Her spirit was too free and rambunctious to be defined by this disability, yet there is no denying this affected her life in profound ways. A prism that she was always looking through. The most obvious manifestation of VCFS with regards to Mary was her speech impediment. People that first met her would find difficulties in understanding Mary fully when she spoke. This led to a sort of innate shyness on Mary's part, understandably. Surely every parent that starts an exercise such as this note finds it hard to quantify the value of a child or measure the impact that she had on the people she touched along the way. With Mary, this is especially true. Words do not have the value or carry enough currency to fully encapsulate Mary to those who didn't know her. Trying to describe Mary is like trying to describe music. They exist on another plane beyond verbiage descriptors and punctuation. He went on to describe life without her. So 20 years of memories, family vacations, holidays, father-daughter dances, Girl Scout meetings, daily minivan cartage to daycare elementary. middle school, nanny's house, and beyond. Are they all lost to the cruel vacuum of time? It's the end of innocence undoubtedly, but I say no. Mary's life had value. She mattered. She always did. Was Mary's fundamental innocence and trust in others? What led to her end? It appears so. Her trust was betrayed in such a sinister and calculated way by an evil that is beyond comprehension by any reasonable person. Her family will never be the same again. We may never be happy again. There will be a hole in our hearts. Our collective trust betrayed as well. It comes full circle to the fact that she trusted people to a fault. Mary's family is left to pick up the pieces and to try to manage the impossible task of living their lives without their sweet and beautiful girl. Mary, whose greatest love was music, who liked her dog Zelda, Japanese candy, going to the salon, the rift shopping, makeup, and wigs. Their beautiful girl who had overcome so much and had dreams of doing so much more. Like flying in an airplane and traveling to Salem, Massachusetts, New York, or England. Mary might have had a disability, but she never let that define her. Her dreams were the same as any other young woman. In a letter, Mary's family found after her death, she wrote, "Dear Mary Collins, promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look on the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only for the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in faith that the whole world's on your side as long as you are true to the best that is in you. And be proud of yourself for where you are and help others that aren't there yet. Move out of your mom and dad's places and find one of your own place to live and get a job and get married. Signed, Mary Collins, the younger version of yourself. If only the world lived by Mary's standards. The cruelty that ripped her away can only be defined as one thing, and that is evil. There really is no other explanation. They have taken Mary's life, but they can never dim her light or silence her voice. Oh no, Mary's voice will be heard through her family, friends, and the community that loved her. A foundation has been created in honor of Mary Santina Collins, the website reading. Mary's voice is a grassroots campaign that will improve public safety for all persons with disabilities. Justice for Mary is justice for all persons with disabilities. We are committed to being a voice for the voiceless. Mary's voice, we will take our convictions and turn them into action. We're committed to changing policies and laws to further the protection of missing young adults and disabled persons. You can learn more at justiceforMarySantina.com and even become a part of Mary's voice. We have to demand justice for Mary. I leave you with the words of Mary's sister Riley. I miss you. I think I still believe I might find you somewhere hidden, somewhere perhaps forbidden. Yet your soul is tied to mine. So there isn't any place. I'm too scared to try baby sister of mine. It wasn't your time. How dare God decide to take you somewhere I can't find. I want to scream. It's the only release from these demon thoughts that won't let me sleep. Your face constantly in my dreams running after you. Like please don't leave. Your name constantly on repeat. Cycled in are the faces that took you from me and all the things I want to do to avenge you revenge seems like the only thing to do hurt them. The way they took away every future second I had with you. So many things we had planned. Now all misconstrued when they told me my brain wouldn't let me believe it was true. Who could hurt someone as beautiful as you? Why does God take the most vulnerable ones? How could he dim the light of someone so young? Someone so good. And never the ones that sometimes feels like he should. Trying to keep my thoughts like despite darkness calling to me because in my sister I still believe holding on to my faith like a lifeboat pain bubbling up trying not to choke. I love you Mary. I just have to let you know. And when my time comes into eternity will go sister sister forever will glow. Since Mary's episode aired back in March there have been bond hearings and a plea deal with one of the four defendants made in her case. And through those court proceedings more details have been revealed that weren't previously known to the public. And just last week a court ruling was issued that stunned everyone. In the spring of 2020 Mary Santina Collins was murdered by four people two of whom Mary considered friends. When I told Mary's story back in March of 2022 all four defendants accused of Mary's murder were awaiting trial. Three of the four of them were in custody. Then 18 year old America deal who was not charged with murder and only with felony accessory after the fact and concealing a death was granted bond on September 18, 2021 and reportedly living with her family and Clover South Carolina awaiting her trial. Since that recording Kelly Lavery has struck a plea deal and in a shocking court ruling James Salerno has been granted bond. Before we get into the details of Kelly Lavery's plea deal or Salerno's bond I'd like to take you back through the events surrounding Mary's murder because through all these court proceedings more details previously unknown to the public have been revealed. Mary's story deserves to be told in its entirety but I'm gonna forewarn you the details are horrific. What these four monsters did to Mary is beyond any comprehension. As we know Mary left her home on the afternoon of March 28, 2020 headed to the apartment of Kelly Lavery and Lavi fam. Mary and Lavi had briefly dated in high school according to Mary's grandmother they had broken up because Mary wasn't ready for a serious relationship just yet especially when it came to the physical aspect. Remember Mary had cognitive disabilities though she was 20 years old and many ways her abilities were more closely that of a young teen. She had a speech impediment couldn't drive herself and was extremely forgiving and trusting. There weren't hard feelings after the breakup at least not on Mary's part and it appeared fam moved on too at some point getting into a relationship with Lavery. When Lavi fam started dating Kelly Lavery he introduced her to his friend James Salerno who goes by the name Jimmy. You see fam and Salerno grew up in the same neighborhood went to the same school and hung out a lot and of course that continued and this trio of tiktards started hanging around together. On the afternoon of March 28, 2020 Kelly Lavery ordered an uber to pick up Mary from the home she shared with her grandmother and to take her to Lavery and fam's apartment. According to statements later given by Lavery herself she told Mary they were going to have a girl's night in. They'd hang out and have a scary movie marathon. Soon after Mary arrived at Lavery and fam's apartment her phone was turned off. Over the course of the next several days when Mary's family and friends hadn't heard from her she was reported missing. Mary's grandmother mom and eventually detectives had all gone to the apartment and spoke with Lavery and fam trying to find Mary. At a later court proceeding for Kelly Lavery Mary's grandmother recalled one interaction at the apartment with Lavery. I want to pick her up and knock on the door I can hear somebody behind the door. She went up in the door so I said I'm going to call 911. She looked me in the eye and I said I'm here to pick up Mary and she said Mary's not here. I said and she was completely composed just normal every other day you know nothing's happened here and I said oh isn't she. She said no she left at about 11 to go hang out with friends well Mary doesn't have any friends. you know, that when we come in she can't drive and I know her friends and Mary didn't take her glasses with her because she was unconscious by her glasses. She's good to see very well. Her cousin had no activity and her backyard had no activity. So how did Mary leave? How? She didn't call anybody to come in her. She can't see, right? She doesn't have a sense of direction. She doesn't even know where she is. She might as well take her foot on the moon. And but she very calmly, oh Mary's lying here. I said you're lying. And she looked me in the eye as I implored her to tell me where Mary is. Get Mary, I know you're lying. Let me come in, then. So she, she wanted to come in, she wanted to come in like nothing. I looked in the room, I looked around, we go all the way, I looked in the shower curtain, the one bathroom, I opened the closet, I'm yelling Mary's name, Mary, Mary, Mary. I get to the back and she's standing like in between me and the back and she didn't want me to open the back, the bedroom door. So I said I'm not leaving here until I see what's in that room. And she said, well my friends were in there and you're going to be embarrassing me. I kept, you know, I don't want my friend, you know, I said what friend, you know, my just my friend, blah, blah, blah. Then she said I need you to leave my house, my home. Well, because I am a reasonable human being, I know that when someone said you need to leave like your home, clearly you can't just get standing there. So I backed up to the threshold of the apartment, and you know, all the way so I can still see that room. She didn't close the door. I'm still standing there. And at this point, I'm still begging her and I start to cry. And I said to her, what's wrong with you? Why would you want to hurt Mary? And excuse my language, but she said, oh, I give Fox about Mary. Me and Mary, we've got meals done. We don't do all these things. You know, she, she told me what they were. Not knowing that I know everything Mary does, everywhere she goes, every penny she spends, I never, I give her her disability money. Everything she said was a lie and I knew it right now. So right then I knew you could feel, you know, as she was lying. And so I said, um, let me back in the room, I'm yelling Mary's name past her head. And I, I, I, I never comes out. What's new is there's a problem. I'm like, yeah, there's a problem. I need my God. And I never said she's going to call somebody. I thought, please do. So then I said to her, is she loving back there? Now I start yelling lobby's name. And she goes, yeah, with her favorite, just like that. Yeah, that's it. That's it. It's lobby in there. I said, we're getting it. So she went and while she was gone, I stood there. I thought it was the way the party time figure out was going on. And here she comes a little few minutes later with lobby. And, um, lobby's like, you know, blue and not really, uh, communicating and, uh, Kelly was in control of the whole thing. She was so composed. Now that we know what happened, if you hadn't been there, if you hadn't seen how composed and how concentrated she was and how she she controlled the conversation. And she, she put her body between me and lobby so that whenever I tried to talk to lobby, she would take over the conversation. She was in complete control, completely composed. It was bone chilling. She made my skin roll. I knew she was lying. I looked down and she had a hammer in her hand. Hold the hammer. I said to her, you cannot hit me hard enough with that hammer to make me forget about Mary. She was composed the whole the time time. She was not, I mean, you would think that if you had done something like that, here comes the grandmother showing up and she, I'm sure she did expect that she would not be able to be that in control. I mean, and then she started telling me how she cared about Mary. And she helped us find Mary, um, but at the same time, her body language and her behavior was, was aggressive enough that you could just feel, you know, she never raised the hammer, but she had it. She continued, even, and we all knew she was lying. It should not, for a second, did we not know that she had done something in Mary, but we didn't know how we were going to figure out what? The only thing we could do was go along and listen to what, you know, pretend we believed her. Fam and Lavery continued to claim Mary had been there, but she had left. At times, they acted concerned. Fam texting Mary's mom screenshots of people she should look into. Fam also telling the missing persons detective that Lavery had been reaching out to Mary via Instagram. The days ticked on Mary's family desperate to find her. The night of April 2nd, a witness came to police with information. This witness was a friend of Jimmy Salernos. After seeing a social media post that people were looking for him, the witness had reached out to Jimmy and asked him what was going on. The reason people were looking for Salerno, he and Fam had posted multiple photos inside the apartment while Mary was there. One was a fam and Salerno dressed in black. Fam sitting on the counter with Salerno standing next to him, posing with a large knife. Jimmy Salerno told this person that he was at a party with Mary and that Kelly Lavery and Lavy Fam had tied her up, beat her in a bathtub, and hid her body in a mattress that they had plans to burn later. The next day on April 3rd, Detective Gaskin with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police went to the apartment and spoke with Lavery and Fam. They were hesitant to let him in to search, but eventually agreed. He noted that the apartment appeared it hadn't been cleaned in days. There were clothes thrown all over the place and dirt in the bathtubs, but he didn't see any sign of a Mary. Even after Lavery and Fam had lifted the mattresses in the front and master bedrooms. On April 4th, that same witness provided even more information, telling police that they had missed Mary in the first search because her body had been concealed not in the mattress itself, but the box spring. By 3.45 that afternoon, detectives were provided, a recorded conversation by yet another witness. One in which Jimmy Salerno stated Lavy Fam was offering an individual $4,000 to remove something from his apartment. But that wasn't all. This witness had met with Salerno and America Deal at a park. And Salerno told the witness that he, Lavy Fam, Kelly Lavery, America Deal, and Mary were all hanging out at the apartment, and that when he walked out of the bedroom, he saw Mary tied up on the floor while Lavery and Fam were beating her in the head with a bottle. He also claimed that after he woke up, Fam texted him to come into the master bedroom and he saw Mary tied up in the bathtub. Salerno told this witness that all of this had happened because Lavery and Fam wanted to have a threesome, but Mary refused. And further, Fam made him clean up everything. Salerno had said that he had helped Lavery and Fam wrap Mary's body and saran wrap and garbage bags and place her inside that mattress. With that, detectives with the homicide unit secured a search warrant for the apartment. At approximately 7.35 pm, police arrived and reportedly called out to Lavy Fam and Kelly Lavery at the door, but no one responded. Fam was contacted by phone and he said he wasn't home, but after a few moments, he emerged from the apartment. Officers then made entry and called out for Kelly Lavery, but got no response. She was located in the front guest bedroom, quote, passed out. It appeared she was under the influence of something. Officers were concerned she may have overdosed so a medic was called. Medic's arrived and determined Lavery was fine and she and Fam were immediately taken into custody. The search warrant was executed. There was drug paraphernalia all over the place. In the kitchen, several rolls of saran wrap and contractor grade trash bags. In the master bedroom, investigators turned their focus to the bed. Random things had been piled up on top. After carefully removing the items, they lifted the corner of the mattress. It was clear that something wasn't right. The sheet and mattress pad cover were removed, and police discovered that the mattress had been flipped upside down and taped together along the sides and corners with silver duct tape. It was cut open and investigators found multiple flattened cardboard boxes, one with Kelly Labory's name on it, and another with Lavi Fams along with tracking information. Under the boxes was the body of Mary Collins. Rapped with saran wrap, duct tape and black trash bags, shower gel and dish detergent had been poured all over her. They also located a black and pink towel, white plastic trash bags that contained several t-shirts with suspected blood stains, and duct tape packaging along with several rolls of duct tape stuffed inside that mattress. The mattress pad topper later tested positive for blood. The search of the apartment continued. On the bedroom floor between the bed and wall, a bloody knife was located. On the bookshelf beside the bed, Mary's ID and Bank of America debit card were found. In the bathroom of the master bedroom, a serrated knife was recovered from the sink. The bath mat had multiple areas of suspected blood. The shower curtain and liner had suspected blood stains, and there was a mop bucket sitting beside the bathtub. When blue star was applied in the bathroom, there were positive reactions for blood. On the front and left wall of the shower, tub basin, multiple spots on the floor. In the sinks and the front portion of the right bathroom wall, outside of the apartment, investigators located a sheet, metal springs, and clumps of unknown silver fabric. Despite a major cleanup effort, DNA evidence was located all over the apartment. Further testing showed that that shower curtain and liner tested positive for blood in multiple areas. Mary's was found in six places, and two areas were found with mixtures of at least three people. One of them definitely being Kelly Lavery. On the serrated knife handle, DNA of three different people was located with Lavery and fam being major contributors. And on the blade, a spot of Luffy fam's blood swabs taken off the rear shower wall, matched Mary's DNA. America deals fingerprints were located inside the black garbage bag Mary's body had been found in. At the medical examiner's office, Mary's post mortem exam was completed. As we know, her body had been found in two black plastic trash bags taped together. She was wrapped from head to toe in duct tape and saran wrap. A black t-shirt had been tied around her upper neck and what appeared to be socks had been wrapped and knotted around her mid neck. Portions of cut jeans covered her lower legs and a red t-shirt had been loosely wrapped around her ankle and secured with duct tape. That red t-shirt contained the DNA of at least three contributors. One of them was identified as Kelly Lavery. After everything was carefully removed, the brutality of the torture Mary Santina Collins had suffered was revealed. Her body was covered in cuts and stab wounds. There were 133 cutting wounds and 24 superficial shallow stab wounds. The placement of those wounds was strategic. Not a single one of those injuries had caused any internal organ damage or so much as nicked any major blood vessel. And further, there were signs of a sexual assault. Swabs taken from Mary's upper body showed DNA from two male contributors. There wasn't enough to make a positive identification on exactly who. However, there were only two males in the apartment that night, Lavi Fam and James Jimmy Salerno. According to court testimony, the Charlotte Mecklenberg police recovered several messages on Fam and Lavery's phones during the time Mary was inside the apartment. In those messages, multiple comments were made about drugging Mary and "slipping more bars in her drink." Other messages stated another bar down and revealed that Fam was the one who had slipped the drug into her drink. There were references to Mary also being drug with Molly. And even further messages revealed that Lavery had told James Salerno that she and Fam were forcefully drugging Mary. The bars they were referring to were bars of Xanax, a powerful benzodiazepine prescribed for anxiety and panic disorders. The medication comes in a long rectangular tablet form which is designed to be broken into quarters, each piece equaling one dose. ingesting one bar which would have been an entire tablet or four doses would have caused Mary to be dizzy, confused and drowsy. Molly is also known as MDMA or ecstasy and is often used as a party drug which has been shown to increase sexual arousal and enhance sexual activity. The combination of these two drugs and the fact that she was given them unknowingly and unwillingly would have left Mary in an extremely impaired and confused state. Everyone in that apartment knew exactly what was happening. Everyone that is except for Mary. Of course, investigators wanted to talk to each of the four defendants and all of them had a different story or lie to tell attempting to point blame on each other and trying to distance themselves as much as possible. Let's start with Lavi Fam. After he was taken into custody on April 4th, he sat down with investigators and before the interview could even begin, detectives noticed blood dripping down Fam's wrist. It was discovered that Fam had a deep laceration near his elbow that had been wrapped in Serran wrap. The cut so deep, police believed he needed medical treatment which Fam refused. When asked how he had gotten the injury, he claimed he was playing with a knife and had accidentally cut himself. Likely story. Anyhow, eventually investigators got down to business and asked him about what had happened. He admitted that he did know Mary Collins but that she was his girlfriend, Kelly Lavery's friend and that Lavery had ordered her an uber to come to the apartment. But Mary wasn't there to hang out with him. It was so she and Lavery could watch movies. An America deal and Jimmy Solano were also there just hanging out. Fam claimed he was "mighting his own business" not really hanging out with anyone. Now's probably a good time to remind you of that video we talked about in the last episode. That clearly shows Lavery, Fam and Mary in the elevators of the apartment picking up a sushi order on March 29th. And that according to Mary's voice, Fam knew sushi was Mary's favorite food because during the brief period the two dated, he would take Mary out for sushi. Y'all remember that right? Okay, good. According to Fam, after a couple of days of him "mighting his own business" and the day after they were captured on video getting sushi, Mary left at around 11 or 12 on Monday March 30th to go to a photo shoot. And he hadn't heard from her since. Although he had tried to contact her on Instagram but she hadn't responded. He told detectives that he was 100% certain. He had seen Mary leave the apartment and that she had her own ride to the supposed photo shoot. When confronted with the fact that detectives were 100% certain, he hadn't watched Mary leave the apartment. He looked at them all confused and asked for a lawyer. On April 5th, 2020, investigators sat down with Kelly Lavery, who admitted she had ordered an Uber for Mary and claimed that they were going to have a scary movie marathon. She stated that she and Mary were hanging out together and staying away from Fam and Salerno because Mary and Salerno didn't get along. She regurgitated the same bullshit as her boyfriend Lavi Fam and claimed Mary had left between 11 and 12 that Monday. And she had been trying to help find her ever since. And again like Fam, as soon as detectives turned the pressure up a notch, Lavery laured up. Jimmy Salerno was arrested at his parents' home that night at 11.05 pm. I don't have access to the statement he gave police, but if I had to guess, it would be something along the lines of what he reportedly told the witness. It was all Fam, Lavery and Deal. After America deals fingerprints were identified on the inside of that black garbage bag, along with further electronic evidence. A warrant was issued for her arrest on May 7th, 2020. She was all the way in Colorado, but eventually, turned herself in and was extradited back to North Carolina. She declined to give a statement to police before consulting with a lawyer, but on October 8, 2020, she, alongside her legal counsel, sat down with investigators. She claimed she had met James Salerno on Tinder. She was familiar with Labour and Fam because she had spent the week prior to the murder at the apartment with the trio. At some point between April 28 and 30, Salerno called her and asked her to come to Fam and Labour's apartment. He said there was "a weird girl there that didn't talk right." So she headed over. When she got there, Salerno, Fam and Labour were in the back room doing drugs to include cocaine, Molly, Xanax, meth, and Roxies. America claimed this was the first time she had ever met Mary. And that while LaVie Fam, Kelly Lavery, and Jimmy Salerno were going balls to the wall using multiple substances, she herself only did a little cocaine and a small dose of Molly. America told investigators that Salerno told her that Fam and Labour were interested in a threesome with Mary, but Mary wasn't interested in that at all. And according to America, she wasn't either. So a short time later, she went to bed in the front bedroom and her new love interest in Jimmy Salerno stayed with the others in the back bedroom. I feel the need to point out here that America was rolling on Molly and had just snorey cocaine. Cocaine, of course, being an upper or stimulant. And Molly, not only a hallucinogenic, but also classified as a stimulant. Somehow, after taking two stimulants, America deal just climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep. I mean, does anyone really believe that? Kind of convenient, isn't it? Before she drifted off, she claimed she set the alarm on her phone for 7am, because she had to take her mom to work. At 7 the next morning, she woke up, went to the room and got cigarettes from LaVie Fam, and then took her mom to work. James Salerno then came to her mother's workplace and picked her up, because she needed to leave the car with her mom. From there, they went back to the apartment. When they got back, Fam and LaVie were standing in the master bedroom. She walked into the room and James Salerno, according to America, acting as some type of muscle, walked up behind her and closed the bedroom door. Another fact it's important to note here is that James Salerno is a large man. He's over six foot tall and has a full and slightly muscular build. After America was in the bedroom with the other three, with Salerno standing behind her, they all looked at each other and one of them opened the bathroom door. When America looked inside the bathroom, there was blood everywhere, and Mary was in the bathtub with cuts all over, including a large cut to her forearm. Her neck had also been cut, and according to America, a chain leash had been placed around it. America claimed she was horrified at the scene and wanted to go home. She told them to take her home, but they told her she wasn't going anywhere until she helped them clean up, or she would be raped and killed like Mary. America recalled that none of the three showed any signs of remorse, and that LaVie held a knife to her neck as she instructed her to take trash bags and to tape them up around Mary's body, and then to wrap her body and plastic wrap and duct tape. While America was wrapping up Mary's body, fam and Salerno were joking about raping and killing Mary. She claimed fam said they had both rape Mary and then cut her neck and forced her to watch Kelly Lavery and LaVie fam have sex as she bled to death. Sometimes there are simply no words. I can only say that pure evil exist in this world, and these four defendants are the prime example. America continued. After Mary's body had been wrapped, it was time to clean the bathroom. Everyone was looking to Kelly Lavery for direction, and she handed down orders. America stated to investigators that Lavery never assisted in the cleanup, but had participated in the actual killing. And she knew this because as she, fam, and Salerno continued to clean up at Lavery's direction, they continued to talk about what had happened. At one point Salerno and fam said that Lavery had gone crazy while she was stabbing Mary, stating she had quote "gone primal" and in the process cut fam on the elbow. Of course that matched the injury on fam's arm when he had been arrested. After the bathroom was clean, Lavery Salerno and fam cut open the mattress took the springs out and tried to line it with clothes. They put Mary inside, taped the mattress back up and put the sheets back over. fam then began texting people trying to find someone with a truck because he wanted to take the mattress out of the apartment to burn it. At some point Salerno and fam were discussing cleaning supplies and fam ultimately ordered bleach online and then according to America, she and Salerno went to pick up the supplies. fam had sent money via cash app to Salerno to cover the cleaning supplies. This was consistent with records found in Salerno's phone. America deal claimed that all of this had happened because Mary didn't want to have sex with LaVie fam and Kelly Lavery. And while it's possible that could have been a part of the motive, Kelly Lavery had been bullying Mary online for years leading up to the murder. Kelly Lavery was far more depraved than anyone realized. According to witnesses, she had actually made jokes about killing Mary in the past. According to the people that know and are familiar with this defendant, she has a history of bullying and manipulating people. She has shown extremely strong interest in knives and the search of her phone. There were multiple several long or seven minute long videos of her flipping and playing with knives, just playing around with them. They appear to vary in size because this seems to be pure entertainment as she flips and grips these knives in different locations as these videos are set to music. During the investigation detective's challenge was able to speak with a female that used to date LaVie for about three years. In 2017, when they were dating, LaVie cheated on this girl with Kelly. After that, Kelly would send and leave nasty messages for this woman, including things like "I got your man" and telling this woman that she should go kill herself. Kelly also had a history of bullying Mary over social media and text, telling her things like she hoped Mary would get hit by a Walmart truck. And then Mary should work on being less ugly and call Mary to a dumb bitch. There are 283 text messages on Kelly's phone between her and Mary, whom she has listed in her phone as a contact name of scary Mary. These texts range from October 2019 all the way up to March 30th of 2020 at 6 o'clock in the end. Most of the texts are chit-chat, but if I could just direct the court's attention to a few key points, they begin in January 2020. Kelly is calling Mary a bad friend for supposedly flirting with LaVie. Kelly eventually tells Mary that she and LaVie were just testing Mary and that it was Kelly the whole time for telling her to be LaVie. These exchanges go on to the point of telling Mary's home Kelly to just leave her alone. But Kelly kept at her and asked Mary if she liked Kelly's personality. When Mary said no, as she's acting like she's still in high school, Kelly just responds with the following year on her. I think you want to know why it doesn't matter. My parents are millionaires. I get to have a bad personality and then Mary's parents were private jet-witch, test-witch, the vineyard shit-witch, half of Mary's daddy made 700K annually. And then she said, "This assignment texted to Mary $2.00 equals I country people to however I want." Kelly continued on. She told Mary that she was flirting with her if she were LaVie and she can't believe she fell for it. She told Mary, "You know I have a genius IQ, right? WTF else and what am I supposed to do when I get bored?" The text continued. Mary calls Kelly a bad person and Kelly responds with no. I'm diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder, aka on the psychokat. If you can shame my disorder, I can shame yours. Mary said that's not what she's doing. But Kelly can use her disorder and money as an excuse to treat people like shit, excuse the language you're on. That's a quote. Kelly then follows up asking Mary if she knows anything about insights social personality disorder because it's a little weird. literal excuse to be manipulated and mean to others and find an enjoyment out of it. On January 25th, 2020, just two weeks after these awful exchanges, Kelly then texts Mary and says that since they aren't friends, that must mean they're best friends. Mary's confused, but accepts it and goes on talking, they could go on, and then talking about plans to hang out. On January 29th, the text from Kelly to Mary asks Mary if she's by. Mary laughs it off and says, "No," and I would always submit that and give it that kind of support of the full idea behind this story, some. On March 28th, there are texts between them about Mary coming over that day and that Kelly will send her and work. They are texting and call alonging the whole time while that Uber is on its way to pick up Mary. On March 30th, the same day the report's Mary missing. Presumably, thanks for the rest of the timeline honor, Mary's already deceased at that point, but if this event sends a final text message to Mary's phone asking her to call her grandma because she's stopped by and she's worried about her because apparently there's a lockdown because of the virus. Completely acting like she has no idea what's going on. Beyond these texts and messages, you're honest, I believe we're troubling in and of themselves. This defendant's own friend came to see if he'd be on her own, see if he knew nothing about her, but she came on who's what gave him an interview. She said she had been rental Kelly for about four years and described Kelly as a master manipulator and told the stories about Kelly joking about wanting to kill Mary and how she would do it. She said they would watch those criminal shows and joining a particular episode was not able to determine which one, but during this particular episode, Kelly commented that if she ever killed Mary, this would be how she did it. She said the only reason that Kelly had for Mary around was because Mary was the one friend that never wanted anything from Kelly. She didn't want anything. She just wanted to be friends. She just was looking for friendship. Here goes text and you are so important to show the type of relationship this defendant had with Mary and how she treated her. So it's not a normal or typical friendship. You know, I would submit that this information all it shows some sort of deep-seated hatred for Mary and I can't for the life of me figure out why I don't know why you're on her. The evil and hatred that exists in Kelly's slavery is something I don't believe any human being could ever understand. Mary Collins was the only friend that wanted nothing from her. She wasn't impressed by Laverie's daddy's money. She just wanted to be her friend and Kelly Laverie took full advantage of Mary's genuine loving kindness and lured her to that apartment to murder her. Despite the brutality and the mountains of evidence, including the mounds of evidence of premeditation, prosecutors struck a plea deal with Kelly Laverie. On June 30th, 2022, Judge Daniel Kuhnherd accepted that plea. Kelly Laverie pled guilty to second-degree murder, kidnapping, and concealment of a body. She was sentenced to 25 to 32 years in prison. Laverie herself spoke at the hearing, offering some kind of twisted prayer for Mary's family and friends, the community and for Mary. Stating in part, I want to pray for Mary that she's in peace and that she knows I'm so sorry for whatever happened to her. Her spirit will never be forgotten and the name of the Holy Trinity, amen. Last time I checked, this chick was now a convicted murderer with a tattoo of a burning church on her body, but there she was, offering a twisted prayer in open court. Sources tell me that since Laverie has been behind bars, she is now going by the name Azi and claiming she's innocent. Innocence and Laverie don't even belong in the same paragraph. While it's easy to see Laverie as the ringleader, she didn't act alone. The other three defendants charged in Mary's murder are equally as depraved. There is physical evidence against all of them, including multiple messages between the four of them discussing the details prior, during and after the murder. Not to mention the cell phone data, which places all four of them in that apartment when Mary was murdered. In subsequent court hearings, counsel for the other three defendants have tried hard to play evidence gymnastics, pointing out all the evidence against the others, conveniently leaving out the evidence against their client. To the point, it would be laughable if this wasn't serious. I mean, really, no shit there's evidence against all four because they all did it. On that same June 30th day, that the plea deal was accepted for Kelly Laverie, Luffy Fam also made an appearance in court. It was revealed that the prosecution would have considered making a deal with him too, but it had since been taken off the table. And besides, Luffy Fam wanted to take his case to trial. What in the hell is with all the deals? This isn't a case that lacks evidence. I mean, short of a confession, it seems the prosecution has all they need. Luffy Fam is still currently behind bars waiting for his day in court. The same cannot be said for America deal or James Jimmy Salerno. As we discussed earlier, America deal has been out on a $100,000 bond with no conditions since September 18th, 2021. She currently resides in Clover, South Carolina, a waiting trial on charges of accessory after the fact and concealing a debt. At the time of this recording, James Jimmy Salerno is still behind bars, but it is feared that won't be the case for much longer. Last Thursday, January 19, 2023, Judge Carla Archie granted Salerno a $250,000 bond on his murder charge and an $80,000 bond on kidnapping. That bond came with absolutely zero conditions, besides he show up for future court dates. That means he and his family would only need to come up with roughly $33,000. And Salerno will be walking the streets until his trial. $33,000 sounds like a lot, but James Salerno has a family with financial means. A family who seemingly stands behind him and even after hearing the details of what happened to Mary has shown no emotion in the courtroom. In fact, according to multiple members of Mary's family, at the bond hearing, Salerno's family scoffed at Mary's family and friends. And further, Salerno's parents were laughing so blatantly as they left the courtroom after the hearing in which their son was granted bond. It caught the attention of one of Mary's family members. The family member stated, "There's nothing funny here. Mary is dead." And Salerno's father had the audacity to puff up his chest and turn towards that family member. At that point, Salerno's lawyer intervened and asked Salerno's father what he was looking to accomplish and this situation was diffused. The apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree. Will the citizens of Charlotte, Mecklenburg feel safe with James Salerno walking the streets? Do y'all feel safe in Clover, South Carolina? Due to a backlog of cases in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, it could be as many as five years before deal, fam, and Salerno are tried for Mary's murder. Five years that Salerno could continue living his life like nothing happened, free without a single condition. And five more years, deal continues to live free from consequences. Mary Santina Collins didn't get five more years. Her friends and family didn't get five more years. Mary was ripped away from everyone who knew and left her on March 28th, 2020 because of the actions of these four monsters. There is a very real possibility that two of the four could walk free for years, all while Mary's family is left shattered, grieving the loss of such a beautiful soul. It just doesn't feel anything like justice. What about Mary? Where is the outrage? I want to leave you with the words of Mary's grandmother spoken at the bond hearing for James Salerno, a plea for him to remain behind bars that apparently fell on deaf ears. Your honor, James Jimmy Salerno is not innocent. In fact, he is a pivotal reason we discovered Mary was in that mattress. He and three other people murdered Mary. Mary was five foot four. she did not weigh a hundred pounds. Jimmy is over six-foot tall and closer to two hundred pounds. He and three other people brutally hurt and murdered Mary. They slaughtered her and bled her out in a bathtub like an animal in a slaughterhouse. They wrapped her in plastic like a slaughtered animal, prepared a mattress, hid her inside of it, and intended to burn her. Because she was so petite, it was easy for them to do. I ask that you look at this photo of Mary so you can see how small she was, was because she's dead. Jimmy Salerno did not tell people what he had done and what happened to Mary out of guilt or empathy. He did it as a braggard. He is up to brave heart. Mary was sweet, caring, and trusting. She was fragile. I myself could pick her up. As a family, we often joked about this and how easily startled she was. Her younger brother, who was also around six-foot tall, would often pick her up jokingly and carry her around the house and they would laugh. We're not laughing anymore. This man and three other people overpowered her, terrified, tortured, and brutalized her. Mary was uncomfortable around Jimmy Salerno. She did not like him. She told me he was mean to her and said things to her that she did not understand. Mary would not have wanted to go anywhere knowing that he would be there. I myself met Jimmy at my home on at least two occasions. I told him that Mary's uncle was a police officer. He told me that he was named after his late grandfather, a highly respected police officer. He has a clear idea of the gravity of breaking the law, yet he has made a habit of it and now has murdered Mary. He worked as a group. They tricked and trapped her. They used her for their depraved entertainment. What he has done rises to such a level of depravity as to be likely one of if not the most depraved crimes Charlotte has seen. In fact, cheap Jennings, DA Mary, whether the police detectives and the ADA's have all told us that they've never seen anything like this. The community, which includes educators, medical providers, disabled persons, friends, neighbors, and family, do not want to see him hurt anyone else ever again. In fact, Your Honor, we most definitely want all four to have a fair trial. Emphasis on fair. Not some twisting of the truth or theater for the court. Not legal deception of the court. Fair is not a contorted rewritten account of what they've done. We trust that the court, the justice system, and God himself will see to this. The truth is, the only close to fair thing is for Jimmy and the other three to spend the rest of their lives in prison, away from society for the protection of the community, because he can never pay in this life for what they've done. James Salerno cannot be allowed to ever harm another human being. I'd like to welcome Mary's grandmother Mia to the podcast. Welcome Mia. Thank you for having me. We're coming up on the four-year mark of Mary's murder. Kelly Lavery struck a plea deal with sentence to a maximum of 25 years in prison. Lavery fam is currently awaiting trial and he's still behind bars. But two of the people involved in Mary's murder are free on bond. America deal has been out since September of 2021. And James Salerno, who was charged with murder, kidnapping, driving while impaired, felony possession of marijuana, and concealing a death posted bond on June 3rd of 2023. This is a hard question, but what toll has this taken on your family? Four years is an awfully long time to wait for justice. Well, let's get this stated, we'll save you. Manitually, we're all just absolutely devastated without Mary. The fact that the justice system doesn't work is just unfathomable. It's you can't get your head around it. Well, the fact to that, the parents of these people who are not kids, their adults, would put up money to bond them out of jail after what they did. James Salerno's parents put up in excess of $33,000. Wow, to bond him out of jail. And America deals parents, $10,000. So it's just, the whole thing is just unfathomable. You can't, you can't, there's just no words. At this point, do we have any idea when the remaining three will stand trial? Absolutely none. Absolutely none. I do know that the one of the trials seem to be going in order, in the order that they occurred, the year that they occurred. I'm seeing that we've last year, then we're doing 2017. It's just crazy to even think of it like this, but perhaps this year, they're doing the 2018 murders. And of course, there are more murders happening now than they're prior to 2020. The other day, there were eight and you know, I don't know if it was a week or just a couple of days, it's something just that after a while, you can't even keep up. Oh, so the murders are piling up. The court systems are backlogged. They were already backlogged before COVID. And now they're, they're in about 400 to 500, I guess, faces bevine waiting to be tried. So if you go on that, on the theory that they're going to do the cases in the year that would be 2019, next year or maybe 2020, the following year. Prouding that that is, you'll have a case that is so, I don't know how to put it. The evidence is so strong and they have everything that they need. They have everything that they need it to put Kelly Lavery away from life. She couldn't have been tried for the death penalty, you know, it is a punishment or a sentence or whatever. But you know, the death penalty is not something that happens here in Mecklenburg County. So that's immediately on the table. But for her to get 25 years, it's just a slap in the face of justice itself. Let alone Mary and our family community, it's just, it's revolting. So who knows? I, you know, Windows, we utmost all, all safe and in the justice system at this point. To think that you guys would have to be stuck in this state of limbo for another two years is just absolute insanity with two of them out on bond. Yes, two of them are out on bond. And these are two people that bashed Mary's head in a sweet, kind, small and girl who would never hurt anyone. She wouldn't even hurt someone's feelings without being, you know, if she thought she hurt someone's feelings, she would have been very upset. Bashed her head in, stabbed her in excess of 133 times, tried to cut her sweat, apparently, apparently, because we heard it in Kelly Lavery's plea deal for the very first time. They put a dog leash around Mary's neck, her hands and feet were bound. They bled her out in a bathtub all over her blood and wrapped her in plastic, wrapped her up and put her in a mattress, which obviously had to be prepared at a time. Somehow masked the smell of death and decomposing a decomposing body, some the police from the apartment and these people have not only not gone to trial, one is given the deal for absolutely nothing for what? She gave nothing in return. So that's not a deal. That's a gift. The other one, America has not been charged with murder, only accessory to murder. As she was led out of jail after only a year, allowed to leave the state after being extradited from Colorado, allowed to have an ankle monitor that she pays for. The monitors for self, how that works, we've never figured out. And James Solerna was just walking the street and no ankle monitors, no conditions, nothing. And what kind of people, I wouldn't even say people, what kind of beings would do what I just described. to someone and just be able to go along with their life, practically fine as if they had done what I mean, obviously they're going to be fine because it's to them, this isn't natural, it's in their nature to do this. So you have these people free walking around with this type of depravity in their nature. And it's not just what kind of people would do this, what kind of justice system allows them to be free after they've done this. And the evidence in Mary's case is overwhelming, it's absolutely insane. Mary herself, Mary herself is the witness, Mary is the evidence. There's no justification for the way this is being handled at all. The reasons don't justify it. There is reasons and you can explain, they can explain it, but it can't be justified. And the most painful part is nobody is standing and fighting, fighting to change this. And you know, to me, this is a crisis, this is an emergency situation. You have this many murder cases backed up and they will tell you, nearer cases, the case does not get better with Todd. What they say that in the same breath as of telling you that, you know, they don't know how many years it's going to be. If you were a criminal, if you're a murderer and you're sitting in a Cali jail and you know this because you're a criminal, and certainly the lawyers know it. The judge is know it. The, this attorney's office, everybody knows it, but the victim's family and the victims, the victim's family automatically thinks, "Under's going to be justice, you know, this is going to happen, that's going to happen." And none of it happens. The people are sitting in jail and they know that time is on their side. So why are they going to, first of all, they, they don't take a plea deals because they can just sit in the Cali jail. They don't have to their prison while they're waiting. If they get lucky and something happens to the witnesses or evidence or whatever, they might just get off with just having been in jail for however long they waited for trial. They can also take a plea at any point in the trial. If they see it's not going their way and they want to do that. So why would they? Why would they? Why would they take the plea? Lavery took the plea because the writing was on the wrong. It was so obvious. She didn't want to risk life and prison where she belongs. It's just, and I'm not talking about just Mary and Mary and the people who murdered Mary or the beings. I'm even like to call them people. There are other people who have been murdered hundreds of them here in Charlotte. The same thing is happening with them and God forbid the murderer is under age because then those poor people have to go to a bond hearing every 10 days. They may have changed that and made it, made it not as frequent, but I may have seen that recently, but every 10 days they're having to go to a bond hearing because it's a juvenile. And the juvenile is getting seven years per murder. That's insane. It's just, you can remember, stamp it seven years if it's juvenile, 20 years if it's an adult, and that's the way it's going. It's just, it's gut-wrenching. It's just, it's not something that you can just live with. You have been an amazing advocate and voice for Mary, and Mary was so special and, and so unique. She was full of love and, and light. What is the one thing that you would want people to know about Mary? Mary has a voice. She was born with a cleft, internal cleft. She had the absurdity to even be able to speak, and then she had to fight and go to speech therapy and work and work and work until she could, could even speak at all. And then she had to work to be understood. This was, this was not any reflection on Mary as a person, but I can tell you that I heard in court, through the DA's office, that Solano said to deal, there's this weird guy up there who can't, she taught, she doesn't talk right, you know, or she can't talk. I remember hearing that, and there were a lot of times I had to leave the courtroom, because I just couldn't, and these are just bonds hearings where we're hearing these things. Mary has a voice, and I have had to advocate for Mary her whole life, the 20 years I'm not going to stop now. If anything, it's going to accelerate. Mary's voice will be heard. It's only getting stronger. It's not just my voice. A lot of people really care about Mary, and she has a voice, and her voice will grow louder. I just, you know, if they silence tire, they took her life, they shrugged her, and they silence tire, and they kept her quiet while they did these horrible things to her, and they think that she doesn't have a voice, and that nothing, you know, nobody's going to hear her, but they're wrong about that. They are definitely wrong about that, and I will always be happy to lend my platform for Mary and her voice. Every year, your family holds an online vigil, and Mary's honor, starting March 28th and ending April 5th. Tell us about that vigil, and how people can join in and support you and Mary. So on March 28th, 2020, at 2/30 in the afternoon, and we have a pulled up in front of my house, sent by Kelly Lebrun to take Mary, and lure her to her dad, which is what she did. From the 28th of March through the 5th of April, we were trying to get to Mary. I knew that Mary was in that apartment. I knew that they had her, and I was bleeding and begging for help. My place went on deaf ears of the missing person's detective. She just did not get it, and did not think that Mary was in danger. Mary matters. The disability community matters, people who have invisible disabilities, autism, you know, all types of, there's so many, you can't even name them. In 22Q, like Mary, matter, and their caretakers, and their families matter, and there has to be a change. This can't happen. This can't happen. So what we want to do is we want to have a visual for Mary that lasts the entire time that she was held in that apartment, and we were trying to get to her. So what we do is we, on every single day, we tell what, what we were going through, what happened, people like candles, people pay, people do poetry, just whatever, what, you know, people paste, whatever they want to do. Then they, they tag Mary's voice, hashtag Mary's voice, and weary Collins, hashtag Mary Collins. That way, hopefully, when people, if people ever, ever grew, they, you know, they'll be more there that will come up. It would, it also helps a lot, if they did a vigil on their own social media platforms, wherever they got. Not only put it, take it to Mary's voice and post it there, but also post it on their own, let people know what's happened, and just be her voice. May, you've been an incredible advocate for Mary, and we appreciate you coming by to update us. You have our full support, as always, and I look forward to some of our listeners joining in on the visual. I'll be there. You can go to least of these podcasts, or you can go to Mary's voice to get all the details, and I'll be linking all of that in the show notes, as always. Thank you again, Mia, for joining us. Thank you. Please remember Mary. Absolutely. Go to justice for MarySantinaCollins.com and subscribe, so you'll be notified immediately of updates and the different ways you can help. You can bet I'll be following Mary's case closely, and we'll bring you the updates as they become available. As always, you can find more information on this case on my Instagram, at least, underscore of these, or my Facebook, at least of these podcasts. You can also follow Mary's voice on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and I'll be sure to link all that information in the show notes. New episodes drop every Thursday. I'll be bringing you an all-new case next week. Make sure you hit that subscribe button if you haven't already, so you don't miss it. You can finally get all your episodes ad-free just the way you like them for just $2 a month. And as a member of Patreon, you'll be the first to be notified when new tears will be launched with exclusive episodes and a few bonus surprises. Head on over to patreon.com/leastedthese to support the show today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring. If you know something, say something. 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