48: Wedding Turned Deadly | The Heartbreaking Case of Samantha Miller and Jamie Komoroski

A bride fatally mowed down by an alleged drunk driver on her wedding day. The wedding was beautiful. The couple was so in love, they were just starting the rest of their lives together. Police said she was driving 65 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone, with a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit. "Can I go my down?" "I got it right there. It's a big star. But you're on the rest. Why?" The driver who mowed down a bride and groom on their wedding night begs for murder. Mercy, as she admitted, she was drunk. "Polishly one day you will see it was for good, but I know for good this must be Earth." Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, right? You're marrying your best friend, the person that you're going to spend the rest of your life with. You're surrounded by friends, family, people just showering you with well wishes and happy thoughts, and it's supposed to be like the peak moment. When I say that knowing that of course childbirth becomes next runner up and all of the things that follow, but my point is getting married and your wedding day, it's definitely in the highlight reel, okay? We know that it is like a very important day. And Samantha Miller and Eric Hutchinson, for them their wedding day, was exactly that. So happy, so blissful, so joyful, and it was a magical celebration of their love. They were surrounded by everyone that they loved in their lives. They were about to start their lives together. They were in one of their most favorite places in the entire world, just surrounded and enveloped in love. And it ended disastrously, not because somebody objected, not because some mistress or what would you, what's the equivalent of a guy like mister, I guess, whatever, not because somebody came crashing down the wedding, not because a jealous ex came, but rather because of the actions of one incredibly irresponsible woman, someone who didn't know it at the time, but because of her actions and her recklessness, she was about to destroy not only this perfect wedding day, but so many lives that were affected through the ripple effect of Samantha and Eric. Within a matter of moments, because of Jamie Kormorowski, this once fairytale life, it turned into an absolute nightmare, leaving one newly wedded and the other widowed. And this was within literally of just hours of saying I do. Now what seemed like a pretty straightforward drunk driving case at the time, it quickly evolved into a case that absolutely captured the public's attention. And a big reason for that was because of this woman's attitude, Jamie's attitude. After the crash, her jail calls were released and they painted a picture of someone who didn't seem very remorseful, but was more concerned with how this was going to affect her life. How her life was now in shambles, very reminiscent, I have to say, of Mackenzie Sherilla. And after hearing a lot of these jail calls, a lot of people were left wondering whether or not Jamie would ever fully understand the devastation that she caused. Now when I first covered this case back in 2023, we walked through everything together. Sam and Eric's love story, the wedding, the absolutely devastating and senseless crash that changed so many people's lives, and I also broke down everything that happened in the immediate aftermath of the crash, including Jamie's behavior at the scene, at this horrific accident scene, infamous jail calls, which don't worry, we're going to get into those. And so much other stuff that happened that sparked complete public outrage. However, that was a couple of years ago. And at that point, there still were a lot of unanswered questions. The biggest one being, obviously, you know, what's going to happen to Jamie now. This wasn't just a cut and dry DUI case here, somebody lost their life. This was way reckless when you get into the details of just how much alcohol had been consumed, how the events transpired, which again, we'll get to all of that. But the question was like, what kind of punishment was she actually going to get? And more broadly, what does justice even look like in a case like this? Or someone may possibly not intentionally set out to hurt somebody else, but because of their actions, because of their carelessness and their choices being so reckless and so selfish and so destructive, they ended up causing the worst kind of pain imaginable. And look, the chaos in the public wasn't just because of Jamie and whether or not she had remorse. They're also became a huge legal battle between Sam's family and Eric, challenging the validity of the marriage, fighting over money, last names, the legality of it all. It is incredibly messy, very toxic, and there is so much that we need to get into. Now on top of that, the last time I covered this case, there were also lawsuits flying in every single direction. Tons of questions about how the surviving victims were supposed to move forward with all of these massive physical and emotional injuries, and it was just chaos. That is the best way to describe it. So like I said, since then, a lot has happened, and we finally now have answers to so many of the questions that I had back then. So with that, it felt like the right time to reopen this case. Not to only update you on where this case has now gone, what has happened and where it stands today, but also to bring back Sam and Eric's story back to the forefront and remind people of the absolutely devastating consequences that drinking and driving can cause. So my plan today, like all reopened cases, is we're going to revert back to my 2023 deep dive. I'm going to take a few pieces from that while also dropping in some real time updates with you right now, just so that way you have the full total picture, total story, all the details, all the calls, all, you know, every single thing so that you know it backwards and forwards, because it's been a few years and also because if you're watching the video version of this, you can see that I'm traveling right now because my equipment has changed a little bit over the years. You may notice slight differences in audio quality, however, I think we've gotten to a point where we pretty much seamlessly have been able to blend them together, but because equipment has changed over time, sometimes, you know, it's unavoidable. But just I do that and I splice them together again with the goal in mind, I should say, to really just give you the full comprehensive overview of the case. So if you're watching the video version of this, you'll see a little bit of old Annie on the screen. Then you're going to see present tense Annie on the screen, a little bit of time travel action, but just wanted to, you know, let you know that in advance. So with all of that being said, we have a lot to get into. You know the drill. Hit that like button, hit that subscribe button if you're watching on YouTube. Hit the follow button if you are listening to the podcast. I'm Annie Elise and today we are reopening the case of Sam and Eric Hutchinson. Let's get right into it. 36 year old Eric Hutchinson was born on March 23, 1987 to his parents Irvin and Net Hutchinson. Eric is the youngest of three with an older brother named Adam and an older sister named Alexis. Eric grew up in Ogden, Utah and played football in high school before going on to play as a defensive back for snow college and Utah tech. In college, he majored in communications with an emphasis on business organization, which really prepared him for his career as a sales manager for a construction company called Tucker Kirby. Tucker Kirby deals with concrete and masonry for residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Eric often traveled for work to meet with prospective clients and on one of these work trips, Eric was winding down for the night by grabbing a drink at the hotel bar where he was staying. He saw a beautiful woman with dark brown hair, brown eyes and a smile that lit up the entire room. So he decided to pull up a chair next to hers and quickly found out that this gorgeous woman's name was Samantha Miller and she was also staying at that hotel on a business trip. 34 year old Samantha Miller who went by Sam was born on March 27, 1989. She had two older siblings, Joseph and Mandy, and two younger brothers named Nathan and Jake. Samantha's mother, Lisa Miller, said that in the summer of 1988, she met a man named Brad Warner. Lisa and Brad ended up having a one night stand and Lisa became pregnant. Even though they weren't together, Brad and Lisa don't see this unexpected pregnancy as a mistake because it led to them sharing Samantha, which is one of the biggest blessings in their lives. Sam took Lisa's last name, but Brad was involved in raising her, along with Lisa's ex-husband David Miller. When asked to describe Sam in one word, people have used the word light because of how much joy and how much happiness she brought to everyone's lives. She had this infectious laugh and was one of those people who would become your best friend from the moment that you met her. From a young age, Sam was an empathetic and compassionate child, which carried over into adulthood. She always wanted to make sure that everyone was taken care of and felt loved. Sam made friends everywhere she went, but her best friend was undoubtedly her mother, Lisa. Everyone had heard Sam say her favorite quote, "Love you more, countless times," and she and Lisa even got matching tattoos of that phrase. After graduating high school, Sam attended East Coast Polytech Institute, also known as ECPI. ECPI has programs focusing on science, technology, health systems, business, criminal justice, and the culinary arts as well. People who knew Sam called her a "true, free spirit," and said that she was the type of person who loved to just start over and reinvent herself all the time. graduating college, she worked as a medical assistant. And then, in order. the Donna's office. After that, she wanted to switch gears, and she got into marketing before landing and excelling in sales. In sales enablement for a company called indexic. Indexic specializes in online booking and reservation software, so Sam would travel to train and coach sales team members for this company. On one of her work trips to Utah, she was approached in that hotel bar where she was staying by Eric Hutchinson. So Eric and Samantha struck up a conversation, and they talked for hours in this hotel bar. Eric was captivated, not only by how beautiful Sam was, but her intelligence and her sharp sense of humor as well. At the end of the night, the two of them exchanged numbers and then headed to their respective hotel rooms. Sam immediately called her mom and told her about how she had just met this amazing guy. But she didn't think that she would ever see him again because they were both just staying at that hotel for work. But surprisingly, that ended up not being the case. The next morning, Sam heard a knock on her door, and when she opened it, Eric was standing there, with four drinks from Starbucks. And he told her that he wasn't sure what kind of coffee she liked, so he brought her a variety. The two of them drank their coffee together before having to part ways for work. But Eric asked Sam if she would have dinner with him, and she, of course, was eager and accepted. Even though Sam had been afraid that she'd probably never talked to Eric again, they ended up speaking every single day after they met. When COVID hit, they knew that they wouldn't be able to travel back and forth very much. So Sam decided to move to Utah to live with Eric. Even though Sam grew up in North Carolina, when she was a little girl, her family took a vacation to a city just south of Charleston, South Carolina, called Folly Beach. Sam fell in love with the small, eclectic island, and she knew that she wanted to live there some day. So Eric and Sam decided to start their lives together in Charleston, along with their two cats. They got an apartment on the nearby James Island, specifically because of its close proximity to Folly Beach. It was like all of Sam's dreams were just coming true right in front of her eyes. Everyone who knew Eric and Sam thought that they were the perfect couple, and that their love story was like a fairy tale romance. Eric was said to be pretty much the male version of Sam, just kind, funny, and authentic, and life only got better after Eric popped the question, and their engagement brought excitement to both of their families who had never seen either of them more happy. Sam and Eric didn't have to think about where they would get married for very long. It was an obvious no-brainer that they would get married on Folly Beach, which has always been Sam's favorite place, and was also becoming Eric's as well. They would go there almost every day to walk or run on the beach, lay out, or just to catch the sunrise or the sunset. There were several options for venues, but Sam chose the one that would be closest to the ocean. At the very tip of Folly Beach where the island dead ends into the Atlantic Ocean, there is a beautiful secluded wedding venue called the Pelican Watch Pavilion. The beautiful, open-air pavilion overlooks the ocean shoreline known as the edge of America. Couples often have their wedding ceremonies on the beach and then walk that elevated boardwalk back up to the pavilion for their receptions. Even though all of Sam and Eric's family members lived out of state, along the beach were countless short-term rentals and Airbnb's and beautiful hotels for everybody to stay in. So they planned it, and they set their wedding date for Friday, April 28, 2023, and the weekend was going to be a family and friend reunion, a mini vacation, and a party to celebrate these two people who are madly in love with each other. Leading up toward the wedding, Eric and Sam chose their food, their songs, their wedding bands, and the decorations. Sam went dress shopping with her mom and her best friend Ashley, who was also going to be by her side on the beach as her maid of honor. When it was finally the week of their wedding, family and friends started making their way into town. The night of their rehearsal dinner, many of Sam and Eric's loved ones were just meeting each other for the first time, but it was like their connection to the couple made everyone feel like they had known each other for years, just two amazing families and friends just merging together. Now the day of their wedding, though, started with a little bit of a hiccup, even though it said to be good luck, no one wants a terrain on their wedding day, especially if your wedding is outside and on the beach. The forecast on Folly Beach said that it was going to rain that day, but Sam didn't freak out. She was the exact opposite of a bridesilla and she remained calm, as if she knew that somehow the day was just going to turn out perfect anyway, and she was right. Throughout the morning and early afternoons, any clouds that were in the sky just slowly disappeared. Sam, Hermon Lisa, her sister Mandy, and the rest of the bridal party spent the morning and the afternoon eating charcuterie drinking mimosas and just getting so excited for the wedding. Even before she got her makeup done, Sam had an obvious glow about her. The ceremony was set to begin a little after 5 pm, and at around 4 pm, guests started arriving at the beach, taking their sides for the bride and the groom. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect. It was slightly overcast and around 75 degrees. Sam had planned everything to a T, but the one thing that she waited until the last minute to do was to write down her vows. She knew what she wanted to say, but she wanted them to be written perfectly. So minutes before she was supposed to walk down the aisle, Sam laid down on her stomach in the back of her dad's forerunner so that no one would see her in her dress, and she wrote down her vows. Mandy later said that she expected her sister to be a little bit nervous, but that Sam was as peaceful and fearless as ever, smiling from ear to ear. There were no cold feet or even typical wedding jitters. She just couldn't wait to get down the aisle and marry her person, the love of her life, Eric. Eric stood at the end of the aisle facing the ocean, underneath a beautiful wooden arch in front of over a hundred of he and Sam's family and friends. Sam's bridal party walked down the aisle in different style dresses that matched the blushed pink, green and orange floral decorations, and everyone was completely blown away when Sam made her way toward Eric. She was always beautiful, but she truly looked angelic in her form fitting white lace wedding dress. Eric and Sam tearfully read each other their vows before officially being pronounced "Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson." Their family and friends cheered during their first kiss, husband and wife, and the reception to follow was just as perfect as the ceremony. While the bridal party took their photos, their guests enjoyed a cocktail hour. Sam and Eric's entrance led right into their first dance, which was to the song "You Move I Move" by John Legend. Next, Sam did a father-daughter dance with both of the men who raised her. Her biological father Brad and her stepdad David. The reception was just as carefree and fun as Eric and Sam were. They served their guests tacos and had a huge spread of desserts, including their five-layer pineapple and coconut wedding cake that Sam's sister Mandy had actually made for them, and everyone spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing, singing, and it could not have been more perfect. This episode is brought to you by SoFi, the all-in-one finance app where you can bank, borrow and invest. Let's be real. Most bank accounts are doing absolutely nothing for you. But with SoFi bank, your money could actually grow. You could earn eight times the national average savings rate with a SoFi high yield checking and savings account. SoFi bank NA member FDIC. Got credit card debt? You're not alone. And those high interest rates can feel impossible to escape. A SoFi personal loan could help you consolidate debt into one simple payment with a low fixed rate, so you can actually make progress. And if investing feels intimidating, SoFi makes it simple. 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The rest of the family were also staying in rentals along that same long strip of Folly Beach, and they would all get together again in the morning after resting from a long, but memorable day. So before they left, everyone made a little walkway, holding sparklers on both sides for Eric and Sam to walk through as they made their exit. They shared one more kiss at the end before hopping on to an LSV, which is a low-speed vehicle, and it's kind of basically just like a street legal version of a golf cart. And then they headed out. And we've all seen people riding in golf carts, segues, scooters, or other little vehicles in beach towns, which makes it easier for tourists to get from place to place and even locals to get around without having to run to car. And this is why the speed limit on beach strips and tourist little towns is usually so low. On the back of the golf cart, there was a little just-married sign hanging off the bumper. Eric's brother-in-law, Ben Garrett, and his 17-year-old nephew, Brogan Garrett, sat in the front seats of the golf cart, and Eric and Sam sat on the back so that they could wave goodbye to their guests as they drove down the road. Right as they left the parking lot, Sam turned to Eric and said, "I wish that this night never had to end." And that was the last thing that Eric remember Sam saying to him, "Before their lives changed forever." Less than two miles away from the wedding at the Pelican Watch Pavilion, is a road called Center Street. Center Street is known as the main drag of Folly Beach. It's where all of the main shops and restaurants are located and where beach bars and rooftop clubs light up the island's nightlife. Young adults from surrounding cities come to Center Street to Barhop, and that's exactly what 25-year-old Jamie Komorowski was doing that Friday night in April. And Jamie was born on September 15, 1997, to parents Charles and Tracy Komorowski. She is the middle child with an older sister named Kelsey and a younger brother named CJ. Jamie and her siblings grew up in Clinton, New Jersey, where they were an extremely close and tight-knit family. She was especially known to be a daddy's girl, and even though she was definitely a little spoiled by her parents, people who know Jamie have said that she has a very big heart. In high school, Jamie played sports like Lacrosse, she liked to snowboard, and has always been a competitive athlete. After high school, she was accepted into Coastal Carolina University. There, she joined a sorority and held several jobs in the food service industry. She worked at a daycare. She interned at a real estate company, kind of, dabbled in a bunch of different things. Now Jamie was definitely known to be a party girl and had a very busy social life. And she managed to remain on the dean's list with a 4.0 grade point average through college. She graduated with a degree in hotel, resort, and tourism management, and ended up landing a job with a company called Total Quality Logistics. Jamie worked as a logistics account executive and met her current boyfriend Evan Tatro over there at that company as well. In April 2023, she left her job at the logistics company to go work at a restaurant called Taco Boy, just off center street on Folly Beach. Like Sam and Eric, Jamie lived on James Island, and only had completed two days of training at the restaurant just a couple minutes from the house that she shared with some friends. On Friday, April 28, Jamie headed to a Mexican restaurant called El Gallo Bar and Grill, which is located near Daniel Island at about a 25 minute drive. I looked up this restaurant which is in this kind of isolated, sketchy, industrial area kind of, and I know a lot of the best and most authentic restaurants can sometimes look a little bit questionable on the outside, but I was trying to figure out why Jamie would make a nearly 30 minute drive when there are so many great places to go much closer. Maybe some of her friends asked her to go out to dinner, or maybe it's one of their hangout spots because on their Facebook you can tell that inside, it's definitely a lot of fun. They have two dance floors, one is outside on this really cool patio area, and they do salsa dancing and have parties. They also have thirsty Thursdays and on Fridays, they have karaoke and free tequila shots. With free tequila shots, margarita specials, and karaoke, it makes sense why Jamie and her friends would like to go there. And Jamie has said that at Taco Boy, the restaurant where she had recently been hired, it was really the common place for the employees to meet up after work or go on their days off to just party on center street together. She said that everyone from managers to servers go together, and if you want to get closer to the higher ups, you should definitely hang out with them. There's no telling how much Jamie had to drink at El Gallo, but I'm sure with the drink specials going on, it was probably more than one. Now it hasn't been clarified why, but Jamie was driving a gray rental Toyota Camry, and she decided to drive herself to center street to meet up with people. On center street she went to several different bars, like the drop-in, the crab shacks, and snapper jacks. Even though Jamie became more visibly intoxicated throughout the night, she continued to be served drinks at each of the bars that she went to. Considering her size and overall small frame, just one drink per bar would have pushed Jamie far over the legal limit to drive. Regardless, instead of calling an Uber a lift or even a friend, Jamie decided that she could make the 10-15-minute drive home. Snapper jacks and taco boy share a parking lot, and from there, all Jamie would have needed to do was make one turn on a state highway 171, and it would have been in your straight shot to James Island. A little before 10pm, Jamie pulled out of the parking lot, but instead of going west toward the highway, she accidentally made a wrong turn and started heading on East Ashley Avenue. Now usually if you make a wrong turn, there will be some side street that you can cut through to get back on the right track, or in obvious place to make a U-turn. However, each end of East Ashley Avenue literally dead ends into the Atlantic Ocean, with a lighthouse on one side, and the Pelican Watch Pavilion on the other. So Jamie started driving in the direction toward the lighthouse, which seemed odd since that wasn't the direction she should have been going in. It just so happened that newly wed's Eric and Sam Hutchinson were riding in that same direction on a golf cart toward their rented Airbnb for the night. If Jamie had driven two and from Folly Beach several times before, she probably would have been highly confused as to why she was speeding down a cramped dark two-lane road surrounded by houses. Maybe she hadn't even noticed that she had taken a wrong turn yet, or maybe she was just trying to figure out which direction she was going, and which driveway to turn into to turn around. Whatever she was thinking, it wasn't about the speed limit. I mentioned that most beach towns have a low speed limit due to low speed vehicles, bikes, people walking, and residential street typically have low speed limits anyway. On East Ashley Avenue, and throughout all of Folly Island, the speed limit is 25 miles per hour, and only increases to 35 miles per hour when you get out of the main beach area. So there was absolutely no time anywhere between Jamie's house and Folly Beach where she should have been driving over 60 miles per hour. But she was. On that dark narrow road, Jamie was going 65 miles per hour. Now most of us know that alcohol causes blurred vision, reduces motor skills, and your coordination, it causes delayed reaction, and impairs judgment, and so many other issues when it comes to being able to drive safely. One of the most important things a person needs to have while driving is a quick reaction time. In order for your brain to tell your foot in a split second to slam on the brakes, to veer out of the way, or to anticipate an accident. Intoxicated drivers may not even realize they've been in an accident until it's already over. This is tragic, but 100% preventable set of circumstances is exactly what took place that night after Jamie made the choice to get behind the wheel. Sitting down the road at 65 miles per hour, Jamie slammed into the golf cart that was carrying Samantha and Eric Hutchinson and Ben and Brogan Garrett. By the time they had made it almost 3 miles going 25 miles per hour, most of Sam and Eric's family members had already made it to their rentals and had started getting undressed and winding down. That was until everyone in the surrounding houses heard what sounded like a bomb go off somewhere outside. A resident on East Ashley Avenue came out of her house to see what was going on, and she was faced with one of the most horrific accidents that she had ever seen. You can imagine how horrible accidents are when someone plows into a regular stationary or slow-moving car at high speeds. Those cars typically have doors, seatbelts, airbags, and protection. A golf cart has seats, a plastic roof, wheels, and that's about it. When the car Jamie was driving made contact, there would have been nothing in between the car and Sam and Eric. If you've ever heard or witnessed a car accident, it truly does sound like an explosion. The golf cart and the passengers in it were launched 100 yards, which is about the length of a football field. The golf cart rolled several times, and when the neighbors came outside to look, they saw people lying in various places on the ground, and a mangled mess of metal. The woman who came out of her house first ran over to Eric, whose face was so badly injured, the woman couldn't even tell if he was alive. She found a pulse on him, so she went to check on the other victims. Brogan was miraculously able to stand up, but was clearly injured, walking, unsteady, and very confused. the woman then checked Ben, who had severe injuries and horrible road rash, but the woman was able to find a pulse. She then made her way over to Samantha, who was laying on the ground still in her wedding dress. However, the woman wasn't able to find a pulse on Sam. One or more of the onlookers called 911 immediately, who arrived just minutes later. An officer began working on Sam by performing chest compressions until the fire department arrived. They took over trying everything they could to save Sam's life, but it was clear that she was gone and had been killed on impact. Either one of the family members staying close by had realized what was going on, or Brogan called his mom, but soon the family was starting to show up to the chaotic scene of sirens, flashing lights, crying, yelling, and it just complete an utter mayhem. Lisa and Mandy went out on the balcony of their beach rental and could see the flashing lights. When a moment later, Eric's sister-in-law came speeding up to them and told them to get in the truck. At that moment, they knew that something had happened to Sam. They drove the one-mile to the scene and Lisa and Mandy jumped out of the truck and started running and screaming Sam's name. When they got there, they were told by someone that everyone had been taken to the hospital, but since they didn't have any of their IDs, they would be under Jane and John Doe's. There was still so much going on in the middle of the scene had been roped off by caution tape so they weren't really able to see much other than the mangled vehicles. They jumped back in the truck and raced to the closest hospital, but since the hospital hadn't been told anyone's names yet, they had to just wait to hear anything. They had been waiting for over an hour when Lisa got a call from her ex-husband, telling her that Sam hadn't actually been taken to the hospital. She was still at the scene in an ambulance, and she didn't make it. The only way he was able to identify her for the police was by looking at her tattoo. Eric Ben and Brogan had also been taken to a different hospital with a trauma center due to the severity of their injuries. Now, I don't think there are words to describe the way that Sam's family felt at that moment, so I'm not even going to try to say they were devastated, angry, confused, and heartbroken wouldn't even begin to cover it. Right after the initial accident took place and people made their way out of their houses to try to assist the victims before emergency personnel arrived, Jamie sat in her car, dazed and confused for a few minutes before exiting the vehicle. She was completely uninjured, but the people around the scene began asking her if she was okay. They said that when Jamie saw the people on the ground, she began crying and screaming, "Who is that?" Then she wandered around confused, and then would start screaming again. When the officer on the scene was relieved by the fire department and EMTs, he went to first check on Jamie and then to try to find out what had happened. She was sitting down and the officer immediately noticed that she smelled like alcohol. He went and asked another officer to join him so that someone else could confirm what he believed he was witnessing, which isn't uncommon in potential DUI situations. The officer asked Jamie what happened, and she said that she was driving home when all of a sudden something hit her. He asked Jamie if she had anything to drink, and she said, "Oh, uh, I had a tequila shot and a mixed drink about an hour ago." The officer asked Jamie how she felt on a scale from one to ten, with one being the most sober and ten being the most intoxicated. Now surprisingly, Jamie told him she felt like an eight, even though she had supposedly only had two drinks. While Jamie was talking to officers, she kept her head down and wouldn't make any eye contact. The officer asked her if he could see her eyes, but when Jamie realized that she might be in trouble, she said no. After that, she just became more and more uncooperative. The officer then asked her if she would be willing to do a field sobriety test, to which Jamie said no. He asked her if she would be willing to take a breathalyzer, and again, Jamie said no. But this time she added, "I think I want a lawyer." The officer asked Jamie to stand up, and when she stood, she almost fell over from being so unsteady on her feet. He had to hold onto her arm to make sure that she didn't fall over, and he told her that she was going to be placed under arrest for refusing a breathalyzer. When he turned Jamie around to put the handcuffs on, that's when she became very uncooperative, and borderline combative. She started yelling and screaming, "Why am I being arrested? I didn't do anything wrong," and Jamie kept pulling her arm away from the officer, saying that she wanted to call her boyfriend and that she wanted to go home. The officer realized that with everything going on, he needed to put her in his car for her safety and for everyone else's safety. But Jamie refused to put her legs and feet inside the car. No matter how many times the officer explained it, Jamie kept asking over and over why am I being arrested. Finally, one of the female officers on the scene had to go through the other side of the car and the other door to pull Jamie inside the car because she wouldn't bring in her feet and legs. When the officer arrived at the jail with Jamie, he asked her if she would consent to doing a blood alcohol test. Jamie of course said no, but he told her that this was her opportunity to prove that she wasn't really drunk, but Jamie kept refusing, so the officer had to call a judge to come down to the station to sign a warrant to collect a blood sample. Now that late at night, a judge probably isn't just sitting by the police station, so it would have taken him a while to get dressed and get down there to sign the papers. Even after it had been a few hours since the accident, when results of the blood test came back, it showed that Jamie had a blood alcohol content of 0.261, which is nearly three times the legal limit. She was then taken to the county jail and was ultimately charged with one count of reckless homicide resulting in death and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death. She immediately had to be booked and placed under watch for self-harm risk after she threatened to take her own life on the way to the jail. When Eric and Sam's family had finally figured out where everyone had actually been taken, they waited at the hospital for news about their injuries. While Eric was still unconscious, a nurse handed his mother a net, his wedding ring, that Samantha had just placed on his finger hours before. When he woke up the next morning, he was confused and in a day's, but the first question he asked was where is Sam? A net was faced with the excruciating task of telling her son that the love of his life was gone. Overall, Eric had suffered two broken legs, broken bones in his face, broken vertebrae in his back, brain bleeds, and numerous wounds. He needed multiple surgeries for his injuries, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional anguish he was now in without Sam. Ben Garrett, Eric's brother-in-law, suffered severe road rash and elacerations during the accident, and his son, Brogan, thankfully escaped with only minor injuries. Eric's mother set up a GoFundMe to assist with the medical expenses as well as the funeral arrangements for Sam. He spent weeks in the hospital before he was released, and even though he continued his recovery at home, he will still need more surgeries in the future for all of the damage that was caused by the accident. Just when everyone thought that Jamie's actions couldn't get any worse, they did. Instead of just taking responsibility for drinking and driving, in released jailhouse phone calls between Jamie, her parents, and her boyfriend, people believe that she comes off incredibly unsympathetic, selfish, and just completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation. The calls with her dad seemed like he was enabling her behavior and more worried about fixing Jamie's jail problem than helping her come to terms with what she did and accepting the responsibility. As a parent, it's our instinct, of course, to protect our children and to help them out of or through tough situations. I can completely understand not wanting your child to sit in jail, and dads especially are usually the ones who swoop in and make everything okay. But many people think that Jamie's father, Charles, isn't doing her any favor as by minimizing what his daughter did. In one of the released calls, Jamie literally said this sentence, "Why did this have to happen to me?" And her dad's response was because bad things happen to good people, honey. Because bad things happen to good people, honey. That's why. It's just, it's just the, it's just something that happened to you, and we are going to be the best we've had. Instead of saying something like, honey, this didn't happen to you. You made a mistake, and now we're dealing with the consequences. It's like they're not understanding that something bad happened to Sam, to Sam's family, to Eric's family, to Eric. Like, this isn't about you. It's something you did. Now, I understand that as her dad, he wants to comfort her and remind her that this doesn't make her a bad person in his eyes at least, but still. And here you can kind of see that he tries to tell it like it is, but he's talking to her like she's in middle school or something, and got suspended for a fight. Not like she killed someone while driving drunk. And it's like altering. You're here going to, you know, experience stuff that you never thought of. And when it's all over and done with and everything is finished, you're going to be a better person in this next part of the clip. Charles asks Jamie what she thinks about the lawyers that he hired. And here's what she had to say about them. So lawyers today. I know. How do you like them? I like them. They've got knowledge, they're not the job. They seem really good. Well, they seem really good. They are really good. At the same time, they can't be going any better than what we're doing. You got the best team to help you. Right? Tell them they said about your attorneys, right? What? They said, the family must be looking higher than me. You can see why this portion of the call made a lot of people angry with their laughing, the mafia joke, and how it really just sounds like he's more concerned with getting her out of this than helping her through this, if that makes sense. And as it turns out, Jamie's dad wasn't the only family member who seemed to be excusing her behavior. And shockingly, Jamie wasn't even the only person in her family who had a connection to a crash that ended with someone dead. Because get this. Shortly after Jamie's jail calls were released, reports surfaced that her mother Tracy had also been involved in a fatal crash back in 2013, so 10 years earlier. Now, in that case, her mom Tracy was driving near the scene of a fire when she swirved to avoid hitting a fire truck. But instead, crashed into a fire warden, himself, named Jeff, and ultimately killed him. Now to be fair, see, Tracy wasn't accused of being drunk, and ultimately she wasn't even charged, because police agreed that the smoke had obscured her vision. So as she was swirving, it was because she was again trying to avoid the fire truck. The smoke was blocking her vision, and she accidentally hit Jeff, the warden, and killed him. However, the reason I bring it up is because it did get a lot of people talking. And it is not, I don't want to say like crazy or coincidental, but it is interesting that the mother and daughter, tragically, were both involved in separate, reckless crashes that ended with innocent people losing their lives. It's tragic, it's eerie, and like I said, the reason I mention it is because a lot of people were talking about it at the time. Calls were also released between Jamie and her boyfriend Evan. She talks to him about how awful the food is in jail, how she likes the soap, and just from the look on his face, you can see that he really wants to roll his eyes at some of these parts. Lunch today was, and there were two slices of white bread, and onion cookies are belonging like this big, uncooked piece of bloody, and then like cabbage and two cookies. Oh, you got two cookies? Do you get any like condiments? It's like mayonnaise or mustard? No, no. They fed on hot dogs one night, two hot dogs, and no ketchup or anything. Oh my gosh. No bunnies or anything, it's so, it's so bad. But I just got my snack back in the mail today, so I have the readers and cookies. There's these cookies are so sick, they already ate like 20 of them today. There's a cookie that they give you for dessert. Sometimes you get cookies and sometimes you get cake. These cookies that they give you at this jail, I'm going to start buying them when I come home. I'm not getting them. Oh my gosh. And I really like your soap. Now in other calls with both Evan and her dad, Jamie began discussing her own wedding, which yes, you heard that right. She started planning her wedding from behind bars, after just killing a woman on her wedding night, which to me, I understand at some point life goes on, but also it feels very insensitive, very cold, and very like, read the room, right? Okay, you guys, I never thought that I'd be someone who could have an entire conversation about dog poop, yet here we are. Now if you have a dog, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The second that something seems off, you're suddenly like analyzing it like you're a detective on a crime scene. And honestly, that's just kind of how much we love our pups, right? We know when something's off. We know when they're not acting, they're the way they should be, and their digestion is off. 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The portion of the calls that made people the most upset has caused more controversy in the public and possibly even more legal implications for people other than just Jamie. She discusses how the Charleston County Sheriff, Kristen Graziano, came to visit her in person and offered to help her out. Okay, now I want to give a little bit of context for this next clip that I'm going to play. Because I want to remind you that when this originally took place, COVID was still a pretty big concern in South Carolina. So inmates weren't allowed to have in-person visits with their families. And for some of them, it had been years since their last physical visit. However, allegedly, Sheriff Graziano arranged for Jamie's parents to be able to come and see her in person, which isn't a privilege awarded to other inmates. Many people believe this portion of the call shows that Jamie is being given preferential treatment. The deputy sheriff, like one of her, like the headperson of Charleston County, I met with her today. And she's like trying to help me out. That's good. And she like is like, you don't need to, like, I don't want you in here. Like you should be with your family, like, blah, blah, blah. So that's like really good. Oh, it's good. Yeah, that'd be better than I can hopefully be home. She's the head deputy, whatever. She was really nice to. I think her name is Houston Demont. Is there something? But she was. She's really nice and. I think she's going to help me. So I think. I think she's really nice to. lawsuit against Sheriff's Office. of Graziano for violating the Freedom of Information Act. The judge found the sheriff guilty of breaking the FOIA law and ordered her to pay for the new station's legal fees, which amounted to a little over $33,000. The footage was ultimately released, but the public outrage for the sheriff showing preferential treatment toward a defendant in the high-profile case didn't just go away after the ruling. Some people were even calling for Sheriff Graziano to be removed from office, and there were allegations floating around that Graziano had some kind of working relationship with Jamie's attorneys, but the sheriff's office denied any wrongdoing. Their explanation was basically that, you know, Graziano visited the jail to check on the conditions to make sure that the people being held there were being properly cared for, not just Jamie, but everybody in custody. So ultimately, the petition didn't really go anywhere, and Sheriff Graziano stayed in office, at least for the time being, until she lost her re-election bid a few months later in 2024. So now switching back to Jamie's case. On August 1st, 2023, she had her first bond hearing, and that was to determine if she would remain in jail until her trial. Her attorney's filed a motion saying that Jamie was not a flight risk or a danger to the community, and asked that she be released on bond so that she could be admitted into a rehab facility. They claimed that Jamie suffers from substance abuse and alcohol dependency, and needs to get help. Members of her family gave heartfelt statements, assuring the judge that they would be her support system to help her through her recovery, and also would be responsible for her until a trial date. Samantha and Eric's family had words for the court as well, and they obviously did not share the same sentiment. They believed that Jamie made a choice to drink and drive, and knew the potential consequences of those actions. They believe that she does pose a risk to the community, especially if she has access to a vehicle. And take away my daughter. I do believe she may engage in the community because I wouldn't want anybody else to go through this. It's torn for her family to go through that. You didn't stop her, she didn't just kill my daughter. She killed all of us. Jamie was sobbing during the bond hearing, but ultimately the judge decided not to grant bond. And when Jamie heard the judge's decision, well, let's just say she was not too happy. So Jamie called Jamie. You've got to calm down. Face the brunt. Jamie is okay. Let's go. It's okay, Jamie. Just breathe, and you know we're just cowering down day by day. That's all we're going to do. Jamie, please be careful. I know this is hard news. I know. It's okay though. We're all here. We are all here, and you're going to check the way at this day by day, and that's all we can do. Jamie. Now to me, that clip reflects exactly what Jamie's priorities were. herself and not much else. Certainly not the person that she just killed. However, just a short time later, Jamie actually got her wish. Part of the judge's original decision was that Jamie could only be held without bond for 10 months. He basically said that if the attorneys couldn't get their act together and be ready for trial within that time frame, then Jamie would be allowed out on a $150,000 bond. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. And on March 1st, 2024, Jamie was released from jail with a GPS monitor and an alcohol monitor. But other than that, she was allowed to go home. Immediately following this horrific tragedy, Sam's family said that they were committed to helping Eric through his physical and emotional recovery so that they could be there for each other during the inevitable traumatic grieving process of the person that they all loved more than anyone in the world. But some comments made by Lisa Miller, Sam's mother, caused some people to believe that there might be a rift building between the Miller and the Hutchinson families. I want to address one more thing here. Yes. You all don't have to ask me, but honestly, Samantha's name is Samantha Miller. She got married. She died on her wedding night. I'm sorry, but that is her legal name. And I would appreciate all the media to use her name out of respect for her family. It's no disrespect to the Hutchinson. I'm glad that they had a ceremony. But when we're talking stories and news stories and legal things, her name needs to be her name. And she didn't make it to the social security office. So please respect us and Sam and call her what her name is in your stories. However, many people have sounded off online stating that this is clearly disrespectful toward Eric, who just lost his wife and Sam as well. In another interview, Lisa strangely explained that she really didn't want Sam to change her last name even before the wedding. She wanted her to keep the last name Miller or at least hyphenate the two names. Some people believe that this was a very bizarre request, especially since she has a son who will carry on the Miller last name. And Samantha expressed to her mother that she wanted to change her last name to be Hutchinson. But that to make her happy, she and Eric decided that if they had a son, they would name him Miller. The growing tension between Eric and Sam's families became even more obvious in July of 2024. Because that is when Lisa filed a petition against Eric in court. Now, the legal issues between Lisa and Eric had actually started long before that. In fact, because just three weeks after Sam died, Lisa tried to challenge Sam and Eric's marriage, which this shocked a lot of people. People were like, how are you being so insensitive? Obviously, your daughter loved this man. Why are you trying to challenge the validity of their marriage? She would have stayed married to him had their not been this horrific disastrous, tragic accident. And it put a bad taste in a lot of people's mouth. But her argument was basically that because Sam and Eric hadn't consummated the marriage, it shouldn't count legally, which if that were the case. And if the marriage was null and void, that would mean that her mother, Lisa, would be the one managing Sam's estate, not Eric. So Eric's legal team responded by sending Lisa a proposal that she would get 50% of any money recovered from Sam's estate, so long as she agreed to not challenge Sam and Eric's marriage. So basically saying, like, look, I love this woman. I don't want, I want to be married to her on paper still. We don't want to challenge the marriage. She meant the world to me. I get that you want to manage the estate. I will still give you 50% of her entire estate, but please just don't challenge the marriage. But even that, it still didn't satisfy Lisa. So in July of 2024, she filed that petition against Eric, accusing him of acting fraudulently in how he was managing Sam's assets. Then about a month later, Eric and Lisa went to mediation, where Eric's lawyers pointed out that Lisa's petitions hadn't been filed with the right paperwork. And also pointing out that there was no South Carolina law saying that a marriage had to be consummated in order to be valid. So that detail right there ended up being enough for Lisa to withdraw her petition. So with that, a lot of people assumed that this disagreement had just been resolved right then and there, that there was nothing left to argue about, that it was kind of just like done. But apparently not, because just a few months later in October of 2024, Lisa filed the same petition all over again. Now, some people think that the reason that Lisa was not satisfied with just 50% of Sam's estate is because her estate doesn't only include things like her car and her insurance policies, but it would also include any money that was recovered through lawsuits filed on Sam's behalf against Jamie. And considering the way that Sam died, that had the potential to be a very large amount of money. And that's actually exactly what happened. Eric, who at that point was still the representative of Sam's estate, he filed a huge lawsuit on her behalf. And this lawsuit wasn't just against Jamie. It was against a lot of the different people who somehow were weaved into this horrific accident. Restaurants, rental car companies, you name it. He filed a wrongful death suit against not only Jamie, but all of the restaurants, bars, bartenders, and waiters that served her. The lawsuit claims that these establishments continue to serve Jamie despite being visibly intoxicated, and that the businesses and staff have a duty of care not to allow customers to become intoxicated and not to serve alcohol to intoxicated persons. The lawsuit is also against Taco Boy, Jamie's new employer, accusing them of pressuring Jamie to attend a function that night and consume excessive amounts of alcohol. However, the management of Taco Boy claimed that they don't have any organized functions where employees drink together and that Jamie never stepped foot in the restaurant that night. According to them, if Jamie went out that night, it was on her own accord and not as a result of any related work event. Eventually, the courts agreed with the arguments and they removed them from the lawsuit. Then, in June of 2024, Eric reached a settlement with several of the other companies that were named in the suit. That included Sam's life insurance policy, the rental car company that gave Jamie a car that night and three of the restaurants that served Jamie before the crash. And a year later, Jamie's car insurance policy also agreed to a settlement. So those six companies, they agreed to pay out more than $1.7 million. Eric received about half of that money and then the rest, which was more than $700,000, it went toward legal and estate fees so that it could resolve the conflict with Lisa. In the end, Lisa didn't receive any money from Sam's estate, which I have to say is pretty interesting considering that she had turned down Eric's initial offer for half of the money, only for her to then end up with nothing, while almost three quarters of a million dollars went to lawyers just to settle this disagreement. And I have to say, even back then, when I first covered this case and now, when money gets involved, I understand it. Even when I was in my car accident, we sued the insurance and we got a little bit of money and that went towards some of the medical bills that were not covered and different things like that. And then you also get the pain and suffering money attached to it. But there's something about this particular case and tell me if you agree or disagree 'cause I think both opinions are quite honestly completely valid, but there's something about it that just feels a little gross to me about duking it out over money that is money being obtained on behalf of someone else's death. And I don't know if I'm explaining that right, but the fact that Eric and Lisa were arguing over this money who was gonna get money where the only reason there was any money is because his wife and her daughter was killed and they're fighting over. It just feels gross to me, almost like you're losing sight of things. And I understand too, you hold people, you wanna hold people accountable, lawsuits are the way to do that sometimes, all the things. So I'm not saying there shouldn't have been lawsuits, absolutely. But it starts to feel a little greedy and a little bit misguided as though you're not fully realizing, you know, not the severity of what happened, but just like, I don't know, there's something gross about it to me. And I know I'm doing a really shit job explaining this right now, but let me know if you guys agree or disagree 'cause I'm sure you understand what I'm saying. So and the truth is, no matter who side you're on between Eric and Lisa, the reality is that they both did lose somebody incredibly important to them and no settlement, no lawsuit and no amount of money could ever bring sand back. Just as the lawsuits were being resolved, the biggest update yet in this case, it came. And this was on December 2nd, 2024. That day, Jamie decided to plead guilty. Now it's not totally clear whether she truly understood the damage that she had caused and she wanted to take a gun ability for it or she just realized that she didn't have a shot in hell in front of a jury. But either way, Jamie admitted that she was guilty of felony DUI resulting in a death. Also reckless homicide and two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury. So that just left sentencing, which this was the victim's final opportunity to really drive home the point that yes, maybe Jamie didn't intend for any of this to happen, but her choices were so reckless, so negligent and so devastating that she still does need to be punished. There needs to be justice and accountability. And during victim impact statements, Eric and Sam's families did exactly that. Lisa pointed out that no matter what sentence Jamie received, it would never be enough to repay the lifetime that she took from Sam. - Get up. - We're not. - Has she had a idea of Article 7? - She's been going to come back like 10 years, 4, 20 years. - And we don't get how that goes when we find this. - This is a lifetime. - Brogan, who remember, was a passenger in the cart and just 17 years old when his life was changed forever, he shared how this impacted him as well. - These are, you know, everybody in the community. The fear, both, is there anything to do? Have a spot 'cause the position is not there. I did talk, talk straight to the library and you know what I'm talking about. You know, I'm going to go and go and thank you. And it's not going to be a job to work here. You know, you can't make the choice to drive while the car's serious. It's always bad, it's not so much, while it's a lot. The decision to drive a little flu, including the job right, is selfish, and cruel. In the night that this started, they were all, it doesn't go well, but it was all going to be good. Who we can never get that. - Brogan's dad, Ben, who was driving the cart, reminded the judge about all of the physical and emotional pain that his family had to go through. - And I always felt bad for my mom for that night. Me being the driver, if there was something that I thought something I could have done different. I replayed those events leading up to constantly invite him on the truck. Like Brogan going back, he did the same stuff so long. How long is that, at a stoplight, listening to the song? Could I have gone a little bit more power? Could I have gone slower? Could I have gone faster? These were the things that I struggled with. Everything. Every day I'm in constant pain and I have no way. I have to go work, I have a family to support it. I work in construction and drive a lot, but I can't take pain too. When I go to the morning, I say prayer, does the pain, did they, will not do that bad? I think I'll be able to do the things that you do, but it's a better project. It is a daily struggle, some days it's out. But I've a lot of the games for this. The drink is trying that night. He's trying every day to get better. And then Ben said what all of us were probably thinking. And he called Jamie out on all of those insanely cruel and honestly stupid jail calls. There is a statement that Jamie made in one of the calls to her father, where she asked why it is happening to me. Things she didn't have control over this. Your honor and love that happened to Jamie. Jamie happened to stand. Jamie happened to air it. Jamie happened to broke it. Jamie happened to be. Jamie happened to everybody that was in fact like this. She didn't show up before that night. And it would be okay. It was bomb. 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It's just made getting back into these healthier habits so much easier for me. I genuinely use factor and if you've been trying to eat better, but without making your life more complicated, I think you should too. Let's eat real. Head to factor meals dot com slash 10 to life 50 off and use code 10 to life 50 off to get 50% off and one free breakfast item per box for one year. While supplies last until October 31st, 2026. That's code 10 to life 50 off at factor meals dot com. 10 to life 50 off at factor meals dot com see website for more details. Of course, all of the victim impact statements were incredibly moving. But the two of them that really got to me were from Sam's biological dad Brad and from Eric himself. Because you could just tell that these were two men who absolutely loved Sam from the bottom of their hearts with their whole hearts. And their pain was just absolutely palpable. You could feel it. Brad said that he hated Jamie, and honestly, I can't say that I blame him. I've never felt this much weight. This person, each of us, seems a beautiful person to wife. She is a little bit so many. I don't realize how many people over the past year didn't have. I've heard a lot of people ask, "Actually hate you." I mean, let's say it, let's say it, let's say it, let's not say it. The rest of my life, I'm gonna hate you. And when I arrived in hell, did he come there? I'll hold a door for you. You have ruined so many people's lives. I hope you understand what you did, because you've taken no responsibility for what you've done. You can abolish all you want later. I don't know what it was to do over. It's not working. Then came Eric's statement, and it was absolutely devastating to hear. He said that he wished that he had died that night, so that Sam didn't have to die alone. And this moved everyone in the courtroom. Even the court reporter started crying. And I'd be lying if I said that it didn't make me emotional too, to just be like, not even to say like, "I wish it was me instead of her," or, "I wish I had died too, so I didn't have to live with this pain and this loss." But that wasn't it. It was, "I wish that I had died too, so that she didn't have to be alone." Still thinking about her and what her experience was in all of this. It's heartbreaking. I was more than able to get into this hell. I was like, "I wish I had died that night." I was going to go alone. I was going to tell you, "Come on." I was like, "I wish I had left the North Star, and you were only going to be able to." And I was very glad that you didn't miss that on the first. We did not get in it. We got ran through at the CC by law for an hour. There's no way in order to be alive, or in order to die that night. What I remember later, it's downstate that the few she did, she was a big monster in all of us. So it takes me 50 yet. We deal with that, but I don't know what it was. Every single second of every day is unbearable. It took a great student of being a little bit. She's not coming back, gone. You're in my world. And you didn't just want that in the whole region. You felt bad stuff in health. I wish every day that I died that night. You don't have the right to vow to protect your wife, to interfere in anything court, and then a little bit of power after that. Something over and then you go through. After all of those incredibly emotional statements, it was the defense's turn. They needed to put up some sort of argument to try to get a lesser sentence for Jamie. They argued that Jamie deserved a lighter sentence because she didn't have a previous criminal record, aside from a couple of traffic violations. They also acknowledged that Jamie had a severe addiction to alcohol, which honestly, I don't doubt that at all. However, I do have to say that the way that they framed it, it definitely felt like an excuse. It kind of came across to me like, well, you know, she shouldn't be punished too harshly because she was really drunk and she has a dependency on alcohol. Which that doesn't matter. Get drunk all you want. Get drunk until you black out inside your own home. You don't operate a vehicle if you're getting that drunk. Alcohol problem or not. And I get it. It impairs your decision making and all of that. But still, it's like that is not an excuse or that shouldn't be used as an excuse for a lighter sentence. To me, it's just completely asked backwards. I mean, in my opinion, the fact that she was drunk, it doesn't make her less responsible. It makes her more responsible. She still chose to drink. She chose to get behind the wheel. And because of that, Sam is gone. And the judge seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Because she started pressing the defense about why Jamie hadn't sought out treatment for her addiction while she was in jail. Saying, you know, okay, well, she really does have such a huge addiction. Why isn't she getting treatment now that she's behind bars? Now, Jamie responded that the alcohol recovery program was never offered to her. And the judge was kind of basically like, you know, girl, it's your responsibility to sign up for that. You don't need somebody to hold your hand, offer it to you and force you to do it. You're an adult. You can figure it out. You can't just sit around waiting for the program to come find you. However, the defense it did say that Jamie had been involved in alcoholics anonymous. But again, the judge was skeptical. She said that if Jamie's addiction was really as severe as the defense was saying, then she needed something more involved. Something like inpatient treatment, which she had never gone to. So after all of that back and forth, Jamie ended up taking the stand herself. And this is something that really did surprise me at the time. Because a lot of times when we see a defendant take a guilty plea, whether it's an exchange for a certain sentence or to avoid the death penalty or whatever it is, they don't often either take the stand at sentencing or allocate or do anything because they take the plea as a way to just not take accountability. And I know that's weird because they're pleading guilty, but like they're to not have to face the music. So when Jamie took the stand during this, I was kind of like, oh, wow, okay, what's going to happen here? And she said that she was accepting responsibility for her actions and that she was committed to treatment for her alcohol issues. She also said that she hoped that she would be released soon so that she could start a master's program and help other people who are struggling with addiction. And listen, Jamie's statement, it was well written, okay, I'll give her that. But it's hard to not compare that version of Jamie to the version of Jamie that we heard in the jail calls. The one giggling, complaining, asking, why did this have to happen to me? Plus, where's the justice for Samuel? Jamie wants to get out so that she can go get her master's degree, start a career, build a new chapter of her life, all these things, which great. Yeah, that sounds ideal. That sounds perfect. But those are opportunities that Sam will never get. It was all taken from her because of your actions, your choices. So after weighing everything from the prosecution, the defense, and the victim impact statements, the judge was ready to hand down Jamie's sentence. Now Jamie was facing anywhere from one to 25 years in prison. And even though she pleaded guilty without a deal, meaning the prosecution didn't come to her and say, "Hey, plead guilty and we'll recommend five years," or anything like that. It was pretty clear that Jamie's team was expecting a sentence that would be on the lower end because she pled guilty. Again, even though nothing was definitively agreed to or there wasn't any sort of deal exchange, it was their assumption that, "Okay, she's taking accountability. She's pleading guilty. They'll go easy on her." So what I want you to do, for those of you who are watching the video version of this, and for all my podcast listeners, you can look at the timestamp right now and go watch the video version when you're done with this episode. But knowing that detail, I want you to keep an eye on Jamie's face when her sentence is read. I want you to keep an eye on this sentence. that the judge was going to go easy on her. Probably because everyone had gone easy on her her entire life, but not this time. Now, we obviously know that 25 years, that will never bring Sam back. It won't erase the trauma that Eric Brogan Ben that they survived that night and that everybody had to survive after losing Sam. It won't undo the pain that Sam's family has to carry every single day since that happened. However, it was the strongest sentence that the judge could give, which sent a very clear message. What Jamie did was unacceptable. It was cruel, it was reckless, and it destroyed lives. But of course, in true Jamie fashion, she did not see it that way. Because just 10 days later, her team filed an appeal. They argued that her sentence was disproportionate, compared to other similar DUI cases in the area. They cited a case of Lisa Pistolis, a drunk driver who sped over a median and killed another driver and only received six years in prison because of that. Saying, look at that situation. Six years to 25 years. Obviously, it's not apples to apples, which listen. To me, it sounds less like Jamie's sentence was too harsh and more like that other sentence was probably way too light, in my opinion. I think drunk driving needs to be harsher, no matter what, even if somebody doesn't lose their lives, but especially if somebody loses their lives. I mean, it's just, it's the most selfish decision somebody can make. In a day and age of ubers, ride shares, walking, scooters, which I know scooters can cause accidents too, but like there are so many options at our fingertips with technology and with choices. It's like, it's selfish from A to Z. It's selfish to drink, it's selfish to not call an uber, it's selfish to get behind the wheel, it's selfish to maybe be on your phone while you're driving and you're drunk. She like, it's just, there needs to be harsher punishment, in my opinion, because it is the ultimate act of selfishness. Either way, the state argued that Jamie's sentence was in line with the sentencing guidelines and ultimately a different judge agreed. So Jamie's sentence was upheld, meaning that those 25 years are going to stand. Jamie is not eligible for parole and she will remain in prison until April of 2045 when she will be 47 years old, which that's an age that Sam will never reach. Sam will never get to go on her honeymoon with Eric, she'll never get to snuggle with her cats or have children of her own or continue her career or give her mama hug. Her entire future was ripped away from her, all because of this woman's reckless choices that night. And look, even though I'm glad she still has the max of 25 years, she's gonna be 47 when she gets out. She still is going to have such a big life ahead of her. She can get married, she can maybe have children and different ways to have children too, but like she can have a life. It's not like she's not gonna get out until she's 90 years old. It's just, I don't know, I get it, it's a long time, but still, to me, it is a just punishment. That being said, I hope that this tragedy can help put into perspective the devastation that drinking and driving can cause. And hopefully before someone gets behind the wheel, they will remember Sam and find another ride. The day Sam passed away, she was the happiest she had ever been. She got to experience what she wanted to do more than anything, which was to marry Eric and become Samantha Hutchinson. She had a positive and long lasting effect on everyone during her life, and I know she will continue to do so in death. I'm curious to know what you guys think. I mean, first and foremost, thank you for listening. I really appreciate you listening to Sam and Eric's story, but I am curious to know what you think about it. Do you think that Jamie's sentence was too harsh, especially compared to what a lot of drunk drivers receive? Or do you think that that's exactly what she deserved? And where do you stand on that divide between Eric and Sam's mom, Lisa? Do you think that there was some weirdness with that and the validity of the marriage being called into question and the money and all of that? Or maybe am I just such a pessimist because of so many cases I've covered that I see it differently? Let me know what you think, either in the comment section on YouTube, Q&A section on Spotify, or if you're listening on Apple, you can leave a review if you scroll down to the bottom of the podcast page. And leave a five-star review now, but you can type in in the review section what you think about this case. So I appreciate you listening to their story. And I just, again, I wanted to reopen this case because I think it serves as a reminder for so many of us that it's fun to go out, to drink, to party, to be careless, but even if you think you're okay to drive, whether you've only had one or two air on the side of caution, we live in a day and age again, where we have so many different tools accessible at our fingertips. And I get it. Things are expensive right now. Inflation, not everybody can afford an Uber or a ride chair, but my point is drunk driving is the most reckless and selfish choice that somebody can make. And I think that Eric and Sam's story, it serves as a reminder for all of us to just be more cautious and careful. And heck, even being out on the road late at night, even if you're not driving, I was out on the road with my husband and my sister on the 4th of July. We left the restaurant at, gosh, it was before midnight, it was like 11.45, we were in an Uber. I had had had half a cocktail that night, but we still called an Uber regardless, but the amount of crazy people on the road that late because it was the 4th of July. People driving without their headlights on, people swerving, people like weaving in and out, it's just scary. So I know the expression when I was growing up is like nothing good happens after midnight, but I think this episode and knowing their story can serve as like two reminders. Don't drink and drive and be extra cautious. Also, if you're going out and out late at night, if you're younger, older, whatever, just know that those sometimes are the kinds of people on the road, and so you need to be on high alert because it is scary, it's a scary place to be. I know I just went off on a tangent, so I'm really sorry for that. Now really quickly before we go. Over the last couple of days, a ton of footage has been released regarding this case. I'm talking body cam footage, interrogation footage, so many pieces of information and video that in my opinion, illustrate not only the entitlement, but the lack of remorse. And I wish that I could play them for you all here. They just do not unfortunately translate well for my audio only listeners. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna do a bonus episode on YouTube this Friday, where I walk you through all the body cam footage, the interrogation footage, everything so you can get a visual, you can hear it, you can see it, because I really think you need to see her body movements, her attitude, how she is trying to play this down, how she feels like she deserves more rights and nice treatment and all the things. So if you are a podcast listener, this is your sign to go make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel. It's Annie Elise and subscribe so that you get the notification for Friday and for all my YouTube viewers, another reminder, if you're not subscribed yet, subscribe now so that you don't miss it. Friday, it will come out, nine a.m. Pacific time, you are gonna wanna see this, because although there have been clips going around on social media, when you see the whole thing, you are not going to believe it. And I'm gonna pull like the five to 10 biggest, what the hell is going on moments and break it down for you. So little added bonus for you there, make sure you subscribe so that you don't miss it. Friday, nine a.m. - Thank you guys so much for listening. If you're watching this on YouTube, don't forget, hit that subscribe button, hit that like button, share it with a friend. And if you're watching this episode and you are a boomer or an adult like me, and you have kids or you have teens, share this episode link with them, just to help educate on the dangers of drinking and driving. Thank you so much. And I will be back with you next week with an all new case. Until then, stay safe. Bye.