Case Review: Austin Mitchell

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Culpable case review episodes are released on Friday. To binge
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the entire installment ad-free, subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus at tenderfootplus.com
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or on Apple Podcasts. Now, let's start the show.
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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely
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those of the individuals interviewed and participating in the show
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and do not represent those of Tenderfoot TV. All individuals
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described or mentioned in this podcast should be considered innocent
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until found guilty in a court of law. This podcast
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contains subject matter, such as violence and other graphic descriptions,
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which may not be suitable for all audiences.
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Listener discretion is advised.
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Austin was just amazing. I knew he would be somebody.
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He had a driving goal and he was going to
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make that goal. I don't care what it took. If
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he get his mind and set it to something, he's
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going to execute that plan.
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This is Michael and Kim Postel, the parents of Austin Mitchell,
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the victim in the story. 20-year-old Austin Mitchell was a
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recent honors graduate living with his parents in Union City, Georgia.
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He was always known for his positive, upbeat spirit. He
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had many friends. He had plans for the future, dreams
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he was chasing. But sadly, in one tragic and unexpected moment,
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all those dreams would fade to black.
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The phone was ringing. I said, well, I'll check it
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when I get back. When I got back up the stairs,
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I called the number back, and the girl was screaming.
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I said, what's wrong? She said, is it true? I said, what?
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That Austin killed yourself? And I just... threw the phone
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down and started crying.
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It's like someone taking a piece of your heart and
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just cutting it in two and throwing it out the window.
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That's what it's been like. You want to hug them
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and touch them and talk to them and hear their voice.
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You can't do that no more. That's all been robbed.
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You've been robbed of that.
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It's still unclear what exactly transpired that fateful night of
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March 3rd, 2019. But when Michael and Kim were given
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news of Austin's death, they were told that he had
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taken his own life. To them, the idea of their
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son committing suicide was preposterous. Ever since then, they've continued
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to dig into the circumstances surrounding his death in an
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unrelenting fight for answers.
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And what they've learned over time has only raised their suspicions.
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You see all this evidence, overwhelming evidence, right before your eyes,
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and no one does anything about it? Who are you
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protecting here?
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This is a culpable case review of Austin Mitchell.
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If you're a longtime listener of Culpable, then you know
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that the first story I ever covered was the suspicious
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death of Christian Andreacchio in Meridian, Mississippi. I bring this
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up because when our team in Atlanta brought me the
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story of Austin Mitchell, I couldn't help but notice some
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similarities between the two cases. Both victims were young men
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who were found dead from a single gunshot wound, with
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other individuals present at the time, and their deaths were
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reported as suicides, despite many unanswered questions.
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The reveal obtained these records from an outside medical examiner
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hired by Fulton County to take another look at the case.
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His determination? The gunshot wound was, quote, Like with.
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Christian's case, Austin's parents have fought tirelessly to keep his
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story in the media.
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But with time, it's faded.
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Our Atlanta team was curious about the recent status of
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the case, and after reaching out, discovered there was much
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more to the story than what made the headlines thus far. So,
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our producers, Jamie and Eric, loaded up their gear and
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traveled 20 minutes southwest of Atlanta to Union City, Georgia,
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to meet with Austin's parents. When they arrived at the
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Postell home, they were greeted warmly by Michael and Kimberly,
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who led them up the stairs to their main living area.
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The walls, tables, and mantel were covered with family photos
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of their three sons at every stage of life. There's
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photos of holidays and birthdays and sporting events. Austin's mother, Kim,
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was excited to show them around.
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Okay, that's him and our family reunion playing a gospel
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song with my mom. This is when he was younger.
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This is a picture of us all together at a
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family reunion. And this is when he graduated, me and
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him together. And this is us when he was a baby.
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That's him and his brothers. And if you go up
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in his room, I'd have his prom pictures.
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After getting settled, they walk down the narrow hall to
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Austin's bedroom. It has remained virtually untouched for five years,
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except for his bed, which his father, Michael, sleeps in
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from time to time. You could sense Kim's pride as
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she gave a tour of her son's room.
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This is a picture of him. He wanted to do modeling.
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So I had taken a couple pictures of him. This
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is a picture of him on his birthday. We was
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over to a friend's house. These are some schools he
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was thinking about going to school at when he made
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Prime King. And pictures of him at Prime in California.
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took a girl to prom in California in 2018. Why California?
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Because he met her through my daughter-in-law. That's her cousin.
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And they wind up liking each other. So he flew
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out there by himself and went to the prom. And
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then he turned around and went back out there in July.
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So that's him. This is him with the hat on.
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As you can tell, there are countless memories of Austin
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scattered throughout his blue and green painted walls. And lining
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the shelves that wrap around the room are countless trophies
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and board games.
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He clearly had many interests.
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And so, you know, he liked playing games, so we
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left all his games up to this one.
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Did he have a favorite game?
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Oh, we played Monopoly. He liked that a lot. And
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he loved playing Domino's. He was 20, but... He still
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act like a kid. This is a certificate of appreciation
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from McLaren High School. They put him in a summer
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program with computers, IT. And he did that for the summer.
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And this is his goals. He got a court from
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graduation too. He got an honors court. He said he
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was gonna give 100. 100% effort.
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It was clear the young man was an achiever.
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A black sash with the phrase Prom King in gold
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letters is proudly displayed on his wall, accompanied by various
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certificates and photos. And beside his bed hangs his honor
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graduation tassel, along with a handwritten note that's tacked just
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below it, which reads, Goals. Give 100% effort this term.
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Grind mode. Save for Camaro cash. Find new job. with
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more money.
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Goals that I'd like to think he would have achieved
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if he only had more time. Before exiting his room,
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Kim pointed to a shelf in the corner.
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And that's his urn. And that's the picture they gave
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at the service.
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Can you read what it says?
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And I ain't got my glasses on, but you can
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bring it down and look at it, though. It's dusty.
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To be absent from the body is to be present
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with the Lord.
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Mic check, mic check.
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Okay.
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Okay, go ahead.
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So we'll start by just having you introduce yourselves.
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I'm Michael Postel.
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And I'm Kimberly Postel. And tell us about your family. Well,
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we have three young men. We had three young men.
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My oldest is 36. My middle son is 30. And
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my son that's deceased would have been 25 this year.
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And he passed when he was 20. So tell us
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about Austin.
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What was he like when he was little?
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Oh, Austin was, he was like an angel. When he
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came in the room, he lit up the room. He
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was always full of spirit and laugh, and he's very smart.
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He was a family boy. He had a niece, and
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he loved his niece. She was two years old, and
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every time he came from the job, he had something
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for her. He just loved her. family.
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Yeah, he loved people.
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Actually, he was a people person, and he made an
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impact on anybody he came across. You know, they remember him.
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They recognized and acknowledged him because of who he was.
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His energy was so positive. And, you know, we have
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a strong Christian belief. We taught him that when he
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was young, all of them.
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Michael and Kim are actually from Michigan. They moved their
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family to Union City in 2000 when the boys were
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much younger and Austin was just a baby.
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I wanted my kids to be in a major city.
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I thought Detroit was too rough. So we brought them
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here and they loved it. And being right in Union City,
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it was small. It wasn't something that they had to
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rush into the big city. You know, when he was
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close enough to go to Atlanta, but being here, it was,
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you know, small. When he was younger, it was a
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nice place, but it has changed.
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Michael explained that during that time, many Black families around
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the country were moving to Georgia to raise their children.
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And he's right.
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Between 2000 and 2010, Atlanta and surrounding cities like Union
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City led the nation in Black migration and population growth.
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And there's plenty of reasons for that.
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When we moved here, Union City was kind of like
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a dream neighborhood. Everybody seemed to know everybody. You know,
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everybody got along. It wasn't any high crime rates at
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that time. You know, the chief of police was Mike Isom.
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Very good man. Very good man.
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But I noticed as time progressed, once we changed the
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officials in the law enforcement agency in Union City, The
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crime rates start going up, up, up. They closed a
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lot of apartments in the Atlanta metro area. So people
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start migrating to Union City. I noticed the crime started
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to get a little bit more rampant. Now, I would
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recommend no one to come here, to live here, because
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I can't guarantee you that you're going to be protected.
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The Postells were aware of the rising violence in Union City,
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but like many families across America, moving wasn't really an option.
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So they focused on educating their sons and spent a
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lot of time in prayer. They knew of the dangers
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their son might face, but they never expected they'd lose
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one of them at such a young age. The first
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weekend of March 2019 started off like any other. Austin
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was enjoying his free time in and out of the
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house with friends. He came home late that Saturday night
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and went to his room. Kim says something compelled her
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to check on him. When she walked in his room,
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it appeared he had been crying, but to this day
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she has no idea what had made him so upset
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after returning home that night. But he assured his mom
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that he was fine, and he went to sleep for
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the night. The next day, Sunday, March 3rd, Kim says
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his demeanor had changed. After getting her hair braided that morning,
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she actually sat down with Austin, and they proceeded to
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have a conversation about all sorts of things. She had
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no idea at the time that this would be the
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last time They never speak.
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So I came out later on and I sat on
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that couch and he sat next to me. So I
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called him over there and I started talking to him
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and hugged him and kissed him and told him I
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loved him. We talked about school and then he started
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telling me, Mama, I get my insurance kick in. And
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my tooth been bothering me. I'm going to go to
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the dentist. I'm going to be starting school the end
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of the month. And then he said, oh, and I'm
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going to get a car. And he said, mama, I'm
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going to take good care of you. He said, daddy,
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I'm going to take good care of you, too. And
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he was just happy. And he got ready to go downstairs.
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And I had a funny feeling. I said, Austin, don't
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go nowhere today. Just stay around the house. He said,
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I ain't going nowhere today.
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Despite Austin's positivity, Kim couldn't help but feel that something
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was off with her son that Sunday, March 3rd. Since
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he didn't seem to have any plans for the day,
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she figured they'd have a chance to talk later on.
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But when night rolled around, Kim would learn that Austin
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had gone against his word when her sons informed her
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that he had left the house with a guy he knew.
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She said this.
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Immediately made her nervous. But later that night is when
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the fear would really set in.
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I was washing clothes, and I went downstairs, and the
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phone was ringing. I said, well, I'll check it when
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I get back. When I got back up the stairs,
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I called the number back, and the girl was screaming.
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I said, what's wrong? She said, is it true? I said, what?
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That Austin killed himself? I know it ain't true. He
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didn't do it. And I just threw the phone down
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and started crying.
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Kim frantically woke up Michael after receiving the phone call
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from Austin's friend. And after figuring out the location, Michael
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00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:31.399
and his other two sons jumped in the truck and
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headed that way.
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So when I get around there, I see the flashing
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lights and the yellow tape. And I had an eerie feeling,
250
00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:44.600
but I tried to go through the line, you know,
251
00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:47.259
trying to see what's going on in that apartment. The
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00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:49.250
police stopped me and wouldn't let me go. And she said, sir,
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00:15:49.289 --> 00:15:50.889
we can't let you go over there. And I said, well,
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00:15:52.110 --> 00:15:53.570
I finally got her to tell me. I said, well,
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00:15:53.610 --> 00:15:56.909
tell me this. Her name was Sergeant Baker. I said, well,
256
00:15:56.929 --> 00:15:59.480
tell me this. This is a young, light-skinned young man.
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00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:03.080
And she looked down at the ground and she said, yes, sir,
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I believe it is. So after she said that, I
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00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:10.500
felt it in my stomach. You know, I just, it's
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00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:11.539
like a gut instinct.
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00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:12.679
I just, I just knew.
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00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:13.970
I said it wasn't right.
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00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:15.730
So his brothers looked like they was ready to run
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00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:17.169
through the line and all types.
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00:16:17.230 --> 00:16:18.309
I said, y'all just be cool.
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Just calm down.
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00:16:19.889 --> 00:16:20.409
Just be cool.
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00:16:21.049 --> 00:16:22.990
I said, we've got to be intelligent about this whole thing.
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00:16:23.029 --> 00:16:24.690
I said, we don't know exactly what's going on.
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I knew. I knew. But I couldn't tell them that.
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00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.379
Sergeant Baker then asked Michael to drive his sons to
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00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:38.139
the station so they could write statements describing what they
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00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:40.539
had witnessed earlier that night when Austin left the home.
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00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:44.639
So they wrote down a statement showing what they'd seen.
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00:16:45.450 --> 00:16:47.610
They told them it was a guy picked them up
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00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:51.460
and They told him they'd seen a gun in his waistband,
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00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:54.759
what type of gun it was, what color the gun was.
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00:16:54.820 --> 00:16:57.519
They told him all that. So at this point in time,
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00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:00.480
I hear some other police coming down the hall, talking.
280
00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:03.919
And I asked the police, I said, well, the boys
281
00:17:03.970 --> 00:17:05.890
that he was with, I said, do you have them? Yeah,
282
00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:07.670
we have them. I said, well, are they here now?
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00:17:07.750 --> 00:17:09.829
Can I go? No, we can't let you. No, we
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00:17:09.849 --> 00:17:11.009
can't let you go in there where they at.
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00:17:11.049 --> 00:17:11.430
No, sir.
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I said, y'all, come on, let's go, man.
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00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:14.130
Let's go.
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We get in the car. I drive back home. part
289
00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:23.680
I'm dreading most right now is what I'm going to
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00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:31.880
say to Kim. So I come upstairs. She said, look
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00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:33.720
at me. She said, Mike, tell me it ain't true.
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00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:34.799
Please.
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00:17:37.029 --> 00:17:40.390
I just grabbed her and said, yeah, Kim, it's true.
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00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:45.130
And she just fell to the ground on her knees screaming.
295
00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:47.390
Screaming.
296
00:17:47.430 --> 00:17:55.380
Screaming. It was a scream that I never heard before.
297
00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:04.349
I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I know
298
00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:09.630
we all got to leave this world. But your child
299
00:18:09.670 --> 00:18:12.170
to leave is a.
300
00:18:12.089 --> 00:18:13.210
Whole different thing.
301
00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:23.309
And just like that, Michael and Kim had lost their
302
00:18:23.329 --> 00:18:26.690
youngest son. I can't even begin to imagine what it
303
00:18:26.710 --> 00:18:30.230
was like processing this. But to make matters worse, they
304
00:18:30.269 --> 00:18:32.630
had no idea what had even happened to him, just
305
00:18:32.690 --> 00:18:36.009
that he was gone. So the focus became just that,
306
00:18:36.609 --> 00:18:40.529
determining what happened to Austin. Piecing together the events that
307
00:18:40.549 --> 00:18:45.470
transpired on March 3rd, 2019, is no easy task. But
308
00:18:45.509 --> 00:18:48.960
it started with multiple calls to 911, The first call
309
00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:50.519
came into dispatch at 10.33 p.m.
310
00:18:50.599 --> 00:18:51.839
Okay, repeat.
311
00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:53.980
That address for verification.
312
00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.759
Can you ask somebody if you don't know?
313
00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:55.849
No.
314
00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:58.970
Can you repeat that address for me for verification?
315
00:18:59.009 --> 00:18:59.079
No.
316
00:19:12.569 --> 00:19:14.289
This 911 call was made by 20-year-old Anthony Beard.
317
00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:16.109
In the audio, you hear Anthony tell the dispatcher that
318
00:19:16.130 --> 00:19:18.539
his friend, Austin Mitchell, shot himself in the head.
319
00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:19.839
When asked for the location, he claimed to.
320
00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.400
Not know the exact address, but another person at the
321
00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:23.180
scene was able to confirm.
322
00:19:42.630 --> 00:19:47.349
Then, the dispatcher asks some additional questions. Is he awake?
323
00:19:48.750 --> 00:19:51.759
No, he's dead now. Is he breathing?
324
00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:53.140
No, ma'am.
325
00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:55.400
He's on the way. He's on the way, I know.
326
00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:58.980
Then, the call disconnects.
327
00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:03.319
When Union City police officers arrived at 10.39 p.m., there
328
00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:06.500
seemed to be some confusion. Authorities were dispatched to the
329
00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:10.440
apartment complex to locate an individual wounded by gunfire and
330
00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:13.490
they were not given a unit number. According to the
331
00:20:13.529 --> 00:20:17.130
police report, dispatch attempted to call the 911 caller back
332
00:20:17.210 --> 00:20:19.769
three times to clarify, but had no success.
333
00:20:20.130 --> 00:20:21.210
You have reached the void.
334
00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:25.819
Then, the officers observed that the door to Unit 5
335
00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:28.519
was open. UC Police Department.
336
00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.400
UC Police Department, make yourself known.
337
00:20:39.049 --> 00:20:39.730
Clear it on your back.
338
00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:48.480
As you hear in this audio, two officers enter and
339
00:20:48.519 --> 00:20:50.759
clear Unit 5, which would turn out to be the
340
00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:55.230
wrong unit. Unable to make contact with the 911 caller,
341
00:20:55.549 --> 00:20:57.990
they leave, noting in the report that there was, quote,
342
00:20:58.369 --> 00:21:02.630
an odor of gunfire. In the video, they're actually standing
343
00:21:02.670 --> 00:21:04.950
in front of Unit 1, the unit where Austin had
344
00:21:04.970 --> 00:21:07.549
been shot, when they mentioned the smell of gunpowder.
345
00:21:07.569 --> 00:21:10.170
Following a search of the area, police leave the complex.
346
00:21:10.210 --> 00:21:11.490
And then, at 10.55 p.m., about 15 minutes after the
347
00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:13.109
original 911 call, another call comes in, this time from
348
00:21:13.349 --> 00:21:14.819
the landlord.
349
00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:58.730
In the call, You can hear the landlord describe various
350
00:21:58.769 --> 00:22:02.269
concerns that tenants had relayed to her regarding teenagers inside
351
00:22:02.289 --> 00:22:06.130
of the apartment where the incident took place. Shortly after this,
352
00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:11.740
at 11.02 p.m., officers again responded to Stonewall Drive. According
353
00:22:11.779 --> 00:22:14.539
to the report written by Officer Kyles, he did not
354
00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:20.539
locate any minors upon arrival, so he left. Then, at 11.44 p.m.,
355
00:22:21.140 --> 00:22:24.859
less than an hour later, yet another 911 call is placed.
356
00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:27.430
This time, from one of the other friends.
357
00:22:29.150 --> 00:22:29.470
Hello?
358
00:22:30.289 --> 00:22:30.630
Yes, sir.
359
00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:33.970
I was going to say, who committed suicide? My friend.
360
00:22:34.410 --> 00:22:36.309
Okay, but do you see the patient right now?
361
00:22:36.369 --> 00:22:36.930
Are they there?
362
00:22:37.390 --> 00:22:38.309
Should I walk in there?
363
00:22:38.670 --> 00:22:40.569
No, I'm asking, did you see the patient?
364
00:22:40.609 --> 00:22:41.750
What did they do to themselves?
365
00:22:42.589 --> 00:22:45.940
Yeah, he loaded a gun and shot himself in the face.
366
00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:49.339
Have you made entry to the apartment where the addresses
367
00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:49.859
you gave me?
368
00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:51.599
I was inside when it happened.
369
00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:53.059
I left because I was scared.
370
00:22:53.339 --> 00:22:54.000
You were scared?
371
00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:57.539
Yes, ma'am. You said that your friend committed suicide by
372
00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:00.240
a gunshot wound?
373
00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:05.559
In the audio, you hear 21-year-old Christopher Stodgehill give his
374
00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:09.079
account of what happened. He confirms the story provided earlier
375
00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:12.299
by Anthony Beard and explains that he left the apartment
376
00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:16.220
out of fear. Then, he volunteers additional information.
377
00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:26.289
Yes, I'll notate that in the call, okay? I'll notate that, okay?
378
00:23:26.349 --> 00:23:28.750
But I'm sending someone to assist you, okay?
379
00:23:29.170 --> 00:23:31.130
Please leave everything as you found it.
380
00:23:32.150 --> 00:23:33.170
Is there anything else?
381
00:23:33.190 --> 00:23:34.470
So what about the gun?
382
00:23:34.519 --> 00:23:36.319
Because we put it in their bag and put it
383
00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:36.839
in their trunk.
384
00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:39.140
So do I need to bring that back in here?
385
00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:39.680
Yes.
386
00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:43.660
Okay, then I'm going to take it. Yes, and I'll
387
00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.099
notate that first. So what I'm going to do, I'm
388
00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:46.460
going to stay on the phone with you until the
389
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:47.619
paramedics arrive, okay?
390
00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:48.559
Okay.
391
00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:53.000
Officers arrived at the scene for the third time at 11.51 p.m.
392
00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:56.940
an hour and a half after the first 911 call
393
00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:00.240
was placed. This time, they are met outside by three
394
00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:03.420
young black males that are described as suspects in the
395
00:24:03.460 --> 00:24:08.549
police report. Christopher Stodgehill, Anthony Beard, and Stephen Ackridge.
396
00:24:09.309 --> 00:24:11.089
Stephen resides in the apartment.
397
00:24:12.569 --> 00:24:14.869
In the body cam footage, you see multiple young people
398
00:24:14.950 --> 00:24:17.930
on scene and a woman later identified as Christopher's mother.
399
00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:21.220
Here's audio of the first interaction between law enforcement and
400
00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:21.539
the group.
401
00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:23.920
Okay, what happened?
402
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.460
We was chilling, playing, listening to music, and the guy
403
00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:29.759
was on the table, and he picked the gun up,
404
00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:31.259
put the clip in, popped it back, and put it
405
00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:31.680
to his head.
406
00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:33.980
Only like five seconds. Why? We don't know exactly.
407
00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.349
That's what we're trying to find out.
408
00:24:35.369 --> 00:24:36.930
Like, why we even do that? Every day?
409
00:24:36.970 --> 00:24:38.150
We do this every day.
410
00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:42.359
As you hear in the audio, they all state that
411
00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:46.759
their friend died by suicide earlier that night. After witnessing this,
412
00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:48.259
they stated that they were.
413
00:24:48.119 --> 00:24:49.240
Traumatized and left the residence.
414
00:25:09.150 --> 00:25:11.970
Police run the gun, a Glock 19, and determine that
415
00:25:11.990 --> 00:25:14.549
it was stolen. They ask the group about the gun,
416
00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:16.109
and Anthony responds.
417
00:25:16.970 --> 00:25:17.650
I put it in the bag.
418
00:25:17.670 --> 00:25:20.069
I took the bullets out and put it in the bag.
419
00:25:20.089 --> 00:25:20.930
After your friend did that?
420
00:25:21.150 --> 00:25:21.309
Yeah.
421
00:25:21.869 --> 00:25:23.670
I mean, everybody's going to touch the gun, but no.
422
00:25:25.410 --> 00:25:28.400
Later, the officers ask Christopher why he left the scene.
423
00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.200
Here's his response.
424
00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.740
Last time my partner, he got shot at a gas
425
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:35.259
station on Oakley Industrial Road.
426
00:25:36.150 --> 00:25:38.329
When the police got there, they walked up on me
427
00:25:38.369 --> 00:25:39.799
like I shot them.
428
00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:40.700
You got detained?
429
00:25:40.740 --> 00:25:42.299
Yes, I promise you, they put me in handcuffs.
430
00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:45.599
Christopher is heard explaining why he left, which appeared to
431
00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:49.400
be out of fear, referencing prior negative experiences he'd had
432
00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:53.380
with law enforcement. He's also heard asking if Austin's family
433
00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:57.950
will be notified. From here, officers enter the apartment and
434
00:25:58.009 --> 00:25:59.650
attempt to make sense of the situation.
435
00:26:01.289 --> 00:26:02.609
Is he in the living room? Yeah.
436
00:26:03.769 --> 00:26:04.230
Young guy, too, right?
437
00:26:04.230 --> 00:26:08.160
20 years old.
438
00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:09.170
20?
439
00:26:09.170 --> 00:26:10.400
20, I think.
440
00:26:10.420 --> 00:26:10.799
Yes, sir.
441
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:12.460
Wait, this is my brother, man.
442
00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:13.960
You got to tell me something now.
443
00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.289
I just seen something posted.
444
00:26:15.329 --> 00:26:16.369
What's going on now?
445
00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:16.730
Tell me.
446
00:26:18.589 --> 00:26:21.769
As you hear, this is when Austin's father and brothers arrive,
447
00:26:22.390 --> 00:26:25.369
as reported earlier. They're understandably emotional.
448
00:26:26.150 --> 00:26:28.299
Please, don't tell me.
449
00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:30.380
Don't tell me that I have a baby brother.
450
00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:31.880
I need y'all to come with me.
451
00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:34.819
Police tell them they do not know if the victim
452
00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:37.299
is Austin and ask them to go to the police department.
453
00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:47.930
From there, officers continue to assess the situation. Police enter
454
00:26:47.950 --> 00:26:51.250
the main area of Unit 1. In the body cam footage,
455
00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:54.410
you see Austin slumped over on the right corner of
456
00:26:54.450 --> 00:26:57.910
a sofa. While his death was reported to first responders
457
00:26:57.990 --> 00:27:00.539
as a suicide, there appeared to be some doubt on
458
00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:02.039
behalf of the responding officers.
459
00:27:02.910 --> 00:27:04.329
He didn't make sense. He couldn't tell me. He said
460
00:27:04.349 --> 00:27:07.170
they left in his sister's car and they came back,
461
00:27:07.369 --> 00:27:08.710
but he couldn't tell me what kind of car his
462
00:27:08.730 --> 00:27:12.009
sister had. But then the other one, they left and
463
00:27:12.029 --> 00:27:14.240
went and got his mom because they already knew something
464
00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:14.740
was wrong.
465
00:27:15.539 --> 00:27:18.559
Yeah, they probably did.
466
00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.859
Yeah, they probably did. But the question is why?
467
00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:30.329
After processing the scene, responding officers seemed to lean towards
468
00:27:30.369 --> 00:27:32.910
the idea that they were dealing with a murderer. rather
469
00:27:32.950 --> 00:27:35.779
than a suicide, though it's hard to tell exactly why
470
00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:39.579
that is. But this suspicion would be further supported by
471
00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:43.880
the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, who, after their initial investigation,
472
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:48.559
labeled Austin's manner of death as undetermined. Meanwhile, at the
473
00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:53.609
police department, Christopher, Anthony, Stephen, and a young female identified
474
00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:56.369
as Stephen's girlfriend are all placed in a large room
475
00:27:56.529 --> 00:27:59.309
that looks like a classroom. There's a podium up front,
476
00:27:59.730 --> 00:28:02.210
a TV on the wall, and tables lined with chairs.
477
00:28:03.059 --> 00:28:06.960
They're asked to write witness statements, but are not interviewed individually.
478
00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:06.940
At this time.
479
00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:11.309
Christopher is charged with tampering with evidence, theft by receiving
480
00:28:11.329 --> 00:28:14.630
stolen property, and possession of stolen property in relation to
481
00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:18.170
the Glock 19 firearm. Anthony is charged with tampering with
482
00:28:18.250 --> 00:28:20.730
evidence and is also placed in custody for a warrant
483
00:28:20.789 --> 00:28:25.380
for a failure to appear in court. On March 5, 2019, Dr.
484
00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:29.119
Rachel Geller with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office officially
485
00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:33.529
classified Austin's manner of death as undetermined. Here's an excerpt
486
00:28:33.549 --> 00:28:34.589
from the autopsy report.
487
00:28:34.609 --> 00:28:37.509
Manor of death. Undetermined.
488
00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:04.920
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Division of Forensics,
489
00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:09.380
a death is classified as undetermined when, after a thorough investigation,
490
00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:13.480
no definitive manner of death could be reached. Undetermined is
491
00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.940
an uncommon classification. According to the National Institute of Health,
492
00:29:17.299 --> 00:29:22.859
approximately 1.9% of deaths annually are classified as undetermined. Looking
493
00:29:22.900 --> 00:29:26.589
deeper into the autopsy and toxicology, it's reported that Austin's
494
00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:30.589
blood alcohol count was. 212. over two and a half
495
00:29:30.630 --> 00:29:34.240
times the legal limit. No medications or illicit drugs were
496
00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:37.490
found in his system. The report further states that he
497
00:29:37.509 --> 00:29:41.880
has no history of mental illness or suicidal ideation based
498
00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:44.700
on initial suspicion from the authorities on scene and the
499
00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:48.240
report from the medical examiner the family assumed austin's death
500
00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:52.009
would continue to be investigated but then they received a
501
00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:54.049
strange call from a person who claimed to be an
502
00:29:54.109 --> 00:29:56.170
employee of the medical examiner's office.
503
00:29:57.359 --> 00:29:59.299
You know, he said, I got to let you know
504
00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:01.579
that he's trying to write your son off. And he,
505
00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:05.059
through the thing, I sent it to him. He even said, well,
506
00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:09.279
it's the detective down here doing the autopsy and everything,
507
00:30:09.500 --> 00:30:12.099
trying to sway them to say it was suicide.
508
00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:32.500
Suspecting foul play, Austin's parents had faith that the Union
509
00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:36.190
City Police Department would properly investigate their son's death. But
510
00:30:36.289 --> 00:30:39.470
six months after these alarming tips and other interactions that
511
00:30:39.529 --> 00:30:42.650
raised their suspicions, a friend of the family recommended that
512
00:30:42.690 --> 00:30:45.150
they instead hire a professional to take a look at
513
00:30:45.190 --> 00:30:45.569
the case.
514
00:30:46.329 --> 00:30:47.410
And that's exactly what they did.
515
00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:52.200
My name is Eric Echols. I'm a private investigator. My
516
00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:55.420
background started out of Detroit, Michigan, and went to the
517
00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:58.369
United States Marine Corps. From the Marines, I got into
518
00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:03.250
loss prevention. In 2005, my wife and I started a
519
00:31:03.289 --> 00:31:06.799
private detective agency focusing on loss prevention, and we also
520
00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.470
did security.
521
00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:12.000
Eric had the opportunity to work on several high-profile cases,
522
00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:15.400
such as George Floyd's and others that made national headlines.
523
00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:18.660
Austin Mitchell's case is on the other end of the spectrum,
524
00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.420
only making local news. But after receiving a small stipend
525
00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:25.230
from a colleague to look over the files, Eric knew
526
00:31:25.250 --> 00:31:26.329
that he wanted to work this case.
527
00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:30.579
As a private investigator on a case like this, the
528
00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:32.579
first thing you need to do is get the police
529
00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:35.980
report to see what the police are actually saying about
530
00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:39.640
the crime scene, what they actually wrote, what is actually
531
00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:43.559
being said. Then the ME report tells you the manner
532
00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:46.140
of death. It tells you the trajectory of the fire,
533
00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:50.089
how it was shot. It tells you if there was soot, stippling,
534
00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:54.130
things of that nature, if it's a close contact wound.
535
00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:57.109
Then that way, I can look at it and say, okay,
536
00:31:57.190 --> 00:32:00.000
is this possible? And then you talk to the family
537
00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:02.400
again once you have all of this information. Okay, well,
538
00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:04.480
tell me about this. It's on the left side of
539
00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:07.799
the head. Is he left-handed or right-handed? Well, he uses
540
00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:10.279
both hands. He writes with his left, but his strong
541
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:13.369
hand is his right. Okay, has he ever fired a
542
00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:16.710
firearm before? Yeah, he knows how to operate a firearm.
543
00:32:16.750 --> 00:32:20.589
He shoots with his right hand. So you look at
544
00:32:20.630 --> 00:32:22.809
all of these different things and you compare what you
545
00:32:22.890 --> 00:32:27.500
find and you compare... what's being said to the police report.
546
00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:30.059
And then you go out and you try to find
547
00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:32.539
witnesses and you try to talk to individuals to see
548
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:34.980
what they've heard and what they've seen and things of
549
00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:37.799
that nature. And then you run background checks on the
550
00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:40.950
individual to see the type of people that you're dealing with.
551
00:32:41.490 --> 00:32:43.569
So I'm doing all of this stuff and I find
552
00:32:43.630 --> 00:32:47.130
out that Stoddard, he's been in trouble before, finding out
553
00:32:47.190 --> 00:32:50.490
that there was a witness who said that she heard
554
00:32:50.549 --> 00:32:54.950
some boys talking about shooting someone Then, you know, they
555
00:32:54.990 --> 00:32:57.509
had a bunch of guns, and she's reporting this, that
556
00:32:57.529 --> 00:32:59.569
she's seeing them with a lot of guns. So I'm
557
00:32:59.630 --> 00:33:03.440
finding all this information out. And then you get to
558
00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:05.220
the police, and the police are saying it's still an
559
00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:06.299
open investigation.
560
00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:10.500
As Eric noted, the report states that Austin was shot
561
00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:12.960
on the left side of the head, and he was left-handed.
562
00:33:13.609 --> 00:33:15.710
Though his parents contest he was known to shoot guns
563
00:33:15.730 --> 00:33:18.839
with his right hand. Our team spoke to law enforcement
564
00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:22.119
officers not involved in this case and received conflicting information
565
00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:27.099
regarding dominant hand versus non-dominant when firing a firearm. But regardless,
566
00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:30.200
after his initial investigation and learning that the case was
567
00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:33.799
still considered open, Eric decided to step back and see
568
00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:34.579
how things played out.
569
00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:40.160
So time went past and then things wasn't happening. There
570
00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:44.279
was no movement on the case. So I took everything
571
00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.569
that I had, all the investigative looking at police reports,
572
00:33:48.670 --> 00:33:54.250
looking at the ME report, talking to witnesses, all this information,
573
00:33:54.470 --> 00:33:59.579
and I put together a PowerPoint presentation. And I contacted
574
00:33:59.910 --> 00:34:02.299
the district attorney, Fannie Willis, to meet with her and
575
00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:06.759
her team. And they said, nope, this is definitely not suicide.
576
00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:11.539
We're going to take this investigation ourselves. Home run, right?
577
00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:15.420
I'm thinking, job done, everything is over, I did my job.
578
00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:19.539
Then I We followed up with Fannie Willis and her team,
579
00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:22.880
and then finally they came, and they called us both
580
00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:25.280
in after like, I don't know, maybe four or six months,
581
00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:30.429
and said that there was nothing that they could really do. Now,
582
00:34:30.590 --> 00:34:33.130
in the process, what they were going to do is
583
00:34:33.210 --> 00:34:37.030
look at everything, take the ME's reports from Fulton County,
584
00:34:37.449 --> 00:34:41.550
and they were going to hire an outside ME and
585
00:34:41.570 --> 00:34:43.829
let that individual look at the case.
586
00:34:45.289 --> 00:34:46.210
And that did happen.
587
00:34:46.889 --> 00:34:50.090
A summary by Sue Chan Esquire, the Senior Assistant District
588
00:34:50.130 --> 00:34:54.869
Attorney in the Fulton County DA's office, dated October 20, 2021,
589
00:34:54.869 --> 00:34:57.449
states that they were contracted to conduct a brief review
590
00:34:57.590 --> 00:35:01.110
of the autopsy, lab, and crime scene information in Austin's case.
591
00:35:01.949 --> 00:35:05.789
They consulted with an outside medical examiner, J.C. Upshaw-Downs, with
592
00:35:05.849 --> 00:35:10.429
Forensics LLC, who stated, the nature of this subject's wound
593
00:35:10.570 --> 00:35:15.690
and associated investigative material reviewed is very concerning. and atypical
594
00:35:15.989 --> 00:35:20.670
for a self-inflicted wound. After reviewing all the material, Assistant
595
00:35:20.690 --> 00:35:24.110
DA Sue Chan concluded her report by recommending a more
596
00:35:24.210 --> 00:35:27.929
detailed analysis of the case. According to Eric, he was
597
00:35:27.989 --> 00:35:31.610
not initially provided with Sue Chan's report. He only received it,
598
00:35:31.780 --> 00:35:35.300
among other documents, after filing an open records request. He
599
00:35:35.320 --> 00:35:37.449
was immediately taken aback after reviewing it.
600
00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:40.639
And I'm like, well, wait a minute now. We just
601
00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:44.900
had this meeting with the district attorney's office. And they
602
00:35:44.940 --> 00:35:48.760
never mentioned this letter. They never said anything about this report.
603
00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:53.070
They never told us that this M.E. said it was atypical.
604
00:35:53.510 --> 00:35:57.789
What they told us was a conversation A.D.A. Chan said
605
00:35:57.829 --> 00:36:00.530
that she had with the M.E. And he said that
606
00:36:00.570 --> 00:36:02.869
maybe Austin didn't know how to properly hold a gun.
607
00:36:03.449 --> 00:36:06.300
That's what they told us. So now I'm a little vexed.
608
00:36:07.239 --> 00:36:08.219
So I called A.D.A.
609
00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:08.500
Chan.
610
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:11.480
And I had this conversation with her, and I said, well,
611
00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:14.760
you know, what was the main reason why? I'm trying
612
00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:16.880
to get her to say it again, and she did. Well,
613
00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:18.760
maybe Austin didn't know how to hold a gun. And
614
00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:23.530
I said, well, what about this report? Now she hesitates.
615
00:36:24.170 --> 00:36:28.050
I said, in this report, it says the situation was atypical,
616
00:36:28.110 --> 00:36:31.650
not normal for a suicide. So we went back and forth,
617
00:36:31.690 --> 00:36:34.590
and I said, well, let me talk to him. Would
618
00:36:34.610 --> 00:36:36.909
you give me authorization to talk to him? She said yes.
619
00:36:38.139 --> 00:36:42.179
To clarify, the man that Eric is referring to is J.C. Upshaw-Downs,
620
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:46.460
the third-party medical examiner who was hired to review Austin's autopsy.
621
00:36:47.639 --> 00:36:50.230
So I gave him a call immediately. I said, did
622
00:36:50.269 --> 00:36:55.170
you by chance tell ADA Chan that the angle in
623
00:36:55.250 --> 00:36:59.550
which the wound was, that Austin may not have known
624
00:36:59.630 --> 00:37:02.230
how to hold a gun or shoot a gun? He said,
625
00:37:02.369 --> 00:37:06.900
absolutely not. I would never say anything like that. So now...
626
00:37:07.570 --> 00:37:11.590
I'm getting a contradicted story here. The ADA, from District
627
00:37:11.630 --> 00:37:14.690
Attorney Fannie Willis' office, telling me one thing. I talked
628
00:37:14.730 --> 00:37:17.980
to the ME, who she said said this, denied saying it.
629
00:37:18.510 --> 00:37:21.869
He said, my report says it's atypical. That's what I said.
630
00:37:23.329 --> 00:37:26.219
At this point, Eric was feeling that something wasn't right
631
00:37:26.300 --> 00:37:29.119
with the handling of this. And he clarifies that that
632
00:37:29.179 --> 00:37:31.659
feeling actually set in well before the confusion over the
633
00:37:31.699 --> 00:37:35.300
additional ME report. It started right after that original meeting
634
00:37:35.320 --> 00:37:38.070
at the DA's office. when he had a run-in with
635
00:37:38.130 --> 00:37:39.090
one of their investigators.
636
00:37:40.329 --> 00:37:44.949
One of the investigators from Farnie Willis' office came down
637
00:37:45.030 --> 00:37:47.989
and met us outside on the street. And he said,
638
00:37:48.070 --> 00:37:52.159
you know, Union City messed this whole investigation up. And
639
00:37:52.219 --> 00:37:54.760
I will help you and I will testify against Union
640
00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:59.000
City if you need me to. So I called this
641
00:37:59.039 --> 00:38:01.320
individual back and I said, hey, did you really mean
642
00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:04.619
that you would testify? Oh yeah, I'll testify to help
643
00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:08.519
you guys out because... They messed up the investigation. So
644
00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:12.500
we have now a report. We had ADA telling us
645
00:38:12.539 --> 00:38:17.320
something that didn't happen, contradicting by the ME. We have
646
00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:21.909
now an investigator on the DA's public integrity unit saying
647
00:38:22.010 --> 00:38:25.110
Union City messed this whole investigation up. Nothing they can
648
00:38:25.139 --> 00:38:27.550
do about it. So we have all of these things.
649
00:38:27.630 --> 00:38:31.449
And now the culprit now becomes who? Union City Police Department.
650
00:38:33.010 --> 00:38:35.610
So from here, Eric went back to the drawing board.
651
00:38:36.440 --> 00:38:39.139
Now with his focus back on the original investigation by
652
00:38:39.179 --> 00:38:42.380
the Union City Police Department. The question at hand being,
653
00:38:43.019 --> 00:38:46.260
what can be done now? The conclusion he reached is
654
00:38:46.280 --> 00:38:49.699
a bit disheartening. He prefaced it with his own professional
655
00:38:49.739 --> 00:38:51.260
opinion on Austin's case.
656
00:38:52.710 --> 00:38:56.869
Everybody knows that Austin Mitchell did not commit suicide, but
657
00:38:57.349 --> 00:39:00.690
the police have messed up the investigation so bad, we
658
00:39:00.769 --> 00:39:05.219
now need new evidence. But there's no new evidence. The
659
00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:07.900
only new evidence that's going to come forward would have
660
00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:10.539
came if she would have grabbed each one of those individuals,
661
00:39:11.019 --> 00:39:14.480
put them in separate interview rooms, and interrogated them. And
662
00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:15.409
that never happened.
663
00:39:16.909 --> 00:39:19.849
It's important to note that Austin's case was also examined
664
00:39:19.969 --> 00:39:24.090
by Fulton County's Anti-Corruption Unit, along with other cases of
665
00:39:24.130 --> 00:39:28.590
death in Union City attributed to suicide. The Anti-Corruption Unit
666
00:39:28.829 --> 00:39:33.659
investigates and prosecutors cases involving allegations of misconduct by government officials,
667
00:39:34.039 --> 00:39:37.119
excluding allegations of improper use of force by law enforcement,
668
00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:40.579
which are handled by the Civil Rights Unit. The Anti-Corruption
669
00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:45.079
Unit investigated Union City's investigation into the death of Austin
670
00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:50.239
Mitchell by reviewing the case file and interviewing responding officers Interestingly,
671
00:39:50.820 --> 00:39:53.320
one officer is quoted saying he believed Austin's death was
672
00:39:53.340 --> 00:39:56.489
a homicide, but he was overruled by a superior officer.
673
00:39:57.230 --> 00:40:03.210
The Fulton County Anti-Corruption Unit's report concluded the following. In
674
00:40:03.250 --> 00:40:07.300
continuation of this investigation, there is no indication for any
675
00:40:07.489 --> 00:40:11.739
ACU investigation in the officer's involvement for misconduct of oath
676
00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:15.420
of duties. However, this incident should have been titled a
677
00:40:15.460 --> 00:40:18.889
death investigation. as too many unknown factors have not been
678
00:40:18.909 --> 00:40:24.789
addressed or investigated. In our review of the records, body
679
00:40:24.829 --> 00:40:28.969
cam footage, and reports, we found several key pieces of information.
680
00:40:30.090 --> 00:40:33.909
The individuals present at the time of the shooting, Anthony, Christopher,
681
00:40:34.150 --> 00:40:37.510
and Stephen, were interviewed individually by the Union City Police
682
00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:41.519
Department in May of 2019, two months after Austin's death.
683
00:40:42.480 --> 00:40:45.980
Their statements were found to be consistent. Phone records were
684
00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:49.380
also reviewed that confirmed phone calls mentioned in the witness statements.
685
00:40:50.340 --> 00:40:53.320
In a witness statement that our team obtained, Anthony claimed
686
00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:56.159
that two weeks prior to his death, Austin called him
687
00:40:56.199 --> 00:40:58.760
very upset. He asked to be picked up from home
688
00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:02.190
due to family issues. This claim has not been substantiated
689
00:41:02.210 --> 00:41:04.449
by our team, and there's no further information in the
690
00:41:04.489 --> 00:41:07.190
case file pertaining to this, so it's impossible to know
691
00:41:07.429 --> 00:41:10.289
if this had any bearing on Austin's death. And there
692
00:41:10.309 --> 00:41:13.750
was another interesting piece of information. Despite the family being
693
00:41:13.809 --> 00:41:17.670
told that gunshot residue tests were not completed, a Union
694
00:41:17.710 --> 00:41:21.570
City Police Department supplemental report states that in June of 2019,
695
00:41:21.570 --> 00:41:25.949
the Union City Police Department did obtain gunshot residue results.
696
00:41:27.070 --> 00:41:29.849
Five individuals' hands were swabbed on the night of the incident,
697
00:41:30.150 --> 00:41:35.690
including Austin's. The report reads, West received two positive results
698
00:41:35.789 --> 00:41:39.320
back from the GBI. West received the test result and
699
00:41:39.380 --> 00:41:43.679
conclusion for victim Austin Mitchell. The examination revealed more than
700
00:41:43.739 --> 00:41:48.320
five particles characteristic of gunshot residue. West received the test
701
00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:52.409
result in conclusion for witness Anthony Beard, who, in his statements,
702
00:41:52.829 --> 00:41:57.150
advised he remove the firearm from Mitchell's hand. The examination
703
00:41:57.489 --> 00:42:03.690
revealed two particles characteristic of gunshot residue. And finally, regarding
704
00:42:03.730 --> 00:42:06.780
the time that Austin's death was reported, his family has
705
00:42:06.840 --> 00:42:09.800
believed for years that 911 was not called for over
706
00:42:09.840 --> 00:42:12.940
an hour after the shootings. but records seem to indicate
707
00:42:12.980 --> 00:42:15.610
that the first call was placed shortly after the shooting.
708
00:42:16.570 --> 00:42:19.449
As we looked into this case and all the pertaining documents,
709
00:42:19.829 --> 00:42:22.610
there's obviously a lot to consider here, and there's a
710
00:42:22.610 --> 00:42:25.949
lot of questions that remain unanswered, including the most obvious one.
711
00:42:26.530 --> 00:42:29.639
Did Austin take his own life, or was someone else responsible?
712
00:42:31.019 --> 00:42:33.960
As for Austin's family and friends, they remain firm in
713
00:42:33.980 --> 00:42:37.139
their belief that he would have never committed suicide. He
714
00:42:37.179 --> 00:42:39.639
had even discussed this with them just weeks before his death,
715
00:42:40.039 --> 00:42:41.219
saying if he were to ever die.
716
00:42:41.719 --> 00:42:42.780
They need to investigate it.
717
00:42:45.570 --> 00:42:48.289
We may never know what happened on Stonewall Drive the
718
00:42:48.329 --> 00:42:51.750
night of March 3rd, 2019, but one thing that is
719
00:42:51.809 --> 00:42:54.849
clear is that Austin's death has left a family and
720
00:42:54.889 --> 00:42:59.320
community devastated. Austin's parents were not properly notified of his death,
721
00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:02.619
which was first reported as a suicide, but later deemed
722
00:43:02.699 --> 00:43:08.119
atypical of a suicide and ruled undetermined by the medical examiner. Lastly,
723
00:43:08.719 --> 00:43:12.760
the ensuing investigation into Austin's death was considered un-thorough by
724
00:43:12.800 --> 00:43:16.940
an agency that oversees the Union City Police Department. And
725
00:43:17.000 --> 00:43:20.119
this is why Austin's family has just one simple request
726
00:43:20.159 --> 00:43:20.929
for the authorities.
727
00:43:21.949 --> 00:43:25.210
Do your job. Do your job.
728
00:43:26.409 --> 00:43:28.650
Why would you take the job if you're not going
729
00:43:28.670 --> 00:43:31.610
to do what the job takes? It makes no sense.
730
00:43:32.349 --> 00:43:33.210
Get out of the way.
731
00:43:33.550 --> 00:43:36.429
Let someone else take that job so that people won't
732
00:43:36.469 --> 00:43:37.989
have to go through what we're going through.
733
00:43:38.010 --> 00:43:44.280
I would feel better If I got justice, but I
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will always miss my baby.
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If you have any information about the death of Austin Mitchell,
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please contact the Union City Police Department at 770-306-6849.
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00:43:59.449 --> 00:44:03.630
And if you.
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Or someone you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, depression,
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00:44:07.289 --> 00:44:10.820
or mental health, please dial the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
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00:44:11.260 --> 00:44:13.400
at 988.
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For immediate assistance. That's it for this episode. Thanks for listening.
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Copable is a production of Tenderfoot TV in partnership with Odyssey,
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written and hosted by Dennis Cooper. Executive producers are Donald
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00:44:36.849 --> 00:44:40.650
Albright and Payne Lindsey. Our senior producer is John Street.
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00:44:41.340 --> 00:44:45.840
Our producer is Jamie Albright. Supervising producers are John Street
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00:44:46.000 --> 00:44:50.530
and Tracy Kaplan, with additional production by Eric Quintana, Andy Rustin,
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00:44:50.820 --> 00:44:57.190
and Jordan Foxworthy. Editing by Jaja Muhammad and Sydney Evans. Mixing, mastering,
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00:44:57.269 --> 00:45:00.650
and sound design by Dayton Cole. Our theme song is
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00:45:00.690 --> 00:45:03.849
by Dirt Poor Robbins, with additional scoring by Makeup and
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00:45:03.869 --> 00:45:07.300
Vanity Set and Dayton Cole. Our cover art is by
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00:45:07.340 --> 00:45:13.380
Drew Bardana. Sources for this episode include Eleven Alive and WSB-TV.
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00:45:14.340 --> 00:45:17.699
Special thanks to the teams at UTA, Beck Media and Marketing,
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00:45:18.039 --> 00:45:20.639
and the Nord Group. You can follow us on social
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00:45:20.699 --> 00:45:25.210
media at Culpable Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please
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00:45:25.230 --> 00:45:28.570
take time to follow, rate, and review. Your feedback is
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00:45:28.610 --> 00:45:33.510
greatly appreciated. For ad-free listening and exclusive content, subscribe to
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00:45:33.550 --> 00:45:37.860
Tenderfoot Plus at tenderfootplus.com. Thanks for listening.
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00:45:45.699 --> 00:45:48.619
Thanks for listening to this episode of Culpable Case Review.
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00:45:49.380 --> 00:45:52.920
Tune back in for additional episodes releasing each Friday. For
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00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:57.159
ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content, subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus
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at tenderfootplus.com or on Apple Podcasts.