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Halloween is supposed to be a night of innocent scares.
Plastic skeletons, fake cobwebs, children giggling in superhero costumes.
It's a night where monsters are make believe and fear is just for fun.
But on October 31st 2012, in a quiet Michigan trailer park, something truly evil walked through an unlocked door and an unsuspecting family preparing for trick or treating like any other would be forever shattered by someone they never thought to fear.
Crime conspiracy cults, serial killers and murder all things that I love to consume and I know you do too, you sick twisted beautiful, intellectually minded.
Today we're doing a little bonus episode, a little mini bonus episode, because it is spooky season and what is spookier than real life monsters?
Literally nothing, but this case is.
It's a doozy.
So, without further ado, let's unbuckle our seatbelts, go Mach 5 down the highway, slam on the brakes and bust through this windshield into this Halloween crime case together.
Born on March 26 1988 in Midland Michigan, Rebecca grew up as one of four children in the Gay family.
Her parents, Thomas and Sally Gay, raised her alongside her brothers James and Aaron, and her sister Deborah.
And from an early age Rebecca showed a gentle spirit and caring nature that would define her entire life.
And at Bullock Creek High School, where she graduated in 2007, teachers and classmates remembered her as a quiet, pretty girl with a very generous heart.
And she also joined the equestrian team, channeling her love for animals, and volunteered for the school's archery shoot fundraiser, an event designed to help families facing tragedy.
That sense of putting others first would become her defining characteristic, and Superintendent Charlie Schwedler would later recall her as a sweet, sweet girl, a simple description that captured the essence of who Rebecca was.
And even as a teenager, she was already planning her career path, studying cosmetology while still in high school.
And after graduation, she completed her training at In Session School of Cosmetology, ready to pursue her passion for helping people feel beautiful.
But Rebecca's world changed forever when she became a mother to Conway Cliff Kelly, who was born around 2009.
So, at just 21 years old, she found herself navigating single motherhood, but those who knew her said she embraced it with her whole heart.
And Conway became her pride and joy, the center of her universe.
And every night, without fail, Rebecca followed the same loving routine.
Story time, then prayers with Conway before bed.
And her Bible and devotional sat on the nightstand next to her bed, just a testament to her deep Christian faith that guided her through life's challenges.
And her family would describe her as totally devoted to her son and very family-orientated, caring for others before herself.
She was a very hands-on mother who made sure Conway felt loved and secure despite the challenges of single parenthood.
And she maintained a cooperative relationship with Conway's father as well, also a Midland resident, ensuring her son had consistent time with both parents.
So a hard worker chasing stability, Rebecca worked as a stylist at Bo Ricks Haircare, using the skills she'd learned in cosmetology school to build her career.
But like many single mothers, she needed more stability and better hours to balance work with raising Conway.
So in 2012, she made the difficult decision to leave her cosmetology career and took a job at the Goodwill store in Mount Pleasant.
And it wasn't glamorous work.
But Rebecca approached it with the same dedication she brought to everything else.
And her work ethic didn't go unnoticed.
And by October 2012, she had been promoted to a management position.
So clearly her hard work and dedication was paying off.
And to make her commute easier and to save money, Rebecca moved to a mobile home in Broomfield Valley Trailer Park on Coldwater Road in Broomfield Township, Isabella County, about 11 miles west of Mount Pleasant.
And the trailer park was modest, but Rebecca made it a home for herself and Conway.
So those closest to rebecca described her in remarkably consistent terms.
Her mother sally, called her the family's heart and soul, and co-workers at goodwill found her reliable and hard working, and by fall of 2012, rebecca's life was looking brighter than ever because, on top of everything else you know getting a new home and getting a new job and getting a promotion she actually found love again with aaron quinn, and soon the two were engaged to be married.
So she she, was building a blended family, looking forward to a future that included both Conway and Aaron.
And she was succeeding at her job, providing stability for her son and surrounded by family who adored her.
And even her nieces and nephews looked up to their aunt Rebecca, who always made time for them as well.
So all in all, life was looking really good for Rebecca and her new family.
And one of their favorite holidays was coming up, and that was Halloween.
So October 31st 2012 should have been a magical day because that Halloween season, Rebecca decorated with eight scarecrows and hung pictures of pumpkins and other festive decorations, creating a warm, cheerful environment for her three-year-old son, who was very excited to trick-or-treat.
And she'd made plans with Aaron to take three-year-old Conway trick-or-treating that evening.
So it was supposed to be one of those perfect family moments.
A young mother watching her little boy's face light up as he collected candy in his Halloween costume, building memories that would last a lifetime.
But she would have to work that day because she was actually scheduled to work at Goodwill during that day.
And then come home and get Conway ready for his first real Halloween adventure with his mom and her fiancé.
And she had the whole costume ready and the plans were set.
But unfortunately, Rebecca never made it to work on October 31st, 2012.
So when Rebecca didn't show up for her shift at the Goodwill store that Halloween morning, her coworkers knew immediately something was wrong.
Because this wasn't like her.
Rebecca was reliable, dedicated, never one to miss work without calling.
So concerned, a co-worker drove to her trailer in the Broomfield Valley Trailer Park to check on her.
And what they found was unsettling.
Rebecca's car was still there.
The door to her mobile home was unlocked.
And her purse sat on the counter, completely untouched.
And Rebecca was gone.
And so was her three-year-old son, Conway.
And the eerie silence where there should have been the sounds of a mother and child preparing for Halloween, sent chills through everyone who learned it.
So police were called immediately and the Isabella County Sheriff's Department launched a canvassing the trailer park area, knocking on doors, asking neighbors when they'd last seen Rebecca, and the timeline they pieced together was thin because she'd last been seen the previous evening, October 30th.
And now, more than 12 hours later, she had vanished without a trace.
So as word spread through the small community, concern turned to fear.
And Pastor John D White, who was engaged to Rebecca's mother, Sally Gay, stood before his congregation at Christ Community Fellowship Church and asked the 14 members to pray for Rebecca's safe return.
And Sally Gay.
Rebecca's mother was just beside herself with worry, desperately hoping her daughter would walk through the door at any moment.
And then came a small relief in a growing nightmare, and Conway was actually found safe by John White.
And John, knowing that Conway's father was very worried about him, dropped Conway off at the biological father's work, which was at the Midland Meyer grocery store.
And the police were called.
And luckily, Conway was unharmed, but he couldn't tell anyone where his mother was.
He was only three years old after all.
So for 20 agonizing hours Rebecca's family just clung to an explanation maybe she would come home, and Sally Gay prayed desperately, begging God to bring her daughter back safely.
So initially police had few leads.
They questioned neighbors and Rebecca's fiance, Aaron Quinn, and her ex-boyfriend, basically anyone who might have had contact with her.
But there was another name that came up and that was John White, the 55 year old pastor who was engaged to Rebecca's mother.
So police naturally started to look into who he was and what they found was pretty shocking.
So the congregation at Christ Community Fellowship and the community in general thought they knew Pastor White.
He preached about redemption, about being born again, about how God could change anyone.
And he often told them, quote we need to check closely the seeds we sprout in ourselves.
Nothing can be hidden from god unquote.
But white had plenty hidden.
So, born 1957, john douglas white had spent time in the navy and worked as a long-haul trucker before his life took a violent turn and his first known attack came in 1980, when he was just in Battle Creek Michigan, and married at the time.
White invited a 17-year-old neighbor, Teresa Etherton, to his basement to see his stock car racetrack set up.
So she would come over and they would go down there.
And then, without warning, he would attack her, stabbing her 15 times and attempting to strangle her.
And as she lay there dying, White told her verbatim, you're going to go now.
I'm really sorry you had to go like this, but what the fuck?
You're just a woman. a fucking monster.
But luckily, and miraculously, Etherton survived.
Hence why we got the verbatim quote.
And White was luckily arrested and sent to prison, but unfortunately won an appeal on the grounds that his attorney hadn't raised an insanity defense.
And incredibly, he was released in 1983 after serving just Two years, with two years of probation and mandatory mental health treatment.
And one of the most terrifying things is that years later, Etherton was standing in line somewhere when she recognized a voice, turned around and found White smiling at her.
Feel so bad for this woman.
And nothing happened.
But just knowing that he is now free after serving only two years for trying to murder her, was horrifying, because her attempted killer was free.
But White would go on living his life and he would actually get remarried and would go on to have his own children.
But his violence toward women continued.
And on July 11th, 1994, 26-year-old Vicki Sue Wall disappeared from Comstock.
Wall actually worked at the same textile company where White did maintenance work and the two were having an affair, despite White having two children and another baby on the way with his wife.
And surveillance footage showed Wall getting into White's black pickup truck at 3 am and this would be the last time anyone saw her alive.
And six weeks later her badly decomposed body was found dumped in a rural area, not dressed except for a shirt and bra around her neck.
White refused to cooperate with police or take a lie detector test, but luminal testing revealed blood evidence in his truck.
But with limited evidence.
Prosecutors offered a plea deal and White pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and received 8 to 15 years in prison.
And while incarcerated, White made a chilling admission to a prison psychologist.
And he said that he had persistent violent fantasies about killing women and having relations with their corpses.
Who the fuck is it?
Why?
And just wait, because this is making me mad.
Knowing that, knowing a psychologist knew that and all this, and then just wait.
It's about to get a lot worse.
Because this critical information somehow never made it to the parole board or to the communities where he would later live.
And he was released in 2007 after serving only 12 years for murdering someone.
And White would just migrate north to Isabella County.
And that is where he found religion and reinvented himself as a pastor, the perfect front leading the tiny christ community fellowship church in mount pleasant.
And he would live in a trailer and began dating sally gay, rebecca's mother and a devoted member of his congregation.
And sally had no idea about the full extent of white's past, and neither did her daughter rebecca, And by 2012, White was engaged to Sally and had become a fixture in Rebecca's life.
As he lived one street away and he often babysat her son Conway.
And obviously he was going to become her stepfather.
But all the while, those violent fantasies he confessed to the prison psychologist were still there.
Just waiting and simmering and then hit a boiling point.
As White had inserted himself into the fantasies in troubling ways because he lived in the same trailer park, just one street over from Rebecca, like I said,
And neighbors reported seeing him frequently cutting through yards to get to her home.
And he babysat Conway regularly while Rebecca worked and he was responsible for the Wednesday custody exchanges, dropping Conway off with his father, like he did when he found Conway on October 31st 2012.
But it was an arrangement that showed how deeply Rebecca had trusted him.
She trusted trusted him with her own child.
But having known that information that all the prison systems, that the judicial systems just didn't think was relevant for the public to know, I can't imagine she would want to be within 6000 feet of him.
But most significantly, White couldn't explain his movements on the night of October 30th and the early morning of October 31st, because the story just kind of kept changing.
First, he said that he hadn't seen Rebecca, and then he admitted he'd been at her trailer.
And the more investigators pressed, the more his composure started to crumble.
So on November 1st 2012 investigators, now having done their homework, knew about Teresa Etherton and about Vicki Sue Wall, John's previous victims.
So they knew White had a pattern and during interrogation detectives played on White's religious persona, telling him that Rebecca's body would deteriorate in the cold, wet weather and that her family deserved to give her a proper Christian burial.
They just basically tried to appeal to whatever humanity might be left in him, which I don't think there is.
He's a depraved, fucking sadistic monster, but okay.
But after intensive questioning and just not being able to come up with any sort of alibi, john douglas white broke down and confessed to the details of the murder, and they were horrifying.
So, based on white's confession, physical evidence and the investigation, prosecutors pieced together the timeline of october 30th to 31st 2012, and this is the reconstruction of October 30th.
White sat in his trailer drinking beer and watching necrophilia pornography, just feeding his long-held fantasies about sex with dead women.
But, as we know, these weren't new desires, because he confessed them to the prison psychologist years earlier.
But now he decided to act on them.
So in the early morning hours of Halloween, white walked the short distance to And he knew Conway was there as well, most likely asleep.
And he also knew that the door would likely be unlocked, because this was a small community where neighbors just trusted each other, especially family.
So White would enter easily and silently and he would make his way to Rebecca's bedroom.
And she was asleep, just like he suspected, with her Bible and devotional on the nightstand beside her, having read it before bed.
White would strike and he would hit rebecca with a rubber mallet, striking her head multiple times until she was unconscious.
And these strikes were severe enough to incapacitate her, but not kill her at this point, because white wanted her dead, but on his terms.
And he then produced a zip tie, something he had brought with him showing premeditation, and he would wrap it around her neck and pull it tight, and that is, and daughter of Sally Gay, died in her own bed.
And it would be from asphyxiation.
And that is when White would do the unthinkable.
And he would remove Rebecca's clothing and do, But he would claim, while confessing, that he didn't remember exactly what happened.
But it is heavily believed that he acted out on those fantasies.
And when he was done, he wrapped her body in something from the trailer and dragged her out into the darkness.
And he would dump her body in a ditch about a mile away behind some pine trees, leaving her exposed to the elements.
This detail reveals the true depth of his depravity.
White would return to Rebecca's trailer.
Because Conway, her son, was still sleeping, completely unaware his mother had just been murdered in the next room and dumped a mile away.
White stayed in the trailer until morning and then got Conway up, dressed him in his Halloween costume as if it was a normal day and drove him to the Meyer parking lot in Midland to meet his father, and he handed over the child whose mother he had just murdered and acted like nothing had happened.
So, after getting the confession from john white, they would discover rebecca's body in that shallow ditch behind a cluster of pine trees where john said she would be and, like i said before, it was approximately one mile from her mobile home and he would leave her out there, exposed to the cold october weather, And the medical examiner would determine she had been beaten in the head multiple times with a blunt object and strangled with a zip tie that was tightened around her neck until she was deceased.
And all of her clothing had been removed except for a shirt.
And she had been dead for over 24 hours by the time she was found.
So Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick initially charged White with first-degree murder, which could have resulted in life in prison without parole, because the evidence was overwhelming.
White's confession, the body location he provided, his history of violence against women and the physical evidence at the scene.
However, in March 2013, White agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for prosecutors not seeking a life sentence.
Just fucking scummy little asshole.
And this plea agreement meant White would face 29 to 60 years in prison.
And some of Rebecca's family members were frustrated by the deal, feeling White deserved the harshest possible punishment.
But prosecutors explained it would spare the family, especially Sally Gay, from a lengthy trial and ensure White would likely die in prison, given his age, because he was 55, 56 at this point.
So during the plea hearing, White stood in his orange jumpsuit and admitted his guilt.
And he would show no emotion as he recounted killing Rebecca.
The courtroom was packed with Rebecca's family and friends, many wearing white t-shirts with her name printed on them, forced to listen to the man who destroyed their lives just casually describing his crimes.
So on April 30th, 2013, John Douglas White faced sentencing before Judge Mark J.
And the judge had received numerous letters from people whose lives Rebecca had touched, all begging for the maximum sentence.
And Sally Gay, Rebecca's mother and White's former fiance, spoke for 20 minutes and her pain was palpable as she addressed the man she had once pledged.
Rebecca was always kind to you.
She spent time with you, defended you daughter, as the heart and soul of the family, someone who had been stolen from them by a man they welcomed into their lives.
And Rebecca's sister Deborah, also spoke, making an impassioned plea for the creation of a violent offender registry saying, quote my sister might be alive if she had known about White's violent history unquote.
And she argued that just as communities are notified about sexual offenders, they should be warned about people with histories of violent crimes against women.
Agreed.
And Erin Quinn, Rebecca's fiance, submitted a statement about losing the woman he planned to marry.
And Conway's father spoke about how his son would grow up without his mother now.
And extended family members described the hole left in their lives with her gone.
Prosecutor, Larry Burdick, argued for the maximum sentence, telling the judge quote this defendant should never ever, ever walk free in our society again, unquote.
And white's attorney, james paul, tried to argue for leniency, claiming white was remorseful and had been haunted by these fantasies rather than actively embracing them.
What the fuck?
How do these people, how are they?
I mean, i know it's a job, but like, How do you live with yourself anyway?
But the argument obviously fell flat in a courtroom full of people whose lives had been shattered by White's actions.
And when given the chance to speak, White offered only a brief statement saying, quote I'm sorry for my crime.
That's all I have to say.
Unquote.
No explanation, no remorse, no acknowledgement of the pain he had caused.
Just pure evil.
And Judge Duthie was visibly disgusted by the crime and White's history and he would impose a sentence of 56 to 85 years in prison.
And given White's age of 56 at this point, it was effectively a life sentence.
And the judge made it clear that White should never be free again, stating that he was quote a danger to society, unquote and had shown a pattern of escalating violence against women throughout his entire life.
So John Douglas White was sent to the Michigan Reformatory to begin serving his sentence.
Prison officials classified him as a high profile inmate given the nature of his crime and his status as a former pastor who had murdered a young mother, basically saying he would be a giant target in jail.
But unfortunately, White wouldn't serve even five months of his sentence.
And on August 28th 2013 at approximately 4 am, corrections officers conducting routine rounds found White having tied bedsheets together, completely unsubscribed.
If you know, you know, I can't I can't say that word.
Otherwise, YouTube is going to take this video down, basically.
And prison staff attempted to revive him, but it was too late.
John Douglas White was pronounced dead at 56 years old, having taken the coward's way out rather than face decades in prison for his crimes.
And for Rebecca's family, White's death brought mixed emotions.
Some felt cheated that he had escaped earthly punishment, but others were relieved that they would never have to face him at parole hearings or worry about him potentially being released.
And Sally Gay, when told of White's death, said she felt numb and that it didn't bring Rebecca back.
But this case in particular highlights profound systemic failures in preventing repeat violent offenders from reoffending.
Because, despite White admitting to prison mental health professionals that he had violent fantasies about killing women and doing terrible things to them after the fact, and despite Michigan Department of Corrections sending warnings to law enforcement agencies in 2007 labeling him dangerous, White was still able to become a pastor and gain the trust of a new family and commit crimes.
Another murder.
But in the years since Rebecca's murder, her family has worked to create meaning from their tragedy.
And Deborah Gay has been the most vocal advocate pushing for legislation that would create a violent offender registry similar to sex offender registries.
And their argument is simple but powerful.
If Rebecca had known about White's history of violence against women, she might never have let him near her son or herself and might never had trusted him at all and might still be alive today.
And Conway, who was just three when his mother was murdered, has been raised by his father with support from both sides of the family.
The family established a trust fund for Conway's education and future needs, ensuring that Rebecca's son would be provided for despite losing his devoted mother.
And every Halloween is particularly difficult for the family.
Because what should be a day of childhood joy and community fun is forever tainted by the memory of October 31st 2012.
And Sally Gay has spoken out about how she can barely function on that day, just overwhelmed by memories of those 20 hours when Rebecca was missing and the horrible revelation that followed.
And the family actually holds memorial services for Rebecca every year, gathering to remember the young woman who was the heart and, And they share stories about her kindness, her devotion to Conway, her hard work and her dreams for the future.
And they keep her memory alive for Conway, ensuring he knows what an amazing man she is.
2022, on the 10th anniversary of Rebecca's death, the family actually organized a memorial run slash walk to raise money for domestic violence prevention and victim support services.
And over 200 people participated, showing that even a decade later, Rebecca's story continues to touch people and inspire action.
So this is not a story about John White, the disgusting, depraved monster.
This is Rebecca's story, the story of a young woman who loved her son fiercely, who worked hard to build a better life, who believed in second chances and saw the good in people.
And she was a daughter who made her parents proud, a sister who was the heart and soul of her family, a mother who read bedtime stories and said prayers every single night, a fiance planning a future full of love, and an aunt who brought joy to eight nieces and nephews who will grow up with only memories of her.
Rebecca Gay deserved to watch her son grow up and she deserved to marry Aaron Quinn, and she deserved to celebrate holidays with her family for decades to come.
So let's choose to remember Rebecca Gay.
She mattered, she was loved, and she should still be here.
And that is it for today's video.
I know it's shorter than normal.
Let me know if you guys are okay with these types of episodes.
Maybe I'll throw in little mini episodes here and there.
Let me know what other cases you want me to dive into down below.
I really appreciate you being here and I hope you have a very, very, very safe and fun Halloween.
Until next time, I will see you beautiful face.
Okay, stay safe out there.
This show is supported by Odoo.
When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing.
Odoo solves this.
It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales.
Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way.
You can save money without missing out on features you need.
Check out Odoo at odoo.com.
That's odoo.com.
