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Hey weirdos, I'm Ash. And I'm Alayna. And this is a rainy day morbid.
So you might hear the pitter patter, pitter patter of rain in the background.
Kind of soothing. I think it is. That's probably the only soothing thing that we're gonna talk about though.
Definitely is. This is a frustrating episode.
It's a confounding episode. Oh. And it's an unsolved episode.
I know I apologize, but I would like to see this solved.
Same. I really, really want to see this solved.
Let's get it done. So we are going to be talking about the unsolved murder case. of Blake Tyler Chappelle.
This was back in 2011. But before we get to that, before we start the entire tale, I wanted to talk about some true crime news because it's something that you guys know is very important to me, very important to me and Ash.
Damian Echols from the West Memphis Three case, he took He took his case back to the court in Arkansas, said, hey, there's this new MVAC evidence collection, like vacuuming. technology that's happening.
We want to use this to take evidence off of those ligatures that you have in custody.
We think that it's going to show something, maybe some new DNA.
Maybe we're going to find who really killed these three eight-year-old boys. brought the case to the court, the court said no.
They do not want to test to find out who really killed three eight-year-old boys.
Because one, they know. And two... They don't want Damien, Jason, and Jesse to ever be let off the hook for this.
Ever be proved innocent. They don't want it.
In fact, during this whole thing, Keith Crestman, the prosecuting attorney, for the Second Judicial District of Arkansas, said, and this is wild.
They were like, no, if you do that, just if we get DNA off of those that isn't Damien's, that still doesn't prove that he didn't. do it.
And it's like, honey, that's like literally what DNA evidence is for.
Right. is to prove that someone did do something or didn't do something.
Right. And they also said that they would rather just like keep it as it is rather than preserving physical evidence.
They said this would be a one-shot deal that forever alters it.
But if you are not planning to test that evidence ever, because that's what you're saying to me, is that you don't want to alter that.
That DNA evidence that's on that ligature, you just want it to stay there and for no one to know what it is.
We just want to know that it's there possibly.
Like why? And then just never test it. And we all know why.
So if you're planning on never altering this, you don't want to test it because you don't want to destroy it.
What? It doesn't matter then. If I destroy the evidence on there. it doesn't matter because you're never planning on testing it anyway.
So if they destroy it, which isn't necessarily the truth here, But if they alter it in some way with this MVAC technology...
It doesn't matter because you were never planning on testing that anyway.
So all we're getting is some results. It's unreal.
I'm just like, can they go to a different court and appeal that?
Like, is there an appeal here? Well, they are planning to appeal it, luckily, but...
Who knows what's going to happen here? They seem dead set on not finding out who actually killed three eight year olds.
And just going to such great lengths to be like, no, we actually don't want to know.
Yeah, they don't want to know because they know.
Exactly. Somebody knows here. A group of people know here what happened.
And just to put it out there, DNA was tested between December 2005 and September 2007 at one point.
And all that evidence failed to link Damian, Jason or Jesse to these crimes.
Right. Not one shred of evidence. And here's the thing.
Whoever said it's not going to prove that they were there...
And we were like, that's exactly what that does because on the same token, had their DNA been there, they would have sat there like the, the judges and everything would have sat there and said well that shows that they did it exactly then somebody else's DNA showing up is not showing up?
No, of course not. What? And the evidence that they did have was a hair that was found in the bindings of Michael Moore, the ligatures found on Michael Moore.
And they also found a hair on a tree stump nearby the bodies.
These hairs did not belong to Damien, Jesse, or Jason.
They belonged to someone, though. These hairs were consistent with the DNA of Terry Hobbs, which was Stevie Branch's stepfather.
This hair and the ligature. The one on the stump was consistent with DNA of Terry Hobbs' friend.
Now, what's even more interesting about that, I'm just putting this out there, by the way, I'm just putting out this fact.
He was never considered a suspect, Hobbes.
Which is insane. Which is wild. Because three witnesses who were near their houses.
They came forward, they filed affidavits in October 2009 with the Arkansas Supreme Court.
That said, they saw those three boys with Terry Hobbs.
They saw him before the bodies were found.
Now, Terry Hobbs told police... that he was never with his stepson.
He was never with those three boys. He totally lied about it, and they contradict the statements given from witnesses.
And then to find out, so that happens. And then you find hair. that is consistent with that man and his friend at the crime scene.
And you don't look into that. but no evidence to connect the three people you convicted of the crimes to the crime scene. close to 20 years in jail.
One of them was almost killed. Yep. In prison.
But we don't want to test that evidence.
We don't want to consider him a suspect.
We don't want to walk down that... We don't want to stroll down that avenue.
And I... We don't want to peek around the corner of that avenue at all.
I don't understand them not wanting to look bad.
I'm not saying I understand that, but I'm just... like I just what is why are you not doing this like either way you look The fact that you're not testing this evidence is making you look incredibly bad. know that you know you're gonna look bad when it comes out that you sent three innocent men to prison but which one like let's weigh our options here But here's the thing. they're nothing's happening to them who gives a shit but it's like they look bad you look bad either way though so it's like but it but look bad isn't their problem they don't give a shit no i know they look like shit but they don't care i'm just saying it from like a human point of view what's gonna happen nothing such bullshit They got away with it.
They can just keep saying no. They can just keep going and just citing precedence.
It's such a stain. Yeah, it truly is. And I really don't want this to stop happening.
No. I don't think it will. But we have to all make sure it doesn't stop.
I mean... i swear i want to be i wanted to be at this hearing so bad we actually talked about how we could make it happen and unfortunately It just couldn't.
But we wanted to be there. If there's an appeal...
And people can show up because I know Damien was like saying like supporters come like be there to support us here.
Let's go. If that's still the case with the next one, we're going to be on the lookout.
I really want to find a way to be there.
Like I just need to do something in this case.
I feel like I'm going crazy. Well, in this case has like been so important to you and then it's become so important to me through you.
I mean, you've been so involved in this case, like, from the start of it.
It's so frustrating. So... I know a lot of people were telling us about this and I was following it, everybody was following it, but this was not the outcome. any of us wanted but it's the outcome a lot of us were unfortunately expecting because of how it's all gone but It's not over.
We gotta keep fighting for it. And we won't stop talking about it until it is. until justice is served damn it so that was something I just needed to talk about because it was making me absolutely bonkers here um But with that said, let's move on to one frustrating unsolved case to another, shall we?
Yeah. So we're going to be talking about, like I said, the story of Blake Tyler Chappelle.
I just want to point out because I saw that Sarah Turney on Voices for Justice.
We love Sarah. Our girl. Friend of the pod.
Friend of the pod. I saw that she had when I was like looking up stuff i saw that she had done an episode about this case as well and i believe it said in the description that she spoke to his mother melissa so i urge you to go listen to that because i'm sure it is like i'm going to listen to it now that i've researched the case yeah Because, you know, you're going to get it right from his mother.
So after you listen to this, definitely if you're looking for more information and to hear from like his family and everything i really urge you to go listen to it because sarah's great we'll link it we'll link sarah's episode in the show notes We definitely will.
But I'm going to give you the lowdown here.
So... Blake was born February 7th, 1994 in Clayton County, Georgia.
He lived with his mother, Melissa. She worked in a management position in retail for a long time.
She was a really hard worker. She did everything she could to provide for her family.
His biological dad was really not in the picture, and that was just like, whatever.
But Melissa took over everything. So Blake was a super creative kid.
He had a lot of dreams. He had a lot of goals.
He was trying his hand at a lot of different things like as he was growing up.
Cool. And he was kind of excelling at them, actually.
He was really good at what he was doing.
He liked to draw. He was a really good artist.
He modeled a bit. Cool. Which he was adorable.
If you look up a picture of him, I mean, he has like blue gray eyes that are like very kind, sweet eyes.
I was just gonna say he has kind of guys yeah he does and he has this wavy beautiful hair he has this sweet smile like you just look at him and you're just like, oh, I just want to pinch your cheek.
But he was like a bit of a ham as well. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. He when he was a kid, he would perform full on rap performances for his whole family.
Amazing. And he loved rap, and he loved rapping.
And into his teenage-dom... he would continue to rap for his friends who were all like we told him like you're doing great but like he was not doing great which i love that they were just like you're great we love a supportive squad yeah And he loved it.
Yeah. And whatever. It makes you happy. He was also into skateboarding.
He kind of looked like the cool skateboarder guy.
He's got the haircut. Yeah, like that, you know, everybody was like, oh my God, swoon.
I was swooning so hard over that haircut back in the day.
Right? And he had the, we'll get into it, but like he had the cool piercings.
Like he was just a cool kid. I love it. Now, everyone in his family, especially his mother, say that he was just a wonderful child and everybody loved him.
She said one story. I read it in an article.
I'm going to link some of these articles that...
She said when he was little, he had learned in school about don't drink and drive.
He thought that meant don't drink anything.
So one day she had an iced tea from the convenience store and she went to get in the car and he jumped out of the car and was like...
I can't let you drink and drive. And she was like, it's a nice tea.
Oh my God. But he was like, no, I learned it in school.
That is so sad. I was like, what a precious... I love that.
That killed me. Oh my goodness, guys. I remember listening to podcasts way back in the day, like four years ago before we.
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I even had one and I was hearing all about some kind of magical thing and I was like, what is this all about?
And it was all about Curology. And I was like, I don't know, guys.
I got doubts. I've tried a lot of skincare routines.
I've tried a lot of different products and I've never really seen much of a result. until I actually gave Curology a chance, everybody.
All right. Let me add a quick little bit of context though, if you don't know what Curology is.
Curology is game changing custom skincare made for you by a dermatology provider.
This dermatology provider is going to create a custom prescription cream for your specific goals.
Maybe your goals are tackling acne. Maybe you got some clogged pores up on your face.
You got skin texture you want to work on, dark spots, fine lines.
I don't know. You've got a lot going on.
But what you're going to do is you're going to log on.
You're going to take a short online quiz.
You're going to upload some pics of yourself.
Selfie time, baby. And if it's a good fit, they are going to ship that formula right to your door.
Custom formula. It even has your freaking name on the bottle.
I get my shipment every two months and...
I think it's been close to two years at this point actually since I started using Curology.
No joke, I would not go back. I get so stoked when my new bottle comes in the mail.
Sometimes I'm not even done with the last one and I'm like, I just want to open this one.
It's like the same thing, I don't know why.
When I started noticing my fine lines, and just like some dark areas, I was like, excuse me, what is this about?
But now I have seen such a significant change spots I had on my face are not no neither are the fine lines.
And I just didn't realize how easy this process was going to be.
It's making a few simple changes, That has made me feel so much more confident now.
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Just pay $5 for shipping and handling. That's C-U-R-O-L-O-G-Y.com slash morbid to start your free 30-day trial cancel anytime prescription is subject to consultation But she said he would have done anything for anyone.
He would give you the shirt off his back, even if it was his last shirt.
He was just that kid. Why is it always people like this?
He really just seemed like a really cool guy.
And he would have become such a cool adult.
I feel like in fact according to an article in the Noonan Times Herald he would also bring in stray animals and stray kids home Melissa his mom said that he would feed he would want to feed animals like he would bring he loved animals he would bring them into the house and be like it's a stray we have to feed them we have to let them stay here and keep them warm and she was like okay like she was like he loved it so So here we are.
And then he would also bring kids in and be like, hey, this kid got locked out, like, because they got... you know they were home late yeah and like their parents were trying to teach them a lesson by just like locking the door And they'd be like, well, you know, like, can we give him some food and like, can he stay here?
And Melissa would just be like, Jesus. sure.
Okay, like sure. We all had that stray friend growing up.
I was the stray friend growing up. You were the stray friend.
And my friend's family always They always fed me.
There you go. Well, in this, Blake's family, like Melissa, they seem like a family that... didn't always have a ton of physical stuff to give because they were like struggling, but they always gave anyway.
Like they didn't have it, but they gave it anyway.
And it's like, those are like gems of people.
They are. And I feel like those are the people that always have just like the worst luck and the most unfortunate things happen to them.
They don't deserve to go through this stuff.
No. Nobody does. Now, according to an article at 11alive.com, his friends agreed with family saying he was just super lovable.
His longtime childhood friend Max said, quote, he was hilarious.
He was one of the funniest people I knew.
If you were down in a bad mood, he would make you laugh somehow.
He was always just right there. And a stroll through a couple of the Facebook pages associated with Blake and his case, there's like, an RIP Blake one, there's a justice for Blake one. that will tell you everything you need to know about him.
His friends and family who comment on those and even those people who like knew him in passing really have nothing but amazing things to say about him They comment on pictures of him and say he was such a goofball.
He was the light up the room kind of guy.
He was someone who could bring people out of the deepest of funks.
Like people will look at pictures on those pages and somebody will be like, I remember that day I was in such a bad mood. and he got me out of it like that smile right there hurts my heart yeah Getting to know him through the people who loved him really makes this case unique because you can stroll through those and be like, wow, I feel like I know him.
Now, Melissa, his mother was quoted as saying, quote, he always looked at the best in people.
He loved people. His friends were so very important to him.
I don't think he ever had an enemy in his life.
Now, it was a devastating blow, though, when she suffered, Melissa suffered a really bad medical diagnosis and she had to stop working due to complications.
So obviously she was supporting their family, And this was sometime around 2006, 2007, I believe.
And she was supporting their family. So this was a really tough financial blow.
They struggled a lot and Blake definitely felt it as he grew up, but he even wrote about it for a school paper. saying that he and his mother had nowhere to live for three months but they had each other oh gosh and in the paper which he titled poverty And I think this is also a very big testament to how his mother raised him. because he talks about what they went through but the and he says the things that he had taken for granted before, the things he sees people continue to take for granted now.
He talked about how he's so thankful for everything he does have and that everyone needs to take a step back and remember that it can always be worse.
Yeah. It was like a really insightful paper that honestly is really relevant at all times to all people.
When you lose things, you suddenly become aware of how lucky you are to have them.
And it's better practice to just be thankful for what you have, which is what he was saying in this paper. and i think that's kind of a testament to how he was raised that even though they were struggling he was clearly taught like you know what let's be thankful that we have each other For what we do have, not what we don't have.
Now when things started to turn around a bit and some sense of stability returned, He was still in the mindset of making money and trying to be self-reliant.
Of course. Yeah. Because he had experienced.
Yeah. poverty exactly so he started a little side hustle business where he would buy like big things of monster energy drinks and sell them to kids at school for like a little bit higher of a price, thus making a profit.
I mean, a fucking smart businessman. an entrepreneur mind at work.
People used to get in trouble for doing that at my school, which was like so annoying.
But it's like, that's just business minded.
That's all. Honestly, I'm teaching people better thoughts than the school is exactly like by doing that i'm saying he was able to save up and get a guitar hero game which was like huge back then yeah and he was like obsessed with it guitar hero was like his thing who was not um And his mother said he was so good at it.
And his friend said this, that he could turn his back to the screen and play the songs perfectly. oh my god and his favorite one to do was carry on wayward son oh great great song Hard not to sing right now.
It's really hard not to. Now, he also collected tabs from Monster Energy drinks. and he would have people that he sold these cans to give him the tabs back. because he could eventually trade them in to get a monster dirt bike. oh like he got enough to get a bike and he got it i did not know that that was even a thing you could do He was like, I got a goal.
I want a bike. So I'm going to get this.
We have a little entrepreneur. You were on our hands.
I'm saying. And this is just setting goals, no matter what they are, and he stuck to them.
Yeah, good for him. He's obviously finding himself capable of that.
And he got the bike? Yeah, he got the bike.
And it was like his pride and joy. He had like the potential to do something later in life.
And it's a shame he wasn't given the chance because he had that like mind.
Business mindset. He had a business mind, but he also had this really like empathetic mind, it seems, and he had a really like He was able to look at both sides.
He was able to say, I need to be thankful.
I've struggled, but now I'm here. He had a lot that he could have carried with him through life that I think would have served him really well.
And it seems like he would have too. And it's like a real shame.
Now, in fact, he may have become a lawyer later in life.
That's what he said he wanted to be. He had taken broadcasting classes in high school and he was toying with the idea of becoming a television anchor.
But he was really interested in becoming an attorney and just helping people.
Now, he was always concentrated on helping people and, again, very evidenced to the fact that he would take in people and animals. animals into his home.
He was just a caring guy. Now there was a very dark event that happened before he went missing.
And it's something that's heavily discussed today without a ton of details.
Now ... Blake was dating a girl somewhere around May 2011.
He was living in a trailer park in Clayton County when this happened.
The girlfriend was 16 years old. He was 17 years old. so normal teenage relationship she had run away from home though and she wanted to stay with blake No one is quite sure the circumstances that led her to this or exactly what the plan was, but her parents did find out. specifically her stepfather, and they came looking for her.
Now, there is a May 28th, 2011 Clayton County Police report that says police were called to the trailer park and when they arrived, they found Blake had been violently assaulted.
Oh no. He reported he was hit in the face and the head, thrown to the ground and kicked at least twice more to the face while on the ground.
Witnesses reported they saw the girlfriend's stepfather and that he was walking around and that he had actually come right up to people, asked where Blake was, and then lifted his shirt to show a handgun tucked into his pants.
And he was with another adult man when he did this.
And he told the witness, tell him I'm looking for him.
What? Yeah, so the stepfather assaulted Blake.
And hopefully he's like still in prison for doing so.
What the fuck? No. So witnesses, yeah. So witnesses then saw the stepfather grab Blake's then girlfriend, put her in the truck and leave.
Now, on July 2, 2011, Blake was the one put into Clayton County Jail. for custodial interference because he was 17 and she was 16.
She was a minor, and he was considered an adult, interfering with her parents.
They put him in jail after- He spent 16 days in jail.
After having been assaulted by a grown man.
Yeah. And what happened to the man? What happened to the stepdad?
Well, and he spent 16 days in jail. He had to wait to get bond.
He was raising money to get bond. Yeah. He wasn't released until July 18th.
What? As far as I could tell, I don't see what happened to the stepfather.
Nothing was done. Now, luckily... The prosecution decided to drop this case because the ex-girlfriend told everyone that Blake had encouraged her to go home.
And she was the one who decided to run away.
It wasn't his fault. He had done nothing wrong.
He's just giving her shelter. And he was literally like, you need to go home.
Like, you can't. We can't stay here. We can't make this happen here.
We got to figure this out. She ran away from home.
Like this should have been that. And from the sounds of it, probably for good reason.
Yeah. So he was still set to be in court on October 24th of 2011, but this never happened.
Now, understandably, this entire event really shook him Like, in a big way.
He was really affected by it. After all, he had been assaulted by grown men.
And then thrown in jail. Thrown in jail for 16 days for doing absolutely nothing wrong and had actually suffered a concussion from the assault. but he had refused to go to the hospital because he was worried it would cost too much.
Oh, my God. America. Seriously, seriously.
The fact that that was even his concern.
Now, he was closing off a bit after this and his mother said he was suffering from selective muteness where he would go completely silent if he was nervous are scared like he was and he was also starting to dabble a little bit into drugs but wasn't getting into like a ton of trouble or anything like he wasn't Because he's, like, smoking pot.
Yeah, I think he was just, like, he might have been doing, like, I don't even want to point to anything because I don't know, but...
He wasn't going like ham. He wasn't getting like arrested.
He wasn't getting in trouble with cops or anything.
It just like was not a great time. Yeah.
And it was clearly a time where he was suffering from some like PTSD type symptoms.
That sounds just like PTSD actually. Again.
Very understandable. I mean, that was a very big traumatic event.
Like a grown man just beat you up and then you ended up in jail.
Yeah, and you have a court. date even though the prosecution is saying they're gonna drop it that's scary and you don't know yeah Now, after this, the family moved away to Sonoya in Coweta County with Melissa's boyfriend. because they wanted to get out of Clayton County.
Yeah. Because they were worried about Blake's safety and honestly they were worried that the stepfather would look for him again oh god That's how scared they were.
They were so worried that they wouldn't let Blake have any contact with friends in Clayton County. because they didn't want it to get back to the ex-girlfriend's family.
Like where he even was. Yeah. Now, the gun and threats and assault are certainly enough to make these fears very valid, in my opinion.
And to be clear, the police say they have cleared this man, the stepfather as a suspect in what would later happen to Blake.
I'm sure they have. I would like to know exactly how, but I'm sure they have.
That's all I'll say about it. I haven't heard all the details, so I will wait to form an opinion until the end.
So Blake was doing well in the new town and made a lot of friends.
He started dating a girl. I'm not going to say her name because she is listed in some things, but in some things she's not.
So I don't know. I'm just not going to. So I'm just going to say he started dating a very nice girl.
A gal. adorable. They were adorable together.
She was quoted as later saying he was country.
He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he really was.
And she said his laugh was the thing that she loved the most about him. and a lot of his friends share this same sentiment about him, his sense of humor and laugh. is often called out as being like very unique and very special I just feel like he's like that friend that you had, like that you can point to that one friend, you know what I mean?
And you see like there's a lot of video of him and like pictures of him and you're like, I know that kid.
Yeah, we all do. You know what I mean? I love that kid.
Yeah. So it's just like, ugh. His mom Melissa said when they moved from Clayton County, it was obviously tough on him.
But what made him so happy was he discovered they were moving to a place with a fishing pond readily available to him.
Oh, cool. she revealed that fishing was probably the thing that Blake loved the most, which is why his girlfriend was like, he wouldn't admit it, but he was.
It's pretty country. I like fishing. I love fishing.
No, he started doing little things like... like a little bit of rebellious things.
Again, he wasn't getting into big trouble or anything.
No. And you know, he just had to uproot his whole life.
Of course he's going to rebel a bit yeah he got a lip piercing the snake bite bottom lip Do you remember when the cool kid got their snake bites?
The boys who got the snake bites. Come on.
My brother-in-law has snake bites. There you go.
But everybody loves a snake bite tattoo.
Of course. It just worked for him. He also got a Playboy tattoo on the left side of his chest.
Fucking icon. Melissa was not happy with the tattoo.
No? She said, you know, but teenagers are gonna teenager.
But she said, He did not tell me he was getting that tattoo.
I happened to see it when he was changing his shirt once and she was not pleased.
The classic story. Of course. But... His girlfriend said later that he would actually do piercings for his friends as well, and he was actually pretty good at it.
Oh sick. Again, another thing he was excelling at.
So fun. According to justflipthedog.com, which by the way, I recommend going to that site because-
I know, it sounds like, what? They've got a ton of really in-depth articles and stories, like true crime stories. all kinds of stuff.
They just do a really good job. They did a great job covering this case.
But sometime in the fall of 2011, Blake actually started a handwritten bucket list.
It had a hundred things he wanted to accomplish on it, and it was written in his own handwriting.
Things that were on it were like, hug my mom like I never hugged her before That tells, that simple thing on a bucket list tells you absolutely every last thing you need to know about him as a human.
It really does. That is so precious. Another thing was prove to yourself you can do something you never thought possible.
I got chills saying that. How old was he again?
He was 17. To have that... Like I can tell you for sure I did not have those ideas at 17. years old i did not yeah everybody's an at 17. yeah he's got these like i'm like fuck, this kid sounds so cool.
Like, it sounds like, a fucking shame like what a shame because he sounded like like another one on there saved someone's life God.
Another one, realize how good your life is.
Wow. Like, what insightful, like, what the fuck?
Yeah, he was deep. I love it because mixed among these like holy shit things, we're like be in a movie.
Yeah, like everything. in a mansion fuck yeah then one that absolutely shattered my heart was become a grandfather I know, doesn't that like... That hits different.
It really does. It's just like, man, like...
Fuck people. What 17-year-old boy is thinking like, You know what?
I want to become a grandpa one day. I want to be a grandfather.
Very few and far between. I can tell you that much.
That one like broke my heart. Yeah. But this brings us, that's just like you need to know Blake.
You need to know his friends. You need to know his family to know how devastating this whole thing is.
So this brings us to the evening of October 15, 2011.
This was only months after the assault that rocked his world.
He was beginning to form a new life with new friends in a different county.
He was 17 years old at the time, and he's now going to school at East Coetta High School.
This evening there was a homecoming dance and he was excited to be taking his new girlfriend to it.
Blake was wearing black dress pants, a white tank top, a brand new white Fruit of the Loom t-shirt over his tank top. a black dress shirt over that, like super sleek.
Shop. had on black Ralph Lauren shoes with RL in white lettering on the sides of them.
He had stopped with his mom at Kohl's before the dance because he decided he wanted a tie that matched his girlfriend's dress.
Oh my gosh. and i think it was purple i'm pretty sure now so through texting pics of choices to her like they've together picked the one that matched Like, come on.
That's so, so cute. Yeah. So Melissa, his mom. dropped him off at his girlfriend's house and his girlfriend's mom shannon drove the two of them to have dinner together at a at a sushi restaurant called Tokyo's.
He loved sushi, by the way. And I knew you would love that.
I do. In fact, his mother said he loved sushi, he loved expensive steaks.
If you took him out, he was going to buy the most expensive.
My kind of guy. Yeah. Now, Shannon, the girlfriend's mom, then drove them to the dance after they were finished with dinner around 7pm.
The dance, by all accounts, was great for everyone.
Yeah. His girlfriend said they danced all night.
Blake ended up taking off his black dress shirt and tie because he was having so much fun and he was like, sweating and you know he tied that that tie right around his head like all his boys did you know he did But she said they were just having a ton of fun the whole night.
There's pictures of this everywhere. The night is well-documented.
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Now, Shannon, the girlfriend's mom, picked them up around 10.30 PM and they went back to the girlfriend's house.
They watched a movie together. Somewhere in the 1130 hour, Shannon drove Blake to to his friend Austin's house, where he was planning to spend the night.
Now, I'm gonna tell you a lot of like back and forth here of where he went, But I'm at the end going to kind of explain the route a little better.
And I'm going to explain like how I think this route went because a lot of it is unknown.
Okay. I also have a picture of it on the monitor in front of Ash and I so that she can also see it.
Thank you. So we can have like a proper discussion about it.
But just so you know, we're going to get into like the roads and everything a little more later.
I love when you do that. it helps. I love doing that.
Yeah, it is. It makes it much easier. Now, Melissa said this was Blake's first time staying overnight somewhere since the move from Clayton County.
She was still nervous. She was worried about him being by himself overnight.
She was still like protecting him. Yeah, and it's homecoming.
Of course, you're going to be nervous. You don't know what's going on.
Yeah, and she said like, you know, he had stayed places when we're in Clayton County, but that was before that assault happened.
Yeah That was before this man had done something to him.
I'm worried something else is going to happen to him.
That will rock you. So when he got to Austin's after the dance and after his girlfriend's house, he called his mom, Melissa.
Immediately when he got there, he told her what an amazing time they had.
It was such a fun time. We danced all night, told her all about it.
She was like, he seemed very happy, like he had had a great time.
Nothing had gone wrong. So she told him, you can stay at Austin's house tonight, but I want you to stay there and not leave.
So the last thing he said to her was, Mama, I love you.
I'll call you tomorrow. Oh. Now Austin says they just hung out texting friends.
I think they had gone to um a convenience store at one point to try to like buy cigarettes or something but they were they couldn't so they came back home and he said they were just like texting friends hanging out and he said around 2am Blake texted his girlfriend telling her he was going to come back over her house.
And just like so romantic. And she was like, sure, whatever.
And she went back to sleep because she was like, okay, whatever.
Yeah, like sure you are. No. Austin recalls sometime between the 2 and 3 a.m. hour, he told him he was going to his girlfriend's house.
He came in the room and was like i'm going austin says he gave him a jacket because it was freezing outside Which, like, adorable.
In house skis. Because he was like, you can't, like, knock on the door.
You gotta just come in. and he was wearing the same black dress pants and white t-shirt that he had on at the end of the dance.
So it was close to 5am when Blake crawled through his girlfriend's window.
She said they just hung out and they talked about the dance.
They just like laid on her bed and like cuddled and talked about what a good time they had.
Now, she said he was wearing a white hoodie from Aeropostale with the lettering in brown down, I think, one arm.
When she saw him and not a jacket. Maybe the friend had just said like that was a jacket.
Later, Austin said that was not the jacket he had given him. huh weird um just a little note that that was not the jacket he had given him Now, that was a sweatshirt that Blake had brought with him to Austin's in a backpack.
Okay. So I don't know if he just switched them out or what.
Yeah. Just an interesting little tidbit.
Maybe the jacket was uncomfy and he just wanted that instead.
But then her grandmother walked in her bedroom.
Oh, no. And I guess she just walked in and was like... She probably knew what was up.
Well, and I think she was like... i'm gonna tell your mom and then just walked out like she was just like i'm just giving you a heads up i'm gonna let your mom know what's going on So I guess Blake was like, oh, I got to go.
So he goes and climbs out the window. And you know, immediately Shannon comes in the room and is not pleased.
Because of course. We've all been. I would not be pleased either.
And Blake knew that. so did the girlfriend so immediately Blake starts texting his girlfriend and Shannon his girlfriend's mom saying sorry just apologizing profusely oh my god to the point shannon said she ended up telling him blake everything's okay like everything's gonna be okay because she said he was so apologetic and she was like i knew he was a good kid like right so i she just told him like it's cool man like i I love you.
It's good. Like we're good. But he was like very remorseful.
Like, He was like, oh my god, please don't hate me.
It sounds like he respected all the people around him.
Yeah, it seems like he was a respectful kid.
So he's walking back to Austin's house. Now, this was about a three mile walk.
I think it was 3.2 miles. So not far. Walking back to Austin's house around 530 a.m., he texted his girlfriend saying he was, quote, getting pulled over by a cop. which is weird because he was walking yeah he told her he was walking near a bridge at this point Then a few minutes later, he said the cop talked to him, asked him where he was headed, checked his ID, and then left.
Okay. Which is whatever. A little strange, but like, okay.
But I could also see a cop seeing a young guy walking and being like, hey, where are you going?
Like you good? Yeah. It's just like, I guess that makes sense.
But the weird thing about this, I suppose, is there's no record of this.
No officer has ever said that they stopped him, and there is no report of anything of this kind.
I guess I understand why there wouldn't be a report.
They would have to, though. If you stop someone and you check their ID, you would have to make some kind of note of it.
Okay. And even if there was no report, which like that would be bad.
Somebody. Well, that's what I. One of you did it.
I don't get that whole. part and it's like this is a very big case you would think that officer would come forward and be like hi that was me yeah i mean you know his name At this point, we don't even know where he was.
Right. He said he was on a bridge. this is where he was this is where he was going this is how he looked right this is you know this is how he seemed to me no one has come forward no one will say that they They did it.
They have no record of it. That's probably because they didn't make a report. of stopping him so like they it would lead to like a tailspin and that's really shitty that they're not willing to do so See, I don't even think that's it because that's not that big a deal.
No. Like, if they came forward and said, oh, yeah, we didn't make a report of it because we just looked at his ID and left, no one's going to fault them for that.
Who gives a shit? To not come... That's not enough to not come forward.
No, I don't get it. That's not enough. So...
He then texted his girlfriend something like, it's like it's really freezing out here.
And this was around 5.30 as well. And that was the last communication.
Now, his girlfriend and his girlfriend's mom kept trying to get him to respond, but they were getting nothing. they were like huh maybe his phone died like i don't know so around 9 00 a.m they call austin And they're like, hey, he's back there, right?
We haven't been able to get in contact with him.
And Austin gets up and is like, yeah, he's not here.
He never came back. So they're like, what the fuck?
So Shannon and his girlfriend picked up Austin.
So the mom and the girlfriend picked Austin up.
And they all went searching immediately.
They called Shannon's husband Matt. He also helped in the search, but they found nothing.
It was around 11am that they happened to see a police car driving by and they stopped this police car and were like...
Like, here's the story. And they told them Blake is missing.
Now, Melissa, his mom, was informed around 1130 a.m.
The NHU is basically informed you have to file a missing persons report.
And she was like, what the fuck are you talking about?
So she spoke to Austin and she said, what do you mean he's missing?
He was at your house. Like, what do you mean he's missing?
Was he stolen out of your house? Like, what happened?
Right, because she has no idea. And Austin was like...
He went to see his girlfriend in the middle of the night and he had never come back.
So unfortunately, it was immediately looked at by police that Blake had voluntarily run away.
Now, they... Like, how often do people really run away, guys?
I know, I'm like... And... Again, overdo.
Do too much. I'll never be mad at you for doing too much and expending too much I will always be mad at you for not expending enough.
So it's like, just... Just do too much.
Overreact. It's fine. I will turn the other way if it doesn't work.
That's the frustrating thing and I always say that whenever it's brought up but it's like you don't know these people.
Yeah. They're parents. know them their parents know like at least most of them would know if their kid was about to run away or not you know and it's like Again, just treat it like it's not.
There's no harm in that. There's much harm in the other way, but there's no harm in over-treating it.
Just frustrating. Now, they cited his issues in the court case, even though it was being dropped for reason for him wanting to run away.
So as weeks go by with absolutely no sighting of him and no nothing, Like nothing is coming forward.
His family was like, this is not the case.
He did not run away. And he wouldn't just leave his family.
And his girlfriend was like, he wouldn't just leave me like out of nowhere.
No. They never believed he would just leave without telling anyone.
He was just not that type of kid. He loved his family, as evidenced by his bucket list by the way he was like and even just like his last text to his girlfriend like He would just never talk to her again and just say the last thing is cold.
Wow, it's really freezing out here. Like, no, that would not be – no.
Yeah. And eventually, even his girlfriend though, was starting to kind of believe like, did he just leave?
Like, did he just like, she was like devastated.
She was like, did he just like, bail on me yeah well maybe she was thinking like maybe that's the reason he came over yeah like time with me that morning Exactly.
And even though she couldn't understand why...
And again, it didn't fit into their time together that night or that morning.
She was like, I just don't see it. She was honestly probably just in like self-preservation mode at that and just like had to believe that he voluntarily left instead of thinking something awful happened to him.
But she said they had talked about the court case before and that she was actually going to go with him, like support him.
And she said he was rightfully nervous, of course, but she was like, he knows he didn't do anything wrong, like...
We would have got through it together. He has like support system here.
And they were going to drop it anyway. Yeah.
And she was like, even if like something went awry, like we were all here for him.
Yeah. Like I think he knew that. Now, she was so confused why he would bail.
It just wasn't who he was. And she was quoted as saying he always kept his word. like he was always someone who kept his word it wouldn't have been that so things are still quiet then five weeks after Blake went missing Melissa his mom got a phone call this person said nothing on the phone what the fuck she could hear a little bit of noise happening in the background somewhere she just listened at first then she was like is this blake And then she was like, do you have Blake?
And she started begging them, please speak to me.
Is this Blake? Please tell me if you have Blake.
Nothing. They hung on for minutes and then hung the phone up.
Who does that to somebody? Like who the fuck does that?
No matter what that was, what the fuck? I have like chill bumps from that.
Because it's like... First of all, that's a fucked up prank.
And if you hear that mother saying, is this Blake?
Because it's the person that has Blake. What the fuck is wrong with you?
Who are you to sit on the floor and listen to a pleading mother?
And it's like, come on, if it was a prank. or either way, who are you to do that to somebody?
But it was still strange. And it was near Thanksgiving that she said, so she said that happened, then Thanksgiving came or it was coming. and she said suddenly it was like her hope just deflated and she said she got this sudden wash over her that said he's not alive anymore.
And she's a mom. She knows. And to me, Because as we'll see, we do not have a timeline for Blake.
We don't know when he died. It is possible he could have been kept.
He could have been kept somewhere. Maybe she knew the second it happened.
She's a mom. I fully believe that, like...
That shit, especially with like how close they were.
Yeah. That's just, which like kills me because I'm like, I can't imagine her feeling that.
Like, oh, so December 19th, 2011, two months.
After Blake went missing, Blake's family and friends received the worst news possible.
A body was found face down in a creek under a bridge on the Summer Grove Parkway in East Noonan.
The creek ran along the Summer Grove Golf Club, and it was also right along the route that he would have taken between the two homes.
Okay. So by December 22nd, only a couple days later, it was announced via a press release that based on his tattoo and jewelry, They identified the body as that of Blake Chappelle, who was 17 years old at the time.
He had been found wearing a white t-shirt and underwear, and he was face down in the water.
Nothing else. He wasn't wearing his pants, his shoes, his sweatshirt that he was wearing when he left his girlfriend's house.
But the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
Oh my goodness. Now, the autopsy was not released and no one has said when he was actually killed.
There were circling reports that he was possibly in the creek for three days.
But where he was before that for literal months.
Right. And how decomposed he was, we don't know.
Right. No one will say how long he was dead before his body was placed in that water.
No one will say... how long he was in the water.
We have no timeline here. He could have been in that water for a day.
And did they give a reason for why they won't release the autopsy?
They did. Because he's a minor? Yeah. No, it's because he's technically not a minor.
He's an adult. Okay. So they did come out later and say it's one of those things where – only the person who did this knows certain things and we want to keep that stuff to the chest because we don't want somebody else...
But there's a lot of things that I'm like, I don't know.
You got to give us something here. Like the times of death and stuff.
I'm like, I understand to a point, but like, I want more information.
It's been 11 years, so maybe we could get a little extra.
At this point, I think we can maybe trick them. out a few more pieces of information and also like his family deserves it like his mom really wants to know what the fuck happened here and she's got nothing.
Like she's not getting anything. And there are times where... family solve cases yeah it's true they know the person they know more about it you know and what's crazy too is his clothing was never found Yeah, that's weird.
His pants, his shoes, his sweatshirt. And No wallet, no phone, which were on him when he left his girlfriends.
He was texting with that phone the night he went missing and no keys to Austin's house, nothing.
And there's no way to like ping any of his movements afterwards.
Well, we'll get into that. Okay. So now we're going to come to the let's take a look at the route he would have taken.
Okay. Because... Was curious just yeah, I have never been to Georgia and I do not have any knowledge of Georgia.
It's hard for me to picture. So off to Google Maps and Google Earth I go. so here we are i'm bringing it up for you so you can see it thank you This is our beginning spot.
Okay. So the route from his girlfriend's home around the Avondale Circle area of Noonan, Georgia. to Austin's previous residence, which was along the Highwoods Parkway, which is west of Summer Grove Park. is, like I said before, about 3.2 miles if he took the suggested route and possibly the easiest to travel route.
But from what I looked at, it seems like there was a slightly better route than what they will suggest.
Okay. Um... They suggest you take this route.
You should go from Avondale Circle, take a left onto Vanderbilt Parkway.
From there, you would likely take a left on Mary Freeman Road, And then you have it where you would kind of stay or bear left onto lower Fayetteville Road.
Yep. You would do this for a long time until it meets up with Highwoods Parkway.
But judging from where he was found and where he was texting his girlfriend about a bridge...
I think that he went a ways up on Fayetteville Road, like right here.
So I think he went a ways up there and then he actually took a left at Summer Grove Parkway.
Okay. Because that's a bit of a shortcut.
It is. Like it was probably a bit shorter, or at least it seems like if you take that straight, it dumps you right off at the Highwoods Parkway.
Right. So it's going to dump you right there.
But he was found in a creek. under a bridge along the Summer Grove Parkway next to the golf club.
This road that I just described to you that I would have taken This road leads, it actually crosses over a creek which is White Oak Creek which runs directly under the Summer Grove Parkway in a spot that is next to the Summer Grove Golf Club.
I see it. Okay. So I've looked and I haven't found it confirmed that he was found in this creek.
But that's the creek that runs next to the golf club.
It's connecting to Highwoods Parkway. There's a bridge.
Makes sense. I don't see where else he would have been found.
And everything I saw says that he was found in a creek. next to the Summer Grove Golf Club, which is exactly where this was.
And it's along that parkway. So it has to be that's right there.
There's nowhere else. So what I want to know is, did someone bring him back there two months later? along the same route yeah that's the weird thing about this and it's like why Right.
And again, we don't even know how long he was outside in the elements.
We don't know how long he was in the water.
We don't even know how long he was dead for.
He could have been dead for, he could have been deceased for a week and we don't know it.
So why is he still along the same route he likely would have taken?
Because again, he's a missing person. We know where he was going.
He was going from his girlfriend's house to Austin's house.
They've definitely searched that route. Well, that's my question.
I was going to say. So he couldn't have been there.
Had they searched that creek before or could you not find out?
There's no, to me, I didn't find out that they specifically did.
There's no way they didn't though. Right.
That is the root. There's no way they would have just ignored that body of water for a missing person.
So to me, that says he wasn't in that creek before there.
And had to have been being held somewhere.
That's the thing. So and again, why was he along the same route he would have taken?
Did someone follow him? I feel like it would have been weird for it to be a random thing that somebody just came across him while he was walking home.
Yeah. Like how would they even know he was there though unless they were following him that whole night?
And then they somehow they dumped him there as like a, like a something.
The thought of that is so terrifying to think that he may have been followed that entire time.
And also what I saw was along this route, And I have to see if I can bring it up here somewhere.
Along this route, there is like a hiking trail.
Can confirm. We just paused so that Elena could show me how to follow the trail and where this hiking trail came out.
And I have. It's right there. So it's a hiking trail.
It's before the lower Fayetteville Parkway. turns into the Summer Grove Parkway.
It's right before that bend. There's a connector trail and it's a hiking area.
It's a big wooded area. It's on the way.
Was someone waiting there? Did they take him in there? well my question is too like i think it kind of comes off of what you're saying somebody could have spotted him walking along that route knew that they would get there faster through the connector trail.
I guess they knew where he was going. went through the trail and got there before he did, or right at the same time that he got onto Summer Grove Parkway.
Yeah, and that begs the question, are we talking about someone random here?
Or are we talking about someone who is waiting for him?
Right. And it's like... I just don't get this random thing.
I don't know. I mean, it happens, obviously.
I think the thing that makes the random thing hard to believe is the fact that we don't really know where he was for two months.
And he, from the sounds of it, definitely wasn't in that creek.
I don't. No, where he was. I don't know if he was kept alive.
I don't know what happened here. And that's the thing.
Yeah, you don't know because the autopsy wasn't released.
So we don't know... what state he was in when he was found we have no idea we don't know how long he was in the water even and that's what's killing me And you had mentioned phone records.
I had. I said could they ping some shit?
Well, the phone records indicated that the last texts he sent were the ones apologizing to Shannon and his girlfriend and the ones where he told his girlfriend he was freezing and that he had been pulled over and released by a cop.
I hate that at the end of his life he was so stressed i know he was just like i just gotta get somewhere now melissa his mom begged the police to track or triangulate his phone on that night to try to find his movements.
But she isn't sure they ever did. Why would they not?
When 11 Alive reporter Savannah Levins asked Lieutenant Robinson, who is like the new person on this case, He's the one who's like currently on the case.
She asked him about it and he said, quote, they've pulled some phone records.
Not necessarily triangulated, but we pulled some phone records.
But the area is pretty broad on that. Sir what?
It wouldn't be broad if you triangulated.
Why are we not seeing where this phone is pinging off of?
I mean, it's 2011. We know that he was sitting on his phone texting.
As he's walking back the whole time, he's walking past all of these cell phone towers.
And it's just like you... You're not sure?
It's like, yeah... We pulled some phone records.
Like, not necessarily. Not necessarily. Did you or didn't you?
Like, what exactly are you doing? it not necessarily is not an answer nope man like you say no say no we did not yes yes or no like just just say it You know those photos sitting in your phone, the ones that make you smile every time you scroll past them?
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In that interaction, he texted his girlfriend about the whole, like we said before, the cop pulling him over.
That one I couldn't I'm like, what? That one stuck with me.
They can't find, again, any record of that event or anyone saying that they did it.
And when they asked Lieutenant Robinson about it, he said, quote, we're still kind of hazy as to what that interaction is. but it didn't appear that our agency had contact with him.
Is this detective's middle name vague? Like hazy?
You're hazy on whether one of your... You're an investigator.
And then he says, it doesn't appear our agency had contact with him.
It doesn't appear or they did or did not.
So who the fuck was that that pulled him over?
And I've seen it posited that this was a real police officer and also that this was someone posing as a police officer.
Well, that was my question. Something I thought of when you mentioned the police officer.
I was like, was that a real police officer?
Yeah, like was that real? and it's like well if he thought a cop was pulling him over i'm like i wonder if they were in a marked car or not Well, that's perfectly into what I was thinking, because I don't know how he would have known that this person was a police officer if it was someone posing them.
Because think about it. This person would probably need sirens or something because Blake was walking.
If a car pulled up beside or behind him, he would probably not initially think an unmarked car was a police car.
Right. But he said to his girlfriend that a cop was pulling him over.
And he said he was like in the process of pulling him over.
So this person identified themselves as a police officer somehow.
I'm not saying people don't do that, like don't pose as a cop.
Yeah, we've seen that. But did they have a badge or a siren or a uniform, I wonder, to make him say for sure to his girlfriend, a cop is pulling me over?
Potentially. And not just some creep is following me.
I don't know if it's a cop. Like he was very clear in that message, a cop is pulling me over.
Think about the hillside stranglers. And that's why I'm like, so this person had to have something that identified them as a cop.
Definitely. At the very least though, honestly, it could have been like a black like ford you know what i mean because if a black ford is behind me i'm pulling over like i think So it could have been that, and then somebody dressed in a police uniform really could have been enough.
Yeah. I mean, it's true. And it's like, was that him saying...
Was that even him saying that the cops released him?
Well, that's the other thing. And then just to say it's freezing.
Yeah, it's freezing out here. No context or anything.
And was it someone else texting from his phone?
Like I've seen some people he knew question this saying he didn't really text to that way, like the way that it was said.
Really? so they said it didn't really seem like him but they didn't know if they were just like looking at it too hard or if they were just like confused by it but they were like i don't know him a lot of people said like him saying a cop's pulling me over didn't make a lot of sense to them because they were like, he was walking.
I don't think he would have said that. He wouldn't have said pulling me Yeah.
I mean, maybe in like the stress of the moment.
Maybe. I guess just to play devil's advocate.
Well, another weird thing, he left a backpack at Austin's house when he left for his girlfriend's This backpack was confirmed to be there by Austin, but now he says it's lost.
They were moving, apparently, and somehow it got lost in the move.
Okay. But why wasn't it turned over to police immediately?
I'm just curious. why didn't the police ask for it?
Why didn't the police come get it? That's what I mean.
Why wasn't this part of the whole... Like what?
And his mother said that when he took it with him that night, the backpack initially had the white hoodie he was wearing when he got to his girlfriend's house it had and obviously that isn't in there anymore so where the fuck is that He had had his phone charger, cologne, deodorant and a knife, which he kept on him always, but didn't have on him. at the time because he wasn't going to bring a knife to a school dance right but he put it in his bag okay so that all should have been there and it's gone And I'm interested to know if he had that knife with him when he went for the walk.
If that was a knife he always had, I'm assuming it was for some kind of protection, especially after what he had done. gone through.
Exactly. So it's like, was that still in the backpack?
Was that on him? If so, it's not. We don't know where it is.
And if so... We still aren't even being told if he had knife wounds.
Well, that's another thing that I was going to ask.
We're not even sure if he had any kind of wounds.
We don't even know. Other than that gunshot wound.
Exactly. We don't even know if he had several gunshot wounds.
All we know is that his cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
We don't know anything else about the condition of Blake's body.
Was his mother ever allowed to view his body?
They were allowed to view the body and they were like, they viewed him at the memorial.
They said their goodbye. He was cremated.
Okay. But I don't know what else, like nothing else is released about what other injuries could have been inflicted. here and if he had that knife with him did he have knife wounds Like I don't know, but the investigation went into overdrive immediately. after this like they they really went for it i'm like did it uh They offered a $20,000 cash reward for any information leading to anything about this.
This was the highest award ever offered at the time.
And actually, police said the money didn't even seem to be a factor in the leads that they were receiving.
People were calling and not giving a shit about the money.
They just wanted the killer cops. Yeah, it's a 17-year-old boy that was murdered.
Yeah, and they just wanted justice for Blake, which is like, again, a testament to Blake.
No, December 29, 2011 was his memorial service.
Like I said, he was cremated, but his family was able to say goodbye to him first.
They played Blake's favorite song, Carry On My Wayward Son.
Stop. Yep. Melissa said, quote, That's what Blake would have wanted.
And I have to try and forgive these people and move on.
But it's so hard. Sometimes I just feel like my life is over. to which i'm like i just want to hug melissa too because i'm like oh it's no one should ever have to go through this There has been very little to no movement in this case, which is so frustrating.
The police department, again, like we said, is holding a lot of this stuff close to the chest.
We don't know a lot about his death, nothing.
I guess we can only hope that that's for the best.
Yeah. I mean, Lieutenant Chris Robinson said, and he took the case over in 2019.
So very recently, he said, quote, as suspects are developed, a lot of details would only be known by those people. so we can't really release too much.
Everything we've received has been run down and vetted and ruled out at this point.
Without community support and people who know something coming forward, it just makes it near impossible to get anywhere right now.
Now, there is still a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Blake's case.
Callers can leave a tip for the Noonan Police at 770.
254-2355 or Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta.
You can remain anonymous. You don't have to give your name.
I'm going to put that information in the show notes so you have it again.
This case like needs movement. They need to figure out who did this.
They need to find out what happened. Because there's so many just missing pieces.
There is. So many questions that need answers.
That's the thing. everybody deserves justice and bleak specifically deserves justice.
I just want to see it for his family. I want to see it for him and his friends.
And it's like his family has already gone through so much in losing him and then they just...
They have no answers as to how they lost him.
It's been too long and something needs to give here.
Yeah. I don't know what, but something needs to give here.
I want to figure out a way to... move this forward somehow.
Cause it like really, it like irked me reading this.
I was just like, come on. That's the thing.
I feel like sometimes it can feel so helpless.
Yeah, it can. But the stuff that can be done, whatever updates I have that I can give you, like things we can do, like anything, I will make sure to let you know on the next episode or whatever episode we can find stuff on.
And if you have any information, like if you're from this area and you've been too scared to come forward or something like that.
Now's the time. You can remain anonymous.
Remain anonymous. Just call. Say, I don't want anyone to know who I am.
Here's the information I have. Because his family and he deserve it.
Yeah. It's like, come on. Come on, it's been 11 years at this point.
Let's go. But that is the case of Blake Chappelle now.
Like I said, Sarah Turney interviewed his mom, Melissa.
I urge you to go listen. I'm going to go listen to it now.
So I'm going to link it in the show notes.
I'm sure she did amazing. She always does.
Oh, yeah. um and you know you can get to know blake and his family more because melissa seems like a great mom and like I'm just really sad for her.
I want to give her a hug. So... Yeah, let's hope that somehow, some way, it can be moved forward.
Yeah. Everybody, let's manifest. Let's figure it out, guys.
Let's do it. And in the meantime, we hope that you keep listening.
And we hope you keep it working. Weird, but not so weird that if you don't have any, hold on, I messed up, but not so weird that if you have any information about this case, you don't come forward with it.
Yes. I feel like somebody knows something.
If somebody knows something and you can remain anonymous, just do it.
Thank you. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
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The town of Agde in France is famous for sun, sand, sea and sex.
But lately, life on the coast has taken a strange turn.
The town's mayor, a respected pillar of the community, has been arrested for corruption.
His wife claims he's been bewitched by a beautiful clairvoyant.
Then there's the mysterious phone calls that local people have been getting.
I am the Archangel Michael. The whole town has been thrown into chaos.
As the mayor is unable to carry out his duties, I would like to address you all.
Legal proceedings have been initiated. Join me, Anna Richardson, and journalist Leo Schick for The Mystic and the Mayor as we investigate a story of power, corruption, Binge all episodes of The Mystic and the Mare exclusively and ad-free right now on Wondery+. start your free trial in apple podcasts spotify or the wondery app
