Full Episode: In April of 2012, when Fort Bragg medic Kelli Bourdeaux failed to report for duty her family, friends, and the army knew that something was terribly wrong. The entire town of Fayetteville, North Carolina came together to search for the missing 26-year-old soldier who had recently separated from her husband. After the case went cold, a private investigator believed a local bar worker would be the key to cracking the case. What came next was a shocking confession and gruesome discovery. -Kelli Bordeaux, Hometown Homicide: Local Mysteries (S1,E2)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ID Go: In a small Tennessee town, Jenelle Potter has few friends. When her attraction to one of them isn’t mutual, she is ostracized and feels threatened. Then a shadowy figure guides her family into a dark plot with a twisted ending no one saw coming. -Catfish Killer, Primal Instinct (S1, E4)
Date: January 31, 2012 Victims: Billie Jean Hayworth and Billy Payne Offenders: Jenelle Potter, Barbara Potter, Marvin Potter, Marine Corp veteran Location: Mountain City, Tennessee Circumstances: Jenelle Potter catfished her parents Barbara and Marvin and led them to believe she was in danger, she posed as a CIA agent and manipulated Marvin Potter to kill Billie Jean Hayworth and Billy Payne after they unfriended her on Facebook Disposition: Jenelle and Barbara Potter were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and given two life sentences; Marvin Potter plead guilty to murder and was given two life sentences
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
In the News:
Part 1: Living at home with her parents, Jenelle Potter spent most of her adult life on social media. -ABC News
Part 2: A friend found Bille Jean Hayworth and Billy Payne dead with single gunshot wounds to their faces. -ABC News
5 Dark & Twisted Catfish Stories. -FactFaction
Investigation Discovery:
ID Go: A young couple is found murdered, execution style, their infant still alive in the mother’s arms. As police investigate, the story takes a shocking turn when the admitted shooter claims this was a sanctioned hit ordered by a rogue CIA agent. -To Pretty to Live, Investigation Discovery (S1, E1)
USA Network:
In Tennessee, a family is driven to despair when their daughter Jenelle becomes the target of social media bullying. When two of Jenelle’s tormentors are found dead, the police uncover a bizarre web of assumed identities and mental manipulation. -The Sinner
Oxygen:
Jenelle Potter’s attorney, her sister, and others discuss the case after the verdict. -Killer Post, Oxygen
Jenelle Potter claimed that her Facebook account was hacked. -Criminal Confessions, Oxygen
Podcasts:
A young mother is shot to death while she clutches her 7-month old baby. Her husband lies executed in the next room. This isn’t the story of a Hollywood drama, but the tragic end to an average Tennessee working class family. Billie Jean Hayworth and her husband Billy Payne were going about their normal weekday morning routine when they were senselessly and violently murdered. The events that led to that morning are inexplicable, fueled by the petty ignorance of a woman who used social media to manipulate and hurt people. We’re taking a look at the catfishing murders of East Tennessee in this episode of True Crime Brewery: Unfriended. Settle in for a twisted tale of senseless murder, jealousy, and cruelty beyond what most of us could ever imagine. -True Crime Brewery
This was indeed a very touching Dateline. Vietnam veteran Jim Heintz learned inadvertently that he had a fathered a child in Vietnam. Jim’s daughter submitted a DNA sample to an ancestry registry and a few weeks later she learned she had a half-sister in Vietnam. As it would turn out, Jim did in fact have a brief affair with a Vietnamese woman who worked as a “house girl” for him. They were mostly friends and made a connection right before Jim left Vietnam, a place he vowed never to visit again. Jim didn’t hesitate to connect with his new found daughter. He had fond feelings for her mother and it was obvious that he had great respect for her. He still had pictures of her in his collection of photographs taken in Vietnam. She never told him that she fathered his child; the first time he learned of it was from his daughter. He went to Vietnam with his second wife to meet his Vietnamese daughter and her family. She had done well for herself despite facing criticism from fellow Vietnamese that she was a ‘half breed’ in her own country.
Jim’s daughter Lynn wanted to join him in the United States. It was important to her to be with the only living parent she had. Lynn’s mom passed away a few years after meeting Jim and having their daughter. Jim’s daughter was orphaned when she was seven years old. It took them a while to work out the immigration issues but eventually Jim’s daughter, her husband, and his granddaughter moved to the USA. They all are appreciating the precious time they have together. Jim’s love for his daughter and her love for him is genuine and was one of the happiest ‘Father’s Day’ endings a dad could have. Amerasians Without Borders (AWB) is a non-profit in Washington state and they assist with the reunification of US service members and children in Vietnam. They also submit DNA samples to various DNA ancestry sites to assist with the reunification process. In the course of this programming, we learned that Congress passed a law ‘American Homecoming Act’ allowing Vietnamese children fathered by American GIs to come to America legally so they can reunite with their family.
The American Homecoming Act or Amerasian Homecoming Act, was an Act of Congress giving preferential immigration status to children in Vietnam born of U.S. fathers. The American Homecoming Act was written in 1987, passed in 1988, and implemented in 1989.[1] The act increased Vietnamese Amerasian immigration to the U.S. because it allowed applicants to establish mixed race identity by appearance alone. –Wikipedia
If you or someone you know wants to find a child that may have been fathered in Vietnam, you are encouraged to contact AWB and submit a DNA sample with ancestry sites.
Editor’s Note: You can watch the full episode of Dateline for a limited time on the NBC app. Download the app and binge on the last couple years of programming.
Lorianna Parker dated her partner Rodney for four years before they became parents on April 5, 2012 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rodney was described as genuine; he had a heart of gold and treated Lorianna like a princess. Rodney’s job kept him on the road a lot and tragically on April 13, 2012, nine days after their first child was born, Rodney died in a car accident. Lorianna was devastated by the news his mother shared that day because Rodney was her life, Rodney was the father of her son. About a month later, Lorianna went back to work to support her family and eventually enrolled in school at the community college. It would be two years after Rodney’s death that she finally decided to date again. She used a social media dating app to begin the dating process and immediately recognized she was comparing everyone to Rodney.
Then one day Corey Davis showed up on Facebook. She noticed they had mutual friends and she thought he was super hot. She thought about friend requesting him but hoped he would friend request her. The next day Corey friend requested her. She couldn’t believe this hot guy was interested in her; he said he was a model, and looked like one too. He also mentioned that he noticed her at the community college; Lorianna was flattered that he noticed her and pursued her. The two chatted via text all day, every day from there on out. After two and a half weeks, Corey invited her to hang out with his friends. The first date didn’t pan out because Lorianna got sick. After canceling, Corey’s response was anger and she didn’t hear from him again until the next day. They ‘made up’ and everything was okay.
“Corey Davis” on Facebook
This time Corey invited Lorianna to hang out at his apartment in North Tulsa. He told her he left the apartment to pick up some food but suggested Lorianna go to his apartment and wait for him, his roommate Ashley and his son would be there to greet her. Lorianna finally found his apartment and Ashley Pullen and his five year old son Daniel were outside waiting for her. Ashley graciously invited Lorianna up to the apartment to wait until Corey came home. Lorianna felt safe because Ashley was a wonderful father. While they were chatting, Ashley shared that Daniels’s mom took off and abandoned him; he was a single dad. Then Lorianna got a text from Corey informing her he was going to be late (he was playing video games with his friends); he told her to relax and have a drink while she was waiting. Ashley offered Lorianna a vodka shot and then a second shot. By midnight, Lorianna felt like her chest was heavy and she could have slept for days.
When Lorianna woke up the first time, she was on a mattress on the floor and a man was on top of her. She was afraid to open her eyes and let him know that she was awake because she feared he would kill her. Lorianna drifted back into unconsciousness and what happened next was a blur. When she came to the second time, she was wearing someone else’s basketball shorts with no shirt. Her first instinct was to flee from the situation. She jumped up, got dressed, and gathered her belongings. In the meantime, Ashley awoke and before she could leave, he told her he had a great night and wanted to see her again. Lorianna was confused and left the apartment, she was thinking, “What just happened between you and I?’ There was so much confusion and Lorianna struggled to remember what happened. She wanted to believe that what she thought happened didn’t happen. Meanwhile, Ashley continued to text her and acted as if they both had a great time.
The next day, Lorianna got bombarded with text messages from both Ashley and Corey right in to the evening. Ashley texted Lorianna and told her Corey never showed up because he got pulled over for speeding and was thrown in jail for some outstanding tickets and warrants. Ashley also tried to make her believe that she came onto him. Adding to the confusion, she felt like he was trying to say everything was her fault. She decided she was done with him, told him to leave her alone, and blocked him on Facebook. Then Corey contacted her upset that she had sex with Ashley. He claimed he showed up to the apartment that night, saw them in bed, and left because he was angry. Corey was calling her names, including slut and whore, and belittling her because she slept with his roommate. Lorianna told Corey she was done with him to and to leave her alone.
Two weeks earlier, a young woman made a report of sexual assault to the Tulsa Police Department. She too met Corey Davis on Facebook and eventually went to his apartment where Ashley Pullen and his son were there to greet her. She too felt like she was drugged and sexually assaulted but could not identify who raped her. She was asked to get a sexual assault examination to determine if there was any DNA, but the victim reported two days after the assault so police were unable to obtain a DNA profile to match to a suspect. Meanwhile two more women reported the same eerily similar circumstances. Both alleged Ashley Pullen gave them two shots and after the second shot, they blacked out but they knew they were sexually assaulted. Unfortunately because they were most likely drugged, these three victims couldn’t positively identify who raped them. Then a fourth victim came forward who remembered the sexual assault and she could positively identify Ashley Pullen. As a result, Pullen was arrested. After the arrest, police learned Ashley Pullen was dishonorably discharged from the Army after he was convicted in 2002 and 2003 for assaulting two women at Fort Carson.
The Tulsa Police Department reached out to the media in an attempt to find out if there were more victims. After Lorianna learned of Ashley Pullen’s arrest, she contacted the police. She thought her social media messages would be helpful to the investigation. The police made copies of the messages and then Lorianna gave a statement. Lorianna remembered waking up with someone on top of her; she knew it was Ashley Pullen because she woke up next to him listening to his drivel about how they had a great time. As a result, she was the second woman to positively identify Ashley Pullen as the man who drugged and raped her. Both victims who could positively identify Ashley told police they had two shots with him then felt tired. It did not make sense. Why do I feel woozy, why is my head spinning, and why did I black out after only two shots? The police recognized the modus operandi of this serial rapist who used the second shot to drug his victims in an effort to incapacitate them. The police searched Ashley’s apartment for any traces of date rape drugs.
Investigators did in fact find unknown substances in Ashley Pullen’s home and forensic tests confirmed the unknown substances were GHB, which is a common date rape drug and usually given to those with sleep disorders. Unfortunately, this particular drug can be manufactured at home with common chemicals. GHB is clear and odorless and within 10 minutes one will feel the effects; all the victims noted they felt dizzy and unexplainably tired after the second shot they consumed. And like most, these victims assumed they overindulged, and that is was causes the confusion. Investigators explained that GBH metabolizes out of the system in 10 hours which makes it the perfect drug for a rapist. By the time the victim realizes what happened to them, it’s too late. GHB also makes the brain cease from properly forming memory which is identical to a blackout; the drug shuts down the brain. Victims have half memories at best. The Tulsa Police Department charged Ashley Pullen with first degree rape by narcotic agent.
Next investigators wanted to know who Corey Davis was? They wanted to know if he helped facilitate the crimes, if he himself committed similar crimes, or if he was a victim too. After some digging, the police deduced that ‘Corey Davis’ was a fictitious, manufactured profile on Facebook. Detectives could find no trace of Corey Davis anywhere. Corey Davis was a complete fabrication invented on a fake Facebook profile by Ashley Pullen. He created the fake profile using a ‘hot model’ to lure unsuspecting women to his home after ‘Corey’ asked them out on a date. Ashley created a person, a life, and he used Corey Davis to trick others; he friend requested females as Corey Davis the hot model to groom them and build trust. The victims reported Corey Davis was a nice guy, very flattering, and made them feel good about themselves. When Lorianna learned that Corey Davis was actually Ashley Pullen, she was felt sick to her stomach that she had been fooled by Ashley Pullen again.
According to investigators, Ashley Pullin had absolutely zero remorse. He was described as ‘evil to the core and a ruthless manipulator’. Ashley used his fake Facebook profile Corey Davis the model to reel in his victims. Then he used his fail safe strategy, his five year old son, to help make his future victims safe when they arrived to Corey’s home. None of women who arrived at Corey’s apartment thought they would be raped by someone with a five year old present. They thought Ashley was a great dad and as a result wouldn’t hurt anyone. Ashley told all of his victims that his son’s mother abandoned him when in fact he kidnapped the child from his mother three years prior to his string of sexual assaults. Ashley used his own child to further his deceit in an elaborate scheme to drug and rape unsuspecting women. On February 5, 2015, Ashley Pullen was convicted of first degree rape by narcotic agent. Pullen was sentenced to life in prison and it is not eligible for parole until 2060; he will be 77 years.
Tulsa Police Department say “before you meet someone in person, Google them or do a court records search, and even then, be careful. Meet in a public place somewhere, not just public, but public and crowded. If you do meet someone, you shouldn’t accept a drink from them because it’s easy to slip something in it.”
Single mom Lorianna Parker is excited when she meets popular good-looking Corey Davis online, and filled with hope as their friendship blossoms. But when she goes to meet him in the flesh, her dream date turns into a living nightmare. -People You May Know, Web of Lies (S4,E1)
The U.S. military is grappling with a disturbing trend—soldiers are killing themselves at an alarming rate. So far this year, an average of one soldier a day is committing suicide. The suicide rate is outpacing the number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan this year by some 50-percent. -Fox 31 Denver
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 