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TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

Released Thursday, 25th April 2024
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TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

TSP #48 - Michael Colucci’s Volatile Marriage in the Days Before His Wife’s Death + A Member of Colucci Family Speaks Out

Thursday, 25th April 2024
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1:20

Michael's troubling history. I hope

1:22

that the Attorney General's office

1:25

can communicate these compelling details

1:27

to this second jury more

1:30

effectively than the first. Because

1:33

right now, I am worried. My

1:36

name is Mandy Matney. This is

1:39

True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime

1:41

and corruption previously known as the

1:43

Murdock Murders podcast. True

1:45

Sunlight is a Luna Shark production

1:48

written with journalist Liz Farrell. Well,

2:07

hello from California. The

2:09

sun is finally shining in LA

2:11

and we are excited for today's

2:14

episode. We are less than

2:16

four weeks away from the Kaluji trial

2:18

and I am getting… worried.

2:22

While we are hearing that big media will

2:24

be covering this trial starting May 13th, it

2:27

appears like the South Carolina Attorney

2:29

General's office doesn't seem to

2:32

be preparing for the war that's ahead.

2:34

For example, the Attorney General's

2:36

office still doesn't appear to

2:38

know where accused killer Michael

2:40

Kaluji is staying on house

2:43

arrest. Despite the evidence we

2:45

have presented showing that he is

2:47

not living in the home that

2:49

his bond paperwork says he is,

2:52

the Attorney General has not

2:54

filed any motions for bond

2:57

revocation. While it is

2:59

possible that they have been communicating

3:01

with his attorney Andy Savage about

3:03

his whereabouts, I

3:05

am still skeptical. Shouldn't the

3:07

public know this man's whereabouts?

3:10

Shouldn't his neighbors know? Shouldn't

3:12

there be a public document stating

3:14

where this man is who is

3:17

awaiting trial for the murder of

3:19

his wife? We have

3:21

been screaming about this on social

3:23

media for weeks. And

3:25

Attorney General Allen Wilson's lack

3:27

of response is concerning. How

3:30

many people do we have to get to care

3:32

about this case so that he

3:34

cares? This case is

3:37

winnable, that's the thing. But

3:39

do they care about winning when

3:41

it comes to defendants like Michael

3:43

Kaluji who can afford attorneys like

3:45

Andy Savage? Or

3:47

will they lie down and roll over like

3:49

they did last time and

3:52

let the defense dominate every witness?

3:54

We will see next month and we

3:57

will be watching closely. we'll

4:00

be watching key witnesses from Core

4:02

TV's coverage of the first trial.

4:04

All premium members are invited to

4:06

join us this Friday at 11

4:08

a.m. as we dissect the opening

4:10

statements from the 2018 trial

4:14

and testimony from forensic scientist

4:16

Dr. Lee Marie Tormos. Premium

4:19

members also get access to detailed

4:21

timelines, police reports and even photos

4:24

from the aftermath showcasing shocking damage

4:26

from one of the homes that

4:28

Michael was kicked out of. And

4:31

premium members will get access to

4:34

all of our live coverage starting

4:36

May 13th. Learn

4:39

more about how you

4:41

can fund FOIAs, dive

4:44

deeper into cases and

4:46

experience the investigation firsthand

4:49

as a premium member

4:51

at lunasharkmedia.com/membership or at

4:54

lunashark.supercast.com Remember

4:58

how Alec Murdoch's co-conspirator slash

5:00

bestie Corey Fleming is appealing

5:03

the almost 14 year

5:05

state sentence he got from Judge

5:07

Clifton Newman in September of last

5:09

year? The sentence he

5:11

essentially tried to outrun by

5:13

pleading guilty to a single

5:16

federal charge of conspiracy first

5:18

and hoping to God that

5:20

his short federal sentence would

5:22

be enough to satisfy the

5:24

state? Well the South

5:26

Carolina Court of Appeals has kicked

5:28

back his appeal to the circuit

5:30

court so that a decision

5:32

could be made about restitution. At

5:35

the time he was sentenced

5:37

Judge Newman deferred any decision

5:40

about restitution. The state argued

5:42

that Corey wasn't eligible to

5:44

appeal his sentence because restitution

5:46

had not been yet decided.

5:49

Meaning how can you appeal something you don't

5:51

have the full scope of? The

5:54

Court of Appeals has agreed. So

5:56

now y'all can get super excited

5:58

for another hearing for. Cory Fleming

6:00

where you will hear reasons why

6:03

he thinks that he has suffered

6:05

enough. Corey. By

6:07

the way remains in Federal Prison and

6:09

Jessa, Georgia and is due to be

6:12

released from there and September twenty. Twenty

6:14

Six. Know hearing has been

6:16

scheduled as of yet, but we will

6:18

keep you updated. And. For his

6:20

buddy Alec Murdoch well, he

6:22

has filed notices to appeal

6:24

both his federal sentence for

6:26

their financial crimes, he and

6:28

his murder conviction. Nothing

6:31

has been filed so far by

6:33

his team on those friends, but

6:35

we will keep you posted because

6:37

I'm sure they will be absurd.

6:40

Meanwhile. Alex attorney Dick

6:42

Harpootlian is campaigning like

6:44

he's never campaign before.

6:47

In. His fight to stay in

6:49

the state senate ha ha. keep

6:51

his power as a lawyer, legislator.

6:54

Dick is facing a competitive

6:56

opponent in the primary. A

6:59

state representative at name Russell ought.

7:02

To. With raised over a hundred

7:04

thousand dollars and his race

7:06

against Dick so far. This.

7:09

Race matters because Harpootlian represents the

7:11

good ole boy boy your legislators

7:14

that most of us in this

7:16

state are sick and tired of.

7:19

We. Are tired of being represented

7:22

by millionaire men who make

7:24

their money off suing the

7:26

government and fighting for monsters

7:28

was holding onto their positions

7:30

of power which they weaponize

7:32

in the courtroom. Russell.

7:34

Art is a farmer and a small

7:36

business owner. And best of all, Dick

7:39

is clearly threatened by ham. My.

7:41

New favorite thing to do is to watch

7:44

deck or. Let's. Be honest, whoever

7:46

is running Dicks campaign on social

7:48

media. Go. At it on twitter.

7:51

The other day Dick posted a

7:53

thread to twitter Not alone at

7:55

makes me giggle Picturing Harpootlian in

7:58

is a would laden type. smoke-filled

8:00

old man's study, stomping around

8:03

in his grandpa's shoes while telling Siri

8:05

to post a thread to X. A

8:08

thread is a series of tweets, by the way.

8:11

It is not something that people who

8:13

use the word blogosphere typically do. So,

8:17

he posted this thread saying basically his

8:19

opponent was getting money from Gasp, the

8:23

other party, and that means he's

8:25

horrible. And well,

8:27

that backfired immediately. There

8:30

were more replies than retweets. I'll

8:33

have David read some of my favorite replies.

8:37

How's the search for the real killers going,

8:39

Dick? Who is

8:41

funding your fees to represent

8:43

Alex Murdock? Says

8:45

the attorney who handled a shotgun

8:48

in the courtroom and pointed it

8:50

at prosecutors. Or my

8:52

favorite. You fought for a

8:54

guy who killed his own family? We

8:57

don't want, nor do we

8:59

like, you in Lexington County.

9:03

This is a big deal because five

9:06

years ago, people in South Carolina simply

9:08

did not talk this way to Harputlian.

9:11

He was nearly untouchable. Now

9:14

people can't separate him from his

9:16

classless and bullish defense of a

9:18

man who killed his family. Nor

9:21

should they. Harputlian's

9:24

wants and needs as a

9:26

criminal defense attorney directly conflict

9:28

with his duty to serve

9:30

the people of South Carolina.

9:33

Maybe he will finally realize that

9:35

betting on Alex Murdock was a

9:38

bad move for his career. We

9:41

still believe that he was paid

9:43

a sizable fee to defend Alex

9:46

Murdock and we still question where

9:48

that money came from. Getting

9:51

Harputlian out of office is hitting

9:53

the good old boy system where

9:55

it hurts. It is

9:58

disrupting their power and shaking the. Ground

10:00

that they stomped over. To.

10:02

The primary is this year. While

10:05

we typically stay out of

10:07

politics, we hope Did District

10:09

makes them right. Choice Decision.

10:12

Hashtag no more Decks in the Senate.

10:15

Hashtag done with the

10:17

deck. So.

10:20

Today we want to continue sharing the

10:22

text messages between Sarah Lynn Colucci and

10:24

Michael Clergy and the days leading up

10:27

to Saroyan staff in May. Two thousand

10:29

and Fifteen. In. About three weeks

10:31

my goal will be retried for

10:33

her murder and jury selection starts

10:35

on me. As

10:38

you know, this case, there's an awful

10:40

lot of resemblance to the murder case

10:42

in terms of the amount of influence

10:44

that exists. Attacks

10:47

messages. Let's talk a little bit about

10:49

that. Michael. College She

10:52

was born Michael Antonio.

10:54

When. He was eighteen years old, He

10:56

legally changed his last name and as

10:59

a stepfather evil. By

11:01

not having been adopted. By either.

11:04

I. Or that's a question

11:06

for Michael to answer. But when you

11:08

look at Michael's history and his connections

11:11

to Charleston Area law enforcement lawyers and

11:13

judges as well as his for a

11:15

is into the jewelry world and real

11:18

estate investment. A safe assumption

11:20

would be that this name change allowed

11:22

him to capitalize on evil. His

11:24

reputation. The. Charleston area is

11:26

particularly focus on pedigree, perhaps more

11:28

than any other area a South

11:30

Carolina. And that's saying something because

11:32

Charleston is also probably the most

11:35

open to newcomers, although I'm sure

11:37

there are plenty of newcomers in

11:39

trouble seeing the would disagree with

11:41

me on that point. Michael's.

11:43

Own father, John Antonio died at

11:45

age thirty six in December nineteen

11:48

seventy four, in why cough, New

11:50

Jersey. According to news reports from the time,

11:53

It's. not clear what his cause of

11:55

death was reported that breed checked into

11:57

getting a copy of his death certificate

11:59

but a cause of death would not be

12:01

listed on it. John was

12:04

a hairdresser and he owned a

12:06

beauty school with his wife Doris,

12:08

who was Michael's mother. John and

12:11

Doris had two sons. Michael's older

12:13

brother's name is Johnny. In

12:16

1965, five years before Michael was born, John

12:20

and Doris legally changed their

12:22

last name and Johnny's last

12:24

name from Jock-o-Mantonio to Antonio.

12:27

At the law firm at Han

12:29

Paul, their name change belonged to

12:32

Doris's family. Her father, Martin Damaria,

12:34

was a well-known attorney, judge, and

12:36

politician in Lodi, New Jersey. For

12:39

a while, he was also the town attorney for Lodi.

12:42

He died in 1979 and

12:44

his obituary described his career as,

12:47

quote, colorful. Damaria was

12:49

apparently involved in a number of

12:51

controversies during his career, including accusations

12:53

that he was overcharging the town

12:55

for representing them. The

12:58

town attorney's counsel ended up tapping his retainer. Then

13:02

there was an attempt to remove him as town attorney after

13:06

he was accused of withholding information about

13:09

a tax settlement that the

13:11

town had received. The 1949 counsel then fired him

13:13

as part of an overhaul related

13:16

to a dispute over veteran housing and contracts. After

13:20

that, he once again became a magistrate judge and

13:23

was hired as a consultant and

13:26

a redevelopment agency. If you fast forward more

13:28

than 20 years, you'll

13:30

find Damaria, still a judge and

13:32

now a mayoral candidate, locked in

13:34

a battle with a Lodi redevelopment agency who

13:37

sued to have him removed from his law offices

13:40

so they could build a post office and a grocery store

13:42

there. Damaria fought it

13:44

for two years and then decided to move out

13:47

on his own. In the meantime, a developer accused

13:49

him of preventing the women of

13:51

Lodi shop for their groceries downtown.

13:55

This is all just to say that

13:57

Michael Colucci, formerly Michael Antonio, formerly Michael

13:59

Colucci, Giacometonio comes

14:02

from a family accustomed to positional

14:04

power. He is the

14:06

grandson of an influential New Jersey

14:08

judge which obviously doesn't

14:11

mean much in South Carolina

14:13

practically speaking but it means

14:15

something socially. It's something

14:17

he gets to claim about himself in

14:19

a part of the state that values

14:21

social capital like that to a sometimes

14:23

comical degree. Again, if

14:26

you don't believe us about this, watch

14:28

Southern Charm or Southern Hospitality on Bravo.

14:31

That will give you a glimpse. Anyway,

14:34

what we have here is a man

14:37

who changed his name to Colucci once

14:39

he was old enough to do so

14:41

and while there might be emotional and

14:43

personal reasons for Michael doing this, there

14:45

were also economic reasons one would imagine

14:47

because again, like the

14:49

name Murdoch in the 14th Circuit, the name

14:51

Colucci means something in the

14:53

Charleston area. To better

14:56

understand this, we spoke to one of Ivo

14:58

Colucci's daughters, Kim

15:00

Colucci Lizzie who owns her own

15:02

jewelry store, Kim's Fine Jewelry in

15:05

Somerville. We wanted to

15:07

give you a little more perspective about the

15:09

Colucci name because we believe, like with Elec,

15:12

the name and the reputation that comes

15:14

with that name matters. Not

15:16

only has the name afforded Michael

15:19

a stellar legal team, it

15:21

helped contribute to the year-long delay

15:23

in him being charged. His

15:26

case was soft handled by the

15:28

Berkeley County Sheriff's Office at first

15:30

until pressure from Sarah Lynn's family

15:32

finally resulted in the agency recusing itself

15:34

and handing the case over to Sled. When

15:37

Sled found that it did indeed have probable

15:39

cause to arrest Michael for Sarah Lynn's death,

15:42

there was another problem. The

15:44

9th Circuit's Solicitor's Office is the prosecutor

15:46

for that area but it

15:48

too had to recuse itself because of

15:50

a conflict of interest related to prosecutors'

15:53

connections to Michael. Sound

15:55

familiar? Beyond. That, in testimony

15:57

during Michael's first trial, it was clear that some

15:59

of the. Responders who were hardly seen

16:01

that night New: Michael. From. Where

16:03

we said. It. Looks like he was

16:06

given the immediate benefit of the doubt

16:08

and was treated as a grieving husband

16:10

instead of a potential suspect. And because

16:12

of that be initial investigation suffered to

16:15

some degree, giving Michael's attorney plenty of

16:17

fodder during the trial. After speaking

16:19

with Kim, we got a better understanding of

16:21

what it means to be a member of

16:24

the Colucci family. My. Name

16:26

is calculate he. Lazy is

16:28

my married man. And. I

16:30

am the middle child. I.

16:34

Have an older sister. And

16:37

an older brother. And a

16:39

couple younger brothers. My. Dad

16:41

is originally from Naples, Italy and

16:44

he came to the United States

16:46

when he was eighteen. And

16:48

he married my. Biological mother

16:51

and they had five children. And.

16:54

Is. Met my stepmother and then

16:56

he divorced my mom and he moved

16:58

us three of us on my own

17:01

assumed other state, a New York in

17:03

the the Earth or younger of us.

17:05

Moved. Here. A

17:08

ninety seventy five with my dad and

17:10

my step mom and her two children.

17:12

Michael. And John Antonio. He.

17:15

Was fired by a company

17:17

called same Solomon which was

17:19

it was like and many.

17:21

Wal Mart at the time it

17:23

was before Walmart know of that

17:26

was even existed here and. A

17:29

He ran their joy department. He made all the

17:31

joys of their joy. Department and did all

17:33

of their repairs. And. When

17:35

they got bought out by service

17:37

merchandise think it was probably. Early

17:40

eighties. My. Dad bought.

17:43

And. Land down the street and he built.

17:46

What? Everybody knows his college issue a

17:48

factory. This. Is

17:51

when the Colucci see only name

17:53

became very well known. He.

17:56

Had built. A wonderful

17:58

reputation. He did. I'll. Probably

18:01

most everybody's engagement

18:03

rings, custom orders.

18:06

He was just a a

18:08

fantastic. Schuler. On.

18:10

And. Very creative. So.

18:13

He. Just. Created a

18:15

lot of custom pieces for all the

18:17

people in the tri county area around

18:19

here. And he had a

18:21

very, very good reputation. He was fair,

18:24

And he was on as. I.

18:27

Can remember as a kid with customers

18:29

coming to our door and asking my

18:31

dad that they didn't have enough money.

18:33

Maybe the by their children. Fear. And.

18:37

My dad would. Give. Them money and and

18:39

they would come try to pay him back and

18:41

he would never. Who. Would never let

18:43

them pay him back. I choose a really

18:45

giving person. He. Bogeyed even

18:47

more notoriety because of some

18:49

high profile jewelry he was

18:52

commissioned to design. Including

18:54

a piece for Miss South Carolina

18:56

and some local artists. He.

18:58

Designed all is is jewelry

19:00

by hand getting our customers

19:02

hopes and dreams on paper.

19:05

And. Then making them come to life, Is

19:08

Jewelry store was a busy place

19:10

employing a number of jewelry to

19:12

help fill orders. If

19:15

he was just there. Is

19:17

just a really creative guy. Evil

19:20

made an impression on the community.

19:23

And soon his name carry the

19:25

weight of his reputation. Everybody

19:27

knew him and a fleet and sheriff

19:29

author of the is a cold they'd

19:31

be like are you even daughter even

19:33

if it was gonna that of that

19:35

small town thing. They. Need

19:37

be like she has also tell that with us. I.

19:40

Mean, my dad was such a

19:42

respectful person. Allen. And the he

19:44

was just. So good to.

19:47

So many people. And

19:49

he ran a business. He thought I run

19:51

my business exactly like he. I haven't changed

19:53

to say I do everything like he did.

19:56

Fan. The. He was successful and

19:58

he has to say you don't. A

20:00

lot of us dollars have big and seventy

20:02

to tell me you don't have to do

20:05

that, you just you need to be fair

20:07

if you make a living a dog and

20:09

make a killing and so. I.

20:11

Think he just blew the five hour and he

20:13

was a fair if he could be. In.

20:15

His business him in everything he did.

20:18

He. Was so successful he he

20:20

lot older homes in downtown

20:23

Charleston that well you know,

20:25

falling apart and. Being

20:28

pinned. Down and he he he was

20:30

very handy if you could do the

20:32

a lot of of himself so he

20:34

would violate buildings and hit the younger

20:36

written down walls and putting up in

20:38

a sheet rock and hit tournament you

20:40

apartment so you know by the time

20:42

he policy has all this real estate

20:44

that he had built. Into

20:48

I agree at twenty something apartments.

20:50

Yeah, he could really want

20:53

that mark. Then it

20:55

came time for evolved a

20:57

passive legacy onto the next

20:59

generation. When. He retired.

21:02

He left the store to two of

21:04

my brothers one brother. I'm one step

21:06

brother. And. He went

21:09

to us. To retire and

21:11

then they decided. For.

21:14

Think at that time my

21:16

brother Bobby he. Kind.

21:18

Of separated and. Michael

21:21

I guess are or what they did not him

21:23

out and then should the store became Michael. And.

21:26

Then Michael actually open the second

21:28

store and somerville. At. This

21:30

point. Michael own to jewelry

21:32

stores but neither is where Sarah

21:34

Lens body would later be found.

21:37

That was a place called The Gold

21:39

Standard. The. Gold Standard was actually

21:41

a jewelry store. Fun though it

21:44

was Poetry Jewelers with Somerville I

21:46

think was the name of the

21:48

store in Somerville. The. Jewelry

21:50

Store. And then when Michael met Thera

21:52

stay open the Gold Standard just to

21:55

have a place for people to come

21:57

and sell gold they didn't actually sell.

22:00

jewelry there. It

22:02

was like a gold castle place. A

22:04

lot of people were selling a lot of gold back

22:06

then and so it was

22:08

just a place you could go just to sell

22:10

your gold. People were kind of

22:12

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22:14

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22:17

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22:20

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22:23

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22:26

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22:28

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24:49

Evo and Michael had different visions

24:51

for the jewelry business that Evo

24:53

built. He never wanted

24:55

the second store and he didn't

24:57

have anything to do with the Somerville store or

25:00

the gold standard. Because

25:02

his jewelry store was now failing

25:04

under Michael's leadership, Evo had

25:06

to come back from Key West and out

25:08

of retirement. The store

25:10

was doing very poorly in North

25:13

Charleston and according

25:16

to my dad,

25:18

he had to basically come and

25:20

rebuild it back up. So I

25:23

went with him and my

25:26

son was there and some

25:28

of the old employees and we all worked

25:30

together to build the North Charleston store back

25:33

back up, you know, to a

25:35

good working condition again. The store

25:38

thrived once again until tragedy struck

25:40

in 2017. The courts

25:42

actually made us sell that when

25:45

my dad had dementia and as

25:48

everybody knows, you know, he unfortunately

25:50

shot my stepmom in that store.

25:52

So it was pretty

25:54

horrific time and so

25:56

the store had to be sold and eventually

25:59

the whole He owned the whole shopping

26:01

center and eventually the whole shopping center was

26:03

sold. And I own, mine

26:06

is called Kim's. I

26:09

didn't go with Kaluti because I just

26:12

wanted to be on my own and do

26:14

my own thing. In

26:17

2016, Michael was charged with killing Sarah

26:19

Lynn. At the time, which

26:21

was a year after her death, Michael

26:23

was already living with Evo and

26:26

Doris. Even after Sarah

26:28

Lynn's death, he was evicted from the home she

26:30

built with the help of her parents who

26:32

still owned the home. When

26:35

he was charged in her death, he

26:37

was put under house arrest and lived

26:39

with Evo and Doris, which is something

26:41

that troubled Evo and ended up sealing

26:43

his fate with Doris. I

26:46

think the whole incident has just

26:48

put such a dark shadow over

26:50

everything. It's like,

26:52

I feel like the root of the

26:55

demise of everything, that incident

26:58

happened and it financially was

27:02

really, I don't want to

27:04

say it was devastating my dad, but he was

27:06

not happy about the financial

27:08

aspect of all of it and how

27:11

much money it was going to cost

27:13

to just keep attorney fees

27:15

and all of those kind of things just to

27:18

keep Michael, I guess, out of jail

27:21

or I don't know, keep him afloat. I

27:23

don't know exactly what the

27:25

term is, but it took

27:28

a toll on his marriage and

27:30

so in turn, they just got

27:33

kind of volatile and he

27:36

is also suffering at this time

27:38

starting to disintegrate mentally

27:41

and he was diagnosed with dementia

27:46

and I just

27:48

think he couldn't handle

27:51

it. He probably had a

27:53

hard time handling it in his right mind, but

27:56

I don't know if you know much about dementia,

27:58

but it causes paranoia. And it causes

28:00

a lot of fear that you wouldn't normally

28:03

have. And I think

28:05

it really caused my

28:07

dad a lot of hardship. And just

28:10

me and Michael never really got along that

28:12

well to begin with. And then he was

28:14

on health arrest there. And I think they

28:16

fought a lot. And it

28:18

was very upsetting to my dad to

28:21

live like that. And he

28:24

just wanted peace. It's really all he

28:26

wanted. Fundamentally, Michael

28:29

and Evo were very different

28:31

people. Michael valued

28:33

the appearance of wealth. And Evo didn't

28:35

really care about that. My

28:37

dad drove a suburban that was probably 12

28:40

years old. But

28:42

it was fine. It ran fine. And he doesn't need

28:44

a new car. He

28:46

didn't need fancy things. He

28:49

just was very simple.

28:52

And he would rather buy

28:55

me something, oh, well, buy

28:58

you a washer and dryer. Those kind of

29:00

things made him happy to do

29:03

for other people. He came here

29:05

from Italy with, I think,

29:07

literally $5 in his pocket. Ultimately,

29:11

Evo built the life he did

29:13

for his children. So

29:16

because we lived on a lot

29:18

of land, we had a lot

29:22

of parties. And we had a lot of,

29:24

when I say we, I don't mean my dad. He

29:27

didn't really have a lot

29:29

of parties or anything like we

29:31

did as kids growing up. And so

29:34

people that we grew up with always have memories

29:36

of the parties out

29:38

there because my dad would just be like,

29:40

what do you want? And I'd say, I want

29:42

a party. And I want a band. And I want this.

29:45

He'd be like, OK. And he'd be just like, buy

29:48

me a band to be out

29:51

there. And just whatever would make us

29:53

happy, he would do it. And he

29:55

just wanted

29:58

us to be happy. And. And he was

30:00

happy that we had so many friends. And

30:03

he was, people would come over because

30:05

Sunday dinners are big. I

30:07

had one yesterday and I had

30:09

my brothers. There was 17 people here I fed yesterday.

30:13

And it was nothing. It's just, that's just what we do. And,

30:17

but at my dad's it was every Sunday. And

30:19

so it didn't matter who came over. We would

30:21

have enough food and he, you would sit down

30:24

and you would eat and, and

30:27

he was just inviting to everybody. And

30:29

my dad still had kind of an accent, kind

30:32

of New York, kind of Italian, kind of Southern, it was

30:34

very funny. And so

30:36

yeah, I mean, people just love to listen

30:39

to him talk. And he was always, you

30:41

know, giving them advice

30:43

and wisdom and he was always

30:45

like, but anybody

30:47

you talk to that knew him will say,

30:49

and people still come in my store. I

30:51

have customers that are his friends

30:53

and, your dad

30:55

was just a lovely man. And we just

30:58

loved him so much. And

31:00

he made these rings for me and he did this.

31:02

And so it's kind of, it's kind

31:04

of cool that I get to experience that.

31:08

After Evo killed Doris in his

31:10

jewelry shop, the reputation he

31:12

had built became that, at

31:14

least to the public at large. I

31:17

wish people would remember. And I think

31:20

most of the people that actually will at least

31:22

say to my face, do remember who he was

31:24

and what he did. And for

31:27

so many people. And I

31:29

think it's sensationalized a lot

31:31

because, you know, the

31:34

media, they, you know, were very

31:36

obnoxious when that happened and just following

31:38

us and trying to get

31:40

us to say something. And it's like, you know

31:42

what, this is my dad and this is not

31:44

who my dad is. My dad loved her and

31:47

he would have never hurt her in a million

31:49

years. And people that know them and knew their

31:51

relationship, knew how

31:53

much he loved her. And

31:56

I just think the pressure of everything

31:58

that was going on. And I think

32:01

the him losing, he

32:03

felt like all of his properties

32:08

and everything were being lost

32:10

to other, from him. He

32:13

felt like they were taken from him,

32:15

everything he built in his life. And

32:19

I think he just couldn't take

32:21

it anymore. And that's why he

32:23

shot her. But he was

32:25

very, very, very upset that day that

32:28

that happened. But I just think

32:30

that for the news worthiness

32:33

of it, if you will, I

32:36

think, oh, this jeweler is

32:39

accused of murdering his wife. And then his

32:41

dad goes and shoots his wife, and it

32:43

makes us sound like a bunch of crazy

32:45

people. But we're

32:47

not crazy people. I think

32:50

that my dad was

32:52

a very good role model, and he was

32:54

a very good person, hardworking. And all

32:57

of us, his kids, us Kaluchis

33:00

are hardworking people. We learned

33:03

from him, and me and my sister and

33:05

my other two brothers, we

33:07

work, and we work hard. The

33:13

night Sarah Lynn died set off a

33:15

series of events that ultimately led to

33:17

Ivo Kaluchi's demise. After

33:20

he killed Doris, he was deemed not

33:23

fit to stand trial because of his

33:25

dementia. His charges were

33:27

later exchanged. But despite

33:29

the Kaluchi name becoming synonymous

33:32

with Michael Kaluchi's murder trial

33:34

and Doris Kaluchi's murder, it still

33:37

carries weight in Charleston. How

33:41

much weight remains to be seen.

33:44

So jury selection and Michael's retrial

33:46

begins in less than three weeks,

33:49

which could get really

33:51

interesting. Remember, Michael

33:54

had enough connections in both

33:56

the local solicitor's office and

33:59

the Berkeley-Kansas office. Sheriff's Office for

34:01

both of those agencies to

34:03

recuse themselves. Andy

34:06

Savage's team has already submitted

34:08

a proposed juror questionnaire with the

34:10

court on April 15th and

34:13

that was very, hmm, what's

34:15

the phrase? Like a dick

34:17

move. We will

34:19

cover this in a later episode because

34:21

it's extensive but my

34:23

favorite part is Andy Savage's intro

34:26

that says this. Social

34:29

media coverage has been

34:31

extensive including

34:33

websites and blogs totally

34:36

dedicated to this event

34:39

and there have been podcasts

34:43

which are ongoing about the

34:45

case. On

34:47

social media opinions

34:50

of the circumstances surrounding

34:52

the manner of Sarah's

34:54

death have been ubiquitous.

34:58

Rare is there a report or

35:01

statement that is factually

35:04

accurate. Blogs,

35:06

podcasts, social media, the

35:09

whore. It reminds

35:11

me of the time Dick ranted about

35:13

the blogosphere. Again,

35:16

we will discuss Andy Savage's slew

35:18

of recent filings in an upcoming

35:20

episode but from what we

35:22

can tell, jury selection could

35:25

take a while in this case.

35:29

Now let's talk about the weeks leading up to

35:31

Sarah Lynn's death and what her marriage to Michael

35:33

looked like. Last week we

35:35

told you about how text messages starting in April 2015,

35:37

less than a month before

35:40

Sarah Lynn was killed, show that

35:42

Sarah Lynn seemed pretty set on

35:44

divorcing Michael. We also told

35:46

you about how strange the exchanges were.

35:48

The texts were presented during trial and

35:50

the majority are from Sarah Lynn. Michael

35:53

barely seems to respond and when he does,

35:55

it's usually with an answer that stands in

35:57

stark contrast to the vitriol of the story.

36:00

of her text where she says, I hate

36:02

you. He says, I love you. It's

36:05

this dynamic that Michael's attorney Andy

36:07

Savage seized upon during the first

36:09

trial painting Michael as a calm

36:11

husband tasked with being a caregiver

36:14

to his quote, mentally ill quote,

36:16

alcoholic wife. I put

36:18

those words in quotes because from what we

36:20

could see Andy Savage was playing up

36:22

Sarah Lynn's mental illness in an attempt

36:24

to support the defense's theory that she

36:26

died by suicide with a garden hose

36:28

that night or if not

36:31

suicide, tripped and fell into a noose.

36:33

But like we told you last week, evidence

36:36

seems to point to Sarah Lynn having run

36:38

of the mill anxiety and depression. Nothing

36:41

about her text messages points to

36:43

any suicidal ideation. Instead, it

36:45

all pointed to a woman who now had

36:48

her eyes open and was very much planning

36:50

to move on as soon as possible with

36:52

her daughter. Of course, nothing

36:54

in marriage is simple. Especially

36:57

not in one that is fueled by

36:59

both parties, drug and alcohol use. Going

37:02

back to what we told you about Michael's lack

37:04

of response. Last week we told

37:06

you about how it sometimes seems like Sarah Lynn

37:08

is responding to a message that simply isn't there.

37:11

It seems like Michael was communicating

37:13

with her possibly over voice text.

37:16

Another possibility they never rolled out in the

37:18

last trial was that someone deleted several text

37:20

messages. It's unclear, but we

37:23

believe the text messages presented at trial are

37:25

missing parts of the conversations. We

37:27

left off last week with Sarah Lynn's text

37:30

from May 1st when she told Michael to

37:32

stop kissing her when she was asleep, when

37:35

she told him he was chasing his

37:37

tail, and when she told him that she hoped

37:39

he died of a heart attack. May

37:41

1st was a particularly contentious

37:43

day. That evening started

37:46

off with Sarah Lynn asking Michael

37:48

for a valium, telling him she

37:50

already looked in the cabinet. About

37:53

40 minutes after that she told him he was a

37:55

freak and that his immaturity

37:57

makes her angry. It's not

37:59

clear. what if anything happened in

38:01

that time span. She told him

38:04

she hopes he has a heart attack and dies

38:06

and asks him about the will he'd never made.

38:09

Don't act so concerned about Milan now,

38:11

she wrote, referencing his young daughter. In

38:13

a span of minutes, she told him to

38:15

stay off the phone with a man named

38:17

Rich and to leave her and her daughter

38:20

Bishop alone. Then she repeatedly

38:22

texted him, you are the

38:24

biggest joke in Charleston after all.

38:27

And when I said repeatedly, I mean, it

38:29

looks like she copied and pasted the same

38:32

message over and over. She did

38:34

this several times with several other texts, including,

38:36

and that makes me the biggest joke in Charleston's

38:39

life. A

38:42

quick refresher about what was going on in Michael's

38:44

life at the time. His

38:46

jewelry stores weren't doing great. Like

38:49

we said, Evo had to come out of retirement

38:51

to help rebuild the business he had passed on

38:53

to Michael. Michael had

38:55

gone through foreclosures and a land

38:57

deal had just bombed. He

38:59

and Sarah Lynn were suing their daughter's

39:01

private school because of a notice of

39:03

nonpayment of tuition that accidentally went out

39:05

to their own family, exposing

39:07

the fact that they were having trouble paying their

39:09

bill. And Michael owed thousands

39:12

of dollars to at least one customer who

39:14

ended up calling the police after Sarah Lynn's

39:16

death to report Michael. Last

39:18

week we told you about texts in April that

39:20

showed that Sarah Lynn wasn't sure if they had

39:22

enough money for her to take a cab. And

39:25

we mentioned Michael's cryptic use of the word

39:27

greenbacks, telling Sarah Lynn that he'd come home

39:30

once he got some greenbacks. In

39:32

response to that litany of texts from

39:34

Sarah Lynn on May 1st, Michael

39:37

wrote back Sarah, please.

39:40

And that's it. She responded by telling

39:42

him to go away and to leave her

39:44

and Bishop alone. Then she told

39:46

him his burned up coat was a joke.

39:49

What burned up coat? No idea.

39:52

She told him to just leave her alone

39:54

forever telling him, I don't want to be

39:56

in your dumbass presence. Then three

39:59

times in a row, she She told him, you ruined

40:01

my life. She told

40:03

him that she preferred for him to move

40:05

out since they didn't have sex and kissing

40:07

him made her feel nauseated. You

40:10

and I are nothing alike, she wrote.

40:13

Then she resents all these texts again.

40:16

And in the middle of it wrote three

40:18

times, I hope you played Joseph in the

40:20

Christmas play You Hypocrite. Now

40:23

what does that mean? Again, I have no

40:25

idea. But in a few of the texts

40:27

she references not believing that he was talking

40:29

to a male friend on the phone as

40:32

he was cleaning. Three times

40:34

she told him to get his stuff and leave now.

40:37

Three times she told him that she was not in

40:39

love with him. Three times

40:41

she again told him that he ruined

40:43

her life. Sixteen

40:45

times she wrote, but you

40:48

won't ruin bishops. Two

40:50

hours later she texted him to say she couldn't

40:52

find her car keys. A few

40:54

minutes later she informed him that she was going to

40:57

keep looking, then chided him for

40:59

taking all the cigarettes. He

41:01

responded once telling her he loves her and

41:03

that he's at the gas station and will

41:06

be home soon. We'll

41:11

be right back. Hey

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now. So,

42:17

the state's evidence either does not

42:20

include their text over the next

42:22

four days because there was nothing

42:24

relevant in them or Sarah

42:26

and Michael simply didn't talk

42:28

over text again until

42:30

May 5th, two weeks

42:33

before Sarah Lynn's death. On

42:36

May 5th, Sarah Lynn is

42:38

clearly angry with Michael about

42:41

how he spoke to her in front

42:43

of someone and she texts him,

42:45

I cannot lose my house.

42:48

I will not lose my house.

42:51

She tells him to expedite his

42:53

visit with someone named Rich. She

42:55

says that if it lasts until

42:58

after 8pm, she will

43:00

be upset. She then orders Michael

43:02

to read his texts and emails

43:04

and stop being a quote unquote

43:06

pussy. I do not

43:08

have anything positive to say to you. I

43:11

will lose my home for you.

43:14

You are in a lot of trouble

43:17

Michael. She tells him he

43:19

finally responds with Sarah,

43:22

please stop. You are not

43:25

helping anything by your words. I

43:28

love you and I am doing all I

43:30

can. She responds to

43:32

them with you're doing the

43:35

wrong things and again tells him

43:37

to read the text that

43:39

she has sent him. She writes,

43:41

I'll go to work tomorrow. Just don't

43:44

lose the keys so I can possibly

43:46

get there. I cannot

43:48

believe how blind you are. You

43:51

have zero sense of priorities.

43:54

Then in a series of texts

43:56

over several minutes and

43:58

for this episode, In case

44:00

there are little ears listening, whenever

44:02

Sarah Lynn or Michael uses the F

44:04

word, we're just going to say F,

44:07

effing or effed. In

44:09

their text, they used the full word.

44:12

She wrote, have a great day and

44:14

night getting effed up and pretending to

44:16

do something. If you think

44:18

I'm Camilla stuck here without a car,

44:20

no money, nor means you're as crazy

44:22

as I thought you were. I

44:25

am not living in La La Land.

44:28

I am going to take your phone from

44:30

you or have it suspended. You

44:32

have gone off the deep end, dude. We

44:35

focus. Sell something we

44:37

already actually own. I'm

44:40

ready to separate. I

44:42

can't stand you anymore. I

44:45

am not going down with you. Sorry.

44:49

You aren't a very smart man

44:51

and I cannot be around you

44:53

for another minute. Bring me

44:55

to the car and I'll drop you off wherever

44:57

you want to go. You

44:59

and I are through. I'm

45:02

taking steps to move forward.

45:04

I can't take your ignorance.

45:08

Michael finally responds with Sarah. What

45:10

are you talking about? I'm talking about

45:12

you. She says, then

45:15

talk with not about me. He

45:17

responds. Okay. She

45:20

writes, you are insane. Everyone

45:24

knows it, but you follow

45:26

Shane's lead. You

45:28

have lost your mind and family.

45:31

Great job. We don't know who

45:33

Shane is, by the way. Michael

45:36

then writes, thank you, and responds

45:38

over the next 15 minutes. Sarah

45:41

writes in a flurry of texts. Bring

45:44

me the car, get off the phone and bring

45:46

me my car. Do

45:48

not call George or anyone else. Bring

45:51

the car home now. Throw

45:54

the phone out of the window. I

45:57

am going to suspend it if I have to.

46:00

Someone has to help you and you don't

46:02

listen well. This has gone

46:04

to an extreme that I won't live with.

46:07

I do not want to live with you

46:09

any longer. Get it? I

46:12

am going to call your mother

46:14

and father also. I

46:16

am not qualified to help you. I

46:19

just text your mom. Hope

46:21

to see you soon." Michael

46:24

finally responds, Great.

46:28

I'm doing whether you believe it

46:30

or not everything I can. Let's

46:34

pause for a second here. Remember

46:37

how we told you that Andy

46:40

Savage challenged any notion from

46:42

the state that Michael was

46:44

having financial issues. It

46:47

sure seems like something was going down

46:49

there, that Michael was

46:51

in some kind of a pickle

46:54

that involved the potential of Sarah

46:56

Lynn losing her house. Also,

46:58

they appear to have been sharing

47:00

one car for some reason. That

47:04

doesn't scream well off or wealthy

47:07

as Andy Savage claimed Michael to be.

47:10

Immediately after Michael's texts telling Sarah

47:12

Lynn he is doing everything he

47:15

can, Sarah Lynn responds

47:17

in what ended up being a series

47:19

of 31 texts over the course of

47:21

an hour and a half. She

47:24

tells, Are you driving home?

47:27

That's all anyone wants you to do

47:29

at the moment. I think your day

47:31

is over. You are out

47:33

of options, my friend. Mark

47:35

this day on your calendar. Are you

47:37

driving home, Michael? Are you

47:40

driving home? We have children

47:42

and I need my car. Not

47:44

your excuses. No more of

47:46

those. I am finished.

47:49

Krell is calling now. Please

47:52

call me please. Call

47:55

me please. Hang up and

47:57

call me now. What

48:01

is wrong with you? Call

48:03

me back. You were just

48:05

here. What the F is going on? Nevermind

48:09

I'll handle it. Just

48:11

like I'll be handling all the issues and

48:13

problems created over the last six years that

48:15

I've known you. Thanks a

48:17

lot buddy. You

48:19

were just here. What the F

48:21

is going on? I'm calling Verizon.

48:24

Goodbye. What happened? I

48:27

thought you just answered. WTF

48:29

is going on. Where

48:31

are the keys? I

48:33

can take you to a hotel, your

48:35

parents, my parents or a friend of

48:37

your choosing. Let me know

48:40

because the clock is ticking. I

48:42

have kids. Unlike you

48:44

or Camilla realize some

48:47

people are not meant for being

48:49

married or becoming parents. Congratulations.

48:53

You are the .30% out of the 100% of the population. Wow.

49:01

You and she were made for each other.

49:04

I am tired of being berated for

49:06

what you have tried to turn me

49:08

into. You

49:11

are a problem but not

49:13

mine anymore. Stupid

49:15

bastard. Paid Connie

49:17

lately? Paid anyone

49:19

lately. I hate you.

49:22

I will leave with the kids but

49:25

I need the keys. There's

49:27

a lot to unpack there. Again,

49:30

Camilla is Michael's ex-wife

49:33

who he was divorcing at the time he

49:35

got with Sarah Lynn. Last

49:38

week we read you the text that

49:40

seemed to indicate that Michael was pawning

49:42

his daughter off on a woman named

49:44

Connie who was not happy about it.

49:47

We found out from sources that Connie

49:49

was likely a woman who was friends

49:51

with Michael's mom and who did childcare

49:54

for Sarah Lynn and Michael. After

49:56

those texts, Michael responds.

50:00

you. Open the house.

50:02

I will gladly give you the keys." She

50:05

responds, I will leave with

50:07

the kids, but I need the keys now. If

50:09

you think I'm

50:11

playing some drunk ass man's

50:13

game, you are wrong. He

50:15

writes, you can

50:18

have the keys. I never

50:20

said otherwise. Sarah sends another

50:22

22 texts over the next two

50:24

hours. Michael, I am

50:26

so sad that you would rather be

50:29

right than have a family. Good

50:31

luck to you. I am coming

50:34

to get the store card or any cash

50:36

you don't have. And

50:38

I will race you to the bank

50:40

tomorrow. I've already

50:42

called Verizon. Once

50:44

again, you call yourself a husband and

50:46

father. I'm filing for

50:49

divorce. My parents are

50:51

not going to pay for you to

50:53

live in their house. As

50:55

a man, it would seem that

50:57

you would make other plans. Sounds

50:59

good. I'm calling Corral back. Bishop

51:02

needs to go to my parents and I'll take

51:04

Milan to yours. I am stopping

51:07

by to get their school clothes. I'll

51:09

call anyone who calls me. Enjoy

51:12

the house. It's all yours to lose.

51:14

Don't threaten me. I will

51:17

handle the kids and myself. You

51:19

aren't very smart. I

51:21

know how you operate. I am filing

51:24

for divorce. You got

51:26

what you asked for. Another

51:28

failed marriage that wasn't your fault.

51:31

And another business down the tubes.

51:34

Stay out of my things. Get

51:37

your own house and go through your

51:39

things, not mine. I do

51:41

not love you any longer. Eat some

51:44

beans and get out of my house and my

51:46

life. You are making your

51:49

situation a lot worse than it needs

51:51

to be. To the effing

51:53

cats in the house for your children. If

51:56

not for anything else, you selfish

51:58

bitch. One day I'll

52:00

never have to see you again. I

52:03

cannot wait. Why don't you

52:05

lie in the middle of the road? Because

52:07

you are too scared, haha. Find

52:10

an attorney now." So

52:13

again, it seems like Sarah Lynn is

52:15

responding to things that he is saying,

52:17

but there is no corresponding text messages

52:20

that they presented in court, and

52:22

it's not clear if Michael was using

52:25

voice messages or if

52:27

some messages have been deleted. But

52:35

you note the themes, right? They

52:37

clearly were having money problems. There

52:40

were pressures involving the care of their children. Another

52:43

business was down the tubes. These

52:46

are all complaints from a set up wife.

52:49

While they might seem over the top to

52:51

people like Andi Savage, who attribute them to

52:53

her quote mental illness, from our

52:55

perspective Sarah Lynn seems pretty consistent and

52:57

clear about what she wants. Now

53:00

here's the weird thing. Here's how

53:02

Michael responds to all of that. He

53:04

says, I am inside, the

53:06

girls are inside, and you

53:09

are outside in the car telling me

53:11

whatever. You know when you're

53:13

watching a Hallmark or a Lifetime movie

53:15

and the writers need to convey information

53:17

to the audience that the audience needs

53:20

to know for context but wouldn't otherwise

53:22

know unless a character just out and

53:24

out says it. But in

53:27

saying it, the character is saying something

53:29

in a way that no actual human

53:31

talks. Something like, oh you're going

53:33

to see your father? How's he

53:35

doing after losing the family's land after

53:38

three generations? That's the

53:40

kind of vibe that Michael's text has, right?

53:42

It's almost like he's establishing that thing for

53:44

the record. But again, like

53:46

we've said in previous episodes, Michael

53:48

is aware of the record. He

53:51

knows she's angling for a divorce.

53:53

He knows she's angry and that

53:55

her behavior is unpredictable right now.

53:58

She texted him. his mom. Despite

54:01

whatever he's going through, he's smart

54:03

enough to know not to put things in writing that could

54:05

be used against him. For her part,

54:07

Sarah Lynn does not miss a bead. She

54:10

says, I will sleep in the car tonight

54:12

while you look for drugs or whatever you are

54:14

doing. Michael, the

54:16

guy who rarely responds,

54:18

immediately responds and says, I

54:21

am not looking for anything. The

54:23

texting ends around 10pm and picks up

54:25

again the next morning around 1130.

54:29

Sarah Lynn asks Michael, how's it going?

54:32

He responds within 5 minutes. To

54:34

be honest, it looks very very realistic that

54:36

they are buying the property. He

54:39

flew in from Miami yesterday just to

54:41

see it. He verbatim said they want

54:43

it exclamation point. Jeff quoted

54:45

them the 8 million. He was blown away when

54:47

they walked on the marsh and it was sand

54:50

based. I'd like to believe it

54:52

will be signed by week's end. $200,000 non-refundable they were

54:54

quoted. Sarah

54:57

Lynn writes back, let's keep our

55:00

fingers crossed. Then she writes,

55:02

Phillip is a crockhead. Did you realize

55:04

that we are keeping Callie and Amber?

55:07

Callie is really sweet, so I'm okay with

55:09

that. Probably the nicest cat will have. I'm

55:12

supposed to meet Karen with the two kittens today.

55:14

I don't know how to

55:16

let the mom or Amber say goodbye. Sounds

55:18

stupid, but it's true. Michael

55:21

responds 7 minutes later. I love

55:23

you. Sarah Lynn tells

55:25

him, that's sweet. 4 minutes

55:27

later, Michael responds with your sweet

55:30

with 4 exclamation points. So

55:33

yeah, you're feeling that web lash?

55:36

Well, brace yourself. Two days

55:38

later at 1 44 am Sarah

55:40

Lynn text Michael, I'm ready

55:42

to do something else. We are not on the

55:44

same page of life. Michael

55:47

responds within seconds. I'm with you. Come

55:49

to our room. Sarah Lynn

55:52

writes back, I love you, but I think only as

55:54

a friend. I'm going to chapel

55:56

in the morning and going to sleep now.

55:58

Good night. waking up

56:00

to the same day makes me ill.

56:02

I'm sorry, Michael. We just aren't alike.

56:05

I'm giving you this phone back. You have two

56:07

phones now." That afternoon

56:09

she texts him, Dr. Fry just tried to

56:11

call me and Michael responds, I'll handle him.

56:14

Two hours later she lets Michael know that she's

56:17

headed his way and she asks if there's any

56:19

word about the property. Then

56:21

over an hour later she writes, I love you and

56:23

miss you. I had to wait for the

56:25

girls to get here in order to leave. Now let's

56:28

fast forward three days. May 11th,

56:30

just nine days before Sarah Lynn

56:32

died. And she's texting

56:34

this three times. In

56:37

all caps, I hate

56:39

you. The only thing you close in

56:42

your life is your mouth. Enjoy getting

56:44

effed. Over the next 15

56:46

minutes or so between 7 22

56:48

pm and 8 12 pm Sarah

56:51

Lynn texts Michael 37 with

56:53

no text response from him. Here's what

56:56

she wrote, I want out now.

56:59

I'm leaving tonight and staying with Karen. Don't

57:02

you ever look at me as if

57:04

I'm an idiot when the only one

57:07

I have to constantly be exposed to

57:09

is you. Sleep

57:11

on you Michael. No real

57:13

last name. Nothing is going

57:15

into a trust by the way. Rely

57:17

on your team. Sleep on

57:19

you Michael. I want nothing from

57:22

you but what I've worked for. Everything.

57:26

She asks why and again it seems

57:28

like she's in a conversation where we

57:30

can't see or hear the other side.

57:32

It seems that way during several points

57:34

of this text exchange. She

57:37

goes on. Have a

57:39

solid team. Rock on

57:41

you washed up eff. I

57:44

want a divorce period. I

57:47

do not like some hot sweaty

57:49

needy weirdo asking to be held

57:51

in the morning when another is

57:53

trying to sleep. You

57:55

gross me out. You aren't the

57:57

person I met. I am serving the

58:00

papers tomorrow, at 10 or

58:02

11 or 2.30 or whenever nothing happens as usual. Good

58:08

luck. You will need it. My

58:11

mom was right all along. I

58:13

have never loved you. Get

58:15

your shit, clothes and get out. I

58:18

do not love you, Michael. I

58:20

do not love you, want to F

58:22

you, nor entertain your family any longer.

58:25

I think you may not even be the guy I

58:27

was referring to all this time. I

58:30

would not be surprised. I

58:32

hope you make one trillion dollars tomorrow.

58:34

Then you will leave and I can

58:36

be young and happy again. There

58:39

was actually another guy with a Diamante. OMG,

58:42

I know who it was now. Not

58:44

you either. I am looking him up now. Thank

58:49

God. Good luck in whatever you do. I

58:51

had you confused with a man. Only

58:53

saw you one time. You are

58:55

not the guy at all. Nor are

58:57

you, man. I am out of here.

59:01

Thank the Lord for that revelation. I

59:03

hope you make a mint tomorrow. Your

59:06

partners are funny. My payoff

59:08

is never seeing you again. I

59:10

am getting Bishop now. I am released from

59:13

your weird life. I

59:15

appreciate it also. It

59:17

was Jean's nephew. All

59:20

along I have been trying to connect with a guy who

59:22

had a license plate. You weren't

59:24

him. I am shocked

59:26

and relieved. I knew something wasn't

59:28

right. Goodbye. Lots of

59:30

love. I guess. Whatever.

59:34

I am free. So

59:37

again, that was broken into 37 individual

59:39

texts. There are

59:41

definite moments there where she seemed to be

59:43

responding to him in the moment such as

59:45

when she says, nor are you, man, and

59:47

I guess, whatever. On

59:49

May 17th, three days before Sarah Lynn's

59:52

death, things get heated around 7pm. She

59:56

appears to be at Sarah Lynn's house and

59:58

she's furious. Michael concedes

1:00:01

that this is a problem. Wow,

1:00:04

Sarah writes to him. The

1:00:06

stupidity never ends. I

1:00:08

would death stop this infatuation with

1:00:10

giving other people money and get

1:00:13

him out of there before I

1:00:15

get home. I'm already super upset.

1:00:17

Get the warehouse key back to now. Michael

1:00:21

responds, Sarah, you are 100% right.

1:00:24

All I asked was for him to pick up the

1:00:26

trash. Period. Now

1:00:28

his truck is stranded and unpissed. Combined

1:00:31

with what you just went through. F

1:00:33

everybody. You have

1:00:35

been terrorized after I asked her

1:00:37

multiple times. Philip is, and

1:00:40

he uses the R word here, and done.

1:00:44

Sarah Lynn responds that she's going to Subway and

1:00:46

tells Michael to call a tow truck. Babe,

1:00:49

you do whatever Michael tells her. Then

1:00:52

says, get home so he can get this done.

1:00:55

Then Sarah Lynn writes in a series of texts. If

1:00:58

he is there when I get there, I will flip my

1:01:00

effing wig. Someone that keeps

1:01:02

threatening and called DSS is at my house.

1:01:05

Are you? And then she uses the R

1:01:07

word here. Yes, you

1:01:10

are. I cannot believe the

1:01:12

length of your stupidity. And

1:01:14

then she says, my mom is a bitch. Again,

1:01:18

it seems like Sarah Lynn is responding to Michael,

1:01:20

but we don't see texts for him. It's not

1:01:22

clear whether this is one issue going on or

1:01:24

two, or if they're related. Michael

1:01:26

writes, I'm physically going to take him to

1:01:28

house. He needs to go.

1:01:31

Yes, she does. No one

1:01:33

needs to be around us right now, nor help.

1:01:36

Bullshit. Reminder, this

1:01:38

is three days before Sarah Lynn

1:01:41

dies. Sarah Lynn writes

1:01:43

back, I don't care if I ever see her again after

1:01:45

today and I get to come home to Philip. Are

1:01:48

you insane? If only

1:01:50

I were Brit, I may get a little

1:01:52

respect or any other deadbeat that

1:01:54

needs money. You have

1:01:56

topped an all time record. I

1:01:58

am pissed off back. had. Michael

1:02:01

responds, at the station, be

1:02:03

home soon. It's not

1:02:05

clear what's happening here. We do know that

1:02:07

Michael has a friend named Phillip who was

1:02:09

mentioned in a police report as helping him

1:02:11

pawn a customer's jewelry after his arrest in

1:02:13

2016. We also believe Brit

1:02:17

could be Sarah Lynn's brother. All

1:02:19

we know is that from these texts, it seems

1:02:21

like all hell has broken loose. Just

1:02:24

under an hour after this, Sarah Lynn

1:02:26

texts Michael, broke ass

1:02:28

slut. My family not

1:02:30

only hates you, they hate me too

1:02:32

now. And why would

1:02:34

I compromise my blood? For

1:02:36

a liar. F. U.

1:02:39

I'm going to start my own life. I'm going to start

1:02:41

my own shit up on the side so I can be

1:02:43

happy again. File now. I

1:02:46

don't want to be around you and I don't want

1:02:48

to flaunt another man in your face. At

1:02:51

least I'm honest. Michael

1:02:53

responds. I'm sorry. I honestly just

1:02:55

wanted the trash out. While

1:03:00

it is hard to draw conclusions from

1:03:02

these texts because we don't think that

1:03:05

we are getting the full exchange between

1:03:07

the two, and it

1:03:09

is hard to know the full picture of

1:03:11

what is happening to precipitate

1:03:13

some of these exchanges, it

1:03:16

does seem very evident that

1:03:18

Michael is hitting rock bottom

1:03:21

when it comes to Sarah

1:03:23

Lynn. He is out of chances. He

1:03:26

messed up one too many times.

1:03:29

She's now at the point where

1:03:31

she is imagining a better life

1:03:33

without him and with

1:03:36

another man. Two

1:03:38

days before Sarah Lynn's death, Sarah

1:03:41

Lynn texts Michael around 5.30

1:03:43

that evening. Sarah Lynn

1:03:45

sends about 15 texts over

1:03:47

the course of 20 minutes and

1:03:50

about halfway in it seems to

1:03:52

shift. It seems like

1:03:54

someone else is now texting Michael

1:03:56

from her phone. It

1:03:58

starts with you You are a

1:04:01

whore of humanity. Then,

1:04:03

I hate your guts. I

1:04:06

will call your 71 year old relative

1:04:08

and speak to she or him in

1:04:10

a negative light. I

1:04:12

would expect divorce papers. I

1:04:14

hate you. My friend

1:04:16

is having my car charged tomorrow. He

1:04:19

will have tags changed too. One

1:04:22

less expense off your plate to buy coke

1:04:24

with. Yeah, go

1:04:27

get asked. My friend

1:04:29

wants to speak to you anyway. Please

1:04:32

stay out of Sarah Lynn's bed or Lynn.

1:04:35

We think they meant to type life in there.

1:04:38

Either way, answer my call and make

1:04:41

it happen until you or I can

1:04:43

get to her. You

1:04:45

don't appreciate her, but I do. Want

1:04:48

my number? Mr. Michael Kaluchi,

1:04:50

do you want my phone number? Be

1:04:53

a man. Leave her alone. She

1:04:56

has already suffered enough. Understand

1:05:00

why in. I love Sarah. Get

1:05:02

used to it. Michael

1:05:05

responds at the end of the flurry

1:05:07

of texts with yes ma'am.

1:05:10

Then someone again seems to

1:05:12

respond from Sarah Lynn's phone.

1:05:15

Ha ha, limp dick. Michael,

1:05:18

man to man. You aren't

1:05:20

what Sarah Lynn or Bishop needs. I

1:05:22

am pretty damn sure that she has told

1:05:25

you that enough. Am I right? Want

1:05:27

to talk? Then it's

1:05:30

just to Sarah. Michael, this

1:05:32

is Sarah. You need to leave. I

1:05:35

don't love you like I did before. You

1:05:37

are less. I need to be happy.

1:05:39

Goodbye freak. Four

1:05:42

minutes after her last text,

1:05:45

Michael responds. It

1:05:47

is not for me to answer. You

1:05:50

keep doing and saying and everything else.

1:05:53

I am no freak. What wife

1:05:55

would say what you say? Full

1:05:58

boy in my bed. Put me. on

1:06:00

the phone with your family that is just

1:06:02

as confused as you and them all. Call

1:06:05

me a gay F-word. Wake

1:06:08

up will you please. Less

1:06:11

than five hours later, Sarah

1:06:14

Lynn text Meikle. This

1:06:16

is what he just sent me. With

1:06:18

all the drug use, I'm really concerned

1:06:21

about your kids. You guys

1:06:23

need help. Baby, I don't want

1:06:25

any more fighting. Please. Meikle

1:06:28

responds within minutes. I

1:06:30

never started any fight or engaged in

1:06:33

one, but now I'm being made out

1:06:35

to be a piece of shit at

1:06:37

home and everywhere else. This

1:06:40

is not my doing. Then,

1:06:42

in text unlike any

1:06:44

others presented from April through her

1:06:46

death, Sarah Lynn writes, I

1:06:49

am begging you to forgive me. Please.

1:06:53

I am sick. I can't

1:06:55

do it anymore. Our

1:06:57

fighting is my fault. I am

1:06:59

sorry. Please,

1:07:01

please forgive me. I

1:07:04

am begging you. Within

1:07:08

a minute, Meikle responds, I've

1:07:10

never had anything but love and compassion.

1:07:13

I can't bring back the one you love.

1:07:16

You can have any pool boy or girl

1:07:18

you want. F-Shane. He

1:07:20

is next. F-U-All. Sarah

1:07:25

Lynn writes back, Meikle,

1:07:27

please stop. He

1:07:30

writes back immediately. Enjoy it

1:07:32

too. In a series

1:07:35

of texts, Sarah Lynn writes back,

1:07:37

Meikle, please stop. I can't stop

1:07:39

shitting or throwing up. I

1:07:41

must be pregnant. Please stop. Baby,

1:07:44

please. Call me,

1:07:46

please. Immediately,

1:07:48

Meikle responds. Shane

1:07:51

can shove it up his ass. The

1:07:53

steel is between me and Nolan.

1:07:56

F-Everyone else. I

1:07:58

promise you that. No trust,

1:08:00

no nothing. I'm going to squash

1:08:03

it all. Sarah Lynn

1:08:05

responds, stop, please.

1:08:07

I'm very sorry. I

1:08:10

need you. I need you. Please

1:08:13

don't hate me and please don't leave me.

1:08:16

I will be the wife you deserve. Michael

1:08:19

writes, Sarah, no, you don't. I

1:08:22

will not start anything as I have

1:08:25

always. I'm not a pawn. My

1:08:27

parents did that to me. No one

1:08:29

else. I pray for

1:08:32

all that attempt otherwise. May

1:08:34

God have mercy on their souls if

1:08:36

they have any. You will

1:08:38

see soon. Sarah Lynn

1:08:40

says, I am not following you. Michael

1:08:44

explains in two texts. I

1:08:46

am no pool boy, no drug addict,

1:08:49

not crazy, just a pawn. I

1:08:52

am a great father, husband, and the

1:08:54

realest man you and others

1:08:56

will ever meet. No need

1:08:59

to worry, nor will my

1:09:01

daughters. I did find a gold

1:09:03

ring that I gave you. I am grateful

1:09:05

for that. She texts back,

1:09:08

what? I am very sick and I

1:09:10

love you. I can't argue

1:09:12

anymore. I think I'm dying. Will

1:09:15

you consider forgiving me and come

1:09:17

home? I love you and

1:09:19

I'm sorry for all the pain that I've

1:09:21

caused. I want to make sure

1:09:23

you're OK. Please,

1:09:26

please, stop. I

1:09:28

respect you and our family and I

1:09:30

will do anything to make it better.

1:09:32

Please stop the rage just for tonight.

1:09:35

I need you. I need you, Michael.

1:09:38

I am begging you. And

1:09:40

that's it. The text ended

1:09:43

around 1230 AM the day before she died.

1:09:47

Let's talk about those final texts. Sarah

1:09:50

Lynn made a complete turnaround on

1:09:52

how she addresses Michael and on

1:09:54

things she says to him. Frankly,

1:09:58

she seems to be talking. him off

1:10:00

a ledge. I want to make

1:10:02

sure you're okay," she says. She's

1:10:05

clearly dealing with some stomach issues

1:10:08

while texting him. Nevertheless,

1:10:10

she seems focused on reversing

1:10:12

whatever it is that got

1:10:14

triggered in Michael. For

1:10:17

his part, he seems maudlin,

1:10:19

like he's feeling sorry for himself

1:10:22

while he's trying to convince himself that he

1:10:24

isn't the person she says that he is.

1:10:28

Whatever it is, it seems pretty

1:10:30

evident from the text that something

1:10:32

pivotal happened on May 17th,

1:10:35

three days before Sarah was killed.

1:10:38

And whatever that something was, involved

1:10:40

Michael, potentially a friend of his,

1:10:43

and her family, and it crossed

1:10:45

a major line for Sarah Lynn. And

1:10:49

whatever that something was prompted

1:10:51

Michael to be apologetic because

1:10:53

of something else that Sarah

1:10:55

Lynn had just gone through.

1:10:57

And then another man

1:10:59

seems to enter the chat. Did

1:11:02

Sarah Lynn push it too far with

1:11:04

Michael? Was he at

1:11:06

rock bottom in the days before

1:11:09

her death? On

1:11:11

May 20th, 2015, the

1:11:13

day of Sarah Lynn's death,

1:11:16

she went with Michael to their attorney's

1:11:18

office to talk about their

1:11:20

case against their daughter's school. They

1:11:23

allegedly went out to dinner. They

1:11:26

allegedly visited the grave of

1:11:28

her deceased husband. Then

1:11:30

they went to the gold standard. We'll

1:11:34

tell you more about that day

1:11:36

and another episode now that you

1:11:38

have the full context of

1:11:40

what their marriage was like leading

1:11:42

up to the final day. But the

1:11:44

ultimate takeaway here is

1:11:47

that at no point in those messages

1:11:49

did Sarah Lynn express a desire

1:11:52

to die. She made

1:11:54

no threats hollow or otherwise

1:11:56

about killing herself. She

1:11:59

never express a thought about her

1:12:01

feeling down blue or low. She

1:12:04

was just over it. She wanted to

1:12:07

move on. She wanted to

1:12:09

create a new life without Michael,

1:12:12

for her and for her daughter. And

1:12:15

she regretted marrying Michael. She

1:12:17

was very angry at him and

1:12:20

what he has brought into her life. The

1:12:24

question facing jurors in the next three

1:12:26

weeks is whether her anger,

1:12:29

her name calling and pointing out

1:12:31

his failures, finally caused

1:12:34

Michael to snap. Stay

1:12:38

tuned, stay pesky and

1:12:40

stay in the sunlight. True

1:12:53

Sunlight is a Luna Shark production

1:12:55

created by me, Mandy Matney and

1:12:58

co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell. Learn

1:13:00

more about our mission and membership

1:13:02

at lunasharkmedia.com. Interruptions

1:13:05

provided by Luna and Joe Pesky.

1:13:10

For the past 30 years, care heating and

1:13:13

cooling put you first. You are the reason

1:13:15

they're open seven days a week. You are

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why they make it easy to schedule service

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at careheatingandcooling.com. Concern for your safety

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is why they check every gas furnace for carbon

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monoxide. It's because of you that their technicians are

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paid to fix your furnace and air conditioner, not

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From The Podcast

True Sunlight

Previously known as the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, True Sunlight is the intersection of True Crime, journalism and systematic corruption. Welcome to the new face of MMP.True Sunlight is the antithesis of True crime. True Sunlight values accuracy over "access journalism". True Sunlight is shed with empathy — not exploitation. True Sunlight was created as a matter of public service — not just entertainment. While the name of the podcast has changed, our mission, values and team have not. We are simply expanding our horizons while continuing to shine a much needed bright light on crime and corruption wherever it appears.Celebrated journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell are taking their style of reporting beyond Alex Murdaugh and his co-conspirators while pursuing justice for all the victims you've met so far.Ranked #1 and #2 globally in 2021 and 2023 respectively as the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, True Sunlight provides unmatched insight into the crimes and criminals exposed on MMP and dives deep into new instances of corruption across the US.We empower listeners to understand their legal and judicial systems through investigative journalism while providing tools to hold agencies and public figures accountable in order to change those systems for the better. Listen on any streaming service or visit TrueSunlight.com to learn more. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And for those just wanting ad-free listening without all the other great content, we now offer ad-free listening on Apple Podcast through a subscription to Luna Shark Plus on the Apple Podcasts App. And we also offer access to exclusive video content through our new YouTube Premiere subscription.Check out our new Luna Shark Merch With a Mission shop at lunasharkmerch.com/SUNscribe to our free email list to get alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMFor current & accurate updates:TrueSunlight.comfacebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/Instagram.com/murdaughmurderspod/ Twitter.com/mandymatneyTwitter.com/elizfarrellyoutube.com/@LunaSharkMedia

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