Episode 327

28:29It was the morning of December 15th, just a day after Kadavia's body was found. She sat at a table in a well-lit room at police headquarters. I was on a fielding earlier today and I'm following up on a investigation. A person that was living at your house, this Maxwell guy, that's your boyfriend, right? Could possibly be involved in that. How long y 'all been dating? October, last year, November. You and him have had fights. Is it usually him or is it usually you? Initiate him. You got a high temper or something? Yeah. From 1 to 10, what would you say? It's like a 10. Maxwell Brack met Kajavia in high school in 2005.

29:16He wasn't very tall, only about 5 '7", but he had an undeniable charm. They started dating on and off for the next six years until Maxwell was arrested for weapons charges and sent to prison for two years. As soon as he got out in 2013, he and Kajavia rekindled their relationship. Emily had been dating Maxwell for about a year, since October 2014. He lived with her for most of 2015, staying over at least a few nights a week. But Emily didn't know that Maxwell was dating multiple women. Five women, in fact. Including Emily and Kajavia. Well, she didn't know until recently. So, she texts you that she's inside your house?

30:06Mm-hmm. And where were you at the time? I was at work. The date was Monday. Day 7. So that would have been a week from now. Mm-hmm. The Monday before her disappearance on December 7th, Kajavia sent Emily a text. The text read, I'm in your house. Then she sent a picture of her living room with a caption.

30:39When Kajavia sent Emily the picture of her living room while she was at work, She didn't let it get to her. Her response was the exact opposite reaction that Kajavia was looking for. So then, she sent Emily a video. A video of Kajavia and Maxwell having sex. In Emily's bed. Emily played it cool. She wasn't about to give Maxwell's ex-girlfriend the satisfaction of pissing her off. she was just like bitch this and you know just i guess she got mad because i didn't give her the reaction that she was hoping so she she was texting me miscellaneous bullcrap like that's why he eating my pussy you know lose have fun and that was that was she trying to break y 'all up or something or who's the whole your guess is as good as mine but they wouldn't break up Stupidly.

31:37What kind of a woman dates a man that goes around philandering like that? Have a little bit of self-respect, ladies. When Emily went home on her lunch break and confronted Maxwell about the video, he said he knew he was being recorded, but he had no idea the video had been sent to her. He apologized and explained he was just being petty because he and Emily hadn't had sex in a while. He promised her that it would be the last time and that he would never see her again, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. She was still upset, but somehow she forgave him and went back to work. I don't get that. Anyway, that night, she stayed out rather than going home.

32:18Probably to get even. Probably spread it out a little bit, you know? She wouldn't see Maxwell again until early Saturday morning after Kajavia's sister started looking for her and reached out to him. Emily was as casual as could be during her interview. Only when the detective left the room did she whisper to herself that this whole situation was fucked up. It didn't look good. Her interview cast more suspicion on Maxwell, but also on her. The love hexagon aside, the police knew the murder had to have happened in her home. I mean, the body was found across the street. So I guess there was only one question left to ask.

33:12Even after all the information Emily provided, there were still no charges against Maxwell. Kajavia went missing on December 11th. Her family filed a report on the 12th. The first 911 call came in late on the 13th. The 911 call that actually got a police response was early on the 14th. By the evening of the 14th, the police had found her body across from the home of one of Maxwell's girlfriends. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence already pointing to Maxwell, but when they talked to Emily, she provided a potential motive. On the 7th, so four days before Kajavia went missing, she had sex with Maxwell in Emily's house and recorded it.

33:59Kajavia, in an act of defiant jealousy, sent a clip to Emily. Maybe Maxwell killed Kajavia because she upset his delicate balance of multiple girlfriends and grifting off of them. Something which seems to be celebrated in black culture. At least that's what the police were thinking. Kajavia's family and the community could only feel let down. A week would go by after Kajavia's body was found, and still no charges were filed, no arrests were made. It seemed all too obvious who killed their loved one, and they just couldn't understand what was taking so long. So they took to the streets again, this time in protest.

34:46stand up! Stand up! Speak up! Speak up! You're not going to forget about us. You're not just going to leave us here to fend for ourselves. If we have to, we're going to get out here and do it ourselves. You can run with your k-ha! You can run with your k-ha! I've lost brothers in the city of Detroit, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. I have children. How could I not do something about this? They marched, not just for Kajavia, but for all the missing and murdered women across the country. The community was frustrated. They felt betrayed, let down by the system once again. To them, there could be no justice without an arrest.

35:30By far, Kajavia's mother, Lashonda, was the angriest person in the room. I feel like life is damn near doomed for me and my family. This man has came in and tore my foundation down, what I have built. I feel like it should be an eye for an eye. And a lot of things will change in this world. This wasn't just Kajavia's family. This was a community. Over 100 Detroit citizens from the west side and a city councilwoman marched and chanted. Kajavia had been murdered, and everyone knew Maxwell Brack was responsible. They just couldn't understand why he hadn't been held accountable yet. Why wasn't Maxwell in jail?

36:13Well, that's where the story of the death of Kajavia Globe takes yet another turn. The medical examiner couldn't tell exactly how she died. Ms. Globe's body was brought into our office within or inside a garbage bin. She was placed knees first into the bin. That was how she was placed in, because that's how her body was removed from within the bin. To conserve any forensic evidence, the police took the entire trash can to the medical examiner. Other than the fact she was dead, there were no other substantial injuries. There was a laceration or a tear in the skin on the left outer surface of the eye.

36:58and also there was boozing to the labia minora. The cut on her left eye was small and superficial. It obviously happened post-mortem because it didn't bleed at all. And her bruised labia minora most likely came from consensual sex. She did have broken fingernails indicating a struggle, and her freshly stitched-in weave had been ripped half off. There were no injuries to any of the organs within the body. What about the toxicology? Did you find anything of note in the toxicology? There was nothing that contributed to her death. Were you able to determine a cause of death? No. Kajavia appeared totally normal inside and out.

37:41All the medical examiner could do was say what didn't kill her. Yes, I was able to rule out any injury to the body. I ruled out any natural disease processes within her body. And were you able to determine a manner of death? Yes. And what was that? The manner is classified as homicide. But how can you rule a death a homicide if you can't tell how they died? First, there was objective, suspicious nature of the death. In this case, the body was hidden from view. Second, there was no anatomic causes of death. Third, there were no toxicologic causes of death. Fourth, there was no reported environmental causes that would have resulted in death, such as toxic gases or extreme temperature changes.

38:30And then the last or fifth criteria is that there is no other reasonable cause of death. I guess that answers that question. You can't put yourself in a trash can after your death. But with no gunshot or stab wounds, no blunt force trauma, drugs or toxins, and no ligature marks, prosecutors couldn't point to Maxwell and say, hey, he shot her, he strangled her, etc. And without that, they couldn't prove anything at all. They needed more than motive, opportunity, and suspicious behavior. Charging Maxwell with open murder with a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence was a big ask. So while the police tried to strengthen their case, the public only saw inaction.

39:19The case would stall for weeks. As Kajavia's family waited for news, details of the autopsy reached the media. There's no doubt. I know she was murdered. We're getting calls about her toxicology report. We didn't even know anything about it. It's on the news. It's on Facebook. And we're just sitting here like sin ducks. We never was notified by the medical examiner office or homicide. No one called me. No one's ever said, this is where we're at with this case. Nothing from nothing has been nothing. I've been on their head. I went down there and filed a complaint on gifts to service. LaShonda was demanding answers.

40:00She filed a complaint about the lack of transparency and communication from the police department. Still, she waited. It took a month for the medical examiner to release a final autopsy report. Manner of death? Homicide. Cause of death? Undetermined. That didn't answer the question about the hair. How does your hair come off your head if it's sewn completely down? Or the broken fingernails. It was all like she was fighting. It was all not cut, chipped, like you fighting. You got somebody out here thinking they done got away with murder. Is there any doubt in your mind who's behind that mask? No, it's none.

40:41Not at all.

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44:20When the body of Kajavia Globe was discovered in a trash can across the street from Maxwell Brack's current girlfriend's house, The case of her disappearance and murder seemed all but solved. Maxwell had motive, opportunity, and a disturbing pattern for using women. All the circumstantial evidence pointed directly to him, but it wasn't enough. The medical examiner couldn't say exactly how Kajavia died. She had no wounds, no toxins or drugs in her system, just a dead body hidden in a trash can. But investigators knew that some methods, like asphyxiation or smothering, couldn't take a life without leaving any signs.

45:06Because there was no clear cause of death, prosecutors hesitated, and the police were forced to press on. To the family and the community, the case stalled, and weeks passed as the family waited for justice. But then, a woman spoke up. We're doing here. We actually come down We're really trying to bring some closure to the states And I wasn't close to this case but this is just terrible this is You know, it gets to the point that you just need to look at don't turn the TV on this We've been working you know a lot of hours. Team was wrong. And we've done a lot. You know we kind of got an idea the direction that we're going with everything but we just need a little bit of help and the fact is we just haven't been getting it.

46:03That's why we came back out today just to kind of see if there's anything that we missed and when we talked to your husband that he expressed it There was some information that you may have. You think you can help us? I might be able to help you guys. Tina Morrell was one of the few residents living on Fielding Street. She had seen the neighborhood in its heyday and watched its entire decline. Let me just tell you about my neighbors. I hate my neighbors. Which ones? I don't even know them. I know the ones on the right. I hate the ones on the right. I hate the ones on the left. I deal with the ones across the street.

46:44People are just strange to me these days. It's not like the old days. Not like the old days. We just had a family get together and we were sitting there talking how we used to know every family on the block. How many kids they had. We went to school, we don't know everybody. Now Well, it doesn't happen. It's a shame. I'm scared of young people.

47:16It's terrible. Yeah, young people. Yeah, especially when they don't have the same values you do. You don't know what they're thinking. They don't think, and they don't care. It's a shame. It's something I tell my husband. I said, well, I need to look at the news because I need to know where criminals are. That's terrible. And I mean, it's like you have to know where they are. Be on the lookout. Like I said, I have nieces and nephews, nieces, especially in our families, mostly girls. And I'm always telling them, you have to be on your P's and Q's. You got to know what's going on in your neighborhood.

47:55You need to know where this rapist is or what's going on here. you have to know these things because you guys are going to have to look out. Because young girls are victims. It's almost like if everybody had your values or you work, your husband work, and you're raising a family there, when everyone around you has that same mentality, you find yourself it's a little easier to be social with people. But when you don't know what people's motives are, or you do know because you see what's going on, It makes you just want to disconnect. You know what I mean? Uh-huh. As she watched her neighborhood deteriorate, she became more isolated.

48:37She didn't socialize with most of her neighbors because she disapproved of their lifestyles. She feared the younger generations because they didn't act right and didn't seem to care about anything. She sat on her porch in front of her picture window and just watched her once great neighborhood become overrun with crime and violence. That is, until she saw something that she could not keep quiet about. Around what time was it that something that drew your attention? It was during the day, about 1, 2 o 'clock in the afternoon. What was it that drew your attention? Well, it was this guy taking this garbage can across to a vacant house.

49:21And he sat it in front of the house. Some people take their garbage, put it on the opposite side of the street. right but he kept going back and forth and that's what drew your team was he dragging the garbage can over there with it what was he when you said he was going back and forth yeah he was because whatever house he was coming out of i didn't see what house he came out of um and he took the garbage can and he dragged it across the street which you know the first time and you know like i said this is garbage can pick up days sunday he takes garbage out because they come monday But, and I sit on my couch right there because I got a picture window there and I sit there and I was sick.

50:02So I'm sitting on the couch and I just look out. And he came back out and he stood there on the phone. And usually if he go on the phone you just kind of notice people be on their phones and stuff. Did he go back to that can or? Yeah, he stood there. Next to the can? Yeah. Okay. Then, you know, I started doing something else, and I was doing something in the house. A little bit later, maybe an hour or so later, he took the garbage can in the backyard. Across the street? Mm-hmm. But then the garbage can was back on the curb. And like I said, the next day, that's when... Everything kind of came together.

50:41And it was like, wow. Tina didn't realize what the man with the trash can was doing until the police swarmed the next day. Still, she said nothing. Her first reaction was to mind her own business. She didn't want to get involved. She had seen the others testify in court, only to be retaliated against later. She held her tongue, hoping someone else would speak up, or the police would just solve the case without her. But when the police re-canvassed the neighborhood over five weeks later, her husband convinced her otherwise.

51:20he said look you have four sisters if it was your family member and I said it is terrible we've been talking and I was like I can't sleep yeah and um but that was awful yeah well I'm glad you came here and talked to us because you know this is like you said this could be anybody's family member and people should step up people should want to step up and do the right thing when something like this happens to someone. She didn't deserve what she got. People are now so scared to say anything, and he's like, but you can't be scared. This is supposed to be your neighborhood. How are you going to take your neighborhood back?

51:58You can't be scared if you want to take your neighborhood back. Tina Morell's reluctance to come forward nearly let Maxwell escape justice. But in the end, she found the courage. The kind that communities depend on when the system fails. They asked her to look at this photo lineup, and she picked out Maxwell in seconds. Her testimony transformed the case, taking it from circumstantial evidence to direct evidence. In a city worn down by neglect, it was the people who stepped up, one neighbor at a time, with enormous courage to bring the truth to light. On February 6, 2016, Wayne County prosecutors finally charged Maxwell with open murder.

52:48Under the Michigan law, the jury could consider first or second degree murder or manslaughter, depending on what the evidence showed. They also charged him with felony murder tied to the killing happening during the commission of another felony, specifically larceny, since he stole Kajavia's debit card. Additional charges included use of a financial transaction device without consent for withdrawing the money from an ATM and mutilation of a dead body because of how he disposed of Kajavia in the trash can. When the news broke that an arrest had been made, LaShonda was, well, I'll let her tell you.

53:32So much right now. I'm just so happy. I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Detroit. Thank you, everybody that's helping. Thank you so much. Thank you. And they got the right person. He didn't have no way to do with that body. He wanted that garbage truck to pick up my baby. And she would have been missing forever. You will pay every day, baby. Of course, she said she always knew it was him from the very start. When I went in and did the missing report from the jump, he was the number one suspect, baby. I knew this. Straight up from the jump. When I did a missing, his name was the first name.

54:22LaShonda was relieved she would see justice for her daughter, Kajavia. But she would still have to sit through a trial. The case against Maxwell Brack was strong now, thanks to months of investigation and crucial testimony from Tina Murrell. They had all the circumstantial evidence. The body was found across the street from his girlfriend's house, the same girlfriend that Kajavia was battling for his affection. But the forensic lab would provide even more evidence in the time it would take to get to trial. Turns out, the smeared red substance on her car wasn't blood at all. But that didn't matter, because both the fibers material and hair found in and on the trash can matched the fibers and dog hair at Emily's house.

55:11But most damning of all was the DNA found under Kajavia's fingernails. And just in case you were still suspicious about John Black or Emily, their DNA was not a match. Only Maxwell Brack was. Then, there was the digital evidence. Like when Maxwell's cell phone went dark right after Kajavia's body was found. The trial of Maxwell Brack started in late August 2016. For over a week, prosecutors laid out the evidence. Kajavia's last known movements, the tangled web of relationships, the surveillance footage at the ATM, the DNA under her fingernails, etc. etc. The defense pushed back, of course, arguing the case was built on assumptions and circumstantial threats.

55:57They pointed to the lack of clear cause of death, suggested alternative explanations for the DNA, and questioned the credibility of witnesses like Emily, implying jealousy and chaos in the relationships. Maxwell even took the stand, but he just came off as trying to win sympathy. On August 31, 2016, after less than a full day of deliberation, the jury returned their verdict. Guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder. We as a jury find him guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. Okay, all members of the jury, please rise and raise your right hand. Listen to your verdict as reported by the court.

56:46You say upon your oath that you find a defendant guilty of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. So say you, Mr. Foreperson, and so say you, all members of the jury. Yes. After the verdict was read, Maxwell smiled. At sentencing, LaShonda was finally able to address the court and Maxwell. He was abusive. He broke her nose. He was taking her down. He was destroying her life. When she decided to say goodbye to Maxwell, he took her life. Because she was on a road to success. She was going to drop that zero because she hadn't found her a hero. He took advantage. He don't care. He ain't show no remorse.

57:34He don't care. He killed my baby. And she was so dumb. She loved this monster. You took my baby from me, Max. And I have told you and Conjagan, leave each other alone. Because one day one of y 'all could hurt each other. He was jealous. I told Conjagan, he's jealous of you. My, you just don't like him. I said, baby, he don't like you. And look where we at today. This man has destroyed my family. My daughter was finna go to the Navy August the 3rd. Her mind ain't even right. He just destroyed it. Do you understand? Don't care. He don't care. That was him at the bank. I said it from day one because he had on that mask.

58:20I didn't care. Her newsy phone was sitting right in his lap. A lot of stuff at the trial was not mentioned. And I am highly pissed. I'm highly upset about that too. Some facts that I felt should have been brought out. And I thank you because you caught it a couple of times. I couldn't say it. But you felt it like, let's get serious with this. Because a lot of people got on that stand and was a joke. They didn't bring nothing to the table for this. Because he would have got first degree. Do you understand? If it would have been ran right, he would have gotten first degree murder. Because Max know he did it.

58:53That's why he got them flies and didn't pass them out. I hate this man. This man has destroyed my family. This man has took something from me that he can never give it back. Never. And I asked you, Marcy, in this man's life, what was he doing out here in society? Nothing. He was doing nothing. Nothing. LaShonda was still so angry that she wanted to go on and on. But the judge made her stop. Even with Maxwell convicted, she hadn't let go of the bitterness. not just at him but at the system that had failed her daughter so many times before the courtroom doors ever opened. She had wanted the police to act sooner, the community to protect her better, and the whole process to work faster.

59:43For LaShonda, no sentence could erase that feeling that they had been left to fight alone. The judge then addressed Maxwell. There were all kinds of demands that you were making, demands that at times I found really just despicable during this trial. I didn't like a lot of the things that your defense attorney was saying. I didn't like a lot of the interaction between the two of you at that table. I thought it was disrespectful. but I knew that that defense attorney was doing exactly what you were asking him to do and that was put on a shelf. She went on to sentence Maxwell to a minimum of 70 years in prison with a maximum of 100 years.

1:00:35And she made sure to let him know that she tacked on the last 10 years of that 70 just for that smile. Just to let him know he's a piece of shit for that smugness he showed in the courtroom. Kajavia Globe's family erupted in applause, and LaShonda raised her arms and thanked God, and Justice finally served. In Detroit, they had learned the hard way. Help doesn't always come. And when it does, it can take a while. The system stalls. The police miss calls. Somebody doesn't get the memo. And sometimes Justice just stays locked behind closed doors. But not this time. It wasn't the detectives who found Kajavia's car.

1:01:24It wasn't the police who brought her home. It was a sister who refused to wait. A sanitation worker who wouldn't ignore a report. A neighbor who stopped watching from behind the glass and spoke up. Justice didn't arrive with sirens. It was dragged forward by a community that refused to be ignored. by people who made noise when the system stayed quiet, by a mother who vowed her daughter's name would never be forgotten. And in that courtroom, when LaShonda raised her arms, it wasn't just her family's victory. It was a triumph for everyone who refused to look away. It was a triumph for justice.

1:02:37Before I leave you here, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone that's reached out. some of you've sent me private messages saying hey Mike you seem a little angry lately you okay? and you know 12 years of dealing with the worst of the worst on the planet will do that to you but yeah I'm fine thank you very much guys I really appreciate it it's really nice of you it's really nice of some of you to just reach out and you know know that there's a human behind this whole apparatus at least the human that you do see thanks again to my team of uh very talented producers and writers this one was written by evan ziegelman one of our long time senior producers here at sword and scale so we hope you liked it and we'll see you next time stay safe

1:04:07A reminder that if you do like true crime, there's a whole lot more of it on our website. at swordandscale.com or our app available on iOS and Android devices. Go get it and check out the latest episode named Wreckage about a 19-year-old farmer from Utah named Dylan Rounds. It's going to make you cry. I'll put it that way. It's going to make you cry a lot if you like that sort of thing.

1:04:49Thank you.