Kaysera Stops Pretty Places

28:32The only time they have to secure a scene is when police show up before the investigator. The family also asked Fuss why they hadn't used Kaysera's phone to help identify her, and he explained that the battery had run out, so they couldn't have used the phone to identify Kaysera. But the family pushes back, saying that they could have easily recharged her phone, and checked her recent messages or calls. Fuss responded, saying that they just couldn't access that phone, claiming that even the FBI couldn't bypass its security. To help move things along, focusing on actionable items, Yolanda and Alan completed a form that gave them permission to access Kaysera's cell phone and social media accounts.

29:14They also spoke about their issues with Terry Bullis, and Fuss told them that Bullis had, quote, snatched Kaysera's body from the crime lab, end quote, and he had to get it and take it back. Now, this explained that comment that Bolus' sister made to them on the day of the visitation, when she said that Kaysera's body had to be taken back to the crime lab by police escort. However, it did not explain why Bolus had taken Kaysera's body from the crime lab in the first place. And I don't mean to harp, but it only gets worse. That same day, Grace and her sister Cedar met with Bighorn County attorney Jay Harris.

29:54They spoke about their concerns with the investigation, how no one in the family had been interviewed, or even asked for basic information such as Kaysera's phone number or service provider. Harris explained that because of some reorganization and overall chaos in the sheriff's office, it was unclear who was in charge of the investigation. But they keep pressing, they keep asking questions. Grace asked Harris if law enforcement was looking into Kaysera's social media accounts for any possible evidence, but she never got a clear answer. Grace and Cedar then had to insist that Harris look through Kaysera's phone records and contents.

30:33Basically insist that they investigate. Before the meeting was over, Grace and Cedar brought up their concerns about coroner Terry Bullis and how he told the family that Kaysera's death was due to exposure to drugs or alcohol. and Harris basically told them that's what Terry Bullis does, that he has a history of quickly deciding a person's cause of death was exposure to alcohol and natural causes. Now, I want to give this family so much credit for not losing their minds during this meeting. I don't know if I would have been able to keep my cool, but their only option was to move forward. Meet the computer you can talk to With Copilot on Windows, working, creating, and collaborating is as easy as talking.

31:19Got writer's block? Share your screen with Copilot Vision to help spark inspiration. And use Copilot Voice to have a conversation and brainstorm ideas. Or maybe you need some tech help. With Copilot Vision, Copilot sees what you see. Let Copilot talk you through step-by-step guidance so you can master new apps, games, and skills faster. Try now at windows.com slash copilot. it. Michelle's mother, Lisa McDaniel, has managed to keep her past buried. You said nobody wants to believe there's a monster in their family. You think she's a monster? I don't want to, but I don't know how else you describe somebody who does those things to children.

31:57Michelle has lived in the shadow of her family's dark past for decades, but now she's ready to bring it into the light. Neither one of those children were suffering because of a disease. Season six of Nobody Should Believe Me is out now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

32:20Days later on September 23rd, Kaysera's family held a vigil and a march to bring awareness to Kaysera's case, as well as other missing and murdered Indigenous women. They started where Kaysera was found, then they went to the Bighorn County Courthouse, where multiple participants made speeches. The Billings Gazette reported that no one came out of the courthouse during the rally, but people could be seen watching from the windows. One of the speakers, Crow Agency Representative Sharon Stewart-Peregoi, said, quote, this has to stop. This has been going on in this county for 20 plus years. Now it's spread across Montana.

32:59It's across the nation. It's across Canada. It's an epidemic. But we should say it's a pandemic. It's about public safety. It's about people being safe in their own homeland. It's time that we became united. It is only then, when we are strong, that we cannot be broken. Enough is enough. Justice for our relations. During the rally, many people spoke up against Bighorn County Attorney Jay Harris and County Coroner Terry Bullis. Kaysera's family said that both Harris and Bullis weren't doing enough in the investigation and weren't taking it seriously. Kaysera's uncle QJ said it seemed like authorities were trying to sweep Kaysera's death under the rug.

33:45He said, quote, Everybody's still really in the dark. We don't feel like we're being treated like people. After the rally, Kaysera's family kept trying to obtain case reports and documents related to Kaysera's death, but each time they requested help from a staff member, they were told to ask a different person. They were basically being given the runaround at every single turn. At this point, Kaysera's family had lost confidence in the investigation. After a lot of effort, they were able to schedule a meeting with Bighorn County Sheriff Big Hair and his undersheriff. During this meeting, Kaysera's family said that after they spoke with investigator Mike Fuss, they were left feeling like they were not being taken seriously.

34:29and Kaysera's death was not being properly investigated. And the sheriff confirmed. He said that the family should have been told right then on August 29th that there was a possibility the body could have been Kaysera's. They then asked about why Kaysera's body was moved from the crime lab to the funeral home and back, but they didn't have an answer for this. They just said that Bolas had removed her body. And like a lot of families, they wanted to know why the FBI wasn't called in. and Sheriff Big Hair said that they could be brought in if the family wanted them to take the case. So of course, the family says yes, they would contact the FBI and ask for their help.

35:09Now, before the meeting was over, the sheriff said he signed the family up with a victim's advocate who would update them about the case going forward. And for days following this meeting, they tried to call that victim advocate, but they got no reply. They also contacted the FBI as they suggested, But according to the family website, the FBI said they needed more proof that Kaysera's murder took place on the reservation before they could start an investigation. And Kaysera's family is frustrated. From their perspective, there wasn't any proof indicating that the murder didn't happen on the reservation.

35:45Later, the FBI officially said that they would not investigate Kaysera's death because she was not found on the reservation. And again, this is really frustrating. because Kaysera was found right next to the border of the Crow Reservation, only 300 yards away. At this point, Kaysera's family isn't demanding that anyone be arrested or saying that anyone is at fault. They're just begging for an investigation. Finally, on October 1st, County Attorney Jay Harris announced that they would be forming the Bighorn County Missing Murdered Persons Task Force, which would, quote, take direct supervision over all investigations in Bighorn County which relate to suspicious deaths.

36:32Harris did credit the family, saying that the rally they held a few weeks prior was what led to creating this task force. After Harris made this announcement, the Billings Gazette asked if Kaysera's case was being treated as a homicide or another category of death. He replied that her case was being treated as a suspicious death, adding, quote, I don't know how else you can characterize it. Young ladies don't just show up dead in strangers' yards. Which, thank you. Following the announcement, Kaysera's case was overseen by the task force, although the sheriff's department were the main investigators.

37:12Kaysera's family continued to try to gain access to reports and documents, but nothing. In the middle of November, Kaysera's family had a meeting with the county attorney, but Harris appeared to be defensive the whole meeting. When Yolanda asked why no official had interviewed her or Kaysera's father about Kaysera's health or anything else, Harris apparently crossed his arms and told Yolanda that he felt uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he could continue the meeting with the family or what he could tell them. Yolanda handed Harris a press release that pointed out his responsibility over all unexplained deaths and murders, which is why she wanted to meet with him in the first place, since the sheriff and investigating officers didn't have any answers, but apparently Harris took offense when Yolanda referred to Kaysera's cause of death as murder.

38:03Yolanda also asked more about the reorganization and overall chaos in the sheriff's office, and why it had been so unclear who was in charge of the investigation. Harris explained that in the week after Kaysera's body was found, investigator Middlestead recused himself from the case. Due to personnel issues, there wasn't another officer to assign to Kaysera's case, so the investigation came to a complete stop. According to the family's website, hearing that there had been no investigation confirmed Yolanda's worst fears. Before the meeting was over, Yolanda asked Harris why the family hadn't received any reports that they requested And he didn't say that this was an ongoing investigation and they couldn't get the records He said that they needed to fill out a specific form Yolanda said that no one told her that before So Yolanda fills out the form And the family was still not given access to any documents or reports In mid-December, Kaysera's Aunt Grace spoke to Terry Bullis.

39:08She asked Bullis about the status of the coroner's report, and he said that Harris had taken over all aspects of Kaysera's case, and that it was now out of his hands. Grace also asked Bullis if it was true that he told Gerilyn that Kaysera's remains had to be cremated for her to be returned to her family for burial, and Bolas admitted that he did say that. When Grace asked if that was the only way, he said, quote, it was the simplest and easiest way. The family attorney later told Showtime that because Bolas had Kaysera's body cremated without her guardian's permission, she filed a complaint to have Bolas' mortuary license revoked.

39:49However, Montana commissioners ultimately decided he didn't do anything wrong. He just, quote, didn't ask for permission in the best way possible. Following the meeting with Bolas, Grace and other family members continued to try to get answers. At this point, they didn't have a death certificate, autopsy report, or any type of investigative report. It had been months since Kaysera was found dead, and the family knew nothing. They had no idea how Kaysera died, when she died. if investigators spoke to the people she'd last been seen with, or anything else. And now at this point, multiple media outlets tried to get information on Kaysera's death as well, but law enforcement wouldn't budge.

40:39The individual who served as undersheriff when Kaysera passed away gave an interview to Showtime. He revealed that he left his position at the sheriff's office and relocated out of state. He said that had he still been working for the sheriff's office, he would not have agreed to the interview. He explained, quote,

41:05By mid-January, the Billings Gazette was able to obtain limited information about Kaysera's case. They reported that her death investigation was still open and active, and that medical examiners had been unable to determine her cause and manner of death. There'd been no clear sign of an injury or any natural disease. While some possible causes of death had been ruled out, neither the autopsy nor the toxicology report were able to provide a definitive reason for Kaysera's death. The Gazette further reported that Kaysera's family felt like investigators should be treating Kaysera's death as a murder.

41:44They were of course frustrated that after five months, they still didn't have access to the autopsy results. Her family spoke in front of government agencies, held vigils, protests, and more, and nothing was done to help Kaysera or her family. They felt like they had no other choice but to take the investigation into their own hands, and this proved to be a difficult task, as many locals seem uninterested in helping. There's just such a sense of apathy in this town, you know, about anything that goes on, about crime. You know, when we were there, every time we go to that area, there's usually someone that, you know, there's hostility towards us.

42:38You know, people like yell at us, go home. And it's like, well, would you do you want to have killers living around you? Like, are you is that better than finding out who did this? Um, there's, there's just, there's just, um, such a sense of, you know, they, they don't care. They, they're just, they don't want to be bothered. Um, I, I don't know. I mean, if, if this happened in my neighborhood and a family showed up, you know, I would, I would go and support them. I would, I mean, I, I don't get it. And there have been those neighbors. There have been those neighbors that live a little bit further away, but they come out to support people in town.

43:26But that's just how things are. That's just how things are in this town. Despite their obstacles with locals, Kaysera's family was able to gather some information, which they passed along to the Bighorn County Sheriff's Office, FBI, and the Montana Department of Justice. But these organizations didn't really do anything with this information. And then, it's almost a year since Kaysera was found, and the family still didn't know much of anything. On August 14th, 2020, Kaysera's 19th birthday, her family held a rally where they called for justice. The family attorney addressed the crowd, quote, Shame on local and federal law enforcement for doing nothing.

44:12It has been a year. Evidence has been ignored. Suspects have been allowed to walk free unquestioned. Search warrants have not been executed. This is inexcusable. It is time to let the Department of Justice, FBI, and the Bacorn County Sheriff's Office know that we hold them accountable. Grace also spoke to the crowd, stating, We have been ignored. We have done all that we can possibly imagine to convince law enforcement to investigate the murder of my niece. On this day that should have been her 19th birthday, my family is asking for the support of our friends and allies across Indian country, and all of the United States, to stand with us and demand justice for Kay Sarah.

45:01Grace and the family attorney announced that from August 24th through September 11th, they would be asking the public to join them in writing letters to public officials and law enforcement, demanding justice for Kaysera and her family. Unfortunately, it would be almost another full year before the family got any answers. On August 13th, 2021, County Attorney Harris released a four-page report on the investigation into Kaysera's death. The purpose of the report was to, quote, help ensure public confidence in the local criminal justice process and provide understanding as to why a criminal prosecution has not been initiated nearly two years following the tragic discovery of the remains of Kaysera.

45:48Here's what they released. The report started with a summary of what happened when Kaysera went missing. According to what witnesses told authorities, at around 3 a.m. on August 25th, Kaysera, Isabella, Nakia, and Natosi were hanging outside a home on Rangeview Drive when an argument broke out. The owner of the home then remotely activated the lights and horn on his vehicle, which was parked in the driveway. This was in hopes of breaking up the fight. They all took off as a result. Kaysera fled into the backyard of a residence where she was eventually discovered, while Nakosi fled in a westward direction, and Isabella and Nakia fled in an eastward direction.

46:30The report then stated that there is no available evidence to firmly establish whether any person had communication or contact with Kaysera after she went into the backyard. Investigators weren't sure what happened between then and August 29th, when Kaysera's body was discovered. There was no evidence of Kaysera being entered into the national system as a missing person. The report said that at 6.43pm on August 29th, Kaysera was found in a face-down position in the northeast corner of the fenced backyard. After authorities arrived, her pockets were checked, and only two items were found, a lighter and her cell phone.

47:12Once the coroner arrived, Kaysera's body was placed in a plastic bag and transported to the crime lab in Billings, where an autopsy would take place. Investigators collected fly larvae at the scene A forensic pathologist later concluded that the larvae Quote Appear compatible with death near the time she was last known alive and the local weather data According to the report, Priscilla told detectives that she had learned that the body of a female was recently found in Hardin And because of that, she wanted to report her niece Kaysera as a missing person Priscilla said she believed Kaysera had been hanging out on Rangeview Drive because that's where her buyer was located.

47:52When asked what was meant by the term buyer, Priscilla said that she meant the person that buys Kaysera alcoholic beverages. The report then discussed a small portion of Kaysera's autopsy report, which revealed that the medical examiner was unable to exclude asphyxia as a cause of death, and that at the time of her discovery, Kaysera had a 0.149 blood ethanol concentration, which is almost double the legal driving limit. The report then clarified the reason for the delay in confirming Kaysera's identity after her body was found. Once the autopsy was completed, her body was moved to Coroner Bolas' funeral home.

48:32At this stage, they hadn't officially identified Kaysera yet. They were waiting for dental records, which they requested on September 3rd. Six days later, on September 9th, Kaysera's body was sent back to the state crime lab, where the dental records were used to finally confirm her identity. The report went on to detail what authorities did to investigate Kaysera's case after her body was found. It was revealed that until Kaysera's family met with the sheriff's office on September 19th, they had made, quote, no significant investigative efforts to look into Kaysera's death. This led County Attorney Harris to starting the task force, which then took over the investigation.

49:15According to the report, substantial investigative efforts by the Sheriff's Office began during the first week in October. They conducted interviews of witnesses and submitted DNA samples collected from Kaysera's fingernails and other key body locations. And no foreign DNA was present. In October and November, the Sheriff's Office issued a social media account search warrant, along with additional subpoenas for Kaysera's medical and school records. These records revealed that in April 2019, Kaysera was found unresponsive at the high school. She was taken to the emergency room and treated for, quote, a high level of alcohol intoxication.

49:56Authorities later hired a forensic pathologist, who concluded that the level of alcohol in Kaysera's body during the autopsy was comparable to the amount of alcohol found in her body during the April 2019 incident. The report continued discussing the investigative efforts Bighorn County authorities took. In late January 2020, the county attorney did formally request investigative assistance from the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, but the DOJ said no, citing a large caseload. Later in 2020, the Sheriff's Office referred the investigation to a cold case unit of four special-commissioned Missoula County Sheriff's Deputies who are retired federal special agents.

50:43But this was only a review of evidence, and no additional investigative efforts were conducted due to COVID-19. Then, in early 2021, the Department of the Interior announced the creation of a missing and murdered unit within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The new unit was supposed to put the full weight of the federal government into investigating cases involving missing and murdered indigenous people In July 2021, the MMU reached out to Bighorn County to offer help in investigating Kaysera's death According to the report, the county attorney's office accepted the offer But according to Kaysera's family, they never did work together Unfortunately, that's all the information that was revealed in the report Even after the investigation was completed, authorities still didn't allow Kaysera's family to view any documents So why was Kaysera's case treated this way?

51:43And honestly, why is it still being treated this way? Well, of course, one theory is just straight racism But let's look at some other theories as well Which, of course, I'm not posing as excuses because I don't think there is any good excuse ever to not fully investigate a suspicious death. But here we go. One theory is that because Kaysera had been reported missing once previously, the police just took her case less seriously. According to authorities, the Bureau of Indian Affairs reported Kaysera missing on July 5th, 2019. I asked Grace about this, and she told me that Kaysera was working in Missoula and just wasn't checking in with her grandma.

52:27She said it wasn't anything the family was concerned about, and that those circumstances were nothing like the ones from August 24th. Another possible theory on why authorities didn't investigate was because of an incident that happened days before her disappearance. Showtime reported that while attending the Crow Fair in Hardin, Kaysera's 15-year-old brother who was in a wheelchair had been beaten and forcibly restrained by Bighorn County deputies. Kaysera recorded this on her phone and posted it to social media This has left many people wondering if this incident and Kaysera's sharing of it influenced the police's involvement in Kaysera's case Because that footage did something That footage launched an investigation and officers were reprimanded Not only that, the family said that they have reason to believe a Bighorn County deputy that was under investigation was a responding officer to the scene when Kaysera's body was found.

53:28In the Showtime docuseries, many people spoke out about the disrespect law enforcement officers display towards Indigenous people. The family attorney explained to Showtime that often in towns on the border of reservations like Hardin, there are police officers and sheriffs who just don't value Indigenous lives. And it's absolutely worth noting that Montana has one of the highest rates of missing and murdered indigenous women in the U.S. While indigenous people represent 6.7 % of Montana's population, they account for 26 % of the state's missing persons. They're also four times more likely to be murdered in Montana than white people.

54:15In the end, there are many questions left unanswered in this case. For instance, some news stories have reported that Kaysera's body was discovered wrapped in plastic. But the family isn't sure if this is true. Which is obviously a huge question left unanswered. Something like that changes everything. The family is also unsure if the police have actually checked Kaysera's phone. While the county attorney's report mentioned that warrants were obtained to go through her phone, it didn't say whether the phone was actually searched. The family is equally uncertain if police have interviewed residents of the neighborhood where Kaysera was last seen and eventually found.

54:59The family is aware that statements were taken from the last three individuals seen with Kaysera, but they have no clue if further investigations were conducted, including any investigation into Natosi, who was reportedly trying to run down every other member of the group with his truck that night. When I spoke to Grace, she told me that no one has ever really given an explanation to the family for why they haven't been given access to any documents or information. Today, the family has little communication with law enforcement or the county attorney. Neither agency reaches out to the family to offer updates, ask questions, or anything else.

55:40As far as the family knows, authorities aren't investigating Kaysera's death. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit has investigators looking into Kaysera's case, but the family doesn't know if they can do a review of what Bighorn Police have done, because again, no one is communicating with them. Earlier this year, a new sheriff and county attorney were elected. The family is hopeful that they will release information to them, and that they'll bring in other investigative teams and resources for Kaysera's case. The family attorney told Showtime, Knowing what we know about this sheriff's office and this criminal justice system in Montana, I think law enforcement will leave it where it is, unless we build up enough public pressure and momentum that requires them to do their job.

56:32Which brings me right to our call to action. Yeah, we do have a couple of calls to action that we have organized. So we have a petition on change.org that is calling for justice and for an actual investigation that has received a large number of signatures. But we're still keeping that up because we haven't had any official response from the Department of Justice or any of the state law enforcement on that. So that's something that we're still asking people to go and sign. We have a Justice for Kisera Facebook page as well as web page, Justice for Kisera. And every August, we hold a series of calls to action events around the time that she went missing.

57:38We have a protest in Bacorn County, as well as a couple of webinars just with an update about her case. So those can all be found on our Facebook page. and her grandmother has been holding a annual Justice for Kaysera Memorial Run, which happens on the Crow Reservation, and it's also a virtual run. So you're able to participate in that as well. but I would just urge everyone who is interested in helping the movement in general, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's People's Relatives movements, to really just support any type of policy that is being pushed through your state. There's usually a task force, some type of bill, some type of federal bill that is being supported and pushed through legislation.

58:53And to support those, to support the representatives that are leading those bills. I mean, because it really is going to take federal initiatives, resources, and a national awareness to start to address this crisis. You can find information about all of this at justice4ksera.org. Of course, I will link the website in the show notes. Please take a moment to at least share Kaysera's picture and share this episode. Media pressure really can move mountains. As a reminder, 18-year-old Kaysera Stops Pretty Places disappeared in the late hours of August 24th or early hours of August 25th, 2019. She was last seen on Rangeview Drive in Hardin, Montana, very close to the border of the Crow Reservation.

1:00:01On August 29th, Kaysera's body was discovered in the same neighborhood. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bighorn County Investigators at 406-665-9780. But, as always, thank you, I love you, and I'll talk to you next time.

1:00:30Voices for Justice is hosted and produced by me, Sarah Turney, and is a Voices for Justice media original. This episode contains writing and research by Haley Gray. If you love what we do here, please don't forget to follow, rate, and review the show in your podcast player. It's an easy and free way to help us and help more people find these cases in need of justice. Thank you.