transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you all know that we have dropped several new merch items to our spring collection. We have multiple new designs in t-shirts, baby tees, hats and totes. And as a reminder, 100% of the profit from any merch from any of the Mile Higher media shows goes directly to the Higher Hope Foundation to support victims of violent crime as well as other like-minded nonprofits. We really appreciate your support. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me today. And if you're new to the show, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. Means a lot. And make sure you click subscribe so you never miss an upload from me. So you guys, today, I'm gonna be telling you about a case that is incredibly heartbreaking, but also incredibly inspiring at the same time. I mean, the lengths that this father went to get justice for his daughter, and really this whole family. They are so impressive. Everything they went through, it's just a really jaw-dropping story in so many different ways. We're gonna be talking about the senseless murder of Ne'Keisha Hodges-Hawkins. And what this man did for his daughter is beyond impressive. I mean, he truly went to the ends of the earth for her, and it is so inspiring to me as a parent now myself. I feel like I'm constantly learning things from the parents in the cases that I cover. This is true love between a father and a daughter, and it's really beautiful to see what he was able to do, what he was able to accomplish also with the help of his supporters on social media that ultimately forced the police department to actually do something to solve this case and get Ne'Keisha justice up the end of the day. And it's also such a great story, a great reminder really of the power that people can actually have when you come together to change the justice system. So let's go ahead and get into the case here. And of course, as always, I want to start out here by talking about who Ne'Keisha was. So Ne'Keisha Nicole Hodges-Hawkins was born on July 28th, 1993 in Michigan City, Indiana to her parents, Janice Hodges and Kalvon Hawkins. And while her full name is Ne'Keisha, she mostly went by Keisha, it seems like, at least to most people. And so that is what I'm going to be referring to her as today. So Kalvon also had an older son from a previous relationship. His name is Kalvon Jr. And later he and Janice had a younger son named Kenyatta, which made Keisha the middle child and also the only daughter, which is, in my opinion, a very special role to have. And she was very close with her family. And Janice has said that she and Keisha really did everything together, while Kenyatta described her as his best friend. And I just loved learning about their family dynamic. They all seem so close with each other. And I really envy families that have this type of bond. I think it's so cool, especially when the kids are younger to be this close. I think is really special. And growing up, Keisha really had such a big personality and so much energy that her family ended up nicknaming her Monster because of how rambunctious she could be. She has been described as super fun loving, really energetic, really silly, and so much so that she loved pulling pranks on people, which I thought was a really fun fact about her. Like for instance, I read this one story that when she was 11, Janice had asked her to wake up her brothers one morning, which is sometimes no easy task. So Keisha ended up grabbing cups of water and just threw it on them while they were sleeping. And I loved that. I wish they had a video of it, would have loved to see it. But of course, this made them furious in the moment, like at first, because someone dumps water on you, you're going to be shocked and pissed off at first. But then she was laughing so hard that they couldn't stay mad for very long and just joined in with how silly she was being. And I thought that was really cool. And it seems like her outgoing personality was just really infectious to everyone that she came across. Like anyone who spent time around her couldn't help but kind of match her vibe. And so naturally, she had a lot of friends and was very well liked among the people of Michigan City. And as Keisha got older, she became even more and more involved in her community. She played sports like basketball and she was also a libero in volleyball. And if you didn't know, because I certainly did not, a libero, and I hope I'm saying that right, is a defensive player who is always positioned in the back of the court. And basically, I guess their job is to stop the ball from ever hitting the floor, which sometimes, and makes total sense, required really hard plays or positions. They have to be very, very focused in every moment. And I'm no volleyball expert. It always did look fun to me. I was always jealous of the volleyball girls at my high school. Just looked like they were having a good time. But that's my best understanding of what a libero does. And again, I hope I'm saying that right. But anyway, she was very good at volleyball, and that position specifically. So much so that not only was she on the high school team, but she also played in a local association called Dunes Volleyball Club. But sports weren't her only passion. She was actually a very well-rounded young adult. She also loved singing, and people said that she had a really good voice. And she was even in her church's youth choir. And of course, her family was super supportive of her singing. One time, Calvon even took her to his friend's music studio so she could record her own track, which at that age would have been the coolest ever. And it really just shows you what a cool dad Calvon is. And on top of all of these activities that she was balancing during her senior year of high school, she also got a job working at a daycare. And I thought this was kind of funny, but when she first started at the daycare, according to her family, she didn't even like kids. Not that she didn't like kids, but she wasn't like super passionate about kids. But then after spending some time working there, she ended up loving being around kids. And I think that also shows you kind of the type of person that she was, that she was able to kind of dive into anything and grow passion from it, and just make the most out of everything that she did. And even though she did have so much going for her, she, like so many of us, struggled a bit in class. And Calvon said that she was a very good student until she was in high school. At some point, according to them, she just didn't put in as much effort into her classes because she began to just prioritize her social life more, which of course isn't that out of the norm for a teenager to do. But it did affect her graduation. She was able to still walk in the ceremony, which is nice, but she wasn't able to actually get her diploma until she finished up just one more class in summer school. And Keisha took that seriously. She worked to achieve her diploma. She planned to go to college in Michigan, where she wanted to study psychology and eventually become a relationship counselor. And I think that's a really unique path for a teenager to want to take. I just haven't heard of many teens specifically wanting to be in relationship counseling, but it makes sense given how good she was with people. And I gotta say, it's such a weird feeling that Ne'Keisha and I were in the same time of our life. We were born the exact same year. I was also born in 1993. I also graduated in 2011. I also struggled in school and did summer school. And it's just strange for me to think about that, just the fact that over the summer of 2011, after we both went through graduation, we had very different summers. And her family had a very different summer than my family. And this is an exciting time of going to school and starting adulthood. And I don't know, it's just strange to think about the fact that we would have the same age now. And yeah, it's just, I know so many of you have commented about similar situations or being the same age or living in the same state as a victim and how it just, it's weird to have a small connection like that because unfortunately, Keisha would never get to fulfill any of her dreams, any of her goals and would never live past the age of 17. Because at that point in July of 2011, her life was shockingly taken in such a horrific way. And that brings us to July 24th, 2011. And that started as just a normal day for her family. Kalvon drove Keisha to her shift at the daycare before going to work at a car stereo shop that he owned. And then after work, she went to a birthday party and then was back home by that evening. And when she got back, Kenyatta was over at his friend's house. And so Keisha, Kalvon, and Janice all just hung out around the house together. Very normal night. The three of them watched Insidious 2. And when the movie was done, Keisha took a shower and then got dressed to go back out. But before she left, Kalvon had stopped her to ask where she was going, of course. He's a very attentive dad. And she told him that she was heading over to a family member's house and just wanted to go home. Later on, he said instinctively he didn't believe her. He knew that she was lying. She's a teenager, lying is kind of par for the course. And in the past, he had been really strict, but he decided to just let her go without pushing anything, which is something he carried a lot of guilt over for a long time, which breaks my heart because it's such a hard balance as a parent. You never want to be too overbearing on your kids or too controlling, especially when they're about to move on with their lives and sort of leave the nest. You want them to experience what it's like to be an adult and be able to make your own decisions even if that decision involves lying. So he let her go anyway. And at this point, Keisha was just days away from turning 18. She was out of high school and she was a good kid. That's the bottom line here. So why would he not let her have some freedom that night? And it breaks my heart thinking that he has carried any guilt over that. I mean, how could you not? But it's certainly not something that I think anyone would blame him for. And even though he didn't believe her, he asked her to go ahead and call him once he got to this relative's house and then the two of them exchanged I love yous and she left for the night. But shortly after that, it became known that unfortunately, Calvon's instincts were spot on. Have you ever wondered why your prenatal vitamins stays the same when your body changes so much during pregnancy? It's something that I did think about during my first pregnancy, but with my second pregnancy, I found Perelel. And I took it during the majority of my pregnancy, and I had a wonderful experience. I seriously cannot say enough good things about it. They actually change their formula as you progress through each trimester of pregnancy, which is so, so needed. And I trust their vitamins because they are founded by an OB-GYN who formulates all of their products. It's actually the first OB-GYN founded vitamin brand. And they use research-backed ingredients in doctor-recommended doses. I love that it was so easy for me to take, easy for me to travel with because they come in these little packs. And each daily pack, even though they're small and there's not many pills in it, contains a comprehensive vitamin routine for your exact stage. And what's really cool is they even offer a postpartum support pack, which I'm currently taking, and I have had such a better postpartum experience this time. And obviously that's not just because of Perelel. I've learned quite a few things over the years since my last pregnancy, so I'm doing a lot differently this time. But overall, I'm feeling so much better. I'm healing better, and they're so convenient, it's easy for me to take them. I also love that you can travel with these packs. You don't have to bring a bunch of different bottles. I have truly loved my experience with Perelel. I highly recommend the brand to anyone out there who is pregnant looking to become pregnant or postpartum. An exclusive for my listeners, new customers can enjoy 20% off their first order with code TCKR. Just visit parallelhealth.com. That's perelelhealth.com. If there's something that I'm all about when it comes to my wardrobe and shopping in general, it's secondhand. It's so much better for the planet, and I also think it's fun to find unique pieces that way. And recently, I got introduced to Whatnot, and I found a great seller on there. There's a bunch that do this, but there's one in particular I really like that sells luxury handbags and wallets and belts and accessories and things like that that are all secondhand, so they're at much lower prices. And again, it's reusing, it's better for the environment, and you save a lot of money buying secondhand. Now, Whatnot is the number one live shopping app in the United States, and what's so cool about it is the shopping happens in real time with real people. You can have conversations with the people that are selling and get incredible deals. So it just makes it very exciting because you're live bidding on these pieces. And I had never done live bidding before, so I was a little intimidated to even try, but Whatnot makes it so simple. It's really such a fun way to shop, and like I said, the best part is you almost never pay full price. I couldn't believe the deals I got. I got two Louis Vuitton wallets for a very small fraction of the original price. And you can shop these name brands across makeup, perfume, clothes, handbags, jewelry, and more, all without the retail sticker shock. This is the best place to find great deals on products you love and things that aren't even available to buy anymore. And there really are some amazing sellers on there with great tastes that are going live 24-7. And you can comment in real time and they will show you a close up of the clothes, explain the sizing, or answer any questions about any of the products. So download the Whatnot app today and get free shipping on your first order. Just search W-H-A-T-N-O-T, Whatnot, in the App Store and start scoring amazing deals. Only about 20 minutes after Keisha left, Janice got a call from her, and Keisha told her that she was actually at a local park called Krueger Memorial Park. And some people were physically fighting, so she wanted to be picked up. And Janice, also being an incredible parent, didn't even ask any questions. She just immediately left and rushed to go pick her up. And she would later say that while she was there, she expected to just bring Keisha home, of course, and then lecture her about lying and then ground her. But she never could have imagined what would end up happening instead. I mean, I don't think any parent would ever imagine something like this actually happening to your child. And I say that because literally as Janice was on her way to pick her up so close to being able to pick her up and bring her home, Keisha was murdered. And I'm going to explain the moments leading up to it. I just want to warn you, it's really, really hard to hear, especially with her being so young. But she had actually gone to this birthday party that was being held at the park. And this party had a stoplight theme, which I personally had never heard of a stoplight theme before. It's kind of a fun idea, actually. It's kind of cool. It's like depending on your relationship status, you wear a certain color shirt. So if you're single, you wear red. I mean, no, if you're single, you wear green. If you are sort of in a situationship or like a thing, as I think how they call it these days, that's yellow. And then green is single, green light. Okay, so she's at one of those parties. And that night Keisha was wearing yellow. Doesn't really matter that much. I couldn't find anything more about any relationship she was in or how she really defined her relationship status. But anyway, she arrived at this party thinking she's gonna have a fun night. Summer, she's a teenager. She's just graduated high school. And the party was in full swing with about 150 people there, including some of her cousins and her little brother, Kenyatta. And at that age, it would feel so exciting to be at a party like that. I mean, I never went to a party that big when I was her age and I would have been really into it. So you would never expect what would happen there to actually happen. But during the party, a fight broke out just between some of the people who were there, and that made the park's security guard shut down the party. So everyone at the party is dispersing. Of course, this gets really chaotic quickly. And sometime during all of this, about six gunshots rang out. And people who were there would later describe it as three gunshots, then kind of a couple moments of silence, and then another three gunshots. And Kenyatta was outside when he heard one of his cousins scream. He recognized her scream and instinctively he ran towards her. But when he found her, he realized that she wasn't hurt at all, which is good. But then he realized that she was screaming because Keisha had been shot in the back of the head, and she was rapidly bleeding out. And this is just so heartbreaking to think about. But Kenyatta, at just age 13, sat down on the ground and held his sister as she passed away. And to think about how traumatic something like that would be on a 13-year-old, it's hard to even wrap your mind around. I don't think, if you haven't been through it, I don't think you could ever understand. There's no way I could ever understand. My heart just breaks for him. That is one of the worst things I've ever heard. But soon, first responders did arrive at the scene, and she was pronounced dead right then and there. And then this scene gets even worse because right after that, Janice pulls up, and she is planning on picking up her daughter. I can't imagine what it must have been like for her, thinking that she is coming to pick up her daughter and bring her home safely. And she's also kind of heated and mad at her and thinking, you know, I'm gonna ground her when she gets home. And then she gets there and is shocked to find her body on the street. And apparently she ran up to her, lifted the white sheet that had already been placed on Keisha and saw her baby girl in that state and only really had so much time before first responders ended up pulling Janice away from the crime scene. She then called Calvon and just said, Keisha's dead. And he was in such a state of shock that he just hung up on her without saying anything. So she had to call him back again and explain it once again for him to understand what happened. And then when he did, he immediately went right to the scene. Now he says that when he got there, a random teen who he had never seen before came up to him and said that a guy named Charles was the one who shot Keisha. But Calvon couldn't focus on this for too long in the moment because he just needed to get to his family as quickly as he could. And he found Kenyatta covered in Keisha's blood and Janice in complete shock. And this is truly a moment that not many families experience altogether to go through trauma like this is just beyond horrendous. And they would later describe her blood being cleaned off the street and unable to feel like any of it was real. And how could they? How could you feel like that's real in that moment? It would feel like a fucked up nightmare. Earlier that night, they were watching a movie together. And then just in a few minutes, their entire family's lives changed like that. And Keisha's was abruptly taken in such a brutal way. And only four days before her 18th birthday. And in the days that followed, I'm sure they were just trying to make sense of everything as best as you can. Trying to process, but they didn't have any answers about why this happened or who did this. And yes, Calvon was given a name at the scene, but other than that, there wasn't much evidence. And the police were quickly facing roadblocks in the investigation. Because even though there were about 150 people at the park that night, no one was willing to talk. No one out of 150 people, which is really mind blowing. But when you think about it, most of them were minors and they didn't know what to do. They were stared and their parents were telling them, a lot of their parents were telling them, don't come forward out of fear of retaliation or distrust of the police. So it was a very, very difficult situation and felt impossible to get any information. Because many people there were just heartbroken by this loss. And that became very apparent at Keisha's funeral on July 30th, 2011, when over 200 people attended. Which is incredible, of course, but Calvon felt like a lot of the people there were letting his daughter down. And during his eulogy, he just outright drew attention to it by saying he believed that some people who were attending most likely know who killed her but won't tell the truth. He even called out people for pretending to support them while also not doing anything to try to help get justice for Keisha. And of course, it's very understandable that he would feel this way, right? I mean, think about being at a funeral, 200 people there, and you're looking around at other people mourning and wondering who here knows exactly who did this? Whose feelings, whose actions of grief here, whose emotions are real? Because even if these people are feeling genuine guilt and are mourning the loss of Keisha, there's this part of you that wonders how much you can actually be feeling those emotions if you have the information that would help their family and you're not coming forward. And of course, it's a very layered and complex situation. But it would be, I see why it would be very difficult, confusing, frustrating, angering for Calvon. And to make matters even more heartbreaking, the funeral was held just two days after Keisha's birthday. Think about what that would be like having to buy a casket for your child instead of getting them a birthday present. And this is also really sad, but her high school diploma arrived in the mail after she passed away. So after all the hard work that she had put in to achieve that, she never actually got the chance to see it herself. But in the midst of all this grief and their family trying to make sense of everything that happened, it seemed like there just might be answers as to why this happened. Because on July 26th, Michigan City Police announced that Cameron Kent had been arrested for Keisha's murder. Now it turns out that this one other kid, James Saunders, had also been shot that night. He survived because he was just shot in the calf, but he told police that he saw Cameron shooting into the crowd. So when they interviewed Cameron, he admitted that he had fired his gun that night, and he even told them where he had hidden it, which led to police arresting him for injuring James and for killing Keisha. But this made no sense to her family right off the bat because they actually knew Cameron, and he and Keisha were friends. He used to come over to their house when he was younger, and the two of them would play. And not only that, but on the night of the murderer, he even approached Anis and gave her a hug and consoled her in those moments. So it was all incredibly shocking and confusing. Something just felt wrong, but it turns out it's because it was wrong. Cameron did shoot James, but he was not the one who murdered Keisha. Because on September 25th, the ballistics test came back and his gun did not match the bullets that killed her. So the murder charges were dropped and he was still later sentenced to 18 months probation for shooting James. And with this, the investigation into who killed Keisha was back to square one. And without any physical evidence or any witness willing to speak, the case quickly went cold. And unfortunately, during this time, the pain that their family was experiencing was not getting any easier. Because on October 22nd, Calvon's dad passed away. Then just a few months later, he closed his car stereo shop. And all of this combined just compounded the grief that he was experiencing and led him into a deep state of depression. I mean, a true depression, which is very understandable considering all he had gone through. And he later said between the years of 2013 and 2016, he struggled to get out of bed, he hardly left his room, I mean, he was just truly having trouble functioning as a human being after everything he had been through. And when he did leave his room, he didn't seem to really engage with the world around him anymore. He couldn't work, he became so despondent with his family that Janice really had to step in and take care of everything. And before that, she hadn't needed a job because Calvon had made enough income, but during this time, with how bad his depression got, she had to go back to work and was now the only one able to financially support them. Which truly kudos to her, that is a lot for her to take on so suddenly as she is also experiencing grief. But you do whatever you need to for your family and for your husband. And I'm just really impressed by her. And then Kenyatta, he was still just a kid at the time. So Janice had to make sure that at least one parent was completely present for him, too. And Kenyatta would later say that he felt neglected by Calvon at this time. It's probably really hard at that age to understand, especially after everything he had been through as well. But yeah, Janice, he was very impressed by his mom. Inspired by her, he said. And I agree, I think she's just truly amazing to carry all that pain of losing her daughter and still made sure that their family is at least keeping their heads above water at this point. And just managing all the day to day tasks, it was a lot. She took care of really everything while also sticking by Calvon during his worst moments. And this went on for a very long time and depression can completely take over you and can feel almost impossible to break out of. But finally, he sort of did in 2016, which was five years after Keisha's death, Calvon finally felt like he had no choice but to start fighting for justice. And boy, did he fight. And what really kickstarted everything was in November of 2016, he received some shocking information.

Speaker 2:
[27:47] You guys, Mother's Day is right around the corner, which I cannot believe.

Speaker 1:
[27:51] I mean, this year is going way too fast. But if you're looking for a Mother's Day gift for someone special in your life, look no further than Aura Frames. Now, if you've heard me talk about Aura Frames before, you know how much I love my Aura Frames.

Speaker 2:
[28:06] I don't even know how many I have, too many to count at this point. I'm actually gonna pull up the app right now and give it a little count. You may think I'm bluffing right now, but I manage 18 different Aura Frames. And Aura is actually one of my number one apps.

Speaker 1:
[28:20] I spend tons of time editing photos, sending them to different frames. Now, of course, all 18 frames aren't in my house, although I think I have about eight in my house, maybe seven or so. But I've given so many people in our lives these as gifts.

Speaker 2:
[28:35] All the grandparents have them, all the aunts and uncles. And I am doling out pictures of my beautiful children whenever I get the chance.

Speaker 1:
[28:42] And I have different frames set up for different things. Like, for example, I have a frame set up in our house that's specifically for home video.

Speaker 2:
[28:49] I have one that's just black and white.

Speaker 1:
[28:51] I have their ink frame, which I am brand new to. It makes pictures look like actual printed photos versus a screen. And I have black and white photos in that one. I have a frame at our office. I have a frame that's just for Josh, that's mostly daddy pictures. And I just had a baby, and of course, I have been uploading so many new photos of me and my son, pictures from the hospital, and getting to relive any of these moments whenever I walk by is absolutely priceless. The app is extremely seamless to use. I love how simple it is. I love how user-friendly it is as someone who really struggles to use technology.

Speaker 2:
[29:30] And I love that it holds unlimited photos and videos.

Speaker 1:
[29:34] If I did not have an Aura Frame, I would be just over the moon to receive one as a gift for Mother's Day. It's a gift that just keeps on giving. And what's really cool about giving an Aura Frame as a gift is you can preload your photos before it even ships. So as soon as it's plugged in, they can see the pictures that you picked out. You can actually pick one specifically to pop up when they first plug it in. You can add a message before it arrives.

Speaker 2:
[30:00] There's a gift box included.

Speaker 1:
[30:01] Every frame comes packaged in a premium gift box with a no price tag.

Speaker 2:
[30:06] And then, yeah, you just keep sending them photos through the app.

Speaker 1:
[30:09] You can even set it up to text photos straight to your frame. I even have it set up for certain albums in my phone that will sync to certain frames. It's a top rated app. It works very, very well. I've been using it for years, like I said. It reached number one in the App Store on Christmas Day in 2025.

Speaker 2:
[30:26] So make Mother's Day special with Aura Frames.

Speaker 1:
[30:29] Named number one by Wirecutter. You can save on the gifts moms love by visiting auraframes.com. For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best selling Carver Mat Frame with code TCKR. That's auraframes.com promo code TCKR. Support the show by mentioning me at checkout.

Speaker 2:
[30:48] Terms and conditions apply. During my pregnancy and now that I'm postpartum, I am all about feeling comfortable. And not just feeling comfortable, but feeling a little bit put together in my comfortable pajamas and sets.

Speaker 1:
[31:05] I'm spending a lot of time contact napping with my baby. And also while I was pregnant, I was wearing pajamas and loungewear all the time.

Speaker 2:
[31:13] And one of my favorite brands for these items, mainly because of the quality and comfortability and also the stretch is Kindred Bravely.

Speaker 1:
[31:22] I've been a Kindred Bravely customer for a long time. I wore a bunch of their pieces during my first pregnancy and definitely hit them up again this time. And I'm currently recording this while I am wearing my Kindred Bravely pajamas. I have a bunch of their sets and I love how cozy they are, but also lightweight because I am now starting to have the postpartum hormonal sweating nighttime madness. And if I don't wear something light and stretchy, I am going to feel so uncomfortable during the night. Kindred Bravely makes intimates and apparel for maternity, postpartum and breastfeeding as well as baby essentials. And it's all designed to make early motherhood feel a little less overwhelming and a lot more supported. You might know Kindred Bravely for their best-selling hands-free pumping and nursing bra, but they do way more than that. They also truly do make the softest maternity and postpartum clothes, including plus sizes that you're going to want to keep wearing long after postpartum and breastfeeding. And their stork baby collection has really cute practical clothes and accessories for your little ones as well. Kindred Bravely has been trusted by millions of moms, since 2015, and everything is designed by moms themselves who have been there. And right now, Kindred Bravely is offering my listeners 20% off your first order when you go to kindredbravely.com/tckr. That is kindredbravely.com/tckr for 20% off your first order. Make sure you use my link so they know I sent you.

Speaker 2:
[32:47] Exclusions apply.

Speaker 1:
[32:57] Some of Keisha's friends came across comments on a Facebook page from people who had attended the party, and they said they knew who killed her. They actually took screenshots of these comments and sent them to Calvon, and then immediately he took them to the police station to show them. But when he got there, the police didn't respond in the way that he was expecting them to, hoping they would. They told him that there was nothing they could do about it, and that he should leave. And obviously, when they tell him this, he is pissed off. He is like, what do you mean? You can't do anything about this. I mean, obviously, the comments are hearsay, technically. But you would think that the police would at least want to look into it a little bit, contact the people who post them, see if they could dig for a little bit more information. I mean, do their job. But instead, they just dismissed the entire thing. So Kelvon is obviously feeling extremely frustrated. So he goes out to his car. He sits there for a minute, and then he starts blasting NWA's Fuck the Police. And let's not forget, Kelvon owned a car stereo shop. So I'm sure he knew how to play it loud enough for all of them to hear. And I think in that moment, it all clicked for him. He was fired up, and he wasn't about to let any of this go. He was not going to take no for an answer. And that's why I love Kelvon so much. So literally the next day, he goes back to the police station. And once again, he's told that they couldn't do anything and that he should just go home. And he did, but he was activated at this point and he came up with a plan. He changed into a T-shirt with Keisha's picture on it and made a poster that said, HONK, justice for Ne'Keisha. Help solve her murder. And then he goes back into the police station just to give them one more chance to let them confirm that they weren't going to do anything. And they said they weren't. So little did they know, they were fucking around and they were about to find out. Because when Calvon walked out of the police station, he did not go home this time. Instead, he stood outside of the police station alone with his poster, trying to start his own protest. But then he took it a step further. And what he did, which was something that he just did on a whim, would later change, or I guess in this moment, would change the entire course of this investigation. He opened up his Facebook app and he just decided to press live, having no idea what would happen, having no idea who's going to see it. And he had never done anything like that before, but he just started talking about what was going on to whoever was out there listening.

Speaker 3:
[35:33] I'm going live out here at the Michigan City Police Department trying to get help from my daughter. These people won't help me, man. These people right here. I go in here, they talking about my daughter's murder online, and these police still won't help me. They ran me out of the police station last night, told me they can't do nothing for me, man. They killed my daughter four days before her motherfucking birthday, man. I had to bury her for her 18th birthday, and these police would not help me. I go inside this police station, and the only thing they do, the only thing they do is make me sick and tell me they can't help me, no nothing. They talking about my daughter's murder online, man. I'm going to stay out here all fucking days. If they come out here and arrest me for disorderly conduct, I got two credit cards in my pocket to get out, and when I get out, I'm going to come right back outside here with my signs, my Keisha shirt, my hunt for justice, and her photo. They're going to help me with my daughter's murder, man.

Speaker 1:
[36:50] It did not take long at all for this to catch fire, you guys. Very quickly after he started this live, soon, thousands of people were watching his live, commenting on it, engaging with him, learning about Keisha's story, and so much so that the Michigan City Police Department caught wind of what he was doing and of course, they walked on outside.

Speaker 3:
[37:16] Now, they want to talk to me. How you doing? I'm doing fine. Just checking out the Keisha? Yeah. They talking about this online and won't nobody in there help me. So I'm going to stand out here. I'm going to get justice.

Speaker 2:
[37:29] You know what? If you could, reach out there and try to get somebody who knows.

Speaker 3:
[37:33] They're talking online, on my page right now about her murder. I brought in here last night. They ran me up out of here. I'm not going nowhere. Information for the case? On the case right now, go on my page, Calvin Hawkins, on Facebook. It's all online right now.

Speaker 1:
[37:50] But it was a little too late for them to just now, all of a sudden after the pressures on, to want to take action. So Calvin just kept going. I'm glad he did because even if they had done anything, he probably wouldn't have gone very far. And I think Calvin knew that. And the number of people watching just kept growing so much.

Speaker 3:
[38:12] Somebody go help me about my daughter. They posting this shit up online right now. Go to my page and you'll see it. They talking about the fucking murder. It won't nobody help me at all. I ain't even fucking slept last night. They not gonna come out the police station if they don't care. And I'm gonna be out here. This is crazy, man. And I'm gonna keep my camera rolling. It's so ridiculous. Brother, can I sleep? I can't even work. This is bullshit.

Speaker 1:
[38:56] People were really gravitating towards Calvon, which makes complete sense. He's got a very charismatic personality. There's something about him that is so likable, and I think it's also seeing a dad desperately, of course, wanting to solve his daughter's case and begging for people to help, but also just seeing his passion for his child just makes you want to get involved to be passionate. I mean, he's just able to really convey that right through a phone screen. I think what's so incredible about this is we have to remember that he had just come out of a five-year depression and it's not like he's back to normal or anything, but he had just been in his home, I mean, barely leaving for a long time, and now he's out doing this protest and he's live streaming to thousands of people having no idea what he's doing and he's just able to energize himself suddenly to fight like this after all this time. It's just, it's so cool, it's so impressive and those who knew him thought so too. Kenyatta was about 30 minutes away at college, but someone came up to him and asked him if that was his dad on Facebook Live. At first, he's like, no, what? Then he takes a look, starts watching it, and he is just shocked by how different Calvon was acting from when he had last seen him. Again, this was a man who was struggling to even leave his bed, and here he is outside of the police station demanding justice with a full chest, and he's got people behind him now. Even though at this point, it was just the start of his fight, he was already picking up a lot of steam and people wanted to do something, people wanted to see justice for Keisha. So before long, people are commenting, do you need more people out there? How can we help? How can we get involved? And soon, members of the community decided to just join him outside of the station to help him protest. And the live was getting so many views and shares that it ended up getting the attention of the local news, who then started covering the story. The attention was rapidly becoming too big for this case to continue being ignored. Anytime you take a step further than just learning about a case, whether you're listening to an episode or watching an episode or watching a documentary, whatever it is, when you take that extra step to leave a comment, even engage, to send an article, to repost an article, a podcast episode, a video, anything, and then even going an extra mile, signing a petition, emailing an official, tagging an official on social media, putting on that pressure, donating. Some of you even actually go get involved in cases that are local to you and join people in their fight. And when you do those things, even the smaller things, you are adding to the numbers in a big way. And again, this case is proof that it can work. Every single person who is watching Calvon, who was commenting, engaging with the stream, actually helps push it out further, by the way, if you didn't know that. We're now in the fight with him. So even though it's easy to start feeling like one person can't make a change, what am I going to be able to do? How can I make a difference? It simply isn't true. And especially now that we live in the age of social media, we have a much easier way and more power to actually make that difference. And I mean, now Calvon had an army of people behind him that he hadn't for years when he had felt alone for so long before this day when he finally pressed live. And in the weeks that followed that first live, he kept that momentum going. He passed out flyers. He continued protests outside of the police department. He organized a rally with local preachers to encourage people in the community to come forward with information. And speaking of the community, they were behind him in this fight too. So much so that they raised $5,000 as a reward for information leading to an arrest. But Calvon also kept active on Facebook. I mean, it had worked so far, so he kept it going. He regularly went live and he also posted tons of information about what was happening and just kept the public more engaged. With a lot more eyes on Michigan City Police, they had no choice but to take action.

Speaker 2:
[43:04] Boy, did they move quickly.

Speaker 1:
[43:06] I mean, they felt that pressure. New detectives were assigned to the case and they just started from square one. They went back and listened to every interview that was originally done in 2011. That's actually when they found something significant. A witness who claimed to have seen Charles Garen, who was just 16 at the time, shoot into a crowd of people that night. I'm sure many of you are already thinking this, but that name does line up with the one that that random teenager told Calvin about that night. But five years ago, this statement couldn't be corroborated by any evidence or any other witnesses, so this tip really wasn't pursued. However, that changed in 2016 when detectives were re-interviewing people who were at the party, which is when they spoke with Skyisha Pender, who was actually dating Charles back then. And she told them that she saw him shooting down a hill into a crowd. And not only that, but she had seen him with a gun before the party. 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So now, Michael and Skyeisha's statements are supporting each other, which led police to obtaining an arrest warrant against now 21-year-old Charles Garen. And on December 21st, 2016, police were able to search his place, but the gun used in the shooting wasn't found. It was later suspected to have been likely pawned off after it was used that night, but unfortunately, it was never tracked down. But even though the murder weapon wasn't found, that same day Charles was arrested for the murder of Keisha. And you guys, this was only five weeks after Calvon started those Facebook Lives. In a statement, Michigan City Police said new information came forward, but they didn't give any specifics on what that was. Which is really interesting because of course, when Calvon tried to tell them about those Facebook comments before he started the Lives, he was turned away. And to me, and I'm sure to all of you, it is just too obvious. So even if the police won't say it, because of course they won't, I will. Calvon's actions are what led to justice for Keisha, period. I mean, this father is what got his daughter justice in the end. The renewed attention that he was generating, it came from his efforts to force investigators to look into everything again. And I hope that this is really inspirational to other families out there who are having trouble with the police. And even if it's not as swift as it was in this case, let it be an inspiration to you to never give up, that it is always worth the fight. And when Calvon was asked about the arrest, he said, I was able to get some sleep for the first time in five years. I slept all through the night. But even with this major break in the case, I mean, an arrest, it's huge, it's amazing. It's a giant step forward, but the battle for justice was not yet won. It was not over. And a big reason for that is because when investigators spoke with Michael Cooper, he had recanted his story this time. Now he was saying that he actually didn't remember Charles shooting that night, and that he had originally just said that because police had wanted him to. So because of this, the case against Charles became even weaker, and prosecutors became worried that they wouldn't be able to get a conviction, which led them to trying to get a plea deal. And to get this, they negotiated with Charles' attorney to get him to plead guilty to criminal recklessness in exchange for him to serve 30 to 45 days. And it goes without saying here, but this is absolutely ridiculous. This is offensive. People spend more time in prison for DUIs or having drugs on them. This man took the life of a 17-year-old, and he was going to serve about a month in prison? Absolutely not. It was just unacceptable. And all of Keisha's loved ones, of course, felt the same way. They were pissed off. But leave it to Calvon. He starts doing what he does best. He starts fighting for justice. He started doing more lives to let everyone know what was going on. He also wrote letters to the court and found out where the judge parked at his office. And every morning, Calvon waited near the parking spot with a sign that said that he didn't support the plea agreement, so that the judge was forced to see it every day. And once again, all his hard work paid off because when it came time for it, the judge ended up rejecting the plea agreement, thankfully. Now this is something that actually rarely happens. So the prosecution at this point had a choice to either drop the charges or go to trial. And luckily, they decided to go to trial. But they still didn't feel 100% confident in their case, so they had to really buckle down and get to work before this trial. And one challenge that they were facing was that some witnesses said that they saw a shooter who was wearing a plaid shirt, but they couldn't confirm that it was definitely Charles. Now, when he had been interviewed that night of the shooting by the police, he was actually wearing a green shirt. And he had told them that that is what he wore to the party. So they speak to Skyeisha again, and they ask her if she remembers him wearing plaid. And she says, yes, she absolutely does. And then she tells something really interesting. Turns out there was a photo booth at this party, which she and Charles had posed for. So they wanted to know if she had kept these photos. But she said that she didn't because, of course, she had learned what he had done that night. And she was so upset that she just threw the pictures down on the ground. And that sparked a memory for the prosecutors. In the evidence collected at the scene, there was actually an envelope with these photos. So they went back to look at them. And sure enough, they were photos of Skyeisha and Charles with him wearing a plaid shirt. Which is just so wild to think about. I mean, the evidence that proved that he was the shooter was just there all along. And thankfully, Skyeisha did something so impulsive in that moment, like just throwing them on the ground at the scene, because that just led to this case getting stronger. And in September of 2017, the trial against Charles Garen finally began. Now, unfortunately, the prosecution was not able to present any physical evidence, of course, because the gun was never found, right? But they were really able to make up for that with witness testimony. Michael Cooper ended up being subpoenaed, and when he testified, he confirmed that he did see Charles shooting into a crowd that night. Apparently, after Cameron had shot his gun three times, Charles had responded by shooting right into the crowd. And these two are just so stupid. I don't know why they did this. I mean, there was just no reason for either of them to be shooting in this situation whatsoever. But even more damning, Cooper testified that after the party, he was at home with some other people, including Charles. And this is when he overheard Charles ask for some bleach to wash his hands with. And then after that, the jurors heard from Skyeisha, who told them that not only did she witness him shooting, but he also showed her his gun before the party had started. And the jurors heard from other witnesses who just backed up their claims, including Ne'Keisha's own cousin, who testified that after the shooting, Charles ran past her and said to his friend, Come on, bro, we just shot somebody. And during all this testimony, Charles couldn't even bother to act like he cared. He couldn't show any remorse, not even fake remorse. At some points, he's even fucking laughing. I mean, he is just such a waste of a human life. But luckily, jurors saw this man for the piece of shit that he is. And on September 26th, which just so happened to be Calvon's birthday, he was found guilty. Finally, after all these years, there was justice for Keisha.

Speaker 3:
[52:51] We just got out of court, man. I did this for you, baby girl. Six years of fighting, and it came to an end. Keisha can sleep. Now I can sleep. Six hard years. I fought for this baby, man. This is the best birthday present ever.

Speaker 1:
[53:21] But at the sentencing hearing, Calvon made it known that his fight was not yet over. And in his victim impact statement, he said, he is going to see me. I'm going to be in his life forever because every time he goes up for parole, modification or whatever, I'm going to be there. I'm going to get it denied. So he's going to see me for the rest of his life. And when the judge asked Charles if he wished to make a statement, he simply said, no, sir. And then his ass was sentenced to 50 years. He did try to appeal it because of course he did. But the Indiana Supreme Court denied it. And I just hope for everyone's sake that he is forced to serve that entire sentence. You never really know. But for the sake of the community, I hope that is the case. I'm sure you all agree. Anyone who can just easily take a life like that, not feel any remorse for all those years and laugh during the trial is someone who should be locked up away from society for a very long time. And that's another reason why I'm just so impressed by Calvon is he not only got justice for Keisha, but he really helped his community by getting this guy locked up. I think we can all learn something from Calvon. That's why I wanted to share this story specifically. You know, he never gave up even when things were extremely difficult for him. He was finally able to push past this horrible depression. He was in the worst time of his life and come out on the other side even stronger. And it's just so admirable. Not only are families out there dealing with the immense grief of the loss or the losses of their loved ones, but oftentimes they are going into a battle against these massive institutions just to get answers, just to get justice. And there's no handbook for how to do this. It's not like they've had training or education in it before they're just thrown into this world. And it can be extremely daunting, extremely draining. And sometimes it does take a couple years or longer for people to finally get up that strength to even do anything about it because it is just so overwhelming and it can feel really scary going up against the justice system. And that's why I love Ne'Keisha's story so much and the story of everything that Calvon did because I really hope it can inspire so many other families out there who are facing some of the same battles. But also again, because it's just a great reminder for all of us that there is power in numbers and that we should always take those extra steps even when we feel like one small aunt in the hill together, you can really make things happen. But that's going to be it for me today, you guys. As a reminder, I still am on maternity leave when this episode goes out. I'm not sure where in my maternity leave I am. I don't know what's going on. Maybe if you're interested, follow me on Instagram or check up with me there. And I don't know, I'll probably be posting some updates about when I'll return or what's going on there. But that's going to be it for me today, guys. I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for tuning in and stay safe out there.