Episode 328

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Pukkas, are you ready for the drop? Cause on the beach you're dropping Pukkas! Pukka, five-star holiday for 2026 and you get a free loan jagsess perk. So get Bucking Note. Conditions apply. Seven night minimum stay, outbound only from selected airports for up to six people, subject to lounge availability, Hastegludes cruises after an atoll protected. Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. You were there when he was killed. No, sir, I was not at his house when that man was murdered, sir. I can't... This is the kind of shit that gets people in trouble. Oh, my God, I know! Hello and welcome to Sword and Scale Episode 328. Let's go.sisisisisisisisisi Book in now. Terms of exclusions apply. They're up to 60 days before departure. Excludes cruises after an atoll protected. ["The O'Hidey or Friends for Years." They met while working at a local coal mine in a small town of Ohio called Belair. Sounds nice, right? Don't get ahead of yourself, though. This is Ohio. Belair sits along the Ohio River and borders West Virginia, another stunning location, filled with PhDs. It's a place built on hard work, traditional values, and coal. Yeah, coal. The thing that's probably powering your iPhone. For generations, the mines and the coal in it shaped everything in Belair. Those mines offer steady work for anyone willing to face the challenges of being underground all day long. It's dangerous work. Probably worth every penny and then some. But by 2017, these jobs were disappearing. Mines were shutting down and operations were scaled back. Work became harder to find and harder to keep. For men like Brad McGarry and David Kinney, getting and keeping a job in the mines made them feel lucky. This is Detective Ryan Aller of Belmont County. Belair is one of our bigger municipalities in Belmont County. I wouldn't say it's a high crime rate, but compared to other parts of the county, there's a good bit of drug activity down there. There's been homicides in Belair before, but it's been quite some time. So a case like this is very shocking to our community. Brad McGarry wasn't just a friend to David. He was a family friend, sharing holidays, family dinners and afternoons at each other's homes. To David's kids, Brad was known as Uncle Brad because they loved and trusted him. Brad was single, so he appreciated the opportunity to feel part of a full-blown family. And both David and his wife Sherry were happy to have Uncle Brad. Sherry felt almost like she had two responsible men in her life. She was a young single mom when she and David met. David was young too, but in no time they married and he became a father to her three kids. By 2017, they'd been together for ten years, and Brad had been part of the family picture for about six years. On May 7, 2017, David, Sherry and their 13-year-old daughter drove half an hour from their town of Brilliant to Brad's Belair home. A 1950s ranch, sitting almost at the end of a residential dead-end street. They were stopping by to give Brad a weed trimmer. It was a small gift to repay for some things he'd done for them. Brad was like that. He was a really helpful, good friend. Those are hard to come by. So they pull into the driveway, the gravel crunching under the truck's tires. It's a typical quiet Sunday afternoon. Sherry shifts in her seat and takes her seatbelt off while David exits the truck. As they're doing this, they immediately notice that the kitchen door is open, just slightly, but it's not normal. It's not like Brad, to just leave it open like that. David scrunches his face squinting towards the house, but their 13-year-old daughter is excited to see Uncle Brad, so she darts from the truck. Stay here, Sherry says automatically, but the girl's already halfway to the porch, where she waits, but appears inside. Meanwhile, David starts calling Brad because he's afraid something is off. Brad's phone rings, unanswered. Sherry watches David try again, holding his phone up and listening to empty ringing on the other end. She follows her daughter up the steps, and her adrenaline is pumping. The door swings inward with a soft creak under her hand. Inside, she sees chaos. Yanked open drawers and gaping cabinets. Papers and belongings were scattered like someone had ransacked the place in a hurry. At that point, Sherry is scared and reaches for David's arm. Go get your gun, she whispers. David doesn't argue. He turns back towards the truck, moving fast, but controlled. Sherry stands frozen in the doorway, one arm thrown out to hold her daughter back. Her daughter looks at her in sheer terror. What's happening, Mom? David comes back with his firearm at his side. His face is tight and pale. She's not used to seeing her tall, rugged husband in this state. He tells her to stay there. He's going inside to check. Sherry doesn't move. Gripping her daughter's shoulders. She wants to run out, but she can't make herself move. She's frozen, like a rabbit in headlights. David's footsteps creak on the basement stairs. A second passes, then another. Then, suddenly, she hears his panicked voice from the basement. Call 911! He shouts. Stay here. Stay here! Come here. What's the problem? What's the problem? Mama County, 911, where's your emergency? Hi. We have an emergency. I don't know. What's the, stay there! Where are you at? We, in West Malaya, I don't even know the where. Right next to Prisley. She come all the way back and up the hill. Okay, what's going on? I don't even know. You don't know what's going on? Where's the, oh my God. My husband's car is dead. What? Ma'am. It's the best job I've ever done. Ma'am. Where's your bad boy? We're in West Malaya. We came to visit my husband's friend. And his bachelor was cracked open. And he wasn't answering his phone, so we came in to help. And he's in his basement. The dispatcher tries to make sense of what's unfolding on Wagner Avenue. But Sherry is struggling to process it herself. Okay. Oh my God. Okay, calm down. Did you say he's dead? I think so. Oh my God. I think so. Okay ma'am. Does it look like something happened to him? Does it look like he fell? He's all over the floor. There's a blood everywhere. Okay, what is your name? My name is Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Sherry Kinney. Yeah, it's back door. It's cracked open. Okay. My husband locked in. Okay. And there was stuff all over the place in the kitchen. Okay, Sherry. I need you. I need you to try to find me an address. Can you do that? Oh God. I don't even know. It's straight on. Just put my vests up for these markets. Oh, let's see the address on the house. The questions keep coming from the operator, but the whole scene is disorienting for Sherry. She's still trying to make sense of the chaos around her when the most critical question of all waits in the background. Is he dead? Oh my God, he's just laying there. Okay. Okay. Okay. Does the back door look like it was forced open? No, it was his kitchen door. His kitchen door? Does it look like it was just, was it cracked open? Yeah. It wasn't forced open? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I need to go in here. Okay. It was just cracked. I don't know if it was forced entry. Sherry. Oh, I know. Sherry. Let me breathe in. If he's breathing. I don't think he's breathing. It was looking like they were too late and Brad was indeed dead. But how did this happen? Did he fall down the stairs or was there a struggle? What is his name? Brad McGarry. Brad McGarry? Brad McGarry. Okay. Is that your husband? My husband's freaking out. Okay. Okay. All right. Oh my God. He has a gunshot wound in the back of his head. He has a gunshot wound? Okay. Oh my God. Sherry. Sherry. Oh my God. Sherry. Oh my God. Sherry. I need you to calm down. Is there a gun near him? I'm sorry. I didn't see one. Okay. Ask your husband if he saw a gun lying on the floor. No. I don't see one. You don't see a gun? No. I don't see a gun. Okay. All right. I need you guys. Listen. I need you and your husband to be back out of the residence and wait outside for the officer. Okay. All right. Okay. Stay on the outside. You both are going to see you to go wait outside. Okay. Okay. We're outside. Okay. There were a lot of unanswered questions. Apparently Brad knew they were going to stop by and David spoke with him on that very day. But then he didn't answer his phone so the kinnies were already on alert. Brad was good at communicating and it just wasn't like him to ignore calls. Okay. I know you're upset and I know this is a horrible, horrible thing. Okay. I need you to try to calm down for me. Okay. Okay. I know. When was the last time you guys spoke with him? Huh? When was the last time you guys spoke with him? When was the last time you talked to him, DJ? She talked to him earlier. He was on the, he went to a wedding over the weekend. He was on his way back from his mom and he talked to him. Okay. Is that what today? Yeah. It was earlier today and he told him that we would be coming down and he would just come down whenever. Okay. All right. Do you remember what time earlier today you spoke with him? What time was it that you talked to him? You remember? It's on your, it's got to be on his cell phone. Okay. All I know is we, uh, well I asked my husband. He has to be so curious and you, you have your guys just because Brad wasn't answered as soon as he came was yelling and he wasn't saying anything. So he went to his truck and got his, got his suitcase, you know, because he was scared himself because it's not like Brad's not the answer. Okay. And then, um, oh God. Does your husband still have his gun out? Hunter, Bruce on his side. Okay. He has a gun so Terry just, you know, Terry's a reflection for being, being that he wasn't answering and the door was cracked open. We, you know, he got it because he was scared himself. Remember kids, if you're ever at a crime scene and you have a gun on you, let the 911 operator know. For the safety of everyone. Okay. The officer is out there. Okay. Make sure you tell the officer that your husband has a gun on his side. Okay. Just, all right. Okay. The other one, let you know, he has a gun. Okay. Talk with the officer. Okay. As first responders secured the scene, the question wasn't how Brad McGarry died. It was who would want him dead. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Bokers, are you ready for the drop? Because on the beach you're dropping... Pook Pook Pooks! With our price drop protection perk, if you book a holiday and it gets cheaper later on, you can claim credit back for the difference. What a bargain. So get book in now. Terms of exclusion supply. Pay up to 60 days before departure. Excludes cruises after an atoll protected. When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Granger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Granger offers millions of products in fast dependable delivery, so you can keep so you can keep your facility stocked safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAinger, click Grainger.com or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. You're delivered with plenty of time left on the clock, so your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAinger, visit Grainger.com or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. In May of 2017, Brad McGarry, a resident in the quiet town of Bolero, Ohio, was found dead in the basement of his home, facedown, surrounded by blood, with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his head. My name is Ryan Aller. I'm the chief of investigations at the Belmont County Sheriff's Office. I've been with the Sheriff's Office since 1996. I've been a detective since 2005. You know, Brad was a coal miner. He had a couple other careers. He seemed to be happy with that job. He was very well-liked by his friends and family. They say that he had a very outgoing personality. I kind of looked up any room he walked into, loved being the center of attention. Nobody I talked to, not a single soul, had a single bad thing to say about him, which I can't always say about the victims that we have. One of the things any good detective will do is they try to get to know their victims, even if they're deceased. And that's one of the most important things to do, try to get in the side of the head of your victim, try to know them. And, you know, sometimes you don't really like your victims. They're not the best people in the world. But, you know, I think I would have liked Brad. It was his friend David Kinney and his wife Sherry who made the discovery. As detectives started to dig deeper, they uncovered parts of Brad's life that no one had talked about, and people who might have wanted him gone. One of the first leads that came in was from a local cab driver. He told police that a woman he knew named Courtney had asked him for a ride to Wagner Avenue. Her plan, she said, was to rob a man she claimed had contacted her through a Craigslist modeling ad. According to this guy, the man was going to give her $500 for nude pictures of her. But the deal changed when he added that he'd like to see the pictures of her three-year-old child as well. Courtney saved his number in her phone under the name Baby Raper. She told the cab driver the man was sick and that he deserved whatever was coming. It was the kind of lead investigators just couldn't ignore. But when they interviewed her further, Courtney said she didn't go through with it. The cab driver said he refused a driver because he'd been drinking that night. She said she deleted the messages, but she gave the police the man's phone number. And when they traced the number, it led them right back to Bel Air. Close enough that police had to wonder, was Brad McGarry living a life no one knew about? Was he indeed the Baby Raper on her phone? Or were they just chasing the wrong lead entirely? Detectives started digging and discovered that Brad would probably be the last person who would ask for naked pictures. Courtney's story fell apart too. Phone numbers didn't match. She gave the wrong street and she was just kind of a sketchy witness all around. With that lead fading fast, detectives turned to the people who knew Brad best, starting with Brad and Sherry. When was the last time they saw Brad? Well, it was just a day before. A Saturday. What'd you guys do when he got there? Brad made pizza and we all had some pizza. Went down the basement, was talking about the two spare rooms in the back. He was planning on, we tore all the drywall in the one room, piled a bunch of stuff up in there. We were talking about how to dry lock it and you know, start getting stuff done because he had a company wanting to come in to put rug down and stuff. I'm out down there and BS'd about that, come upstairs, play with the dogs, you know, my son and I just, we just hung out. The normal thing you can do at your buddy's house. You should hang out there a lot. He goes with me. What's he do while you're there? He usually just hangs out with us. Okay. I get to get a house full of girls. He's the only boy so a lot of times it's hey dad, can I go? That was Saturday, May 6th. They hung out and then Brad took off for a wedding that evening. When it was over, he stayed with his family overnight and he called David just to check in. He called me that night when he got back to his mom's house and we just BS'd about the way. And then he called me the next day. Did he stay in his mom's house? Yes, yes. I heard his mom's or his grandmother's house. I'm not sure which house he stayed at. Now we're in a Sunday, right? Yes. On the day of Brad's murder, Brad was excited to get home. The Kennes had told him they'd be bringing him a gift. I was out running around. I would have did our normal Sunday thing throughout the day and had lunch. What's that? He texted me again, hey or hello. I texted, hey, he said don't forget my surprise. I said we'll be bringing it out. What was that? Probably about. He texted me, I would say it was probably one something and I didn't get right back to him right away. I think by the time I actually got back to texting him back, it was like three o'clock, quarter after three or something like that. I told him we'll be bringing it out. I told him, you know, stalked by a dirt buyer or no one's home, call me whenever you get home and we'll come out. So where were you in your way for that Sunday afternoon? I went to a Chinese restaurant, got some lunch after we got out of the house. What Chinese restaurant? Stubinville. Are you guys close to Stubinville? Yeah. I'll try to get to Geography. Yes. Like I said, 15 minutes away. We're like 15 minutes south of Stubinville. She and David had breakfast with the kids, then ran a quick errand to stop and pick up hair dye at Sally's Beauty in Stubinville. Stubinville, am I saying that right? Who cares? It's Ohio. Anyway, they came home and shortly after David said he had to go help a friend whose car had broken down. And he wanted to stop by Rural King, a farm supply store just to look around. Then David brought up the weed trimmer. And then I talked to a friend of mine and I went and I went and was going to go to Rural King, look at some trailers. Good truck. I did a little bit of running. Did you get there? Yeah. I just did my running I wanted to do. So you drove from your home in Rural King? Yes, sir. Was your wife with you? No, sir. Okay. And this was probably about one point, maybe about a quarter till two. Okay. And I left. She went back to Brewing. Yeah, I was back home. I think it was like three. I was back home about three o'clock. When David got back home, his wife was dyeing her hair. They decided to drive back over to Brad's thinking he'd be home from the wedding by then. His daughter wanted to go with them because Brad's dog had a litter of puppies she hadn't seen. And Sherry wanted Brad to see her new hair color. Why? You ask, would a male family friend be interested in her hair? Oh, well, that's easy. You see, despite the fact that he now worked in a mine, he had a job before that. He was a hairdresser. And yes, Brad was gay. Since the Kinneys knew this and the detective was asking about Brad's relationships, David had this to say. I can tell you one person I know that Brad would call on a vases to... Who said? Uh... Uh... She'd be a minute. Uh, Richard. Or a richie. Is he like a fuck buddy or a boyfriend? I think it was more along the lines of just a fuck buddy. Okay. Man, that's who he was with recently? I don't know if he was with him recently. I just know that they would... Brad would call him. What do you want him to come over? Were you ever there when he came over? I think I was there once when he came by. What do you look like? Uh... Medium heights, athletic belt, some tattoos. And then there was a young guy named Scotty. Friends and family describe Scotty as Brad's ex, someone he was involved with not long before the murder. According to them, it didn't end well. Scotty had a drug problem and legal issues, and Brad didn't need that in his life. Scotty wasn't happy when they broke up and even made some veiled threats. It looked like detectives might have found their suspect. But when they tracked Scotty down, he was already in jail, locked up for a probation violation. And that's where he was for the whole weekend of murder. Whatever happened to Brad, it wasn't Scotty. The more detectives questioned David, the more they found out about Brad and his relationships. Investigators had already spoken with Brad's friends and family, and they all hinted at yet another romantic involvement. Someone Brad talked incessantly about during the weekend of the wedding. But David didn't seem to be aware of this person, or at least he didn't let on that he knew. I wouldn't leave you no Brad, no, my... Eight years. My daughter was two when we first met. Where'd you meet Brad? Cold-mine classes. We carpooled. Did you say you were his best friend? Yes, sir. We got real close with him. Our families got real close. We did holidays and gatherings and everything together. Your wife too? Yes, sir. You can't remember for like what Christmas and the day after. Christmas Thanksgiving, he certainly did the same with him. What's your kids going? Uncle Brad. This was a breaking point for David. His kids called Brad, Uncle. He was part of the family and he was David's best friend. The numbness was wearing off for David now, and the realization was setting in that Brad was gone forever. Are we flurried? It's okay. First huge pain in the cry of the strength. I've just been trying so hard. Okay, it's all right. Take some deep breath. Good girl. The detective had obviously seen people cry before, but it seemed like David had been holding a whole lot of tears back for some reason. He was a big lumberjack looking guy, at least six feet tall, but in the police station he was reduced to the sobs of a child over the loss of his best friend. The guys are pretty close, weren't they? Yes, sir. What, uh, how close were you and Brad? Very close. How close were you guys? We were very close. Have you ever lost a best friend? I'm sure it's really hard, but being best friends with someone and being really close to them are two kind of very different things. David, you should... You should stuff on your friends a little... A little questionable. Yes, sir. Kind of sounds like you and Brad were boyfriend and boyfriend. Oh, yes, sir. We weren't boyfriend and boyfriend. I think he kind of shocked us. Did you guys have sex together? There's a few times in the past where, you know, he's attempted a lot and we've kind of pulled around a little bit in the past. But was it okay? David was married with kids, a wife, and a life built around routine and appearances. Brad was his best friend. According to detectives, that part didn't matter. This wasn't about judgment. It was about honesty. Hey, look. Uh, I mean... Well, this isn't about the 17th. This is between us, okay? There's some stuff on your phone. Anybody know about you guys? Uh... My wife doesn't have a phone around the folder. When was the last time she had a phone right now? It's been a while. It hasn't been recently. Say what's on your phone? The guy...the video you took of the guys having sex? Is that Brad and you or...? The video I took. Yeah, it's on your phone. Um...the...the...the machine he uses... Yes, sir, I understand. He brings all the...the... stuff that's stuck up. We'll have to pull through now. Yes, sir. The other stuff he deleted. Yes, sir, I understand. There's some... So text messages too. Yes, sir, I understand. The text messages paint a picture of a whole lot more than friendship. Put it that way. It was a very deep, deep friendship if you catch my drift. They were fucking...basically. Not only did David try to minimize the activities in their relationship, but... he also denied that these activities were...sex. When was the last time you had sex with him? We never had sex. We would just... pull around with each other. There's like some... ...sign each other. He would jerk me off. And I would jerk him off and he would... He would... I never had a bad little job. It's not... Are you ashamed about it? I'm sorry, sir. But what? I'm like, that's a deal. What does it do? I'm sorry. Was Brad and love with you, David? No, I...I couldn't tell you that he was in love with me. I mean, we did the whole... Alright, bud, love you. I love you too kind of thing. Like, you could ask my son when we left Saturday. So they told each other casually, Love you, bud. I don't know, but maybe that's what bros do in 2017. I'm really not sure. I'm really too old for that. But all the other stuff, I'll tell you right now, that's not something bros do. Pretty sure. Pretty sure about that one. The next question the detective asked was even more personal and would be an essential part of the investigation. There's a... used condom in this trash can that's going to lab. Hey, sir, I guess feeling your DNA is going to be on that condom. Oh, yes, sir. No? You sure? Yes, sir. Never? Not a sin. So Brad and David may have been fooling around to put it lightly. But DNA analysis confirmed he was telling the truth. The contents of the condoms were someone else's. Maybe Richie, a guy Brad would call sometimes for company. And it wasn't like Brad was slutting around. In fact, he didn't want another boyfriend. He wanted David. But David asked him to find boyfriends from time to time, almost like decoys, to keep people from knowing about the two of them. So the police would check into this Richie lead and anyone else who might have been there recently. But for now, the detectives would squeeze as much as they could out of David. I make times for how long? It was off and on for a long time. It was just kind of like a... Did he ever tell you you had feelings for him? It was a while back he came out. It was me and my wife, both. He didn't even know me. He came out to me at one point in time. I did have feelings for everybody. He said I understand that you were very good kids. And my wife was part of that whole situation. Does she know you guys ever did anything together? When was the last time you guys did do anything together? Oh my... It's been a little while. When asked to clarify, it turns out that a little means a few weeks. If you believe him, that is. And when asked the burning question, David said that one thing was off limits. At least that's what he said. Then again, he lied a lot to his wife and kid. To everyone, actually. You never had any blood sex? No, sir. The one thing that was kind of big, he tried to give me a... I told him I didn't want to. He tried to? He asked me to. To do him in the bud? No, he just asked me to have sex. Oh! He always got to that point. Never? No, sir. So you sure it's not going to be your DNA on that call? Yes, sir. I mean, you didn't realize that it is or it isn't? The detective was good at making David relax. Probably not as good as Brad was, but I digress. He needed all the information to get to the bottom of what was becoming a mystery. No detail was untouchable, as personal and as explicit as it might be. But there was one thing that David was particularly concerned about. His wife finding out. And this was odd, because all of Brad's friends seemed to think she already knew about her husband's affair with him. I don't know who told you that she knows. We're different people. I'm unrelated. No, sir. Brad told them. No, sir. Brad told them this. No, sir. Brad lost all that weight because he wanted to keep you. No, sir. My wife has no idea about this. Brad, would you believe her? No, sir. He's even told me before, like, I understand you're not going to leave your wife and kids. This interview made soap operas seem boring. So Brad is in love with David, and David is married to a woman with kids. David and Brad are best friends, though, and David appreciates the friendship as well as the favors Brad does for him. Cookouts, holidays, and barbecues, a little smoke, and a lot of heat. But the interrogation room was a pressure cooker, and the detective was about to crank it up to 11. David was brought in as a witness, but he was starting to look like something else. You got this wall. Oh, that's not my hand on that guy's ass having sex or thing. But look, is there some other deal with your tattoo? No, sir. You show me that picture. I wish you would. He's coming. I'll picture him. He's coming. I'll show you. It's you. Oh, my God. That's good. It's, but it's you. I mean, he's like a baby in the shit. No, sir, but I've never taken any pictures of me having sex with somebody. I have pictures of my family and me fucking my wife. David was telling the truth about that. The picture the detective was describing happened to be a picture of David having sex with his wife, not a man. Easy to mistake, I guess, depending on the angle. Yikes. So far, David hadn't confessed. The killer may have been someone else, but David still had some explaining to do. And it was complicated when he had so much more to hide. See, you drove by his house. You didn't stop. I drove by his house and he was not home. I put it in and it's in my phone. I swear to God. Listen, you drove by and he wasn't home. How long were you there? I wasn't there that long. How long? I don't know. This is, oh, my God. You tell me you just drove by. Did you stop? I drove by the house. I pulled off and he was not home. We're talking seconds, minutes? A couple minutes? Yes, I was there. I even sat there on my phone. I sat there on my phone. David said this occurred after he went to rural King. He stopped by Brad's, waited around for a few minutes and then went home. You guys really took... Oh. David. You got me. You guys really think that? Seriously? I'm not going to tell you that. David, look at me. I'm going to tell you I know. I know you had something to do with Brad's house. How could... What else could it be? Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Sir, I understand how this looks. I've known the man eight years. You're right now on their GPS. GPS in your whole day. I've known them eight years. How long you were at that house? You're going to tell you right now if she's your chance to get in front of this. Yes, sir. If you're not the type of guy that would do something like this. No, sir. I would not kill him. There's got to be something to it. There's got to be a reason. Oh, my God. I wouldn't do this. I wouldn't do this. David, you're a father. Yes, sir. You could get in front of this and tell me what the hell happened. We got together. We got it all. It's all on the phone. I know, sir. We were there on... We know exactly when he was killed. Yes, sir. I know. You were there when he was killed. No, sir. I was not at his house when that man was murdered, sir. This is the kind of shit that gets people in trouble. Oh, my God. I know. You had to get with it. Sir, what do you want me? I'll tell you anything. I don't know what happened. Oh, my God. What are you telling me? There's nothing I'm not telling you. I did not kill Brad. I did not kill Brad. Did you bite Brad? Oh, my God. No. What the hell's going on? I don't know about the rest of you fellow cis males out there, but listening to Mr. Mackie here, whale uncontrollably is a little... uncomfortable. Either David was hiding something huge, or he was the killer. By the way, what are the awards soap operas give out? The daytime Emmys? David gets a daytime Emmy. Remember how a minute ago he said, I'll tell you everything? He was just about to do that. What I saw there, what I read, what I've been trained to read. Yes, sir. What I saw, what I believe, is somebody panicked and opened all the doors in the house to make it look like something, and it was like, shit, shit, shit, shit. What do I do? Yes, sir. But I don't want you to look me straight in the eye, and I want to tell you, if you had anything to do with Brad's death, we will bring you to jail. I know. So listen to me now, and listen to me good. Like you never listen to anybody in your whole life, you understand? Yes, sir. I'm probably going to get a little grief over this, but I got a theory. I think it might have been an accident. David is unraveling, but even now he denies that he killed Brad. Instead, he starts to talk about that day. And now it sounds like maybe there's more to this than anyone realized. When Brad called me, he wanted me to meet up with him at his house before me and the wife and kids came out. Great. So I went to his house and I sat there and I waited on him and I waited on him. And he shows up. He had another guy with him. Great. I don't know who he was. I don't know his name. I swear it on everything that's going to hold him right now. What happened? He was to get out of the car. I could have walked over. Brats have gone on. On the back of his BMW. What happened? This is the horror part, isn't it? David, let it go. I can't. Look at me. Let it go. He looked off that chest. You'll feel better, I guarantee you. God. You heard a good shot. Yes, sir. Didn't want to happen. I went down the deck to the car. And the guy came running out of the garage. Okay. He got into Brats' BMW. Okay. And then I left. Okay. Okay. I'm so scared. It's okay. He knew what I looked like. My vehicle was there. I did not know what to do. At one point, after Detective Alar, he turns towards the camera and makes a what the fuck kind of face. One of the first stories he gave me was, oh, well, I was there and this mysterious person was with Brad. And I heard a gunshot, so I left. And I'm like, okay. Well, David, I said, so you hear a gunshot, your dear friends inside. You think something's going on. So you leave, you go home, you get your wife and kid and come back. And he's like, oh, well, this is what happened. So then he's like, well, I was in the basement and this guy had got out of Brats' car and, you know, he just went crazy and he shot Brad and he put a gun in my head and told me if I said anything, I'm next. I'm like, okay. So you go home, you leave there, this mysterious one-armed man. And he didn't really have one arm in the story. That's a reference to the fugitive. I said, so this guy kills Brad, tells him he's going to kill you and you leave. He's like, yeah. I was like, so you go home and get your family and come back to find Brad's body? Why? It was still possible that David had just been a bystander. But with every new detail, that was less and less likely. So quarter to ten to- Oh, God, oh, what do I keep saying? I need to call the cops. I need to call the cops. I need to call the cops. I need to know what happened. Dude, look out. I'm a cop. You're telling me now. Oh, my God. You know what? This guy shot Brad? Oh, sir. What did Brad say? This guy was a cop. You know what I mean? It was time to call David out on his bullshit. I did not see it. Oh, Brad, we're getting there. I'm trying to put this on me. I'm getting there. Now we got one more man who shows up. Oh, my God. David, the evidence. It's not me. That this guy wasn't there. There was. Where did he go? Did he find him? What else? What else would I have? What? He got so well. What? No, sir. I swear to God, sir. I swear to God. I'll pick the way for you because you're going to get struck by lightning. Oh, my God. This is all I'm coming down on me now. Well, because you did it. Oh, sir, I did not kill my best friend. Hey, David. Listen, I could tell you. I was all with you there for a while. Sir, I did not kill my best friend. You're going to insult me. I did not kill him. I didn't kill him. My son. My son. Sir, I don't know. Did you wife? No, sir. You sure? No, sir. That's fine. The detective was using every tactic he had. And still, David insisted that he wasn't Brad's killer. I mean, let's love each other. Two guys having a beer at a bar. What the fuck? What the fuck indeed? I mean, you can do whatever you want. And I hope you have the right to do whatever you want and all of the rights that everyone else has, of course, but still. Ew. Right? Next, he points out that the chief of police lives on Brad Street and happens to have cameras everywhere. He tells Brad that if he pulls out that footage, he's pretty sure he'll see a BMW pull into the driveway. And Brad will be in it, but the seat next to him will be empty. He had just given David numerous opportunities to be truthful. His life actually depended on it. But David just wouldn't be straight with him. Pun intended. I'm not talking, because I like to hear me talk. I mean, this is serious goddamn shit. You gotta see that the things you keep telling me, and listen, I'm at the point now, I don't think that you're telling me this stuff because you care about what I think. I'm gonna tell you something. I still hope you're not an ass. I don't think you can admit it to yourself what happened, because you immediately made up this grandiose story right away. And you believed it. You believed it. You made yourself believe it, because you can't live with yourself about what happened. Because he was your best friend and you loved him. He was born your friend. He was your heart, wasn't he? Me and Brad loved each other, but he was my heart. You love this man, and there's no shame in it. You understand? There ain't no shame in loving somebody, no matter what color they are. They got a dig or three bussies. It doesn't matter. You love him, you love him. Those are some pearls of wisdom right there. Finally, it seemed like David was ready to confront himself and tell the detectives what actually happened. Tell me what happened. You can probably... Me and Brad, we were really close. I know. I love them. Not like I do my wife, you know what I mean? I know. I love them. What happened? I want you to know before... I didn't shoot him. Then you shot him. I did not shoot him. Tell me what happened. Somebody did shoot him. Tell me what happened. David tells them that while he's at Brad's, a man he doesn't know comes into the place and starts an argument, and Brad accuses him of taking money. It turns violent. Listen, I'm gonna run this little shit down. You can run this little shit down. Don't let me tell you, sir. It looks like a... I don't want to shoot him. I can't bring myself to shoot anybody. My life is threatened, okay? There's a big fucking argument between who's dick is bigger and the money. Okay. With... Is this guy real? Yes, sir. Yes, sir, that guy is real. He and Brad have argued about it before. I'm assuming he means that he and Brad argued about this guy before. I wonder what they argued about. Not sure. In any case, it was another false lead. The detective was again sure that footage would show only two people on 358 Wagner Avenue that day. Brad and David. This was a personal issue between the two of them. And Detective Valar had a theory. It involved stolen money, which was one of the few truths in David's story. This is some fucking TV movie of the shit stuff here. Yes, sir. Don't worry. Here's what I think happened. Anything... This guy here that you're coming up with and creating? Okay. I'm thinking this is you putting more your guilt into this guy because you can't live with yourself with what happened. Brad's mad at this guy and you're mad at this guy for stealing Brad's money. Brad accused you of stealing this money. If you did or didn't, it's irrelevant. But Brad accused you of taking your money. You were so upset that the man you love thought he accused you and he's dead. And you totally dumped all your guilt and your accountability into this dude who doesn't exist. Yes, sir. Okay? That's some crazy shit, man. I've never seen anybody so upset or sick of their selves that they went to this extreme. It's crazy. It's all right. This was yet another lie. And there was still one lie left. This one, David hadn't said out loud. Not yet anyway. If you work in university maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Granger is your trusted partner. Offer a game of football. You can keep your facility stocked safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRANGER. Click Granger.com or just stop by. Granger for the ones who get it done. When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Granger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers. Granger is a great place to get your money. Granger is a great place to get your money. Granger is a great place to get your money. Granger is a great place to get your money. Granger is a great place to get your money. Granger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Granger offers millions of products in fast dependable delivery. So you can keep your facility stocked safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRANGER. Click Granger.com or just stop by. Granger for the ones who get it done. 2 Men in Ohio. David is straight, allegedly. Married and has children. And his best friend Brad is gay. Somewhere along the way, their friendship crosses a line into a sexual affair. All of Brad's friends know this DJ. This man Brad is in love with. But is David in love with Brad? This may never be known. He claims he loves him, but not like he loves his wife. They all say David's wife is onto the whole thing. But David insists she knows nothing other than David confessing to her that Brad has told him how he feels about him. But hey honey, no worries, he tells her. I'm not going anywhere and there's nothing going on between us. We know that he's not going anywhere. There's nothing going on between us. Winky face, winky face. Now Brad is dead. And it's looking very much like David is the killer. At the very least, he was present during the time of the murder. So he's either guilty of being an accomplice, since he waited to call police, or he's just guilty all the way around. In any case, he knew Brad was lying, based down in a pool of blood. He had a gunshot wound to his head in his basement. And what does David do? He takes his wife and younger daughter to the house pretending he doesn't know any of this. He subjects his young daughter to the trauma of seeing dead Uncle Brad. But after all the stories and all the lies, Detective Alar was closing in. And David was about to reveal the final version of his truth. You took your own daughter past the body of a man you knew was dead. And maybe, I don't know if your wife's evolved with it or not yet. Okay? We're going to find out. I'm sure she's not, sir. We're going to find this out very short. Do you understand? Yes, sir. That's what you're going to look at in the eye and tell you? Yes, sir. If I had to tell her about you and Brad or not, I heard she already knows. That's what I kept being told today. Listen, people I'm talking to, my team's talking to, they don't know each other. Yes, sir. Okay? It's like Brad's friend from when he was a hairdresser and he worked at a gym salon that doesn't know Brad's cousin who came in from Florida who talked to Brad about all the problems he's having with you at the wedding. Okay? And wait for it. Brad abruptly leaves his dinner with his family saying he's going to meet. Guess who? Who's he going to meet? Yes, sir. He's not going to pick up another dude to bring him to your house. He says he's going to meet with you because he wants to have sex with you. You heard Detective Allar ask if David's wife, Sherry, was involved. That brings in a whole new layer of suspicion. Though she was never brought in as a suspect, there could only be one reason. She would know about this and go along with her husband having a gay affair. The reason is the same reason people have been doing shady things for millennia. Do I have to spell it out? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's money, it's money. The root of all evil, you know, all that. Apparently Brad paid for all kinds of things for the Kenny family, not just for David. He provided elaborate birthday parties for the kids, bought them household gifts, took them out to eat a lot. And get this. So one of the things you found out was that, you know, Brad was essentially a part of David's family. The kids called him Uncle Brad. He paid for a lot of things for the Kenny's, vacations, birthday parties, things of that nature. Both Sherry and David told us that they were getting ready to go on a cruise together, all of them together. You know, which you think, you know, you're going on a cruise with your wife and your lover at the same time. That made us kind of wonder about Sherry. You know, did she know this was going on? So while Sherry's involvement is unconfirmed to this day, that gun is smoking. Speaking of guns, it definitely did not go down the way Brad described. That was his last lie. Trying to say that Brad was waving it at him and he felt threatened. So he took the gun from him. But then what? The threat is gone, right? No more gun pointing at him. So why shoot him? Not once, but twice. That's an honor to know what's like our situation with them. I love my wife and kids to death. You love Brad too? I did. I mean, we were tight, man. Real tight. Did sometimes you think about leaving your wife for him? Okay. I told him during his time today, I'm not going to leave my wife. A big comic comic, a big conclusion that he understood. Okay. But I told him, I said, you know, it seems you're going to have to start to stop. No doubt it was hard, as David put it. But self-defense was out of the question. He tried to allege that Brad was slapping him around before pointing the gun in his direction. Keep in mind that Brad was about a foot shorter than David. And not only was David a big guy, a bear, you might say. It was also rugged and muscular, unlike Brad. All he had to do was walk out of the house. He told me, he said, if you end all of this now, that I'm done with you forever. He said, that's it. I told him, I said, we can't just drop each other like this. I said, you're my best friend, I'm your best friend. That's when he said, you need to leave your wife. He said, this is going on for too long, you need to leave your wife. Okay. I told him, I said, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore. David claimed that Brad was guilt-tripping him and accusing him of playing with his emotions. That he couldn't believe he wouldn't leave his wife. David claimed he never said anything different than that. And Brad always knew. Maybe parts of this version were true. Maybe David was the man arguing with Brad. Brad wanted him to leave his wife, but David refused. And rather than split up and risk their relationship being out, he shot him in the head. It's also possible that David was milking Brad for everything he had, including stealing money from him. Someone had stolen money, but the culprit was never proven. And maybe Brad finally called him out on his thievery. He claimed, I'm not going to lie to you. Not only did David sit there for hours and hours telling one lie after another, but his whole life was a lie. His whole marriage was tainted with lies. If he felt threatened, it was because he was scared he couldn't have his way. Scared his wife would leave him, or scared of admitting that maybe he was actually gay. Gasp. I don't know if you know it or not, but it's 2025. Nobody gives a shit. Do whatever you want. Maybe just don't lie to your family and make them live a whole lie that they don't even know about. You know, be a decent human being. Detective Allar promised David he'd let him know if he had to tell his wife about the affair, assuming she didn't already know. Well, that time had come. That was time to tell his wife. What the hell is going on? I need to know that you have my back and that everything I'm doing is the truth from here, okay? I love you and the kids, and I don't want you to be there for me, okay? Brad had another gun at the house. He had a .22 derringer. I went to Brad's house to meet up with him after the wedding. He was like with me because he had some money to come up with, and I didn't take the money off of Brad. I never stole money. Brad, he always gave me money. You're done to be fucking kidding me. He was listening to me. I went to the house and I told him I said, listen, from here on out, it's just Fred and Judy. I don't want anything more else because Brad is, you know, how Brad was with me. Okay. He looked at me. He flipped out. Listen to me. Please just let me talk, Sherry. Please let me talk. He flipped out on me. He grabbed the .22 derringer. Before he even did that, he slapped me around a little bit after I told him this was it. Okay? You were fucking kidding me. I'm kidding. I'm looking for it. He came at me with that gun, okay? He came at me with that gun because I told him he wants me to leave you guys. I told him that he'd come at me with that gun. No. No, that ain't it. Sherry, I was fucking scared. I didn't know what to do. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. She knew. She knew. You can tell. She may have been lying to herself and everyone around her, but she knew. Deep down. David was scared, but he wasn't scared of Brad. He was scared of everything but Brad. He continued to lie repeatedly to his wife for the next half an hour, only admitting what she probably already knew that he and Brad had fooled around, but it had been a while, he said, since they had. The only real question she had for David was how long had it been? She desperately wanted to know the last time they had sex together, probably because she did know about the affair, and David had likely made promises of stopping before, but didn't. But Sherry finally gave in and told him she'd be there for him and to stay strong. They embraced each other for a long hug. They kissed several times. They told each other they loved each other, and David went to jail. You know, I've had harder trials, but it was a rough trial. We thought we had a, you know, still think we had a really good case, but you never know. You never know what a jury's going to do. But at the end of the day, you know, you present a good case, you get a good result. And this was a good case. I mean, everybody played by the rules, colored in the lines. There was nothing out there that we were worried about. I think David thought that his self-defense story would win the day, but it was just so ridiculous that no one bought it. I know one thing that was talked about, or prosecutor deciding to charge David with aggravated murder. We believe that's what it was, because we prove prior calculation and design. Can we prove that he went there with the attention to kill? There was a lot of evidence to support that, but that was definitely a hot topic issue with the trial. And the defense counsel who did an excellent job really tried to keep that from happening. But, you know, the evidence won the day and he was convicted on everything we charged him with. Finally, we get to the truth of what actually happened. Here it is. Brad was shot twice in the back of the head. The first bullet entered near the crown at a downward angle, as if he were turning or crouching. He would have lived after this one. The second one hit lower, driving forward into a skull. He never saw it coming. Brad was found face down in the basement, lying in his blood near his hot tub. There were bruises on his face. His phone was still in his pocket. Nothing in the house had been stolen, but the drawers were open, like someone had tried to make it look that way. David Kinney would claim it was self-defense and that Brad had confronted him. Things had gotten heated and he pulled the trigger out of fear. But the evidence suggested a very different story. There were zero signs of a struggle, no defensive wounds, just two bullets to the back of the head. And David had brought the gun with him that day. To anyone's best guess, Brad didn't even own a derringer. The other thing about the scene that we had was that basement was very cluttered. We knew at the time we were dealing with a small caliber, but we didn't know how small. Typically, laws of averages when you're dealing with a small caliber is probably going to be a 22. We're looking for shell casings. And I think for the next week we searched that basement. At one point, we actually took everything out of that basement. Everything, every box, everything, period, and look for shell casings, never found any. So typically that'll tell us that you're probably dealing with a revolver or someone found the shell casings and picked them up. One of David's many stories was that he took Brad's derringer off of him, which is a revolver, or a contained weapon, depending on the model. And where the casings stay and the weapon after they're fired. And that's what he shot him with. But I just don't know. I believe that David took a weapon there to kill Brad. It was his plan to kill him. I think that the evidence supports that most definitely. So we don't know what kind of gun it was. It was a 22. Not for sure. To detectives, it wasn't panic. It was fear. It was a plan. David claimed he chucked the gun in a certain location along the highway, but it was never found. We asked Detective Alar for his take on David's character. I think there's a little bit of a monster in everybody and some are worse than others. And, you know, like I said before, I understand, you know, I know I've been there's been several times in my life where if things blew a different way, I might have been capable of murder. I think everybody, if they're honest with themselves, they can, they can agree with that. And, you know, it's the fact that you got to, you got to tame your own monster, you know, and you get to that point, you know, you can either be a decent human being or you let the monster win. And in this case, you know, David Kenny let the monster win. David Kenny, the flaming queen, was convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus three years for the firearm. His wife was cleared of any involvement with the murder. For a time it appears she stayed by his side. They were still married for several years after his conviction. But by 2024, her life had taken a different turn. Public Post suggested she eventually remarried quietly, moving on from the man at the center of one of Ohio's most intimate betrayals. There's no public word on how her children have coped, either by the loss of their dad or Uncle Brad. But one can only hope they've had support and counseling needed to navigate away from something so ugly. This wasn't just a story about murder. It was a story about betrayal. It was about trust fractured across every layer of small town life. It was about the damage that a secret can do to a family when it's fed, protected, and finally exposed. The story is about a family that has been killed by a murder. The story is about a family that has been killed by a murder. The story is about a family that has been killed by a murder. The story is about a family that has been killed by a murder. Or our website, swordandscale.com. From Geico Subconscious News, I'm Tammy Racing, thoughts broadcasting from your brain. You think you live in a pretty safe place, but you just heard about a break in four miles away, which isn't close, but it isn't far either, you know? Our palpitations is on the scene. I sure am, Tammy, and I don't even know why I drove out here, because as you know, you got customized renters insurance through Geico, so your stuff is covered. Oh, well, that's great. Any sign of crime there, Art? Just some light littering, Tammy, but like they say, a little litter can lead to a lot. Wise words. It feels good to worry less. It feels good to Geico.