0:02

Murder on Songbird Road is a production

0:04

of iHeart Podcasts.

0:10

Previously on Murder on Songbird

0:12

Road. We're going to head over to hucks

0:14

now, but there are three hooks in

0:16

the general vicinity.

0:18

Which one did she go to?

0:19

It's going to be the one on the Young Street, all

0:22

right.

0:22

So took us nine minutes fifteen seconds

0:25

to get here catching that light, which

0:27

we knew. She caught the light as well.

0:29

The prosecution contends it would have taken Beverly

0:31

six to seven minutes to make the drive.

0:34

She would have known because.

0:36

You manage a gas station, that

0:38

would probably be the worst possible

0:40

place if you wanted anonymity. Samples

0:43

weren't collected from Beverly's car until

0:46

the evening of the murder, after

0:48

it had been moved by someone on the scene and

0:51

not Beverly. Then they go to

0:54

the dump and find three

0:56

unrelated items.

0:59

When knives are in introduced of any

1:01

kind an a juror's.

1:02

Mine, the damage is done. In

1:05

the victim impact statement.

1:06

Darkness the light.

1:09

Oh that's what I wrote down.

1:11

Yeah, fucking

1:14

witch.

1:15

It could be a motive

1:18

as to why this girl

1:20

was railroaded.

1:22

Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

1:23

I mean that kind of shit is frowned

1:26

upon down here.

1:29

I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco, and this is

1:31

murder on Songbird Road. Within

1:52

weeks of her arrest, while being held in

1:54

Williamson County custody awaiting trial,

1:57

Julia Beverly made a shocking but

2:00

not entirely unexpected discovery. Here's

2:02

Renee high Tower.

2:04

She found out she was pregnant in jail.

2:07

I was happy for her, but I was

2:10

hurting for her because I

2:12

knew the situation.

2:13

I knew they wanted another child.

2:15

Beverly and her now estranged

2:17

former fiancee Mike Beasley had

2:19

been trying for a third child together, hoping

2:22

for a son.

2:23

Julie has issues with her cervix

2:26

and she wanted a boy with

2:29

him, so they were trying

2:31

one last time. When

2:33

all this happened.

2:34

For Beverly, the pregnancy was

2:37

a light in a sea of darkness.

2:39

She wanted to nurture this baby

2:41

as best she could in the situation she

2:43

was in. But

2:46

it was it

2:48

was rough.

2:49

It was rough, the best

2:51

possible blessing at the worst possible

2:53

time.

2:54

Yes, exactly.

2:56

Upon learning her daughter was pregnant, high

2:58

Tower immediately began to petition the

3:00

courts for a home based pregnancy. While

3:03

awaiting trial.

3:04

We went to get her a bond reduction so

3:07

she can come home with her pregnancy

3:09

and be around people that care about her,

3:11

people that love her, and people she.

3:13

Loves, and see her children because

3:15

her bond was set for two million dollars.

3:18

Yes, yes, two million dollar

3:20

bond, and we went in

3:22

for a reduction and Judge

3:25

Green denied it. So her

3:27

attorney said that she was going to try again

3:29

at a later time, and his response

3:32

was, I know you will. So

3:34

we tried again when she was

3:36

around eight months pregnant, and

3:39

he denied it again. She

3:41

even suggested worrying

3:43

an ankle monitor. She wasn't

3:46

going to go anywhere if she did,

3:48

they would immediately know about it, and

3:50

he denied it again. He

3:52

gave two different reasons for each time we went.

3:55

One was he was afraid that she was

3:58

a flight risk, and the

4:00

second one was my

4:03

mother wouldn't be able to defend herself

4:06

if anything were to happen, because

4:08

my mother was living here as well. He

4:11

said, my mother was on

4:13

an oxygen machine and she was not

4:16

capable of running away.

4:18

If Julie ever attacked her.

4:20

That my mother wouldn't be able to defend herself if

4:22

Julie got out of control.

4:24

Am I wrong in remembering that there was also

4:26

some issue that your house was too close to a

4:28

school?

4:28

They brought it up in courts.

4:31

What was the implication that Julie was some kind

4:33

of a threat to children in general?

4:36

Yes, keep her away from children and elderly.

4:39

We appealed it, and then the appellate

4:41

court denied.

4:42

It as well and upheld

4:44

the judge's decision.

4:45

Keep in mind that Julia Beverly had

4:47

no priors, and this was while she was

4:50

awaiting trial, when she was supposed

4:52

to have been given the presumption of innocence.

4:55

Renee high Tower had immediate concerns

4:57

about how her daughter was being treated

5:00

after she was taken into custody in

5:02

Williamson County before she even

5:04

knew she was pregnant.

5:07

I was trying to get a hold of her, and the

5:10

second or third day she was in there, I

5:12

was calling and calling. When I finally did talk

5:14

to her, she said that the

5:17

correction officers were almost

5:19

parading her charges

5:21

to everyone in there, saying that she.

5:24

Was child killer.

5:25

And not only that, they said that her

5:27

father was a police officer trying

5:30

to rile up people

5:33

in jail to do things to

5:35

her, to harm her.

5:37

MM.

5:38

What would you say were your major

5:41

concerns after Julie was arrested.

5:43

She had told me after she

5:45

was in there three weeks twenty

5:48

one days, she hadn't

5:50

taken a shower or got the

5:52

opportunity to brush her teeth at all since

5:55

the time she stepped in there, and for twenty

5:58

one days following. I called called

6:00

the sheriff, spoke to him directly,

6:03

Benny Vick, and I

6:05

voiced my complaints and he said,

6:08

well, inmates lie all the time. And

6:10

I said, well, she has no reason to

6:12

lie about taking a shower or brushing her teeth.

6:15

So I said, do you keep this things on record?

6:18

And he said yeah, and he was going to look into it,

6:20

and he never called me back. And then once

6:22

I got off the phone with him, I called her

6:24

attorney and I told her

6:26

the same thing, and she was beside

6:29

herself and she said she's going to take care of

6:31

it.

6:32

Well. Julie called me the next day and said.

6:34

She finally got her shower and got a

6:37

semi kind of toothbrush to grocer.

6:38

Teeth under what

6:42

precaution or protocol. Did

6:44

they justify not allowing her

6:46

to brush her teeth or shower for twenty one

6:48

days, I've.

6:49

Never heard an answer yet, no one

6:51

returned, and he calls to me.

6:53

No one has answered that question, not

6:56

one person.

6:57

Who do those officers report

7:00

work directly to the

7:02

sheriff I believe who's now retired.

7:05

Yes, Beni Vic.

7:10

Your call has been forwarded to an automated

7:12

voice messaging system.

7:15

Hi.

7:16

My name is Lauren Bright Piceco, and I

7:18

am a journalist trying to get in.

7:19

Touch with mister Vic.

7:21

I've reached out to former Williamson County

7:24

Sheriff Benniveck to no avail since

7:26

March eighteenth, twenty twenty four. I've

7:28

also attempted to contact current Williamson

7:31

County Sheriff Jeff Diedrich, making Freedom

7:33

of Information Act request for documentation

7:35

of orders that dictated Beverly's

7:38

treatment while pregnant and during the delivery

7:41

of her son while she was in custody

7:43

of Williamson County awaiting trial. At

7:46

the date of this recording, I had yet to

7:48

receive a response.

7:50

She wasn't treated like she was an innocent human

7:52

being at all. Is sickening

7:55

right down to what they were giving her to eat. It

7:58

took her a while to get the vitamins that she That

8:00

was another reasoning.

8:01

For house releas because she had issues

8:04

with iron, so

8:06

in case she needed an iron infusion.

8:08

She finally started taking the vitamins,

8:10

but nutrition was not there because

8:13

a lot of the food that they were giving her this

8:16

was during COVID.

8:17

These are the excuses COVID.

8:20

So a lot of the meals were lunch meat.

8:23

This went on for at least three

8:25

to four months.

8:27

Lunch meat for lunch and

8:29

dinner.

8:30

That's filled with nitrates.

8:32

Yes, eating too much of that

8:35

and her being pregnant can get

8:37

lysteria. It's just like at

8:39

every opportunity that came

8:41

to them to

8:43

degrade her, or belittle her, or

8:45

even.

8:47

Torture her, they did it.

8:49

It took that opportunity and

8:51

did whatever they could. There were

8:53

no presumptions of innocence while they were awaiting

8:55

trial.

8:56

It was none of that.

8:58

None of it especially would

9:00

seem when it came to Beverly's labor

9:02

and delivery. We'll

9:05

be right back with Murder on Songbird

9:07

Road. Now

9:15

back to Murder on Songbird Road. In

9:20

a six page letter, Julie Beverly shared

9:23

the circumstances of her son's birth while

9:25

in custody of Williamson County. I've

9:27

asked her cousin Niki to read excerpts

9:30

of that letter.

9:32

July twenty eighth, twenty twenty

9:34

one was one of the best days of my life, and

9:36

it turned into the hardest days.

9:38

I gave birth to my fourth child, Thomas.

9:41

It was hard birth because a few hours

9:43

earlier I was told for the first time.

9:45

That he would be taken.

9:47

Beverly goes on to explain that she was

9:49

awoken in her cell at ten pm by

9:52

Williamson County jail nurse Marilyn

9:54

Reynolds, who was accompanied by a corrections

9:56

officer and a police lieutenant. Beverly

9:59

was in four She was being taken to the hospital

10:02

to be induced.

10:03

When we arrived at the hospital, Marilyn

10:06

and the corrections officer Stocker, stayed

10:08

in the room with me. Nurses

10:10

started my intake, and at that time

10:13

they asked if I had planned to bottle or breastfeed.

10:15

I said I wanted to breastfeed. While I stayed in the

10:17

hospital room. Then Marilyn

10:20

Reynolds tells me that the judge

10:22

ordered Thomas would be taken as soon as the

10:24

umbilical cord was cut. I

10:26

wanted to scream at that moment, I

10:29

said, no one told me this. Her reply

10:31

was, well, your attorney and the judge signed

10:33

off on it.

10:34

Not only was Beverly not informed

10:37

as to the plan to immediately seize

10:39

her son, she was denied access

10:41

to contacting her lawyers or family.

10:44

Reynolds apparently ordered the phone

10:46

removed from Beverly's hospital room.

10:49

All I could think is I didn't want to

10:51

be here.

10:52

I wanted to keep him inside until he was ready

10:54

to come out, and I'm ready

10:56

for him. I didn't want to

10:58

hand him to anyone, and I wanted

11:00

him to stay until the case was resolved

11:03

so that I could take him home. I was

11:05

not prepared, would never be prepared to

11:07

give Thomas to anyone.

11:09

Beverly was forced to give birth with

11:11

two Williamson County Jail employees

11:14

in her room.

11:15

My only support system was Marilyn

11:18

and the corrections officer stuck her two

11:20

people I did not want with me.

11:22

There was a person who showed Beverly kindness

11:24

and compassion immediately after Thomas

11:27

was born, her OBGYN,

11:29

doctor Andrea Humphrey By refusing

11:32

to immediately cut the umbilical cord.

11:35

Hearing that first cry is always the most amazing

11:37

feeling. He only cried for a few

11:39

seconds. Once he was placed on my chest,

11:41

he was calm. Then Doctor Humphrey

11:44

did for me the most heartfelt, amazing

11:46

thing. I will never be able to express

11:49

how appreciative I am for her. She

11:51

gave me the golden hour. It's

11:53

an hour where the umbilical cord stays attached

11:56

and the mother and child are able to bond.

11:59

She gave me an hour when the courts

12:01

and the corrections officers wanted to give me

12:03

seconds.

12:05

Doctor Humphrey also made sure that

12:07

photos of that hour were taken before

12:10

Beverly's son was taken from

12:12

her.

12:13

That hour was the best thing ever.

12:16

I got to hold him and kiss him, breastfed

12:18

him, and most important, tell him

12:20

that I loved him and I will forever

12:23

love him.

12:24

The pictures are heartbreaking. In

12:26

them, Beverly's face clearly shows

12:29

the strain of having just given birth

12:31

and the emotional weight of balancing her

12:33

love for her newborn son with

12:35

their inevitable separation.

12:38

Then the dreaded moment came.

12:40

Doctor Humphrey said, it's time

12:43

it was like Thomas knew because he started

12:46

crying, and of course I immediately

12:48

started crying, and I'm crying

12:50

now just reliving the moment.

12:53

It broke my heart. I

12:55

didn't want him to leave.

12:57

When a hospital staff member came in to discuss

12:59

the birth certificate, Julia Beverly

13:01

endured additional heartbreak, and

13:04

it involved the man she had lived with for nearly

13:06

eight years and already had

13:08

two other children with, Mike Beasley.

13:11

She said he didn't want to

13:13

sign the birth certificate without a DNA

13:16

test. It felt like a slap in

13:18

the face. So he basically

13:20

said he believed that I had cheated on him.

13:23

I had never given him reason to believe

13:25

that he was the love of

13:27

my life and the only person

13:29

I was with, So my name was

13:32

the only one on the birth certificate.

13:34

Less than twenty four hours after giving birth

13:37

and still bleeding heavily, Beverly was shackled

13:39

and returned to the Williamson County Prison,

13:42

her breasts painfully swollen with milk,

13:45

meant for the son she has not seen or

13:47

held since. And then came

13:49

another blow to Beverly.

13:51

I found out later that day that Mike took

13:53

Thomas home before the DNA results

13:56

came back. I don't know why he was

13:58

able to take him when he wouldn't

14:00

sign the birth certificate.

14:02

As we'll further discuss, the circumstances

14:05

surrounding Beverly's birth and the custody

14:07

of her son are even more controversial

14:10

than they are cruel. But alone

14:12

in her cell, Beverly, stripped of her newborn,

14:15

felt powerless and despondent.

14:17

I fell into a deep depression again. It

14:21

was a rough couple of weeks after that.

14:23

Julia Beverly ended her letter with

14:25

this.

14:26

It's heart going back to these moments.

14:29

Even before reading the letter, the way in

14:31

which Beverly was forced to give birth and

14:33

the way in which her son was taken was

14:36

hard for her cousin Nikki to process.

14:39

It's horrific, it's inhuman.

14:42

I can't even imagine.

14:45

I was.

14:47

So worried for her leading

14:50

up to the birth, just because I

14:52

know, having had

14:54

three kids, everything that takes out

14:56

of you and everything that

14:59

you go through, it's all worth

15:01

it in the end, because they.

15:03

Are you and they're a part of you. And

15:06

for her to have to do that with.

15:11

Nobody that cared

15:13

for her, really, to be alone

15:16

and have to do that and

15:18

then have

15:21

to leave without him.

15:22

I just can't. It's still it's

15:24

extremely upsetting.

15:26

Especially if, as Nikki vehemently

15:28

believes, Julia Beverly was

15:31

wrongfully accused and convicted.

15:34

Back to Beverly's mother, Renee high Tower,

15:36

how did you find out that your

15:39

grandson was born?

15:41

My friend? Actually she used to work

15:43

at the hospital, so she

15:45

called saying that she needed to check on

15:48

Julia Beverly. She got through to

15:50

the nurses station up there and they told

15:52

her what time she came in, and she asked how

15:54

she was doing, and then she called

15:56

me and told me that she was there. So that's

15:59

how I found out because I wasn't

16:01

getting calls from Julie at all, and

16:03

I was worried about her. And then when I called

16:05

immediately after, they told me she wasn't there.

16:07

And this was within ten fifteen minutes.

16:09

So she's put back in solitary

16:13

confinement basically when she gets back

16:15

to the jail.

16:17

Pretty much.

16:17

Yeah, and she's not reaching

16:19

out to you, no, and

16:22

you're probably concerned again, very.

16:24

Yeah, because I knew this is

16:26

going to be heart wrenching for

16:28

her not being able to be with her

16:31

baby and the whole situation

16:33

in its entirety, and she didn't call

16:35

me. I sent a text and I didn't

16:37

get a response from that. So I called

16:39

the jail and I

16:42

talked to an officer who was a woman,

16:44

and I said, I know she had the

16:47

baby. I'm just checking to see if she's all right.

16:49

She's not calling me, And they said,

16:52

I guess she's okay. She's not in a smock and

16:55

what does that mean? Meaning she's

16:57

not in a suicidal outfit, So

17:00

I guess she's all right.

17:01

It is of interest to add that I've

17:03

been given portions of Beverly's DCFS

17:06

case file by an anonymous source.

17:09

For some reason, Beverly, who is

17:11

half white, is listed as black

17:13

on the reports, yet all four

17:15

of her children, whose fathers are white, are

17:18

listed as white. Again, Mary

17:20

and Illinois is eighty six percent white.

17:22

Here's Rene high Tower's reaction.

17:25

I have the page.

17:25

It's on page two of fifteen. Julia

17:28

Beverly adult female, black

17:30

African American, Jade Beasley

17:33

child female white. I'm

17:35

not going to use the kids' names, but Mike

17:37

and Julia's one year old child

17:40

is listed as female and white,

17:43

and Jaden is listed

17:46

as white. Wow, as

17:49

is the eldest daughter that

17:52

Julia and Mike share white,

17:55

All the kids are white, and just Julie

17:57

is black.

17:59

How does that happen?

18:01

Get me?

18:02

That view of Beverly as other seems

18:05

to have also impacted the way her

18:07

entire family was treated even

18:09

before the trial, particularly

18:11

when Hitower was petitioning to have Beverly

18:14

stay with her during the pregnancy.

18:16

The sad part about one of these things is

18:18

when she was up for that hearing to the appellate

18:21

court for her to be on the house arrest

18:23

just for the birth of her baby, and we

18:25

were waiting on the results for that, and

18:28

when those results came back, they

18:30

were not given to thene They were not given to

18:32

me, they were not given to Julie.

18:35

Yet Mike's family made a huge post

18:38

on their Facebook denied in

18:41

all capital.

18:41

Os with explanation points,

18:43

and that's how we learned. That's how we

18:45

learned.

18:46

There seems to be huge

18:49

lack of communication, but it seems to

18:51

just be in one direction.

18:53

YEP.

18:54

A quick aside. When this interview was taped

18:56

in March of twenty twenty four, Thomas

18:58

was nearly three years and

19:01

so when did you first get the chance to

19:03

meet Thomas.

19:05

I have yet to meet Thomas. I

19:07

have not met him yet.

19:09

I've seen the pictures that Julie

19:12

got from the hospital, and that's all

19:14

I have.

19:15

Renee High Tower had been denied access

19:17

to Beverly's three youngest children her

19:20

grandchildren since the arrest.

19:22

Mike is keeping

19:25

three of Julie's children from

19:27

me on what grounds. He

19:30

states that he's doing it for the

19:32

protection of his children, and

19:36

I'm not sure what that means.

19:39

That's one half of their family.

19:42

Yeah, yeah,

19:45

And this is not something that was done

19:48

later in this case. This was

19:50

done immediately immediately

19:53

upon Julie's arrest. As soon as

19:55

she was arrested. It was completely cut off.

19:57

Even when Thomas was born. I reached out, you

20:00

need to help with the baby, let me know. I'll

20:02

help any way I can. Everything goes unanswered.

20:05

That's got to be so painful.

20:08

It is.

20:09

It is very And

20:11

then I have Jayden here, who is missing out on

20:14

three of his siblings, and he comes

20:16

to see me every other weekend, yet

20:19

he can't see his own siblings. And

20:21

Mike has a direct line to Jaden where he doesn't

20:23

have to go through me or anyone else.

20:25

And he still doesn't maintain contact.

20:27

With him, and Jaden

20:29

sends text messages all the time want to talk

20:32

to the girls, and those go unanswered.

20:34

High Tower has had no choice but

20:36

resort to petitioning the courts for access

20:39

to her grandchildren.

20:41

There was always an excuse, like clockwork.

20:43

Every two weeks, I would request to

20:45

see them, and my

20:48

request would either go unanswered or

20:51

it would be it's not a good time, or

20:53

I'll let you know. And this went

20:55

on for a year and a

20:57

half and I finally looked into getting a jorney.

21:00

I ended up filing for grandparent

21:03

visitation.

21:04

Never did I think it would take years.

21:09

You have reached the non emergency line for Williamson

21:11

County Sheriff's Department.

21:12

Get this an emergency.

21:13

Please hang up in down nine to one one.

21:15

Please listen carefully.

21:17

By the fall of twenty twenty four, it's

21:19

important to stress just how unresponsive

21:22

Williamson County had been to

21:24

my outreach for information pertinent

21:26

to the case against Julie Beverly. This

21:28

occurred on multiple levels, across

21:30

multiple branches.

21:32

For Williamson County Jail, Please

21:35

press one WAYNAMS

21:37

in King Jail, Hi.

21:38

I please speak with Marilyn Reynolds.

21:41

Just a minute.

21:45

Record your message.

21:47

Hi.

21:48

Ms Reynolds. My name is Lauren Bright pitch

21:50

Ecko, and I am a journalist

21:52

who is looking into the Julia Beverly

21:54

case. I'm calling because I

21:57

believe that you were the attending

22:01

on duty when she gave birth to her

22:03

son Thomas on seven

22:05

twenty eight, twenty one, when she

22:08

was in custody of Williamson County

22:10

awaiting trial. I'm just calling

22:13

because I'm trying to find out where

22:15

the order to remove the

22:17

infant immediately upon

22:20

birth came from. Mss

22:22

Beverly contends that you gave

22:24

the direction, but I cannot

22:27

find any official

22:30

order, so I'm hoping you can clear that

22:32

up for me, and also who gave the

22:34

order for members of the Department

22:36

of Correction to be in the room while

22:39

she was giving birth. Again, my name

22:41

is Lauren Bright PACHECKA. After many failed attempts,

22:43

I finally did manage to get Williamson

22:46

County Jail nurse Marilyn Reynolds on the

22:48

phone. She refused to answer

22:50

any of my questions as to whose

22:53

order she was working under and directed

22:55

me back to the Williamson County Sheriff's

22:57

office for information. Sheriff

23:00

ignored more than a dozen of my requests

23:02

via phone and email for information and

23:05

records pertaining to Julia Beverly's

23:07

case. If you could give me a holler back, I

23:09

am an thank you so

23:11

much. Out of frustration, I

23:14

contacted the Williamson County State's Attorney,

23:16

Ted Hampson, who replaced the former

23:18

Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon

23:20

Zenati, Zanati having resigned

23:23

under somewhat dubious circumstances.

23:26

A former Southern Illinois state's attorney

23:28

has pleaded guilty to a federal

23:30

fraud charge. Former

23:32

Williamson County State's Attorney Brendan Zanati

23:35

pled guilty to a charge of false

23:37

entry inv bank records and involves

23:40

Southern Trust Bank branches in Marion,

23:42

Vienna, and Goreville. That charge

23:44

carries with it the possibility of jail

23:46

time and a fine.

23:48

In March of twenty twenty four, I started

23:50

reaching out to Justin Mays, the

23:52

Williamson County Circuit Clerk. After

23:54

several unresponsive weeks, he linked

23:56

me with an assistant state's attorney, Jerry Adams.

23:59

On thirtieth she forwarded as

24:01

a quote courtesy an amended temporary

24:04

custody order signed by a judge,

24:06

claiming it provided the information I

24:08

was seeking, even though there was no mention

24:11

of birthing protocol or the immediate

24:13

removal of Beverly's infant. When

24:15

pressed as to who initiated those

24:17

specific orders, she responded

24:20

that Sheriff Binnyvick had retired before

24:22

wishing me quote good luck. Months

24:25

later, the Williamson County circuit clerk who'd

24:27

linked us justin Mays resigned

24:30

after being caught up in the same real estate and

24:32

banking scandal as former Williamson

24:34

County State's Attorney Brandon Soanati.

24:37

Here's Renee high Tower's take.

24:39

For a long time, I've heard people complain

24:42

about Williamson County, and I just

24:44

chalked it up as, oh, my god,

24:46

Well, if you do the right thing, you won't have

24:48

nothing to complain about. I've thought

24:51

a lot about that, and then

24:53

when my ex husband became a police officer,

24:56

I learned the other side of

24:58

the law from a police officer's

25:01

perspective, and I

25:03

never thought about

25:06

any of the corruption or

25:10

the poor judgment and the poor

25:13

behavior of some of these

25:15

officers until this happened. To Julie,

25:19

I never seen this side until

25:21

I was in it. I

25:24

have not ever seen

25:27

this level of corruption anywhere

25:30

in my life anywhere, from

25:33

the lying and the

25:36

cover ups, and it's just drip,

25:39

drip, drip in the bucket. We've got

25:41

full bucket and it's still going. It's

25:45

unbelievable.

25:46

Because of the ongoing lack of response

25:48

to my Freedom of Information Act requests,

25:51

I eventually contacted the Attorney

25:53

General's Office of Illinois. But

25:56

federal investigations, scandals,

25:58

and retirements aside, Why

26:00

would Williamson County be so reluctant

26:02

to provide transparency regarding

26:05

Beverly's pregnancy, delivery and

26:07

the immediate removal of her son while

26:10

in their Custoday, my

26:12

name is.

26:12

Emily Worth, and

26:14

I am a senior staff attorney at

26:16

the ACLU of Illinois.

26:19

According to the American Civil Liberties Union,

26:21

Illinois state law is quite clear

26:24

as to the reproductive rights of incarcerated

26:26

individuals.

26:27

Reproductive rights in the context

26:29

of incarceration should mean the

26:31

same things as reproductive rights

26:34

in any context, which is the

26:36

right to make your own

26:38

autonomous decisions about

26:41

reproductive healthcare, whether that's contraception,

26:44

abortion, prenatal

26:46

care care during labor and delivery.

26:48

It's really about having bodily

26:50

autonomy when it comes to making those decisions.

26:53

Can you give me just a general overview

26:56

of reproductive rights while incarcerated

26:58

in Illinois.

27:00

Within Illinois, we have a

27:02

state law called the Reproductive Health Act

27:04

that sets standards

27:07

for everyone in the state to

27:09

have basic reproductive

27:11

rights. And the Reproductive Health Act does

27:14

apply to anyone who's in the custody

27:16

of a county jail. So within

27:18

the state of Illinois, the reproductive rights

27:20

that you have do not vary from county county.

27:23

Everyone in Illinois is guaranteed the same

27:25

reproductive rights by the Reproductive Health

27:27

Act. We also have a number of additional

27:30

specific laws here in Illinois that deal

27:32

with particular issues related to

27:35

pregnancy care while someone is incarcerated

27:38

in prison or jail, relating to things

27:40

like the use of solitary confinements,

27:43

the use of restraints

27:45

during pregnancy and postpartum, and

27:47

other issues unique to someone

27:50

who is experiencing pregnancy or has

27:52

recently given birth.

27:53

What are those rights specifically in

27:55

terms of prenatal care, So.

27:57

Someone who is pregnant while

28:00

incarcerated in Illinois has a

28:02

right to receive adequate prenatal

28:04

care that ensures that they

28:06

have healthy pregnancy. They

28:09

have the right to make their own decisions

28:12

about whether to continue that pregnancy

28:14

or to obtain an abortion. If they

28:16

do continue the pregnancy. They have

28:18

their right to make decisions about how

28:20

they give birth, for example, whether

28:23

or not to have an epidural, whether or not to have a c section,

28:25

whether or not to be induced. They

28:27

have those rights to make those decisions.

28:30

In terms of the specific amount

28:33

of time that an

28:35

incarcerated person is allowed to stay with their

28:37

newborn in Illinois, are

28:39

their laws around that time

28:42

frame or window.

28:43

The current law is that someone who's incarcerated

28:46

has a right to have their baby stay with

28:48

them for seventy two hours

28:51

after giving birth, unless the doctor

28:53

says that that isn't safe. That

28:56

became the law on July first

28:58

of twenty twenty one.

29:01

Got it, and so it's

29:04

the doctor's call, basically,

29:07

not a judge or a

29:09

correctional facility nurse.

29:12

That's correct. The law says that the

29:14

determination is to be made

29:16

by a medical professional. The

29:18

law became effective July first,

29:20

twenty twenty one.

29:22

A point of note, Julia Beverly's

29:24

son Thomas was born July twenty

29:26

eighth, twenty twenty one, nearly

29:29

a full month after that

29:31

law went into effect. We

29:33

did talk about the seventy two hour

29:36

window that the incarcerated

29:38

individual is entitled

29:40

to spend with their newborn, but we

29:42

didn't talk about the

29:45

rights specifically during

29:47

delivery and birth.

29:49

So during labor and delivery there

29:52

should be no shackles whatsoever

29:55

used on an incarcerated person, and

29:58

any correct staffs

30:01

that are at the hospital should

30:03

be posted outside the delivery

30:06

room.

30:07

Now, was that a change that was made at the same

30:09

time that the seventy two hours

30:12

was.

30:14

I believe that.

30:15

Change was made earlier. That was the

30:17

law even prior to twenty twenty one.

30:20

What recourse does an

30:22

individual in Illinois specifically

30:25

have if they believe their reproductive

30:27

rights were violated while they were incarcerated?

30:30

This Reproductive Health Act includes

30:33

a right of action, include the right

30:35

to sue the government if you

30:37

believe that your reproductive

30:40

rights have been violated.

30:44

Murder on Songbird Road will continue after

30:46

this. Here

30:53

again is Murder on Songbird

30:55

Road. In

30:58

April of twenty twenty four, I visited

31:00

Beverly in the Illinois facility she was

31:02

transferred to after her sentencing.

31:05

I flew into Chicago and drove a rental

31:07

car two and a half hours south to Lincoln,

31:09

Illinois. Afterwards, I

31:11

connected with Bob Mada. It was really

31:14

interesting the difference between the

31:17

women's facility and the

31:20

men's facilities that I've been in. Yeah,

31:23

I mean right away, it's

31:25

sprawled out so Originally

31:28

it was built as a home for

31:31

women who didn't want to keep

31:33

their children, and I guess they'd give

31:35

birth and then give the children.

31:37

Up for adoption.

31:38

But there's nothing but just cornfields,

31:42

basically just farmland,

31:45

and then this brick structure

31:48

that's all sprawled out in little houses.

31:51

You almost get the feeling that it's a religious retreat

31:54

or some kind

31:56

of school.

31:57

Even if that's the vibe, we know that what

32:00

it is, that's for sure.

32:01

I was the only visitor

32:04

who signed up for the four thirty

32:07

to eight thirty time slot.

32:10

Really, so once

32:12

I went.

32:12

Through, and of course they pat you down

32:14

and you had to declare

32:17

every piece of metal

32:20

on your body, and then

32:24

they led me through to

32:26

another building where Julie

32:29

was just sitting by herself. The

32:32

first thing that I was taken aback

32:34

by was her size.

32:37

She is so.

32:39

Tiny, she's tiny, tiny.

32:43

And also she was

32:45

so pale, and I mentioned

32:47

that because she doesn't look

32:49

like her mugshot. That's

32:52

the thing that she hears most often

32:55

people don't recognize her from

32:57

her mugshot because the mugshot

33:00

really almost looks like it's in black and white.

33:03

It is a

33:06

darker version of

33:08

Julie, which I find interesting

33:10

because of

33:12

the layers that race plays.

33:15

In this case particularly, it's

33:17

almost as if they wanted to magnify

33:20

the half black side of her.

33:23

So I don't know if there was some tampering at

33:26

work in terms of that photo.

33:28

But then I think about that

33:31

press conference that Zenati,

33:34

the then state's attorney, when

33:36

he held up the photo

33:39

of Julie, because he announced the murder

33:41

and her arrest during the same press conference,

33:44

and then he held up this picture of Jade that

33:46

is dated at

33:48

this point, but very

33:50

very vibrant, and you see the

33:52

blonde hair, and you see pink

33:55

as her favorite color everywhere in that photo,

33:57

and the juxtaposition with

34:00

a dark, grainy grayness of

34:02

the black and white feel Julie's

34:05

mugshot is just jarring.

34:07

Yeah, well, I mean in terms

34:09

of the picture of Jade,

34:12

it's completely a

34:14

misrepresentation of what she looked like

34:17

at the time that the crime occurred.

34:19

I mean, she was a

34:21

big kid.

34:23

When I first laid eyes on a photograph

34:25

of Jade, I never in a million years

34:28

would have thought that she was eleven years old.

34:30

No way.

34:32

Yeah, she looked older in her physicality.

34:34

Also the size difference. I

34:37

am closer to Jade's

34:40

size almost

34:43

exactly, and I

34:45

towered over Julie,

34:48

towered over her. And

34:51

if she and I were to

34:53

get into a physical interaction,

34:55

my size would be such an advantage.

34:58

I doubt Julie could pay me. I

35:01

seriously doubt it.

35:02

And there was something else we'll return

35:04

to later in greater detail, that

35:07

knife wielding masked man Beverly

35:09

claims to have encountered. She placed

35:12

his height at only five six

35:14

or so. If he

35:16

was an imaginary boogeyman Beverly had concocted

35:19

to feign innocence, why wouldn't

35:21

she have claimed he was more physically imposing.

35:24

Why make up a man who's several inches

35:26

shorter than the average American

35:28

male. But back to issues

35:30

with Beverly's birth, which I discussed

35:33

with Bob and his wife, Alison,

35:35

who is also a criminal defense attorney.

35:38

So Beverly was at

35:40

the hospital when the jail

35:44

nurse informed her that

35:46

she would not be able to keep the baby

35:48

at all. Right before that, give

35:50

up her parental rights. I mean no,

35:52

no, no, there's a temporary order.

35:55

I have a copy of that. It was temporary

35:58

for Mike. But never did

36:00

she waive her her parental

36:03

rights or custody.

36:05

She's not getting visitation.

36:06

No, she's not seen

36:09

any of her children since her arrest.

36:11

She didn't seen any of her kids since

36:14

the arrest.

36:16

Mike's not bringing them Beverly's

36:19

family, so her mother and siblings

36:22

have had no access.

36:23

Julie's mom, the grandmother, is not even

36:25

seeing the kids at all.

36:27

Now she can pick the kids up and bring

36:29

onto the mom.

36:30

But I guess dad's letting her.

36:32

Right, No, no, no, not letting her. They

36:34

have no access. She's never met Thomas.

36:37

Julia had lost all access to

36:39

the children she shares with Mike Beasley

36:41

as well, even as Mike's new girlfriend,

36:43

a stranger to Beverly and her family,

36:46

was on social media posting about them

36:48

as if they were her own.

36:50

Even though I'm.

36:50

Waiting on more Freedom of Information Act

36:52

requests, I don't think that

36:54

anyone involved had proper authority

36:57

to remove Beverly's infant or

37:00

hand him off to someone who had refused

37:02

to sign the birth certificate. And I

37:04

don't think that Beverly's treatment

37:07

in Williamson County is exactly

37:10

an anomaly. A

37:13

simple Google search would reveal

37:15

multiple suits brought by former

37:18

detainees naming Williamson County

37:20

jail nurse Marilyn Reynolds as

37:22

a defendant. Whose authority was

37:24

she acting upon when she removed that

37:26

baby immediately after birth?

37:30

It would have had to have been with the oversight of

37:32

the then sheriff vic who

37:34

was also named in tons

37:37

of these other lawsuits in addition

37:39

to the nurse.

37:40

Yeah, that makes sense.

37:42

There are also multiple suits naming

37:44

former Sheriff Benny Vick as a defendant,

37:47

many of which include Williamson

37:49

County Jail nurse Marilyn Reynolds.

37:52

And then you've got the tons

37:54

of people who've retired or resigned

37:56

since Beverly's arrest, the former

37:58

sheriff, the former lead investor stigator, the

38:00

former state's attorney, And it's

38:03

kind of as if accountability left

38:05

with them.

38:06

Yeah, for sure.

38:07

It was just another in the many troubling

38:10

patterns that our investigations seemed

38:12

to be unearthing. It is

38:15

this vilification not only

38:17

of Julie, but her entire family, because

38:20

Julie's entire family has been kept

38:22

from the children, not just Julie,

38:24

which is crazy.

38:25

Yeah, it played itself

38:27

out in the way that the trial was conducted.

38:30

It played itself out in the way that the investigation,

38:32

or lack thereof, was conducted. I mean,

38:35

this was a classic case of tunnel vision.

38:37

And I mean Beverly and her supporters

38:40

do claim that only

38:42

evidence that could incriminate her

38:44

was presented or tested, from DNA

38:47

to things like cell phones and electronics

38:49

found at the crime scene.

38:51

There's no doubt about it.

38:52

I mean, as soon as

38:55

we can get an appellet lawyer that's going to dig

38:57

into the investigation that didn't take

38:59

place with the things that they didn't

39:02

do that are inexplicable in

39:04

terms of devices that weren't looked

39:06

at DNA, that wasn't tested. I

39:09

still, as a figure today, cannot believe

39:12

that all of Jade's devices were

39:14

not forensically examined. If I

39:16

cannot believe that that's

39:18

true at.

39:19

This point, it was our understanding that

39:22

while the phone belonging to Julia Beverly

39:24

was searched and tracked to build a timeline of her

39:26

movements. None of Jade's electronics,

39:29

not her cell phone, chromebook, laptop,

39:32

or gaming device were subjected

39:35

to a forensic search.

39:37

Why is this.

39:37

Important because if there

39:39

was any activity on any of them

39:42

after the forty five minute window during

39:44

which the prosecution contends Beverly

39:47

brutally murdered Jade Beasley, Beverly's

39:49

innocence would be more than arguable.

39:52

That could have been potentially exculpatory

39:55

evidence because if it showed that

39:58

Julie was at the station

40:00

at the exact time Jade

40:03

was texting. Agreed,

40:05

but we needed access to the investigation

40:08

reports and the trial transcripts

40:10

to prove it.

40:11

I want to get the transcripts.

40:13

It's very frustrating not being

40:15

able to get our.

40:15

Hands on things.

40:17

We can get the trial transcripts

40:19

from Julie. I couldn't because

40:21

I wasn't there on a legal visit, but

40:24

you could. On the next

40:26

Murder on Songbird Road, Mike

40:28

Beasley's family shares their take

40:30

on Julia Beverly.

40:32

That is where we believe the jealousy

40:34

came in and where we believe she saved.

40:37

Allegations of witchcraft are made.

40:39

Going online and making us a faceless

40:42

cope because of the way that

40:44

she was markeered in trying to make

40:46

that insinuation just to hear.

40:48

The plot, and I had to Salem,

40:50

Massachusetts to confront the root

40:52

of the accusations. So people down there

40:54

associate witchcraft with something evil,

40:57

so they're trying to associate evil with

40:59

Julie Murder

41:01

on Songbird Road is a production of iHeart

41:03

Podcasts. Our executive producers

41:06

are Taylor Chackoine and Lauren Bright Pacheco.

41:09

Research writing and hosting by Lauren Bright

41:11

Pacheco. Investigative reporting

41:13

by Bob Matta and Lauren Bright Pacheco.

41:16

Editing, sound design and original music

41:18

by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chaqoine.

41:21

Additional music by Asher Kurtz.

41:23

Archival elements courtesy of wsil

41:26

News three. Please like, subscribe,

41:29

and leave us a review. Wherever you're listening,

41:31

You can follow me on all platforms at

41:33

Lauren Bright Pacheco and email the show

41:36

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41:38

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41:40

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41:57

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42:05

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