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E013 Blair Adams
2.4k Plays6 years ago
Blair was seeking protection from… something. It was a trip that would take many false starts and lead to unexplainable situations. Ultimately, while gold and wealth were left behind, a life was tragically taken. This is the story of Blair Adams.
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Transcript
Justice System and Overlooked Individuals
00:00:00
Speaker
We have all talked about it before. It's no secret those dealing with mental illness, drug dependency, or an alternative lifestyle are more often than not overlooked, not taken seriously, left to fend for themselves. We sit back and we let people who aren't quote unquote average fall through the cracks in our judicial system time and time again.
00:00:22
Speaker
When two or more of those factors come into play, it creates the perfect storm for an unsolved murder. When will we, as a society, learn that just because you're overcoming addiction or you suffer from depression, that you're no less of a person? When will we start to treat everyone as what they are? People. Simply put, we're all humans. When it comes down to it, we all want to be loved, we all want to feel safe, and honestly, we deserve that.
00:00:49
Speaker
According to Jacob Gears, you are a unique collection of cells and energy that will never again be recreated on this planet earth, and that alone you are worthy. What beautiful words. In today's episode, I want you to think about that quote. Our victim today was worthy. He was loved. But sadly, our victim never found the safety he deserved.
00:01:11
Speaker
Week after week, we bring you one cold case after another, asking you to help us bring closure for these families. This week, it's the same. As you listen to this week's story, go back in time, remember details you may have forgotten, help us bring answers to a grieving family.
Introduction to Blair Adams Case
00:01:27
Speaker
Because even though our victim today did have many of the factors that I mentioned earlier, he was no less human. This is the story of Blair Adams.
00:01:52
Speaker
So.
00:02:12
Speaker
Welcome to Coffee and Cases, where we like our coffee hot and our cases cold. My name is Allison Williams. And my name is Maggie Dameron. We will be telling stories each week in the hopes that someone out there with any information concerning the cases will take those tips to law enforcement.
00:02:28
Speaker
so justice and closure can be brought to these families. With each case, we encourage you to continue in the conversation on our Facebook page, Coffee and Cases podcast, because, as we all know, conversation helps to keep the missing person in the public consciousness, helping keep their memories alive. So sit back, sip your coffee, and listen to what's brewing this week.
00:02:49
Speaker
Before we begin our show today, Allison and I want to remind you about our ongoing challenge. You guys were so awesome for getting us to our 15 written comment goal so quickly we thought we would up the ante. Now, this one is a lofty goal, but Maggie and I know that we need to set our sights high. We want to get to 150 ratings on iTunes.
00:03:12
Speaker
We currently have 72. So what we're aiming for is more than double, but it only takes a split second. If you are listening to us on iTunes, just click for that five star rating. We have listeners from all over the world, including a growing listenership in Sweden. So while this is a big ask, we know that you can do it.
00:03:36
Speaker
It may take a little longer than last time, but when Maggie and I get to 150 ratings on iTunes, we will do another bonus episode. Just make sure that you follow us on social media, Coffee and Cases podcast on Facebook, or at Coffee Cases podcast on Instagram, or as always, listen in each week to know when that bonus episode will air.
00:03:58
Speaker
Now Allison, let's get to our show.
Blair Adams' Paranoia and Erratic Behavior
00:04:01
Speaker
Today's episode begins in Canada, Allison, and I just realized while I was writing this story that this is the second week in which I have narrated a story that took place in Canada. So there's something about Canadians that's just drawing you to them, right? Yeah, I guess they just have some really good cult cases there. And just like the last episode I did, Blair meets his brutal end in the United States as well.
00:04:26
Speaker
Yes, so don't travel to the United States. I guess it's the domestic. We don't want to see it. I mean we want to see you, but we don't want you to end up missing. Or murdered. So as you probably guessed from today's intro, this case is yet again one that if we would let it, could center around Blair's past. I feel like we do a lot. Yeah. We kind of have to remind everybody not to
00:04:56
Speaker
judge the victims, right? Because there's that tendency to feel like if there's anything. Because like I said, they're so human. Exactly. Despite the mistakes we make, we're still people. They're still children. They're still fathers. They're still brothers and sisters. Right. It doesn't make the family feel differently. Yeah. And which I'll just not skip ahead a little bit in some of the research I said or I found when they were talking about
00:05:24
Speaker
people stumbling upon his body. It was like they first thought he was homeless. Okay, well does that make him any less of a person that doesn't matter? Someone still died. So I don't know. I think it's easy for people just to like let that kind of block their vision. But Blair was a recovering alcoholic. I'm gonna go ahead and talk about it because it does kind of come up later on. He had been attending AA meetings
00:05:49
Speaker
and had been sober for two years. So, I mean, that's pretty impressive. That's good, I think. That's great. That is an accomplishment. You'll also see, as some details come forward in the case, that many thought Blair was suffering from mental illness, even though he had never been diagnosed with any type of mental illness. But just like some of his behavior points to maybe he had something that had gone un-diagnosed.
00:06:10
Speaker
Blair's case has so many details, Allison, that I'm honestly going to need your help to heap everything straight for everybody listening at home because whereas our normal cases are like a few hours, this is like several days. Okay. So it can kind of get a little overwhelming, I think.
00:06:29
Speaker
Blair's story begins on July 5th, 1996, so a simpler time, for sure. Blair had recently started a new job, one that he was happy to be at, one that he was even boastful about having. Both his coworkers and his family, though, could tell that something was wrong with him. He had started telling his mother that people at work were spreading rumors about him. He had started acting jumpy, scared, frantic,
00:06:55
Speaker
which was not the kind, cool, and collective person that everyone was used to seeing. That's sad. Because, I mean, you said he was excited about this new job and then to start it and feel like you're not part of a team or like...
00:07:07
Speaker
And I don't know really from my research if it was something at work that necessarily happened or if this was all sort of some type of paranoia that he had going on. According to his mother, Sandra Edwards, Blair had begun to have mood swings and she said they were actually wild mood swings.
00:07:27
Speaker
She says, quote, something was obviously very much the matter. He hadn't been sleeping well, something was wrong. I asked him numerous times what was wrong. And he said, I don't think I should tell you about it. And to this day, I don't know what it is, end quote. And as a parent, I'd be like, no, you've got to tell me. I've got to know what it is. Yeah, and that comes up over and over again that he
00:07:55
Speaker
like says something is going on but never will come out and say what exactly is going on which makes me feel like maybe there is something like tangible that it's not just
00:08:08
Speaker
you know, something that he's imagining are paranoia. That's for me, and I don't know why. I guess even though the word is super vague, it's like to me that kind of triggers something that there is something really wrong. So as I mentioned before, Blair was a happy-go-looking man who was excited to be starting a new job, but something or someone was bothering him. Fear finally eats at him enough that he tells his family he has to leave.
00:08:35
Speaker
And on July 5th, he goes to the bank and drains his checking account and his savings account, as well as gathers all of the jewelry that he owns. Okay, so this tells me he's going to get the heck out of Dodge. Like, it's going to go somewhere. Yeah, and this also points to me that there was an actual danger. Right. Of course, if he drained mine and Anthony's checking and savings account, you can't go very far. Mine, yeah, he wouldn't get a whole lot. But, you know.
00:09:01
Speaker
So, not much is known in the days that follow. We aren't sure what happened exactly in those days, but we know on Sunday, July the 7th, Blair heads for the Canadian border. Okay, so this is two days after the story started. Yes, so two days after he drains his bank account, he goes to the border. So things got back quickly. He had just started a new job and now he's ready to leave the country. Yes, I'm fleeing. Okay.
00:09:25
Speaker
According to an article called Who Killed a Canadian in Knox County but Left His Gold, on Sunday morning Blair drove his Chevrolet and tried to board a ferry from Victoria to Seattle. Also in all of this research, I've never been to Canada, I do wanna go there, but I didn't know that, maybe it's different now, but at this time there was so much border patrol between the United States and Canada.
00:09:53
Speaker
But I know they'll check your cars. So that does come into play. Okay. So remember he did have a ton of cash on him.
Blair's Mysterious Travels
00:10:01
Speaker
And because of all of this cash, he stopped by border patrol as a possible drug courier. Oh, okay. So they see all this cash and they're like, you're dealing drugs. Yeah.
00:10:12
Speaker
It also didn't help his case that he lied when they asked him about his criminal history You see he did in fact have a small past there was a small assault charge and a drug charge I didn't look too much into that because again That has nothing to do with the fact in my eyes that he's dead and we don't know who killed him, right? so
00:10:34
Speaker
Blair's denied entry because of all of that, and he just doesn't give up hope. I am sure, though, that this threw his plan for a loop, because after he was denied entry to the U.S., he makes several short stops in Canada. Kind of like he's trying to figure out, okay, like, now what? Like, okay, let me try this. Oh, no, can't do that. Like, can I try something else? Kind of like that? Yeah, very much so like that. Okay. Because he visits a friend in Vancouver,
00:11:04
Speaker
Then he goes to visit another friend in another city and then he goes to see his mother in Surrey. So he makes three separate stops and I'm not sure exactly how far away those towns are from one another but again it's like he's trying to figure out
00:11:21
Speaker
Like what do I do now? Right. And I notice too, you know, as you're talking about where he stops, none of these places are random. It's all like with friends or family. So places he would feel safe. Or he could get help. Yeah, if there is a legitimate threat where he would be like, okay, if I go here, maybe nobody can hurt me. Or maybe someone can help me if I'm here. Right.
00:11:44
Speaker
So now it's been three days and we are now on July 8th. So remember how I mentioned earlier that Blair was extremely excited about his new job. Like he was described literally in several articles as quote, boastful about the job that he had. Well, Allison, on July 8th, Blair marches into his workplace and quits. So you've taken a job that you feel is so important
00:12:13
Speaker
that you want to tell everybody about it, right? Like shout from the rooftops, I've got this job. And now you're like three days after you've accepted it. Nope, I'm out. Yeah, I'm done. Okay.
00:12:29
Speaker
So the strange and unexplained murder of Blair Adams true crime is one of the really interesting articles that I found and it states that quote later that same day he bought a round trip airline ticket from Vancouver to Frankfurt Germany for 1600 dollars. The flight was to depart the next day only a few hours after purchasing the ticket to Germany Blair went to a friend's house.
00:12:55
Speaker
end quote there he tells her that he needs to get to get across the border because somebody's trying to get him trying to kill him and he goes to her for help but she's not able to help him okay here's why i'm confused
00:13:09
Speaker
And this is the part, I guess the frantic nature where you were saying like a lot of people have linked it to maybe an undiagnosed disorder or something like that because to me that doesn't make sense that he would spend so much money on a ticket but the ticket is flying from Vancouver which is in Canada to Germany and yet he's still going to a friend's house to try to cross the border. Right. Unless he's wanting this ticket to somehow
00:13:37
Speaker
be like a false lead like a red herring like let's throw people off because I'm buying this ticket and they're gonna think that I flew there but really I'm hiding out someplace safe. I never thought of that that's a good theory he did from some of the accounts that I read had a girlfriend at one point that was in Frankfurt Germany so some people believed he was flying to her okay but he never uses the ticket so instead of using his plane ticket
00:14:04
Speaker
Blair turns in the ticket for a rental car on July 9th.
00:14:10
Speaker
So I did see two different reports on this, Allison. One report is that he rents the vehicle instead of using the airplane ticket. The other report is that he stole the vehicle at a place near the border and that border patrol noted several cuts and bruises on his legs. Some things said that he matched the description of the person who had stolen a car similar to that. But regardless of how he gets the car,
00:14:37
Speaker
This time he is able to cross the border and heads to the Seattle airport. Wait, which would make me think that he didn't really steal the car. Cause I'm thinking if they're checking the vehicles enough to where they would see, Oh, this guy has a lot of money. I don't know if they do this.
00:14:53
Speaker
would think. I guess this is something I can look up. If they typed in your driver's license number, right? Because they would know then that this guy's already tried to get across the border. You know what I mean? And he had all this cash and we stopped him or they would see his charges. And wouldn't he have to have like a passport?
00:15:11
Speaker
I don't think you have to go to Canada. I didn't think you did either, but I didn't know at that time if you had to. And I also don't know if they check every car. It might be random, like at the airport. And then he happens to get through, but if that were the case, then how would they know that he had scratches and bruises on his legs?
00:15:29
Speaker
which tells me that they did something. So I'm thinking he didn't. That's my theory. Yeah, I think he rented it. And I feel like there would be a lot of evidence to show like record that he rented this car. That's just me though. So the stolen car theory
00:15:47
Speaker
does kind of help push you into the way of thinking that he's running away from something or someone. Right, frantic. Do whatever it all costs. I need to get out of here. I'm going to steal this car. But the man that I read about did not seem to be one that was still a car. So in my mind, he rented the car and drove into Seattle. I think that's a logical conclusion too.
00:16:12
Speaker
He likes airplane tickets because, since he had all, he goes to the airport and buys another one, this time to Washington, D.C.
00:16:21
Speaker
So I would get it if he bought a ticket to the same place, but now he's buying a different ticket to a different place. Yes. But still across the country. Yes. Across the United States from where he is. Yes. Because he's near Seattle. Yes. Okay. So despite the fact that he is now on his second airplane ticket, what seems even more strange to me is the fact that Blair spends 800 US dollars on this ticket.
00:16:47
Speaker
Whereas he could have only spent $400 had he purchased the round trip ticket. Hmm. That makes no sense. Because I feel like they would tell you, hey, the one-way ticket's $800, but if you purchase the round trip, even if you don't return back, it's half the cost.
00:17:10
Speaker
So it's almost like money is no object. Like he's not even concerned. Maybe the one that was one way left earlier. No, that can't be because even when you buy a round trip, you select your flight there and you select your flight back so you could have chosen it. This to me points more to the undiagnosed mental disorder because I feel like he's just so frantic
00:17:35
Speaker
like something is happening that he is not thinking clear and I don't know if it is a mental disorder or if it's just like the panic of I have to get away, I have to get away, I have to get away. Which I totally get that because I've been you know I think everybody has felt so panicked at some point where you don't think clearly. Yeah. You know what I mean or you don't think to ask questions or you don't. I can remember specifically one time that I was babysitting my little cousin and she was like
00:18:02
Speaker
two or three at the time. She wasn't very old. And I always locked both of the doors at my aunt's house just out of habit. And so I went to fix her like something for lunch and I turned around and she's gone. And so immediately, I mean, I was little, I wasn't not little, but I was like,
00:18:22
Speaker
eighth grade, maybe. And so immediately I'm like yelling for her in the house, like I'm running everywhere, I run outside, even though I had to unlock the door to get out there. Right, so there's one other thing, so you know that's not logical that would still be locked from inside, but you go do it. And so like I'm running everywhere looking for her and she never comes out of where, like I never find her. And so I call my uncle who lives up the street because my aunts were all gone shopping and I was like, hey,
00:18:52
Speaker
I've lost Kirsten. And so he come, like he's like, I'm on my way. And so then I'm like, okay, let's just calm down. And let's pretend like we're playing hide and seek. And then like when I started talking like, I can't find you, where are you? She came out from underneath the bathroom sink. Oh, I bet you were so mad. Oh.
00:19:10
Speaker
I was mad, but my uncle was even more mad. He wore her out. But yeah, I mean, but that's one of those things, and you just said it, where like, you logically know if she had gone out the door, she couldn't have locked it back from the inside. But that's the first thing you do, right? You don't even think you just unlock and go, look, so maybe that's what he was doing.
00:19:31
Speaker
We'll give them the benefits. We know from several reports and interviews that Blair was exhibiting odd behavior that some people obviously believe like we just talked about was an undiagnosed mental illness. So could this behavior have been part of that mental illness? Was he so like quote unquote out of it that he wasn't able to reason the way that we just did? Obviously that's something we're not going to know.
00:19:55
Speaker
But on July 10th, Blair arrives in Washington, DC. Oh, so he used the ticket. He uses this plane ticket. So second plane ticket is a go.
Perplexing Knoxville Stay
00:20:03
Speaker
And he rents a car and heads straight for Knoxville, Tennessee.
00:20:09
Speaker
about a left field was not expecting that. Especially, I feel like Knoxville isn't like one of those cities where, you know, people from other countries are like, I want to go to, you know? Yeah, like New York City, Washington DC, like people from other countries want to go there. Right. But that would be like the same as somebody being like, I really want to see Louisville, Kentucky. Right. So, bigger city. I mean, plenty of stuff to do. But still, it's random. Yeah, it does seem very random to me.
00:20:38
Speaker
I find it odd. I mean, I don't, like we said, I don't really know a lot about Knoxville. They have a zoo. Right. Isn't it near like the Smoky Mountains? That's really about all I know, but I did Google it and they do actually have a small airport in Knoxville. So like if it was your original intentions, why didn't you go to like maybe the Lexington airport and get a connecting flight to Knoxville? Like why would you fly to Washington then backtrack?
00:21:07
Speaker
to Knoxville. Right. So obviously DC isn't your final destination. Right. So you're saying why wouldn't you fly from Seattle to Knoxville or somewhere that's closer? Or if his plan is or you know or was originally to go to Germany, you're not going to get to Germany from a small airport. You're going to go to an international. Like Washington. Right. So hmm that's odd.
00:21:35
Speaker
Maybe we're missing something. Maybe he had business of some sort that he had to take care of, you know, with all that cash. Maybe he was trying to pay somebody off, you know, to kind of leave him alone. But we don't know. And like we said, again, nothing against the state of Tennessee because it is beautiful. If you've never been there, you should go. But I do feel like it's very similar to Kentucky in many ways. Like unless you are,
00:22:04
Speaker
have family there or you know someone there, you're not just gonna randomly be like, let's travel to Kentucky. Yeah, let's go to Kentucky today. I feel like that's just too random. And from all my research, we know that he didn't know anyone in Tennessee. We know from Blair's family, he had only traveled to the southern US one time and it wasn't to Tennessee.
00:22:30
Speaker
And as if this case wasn't strange enough, with the ticket buying, the border hopping, the weird destinations, Blair's behavior gets even more strange as we move into the final days of his life.
00:22:41
Speaker
According to many accounts, Blair was seen on July 10th, so where five days passed when he drained his bank account, at a gas station in Knoxville. So remember he had her in a car at the airport, so I'm assuming he has stopped to fill up, maybe grab some snacks. Who knows? Headed somewhere again, though, obviously. Yeah, he's on the road again. Don't know where, too. He speaks with a gas station clerk around 5.30 when he tells the clerk that his rental car won't start.
00:23:12
Speaker
So the clerk speaks with him and he attempts to help him. Now this is something that I would never do because I would be too scared and I'm not about to be kidnapped. But the clerk from several reports gets into his car and tries to start his car. I would never do that. No, I wouldn't either. But if you're brave enough to do that, good for you, sir.
00:23:35
Speaker
Good for you. Yes. It is then that he notices that Blair is trying to use the wrong key to start the car. Oh. So that's why I wouldn't start, but he had the wrong key. Okay, here's what's odd to me about that though. Here's what doesn't make any sense. And it is that, I would think when you get a rental car that the key to that car is going to be the only key that is on that ring. And if he is nowhere near his home,
00:24:03
Speaker
Why would he be trying to use, say, a home key or an apartment key or something like that? Because it wouldn't even be on the same key ring, I wouldn't think. Right, and the clerk tells him that, hey, this is the wrong key. Maybe you should check your pockets. Do you have another key in there? And despite him telling Blair all of that, he just kind of acts confused and refuses to listen.
00:24:32
Speaker
So again, this clerk is braver than me, but he drives him to the hotel. Oh, so maybe he was trying to use the hotel key? Well, he hadn't checked into a hotel. So he drives him to the hotel he's going to check into.
00:24:46
Speaker
First of all, that's a kind gas station attendant. Yes. But second of all, no. Yeah, no. Not riding with a stranger somewhere. No. And even people walking up and down the street or the road, I feel so bad. And I'm like, maybe that's an angel. And I'm supposed to help them. Then I'm like, well, maybe you're an axe murderer. And you will cut me when I put you in the car. And you don't know which. And so we're just like. My intentions, we're good. Right. But I'm not letting you in my car. I'm sorry. Right.
00:25:16
Speaker
According to the strange and unexplained murder of Blair Adams, true crime, the manager at the hotel remembered Blair distinctly. So the gas station clerk does get him to the hotel. The hotel person remembers Blair because he walks in and out of the lobby several times. Coming in, going out, coming in, going out. Before he finally decides to register for a room. Okay, now that's odd. That's odd because I would think that he doesn't know anybody in Knoxville.
00:25:45
Speaker
unless he's so paranoid at this thing at this time and after everything that's happened that he somehow feels like somebody's after him and so he's just keeps checking to make sure nobody's following him yeah goes back in wait did I check correctly comes back in and
00:26:01
Speaker
but that seems excessive five times. I mean, I don't know if it was really five, but it was several times is what the account said. So enough that it's noticeable, so more than once or twice. It's enough that you notice that he's doing it. And another thing that's weird, he pays for the hotel room with a $100 bill, but doesn't wait to get the change. He just leaves completely from the hotel after he pays for a room.
00:26:28
Speaker
like doesn't go to his room? Does not go to his room to settle in, leaves the lobby. So again, doesn't care about money obviously because he spent $800 when he could have spent $400. And $1600 on the one airplane. Right that he never used. And now he's paying $100 for this room, doesn't get changed. It also shows me that
00:26:48
Speaker
Obviously he doesn't want a trail because he's paying with everything in cash. Oh, I hadn't thought of that. That's good. Right. So maybe if he is afraid, you know, someone's after him, paranoia, but that's odd that he then it's almost like he, it's a game and he's like trying to throw people off. Like let's buy a ticket that I never use. So maybe they'll check there first.
00:27:09
Speaker
And then let's buy this ticket, but let's then fly to Knoxville, a city where maybe they would never expect I'd go. Then let me check into a hotel that I never use. So it's like all these false swearings kind of. Yeah, so he's just maybe trying to make people think he's in these places, but he's really not. Good theory. But this does bring us to July 11th, the day that Blair's body was found.
Discovery of Blair's Body
00:27:40
Speaker
Blair's body was found early in the morning on July 11th when two men stumble upon his body at a construction site. So at first, and I did mention this, they believe he's homeless, but when they get closer, do you want to guess what they find?
00:27:57
Speaker
What? What? Oh no. Cash and loads of it. What? So all that money that he had on him. Yes. Still on him. Yes. Literally everywhere. He was surrounded by cash. It was floating. So it's like one of those air machines where you're like reaching out to grab the cash but floating around. Like on Matilda when it's like that show that's like, get sticky with itty. They're trying to get some money on me. It was on his body, in his pockets.
00:28:27
Speaker
His fanny pack was full, and I mean literally, first of all, he had a fanny pack. I know, I'm giving a look. I wish he had a fanny pack. First of all, that's not a phrase that you say in England. A fanny pack? Yeah, doesn't mean what it means here. It's not a little purse that goes on your waist. I mean, that's what we mean by it, but... Well, our...
00:28:53
Speaker
English listeners, I'm talking about the little purse that lives on your waist. It's like a belt. Not whatever else it means. So it is full of jewels, you said? Yes. Even I've read in one article, bars of gold, like that you would get like Fort Knox. I don't know. That is bizarre. But again, like if somebody's after him, which obviously they were,
00:29:20
Speaker
then why would they not take money? Like even if you were after somebody just to be after them, the money's right there. Or yeah, if I'm just like chasing you because you got on nerves or whatever, then I just. Then there's money floating in the air. You're not just gonna turn around and run away. We were just talking about student loans, I would take that board and be like, yep, here you go, great, like student loans, take this money. I know, let me out of debt.
00:29:48
Speaker
erase them please. So that alone is odd but the oddities of this case Allison don't stop there. Okay. So remember he stops at the gas station and he can't start his car because the clerk- He was using the wrong key. Yes. Okay. And the clerk tries to tell him and he's kind of like just doesn't pay attention. Right. Right. Doesn't get it. Yeah. They find the key he actually needed for his rental in his pocket.
00:30:16
Speaker
So he had it the whole time, obviously, because he drove it to the gas station. So why would you not remember, oh yeah, I stuck that key in my pocket. In my pocket. Or fill it. Right. He also is naked from the waist down.
00:30:32
Speaker
that always seems to say to me, sexual assault of some kind. Yes, and they do believe that he was sexually assaulted, and I'll talk about that a little later on, but that is a belief because his pants were actually turned inside out as well as his socks. So I kind of think of like,
00:30:49
Speaker
I've never worn these, but I've seen movies where women wear the gloves when they're washing dishes. I feel like I should. I feel like my hands would be a lot nicer. But anyway, when you pull them off, you pull them off, they're inside out. So yeah, with pants, I feel like if somebody's taking them off of you and they start with the waist, they would be inside out. So that to me seems to indicate that somebody took them off.
00:31:15
Speaker
Well, to play devil's advocate, every time I take blue jeans, especially off, they are inside out. And I don't know if that's because I typically wear like skinny jeans and they're tighter. Right. Cause I always pull like at my ankle and pull them off so that they're not inside out. But I also wash my clothes inside out.
00:31:37
Speaker
You know, thank you for saying that. Because Rodney gives me heck every single time I wash clothes because I turn clothes inside out. And he's like, oh my gosh, you're making so much more work for yourself. And I'm like, the tag says turn it inside out. It's supposed to preserve your clothes. I turn it inside out. Thank you. You're welcome. There's your life tip today, Slew Towns. You're welcome. Turn your clothes inside out. Yes, it preserves him.
00:32:04
Speaker
So anyways, his pants were turned inside out, as were his socks, which that is a little weird. So it looked like someone had pulled them off of him, and like you said, you automatically think of sexual assault. And the police also thought the same thing, but we don't have any record that there was any DNA found.
00:32:28
Speaker
So no semen, no proof. Yeah, no proof that there was a sexual assault. I guess that doesn't necessarily mean, because it could have been, and this is grotesque to even think about, but it could have been like with an object. Yeah, true. Instead of a body part. Right. Yeah. Beside his body was a duffel bag full of maps and travel documents, which Allison, I think,
00:32:51
Speaker
The theory you brought up earlier fits this, that he was leaving just like a trail, but why else would you have various travel documents and maps? Right, he could have even, for all we know, had he gone to that hotel room, he might have left like a travel document or a map in there, so again like throw somebody off, so like they would think he's gone to close out. A piece of his clothes or something. Right.
00:33:12
Speaker
Yeah. So maybe he was running away. Maybe, like you said, he was leaving the false troll. Sadly, Allison, we don't know. The only thing we do know is that Blair didn't go peacefully. Oh no. He wasn't killed quickly. We can deduce from his injuries that he had a slow death. Oh. Which I think is sad. That's hard. Yeah. I mean, all deaths are sad. Right. But we all want to imagine when we go
00:33:41
Speaker
like it would be in our sleep or at least quickly. But his wasn't. From evidence left at the scene of the crime, we can tell that Blair put up a good fight against whoever was trying to attack him.
00:33:55
Speaker
His attacker actually ripped out pieces of Blair's hair from his head. He was missing pieces of his hair. And Blair's hands were bloody as if he had been trying to defend himself when they said it looked like he had maybe fallen and tried to catch himself on the black top. Blair actually had hair in his hand that wasn't his own hair. So we assume it's from his killer,
00:34:22
Speaker
The hair was tested for DNA, but they never found a match. Even to this day, we don't have a match. Well, hopefully. I mean, we talked about this with the Amy Mihalovic case that where they found the hair on the blanket that she was wrapped in and that mitochondrial DNA and how
00:34:42
Speaker
that form of DNA research is just getting better and better as time goes on. So hopefully we'll get to the point, you know, because I don't know if they can do it yet with mitochondrial DNA, but I know with like blood DNA, that's why I like those websites of like ancestry.com and things like that. If you can locate a relative, then you can like link it back to who might have done it. And maybe we'll get there if we don't have the technology yet with mitochondrial DNA.
00:35:11
Speaker
Maybe it's just because I'm weird, but like, I think why don't we have a system where everybody's DNA is on file? Is that like, does that like, I guess, take away your alienated rights or something? Right? Like invasion of privacy, I guess, in a way. And there's a lot of fear, I have to say, in people thinking that the government is somehow
00:35:36
Speaker
watching you or keeping tabs on you. And part of my mind, I get it, but another part of my mind is like, well, if you haven't done anything wrong, then what do you have to be scared of? You know, Facebook shows an ad of something I was only thinking about, and I'm like, hmm. They're listening. They're listening to you tonight. Yeah, this is not good. This is not okay. We know from the autopsy,
00:35:59
Speaker
that Blair had eaten recently. There was still food in his stomach. We also know from a few different eyewitness accounts that Blair was seen in public at a few different restaurants with a man right before he died. And we're gonna post that police sketch for you guys on Facebook and Instagram. Does it look like anything in terms of, you know, I know the only man you've mentioned, maybe two you've mentioned, is the gas station attendant and then the hotel clerk.
00:36:29
Speaker
The only one of those two people that were ever kind of like questioned was the gas station attendant. He was questioned a little bit. So much so that, um, they obviously didn't link him to the case, but he ended up quitting his job because of all that went on with this. It was just too much. But you know, if he's seen with a man,
00:36:53
Speaker
it makes me feel like you know we talked about earlier in this episode about how it seems odd that he would go to Knoxville, Tennessee of all places unless he knew somebody there. Right and maybe this and that might be the man. Yeah or maybe this was the man that was after him and he was like trying to pay him off or you know talk out the situation or something. Right
00:37:16
Speaker
I mean, we don't know, but we do know Blair had a huge cut on his forehead and that he was hit so hard in the stomach that his cause of death was ruled septic shock because of how hard he was hit in the stomach.
Theories and Speculations on Blair's Death
00:37:31
Speaker
I didn't know that that was possible until I read this, but I'm not a doctor, but clearly I feel dying from septic shock would be a slow way to go. Yes. Like I don't think that it happens instantly. No, I don't think so.
00:37:45
Speaker
Police checked all the pipes, because remember we're at a construction site. Police check all the pipes, the rebar, and all that, and they found no more DNA evidence, only that piece of hair that was in his hand. That's still all we have. Wow. But you know at a construction site, there's potential weapons everywhere. Yeah, and they didn't take it with them. Yeah, and you know, one thing that I heard, and I was watching the, I think it was an oxygen channel,
00:38:17
Speaker
series about Crystal Rogers' disappearance. And I know that the crime labs, like the Kentucky crime lab, it's extremely underfunded, like it needs far more funds. Yeah, because they had tons of evidence and they had to take and choose. Right, they could only test a certain amount. So if you're at a, I don't know if Tennessee is the same, but if you're at a construction site and literally everything around you is a potential weapon, what if you've just chosen the wrong things?
00:38:41
Speaker
That's true, that's kind of scary to think about, that it could have been laying beside them, they just didn't pick it up. Right there. So according to another article that I saw, only one person has made a report to police about hearing something kind of out of the ordinary. It was a security guard at a nearby business and he told detectives that he heard like an alarming scream around 3.30 a.m. that he believed was a woman's voice.
00:39:07
Speaker
I wonder if you could really tell with a scream though, I guess. Oh, that sounded really girly. Like how are you going to, I don't think you'd be able to tell that. Like how do men scream different than women? I don't know. I don't want to really have a screaming contest to check it out, but I would think it would sound fairly similar. And you're not like right next to them. So, you know,
00:39:25
Speaker
How would you not, I don't think we should rule that out as, oh, it was a woman's screen, because we don't know. Or even, you know, I mean, because we don't know. I mean, here it is, if it happened at 3.30 a.m., it's, I'm sure, fairly isolated and dark and a construction site. For all we know,
00:39:42
Speaker
He could have been a good guy and not even been involved with anybody, but maybe there was a woman who he saw being attacked by someone and it was a woman scream and he runs over to help. Help, yeah, we have no idea. That's a good theory where maybe he just got scared and screamed because I scream at the smallest things. Yeah, I do. Like Anthony yesterday came up behind me and I was just sitting in a chair and just went,
00:40:10
Speaker
Like on the back of my head and out of reflex, I like smacked back and I hit him on the face on his glasses. He was like, he's in my glasses. So I just want to bring this up because we did talk about his past with an alcohol addiction. They did a toxicology report.
00:40:28
Speaker
and he had zero drugs in his system. So some people like to think it was a drug deal gone wrong, but I think with that toxicology report, we can just rule that out. And even if it were a drug deal gone wrong, I feel like they would have, well, it doesn't matter.
00:40:44
Speaker
I feel like they would have taken the money. Right, and I'm gonna talk about that here in a minute because some people think it was robbery and hello. You wouldn't leave what you were going for. In his pack, like you're gonna take all this stuff. So clearly, the robbery theory is a no. He literally had thousands of dollars on him. You're not gonna walk away from that. Nope. Some people argue that maybe it was a sex exchange gone wrong.
00:41:12
Speaker
Apparently, there was a rest stop nearby that was known for prostitution. Remember, I don't go to rest stops. Yes, I do remember this. You said that's where you go to get murdered. Yep. And so another reason we don't go there. But apparently, there was one near him and it was known for prostitution.
00:41:31
Speaker
But many think that maybe he bought a prostitute and when she came to meet him, a pimp accompanied her. First of all, I didn't know that that was like real. I don't know. We're not masters at this. We don't know. They think maybe that they attempted to rob him. No. And that they somehow pushed him out of his car or out of their car.
00:41:57
Speaker
and they try to flee the scene of the crime and they hit him with a car, hints the injury to the stomach. But again, I'm not an expert in prostitution, but I think the goal of it is to make money. So why did you leave all of the money? Or the goal of robbery. So that makes no sense to me.
00:42:17
Speaker
None at all. None at all. And, if he's that scared that he's running, fleeing out of Canada, buying tickets that he never uses. Potentially stealing a car. Well, here's why. I was going to say something and then I started second-guessing. I was going to say I wouldn't think he would trust many people, but then he trusted the gas station attendant to drive him to the hotel. So that's rather odd to me. So maybe it was just some type of
00:42:45
Speaker
Like we said, mental block that he had going on at that time. Maybe the man he was eating dinner with was someone he was trying to pay off because he was someone that was trying to kill him. Maybe this man was like an ally, quote unquote, of him that was trying to help him escape whatever was chasing him.
00:43:04
Speaker
Maybe that guy was his friend and ends up turning on him. I mean, we can go on and on because we just don't know. And what do we really have to go off of? We have a piece of hair with no matching DNA and a sketch of a man that he ate dinner with. Which says nothing. He could have literally just eaten dinner with somebody, with a friend. It has nothing to do with it. He's also in the South and we're really hospitable in the South, so maybe he just
00:43:28
Speaker
like started talking to this guy. Oh, okay, for those of you who don't live in the South, I'll just give you a little snippet. So what we do is if we go into the grocery store and we're standing in line and it looks like it's gonna be a few minutes, we just start talking to the person in front of us or behind us. We make a friend. And so it wouldn't surprise me if somebody said, oh, he went to this restaurant. Someone noticed that he was eating by himself and said, hey, do you want some company? Yeah, because I've done that before.
00:43:57
Speaker
Right. And so I could totally see that happening too. So this person he ate with, I'm glad you brought that up because it could have just been someone being kind. It could have been coincidence. Right. It could have been innocent. So we don't have a lot to go on and I think because of that it's easy to see how this case has gone cold. I agree.
00:44:17
Speaker
What is it about cold cases that keep us so enthralled?
Reflections on Blair's Life and Justice
00:44:20
Speaker
Is it the mystery factor? We can't stop thinking about the what if. We're obsessed with trying to put the pieces of an extremely large and difficult puzzle together. While we do love the thrill of a case that keeps us up at night, texting each other with details, what we love is the hope that we see running deep in each of these cases. The hope that justice will be served, the hope that the missing will be found, or the hope that peace will finally be brought to these families.
00:44:47
Speaker
I feel that hope when I talk about Blair's case. Hope that someone, somewhere, has information for the police. Hope that someone, somewhere, saw something, found something, or heard something that will bring new life to this case. True, Blair had a past, but his past shouldn't define how his case is looked at. We need to move past the bias that we carry towards people overcoming addiction,
00:45:10
Speaker
suffering from mental illness, or living with what we might like to call an alternative lifestyle, because no matter a person's past, they deserve life. Blair deserved to feel safe. He deserved life, and his family deserves answers.
00:45:26
Speaker
Again, please like and join our Facebook page, Coffee and Case's podcast to continue the conversation and see images related to this episode. As always, follow us on Twitter, at Case's Coffee, on Instagram, at Coffee Case's podcast, or you can always email us suggestions to coffeeandcasespodcastatgmail.com. Please tell your friends about our podcast so more people can be reached to possibly help bring some closure to these families. Don't forget to rate our show and leave us a comment as well. We hope to hear from you soon.
00:45:55
Speaker
Stay together. Stay safe. We'll see you next week.