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Episode 31: Brittany Cosby & Crystal Jackson
74 Plays1 year ago
Happy Monday Guys!
Today Lana tells Ellie about the sad and enraging case of Brittany Cosby and Crystal Jackson so buckle in for this bonkers case.
TW: Homophobia, and Hate Crimes, and talks of LGBTQ+ rights and religion
Shout out to Brooke Makenna for such a good youtube video on this case!
Thanks for listening! See you next Monday with another bonkers case!
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNHYT7-NuGM
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Welcomes
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey, guys, I'm Lana. And I'm Ellie. And welcome to Scared But Curious.
Weekend Humor and Snow
00:00:14
Speaker
Happy Monday. Happy Monday. How are you? How was your weekend? Oh, I'm doing pretty good. My weekend's been, I don't know. I've been just hanging in there, man. But I'm doing all right. How about you?
00:00:33
Speaker
Nothing. Yeah. Oh, it snowed again, even though the freaking groundhog said it was going to be early spring. I don't know animal violence, but when it comes to snow, I might yeet a groundhog. I tried to say yeet a groundhog, but I definitely said yeet a groundhog. Don't do that.
00:00:57
Speaker
Don't do that. Eating is pushing it as it is. I have no idea what a groundhog would taste like. Truly no fucking clue. Just punt. Just punt a groundhog.
Introducing the Emotional Story
00:01:07
Speaker
Dropkick. That's so mean. Oh my god, we're editing this out. Doesn't he drive off the cliff with a groundhog?
00:01:16
Speaker
I think so. That sounds right. I hate that. And I do normally like snow, but not when it's supposed to be springtime. And we were prepared for this to be over. And now we're getting two feet in two days. Oh, that's not nice. Yeah, so I'm not I'm not ready for it. But you know what I am ready for? What? This fucking story.
00:01:44
Speaker
I don't know if I'm ready for it, to be honest, because you told me I'm gonna cry. You're gonna cry. We're all gonna cry. Everyone's gonna cry.
Case Introduction and Discovery
00:01:53
Speaker
Yeah. Hold on to your britches, guys. Talking about that, I will put a trigger warning at the start of this episode for hate crime, homophobia, racism, question mark.
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah, so this one is one of those kind of stories where I heard about it once. I actually heard about it from a YouTuber. Her name is Brooke McKenna. If you guys don't follow her on YouTube, go follow her. She is
00:02:21
Speaker
she's just wholesome. And she tells you horrible crimes in like the sweetest voice. She Yeah, I love and she's like super respectful. And she's just a great youtuber. Anyway, a lot of my information I got from that. But I heard about this case about a year ago, two years ago, maybe.
00:02:39
Speaker
And it kind of stuck with me ever since. It's one of those cases where I'm like, I have so many thoughts and I need to tell somebody about this case because it hurts. Oh no. Well, I mean, based on your trigger warnings, I have a feeling it's going to hit me real close to home. Homophobia? Oh man, your girl's gay.
00:03:03
Speaker
Miha, it's cause you're gay. Miha, it's cause you're gay. Fuck. Also, if you guys know what that is, go look it up. Just go look up Los Jibides. Or look up Miha, it's cause you're gay. You ready to get into this? Grab your Kleenexes, I guess, and breathe. Okay. All right.
00:03:30
Speaker
All right, I'm getting comfortable and I will even mute so I don't bother because I will probably have a lot of reactions that I shouldn't have. So I'm gonna just mute and unmute for the ones I do want you guys to hear. I'll just watch your face. On the morning of March 7, 2014, in Texas, a beer delivery driver was doing his usual deliveries at the Fisherman's Cove food market at 7th Street and Texas 87.
00:03:59
Speaker
which I'm guessing that's like the highway that runs through. And Texas 87 is about two hours away from Houston. The market was not really around anything except for an abandoned hotel. So as the delivery driver was doing his thing, you know, stocking up and all that jazz, he went to go throw away some cardboard in the dumpster. And he goes to the dumpster and comes across what he thinks are two mannequins.
00:04:28
Speaker
They're never mannequins. They're never mannequins. Rule of thumb. They're never mannequins. They're never mannequins.
Background: Brittany and Crystal
00:04:35
Speaker
Which for those of you guys who don't know that, it's actually your body will go to mannequin before it will go to dead body because your brain is trying to rationalize it. Makes sense. No, you're not seeing a dead body.
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's actually a normal trauma response. So, the delivery driver goes back into the shop and he asks the store clerk, like, why are there mannequins next to the dumpster? Because again, the only thing close to it was an abandoned hotel.
00:05:05
Speaker
which I'm super intrigued by this abandoned hotel. I get that there's probably some shit that's about to go down that's not have anything to do with this abandoned hotel. But what's this hotel though? Hmm, I'm intrigued. I want to go explore. Okay, sorry. I need to focus. Okay.
00:05:25
Speaker
The store clerk, he's like, we don't, I didn't throw away any mannequins. What? This is a grocery store. What? And so he's like, no, come holding baskets of fruit. And so the store clerk follows out the delivery guy outside to the dumpster. And then with two of them, they realize, of course, that they weren't mannequins. They were dead bodies of two females. And so they call the police, of course,
00:05:55
Speaker
And when the police get there, they took statements and everything. And the clerk was actually so shaken up that she actually had to go home early. Because I mean, you just found two dead bodies, of course. Yeah, like shit. You don't get paid enough for this type of trauma. Exactly. When I worked retail, I didn't get paid enough to get yelled at. I definitely don't get paid enough to see a dead body. Thank you very much.
00:06:20
Speaker
No, literally though, the trauma that retail gives you alone is not worth the pay, let alone finding dead bodies while working retail. That's just the worst situation to possibly be in. So the investigators saw that one of the bodies had been shot in the head, but the other one was wrapped in a sheet and beaten severely. So two completely different causes of death. An autopsy later showed that the one that had been shot in the head died instantly.
00:06:49
Speaker
Thank God. And the one that had been beaten, she had pretty much died instantly from a blow to the head, but it looked like overkill. Like she was already dead when the rest of the beating took place. Okay, talk about a crime of passion, let me tell you. Wow. Okay.
00:07:09
Speaker
They could also tell from the crime scene that this was just the dumping ground for the bodies. And they could tell that the crime had happened somewhere else since, you know, one shot in the head, and one was pretty much beaten to death. And there's not a lot of blood around the bodies. Yeah, I'm sure there's also like, you know, lividity and stuff like that, that tells like, yeah,
00:07:29
Speaker
The investigators also found a green and white shutter from a window, the wood shutters. So they found one of those. What do you mean, they just found a full shutter? Or just like a... No, like a full ass shutter. Do you think they need to use that to transport the body? It's a fucking road killer, like a spider. You're like,
00:07:54
Speaker
no i wasn't thinking that like like like fucking family guy when he had the toad and he tried to move it with the box yeah no not like that i was thinking more like a gurney they use it like a gurney with the bodies to move oh no i don't think the shutter was that big i think it was like a smaller i mean
00:08:13
Speaker
I don't know bodies can be contorted weird ways, right? I don't I don't know what's happening here. I don't think it was used for that because there was only blood splatter on it. They also found an envelope covered in blood. And when they looked at the envelope, it was addressed to a Brittany Cosby, and it had an address on it. So
00:08:32
Speaker
they decided to start there. And they went to the address and they found Brittany's father and grandmother. And of the two, Brittany was the one that was beaten to death. And they asked the family if, you know, if they would have known about the other girl that was with her. And the dad and the grandmother immediately said that it would have been Brittany's girlfriend, Crystal Jackson.
00:08:57
Speaker
And so Brittany was raised by her grandma Annie, because her mom was really, really young when Brittany was born, and Brittany's father was kind of in and out of prison his entire life. We'll learn more about that when Brittany was born. So this was kind of just the best option to
00:09:16
Speaker
not have to put her in foster care. People say that Brittany growing up was a super loving, happy, sweet girl who loved hanging out with her friends. But she also really valued her alone time just as much. And she preferred smaller groups of friends. And in high school, she ended up getting involved with a really bad crowd. And at one point, a group of her friends with her broke into a home and
00:09:45
Speaker
They, like, shattered a window, and then they stole multiple things. But the group was caught immediately, and Brittany kind of knew at that point that, like, I have to turn my life around. I don't like where this is headed. I- I just- I- I- This is not me, and I don't want- I don't want this to be my life.
00:10:07
Speaker
That's good. Yeah. So especially at a high school age to know that like, yeah, this is not where I really want to go in life. So she ended up cutting ties with those friends. She got a job at KFC. And she used that money to pay back the family that she had robbed from. Wow. That's, that's wow. That really shows the character. Exactly. That's a good person.
00:10:34
Speaker
So around that same point, she realized that her grandma was getting older and that she was going to start needing more help. So on top of working, she also took nursing classes so that she could help her grandma instead of putting her grandma in a home.
Challenges and Tensions
00:10:49
Speaker
Wow. This is going to make me really sad because she's a good person. I already know I'm going to be real sad. So later on, she switched from KFC to Starbucks and she started going to church.
00:11:03
Speaker
And she loved singing and poetry. She kind of kept that to herself. People said that she was kind of more outwardly, she was kind of more of a tomboy, she dressed more masculine, stuff like that, but she had a really soft side to her. And so- Oh my god, same.
00:11:24
Speaker
Sorry, that was my chair. So, Crystal Jackson was born to parents Ivan and Mary Jackson. Ivan was a reverend, and Mary was a stay-at-home mom. And Crystal was known to be ambitious, hard worker, and I felt this so hard. People say that she was small but fierce because she was just under five foot. Yeah, sounds like you.
00:11:49
Speaker
And she never had a problem telling people off, even if she was working, like even if she was telling off customers. Wait, is this... Who are we talking about right now? You or the... What are we talking about? Crystal or you?
00:12:10
Speaker
I think I got confused. Honestly though. And people say that she would always wear heels and make sure that she was always put together, always dressed to the nines, even if she was just going to work. Even though people say that she was like small but fierce and that she would always make, you know, her opinion known.
00:12:32
Speaker
She was also just a genuinely good person. She would always make sure that everyone else was also taken care of. She was kind of the mom of the group, as you can tell with the like, you know, never had a problem telling people off. Wow, this sounds nothing like you still. No, not at all. What are you talking about? Except for the like, always put together.
00:12:57
Speaker
She is more put together than I am though. So let that be known. I mean, I wasn't going to call you out, but anyway. So like I said, she was kind of the mom of the group.
00:13:13
Speaker
you know, would kind of hurt everyone. But, you know, even though she was the daughter of a reverend and a stay-at-home mom, she did kind of have a rebellious streak when she was younger, just like Brittany. And she actually got caught stealing a pair of earrings. And when she told her mom, or, you know, when she got caught, she told her mom that they got stuck on her coat. And so she walked out with them. Wow.
00:13:40
Speaker
Yeah. Her mom didn't believe her, of course. She's not dumb. I'm thinking I'm like, I don't know if I would have been able to come up with that lie. I'm not gonna lie. But I wouldn't have been stealing earrings because I say lie one more time.
00:13:56
Speaker
I'm not gonna lie. I don't have any earrings in my life. That was a good lie. I don't know if I could have done that lie. That was a good lie. Drinking game. I'm not gonna lie. Everybody drink your water when she says lie. Uh-huh. Because I'm not trying to kill anybody.
00:14:11
Speaker
We're not trying to give anyone alcohol poisoning, so just water. Stick into water. Also, drink your water. I see you. Yeah. Yes. Everybody, let's just take a moment to relax our shoulders. Unclench our jaw. Drink some water. Sit up straight. Okay, carry on.
00:14:30
Speaker
So, Crystal's mom, you know, like I said, didn't believe her, but hoped that the repercussions of stealing earrings would teach her a lesson. And it did work. Crystal never stole again. And actually, Crystal's life would change drastically. Like I said, she was the mom friend, but at 18, she would actually end up becoming a mom. She
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah, sorry, your face.
Crime Scene and Investigation
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, so she would end up becoming pregnant. Yeah, I forgot. This is a podcast. People can't see my face. People can't see your face. Oh snap. Oh snap. Especially coming from a Reverend's daughter. But who also ends up being gay, Mija. So at 18, she would end up becoming pregnant.
00:15:19
Speaker
But just like in her normal life, she took to being a mom perfectly fine. She was all, like I said, she was already the mom friend. And so having a kid, she's like, it's fine, I got this.
00:15:33
Speaker
Why is that literally us, though? Like, if the situation came up, I feel like out of all of our friends, the ones that aren't already mothers, I feel like we'd be pretty good mothers, right? Yes. Yeah. So she named her daughter Zenaya, and she was Krystal's everything. Krystal would spare no expense on Zenaya, even if that meant that Krystal herself would have to go without.
00:16:01
Speaker
And by the age of 24, Crystal is still living with her parents, but is also working nights as a security guard. And from reports I read, it was actually really funny because they thought that that was the perfect job for her because she could tell people pretty much where to stick it because she's a security guard. So they thought that it was a perfect job for her because
00:16:25
Speaker
She couldn't hold down like a retail job because she was so opinionated, but security guard. Perfect. We actually want you to be. Exactly.
00:16:38
Speaker
Wow. And actually, her job as a security guard worked perfectly. She was able, she worked nice, like I said, and so she was able to take her daughter to school and hang out with Zania after getting home from school after Zania got home from school before she would have to go to work. So she was actually even though she had to work,
00:16:58
Speaker
and like make a living and stuff, she was still there for her kid. When Crystal would go to work, her parents Ivan and Mary would watch Zania and it was kind of a group effort, you know, and they didn't mind watching her, you know, they loved her, they loved Zania. So literally takes a village, right? Exactly, exactly. So yeah, they didn't mind taking care of her and stuff. And Crystal didn't have a car. And so she would take the Metro every day.
00:17:28
Speaker
And that's actually how Brittany and Crystal met, was on the Metro bus. Okay, sorry. I knew you were gonna have something to fucking say about that. I knew it. My dog came in here, I was gonna have more to say, but my dog decided to drink water.
00:17:50
Speaker
No, but actually, that's really cute. Like, talk about just pure. Like, you literally meet on the Metro bus. The only people I've met on the Metro bus have been creeps. Okay, but same. I don't know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I'm like, how come you have a meet queue out of Metro bus? Right? Out of Metro bus. Please stop. I've had either creepy people, but I there were two guys when I was riding the train to school. And there are two guys that I would ride the train with that were like fathers.
00:18:20
Speaker
And they looked out for me and it was really sweet. So I'm like, okay, I actually do have some really sweet interactions. It was really wholesome. That's great. Yeah. And they made the interactions so much better. Like they were so protective of me and I felt so safe with them. I was the mom on the Metro bus. There was this little kid who was probably like 11 or 12. And he just sat there and was like, can I sit with you? It was when I was going to work one day and he's like, can I sit with you? And I was like, of course, where are you heading to? And we happened to be getting off at the same place. And I was like, I will protect you at all costs.
00:18:49
Speaker
so yeah i will throw hands i don't know you you just met me but i swear to god anyone comes up and tries to mess with you it's over exactly so again they would say that they had
00:19:05
Speaker
an immediate connection. And people close to them would say that they were like two peas in a pod. They wanted the same things out of life. And they were so in love. And they were excited to be a family for Zania. Brittany loves Zania like she was her own. They, you know, she disciplined her like she was her own. She, you know, bought Christmas presents. Like, you know, she just really, really bonded with Zania. And at the time of this case,
00:19:35
Speaker
Brittany and Crystal were in such a good place in their lives. Everything seemed to be going great, which makes me so mad because that's where my frickin' anxiety comes in, where I'm like, everything's going great, like what's gonna go wrong?
00:19:52
Speaker
So, like I said, everything seemed to be going great in their lives, and they had actually just bought a 2006 Kia Sorento at the time of the case. And they were so happy, because this was Crystal's first car, because like I said, she'd been driving the Metro. Not taking it, she drove the entire bus. She's like, move over, it's my time.
00:20:19
Speaker
She had been taking the bus the whole time and they were just really happy because they were one step closer to kind of being their own little family. And when the police told Crystal's family that, you know, they had found her and her girlfriend, you know, at the dumpster.
00:20:38
Speaker
Mary couldn't believe it. She was in so much denial that the police actually had to show her a tattoo that Crystal had that said zania on it. And that was the only way that she would come to grips that it was her daughter. No, it's heartbreaking. Yeah. And she like of course a parent doesn't want to accept that they will
00:21:04
Speaker
like no you're not supposed to have to yeah and so the police were pretty sure that this was a hate crime i mean these women were gay and black and like i said in texas
00:21:20
Speaker
And if you know anything about Texas, you don't want to be either there. I, to digress a little bit from the case, I, that's why I really wanted to bring this case up was because with everything that's just kind of happening right now with like rights and especially like next and that whole thing. Oh my God. Yeah. I just, I really want our podcast to be a place where we're not afraid to talk about
00:21:50
Speaker
I don't want to be afraid for things that make us uncomfortable. Yeah, thank you. Yeah. And like, especially Well, I think both of us, I think from the very beginning have been very open about the fact that if this is causing us discomfort, there's a reason for it. And that maybe we shouldn't ignore that maybe we should lean into it and realize maybe why, why am I feeling so uncomfortable? Oh, because this is still a problem. And that can't just acknowledge this and go,
00:22:18
Speaker
this is not okay. No, we need to really.
00:22:22
Speaker
dig deeper because this is more than not okay. It's not just, of course, murder. Murder is bad. Don't get me wrong. Killing no matter what it is, but the fact that there are people out there that are, Stella agrees, murder is bad. Yeah, good job, Stella. At least your mom's teaching you somewhat, right? I am raising my child right.
00:22:51
Speaker
She knows. Especially, I really want this podcast to be, we're not doing this just for monetary gain, but if it does come, we really want to use our platform as a way to help other people. We don't just enjoy talking about it. We want to be a part of a change with it. We're not just going to acknowledge this thing. Once we're able to, we want to do something to change it. Because
00:23:15
Speaker
We are acknowledging this is a problem, and it's a problem we're very uncomfortable with. And we hope that you as a listener are also uncomfortable with the fact that there are people that are being killed because of who
Family Dynamics and Suspicions
00:23:28
Speaker
they love. I heard this really great YouTuber who said that she doesn't talk about true crime just to do what she called, quote unquote, murder porn.
00:23:37
Speaker
She talks about cases that she can actually help with or she wants to get her audience to actually help with. She doesn't want to just do the gory details just to get the shock value. She wants to actually be able to
00:23:51
Speaker
help families and help victims and all that kind of stuff. And I'm like, that's exactly how I feel about this, where it's like, I don't talk about these horrible stories just because I, you know, I like telling the gory details half the time. Like, Ellie knows that like, writing this story, I was on the verge of tears, because this shit still happens. So anyway, let's carry on with this other American hate crime.
00:24:17
Speaker
they were pretty sure that this was a hate crime. But just to be safe, they looked at like ex-partners and friends even, you know, because they wanted to make sure that yes, it could be a hate crime, but who knows? It also could just be an argument gone wrong or whatever, you know? So while looking into the ex-possibility, they talked to both families and both families said that the last day,
00:24:48
Speaker
that the girls were seen was on March 5th. And both families also said that the three girls went to go get pizza and they actually brought it back to the Crosby house, which was Brittany's house. And so they were gonna eat pizza with her grandma and just hang out with all three of them. And the next day, Zania had a field trip and Mary, Crystal's mom,
00:25:15
Speaker
Um, actually, and at this point worked at the school that Zaniah went to, you know, because after her daughter grew up, she's like, well, I don't have to be a state-owned mom anymore. So, so she worked at the school that Zaniah went to. Zaniah had a field trip and Mary picked her up from the house, but Brittany and Crystal weren't there. And Zaniah was completely alone.
00:25:38
Speaker
And Zenaya at this point is like five. Oh no, poor baby. Yeah, no one else is there. And she's picking her up from the Crosby house. That's, yeah. And like the whole family, both families said that everyone loved Crystal and Brittany. Zenaya's father was even looked into.
00:25:59
Speaker
because he was technically close to Crystal. But he even even the family said that like, no, he, they didn't really talk. But his name was Reginald Jackson, which I don't know why I just love that name. Reginald Jackson. It's so proper sounding.
00:26:18
Speaker
It's the Reginald. That's what's due. It's Reginald. You can put any name after that, but Reginald? All right. Yep. Yep. So Reginald was questioned by the police. And he said he hadn't seen Crystal or Zenaya since Zenaya was born, pretty much. And he had claimed to have nothing to do with it. And he even agreed to a DNA test. And when his DNA was tested,
00:26:43
Speaker
to the crime scene, it wasn't a match. And so Reginald was released. So they knew it wasn't him. And at this point, the two families
00:26:54
Speaker
They're coming together. They're grieving together. And Crystal's family even helped pay for Brittany's funeral because the Crosby's just didn't have the money to pay for a funeral. You know, the grandma at this point is 90 years old. This Annie, she's like 90 years old. And her dad is in and out of prison. So they just, they didn't have the money. But during this time,
00:27:21
Speaker
a lot came out about Brittany and Crystal's personal life. And it kind of seems like Crystal's family, the
00:27:32
Speaker
the Reverend, you know, they had a really hard time accepting that Crystal was gay. In their religion, homosexuality was seen as a sin and even evil. And Mary was worried about people judging them, you know, people in the church judging them. And Ivan was very standoffish when it came to Brittany and Brittany coming over. And he didn't really, he kind of kept her at arm's length.
00:28:01
Speaker
because, yeah, this is who to blame for my own being gay.
00:28:08
Speaker
He also didn't want anyone to know that Crystal and Brittany were more than just friends. And apparently, this part pissed me the fuck off. Apparently, he would say that this is the quote, that Crystal isn't gay. She's just confused. And I'm going to shut my mouth because I'm not gonna say anything because I have nothing nice to say. And even at
00:28:35
Speaker
Brittany's house with her grandma and her dad. Even there, they weren't allowed to be themselves. Annie was also very against them being together. They didn't really have anywhere that they could just relax and be themselves and be in a relationship. And then it came out that on the 5th of March, the last day that they were seen when they went to go get pizza, Ivan and Crystal, so dad and daughter,
00:29:06
Speaker
they got into a fight because Crystal wanted to move out with Brittany. And Ivan didn't want her to. And at that point, the couple left to go get pizza. And when they didn't return because they went to Brittany's house. And
00:29:23
Speaker
when they were like, okay, you know, where are they? It's been a little bit longer than it should be. Ivan told Mary that he was going to go look for them and bring his gun. And if they found them together, he would quote unquote, do something to Brittany. And it never was said what he would do to Brittany. But I'm guessing it's not very good if that's
00:29:52
Speaker
how you're acting. If a gun is needed, I'm sure it's not the best idea. So when the investigators heard that Ivan had told Mary this, they immediately asked for the gun for testing against the bullet found in Crystal. However, the ballistics came back and the gun wasn't a match. On the 11th of March, a guy in Houston was walking his dog on a
00:30:18
Speaker
and came across a wallet. And when he opened up the wallet to see the license inside, the name on the license was Brittany Cosby. Alright, and I've realized this whole time that I've been saying Brittany's last name wrong, it's Cosby, not Crosby.
00:30:37
Speaker
So my bad. Whoops. But I will say Cosby from now on. Sorry about that, guys. So when he looked inside the wallet, the name on the license was Brittany Cosby. And he had this guy had seen the news and knew that the girl
00:30:56
Speaker
with the same name had been found murdered. And so he called the police and told them where he found it. And this trail happened to be only a few miles away from the Cosby residence. So the investigators look to see if there was any surveillance cameras that could have caught anything. And they found that a liquor store in the area had caught the
00:31:19
Speaker
to the Kia Sorento early on the 6th of March, like early morning, the 6th, and they were found on the 7th. So the footage was way too blurry to make out who was driving the car. So instead they checked out around the dump site, where the dumpster was and all that, to see if they could see anything also on security cameras. And that's when they saw the 2006 Kia Sorento on the ferry
00:31:49
Speaker
which was about a mile away from the dump site. And the Kia was actually stopped by a security guard coming off of the ferry. But the guard was just like letting the person know, like whoever was in the car, that their headlight was out.
00:32:07
Speaker
And so the police are like, Oh, perfect. Like we have somebody that talked to whoever was driving the car. Perfect. And when the security guard was questioned, he told investigators that there was a guy driving the Kia and he seemed nervous.
00:32:24
Speaker
And I don't know what this means. The guard said that he seemed to not be able to drive the car very well. So I don't know if the Kia was a manual. Or it was a stick shift and he's not. I don't know if it was a stick shift and not an automatic. I'm like, what do you mean you don't know how to drive? What? So yeah, not too sure.
00:32:47
Speaker
And so maybe he like didn't know his dimensions. So when he was trying to get off the ferry, he like didn't know the cars dimensions were.
00:32:58
Speaker
And so the guard was asked to give a description of the man for the sketch artist and the guard said that he was a tall black man with brown eyes brown hair average build a Mustache and a soul patch and he was probably in his like late 20s to 30s but investigators were kind of puzzled because that didn't
00:33:23
Speaker
look like anyone that they even suspected. Who in tarnation was driving this car? Yeah, they're like, wait, that has no what? That doesn't look like anybody. And so they were pretty much back at square one. The only one that they could even think of that could fit the description was Reginald Jackson, the ex. He fit the age range, nothing else.
00:33:52
Speaker
So, literally, they're at absolutely square one. But then- Unless they discredit the age range because maybe the guy's not the best at gauging age? I don't know. Gauging age? Or maybe the guy just looks real good for, you know, being older?
Trial and Conviction
00:34:08
Speaker
I was gonna say we all know black don't crack, right? Honestly.
00:34:14
Speaker
Yeah, who knows? So she could be 40 looking 20. Exactly. But luckily, they had another witness come forward. And her name was Cora. And she was actually one of Annie's, the grandma, one of her caregivers. So Cora told investigators that she was there when the girls had brought back pizza, and that Larry
00:34:39
Speaker
Brittany's dad, the one that was in jail when she was born, was complaining that the girls brought home pizza and all he had to eat was a bologna sandwich. And Brittany responded with, you can get a pizza when you go out and get a job. Damn. I was like, good for you, bitch. And out. Yeah.
00:35:02
Speaker
So after Britney had responded with this of being like, you know, go get yourself a job.
00:35:10
Speaker
They started arguing, Larry and Brittany, and Cora said that she felt uncomfortable, and luckily she actually happened to be done with her shift with Annie, and so she left. And later, Larry's sister, Ebony, would get a call from Brittany, saying that her and Larry were in a fight, and Ebony told Brittany to just stay out of his way. Just don't bug him anymore. And so the investigators hearing this looked into Larry's background, and
00:35:40
Speaker
Larry Cosby had been in and out of jail multiple times for sexual assault, weapon charges, just things of the like. In 1994, he was sent to jail for 10 years for sexual assault.
00:35:55
Speaker
And when he was released, he was actually sent back again pretty much right away for not registering as a sex offender. And this put him in prison until 2013. And he was released just about five months.
00:36:11
Speaker
before the murders. And after he was released, he lived with Annie and Brittany, but he didn't have a job. He was sleeping in like a makeshift bedroom, which was pretty much just a curtain as a wall in the living room. So the investigators wanted to talk to Larry. And while some of them are talking to Larry, some other investigators are kind of doing like a small preliminary search around the building. Not really
00:36:38
Speaker
moving anything, but just kind of looking. And so while they're doing this kind of like preliminary search, not really moving anything, just seeing what they can see in their line of sight outside the house, they realized that the house has the same shutters as the one that was next to the dumpster and next to the bodies. Oh, what do you know?
00:37:02
Speaker
And they also find about five bricks with drops of blood on them. So not splatter, but like it was dripping. So then on the 13th of March, there was a huge break in the case. They were done testing that bloody letter that was found with Brittany's name on it.
00:37:28
Speaker
and it had a fingerprint on it. And lo and behold, the fingerprint belonged to none other than Larry Cosby. Thank God, criminals are dumb. Honestly.
00:37:43
Speaker
And I actually don't know what was in the letter. I couldn't really find anything out about that. It was just like, there's a bloody letter. But when Larry was brought in for questioning, he pretty much refused to talk. When Larry was brought in for questioning, he pretty much refused to talk. But the small things he did say were like the shutter was already gone when he came home from prison. Make that make sense?
00:38:13
Speaker
So the shutter that has blood from a recent crime was already missing and just happened to be at the same spot that the recent crime happened? I'm confused. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. And, and of course, he had no idea how his fingerprint was at the crime scene. No idea.
00:38:35
Speaker
I have a little bit of an idea. So does Stella. Did you hear that? Oh wait, actually that may have been Puka. I think Puka actually said something that time. But lucky enough, a warrant was granted for the Cosby home while Larry was in questioning
00:38:53
Speaker
And apparently, if the investigators had any doubts about his guilt, they were quickly put to rest when they started searching the house. There was so much blood in his makeshift bedroom that he even tried to clean it up, but it was still, or like not clean it up, but like hide it. Like there was a rug or like a piece of carpet cut out randomly, stuff like that, where you're like, what are you
00:39:23
Speaker
Did you even try? Did you even try to hide it? But even with that, the CSI, honestly, exactly. And even with that, the CSI team did a luminal test and it showed even more blood that he tried to clean up. So they saw all of this blood all over his room, but he even did. He even tried to clean up and he decided like, no, too hard. Whoops.
00:39:51
Speaker
And what's really, what's really disgusting is that, um, the bed that he would sleep on was covered in blood. Like he was sleeping on his daughter's blood. No, no, no, no, no. Oh.
00:40:18
Speaker
Ugh. Yeah. Just decided, oh, they're not gonna search or something? I don't know. And during the search, they found bullets that would end up matching the bullets that killed Crystal. And they found a hammer that they believed was used to kill Brittany. They also found that the sheep that the girls were wrapped in matched
Emotional Aftermath
00:40:45
Speaker
Larry's, um, bed. Like, that was the sheet used. So he was sleeping on a bloody mattress or a bloody couch, whatever he's laying on, without a sheet! I can't even lay on an un-cheated mattress just to begin with. I can't. I can't fathom this at all. I mean, I can't fathom murdering your child, let alone
00:41:13
Speaker
Neither can Pooka. She has a lot to say tonight. You know, we normally get Stella. I'm excited we get Pooka. And so with all this evidence, they knew they had Larry. But like I said, Larry wouldn't talk. And they tried questioning him for five and a half hours.
00:41:32
Speaker
Yeah, and he wouldn't talk. And investigators said that he was emotionless. Like even if he didn't do anything, you would still be emotional because someone killed your daughter and you're being framed for this crime that you apparently didn't do. And so you'd think you'd be a little bit more emotional, but nope. He was more worried about where they found his fingerprint more than him actually being questioned. What a schmuck.
00:42:01
Speaker
I honestly and just to get him on something so that he didn't run or anything like that they charged him with tampering with evidence and at least for now you know so that they could get more solid proof on him but they would actually like know where he was yeah level we can't do this more than once so let's get him on something less yeah until we have this one solid
00:42:27
Speaker
Exactly, and so I don't know if Larry has ever given the entire story of what happened but Investigators believe and this is really sad for everything but also like for Zania Zania Investigators believe that crystal was actually getting Zania ready to go to school and was walking out to the car to get her buckled in when
00:42:57
Speaker
Crystal heard Brittany and Larry fighting. And Crystal went back into the house for a second, saw that Larry was beating Brittany and killing her. And Crystal ran to the door and Larry shot her. And that's why there was blood on the shutter of the door, or of the window, you know. And then he unbuckled Zania, took the keys out of the car,
00:43:25
Speaker
and left Zania at home for the day while he came home and put the girls
Reflection on Hate Crimes
00:43:32
Speaker
in the... You mean he left her at the crime scene? With the dead bodies. I hope he rots. Mm-hmm. Like, I get it, whatever you're selfish as fuck or whatever is wrong with you, but that's if you need to make it personal in order for you to give a fuck. What about the fact that's your grandchild, but you just killed your daughter, so I guess...
00:43:53
Speaker
guess you don't really care. So like I said, he went out for the day doing something, and then came home, put the bodies in the trunk, and then moved them to the dumpster after they've been sitting at the house all day with a five year old daughter with like with five year old kid. So I like not to make this about me in any way. But
00:44:15
Speaker
Um, like five, six days after my sixth birthday is when my dad passed away and I still remember it. Like it's yesterday. This can't tell me she doesn't remember this. Well, actually, you'll find out she does my heart. Yeah. I'm sure she does. And that makes my heart really sad. So, so on June 15, Larry was charged with capital murder and pleaded not guilty.
00:44:40
Speaker
And the trial lasted over a week. The defense had testified that he had no motive, no weapon or confession. And it came out that the guard that gave the description of the guy in the car, when they were trying to make sure they had the right person because of the sketch and all that kind of stuff, he would actually pick out the wrong guy in the lineup. It was a lineup that didn't even have Larry in it.
00:45:09
Speaker
And then they did it again. Oh, boy. Yeah, they did it again. And he did pick out Larry that time, but he said he was only half shore. Was he sure the first time and did the first guy look like him? Like, there's more I feel like I need to know more before I started judging this guy. Hold on. Yeah. And also it was dark out. It was supposed to be like early in the morning or whatever, you know, but either way. So
00:45:37
Speaker
The guard had also said that the guy was in his 20s and 30s, but Larry was in his 40s, which I think it's funny that you brought that up. You literally didn't even know, but you brought that up about like age sucks, you know?
00:45:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, like, I did look up what this guy looks like. And he does look younger. He looks like he's in his mid 30s. He doesn't look like he's 40. Not to say is that people say that he actually looks a lot younger than he is. But even though there were discrepancies, fingerprints don't lie. And after Larry was arrested, investigators were doing an actual search of
00:46:17
Speaker
his house of Annie's house, all that kind of stuff.
Conclusion and Advocacy
00:46:21
Speaker
And they've actually found that Larry had a Quran in his room, and it was open to a section about how being gay was wrong. And even people who knew him said that he had, it doesn't matter what religion he was or anything like that, he had a very skewed sense of religion in general.
00:46:45
Speaker
so obviously it has nothing to do with the religion whatever religion like he was it just the fact that he yeah yeah he needed to find some sort of text to justify his own hatred mm-hmm
00:47:01
Speaker
And Brittany's mom later would say that she actually left Larry, the one that gave her up because she was, you know, too young to care for her, that she had left Larry because he was a super violent person. And luckily, the jury saw right through the defense. And Larry was sentenced to life in prison with no parole. Thank God. Thank goodness. Every time I hear life in prison, I'm like, I don't give a shit. What about the parole?
00:47:29
Speaker
What about the pearl? Yep. So Larry appealed, saying that the way the investigators showed the pictures to the guard was suggestive. But when asked, the guard said it didn't matter, and that he knew the face. It didn't matter that certain people were posed in a certain way, or maybe the police people said something, whatever. He was like, no, the face is what got me.
00:47:57
Speaker
So it doesn't, it didn't really matter. And so the appeal was denied. And as time passed, Zania has grown up, of course. And she said that she remembers what happened that day and that all growing up, she had nightmares.
00:48:16
Speaker
the whole time. She remembers, she says that she remembers being in the car, her mom running back inside, hearing loud noises, and then Larry taking her back inside and Zania asking where her moms were. And Larry said he didn't know, but he would go look for them and left and left her at home.
00:48:37
Speaker
It makes my heart so sad because I know that she remembers so much. And no matter how much you want to try to suppress that shit, it never goes away. And that's not fair. Exactly. And the fact that it's like... This poor sweet baby angel.
00:48:53
Speaker
And the fact that it's like they weren't even doing anything. Like it's not like they were just because they didn't bring you pizza. Mm hmm. Didn't bring you pizza. And then also like I don't know what they were fighting about. I don't know if it was the pizza. Yeah. But it was almost like he used gay as an excuse. Well, he was already angry and then it was like because they were gay reason to. Yeah. Or that was his I'm pissed off about something else, but you're gay. So I'm just going to kill you. So.
00:49:22
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. So luckily, Larry is still in prison, where he belongs. Um, so that's fucking great. And yeah, he was just a bum that took his own daughter's life, just because like we were saying just because she was gay. And
00:49:42
Speaker
just because she would call him out on his bullshit. That's a reason for you to kill your daughter. It just doesn't make sense. I mean, that like looks at I'm sure if he's, he's got skewed views of religion. Yeah, he's been picking and choosing from different types of religions what he wants. I'm sure he looked at her as less than just because she was gay and a woman.
00:50:08
Speaker
Of course. And oh, and it just, it also hurts my heart that like, Crystal's parents were so hateful. They would later say that they like, they loved Crystal and just because they didn't agree with her choices, doesn't mean that they wanted her dead. But like, one of your jobs as a parent is to love your kid no matter what, you know? And the fact, the book that they love so dear, teaches you to love.
00:50:37
Speaker
is used so much for hate. I mean, just just as you can find the same almost the same type of argument about gun control. Yeah, where they say guns don't kill people people kill people, right? Like
00:50:53
Speaker
You can do good things with guns. You can do bad things with guns. You can do good things with religion. You can do bad things with religion. And unfortunately, if you're choosing, if you're using, I should say, not choosing, if you're using your religion as a weapon, then it's not a religion.
00:51:13
Speaker
Exactly. And you should probably recheck. Check yourself before I'm not not even you gonna wreck yourself before you get wrecked before by pissed off lesbian. And yeah, so that's the case of Crystal Jackson and Brittany Cosby. That makes me very upset. It makes me sad because angry. Exactly. Like it's it's, it's anger. But yeah, like rooted in
00:51:41
Speaker
It's sad that you're so full of hate that you can't just live your own fucking life and feel the right to end someone else's. Yeah. And the fact that it wasn't even like a random person, like not that it would be better if it was a random person, but the fact that they literally helped pay for the funeral because
00:52:07
Speaker
They grieved with this man, you know what I mean? Crystal's parents grieved with this man. They had him over at their house. So what I didn't say, because there was so much information, but one of the things was that when the day that he, I'm so sorry, the day before he got arrested,
00:52:28
Speaker
he was at a vigil for the kids, like talking to news sources and saying like, oh, you know, give us any information you can and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like he was at the vigil for them. He was crying. It's such a common thing. Yeah. But I don't know why infuriating. I don't know why, but it's even worse when it's your own goddamn parent.
00:52:51
Speaker
That's not a that's not a father. No sperm donor. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And someone who helped produce life. And that's about it. I think there's only one last thing to say. Yeah. All right, guys. SPC out. SPC out.
00:53:15
Speaker
All right, thank you so much for listening. And remember to follow us on Instagram at Scared But Curious Pod. And we have a Twitter. Follow us at Scared Curious on Twitter X and join our Scared But Curious Facebook group. And if you're listening on Spotify, please rate us. Five stars, please. And if there are any stories or cases you would love to hear us cover or anything you don't hear enough about, please don't hesitate. Email us at Scared But Curious Pod at gmail.com.