16. Behind Bars

Previously on Ice Cold Case

I’m not saying Daryl didn’t do this, but I am pointing the finger back at Omar.
The police… didn’t investigate very good.
And that they didn’t take any more action to try to solve this is suspicious to me.
Rico probably had more to do with this than Omar. 
It’s kind of like the Cartel. They’ll kill their own child if they’ve snitched on them. 
Omar’s scared of something – either of implicating himself or these guys.
There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on that – that um nobody else knows but just me.
When we went to Grand Jury… He says, “Noogie, I gotta kill this. Omar’s telling a different story.” 
I said, man y’all know I didn’t do this, man. What the – 
It’s like why aren’t you doing anything.

Part 0: Twist After Twist

I’ve spent the last couple years adding context to the police reports – trying to figure out motive and connection. There’s suspects listed in the police files but nothing gives the back story. And when a case isn’t solved, the back story holds more answers than anything else. But now, I feel like I know these characters. I know their names, who they spent their time with, what they were doing, and how they knew my dad. So the context is more clear. Now I need to fill in the logistical gaps. Who did this? And how did they get away with it?

It feels like every time a theory becomes more concrete, someone close to this case comes out of nowhere with more information. It’s turned into a pattern of coincidences. Coincidentally, I hear from Daryl when I am narrowing in on him. Coincidentally, I hear from Omar when I start to think Daryl might be convincing me to look elsewhere. I have been weathering this storm of changed stories and withheld information for a while now. And when I finally hear from Rico, there’s another snag in my investigation waiting for me. I am sick of ducking and dodging twist after twist. This episode is a plea to anyone with information… stop hiding in the shadows.

Someone knows something about what happened to J.C. McGhee on July 11, 2002. And as I near the 22nd anniversary of this unjustified, unsolved murder I am ready to knock down the doors and find out who killed my dad…

Part 1: Omar Knows Something

Putting all my personal opinions aside, on paper this case really could have been solved a long time ago if Omar simply told the police from the beginning who he saw that morning. No one really knows how they would react in that situation, unless they were in it, so it’s really hard to say. But in an attempt to keep the heat off of himself – from the police and these guys – he really has attracted a lot of unnecessary attention by continuing to lie. And the lies are the most confusing part.

It’s not out of the question that some of the lies Omar told are rooted in truth. So when he gives his first statement, it is worth looking at what he initially said to try to extract the truth from it. But as he gives more information the lies become harder to sift through. The truth becomes impossible to find.

My biggest issue with Omar right now is that last year I laid out a theory that was incredibly well-researched and took into account the multiple perspectives of this case – from the home invasion gone wrong theory to the possibility that Rico was involved to the obvious motive that my dad could have pissed someone off – nothing was left off the table, and in my theory all of them could have fit into the narrative. I had pinpointed who I believed was there, and ultimately their motive could have been any of those options. The police believed it was Daryl Smith, Duncan Waitts, Tone, and Danny Banks, my sister had her suspicions it was them, their disdain for my dad was obvious and their knowledge of Omar and his drug dealing were clear because of their direct association with him. So whether this was a home invasion or planned attack, isn’t really the point. They could have absolutely been there to rob or kill. But Omar became incredibly vocal that I was wrong. Why? Because he didn’t like that I called him a drug dealer, which again… wasn’t really the point. 

His push back was completely unwarranted and honestly hindered progress, as his account and descriptions would be very helpful to lock in on suspects. So I attempted to pivot. And then Omar comes back with “well your original theory was pretty spot on.” And that is when my hope and faith in Omar completely died. He will say anything to protect himself – just like he did last summer. Threatening me and calling me out for being wrong just to protect a known fact that he was dealing drugs. He would actively hold back information about his uncle’s murder to protect his already discredited reputation. It just doesn’t make sense. 

The police have said it from the beginning – Omar needs to tell the truth.

If I got information today on something I’ll move with it. And if it takes me an hour, it takes me a day, me and Detective Allar will run with it. Yeah. So what are you looking for? *Detective DeVaul* The truth from Omar would be the biggest thing.

But I’m not sure Omar will ever tell the truth, and if he is, how would we even know?

Omar posted something about the episode and now he’s like messaging me. 
I mean at this point… I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Like we’re putting it all out there. We’re just running out of time I feel like. 
I know but like… Like I don’t know do we need him? I guess not really at this point, ‘cause he’s not trustworthy. 
No he’s not and I mean we’ve known this from the beginning. It’s just confusing now. It’s hard to tell what’s – what’s real and what’s not. But I mean he’s the key to this whole thing. 
I mean I’m just worried about like I don’t know – what he’s really capable of I guess. 
We’re passed that point, you know? I don’t know. At this point, it is what it is. We have to keep pushing. Like we’re just running out of time. We’re passed the point of caring about his feelings, because it’s very clear he doesn’t care about what we’re doing here or your dad. 
Yeah
So that’s just what it is. You know?
Yeah. Fuck it.

Now Omar is mad… again. He says that he trusted me, and I really wanted to trust him. But after sitting with what he said for a while and really trying to navigate this. I just simply don’t trust him. 

I wanted to believe that if we talked, maybe I would get the truth and it would help me piece everything together. But even when I heard what I “wanted” to hear – that I’m on the right track – I can’t help but feel skeptical. All summer he was adamant that I was wrong. Publicly calling me a liar… and worse. But now all of a sudden, he thinks I was right. So now I’ve come to the really harsh conclusion that if I’m going to solve this case and even possibly take this to court, my case really can’t include Omar’s testimony. It has to be strong on its own. Because no matter what happens… Omar’s word means nothing. 

Never. He will never tell the truth unless I got something on him. You gotta have something to – that would be credible to what Omar says. Just based on what Omar says is not enough because his credibility is shot to shit. But if somebody comes in and says this which coincides with what he says then that gives it a little credibility. 

But I will make one thing clear that wasn’t in the last episode:

This bite was going to be used:

I think what it is, is Daryl and Duncan was his two cronies. You know when it all happened? It was said that they did it because of Rico. Like Rico gave them the go ahead, because they’re two knuckleheads so I think that you know they was thinking oh maybe if we can do this for Rico, maybe he’ll get out. Because like I said there was stuff being said that the lawyers that were involved in Rico’s case and the judges had died. And Uncle J.C. was the last one. You understand what I’m saying?

And it was going to be accompanied with a long monologue about Rico. And you’ll still hear one soon. But the point of that bite was going to be that Rico was in federal prison on a life sentence when my dad was killed. So it’s possible that he either directly told them to go over there, or they were doing it on his behalf because they felt a blind sense of loyalty to him. He was very powerful. Either way, Omar was implying that he believes they did it for Rico – not that Rico directly told them to do it.

Allegedly… so he says.

So I’m not sure. I mean Rico could’ve got that. Had a hit ordered on J.C. and he may have been involved slightly on the outskirts. But he’s too smart to have anything of himself connected to this situation – to the murder. No way, he’s way too smart.  

So thanks, a lot, Omar for saying that I was right and my theory was getting pretty close to the truth. But I’m still in the same boat. I have to prove it and I have to prove it without Omar’s help.

Part 2: Investigation Updates

As more information comes my way, I grow increasingly frustrated with this process. There is so much that was overlooked and ignored. I am now getting tips on a daily basis and it’s wild to think that all of this information has just been floating around for the last twenty-two years. And as the anniversary of my dad’s murder approaches, I’m hoping that more people come out with what they know because at this point that is the only thing moving this investigation forward. I can only look into what is sent to me. I have exhausted everything else. I’ve looked for everyone – Rico had been nearly impossible to find and I even found him. Daryl came to me, but hasn’t been communicating with me as much lately.

I know that some people are floating around Belmont County, Wheeling, and other parts of Ohio and West Virginia. I have a list of a couple other people I’d really like to get in touch with. I've tried to find some of them with no success. But there’s others I am waiting to talk to. I know where they are but I am holding out.  And I wonder if they are waiting for me. They have to know I’m getting close… right?

I guess it’s easy to ignore how far I have come since I started investigating because now I am really in the weeds. But I look at where I started, just calling for case files, to think that now I am tracking down people whose names I would never have even known before is significant progress. But for me, it’s just not enough. 

Now I’m at this point where there’s multiple things happening at once. I’m looking at what law enforcement missed in their investigation and also hunting down and talking to key suspects and players. Both are equally important, but sometimes one takes priority over the other and it’s really difficult for me to know which one to dedicate my day to. I stop every once in a while and I think to myself… What would my dad do?

The tips are coming in and even though new information can feel overwhelming, it’s always helpful to move both sides of this investigation along.

Part 3: Everyone’s Behind Bars

A few weeks ago, I received a message with the screenshot of a Facebook profile. The next line of the message said, “Got a tip… This is Tone.”

My jaw hit the floor. Then more messages came in —

So I just received a tip and I’ll probably end up fudging the names for now because this is truly the beginning of this process, but they just sent me a Facebook profile for ***** and there’s so much more in here:

“So apparently ***** had a truck she had gotten as a rental from Enterprise in Wheeling… That’s the California plates. They might have said a Dodge truck but anyways, they said he saw ***** riding around in that car for a couple weeks before the murder. And ***** was allowing Daryl Smith to drive it I guess. ***** is in jail but you really need to find ***** . ***** might have been driving or at the very least ***** knew something. And you know what, you are almost right on the money with your theory. And apparently ***** is also in jail” 

Everyone is in freaking jail… I guess in some ways that makes it a little easier to at least track them down. Unless it’s another Rico situation, but I don’t think anyone else has the same level of protection as him. So these people should be kind of easy to find. At least I’m going to try. 

I wonder how long Enterprise keeps rental records.

If I can find Tone, I might find out more specifics of what really happened that morning. So now – since this is all happening in real time – I am currently making a lot of phone calls to find these people, find out what they know, and get closer. My goal at this point is to definitively identify who was in the house that morning and finally corroborate this theory. It’s not as simple as it sounds but now, I have names. If you’re one of those people, and like Daryl, you’ve stumbled upon this little podcast, consider this your warning that you’ll be hearing from me.

Now I’m left to find out – is it harder or easier to get a hold of someone when they are behind bars?

Part 4: Waiting for Trial

I already sort of knew this… but it was confirmed when I saw Omar’s strong reaction to the last episode – Everyone is scared to talk about Rico.

There is a weird energy shift when I bring him up. It’s been happening for years.  I’ve been warned by many family members and locals, even the police, “just don’t talk about Rico.” My mom, who hasn’t ever met Rico before, is afraid of him.

I really don’t feel that comfortable talking about Rico. I’m not really sure he had anything to do with J.C.’s murder but I know Rico would kill anybody who comes in his path right now.

That alone leaves me with this feeling that Rico is so much more powerful than even I understand. Even writing this right now I have a very uneasy feeling. Like he has eyes and ears… everywhere. But he’s been a very difficult person to track down. I think back to last year when I was reading about his pending trial, there was no record of where he was being held and every time I called to ask, I was met with long, uncomfortable pauses and hesitations. Rico McGhee is hard to find, and I think that is intentional. 

A few months ago I heard from someone who told me that Rico was aware that I had spoken to Daryl Smith and he was interested in talking with me as well. I have been very eager to speak with him so I jumped at the opportunity. But at this point, no one in my family knew where he was.

Where is he now? I’m not sure that’s what I’m trying to – trying to dig out. You know what I mean?

I was given instructions on how to talk to him. Turns out, he’s not really hiding. He just doesn’t really want to talk to anyone. To be honest, I don’t blame him. But as someone who has instilled so much fear into the family, you’d think he wouldn’t mind talking to them. But nothing with Rico seems that simple. 

So I followed the instructions and reached out to him…

You do have this way of dumping information on people where it’s like what am I supposed to do with this?
Ok, I figured out how to get a hold of Rico… I need to download this app to like send him messages but he has to approve me to be on his list. But apparently he’s like well aware that I’m going to be doing this and like wants to add me to his list. 
Alright, let’s do it. I mean hopefully he actually does put us on his list but 
I mean it seems like he wants to talk but like what about is what I’m a little nervous… like it’s – it’s just so hit or miss like people reach out like with Daryl… and it’s like he ends up being really nice. Like is Rico gonna chew me out or is he gonna be on my side like you just never know. 
Yeah I just think he’s – hopefully he can get us closer to what happened you know? 
But is he trying to get ahead of something? 
Time will tell. We just gotta talk to him and figure it out. We just gotta – we just gotta talk to him. 

Rico is waiting to go to trial for a pretty significant drug-related indictments. So I have to follow very specific protocols to talk to him. 

We exchanged several messages *sound effect: typing* and I got set up to have phone calls with him and as soon as everything was ready to go and I had the right app and deposited enough money for the amount of time I assumed our conversation would take up… he stopped responding. His last message did not seem like it was meant to be the end of our exchange… he said, “just hit me when u are ready”

I’ve sent four messages over the last seventeen days since then, and haven’t heard anything. So now I need to figure out where he went, why he’s not talking to me, and how to get a hold of him. Did he change his mind? Did something else happen? You ever feel like you’re so close to a breakthrough and then you watch it slip through your fingers? That’s what this feels like. So many dots could be connected with information that Rico has and for now… they will all remain as question marks.

Part 5: Charged Up

My sister just sent me a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of West Virginia… It’s about a Federal Jury indicting 26 people for drug trafficking. They were trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and meth.

Hold on

Daryl Smith is on this indictment. William Ihlenfeld is the U.S. Attorney made the announcement. I’ve been trying to get a hold of him about the Rico federal case my dad testified on. He was probably not the U.S. Attorney but the Northern District of West Virginia is who handled the case. It says one of the investigating offices is the Ohio Valley Drug Task Force, but that is who allegedly called me last year and told me to stop asking questions about Rico… There is something weird going on here.

A Federal grand jury in Wheeling, West Virginia, has indicted 26 individuals in seven separate cases for trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, and methamphetamine. The charges include operation of a drug trafficking enterprise spanning from Las Vegas to the Ohio Valley. Five federal search warrants were executed in West Virginia and Ohio on March 29 and resulted in the seizure of drugs, firearms, and cash. And Daryl Smith of Wheeling, West Virginia is listed as a defendant. Makes more sense why I haven’t heard from him. 

Darly’s new arrest leaves me questioning everything he and I discussed earlier this year. And worse – it leaves me questioning my own judgment. I trusted my gut that maybe we all had the wrong guy… But maybe I was just desperate to believe in anything that felt like tangible evidence. He was sitting right in front of me telling me he didn’t do it, and that was the closest I had ever gotten to an answer from a key player.

So now this new federal case really changes things. It tells me that maybe Daryl Smith is willing to play the game just as much as Rico is. Which makes me question why he was so eager to talk to me and why he was so calm and seemingly empathic when we spoke. Could Daryl Smith really be that calculated? I guess it’s possible, but there’s something that I can’t figure out about this whole Daryl thing. 

There could be so many reasons for him to reach out, but I do wonder if he knew what was coming down the pipeline because he was really adamant about working together specifically to get Belmont County. Maybe he was never that interested in my fight for justice for my dad after all. 

I found a news report from WTRF where the police and Ihlenfeld talk about how this case was a great example of law enforcement and the prosecutor's office working well together. 

It demonstrates a unified front of law enforcement professionals and the United States Attorney’s office and other prosecutors that we work very well and very closely together in the interest of making our communities a safer place.

We’re trying to keep people safe. We’re trying to prevent overdoses and overdose deaths. The best thing we can do from a law enforcement perspective is to take as much of the drugs off the streets as we can and to arrest the individuals who are responsible for disturbing it.

They aren’t keeping their counties safe if there is a killer still out there… And they aren’t working well together if they can’t figure out where to start looking for answers.

Part 6: What Is Going On In Belmont County?

The rollercoaster of it all means that while sometimes tips are coming in fast and I am able to get people on the phone immediately to answer questions, sometimes I can’t. I have to make several phone calls to find a new email to reach out to get another phone number to leave a voicemail and hope eventually I get to the person I am actually trying to get a hold of. Right now, it feels a lot like “just sit around and wait.” But I am not giving up. I will never give up.

I have been at this for over four years now – Combing through files, asking tough questions, putting myself out there in an incredibly vulnerable way, opening myself up to criticism that I wouldn’t wish upon my own worst enemy. And I can’t help but feel frustrated. I am only doing this because the officials in Belmont County that are sworn in to serve and protect have seemingly given up on my dad.

At every turn, it does seem like more and more work is getting added to my plate. As more information surfaces, you’d think that the closer I get the easier the pieces fall together. So far, that has not been the reality. The stories are getting more complex and as I am putting it all out there, the push back from the people who I believe have the most information is getting stronger. They are starting to get scared. And you know what? They should be. I am just angry enough that I am spending most of my days working on this, that I don’t care who is upset with me at this point, I have come too far to worry if I am inconveniencing you. 

Regardless of my connection to this case and the motivation I have to find answers, no civilian should have to do this much investigative work on a cold case at all but especially without the help of the police department. I have been hearing from the beginning of this process that Belmont County is corrupt. I didn’t realize to what extent until I started releasing episodes and case after case after case was sent to me by family members who empathize with my struggle, because they too have felt a lack of consideration or total neglect from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department. 

I never believed my dad’s case was an isolated incident of lack of resources or neglect and if I am going to petition that a new organization should take over this case – at a state or federal level, I need to prove that Belmont County has a history of this. So while I am tracking down these key witnesses and waiting to hear back from certain sources, I need to direct my attention very briefly towards answering this question: 

What is going on in Belmont County, Ohio?

Next Time On Ice Cold Case

Where I realized – Oh my god there is so much here. Corrupt cops in both counties.

In that valley down there. They’re so fucking crooked. It’s out of sight.

Why do you think they didn’t have enough evidence? Because the police didn’t gather it properly at the time of the shooting.

Credits:

Ice Cold Case is brought to you by Yes!
It is written and produced by Madison McGhee
Also produced by Jeremy Benbow
Recorded by Danny Sellers
Mixed by Cody Campbell
Original music by Matt Bettinson
Creative direction by Austin Christianson
Creative consulting by Hoff

A video version of this episode is available on our YouTube Channel and a transcript is available at ice cold case dot com. To submit any tips or information please email us at ice cold case podcast at gmail dot com.