Episode 2: The Devil in the Details

The Truth About Natalie

Natalie Jones was born into an unconventional life, marked by her mother Elaine's struggles with loss, depression, and substance abuse. Afte

Key takeaways

• Natalie was born in 1992, with a significant age gap between her and her brother Mike, who died in a hit-and-run accident when she was seven.
• Elaine, Natalie's mother, struggled with depression and substance abuse after Mike's death, which affected her parenting.

Main topics

• Natalie's early life and family dynamics
• The impact of Mike's death on Elaine and Natalie

Notable quotes

"I failed Natalie as a mom because I couldn't think. You know, I'm in shock over losing my son, you know, and it was just horrible."

Conclusion

The podcast explores the mysterious death of Natalie Jones, highlighting the unanswered

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) This podcast discusses issues such as drug use, self-harm, sexual abuse, violence, and assault. Listener discretion is advised. Speaker 8 (0:22) My son was five when Natalie was born. Speaker 8 (0:28) He was born in 86. I divorced his dad in 87. So it was just me and him living in an apartment. And then I got pregnant with Natalie. And she was born in 1992. So there's a big age difference between them two, you know. Speaker 8 (0:48) Her daddy was never in the picture, even after I gave his last name to her. You know, he still wasn't involved. And her daddy has like six or seven other kids, you know, that's his, that is her half-brothers and sisters. They never accepted Natalie. Speaker 1 (1:09) Natalie Jones was born into an unconventional life. A child who didn't even know who her real father was until she was four years old. Elaine thought it best to not have him in the picture early on. As she tells me, he lived his life on the fringe of the law. Natalie was an unplanned pregnancy, but Elaine loved her unconditionally nonetheless. Speaker 8 (1:31) Natalie was a very good, good, good baby. I mean, she was awesome. It was strange, you know, having this six-year-old boy that was jealous because here comes a little pretty little girl and me trying to teach him to change her diaper or feed her or get him involved with her, you know, to try to get a bond there. But she was a very good baby. She slept a lot and, you know, she barely cried. Speaker 1 (2:06) For the next several years, it was just Elaine, her son, little Mike, and Natalie, often barely eking by, but happy. That is, until the first great tragedy of Elaine's life occurred. Speaker 8 (2:24) My son was 14 years old when he got run over. It was a hit and run right across the road from our driveway. At that point in time, I went berserk. I mean... Speaker 8 (2:43) I failed Natalie as a mom because I couldn't think. You know, I mean, I'm in shock over losing my son, you know, and it was just horrible. And then she would always say, Mommy, you wish that would have been me instead of little Mike, you know. And she never understood my heart until she had Trent. And then she was looking in her rearview mirror one day, and she said, Mom, I couldn't imagine, you know, I couldn't imagine what you was going through. And I'm so sorry for saying some things I said to you. But then it was me and Natalie. Speaker 1 (3:30) In a video posted on Facebook in 2019, Natalie spoke candidly about this time in her life. Videos like this would become a way for her to cope with the more difficult and traumatic parts of her life. They began with more positive and uplifting thoughts, but progressively got darker and darker. It's all part of a series of posts she called My Story. This is the voice of Natalie Jones. Speaker 6 (3:56) When I was seven years old, my brother died. Speaker 6 (4:02) My dad was never there. I didn't meet my dad until I was four years old. So my mom worked two jobs to take care of us and didn't get really no help from neither one of them. My brother was hit by a car, so it was a very sudden death. When my brother got hit, my mom really lost it. I mean, I don't ever want to walk in them shoes. Speaker 6 (4:33) She did keep a roof over my head, though, and food in my mouth. And I had everything I needed and a lot of what I wanted. We moved around a lot when I was a kid. And it has taken its toll on me in my adulthood. I've realized that. I have went in the same route a lot. My mom was with a very, very abusive guy. Speaker 6 (5:08) Mom told me I used to sleep with a knife up under my pillow. I'd come home, there'd be holes in the wall. You would tell me to leave. Speaker 1 (5:21) When her eldest child, 14-year-old Mike, was killed, Elaine fell into a deep depression and struggled to pick up the pieces. She went from one abusive relationship to the next, was continually tormented by the loss of her son, and felt she was failing Natalie as a mother. She eventually sought professional help, but she tells me that ended with an abuse of prescription drugs, further complicating their life at home. Speaker 8 (5:47) When I lost my son and I went to a psychiatrist, you know, they're going to put you on a lot of meds. Well, I was on meds. Xanax effects or triazodone, you know, Seroquel. It was crazy. But I abused the Xanax. Speaker 1 (6:14) It wasn't easy, but somehow she managed and raised Natalie to the best of her ability. And though, admittingly, she made mistakes along the way, the two still shared an unbreakable bond. Through it all, one thing always remained true. Elaine loved her baby girl. But by autumn of 2020, sadly, she had laid both of her children to rest. The white walls of her quaint country house are now lined with pictures of them both, a solemn reminder of the children she once had and of a life that no longer existed outside of her memories. I'm Sean Kipe. From AudioChuck and Particle Entertainment, this is The Truth About Natalie. After Natalie had been found deceased and positively identified, the question was no longer where is she, but how did she die and why? They theorized that Natalie's body had been in the car for an extended period, and surmised that she'd likely been in the car since she went missing, or shortly after. Natalie, still wearing the same clothes she was wearing at the party on July 4th, was slumped over, leaning towards the driver's side door, her right hand resting on the emergency brake handle. Her left hand lay at her left side, next to the car door. Due to the extreme heat Georgia summers often bring, her body had partially mummified. The car was infested with thousands of flies, maggots, and beetles, both living and dead, and the insects had been feeding on Natalie's body. It was a grisly and disturbing scene. Speaker 2 (8:13) The condition inside the car is probably the thing of nightmares that I will never be able to shake ever again. It's different watching a scary movie, you know, and knowing it's not real. Speaker 2 (8:29) But that was, I had nightmares for probably a couple weeks. And I still get them on occasion. Like, it changed me forever in that sense. I've never, it's different in that this is someone that you've now invested time in, right? Like as many of us in Natalie's community had. Speaker 1 (8:53) I've reviewed all the photos of Natalie and her car from the case file. And it's truly grim. And Jennifer's right. It hits different when it's someone you know or someone you've come to care about, even though you've never met. The gravity of the situation suddenly becomes very real. Jennifer describes the scene. Speaker 2 (9:11) The car exterior was super clean. The wheels, the rims were super clean. The windows, I need to point out, that's very important. The windows were... So clear, like you could see right through the windows. Like I just, I can't, that baffles me. The Speaker 1 (9:33) windows in the car were all up and the keys were in the ignition, but the car battery was dead. The trunk was popped and opened several inches and the windshield wipers were positioned in the middle of the windshield, stopping where they were when the battery apparently died. When the battery was jumped by investigators to move the car, the wipers once again sprang to life on the highest setting. indicating it had possibly been raining heavily when the car came to a stop, or perhaps the wiper controls were bumped at some point. Speaker 2 (10:03) Inside of the car, there was, I think, Isaac's baby seat