Unlock the Door: The Disappearance of LeShay Dungey

Unlock the Door: The Disappearance of LeShay Dungey

On January 24, 2018, 19-year-old LeShay Dungey stepped off a COTA bus in Columbus, Ohio and began walking to a friend’s house six blocks away. At 8:25 PM, she sent a message through Facebook Messenger: “You can unlock the door. I’m close.” She never arrived. She has not been seen or heard from since. LeShay was a recent South-Western City School District graduate who was working at a hotel in Dublin, Ohio and building her independence. She was a free spirit who loved connecting with people, fiercely dedicated to proving she could stand on her own two feet. This episode covers the full story of her disappearance, the five-month delay in the official Columbus police investigation, the family’s unanswered questions, and the broader crisis of missing Black women in America that keeps cases like LeShay’s from receiving the attention they deserve. LeShay Dungey is still missing. She would be 27 years old today. Her family still has no closure. We are not letting this case go quiet. If You Have Information Columbus Division of Police: 614-645-4545 Central Ohio Crime Stoppers (anonymous): 614-461-8477 Online tips: stopcrime.org [http://stopcrime.org] or the free P3 Tips app (iOS & Android) No tip is too small. Anonymous tips are accepted. You do not have to give your name. Follow She Speaks Crime Instagram: @SheSpeaksCrime TikTok: @SheSpeaksCrime Facebook: She Speaks Crime Podcast X / Twitter: @SheSpeaksCrimePodcast Enjoying She Speaks Crime? Leave a rating and review wherever you listen. It is one of the best ways to help new listeners find the show, and it takes less than two minutes. Every review helps these stories reach more people. Support the Show If this episode moved you, consider dropping a tip. It helps keep independent true crime voices like this one alive and focused on the cases that matter. 💸 Tip Jar: https://buymeacoffee.com/shespeakscrime [https://buymeacoffee.com/shespeakscrime] Every dollar goes directly toward research, production, and keeping She Speaks Crime independent.

Five Lives, One Friend: The Jimella Tunstall Case

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed discussion of the murders of a pregnant woman and three young children, including graphic violence. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Her name was Jimella Tunstall. She was 23 years old. She grew up in foster care in East St. Louis, Illinois, fought to get her children back through the court system, bought a car with her tax refund, enrolled in college, and had dreams of becoming a photographer. She was seven months pregnant. She had one person in her life she trusted completely: her best friend of twenty years. That person killed her. And then she killed her children, too. In September 2006, Tiffany Hall beat Jimella over the head with a table leg, removed her unborn daughter from her body, and left her to die. Three days later, she picked up Jimella's three children from their father under pretenses and drowned them one by one in the same bathtub. DeMond was seven. Ivan was two. Jinella was ten months old. Their bodies were found hidden in a washing machine and dryer. In June 2008, Tiffany Hall pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child. She was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She remains incarcerated at Dwight Correctional Center in Illinois. This episode tells the full story of Jimella and her children: who they were, the world they lived in, and what was taken from them. It also examines the mental health questions this case raises, the limitations of the legal sanity standard, what the media got wrong, and what it means when the person who hurts you is someone you have loved for twenty years. DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE: The M'Naghten Rule and its limits Mental health, intellectual disability, and the legal system Fetal abduction as a documented crime category The racial dimensions of how this case was covered What justice looks like when the family asks for mercy SAY THEIR NAMES: Jimella Tunstall. DeMond Tunstall. Ivan Tunstall-Collins. Jinella Tunstall. Taylor Horn. Find She Speaks Crime on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X at @SheSpeakesCrime.

A Thanksgiving They Will Never Forget: The Story of Tia Hendricks

"A Thanksgiving They Will Never Forget" — The Tia Hendricks Case Hosted by Quiana Dickerson CONTENT WARNING: Domestic violence, child homicide, graphic crime scene details, grief. On Thanksgiving morning 2010, a 911 call was placed from an apartment on the north side of Columbus, Ohio. Before the call cut off, one word was heard. One name. What investigators found the following afternoon was one of the most devastating triple homicides in Franklin County history. Tia Hendricks was 31. She was working two jobs, so her kids could have a good Christmas. Her daughter Talia was ten. Her son Mook was two. They were gone before Thanksgiving Day was over. This episode covers the full case: the crime, the rare capital guilty plea, the 2012 death sentence, over a decade of appeals, and the 2023 resentencing that took the death penalty away after twelve years. But it goes further than the case record. Before recording a single word, Quiana reached out to the family. Tia's brother, Tavarus, agreed to speak. What he shared changed everything. He talks about the 911 call he still keeps saved on his phone, the one he listens to on her birthday. He talks about Talia shielding Mook in the final moments of her life. He talks about his mother, who has had seven strokes since that Thanksgiving, and who keeps a photograph of the children on her wall because, in her words, that is all she has. And he talks about sitting in court in 2023 and saying, "We already have a life sentence." We deal with a life sentence every single day. Tia Hendricks. Talia Hendricks. Tyron Hendricks. Say their names. GET HELP: National DV Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 CHOICES Columbus: 614-224-4663 FOLLOW THE SHOW: Instagram, TikTok, X: @SheSpeaksCrime Use #SheSpeaksCrime and #TiaHendricks when you share. If this episode moved you, please share it and leave a review. These families deserve to be heard. She Speaks Crime is produced by Quiana Dickerson. All facts presented in this episode are drawn from verified public records, court documents, and an exclusive interview with Tavarus Hendricks conducted for this podcast. No quotes have been fabricated or taken out of context. The views expressed are those of the host.

A Hero at Eleven: The Murder of Jayden Perkins

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed discussion of domestic violence, child death, and systemic failures in the criminal justice system. On March 13, 2024, eleven-year-old Jayden Perkins was stabbed to death in his Chicago apartment while trying to protect his mother from her abuser. He was a sixth grader. Four foot two. Cast as Nemo in his school play. A kid who noticed when people were hurting and walked toward them. He ran toward the danger that morning, and it cost him his life. The man who killed him had a two-decade criminal history built almost entirely on violence against women. He had been released from prison the day before the attack, after the Illinois Prisoner Review Board made its decision without running a standard background check. The electronic monitoring required by his release conditions was never attached. A court hearing on an emergency protection order filed by Jayden's mother, Laterria Smith, was scheduled for the very next day. This episode covers all of it. Who Jayden was before we ever talked about the crime—the full history of Crosetti Brand. Every institutional failure put him at Smith's door. The trial, in which Brand represented himself, took ninety minutes to convict. The sentencing. The reforms that followed. And the civil lawsuit, Laterria Smith is still fighting. QUESTIONS FROM THIS EPISODE: 1. What does it mean that Jayden's death was preventable, and we know exactly how it could have been prevented? 2. Why do we keep asking why victims didn't leave, instead of asking why dangerous people keep being released? 3. What do we owe to the children who witness domestic violence, and specifically to Jayden's five-year-old brother? 4. Is legislative reform an adequate response to the death of a child caused by institutional negligence? 5. What does it mean that a standard background check, one that costs essentially nothing, was not run, and a child is dead in part as a result? 6. How do we tell true crime stories about domestic violence without reducing survivors to their victimization? 7. Jayden ran toward the danger. What does that tell us, and what does it demand of us? IF YOU NEED SUPPORT: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (24/7) Text START to 88788 thehotline.org [http://thehotline.org] In memory of Jayden Perkins, 2012-2024. He saw people. He showed up. He did not flinch.

The Silence in the Attic: The Life and Death of 8-Year Old Martonio Wilder

In this episode of She Speaks Crime, we examine the heartbreaking case of 8-year-old Martonio Wilder from Columbus, Ohio. After being reported missing in June 2024, Martonio was later discovered inside the attic of his home. What investigators uncovered revealed a devastating pattern of severe malnutrition, abuse, and years of warning signs that had been documented but never fully addressed. This episode explores the timeline of Martonio’s life, the findings from the autopsy report, and the troubling history between the family and child protective services. It also asks difficult questions about system failure, missed opportunities to intervene, and how communities and institutions can better protect vulnerable children. This is not just the story of a crime; it is a story about silence, accountability, and the urgent need to protect children who cannot protect themselves. Sources referenced in this episode include reporting from ABC 6 On Your Side, Yahoo News, and publicly available court and investigative records. If you suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or neglect, please get in touch with the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).