Letter:

Hello Ashley and Brit,

I just wanted to let you know what an impact you and your podcast have had on our family….. And let you know, you are not just honoring the memories of victims, but you are in fact helping new “would be” victims to not become victims… Let me explain…

Been listening to your podcast for over a year, mostly in the car back and forth to work, this last summer (JUNE 2022) we were heading to vacation two hours away and my 24-year-old step daughter Kay was with me in the car. I came into her life when she was 14 and she’s super close to her real mom, so … long ride, awkward silences were to be expected… so I just started playing a random Crime Junkie Episode in the car.. the one about the Powell family murders is where the scroll and pick stopped… (I’ve literally heard every episode so at this point I just scroll and random stop for re-listens) It dropped in October or so or 2018 anyway, after that story you guys posted a Domestic Violence Professional who just explained domestic violence, I’m sure you remember… Long story short, we listen to those podcasts, the Powell Family, the Q and A with the Professional and that got Kay and I talking about Domestic Violence of which I have absolutely no experience and I felt we really connected. Some point during our discussion I said something to the effect, you can always come home, like never stay in a place that’s dangerous or with someone who hurts you because you feel trapped, you can always come home… which unless you had just listened to a horrifying story when would that ever come up naturally in conversation??? Never! But I just felt like she needed to know, even though I’m just “stepmom” I’m still your home, you can always come home… This conversation felt weird to me after the fact because Kay was on year 2 with a wonderful guy, in fact they lived together and from outward appearance they just seemed to be in love and peachy. Her dad and I had even talked numerous times that this might be the one guy that she marries, totally a part of our family at this point. (CRIME JUNKIE RULE ALERT: you never really know anyone!)

Two weeks ago, I get a call from Kay, she says, hey I need to ask you, do you mean what you said about I can come home? I was like Huh? Cause you know, three months have passed since that long slightly awkward ride but as she kept talking, she began to explain to me she didn’t want to be a statistic, she doesn’t want her story on Crime Junkie! I was so confused at first, but as she began to cry she says her boyfriend who we all thought was this amazing guy has some serious anger issues and the screaming at her had escalated to punching holes in the wall, tearing down the door when she was hiding from him, and even shoving her… Scary stuff! She was making the very hard decision to uproot her life and get away from her abuser … and how did she know to look for the signs, to reach out… BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR WORDS ON THAT EPISODE!!!!

Kay has moved “home”, and the boyfriend is still trying to “win her back” but because she has knowledge now of how things can go from zero to murder, I feel she will stay away from him. Not to mention he knows we now know what he is capable of and are no longer buying the “sweetheart” lie…

Thank you again for everything you do!

Amanda