Transcript of Episode 278

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.

Listener discretion is advised. We can't get him. We're already at that level. We're already at that level. Does it not look like we're at that level? What the fuck don't you understand? Fuck you and your bag.

Well, if you like murder. I don't know who likes murder, but you know what I mean. If you like this sort of thing, the true crime thing. Here we are. This is sword and scale season 11 episode 278 a show that reveals the worst monsters are real.

Criminals are a subset of our society. We often like to think of them as different from ourselves. We classify them as criminals and separate them from the rest of us. It's those people over there. They're the ones that make the bad choices, not us. Sure, it takes a bad decision or a bad series of decisions to become a criminal. A lapse in judgment, a bad choice. Drugs, things like that. And the thing is, we're all still just human beings. Human beings make mistakes. And you and I are also human beings. But there is a bit of a distinction, even though I would argue it's a lot more fragile than most people want to portray. Especially those people that are teetering on the edge of morality. There are those criminals who just find it nearly impossible not to break the law. It's kind of like who they are, you know, deep down, psychologically. It stems from a lot of things, but often they have an utter lack of empathy. They put their desires above everyone else. They rationalize and minimize their actions to justify this behavior. In fact, they see themselves as so superior that they feel outside the societal norms and above all, legal constraints.

Any challenge to this superiority is met with defensiveness and rage. These criminals relentlessly seek validation and control through the skewed lens of their irrational mind. And this pursuit almost always leads to destructive consequences for themselves and more importantly, all of those around them. About 45 minutes north of Detroit, Michigan, tucked into the north central part of Macomb county, is the village of Armada. Surrounded by farmlands and orchards, it's best known for the Armada Fair at the end of every summer on July 24, 2014. It was a cloudy afternoon, but the temperature outside was only 72 degrees on the west end of town. April Milsap woke up late.

Were you already awake when she woke up? She was probably up around two September this afternoon. Oh, my goodness gracious. I'm not too nice, but yeah. Why so late? Was she out late last night? She without school she goes to bed late. Okay. She goes to bed like one in the morning. Sure. And do you think that she was at home that whole time? Oh, yeah. Is she the type of girl that might sneak out for a couple hours? No. To a Thursday night party? Because I'm on the couch.

Like a typical 14 year old, April stayed up late and slept most of the day during the summer. School was out after all. The woman speaking is her mother, Jennifer. If she's hard to understand, it's because she suffers from cerebral ataxia, an affliction that affects her muscle movements. She has to walk with a cane and has a bit of a speech impediment. Because of this, she explains that April is a good kid and would never sneak out of the house. And she couldn't even if she wanted to. Her bedroom window was painted shut and she couldn't leave through the front door because she would have had to get past her mother on the couch. Besides, the family pets served as April's alarm.

Soon she gets up, we have two dogs and a cat. They all plot to her. She's like the Pied Piper. They all just. It's like April. Yeah. They clung to her. So I know what you get, though.

April woke up bright and early in the afternoon. When she exited her room, she greeted the family pets. Two dogs and a cat.

What was her demeanor when she woke up this morning? What she looked like? Was she just typical bed bitten? Yeah. Okay.

And in true teenage fashion, April went straight from sleeping to gaming on her computer.

She spends most of it playing in a computer on that PC. Yeah, right there in the living room. Right in the living room. She plays Sims. She checks our website. She finds stuff for Sims characters. She goes online for that.

After a while, she got tired of playing games and decided to take the family dogs for a walk.

I'm on the couch with my laptop and she's getting dressed. Take the dog to walk. She changed her clothes about three times to go for this walk with the dog. Why'd she do that? April? She did close. Okay. She's the pest. That was typical for her. Yeah. And she'd get the backpack ready because she takes water for the dog. She takes a little bowl and she gets the dog water when she walks it.

She changed her clothes three times because she needed the perfect outfit for her walk. She loaded her backpack and water bottle, some dog treats and a little bowl for the water. She grabbed her cell phone, put her six year old border collie lab mix on a leash and set out for the great outdoors.

Did she say where she was going? She didn't say exactly the path that she was going to take, but there's two paths that she usually takes. She usually goes to the trail over by the granary over there. Yep. And then from our house she goes the other direction towards the church.

On the southern border of the village of Armada is the Macomb Orchard Trail. Once a railroad, now a paved path through the Michigan countryside. It stretches for miles and is frequented by walkers, joggers and bicyclists, especially during the summer.

She didn't say which trail she was going on today? No. Okay. How long has she usually gone? Did she always go for walks like that? The dogs are overweight and she's been trying to get the dogs slimmed down a little bit. So she took the meekest dog that we have. We have a pit bull at home. She would have taken him. Yeah. But she took Penny and I think she. I think that's the dog's name is Penny. Yeah. And I think her goal was to walk Penny, come back, then come back, and then take the other one.

April often took her dogs for a walk, but never took them together. They didn't walk well together on this day. She took her oldest dog first, Penny.

So it's kind of unusual for her to walk this late in the afternoon, in the evening? No. She goes up with Austin, he'll call, I'm at the park, come meet me. And she goes to the park to meet him. So she leaves the house and you don't know what trail she's going on. But were you fairly confident she was going to go on the trail or you just. Yeah, yeah. She only goes to two places, like I said. She didn't just walk around a village or anything like that.

No, she was a creature of habit and only took one of the two paths when walking the dogs. Penny especially was getting on in years and couldn't handle long walks.

How long was April usually gone when she'd go for a walk? Half hour at the most. Yeah, because like I said, the dog can't handle it. So she will bring the dog back.

You may be wondering what this interview is all about. Well, after April left to lock Penny that day, she never returned.

When she was gone for two hours, that's Takawori. And three hours, that's where I started calling and texting. I thought maybe she met up with the last friend in town. It was about 8:30. To me, I texted April, where are you? And then get a call back. And it's typically so I start doing sick and then 8:30, it's getting darker and darker and then 9:00 I call her and there's no answer. Going to voicemail.

April had been gone for hours before her mother realized how late it was. The sun had already set and April wasn't answering her phone and it would.

Rain four times and go to Boyd panel. So phone was on, it was on her. It wouldn't go straight to White Bell.

Worry was setting in and Jennifer tried repeatedly to call and text April but never got a response.

She started driving all the place looking for, I mean she's on foot so I didn't think she'd get too far. Sure.

Then she started to call her friends and her 15 year old boyfriend Austin.

When I started getting dogs and she wasn't home and that's when I started getting worried and I texted him and he said that she sent him that task.

Austin had been with a friend all day helping him and his father move and mount a TV. He didn't check his phone until it was nearly 8:00. That's when he saw a message from april received at 6:28pm that read, I think I almost got kidnapped. OMFG.

What did he think of this text message from? I don't know what the conversation was from that. He, I think he, I think he asked him what happened, but I don't know what transpired after she sent in that text. I would have, I tried to push him and he would kind of know. She didn't tell me anything and he kind of stopped there. But yeah, if I get a text like that woman, I would have been jumped in the car right then.

The reason Austin didn't give any more information when pushed was that he didn't have anymore. He responded to April's message but didn't get a reply. After Jennifer's call looking for April, he immediately became concerned and got a friend to take him to April's house.

What was his reaction when you were talking to him about it? He thought it was a joke. Okay. He thought maybe it was because when he got back to our house, of course I wasn't there with Travis Moon. He thought her and I were all shopping and we were playing a joke on him. Then he seen me drive by and that's when he called me.

Austin and his friend joined Jennifer in looking for April. The village of Armada was only about 3/4 of a square mile, so they hoped she couldn't have gotten far. They split up. Austin and his friend went down to the Macomb Orchard Trail, one of April's possible routes. While Jennifer continued to drive around, the two boys went west on the trail but didn't find her. When they started heading east, they noticed something in the distance. Far down the trail, they could see the lights of emergency vehicles. When they met up with Jennifer and relayed the information, she decided to go to the police and report her missing and to see if there was any connection.

Not. You haven't noticed anything strange in the last couple months, couple weeks, couple days even? None at all. I mean, did April mention anything about having any odd encounters on her social media stuff? Was she talking to anybody? Not to me. Okay.

The interview took a strange turn. It started to veer off from the line of questioning about where April could be and changed to questions about any events that could have foretold a tragic end.

Did you know where to take drugs ever, you know, 14 experiment with anything? No. She get mad when the topic even comes up?

The police were asking these questions for a reason. The emergency vehicles on the east side of the Macomb Orchard Trail and her disappearance were not a coincidence. They were connected. About the same time Austin and his friend joined Jennifer in looking for April, two joggers running on the trail saw Penny alone. At first they just ran past, thankful that the dog wasn't aggressive. But when they came back by and she was still there, they decided to investigate.

The dog came running out of the trail barking erratically. My wife looked at me and said.

That it appeared to be a mannequin or a doll.

Looked like down there. There was a girl with her skirt down at her knees and her shirt.

Pulled up above her chest and her.

Head was kick back 911.

I'm fairly certain we just found a.

Body along the mountain bike trail.

Penny alerted the joggers to April just 30ft off the trail.

We are between OMO and North Avenue Goods and are made of. Okay, it looks like GPS is putting you a lot closer to Fulton Street. We're kind of right in the middle. Is it a male or a female? Female. About how old do you think she is? I didn't get that close. Okay. Is she on the trail? No, she's off of the trail, touched.

Back into the woods.

Her clothes are all taken off. Okay, and you don't believe she's breathing? I don't believe so, no.

The police had to break the news to Jennifer that even though they didn't have an official ID yet, it was likely April's body that they found in the woods off the trail with her loyal dog Penny at her side.

On July 24, 2014, April Milsap set off for an evening walk with her dog Penny, but never returned. After it got dark, her mother got worried. When her calls and texts were ignored, she began to search. She called all over the small village of Armada looking for her. Even April's 15 year old boyfriend helped to search for it. Wasn't until they knew of the large gathering of emergency vehicles on the Macomb Orchard Trail that they feared the worst and went to police to report her missing. That night, the police announced to the media their progress in the case.

There are two missing persons that we're, you know, investigating, trying to find out, you know, what their situation is, to make a determination to see if that's maybe our victim. We don't know that much about it. There are no signs, you know, of gunshots or knife wounds or anything like that. But we are, you know, looking to the medical examiner's office to tell us what the cause of death was.

The following morning with more information, the chief of police gave a press conference addressing the now confirmed homicide.

The Armada Police Department and the Michigan State Police are currently investigating a homicide which occurred within the village limits of Armada. Happened in the area of Fulton Road and Depot, which is at the south end of town. The body was discovered approximately 8:20 last night. Preliminary investigation reveals that two adults that were on the trail, using the trail, were alerted to a female's body which was located in a drainage ditch. The victim has been identified as April don millsap. She's 14 years of age and she is from the village of Armada.

Her official cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation. But even this tragic news brought some sense of relief to her family when.

They did the autopsies. There are no signs of sexual assault.

And her dog Penny never left her side. April's lifeless body lay in the brush 30ft from the trail for a couple of hours before she was found. Her backpack and cell phone were missing. Even the dog's leash and collar were missing. This suggested that she was murdered during a robbery, except she was practically naked. This implied sexual assault, but there was no evidence of it occurring. The evidence didn't tell the whole story. All they knew for sure was that she was beaten and asphyxiated to death in broad daylight, mere feet from a busy trail. The police turned to the public for help.

Detectives are currently looking for a large gray box van that was seen in the area of the crime scene. This is described as a painter's type of van. It has dents all over the van and the van was occupied by two white males. It has not been determined the role of the van in this investigation. If you are aware of a similar van in the area or know somebody that has that type of van, the police are asking the citizens to contact the Michigan State Police. The van was seen late afternoon, early evening last night. And again, we don't know, you know, the participation of the van. It could be, you know, just the wrong place at the wrong time. And if we can get somebody to come forward and let us know that they were out here, that's what we're looking for.

Of course, it's a box van, the go to vehicle for sick fucks. A young girl saw this van around the time of the murder and described the men driving it as staring her down. The police wasted no time. They gave the media what information they had and let them disseminate it. But they didn't just sit around waiting for tips.

We're about to start a canvas of the whole village. The van was seen, you know, kind of circling in and out of the area. So that that's why somebody took a picture of it.

They canvassed the area and interviewed practically everyone in the village. They even performed a roadblock at the village's main crossroads and questioned everyone who drove through. The local police enlisted the help of Michigan's state police and the FBI. They even searched with scent dogs, but came up with nothing. The tips from the public started pouring in though, and quickly the box fan suspicion was put to rest. The contractor called and admitted to being in the area, showing his new employee some of the homes he previously worked on. It was the good people of Armada that would eventually break open the case. People started coming forward that were on the trail on that day. William Buchanan was an avid bicyclist and was riding the trail when April walked her dog past.

Did you ride the orchard Trail on July 25th of 2014? I did. When you're heading east toward Omar, do you see a motorcycle on that trail? I do not. Do you see a young girl walking a dog when you're heading in that direction on that trail?

As he was riding east on the trail shortly before 5:40pm he didn't see anything unusual. But just a few minutes later, Amy and her mother Gail, did see something.

Did you go for a bike ride on July 24th of 2014?

Yes, I did.

Did you go with anybody? Yes, me and my mom went for a bike ride after she had gotten home from work. That day, did there come a point in time where you came across a young girl and her dog? Yes.

The time was approximately 5:40. When Amy and Gail first saw April.

She was walking west on the west, on the south side of the trail heading west. I was heading east. She was looking down at her phone.

Or whatever she was looking at.

She was looking down and she was walking her dog. And my first thought was, is the dog friendly? And then it was just maybe a minute, not much longer, and she crossed over to the north side. So she was on the same side.

Of the trail as I was and.

I was heading east. What did you do when she crossed over? Well, I looked at her and I said hello and I said, nice dog. And she smiled and replied and said yes, thank you very much.

It was after this encounter that the pair witnessed a peculiar sight. Motorized vehicles of any kind were not allowed on the trail. It's illegal. When they saw a motorcycle on the trail, it stood out to Amy and Gail, but also worried them.

We were just riding our bicycles and I was still on the north side of the trail and the motorcycle was just sitting there. And I got over to the south side to get out of the way because it was just sitting there, not moving at all. Well, I was alerted because number one, I right away knew there shouldn't be a motorcycle on the trail. And I also thought it odd that someone was completely covered. And why is this person on the trail completely covered? You couldn't see their face at all.

The motorcycle was odd enough, but the rider was also covered from head to toe. In July, he was wearing long dark pants, a long sleeved hoodie and a full face helmet. Their suspicions were raised, but they pedaled on by minding their own business. That's how you stay alive, by the way. Just minding your own business. You're welcome. Anyway, shortly after Amy and Gail rode by, Doug and Mary came down the trail.

What is it that catches your attention? There were two people ahead on the trail and it was difficult to tell how we would need to move. They were more on my side of the trail, but also in the middle of the trail up ahead. And Steph, we saw the two people on the side of the road on the left side of the trail that were they were near each other. They looked to be talking. And then on the opposite side of the trail, I could see a motorcycle parked.

At first they were only concerned with how to pass without causing an accident. They were on bikes traveling more than 10 miles an hour. But as soon as they got Close. They noticed an odd interaction.

As we started to approach, the two people separated ways. She started walking on the trail toward us with her dog and we passed her first. They looked like they were together on the trail.

Now while it's not really odd to see two people on the trail together, it is odd to see them.

So I said hi. And I don't know if I heard her say hi or whether she mouthed hi, but she responded like hi.

They saw April on the trail with a man, but they quickly parted ways. When Mary said hello to April, she replied and smiled the smile. However, you know, eh, it's one of those smiles where it's like are you really smiling? What are you trying to convey to me? Yeah, it was one of those kind of smiles, tight lipped and odd, you.

Know, I just knew that she seemed tense with the smile. I don't know, it just seemed unusual. And I'm on, I'm passing her on the south side and she shifted her eyes to the south side.

After passing April, they had to negotiate passing the man with the motorcycle. So Mary's attention was glued to him.

I'm just looking at his face. I think I was, I don't know, I was maybe curious. But mostly I wanted to make sure he wasn't going to move into our lane. And I said hi. Was there a response? No. After you said hi, what did you see David do? When you say hi to someone and you're up close, you expect a response back. He had an angry look on his face and he looked down and I just passed him. How does that, I guess strike you as rude?

Rude indeed. Then again, that is how you stay alive. The couple continued to ride, but the whole interaction stuck with Mary. She even said something to Doug about it. She didn't understand why such a girl was talking to an older man. She assumed it was her stepfather or secret older boyfriend. Ooh, how salacious. Shortly after that, William Buchanan rode back through in the other direction. This time he did see something.

I could see a white down path 3/4 to a mile away. As I approached I could see that it was a young man, tall and slender, at least six feet. I thought him to be over teens, 20s in that range. Right. He had a helmet on his. So yeah, with a full face helmet with a clear visor. I'm looking at the eyes as a tell to what are you going to do here?

He, like Mary, was drawn to the man's eyes, finding it odd that he looked angry.

His eyes were so wide I thought he was angry or Nervous or something. And maybe his concern was on this purest bicyclist. And I'm really angry with him. So I just kind of not worry about me. I'm not having an RDL for having a knot.

As soon as he passed the man with the angry eyes, he saw April immediately after passing.

I entered the tunnel tree. It's shaded in there. The foliage is darker. It doesn't produce much sun. And on the left side of the trail, young girl heading west on the trail on the left side on the.

Edge after passing, the whole scene just puzzled him.

I was trying to understand the scene, the situation. Right. Unusual for the motorcycle to be there. She's on the left side of the road or the path. My thought was there was something going on there between the two of. My thought was that she's still on the same side of the path. They just had a rendezvous, like I thought. Is it a girl walking. Walking the trail and meeting with a boyfriend that she's not supposed to? Or he has a motorcycle. Did he just drop her off? I mean, just thoughts going through my head. I was trying to process why these two figures were there and in the position they were with what they were doing.

He was curious about what those two had been up to, but he kept peddling. Moments later, Eric Reshke and his two daughters rode down the trail heading east.

At some point in time on the path, did you see April Mills at.

Yeah.

At approximately what time did you see April Mills? It would have been about 6:25. When you saw April Mills at. Did she have a dog with her?

Yes.

Was she with anybody?

Yeah. There was a motorcycle putzing along next to her.

Was the motorcycle moving or was the motorcycle still when you first came upon them? It was moving. How close is the motorcycle to April? It was right next to her. It was in the middle of the trail.

He saw April and the man on the motorcycle slowly riding alongside her.

From their body language, it seemed like they had been talking. Do you or any of your kids acknowledge April?

Yeah.

Who does? My.

My oldest.

Did April respond to it?

Yeah.

How did she respond? She looked up from her phone and waved and said hi to her real quick. And that was it.

Other than the motorcycle on the trail, nothing seemed wrong. When they saw April, he and his daughters, just like the others, kept riding. Three minutes later, April sent the text. I think I almost got kidnapped. Omfg Minutes after that, Amy and Gail rode back in the other direction.

Yes, I rode up on a motorcycle that was parked on the left side of the trail. My guard went up. I was cautious that somebody was going to jump out at me. Why I thought that, I do not know. I just kind of even slowed down because I was just. I honestly thought somebody was going to jump out or I wanted to know where they were at, you know, what were they doing, you know?

Little did Amy know that her fear in that moment was completely warranted.

I heard, like, stepping on the bushes and on the side. And when I looked over there, it appeared to be the dog with his paws.

For just a second, her fear dissipated. Then she saw the rider of the motorcycle.

Then I made eye contact with the person that was out there.

Right after she noticed Penny in the bushes, she looked up and locked eyes with the man just standing there in the brush. His hands were at his sides and he just stared back.

His eyes were very piercing, very like he had done something wrong.

After this frightening encounter, Amy caught up with her mom. Gail wanted to go back and investigate the riderless bike. She hadn't seen the man.

She wanted to turn around and go back. What did you say to her? I said, absolutely not. We're going home. And I said it very sternly.

The police would later surmise that Amy interrupted the man on the motorcycle. If the brush weren't so thick, she would have seen April at the man's feet as he stared back at her. Minutes after Amy saw the man, Terrell Land rode east on the trail.

Do you encounter at any time a motorcycle on that path? No, I did not. As you're passing the granary and heading into the tunnel of trees, is there anything unusual that you see? Yes. Okay. What's that? Well, I probably ridden this trail maybe a hundred times over the past couple of years and never do I see a dog free. Saw it and wondered what the heck? And I thought someone was probably walking it and had stepped into the trees to leave themselves is what I had thought. So I kept riding.

He rode the trail a little further, then turned around and came back.

Do you see the dog again when you pass that area? No. Are you then consciously looking for the dog now? Yes. Do you see the dog? No. Do you hear something? Yes. What is it that you hear? Repeated barking. It's just like a constant. It's just. It was enough that I went, what the heck? And But I kept going because I'm on the bike trail and I didn't put two and two together until I got home.

It was all over when Eric Reschke, Doug and Mary came back down that trail. It was only later that the two Joggers were alerted by Penny and decided to investigate finding April's body. If not for the presence of the motorcycle and the rider with the rude behavior, who knows if the witnesses that day would have noticed or even remembered April walking her dog. Perhaps they wouldn't have had to because it was shaping up that the man on the motorcycle was the last person to see April alive and was most likely her killer. From the witness statements, the police were able to build a timeline of April's last moments. She was attacked sometime between 6:25 when Eric Rischke first saw her, and 6:40, when Amy saw the man standing in the brush. This was the 15 minute span of time in which April was attacked. Her clothes nearly ripped off and her head bashed and neck stomped. The police got a search warrant for her cell phone and began to compare her GPS data to what they already knew. They were working the case 247 in shifts. They performed several more searches with and without the aid of dogs.

They began interviewing all registered sex offenders in the area. And once again they asked the public to to help locate the owner of an Enduro style off road motorcycle, possibly colored in blue and white. But this time they released a composite sketch provided by Amy. Police released this sketch of a man.

They want to talk to.

He's a white male with sandy brown or reddish hair. Police aren't certain about his height, but say he's not excessively short.

We're just telling the public if, if you see this person then you want to see if they're exhibiting some type of behavior too. And that's what we're really looking at. A lot of times when these people commit these type of crimes, they'll either change their work habits or they'll do some different things in order to make it a little. They're not themselves. We're pretty sure that somebody, that this person may have talked to somebody, if somebody has talked to you or something that you think is suspicious, give us a call and let us look at it. We'll determine if it's a good tip or not.

And the tips came flooding in. In a matter of days, the police had over 400 tips. One officer the day after April's death was following up on the sighting of a motorcycle and it fit the description when he spotted another motorcycle.

I seen as I'm driving by, I turned my car around, pulled into the driveway, took a little better look at it from inside my car, snapped a couple photos of it with my cell phone, snapped a photo of the address of the house and Then I proceeded back to the command center. I wanted to see if this was in fact the type of bike that the tip was speaking about. The on road, off road style bike. Possibly it was. And so at that point we made a determination to go back out there, make contact with the homeowner and gather some more information about the bike.

When he returned to the house, the motorcycle was gone. They questioned the homeowner who told them that the bike belonged to a friend of his, James Van Callis. They found his address through motor vehicle records and went to go pay him a visit. Say hello. Hi, James.

Went to the front door, knocked on the door, an older gentleman answered. I asked to speak to James Van Callis. He said he was James Van Callis. I asked him if there was another James Van Callis, maybe a son. He said there was. I asked him if I could talk to him. He yelled in the house for James Van Callis or James. However he called him at that time. The defendant came to the door. He ended up coming out on the porch. The original James Van Kelsey answered the door. It was determined later that's his father. He also came out on the porch as well as a female came out on the porch.

32 year old James Donald Van Callis lived with his father, 66 year old James Bernard Van Callis. Everyone called him Jim. His mother, Brenda Poopy, also lived there and yes, that's really her name. His girlfriend, Crystal Stabler also lived there too, along with their three year old. James kind of fits the description too. He has a slender build and other than the hair, he looks like the composite sketch.

I asked the defendant some questions. What did you ask him? I told him we were doing an investigation in our Maida. I asked him if he was in Armada the day before. He said he was.

He cooperated with the officers and answered their questions, albeit vaguely. He gave approximate times for his whereabouts that day. He said he left home on his bike at around 5pm and he ran by his friend's house, but he wasn't home. He continued to Armada and stopped at the Marathon gas station to rest a bit. The seat on the bike was a bit uncomfortable. Then he went to his brother's house.

It was casual. It was just us, you know, asking about, you know, his whereabouts and everything in Armenia. It was very casual, very friendly. And what about the next morning, about 12 hours later, when you asked for the Rickett statement? It was still friendly. He indicated he was busy, but it was still friendly.

Did you have contact with him then.

Later in the day? Parted ways and there supposed to be a phone call. Did you have additional contact? Yes, over the phone. Who called? I initially called him later in the afternoon. There was no answer. I left a message and then received a phone call back from him. And did that help? That? Yes. Did you speak to him? Yes, I did. And what was that? He was very upset to the point where he was irate on the phone. He was yelling at me on the phone, telling me that it was a witch hunt, that we are trying to call and talk to all kinds of people and take people's cell phones. It was just more of an out of control type phone call.

James Van Callis didn't like the police because he had a record. In 2005, he was convicted of breaking and entering, for which he got probation. Then in 2007, he was convicted of failure to pay child support and sentenced to five years probation. He quickly violated that probation by continuing not to pay child support and was put in prison for about a year. When April was murdered, he hadn't been out of prison that long. The elder Van Callis also had a record, but is that really a surprise? In 1995, he pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual conduct. One victim was between 13 and 15 years of age, and the other, well, the other was younger than 13. He is a registered sex offender. James was in Armada that day, and at that time he owned an Enduro style motorcycle. And he fit the description well enough. When the police conduct an investigation, they follow a lead until it bears fruit or fizzles out. They started to investigate him and tried to verify his story. Either he did it or they would have to rule him out. But James didn't like being investigated and quickly went from cooperative to combative.

So they took their suspicions to the judge.

We didn't have a good search warrant. A judge wouldn't sign it. We wouldn't be there. He is a person of interest in our investigation and Armada. We are looking at him.

After trying to contact James several times to get a written statement and ask a few more questions, they were only met with hostility. So they filed for a search warrant for his residence. The FBI, Michigan State Police, the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the Armada police descended on the Van Callis property some 15 miles northeast of Armada. James immediately protested.

And there was other details that we wanted to discuss with you and we're not able to get them. How do we. Did I put my foot in my parents? Did I put my foot in your neck? You gotta stop generalizing everybody because everybody out here is a different. What would you do if somebody touched your parents? What would I do if somebody touched my parents? Well, not being a position you're in, and they're coming to my house and doing a search warrant, so it's hard for me to say arbitrarily if somebody touched my. Here. We were walking right up. Here we are. Here we are. Here we are. Don't shoot. Here's our hands. Here's our hands and they're dragging us. Yeah, that wasn't us, right? He's just talking. I know. Nervous. I know. I'm nervous. You are too. Don't start. Listen to your mom. Nervous about what? Because you got FBI, state police and sheriffs here. I would. I'm nervous. They piss and the same way I do. That is. Jimmy, watch your mouth. That is true. You can't go anywhere without getting your next step done. Apparently you can't ride your motorcycle, Poor Huron, because somebody's going to say something.

You're going to get your next step down.

The team that first served the warrant was apparently a little rough with the Van Calles. James was complaining about how his parents were treated and that his neck was stepped on. He didn't want to answer any questions about April's murder and outright refused to provide a written statement for what he already said.

I'm not writing nothing or anything. Cause that's a form of a mission. And I'm not gonna sit there and have some variance in my story. I gave you in my written one and have. Oh, Aha. Fuck that shit. I gave you two statements. Other than that, I don't recall anything of that name.

These questions seemed to trigger his anger. He began fluctuating between two extreme emotions. One moment he was calm and collected, and the next he flew into a blind rage.

James, please let me stop. We can't get. We're already at that level.

Does not look like we're at that level. What the.

Don't you understand? You and your badge. I gotta get. You and your badge. Going to raise your voice like that? Well, just out of here. I got no problem. What's wrong, boy? James got quite a bit of a temper when he gets going, huh? He don't like it when he's cornered. Well, it sounds like he don't like it when he's. When he. When he's not in charge is what it sounds like. Why you got to be so rude to us?

Can you be nice for two seconds?

You're with our wife. Well, does that mean you have to Be rude. Jimmy, get in the car and shoot. Jimmy, get in the car and shut off. I want coffee. Get in the car and shut up.

The officer was right. James didn't like it when he wasn't in charge. In fact, that was evident every time he opened his loud mouth. When he wasn't berating them at the top of his lungs, he was threatening the officers with a lawsuit.

So you guys walked through my door with a warrant just from a. Oh, that's not gonna look good. That's not gonna look good on sewers. There was. Well, there were some allegations that, you know, you were hot headed and there was some weapons in the house. Who had allegations of that? Who's the accuser? Well, I can't tell you. Oh, all right. The attorney finding that out. You sound like a smart guy, man. I mean, did you ever think about going to college or was that not on the radar for you? People that go to college are the ones that can't learn from the book.

Yeah, yeah, that's a hard stance to take when you're an uneducated, unemployed 32 year old who spent time in prison for not paying child support. But it didn't stop James from trying to sound smart and make things personal.

What's your name? Neil. Neil, don't make me sue you as an individual. I'll put a personal lien on your house. I'll put a. Hey, you touch me, I'll put a commercial. You came here, you did it. You're responsible. Yes, sir. You sue me. Get in the car. I'll wait. Oh, God. So anyways, I'm done. I. I gotta tell you, ma'am, I'm sorry, but I'm done putting up with him. I'm done. I only have patients so long that I try to give people an understanding, you know, but then when he. When he starts making it a little more personal. I'm not going to sit here listening to him. Shut the door, God damn it. I'm taking. I think your mother's going to arrest you. I hope that's a threat. Ma'am, ma'am, don't. Don't get.

And when he wasn't threatening a lawsuit, he was letting the officers know how he really feels about them.

Every time. Every time the cops show up, it's always nothing but bad news. It's never good. That's why. I mean, I probably told you, sometimes I don't even want to pull over when they're pulling me over. You know what? I'm the kind of guy who wants to Slam on his brakes and make your ass in me and hope that I hurt you and not, no offense, because that's the way they make me feel. No offense, but you know what I mean, like you freaked me out and I slammed on the brakes. I'm sorry that you went through the windshield kind of shit, you know, I mean, they fuck with me too much. I want to give them a piece of my mind. Like when it comes to the Mahome county anytime I can give them a piece of my mind. Fuck you people. Hey, when you leave, I hope you wrap your cruiser around a fucking telephone pole.

James seems to have a cruel disregard for the police. Perhaps everyone as well. Well, everyone except maybe this one FBI agent.

In a situation like this, I wouldn't normally say this, but you're pretty. I was telling him in the house, when I see him, I was like, oh, wow.

Amid the multi agency search of his home, he decided to hit on the blonde FBI agent. Hubba hubba. You know?

Yeah, I always wanted to work for the FBI, but I'm too much of a criminal. So by chance, can I have your card? Is it because I got all the cops in my backyard? Maybe. How about you take my number And I probably wouldn't call you. Oh, mom. I was hitting on her and she told me to leave. Me leave her alone. I was hitting on her and she told me to leave her alone. I asked her for her phone number and she says that. And I go, well, if you don't want to take mine, can I give you mine? She's like, I won't call. I'm like that with every girl I meet. Hey, you know what it is? You're an idiot. Can't help myself. She bossed her.

He couldn't help himself. He was like that with every woman he met. In fact, he was so preoccupied by this woman that the officers had to ask her to leave.

Tell this young blonde lady to just stay away because he keeps getting distracted.

Once they had his whole attention, they let him know why they were there.

What's that? He's saying that he's got me a baby buddy. He says he's got me an armada. 40 minutes that's unaccounted for. If it is. And that's just to inform you why we're here, what brought us here this third time. So I'm not a suspect, but yeah, there's 40 minutes that ain't accounted for. But yeah, I was at my brother's. That's right. Well, because we wanted to talk to you about It. If you're. If you're on a bike in town and we're looking for somebody right now to talk to. On a bike. I told you everything I know. Okay, hold on. The 40 minutes is exactly how I said it. If you're trying to make me remember time now. I don't recall. I really don't. That's why I tried to do it the other day. I wish you would. Why don't you have me write it down? When you were here. Yeah, I don't remember anything now. Do you recall the second time I came here? It was very late at night. You're in your box. First time you were here? First time. No, I know. I had to back up myself in the middle of my sentence.

The first time we come. It's late at night. We know. We pull people out of bed. So the next. When I come here, what was the first thing I said? Can we go write all this down?

Nope.

I'm busy.

He claimed that he didn't remember specifics. Now, it had been a long time. Just to Clarify, this was July 30, only six days after April's murder.

Now, going through a town, if somebody gets murdered does not make you a murder suspect. And we never have. You heard. Yeah, it does everybody. That's the. Well, you know what? Good. That's a good point. You made a. You made a good point at the time this happens. Absolutely. You're right. Anybody and everybody could be a suspect. Right?

Anybody and everybody could be a suspect. But not everyone owned a motorcycle and helmet just like the ones described by witnesses. Not everyone was wearing clothes that matched the description. Just James Van Kelis was. But they weren't there just to ask questions. They were there to prove it.

So where's my bike going? He seems in my bike, on my bike today. What are you gonna tell me, Jimmy? You're gonna get arrested.

No, he's not.

No, he's not. He's.

His mother just wanted to let them do their job. Honestly, he was protesting way too much. It made it seem like he had something to hide. And he was hiding something. You see, the Van Callis family had a large marijuana grow operation. This isn't necessarily illegal, as Michigan allows marijuana medically and allows people to grow their own. You can even grow plants for other people who have their medical cards. The problem is you're only allowed to have 12 plants maximum for each cardholder. That's 36 plants. The Van Callis family had 52. And I guess the stress of the situation was getting to Them because all they wanted to do was to take their medicine.

We're not breaking the law. We're not breaking the law. So why don't you put a hold of whoever's in charge? I had a joint right here, right? We'd light it up right now. There's not a damn thing you can say about. We're on private agency here with this guy. Doesn't make a. I don't give a shit.

Even if your state allows medical or recreational marijuana, it's still illegal federally. The Van Callis men weren't getting out of this one unscathed. Both father and son were arrested on drug charges. The authorities seized his bike and helmet along with the clothes he said he was wearing the day of the murder. They took his pants, his shirt, and his shoes. The one thing they couldn't find was his hoodie, which had been accidentally thrown away. The pants had what might be blood on the cuff, but the real reason they were there were for her shoes.

The imprints on the victim's neck were so significant and vivid that we felt that if we could find those shoes, that we could match it up.

Whoever killed April stomped on her neck so hard, it left an imprint of the bottom of the shoe. It was also so hard that it collapsed her airway, ultimately leading to her death. But when they checked the shoe that James said he wore that day, they didn't match. The Van Callis men would remain under police custody under federal drug charges while the authorities tried to find more evidence connecting him to April's murder.

After the murder of April Millsap on the Macomb Orchard trail One evening in July 2014, the police were looking for a person on a motorcycle. That person, the one with the motorcycle, was the last one to see April alive, according to statements by many witnesses. When they discovered James Van Callis owned a motorcycle like the described, they asked him a few more questions. When he became evasive and hostile, the authorities got a search warrant for his house. They wanted to see if the shoes he wore that day matched the tread pattern found on April's neck. Little did they know, they would discover a large marijuana grow operation. Both James and his father, Jim, were arrested on federal drug charges. They sat in jail while the authorities tried to build their case against James. Months would go by, and the police would redo interviews and try to find out as much as they could, gathering all of the circumstantial evidence. After serving the search warrant and seizing all of his stuff, they didn't find anything. They didn't find DNA Fingerprints, hair? Nothing. And the shoes he said he wore didn't match the pattern. So they talked to his father, who seemed a little too comfortable in his orange jumpsuit.

Did Jimmy do this? Did he murder that girl? No. Did he kill that girl? No. Even by accident? No. How do you know? I don't. I don't want my son knowing all my kids. He's been running out of straight and narrow for the last. Well, for the last year anyway, because a year before that he was in prison.

Yeah, he didn't think his son was capable of doing such a thing, you know, because he turned a few new leaves over or some shit in prison. So the officer tried to paint a scenario to see if it changed his mind.

You got that explosive temper and maybe something just went too far that day. There's a chance encounter. Maybe. You know how Jimmy is with the ladies. He's a ladies man. He likes to talk to him. And somebody rejects him, it doesn't sit too well with him. No, that don't happen that way. Well, it's not. It's not like, you know, he does. He doesn't know the consequences of what would happen. Messing with somebody when emotions are running hot, people's personalities. I'm on a lifetime registry. He knows this. He's lived with it for the last 20 years with me. So he knows.

So you know, his son wouldn't have lost his temper because he would have never talked to an underage girl. He knew better. Messing around with little girls leads to. To trouble. It was a lesson he learned from his father, a registered sex offender. Another lesson he learned from his father, the self proclaimed asshole, was not to beat women.

Because for the whole time that we've been with her, I beat her up all the time. You know, that's why I'm still with her. Still making it up. Do you think Jimmy ever picked up some of your bad habits from that? No. If he would, he'd be eating up all the girlfriends he did. But he never seen me with his girlfriend. No. Even the girlfriends never said anything and nobody ever said anything about it.

He knew his son and just didn't think he was capable of murder. He'd been on the straight and narrow for nearly a year. He went on to support his claim by saying his son is a thief, not a murderer. But that's not really a very strong argument. It would take until October 2014 for the county to finally press charges.

In cooperation with the Armada Police Department, Michigan State Police, Macomb County Sheriff's Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Today we announced charges against James Donald Van Callis for the murder of April Dawn Millsap in the city of Armada.

He was charged with first degree premeditated murder. For the amount of time it takes to asphyxiate a person, surely he had time to change his mind or call for help. They also charged him with assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. Because it was clear what his intention was before he got into Interrupted, killed her, and then ran away. Of course, in all his worldly knowledge, from all the books he read instead of going to college, James pleaded not guilty and proceeded to trial. In the trial, the prosecution paraded around witness after witness that placed him on the trail that day. They all saw a different little piece of the picture. One noticed his clothes, A couple others noticed his eyes. And one woman saw his face. All these pieces put together described James. They went over April's GPS data and created a map of her last movements. They pointed out that all of a sudden her phone was moving at 22 miles an hour. When they cross referenced the timestamps with local surveillance systems, they saw a picture of a man on an Enduro motorcycle that was blue and white. They talked about the shoes they seized and how they didn't match the pattern on April's neck.

They theorized he destroyed the real shoes he was wearing that day. He said he was wearing a pair of K Swiss tennis shoes. But the one witness specifically remembered high tops. Pictures from social media showed he owned a pair of high top Nike Air Jordan's Flight the Power Edition. The point is that these particular shoes match the tread pattern on the victim's neck. I guess that's the power they were referring to. The power of the state attempting to arrest a criminal. They also talked about the lack of DNA found on the helmet, the theorized weapon he used to incapacitate her. It wasn't that they didn't find April's DNA. It was that they didn't find any DNA at all. The helmet had obviously been cleaned inside and out. But their star witness was James ex girlfriend, Crystal Stabler. She described him as controlling and abusive.

What about if you wanted to use the computer during the day? I couldn't. Was there a home phone in there in your portion of the house? No. If James was out, how would you communicate with? Through his mom or dad. Did James have a phone? Yes. Did James have a driver's license? Yes. Did James have a computer? Yes. Did James have a car? Yes. Did you have a car? No. Why not? Wasn't allowed. Was that the Same with the driver's license. Yeah. Was he controlling these aspects of your life?

Yes, he controlled her to the point that she feared him. Because of this, she wasn't immediately truthful with police.

Why is it that you're not telling them everything right away? Scared. What are you scared of? James. Why are you scared of James? Because he was abusive and controlling. Had he ever hit you before?

Yes, it seemed like he did in fact. Fact? Pick up Dad's bad habit. She went on to recall the night April died.

Would you describe how he is dressed when he leaves the house? A white T shirt with football logos on it and gray camel pants. And his black and white shoes. What type of shoes was he wearing? Black and white jewelry.

Her testimony contradicted James's statement that he wore the K Swiss shoes. But this wasn't the only damning evidence. She recalled that when he returned that night, he was acting normal until he thought she was sleeping.

I wake up and see him cleaning his shoes.

Okay.

And what part of the shoe is he cleaning? The outside. Had you ever seen him clean his shoes before? No.

When she asked why he was cleaning his shoes, he said because he got oil on them. She didn't question him further, even though the middle of the night seemed like a really weird time to be cleaning your shoes. After that, she never saw those shoes again.

Does he say anything to you when he comes back to bed? Yeah, that he messed up and he needed me to stand by his side when he first comes back into bed. Has his demeanor toward you changed? Yeah. How is his demeanor now? Lovey dovey. Was it that way when the two of you went to bed several hours earlier? No. When his mood like that changes, what does that mean to you? He did something wrong?

While he didn't admit to anything specifically, the timing of this statement to Crystal was suspicious. But the following day she found something even more suspicious.

Are you asked to wash any of his clothes? Yeah, he wanted me to do a load of laundry. Okay. Is that unusual? Yeah. Why? Because he never really wanted me to wash his clothes. He wore the same clothes all the time. What were you asked to wash on the morning of the 25th? Carhartt hoodie in his pants and that shirt.

Did you find something unusual in the car?

Heart jacket after you washed it? Yeah. What was it that you found? Like waded up hair and like shavings of grass or like hay.

She didn't recognize the hay as anything from the yard. And the hair certainly wasn't hers. All of this odd behavior she kept to her Herself. Like when James gave his family instructions.

What was he telling to everybody in the house to tell him that he was wearing case with shoes? Was he wearing case with shoes that night? No.

Out of fear for James. She wouldn't tell police any of this until the third interview when she knew he was already in jail. All of this information really cast James in a bad light. But it did fit the theory that James hit on young April that day on the trail. When she rebuffed his advance. He hit her over the head with his helmet. He dragged her into the bushes. He started to assault her when Amy rode by on her bike. He got nervous, abandoned his plan, stomped her to death and fled. And just in case any of the jurors were on the fence about this theory, they read off some of James Google search history. Here are just a few excerpts. Do young girls like older men? Why would this girl say I'm too old for her and still hit on me? What does it mean when a girl tells you that she has a boyfriend? How to have sex with a girl? How to make a girl who does not want you want? You notice the key phrases in all of those searches? He wants to know how to get a girl, not a woman.

Needless to say, the jurors weren't on the fence at all.

Biggest line of garbage I've ever heard.

The evidence is just overwhelming. Circumstantial as it may be, it's still overwhelming evidence.

Count one, first degree premeditated murder.

We find the defendant guilty.

Count two, count two, first degree felony murder. We find the defendant guilty. Three, kidnapping.

We find the defendant guilty.

Count four, assault with int. To commit sexual penetration.

We find the defendant guilty. James was found guilty on all counts. He tried to remain stoic when the verdict was read, but he had a little eye twitch when he heard the decision. April's family erupted into celebration as he was led from the court. At his sentencing, April's mom, Jennifer, gave her statement.

I hope the rain pierces you like bullets. I hope the sun burns you like fire burn skin. I hope the four walls close in on you and choke you. I hope those steel bars are your only friends. I hope when you close your eyes, you see only April. Over and over and over again. You will die behind those bars alone. I hope that the inmates know exactly what you did, because I hear their punishment can be very ugly. I hope they save all their rage and anger just for you. You, James. I damn thief. You stole my beautiful daughter's life. I pity you and I hate you. And I can Never forgive you.

Her pain was palpable. She thanked the judge and sat down, sniffling into a tissue. Next, James addressed the court, once again demonstrating his intelligence or lack thereof.

Well, first off is that there is no evidence that shows that I have done anything wrong. There is nobody that can say they see me commit any crime. There is nobody that can ID or has ID'ed my motorcycle as being on that trail that day. None of the witnesses could positively, positively identify me. They said that they seen eyes, which is at best case. How many people have eyes that are that shape? This is a sad chain of events that somehow I'm wrapped up in. I don't know how to have the nose family understand that I don't know her. I've never met her. I. I never seen her before.

He goes on like this for a while before he starts complaining about inconsistencies and disguises discovery files.

There is a fraud that's been perpetuated in this case by whoever put the case together to put it on that hard drive. My attorney has witnessed it. I brought it up to my attorney several times. He can testify right here, right now. If you were to ask him if what I'm saying is the truth. The reality is we're here to send you. I understand that, your honor, but please, I didn't interrupt you. Go ahead.

Thank you.

The reality is we're here to sentence you. Anything you want to say regarding an appeal, you can do that as soon as you're done with me. I'm just asking for a motion for child Denoval on the grounds that this.

Idiot was arguing appellate issues and trying to call for a mistrial at the sentencing. Does nobody watch law and order anymore?

As to the charge of first degree murder, it is the sense of the court that you serve life in prison.

With no chance of parole. Shortly after his tirade, he was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder. Another life term for felony murder. 18 years and nine months for kidnapping and six years and eight months for assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. I don't think I have to add that up for you, but it's more than necessary. Really not sure there's much more you need after life. Immediately following the sentencing, his mother claimed her son was framed because the authorities needed to pin it on someone. Yeah, that's how idiots think the system works. Cops don't work on a quota. People. Maybe prosecutors, but not cops. Later, in a phone interview from prison, James claimed his ex girlfriend was told what to say on the stand and forced to Testify or else her kids would be taken away. I'm not sure that CPS does that either, but. Okay, James, whatever. A couple of years after his incarceration, he would file for appeal, citing a bunch of reasons he probably thought would work. It was denied. James Donald Van Callis remains in prison to this day. Meanwhile, the village of Armada started to heal.

They built a memorial park for April at the Fulton street entrance to the trail. And four years after her death, the high school presented her mother with an honorary diploma. James Van Callis thought he was above the law. He saw himself as superior. He thought that the law didn't apply to him. The truth, however, was far from that. He still wasn't paying child support. He controlled many aspects of his girlfriend's life and manipulated her constantly. He was growing more than the legally allowed amount of marijuana and speeding through town on his bike without a motorcycle license. He was riding on a trail where it wasn't allowed. And all of that could have been forgiven if he hadn't hit on a 14 year old girl on a remote walking trail and then flew into a rage when she denied him. And in fact, while we're on it, why hit on a young girl? Why hit on a girl at all if you have a girlfriend at home? Well, James, that's because you don't give a shit about anyone else's feelings except your own. You put your desire above and ahead of anyone and everyone. This pursuit for validation in the eyes of a young girl who was just minding her own business led to your downfall.

Amy interrupted this baby man. Which is the only reason April Millsap wasn't sexually assaulted. In addition to being murdered, James Van Callis was callous, utterly indifferent to the law and to the rules we've agreed upon in society. These rules that we have because at the end of the day, we're all human. We all make mistakes. We all do things we shouldn't. At times, we sometimes even break the law. But there is a distinction. There is a differentiation between us and them. Because some of us will get up day after day after day. And even though we know at the end of the day we'll fail, we will be imperfect. We will make mistakes. We may even occasionally hurt someone. At least we tried to put in the effort to be a better person. At least we're the kind of people that try. Thank you so much for joining us once again. If you like our show, please go check out our website and if you could join. Plus, it starts at only $10 a month and it really goes towards helping us produce these. You can find it along with our merch store with dozens of items that you can find with a sword and scale branding over at sword and scale.com until next time, stay safe.