At UCD Smurfit School, you'll get more than a business master's or MBA. You'll get a transformative learning experience designed for your success. You'll gain new perspectives from faculty and classmates, and you'll benefit from UCD's Deep corporate connections. Explore your options at our open evening on November 15 with programs suitable for business and nonbusiness graduates. Register at Smurfitschool IE events UC D Michael Smurf at Graduate business School Empower.

Connect Create When Tracy Raquel Burns was two years old, her baby brother died.

I was told that Matthew died in an accident.

Her parents told police she had killed him. I'm Nancy Glass. Join me for Burden of Guilt, the new podcast that tells the true and incredible story of a toddler who was framed for murder. Listen to burden of guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, I'm Chelsea Peretti. Do you feel chronic existential dread but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me. My podcast is relaunching. Do you fear wild, dangerous animals to the point where you're constantly watching attack videos and reading articles about wild animal attack survivors or those who succumb to attack? Call in. We can also discuss reality shows and emergency room footage. Listen to call Chelsea Peretti on Will Ferrell's big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's JoJo Siwa, host of the new podcast JoJo Siwa. Now it's time to get real up close and personal. I'm going to be talking to you like I'm writing in a journal. You're going to get all of the tea and all of the scoop. I'm also going to be talking to my friends, to people I admire, to people that are trending right now. So you're going to get like JoJo Siwa now, and now what's going on in the world? It's going to be great and I really hope you like it. You can listen to JoJo Siwa now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, get ready.

Will Lucas from Black Tech Green Money, the podcast for Black Techies with a passion for capital is hosting a special event happening at State Farm park in iHeartland. Will's gonna chat about the top ten things you should be doing to build your wealth. Don't miss a special event starting Thursday, November 16 at 07:00 p.m. Eastern at State Farm park in iHeartland in Fortnite, available all weekend long. Be sure to say hi to Jake from State Farm on the big screen. Beat us high score in parkour, and snap a selfie at the selfie booth. Visit iHeartRadio.com Slash iHeartland to start playing today.

This is an iHeart original.

This story can be hard to hear. There's detailed talk of suicide and violence, but we think it's important not to gloss over the reality of what happened to Libby Caswell. Please take care. While listening, I'm holding in my hands a green spiral notebook that Libby used to document the last few months of her life. I got it from her mom, Cindy, who found it in the trunk of Libby's car after her death. Thumbing through the notebook, a lot of the pages are filled with basic adulting stuff, detailed grocery lists, appointment reminders. Libby was due for an oil change, and from what I can make of her notes, she either was planning to or had already gone to a clinic to get the depot shot, a form of birth control. Cindy told me Christmas was Libby's favorite holiday, and in the notebook, it's obvious. Her shopping list for Xavier, who was four, spread out over a number of pages. On one page, a toy car, Air Jordans, a swing set. On another, fidget, toys, chocolate peeps, Superman pajamas. Libby decorated these lists with sketches of Christmas trees surrounded by presents and snowmen. It's unclear if she ever bought any of these gifts.

She died on December 11, 2017. Paging through Libby's notebook, I stumbled on a date written out incursive, March 19. I realized I'd seen it a few times before on Libby's Facebook page, shortened to 319. When I asked Cindy about this, she told me it was the anniversary of Libby's first date with her boyfriEnd, Devin.

They went with his family, and they had a really nice blue minivan. First they went to eat, and then they went and seen a movie, and I don't remember the movie.

I think we went to see where the wild things are. That's Jamie, Devin's stepmom. We were howling like the wild things.

Do at the end of the movie.

In the theater, and I remember Devin being so embarrassed. I remember him telling me and Charlie that that's who he was going to marry at 14 years old. And we were like, you're so young and da da da, you have so.

Much to go through.

And then it all started. That first date. Libby and Devin were only freshmen in high school. For the next six years, the number 319 took on an almost sacred significance to Libby, who scrawled it everywhere like an incantation.

She would do doodles, you know, of 319, eleven Devin and Libby. Devin loves Libby. Libby loves Devin.

There's a fly through your window. So why does she mine?

She was totally infatuated. However you want to say it, totally wrapped up in it.

The number 319 has an entirely different connotation to Cindy now, one very far removed from those early idyllic feelings of obsession and puppy love. Because now that number is inextricably linked with the room where police found Libby's body. The room at the sports stadium in.

I didn't know anything about the room until we received our first reports. And then when I saw that, that's when I was like, oh, my God, it was room 319. Maybe Devin rented that room. They specifically asked for that room because of something. Maybe it was random, and they just got that room. You know, I wanted to know.

Watching the water.

From iHeart podcasts, I'm Melissa Jelson, and this is what happened to Libby Caswell.

His first inclination was it was homicide.

He was crying and upset, and I was like, man, what happened?

They asked me my name, and was I Cindy Caswell?

And it took him a minute to get it out of. And he said, my wife hung herself.

And my heart just kind of froze.

Watching the water sinking again tonight.

Chapter two, undEtermined.

Devin, I'm Detective, police department. Got your cell phone on you? Yes. Okay, once you let the detectives have that. Okay, we'll get started.

On the evening of December 11, 2017, 3 hours after calling 911 to report Libby's death and then leaving the scene, Devin Martin arrives at the Independence Police Department in Libby's car. When he enters the station, he's taken into a small, drab room to make a formal statement. Although he comes involuntarily, he's immediately arrested on a handful of outstanding traffic tickets and read his rights.

You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say cannot be used against a court of law. You have the right to talk to an attorney before you question you and have him or her present with.

I obtained a video of Devin's interview with IPD through a Freedom of Information act request. The original tape is around 55 minutes long, but for length and clarity purposes, I'm using just parts of it and playing some of it out of order. In the grainy footage, Devin looks upset. He's sweating, jittery, and doesn't seem to know what to do with his hands. He thrusts them into the front pocket of his hoodie. He rubs his face.

Let's start from the beginning, okay? Like I said, I want you to be detailed. Want you to be honest, because this is a death investigation. So take death investigations very seriously. And what I need out of you is need honesty.

Detective Steve Schmidley had been at the motel earlier in the night, investigating the scene when Devin called 911 for the second time to say he had talked to police. So Schmidley headed back to the station to interview him. And here he refers to Libby by her full name, Elizabeth Caswell.

Who's Elizabeth Caswell? To get married in March.

Devon's voice is soft, like he's on the verge of tears. It's a little hard to understand what he's saying, but he tells the detective he and Libby have a child together, and they were going to get married in three months time.

When do you guys get. Wouldn't you check into this motel? Okay, so we showed up at 630.

Devin tells Detective Schmidley that he arrived at the sports stadium in early that morning. He was with Libby and another friend of theirs, Nick. And they were driving in Libby's car, a black Ford Fusion, some of this, like, what time they checked in. Police already know from accessing motel records. But establishing a timeline of events that day is critical, as police aren't sure exactly when Libby died. There is an almost 14 hours period of time between when the three friends arrived at the motel that morning and when Devin called 911 that evening. That is unknown to police.

You get there this morning. What do you guys do most of the day? Okay, so my friend Nick hung out with us until about maybe 09:00 in the morning. 830. We left, and I took a shower. And I get out of the shower, and she said she was going to take a shower. And I remember because we had been up all night the night before. And I remember laying on the bed and passing out, but fell asleep. And I probably woke up, and it was probably around 830, I think. Roughly what time do you think you fell asleep on the bed? I would say between ten and 11:00. 10:00 a.m. And 11:00 a.m. This morning. And then at that point, you remained asleep the entire time until you woke up this evening? Yes, sir.

Devin says he was asleep for more than 8 hours. And when he woke up, he noticed Libby wasn't around.

I remember looking. She wasn't in the room. So I went to check the bathroom, and my belt, the top of it, I could see my belt sticking out of the top of the door. And when I opened the door, she fell forward and I picked her up. And her skin was so pale and her lips were blue. I'm sorry, man. That's okay. I can't believe anyone. This is real.

Devin gets emotional here. He's just told Schmidley that he woke up, looked around for Libby, and saw his belt peeking out from the top of the closed bathroom door. When he opened the door, Libby's body fell to the ground. The detective leans back, taking it all in, then starts to recap. But Devin interrupts to tell him about something else that happened right before he went to sleep.

You got in the shower and you went to bed. And about my drug use is what we argued about. That was this morning before you went to bed? Yeah, right after I got out of the shower.

This is information that IPD had already gathered. One of the cops spoke to a guest staying in the room next door who heard a loud argument between a man and a woman. According to Devin, their fight was over. His continued use of methamphetamine drugs were a constant source of tension between the couple. Schmidley doesn't seem very surprised to learn about Devin's drug use. And it's likely this was a pretty familiar story to him. Independence, Missouri, has a long history with meth, which I'll get into later. And the sports stadium in. It's not a particularly nice place to stay. In the year leading up to Libby's death, IPD had been called there more than 150 times for theft, assault, and incidents involving drugs. Schmidley himself had responded on a handful of occasions. The detective doesn't linger on Devin's drug use. But before he can get to his next question, Devin pivots again and offers some more unprompted information about Libby and her mental state.

I didn't think she would ever do it. You know, she was talking about killing herself the day before, but it was like she bullshit a lot of times when she said don't. So she talked about killing herself the day before? Yeah. Yes, sir. Why? Just because our situation she was fed up with. We had lost custody of our son. Actually, the state has custody of him, but he presides with her mother. And we were going to get everything straight.

The custody situation with their son was complicated. And I'll get to it later. But the picture Devin paints of Libby is of a depressed mother forcibly separated from her son and frustrated by her boyfriend's drug problem. Devin's story provides a reason why Libby might have taken her own life. Then he offers up his own theory for how she did it. Remember, Devin never says he actually saw Libby hanging because the bathroom door was closed. But he tells the detective that he thinks his belt was too long to have kept her feet off the ground.

I'm really trying to understand it all because there's no way she could have hung herself from the know. Like, how could she have hung there if my belt's long? How could her feet have not been on the ground?

It's an OD fact. I've puzzled over it, too, but Devin had an answer for Detective Schmidley.

So I've been sitting, trying to think, how could it have happened? I'm thinking maybe she put it in the door until she passed out. Because when I opened the door, she fell forward.

Devin later tells the detective this is something he'd seen Libby do before. Put a belt around her neck and pretend like she was strangling herself.

I mean, when we were younger and stuff, she would act. Know we'd be an argument or something. She would act like she's choking herself with a belt.

Actually, Detective Schmidley asked Devin what he did after he found Lippy's body.

I grabbed her. I didn't notice the belt was around her neck until after I pulled her toward me. And she was so stiff. Her body was so stiff. I'm sorry. No, you're fine. So what did you do at that point? Obviously, you assume, okay, they freak out. I assumed she was dead. I tried to undo the belt a little bit where I could feel a pulse or something, and I think I was just shaking too much. I couldn't feel a pulse, so I called 911. I went into shock, and I got in the car and I went to my dad.

Devin's explanation, he was in shock, so he drove to his dad's. It might sound bizarre, but in my experience as a journalist covering traumatic events, people can act in all kinds of unexpected ways. You don't really know how you'll respond to a tragedy until it happens to you. You may think you'll become act rationally, but when was the last time you found a dead body? Schmidley, in any case, seems to listen to this story without much judgment. He doesn't question Devin's decision to run or express much curiosity about where he went. He notes it and moves on. But there's another detective in the room who, up until now, has just been listening, and he's more skeptical.

Do you see how this looks suspicious? Devin, despite.

At UCD Smurfit School, you'll get more than a business master's or MBA, you'll get a transformative learning experience designed for your success. You'll gain new perspectives from faculty and classmates, and you'll benefit from UCD's deep corporate connections. Explore your options at our open evening on November 15 with programs suitable for business and nonbusiness graduates. Register at Smurfitschool Ie events UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School empower Connect create.

When Tracy Raquel Burns was two years old, her baby brother died.

I was told that Matthew died in an accident and no one really talked about it.

Her parents told police she had killed him.

Medical records said that I killed my baby brother.

I'm Nancy Glass. Join me for Burden of Guilt, the new podcast that tells the true and incredible story of a toddler who was framed for murder and how she grew into an adult determined to get justice and protect her family.

While we had prosecuted some cold cases, this was the coldest. This was frigid.

But how does a two year old get blamed for murder?

She said.

We wanted a new life. You just don't know what it's like when you'll do anything for somebody.

Listen to burden of guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, I'm Chelsea Peretti. Do you feel chronic existential dread, but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me. My podcast is relaunching. Subscribe and treat yourself to sound effects like this. And this. Have you ever been attacked by a bear?

Yeah. Yes.

And moments like this, I happen to.

Fall asleep in front of a space heater. No. And my whole leg from my knee down to my foot burnt until it swollen. Big bubble.

And this kale chips are delicious.

They're too oily.

When I give them, they shouldn't be soft at all. They should be really crispy.

That's what I said every single time.

You are yelling at me. And this.

Do you want to go to the Clippers game with me tonight?

Do you have 25 references of mutual friends that can tell me that you're not a murderer? And this. Hold on, I gotta open some peanut butter pretzels. Listen to call Chelsea Peretti on Will Ferrell's big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's JoJo Siwa, host of the new podcast JoJo Siwa. Now. I got to admit, I am so excited to finally be starting my podcast, JoJo Siwa. Now I feel like I've grown up in front of the world. You know, the first time the world saw me publicly was at nine years old. Now it's time to get real up close and personal. You're going to see why I am the way I am now. You're going to see who I am now. And it's going to be pretty fun. It's going to be like an inside look at what I've been up to in the last three years. It's basically like I'm going to be talking to you like I'm writing in a journal. You're going to get all of the tea and all of the scoop. I'm also gonna be talking to my friends, the people I admire, to people that are trending right now. So you're gonna get like JoJo Siwa now, and now what's going on in the world. It's gonna be great and I really hope you like it. You can listen to JoJo Siwa now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Get ready will Lucas from Black Tech Green Money, the podcast for Black Techies with a passion for capital is hosting a special event happening at State Farm park in iHeartland. Will's gonna chat about the top ten things you should be doing to build your wealth. Don't miss a special event starting Thursday, November 16 at 07:00 p.m. Eastern at State Farm park in IHeartland in Fortnite. Available all weekend long. Be sure to say hi to Jake from State Farm on the big screen. Beat us high score in parkour and snap a selfie at the selfie booth. Visit iHeartRadio.com Slash iHeartland to start playing today.

By this point in the interview, Devin has been sitting inside a small interrogation room for about 40 minutes. This is what IPD has learned so far. Devin and Libby and another friend, Nick, checked into the sports Stadium Inn early that morning. After Nick left, Devin and Libby fought about his drug use. Devin went to sleep sometime that morning and Libby headed into the shower. Devin woke up around 08:00 p.m. Walked over to the bathroom and saw the end of his belt sticking out over the top of the door. He opened the door and Libby's body fell to the ground inside the bathroom. He touched her body to see if she was alive and then panicking, he called 911 and then drove away. Detective Schmidley's tone throughout the interview is relaxed and understanding, almost conciliatory. If he has any real issues or concerns with Devin's version of events, he doesn't say anything. But as the conversation proceeds, the other detective jumps in, prods. Devin, a little harder. Classic good cop bad cop.

Do you see how this looks suspicious, Devin? Just by you here. That's why you. We've investigated a lot of death investigations. Absolutely. I mean, Detective Schmidley and I, we have a lot of experience, and some are very obvious suicidal suicide deaths, and some are not so obvious. Absolutely. I promise you, I would not ever do anything to harm her physically. Okay? I would prevent her from being harmed physically with. Now, there's going to be an autopsy. Know that they can determine. Absolutely. And I would love to get the results. What do you think that autopsy report is going to indicate? That she strangled herself? You see how it's kind of suspicious? A little bit? Because we have witnesses say that you were arguing with her that day. And like I said, we had gotten to an argument that morning. Okay? I would not do nothing to hurt my. That's my wife. I understand. I'm not trying to say you're accusing me. I'm trying to express that to you. And I understand, but I just want you to know that it's just a little suspicious of how you reacted, which most people would stick around. Look, to be honest with you, I've never had a good encounter with the police.

Yeah.

Devin is 21 at the time of this interview, and he's no stranger to IPD. By my count, he had been arrested around ten times before for various nonviolent offenses.

You got to understand that we have a job to do, and it's not personal. Oh, wow. But when we have several different factors involving this investigation, which are suspicious in nature, which. I understand your drug usage and everything, but the whole argument thing, and then just the way that she was positioned and so on and so forth, because I picked her up off. Okay, and that's why you're here, to explain some of those things that we feel that are suspicious in nature. Our fights are loud. We know each other well, obviously, because people heard you.

The second detective pushes Devin about a claim he made earlier in the interview, that Libby choked herself in the past. Something about this story seems off to him, like maybe it's a little too convenient, so he circles back to it.

But she's tried to choke herself out with a belt before. Yeah. And I've had to literally pull her hand off and get the belt out from around her neck. The honest truth. And I've investigated a lot of death, but I've never seen anybody be able to choke themselves out and kill themselves. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. You see what I'm saying? Because you're going to pass out. Yes, sir. First. Yes, sir. Okay. Honestly, I was asleep. I don't know exactly how it happened. So let me ask you a question, Evan. Okay. There's no doubt in my mind that you love her to death. There's no doubt in my mind that, you know, were grade school, middle school, to high school sweethearts. Okay. But to put this to rest a little bit, did something bad happen? That things got out of control? No, sir. No, sir. Positive. I'll put my hand on a Bible, and I'll put it on everything I love, on my children, on my son's life. I would not ever do nothing like that. Never. Okay? Never would I hurt him like that. I hope you guys do believe me. And if you don't, everything forensics figures out will prove that I wouldn't have called John, and I would have just left and know or do something I wouldn't have done.

That is what the truth is.

Beyond denying any involvement in Libby's death, Devin is adamant that he'd never hurt her.

My. I take pride in the fact that I've never put my hands on a woman unless it's to stop her from hurting me. And that's like, hold her down or stay her and just to calm down. That's the only thing I've ever done. She's a pretty tiny girl.

As the second detective said to Devin, some suicides are straightforward, some are not. In Libby's case, there were a lot of suspicious facts at play, but Devin seems to have explanations for all of them. The weird position of Libby's body was because he held her and tried to loosen the belt. He left the scene because he was scared of the cops and had been using drugs. And, yes, they had an argument, but that's just how their relationship was volatile. The interview wraps up just after midnight, and around the same time, IPD clears the crime scene at the Sports Stadium Inn. But before they do so, they check to see if there's any evidence to corroborate Devin's story that Libby hanged herself with a belt over the bathroom door. And they find something. A mark on the top of the door. The crime scene tech notes that it appears fresh and seems to be about the width of Devin's belt. Schmidley has one more person he wants to speak with. Devin's friend Nick, the other person inside the motel room that morning, and possibly the last person besides Devin to see Libby alive at the detective's request.

Nick comes down to the police station, and they talk for a few minutes.

It was just you and Devin, and she was very distressed about herself. She was just, like, very depressed, stressed and depressed. She was talking about committing suicide. And I was like, no. When did she talk about committing suicide? This morning. And I told her, it's like, you don't want to do that, and talk to her about her kid.

Nick corroborates most of Devin's story and adds something new. He tells Detective Schmidley that Devin called him after finding Libby's body. Nick then returned to the motel, and the two drove together in Libby's car to Devin's dad's house. Schmidley wraps up the interview and sends him on his way. In his reports from that night, the detective summarizes his interviews with both Devin and Nick and writes, quote, investigation to continue. But I have the case file on Libby's death. And after Schmidley's interviews with Devin and Nick and the discovery of the mark on the bathroom door, the file essentially trails off. There's very little to suggest this initial investigation goes any further. This was kind of surprising to me because when police first arrive at the Sports Stadium Inn, it's clear they're treating it as a homicide. There are at least a dozen officers at the scene. Detectives, patrol cops, a crime scene tech, plus various personnel from the medical examiner's office. But then sometime during the night, there's a shift, and the focus of the investigation turns from homicide to suicide. By the time Cindy is notified about Libby's death, the IPD seems to have made up their minds.

The only question they asked the night they knocked on our door to tell us our daughter was found in a motel bathroom. Was she suicidal?

The case isn't officially closed that night, though. IPD has to wait for the medical examiner to make his own determination on how Libby died. As one of the detectives told Devin, there's going to be an autopsy, and that should give everyone more answers, right?

At UCD Smurfit school, you'll get more than a business master's or MBA. You'll get a transformative learning experience designed for your success. You'll gain new perspectives from faculty and classmates, and you'll benefit from UCD's deep corporate connections. Explore your options at our open evening on November 15 with programs suitable for business and nonbusiness graduatEs. Register at Smurfitschool ie events. UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business school empower.

Connect Create When Tracy Raquel Burns was two years old, her baby brother died.

I was told that Matthew died in an accident and no one really talked about it.

Her parents told police she had killed him.

Medical records said that I killed my baby brother.

I'm Nancy Glass. Join me for Burden of Guilt, the new podcast that tells the true and incredible story of a toddler who was framed for murder and how she grew into an adult determined to get justice and protect her family.

While we had prosecuted some cold cases, this was the coldest. This was frigid.

But how does a two year old get blamed for murder?

She said we wanted a new life. You just don't know what it's like when you'll do anything for somebody.

Listen to burden of guilt on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, I'm Chelsea Peretti. Do you feel chronic existential dread, but love talking about delicious snacks? Call me. My podcast is relaunching. Subscribe and treat yourself to sound effects like this. And this. Have you ever been attacked by a bear?

Yeah. Yes.

And moments like this, I happen to.

Fall asleep in front of a space heater. No. And my whole leg, from my knee down to my foot burnt until it swollen. Big bubble.

And this kale chips are delicious.

They're too oily when I go.

They shouldn't be soft at all. They should be really crispy.

That's what I said every single time.

You are yelling at me. And this.

Do you want to go to the Clippers game with me tonight?

Do you have 25 references of mutual friends that can tell me that you're not a murderer? And this. Hold on, I got to open some peanut butter pretzels. Listen to call Chelsea Peretti on Will Ferrell's big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's JoJo Siwa, host of the new podcast, JoJo Siwa. Now. I gotta admit, I am so excited to finally be starting my podcast, JoJo Siwa. Now I feel like I've grown up in front of the world. You know, the first time the world saw me publicly was at nine years old. Now it's time to get real up close and personal. You're going to see why I am the way I am now. You're going to see who I am now. And it's going to be pretty fun. It's going to be like an inside look at what I've been up to in the last three years. It's basically like I'm going to be talking to you like I'm writing in a journal. You're going to get all of the tea and all of the scoop. I'm also going to be talking to my friends, the people I admire, to people that are trending right now. So you're going to get like JoJo Siwa now, and now what's going on in the world. It's going to be great and I really hope you like it. You can listen to JoJo Siwa now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Get ready. Will Lucas from Black Tech Green Money, the podcast for Black Techies with a passion for capital, is hosting a special event happening at State Farm park in iHeartland. Will's going to chat about the top ten things you should be doing to build your wealth. Don't miss a special event starting Thursday, November 16 at 07:00 p.m. Eastern at State Farm park in IHeartland in Fortnite. Available all weekend long. Be sure to say hi to Jake from State Farm on the big screen, beat his high score in parkour and snap a selfie at the selfie booth. Visit iheartadio.com Slash iHeartland to start playing today.

They were going to set aside a room for us to come and be with her and say our goodbyes, and we could stay as long as we wanted.

A few days after Libby's death, Cindy and her family were given the opportunity to see Libby's body in private at the funeral home. They planned to do a cremation and service for Libby, but wanted a moment alone with her first. Years later, Cindy's grief is still so raw, it's hard for her to speak.

And she just looked so beautiful. You know, they had done her makeup and combed her hair, and she wasn't dressed in anything fancy. It was just. She was wrapped in a blanket up under her arms and her arms were folded. Her head was like it was on a pillow. I talked to her and I told her I was sorry that I couldn't protect her and loved her. And then we just kind of stayed in there for a little longer. And I had noticed that she had some scratches on her forearm, really deep scratches. And I noticed her fingernails were broken off. She had a bruise on her nose.

Cindy told me that Libby always liked to have her nails nicely done. She was wearing light orange acrylics at the time of her death, but at the funeral home, Libby's hands looked raggedy. There was a cut on one finger and two of her acrylics were broken off roughly.

I got my phone out, and I took a picture of the scratches on her oral head, her fingernails.

Why did you decide to document it yourself?

I didn't know if they had documented that stuff, so I just decided I would.

Seeing Libby's body in that state unsettled Cindy. And so later, when she got home, she decided she would look through Libby's car to see what she could find. Devin and Nick had been the last ones to drive Libby's car after her body was discovered. They later returned it to police, and Cindy got the car back the following day. It had been sitting in her driveway ever since. From the outside, the car was newly dented. The windshield cracked the dashboard loose.

She was so proud of that car. I was just devastated that her car was in the condition. It was because she took such good care of her car. It was always clean and smelled nice, and so it was all very. Just kind of shocking kind of devastation, you know? I just felt so heavy. I thought, how did this come to this?

Cindy had been too distraught to look inside the car until now, and what she found surprised her. In the crevice of the seat, an orange acrylic fingernail. She stared at it for a moment, thinking about Libby, her body, the police investigation.

I thought, well, they must have missed this fingernail. You know, I had no idea what I was, why that would be there. And I was naive. It wasn't until much later, and I thought, why would they not search the car?

Cindy told me she was under the impression that the investigation into Libby's death was ongoing. Two months went by while she waited for an update from the IPD.

We tried to call several times to speak with someone. We never got a hold of anybody, and we would just leave voicemails. We just didn't understand why they just wouldn't talk to us.

On February 20, 2018, Cindy received her first big piece of news in the case, not from one of the detectives she'd been trying to reach at IPD, but in a letter from the funeral home. Inside was Libby's death certificate. The autopsy was complete. The police received the autopsy report around the same time Cindy got the death certificate. Here's Major Anka, one of the officers who worked on Libby's case.

We had gotten the report back from the medical examiner. I can remember I was sitting in my office, and Smidley came in, and he was beside himself and said, the medical examiner ruled Libby's death undetermined. I go, what do you mean they ruled undetermined? He goes, yeah, they ruled it undetermined. That was something that really caught us off guard, because when we get all of our medical examiner reports, they come back suicide, homicide, natural causes. I mean, this was the first undetermined that most of us had seen.

When we received the death certificate and read undetermined, it was like affirmation for me. I can't say relief, because there's no relief in that, but in that feeling of, okay, we know she didn't do that. But now there's this horrible reality that the person she trusted to protect her potentially did it to or her.

Cindy was suspicious of Devin, and rumors were circulating in independence that there was more to the story than he was letting on. Devin had been released the morning after he was interviewed by police. And as we heard earlier this episode, he had been hoping the autopsy report would clear his name.

What do you think that autopsy report's going to indicate?

But the autopsy report didn't clear Devin. Undetermined. Didn't rule out homicide, but it didn't rule out suicide, either. It just meant the medical examiner couldn't really figure out how Libby died. It meant that the Independence Police Department should be looking at other evidence to figure out what happened to Libby.

I was confident that they would launch a full investigation at that point.

Specifically, she thought they would focus on Devin.

I hoped they would be looking at his story and corroborating what his story was.

But that's not what happened. Instead, the IPD told Cindy the case was closed, despite the medical examiner's ruling.

In my mind, I go, well, I'm thinking, isn't this backwards? Isn't the me who decides if he doesn't sign suicide? Don't the police do an is? When that was my first time that I thought, something's not right here.

After the interview with Devin Martin the night of Libby's death, IPD did very little to corroborate Devin's story that Libby was suicidal. Beyond talking to his friend Nick.

No. I mean, she was very distressed about herself. She was just very depressed.

And on Devin's other claim, that he'd never laid a hand on Libby, then.

I promise you, I would not ever do anything to harm her physically. I would prevent her from being harmed physically with my daughter.

IPD made no attempt to interview those who knew Libby and Devon Best, who could speak to the intimate details of their relationship, which maybe would not have been that unusual in another case with different circumstances. Except for the fact that inside the IPD's own files were records of over a dozen 911 calls involving the couple.

They had so much information about domestic violence between the two of them. They had it in their hands. They knew that.

So when I opened up the door, I seen Devin was on top of Libby, and he was choking her. And I got upset. I went out to the Independence police Department where it occurred, and I just told them what I had witnessed.

That's next time on what happened to Libby Caswell.

Keep your ear to the ground don't make a sound.

What Happened to Libby Caswell is written, reported, and hosted by Me, Melissa Geltson, with writing and story editing by Marissa Brown and Lauren Hansen. Episodes are edited by Jeremy Thal and Carl Cadle. Our executive producer is Ryan Murdoch for iHeart podcast executive producers are Jason English and Katrina Norvell, with our supervising producer, Carl Cadill. Fact Checking by Maya Shukri. Our theme song is written by Aaron Kaufman and performed by Aaron Kaufman and Melissabith Wolfe. Original music by Aaron Kaufman with additional music by Jeremy Thal. Our episodes are mixed and mastered by Carl Cadle. To find out more about my investigation or to send a tip, please email me at what happened to libby@gmail.com thanks so much for listening.

Until I until I what a way to find myself in pieces in pieces in the dark. Close Sam.