Domestic Abuse, Mind Control Claims, and Murder: Kiara Speaks

[00:00:00] Tony DeWitt: I guess it shouldn't surprise me that the evidence in the Apodaca case has come in so close to what the state's narrative was. But I have to say, after listening to Kara McCauley's testimony yesterday, I really feel sorry for her, and I kind of believe that this was not something she intended ever to do. Let's talk about that. Hi, Tony DeWitt here. I am a retired Missouri attorney who has now unretired so that I can bring you some commentary on trials and that sort of thing. Because I deal generally with legal topics, I'm not offering any legal advice and I'm not intending to form any lawyer-client relationships with any of you. I'm simply presenting some information. I am a content creator. I am not currently practicing law, although I do maintain my license in the state of Missouri. This is a trial channel, and today we're discussing a trial. In fact, this is what we're discussing today. As hard a time as I've given the defense, I don't think I've devoted nearly enough time to praising the prosecution here. The female attorney who is prosecuting this case has done a really good job on directs with almost all the witnesses. But she was really good with Kiera McCauley. Now, Kiera McCauley's appearance is initially a little off-putting. She doesn't really have any hair on her head, but she is very nicely dressed. They took her handcuffs off before they put her on the stand and before the jury came in. And, of course, there are deputies and stuff in the courtroom, so it's not like she's going to run away. And I was impressed both with the tone of her testimony as well as the mannerisms of her testimony in that she is obviously a very badly broken person. And I think she was broken by Isaac Apataka. That's my conclusion after listening to her direct exam. I'm going to devote this video to her direct exam. And depending on how the cross-examination goes, that may come out tomorrow. I don't know. But I was impressed with the way the entire examination was conducted. So, let's start with how the state started in this case. ...and spelling your last name for us, please. [00:03:05] Kiera McCauley: I'm Kiera McCauley, M-C-C-U-L-L-E-Y. [00:03:09] Tony DeWitt: Ms. Murphy, you may proceed. [00:03:11] Speaker 3: Thank you. Good morning, ma'am. How old are you? I'm 23. Okay, and can you just get a little closer to the mic? Okay, is that better? Yes, thank you. When is your birthday? December 4th, 2002. How far did you get in high school? 11th grade. What's your mom's name? [00:03:30] Kiera McCauley: Lani. [00:03:33] Speaker 3: Let me go to October of 2022. Where were you living on October 28th, 29th of 2022? [00:03:41] Kiera McCauley: The garage of my mom's house, which is 5941 Jaguar Drive. [00:03:45] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:03:48] Speaker 3: Did anyone else live in that garage with you? [00:03:51] Kiera McCauley: It was me and Isaac. [00:03:52] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:03:53] Speaker 3: Were there any parks or features, public spaces, near that house at 5941 Jaguar Drive? Yes. Can you tell us about that? [00:04:07] Kiera McCauley: There were a few schools and then there's a park just about a block away. [00:04:13] Speaker 3: Do you know if that park had a name or the cross streets near it? I don't remember. I want to talk about someone named Grace Jennings, okay? [00:04:27] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:04:28] Speaker 3: Do you or did you know somebody named Grace Jennings? [00:04:31] Kiera McCauley: I did. [00:04:32] Speaker 3: How old were you when you met Grace? [00:04:35] Kiera McCauley: I don't remember the exact age. I just know I was in second grade when I met her. [00:04:39] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:04:40] Speaker 3: How did you meet her? [00:04:42] Kiera McCauley: I was best friends with her little sister. [00:04:47] Speaker 3: Going forward into your early teen years, what was your relationship with Grace? [00:04:52] Kiera McCauley: We were friends for a while and then we started dating. [00:04:55] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:04:55] Speaker 3: How long did you date? [00:04:57] Kiera McCauley: About eight months, if I remember correctly. Okay. [00:05:01] Speaker 3: And what do you mean when you say that you guys dated? [00:05:04] Kiera McCauley: Like, um, we were in a semi-serious relationship. [00:05:10] Speaker 3: Okay. [00:05:11] Kiera McCauley: And what does that mean to you? Um, that she was pretty much number one above me in my life. She meant everything to me at the time. [00:05:25] Speaker 3: What would you do, you and Grace, during that time frame? [00:05:28] Kiera McCauley: We would go out, we would have fun, just be kids. [00:05:33] Speaker 3: Did you eventually break up? Yes. [00:05:37] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:05:39] Speaker 3: Without saying anything anyone said or did, how did that breakup impact you emotionally? [00:05:46] Kiera McCauley: It was really difficult for me. [00:05:48] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:05:49] Kiera McCauley: I'm the one who ended it, but I, I never really let go. [00:05:56] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:05:56] Tony DeWitt: If I was planning a cross-examination, the fact that she meant everything to her and she never really let go, those would be foremost on my mind when I started cross-examining. So that's one of the things the defense counsel hopefully is paying attention to if he intends to disrupt the more, the narrative here. But as you look at her testify, I honestly believe what she's saying here. She probably really did have great feelings for this young lady that she later wound up murdering, which is just really strange. You know, there are people who exist on a, on a level of reality that is quite different from what the rest of us live in. And I think maybe that's where all three of these people were when this all occurred. That's just my personal opinion. [00:06:52] Speaker 3: On April 4th of 2022, without saying anything else, do you know what I'm referring to when I say that day? [00:06:58] Kiera McCauley: Yes. I know what you're talking about. [00:06:59] Speaker 3: Okay. Briefly, what happened on April 4th of 2022? [00:07:05] Kiera McCauley: I was having a hard time and debating things, and I told Isaac about what I was thinking about, and he had a complete breakdown and attacked me. [00:07:20] Speaker 3: What do you mean he attacked you? [00:07:22] Kiera McCauley: He started beating me up. [00:07:24] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:07:25] Kiera McCauley: Did you have any injuries? Yes. He broke my thumb and left a lot of bruises. [00:07:29] Speaker 3: And when you say you were debating things, what were you debating? [00:07:32] Kiera McCauley: Our relationship. [00:07:35] Speaker 3: Did you go anywhere for medical care after, after that happened? [00:07:39] Kiera McCauley: Yes. [00:07:40] Speaker 3: Where'd you go? [00:07:41] Kiera McCauley: I went to, oh, which hospital was it? It was, not St. Vincent's, what was the other one called? Sorry, it's been so long since I've been there. [00:07:52] Speaker 3: It's okay. You went to the hospital? Yeah, I went to the hospital. [00:07:54] Speaker ?: All right. [00:07:56] Speaker 3: And did you speak to the police at all about that incident? I did. [00:08:01] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:08:01] Speaker 3: Did you pursue charges for it? [00:08:04] Kiera McCauley: I did not. [00:08:05] Speaker 3: All right. Why? [00:08:07] Kiera McCauley: I didn't want to make his life harder and I wanted him happy so he would come back. [00:08:11] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:08:14] Tony DeWitt: So here we get the first inklings of the abusive relationship that existed between Kiera and Isaac. And again, crediting her testimony as truthful, we can't necessarily accept it out of hand. But if we credit her testimony, you can see she's got a broken thumb, she's got bruises all over her, and she's worried about keeping him happy. this tends to be the classic arrangement that you see in women who are abused and who keep going back to their abusers. I don't think as a man I can understand that. I just can't. If somebody wanted to beat up on me, I'd say, see you later. But again, I have never lived in that reality and I don't judge her for it. You see it so often that it's almost diagnostic for domestic abuse. And instead of pursuing the charges, which she probably now realizes she should have done, she wanted him to come back. And you'll see why in a little bit. But if you credit her testimony, this man did some really ugly and evil things to her. So let's finish up with that little segment. [00:09:50] Speaker 3: What made you... Did Isaac say anything specific about the charges or about not cooperating with the charges? I don't really remember. After that incident, did you get back with Isaac? I did. Do you remember how long from when that happened until you guys were back together? It was about three weeks. How, if at all, did your relationship change after that incident in April of 2022? [00:10:21] Kiera McCauley: For maybe a month, it was like a honeymoon stage. But then it went straight back to the abuse that I was getting. [00:10:27] Tony DeWitt: Again, almost diagnostic for domestic abuse. Now we're going to find out why he held such power over her. And this, I had to, I can only use part of this because part of what she recounts is just not safe for work, not safe for, not safe for you too, really. It's pretty shocking, so I'm not going to put it in there. But I do want you to pay attention to this part. It's pretty amazing. [00:11:01] Speaker 3: Can you explain to me what, if anything, you would believe in general that Isaac would tell you that maybe you feel differently about now? [00:11:11] Kiera McCauley: Oh, there's so many things. He had me convinced that he was an angel, had me convinced of a lot of different things, even an organization that doesn't exist. Okay. And I understand why I fell into it now that I've looked at it, but I'm very disappointed in myself still. Okay. [00:11:36] Speaker 3: What do you mean you believed he was an angel? He had convinced me he was the Archangel Gabriel. Okay. What do you mean that he convinced you that he was the Archangel Gabriel? [00:11:45] Kiera McCauley: I, when I first met him, he told me that he was the angel, but at first I didn't believe him. Then he started telling me things that no one knew about me. And maybe a part of me wanted it to be real. But then I, when I started really believing him, I just kept asking, tell me more, tell me more. And he kept feeding it. [00:12:10] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:12:11] Speaker 3: What sorts of things would he tell you as it relates to him being the Archangel Gabriel? He, he told me my darkest secret. What do you mean by that? [00:12:25] Kiera McCauley: Um, it's just one thing I never told anyone, not even my mom. [00:12:29] Speaker 3: Okay. And you believed that he knew that because he was an angel? Yeah. [00:12:34] Tony DeWitt: That's pretty amazing to be able to convince someone that you're an angel, essentially using a version of the Jedi mind trick. I mean, I don't believe she's never told anybody else this. I believe she probably talked with grace about it. Maybe she told Isaac or she may have become inebriated at some point and talked about it and just didn't remember revealing that. Whatever it is, he used that information to not only gain her trust, but to dominate her. And again, you have to assume the testimony is true to believe that. But given her delivery of that information, the way she presented it, it seems to me to be pretty credible. Any of you who disagree, let me know because I miss things too. You know, lawyers and judges are only about 50% right when it comes to telling truth from lies. Police officers are really no better. It seems that only the, only the people who really mastered neuro-linguistic programming and micro-expressions ever really get to the point where they can do better than that. But like I said, it seemed pretty credible to me. [00:13:57] Speaker 3: Alright, let's talk about the night before everything happened, okay? So we're going to talk about October 28th of 2022. Do you remember anything about that day? Yes. Alright, what do you remember? [00:14:10] Kiera McCauley: So that day, well it was that night when everything started getting intense for me. It was, Isaac had straight up asked me, "Do you want to kill Grace?" And I said yes, not realizing what he was about to do. It was bring her to the house. So I went to the park, told them to meet me there and we'd just get it over with. By it, I mean the murder. We'd get it over with so he would stop being so pushy. And then he changed the plan completely. [00:14:48] Speaker 3: Okay. Let's talk about this first part and then we'll go on in a minute. Okay. Where were you when Isaac said, "Do you want to kill Grace?" I was in my room. And what do you mean by your room? The garage. The garage. Okay. And after he asked, "Do you want to kill Grace?" What did, what did you say? I said, "Duh." [00:15:09] Kiera McCauley: All I said was, "Duh." And what happened next? He told me that he was going to bring her over. I said, "No, that's not a good idea. You know how I feel about this." And then he started saying, "Well, you could rank up and ghost and all kinds of stuff." [00:15:36] Speaker 3: So you told him you did not want Grace to come over after all? Yeah. [00:15:40] Kiera McCauley: Okay. [00:15:41] Speaker 3: That's what I did. And then you said you went to the park to get it over with? [00:15:44] Kiera McCauley: Yeah. [00:15:45] Speaker 3: What were you wearing when you went to the park? [00:15:47] Kiera McCauley: I was wearing LARP clothing, which was like armor and a cloak. Were you carrying anything with you? I had my sword with me and a few knives. Did you have any electronics with you? My phone. [00:16:02] Tony DeWitt: Again, if you were planning a cross-examination, that part about "duh" would be an important part of your cross-examination. So you really did want to do this. You know, that is, I think, the only thing that cuts against some of the validity of her testimony here is that clearly there was some desire to terminate for Grace. And it's really interesting she talks about LARP clothing. I'm sure there are a lot of people here who are familiar with that term. But for those of you who are not, LARP is an acronym that stands for Live Action Role Playing. And it's a term that people who are big into the military community use to describe people who are wannabes. And for a good reason. And it's interesting that she went there to get it over with. It's almost like she never thought through, well, what's going to happen then? You know, you're going to do this in a very public place. You're going to leave a big mess. You're likely going to get caught. People will have seen you. It is amazing to me the thought process, or I guess the lack of a thought process that you see in this kind of disordered thinking. I have no doubt that the young lady has psychological problems. How many of them are related to Isaac and how many of them are intrinsic? I don't know. But this was a part of the direct that bothered me and did seem to reinforce at least some of what defense counsel has been aiming at, but never hitting in his cross-examinations. [00:18:07] Speaker 3: Okay. After Isaac came back, how did the rest of the evening go in terms of how everyone interacted? [00:18:14] Kiera McCauley: Well, Grace started trying to sleep. I don't know if she actually ended up sleeping or not, but she was acting like she was. Isaac was at the foot of the bed, and I was in Isaac's usual spot, which is on the left side of the bed. [00:18:26] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:18:28] Kiera McCauley: When you say Isaac was at the foot of the bed, what do you mean? I mean, he was, so, Grace was in my spot on the right side of the bed. I was on the left, just laying down, and Isaac was laying at the foot of the bed, where, horizontally in perspective. [00:18:48] Speaker 3: Okay. [00:18:49] Kiera McCauley: And who was laying there? [00:18:50] Speaker ?: Grace. [00:18:52] Speaker 3: How did it feel having Grace in your spot? I did not like it. [00:18:58] Kiera McCauley: Very much did not like that. [00:18:59] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:19:01] Speaker 3: So, while Grace was either sleeping or maybe not sleeping, and you were all three in the bed, what were you and Isaac doing as the night went on? [00:19:10] Kiera McCauley: We were texting and trying to figure out what to do. And he kept handing me knives and stuff too, and I just couldn't, I couldn't pull myself to actually do it at that time. Okay. [00:19:23] Speaker 3: Kiara, were you dragging a dagger or a knife across Isaac's face at any point? No. Were you poking Isaac in the back with a knife or a dagger at any point? No. Kiara, what, if anything, were you doing with a dagger or a knife as it relates to Isaac's back that night? [00:19:46] Kiera McCauley: Nothing. I was kicking him, but that's it. [00:19:50] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:19:51] Speaker 3: And when you were communicating with Isaac, while you were both in the bed, I think you just said texting, what device or devices were you using? [00:20:02] Kiera McCauley: I was using my phone. [00:20:03] Tony DeWitt: I know I've made this point before, but it boggles the mind that you're laying out your plan to kill someone by text message, ostensibly with the idea that you are somehow going to get away with this crime. It just doesn't make much sense. But then again, this entire crime doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. [00:20:24] Speaker 3: Let's talk about the sword for a moment. What do you recall about the sword? [00:20:31] Kiera McCauley: It was extremely sharp and it was a beautiful sword. If you look at it in the view of art, that's how I like to view it, it was art. [00:20:46] Speaker 3: During the night, as you and Isaac are messaging, where was the sword? [00:20:53] Kiera McCauley: It was on the floor next to the door, just to the right of the door. [00:20:58] Speaker 3: Okay. So I guess I should ask you this. When you came in from being at the park, you stated that you had some armor and the sword with you, right? Okay. So what did you do with the sword when you walked into the garage after being at the park? [00:21:13] Kiera McCauley: I just took it off my belt and set it down. I set it right next to me, which was right to the left of the door. Okay. Right next to a bunch of cubbies. [00:21:24] Speaker 3: Okay. And what did you do with your armor? [00:21:27] Kiera McCauley: I just took it off and set it there. [00:21:30] Speaker 3: Do you recall what you were wearing, other than the armor? [00:21:33] Kiera McCauley: Yeah, it was a blue sweater and pleather pants. [00:21:37] Speaker 3: Pleather, like fake leather? Yes. All right. So throughout the night, as you and Isaac are messaging, did the sword stay in that same spot where you had put it down when you'd come in from the park? Yes. Okay. Where was the dagger throughout the night? [00:21:56] Kiera McCauley: Multiple different places. At one point he was holding onto it, at one point it was next to me on the floor. And then there were a couple points where it was on our hands and we're trying to figure out what to do. [00:22:11] Speaker 3: How much sleep did you get that night? [00:22:13] Kiera McCauley: None. [00:22:14] Speaker 3: Why? [00:22:15] Kiera McCauley: At the time when I fell asleep angry, Isaac always told me that I was grumpy, he didn't like how I would act, so I wouldn't sleep when I was angry. And I was awake for a very long time. [00:22:28] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:22:29] Speaker 3: I want to go now to the mid-morning hours, okay? Did you and Isaac make a plan referred to as Operation Fake Kick-Out? Yeah. Okay. Can you tell us about that? [00:22:46] Kiera McCauley: I was pretending to kick Isaac out so I could get Grace to leave because I was trying to back out. [00:22:53] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:22:54] Kiera McCauley: Like... [00:22:55] Tony DeWitt: And that brings us to the ultimate moment where Kara is going to describe what happened. What happened? [00:23:07] Speaker 3: What happened next? [00:23:10] Kiera McCauley: He told me... He told me he would hurt my mom if I didn't do it. Because I was standing there like what you're trying to make me do. Okay. Then what happened? Then Grace started laughing at me like it was some big joke. How did that make you feel? It brought all of my anger out in one spot. What happened next? I just... I closed my eyes and swung the sword. When you made that first swing, where was Isaac? He was right next to her. On her... Her right. When you swung the first time, what did Isaac do? Then he got up and he started saying, "Come on! Finish it! Finish it! Finish it! Finish it!" And then he ended up leaving for a little bit. And I... I... I did. I... I finished the job. As he would reference it. And then he came back. Told me, "Go take a shower." Let me stop you there. [00:24:12] Speaker 3: Sorry. While you were murdering Grace, were you saying anything to Grace that you recall? [00:24:20] Kiera McCauley: Just say, "I'm sorry." I just kept telling her, "Please just apologize and I'll let you go." [00:24:25] Speaker 3: Where in on the bed or in the room did Grace die? She was on the bed. You stated that Isaac then came back? Yes. [00:24:39] Tony DeWitt: I have to say that is some pretty disordered thinking. [00:24:42] Speaker ?: You get angry. [00:24:43] Tony DeWitt: You're angry because somebody's laughing at you. And you attack them with a sword and then you tell them, "I'm sorry. I just apologize and I'll let you go." There... There is a lot going on in her brain. And not all of it is tied to what Isaac said or did. Some of it apparently is. This is a really strange case. I'm glad I'm not on the jury. [00:25:15] Speaker ?: Tell me what you think. [00:25:16] Tony DeWitt: From what you've seen of the trial so far. Do you think maybe Isaac should be charged with this? Do you think it's all Kiera? Let me know what you think. I'd be interested in your thoughts. That's what I have for you right now. Thank you so much for watching and catch me again next time. Thanks for watching my video. I really appreciate it. And today, as you go about your business, would you try to do just one kind thing for somebody? It doesn't have to be a big thing. You can open a door for somebody who has their arms full. You could buy somebody a Coke. You could let the manager know when somebody did a really good job for you at the grocery store or at Walmart or someplace else. There are all kinds of things we can do to make people's lives better. And a lot of times, people will always remember to go to the manager and complain. They very seldom remember to go to the manager and say, "Hey, you know that guy over there in produce is top notch." And I think it's really important to do that. Because I want to make the world a better place. I know you're here probably because you want to make the world a better place. So let's do that. Now let's be respectful of one another. And thank God we live in the greatest country in the free world. I do think that the good folks at YouTube have a few things they want to show you up here that you might be interested in. And if you are, I'd appreciate you clicking. Thanks. Have a great day.