Lacy Jolee Boles trial day 1: Opening statements, first witnesses & how did Dan Akers actually die?

[00:00:00] Nate Eaton: Good evening, everybody. Welcome to Courtroom Insider. It is the 11th of November 2026. I'm Nate Eaton. Happy Veterans Day to all of you who have served our country, who are serving, who have given so much for us. That is the most important thing that we can say tonight. Thank you for your service. I remember a few years ago, I was invited on a trip with about 10 veterans to go to Washington, D.C. to see places they had never seen, the memorials to the veterans, the war memorials, the museums, things like that. And it was an incredible few days to go and be with these veterans as they shared stories and memories. And I got to learn about them and their lives and just so inspiring. So before we said anything tonight, I wanted to thank you all. And I actually have that video piece that I did. I think it was back in 2023 or 24. And I'll put a link. You can go watch it if you'd like. So happy Veterans Day. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for putting up with my voice. I apologize. It is getting better. I feel much better today than yesterday, even though I may have said I sound awful. I really appreciate you putting up with it. We'd love to know where you're watching from. If you have any questions, we're going to really dive in deep to the first day of the Lacey Jolie Bulls case. Before we go anywhere, though, I have a favor to ask. We are so close to 20,000 subscribers on our Courtroom Insider YouTube channel. And I promised Grace that we would have 20,000 subscribers by the end of the month. But we're like 700 away that we might even have it by the end of the week. I don't know. If you're watching and you wouldn't mind if you could subscribe to our Courtroom Insider channel, it's free. It doesn't cost you anything. It basically lets you know when we're live. And hopefully it helps us expand our reach so that we can continue to cover these trials. So thank you very much for that. Now, the question in front of a jury today, was it suicide or was it murder? Or was it a murder designed to look like a suicide? That's the question in front of a Georgia jury in the case against Lacey Jolie Bulls. She's charged with killing her husband, Daniel Akers. This is day one of the trial in Paulding County, Georgia. Daniel Akers was 36 years old when he died three days before Christmas on December 22nd, 2019. It happened in the couple's home in Dallas, Georgia. That's about 30 minutes away from Atlanta. The fatal wound was a gunshot, a single gunshot to the face going through his nostril. What you'll hear a lot in this trial is about the trajectory of the bullet as it's an abnormal entry wound for suicide. The objections were flying already today within the first two minutes of court. The state's first attempt to make an opening statement to the jury was interrupted after comparing Bulls and her husband Akers to a Bonnie and Clyde kind of relationship. The defense's attorney, this is interesting. His name is Brian Steele. He has represented all sorts of famous people. We talked about that the other night. Rappers, famous celebrities. He is her attorney and he's good in the courtroom. He objected. He said, Bonnie and Clyde went on crime scenes together and the comparison is prejudicial because it never happened. The prosecutor responded by saying he was just trying to portray a tumultuous relationship. That happened outside of the presence of the jury. The jurors were called back in and both sides continued delivering their opening statements and they were powerful, both sides, contradicting what each side says happened. We're going to break it all down along with the first witnesses who were called. Court went late today up until about six o'clock Eastern, so this judge does not want to waste any time. Before we go any further, Grace Wong has been in the courtroom for jury selection and she was in it today. Let's go to her. Hi, Grace. Looks like you just got back to your hotel. [00:04:05] Grace Wong: Hi, Nate. Yeah, we finished late today and it looks like we're going to have some late nights this week. [00:04:11] Nate Eaton: What were your key takeaways from the first day? [00:04:15] Grace Wong: Well, I think both sides gave very thorough and long openings to set up their case, right? The state is pointed out that all the evidence is inconsistent with, I mean, the state spent a lot of time trying to debunk the idea that this was a suicide. They spent a lot of time pointing out to inconsistencies in her statements, what about the crime scene did not make sense. And the defense spent a lot of time countering what the state says is her ambush of her husband. I mean, it's two different stories with the same evidence. This is going to be the state saying that she ambushed him and shot him and the defense saying that the victim here took his own life. And that really, this is a case of suicide and not murder. What struck me as really being, you know, really interesting is Daniel Akers. You have one side saying that they were struggling, but they were making it work. And this was a relationship that was very volatile and that the prosecution wanted to make sure that jurors looked at the evidence in that light, that this was a relationship that was volatile and that they loved hard and fought hard. And the defense says that Daniel Akers was really struggling, was depressed, that he was broke, that he was about to be furloughed or laid off, that he had tried on either the day before or on that day, tried to get, tried to withdraw money, $40. He tried to withdraw $40 twice and there was insufficient funds. But then on the other hand, the state's saying he was very forward-looking, that he was making plans for the future, that he lived for his children. So we have two very, very different sides of Daniel Akers. And that plays into whether he was suicidal or whether he was doing fine and that this was his wife losing it one day, getting upset and getting upset and killing him. [00:06:29] Nate Eaton: You know, Grace, what stood out to me is when I saw the first image of her in the courtroom, she doesn't really look like the mugshot we have of her. Granted, it's been six years, but she's got long hair now. She looks quite different. And not that that should really matter. And the camera angles that we saw today, she was chatting with her attorneys at times, smiling. She seems to be one of those defendants that's involved in her defense. Am I misreading that? [00:06:59] Grace Wong: No, it looks like she is very engaged in her defense. And that an interesting thing that I noticed also was that the defense opened their statement in their opening. They started by saying, you are the jury that Ms. Bowles has chosen to judge her. So that, you know, suggests that she had a very active part in picking this jury and in her defense, in her own defense. [00:07:31] Nate Eaton: We heard from several sheriff's office employees this afternoon kind of the same thing over and over. I mean, was it just to kind of set the stage about the chain of events from that night? [00:07:45] Grace Wong: I think that's it. And also you have Brian Steele, who's become very much a celebrity lawyer. He's represented Sean Combs, Diddy, and Little Dirk, and Young Thug. These are all famous rappers that he got very, very good results for. I mean, Little Dirk was recently acquitted of murder charges in a federal trial. Diddy beat the rap on the more serious racketeering charges? And Young Thug got a really sweet deal where he got time served and avoided a life sentence. All of these clients of his that were recently in the news had very serious charges against them. And he helped, you know, either get them acquitted or beat the serious charges so that they're not doing long terms in prison. And so that was one of the factors in jury selection was whether jurors were familiar with his case. So what I did have a chance to observe Brian Steele in action, and he is very thorough and knows the law very well and is quick to object when he feels like there is some illegal maneuvering going on and cites, you know, cites case law at hand. And I anticipate there's going to be a lot of forensic evidence, and I anticipate the cross-examinations will be very, very thorough and long. And so what that means is that this case could, I mean, the judge has already warned the jurors that this case is going to take all of next week and potentially part of Thanksgiving week. And I think the judge is very concerned about going past Thanksgiving because he doesn't want that long break where the jurors might be either still in the case or deliberating. [00:09:48] Nate Eaton: Right. Yeah, you can't have everyone going to Thanksgiving dinner and it's bound to come up, you'd think. Right. Okay. Okay, Grace, anything you want to add? Oh, hey, I have something to tell you. You know, we have 19,300 YouTube subscribers on Courtroom Insider, and I'm betting we can get to 20,000 by the end of the month, and maybe by the end of this week. What do you think? [00:10:17] Grace Wong: Well, I sure hope so. That would be great. Can we ring a bell or something or offer some round tickets? [00:10:27] Nate Eaton: When we hit 20,000 subscribers, we'll do something. I don't know what we'll do. I'll send you a cupcake on your end, and I can have one on my end or something. Oh, well, you don't have sugar. I'll send you a bottle of water. [00:10:40] Grace Wong: Yeah. Wow, you've lost your voice, Nate. Are you going to be able to get through the show? [00:10:45] Nate Eaton: I hope so. I hope so. Last night was probably worse. I sound better than I feel. No. Yeah, I feel better than I sound. I feel fine. [00:10:54] Grace Wong: Are you going down with something? Or is this because you've been using your voice a lot? [00:10:58] Nate Eaton: I've been using my voice. I got a little bit of a cough cold over the weekend, and then it hit late on my voice. But we're in the middle of this podcast, the Deceived podcast, and I've got the CrimeCon cruise next week, so this is not a good time. And we're doing Secret Santas every day and recording Courtroom Insider, so I'm just using my voice a lot more. Wow. Which is why you should subscribe to our channel so you can hear me when I have a good voice. [00:11:22] Grace Wong: Yeah. Okay, Nate. Let's hope we get to $20,000 by the end of the week with this Bulls case. [00:11:29] Nate Eaton: It should be interesting. That would be amazing. Thank you, everybody. And, Grace, thank you. We'll see you tomorrow. All right. There you go. From Grace Wong in Georgia. Thank you, Grace. And we will check up with you tomorrow. Okay. Let's talk about some of the top moments of the day. We heard a nine-minute 9-1-1 call of Bulls hysterically talking to a dispatcher who tried to calm her down, a complete difference about what each side says happened that night, and the first arriving sheriff deputies described the smell and the scene. And I'll be honest, a couple of interesting moments. McDonald's came into the trial, so we'll talk about that. The state began their arguments by painting a picture of who the victim was. He's referred to as Dan by both sides. [00:12:13] Speaker 3: Think about what was going on back then, December of 2019, December 22nd, 21st, 22nd, Christmas time, 2019, before COVID. COVID-19, people were kind of talking about it. People were getting sick. They didn't know what it really was. But at that time, December, still didn't really know what it was. It's sort of just oriented to the time period. If you remember that, that far, it doesn't seem like it's that far back with COVID. But COVID's just coming on, just getting popular then. And it's Christmas time. Dan and Lacey are married. They live on this Greenville Fort, on Greenville Fort, 34 Greenville Fort, I believe, in Dallas. They live together with children at that location. Now, Dan was a hard-working guy, and you'll learn about him throughout this case. He was a local sheet metal union laborer. Good job. So he's a union laborer with a sheet metal company, local Union 85, I believe, the sheet metal workers' union. He would go to big commercial sites, hospitals, airport, warehouses, huge buildings to do sheet metal work, and they were constructing new wings. [00:13:25] Nate Eaton: The prosecutor said that the couple was struggling. Money was tight. But Dan was scheduled to start another job after finishing one at a local hospital. They shared three kids together. Each had children also from prior relationships. He said that Dan was happy. He had just bought a used car from a sibling and was coaching his kids at baseball teams, telling the jurors that he was described by many as just kind of a happy-go-lucky guy. He dropped seeds, though, of an argument fueled in his marriage, actually a marriage that was full of arguments often, telling jurors, don't lose sight of the type of relationship this couple had. [00:14:06] Speaker 3: I was really looking forward to getting started with the baseball kids' son. The season's coming up early 2020, so December, Christmas 2019, so baseball's going to be coming up, what, February, March. Youth baseball, he's really involved with that. And actually, one of the pieces of evidence we'll show you is that Dan, right before he was murdered, he went to his sister's house, and he was getting a baseball club. So, you know, he was really excited to start the new season with his kid with baseball. So, you know, that's kind of the scene. They were not rich people. They were just normal people trying to make it work, but their relationship was volatile. You'll see, for example, in this case, once, you'll see, you'll hear an audio recording in this case where Dan, he recorded one of their arguments. They would have explosive arguments, and people would see these arguments, and I'm sure some of you, they have, you know, people, you may have seen people argue, married people argue. It happens, right? They hadn't been married very long, but they had been together for a long time. They had been together several years, and then they made it official shortly before this his death and got married, but Dan was actually involved in November of 2019 in a great, pretty bad argument with this defendant, and for whatever reason, he decided to record that on his phone, and we'll hear that when you hear the defendant's own words, her argument with him, and he was just recording, and we have that as a piece of his legacy here to play for you. Dan and Lacey are arguing. It's, you know, Christmas time can be stressful, as you know that. Christmas time can be a stress. You've got to buy presents for the kids. You've got to have something to give them. You've got to get the tree, the house decorated. It costs money. So for somebody living, for two people living on a budget, it can be difficult. So, you know, Dan's kind of stressed, and Lacey's stressed, and they're arguing a little bit. Well, Dan buys one of the kids a little pig. He buys one of the kids a little pet pig. It's called like a mini pig or a miniature pig, like a potbellion type of pig. It's a pet. But then, and this defendant, she didn't like that. See, she didn't like that. Number one, she thought that that was too extravagant a gift to give to one kid, but the other kids didn't really get equal types of gifts. They didn't get equal gifts voluntarily. They didn't get equal gifts of kind of a noble gift, like a little pet pig, and it's a big deal. The other kids just maybe got money or gift cards and this to finish. She didn't like that. She didn't like that. She said, hey, you buy this gift, too, but the other kids get this. It's not right. I don't like that. [00:16:49] Nate Eaton: The night began, the night that Dan died, that fateful night began when Dan went out to buy items at a store. He took their six-year-old boy with him. He was gone a long time, and it was the length concerned bulls. She found it unusual. [00:17:07] Speaker 3: That sets this defendant off even more. She's not happy about that. Where have you been? Why do you take my son for four hours? All you have to do is go to the Dollar General or whatever. Where have you been? Why are you gone for four hours? And then you get into it again, back and forth, up and down, positive and negative. They're back into arguing again. Now, there was evidence, there was evidence in this case, that this defendant said, well, when Dan did get home from the store that day, his last day on earth, when he got home from the store, they got into a physical. Now, they're going to say, this defendant says that it got physical. Of course, we don't have Dan's side of that because he's dead. But after his death, this defendant says they got physical. This defendant says to the police, well, he came up behind me, kind of put me in a bear hug. He kind of pushed me up against the wall, choked me, and took my phone away. He took my phone because he thought I was doing something with my phone that he wanted to look at, and he took my phone. And that's what this defendant said. So she ends up leaving this defendant, left the house, and goes to her father's house. He has a car lot. He must sell, sells cars, used cars. So this defendant went to her father. Doesn't call the police about this supposed incident, but he goes to her father and tells her father what happened in the car lot. There's no evidence at this point of either way that there was any choking marks, any bruising, any kind of physical injury at all. But this is what this defendant says after the death of Dan's prison. This is what happened. [00:18:46] Nate Eaton: He said that later that day when Bulls' father came over to have dinner with the kids, he brought McDonald's, as he often did, and that Dan got angry, thinking it was charity, that he had to come and provide for the family, that he had to provide McDonald's for the family, and then he left the house to be alone. He ended up at a bar and was drinking a beer. That's when he ran into an old friend from high school. Hope Allen, who will testify in the trial, and she said, she told prosecutors and investigators that they talked a long time there at the bar. [00:19:19] Speaker 3: And this is 30 minutes before he's murdered. She's going to tell you 30 minutes. She had known him for years. They grew up as kids together in the neighborhood. I think she hadn't even dated one of Dan's friends. But she's going to tell you that she had known Dan for years. And she's going to tell you it was the same old Dan. Well, what's that? Happy-go-luck. Glass half-full. Jobster. Frankster. Happy-go. Fun guy. Life of the party. And she's going to say, you know, when I sat down and talked to Dan, it's like we didn't miss a beat. I hadn't seen him in a while, but we picked up our conversation and our friendship. He's showing you pictures of his kids playing baseball. He's coaching. He's telling me this. He's telling me that. And she's going to talk to you about that. And she's going to talk to you about how he was, his demeanor, what he's like 30 minutes before he gets killed. [00:20:17] Nate Eaton: After he left the bar, Dan went to McDonald's, picked up some food, and headed home. Here's where the prosecutor paints a dark image of Dan walking into a booby-trapped home moments before he's executed by his wife. [00:20:33] Speaker 3: Split-level kind of house walks up the stair. When you go in the door, you can go up to the main living area. You can go down to a basement, kind of a finished basement. Well, the first thing Dan Acres encounters when he goes up and goes in the door, he encounters a booby-trapped set by her. She set a booby-trapped for the main. She took a Swiffer walk. One of these Swiffer she cleaned the floor with. She took it and set it up against the door, a little carefully, a little gingerly. So that when he came home, and this is a guy that lives there. He has a key that lives there. But she sets up this trap. So that when he opens the door, it's going to knock over this mop and let her know that he's back. She's upstairs with the kids. She's upstairs to the bedroom area. Remember, split-level. She's up there. He goes down to the basement. He's not going to this Swiffer mop at 12, 25 a.m. What is this? Whatever. He has his McDonald's. He has his keys. Didn't even see McDonald's yet. That's it in his hand. Goes down to the basement. We'll show you all these pictures. Goes downstairs. Goes down to the basement. Goes down to the basement. But he wasn't locked. This defendant heard that Swiffer mop. He heard who he traveled. He wasn't a thing. She heard he knocked it over when he came in. And she heard that sends a signal to her. So she walks down the stairs, too. Dan's walking. He's got his keys. It's McDonald's. He's right there. He's got his keys. And his left is going to hide. And this defendant, this person right here, she comes up to him, he turns around, faces her. She shoots him in the face with a .22 caliber pistol that her father gave to him. He shoots him one time in the face in the nostril. One shot. One shot only. Why? Because that's all that was needed to kill him. Ambulish, execute in his own basement. [00:23:19] Nate Eaton: He said that Bulls then called 911, and the prosecutor asked the jury, while the 911 call was played in court as evidence, to evaluate if Lacey is genuine on that call or if it's part of an act. Many of you in the comments were saying that this reminded you a lot of the Caleb Flynn 911 call, and I'd love to know your thoughts. Bulls told the operator that Dan had shot himself, and when help arrived, she was hysterical. [00:23:50] Speaker 3: And she'd already told 911 what happened to him. She says he shot himself. He shot himself. She says he shot himself. He committed suicide. He shot himself. Then I would want an operator to ask her, you know, where's the gun now? Because they've got all the other jobs, and so obviously you can make people safe, make students safe. Where's the gun now? She says, I just picked it up and threw it. I picked it up and threw it. But she says, at least get there. You're going to hear from all the first responders, what they saw, what they encountered, what they noted, what they investigated when they first, what they detected when they first got there, notes that they made, the incident reports that they filled out. You're going to hear about all that. This defendant was not very helpful at the scene when they come to know because she was in such a state of turmoil, I guess, that she said she thought she was going to vomit. She's having this breakdowns, hyperventilation, and she's, they decided, the police decided to take her home to the hospital and they'll start calling the hospital. She needs to be checked out, her blood pressure, her blood pressure, her hyperventilation, whatever, she needs to get on to. So she goes on, this defendant goes on to the hospital, and unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, the jury at the hospital, she throws away all the clothing that she was wearing. She washes her hands, scrubs them all the way, and does a real soap thing up there, and throws them away all the clothes. The clothes are never found again, because she throws them away. She washes her hands, no scientific evidence can be gathered from that now. Her hands have been scrubbed. Her clothes have been destroyed. So we don't know the evidence was on that, her hands, or clothing. [00:25:44] Nate Eaton: Prosecutors said that Lacey changed her story several times when talking with the police, then told police that they struggled with the gun, that there was a tussle over it, which explained why he was shot in the nose, which is uncommon. The state then points out that there was no soot or stippling from the gun, evidence that you'd expect to see when it comes to a suicide. Now, reviewing the case, the medical examiner wasn't sure because, in the beginning, because it was such an unusual shooting. He asked for more information, police reports, the victim's backstory from the detectives, and crime scene images. He also took his findings before a medical review board. So this guy did a thorough deep dive before ruling it a homicide. [00:26:29] Speaker 3: The suicide tower starts to climb. The suicide story starts to climb. Okay? And let me give you all more ways this starts to climb. They asked this defendant in the interview, the first interview, Detective Ogden. You'll meet him. He says, hey, was your husband right-handed or left-handed? This defendant says, hey, he's right-handed. Okay? You're going to see a photograph, ladies and gentlemen, of this pistol that killed this man. Right beside his left hand. Like he was right beside his left hand on the floor. But she says he was right-handed. So now, you're expected to believe, ladies and gentlemen, he shot himself in the nose with his left hand. So then, see, that's one of the big pieces that's coming off. He's not left-handed. But the judge put it on his left hand. Thirty-three minutes later, in the interview with this defendant, you see, she's smart. She starts thinking about it. Over thirty minutes later, she changes her story and says, oh, he was ambidestrous. He can use either hand. Well, you're going to see pictures, in this case, where he has his watch on his left wrist. Indicated most people were right-handed, wouldn't they do that? You're going to see a picture of him doing some siding work on his house with his cousin's house. With a hammer in his right hand. You're going to hear his family members say, he was right-handed. I grew up with him my whole life. He was right-handed. But this defendant says, he was left-handed. He was ambidestrous. He could shoot himself with his left hand. It's no problem. The detective's going to tell you that when this detective walked in that room. And Dan Akers was laying there dead. This detective distinctly smelled the okra of French fry oil. Dan Akers had walked into that room. And been in there for such a short period of time. That the detective could smell that French fry. And he looked down. He saw a cup for the drink in the McDonald's cup with the straw. And then knocked it over when it dropped to the ground. Ice cubes had it in the nut. That's how quickly they got to the scene. But it's also important to know that's how quickly, how short amount of time Dan Akers was in that room before he was executed. [00:29:16] Nate Eaton: Now the prosecutor went on to say, who orders McDonald's, doesn't eat it, then walks in their house and shoots himself. Like, that doesn't make sense. Like, that doesn't make sense. And also, a big issue was the gun's holster. The state says that Bulls put it back in the safe, even after witnessing her husband allegedly shooting himself. Who would do that? He goes on to say that Akers Dan wasn't wearing a belt. He had sweatpants on. So why would he have carried a gun holster? And where would he have carried it? He also questioned Bulls, saying she never washed her hands until she was at the hospital, but pointed out traces of blood found in the bathroom sink. Investigators did the Blue Star test on the safe, where the gun holster was stored, checking for any traces of blood. There was no blood on the safe. They say that her story contradicts what she said about having blood all over her. She said she had blood all over her from trying to resuscitate her husband. Bulls did speak with police voluntarily three times, different interviews, and her story changed from time to time, according to the authorities. The state ended their opening statement, which you can go watch it in full, by saying that Akers Dan was future thinking. He was planning for the future. He was looking ahead. He wouldn't have killed himself during Christmas time with kids in his house. He loved them. He lived for his kids. They said that Dan Akers is the victim, and let him speak to them through the evidence of the trial. Court then took a break, and when we came back, it was time for the defense's opening statement. Again, the attorney's name is Brian Steele. That's Lacey's attorney's name. He began with the emotional turmoil that Lacey, his client, has experienced since that day. [00:31:13] Speaker 4: Each, every day, since Sunday, December 22, 2019, Miss Lacey, is tormented by the vision burned into her mind of her husband, Mr. Daniel Akers, taking his life right in front of her. Each, every day, since Sunday, December 22, 2019, Lacey brings forth the strength to raise, care for, to protect, her and her husband's three young children. three children of Mr. Akers and Lacey. In December 2019, with six-year-old Gage, their little girl, three years old, Emerson, and Daniel Akers, Jr., who is two years of age. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. Malice, murder, by intentionally being charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. Malice, murder, [00:33:14] Speaker ?: she's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:16] Speaker 4: She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:18] Speaker ?: She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:21] Speaker 4: She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the three most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:31] Speaker ?: She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:32] Speaker 4: She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. She was charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:37] Speaker ?: She's charged with the two most serious crimes in the state of Georgia. [00:33:38] Speaker 4: She was charged with a gunshot to his face while she was intentionally shooting him. And he died as a result of that gun blast. Lacey is not guilty of any charge. He did not intend in any way to harm her husband. [00:34:12] Nate Eaton: Mr. Steele went on to paint a very different picture of Dan Akers and where he was in his life back in 2019. He says that the Saturday before Christmas, Dan was not acting like himself. He was being distant to his wife and their children. And around 9:30 that night he left without telling Lacey where he was going and they started to text each other back and forth. [00:34:37] Speaker 4: Lacey doesn't know where Dan Akers is and she's texting him. Don't come home. I blocked you on Facebook Messenger. I'm going to get a lawyer and divorce you. you're not going to see your kids. We're done. You will learn that Mr. Akers went to a bar by himself. He's drinking by himself. It's Saturday night. His kids are home. He typically puts them to bed with Lacey. He then goes to McDonald's. It's after midnight. So now we crossed into Sunday, December 22, 2019. He buys a hamburger, french fries, his cheese, a drink and a cup, a to-go cup with a top and a straw that's inside. And eventually makes it back to their house. Well, Lacey was asleep in their bedroom. Also in the bedroom asleep was Emerson, their daughter, and Daniel, their youngest child. In his bedroom asleep was Gage. Lacey told her husband, "Don't come home." But she knew he had a key to the house. And she wanted to know if he came home. She wanted to talk to him. So she puts a mop in a dustpan. It's called a Swiffer. It's the product. It's a mop. Against the door. When Mr. Akers finally got out of his car. Walked into his home, unlocking the door. He then locked the door behind him. There's a loud noise because the item fell. Lacey woke up. [00:37:21] Nate Eaton: The defense said that Dan walked downstairs into the kids' playroom. And in this next clip, it's about six minutes long. The defense describes exactly what Bowles saw and did when her husband came home. Listen. [00:37:37] Speaker 4: And he goes and starts walking downstairs. When you walk downstairs of the split-level home, you get to the end of the stairs. Then there's a hallway. And on the right, you can go into the garage area. To the left, Lacey's oldest daughter from a previous marriage, who was at 19 years of age. Lacey gave birth to her when she was 17. Used to be her bedroom, but she moved out of the house. It's now a playroom for the children. Mr. Akers goes into that playroom. Lacey is coming down the steps. She does not have a gun. She does not have anything in her hands. As she's coming down, she sees the back of Mr. Akers' head. She gets down by the steps, looks to the left, and is in horror. Just inside the playroom is her husband, with nothing as hands, but a .22 caliber revolver. He's holding it in his left hand. You will see the gun. It's small. You can put the gun in your pocket. He's standing, facing Lacey. With his mouth open, the gun pointed at his mouth, saying, "You can't help me." "No one can help me." Lacey panics. She screams, "No! No!" And she charges and lunges for his left arm. The gun goes backwards a step. The gun was right here. You'll see it. He turns the gun. Somehow they're together. The gun goes off. He falls straight back. The bullet went from the gun right into his right nostril. From front to back, the bullet travels almost even, but slightly upward, and slightly from right to left. So, because the head moves, arms move, hands move. It's a dynamic situation. The bullet struck through the nostril into the brain. And Mr. Akers, at that point, he couldn't do anything. He immediately is incapacitated and falls right where he is. Lacey falls on top of him. She looks at him, and his face is gushing blood. It is pouring out of him. Lacey is screaming, trying to wipe blood away from his face. It's too much blood. She gets on top of him. She starts pressing on his chest. The more she presses, every time she presses, more blood is coming out. She's screaming, "Help me! Help me! Help me!" "Oh my God! How is this happening? Oh my God! How is this happening?" She runs out of the room. She darts up the first landing. She darts up the second landing. Runs down the hallway. She's leaving a bloodstream. Bursts into her bedroom, screaming. Emerson and Daniel are waking up. She grabs her cell phone off the window sill. She immediately calls 9-1-1. It's at 12:44 AM. That 9-1-1 call lasts 9 minutes. You will hear it. If you think this is someone acting, as a prosecutor said, that's your decision. She is hysterical. She can't catch her breath. The 9-1-1 operator is great. The 9-1-1 operator is great. She's telling her, "You've got to calm down. I'm going to help you. We're going to send the responders." She's saying, "Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Please Jesus. Please Jesus." She's trying and eventually broken. It's amazing the 9-1-1 operator got this information, but she's giving all the information being asked of her. The 9-1-1-1 operator asks her about the children in the house. She gives that information. She directs Lacey to make sure that the gun is safe. Lacey doesn't want to go back down, but you'll learn that she goes back down into the room where her husband, who is no longer with us, with blood all over his face. [00:43:54] Nate Eaton: He said Bowles then picked up the gun and tossed it and unlocked the door for police to arrive and begin their investigation. The defense pointed out contradictory narratives that the state had made by saying that Bowles didn't get rid of her bloody clothes and dispose of them. That instead, because she was hysterical and hyperventilating, EMTs ended up taking her to the hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, she then changed out of her bloody clothes and washed her hands during her care. [00:44:25] Speaker 4: I heard the prosecutors say that Lacey at the hospital got rid of her clothing. Well, where was her clothing? Hospitals just don't burn clothing. Detective Ivory didn't take her clothing. And I guess that's Lacey's fault. Because that clothing would show that she fell right on top of her husband, like she said, and he's bleeding. But Lacey doesn't think about preserving the evidence. She didn't know she would be charged falsely with murder and felony murder and aggravated assault. Detective Ogden goes to the hospital. He goes there to interview Lacey and collect evidence. He doesn't record. He doesn't record what she's saying or what she looks like. So now we have a report where he says, well, essentially, Lacey said the following. It shouldn't be an essential. These are failures of law enforcement that are critical because the truth will not come out now. But to blame Lacey, that she washed her hands? She's joking. It's not like anyone told her, don't wash your hands. And she said, well, I'd better wash my hands. That never happened. But that's what you heard in opening signal. And this is preposterous. At the hospital, she's so hysterical that Detective Ogden said, you can't interview her. She's not in good senses. But there's no video or audio at the hospital either, like I said. That's why Detective Ogden went to collect evidence and to take a statement from her. But we have nothing, including the clothing. The clothing would have been exculpatory. That means it would have been beneficial for Lacey. But now it's gone. How is she supposed to know not to get rid of the clothing soaked in the blood of her husband? Oh, is she supposed to save that? This is something I need to say. This horror that I live. Let me just save this clothing. That's what you heard in opening. That she gets rid of the clothing. This is hard to believe. [00:47:03] Nate Eaton: Attorney Steele says that months passed before Bowles was criminally charged. Telling jurors that the evidence in this trial will speak for itself. [00:47:13] Speaker ?: Two months later. [00:47:16] Speaker 4: It's March 5, 2020. It is about 100 days, just over 100 days, since Mr. Akers took his own night. And Lacey couldn't save her. And Lacey is again sunk. And this time driven by the Sheriff's Department to the Sheriff's Office. And this is also on video, audio recording. So you could hear and see exactly what Lacey said. And what was asked of her. The Honorable Court will allow you to have transcripts that our office created. Those transcripts are just an aid to the 911 call and these three statements. The recordings are the best evidence. But it's an aid if you find it to be useful. Two months later, Lacey is charged. Two months later, Lacey is charged with these crimes. She lives at home with her kids. And Dan's kids. Taking care of them. Trying to carve somewhat for the life. While she is forever tormented. There were failures here that you are going to learn about. By the police. The Sheriff's Office. The medical examiner. There are many more than this, but I'm going to list a few. [00:49:28] Nate Eaton: The defense said that first responders did not record video of what the scene looked like before they touched the body, meaning there's no evidence as to how long Dan was lying on the ground or where the gun truly landed. He said that this was an accident and Bowles tried to stop him. But Akers looked at her and said, you can't help me before raising the gun. Bowles told police that Akers was right handed. Her defense attorney said if she wanted to plant evidence, why would she put the gun in his left hand? [00:50:05] Speaker 4: I picked up the gun. I threw the gun. Another time I picked up the gun. I dropped it. I don't know. She did that pursuant to the 911 operator's request. At least that's what she's heard. Because you'll hear the 911 call. So where was that gun? Before the MTs? And the first responders touched Dan Akers' left hand? Body? We don't know. But you'll see where it was when the picture was taken. It really doesn't matter. Lacey says right away she touched the gun. There's no staging. There's no planting the gun. Lacey also told the police right away that Dan Akers had the gun in his left hand when she saw him when she came downstairs and looked to the left into the playroom. And the police asked him, "Is your husband a righty or a lefty?" And she said, "He's a righty." So why would she stage a gun on the left side and tell the police he's a righty if she's staging anything? I mean, everything you're hearing in an open statement, we will address everything. [00:51:24] Nate Eaton: The defense pointed out that Lacey never touched the trigger, but other areas of the gun, and those areas were never tested for DNA. And the defense said this was a failure by police. Another failure by police. When it came to that safe that I talked about a second ago, prosecutors said it had no blood on it. Asking how did she return the holster without leaving traces of blood? The defense challenged that statement. [00:51:51] Speaker 4: What the prosecutor did not tell you is when the Paulding County Sheriff's Department used their cheaper spray on the holster to determine whether there was any blood on the holster. They did it twice. The first time, it comes back with a slight reaction to blood. But every time you spray this product, and they'll be explaining to you what the product is, and what it does to the blood, the blood is eaten up. You don't get the reaction multiple times. Once you spray it, you erase it. The second time is what the prosecutor told you about an open state. He skipped the first time when it comes back with no blood. First time, there is a faint presence of blood. [00:52:48] Nate Eaton: Still went on to say that a hundred days later, police came back with a search warrant and asked for a third interview. Both sides were divided over who Akers was and where he was back in his life in 2019 when he died. The state says, as I said, he was a happy-go-lucky guy, future thinking. The state says no. He was drowning in financial stress. And that a new gift for his son, that pig that they had purchased, was not as it seemed. [00:53:20] Speaker 4: You will learn that the stakers never bought the pig. He did return the food for the pig. You'll see the receipt. The receipt shows that he returned the food for the pig. He couldn't afford what he wanted to do for his family. He's a man of pride. This was really haunting. The prosecutor told you they're barely making it or they're making it or they're living like a lot of us. They were broke. They are broke. On the 21st day of December of 2019, that evening, Mr. Akers went to withdraw $40 from his bank account. Two different occasions. Insufficient funds. [00:54:22] Speaker ?: They don't have any money. [00:54:24] Speaker 4: There's nothing wrong with not having money. But to say he's happy-go-lucky, he's buying a pig, he's buying food for the pig. He's got a great job he's looking forward to at the airport. None of that's true. You will see the evidence. It may not be a lot to you all, you may be stronger. But to Mr. Akers, he didn't want this. And it didn't, not for him. He didn't want it for Lacey and the children. [00:55:01] Nate Eaton: Steele said when the medical examiner asked for more information on the victim, detectives gave him the wrong details, which affected the cause of death ruling. Akers had plenty to worry about, including going to prison, according to Steele. He'd been on probation for five years and was likely, possibly going to prison for not complying to the terms of his probation. [00:55:24] Speaker 4: So he's broke. It's Christmas time. He's looking at going to prison for years. He's losing his job. And that night, the very night going into morning, Lacey, she did not know that he was contemplating suicide. She wrote to him, "You will see it." There's curse words in it. She never thought it would be publicly displayed. But it says, in essence. Go to my lawyer. You're done. Don't come home. You're going to lose your job. You're going to lose your kids. I'm divorcing you. So the happy-go-lucky guy, I don't know many happy-go-lucky guys with all that on me. So the medical examiner was not told accurately by the detective. [00:56:54] Nate Eaton: And the defense's opening statement ended by saying this was a tragedy and nothing more. I don't know. Next, the jurors heard the 9-1-1 call made by Bowles. Now, it's nearly nine minutes long. We're going to play a major portion of it, not all of it, because it's pretty much the same throughout. But you'll hear how distraught she appears to sound. [00:57:17] Speaker ?: Maybe it's an act. [00:57:17] Nate Eaton: Maybe it's legitimate. That's for you to decide. And how she's pleading for her husband, who's dead and he can't breathe. Anyway, here's part of it. [00:57:29] Speaker ?: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [00:57:33] Speaker 5: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. [00:57:38] Speaker ?: I'm sorry. [00:57:39] Speaker 5: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. What's your emergency? 83. 83. 83. 83. What? 83. What? Bram. Bram. 83. What? Yes. What are you calling for? Help me, please. Help me, please. Help me, please. What are you calling for? What are you calling for? I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. What are you going to do? I'm just calling for. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. What is this on purpose? I got me! I need to put it in my rhythm! Ma'am, ma'am, is it? Ma'am, is it beyond the open? Is it beyond the open? Ma'am, take a deep breath, okay? I've got this problem for dispatch. Keep it conscious. How is this? How is this? How is this? How is this? How is this? Ma'am, is he conscious? Ma'am, I can't understand you. You think she's dead? Ma'am, I can't understand you. You think she's dead? Yes, I want to go. Ma'am, listen. I'm trying to help you, but I need to take a deep breath. Is he conscious? Ma'am, I don't think he's dead. Do you think he's beyond no help? Yes. Is he dead? Deep breath, ma'am. Ma'am, what's the phone number you're calling me from? [00:59:33] Speaker ?: Six. [00:59:34] Speaker 5: Sixth and eight. Three nine six. One six nine eight. What's your name? [00:59:40] Speaker ?: Lacey. Lacey. [00:59:42] Speaker 5: Lacey. Lacey Boss. Lacey. Lacey Boss? Oh, yes. Ma'am. Ma'am, please call me. Lacey. Lacey. Yes, ma'am. Lacey. [00:59:53] Speaker ?: Lacey. Yes, ma'am. [00:59:55] Speaker 5: Lacey. Lacey. What is the main road that your station runs off of, Lacey? I'm home city. I'm city road. I'm city road. I'm city road. Do you want to see this mail road? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Lacey. [01:00:14] Speaker ?: Lacey. [01:00:15] Speaker 5: Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. Lacey. [01:00:35] Speaker ?: Lacey. What? Lacey. [01:00:38] Speaker 5: Lacey. How old is this? [01:00:40] Speaker ?: Yes. [01:00:41] Speaker 5: Where did he see himself? In Haber? Where? In Haber, where are you talking? Okay, do you think that CPR will help him? Are you leaving me on all help? I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. Where is the weapon now? On the ground. I took it down on them. I was trying to take her. I can't. I can't. I can't. Lacey, I need you to take a breath from me, okay? [01:01:44] Speaker ?: Okay. [01:01:45] Speaker 5: I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. Lacey, I have this call for dispatch, okay? Where is the gun now? I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. No. No, I don't have it in my hand. No. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. No. I can't. I can't. [01:02:16] Speaker ?: I can't. I can't. [01:02:18] Speaker 5: Lacey, I need you to do a request for your safety. What's his name? Dane. Dane O'Akers. Dane O'Akers. Oh my God, help me. Lacey, I need you to take a deep breath, okay? Where is your husband at? I need you to take a deep breath. Where are you at? I'm in a busy, remember, I'm in a busy, I'm in a busy, I'm in a busy, I'm in a busy, I need you to take a deep breath, okay? Okay, okay. I'm trying, Amy. Okay, I'm trying to do a good job. Okay, I'm trying to do a good job, okay? I'm going to do a good job. [01:03:25] Speaker ?: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, [01:03:25] Speaker 5: And then we moved into the witness phase. [01:03:51] Nate Eaton: The first witnesses who were called, as Grace said, we heard from a lot of law enforcement today. But the first witness was Captain Brett Miller with the Sheriff's Office. In 2019, he was a sergeant who was on patrol. First on the scene, he answered a call from someone or for someone who had been shot. He arrived at the scene to find Bowles crying hysterically. [01:04:11] Speaker 6: Ms. Bowles was there. She directed me towards the downstairs basement where the victim was lying there, deceased. [01:04:22] Speaker 7: Okay, and what, if anything, did you observe when you went down the stairs? [01:04:27] Speaker 6: Oh, when I went downstairs, it's been seven years ago, but the best thing that I can remember, that I recall from that night, obviously seeing the deceased, and then the smell of McDonald's within the room. [01:04:45] Speaker 7: And so, what do you mean by the smell of McDonald's in the room? [01:04:52] Speaker 6: I mean, everybody knows what McDonald's french fries smells like. That's what the room smelled like, sir. [01:04:57] Speaker 7: Okay, and did you notice anything of a McDonald's indication at the scene at that time? [01:05:07] Speaker 6: There was a McDonald's bag there, and then there was a cup, a McDonald's cup, and I noticed that it was sitting there and still had some ice in it from the drink. [01:05:19] Nate Eaton: Miller secured the crime scene until his then-captain arrived, and he went downstairs where Dan had already died. He recalled waiting with Bowles and the kids until backup arrived, and talked a little bit about what else was happening in the home. And then it was time for the defense to cross-examine. Because the jurisdiction at that time, 2019, the officers weren't wearing body cameras on them, on their bodies, so they would often document things, of course, by doing written reports. They would take photos with their cell phones or photos with cameras. In this case, Miller wrote a report, and the defense showed the image which captured Acre's hands with the gun in it. He wasn't asked about the gun, the police captain. He was asked about checking for a pulse to then indicate the possibility that the gun had been moved at some point. [01:06:13] Speaker 8: And if you were going to test his pulse, you could have touched his left hand. True. [01:06:19] Speaker 6: Could have. In my training, I would normally not, because it being right next to a weapon like that, I would usually check it somewhere else if I was going to. But again, when somebody's obviously deceased, I don't know for sure that I did do it. [01:06:39] Speaker 8: I understand. But other people also, to your knowledge, also touched Mr. Acre's body. EMTs came right after you, right? Yes, sir. And they touched his body. True. [01:06:51] Speaker 6: I would, yes, sir. I mean, yes. That's what they do. Yes, sir. [01:06:56] Speaker 8: Okay. So I'm not saying that this is, this picture is taken after you checked Mr. Acre's, after EMT has checked his statements. Is that all true? [01:07:07] Speaker 6: I would say yes. [01:07:09] Speaker ?: Okay. [01:07:09] Speaker 8: So other people, I mean, this is how we get the picture, but because we don't have that body camera or video, we don't really know where his hand was, where the gun was, the exact place when you first came in. True. The gun was never moved. [01:07:25] Speaker 6: Well, somebody else may have kicked it, touched it. I'm not saying it intentionally. No, I mean, I don't know that the gun was ever touched. But now his hand, maybe somebody could have touched it. Again, I don't know, sir. Or his arm. My point is, we don't know. Yes, sir. Am I correct? That's correct, sir. [01:07:46] Nate Eaton: Now, in the States redirect, the captain said that in his 30 years, he's never seen an EMT move a weapon found near a deceased person. Next witness we heard from was a guy named Brett Whitsitt. He's no longer in law enforcement, but in 2019, he worked road patrol for the sheriff's office. He showed up to testify in a white hoodie that read, [01:08:08] Speaker 9: I love Jesus. And we had to walk down to the right. It kind of veered off to the right downstairs. And when I walked downstairs, it made a left-hand turn. I immediately saw what appeared to be a human body on the floor. [01:08:30] Speaker 7: Okay. And who did you note about that body, if anything? [01:08:39] Speaker 9: It appeared to be deceased. [01:08:44] Speaker 7: Okay. Did you notice any type of a weapon on the scene? [01:08:49] Speaker 9: Yes, sir. [01:08:50] Speaker 7: What did you notice about a weapon on the scene? [01:08:53] Speaker 9: I don't remember off the top of my head what kind of weapon it was. I didn't pick anything up. We didn't touch anything. We went, me and my trainee, and we just observed some of the finer details that we could. Standing there, observing, looking around without contaminating the crime scene. [01:09:12] Nate Eaton: He noted that there was blood on the weapon and no blood on Acre's hands. His testimony was quite brief. The court then called a couple of more people, sheriff's officials, recounting what they saw, who was first to arrive on scene. Grace kind of summarized that earlier in the program. And if today's any indication of how this trial is going to go, the judge went late, got a lot of witnesses up there. It is scheduled to go for two weeks, which would, if that takes the whole time, that would end right before Thanksgiving, the day before Thanksgiving. I don't, I would be surprised if it really goes that long. But maybe, we'll see. The judge did say that tomorrow it's going to go until six o'clock Eastern, which is four o'clock Mountain. So, again, the judge is going long. We'll be there all week, covering it, breaking it down for you every night here on Courtroom Insider. We'd love to know your thoughts. How do you think day one went? Let us know in the comments because it's always interesting. Brandon, our live streamer, he's, we're live every morning with it in the morning all day long. And it's, it's interesting to hear him. He'll give me like a report a couple of times a day. I'll check in with him and be like, Hey, what are people saying in the comments and stuff like that. And so he always will share with me what you guys are saying or what impresses you or, or, you know, Oh, this is a great witness or whatnot. So yeah, feel free to tune in. It starts at nine Eastern. So that's 7 a.m. our time in Idaho, but we go live around 6 30 a.m. So you can tune in early if you'd like get in the chat and then, um, see what other people are saying. And we'd love to hear you. All right. Before we go tonight, let me tell you a little bit about suede December burning ground, just 13 years old when she was last seen at her family's residence in Gary Owen, Montana, Montana on the Crow Indian reservation after 11 p.m. on October 6th, 2024, when her family came to wake her the next morning, she was gone. An extensive search of the local area turned up no sign and she's never been heard from again. So Wade left her phone behind and her family gave it to law enforcement for analysis, but they were unable to get any information from it. She has no history of running away or getting into serious trouble. And her loved ones stated she was thriving at school at the time of her disappearance. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance is they're unclear. She's about five, five weighs around 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with mushrooms on it, an anime themed t-shirt, basketball shorts, ankle socks, purple slip on sketchers, and possibly an elk tooth necklace. She has autism and a learning disability. She is native American with brown hair and brown eyes. Again, suede December birding ground, missing from Gary Owen, Montana on the Crow Indian reservation. If you have any information, please contact the authorities. I want to thank you all for being here tonight. And guess what? Tomorrow morning, a new episode of deceived. The day bell story drops at, well, I don't know what time it drops. I just know it drops tomorrow morning. I think they drop them around six or 7 a.m. So this is episode four. It's called feel the fire. And it is about the day that JJ and Tylee were found and what happened before. And then what happened immediately after. And it is just a heads up. It is an emotional episode. And, um, it is one that we have these listening sessions. I may have said this before with other producers. And one of the producers just couldn't speak at the end of it. So that'll drop tomorrow on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, uh, on Spotify, kslpodcasts.com. It won't be on YouTube yet. I know many of you get it on YouTube on the KSL Podcast page. They're going to post those later. Uh, but you can get them right away. Audio only. And, and then tomorrow, if you're part of the Deceived Insider Club, we're doing a live, an AMA, Ask Me Anything, tomorrow from 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. So, you can join in, send in your question. It's going to be me and Dave Cauley from Cold. And we're going to interview each other. And, and answer your questions. It's going to be live. It's going to be kind of like we do here. But, you guys are leading the conversation. So, if you want to join the Insider Club, don't, it's not here on YouTube. And it's not on my Facebook page. It's, um, you go to the deceivedinsiderclub.supercast.com. You got that? Deceivedinsiderclub.supercast.com. This is what it will look like. And you can see right now, the founding member plan, it's $3.99 a month. So, it's four bucks. This month, four bucks in December. That's it. And what you get, excuse me, is hopefully my clear voice. But, you also get the episodes a week early, ad free. So, you get episode five this week. Tomorrow, ad free. You get a bonus episode every week. And then, you get a, um, these live AMAs. Um, you get, I go in there and leave, you know, little newsletter type chat things. Anyway, and this money allows us to continue to do these type of programs. Because, we've been working on this for five years. And, and I have a full-time job, you know, reporting the news. And this is just something that I'm passionate about, bringing you good, hopefully trustworthy, journalism without sensationalism. There's a lot of that out there. This is just the facts, with people sharing their honest thoughts and opinions. And we're bringing it to you. So, if you want to sign up and join us tomorrow, deceivedinsiderclub.supercast.com. Sign up, join us tomorrow for the hangout. And then, of course, we'll be back tomorrow night for courtroom insider talking about the, the bulls trial, the latest on that. So, we got you covered from all angles. We'd love to know your thoughts, too, on episode four of the podcast, which, as I mentioned, will be out tomorrow. Here's where you can find me. I'm on Facebook, Nate Eaton Reporter. I'm on Instagram and dot Eaton. Nate News Now on X and YouTube. Subscribe if you haven't. Again, on our courtroom insider, we got to get to 20,000 subscribers by the end of the month. I bet we can do it. Here's where you can find courtroom insider on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. We got you covered there. Okay, everybody. Thank you very much for being here. I'm going to go rest my voice. Thanks to Melissa, our producer, for doing a great job every night, pulling this whole program together. To Brandon, our guy who runs the video all day, every day, Jordan, our other video guy, who fixed my desk. I got an L-shaped desk. And Erica and I, so, I've had this stand-up desk, this standing desk, for years in my office. But it's so small. And I finally am like, I need a little bit more room for my stuff. So I found a deal that was not Timu. It was not Timu. It was Wayfair. I found an L-shaped desk that was like a blowout deal. I ordered it, put it together yesterday. Erica and my wife came in after hours, after Courtroom Insider. We put it together. And let me show you the video I recorded this morning. Good morning, everybody. I am in my office, and I was really excited. I finally got an L-shaped standing desk. I've had a standing desk for years. I use it about maybe half the time. But it's really convenient, especially when I have a Zoom call. I can raise it so that my eye level is equal to the camera on my computer. So this is an L-shaped desk. I got it a couple days ago, and Erica came in last night into my office, and we put it together. I've got to show it to you. I mean, isn't that nice? Nice, right in the corner of my desk. And then we go. When it's all done, all completed, took forever, the instructions were how instructions are. It's not Ikea, but, you know, pictures and arrows and lines. So then I go to hit the button to raise it. And I don't know if you can see it, but this side went up, and this side did not. So what do I do? We crawled under there to try to fix it. Everything looks in place. I really don't want to disassemble the whole thing. And I emailed the company. This is what I got. I emailed the hotmail address for the company. I also looked up online on Reddit and all sorts of places. Apparently, this is somewhat of a common problem. If you know how to fix it, please comment me or send me a message. If you have had this before, please let me know. For now, I am going to be sitting at this desk for the time being. And don't worry, I'll let you know. I'll let you know when we get it fixed. Okay, I hope you have a great day. By the way, I feel fine. My voice sounds worse than I feel. And I hope it comes back because I kind of talk for a living. Okay, everybody, have a great day and happy Veterans Day to all the veterans out there. So what do you do with a desk that half of it goes up and half of it doesn't? Many of you reached out, gave me good suggestions. Thank you. Well, who should arrive and save the day? Jordan Wood, the guy who can fix anything, my donut partner in life that gets donuts with me. Check this out. Okay, Jordan, can you explain what you just did to help me in my conundrum? [01:19:00] Speaker 10: Okay, so all the gears are working, all the motor, yeah, gears working, except for this one. And I was looking through the little booklet, and it showed this one piece going through another, which isn't great explaining, but so I wondered if that piece was not connected. [01:19:20] Nate Eaton: So basically, the rod that goes into this leg to get it to go up and down [01:19:24] Speaker 10: Yeah, it was not connected. [01:19:25] Nate Eaton: It was not connected. [01:19:26] Speaker 10: With the gears in here to make this go up. Yeah. And so I adjusted some things, and... [01:19:31] Nate Eaton: We're going to try it. [01:19:32] Speaker 10: See, it should work. [01:19:35] Nate Eaton: Look at that. Look at that. Man. Jordan should charge a $199 service fee. [01:19:43] Speaker 10: I should. [01:19:45] Nate Eaton: Thank you, Jordan. Yeah, no problem. Everybody give Jordan a round of applause if you're watching. Thank you. And you can call him to fix whatever you need, and he'll charge you more than $199. Okay, thank you, Jordan. You saved me. No problem. So within a few hours, my desk was fixed, and now it's working great. So thank you, Jordan, and thanks to everybody else. on our Courtroom Insider team. The other Jordan, Jordan Ormond, who helps run the website, and Hawkins, and Trey, we have a really good team here. Okay, everybody, I better stop talking because I need a voice for this weekend and for our Ask Me Anything tomorrow. We'll see you tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, have a good night.