Lacy Jolee Boles trial day 3: Final text messages between Dan and Lacy, defense asks for mistrial

[0:00] Hello there, everybody. Welcome to Courtroom Insider. It is Friday the 13th of November [0:12] 2026. And doesn't it feel like Friday the 13th? A ground stop at all the airports. A [0:19] boat crashes into a cruise ship in New Orleans, in Louisiana. Crazy day of news all this afternoon. [0:27] Hope that everybody is okay and that the chaos in the skies gets resumed. You know, my parent, [0:33] my in-laws are flying in, flew in this morning for the weekend. Actually, staying with our [0:41] family next week when I go on the CrimeCon cruise with Erica. And they made it. They [0:46] made it like two hours before the ground stop went into effect. Not even that. So thank [0:51] goodness they were on the early flight. Excuse me. Or could have been bad. Voice is getting [0:57] better and we have a lot to talk about. So let's get to it. It is day three of the Lacey [1:03] Jolie-Bowles trial. Was it suicide? Was it murder? A little bit of background. Oh, by [1:08] the way, let me know where you're watching from. We are so close to 20,000. We are like [1:14] 20 away. I can't believe it. I'm so thrilled. Thank you all. We did a Secret Santa surprise [1:20] this afternoon. And as we were leaving, one of the ladies that was there with the woman [1:25] we were surprising said, Hey, I'm one of your newest subscribers. So thank you. If you haven't [1:30] subscribed to our courtroom insider channel, which is different than East Idaho news, go [1:33] ahead and hit that subscribe button and really appreciate it. Okay. So a little bit of background [1:37] on the case we've been covering. It's day three of the Lacey Jolie-Bowles trial. The question [1:42] is, was it murder or was it suicide? She's charged and accused of murdering her husband, [1:48] Daniel Akers, December 22nd, 2019 in Georgia, three days before Christmas. He died from a gunshot [1:54] wound to the face. Bulls says he tried to kill himself, that she stepped in to grab the [1:59] gun. It went off and it was too late. This week ends. We end the week with some personal [2:06] text messages that were read in court between the two, just moments before he died. And those [2:12] messages contradict some of the opening statements that jurors heard. We'll get into that. It also [2:16] gave some insight into both of their, their minds, what they were thinking, both bulls and [2:21] acres. Plus we, uh, saw the, um, her police interview, uh, that she did with detectives [2:29] on camera. We talked about that one yesterday. It was a different one. She spoke with detectives [2:33] three times voluntarily. And today they talked about the third one. So that's kind of a recap [2:39] of what we're going to do. But before we go any further, we got to go to Grace Wong, who's [2:42] been in the courtroom. Grace day number three in the courthouse. What were your observations? [2:48] What were the key points today? Well, we heard another recorded interview [2:54] from, um, Lacey Bowles, the defendant, this one, she was far more animated and, um, and, [3:02] and, and in this one, the police actually challenged her story and confronted her because they let [3:09] her tell her story about what happened. And she went on and gave a lot of detail about, [3:13] you know, the day and how it evolved. And then, uh, that her husband was very different that day [3:18] and that she thought he was high and that he's had problems with meth in the past. [3:24] And she thought this was another incident of him becoming very paranoid because he was doing drugs [3:30] allegedly. And, um, and he was different and that he missed, you know, he, he, you know, [3:36] a big sign of that was when he became very belligerent when her father showed up at the [3:43] house with food for the children. And he basically, you know, said, we don't need your charity and we [3:50] have food in the house. And that really surprised her and, uh, led her to think that he was being [3:55] paranoid and, and, um, uh, belligerent because he was back on drugs and she threatened to leave him. [4:01] In fact, told him that she was going to divorce him, uh, because he was going, that he was, um, [4:08] back on drugs. In any case, in this particular interview, what's significant is that the police [4:14] confront her with evidence of, uh, with, with evidence that's inconsistent with suicide. [4:20] What the, what they said to her is that you confronted him because she, you know, she said [4:25] that she had gone to, uh, where he was taken his holster and brought it back and locked it up in the safe. [4:33] And so the police officer that was interviewing her said, well, you didn't do that because there [4:39] would have been blood on the safe and blood on the holster. And because she said that she had [4:44] attempted, uh, CPR and there was blood, frankly, everywhere. There was blood at the scene, blood [4:49] around his head, blood leading up the stairs, blood on the rail, blood on the doorknob. So there's a lot of [4:55] blood in this house, but there's no blood on what she said she handled. So the police proposed or, or [5:02] countered that story by saying you were angry with him, you were fighting with him and you took that [5:09] gun from the safe, which was in the holster and you confronted him when he came home and she, [5:16] you know, and, and this is, this is evidence that they're building up to and not just this interview, [5:22] but just before the interview, they had the detective go over and read some of the texts that [5:27] were exchanged between Lacey and her husband. And they were very hostile. I mean, they, they, [5:32] they were in the, in the, in the throes of a, of an argument. And, and, uh, so having that happen, [5:39] uh, leading up to the fight is, is what the prosecution is setting up. [5:43] Yeah. We're going to get to all that today. The, the text messages and the fact that, um, [5:49] the, the placement of the gun, how he was, what was he a left-handed? No, [5:53] he was a right-handed, but the gun was in the left hand, right? The gun looked like it was in [5:58] the left hand because it was, um, pointing down towards his feet and it was, and his hand was over [6:05] it. Now, you know, the state will say that this was staged to make it look like he had handled the gun. [6:12] Uh, and today we heard about a GSR test that was performed on the victim, but not on Lacey. [6:18] Pardon? It's gunshot residue. It's gunshot. Yeah. Uh, gunshot residue test. Now we don't know what [6:24] the results of the gunshot residue test is. And then, uh, the, the, uh, the defense attorney and [6:30] cross kind of went into great detail about how really doesn't tell us anything, whether there's [6:35] GSR found on his hands or not, because he was in close proximity to a firearm. And that's how he could [6:41] have gotten the GSR, whether he fired it or not is, um, not going to be that revealing. But [6:47] what's revealing is there is no gunshot residue on Lacey because they didn't test for it because [6:52] she had washed her hands and they, um, and that was one of the things that really, uh, the prosecution [6:59] suggests, uh, points to her guilt is that she, uh, washed her hands in the sink and there's blood [7:06] or what appears to be blood in the basin of her, um, uh, bathroom in, in the main, uh, in the main [7:14] master bedroom. Okay. So tell us about this mistrial that the defense asked for. [7:21] Yeah. I mean, you can tell things are getting pretty, uh, tense between the two sides and there's [7:27] a lot at stake here. I mean, she is a mother of three and is taking care and raising these children. [7:34] So, uh, you know, if she is convicted, she faces a very, very serious, uh, long penalty. And so the, [7:43] you know, this and the evidence that's coming in are her statements. And if they can raise, um, [7:50] if they can point to these, these inconsistencies and how her story doesn't match up to this scenario [7:57] of suicide, then that, you know, is going to bode well for the state. So there's a lot at stake here. [8:04] And in this particular, in this particular motion, the defense attorney, Brian Steele, [8:10] asked for a mistrial because the witness that was on the stand was the lead investigator that took over [8:15] after the first investigator has left the, uh, had got transferred out. And this investigator testified [8:22] that when he interviews suspects, he looks at body language because it can say a lot about, uh, [8:30] whether they're telling the truth or something to that effect. And of course, this is the, the, uh, [8:36] purview of the jurors. The jurors have to decide whether she's telling the truth or not. So, uh, [8:40] Mr. Steele got up, made the motion for a mistrial and suggested that the, uh, that the, uh, prosecution [8:47] was, uh, underhanded and not letting him know that they were going to advance this particular [8:53] witnesses detective as some kind of body language expert, which of course they argued they were not [8:58] trying to do. They were just asking general questions about what he looks for when he interviews [9:03] the suspect. So in the end, you know, the defense lost their motion. They didn't, they didn't get a [9:09] mistrial and the judge, you know, is not going to strike that testimony because it was general enough [9:15] that this witness did not comment on the veracity of what Lacey was saying. Okay. What can we expect [9:22] next week? I think we can expect more, um, what we have, we have more, uh, law enforcement and we [9:31] have still the medical examiner. And, uh, I think, I think the, I don't know if they're going to call [9:37] more witnesses to testify about the relationship or if they're going to basically rest on these text [9:43] messages to suggest strife. And there is this audio recording that the, uh, that, uh, the state will [9:49] admit about a fight that they had a couple of days before this happened that, um, the victim felt that [9:56] he had to record. Uh, so I think that, I think we're going to hear more about the relationship and, uh, of [10:03] course, some more experts and, and, um, and we'll see where it gets us because one of the jurors has to [10:09] leave on Thursday for a funeral that he has to attend on Friday. So that cuts into the schedule [10:16] for this trial because the judge is not going to be available on Friday. And of course he is concerned [10:23] about this upcoming Thanksgiving break. He's only got one alternate on this jury, so he doesn't want [10:28] to lose any more jurors. And, uh, he really wants to keep this trial on track. So no court next Friday, [10:35] no court next Friday, and possibly an early day on Thursday. Although the judge is making up for it [10:41] by having us all come in early, uh, starting court at 8 30 in the morning and going till six. [10:48] Got to go to bed early, Grace. So, you know what else we can expect next week? Over 20,000 [10:54] followers on YouTube. Oh, wow. That is great news, Nate. We're a sliver away. We're a sliver away, [11:02] Grace. We're like 10 people away. So please, to those of you that have not subscribed to our [11:08] courtroom insider channel, which is different than East Idaho news head on over there. How it all [11:13] works. You might be thinking, why does it matter if we have subscribers? The more subscribers we get, [11:16] the more Google looks at us and YouTube looks at us like we're a reputable company. And so when we [11:23] stream these trials and someone logs onto their phone and says, where can I watch the Lacey Bulls trial? [11:30] Boom, up we pop. And that in turns helps us reach more people, helps us cover more trials and helps [11:37] us grow. So to the 20,000 of you that have already, thank you. We have nearly 700,000 on East Idaho news. [11:44] So if we could just bring, well, all of those guys over, we'd appreciate it. And Grace said, [11:49] she'll buy you all a slurpee if you subscribe to that. Just kidding. She didn't say that. Don't come after us. [11:56] No, but I welcome everybody's comments. I've really enjoyed reading people's reactions to our [12:04] commentary and to our coverage. So please keep those comments coming. It gives us a chance to, [12:11] you know, just kind of know what we're doing right and improve on what we're doing [12:18] that can be improved. So I really welcome our viewers' comments. [12:22] Grace, we couldn't do it without you. Thank you for everything you're doing. I hope you enjoy the [12:26] weekend. I'm going to rest my voice and we'll be back on Monday with you following the trial and me [12:34] here with a full voice. Alrighty, Grace. Thank you. We will see you on Monday. Now, let's get what [12:40] happened today to kick off the witness testimony. The first witness back on the stand was Thomas Ogden. [12:46] He works for the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. We've already heard from Bowles yesterday. We [12:52] talked about the police interview today. He read her eight page statement from January of 2022. [12:58] She was asked to write down everything she recalled about that night, December 22nd, 2019. [13:04] Dan was acting out of character Saturday, December 21st. Actually, starting from that Monday, [13:09] his demeanor had changed very out of the normal, very out of the normal on Saturday. He was going to [13:15] the store to get a key made, tampons and toilet paper. Around 1pm-ish, he left with Gage to go to [13:22] the store. I started getting concerned because he was gone for so long. We did communicate some about [13:28] getting my daughter Skylar a pig. He also texted me about a video I sent the day prior of our son [13:33] Daniel saying, hut hut. He said, I asked, is that your sister's voice? It doesn't sound like you. [13:39] I then asked through text where he was, why he had been gone so long. Almost three hours had passed, [13:47] and to get a key made, get tampons and toilet paper, it shouldn't take that long. When he did return, [13:54] it was around 4.30 or so. He seemed still, just not himself, very distant, disassociated from the [14:04] babies Emerson and Daniel. Gage went straight to his top bunk after they returned and didn't get off his top [14:11] bunk until we left to go to my dad's car lot. Of course, this is Lacey's narrative and her memory [14:18] 10 days after the shooting, give or take a day or so. So 10 days after the shooting, she's asked to [14:24] write everything down. This next clip is about four minutes, but I want to play it all because it seems [14:29] to match what she was saying in her recorded police interview back at the station. But you be the judge. [14:35] The reason we left being Dan had gotten physical with me in the kitchen, trying to take my cell [14:40] phone. He wrapped me up, choking me out, asking who had I been talking to and was I recording him? I [14:47] uttered out no one and no for him to just take my cell phone. He did indeed took my cell phone and left. [14:57] I then loaded the babies up and went to my dad's car lot, shaken and upset. I made it to my father's [15:03] car lot and met him and talked with him and told him Dan was acting strange, that I couldn't call [15:10] him because he had taken my cell phone. My dad rode with me to the gas station, put gas in my car and [15:17] bought me cigarettes. He then told the babies he would get them McDonald's, chicken nuggets and fries. [15:23] I never told my father Dan got physical with me. When the babies and I returned home, my cell phone was [15:31] on the counter but Dan wasn't home. My dad called my cell just to see if I had gotten it back or if [15:37] maybe Dan would answer. I answered and he told me he would be coming over with food within the hour. [15:43] My dad's been coming by for the past two years almost every Saturday night. Gage went straight [15:49] back to his top bunk when he got home and the babies were in the bedroom with me where I was [15:54] changing diapers. I walked out of the bedroom and Dan was standing in the kitchen. It startled me. [16:00] I forgot he had just had a key made and didn't hear him come in. He looked at me and said, [16:05] weirdo, why are you jumping? He then went into the living room and sat down and Emerson, our daughter, [16:12] who is three, sat down beside him and told him Papa was bringing over nuggets and fries and that [16:18] we had been at his car lot and we had been in his car lot. He looked at her and said stop lying [16:24] pretty harshly. Then said, you don't have to lie for your mom anymore. Then I said, Dan, [16:31] please don't call her a liar. It's true. My dad will be here any minute with food. He said, [16:36] yeah, right. And I doubt you went to your dad's car lot. Then there was a knock at the door. It [16:41] was my dad with food. He walked up to the stairs. He walked up the stairs and I looked at him and shook [16:49] my head as in let it go basically that I wasn't trying to fight with Dan. So don't say anything [16:54] about him taking my cell phone. My dad sat on the couch and I was setting up the high chairs for the [16:59] babies to eat. Dan looked at my dad and said, you didn't have to bring food. There's plenty of food [17:07] here, which was very strange. Dan had never once spoken like that to my dad. Normally it was a thank [17:13] you. Emerson and Daniel proceeded to eat, but Gage remained on his top bunk and for him to not want to [17:20] come down and see my dad was just so off to me. After the babies ate, we all went downstairs to smoke. [17:27] Me, Dan, my dad, Emerson and Daniel. Gage still remained on his top bunk. Dan went straight to [17:34] his car to smoke though, which wasn't at all like him. My dad and Emerson and Daniel remained in the [17:41] garage. The garage door was cracked and I even went up to Dan's car and asked why he was in his car. [17:47] He said he didn't want to argue with me and I was a liar and he knew I had been recording him. [17:51] I just shook my head, went back into the garage, but Emmy and Daniel went out and got in the car with Dan. [17:58] They came back in the garage not long after and that's when we saw Dan's headlights come on and [18:05] he left. This was about 9 15, 9 20 p.m. He's never left like, he's never left that late, especially [18:12] without explanation, especially with my dad there and didn't say bye, didn't say anything. My dad and [18:17] I thought it to be very strange and I told my dad I thought he was just so off possibly on something. [18:23] My dad left around 10 p.m. I was exhausted and had been exchanging some texts with him and told [18:31] him there were two things I would divorce him for. One being if he were on drugs and two being if he [18:36] were cheating. I never thought he was cheating on me, was leaning more towards drugs and I can't make [18:44] out what this word is. All right, well just just read over what you can. Okay, that in my that in my text. [18:55] I then blocked him. And did you catch in the last portion we hear for the first time that she blocked [19:03] him on Facebook Messenger so that he couldn't contact her that night indicating some sort of serious [19:10] argument the night he died. I then blocked him on Facebook so he couldn't message me on on my cell [19:18] phone. My dad around or my dad called around 11 or a little after Dan still wasn't home. I told my [19:35] dad I was tired and I went to go lay down with the babies. I set up a Swiffer and dustpan on stick to [19:42] hear it to hear if Dan did come home since he now had a key. I think it was after 12 when I heard this [19:50] stuff knock over. I got up and saw the back of Dan's head going straight downstairs. I proceeded to [19:56] follow him just to ask where he had been what was going on. When I walked through the door he had the [20:03] gun almost to his mouth saying something like you can't save me. You can't help me. I reached out and [20:10] grabbed his forearm same forearm the gun was in his left screaming no no no. Damn a sound that haunt me. [20:18] I fell with Dan when he fell fell on top of him. I touched all over his hand left tried to give him [20:26] CPR and ran upstairs to call 911. While being on the phone with the 911 operator she asked if I could get [20:33] the gun if he was beyond help. I ran back downstairs grabbed the gun threw it down grabbed Dan hand again [20:42] grabbed his arm again crawling up him giving him one last chest compression and there was blood [20:47] everywhere coming out of his nose his face. I had blood on me from the first CPR attempt. I saw a camo [20:56] I guess gun case when I was going back upstairs screaming. I just out of natural reaction put it [21:02] back in the safe in our bedroom closet. I don't think it was even locked. I think I just put it in [21:08] and turned it. I'm not sure the babies Emerson and Daniel were awake crying at this point. Gage still [21:17] asleep. I was still on the phone with 911 at this point in a state of shock confusion. I felt like I was [21:23] going to stroke out. I believe that's instantly. The police came through the door pretty quickly. The sheriff [21:32] had the babies in the room and the EMT took me to the living room. I couldn't calm down. I called my daughter [21:39] Schuyler who lives three minutes from me three times with no answer and the EMT actually called [21:44] my mom so she could get the babies and they could take me to the hospital. I was hysterical when my [21:49] mom arrived. I vaguely remember being walked down the steps by whoever walked me down then the EMT guys I [21:56] guess begging them not to make me go all the way downstairs where Dan was. I was put in the ambulance [22:01] drove to the hospital put in the room and an IV was put in my arm of fluids and Ativan. I later [22:09] learned my sister showed up at the hospital along with my daughter and her boyfriend. My sister took [22:17] me to my mom's after I was released by the doctor with Zofan and Xanax prescriptions. Now when the [22:23] defense got up for cross-examination they pointed out that although the state didn't play the video [22:28] recording she was recorded and never stopped paused or even thought about what she was going to say that [22:35] she was writing continuously. It's not like she stopped and looked up she was just writing the [22:39] whole time. The defense then showed some errors they pointed out some crucial areas they filled [22:46] the sheriff's office made in handling the investigation the case in which Ogden with the [22:52] guy on the stand with the sheriff's office agreed. But she did talk with you and told you she tried to stop [22:58] her husband from committing suicide. That's correct. And we don't have a recording of that conversation [23:05] though. No sir. And you carried your cell phone with you. Yes sir. Because when you got the consent [23:11] to search form you didn't just drive back like the old days. I mean you made a phone call and say she [23:15] signed the consent to search get started. Yes sir. And that cell phone you had in 2019 on December 22nd had a [23:24] recording of the capabilities. It's just like the jurors are my cell phone right. Yes sir. And you knew [23:30] that at the time right. Yes sir. So you could have in fact you should have. I'm not trying to be picky [23:36] with you but you should have walked in that hospital room with the recording going. Is that fair to say? [23:42] Yes sir. And we lost you know based upon your dropping the ball. Yes sir. We lost that evidence [23:52] of what exactly Lacey said. Yes sir. But you're doing your best to tell the jurors what you remember. [23:58] Correct. Yes sir. Also in that capability of that cell phone is videoing. Yes. And also cameras or [24:10] picture taking right. Yes. And we wouldn't have to guess what Lacey looked like when you saw her at [24:18] the hospital because you could have just taken pictures of her or video with or without her permission [24:23] right. Yes sir. But you didn't do that either. I did not. House when Lacey was there walking out of the [24:32] house. You had information you testified that her hands were bloody. Correct. But and I know you just [24:40] got there when she was leaving but nobody on your team I'm including all your teammates the law [24:46] enforcement nobody even took a picture of her what she looked at. Do you realize that? Yes sir. Did you ask [24:55] anybody for her clothing and get a change of clothing for her from the house or and did you ever ask that [25:02] you wanted to collect the clothing? I did not. Is that is that Lacey's doing did she do something to cause [25:09] the clothing not to go into law enforcement custody? No sir. That was you and your team. True? Yes. And we lose that [25:18] those garments now forever right? Correct. Because she actually told you you asked for the clothing [25:26] later right weeks later. She asked me for the clothing? No you asked her is the clothing available [25:34] do you remember asking that? I don't remember asking that. Okay. He said that if Lacey did slam on top of [25:41] acres when he fell back they would know from her clothes if they had preserved her clothing which they [25:48] didn't we've talked about that. He repeated many times that the sheriff's office lost valuable evidence [25:54] the defense attorney did. They lost valuable evidence in which uh the the investigator agreed. [26:00] You realize the allegation in the indictment is that Lacey pulled the trigger and killed her husband. [26:04] You realize that? Yes sir. And Lacey if she did that she would generally I'm not given a percentage [26:15] it doesn't have to be perfect but she probably would have gunshot residue on her person on her hands [26:22] right? Correct. And at the scene nobody tested her for gunshot residue. Yes sir. At the [26:30] hospital no one tested her for gunshot residue right? Yes sir. Now sometimes it's just it's a waste [26:37] of time to test because you know if she had her hands washed these chemicals can wipe off. Correct. [26:44] Right. But you did you did have the foresight to test and preserve Mr. Aker's hands for gunshot residue [26:56] right? Yes sir. And if he pulled the trigger of the gun he may have gunshot residue on his hands right? [27:05] Correct. And if he had his other hand the left hand pulling the trigger his other hand in the vicinity [27:10] of the gun he might even have both hands filled with gunshot residue or at least some gunshot residue [27:15] right? Yes sir. And even if he didn't pull the trigger and I'm not agreeing this but even if Lacey [27:21] pulled the trigger depending upon the environment that some of those particles could end up on his hands [27:29] just because he's in the vicinity of a gun that was discharged right? That's correct. So this is really not [27:34] like DNA or I guess a fingerprint but it's a it's an interesting calculation to determine whether in [27:42] this case Mr. Aker's has gunshot residue on his hands because if he doesn't have gunshot residue on his [27:48] hands it is just it's another data point that maybe he didn't pull that trigger right? Yes sir. And that's why [27:54] you had that test done right? I did not have that test done. Well you had it preserved. I'm not saying you did [28:00] the test but you preserved his hands for gunshot. Yes sir. And that's why you did that right? Correct. Because [28:08] if his hands are not have gunshot residue on them then that may be interesting to a jury that maybe he [28:17] didn't actually possess the gun when it was fired right? Yes sir. But if he did have gunshot residue on [28:23] his hands then maybe he did have the gun when he fired right? That's possible yes. Do you know the results [28:29] of his gunshot residue? I do not. Okay. You know it was tested though? I believe so. Okay. Yes sir. And [28:36] there'll be people who can come in and say that he had or didn't have gunshot particles on his hands [28:42] right? I believe so yes. And those are the scientists that the jurists have heard talked about from the [28:47] Georgia crime lab right? Correct. Now the sheriff's deputies currently wear body cameras but back then [28:54] they did not in 2019. And the defense pointed out assumptions that were made because no one recorded [29:00] the scene. There's no recordings of it. He said EMTs or officers could have moved Dan's hand or the gun [29:08] when checking on him but nobody knows. He then pointed out that the gun was found in Acre's left [29:14] hand even though he was right-handed but he was known to use both when shooting guns or playing football. [29:22] Asking why she would openly say that he was a righty when the gun was in his left hand if she had [29:28] something to hide. Why would she do that? The defense then went on to set up kind of the mood of [29:33] that night highlighting Dan's abnormal behaviors. You know that there are some very nasty exchanges [29:42] between Lacey towards Mr. Acres that night right? I was told about him. I did I did not actually go [29:48] to the home. Will do somebody else? Yes. Okay. But Lacey told you she was telling him don't come home [29:55] right? I don't know about the don't come home part. Remember she wanted to know if he comes home she [29:59] put a Swiffer didn't know if he's going to come home. Yes sir. I mean she's not hiding the fact [30:05] that she was mad at him right? Correct. And she even said when he does come home and the Swiffer fell [30:09] with the dustpan and she came downstairs she wanted to know like she was demanding like what are you [30:15] doing right? That's what she told you. Yes sir. And that's what she wrote in the statement right? Correct. [30:21] And she's saying I'm livid with the guy to the point of I want to know when he comes in I'm demanding [30:29] where is he right? Yes sir. And this is Saturday night going into Sunday days before one of the [30:37] biggest celebrations on earth Christmas right? Yes sir. And he just according to her just takes off. [30:46] You realize that? Yes sir. I mean that could be upsetting to a wife right? Yes sir. And he's great with [30:53] the kids she told you that? Correct. She said he's a great father right? Yes sir. And he's always home to [30:59] help with the babies to get him to bed and have a great night right? I mean she told you that? Yes. [31:06] And that night he just took off by himself right? Yes sir. And she doesn't know I mean from her point of [31:17] view from your observation she's mad that her husband just abandoned is my word. Her and her kids [31:25] is Saturday night before Christmas right? Yes sir. Would that make you concerned? I'd be concerned [31:34] yes sir. Ogden admitted that he had no evidence of Lacey being the one who walked down the basement [31:40] stairs holding the gun and he was questioned on if Lacey shot him at a distance would she not have [31:49] she wouldn't have fallen on top of him because it would have been a difference and been covered in blood [31:53] or how she could have come up with such an elaborate story? Listen. If Lacey just comes down [31:58] the steps and Dan Akers looks at her and he's holding cup of McDonald's he's holding a bag of [32:07] McDonald's he's holding a hat he's holding keys he's holding a holster whatever whatever he's holding [32:13] if anything maybe holding nothing maybe he put it all down before and through the hat and keys [32:19] because he hears her coming down I don't know but assuming that she just fires at a distance did you [32:29] ask her why would she involve herself with falling on top of him did you ever say to her like if you [32:41] killed him why'd you come up with this story that's an odd story isn't it I fell on top and I tried to [32:48] stop him did you ever ask her and press her and say this can't be true you shot her from you shot him [33:06] from a distance I did not because her story is pretty involved isn't it yes sir I mean that's pretty [33:13] detailed to say I tried to stop him and I fell on top of him right correct and there should have been [33:20] evidence if it was collected to tell whether that is true or untrue right correct and then the jurors [33:27] wouldn't have to go back and deliver it and say well her demeanor or you know her eyes or are not [33:33] crying I mean we wouldn't even we're not talking about evidence anymore right I mean the evidence is [33:39] lost by law enforcement good evidence is lost right yes sir all right and if you want to see his whole [33:45] testimony we've got it posted you can go watch it we heard our next witness Nicholas Hardy a detective in [33:50] the homicide unit he read some text messages retrieved from their phones it was december [33:56] 22nd the day of the shooting starting on saturday afternoon it starts with casual texting about what [34:03] bulls wanted acres to get at the store for her and the kids then they go into the conversation about [34:09] buying one of the children a pet mini pig it's from uh miss bowls to mr acres what does it say so from [34:17] defendant to daniel was i just talked to west and he said yes don't tell him it's too it's too free [34:26] please excellent so now 2 53 p.m the afternoon saturday afternoon from food it's from mr acres to his wife [34:43] and what does it say hi i've got to buy the thing food i've got to buy the thing food is that what you see [34:50] yes sir are you aware did you becoming aware aware as part of your investigation into this death [34:56] that there was some discussion about buying a pet pig yes he was at uh mr acres was at tractor supply [35:03] and i believe he was buying a pet pig for one of their children or food or something yes you're aware [35:09] that there was did you see pictures in fact on a phone of a bunch of pigs you remember yes i do recall [35:14] that okay pet pigs not agricultural yes pet pigs all right you remember that yes sir and go up [35:25] message number seven are these chronological then six seven as it goes down six seven yes sir all right [35:32] and then this says from this defendant to mr acres right yes sir and what does it say there where are [35:43] we going to keep it for now i told wes he had to pick it up on their way back from aunt's house it seems [35:50] that dan was the one who was upset over the expensive and costly gift saying we can't afford it look i know [35:57] your heart is in the right place we just don't have it like that and we are not at all prepared for [36:03] furlough nobody knows how much this pig cost plus food and i'm not trying to make the baby suffer [36:11] because we want to fake have money all right let me make sure i understand it is that from [36:18] the decedent daniel to this defendant yes mr investigator burke can we go to the message 12. [36:29] 324 if i can orient you to that time stamp 324 this is now tell the jury who the parties are which way [36:40] the conversation is now going on message 12. it's from mr acres to his uh miss bowls and he's asking [36:48] you want burgundy hair color or black all right and now message 13 we see that is looks like the [36:56] same direction right yes it's from mr acres to his uh miss bowls look there's no argument to it that's [37:08] saturday afternoon at 329 the argument heats up from financial stress to disrespectful behavior [37:15] one is now from miss bowls to mr acres and it states then you shouldn't have accused me of [37:21] stealing and returning lindsey's first game we bought her for sixty dollars then turn around and buying her [37:27] another one for sixty that 120 then i have her thirty dollars cash ava got her camera plus her package [37:39] that went with her camera her party etc phoenix got a hundred cash who's not being real all right so [37:48] we can show page six of states 285 please the next message please say what time this one is this is just [37:59] shortly after that it looks like 329 would you agree to that yes and which flow which way is this flowing [38:07] this is from uh miss bowls to mr acres same uh argument to what exactly you keep treating me this [38:15] way you won't have anyone to argue with and that's a promise if you keep treating me this way you won't [38:22] have anybody to argue with and that's a promise and that was from defendant to deceit is that right yes [38:28] all right next message 16 is that this is from who to who this is from uh miss bowls to mr acres you [38:37] make me feel you make me feel so shitty for not having money and i promise you i've spent my fair [38:43] share and invested my fair amount gives you no right to continuously treat me like shit what's your [38:51] ulterior motives here someone else or something else you're hiding either way cut the [38:58] shit and capital letters which is known for being in like text messages and yelling don't give us [39:05] that just read yes sir i'm over it and have been very aware i'm just a mistake to you this was [39:12] this defendant to this deceit is that right yes yes message 17 again from miss bowls to mr acres i hope [39:29] you feel better about yourself though and especially when you look in the mirror and reflect on all [39:34] this hell you're putting me through and treating me like a damn piece of trash this is from miss bowls [39:40] again to mr acres i hope it helps you sleep well at night maybe that's why your back hurts and you [39:47] can't sleep three minutes later message 19 can you read that tell the direction of travel of that message [39:55] please yes this is from mr acres to miss bowls um 339 in like two seconds lacy i'm not saying that you [40:03] don't put in your fair share what i'm saying is that i am by myself right now i am no one looking out to [40:12] keep a roof over your head and over our baby's head everyone else has another roof to be under [40:19] and you have someone else feeding them so this has nothing to do with you or your money or your money [40:26] to come this is about being smarter stronger and taking the best care of you and the ones that actually [40:33] have to live and survive with us is that dan to this defendant yes you go to message 20 please sir [40:42] and this would be looks like 346 and who's is this is this again daniel to this defendant yes this is uh [40:50] mr acres to miss bowls at 346 in like 19 seconds um that is my job and yours too either you mature to [40:59] that knock the games off so we can be happy and possibly have some something one day there's a way [41:07] more to than just run in the house we are going to work every day i should not have to explain this to [41:13] you i'm sorry if you don't agree but you are not the one that gets looked at if we don't have money or [41:21] money to pay bills if we don't have the money to feed our kids if we don't have the money to keep a [41:28] roof over their head i wish i did have the money i wish i could do everything in anything for all the [41:35] kids but what you're asking is to take food out of the baby's mouth and give it to one of the their [41:42] siblings as a present i'm desperately trying to get caught up and ahead we are 36 years old and should [41:48] not have to ask for help from anyone it escalates and the accusations start to fly each one accusing the [41:55] other of different things and bulls is showing more anger i want to let you know the f word is used [42:01] was used in court today we're going to play it as it was testified as it is the court document so just a [42:06] heads up there is a swear in this sound bite miss bowls to mr acres at about 346 and 37 seconds [42:14] uh i've interested plenty or i've invested plenty before my money comes don't dare just stop or just keep [42:23] getting high and lying about it shove it message 22 this is from who to who now this is now from mr acres [42:34] to mrs bowls at 347 and 25 seconds just a little bit moments later yes sir can you read that uh you're such [42:43] a fucking liar i don't have to prove shit to you i'm not a boy i am now clean 100 legal tell your fake [42:53] ass bullshit to someone else that's 347 you said yes sir in like 25 seconds on saturday 21st yes [43:03] sir message 23 please looks to be from this defendant back to mr acres is that right yes and 347 so [43:12] seconds later yes sir what does that say rome wasn't built in a day genius lie to the next one lie to the [43:19] next one coming from this defendant is who gang is that right yes sir go to the message 24 please the [43:25] final message on page number eight right here so this is from who this is from miss bowls to mr acres [43:35] three four or then it's someone else i'm sick f tired of being treated like shit and talked to like [43:45] shit and out down and dogged out get over yourself that's from this defendant to danny yes sir yes sir [43:57] now listen closely because the question is was acres planning to leave bowls was was dan [44:04] going to leave his wife uh or and was he the one who said that it's over first [44:10] we're now in the night time saturday yes sir who is this message from who is it to this is from miss [44:18] miss bowls to mr acres what does it say sir at 9 28 p.m saturday that night what does it say it says run [44:26] run as fast as you can too bad foe you're not the gingerbread man run run as fast as you can too bad foe yo [44:36] though you're you're you not foe you you're not the gingerbread man is that you see yes sir [44:42] and may i please publish this page number 11 on states 185 taking us to message 31 for the record [44:50] so we're now message 31 we're still in that night time area would you agree 9 32 yes it's from who to [45:00] this is from mr acres to miss bowls and it says lie to everyone and fool them but you cannot lie to me [45:09] i know you this is from daniel to this defendant yes sir at 9 32 is that right yes sir message 32 it [45:20] looks like 956 do you see that yes sir and now 956 saturday night is from who this defendant to [45:29] daniel yes sir and there there is no message in this one i hope it's just a blank yes sir and then [45:34] message 33 what is this is at 10 11 p.m so 10 o'clock at night saturday from who to who this is [45:42] from mr acres to miss bowls what does it say please you never met anyone 50 50 halfway oh that's right [45:51] you go find you someone else you put your mind to it all you do is use me and i'm sick of it find that [46:02] someone to pay your rent bills and your groceries etc i just stayed because you said your dad was [46:09] coming i don't run from no one so you should know i'm not running from you or your stupidity you have [46:16] gone you have going on there i'm trying to leave you behind my sentence has been served and you don't [46:25] want to get night we don't want to get right so fuck it all and there's some type of uh i guess [46:34] emojis uh you better learn fast or god else or god bless you i'm just a kid right well this kid ain't [46:42] going to ain't going for your fuckery anymore fakery i'm sorry it's some blurry sir fakery anymore i'm doing [46:50] me this is going from mr acres to miss bowls here are the threats made to one another now coming [47:01] into play remember acres was said to be running errands then at a bar during the hours when he [47:08] was texting back and forth with bowls so he went to the bar was going to run some errands and then [47:14] stopped at mcdonald's before he went home and here's back and forth there's more threats what's [47:19] going on again more swearing in these sound bites from this defendant to the decedent is that right [47:26] yes sir you read it it's from uh i'm sorry it's from miss a miss bowls to mr acres you do you and find [47:34] you in loyalty and respect and honest honesty sounds like kevin i'm dead message 37 please do we see is [47:46] there any message content there no there is not a blank message from from miss acres out blank from [47:53] this defendant today yes sir it's message 38 it's uh it's from who it's from mr uh acres to miss bowls [48:03] and just a minute later or so seconds later correct yes sir and what does it say it says [48:08] bah ha ha that dope head loser that's rich message number 39 on page 13 of states exhibit 185 please [48:24] so we're 30 39 now this is from who this is from mr acres to miss bowls at 10 21 yes sir i guess i'd [48:34] rather sound like him i'd rather sound like him than look like him than look like him like you do walk in [48:41] geek face that's wrong uh mr yes sir yes sir and 30 number 40 this one's from miss bowls to mr acres [48:53] yes sir at 10 21 and 40 seconds you pay either way hater keep keep making me greater blocked [49:01] bitch talk to my lawyer mistake after 2018 not a grower or a show and then here or some errr not a [49:11] grower or a shower you see that yes there's some dots and then it's e rrr that's probably this defendant [49:20] to daniel is that right yes at 10 21 yes sir and then we go to 41 please and this is what direction [49:29] this is from mr acres to miss bowls all right and it's 10 24 is that right yes sir saturday night [49:36] 10 21 19 is that right yes sir what's it say it says hater keep me greater ha ha how old are you [49:47] sounds like a punk ass 16 year old that's thugging is that from daniel to this defendant yes and then the [49:56] final text message sent just minutes before acres died and 911 was called this is from miss bowls to [50:03] mr acres at 11 43 in six seconds and it says with the next one ho blocked and out and who said that miss [50:16] bowls and the next 47 please this is daniel to this defendant this is mr acres to uh miss bowls at 12 11 26 [50:29] okay kiddo and last message 48 is this is this last message that you know was ever received or sent by [50:41] this this is this is his last message and it says sir i told you to stop your ship that's from him to her [50:50] yes all right yes and that's 12 11 a.m on sunday morning is that right yes sir what did you estimate [51:00] time of death i didn't i mean i didn't estimate the time of death but it happened shortly after so [51:06] that all happened in december fast forward to march of 2020 investigators go to the house and they search [51:12] it again after bulls was asked to give another recorded interview at the sheriff's office her third [51:18] she agreed it was an hour-long recording we we saw portions of it there were technical problems in court [51:24] showing it they were having issues in the courtroom but regardless bulls started off uh by saying acres was [51:31] running some errands at the store she said he'd been acting off and he would do that when he was taking drugs [51:38] she said that when he was high he would accuse her of lying and recording him she told him she can't go [51:45] through a perpetual cycle with him again a perpetual cycle that happens and the detective stopped her to [51:50] elaborate further on the cycles she was referring to so again this is the videotape of that third [51:56] interview when you said this perpetual thing um just the the paranoia yes okay yes were you guys ever [52:04] fighting or anything about this oh about him being paranoid or just anything did you guys have oh yeah [52:11] i was well okay so things were great um even up until like the weekend before really um but so when i [52:21] started hearing the microphones and that stuff i'm like oh no no no no no we've this titanic has been [52:28] turned around i'm not going back there like that's crazy i'm leaving you and there's i'm going to go [52:32] stay at my mom's i can't do this no i'm not going to go to your mom's i'm not going to go anywhere [52:36] have you left him before and go on stage moms yes yes several times has it always just been verbal yes [52:44] as far as like arguments yes yes he's never gotten physical so he's never gotten physical no no never hurt [52:51] you no i mean not like verbally verbally if i said to you like let's just stand here him i'm like hey [52:57] you know what you're high i'm not doing it he'd be like no you're high you need to get clean you need [53:02] to get your life together and then it would turn into the whole house would be chaos because the babies [53:09] would see us fighting the whole everything that we built would come crashing down and that's just what [53:15] it was i didn't want to go back there so he would use magic yes i've never seen experience in my life [53:21] is the devil itself it would make him think crazy like crazy relax relax relax okay so uh but during [53:30] even these times when he would use men um i would leave you would leave i would leave the babies but [53:36] he would never uh hit you no he was never violent with you never okay never all right so let's kind of [53:43] go back to uh we kind of went off on a little side road where i had the pig rambling the treasure supply [53:48] so you went to treasure supply no he did acres was going to buy the pet pig but he was gone for [53:53] two hours with her son which she felt was a little unusual she said her son gage came back acting odd [54:00] and abnormally quiet and acres made a rare move she said that he aggressively put his hands on her he came [54:09] in and that's when he choked me out and literally had me so hard across my chest that i thought he was [54:17] going to kill me and my head hit the cabinet and he wanted to take my cell phone and i'm like just at [54:24] this point like thinking either i'm about to pass out and he's gonna kill me or you know when he let go [54:28] i was like just take my cell phone and he's saying who who are you talking to why are you lying to me who [54:34] why are you recording me and i'm like take my phone just take it he leaves i'm gage stills on top [54:43] bunk i loaded the babies up and went straight to my dad's car left where is that at the one and also [54:47] yes sir i've been down there because my father comes over every saturday night she told her dad [54:53] quote something is wrong with dan and then headed back home with her father who was coming over with [55:00] mcdonald's for the kids so different mcdonald's trips her dad has food for the kids from [55:05] mcdonald's and dan is getting his mcdonald's before all of this so now it's the evening time [55:12] she says that acres was starting to find um was working his way back home and and he's home and [55:19] he's in the kitchen she said that he was saying strange things to her daughter and was being rude [55:25] to her father continuing her story that acres had been acting off she said after he stormed out [55:32] acres just sat in his car for a while then took off without telling her where he was going this was [55:37] around 9 45 pm on saturday night she said that he was high and knew it from his past behaviors she [55:43] put the kids to bed set up the swiffer she said not as a booby trap as the state said but to know when [55:49] he got home watching the door he already had a gun like that and i started screaming and i don't know [55:58] what he was saying something along the lines of god you can't save me or you can't save me or something [56:03] he took the money for my other people after i chapter where people got home and said i was right [56:07] and i'm not going to watch me today and i saw something because i'm not going to be asking for [56:10] you if you're looking for them and then i ran at him to grab his arm and i grabbed his arm and he pulled the trigger [56:12] and i fell on top i went immediately down to literally just look at his hand back [56:19] I told him to say that I called him. [56:21] I called him his arm and I just told him to ruin his palate and his nose. [56:26] And I was trying to wipe. [56:28] I was trying to see Josh was trying to wipe the blood. [56:31] We were stopping and I hit the back of his hand because I didn't know. [56:34] And the bullet went through the back of his hand. [56:37] And I didn't see. [56:38] And when I tried to call him to do a CPR, I wrenched him. [56:42] That was the home call number one. [56:45] Number one. [56:47] And I'm trying to explain to her what happened. [56:50] I went back downstairs and she asked me if I could get the gun, I think. [56:54] I picked the gun up and I was like, I don't want the gun. [56:57] I threw the gun down. [56:58] Then tried to resuscitate him. [56:59] One more time he couldn't be resuscitated. [57:01] And at this point, I'm like, all other places. [57:03] I see a gun, a camo, a gun swank that I didn't recognize. [57:09] And so I'm looking forward and I'm like, how am I putting this up? [57:12] I don't know. [57:13] I guess a lot of times I'm thinking it has blood or it has, I didn't want, [57:18] I didn't know what it meant. [57:19] So I cannot remove her, I think, say it was locked or not. [57:23] I put it in the safe and left it there. [57:26] And that's where it still is in the safe. [57:28] And then I, she said, well, when I was in the phone, [57:31] she said it's beyond our help. [57:33] I said, okay, so I can ask when the baby's recording, [57:36] she never will cut the baby's recording. [57:37] I can ask that right there until the sheriff's office is out there. [57:41] So what is this camo thing? [57:43] Is it like a gun case? [57:45] I guess it's like a gun holster and holster. [57:50] She said on instinct, she picked up the gun holster and put it in the safe. [57:55] Bowles said the gun was in his left hand. [57:58] This was the first time she ever mentioned seeing Acres walking with the gun in his hand, by the way. [58:03] Prior reports said she didn't see the gun right up until the time he shot himself, right before. [58:08] So this is going to be up to interpretation. [58:10] Both sides are going to interpret it differently and present their sort of spin on that. [58:14] Bowles was asked about the blood in the upstairs bathroom sink. [58:18] She said she didn't know about it and reiterated that she never washed her hands in the home. [58:23] She went to the hospital and washed them there. [58:27] He asked her how tall she was and compared his own height to Acres, [58:32] then had her demonstrate for the jury the struggle for the gun. [58:36] How tall was his name? [58:38] Um, it's like, can you say? [58:41] Five foot? [58:43] Yeah. [58:45] About six foot. [58:47] So I'm about six foot, right? [58:50] Mm-hmm. [58:51] I'm holding her on this. [58:52] Yes. [58:53] Can you graduate that? [58:54] Yes, I'm literally trying to put whatever I could in her. [58:59] So you was in his left hand just like this? [59:01] Yes. [59:02] Yes. [59:09] All I know is they're just going to be fledgling from here. [59:12] I'm definitely going to have the gun. [59:13] I'm going to try to stop him. [59:15] And then I heard the gun and I was like, [59:17] I'm going to have to move. [59:21] I'm going to have to move. [59:31] She told the investigator with firm conviction that she never had the gun, [59:34] said, I'll tell you the truth. [59:36] I watched my husband kill himself. [59:38] She said she loved him. [59:40] And at the end of the video, she said she didn't care where he was at night, [59:45] especially if he was high. [59:47] The state said that's a direct contradiction to her earlier statements of wanting to know where he'd been [59:52] and walking down the stairs to the basement to ask him. [59:56] So at this point, things are going along and suddenly the defense stands up and asks for a mistrial, [1:00:02] saying the detective on the stand and the state told the jury to judge Bowles on her body language, [1:00:10] to see if she was lying or not, and talking about her state of mind rather than the evidence, [1:00:15] claiming the detectives were not qualified to judge or comment on her guilt or not. [1:00:20] The judge denied that request, but, you know, they're going to try. [1:00:24] He denied the motion. [1:00:25] So the trial continues. [1:00:26] And on that note, we are back Monday morning for a week of testimony, [1:00:32] and the judge is starting early and going late. [1:00:34] We're going to start at 8.30 Eastern, which is 6.30 Mountain Time, 5.30 Pacific. [1:00:40] Our wonderful producer, Melissa, who lives in California, gets to get up very early to watch. [1:00:45] So that is what happened today in court. [1:00:49] You know, things are progressing. [1:00:51] It'll be interesting when the defense takes over what they'll have to say about the case and where they go from there. [1:00:59] This is Purnell Albert Dion, last seen walking, leaving his home in Elmo, Montana, between 10 and 11 p.m. on October 23rd, 2024. [1:01:09] He left with a person he knew, saying he would be right back. [1:01:12] He never returned and has never been heard from again. [1:01:15] Dion left behind all of his belongings and money, and his family suspects foul play in this case. [1:01:21] His disappearance remains unsolved. [1:01:24] He was 18 at the time, 5'5", 187 pounds. [1:01:27] He's Native American with brown hair and brown eyes. [1:01:30] Purnell Albert Dion. [1:01:32] Thank you, everybody, for being here. [1:01:34] I hope you have wonderful plans for the weekend. [1:01:36] We have, as I mentioned at the top, family coming in, a lot of family coming in. [1:01:40] And we're going to have some nice meals and a good weekend together. [1:01:44] And then we take off for the crime cruise, Erica and I, next week. [1:01:47] But we'll still have shows. [1:01:49] We're going to bring you Courtroom Insider from the CrimeCon cruise, assuming Wi-Fi is good, which I'm told it is. [1:01:55] So, we're not going to interrupt. [1:01:57] We're going to be with us, and we'll try to have a little bit of fun, maybe, next week as we continue to follow the trial. [1:02:02] Grace, of course, will be there every day. [1:02:04] And thank you, thank you, thank you again to everybody who has subscribed to our YouTube channel. [1:02:08] I think we might be over 20,000. [1:02:10] If not, we're super, super close. [1:02:12] Thank you for doing that, and thank you for subscribing. [1:02:15] And here's where you can find me. [1:02:16] I'm on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. [1:02:19] And then here's our Courtroom Insider channels, too. [1:02:21] Follow along if you haven't. 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