Chapter 1 - Pt 2: The Night Of

Around five fifteen pm on the evening of March fourth, two thousand and one, a nine to one one call is made to the Jackson Police Department by a mall security officer. The officer is standing beside a father who cannot locate his daughter. According to the father, he sent his daughter into the mall around three o'clock. He proceeds to tell the security officer that he took a nap in his van in the mall parking lot and send his eleven year old daughter into the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee on her own. But when he awoke from his nap, he realized that his daughter had not yet returned, and he then alleges he went into the shopping mall to search for her. It would not be until the recommendation of the mall security officer, because the mall would soon close, that the father, Larry Markowski, would finally report his daughter, Bethany Leanne Markowski, as missing. This is missing in Hutchtown Season two. Bethany Markowski, Chapter one, Part two, The Night of March fourth. I'm your host, Jules, Hey, guys, let's go. I was actually on duty on March fourth of two thousand and one, and got the call to twenty twenty one North Highland, which is ARMA in reference to a missing child. We arrived on the scene. Actually I was the first on the scene. I want to add this because I think it's imperative for people to understand when they listen to this podcast. First of all, all make sure before you cast judgment on us officers that arrived there, you put yourselves in our situation. Former Jackson Police Department patrol officer Tommy Saparula replays the night of March four, two thousand and one as the first responding officer on scene after Bethany is reported missing. The following accounts are his and his alone and do not reflect those of the Jackson Police Department or Jackson State Community College. The other voice on the interview is producer Rachel Holloway. Mister Saparulo recalls Larry's demeanor that evening, there was no. Sense of urgency in body language of let's get in here, we got to find her. I mean, my daughter's missing. Holy cow, there was none of that. According to the first missing poster for Bethany Markowski from the Jackson Police Department, Jackson p d lists two thirty p m. March four as the last time Larry saw Bethany. It's important to note that the exact time Larry recalls Bethany going into the all changes a few times, and same when he wakes up from his nap. The times very anywhere from three point thirty three forty five four o'clock all the way to four thirty. Over the decades, the majority of criticism for the Jackson Police Department has been surrounding Larry's van. Why didn't they search Larry's van? That evening, mister Separulo addresses this head on. The question has been asked to me of like, why y'all go searches vehicle? We didn't have reason to go search his vehicle, right, I mean, for the amendments still applies with unreasonable search and caizure. And at that point, yeah, his actions were like not that of a normal person when people but we had zero probable calls to start searching vehicles and that type of stuff. So I don't want people to think, you know, why didn't y'all go search his vehicle? And blah bla blah. There was no real I mean, her being missing, abducted, whatever, by him. Was never the initial thoughts. He continues to explain, was he. Acting strange, Yes, but I'd never been in I never dealt with him before. Maybe he was just a calm person. I would be beside myself if my children were missing. Maybe I should say panic mode. Maybe that's a good word to look at, because I feel like I would have been, even though I'd been in some high stressful situations as a police officer. I think if it would have been my children, I'd have been in panic mode. But he just didn't seem that way. And that was what was so unusual about it. But just the legal side of it, our hands were like tied, like okay, because we as officers still we had to be sympathetic because what if it was true, What if she did go in and was in there two hours and somebody she wouldn't be the first chilt that was subducted in the United States? Now, had that happened in our mall before. No. He makes a great point, one that he truly hopes the biggest critics of the responding officers will hear. He does tell us Bethany's case has forever stayed with him. Now, according to mister Separulo before long that evening, multiple officers have now arrived at the mall and Old Hickory Mall had four wings to it, and back in two thousand and one, malls were still very popular, so every store was rented, every store was full, so that means there's a lot of ground to cover. They immediately do a foot search, ask about the cameras, and then take Larry to the Satellite Field office, which was already at the Jackson Mall. Old Hickory Mall had given the police Department this little satellite office as a police to conduct interviews, do paperwork, et cetera. When asked if that office in the mall had any cameras, mister Separulo reported no. Very quickly, the Jackson Pde calls in the Criminal Investigation Division known as the CIA. It's the CID that takes lead of operations and search efforts, being the ones to review all the security mall footage. The mall footage is one of the single most important pieces of information, and back then it was older technology. Someone had to manually insert the VHS tape into the recorder. By the end of the day, someone would have to rewind the tape to the beginning and put it back in pending no reason to keep the footage. The same tape would then be recorded over and over and over again, and thankfully, the Criminal Investigation Division looked at the footage of exits and entrances, and that's how we know this. Bethany Leanne Markowski, eleven years old on March fourth, two thousand and one, was never seen entering the mall, walking through the mall, or exiting the mall. RD people because I kind of kept in contact with them a pretty good bid And I'll tell you something I lifting here after a while that I still asked one of our CID people about and their response, but they assured me that not one time was she seen on any video going inside that mom. Former Officer sat Parulo's official involvement as a Jackson Police officer in the disappearance of eleven year old Bethany Markowski would not extend beyond filing the missing person report and putting out the bee on the lookout the bolow for Bethany that very evening. Once the CID stepped in, the patrol officers then step aside and continue their responsibilities. Rachel asked him if he believed Bethany was out there, still alive, living her life. I do. I do. And the reason that I believe this is I think, knowing Johnny, I think that if she knew in her heart that Bethany was gone, you and I would not be having this conversation right now. And I put myself in a in apparent situation. It's such it's such a tough question. I mean, it really really is, because like one of you is like, how in the world could you hide somebody. For this long? It's apparent that mister Saparillo's heart is genuine and he was truly distraught over this missing little girl. I'm part of this to be the first person there and just to tell myself, like, hey, you did your job, but it's still hard to swallow that was there something else I could have done that she would be married and have kids and be enjoy in her family. To pick back up with our timeline five forty three to be exact, Larry Markowski turns his phone back on forty three minutes after he was supposed to meet Aunt Laurie at the Waverly exit. Meanwhile, at the Waverley meeting point, an hour away, Aunt Laurie and her husband are waiting for Larry to pull up any moment with Bethany. At about four fifty pm, and anxious Johnny calls Aunt Laurie to check in. Still no Larry. Aunt Laurie encourages Johnny to give him a few minutes, as he wasn't actually late yet, and so Johnny takes a few breaths and puts the phone back down. Five o'clock PM on the dot comes and goes, the exact time Bethany was scheduled to be back in Johnny's custody. You'll recall that Johnny was not able to pick Bethany up herself per the court order of protection that she had filed against Larry, so Johnny is in Nashville, approximately two to three hours away. Aunt Laurie books at the time. Just after five pm, she calls Larry herself. The phone doesn't even ring before it sent straight to voicemail. She tries again, the same result. Voicemail is his phone off. Aunt Laurie now has to update Johnny and fuel Johnnie's wor's fears. Could Larry be taking Bethany and running? Aunt Laurie, I can't tell you how many times. I call, I know somebody knows Jeck's police partner. They know somebody knows because they pulled my phone records. But I called over and over and over, and then calling talking to Johnny and back and forth, is he there yet? Is he no? It was real stressful for like forty three minutes or something like that, and then finally he answers the last time, which was I think five point forty three or something like that, and I said, Larry, I said, where are you? He said, I'm looking for Bethany. I can't find her. I let her go on the mall with her little friend Hillary. She wanted to go to Claire's and I can't find her. I said, what do you mean you can't find her? And he was like, well, I let her. He said the whole thing again, and I said, I said, well should we come there? And he said no? And I just sat there and I said, well, I'm gonna call Johnny and I hung up for talking to him. And I called her and I said, who's Hillary? And she said she's this little girl that she knew when we lived in wherever. They hang up and Johnny works to find Hillary's mother's number. She is able to contact her, and they tell Johnny, yes, they did see Larry, but it was just as the mall was closing, and according to Hillary and her mother, they helped Larry look for Bethany for a bit, but they never actually saw Bethany at the mall that day. Remember, Larry would not have his phone on until forty three minutes after he was supposed to have dropped Bethany off in Waverley. It's also important to remember that Larry saw Hillary and her mother in the mall before he turned his phone on and answered Aunt Laurie's call, and according to Aunt Laurie, Larry repeated twice twice that Bethany went into the mall with her little friend Hilary. Hillary and her mother also reported that Larry seemed off, his hair was dyed dark, and he was wearing sunglasses inside the mall. Without waiting for any further direction or instructions, Aunt Laurie and her husband hop in the car and immediately begin the hour plus drive to the Old Hickory Mall. Johnny is immediately informed that Bethany is not to be found anywhere, and so she begins a treacherous multi hour drive east from Nashville to Jackson with her friend Diane driving the car. While Johnny is on the way, she calls her lawyer's secretary, a woman named Darlene. Darlene answers a frantic Johnny on the phone, and it turns out Darlene, who worked for lawyer mister Bradbury, was near the mall on a dinner date with her husband. Darlene gets Larry Mary's cell phone number from Johnny and she calls him herself. The following is a written statement from miss Arlene to the Jackson Police Department. It's dated March sixth, two thousand and one. Producer Jan Rivera reads it for us. On March fourth, two thousand and one, my husband and I were eating dinner at Chili's in Jackson, Tennessee, when at approximately five fifty two pm, my cell phone rang and it was missus Johnny Markowski, a client of mister James H. Bradberry, of which I am his legal secretary. Missus Markowski was very upset and proceeded to cry and tell me that mister Markowski had called her and said that their daughter Bethany was missing. I tried to calm her and have her explain what was happening. She proceeded to tell me that he, mister Markowski, was at the mall in Jackson and said that they had laid down to take a nap and when he woke up, she wasn't there. I asked missus Markowski what his mister Markowski's cell phone number was, and she gave it to me. I called him immediately to see if we could help. I asked what happened. He told me that she was meeting a friend Hillary, and that they were going to Clare's to shop for a hair something. He just didn't know what happened, and that when he woke from his nap, she wasn't there. I called missus Markowski again and told her what he told me. She proceeded to give the little girl Hilary's phone number and mother's name. When my husband and I arrived at the mall in front of J. C. Penny, the police were there and I asked again what happened. He then said he did not tell me that she was meetin anyone, and that everyone was just trying to twist things around. All of this time, mister Markowski seemed to be very composed. No crying, shouting, frantic behavior, just a little confused at his story or reasoning for sleepin in the parking lot of the mall. He said that she was wearing a green sweatshirt and then told another officer it was a green shirt. He was asked about her friends there in Jackson and said that he didn't know. She probably had. Several asked him about his mother or other relatives she might have called. He said he didn't know his own mother's phone number or address. He had said that he had been in Little Rock the night before and driven back late that night. Never gave a reason for being in Jackson, said he had laid down to take a nap around one point thirty. I called the number of a preacher friend of his and Little Rock and got an answering machine. I stated for someone at that number to call the Jackson Police Department concerning a Larry Markowski. No other information was left on their machine by me. The name and address was mister Wayne Harold Roberts, fifty five Fallen Creek, North, Little Rock, Arkansas. I got this information from the long distance operator Missus. Markowski's sister and brother in law were to have met mister Markowski at Waverley, Tennessee at five PM. They arrived in Jackson, and mister Markowski did not react at all, either upset or angry. He just stood there, smoking and no reaction. Missus Markowski was en route from now Nashville where she now lives by this time, and is calling some of us constantly. She tried every friend and relative she could think of, no results. By the late hours, mister Markowski's mother and sister came to Jackson. Again, no reaction until they arrived, and then all he would say was that they're trying to twist my story. The mother came over to myself, sister in law Laurie, and two police officers and didn't ask any questions concerning Bethany, but yelled that you don't have to cop an attitude. The officers advised her they did not want any trouble. We stayed at the scene until around ten forty five PM and the mother, Missus Markowski, arrived from Nashville. The police then took all parties to the station for further questioning. Some numbers in address that were given to me that night were a neighbor, Fred Perry Morton Roade Gleason, mister Markowski's mother, Shadesbridge Road, Greenfield. If I can be of any further assistance, don't hesitate to call with kindest regards, Darlene Dunny. That makes it three times now that Larry has relayed that Bethany went into the mall with her little friend Hillary. Twice he said it to Aunt Laurie on the phone, and once to Johnny's employer Darlene when she called him on the phone as well. But then why would Larry deny that he ever said this. Once Darlene arrives, Aunt Laurie was questioned about what Larry also told her when she arrives, and when Larry claimed that Aunt Laurie was making it up, he never said anything about a girl named Hillary. Well, here's Laurie's account pulling up to the mall after Darlene already gave her statement to the police. And so when we pulled up, I got out of the car and the police officer came up to me and he said who are you? And I said, I'm Johnny's sister, Bethany's mother, And I said I'm I'm supposed to meet them, and White related to pick her up and I said, and he said, well, what did what did he tell you? I said, he told me she went into the mall with her little friend Hillary to go to Clare's or something like that. And he just looked at me. And then Darlene came over and I said, And Darlene had stuff written down on a piece of paper, and I said, what did he tell you, Darley? And she showed me her paper went into the mall with her little friend Hillary. She had the same story. And neither one of us know who Hillary is or ever heard that end. So the police officer said to me, he said, his story has changed at least five times since we've been standing here. And I'm like, because I was like, what is he saying? And he is like, he's not saying He's saying that you guys are lying that He did not say that she went into the mall with her little friend Hillary. And I'm like, we don't know who Hillary is. We never heard that name. You know, how could we both come up with this little girl's name. I hadn't talked to her. Brandon Barnett hosted the twenty seventeen podcast Searching for Ghosts, which covered Bythany's disappearance, interviewed Hillary. Hillary has since passed away sadly, but Hillary was adamant at the time that she saw Bethany in the mall. In fact, she tells searching for Ghosts that she even helped Larry and the security guard look for Bethany for quite a while. And now we find that Larry's mother, Jannita Markowski Ward, and Larry's sister Lori Holt, have arrived at the Old Hickory Mall. Here's Larry's niece. She's Lori Holt's daughter. Her name is Sarah Lynn, and she is Bethany's cousin, and she's recalling the moment her mother learned that Bethany was missing on March fourth, two thousand and one. I remember me and my Si, Sure, we're listening to Aaron Carter. We were in the liver room, listened to him. And I remember I always got to see Bethany around my birthday. So I wasn't thinking about Bethany at the time, but I just knew like I would eventually get to see her. But I remember hearing my mother's scream, I gotta go, Bethany's missing. I gotta go. And I remember her being very scared, and I remember my dad being like, I don't know what happened. Something's going on. I remember wanting to go with my parent and she was like, no, you can't go, you got to stay here. But I remember her it was very quick. It was got to go. Some of there wrong. Bethany's missing, and. She was out the door. Laurie would drive to her mother, Juanita, to pick her up, and the two of them would then arrive at the Old Hickory Mall. Now it's unclear who called Lorie Holt. Was it Larry or was Juanita the one who was called first and then asked Laurie to get her and take her to the mall. Janita Markowski Ward, Larry's mother, had nine children, daughters Luri and Lisa, and sons Johnny, Larry, Steve, Warrene, Tim, Billy, and Robert. Yes, that was nine children, and it was obvious to all of the cousins in the family that Juanita was the closest to Bethany. Bethany was Juanita's favorite grandchild. Jannita would often watch Bethany at her home while Larry and Johnny were on the road with his eighteen wheeler. In fact, Bethany even had her own room at the home, so it is understandable that grandmother Juanita would be shaken up with the news of her granddaughter missing. However, according to Johnny's sister, Aunt Laurie, when Larry's sister and his mother arrive at the mall that evening, they are chaotic and abrasive, so much so that the law enforcement on the scene tells Aunt Laurie when Bethany's mother arrives, she cannot be behaving in the same manner or she'll be arrested. Here's Aunt Laurie, and you may catch. Laurie referred to Larry Markowski as Spawn, as in Spawn of Satan. That's their nickname for him, as there was also Aunt Laurie's ex husband there who was also named Larry, and over the years that nickname has stuck to differentiate which Larry they were referring to. And since this is coming from them, this is their story, their experience, we're going to leave it in during direct interviews. Before Johnny got there, Spawn's sister and showed up and his mother is just like, throw mama from the train, mom. Throw Mama from the Train was an award winning nineteen eighty seven comedy about an overbearing and abusive mother of an adult son. She's just ran and raving and what are you do to my son? And bah and and the police is like, listen, this ain't whatever county you came from. We will arrest you. So she piped down a little bit. And then when Johnny finally got there, they'd warned Johnny before she even opened her mouth, because they'd then been dealing with his mom, saying don't get rowdy, don't get up, stay calm, or we will arrest you. And so she didn't say anything. She just, you know, asked a lot of questions. I spoke with Larry's sister, Lorie Holt on the phone for a few hours. During our lengthy conversation, she shared many stories about their upbringing and her transparent struggle with whether or not it was the right thing to come onto a podcast and quote unquote discuss the past. She made it very clear that she was a Christian woman now and she felt she was to forgive and move forward and not bring up past mistakes of others. I suggested that she talked to her pastor at her church, for his opinion and guidance on whether this was ethical in helping us search for Buthany Markowski, her niece, and she would get back to me. But after that Sunday came and went, she never did reply to my follow up texts or my call, so I had her answer. She was not going to come on and record for the podcast. However, she did have a lot to say about that evening Bethany went missing. According to Laurie, she felt it was absolutely untrue that her and her mother Juanita were acting out, being difficult or being confrontational at the Old Hickory Mall when they arrived on March fourth, two thousand and one. She adamantly refuted that piece of information. Now, when Johnny arrives with her friend Diane, whom had given her a ride from Nashville. They they are then ushered down to the police station and the questioning begins. We can assume that they began questioning Larry first, since he was the last one to see Bethany alive. Per his statement, and get this, during his interview, Larry falls asleep. Yes, you heard me correctly. He falls asleep multiple times. Actually law enforcement has to wake him up quite a few times. While Larry was being interviewed. The women were in an awaiting area with TVs, snack machines, and they're trying to think of every detail they can to give police to maybe help find Bethany. A police officer walks through the room and tells Laurie. You know by hearing you, guys are wide awake, either praying or crying or talking away. He said, I've had to wake him up at least three times for him to talk about his daughter. It was already established through Larry. Now established, not confirmed that he took a nap in his van and send Bethany into the mall. But listen to what he says on the local television WBBJ news segment in two thousand and one. We took a nap in the van and she got up one and go in the mall. And she went in, supposedly, and I fell back sleep for a while and woke up and went and looked forward. I made a mistake of going to them all. I shouldn't have done that. A few things about this audio clip. Larry says we took a nap in the van. However, in previous statements it was him who took a nap in the van with Bethany walking into the mall on her own. Now did you catch that? He says, supposedly she walks into the mall supposedly. Does this not indicate that he is then admitting he did not actually watch his eleven year old daughter safely enter the shopping mall alone. And yes, his voice does crack. You may have caught that. But it does sound like emotion, doesn't it. He's staring at the ground while he talks, and he doesn't meet the reporter's eyes once. But it's this line, this one line we haven't seen Larry open up publicly about since it's the line where he says, quote, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have done that end quote. I think we all agree with you on that one, mister Markowski. Some speculators believe Larry is admitting to making a mistake, but not the mistake of letting Bethany go into the mall. Could the mistake have been made before he even arrived at the Old Hickory Mall in Jackson, Tennessee, on March fourth, two thousand and one. Could that be where the emotion is from of course this is speculative, but as producers we decided to look into every nook and cranny in this case. Could the emotion be real but perhaps not in the right context, or could this truly be a remorseful father. Listen to what Larry said in a follow up interview with w BBJ in twenty eighteen. I picked her up on Friday, went to Arkansas and the whole time was there. We was up all night, we visited and everything else. We came back to my house in Gleason Well. She wanted to go back to the mall and Jackson to go to Clare's and the Gamer. So we got to mall. I think there's about one thirty two o'clock in the a halfnon so I stretched out on the back seat of the van. It wasn't about thirty minutes later. I went in. I couldn't find her. I went out to the mall. I look foreverywhere. I believe somebody hazard and I believe she's gonna come home. Just like J. C. Dugard, I follow stuff. I don't care how they smear me. All I care about is my doughter. I love my daughter with all my heart. And now we find ourselves at the Jackson Police Department again, and within the next few days Johnny and Larry will consent to take light detector tests, but only one will pass. Put a pin in that you, guys. We will be returning to this in Part three. Johnny, her sister and Laurie and her friend Diane all stay at a hotel in Jackson the day's following Bethany's disappearance. March fifth, two thousand and four, the morning after Bethany goes missing, finds the women at Kinko's printing the moment the doors open and they have flyers printed with Bethany's face and contact information. And it's wonderful because the Kinko's graciously donated every flyer to Johnny to help find Bethany. The women recall how they put a flyer on every windshield in that mall parking lot, but the mall itself it would not allow them to put flyers up inside. The women would stay almost a week, but without any leads, there was not much Johnny could do except call the detectives every thirty minutes and ask if there had been a lead yet, have you found my girl? Do you have any tips? What can you tell me? While Johnny is frantically searching for Bethany, telling every person she crosses paths with about her, desperately pleading for anyone who was willing to look at the flyer and hope they recognize her. Baby Johnny's cell phone rings it's Darlene, Johnny's lawyer secretary, who was at the mall on March fourth. Aunt Laurie replays what Darlene said. Hey, I went over to the courthouse this morning when it opened at nine, and I told we were sitting there and I was getting some paper signed or giving them something. She said, and I was like, hey, do you hear about Bethany Markowski? And they were like, no, what happened? And she was explaining to him what happened the night before and they were like, that's weird because her father, he was just in here paying his child's support. And she said he was real pissy because he shoved the check at me and said, I hope the bitch chokes on it. Missing in Hushtown season two is executive produced in partnership by fire Eyes Media LLCs Jules Thorpe and Johen Rivera, as well as mom Cast Productions, Rachel Holloway and Heather Northcraft. The script is written by Jules Thorpe and edited by Heather Northcraft. Project lead is Rachel Holloway and Master Editing and audio production is done by John Rivera Jewels. Thorpe is your host Fire Eyes Media. Mom has weird raising voices while raising kids