[Georgia] The Fire on Fawn Drive

Kara (0:21)

Welcome to Bless This Mess and the True Crime Podcast. I'm Tara. Here with Stu. Say hey, Stu.

Stu (0:25)

Hey.

Kara (0:25)

I forgot what I said.

I had a glitch. Man, I've been forgetting words here lately. I couldn't remember the word.

SPEAKER_3 (0:33)

Now I can't remember what it is.

Kara (0:35)

No.

What was the word I was looking for? I can't remember it now. This is insane. Oh, I kept forgetting the word apron. Remember the other day I was like I want a gardening and I was like, what's the thing? What's the thing? I'm telling you, it's these children. They take your brain cells when you have them.

Stu (0:53)

It's kind of like cats take your breath when you sleep.

Kara (0:56)

That's baby's breath.

Stu (0:58)

No.

Kara (0:58)

That's they steal a baby's breath. That's the old wives tells too.

Stu (1:02)

They don't steal your breath? No. They do mine, especially when you clean their cat box and there's poop in there.

Kara (1:08)

Okay, Stuart, we just started the podcast. Can you not? Can you not? There could be new listeners right now that just shut us off, okay?

Stu (1:17)

That's why they're here.

Kara (1:18)

Okay. Don't write a review based on that. You can end now and just go about your business.

Anyway, so we are back today and we are heading over to Athens, Georgia with a classic Southern college town. Or with a classic.

Stu (1:35)

Really?

Kara (1:35)

I know. It's late, guys.

Stu (1:38)

It's only nine o'clock.

Kara (1:40)

I know. It's a classic Southern college town that usually feels peaceful, tight-knit and full of energy, but not today. Well, not back in January of 2001 when the quiet community was shaken when smoke was spotted coming from an off-campus home on Fawn Drive if you're local. Now what firefighters discovered inside that bedroom launched one of the most stubborn baffling investigations the city had ever seen. I mean, I will say that the city has ever seen of an individual murder because, you know, they had those.

Atlanta, Georgia has had quite a few crazy things happen. We had the Atlanta child killings and then we also had the bomber at the, remember they arrested that wrong guy, didn't they?

SPEAKER_3 (2:34)

Threw him under the bus.

Stu (2:35)

The security guard that found the bomb.

SPEAKER_3 (2:37)

Yes.

Stu (2:38)

They were like, oh, he's, he did it. You smelt it, you dealt it. He's, he fits out the profile of a wannabe, whatever. And oh yeah, he made millions off of that, but they ruined his life.

Kara (2:48)

But this is one of those cases that really bothered the town just based on not being able to solve it, taking a very long, long time to do so.

Stu (2:59)

It did. It took decades for the truth about that morning to finally come into focus. But before we get into the police reports and details.

Kara (3:09)

Drink.

Stu (3:10)

Kara has a few quick porch notes.

Kara (3:14)

Yes, I made him, I wrote porch notes to make him say porch. Now, before we pull up a rocker, here's a quick reminder of our weekly schedule. On Mondays, we step outside the South for A Little Less Mess mini-sodes, which I went to Scotland this week, Stu. I'm sure you didn't listen.

Stu (3:30)

Did you?

Kara (3:30)

Yes, I went to Scotland.

Stu (3:32)

Without me, huh?

Kara (3:33)

And Thursdays are for our regular full-length episodes right here on the main feed. Now, if you want to get those Thursday episodes early and ad-free, plus our Friday bonus show Sit and Sippin and Bullshit and come join our Patreon family. Now, when I say early and ad-free, what happens is sometimes we get the episodes out Wednesday morning because we're responsible and record early.

Stu (3:56)

Ahead of time, yes.

Kara (3:57)

But then sometimes like today, we're irresponsible. We're recording on a Wednesday night. So whatever time I put this episode out, it goes out on the main feed.

Stu (4:06)

Immediately.

Kara (4:08)

No, it goes on the Patreon immediately. And then 24 hours later, I set it to go out on there. So we'll get it out sometime on Wednesday. It could be morning. You know when I'm responsible whenever all of a sudden you open your app.

Stu (4:21)

You're on the way to work and it's there.

Kara (4:22)

6 a.m. that it was there. If not, then here we are. It's going to be like 11 48 or something like that. I won't get this out, but it'll still be on Wednesday. So that's what we mean by you get it early. It's always 24 hours. You get a full day ahead.