Child Found in Freezer | Azuradee France Interrogation — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00You didn't call 911. You were scared
2. 0:02that they were going to take your other
3. 0:03kids away? Yes. So you put him in a
4. 0:05laundry bag Yes. and took him into the
5. 0:08basement and placed him into the
6. 0:09freezer. Yes.
7. 0:12Disclaimer.
8. 0:13This video is for commentary and
9. 0:14educational purposes only.
10. 0:16All individuals are presumed innocent
11. 0:18until proven guilty in a court of law.
12. 0:20Any footage used in this video is
13. 0:22obtained through public records and
14. 0:24falls under fair use for the purpose of
15. 0:25reporting, analysis, and public
16. 0:27interest.
17. 0:29On June 24th, 2022, in Detroit,
18. 0:32Michigan, police responded to a welfare
19. 0:34check at a home on Monte Vista Street,
20. 0:36>> [music]
21. 0:36>> where they made a discovery that would
22. 0:38immediately turn the case into a
23. 0:39homicide investigation.
24. 0:41Inside the home, officers located the
25. 0:43decomposing body of a toddler, Chase
26. 0:45Allen, [music]
27. 0:46hidden inside a basement freezer. The
28. 0:48condition of the remains indicated that
29. 0:50he had been dead for months before
30. 0:51authorities were ever called.
31. 0:53What began as a routine check for a
32. 0:55child's safety quickly became an
33. 0:57investigation into how [music] he died
34. 0:59and why no one had reported it. The
35. 1:01medical examiner later determined that
36. 1:03Chase had [music] died from blunt force
37. 1:04trauma to the head.
38. 1:06That finding ruled out any natural cause
39. 1:08and confirmed that his death was the
40. 1:09result of violence.
41. 1:11Investigators now faced a case [music]
42. 1:13where a young child had been killed and
43. 1:15his body concealed for months inside the
44. 1:16very place he had been living.
45. 1:19As detectives [music]
46. 1:19began reconstructing the timeline, the
47. 1:22focus shifted to the events leading up
48. 1:23to his death.
49. 1:24>> [music]
50. 1:24>> What happened inside that home, how long
51. 1:27the abuse may have gone on, and why his
52. 1:29death was never reported. The answers to
53. 1:31those questions [music]
54. 1:32would begin with the statements given in
55. 1:33the interrogation room. This is the
56. 1:35interrogation of Ezzardine France.
57. 1:39What's the highest grade you completed
58. 1:41in school? 11th.
59. 1:43Can you read and write? Yes.
60. 1:45Okay.
61. 1:47Okay.
62. 1:49So this is like this is what we call
63. 1:51your constitutional rights, okay?
64. 1:54So
65. 1:56there's five
66. 1:58five of them on here, okay? What I need
67. 2:00you to do is I need you to read them.
68. 2:02You can either read them out loud or
69. 2:03read them to yourself. Once you've read
70. 2:05them, I need you to initial next to each
71. 2:07one of them where I put these little
72. 2:08lines
73. 2:09to just let me know that you understand
74. 2:11them and then sign right there, okay?
75. 2:13You can sit here and smell the food if
76. 2:14you'd like.
77. 2:19If you have any questions at all about
78. 2:20anything, just go ahead and ask me
79. 2:23and I'll explain it to you, okay?
80. 2:25Okay, I need you to see where it says
81. 2:26the date and the time. I wrote the date.
82. 2:28The date is 6 6 24 22. The time now is
83. 2:322:36 a.m. if you could write that down.
84. 2:36Okay?
85. 2:39Thank you.
86. 2:47Okay.
87. 2:50Just a couple more little questions
88. 2:51here.
89. 2:53What's the code for your phone?
90. 2:56I don't have a code.
91. 2:58On your phone? Mhm. To get Oh. So when
92. 3:00it to get in it or do anything to make a
93. 3:02phone call, you need to put a code or
94. 3:04anything? No.
95. 3:06And what kind of phone do you have? An
96. 3:07Android. Android? Okay.
97. 3:11Who has my phone? It's at the house, I
98. 3:13think.
99. 3:14Do you work?
100. 3:15No. No.
101. 3:22And who do you live with? My son.
102. 3:25And your children? Mhm.
103. 3:27Do you have uh
104. 3:29Like are you be close with your mom or
105. 3:31anybody?
106. 3:32Anybody You have anybody auntie My dad.
107. 3:35sister your dad?
108. 3:36What's your dad's name?
109. 3:39Okay.
110. 3:40Before we start writing anything down, I
111. 3:42would like to talk to you
112. 3:44and you can explain to me everything
113. 3:46that
114. 3:47that took place. Mhm. And what And you
115. 3:49know, the whole story, okay? Mhm.
116. 3:53And um [clears throat] so let's start
117. 3:55with
118. 3:56what happened tonight, okay? Like how it
119. 3:58all began. I was laying down watching TV
120. 4:01and I saw the flashlights like in the
121. 4:02window. What time do you think that was?
122. 4:05I'm not sure.
123. 4:07I'm not sure. I have to look at the
124. 4:08time. But how long do you think it's
125. 4:09been since like that point to right now?
126. 4:12Oh,
127. 4:13you know. A little bit over an hour?
128. 4:14Mhm. Okay. And I opened the door and I
129. 4:16said, "Yes." And then they said they
130. 4:18were here to do a welfare check.
131. 4:20You said So you opened the door and you
132. 4:21saw it was the police? Mhm. Okay. And
133. 4:24they said they were here to do a welfare
134. 4:25check and I said, "Okay." For us? For
135. 4:27Chase my son. For Chase? Mhm. Allen? My
136. 4:30son. Okay. And they asked me where was
137. 4:33he and okay, I did lie. I said he was
138. 4:35with someone but he wasn't.
139. 4:37Who'd you say he was with? Um a lady, a
140. 4:39friend. A friend. Do you remember the
141. 4:41name you told them? Mrs. Robinson. Mrs.
142. 4:44Robinson? Okay. Is there a such a person
143. 4:46or you just made that up? I just made
144. 4:47that up. Okay.
145. 4:49So they they didn't believe you or I
146. 4:51guess not cuz they came back.
147. 4:53Oh, so they left. Yes. So you told them
148. 4:56So you told them
149. 4:57he was with Mrs.
150. 4:59Robinson. And how long before they came
151. 5:01back? Um like
152. 5:0310 20 minutes. Okay. So when they came
153. 5:05back, then what happened? They said they
154. 5:07needed to check the house. And make sure
155. 5:09he wasn't there. Yeah. So then I That's
156. 5:11when I opened the door. I said, "Okay, I
157. 5:12confess." You said, "I confess."
158. 5:14>> Yes. I said, "He's in the basement in
159. 5:17the refrigerator." You said he's in the
160. 5:18basement in the refrigerator?
161. 5:21And then they handcuffed me and put me
162. 5:22in the back of the car, but I did not
163. 5:24beat my son. I didn't. He was
164. 5:26malnourished. He
165. 5:27>> Okay, let's hold on. We'll get there.
166. 5:29Okay.
167. 5:30So they handcuffed you and they took you
168. 5:33into custody and put you in the back of
169. 5:34the police car. Yes. And then they
170. 5:36brought you down here. Yes. Okay.
171. 5:39So
172. 5:42So you said you didn't beat your son.
173. 5:44No, I didn't. So can you tell me how he
174. 5:47Okay, he
175. 5:48>> He wasn't eating. Like he he's blind and
176. 5:51he
177. 5:52medical issues. So he He's blind and
178. 5:55what else? Um he
179. 5:57like wouldn't eat or anything. Like he
180. 5:59needed special attention.
181. 6:03Like for as he was having seizures.
182. 6:04>> He was So there was other medical So do
183. 6:07Do you know the other medical
184. 6:11Yes. And okay, so
185. 6:13the I woke I tried to wake him up that
186. 6:15morning and he didn't wake up. He wasn't
187. 6:17breathing or anything. So I laid I laid
188. 6:19him on the hallway floor and I said I
189. 6:21thought to myself, I said, "What am I
190. 6:22going to do?" I picked up my phone and I
191. 6:24was finna call but I I was scared.
192. 6:27So I just took him and put him in the
193. 6:29basement. So he When
194. 6:31How long ago was that?
195. 6:33The end of March.
196. 6:36The end of March. The end of March. Yes.
197. 6:38So you're saying you woke up one morning
198. 6:40and he was already dead? Yes.
199. 6:43He died in his sleep? Yes, he had to cuz
200. 6:45he wasn't breathing. I was about to wake
201. 6:47him up. I picked up
202. 6:48>> he sleep? In the room with the kids. In
203. 6:50a bed in a bed by himself or
204. 6:52>> Yes. The kids was in my room and he was
205. 6:54in there. By himself? Yeah.
206. 6:56And he's how old? Three.
207. 6:59And when you said he wasn't eating, were
208. 7:00you trying to feed him?
209. 7:02>> Yes, I was. I went and bought the um
210. 7:04powder from GNC, the weight powder.
211. 7:07Protein powder?
212. 7:07>> the Ensure. I did everything I could. He
213. 7:10wasn't eating. And I did I was
214. 7:12>> You never tried to take him to the
215. 7:12doctor or anything?
216. 7:14>> I was scared that they was going to take
217. 7:15my other kids. I was so scared. So when
218. 7:18he when How long had he not been eating?
219. 7:20Um like a couple weeks.
220. 7:23And you never And you never took him to
221. 7:24the doctor or anything to try to figure
222. 7:26out what was going on? No. Cuz you were
223. 7:28afraid they were going to take your
224. 7:29other kids.
225. 7:29>> Yes. But if it's a But if he's
226. 7:33Right, but if it's not if it's a medical
227. 7:35condition,
228. 7:36I should have took him
229. 7:38like right then. But Okay, so what The
230. 7:40end of March,
231. 7:41you're saying you woke up one morning
232. 7:43Mhm. Cuz I made the kids breakfast and I
233. 7:45went in there to get them up and I gave
234. 7:47them some water and he fell back down.
235. 7:49So I'm like, "He's not breathing." What
236. 7:51do you mean he fell back So he was up?
237. 7:53No, he wasn't up. Like I sat him up but
238. 7:55he wasn't responding.
239. 7:56>> Was he cold? I mean, Yeah, he was.
240. 8:02See how he
241. 8:03I didn't I did not beat I didn't touch
242. 8:06him or anything.
243. 8:07I put him in my dead brother. I didn't.
244. 8:11You were able to move him around. Yes.
245. 8:15I was scared. I I didn't I didn't know
246. 8:17who to call. So he You woke him up. You
247. 8:20sat him up. You tried to wake him up. He
248. 8:22wasn't awake.
249. 8:23>> No. And then I felt his heart. He wasn't
250. 8:25breathing.
251. 8:26So you tried to sit him up. He fell back
252. 8:27down. Yes. You laid him in the hallway.
253. 8:30Mhm.
254. 8:31And then you decided
255. 8:33you were going to call but you were
256. 8:34scared that they would take your other
257. 8:35kids. Yes. My faith I dialed 911 on my
258. 8:38phone but I didn't and didn't look at
259. 8:40it. So you put him in the basement. Yes.
260. 8:43So explain to me at that point what
261. 8:46like
262. 8:47exactly what you did. Okay, I found one
263. 8:49of the plaid bags and I put him in the
264. 8:51Like a laundry bag?
265. 8:52>> Yep. And then I put him I walked him
266. 8:53downstairs and put him in the basement.
267. 8:55So you put him in the bag first.
268. 8:57>> Yes.
269. 8:58Upstairs? Mhm. In the hallway. You put
270. 9:00him in the bag and you carried the bag
271. 9:02down into the basement.
272. 9:03>> Yes. And you have a refrigerator in the
273. 9:05basement.
274. 9:06>> Mhm. A freezer. Is it a like a like a
275. 9:08It's It was there when I moved there.
276. 9:10It's Well, describe it to me. Is it Does
277. 9:12it look like a refrigerator or does it
278. 9:13look like one of those like deep
279. 9:14freezers that's kind of like this big?
280. 9:16No, it's a old back in the day
281. 9:18refrigerator. It don't It don't
282. 9:20It doesn't have a freezer. Just Just one
283. 9:22big refrigerator.
284. 9:22>> Yeah. Like one big Like a door. Yeah.
285. 9:25Was Is it plugged in? Was it working?
286. 9:27>> working but I don't know what happened.
287. 9:32And I swear I was going to turn myself
288. 9:34in and everything. I was So what So at
289. 9:36the end of March, so you put him in
290. 9:37there and then that was it. Yes. You
291. 9:39never checked. You never tried to move
292. 9:41the body. You never tried to
293. 9:43do anything with it. No, I went down
294. 9:44there like a couple weeks ago and I just
295. 9:47got on my knees and prayed and all. When
296. 9:48did you discover that the refrigerator
297. 9:50wasn't working?
298. 9:51Last week. Last week?
299. 9:52>> Yes.
300. 9:54So when you initially put him in there,
301. 9:55the refrigerator was working.
302. 9:57>> Yes, it was.
303. 9:59Okay.
304. 10:02I did not feed him or anything.
305. 10:05He just wouldn't eat. He wasn't eating.
306. 10:07Like, I did call my dad so that he's not
307. 10:10eating. I don't know what to do. And
308. 10:11they did tell him to take him to the
309. 10:12hospital, but I didn't listen.
310. 10:15So, since March, none of your family
311. 10:17members or anybody ever asked like where
312. 10:19he's at or anybody and what it I kept
313. 10:21lying and saying he was with someone.
314. 10:24And um I would I wanted to open up to
315. 10:26him, but I was so scared.
316. 10:30Okay.
317. 10:34Before I
318. 10:35we write all that down. Mhm.
319. 10:40I just want to clear up a few things
320. 10:41from you.
321. 11:29So, your
322. 11:30your deceased son, his name is Chase?
323. 11:33Chase. Chase? Mhm.
324. 11:35c h a y c e a y c e Yes. Last name is
325. 11:40what? Allen.
326. 11:44And what's his date of birth?
327. 11:45>> 9 18
328. 11:49So, he's almost going to be 4. Yes.
329. 11:52And
330. 11:54you have how many other children?
331. 11:57Um
332. 11:58Can you give me their names and dates of
333. 12:00birth?
334. 12:01Also, she she's 2 months? Yes.
335. 12:05So,
336. 12:07she was
337. 12:09So, you had her right after he passed?
338. 12:11Mhm.
339. 12:14Who all was home when that happened?
340. 12:17Just me and the kids. Nobody else lives
341. 12:19there? No none of your baby daddies?
342. 12:22No boyfriend? They're not going to find
343. 12:24cuz you know they're searching the house
344. 12:25right now. Mhm. So, there's no male
345. 12:27clothing or somebody's stuff there that
346. 12:29lives there. He wasn't there to find.
347. 12:32Who's he? My baby daddy. What's his
348. 12:34Um I lied and told him he was with cuz
349. 12:36he did ask and I told him he was with a
350. 12:38lady, but he don't know he's in the
351. 12:39basement.
352. 12:41And what's his name?
353. 12:56What's his date of birth?
354. 12:57Um who who the dad?
355. 12:59>> Yeah.
356. 13:06And where is he right now? Um at work, I
357. 13:08think.
358. 13:09Where's he work at? Landscaping.
359. 13:11At night?
360. 13:14They don't cut grass at night. Well, he
361. 13:16was at work earlier. I'm sorry. I don't
362. 13:18know where he is now.
363. 13:19What's his phone number?
364. 13:26And he sleeps in the driveway.
365. 13:29He doesn't sleep in the house? No.
366. 13:32No, he doesn't cuz me and him are not
367. 13:34together.
368. 13:35But he asked to just stay there till he
369. 13:37gets himself together.
370. 13:38But his stuff's in the house. Yeah.
371. 13:40What kind of car does he drive? Um a
372. 13:42black Tahoe. Black Tahoe? Mhm.
373. 13:46Do you know what year? Um no.
374. 13:49I'm not sure.
375. 13:51Is it newer or older? Um older.
376. 13:57Anything descriptive about the
377. 14:00you can tell me about it that stands
378. 14:01out? Is it tinted, big wheels?
379. 14:04Anything?
380. 14:04>> Just a old Tahoe. Is it rusted up and
381. 14:07banged up, accident damage, anything?
382. 14:09No.
383. 14:24All right.
384. 14:27I understand
385. 14:30if you're trying to protect somebody.
386. 14:32No, I'm not Hold on. Hold on.
387. 14:35Okay.
388. 14:37Like,
389. 14:38I just want to make sure.
390. 14:39And I'm not accusing you of lying to me
391. 14:42or trying to be an a-hole or anything
392. 14:44like that, okay? Just hear me out, okay?
393. 14:49I understand this is your baby daddy.
394. 14:51That's the father of your some of your
395. 14:53kids. Mhm. You know, if something
396. 14:55happened and you're trying to cover up
397. 14:58for him,
398. 15:00you need to think about your other kids.
399. 15:03No, he And you need to be there for
400. 15:04them. No, you don't know.
401. 15:06>> did something to that child and you're
402. 15:08trying to cover up for him, you should
403. 15:09just You need to tell me. No, I swear on
404. 15:12my kids, I swear. So, you're telling me
405. 15:13for the last Yes, and 4 months You can
406. 15:16call my dad, too, cuz he
407. 15:18me and him got into it and my dad made
408. 15:20him move out. And ever since then, he's
409. 15:22been sleeping in the driveway. I
410. 15:24understand he's been sleeping in the
411. 15:25driveway, but what I'm saying is So, for
412. 15:274 months, he didn't ask Yes, he asked
413. 15:31and He never
414. 15:32didn't
415. 15:35I mean, 4 months is a long time for a
416. 15:36kid to be away. Yeah, he
417. 15:38>> And for him not to wonder where this
418. 15:40child is. He's not the father of that
419. 15:42child?
420. 15:42>> No, he was wondering where he was. He
421. 15:44kept asking me and I kept lying and
422. 15:46saying he was with someone.
423. 15:48So, He kept saying that that didn't
424. 15:50sound right to him. Where's uh Chase
425. 15:53Where's Chase's dad? In custody. He's in
426. 15:55jail? Mhm.
427. 15:57None of his family members ever came and
428. 15:59visited the child or anything like that,
429. 16:01grandma, nothing? No. Okay.
430. 16:15Okay.
431. 16:18This is what I want you to do.
432. 16:20Um we're just going to go over
433. 16:21everything again. Mhm. We're going to
434. 16:23write it out, okay? Okay.
435. 16:27Are you under the influence of any drugs
436. 16:29or alcohol at this time? No.
437. 16:32Do you understand this is a criminal
438. 16:33investigation? Yes.
439. 16:35So,
440. 16:37the next question is going to be
441. 16:38basically the bulk of your story here.
442. 16:40Can you tell me what happened to your
443. 16:42son, Chase? Okay. Okay.
444. 16:44So, I'm going to write down what you
445. 16:46what you told me. Okay. And then you can
446. 16:48review it. Okay. And then we can ask
447. 16:50some other questions if we need to
448. 16:51clarify anything, okay? Okay.
449. 16:56So,
450. 16:58um you said that your son
451. 17:01suffered from
452. 17:03numerous medical conditions.
453. 17:09And he
454. 17:12stopped eating Yes. for about close to 3
455. 17:15weeks and then you said you woke up.
456. 17:18You don't You don't remember the exact
457. 17:19date. No. It was the end of March. Yes.
458. 17:24You discovered that he was deceased.
459. 17:26Mhm. Um
460. 17:29You
461. 17:30didn't call 911. You were scared that
462. 17:33they were going to take your other kids
463. 17:34away. Yes. So, you put him in a laundry
464. 17:36bag Yes. and took him to the basement
465. 17:39and placed him into the freezer. Yes.
466. 17:42And he's been there ever since. Yes.
467. 17:44Then today, the police showed up
468. 17:48checking on his whereabouts. Yes.
469. 17:51And when they said they needed to come
470. 17:53inside
471. 17:55to
472. 17:56make sure he wasn't in the house, Mhm.
473. 17:58you told them
474. 17:59to come in and then you confessed. Yes.
475. 18:03You said
476. 18:04he's in the basement. Yes.
477. 18:06Okay.
478. 18:07So, that's what I'm going to write down.
479. 18:09Is that basically it? Yes. Okay.
480. 18:14Okay, so I wrote down what you we just
481. 18:16went over. And then I remember I asked
482. 18:17you where he slept.
483. 18:20So,
484. 18:21where did Chase sleep? In the
485. 18:24living room.
486. 18:26Was he Does he sleep in his own bedroom?
487. 18:28Yep.
488. 18:29Do you remember what
489. 18:31time it was in the morning when you
490. 18:32found him?
491. 18:33Like 11:00 or something.
492. 18:35In the morning, right? Yes.
493. 18:37And then I asked you who all lives in
494. 18:38the house and you said just you and your
495. 18:40kids. Mhm. You said your baby daddy
496. 18:42lives he lives in his car in the
497. 18:43driveway. Mhm.
498. 18:45Lamar, right? Mhm.
499. 18:47Taylor Senior?
500. 18:49No, don't call him Taylor Senior.
501. 18:52I asked you what kind of car he drove
502. 18:53and you said it was an older model, like
503. 18:55Chevy Tahoe. Mhm. And I asked you his
504. 18:57phone number and you told me it was
505. 18:59And I asked you how many kids you had
506. 19:00other than Chase and you said five,
507. 19:02right? Yes.
508. 19:03Ranging age from 2 months to 9 2 months
509. 19:07to how old?
510. 19:089 to 2 months. 2 months?
511. 19:11And I asked you their names and their
512. 19:13dates of birth, remember? Mhm.
513. 19:16So, we're going to sit on this until
514. 19:17you're okay. Mhm.
515. 19:21>> [clears throat]
516. 19:22>> Did anybody threaten you in any way or
517. 19:23promise you anything to make this
518. 19:25statement? No.
519. 19:29Is there anything you'd like to add?
520. 19:31No.
521. 19:37This is what I need you to do.
522. 19:39I need you to go through everything we
523. 19:40wrote down. Mhm.
524. 19:42Okay.
525. 19:43And it's in a question and answer
526. 19:44format, okay? Q is for what I asked you.
527. 19:47A is going to be your answer.
528. 19:49I want you to go ahead and read it. At
529. 19:51the end of each one of your answers like
530. 19:52this one's a super long answer cuz
531. 19:54that's the bulk of your story.
532. 19:55It's going to end up on the next page
533. 19:57even. At the end of each answer,
534. 20:00I need you to initial, okay? In the
535. 20:02bottom of each page,
536. 20:04I need you to sign,
537. 20:06date, and time, okay?
538. 20:09The time now is 3:17 a.m.
539. 20:12Okay?
540. 20:24Sorry, there you go.
541. 20:30Where do I initial though? On the back?
542. 20:32Yeah, no no no. Whenever at the So, the
543. 20:34that goes onto the next one.
544. 20:36So, you initial at the end of each
545. 20:37answer.
546. 20:38So, you know what I'm saying? At the
547. 20:39bottom? Yeah. So, then go to the next
548. 20:41page that
549. 20:42and then you can sign. Okay.
550. 20:46And then date 3
551. 20:48I'm sorry, 6/24/22.
552. 20:51And the time is 3:17 a.m. Oh, okay.
553. 20:55You already wrote that. Okay.
554. 20:58That's still continuation of your
555. 20:59answers, so just
556. 21:01initial that top one, too.
557. 21:03That the end of that, yeah.
558. 21:10You sign, date, and time each the bottom
559. 21:12of each page.
560. 21:12>> Mhm. Okay.
561. 21:20Perfect.
562. 21:29You know what else I want you to do?
563. 21:31I want you to make
564. 21:32a line like this
565. 21:34and a line like that in the remaining
566. 21:36lines.
567. 21:37Okay? Okay.
568. 21:39A big X?
569. 21:40>> Yeah, big X. Not on what we wrote, Okay.
570. 21:42but covering it.
571. 21:50What was Chase's date of birth? 1/1/18.
572. 22:04Yeah, we're going to
573. 22:09All right, cuz I didn't put Chase on
574. 22:10here. We're going to add Chase, okay?
575. 22:14>> [clears throat]
576. 22:18>> Allen, right? Mhm.
577. 22:22So, what was it?
578. 22:23He's with me. Mhm. 1/1/18.
579. 22:32And you're okay with that we added that,
580. 22:33right? Mhm. Okay.
581. 22:57Will there be other people I can talk to
582. 22:59later?
583. 22:59Oh, yeah.
584. 23:00What do you As far as what do you mean?
585. 23:03Um they told me I'll be talking to a lot
586. 23:04of people.
587. 23:06I think primarily for for right now
588. 23:07you're going to be talking with me.
589. 23:09Okay. Um
590. 23:11but there might be one or two other
591. 23:12people, okay? Okay.
592. 23:16Okay, this form right here.
593. 23:18So, I'm going to have to take a buccal
594. 23:20swab from you, which is like a Do you
595. 23:22know what that is? It's like a DNA
596. 23:23sample. All I do is like swab the inside
597. 23:26of your cheek, okay? Okay. So, if you
598. 23:27grant me permission, you just can sign
599. 23:29on this form.
600. 23:31Okay? What is this for? This is just for
601. 23:34just we can test anything we need to
602. 23:36test. Okay.
603. 23:37Um just sign right there.
604. 23:43And then the date and the time.
605. 23:456/24
606. 23:47and it's uh I don't know.
607. 23:48It's 3:23 a.m.
608. 23:52All right.
609. 23:53Okay, I'll be right back with that,
610. 23:55okay? Okay.
611. 24:12The investigation ultimately led to a
612. 24:14resolution in court.
613. 24:15France pleaded guilty to second-degree
614. 24:17murder and in exchange [music]
615. 24:19several additional charges, including
616. 24:21felony murder, first-degree child abuse,
617. 24:23torture, and concealing the death of an
618. 24:25individual were dismissed. She was
619. 24:27sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison
620. 24:30and is now in the custody of the
621. 24:31Michigan Department of Corrections.
622. 24:34As the case unfolded, investigators
623. 24:36determined that [music] the abuse
624. 24:37leading to Chase Allen's death had
625. 24:39occurred inside the home over time
626. 24:41>> [music]
627. 24:41>> ending with the fatal head injury in
628. 24:43March 2022.
629. 24:45Prosecutors treated the evidence as part
630. 24:47of a broader [music] pattern of violence
631. 24:49that resulted in his death rather than
632. 24:51an isolated incident. The five other
633. 24:53children in the home, who were between
634. 24:55the ages of 3 months and 9 years old,
635. 24:58were removed following the discovery and
636. 24:59placed into the foster care system under
637. 25:01the [music] supervision of the Michigan
638. 25:03Department of Health and Human Services.
639. 25:05In the aftermath, a civil lawsuit was
640. 25:07filed [music] by Juwan Allen, the father
641. 25:09of Chase Allen, against the Michigan
642. 25:11Department of Health and Human Services
643. 25:13and [music] its Child Protective
644. 25:14Services employees.
645. 25:15The lawsuit alleges negligence in how
646. 25:17prior interactions with the household
647. 25:19were handled focusing on whether warning
648. 25:21signs were missed [music]
649. 25:23and whether earlier intervention could
650. 25:24have prevented what happened. In the
651. 25:26end, the legal system addressed the case
652. 25:28through a plea and sentencing bringing a
653. 25:31formal conclusion to the criminal
654. 25:32proceedings. [music]
655. 25:33While the details uncovered during the
656. 25:35investigation remain central to
657. 25:37understanding how it happened
658. 25:38>> [music]
659. 25:38>> and how it was ultimately prosecuted.
660. 25:41If you found this video informative,
661. 25:43please consider leaving a like and
662. 25:44subscribing to the channel as it really
663. 25:46helps support our work and allows us to
664. 25:48continue covering important stories like
665. 25:50this one. Thank you.