Episode 4: The Disappearance and Murder of Marie Jane Carlson - Pt.1
About this episode:
Project Sunlight host, Rissa, talks about the disappearance of trans woman Paula Del Mundo from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and the murder and disappearance of Marie Jane Carlson from Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Show Notes
Transcript
RISSA: Hello and welcome to Project Sunlight, a podcast that merges true crime and social science. The show discusses the more than 150 documented missing and murdered Filipinas in the United States. I want to apologize for taking a longer break than I had intended. I know I've been gone on an unintentional hiatus for the last few months; with the holidays and the need to spend some time clarifying my life's direction, I finally feel like I'm back on the horse. You may have noticed that the number of missing and murdered Filipino women that I mention in the intro has changed. Unfortunately over the last few months there have been more Filipinas killed. Others were discovered by digging through digital newspaper archives. I've never expected the number to remain fixed, and no one else should either...but it never gets easier.
I want to say to also thank you for your patience with the schedule, it's not easy to carve out the time and space to produce this podcast when I'm not doing it full-time. I don't have an assistant or a team helping me, so right now it's a one-woman show. I do the research, writing, producing, social media and recording. The show will be on a regular schedule now, so you can expect the podcast to be coming out once a month, however, I am aiming for more and more frequency because I now recognize that the audience and the appetite for this kind of show exists.
When I decided to take on this episode I had no idea that the case I'd be featuring would be so complex to piece together. This episode went from being one to being split into two; I just didn't see any other way to do the story justice and I refuse to half-ass it.
You can donate at the Patreon link which is patreon.com/projectsunlight to support the show and maintenance of the database. This helps me out because I do have to subscribe to several digitized newspaper archives to glean what little that exists about gendered crime against Filipino women. The dearth of information presents a constant challenge, although we know there are numerous open and unsolved cases. Having to put together a timeline with so much missing and conflicting information or otherwise vague information was difficult, especially in this case.
One topic that will come up again and again on this show is that of mental health. It’s a stigmatized subject in our society but it’s becoming increasingly less so thanks to the internet and advancement of modern medicine. In today's episode, we'll be talking about the subject of abuse, being diagnosed with a mental illness, and its implications in the life of a Filipina mother who goes missing from Fort Walton Beach, Florida in 2011.
However, before we get into the episode, I have a quick public service announcement that I need to make about another Filipina who is currently missing from Dallas, Texas. I would normally create an entire episode around this case, but it's an open case with an ongoing investigation and there's just not enough information at this time.
Pauline or Paula Del Mundo is a 59-year-old Trans woman who disappeared from the Dallas Fort Worth Airport during a layover en route to Cozumel, Mexico on September 14, 2019. Pauline never boarded her flight to Mexico via American Airlines, instead, she called her sister to say that she had changed her mind and would be returning her place of residency, Tampa, Florida. She needed help purchasing a return ticket...I'm not sure if she needed help with the money, or if she just needed someone to talk her through it.
The hotel where Pauline was due to check in confirmed that she did not arrive for her reservation. Pauline is a Certified Nursing Assistant or CNA at a veteran's hospital and recently suffered a rotator cuff injury which has been a source of stress for her lately.
According to Pauline's sister Lolita, who lives in Florida, she didn't sound like herself but instead sounded distraught over the phone. The feeling that I get from the interviews with Pauline's family is that she was unusually incoherent and in a heightened state of despair. When her sister attempted to call her back, she was unable to reach her.
"We feel she is not in her right frame of mind," Pauline's other sister said, referring to Yolanda Del Mundo in an interview with Watermark Newsmagazine. "She was on the verge of desperation and we are so worried...It was such a nightmare for our entire family because she was the kind of person who is bubbly and loves her trips documented," Yolanda explained. "Unfortunately, we never heard from her since then…it was so frustrating."
Pauline was captured on CCTV footage from the airport at 10:30 p.m. wearing a white shirt and lavender pants. She is a naturalized American of Filipino descent. She is a 59-year-old male-to-female trans woman. She is 5'6 and of medium build, between 130-140 lbs with long brown hair, brown eyes and she speaks with an accent. She has a flower tattoo on her right forearm, and she wears full dentures.
A tip has since been received via private detective that Pauline was spotted on camera at 3:52 a.m. on September 15, one day after her disappearance, walking alone from Terminal C for miles until the south exit toll. Her sister says that she seemed to have been walking aimlessly and last seen about a mile away from the nearest gas station. The address where she was last seen is South Airfield Dr. & South 20th Ave. Euless, Texas 76039 and again this is right near DFW airport.
Information I've gotten from Community United Effort aka the Center for Missing People goes into further detail on Pauline's movements. She was seen on surveillance footage in Terminal C at 10:30 pm. She walked 2 and 1/2 miles up International Pkwy away from the airport going south, walking by a valet gate. Seen on footage going towards the warehouse district at 1:48 am. She walked across the street across from warehouses and sat on the curb. She’s seen sitting on the curb in the south end of the official warehouse district off of the intersection of South 20th Ave and S Airfield. She then abruptly gets up and walks away from the curb at 3:52 am. She walks around the corner of the curb going East, goes around a DFW airport sign (footage of her is obstructed by sign) and that's the last that is seen of her on the footage. The main road goes North and South. This warehouse district that Paula was last seen near is off of the main road. Technically its airport property but is leased out to different private companies. The intersection she was last seen at is surrounded by construction, ditches, ravines, swampy areas, a small lake and lots of wooded brush areas that are hard to search with a small number of people. It appears that she headed East after going out of view of the surveillance camera.
Pauline's family fears for their sister's safety due to recent anti-transgender driven violence in Texas, two of three murders occurring in Dallas. According to the Human Rights Campaign, more transgender women are murdered in Texas than in any other state.
Detectives do not believe that Pauline took an Uber or but didn't rule out the possibility of a taxi. Even with the help of FBI trained dogs, there has been no evidence of a body in the area surrounding the airport.
Yolanda says their family has been frustrated with the investigation "We want all the support from the public, most especially the LGBTQ community," Yolanda del Mundo goes onto say in the interview with Watermark. "My sister's life is at stake in Dallas and it seems authorities are slow in providing updates on her whereabouts."
Pauline's family members have been flying between Tampa and Dallas in their continuing search efforts, working with detectives and human rights organization Malaya Movement Texas to canvass the area.
"We hope and pray that all necessary concerted efforts be made to search and find her as we are nearly losing hope to get her back," Yolanda says.
To date, her disappearance remains to be a mystery to her family. She has been reported and included in NAMUS, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a national database for missing, unidentified and unclaimed person's cases. However in NAMUS, she’s listed as a male named Paulino Del Mundo. Due to HIPAA privacy, the family has been unable to gather information about Pauline from hospitals, mental institutions, shelters, entertainment bars, and even the morgue. Her Facebook profile is blocked while access to her Grindr account, a networking app for gays, transgenders, lesbians and queer people could not possibly be opened under certain restrictions.
Disappearances like Pauline's are becoming more and more common, it's not just sensationalism on the part of the media. Transgender women of color are at risk of being targeted in a violent assault, many go missing and are found later deceased. In a situation such as Pauline's where her mental state could impact her decision making, she could be especially vulnerable to those who may seek to take advantage.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Dallas-Fort Worth airport's Department of Public Safety at 972-973-3434, Detective Sgt. Karl Ross at 972-391-7221, or the Community United Effort Center 24-hour tip line at (910) 232-1687, any information submitted will remain confidential.
This episode we're going to be talking about the disappearance and murder of Marie Carlson from Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I relied heavily on a warrant issued by the Oskaloosa Sheriff's Department on May 5, 2015, with the narrative written by one of the lead investigators on the case, Sgt. Neslihan Suhi-Moore. The other lead investigator, in this case, is named Keith Matz. There's also a 2015 episode of Cold Justice that features Marie's case, and this got Marie's case national attention. Another 2018 Dateline episode also covered Marie's case and all of these resources, of course, will be in the show notes like in episodes prior.
Marie Jane Carlson was born on October 7, 1974, in the Philippines. Although her background is vague, Marie is thought to have been raised by her stepmother, Florencia Bridges and father Charles R Bridges. Marie grew up unaware of her real parentage, having been told she was born to a single mother, Nina Akkeson believing that she was 'taken in' by an American serviceman and his wife. Later, Marie discovered that she was half-sisters with her best friend, that the serviceman was her father.
Marie moved to Florida with her sister Esta, and they got an apartment together behind a karaoke bar where they were a hit with the locals. Esta said in her interview with Dateline that they were like celebrities, and I can believe that easily...Marie's pictures show a glowing, happy and fun-loving woman. A woman named Kay Barber, who helped Marie when she was in a hard place after meeting her at the age of 18, became like a mother figure to her and said that Marie's favorite word was 'beautiful.' Her favorite color was pink. She loved to cook, sing, craft jewelry and study the Bible.
Marie obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and at some point moved to Colorado. She seemed to enjoy her job as a booking deputy with the Colorado Police Department, but her ultimate goal was to become an FBI agent. She eventually married a man named Jeff Carlson, who would learn that Marie had been a victim of sexual assault, although further details about it have never been revealed. He talks about how this trauma caused Marie to struggle with loving herself, and eventually their marriage ended amicably. You could see the pain in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he describes how much he cared for her in interviews.
Again, the explanation given is vague, but Marie drifted in and out of jobs and it seems the trauma from being sexually assaulted followed her around. She was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, but I want to be careful in making any assumptions since I'm not a mental health professional and it could have resulted from a variety of different factors from trauma, to the environment, to genetics.
I do want to talk about what characterizes Bipolar and the difference between Bipolar I and II based on the research that I conducted for this episode. Believe me, we'll need to revisit Marie's Bipolar diagnosis later, so if you don't know much about it this is foundational for understanding questions I'll raise later. While it's never really clarified as to whether or not Marie had Bipolar I or II, but my guess is Bipolar II due to the number of years she had been grappling with it and as we go along I think you'll understand why.
Once again, here's my disclaimer: I'm not a mental health professional. I do have personal life experience as far as knowing people diagnosed with Bipolar II, so I have a lot of empathy for those who struggle with it. I just want to make it clear that what I'm presenting here is based on factual information and not my conjecture.
Bipolar doesn't have an exact cause, because as I said before, from brain chemistry changes to genetics to environment - these can all be contributing factors. So we can deduce that a combination of all three might result in some individuals being more at risk for developing Bipolar than others.
If you've heard of the terms 'Bipolar I' and 'Bipolar II' and wondered what they referred to, it's a difference in severity; Bipolar I features manic episodes while Bipolar II features hypomanic episodes. Bipolar I is generally considered more severe because of the type of manic episodes someone would experience which would show features such as a very energized state, extreme insomnia, restlessness, and impulsive decision making.
Someone diagnosed with Bipolar II would experience a hypomanic episode that is less severe in nature but similar in symptoms, however, it would also be accompanied by a major depressive episode. People diagnosed with Bipolar II don't generally experience manic episodes that require hospitalization. Behavior during a major depressive episode includes losing interest in hobbies or activities, changes in diet, insomnia or sleeping too much, feelings of worthlessness, suicidal thoughts, and other similar symptoms that are too numerous to list.
As far as it has been revealed, Marie was on medication for her Bipolar but the details of how she dealt with it otherwise just aren't available from what I have researched. There's no information on whether or not she received counseling if she regularly took her medication and whether or not the medication prescribed even worked. Most people don't cure themselves of their diagnosis with the first prescription, it's often that dosages are adjusted. It's not uncommon for a doctor to completely switch a patient's medication depending upon their response. Counseling is also usually recommended by doctors in combination with medication, but let's also be mindful that finding one you're comfortable with can be an extensive process...and that is normal.
Addressing and treating your needs after a diagnosis is a multi-part process and it takes a lot of fortitude. Not to mention, money. Taking care of your mental health just as important as treating unrelated physical conditions but it's really difficult to navigate the health care and insurance realms, plus there's the added stigma by society...it's a lot.
Navigating treatment after diagnosis while amid personal life upheaval had to have been tough for Marie. Remember that she also did not know that the man who raised her was her father, or that she had half brothers and sisters with whom she lived under the impression that she had been taken in in...or adopted, whatever story she was told until she learned the truth. Marie was also born in the Philippines and at some point later moved to Florida, so there could have also been elements of culture shock and identity questioning as a 1st generation Filipina.
When Marie's marriage came to an end with Jeff, he suggested being their three-year-old daughter's primary caregiver while Marie worked on stabilizing her life. Initially, she pushed back against the idea as many mothers would, but eventually agreed to the arrangement.
Marie called and visited her daughter Paris frequently, so she was always in contact with her. Jeff said he was happy for her when she joined Calvary Chapel Emerald Coast and had found God, as well as a tight-knit community that welcomed her with open arms. Of course, if everything from this point went smoothly we wouldn't be here telling her story.
Similar to how Marie was taken in by her friend Kay Barber, Marie found herself accepting help while in a trying time from a couple deeply involved in the church's ministry and community, but it would end up being a fatal mistake On the surface, it's quite easy to understand why Marie would have looked to the Flanders of the Calvary Emerald Coast Church, for comfort and support. The church is now known as the Emerald Coast Church Assembly of God. Calvary Emerald Coast church was casual in a humble, jeans and t-shirt kind of way. James, in his early 40's, was the epitome of your local pastor in the suburbs, nothing special..he was bald and wore glasses. He was described a charismatic pastor, he did manage to grow his church and online following by uploading his sermons to Youtube. Tanya seemed to embody her role of a pastor’s wife in every way. She was modest, brown haired, of average build and in every picture she’s smiling and very cheery.
James and Tanya Flanders were dutiful community servants, but beyond that they were well respected by their congregation. Tanya was head of the women's ministry, and together she performed Christian worship music with James…I won't link to, trust me, you're not missing anything.
Many of the details in the 2015 warrant from the Oskaloosa County Sheriff's Office, describe the dynamics of the relationships between the Flanders and their congregation members. Tanya Flanders strategically controlled her family's image and reputation within the church so well that even years after Marie's disappearance and murder, several members of the congregation past and present could not wrap their heads around it. Many members defended the couple and refused to believe the charges against James Flanders. All over the internet, church members have expressed their anger and hurt at both James and Tanya, and it's intense, to say the least.
Marie worked in the coffee shop in the church and in October of 2009, Marie moved into the Flanders home. She would have no idea that her life would descend into chaos, and in just two years she would disappear from that same house. But before that, Marie would move out and move in again which was a red flag from the start. It's unclear why, but less than a year after moving into the Flanders home in Florida, Marie moved to Arizona to live with James' parents for a short stint in the summer of 2010. Call me crazy, but I find this strange. I don't understand what would have caused Marie to move to Arizona to live with James' parents, and I don't understand why she didn't stay with her own family or friends...but I have no answers in that arena, so we'll just leave it there.
According to both James and Tanya, Marie allegedly agreed to act as a surrogate for them while she was living in Arizona. Right from the beginning of this completely twisted saga, I have to say that I'm not sure that Marie truly agreed to be a surrogate or if it was just the cover story for an extramarital affair. The other possibility I've seen mentioned online is that Marie was preyed upon from the start; if you consider that she allegedly accepted financial help from them according to James and was likely also being quote-unquote counseled in her emotional problems, it's quite obvious that the power dynamic between Marie and this couple makes her very indebted to them.
At most, I might be able to believe that Marie agreed to consider surrogacy. Many women these days provide surrogacy to both gay and straight couples, women who can't have babies, etc. Sometimes it involves a payment agreement and other times it doesn't, it just depends on the circumstances.
Surrogacy might have been posed as an option to reconcile the debt she owed them; it also might have been supplementary so that she could get on her feet, maybe move out on her own. Who knows how this alleged surrogacy arrangement was proposed by the Flanders, but the why I think is more complex than financial reasons. The implication here was that Tanya was incapable of having another baby because she had multiple miscarriages. She and James have an adult daughter who frankly didn't seem that much younger than Marie.
But the rumor at the church amongst members of the congregation was that Marie was a single pregnant mother-to-be abandoned by an abusive boyfriend, down on her luck...that the Flanders had taken her in. These church members were referred to as the 'inner circle' by police, and they were with whom Tanya would sew the seeds of doubt about the truth. So if you ask me they were less of an inner-circle and more like the gardeners for Tanya's lies, albeit they certainly believed what they were told and that's not their fault. Later, we're going to learn how this is just a small window into how Tanya's abuse of power in the church would come into play.
The inner-circle revealed to detectives that Marie was allegedly considering an abortion, but upon discovery of Marie's situation, the couple offered to adopt Marie's baby instead. The arrangement was that Marie would nurse the baby for three months and leave her in the care of the Flanders afterward. The sperm donor was none other than Pastor James. A member of the inner-circle claimed she was told that there was a turkey baster involved, which of course just couldn't have been the cherry on top of this bizarre story of conception.
Marie's ex-husband told Dateline that he was very direct and asked Marie what the deal was, and she told him that she was acting as a surrogate for James and Tanya, through a form of artificial insemination. So it seems as though Marie herself was sticking to the surrogacy story.
But then there would be yet another twist in the saga, coming directly from the inner-circle. Tanya disclosed to the group of women another previously unknown piece of information: James and Marie had sex, and Tanya had been okay with it. She told them that they had quote-unquote "done it the old fashioned way." If you recall, Marie was living with James' parents at the time and according to the details in the sheriff's warrant, James had flown to Arizona with the plan of impregnating Marie.
So here we are again with yet another deviation from the previous versions of the story. This last confession is intriguing because not only is this unbecoming behavior of a couple in church ministry, it's just not normal in general. Surrogacy arrangements are typically made in a much more responsible manner, involving lawyers, counselors, and many couples share this journey with their family and friends. Not in this scenario.
Keep in mind that this is really sensitive information to be sharing with members of your church congregation. This isn't just gossip, these are really, personal details and Tanya is the one imparting it to the inner-circle through her lens. It doesn't sound like James and Marie had a say in the stories that were spread around, but rather had to play along.
Right away if you're thinking this is train is speeding fast toward disaster, you'd be right. James had gradually begun to introduce material in his sermons that didn't go unnoticed by the congregation, verses from the Old Testament regarding polygamy, almost as if it were some kind of a justification for the situation at hand - and what was that exactly? We're going to get into that, so buckle up.
As months went by and Marie's pregnancy progressed, it didn't take long for the circumstances to become even more bizarre. According to the warrant, in December of 2010, Tanya and James became concerned when Marie called them to say she was contemplating an abortion. What that tells me is that Marie had her doubts about having the baby, probably because this situation was chaotic, to say the least. But whatever she was going through she managed to overcome, allegedly with the help of a doctor after some convincing by Tanya and James. In April or March, she moved back to Florida and into the Flanders home.
A baby shower at the church was organized for Tanya...that's right, Tanya, not Marie. There was even a photo taken of Tanya with a balloon under her shirt posing next to Marie which you can see in the Dateline special. The inner-circle at Calvary Emerald Church was sworn to secrecy about what they knew of this seemingly polygamous arrangement. If the word got out that Pastor James was the father of Marie's baby, it could destroy everything that he and Tanya and built together.
In the 2015 Oxygen special, there's a picture is flashed that appears to be from the birth of baby Grace on July 14 of 2011, where Marie is in an inflatable water birthing tub that people normally put in their living rooms for home water births. Tanya is kneeling behind her with one hand on her forehead and the other on Marie's stomach. It's just so...disturbing considering what follows after the birth of baby grace.
Three months later on October 19, 2011, several of Marie's family and friends received a hair raising group text message that read:
Yesterday I left Fort Walton Beach. There is something I have been wanting to do for a very long time and there will be no better time than now to do it. I didn't tell any of you what I have been planning or that I was about to leave because you would have probably tried to talk me out of it. I appreciate and love all of you.
Right away, Marie's family and friends were skeptical that she had written this message. Marie's friend, Kay knew immediately that she hadn't written the text when she wrote to Marie in response: "What about Grace?" and she received a reply of "Grace is in good hands, she is with Tanya and James." Kay Barber is the woman who was a kind of a mother figure
Kay said that Marie would have never referred to the Flanders as Tanya and James, that she always referred to them instead as 'James and Tanya' so as minute as that may sound to some people, it rang alarm bells in her mind, and it was obvious to a couple of people which included Jeff, her ex-husband and the father of her older daughter Paris.
Five days later, Jeff told police that the text message's wording didn't sound like Marie's and that he didn't believe she sent it. He was living in Kentucky at the time. He was adamant that Marie never would have left without telling him or her daughter Paris. He had spoken to her only a little more than a week prior, she had talked vaguely about plans for the future and everything had seemed normal. Jeff tried calling and texting her repeatedly with no response, prompting him to call the police and reporter her missing. In this phone call, he did express that in his limited contact with James, the pastor seemed to be very controlling over all aspects of Marie's life. So that's really worrisome, and I think a big red flag.
Jeff had known Marie really well, and it had to have been alarming for him to realize how tightly controlled she was in this very bizarre situation she was in with the Flanders. And remember Jeff had amicably split with Marie to give her the freedom to find herself away from the responsibilities of marriage, to get her bearings on whatever it was that was probably connected to her prior trauma.
Now Kay asked the Flanders to report Marie missing, and here's what's interesting...James told Kay that he had a friend in the Sheriff's office who would help him file a report once he knew for sure that Marie hadn't run away to Sweden, where her biological mother lives. So right away James has an excuse for not reporting her missing, and it's quite specific. But even in the days, weeks, months, and years to come James and Tanya never would report Marie missing.
Esta, Marie’s sister, told investigators the about last time she had seen Marie, which was about four days before the group text message was sent. They spent the day together and Marie was in a good mood. She kept showing pictures of baby Grace, and it appeared obvious to Esta that Marie was in love with James. So this is an issue. Because if Marie was truly just a surrogate, being in love James would perceivably be out of bounds. This man was married to Tanya and presenting the image of traditional monogamous marriage to his congregation. The two women made plans to see each other the next weekend with Esta later receiving a text message from Marie with a photo with the two of them from the day they spent together, saying "it was so awesome to hang out with you today! Love you."
Initially, Esta didn't even realize that the group text message was from Marie because she wasn't the type of person to send group texts. Esta expressed that despite what the text message implied, Marie would have never let anything prevent her from doing what she wanted to do. She also refused to believe that Marie would stop contacting Paris, or leave Grace.
It makes me wonder if this may have been the reason Marie ended up living with James' parents in Arizona after originally having moved in with James and Tanya. If a budding romance (and believe me I want to throw up saying this) but if Tanya had discovered a budding romance between Marie and James, I could see it causing her to demand that Marie get out of her house. Maybe she wouldn't want to leave Marie without a place to stay, so giving her the option of staying with James' parents might have been the alternative to being publicly shamed to the congregation. I don't know, I'm just thinking through ideas.
But when detectives interviewed the Flanders three days later after Jeff had reported Marie missing, Tanya told them more details about the alleged conception of the baby. She claimed that all parties were in agreement with the surrogacy. She even said that she was present, in the room, while Marie and James drank sake and had sex. I'm not here to say people don't have their voyeuristic inclinations or kinks, whatever, but that's not how this cookie is crumbling.
So, I’m sorry this is where I roll my eyes. Because this would mean that Tanya allegedly traveled with James to Arizona, to be present in the room, sober, according to Tanya, while James impregnated Marie. I'm calling bullshit. I know some people might be willing to entertain the idea that maybe, perhaps, Tanya forced herself to witness James and Marie have sex and wanted a baby so badly that she made an effort to be desensitized to the act...I don't know, I think this is just completely made up.
I thought it sounded like she was trying to convince herself that this is what had taken place, too, when watching the clips of her in interviews with the police, she's proclaiming that "sex is not a relationship. A relationship is two people coming together...sex is just an added bonus." I mean that just sounds like something you'd tell yourself, or maybe something the cheater would say to reassure their spouse.
I don't believe for a second that Tanya could handle being in the room. I don't think she was there...I think Marie originally was banished to Arizona upon Tanya learning of an affair between her and James. Because of their reputation of being a kind and generous couple, I don't think that they had the heart to turn Marie out onto the streets but instead opted to move her to Jame's parent's home. When Marie found out she was pregnant, she was propositioned with the idea of giving her baby to Tanya and James. So in other words, James and Tanya would adopt baby Grace.
Maybe that way James and Tanya could deal with their marriage with Marie out of the picture, and without the guilt of having removed her from their home. They could work on their relationship and avoid the embarrassment of the affair reaching the ears of their church congregation. But if Marie discovered she was pregnant shortly after, this would explain this completely bullshit story about how Tanya and James allegedly flew to Arizona to arrange a budget surrogacy conception arrangement.
A woman named Garnet Vota, a close friend of Tanya's and member of the inner circle was interviewed extensively by police. She had acted as a midwife to Marie during Grace's birth and it was at her house that the baby was born. She revealed the pregnancy was not planned, but that the Flanders didn't want the baby aborted. Garnet was one of the women in the inner circle to whom some of the details of this entire situation were leaked, by Tanya.
Eventually, Tanya told Garnet she and Marie were "sister-wives" and that they were in fact in a polygamous relationship with James. But it was obvious to Garnet that Tanya and Marie weren't getting along despite the plan to go on living as a family after the baby was born.
Tanya claimed in her interview with investigators that Marie was overjoyed that they would raise the baby together. But of course, this narrative wouldn't be complete without a creative twist from Tanya. She says that as time went on, whenever the subject of adoption was brought up to Marie it would cause her to withdraw. I don't know how much I believe this. I'm not sure I think that Marie had ever entertained the idea of adoption. Of course, it's impossible to know because we only have Tanya's word. My instinct is telling me that adoption is something I think that was floated around by Tanya and James. But of course, I could be completely wrong, it may have been something she considered at first...however, I don't really buy that Marie would have been enthusiastic about it.
Later, Tanya's friend Garnet would recall a conversation years later in a 2015 interview with police that she'd had with Marie while they were working together in the church coffee shop. According to Garnet, Marie said that she wanted James for herself but that she knew that it would be difficult to pull off. So because this was disclosed years after Marie's disappearance, I feel like this information should be taken with a grain of salt.
Why this information didn't come out sooner I don't understand. It seems like this would really important to mention, but it didn't reach investigators until later. Suspect, if you ask me...and we're going to examine why as we go along. With this backdrop and these circumstances in mind, let's get into nitty-gritty details of Marie's disappearance because we've got a lot more ground to cover.
According to the warrant, James claimed that Marie had been going through a noticeable decline since giving birth to Grace, described as a 'downward spiral.' He claimed that although Marie had been to a doctor, she refused to take her medication.
Now, I do want to pause for a second to say that this isn't unusual for people who struggle with mental illness. Many times people who are prescribed medication go through cycles of taking their medication, not taking it, for different reasons. Marie could have been not taking it because she was breastfeeding, who knows if she had even been taking it throughout her pregnancy. There are medications, different mood stabilizers that can be swapped out to eliminate harm to the fetus depending on the patient and their circumstances. However, there isn't a whole lot of research on pregnant Bipolar mothers...so we could end up finding out down the road that it's been undertreated, mistreated, etc.
So anyway, this is important because this information about Marie's Bipolar is used very strategically in Marie's disappearance to turn the attention away from the Flanders. I felt that in reading about this case, the behavior of the Flanders is presented in the media as mostly religious zeal and an eagerness to live this risky 'alternative' polygamous lifestyle. I think that James and Tanya were quite smart in how they were able to manipulate Marie and they had had enough practice by the time she'd disappeared that there was already an elaborate story prepared as an explanation.
James told police that on October 17, 2011, that he faked being sick to stay home and take care of the baby. He told Marie to take herself shopping, which he says she did at around 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. James said that Marie had been behaving 'differently' and that she was talking about taking an all-day trip. When she returned hours later, he states that she went straight to her room to take a nap.
Allegedly, Tanya had returned home from church Marie was still sleeping. James told Tanya that Marie appeared to be quote-unquote 'down' so like, she was sad or upset. The baby began to get antsy so Tanya decided to take the baby with her while she went shopping. She claims that she went to Target, and some other places she couldn't recall but at some point ended up at a Bealls Outlet in Destin.
A few hours later around 6 to 7 pm, James said that Marie woke up from her nap and they had a conversation in the kitchen. According to James, Marie talked about how she wanted to raise her other daughter, Paris, with Jeff. James told Marie that she needed to take care of herself first. Now he claims that this made Marie upset, and she no longer wanted to talk.
The warrant says that Tanya initially told investigators James had called her while she was out shopping to tell her about his conversation with Marie, and about how she needed to quote 'fix herself first' before making decisions about Paris' upbringing. James says that he went running in the neighborhood, presumably to clear his head is the implication...where he ran to a Bealls Outlet a little less than 2.5 miles away. According to Tanya, she spoke with James on the phone her entire trip back home, picking him up about a block away from their home. I think this detail is strange. Like why pick him up at all? Anyways...
Upon arriving home between the hours of eight and eight-thirty, Tanya and James said that Marie and her white pickup truck were both gone. James claims that he tried to text Marie but received no response. The next day, he tried to call her but she didn't answer. James says that she finally responded to him by text with "I'm okay" on the same day that Marie allegedly had sent the group text message to all her family and friends saying that she was leaving Fort Walton Beach. The warrant shows that these text messages would be less than 15 minutes apart.
Exactly one day before Marie would have sent this mass group text message, a Fort Walton Beach Police Officer ran the plate of a white truck located in the parking lot of a Chevron Gas station. Coincidentally, or so it seems, this white pickup truck was located close by to the Bealls Outlet where Tanya had picked up James the day before. The officer didn't see anyone in it or around it, the doors were unlocked. He hadn't seen it before that night, and he didn't see it again after.
During the initial interview with police, James presented a receipt explaining that he and Tanya had discovered Marie's pick up in long term parking at the Northwest Florida Regional Airport two days after she would have allegedly sent the group text. The receipt James handed to Investigator Matz documented Marie's truck entering long term parking on October 18, the day before the group text was sent, and leaving on the 21st.
Additionally, an interview with the Flander's neighbor revealed that Marie's truck had been in the driveway the day after her supposed disappearance with James' motorcycle parked behind it. That morning, the same neighbor had received a text message from James requesting heavy prayers. So if we track the journey of her truck, that means through the 18th to the 21st, her truck was moved from the Chevron gas station to the Flanders residence, and then to the long term parking lot at the airport.
In an interview with Tanya in early November just about two weeks after Marie's disappearance, she talks about how she and James noticed Marie's medication and gun were missing. Marie had kept this firearm from her time as a booking officer in Colorado. In this same interview, Tanya reiterated as she would in others, that Marie never changed her mind about the arrangement with Grace. This is something that she doubles down on throughout the years, and it's important for later so we'll make a mental note of it right here.
The investigation began to take a dark turn upon discovery that James had contacted a close friend named Eric who had agreed to meet with him after lunch, but James was so anxious that he had shown up at his workplace. Eric described James as being distraught and in a panic. Apparently, James wanted to get out of the country, either by boat or by plane and he wanted Eric's help, but he refused, and instead started questioning him. Eric had heard about Marie's disappearance in the days prior. According to Eric, James said quote 'it's really bad, it's really bad, I need to get out of the country" and eluding to the idea that something had happened to Marie. Eric then asked if he was the father of Marie's baby, and James admitted that he was. James just kept saying over and over again "it's so bad, it's so bad." But when Eric would push him to tell him more, James would say "I just can't tell you." So this is ominous, to say the least.
Eric happened to know that James carried a gun with him. And this I find quite interesting...a pastor who carries, I'd sooner expect that out in the midwest or somewhere like Texas but this just goes to show you how much I know about guns. Of course, Florida has a healthy and thriving gun enthusiast community, I was just caught off guard that a pastor would carry. Concerned for James' mental state, Eric asked for his gun and James gave it to him.
After contacting a mutual doctor friend, all agreed that James should be admitted to the hospital under the Baker Act. So for those who aren't familiar with the Baker Act, it's a law that allows for emergency psychiatric admission for people who might hurt themselves or others. There's a 72-hour hold where the patient is given a mental health evaluation, and this can be ordered by law enforcement, judges, doctors, etc. James voluntarily stayed at the hospital for ten days. So who knows if this is to buy himself some time so he could figure out his next move, or a way to set up the probability of a case for temporary insanity...maybe a diagnosis of depression could be a convenient scapegoat in the future.
Now during this time, Tanya had come to the Criminal Investigation Division office for an interview, but she never once disclosed that James was under the Baker Act even after she was asked when he could attend a follow-up interview. That in and of itself I think really speaks volumes. I don't think that Tanya wanted it getting out to anyone and certainly not the police. I'm sure it was humiliating enough for Tanya that mutual friends within the church were already aware that something was going on between the Flanders and Marie that was unraveling before their very eyes.
The investigation began to uncover important clues that the Flanders were omitting. A police interview with Jason Anderson, a youth pastor at the church, revealed that he had no knowledge of the true nature of the Flanders relationship with Marie. That is, until the day that James was admitted to the hospital under the Baker Act. Jason said that Tanya came into his office and said quote "We made some decisions we regretted, and James is the father of Marie's baby. James was in the hospital and he left here with the intention of going somewhere and killing himself."
Be sure to catch the rest of this story in part 2, Episode 4, coming up next on Project Sunlight.
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