Drink about something
True crime and some fun banter adventures with music you don't want to miss!
Lindsey finds stories that are amazingly shocking enough that you just may need a drink after or during the tales of past crime trauma!
Drink about something
EPISODE 37: A Fatal Talk Show Crush
This story serves as a chilling reminder of television's power and the real human costs behind what's packaged as entertainment. If you watch the footage yourself, share your thoughts with us - was Jonathan visibly angry during the taping, or did his rage develop afterward? How much responsibility should media bear when tragedy follows their programming?
DONT FORGET TO CHECK OUT THIS LINK
JUSTICE FOR THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE
https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-the-west-memphis-three/
Hey Jesse, hey Lindsey, what are you drinking today?
Speaker 2:I got adventurous, you did. I'm an adventurer.
Speaker 1:I see that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, monster made this alcohol stuff called the Beast. Uh-huh, and I'm going to run the whole train on all four flavors.
Speaker 1:Okay, what flavor is that?
Speaker 2:Killer Sunshine.
Speaker 1:Ooh, can I taste a sip? No, yeah, I will taste a soap.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, I will, I'll let you. You puckered your lip dude Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. No, I wanted to be adventurous. Hopefully it don't geek me up too much.
Speaker 1:Well, I checked there's no caffeine content. Okay, I checked, but it is 6% alcohol, whereas my vista bay is five and you're on the vista bay this. Today I have the lemon lime. I'm about out.
Speaker 2:So good we had to make a good, I don't know anything about beast, though. The beast, the beast. I'm gonna unleash the beast, kill the beast. Let's kill the beast, let's watch that shit. Yes, I'm breaking it open. What are we drinking about, lenzardo, over there?
Speaker 1:we are drinking about. All right this. So this will be our um wrap up on our lgbtq series. Um for the end of pride. This will come out technically on July 4th.
Speaker 2:Happy 4th of July, so happy 4th of.
Speaker 1:July.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we will be Try that Is it good, try it, try it.
Speaker 1:That is good. I want to try that pink one though.
Speaker 2:We're going to run them all. Yeah, we're running them all today.
Speaker 1:Running them all. Anyways, this is our last case for this pride month, um, and we're going to be talking about a gentleman named scott amador. Amateur, something like that.
Speaker 2:Amateur we'll go with amateur and we gotta. I have to believe you because I don't know.
Speaker 1:I know so, before we get to all that, what made you feel old this week?
Speaker 1:me yeah oh, I thought oh who else am I talking to audience? What made you feel old this week? I mean, they can't answer me back, so yeah, they can, if they get on our stuff if you want to message us on Instagram or through a email drink about something, pod on the Gmail, drinkaboutsomething on the Instagram, or you can just go to our website, drinkaboutsomethingsite, and follow us on all the things and send us a message about what made you feel old, but anyways.
Speaker 2:But I'm asking you, jesse Sambaugh, I mean, I had it, I had it earlier and it was like on a random Tuesday of this week.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:It came to me, yeah, but I forgot. Oh, so maybe that makes me feel old, how's that? No, like I mean, okay, so body ailments and all that stuff we always talk about, well, I do, you know for sure. Now, memory, music, things of the past, just pulling up the spots like we did today, yeah, and we're like I remember coming here before, like anything was developed. You know, right, I went to a spring today which florida has the most amazing springs in the world, like yeah, this one is now a state park called Little River Springs State Park.
Speaker 1:I think so. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I used to go there and skinny dip at night and build fires down there on the bank and just hang out all night long and just party and do whatever Like when I was like 16, you know it was like the thing to do, you know.
Speaker 1:And it's a great little place. It's literally a little spring that goes to the, that is connected to the swanee yeah, it's a cool little little spot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just remember going back, so that kind of makes me feel old yeah and we've got our grandchildren now and that's wild, yeah, yeah I'm like you see that spot right over there. I used to swim naked right over there and late at night, like we never do anything other than just swim around naked.
Speaker 1:That's still weird and very dangerous because there is a lot of gaitas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one of them, largemouth, might have grabbed my wing, wow yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean not in the spring part. The spring part is pretty shallow. There ain't really no reptilians hanging out in that part and there's a really cool cave and we were talking about how there used to be a old petrified tree in that cave and it's not there anymore. They moved it that must have been part of the steak part thing and they found a woolly mammoth in there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was cool. So that kind of makes me feel old. Yeah, what about you? Your turn?
Speaker 1:so that bruise. So two weeks ago we were at Royal Springs. We like to spring hop during the summertime and, yeah, I acquired a bruise and it's still there. Still a big old hunk of flesh that is bruised swollen two weeks later. So yeah, that's that whole.
Speaker 2:Thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that whole. Thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I like lifted up my leg, thinking that I was. I was going to show somebody, but you already seen it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that would definitely, just looking at something you're like, this would have healed up so much faster. You know, I'm getting old.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I've always had an issue with bruises just hanging out.
Speaker 3:for a long time you got bruises just hanging out for a long time you got the random bruises all the time I am part of the random the mystery bruise bruise club, yes, but this one's your own ass at night.
Speaker 1:This one's not a mystery.
Speaker 2:I know where it came from and it hurt very badly so, like two o'clock in the morning, I'm gonna wake up and just watch you beat your own ass yeah, what are you? Doing? I'm whipping my own ass.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. With all of that being said, if you are new here, what we do is we have a couple of drinks, we, or I, unload a true crime story onto Jesse, so, and most of the time like like ninety nine point nine, nine percent of the time he has no idea what I'm going to dump on him.
Speaker 2:She also lets me know how old I am every single week. Yeah, lindsay, thank you.
Speaker 1:So we talk about the true crime and at the end of the episode we plug a band that Jesse has sought out and got permission to play on our pod permission to play on our pod. And you put notes on my notes that, OMG, Aurora Wave is going to be on Octane. That's exciting With our boy Jose Jose Megan, middle investor man. Middle investor Megan.
Speaker 3:Devils Dozer.
Speaker 2:Maybe they will make it to the Devils. You can't do it. I can't do it either. Lindsay, You're over there coughing. She's such a metalhead.
Speaker 1:I try so hard, scream, and it seems like the more that I practice, the less. Like I can't even do vocal fry anymore. You can't, no. Since we quit smoking cigarettes I can't do vocal fry anymore more. You can't, no, since we quit smoking cigarettes I can't do vocal fry anymore. Nope, because my octaves were just not made for metal. I don't know what it is well, and it sucks, but our boy landon, yeah, he's in there, ginger in up, ginger in up, yeah yesterday I was in the kitchen getting uh food preps for our dinner and for the river.
Speaker 1:Today he was. He always he cleans the bathroom, he cleans their bathroom on Fridays and he always plays music and we jam out.
Speaker 2:But he was like he's been really practicing his growls and dirty vocals, the transition in between that and clean, though he's got to work on, but he's getting it.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm teaching somebody how to scream too at the same time.
Speaker 1:He found a coach on Instagram Insta coach, insta it. Yeah, oh yeah and.
Speaker 2:I'm teaching somebody how to scream too. At the same time, he found a coach on Instagram yeah, yeah, insta coach, insta coach, yeah.
Speaker 1:But anyways, so yeah. What was your favorite daytime trash TV talk show in the 90s?
Speaker 2:Before I do that. I just wanted to do this real quick because we forgot the intro.
Speaker 3:Happy Friday, happy this real quick because uh, we forgot the intro.
Speaker 1:Happy friday. Oh my god, we are old. We forgot the intro song. It's okay, it's okay. I'll just repeat the question when the intro song is done.
Speaker 2:You had a question there. What was you saying, lizzie, before I interrupted you?
Speaker 1:All right, so what was your favorite daytime trash TV talk show in the 90s? Like one you would have watched when you stayed home from school sick or when we had a holiday.
Speaker 2:I mean, we watched a shitload of Jerry Springer.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about daytime, jerry Springer was afternoon after we got off school. Oh wasn't it? I don't remember watching it when I got off school.
Speaker 2:I don't know. That's about the only one I can bring up, though, because I didn't watch a lot of that shit, you know.
Speaker 1:OK, so Jerry Springer, all right.
Speaker 2:So, jerry, lot of that shit you know okay, so jerry springer was it all right. So jerry springer was known for having like insane fights, controversial things and but it was, it was it was.
Speaker 1:It was kind of staged, oh for sure, but so is most of all entertainment. Yeah, a lot of them were not. So in the 90s, if you uh, if you weren't there, if you did not grow up in our time period, we had many varieties of daytime talk shows, like Ricky Lake, sally Jesse, raphael, montel, williams, gordon Elliott, which was my favorite because he was Australian. I loved him. He might have been British, I don't know, but I remember him being very Australian. Then we had Mari, who was given out all the DNA tests.
Speaker 2:And then I remember all that. I thought all that was around the same time as jerry, I don't know it is I'm getting there, and jenny jones and then, of course, jerry springer.
Speaker 1:These talk shows would have all kinds of topics like teenagers gone bad. I'm an exotic dancer and my husband doesn't know. My best friend needs a makeover or I'm sleeping with my best friend's husband. Is it my baby or?
Speaker 2:not Right the whole thing. Yeah, who the daddy, who the daddy is.
Speaker 1:And, like I was saying, a lot of these shows were staged, but some were organic and some of the subjects had no idea what was about to be told to them when they were called on the stage by the talk show host, Like come on out. Blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 2:We're going to fly you to Colorado. You can come hang out, bro. We're going to put you on TV. Now. They won't tell you what the hell's going on. Yeah, like, yeah.
Speaker 1:And people lived for this drama and we talked about it all the time, even as young kids Like we would go sally jesse or um jenny jones the day before, or montel williams, all of that ricky lake I never watched a lot of ricky lake on her talk show but I love ricky lake movies.
Speaker 2:I don't remember watching a lot of it. I'm I'm sure I've seen it all I mean I've seen it all you know. It's just I didn't fix it on any of that. I mean, if I sculled across, then I would be like, well, you're a dude, but us chicks we were fucking watching that shit.
Speaker 1:So if you watch the movie Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock, it opens up and that's how the movie starts with. Her best friend brought her on a Ricky Lake-esque talk show to let her know that she had been sleeping with her husband and they were in love. Who brings?
Speaker 2:their best friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, she thought she was going on there to get a makeover and her best friend tells her I've been sleeping with your husband, we're in love and fuck you. Now you're a single mom.
Speaker 3:Bye, so yeah, it's horrible.
Speaker 1:It's absolutely horrible. So the person I'm talking about today, his name is Scott Amador, and he loved these daytime talk shows and he was a bartender at night. So but before we get into all that, let's talk about who Scott was. So Scott Bernard Amador was born on January 26th 1963, frank Amadur and Patricia Graves in Pittsburgh, pennsylvania. Are we going to Pittsburgh?
Speaker 2:Close.
Speaker 1:Close Ish, yeah, we're doing a whole New England trip. You guys will definitely be going along with us and we'll save most of the cool spots as a surprise, because we're going to have some content as we go up there.
Speaker 2:Well, on our way back, we have some time, so we may, but we may not, and there's some cool spots that I really want to go, since we'll have time, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, I was just asking because I know we will be in Pennsylvania, but anyway. So Scott was the youngest of six children. That's got to be, it's got to be hard.
Speaker 2:The youngest of six. Yeah, and your parents are older, so it's kind of like, ah damn kids. I'm done raising many of them.
Speaker 1:I know it's like at that point you let your kids raise your kids yeah.
Speaker 2:You just old and wore out with kids.
Speaker 1:So Frank and Patricia divorced and later moved to Lake Michigan I think it was Lake, lake Orion. So Scott had quit school when he was 17, but he joined the Air Force right away, like right out of his you know. So I didn't even know you could do that.
Speaker 2:At 17 in the 90s. It was just the 90s, right yeah.
Speaker 1:No, that would have been the early 80s. Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I thought you had to be 18 as well. I don't know.
Speaker 1:But I mean, and he quit school. I thought you had to have like education.
Speaker 2:Maybe he was At least high school diploma.
Speaker 1:But maybe that was before all of that.
Speaker 2:Maybe he was like emancipated or something, or he just.
Speaker 1:No, it doesn't say. It didn't say that in my research, right, who knows? In satellite communications, wow. So with the Air Force he went to Germany and he learned how to ski and unfortunately had an accident and broke his leg. Oh shit, yeah, fucking skiing's cool until that happens.
Speaker 2:It was Sonny that died from a skiing accident.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Bono.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sonny died from skiing. We miss him In a weird way. We loved him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in a weird way, but we love to share more. At the end of his four years, scott decided he did not want to re-enlist because he was gay and he wanted to be able to live his life out of the closet. And we didn't have the don't ask, don't tell at that point. Okay, so he was honorably discharged and continued to work in communications until he decided bartending was a better fit for him. He was a really friendly person and he loved the nightlife and he had a couple of failed relationships and got really close with a woman named Donna that lived near him.
Speaker 2:By the way, that's my favorite bartenders.
Speaker 1:Oh, me too. Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2:It is so fun.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:It's like the greatest time. I just want to hang out and bullshit.
Speaker 1:Because they're friendly and they're talkative and they hook your drinks up, yeah, and like I love it, it's cool. So one day he went over to go see Donna and she had a friend named Jonathan Schmitz over who was working on her car, and Scott was instantly attracted but a little nervous about telling him about his feelings because he wasn't sure. Now, jonathan had previously stated that he had been questioned about his sexuality but never said that he was gay. But he was questioned if he was gay, Right. Well, donna or Scott, I've heard. Both were watching Jenny Jones show and they were looking for guests for an upcoming episode with the topic revealing same sex crushes. So either Donna or Scott called in and there was an application and it was accepted and they were going to be on the show and Scott would admit to Jonathan that he was crushing on him.
Speaker 1:And this was 1995, by the way. Jonathan also gets the call from the Jenny Jones show or the Jenny Jones team to tell him the details. They tell him that his secret admirer could be a man or a woman and at first Jonathan said no, but curiosity got the best of him and he finally agreed. And to be honest, after watching way too many of those shows myself. Personally, I would have said no, because it's just quite intimidating.
Speaker 2:Sounds like a trap. Yeah, you're just like I don't know what they're fixing to dump me off into right.
Speaker 1:because, because I watched that shit like if I was out of school or, uh yeah, if I had the day off from school or I was home sick. That was just my routine yeah I would watch all the daytime talk shows curiosity.
Speaker 2:That would kill me. But at the same time you got to know there's just way too much more narrative there that they're going to dump on you when you get there is that the ice cream truck again?
Speaker 3:yeah next call the sack over.
Speaker 1:Yeah so, anyways, but um, yeah, I mean that was my routine. I would watch all of those daytime shows and then, uh, the soap operas will come on, you know, in the afternoon.
Speaker 2:Well, I feel like every person that was on there, especially if they didn't know what the hell was going on like they're all wrangled into this because they want them there. They want, you know, they want people to be shocked and appalled and there's a whole thing that they try to grab people on Right you don't know, you don't know. But before I keep going, can you um the other one, because I'm out of drink and I want to try.
Speaker 1:Are you just a short episode? I just want to try. I want to have a drink your puppy dog eye me for my drink ain't you okay is it, how is it working, and I don't want it to get my looking, because you know I don't want it to get warm can't charm the snake over here. Let's get it cold. Let's have it while it's cold. Okay so we're opening the Beast.
Speaker 2:Pink Poison. Pink Poison, pink Poison yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, what if I do it slowly? Okay, I'm opening it. Lindsay, here it goes, there it is, you get to try it first. How's that? Is this love?
Speaker 1:Yes, try it first, how's that?
Speaker 2:is this love? Yes, is this love that I'm feeling? Is this pink poison? It's good that I've been.
Speaker 1:It does taste a little.
Speaker 2:It does taste a little like poison that's why I was just saying that, oh, we've seen bell bib devoe, that's yeah that girl is poison.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had an 18 month membership at um membership. We had 18 month season passes at universal and during their concert series we were like hmm, let's go check it out it was so cool.
Speaker 2:That's some 90s shit too.
Speaker 1:Hey, uh, that's some 80s shit, oh shit yeah that one made you feel old now 80s and 90s we had to take a quick break and give our kid some ice cream truck money.
Speaker 2:We heard the ice cream truck in our headphones.
Speaker 1:So John thinks that it's maybe someone from work or his ex-fiance, which I think would be weird, like why would your ex be your secret admirer?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, you don't know Because there's a twist always. You don't know, Then you get there and now you know.
Speaker 1:So Donna and Scott fly out separately than John and they get on the show. First Scott tells Jenny and the audience a little about the situation and then Jenny starts to pry a little bit you know she's got to make it a little more edgy and a little more steamy and ask Scott if he's had any fantasies about Jonathan. And Scott goes into a little detail involving a little romantic dinner with some champagne and a hammock situation, things like that, you know. And this made me think why does romance on TV or movies, especially back in those times, involve champagne Like the shit's gross, unless it's mixed?
Speaker 2:with some juice.
Speaker 1:I don't like it either, unless it's mixed with some juice, and you call it a mimosa. It's all right. It's all right then, but I still would rather have Bloody Marys.
Speaker 2:I don't feel any more bougie than a Bloody Mary. Right, I love those.
Speaker 1:Now when I go stay the night with my bestie Erin Russell in Jacksonville, she has taken us to this one place a couple of times. They've closed now and that's sad, but they had like bottomless mimosas and they had all different flavors. They had like it was a Hawaiian theme restaurant. Oh wow, yeah, they had Hawaiian themed food, I think.
Speaker 2:I remember you telling me about that.
Speaker 1:And they had Hawaiian themed mimosas and there was one called Cherry Bomb. Oh my God, like there was all kind of other cool ones called the Mermaid and had cute little names, but Cherry Bomb was the tits, yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, if I would have been there with y'all, which I'd have been the turd in the punch bowl, yeah it was girl's day, yeah. I would have damn sure tried them all. Yeah, we did, we tried, well would have damn sure tried them all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we did, we tried. Um well, I would start off with a bloody mary and then I would have like three mimosas, because you order the bottomless mimosa with your food and you can get a bloody mary. And then we got different flavors and they make them in little cute, little cocktail glasses. Fifth, wheel.
Speaker 2:You'd have to put me in a different seat somewhere, like you have to sit over here in this other booth you got over there, you got to go, and you're pointing like in the very back corner of the fucking restaurant.
Speaker 1:And you're just like watching us the fifth wheel seat.
Speaker 2:I can't even hear you talking from here.
Speaker 1:But that place had some good food I'd still go and some good mimosas. But anyways champagne is overrated, I guess it's's me in the spot. Well, I'm just, I'm still in champagne.
Speaker 3:Maybe it's just because of the name.
Speaker 1:I'm trying.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry. Go ahead, Lindsay.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's just because champagne has a fancy, is a fancy name.
Speaker 2:You feel fancy, you feel bougie, I'm having champagne. I don't know if I can do it.
Speaker 1:My favorite champagne reference is so God, god, why can't I think of his?
Speaker 2:name? I don't know, but I'm hearing you hold on who is our tall who?
Speaker 1:oh my god, why can't I think of his name?
Speaker 2:give me just a second. I said too much.
Speaker 1:I've said it all give me just a second, because my perimenopause is kicking in and I cannot remember names right now of somebody that. I absolutely love and adore, but I'm only thinking of his stage, his character name. Oh my God, I can't think.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry. Can I finish this, though? I think I thought I saw you try.
Speaker 1:Jeff goldblum was on. He had a series. He had an arc on will and grace, like jeff goldblum. I love jeff goldblum, but he had an arc on will and grace named scott willie. Yes, it was. It was scott willie and um we're dying.
Speaker 2:Lindsey's is like a mess and I'm over here just trying to sing anyway.
Speaker 1:so he's he's in love with karen. At first he hates her and he's trying to like like, totally, like, fucking, uh, sabotage her, but then will like makes him realize that he's actually in love with her. So then he's like, oh, I want to get her and I want to take her on a dinner you know how Jeff Goldblum is with his hands and he's like and some champagne, champagne, champagne.
Speaker 2:You know we have such a great time watching those late night shows and she's like I want to watch some Will and Grace and I'm like okay, and then I'm like hooked.
Speaker 1:I want to check into it. I want to do it with jojo, though, because she has watched every episode as much as I have I mean collectively.
Speaker 2:I've probably watched everything twice with you yeah, we've watched it probably 15 times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I'll claim two, but I died.
Speaker 2:I died so many cold times, oh yes.
Speaker 1:That is one of the funniest shows to have ever been had and the short old man.
Speaker 2:Who is it?
Speaker 1:Leslie Jordan.
Speaker 2:Leslie Jordan RIP. He got us through our. I just love him to death. Oh my God, he's just so amazing. He'd be like well shit.
Speaker 1:What are y'all doing during?
Speaker 2:the pandemic. Well, he'd be like well, shit, what are y'all doing during?
Speaker 1:the pandemic.
Speaker 3:Well shit, what are y'all?
Speaker 1:doing.
Speaker 2:We watched all that.
Speaker 3:Every day. I just love him to death.
Speaker 1:He got us through the pandemic.
Speaker 2:He was cool and his name was Beverly Leslie.
Speaker 1:On fucking Will and Grace, he just showed up with all the coolness who pretended to be straight, but he was definitely good. My business associate, benji, and I remember like after years, will was like it's just weird to me that you're still calling him your business associate, but anyway.
Speaker 2:I love that kind of comedy, we'll get back to the story.
Speaker 1:So Jonathan gets called out by Jenny Jones to meet his secret admirer and at first he sees Donna and he gives her a hug and a kiss and thinks maybe it's her, but then finds out it's actually Scott and he gives Scott a hug too. But it's it's, you can tell. I watched the whole. I watched the show. Um, it's a little uncomfortable.
Speaker 1:Oh so then, of course, you know you gotta make it steamy, you gotta make it controversial, you got to do all the things. Jenny plays back some of the fantasy reel and which I'm telling you was not really a big deal, it was nothing too embarrassing, and in fact you can tell that Scott really wasn't even comfortable saying those type of things, but Jenny kept pushing it. You know you got to make it juicy, got to make it juicy. Well, jonathan pushing it. You know we gotta make it juicy, gotta make it juicy. Well, jonathan says you know what? I'm very flattered, but I am heterosexual and you know I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:So everyone seemed to be in good spirits, they're laughing, they're having a good time on stage, and then, after the show was taped, the three of them donna, jonathan and scott they go out for drinks and it said that scott and jonathan even danced together and allegedly shared a kiss. Wow so. And then they all flew back home together, like donna and scott changed their flights to fly back home with jonathan, like it was all you. You know, three friends having a good time. It was all Gucci. It was all Gucci, right. And when they got home they went out drinking again together the next night.
Speaker 1:But then he, jonathan, goes home to his parents and tells them about the show, and tells him that he was devastated about what happened Really. Yeah, him that he was devastated about what happened really, yeah, and all that he could imagine was like was like his gran, his granny, his grandma watching this and, you know, thinking that he was gay and he didn't like that. So here's a little background on jonathan. Uh, he was born on july 18th in 1970 and he was one of five kids. So see, see, him and Scott had some shit in common there.
Speaker 2:Big family. John was one of six.
Speaker 1:Uh, or, I'm sorry. Scott was one of six. Jonathan was one of five.
Speaker 2:Was he the youngest?
Speaker 1:It did not say that he was the youngest, but it just said he was one of five in my research and Jonathan was known for being on the sensitive side, a little bit of an outcast. And after high school he went to college but dropped out like after two weeks and then he moved back home and he got a job waiting tables. In 1994, this was a year before the taping he was diagnosed with manic depression and had suicidal tendencies and had actually attempted suicide three times.
Speaker 2:Oh, so he's a little messed up, yeah.
Speaker 1:He drank to cope with the depression and that became a daily habit. So he became an alcoholic and then he was also diagnosed with Graves disease, which is an autoimmune disease and it causes hyperthyroidism autoimmune disease and it causes hyperthyroidism. I have a family member that was very close to my heart, who actually passed away from this at a very young age.
Speaker 2:I've heard of it too. She was 21 years old.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it can cause serious health problems, like I said, even death if not treated properly. Right, that's just horrible. So Jonathan had struggled with keeping a job but finally found one that he liked at a place called Fox and Hound, where he moved up from busboy to waiter, and that's where he was working at the time of the show. So two days after the show he tells his parents, like I said, that he was devastated and he receives a love letter from Scott. And then something in Jonathan snapped. Jonathan went to the bank, he got some money out, he purchased a gun and went to Scott's house Come on now.
Speaker 1:He sits in his car for a while and then he goes to knock on the door. He leaves the gun in the car. At this point, okay, scott's roommate, gary, answered and said that Scott was shaving and Jonathan, like went right on in and confronted Scott about the letter. Now, later on it was said that Scott smirked, but he probably just kind of smiled. Like I said, it is alleged that they had a moment after the show, right. Then Jonathan was like I need to shut off the car. So he goes out to the car.
Speaker 1:No, and this time he grabs the gun, he goes back to the house and he knocks again and this time Scott answers the door and Jonathan is pointing the shotgun right at him. A fucking shotgun, lindsay Shotgun. And Scott yells to Gary, he's got a gun, he's going to shoot me. And then Jonathan shot him twice in the chest. The fuck, right in front, right in front of Gary, like right in front of Gary. And then Jonathan takes off. Well, gary calls1 and Scott lived, oh, for just a few more minutes, but then was dead before the ambulance could arrive. Now, jonathan, he leaves and he drives straight to a pay phone and he also calls 9-1-1 and admits to the shooting and on the 9-1-1 call he I shot this guy who wanted to put me on the Jenny Jones show.
Speaker 2:Like it was all his idea. I don't think it really was his idea to begin with. I think she was trying to just get him on there to see what was going to come of it. Well, on mixed signals and it's like poor emotional communication.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I researched some Google stuff and then I actually found the or found a court TV documentary on this. It's like 45 minutes long, and Donna later on on the stand says that Scott and her talked about it together. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, Because Donna was and they. Neither one of them knew him very well.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, okay, Um, because Donna was, and they neither one of them knew him very well, knew Jonathan very well they didn't know that he was.
Speaker 2:I mean, I mean emotionally distraught and yeah, and, and he was just going along with it to be you, can't?
Speaker 1:you gotta be you gotta express things Right Right, express things Right Right off rip and you know what's crazy and don't go along with it because it seems like he's just kind of gone along with it a little bit and gave him a little bit of this and some signs and signals, and it's weird too, because I listened to a couple of other podcasters who cover this and they one podcaster would say you watch the show and you don't see any anger from Jonathan whatsoever on the show. And that's what I got Like when I watched it. It looked like it was all lighthearted and fun, but then some were like you can see that he's uncomfortable and angry. I didn't see that when I watched the show.
Speaker 2:I had to see it. Yeah, you'll have to.
Speaker 1:You'll have to look at it.
Speaker 2:Some people, some people have their own mannerisms and and I feel like he was just trying to be like this good guy, but he was all turmoil.
Speaker 1:He was turmoil but, like I said, scott and Donna didn't know that about him. They didn't know his previous history, they couldn't see the signs because it was like soft mannerisms and they didn't catch it.
Speaker 2:You know, if you and I like, sometimes we'll go to some drag shows or whatever you know we'll do some things.
Speaker 1:We enjoy gay bars. We enjoy the gay scene. I get hit on while I'm there but I let them know.
Speaker 2:Like you know, I'm just here. Y'all do whatever. You can dance with my wife if you want to have fun, you know, because I'll pay them to go out there and shake their ass and do crazy stuff and Blast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have a blast An absolute blast, but I like, I don't, like I'm not being over assertive with it, right, but I just let them know, hey, I'm with my wife and they're cool with it, yeah, and that's. That's pretty much it and nobody pushes anything further. No, you know, but I definitely have been hit on several times and I don't.
Speaker 1:I'm with my wife and I women and I just politely decline. I've never in my head been like, yeah, well, I'm gonna go kill this motherfucker. That's my, that's my easy way out, you know, with my wife and you know we're we're having fun.
Speaker 2:I mean, if you watch us for a couple minutes, I mean you mean he's having? A fun time joking and we can clearly see that we're together the four women that I have been hit on.
Speaker 1:I am flattered like thank you, I love you and I appreciate you. But I am very straight, but I love you nonetheless you know.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, and it's never been a problem but it's a a common way to communicate with people and just let them know not aggressive but assertive where you just like. Here's my stance, right, you know? Yeah, and he didn't know how to get to that, probably, and he was just holding it in, but he was also kind of going with the flow on their little thing.
Speaker 1:Maybe he's enjoying the company and it was going to air in two weeks and I don't know. I think honestly, I think he was just more scared of what his family was gonna think. I don't think that he cared himself, but when he got back and it like after the good times were over and he sat down and thought about what his family might think.
Speaker 2:That's what drove him to it, so maybe he was.
Speaker 1:that's my that's my personal opinion.
Speaker 2:Maybe he was kind of on the fence on it a little bit, but he was disgusted at himself because he would let everybody else down if he actually turned Right.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean because just me down if you actually turn right, whatever. Well, I mean because just me. You know, being raised conservative christian and I'm I'm absolutely not now like I believe in god, and that's as far as it goes. I used to fear the same thing that if I didn't act a certain way or be a certain way, that I was going to let my family down. And now I'm like you know what, I'm still a good person, I love them, but what they think of me is not, I don't really care maybe, maybe he should have accepted that wave and wrote it.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm saying because they were both available and they they. You know, if you're at the point where you're just like and scott was a really on this and I want to just go try it out, right? Hey, so what if you did it? So what? You know, nobody at this point in in time now, nobody would judge you either way, but back then maybe so yeah, it was still the 90s we weren't quite.
Speaker 2:We weren't quite where we are today oh, we had that whole aids fucking push thing. You know where everybody was like all these homosexuals. Well, that was mostly in the 80s.
Speaker 1:Well, it's just right before that, when that one kid oh, I wish I could remember his name right now contracted the disease through a blood transfusion.
Speaker 2:And then it was a little wake-up. They were like, oh, you can get this shit anywhere.
Speaker 1:You can get this and not be gay, right, right. And then Eazy-E died from it. Yeah, and you know so.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But now you can take a pill that they probably had designed back then, but they wasn't going to sell you that shit no. Fucking bastards.
Speaker 1:Well, jonathan was arrested and charged with first degree murder and using a firearm. He told the police that the idea of that episode airing on TV filled him with regret, anxiety and dread and had been eating away from him for the last two days. The show, like I said just a couple minutes ago, the show was set to air two weeks after the taping and he had been on a drinking binge because he was embarrassed and this overwhelmed him. And then the love letter made him snap.
Speaker 2:This is what he told the police. But why play on the fence Right? Don't fucking go near the fence.
Speaker 1:And don't give Scott Mick signal If you're not fence worthy.
Speaker 2:don't get near the bitch. You know what I'm saying. But he was playing on the fence, Exactly. He was showing too many cool signals and that's why he got the letter.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know, fuck that dude, like just be assertive.
Speaker 1:And I mean he did exactly what you should have done on the show. He was like I'm flattered but I'm heterosexual as sexual, but then afterwards you give Scott mixed signals. So that's why Scott gives you a love letter.
Speaker 2:Right, bro. Yeah, going out with him twice and then hanging out like that You're showing and made sure that him and Donna flew home together with him Right. So three times.
Speaker 1:So now, of course, the Jenny Jones show is getting all the blame, and Jenny Jones made a statement herself saying that no one was to blame but the shooter himself, and I agree with that he pulled the trigger.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, all the way down to him actually physically pulling that trigger, he put the bullet in it, you know now, the show would never actually air anywhere but the courtroom, but of course, like I said, you can watch that clip on youtube.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's cool. Well, it's all over, it's all over youtube.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can find. You can find there's little mini docs. And then, like I said, I watched those mini docs and the court tv doc because so I watched. I watched jonathan's reactions over and over and like tried to analyze it myself and I'm like I just don't see where this dude was mad. Really, yeah, I can't wait to see that I want to.
Speaker 2:I want to analyze it myself and I'm like I just don't see where this dude was mad, really. Yeah, I can't wait to see that. I want to. I want to break it down myself for myself. Yeah, you know, yeah, well.
Speaker 1:I'll pull it up after we're done and have we have some dinner, because it's not long at all and there's, like I said, you can watch like a 15 minute one. So, of course, now Again. But I mean, this was actually before the horrific Matthew Shepard case that had me crying the whole episode. The gay panic defense was used in this case and that definitely upset the gay community and gay rights activists. How is this man revealing a crush so absolutely disgusting and vile that you have to kill over it? You know.
Speaker 1:Yes, and like I I said, if a woman okay so if a woman had done the same thing to jonathan, revealed that she had a crush and you weren't really into her, like what if it had been donna and you weren't into her? And then went out and shared a dance and allegedly kissed, and then she writes you a quirky little love note are you, you going to blow her ass up too.
Speaker 2:You're going to plug her in the chest with a shotgun, a little scatter. Gun her ass too. Fuck what the hell? No, he wouldn't have?
Speaker 1:Of course not Because that was accepted, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, fuck, dude, be assertive with your stuff a little bit more.
Speaker 1:So the prosecution said, hey, this was planned out, this was premeditated murder, murder. You went to the bank, you bought the gun, you drove to scott's house and then initially left the gun in the car and went back and got it before you killed scott and so I agree, I definitely agree with the prosecution here and of course the defense said it was jenny jones fault.
Speaker 1:And then they used the gay panic defense, no, and also brought in jonathan's poor mental health. And that part I can get on board with, because the dude had some shit. He had some bad mental health issues.
Speaker 2:And go on. But, jonathan, why didn't?
Speaker 1:you just say like you did on the show hey Scott, I'm sorry if I led you on, but I'm not down with this, and Scott would still be alive right now, and you know his family For no fucking reason, no reason.
Speaker 1:So on November 13th 1996, Jonathan Schmitz was found guilty of second degree murder, and that I don't understand. No, I don't understand why it wasn't first. And on December 4th, Jonathan was sentenced to 25 to 50 years. Now Jonathan appeals this on the grounds of a jury selection error, and there was this whole new trial over this in 1999, but the outcome was still the same and after serving 18 years, Jonathan was released in August of 2017.
Speaker 2:And he's walking on sunshine.
Speaker 1:He's walking on sun. He's probably not walking on sunshine, but he's walking amongst us. He is no longer.
Speaker 2:He is out in amongst us.
Speaker 1:And has been for how long ago? And it feels like yesterday. That was like eight years ago for sure, oh my god for sure.
Speaker 3:Like I'm over counting on my fingers, I just clutched my imaginary pearls.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh now. The amateur family sued the Jenny Jones show and was initially awarded with $25 million.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:But the show appealed and the ruling was overturned and the Amateur family never received a dime from the Jenny Jones show, which, in my opinion, they really didn't do anything.
Speaker 2:They should have just.
Speaker 1:But they should have volunteered some money. I mean, that was a big show for funeral expenses, yes to be, the bigger person, you got the money, you got the money. This tragedy was that, like abc or some shit.
Speaker 2:What was that? On what network was that?
Speaker 1:oh, I don't remember. Yeah, they had nbc, I want to say nbc they had money no warner brothers, that warner brother had money. Yes, that was it. Yeah, I just remembered now because they sued Warner.
Speaker 2:Brothers, Throw them a cool million and just be like we're sorry, but we're sorry that this happened.
Speaker 1:It could have been prevented. We did not air the episode in honor of your family, but here's money to help you cope with this tragedy that happened because of this topic.
Speaker 2:They could have talked about that. You know, this is the thing we did not air, but we, we, we took care of this and Jenny did, she did. I remember. I remember seeing it when I was younger.
Speaker 1:I remember watching her whole statement. But I was too young to like. I was 95. I was what? 13. Yeah, I was too young for that to like. Sink into my brain, you know, but I remember that whole.
Speaker 2:If I would have ran that show, I would have still aired it and then build it up and got all kind of cool ratings. I would have been that shitty.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would have been that shitty. Yeah, that's shitty, bruh.
Speaker 2:Well, that's I mean. But I'm not going to be that person because I don't. You know, I don't bait up people to do things like that, but if I was already doing that, I would have damn sure jumped on that. Does that make sense, like if I'm already?
Speaker 3:allowed to.
Speaker 2:Oh, ok. Well, I mean, yeah, if you're allowed to, you know you're allowed to.
Speaker 1:But I mean because it was evidence. Yeah, you know, it's considered evidence True.
Speaker 2:And I know that's shitty of me, but like if I was already in the middle of doing that, I would have tried to figure a way out. I mean that's, that's kind of a shitty thing for me to say yeah. Yeah, because yeah I mean at the same time.
Speaker 1:Well, that was, that was where shows like that were problematic. Yeah, they were doing because there was a lot of people like I would watch all the time that you know, like on Jerry. Now a lot of that shit was fight, but you can tell some of those people were really fucking hurt.
Speaker 2:Really hurt, Even though it was like the fighting and stuff was kind of stage OK.
Speaker 1:So what I? Ok, I have watched several of those shows where the person who is being confronted with a problem it wasn't necessarily on Jerry, it was probably on Gordon Elliott or Sally Jesse Raphael, because that was the two I watched the most Right when the person would just walk off stage. And not come back and not come back, and that's what Jonathan should have done had he really felt that uncomfortable and that embarrassed about it. I feel like that's what he should have done.
Speaker 2:I'll have to see because, like he said that he's, I'm hetero. I'm the bigger person, I'm not going to hang out with you two again, so here's a challenge for our audience.
Speaker 1:Just look up Jenny Jones murder. You can literally look up on YouTube. Or Scott Amateur on Jenny Jones show on YouTube. You guys watch it and leave in the comment section, or whatever platform you listen to. There is a comment section. Tell us what you think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I will too. Yes, for sure, I will come back. I love replying and stuff like that. Yes, you just to see that feedback and all that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell us what you think, what did you think that Jonathan was OK with it and then when he got back, it set in and then it just like maybe made him upset to what his family may think. Or do you think that that was just his reaction because he was on the show?
Speaker 2:because, like I said, I had to see his mannerisms, I don't know yeah yeah, um, I think you'll agree with me, but if you don't, it's okay.
Speaker 1:Right, but me personally, if I had been a part of that where I felt ambushed or anything like that because that's what the defense was going for that he was ambushed If I had felt ambushed, I would have been like you know what. I'm really not comfortable. I'm just going to go ahead and go off the stage.
Speaker 2:Well, there's so many mannerisms that come in there, like can you shrug your shoulders? You're kind of like doing this whole thing.
Speaker 1:No, he looked it looked very lighthearted and sweet, but, like I said, we'll watch it and you tell me what you think. So that's the whole story. That's the story.
Speaker 2:That's so horrific, Lindsay, but I'm going to go ahead and give you this.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Because thank you for spreading the word and share your feelings. Scott did not deserve to die. Period. Be assertive about your person yourself, you know to other people.
Speaker 1:And, like I said, I don't think this is still going Go ahead, okay. I don't think that Scott was wrong or pushy for sending a Jonathan a love letter because he had allegedly from several sources I read they had they shared a moment after the show and if he felt that there was something there, that's why he wrote that love letter to him, you know. And if he hadn't have felt that, I don't think he would have.
Speaker 2:There were some signs there.
Speaker 1:So before we plug this week's band, you're going to open up this one, the Gnarly Grapey.
Speaker 2:It's Gnarly Grape Well well, that's why I said grapey, because I'm going gnarly grapey gnarly grapey heard.
Speaker 1:Gnarly grape is the flavor and we've ran the train.
Speaker 2:We got one more. We're gonna we're gonna drink that later because she loves these, I think. Thank you, I do like it.
Speaker 1:Um, I have quite quite a nice little buzz set in here you like, you the beastie, this is cool, try this.
Speaker 2:Uh, everybody, it's kind of cool. Monster, I'm not. I don't feel like I'm geeking, like, uh, energy wise, I'm not like no, no, no, it's so cool and it's a good flavor on all three of them so far, and we got one more later on, so I'm gonna sippy poos organic reaction here sippy poos gnarly grape. Sippy, give me a minute, let me get it in. Let me get it. Ooh, is it?
Speaker 1:nice.
Speaker 2:Lindsay, lindsay, alright hold on.
Speaker 1:Ooh, it tastes like Welch's Ooh child. Things are gonna get easier.
Speaker 2:Oh my god, I just went complete nostalgia right now. We went back to the 80s on that bitch.
Speaker 1:Great Welch's grape soda was the only one that I would ever buy from a vending machine, so it's not really seltzer-y, though, but the flavor itself is very good.
Speaker 2:So if you had some of that with some of your little seltzer drink over there that you got the cans of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we should do that. We should make a cocktail.
Speaker 2:That will give you your Give an extra.
Speaker 1:Yes, that one's my favorite.
Speaker 2:This, that and some vodka.
Speaker 1:Yep, oh God, then we're walking on sunshine. Whoa. No, we still have to warm up our leftovers from last night. I made some banging ass carnitas.
Speaker 2:It was so good.
Speaker 1:And we made quesadillas with it and some Spanish rice and we've got leftovers. I'm so excited.
Speaker 2:We're going to do the damn thing. What else did you? What was you going to say? You was going to finish something up, brother, you said before I do this, I'm going to do this and no, we were going to do that and I said before you plug the band, which is oh, a band that's what?
Speaker 1:what band are you playing today? Some?
Speaker 2:music. This is my thing, right, I'm allowed to do this thing. Yes, that's on the bands out of miami here called seven sins and this song is called Born to Die. Sorry, I mean Jesse has no idea what I'm going to jump on him.
Speaker 1:The bands tell me what they want to play, and that's okay. It's okay, it's okay.
Speaker 2:Seven Sins is cool. Yes, so we're going to play some Seven Sins, so check this stuff out. We'll be right back. This is the end of the show.
Speaker 3:I never just take a drive, I don't give a fuck and you might not Be gone. Gone, gone, gone. There's nothing you can say. There's nothing I can see. There's nothing you can try. Don't change my mind. Fly away. Don't make it all this time. I need to buy away, away from all this hate. I can take a look through your life. There is no other place to see your life. There are people who want to live or die. Thank you, I'm far away. The magic of this game. I need to fly away Away from all this hate, thank you. I was born to die. I was born to die. I was born to die. I was born to die. Guitar solo here I await All this pain.
Speaker 1:Fly away, run off In vain. Fly away All this pain. Fly away, run off this land.
Speaker 2:This is so good, awesome dude. Oh man Hit up Dino from Fear Factory all day long. It was so good.
Speaker 1:You know what I love Fear Factory, but I think I love this band better and if you guys want to follow them on instagram, their handle is seven sins, miami and um, yeah, that's. Uh. I already went and followed them on our instagram we love you guys.
Speaker 2:This is like the coolest song, yes, and all the cool breaks, the cool breaks, like it was four minutes and it was just like uh, uh, here comes a cool change.
Speaker 1:We want to see you guys at a show. Here comes some more. We want to see you guys at a festival, yeah.
Speaker 2:Come on up this way or we'll go down Shit. I'm ready, absolutely. That was awesome.
Speaker 1:So good. I was like am.
Speaker 2:I going post hardcore, I'm going on. This is hardcore. This is like the old school, like it has that good shit, but it's new shit, love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, love it so much. We love, we love discovering new music.
Speaker 2:I'm so glad that we're on this journey. I want to see them on Octane too.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you deserve it. You guys are next. A manifest For you guys. Yes, absolutely yeah, but we want to absolutely plug our West Memphis three. Make sure you are following this case and do what you can to help out.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:To get justice for, first of all, the three young boys that were killed, and we have no idea who did it, and nobody is paying for it.
Speaker 2:They deserve it.
Speaker 1:And then the three gentlemen now that are in their late 40s, 50s, early 50s.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that paid the price for this and spent 18 years in prison, and one of them, damien Echols, spent 18 years on death row for this crime that they did not commit all because they liked Metallica and wore black clothing. They deserve justice for sure, Everybody in that situation deserves justice. I want to plug Jennifer Turpin's Dawn's designs, Cause that's her middle name, Jennifer Dawn Turpin. She's got Dawn's designs. You can find her on Instagram and look, she's got jewelry and hoodies and all kinds of cute things.
Speaker 2:All kinds of cute things and, uh, yeah, support, support support, support, all the support, and I would love to see Eddie Vedder pop into this thing again.
Speaker 1:Eddie Vedder is the coolest.
Speaker 2:And can you believe the shit that happened in our own town the other day?
Speaker 1:It was like Thursday, that was yesterday. Was it Thursday or Wednesday? I?
Speaker 2:don't know, wednesday afternoon, yeah, no, no. No, that was yesterday. Was it Thursday or Wednesday? I don't know. Wednesday afternoon, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, it was Thursday.
Speaker 2:Because when I came, into work yesterday.
Speaker 1:No, I'm sorry, thursday. Yeah, when I came into work Thursday, that was two days ago. We're recording this on a Saturday Right. One of my coworkers was affiliated with what happened. Go ahead and talk about it.
Speaker 2:Was it? Were they MS-13? Do we know? Okay, I'm not 100% sure, but I did hear it is speculated.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that Okay. So I work at a restaurant that is very close to where this happened. This happened at an Arby's in our town. Yeah, and three assailants, is that what you want to call them? Yes, came into Arby's and just fucking open, fired.
Speaker 2:Had beef with one of the dudes.
Speaker 1:One of the dudes. An innocent another person got shot innocently and I have not heard of a fatality quite yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know. I haven't looked back into it. It's just insane.
Speaker 1:And then somebody I work with was affiliated with the person who got shot.
Speaker 2:Drive-thru only here. Drive-thru only.
Speaker 1:Yes, I mean these three young kids just went into Arby's from Jacksonville.
Speaker 3:They were from.
Speaker 1:Jacksonville to our Arby's here in Lake City and just opened fire yeah. And they just speculated that it is gang affiliated.
Speaker 2:I'm scrolling on Facebook and see the dude laying on the ground bleeding. Oh, stop it. Yeah, like it's just bam bam.
Speaker 1:Could you imagine? Social media and everything just travels so fast.
Speaker 2:You're in drive-thru or you're in the lobby at Ardy's and you become a part of this If I'm in drive-thru. I'm bucking, I'm talking, I'm talking dry absolute heinous crime, literally heinous crime.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just thought of law and order. Yeah, that's crazy, though Just you never know when, when it's so scary and that is so close to where I work, like I literally walk into work at three o'clock on Thursday afternoon and I hear all this bullshit.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And like I said, no, this guy this guy comes up and he's like look at this, and it's like somebody laying on the floor, yeah, and it's like he's like he just went down at Arby's and it was like, probably within seconds later.
Speaker 1:You know it was like, but anyhow we'll give you all a updates on that when we get them. At right now, like, the only people that are um have been named is the assailants but yeah, we don't know anything about the victims. We'll let you guys know, but um follow us on all the things, all the things listening.
Speaker 2:We love you hope you had a great fourth bye.
