The Murder Police Podcast
The Murder Police Podcast
Never Forget Little Timmy | Part 2
In this emotionally charged episode of The Murder Police Podcast, we continue to unravel the tragic story of Little Timmy Sterner. We are joined by his sister, Sabra VanWinkle, and his mother, Tammy Sterner, who share poignant memories and shed light on the events leading up to Timmy's mysterious disappearance.
Sabra and Tammy paint a vivid picture of Timmy's life, from his love for video games and sports to his protective nature and deep family bonds. They recount cherished moments of Timmy's childhood, his passion for UK basketball, and his close relationship with his cousin, Josh Turner. The conversation takes a somber turn as they discuss the night of Timmy's disappearance, revealing a series of suspicious and conflicting details that leave more questions than answers.
As the family grapples with the uncertainty and pain of not knowing Timmy's fate, they make a heartfelt plea to the community for information. They emphasize the importance of speaking up and doing the right thing, urging anyone with knowledge about Timmy's whereabouts to come forward.
True Crime, Missing Person, Family Interview, Timmy Sterner, Crime Investigation, Kentucky River, Video Game Memories, UK Basketball Fan, Rodeo Stories, Car Accident Mystery, Phone Evidence, Rural Kentucky, Community Help, Family Loyalty, Protective Brother, Prison Letters, Searching For Answers, Emotional Testimony, Police Involvement, Unsolved Case
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Something we don't know about. You know what I mean Perfectly certain, and Timmy was a human being beyond anything. And he deserves to be laid to rest. If that's the case, just like anybody else would you know what I'm? Saying, yeah, we have funerals and stuff. For a reason you know, and because I still hope every day that Timmy walks through my door.
Wendy Lyons:Warning the podcast you're about to listen to may contain graphic descriptions of violent assaults, murder and adult language. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to the Murder Police Podcast, part two of Never Forget Little Timmy. In this episode, we sit down with Timmy's mother, Tammy Sterner, and his sister, Sabra Johnson, to discuss the details of Timmy's disappearance. Please tune in and share with your friends. Welcome back to the Murder Police Podcast. Today we continue our discussion on little Timmy Sterner, and we have with us today his sister Sabra and his mother Tammy. Thank you all so much for coming. Thank you, Thanks for having us.
David Lyons:Very, very grateful for you all taking the time, especially with a very difficult topic. So thanks for sitting down with us and adding to the story of who Timmy is. I think that's our whole goal is to make sure people know that this is not a number, it's not something you saw on the news and turn the page away. Is it the family and Timmy? Everybody deserves answers.
Wendy Lyons:And hopefully we can shake the tree and get them. Well, we just kind of wanted to get to know you guys a little bit better. We've interviewed several of your family members and friends to tell us who Timmy is, and we wanted to hear from you all as well. So, sabra, you're his sister, so why don't you tell us a little bit what growing up with Timmy was like, timmy?
Sabra Johnson:was fun. I think some of my favorite memories were playing video games. He always tried to get me and our other sister to play football in the yard. He was much better than us at the video games too, but yeah, he was fun.
David Lyons:Do you remember what video games that he would get y'all to play?
Sabra Johnson:A lot of GTA and racing games like. Need for Speed, gotcha those type of games.
Tammy Sterner:Grand Theft Auto.
David Lyons:yeah, yeah, and I ask that because that kind of sets a time frame for what's on and what's not on stage.
Tammy Sterner:I would wake up at 3 in the morning and Timmy would still be playing that game.
David Lyons:That sounds like somebody we know.
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, Timmy, he's got to go to school. He's like I'll go. I'm like no, you won't.
David Lyons:Yeah, that sounds like our kid.
Wendy Lyons:Yeah, we do cut it off on school nights. We try to save money. I don't really know On the weekends.
Tammy Sterner:He's a gamer. Yeah, I didn't really understand what the game was and I was watching it and they ripped people out of the car and steal the car. I'm like uh-uh. Yeah, he was like mom, it's just a game.
David Lyons:What was that? I saw someone one time. The GTA is the only place where you can spend 20 bucks on a prostitute.
Wendy Lyons:Lighter on fire on the same day. It's like.
David Lyons:Yeah. I'm like oh yeah, that's a great influence, Right.
Sabra Johnson:Oh man.
David Lyons:Oh so good memories, though. Right Was he like?
Sabra Johnson:really competitive, uh so so sometimes like he would be playing with his friends and he would do that thing that other brothers or older brothers do where they like, make you think that the controller's on, but it's not. And make you think you're playing, but you're really not I see, yeah, tricky into it?
David Lyons:yeah, it's uh I remember my stepson had talked to me years ago into fortnight and on the game he said come in this little house and he had a booby trapped and blew the hell out of me. I learned not to play with him anymore because he cheated really badly.
Tammy Sterner:He's always the protector. We have heard that from.
Wendy Lyons:Like if his friends come over.
Tammy Sterner:She had to change her shirt or whatever. She had on tank top or whatever. No, timmy was, oh wow.
David Lyons:So there we go. He tries to badger you into football, right, but at the same time he's really big about that. Tell us more about that. Did you feel like that? He was your protection from things from time to time?
Sabra Johnson:I did. You know, I can remember a lot of times where he just kind of went to bat for me I guess. I guess I would say we hear that. Yeah.
David Lyons:We hear that People that are listening and watching are going to hear that over and over again that he's super loyal super of family and stuff like that too. What other kind of things was he interested in when you all were growing up?
Tammy Sterner:He loved sports Like he loved UK basketball. He would watch every single game.
David Lyons:Oh, wow.
Tammy Sterner:His whole like just love him. I still got his board where you name the brackets or whatever.
David Lyons:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Tammy Sterner:All right, he had a bunch of UK signs everywhere. Yeah, he loved UK, I think when you live in this area.
David Lyons:It's a law.
Tammy Sterner:You know, because I grew up in.
Sabra Johnson:Louisville and when I moved here.
David Lyons:It was like they took me in a dark room and beat me and told me you're no longer a Cardinal fan and you're to be a UK fan. Am I right or wrong? Yes, it's a religion in this town. So okay, because we hadn't heard before. But he caught all the games right? Yeah, all of them Cool.
Tammy Sterner:And I made sure he had time on his tablet to do that when he was in jail, like he had to watch them. So we watched them, oh yeah, but I think you're like born in. Either you're born a UK fan or you're not. Like we was born into it. My mom's always been one.
David Lyons:Mm-hmm.
Tammy Sterner:So, and my dad, yeah, and Tim's dad is too Little, timmy's daddy was U. Okay, we've got you a game ball. Big deal here, big deal here.
David Lyons:I thought I'm serious. I used to think Louisville fans were over the edge and I got here yeah, we got the wild side.
David Lyons:Oh good yes yeah, listen, I've worked the celebrations on State Street having things thrown at me, and I know Set on fire. Oh yes, I mean, I tell people when I travel I'm like, yeah, they really like Catches on Fire. And then they like Shirts on Fire. Sometimes they take them off, sometimes they don't, which I was always interested in the first one because that hurt. You know, you could watch people. I would never light my shirt on fire, but it's still on, but people would do that. So that's how fanatical they are?
Tammy Sterner:We used to live downtown when they would have the games.
David Lyons:Yeah, oh yeah, I was on the other side of that wild. Yeah, exactly, trust me.
Wendy Lyons:Well, we've heard from Sabra about how he was as a brother. Tammy tell us you're his mom. Tell us how having Tammy for a son was he a fun baby or a cranky baby?
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, he was my little man. From the time I had him he was the best baby. Yeah, just real short little Timmy. I had like no legs. Timmy was a little man just like his dad. So he like I remember the day he left we were like he's like I'm 5'7 1⁄2" Mom. I'm like no, timmy, you're 5' tall.
Tammy Sterner:He's like I'm 5'7". I said, no, I'm 5'7". You're, like you said, 5'3 on the driver's license, so really five foot tall. He'd get mad. But like he was too short to play basketball and stuff, you know what I mean. Like he was little.
David Lyons:But he loved football.
Tammy Sterner:He loved football, right, he played football a little bit, but he's just real protective, like he loved his family. He's all about his family. He grew up with Josh Turner, which is his cousin, but they really raised his brothers. We used to go to the rodeos all the time when he was little and the cowboys used to come and get him. He loved them, he just loved them. Then we started going to the car racing and then the to come and get him. He loved them, he just loved them. Then we started going to the car racing and then the drivers come and get him when they win the trophies and Timmy would get all the trophies. So yeah, we did a lot of stuff.
David Lyons:Yeah, on the rodeos. Did you dress him up like a little cowboy? No, yes, and he hated it.
Tammy Sterner:His dad would have him in a flannel shirt and a wife beater and a name belt and Justin boots and he'd be like when I go to my mom's, at least I get to be a pimp.
Wendy Lyons:Yeah, oh Lord, setting those goals, setting those goals.
Tammy Sterner:I let him wear lug boots and stuff like that.
David Lyons:So yeah, oh, how cute, how cute. Got to have some Justin boots especially for the rodeo. I mean right, I mean it's part of the show. We hit the rodeos whenever we can and we do dad up a little bit.
Wendy Lyons:Yeah, we try to play the part.
David Lyons:So football, rodeos, race cars, things like that too. What was his sense of humor like? What do you all remember about that?
Tammy Sterner:It's just funny. I don't know like my family is very um, obnoxious, sarcastic, so like a christmas with us is just jabs, like we all throw jabs at each other, just like emailing them through the room. You know what I'm and if you didn't have it, you probably got your feelings hurt. That's a lot like my dad's side of the family.
David Lyons:So we were used to that too, so just hammering each other all the time.
Sabra Johnson:Is that what you remember?
Wendy Lyons:Yeah, exactly.
David Lyons:Is it still like that? Do you all still cut loose?
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, pretty much.
David Lyons:Gotcha for sure.
Tammy Sterner:Like we don't have no secrets, really like we all all our stuff laid out on the table. We all know everything about each other, and if you don't, you're quickly gonna learn it.
David Lyons:I gotcha I'm getting that too. I think that's part of the closeness I'm sensing is that uh, uh, every, everything, you're right, everything's on the table.
Tammy Sterner:That I've heard so far too like we didn't have secrets and stuff. We just yeah.
David Lyons:How about his romantic life? Can you describe any of that? When did he take an interest in you?
Wendy Lyons:I think you should have heard that different. It sounds like a harlequin romance, I think what David means is did he have girlfriends growing up or somebody he liked? That's the one I was looking for. Yeah, and many of them.
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, girl, crazy, really, that's crazy. Okay, good, let's go there because I don't know he just loved them women, but he was good to him. You know, I taught him he treat women good and he did. Uh, he had one, I think one long-term relationship, I think it was Summer.
David Lyons:Okay.
Tammy Sterner:I didn't know Summer really good when I was calling then for all that. But I know he wrote me and told me about her. I think they were together like five years. Oh wow. She says she would talk to all of them. She's in Arizona or something.
David Lyons:Yeah, we'll try to locate her, because virtually anybody wants to come and talk about Timmy we're going to talk to. So we'll take care of that. Somehow We'll make that work.
Wendy Lyons:We do know. You know, in later times Timmy went away for a stint. Yeah, did you all. While he was incarcerated, did you all stay in touch with him with letters or phone calls?
Tammy Sterner:I talked to Timmy every day. Oh wow, unless he was in the home. Then he only got to come home once a week. Yeah, I wrote him letters, money every week, everything.
David Lyons:I bet me and his dad did Sure Constantly. Well, that's important. He was in there for a pretty long stretch seven, eight years or something and the one thing I think people have that are in there is the support of the family is probably what gets them through that.
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, when I was going through his letters I found a bunch of letters from me and his two grandmas my mom and Tim's mom and me and his friend Ryan Grossen. He had all kinds of letters from him. I think he's locked up though, because I tried to get in to contact him but I can't find him.
David Lyons:Yeah.
Tammy Sterner:And some are, of course, and yeah.
David Lyons:Gotcha. Well, at least, sabra, were you able to talk to him, or speak to him.
Sabra Johnson:Not as much as I would have liked to, but I did try to send Christmas, like you know, like Christmas cards and letters when I could. I remember the last time I sent him a card he just said like it made his whole week.
David Lyons:Something to distract him. Yeah, because somebody said that he stayed really fit while he was in there, he got swole, he got swole yeah, but again I mean what a way to occupy your mind and keep your mind in a forward direction too.
Tammy Sterner:He was a big boy when he came out. Too big because he's short, you know he's a little man. He was, oh my God, kind of fire-plugged on you. Yeah, exactly.
David Lyons:Fire-plugged and and he's short stature like his dad, tim right, yeah, that's me, and me and tim ciata literally, yeah, literally.
Tammy Sterner:And little timmy did too.
David Lyons:So same height yeah, so it's not because we've met a whole lot, but because I'm a short guy. I'm too in my dad's side of the family.
Sabra Johnson:It's all jockeys and stuff like that so he would hate if he was listening. He would hate us talking about how short he is on the air.
Wendy Lyons:We'll just go with 5'7" yeah 5'7" Exactly.
David Lyons:He's 5'7" Exactly.
Wendy Lyons:So, tammy, we understand he had gotten out and you went and got him and brought him home. Can you tell us about that?
Tammy Sterner:Well, I went and picked him up. He was supposed to get out in the middle of the month, but they let him out on the first Monday of the month, so we picked him up. That's when they had the eclipse, okay. So we watched that and we went to Cracker Barrel and I just drove home and talked and Timmy was on his phone. I brought his phone and stuff to him and he stayed on his phone. I was like dang dang, you got all these. What's going on?
Tammy Sterner:you've been gone forever you've got all these pictures and stuff on the phone. He was like, look mom that ain't heard it. He said, mom, they got these filters now. I said, yeah, they're catfishing you know, catfishing hell, that's true but yeah, he stayed on the phone all night talking to all his little friends and stuff. Catfishing You're not catfishing.
David Lyons:Oh, that's too bad.
Tammy Sterner:But yeah, he stayed on the phone all night talking to all his little friends and stuff. I heard him say probably like four times all night I ain't getting high, no more. I'm done with that shit. I'm not going back there.
David Lyons:So he had plans on reengineering himself and everything, right. That's what we're hearing too, which is so good to hear. He was supposed to go to work with his dad, yeah, good. So, and you know, for a guy that used to start the casework that send people there, right, that is the best thing in the world to hear is that? Uh, I just remarked on a friend of mine on facebook. He ran into somebody that said you all used to chase me back in the in the day and, uh, there's nothing like watching people turn their life around because we didn't like repeat customers. It wasn't about that, and I know so many people that did remarkable things with their life, so it's not always the negative that people make it out, and we can't write people off right. So everything we're gathering is that he really was looking at reentering and living his life differently.
Tammy Sterner:I think his dad was out of town. He just had to go back out of town. I took Timmy to see Sandy. He got to see my mom and Terrence, and that's it. Yeah, he didn't get to see many people. He was on that phone. He talked to probably everybody in the world.
David Lyons:Well, yeah, at least he got that. Now, on the sad side too, that's all people have from the last contact is a Facebook call. That we've learned is that they never, because he had made plans on connecting, which obviously, with as many people he could, and that they got interrupted.
Tammy Sterner:Well, when I went through his stuff I found some letters that he never sent. So I give those people them letters. One was to me one dad, his granny, my mom and I think summer and katie. Katie was timmy's probably first love ever in life. Okay, he loved that girl. Uh, I think they just became friends you know, just grew. I think that's it. It was them four all the time.
David Lyons:Yeah, well, those letters have a big meaning now in his hand and his voice.
David Lyons:Yeah, those are big, because Sandy actually read the last one she got and it was difficult to listen to. But again, the power of what that is looking at where you're at right now is incredible. To have a memento like that, that's, that's got to be so. He um, it wouldn't straighten me out if I'm jumping ahead or anything like that, but so you pick him up. He's on the phone, which I can only imagine. I did that to contact as many people. When did you realize that something was off? Either one of you? When did you realize something wasn't right with this guy that just got out?
Tammy Sterner:I guess I let Timmy use my car. He went to meet somebody, go to a meeting, Okay. And then I talked to Tim at 10.30. He said Mom, I think I'll just stay out here, I was like no, I want you to come home, bring my car home. I've got a job interview in the morning. The police are really bad out here. They're all it's crazy. They pull you over the whole police force code. So there's 30 cops just to you.
David Lyons:You know what I'm saying and I didn't want that for timmy, plus he didn't have a license.
Tammy Sterner:We come in bunches, yeah, exactly and uh, but I knew they could. But you don't have to have a license to drive. Yes, I can't drive on a specific one, so but I wanted to me. You know, I trusted him and so I let him take my car and then I got a phone call like at 1147 or 1247.
David Lyons:I think it was 1247.
Tammy Sterner:Said that Timmy stole somebody's car, left in it, wrecked it and is gone and they have my car and they got pulled over in my car that night.
Wendy Lyons:Okay, yeah, that's an interesting little story when you were told that when that person said to you he took my car and he's gone, did you believe that initially? Or were you thinking mm-mm, there's no way.
Tammy Sterner:I would say we took the car.
David Lyons:He had a car he had a fully insured.
Tammy Sterner:The insurer's paid up for a year Permission to drive it and my son did okay, so for me I don't care about none of that.
Tammy Sterner:That's the material thing. As long as you're home and you're fine, I'm okay. You don't even have to bring the car home. Jimmy knew that about me. My son's not going to say, hey, will you pull my mom's car up the driveway? I'm scared I'll tear the bottom up. Timmy will tear the bottom up and bring it home and be like Mom. I'm sorry, man, I'll get it fixed for you. David's a good mechanic.
David Lyons:That's just Timmy. You know what I mean.
Tammy Sterner:He knew. But as long as he's okay, I'm okay. It didn't matter.
Sabra Johnson:He didn't make sense.
Wendy Lyons:Did your mom call you and tell you about it, Sabra? Is that how you found out?
Sabra Johnson:Well, that day we had talked about making plans and I know he had talked to our sister as well about going and seeing our nieces and nephew, about going and seeing our nieces and nephew. And then that night it was my grandma that called me at about right before 3, 3 in the morning and was saying that he was just gone, and so of course I was like you know, that doesn't make any sense.
Wendy Lyons:So, yeah, what did you think when you heard that? Were you thinking that don't make any sense? So, yeah, what did you think when you heard that? Were you thinking that don't sound right? Yeah, I was. So then at that point, I guess you all are kind of sitting around waiting. It's probably now breakfast time. He's still not home.
Tammy Sterner:No, I went back down there that morning. I got home like at 5 o'clock from getting my car. I went down there and got my car that night and I searched for Timmy that night and I didn't see him out there because he only had one shoe on. They had one of his shoes.
Sabra Johnson:They had his phone my car and my car keys, everything in his pockets, everything he had in one of his shoes.
Wendy Lyons:So what did you say? This didn't look right.
Tammy Sterner:Why not? They had Timmy's phone. I knew something bad happened.
David Lyons:Something odd and, again, you all steer from a lot of intimate details, but everything that we've talked about, because I always talk to him.
Tammy Sterner:Your phone is your lifeline. As long as you have that, you can call, get out, you can call me anybody. You know what I'm saying? That's your lifeline, no matter what. If you've got a phone, you're good.
David Lyons:So that's one of those dots that's not connecting. This whole thing is full of dots.
Wendy Lyons:So were you just kind of given some fishy stories when you went there to get that stuff?
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, so, timmy wrecked a car and then called somebody to come get him and he jumped in that car and left that he was seeing on camera. Well, it took me 50 minutes to get out there. You can't just drive out there quickly like that.
Tammy Sterner:Timmy's been in jail for eight years. He don't know his number. The only number he knows is mine and his dad's, and I know he's gonna call me. I've talked to timmy every single day since he was born, and so is his dad. I mean timmy's gonna call us, you know, I mean or just the right, wrong or indifferent. I got timmy. I don't care what he does, right? I'm going to get a lawyer. I'm going to help him get out, I don't care.
David Lyons:That's a mother.
Tammy Sterner:That's my baby. That's a mother. He don't do no wrong on my eyes. You know what I'm saying, and if he did, it's okay. We're going to work through it.
David Lyons:Yeah.
David Lyons:So that's a whole story that gets y'all's attention. Quite a. Not to mention that there's no cell phone signal out there. Good point, and his phone was smashed. Yeah, we're talking a pretty rural area down by the river and here in Kentucky we call those hollers. Some people may not understand what that is. It's a way to either say hello or a place you live, yeah, right, but it's true is that when you get down to what we in that part of Jessamine County or Fayette County, your phone just doesn't work. It's just it's in a tight valley. That's what a holler is, especially next to a body of water. So there's another thing that the dots aren't connecting is that supposedly, a phone call is made when phone calls don't work for anybody else.
Wendy Lyons:Did they tell you, Tammy, how the phone got cracked and how they got his shoe and the contents in his pocket?
Tammy Sterner:They said that when Timmy wrecked the car, that the shoe was left in the car. They found his phone in the middle of the road, smashed, like he broke it, and they had my car because she was moving my car for Timmy because he was scared to move my car up the driveway, afraid he would tear it up. So he asked her to move it. So she was moving my car and he was supposed to be moving her car, and then he just jumps in her car and takes off and vanishes. So then she said that Timmy used her cell phone because it was left in her car when he stole it, to call somebody to come get him. And the other girl said well, how do you use your phone? You have a lock on your phone. She said no, I don't. The girl said yes, I do. I was like I started laughing. I said y'all better come up with a better story than this, because I'm coming back in the morning.
Sabra Johnson:Yeah, there was a lot circulating about that, that they saw him smash the phone and get into a vehicle, that he used their phone and they accidentally deleted the call from their call logs and there was a lot of stuff last night.
Tammy Sterner:Recall them from.
Sabra Johnson:Yeah, she said, well, I deleted them and I think another thing that sent off alarm bells was that his shoe was seen in the passenger seat of the vehicle.
David Lyons:Yeah, in the passenger seat and then so you've got somebody that's missing. One shoe that's just taken off too. And again, just for the listeners and watchers if they're jumping into this episode without the full windup, one thing we share, without the address, is that Timmy went to a place, a known location, where he's last seen, and there were people, more than one person, that's at that scene, which is lends to the suspicion of this thing as to how does somebody just vanish from that. So for the listeners that are catching up, you need to go back and listen to the other episodes to get the full picture. But that's the stuff that makes this something different than you know, because you know one thing you could theorize is that they left and and some adults leave. But these situations, these are the suspicious circumstances that would walk us away from somebody just leaving yeah, there was.
Sabra Johnson:there was other things too that I thought were suspicious. But also, just to provide context, it was very cold that night, there we go, and it was raining really bad. It was raining bad and he wasn't properly dressed.
Tammy Sterner:Tim's not Crocodile Dundee, he's not no country boy, he's very much a—.
David Lyons:Somebody made that clear.
Tammy Sterner:Yes. He had nothing to do with being outdoors he didn't— so I was very much a pretty ricky little yeah, pretty boy, boy, what do you call it?
David Lyons:Yeah, he would change shirts three times a day. Yeah everything matched.
Sabra Johnson:So for him to just run out in the cold, in the dark, in one shoe. You can't see anything with, yeah, with one shoe. You know not have a jacket on, or anything like that, that's just.
David Lyons:Yeah, and again, to paint a picture for what this is like, that people don't know, this is in a holler like that, dark is a whole nother word, cold is a whole nother word because the temperatures are grossly different down there by that body of water and whatever, and then throw the rain and the river swelling it was.
Sabra Johnson:It was very high and very, very fast moving.
David Lyons:It had been raining for a week yeah and continued raining rain for another week yeah, when the kentucky river comes out of its banks and moves it, moves it's. So, yeah, you have all of that.
Tammy Sterner:You have somewhere when I went and picked my car up that night. It was pouring down rain like it took me 50 minutes to get there from lancaster and I went, got timmy's phone fixed and I asked the man and does it got water damage? He said no, it's a brand new phone. He said this phone ain't touching no water. But it was found in the middle of the road and it was pouring down rain.
David Lyons:Okay, there we go.
Tammy Sterner:Another interesting thing and I'm a Virgo, so we analyze everything to nothing. If it don't make sense, I have to make it make sense.
David Lyons:Very analytical and whatnot.
Sabra Johnson:Another thing was that they claimed to see him do this and that and the other, but then later claimed that they were never there and that he stole the vehicle and they had to go find it. And they found it later on.
David Lyons:So there's tons of conflicting statements.
Sabra Johnson:Well, yeah, especially because so many people were there and so many people should know something.
David Lyons:There we are. We definitely are at a place once again where somebody absolutely knows something, whatever that something is, and there's a range of possibilities on that. But the one thing I think we can probably agree with because of the circumstances is somebody knows something, and maybe more than one person by now. This has been several months, so now you not only have the people that were there, they have talked to other people. So somewhere in this we always remind our listeners that this is a pretty small community, which is why I love living here Somebody knows something. So if you could ask the community for help in this because that's where it's going to come from what would we ask people to say? What would we ask them to do to locate Timmy? And if justice has to be served, that justice is served what would we ask them to do?
Tammy Sterner:Like we can't do something about something we don't know about. You know what I mean. Perfectly true, and timmy was a human being beyond anything and he deserves to be laid to rest, if that's the case just like anybody else would you know. I'm saying, um, yeah, we have funerals and stuff for a reason, you know, um, and because I still hope every day that Timmy walks through my door and you know, there's that that thing.
David Lyons:I don't think we should lose that hope that that might happen one day, and then you could yell at him for for not saying but but we know that somebody has answers. Yeah, what would you say? What would you ask people in the community?
Sabra Johnson:I would say speak up, so that we can bring him home.
David Lyons:That's it.
Sabra Johnson:If you know something, if you've seen something, say something.
David Lyons:Amen Absolutely.
Tammy Sterner:Because if it was somebody else's kid we would say something. There's a difference between writing for drugs and getting yourself out of trouble and inhumane right and wrong there's a big difference between all that.
David Lyons:That is so true, tammy and a guy that was in the business for almost 30 years. You're right. There's a huge difference in what that is and just doing the right damn thing for a family. I don't think I've heard her put that clearly before. He said excellent. That's the difference in this, and people should put themselves in your all shoes and they should think what they would feel like. Maybe remember that if people did him harm and did something wrong, that until those people are brought to justice, that they're open and vulnerable to the same thing as well. But man, at some point doing the right thing, that's not being a snitch or a rat, that's just being human and getting answers back too for those people. I think that's what still frustrates me about all of this. The answers are inside whoever was down there and the people that they know right now.
Sabra Johnson:Yeah, there has to be somebody that knows something with a conscience.
Wendy Lyons:I say clear your conscience. I think also with all the amount of people that was there that night. If he took off in a car supposedly, why is nobody chasing him? Why is nobody going after him to see where he's going? How far Tammy was that car wrecked from the residence Like just a couple of feet or a couple miles.
Tammy Sterner:I would say it took me maybe two minutes to get to the residence from the wreck site.
Wendy Lyons:So you would think, if I know, if somebody took off in my car and there's another car sitting there, I'm going to follow to see where they're going.
Tammy Sterner:I do know the girl got charged with falsifying a police report and leaving a scene of accident.
David Lyons:Interesting.
Sabra Johnson:There's been several sources that have said that he was not driving that vehicle.
David Lyons:There we go and you hit the nail on the head too when you said several sources that the complexity of this is we talked before we recorded is the things that the family's hearing. That makes it confusing.
Wendy Lyons:It's confusing for the investigators too, but somebody knows what those well, I think what's confusing is, if he's driving, why is the shoe in the passenger seat? All right? How'd the shoe come off the foot? That?
Tammy Sterner:uh responded to the wrecks and he remembers the shoe in the passenger seat, passenger seat being laid all the way down, pushed all the way back, and the white tennis shoe in the passenger seat of the car he did remember that there we go.
David Lyons:So many inconsistencies, yeah, tons of reason to be super suspicious, super. Maybe you hear the story.
Tammy Sterner:Um, yeah, he freaked out and jumped in my car and stole it. You still leave some kind of doubt in your mind. Maybe it did happen, maybe he did steal a car and take it.
David Lyons:You know I'm saying, but even even if he went there, used a reasonable person. And you this is who you are, because you think these things through the end what's after that, see, see there's. The thing is that if we're being told some BS on that, that's the problem with it. There's no after that. So you got shoeless, joe Jackson. I mean, he's missing a shoe, it's cold, it's wet, he's not down for that to begin with. And a holler in the middle of the night.
Sabra Johnson:I mean, it's pitch black. You can't see two feet in front of your face. You can't see anything out there. And that is not Timmy.
Tammy Sterner:Timmy is not about to stay in no holler during the pouring rain for no achievement. With one shoe on and I was up and down that road. So if Timmy was hiding somewhere, he would know that it was me and he would come out that timmy knows I'm gonna take him. I'm hiding, moving him out of state, I don't care, I'm gonna take care of my baby, you know, I mean sure, sure, so that's what moms do.
David Lyons:Yeah, that's what they do. So I guess we need people to cough it up. We need people. You said it best uh, saber, is that if you've got a conscience, let's, let's let that go. Uh, I I always say and I've said it before uh, we can say I don't know how people walk around with that in their heart and on their shoulders, but I unfortunately met too many people that did, and I never understood it. And I will say this that I always looked at them and thought you're really as guilty as the people that have been hiding the truth. You can't lie about that. There's no such thing. You're part and parcel and you're in. I would get that stuff off my soul as fast as possible. I would get that off. And you said it best both of you did Imagine if this was your family member. That's what we're looking for.
Wendy Lyons:Our hope, by doing this podcast and talking to all of you friends, family is to get out there, not just who Timmy is, but we're hoping that somebody who knows and what happened, like we've said, will come forward. I don't know that the people that are responsible for this has the courage to come forward. I really don't think they do. One would think that you wouldn't want that on your conscience or on your soul to have been so deceitful and bad. But our hope is that somebody knows something and they're going to tell on those people. And, David, you've often said before if you know and law enforcement finds out that you know and you're withholding it, you're just as guilty and you're going to get in trouble too. So if you know, whomever you are, let it go and.
David Lyons:I'm not the detective. I haven't spoke to the detective yet, so I can't make a promise, but I will tell you from practice. First ones that come to the table with the right information usually benefit, because they're the ones to answer the questions that you all need. And it's not a game. If everybody holds on, everybody will take a severe ride together. So somebody that is involved in this needs to think of themselves in that way and work your ass out of what's about to happen, because I still feel that solvability is really high. I really feel like that this is going to crack loose.
Wendy Lyons:I think so too, just because all of the pieces to the puzzle are there. There we go and they all fit together. It's just that one missing piece to complete it.
Tammy Sterner:And somebody knows that missing piece and I promise you, as I sit here, I will find my son and lay him to rest like he should be. If it's until I take my last breath, I'm going to look for Timmy and come find Timmy.
David Lyons:We're actually doing a lot of praying for that, too, is that you all get the answers. But yeah, for that too is that you all get the answers. But yeah, so if somebody that was there is listening which I think might happen, I'm pretty sure choke it up, and if you know somebody was there and they've shared information to you, that would be beneficial. You're now obligated to choke that up. You might as well been there that night, so there's nobody. If they're carrying that in their heart, they need to they need to report that yeah, yeah, I really thought that we would hear something.
Tammy Sterner:We had $25,000 on Timmy's head first week.
David Lyons:Yeah, we want to keep that out too. That there's a $25,000 reward Well it's $15,000, now $15,000?
Tammy Sterner:Yeah, that's still $15,000.
David Lyons:Yeah, so people are listening. Think about what you got to bring the right information for obviously.
Tammy Sterner:And here's the thing it could be somebody else's son next time. You know I'm saying this stuff usually I'll start or stop with one person. That's right, you know? I mean um, once people have the.
David Lyons:If you're that comfortable, I say he's not the first one, you know people who can do this or hang around or wire, differently than you and me. So you're right, they're completely different in that aspect and that's a spooky thing with it too. So we could do a whole lot if somebody would just call with the right information, we could protect the rest of the community, we could get your answers. If God forbid, it's a matter of recovering him to bring him home for a burial, then you can get that to start moving through that part of y'all's life that we could do that Because they're out playing God and you can't give or take somebody's life.
Tammy Sterner:That's God's thing.
Wendy Lyons:So, yeah, well, we thank you all so much for coming and we're going to continue to dig away and hope that we can get you all some answers. We really do. You all deserve that. So thank you for taking the time to come talk with us today. Thank you, like David said, you all are certainly in our prayers. This is we said last night. We I don't think there's a case that we've ever really kind of gotten this close to really so it's, you know, it's certainly been on our minds since it was brought to us to introduce it. So thank you all again.
David Lyons:Thank you so much. Thank you, wonderful people.
Wendy Lyons:Hey, you know there's more to the story, so go download the next episode, like the true crime fan that you are.
David Lyons:The murder police podcast is hosted by Wendy and David Lyons and was created to honor the lives of crime victims, so their names are never forgotten. It is produced, recorded and edited by David Lyons. The Murder Police Podcast can be found on your favorite Apple or Android podcast platform, as well as at MurderPolicePodcastcom, where you will find show notes, transcripts, information about our presenters and a link to the official Murder Police Podcast merch store where you can purchase a huge variety of Murder Police Podcast swag. We are also on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, which is closed caption for those that are hearing impaired. Just search for the Murder Police Podcast and you will find us. If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe for more and give us five stars and a written review. On Apple Podcasts or wherever you download your podcasts, Make sure you set your player to automatically download new episodes so you get the new ones as soon as they drop, and please tell your friends Lock it down.
David Lyons:Judy.
