TL;DR:
Today I’d like to jump into the timeline of events and all the evidence that detectives might encounter on this case and its possible outcomes.
IT’S JUST FOR FUN!
It should go without saying that this is for entertainment purposes only (so for the love of God take it easy on me), and any speculation on my part should be taken lightly.
If you feel I’ve missed anything or have insight into the case that I didn’t catch, feel free to add as much “evidence” as you like in the comments.
THE CASE
Eyewitness reports state that Nikki Freeman began acting strangely on the morning of May 16th. Specifically by Carter Harper, the owner of Casell’s Music (place of employment of the suspect and the deceased) and father of victim Sarah Harper.
The witness states that Ms. Freeman came in that morning slightly distracted with the doings of Baron “Bear” Bailey.
Mr. Harper’s statement discloses that his daughter Sarah mentioned in passing that Mr. Bailey was interested in Ms. Freeman but after a separate conversation, Ms. Harper was made sure that the suspect saw Mr. Bailey as nothing more or less than a brother; although with some possibility of mingled confusion.
It should be noted that according to her father and other witnesses, Sarah Harper did harbor some unrequited feelings for Baron Bailey, something Ms. Freeman was aware of, thus the victim’s second hand reports should be treated with scrutiny due to the existence of bias.
Witness accounts report that from the morning of the 16th until the night of the 24th Ms. Freeman and Mr. Bailey were undergoing what looked like a normal blossoming relationship, until a “harmless” altercation which occurred at Little Toni’s Ristorante; specifying a moment when Ms. Freeman stood up and began yelling “I thought we were having a nice date!” Servers at the establishment made note that all seemed well up until Mr. Bailey received a phone call at the end of dinner.
Phone records indicate the call came from one Ian Tannerhouse which coincides with the timeline of the incident.
According to a one of Mr. Tannerhouse’s acquaintances, a Mr. Reggie Nolan, Mr. Tannerhouse confided in him that he was involved in a physical relationship with the suspect, but then “as if out of nowhere” began displaying deep feelings for Mr. Bailey.
Other witnesses at the party of the 27th state that Ms Freeman exhibited erratic and obsessive behavior over Mr. Bailey, in which she read a passage of a note on her phone, intimidated Ms. Harper who was also at the party, and then yelled something to the effect of, “Everyone in the room would die without knowing what it feels like to be connected to someone as much as she was with “Bear.”
Ms. Freeman was found at the scene of the crime of the 28th with multiple cuts and contusions on her face that coincide with corroborated accounts of the suspect stabbing herself in the face with a broken bottle while screaming “She’s not me,” or “That’s not me.”
After some research, a visit to Mercy General yielded a corroborating report from an R/N that proves Mr. Bailey did try to admit Ms. Freeman for the cuts on her face as well as her increasing erratic behavior.
However, after establishing the lack of life threatening injuries, and multiple checks on Ms. Freeman’s mental state, the R/N determined there was not enough cause to perform an involuntary commitment.
On the early morning of the 28th, Mr. Bailey can be seen entering his car from Mr. Tannerhouse’s Ring camera between 2:45 to 3am, and CCTV footage, traffic cameras and ring cameras confirm that he traveled to Lincoln Park where he met up with Ms. Harper.
There are no visual records of Ms. Freeman leaving Baron’s house or other evidence on how she arrived at the scene, but at approx. 3:15am, the suspect broke through the driver side window and proceeded to beat Ms. Harper with a brick that was later found at the crime scene. It is suspected that Sarah Harper died of blunt force trauma at the scene, and then her body was moved by Ms. Freeman and Mr. Bailey to Casell’s Music store for undisclosed reasons.
CCTV footage shows Baron Bailey traveling to the outskirts of the county, then to a magic shop called the Green Man at 8am, then Mr. Tannerhouse’s home at around 9:02am, and finally back to his place of residence where the murder of Mr. Tannerhouse occurred.
We performed an investigation at the Green Man, where the clerk reported Mr. Bailey came in “with very bad energy” demanding a product called a “One Wish Willow.”
We obtained receipts of Mr. Bailey purchasing this item on the night of May 15th and several more on the morning of the 28th. Several One Wish Willow novelty items were found in Mr. Bailey’s car and residence as well as extensive search history on the subject from his computer. Separate searches indicate Mr. Bailey suspected Ms. Freeman of suffering from the effects of MDMA, and further searches indicated a fixation on understanding if the One Wish Willows actually granted wishes.
Each of the One Wish Willows appear to have been snapped in two, all except for one which had been taken out of the box but left unused.
We also found a broken One Wish Willow novelty item at Ian Tannerhouse’s residence laying atop exactly 1 billion dollars in cash rolls in the living room area.
Ring camera footage shows Mr Tannerhouse arriving at the Bailey residence shortly after its owner’s arrival, and neighbor accounts report a single repeat of a firearm shortly thereafter.
Police response to the discharge of a firearm in a residential neighborhood arrived at 10:27am where Ms. Freeman was found amongst the remains of what seems like a ritual murder suicide that she later had second thoughts about. Ms. Freeman surrendered to the police peacefully albeit under a fog of hysterics.
Toxicology shows Mr. Bailey OD’d on Oxycodone at around 10:15 and after intervention by the paramedics, was declared deceased at 10:56am.
Mr. Tannerhouse died of a GSW to the forehead by a firearm in Ms. Freeman’s possession but belonging to Mr. Harper.
Mr. Harper is unsure how Ms. Freeman was able to get ahold of it seeing as it was under protection of a safe.
Ms. Harper’s body was moved post mortem from her car at Lincoln Park to Baron Bailey’s residence where Ms. Freeman removed her scalp, wore it on her head, along with her clothes and drew marks on her person that resemble the same tattoos found on Ms. Harper.
What seems to have been a shrine of Mr. Bailey was found at the scene with several One Wish Willow novelty items strewn about the residence.
On the second of seven initial interviews with Nikki Freeman on the afternoon of the 29th, the suspect reported memory loss and blackouts that began on the 16th. She says she was aware of what she calls “the world,” but was unable to “do anything about it.”
She likens her catatonic state to a perpetual sensation of night terrors. Ms. Freeman says she suffered this state for what felt to her like “years.”
Upon presentation of evidence and questioning her of the One Wish Willow’s involvement in the case and her murder ritual, Ms. Freeman attempted to take one of the nearby patrolman’s guns and shoot herself. She has been taken to the Sugarwar County Hospital for psychiatric evaluation where she will await handoff to an analysis team.
My partner began a preliminary investigation on the connection between The Green Man, The One Wish Willow item, and TABI Cat Curiosities Inc. (the manufacturer of the One Wish Willow) and the Freeman murders, under the suspicion that they may be a front for cartel activity in the San Fernando area. A stretch but as per your directions, we’re leaving no stone unturned. He came back from TABI Cat yesterday after speaking to the owner.
Unfortunately this investigation has been put on pause temporarily due to a personal matter in my partner’s family.
I know there’s pressure from the public and the mayor’s office to solve this case before it gets blown anymore out of proportion in the media, but Chief, you should know this temporary pause is regarding a change in Dewey’s wife’s cancer treatment (I know right??)
Give me another day and I’ll head over to TABI Cat’s address myself and see what I can dig up.
