Beth Shelburne

But speaking with Mama Cat and Queasy, hearing them corroborate to Forrest and Ardragus' alibi, it wasn't enough for detectives to question their own theory of the crime.

The pressure to put someone on trial for killing Deputy Hardy isn't letting up.

But 15 months after the crime, the judge dismisses capital murder charges against two of their main suspects, Omar Berry and Quintez Wilson.

Yolanda Chambers changes her story to say they weren't involved in the murder.

They also have alibis, and police believe them.

So detectives let them go.

Taforest and Ardragus are now the only two suspects charged with Deputy Hardy's murder.

But right as detectives zero in on Ardragus and Taforest, they run into a big problem.

Two weeks after she says Omar Berry and Quintez Wilson have nothing to do with the crime, Yolanda Chambers pivots and says under oath that she's made up the entire story about the murder.

She recants all of her testimony, now saying Taforist and Ardregas also had nothing to do with the murder.

We didn't have virtually, well, we had virtually no evidence.

We had the word of a 15-year-old who told lies, a lot of lies.

But investigators have someone else, someone they hadn't initially believed, someone who will become the state's new star witness against Taforrest Johnson.

Ear Witness is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Company No.

1.

Executive producers are Jason Flom, Jeff Kempler, Kevin Wardus, and me, Beth Shelburne.

The investigative reporting for this series was done by me and Mara McNamara.

Producers are Mara McNamara, Hannah Beal, and Jackie Pauley.

Kara Kornhaber is our senior producer.

Britt Spangler is our sound designer.