Bad Romance: Barefoot Witness

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20/20 44 min 29 speakers 8 chapters transcribed
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Who is Lintel Washington and what happened to her?

Advertisement Narrator 0:18
Everyone wants to be lucky in love, and Lintel Washington finally is. When she goes missing, the only person who may know what really happened is her tiny daughter, a barefoot witness.
Jamisha (Friend and Co-worker of Lintel) 0:47
A beloved teacher, dedicated. No matter what those children did, she gave them everything she had. Full of promise.
Advertisement Narrator 0:57
She was named Teacher of the Year. Lintel Washington seems to have a bright road ahead, but it's about to meet an unexpected end in a very dark place.
Interviewer 1:10
We had just the makings of a real horror story.
Advertisement Narrator 1:30
One Thursday morning, a parking lot security camera captures something pretty disturbing. A toddler running around by herself clutching a pillow.
Investigator 1:44
I mean, this is a little child.

How was Lintel Washington's daughter found and what did she reveal?

Leslie Parms 1:49
My name is Leslie Parms. In 2016, I was driving for a company. I noticed a young lady, about three years old. She was standing in the parking lot about right here. She was kind of teary-eyed and distraught, and I asked her, I said, where's your mom? And she just kind of looked around, and I didn't see any adults out here with her, so I immediately called 911.
Police Officer 2:14
I have a child. How old are you, sweetheart? Three. She's three years old. She's in the parking lot standing here by herself with a pillow. No one's around. Can't find anyone. I need an officer.
Advertisement Narrator 2:25
It's then that Parms notices something alarming. The little girl isn't wearing shoes and there's blood on her feet.
Emergency Responder 2:33
You hurt your foot? That's why you're bleeding? Do I need to send medical attention that way? An ambulance? I don't think so.
Leslie Parms 2:39
And I started asking her where's mommy's car. And she pointed to her mom's car, which her mom's car was on the other end of the parking lot, closer to the fire hydrant. It was a blue four-door sedan. And I approached the car, and I peeked through the window. Oh, my gosh. There's blood on the front seat of the car. OK.
Emergency Responder 2:59
Stay on the phone with me, OK? It's a sizable amount of blood.
Leslie Parms 3:03
Something was really, really, really wrong.
Police Officer 3:06
The woman's keys and her purse are in the car. OK. It looks like one of the other pillows are in the car.
Advertisement Narrator 3:17
When police arrive, the little girl begins revealing more of her story.
Investigator 3:25
She is able to describe in detail what she's seen, even if it's only in little bits and pieces.
Advertisement Narrator 3:38
Officers run the plates and discover the car belongs to a woman named Lintel Washington. She's the mom of the little girl they've found.
Reporter 3:48
Lintel Washington, teacher at a middle school. And no one heard from her. She just didn't show up to teach her class.
Friend of Luigi 3:57
And I knew instantly something is wrong.
Jamisha (Friend and Co-worker of Lintel) 4:00
She would never allow her daughter to be alone. Never.
Advertisement Narrator 4:05
We're not using the name or showing the face of the child to protect her privacy.
Caretaker / Paramedic 4:09
Yeah, you got to take a bath.
Leslie Parms 4:15
They're going to get you cleaned up, OK?
Advertisement Narrator 4:17
A blood-soaked car, an abandoned child, her mother missing. The police need answers, and they need them fast.
Interviewer 4:26
Do you know where your mommy went? No. Where? Can you point the direction she went?
Little Girl (Barefoot Witness) 4:32
I don't know.
Police Officer 4:35
I don't know. I don't know.

What do we know about Lintel Washington's personal and love life?

Friend of Luigi 4:44
Lantell Washington's nickname is Puffy. That was a name she had since her childhood.
Jamisha (Friend and Co-worker of Lintel) 4:49
She was loyal, dedicated, and hardworking.
Friend of Luigi 4:56
Very funny, very passionate, very kind person. We didn't call ourselves friends, we called ourselves sisters.
Jamisha (Friend and Co-worker of Lintel) 5:04
She was a great mother, very caring, very loving, and that was her whole entire world.
Former Student 5:11
I called her Ms. Washington. She was my eighth grade social studies teacher. She always had a bright smile every time we walked into the classroom.
Jamisha (Friend and Co-worker of Lintel) 5:24
What made her a good teacher? Her heart. You know, Lintel had a loving, caring heart. And no matter what those children did, no matter where they came from, she gave them everything she had.
Advertisement Narrator 5:34
But according to Lintel's closest friends, she felt something was missing from her life.
Friend of Luigi 5:40
She wanted love. She wanted a relationship. She wanted family. Lentel did not have any luck with men. I mean, probably none of us, but hers was just jaw-dropping, like crazy stuff.
Advertisement Narrator 5:56
When she was younger, there was a short-lived marriage. Then a promising relationship with her daughter's father, Darren Glasper, also crumbled. Was there talk of marriage and really making this permanent?

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