The Three Mums Who Teamed Up To Solve Their Children’s Crimes
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What tragic events led to the formation of the Bakersfield Three?
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It's May 2018 and Jane Parent is desperately trying to find her daughter. Bailey Despot has been missing since late April in their hometown of Bakersfield, California. The 21-year-old had been living at her boyfriend Matthew Queen's house. It's believed the last time she was seen was outside his property. Jane has been plastering the city with flyers of her daughter's face, but no one has seen the beautiful young woman with the piercing green eyes and long brown hair. Across town, another mother is desperately searching. Her son, Micah Holsenbake, went missing one month before Bailey. As their parents will soon discover, the pair knew each other. But that's not all. There's a third victim and this man has been murdered right in between Micah and Bailey's disappearances.
It's not long before James's mother joins the other two mums and together they start to investigate. What happened, they ask, to the Bakersfield three. I'm Gemma Bath and you're listening to True Crime Conversations, a podcast exploring the world's most notorious crimes by speaking to the people who know the most about them. No one wants to be the mother of a murdered child. No one wants to be the mother of a missing child. But in 2018, Jane Parent, Di Byrne and Cheryl Holsenbeck were part of the same club. They were all grieving and desperately searching for answers in their adult children's cases. Doing those two things together, as a team, they forged an unbreakable bond, a fierce sisterhood that saw them proudly claim the rallying cry, fight like a mother.
Not only did these women give the local detectives and journalists a run for their money with their investigative skills as they pieced together their children's last movements and last interactions, but they also turned their tragedy into advocacy amongst their search for answers. They raised tens of thousands of dollars for crime-solving programs. They met with local government officials to advocate for more funding for investigations, better technology, stronger coordination between agencies and reforms to public safety systems. All issues they'd come across while playing detective. Not only that, they also found the time to lend their support and love to other Bakersfield families trying to navigate the justice system.
Quite frankly, these women were and are incredible. Their fierce determination, strength, love for their children and unconditional friendship is to be admired. Alone, they admit they might have crumbled into their grief, but together they were unstoppable. Tragically, Diane Byrne, mother of James, isn't with us anymore. She died from ovarian cancer in 2024. Reporter Olivia Lavoie covered the many twists and turns in these three overlapping cases alongside the mums. Her podcast, The Bakersfield Three, tells their story in detail. Olivia joins us now.
Olivia, thank you for joining us on True Crime Conversations. You know Bakersfield well. You've lived there. You've worked there.
How did the mothers begin their own investigation?
For those of us who've never been there, what's it like? What's Bakersfield like as a place?
So Bakersfield is a city in California, but I think a lot of people who've never been, when they hear California, they're envisioning beaches and Hollywood. Bakersfield is is not that at all. Bakersfield is in the middle of the state and it's quite rural. It has a small town feel, even though it's not a small town. It's a relatively large city. Bakersfield, unfortunately for the people who live there, Bakersfield is plagued with A lot of issues, a high crime rate being at the top of the list. And I mean, to be frank, most people in the state of California who do not live in Bakersfield, they don't consider it a nice place. It has a bit of a rough reputation, if you will.
I want to start with Bailey Despot. Can you tell us a bit about who she was and when she went missing?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What tragic events led to the formation of the Bakersfield Three?
0:00–4:16
2
How did the mothers begin their own investigation?
4:16–10:18
3
What challenges did the mothers face while seeking answers?
10:18–15:46
4
How did the community react to the mothers' advocacy efforts?
15:46–21:39
5
What were the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Micah Holsenbake?
21:39–1:07:19
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from True Crime Conversations
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