“Adele disappeared from NAU over six years ago. She allegedly left campus at the beginning of winter break, heading for home in Phoenix. She never arrived. Her car was found in Gallup, New Mexico. Based on the evidence—a broken headlight and a small amount of blood found on the steering wheel—troopers believed that someone caused an accident for the purposes of hurting Adele. Her body was never found.
“When I came to NAU, I started thinking about Adele again. I learned that she had had classes with Candace Swain and Taylor James. So I reached out to Candace—probably not the best way to do it, but by scheduling a tutoring appointment through the writing lab. She was very nice, smart, helpful. And after a couple sessions, I asked questions about Adele. Did she remember her, did she have any idea what might have happened? Candace stopped talking to me. At first I thought maybe I was too pushy or she was sad, but then I thought maybe she knew something more.
“I was right.
“Candace Swain was with Adele the night she died. Adele’s death was an accident with drugs and alcohol as contributing factors, but the decision of four women to cover up the accident was a crime. They conspired to make it appear that Adele left campus for home and pretended when questioned by campus police that she told them she was leaving campus on November 30.
“Instead, they took her car to Gallup and made it appear she had been in an accident. They took her body to Payson and left it in the bottom of a mine shaft. Then they pretended to know nothing. Candace Swain’s journal documents this.”
He read a passage from the journal that verified what he’d said.
“But you don’t have to take a dead woman’s word for it. Earlier today, I interviewed another woman who was present. She has asked to remain anonymous, and because she didn’t participate in the cover-up, I agreed.”
He motioned to Lizzy to start the clip they had from his interview with Alexa Castillo. “We all went to Rachel Wagner’s apartment the night of November 30. Me, Adele, Candace, Taylor, and Kim. We drank too much, and Taylor handed out joints. This was before pot was legal, but we all knew that was only a matter of time, and no one really cared.
“I don’t remember anything after we smoked. I remember that Candace didn’t, because she had asthma and didn’t want to smoke at all. Later, I learned that there was something in the pot, something dangerous. Adele ran away from us, fell, and cracked her head open. I don’t remember this, but Candace told me later. The next morning, I was told that Adele wasn’t at the party, that she’d gone home. It was repeated over and over, and eventually I believed it. But I had dreams about that night—nightmares—and never knew why.
“Three years later, Candace came to me. I had already graduated. She told me she was going to find Adele’s body and tell the police what happened. She felt guilty because Adele’s family didn’t know the truth, and she wanted to give them peace. That’s when she told me the whole truth. When she died, I was scared that I would be next, so I didn’t say anything. I’m sorry I kept quiet, but I truly feared not just for me, but for my family. I was six months pregnant.”
Lucas said, “What happened to Adele never sat right with Candace, but she allowed herself to be convinced that it was an accident that they could get in serious trouble for. Over three years, Candace changed her mind. She felt increasingly guilty about what happened. I’ve read Candace Swain’s journal and, with her family’s permission, I’m sharing this brief excerpt.”
He cleared his throat and read. “We always listen to what we want to hear and disregard the rest. I pushed aside my doubts, allowed my fears to rule me. My fear of losing friends, of getting in trouble, of betraying those closest to me. I let Rachel play on those fears. I let her manipulate me. And finally, I said, no more. I had to come forward. I had to do the right thing. Not because of me but because Adele’s family was suffering, and I could no longer live with my actions.”
Lucas continued. “Chrissy Swain spoke to me this morning.”
Chrissy’s voice came over the radio. “The pain Candace suffered is evident on every page of her journal that last year of college. It hurts that she didn’t come to me, talk to me, that she put me on a pedestal and thought I would think less of her. I have never been so proud of Candace as I am today.”
Lucas continued. “Candace wanted to come clean. But her friends did not. The argument I talked about in previous episodes is only partly accurate.
“Joseph Abernathy did walk on campus the night of the Spring Fling three years ago. Candace did confront him and ask him to leave. There had been multiple complaints about the homeless man, and Taylor James did want to call the police, something Candace was opposed to.
“But their argument wasn’t about Abernathy, not that night. Candace wanted Taylor and Kimberly Foster, an alumna, to join her in going to the police. And according to Candace’s journal, Rachel Wagner convinced them not to. So Candace took it upon herself to look for Adele’s body, based on limited evidence.
“You, the listeners to my podcast, helped us piece together what Candace did during the time she was missing.
“The brave sorority sister who faced expulsion because she called in and said she saw Candace on Sunday night, driving into the Mountain View parking lot.
“The student who called, telling us that she saw Candace exiting the library early Tuesday morning, and the male student who called stating that he saw her late Monday night in the library. Because of that information, Regan Merritt and I were able to locate Candace’s journal, which gave us valuable information about what really happened to her.
“Candace spent the night in the library. You might think that would be difficult, but security cameras only capture part of the interior. You can be locked in the library, as long as you don’t attempt to use any of the exterior doors. We found her journal, hidden in a hollowed-out book, on the third floor near a study room where she could have easily spent the night.