Page 38 of Dead Air
LEAH:Multiple colleagues corroborate Detective Hutchinson's account. Surveillance photos we obtained show Detective Landry entering his apartment building on numerous occasions during the time period he described. Credit card records reveal dinner purchases at restaurants outside Savannah city limits, exactly as he claimed.
LEAH:This relationship remained hidden during the official investigation into Monica Landry's death. No mention appears in case files. No witness statements reference it.Detective Hutchinson was never formally interviewed as someone with a close personal connection to the victim.
LEAH:When I asked why he didn't come forward at the time:
HUTCHINSON:I tried. Told my sergeant about our relationship the day after she died. He said it wasn't relevant to the investigation. When I pushed, he suggested keeping it quiet to "protect Monica's reputation."
[Music intensifies]
LEAH:What happened between Detective Landry and Detective Hutchinson in the weeks before her death adds another layer of complexity to this case:
HUTCHINSON:Something changed. Monica became secretive. Canceled plans. Stopped answering texts. Said she needed space to focus.
LEAH:How did you respond?
HUTCHINSON:Respected her wishes at first. Gave her time. But the distance grew. She started avoiding me at work. Taking files without consulting me. Making independent moves on our shared case.
LEAH:Did you confront her?
HUTCHINSON:I asked for an explanation, sure. Went to her apartment one night. Brought dinner as a peace offering. She wouldn't let me inside. Said we needed complete separation until the case closed.
[Brief pause]
LEAH:This timeline coincides precisely with the professional distance that developed between Monica Landry and her partner, Erin Lawson. According to department sources, both relationships deteriorated simultaneously – around three weeks before her death.
LEAH:What triggered this withdrawal? What did Detective Landry discover that caused her to isolate herself from both her professional partner and her romantic partner?
HUTCHINSON:Looking back, I believe she found something dangerous. Something that made her pull away from everyone. Not just me. Her sister mentioned she'd stopped Sunday dinners. Colleagues said she worked odd hours alone.
LEAH:When was the last time you saw her?
HUTCHINSON:Three days before she died. Passed her in the hallway at the station. She looked exhausted. Jumpy. Clutching that blue notebook she carried everywhere. She avoided eye contact. Took the stairs instead of sharing the elevator.
[Music shifts]
LEAH:That blue notebook, the same one her sister Rachel mentioned, the one missing from evidence, appears to be central to whatever Monica Landry discovered in her final weeks.
LEAH:Detective Hutchinson's Narcotics expertise gave him unique insight into the Rafferty operation:
HUTCHINSON:Rafferty wasn't just another dealer. His operation had protection from somewhere. Cases against his people kept falling apart. Evidence disappeared. Witnesses changed statements. Monica noticed the pattern first. Said it pointed to someone with authority manipulating outcomes.
LEAH:Did she name suspects?
HUTCHINSON:Never directly. But she focused on cases that passed through Judge Byrd's courtroom. Said the dismissal rate for Rafferty-connected cases was statistically impossible without intervention.
[Brief pause]
LEAH:Judge Elizabeth Byrd declined our request for an interview but provided this statement through her office:
[Reading from statement]"All judicial decisions in my courtroom follow strict adherence to legal standards and procedural requirements. Cases are dismissed when evidence fails to meet constitutional thresholds or when prosecutorial misconduct occurs."
[Music becomes more pointed]
LEAH:Detective Hutchinson's account adds crucial context to Monica Landry's final days. It suggests she was investigating not just street-level drug trafficking, but judicial corruption at the highest levels of Savannah's legal system.
LEAH:If true, this explains why evidence disappeared after her death. Why files went missing. Why the Rafferty investigation was abruptly closed. Someone with significant authority ensured that Monica Landry's discoveries remained buried, along with any chance of justice for her murder.
LEAH:I asked Detective Hutchinson directly if he believed Monica was killed because of what she discovered:
