"A Thanksgiving They Will Never Forget" — The Tia Hendricks Case Hosted by Quiana Dickerson

CONTENT WARNING: Domestic violence, child homicide, graphic crime scene details, grief.

On Thanksgiving morning 2010, a 911 call was placed from an apartment on the north side of Columbus, Ohio. Before the call cut off, one word was heard. One name. What investigators found the following afternoon was one of the most devastating triple homicides in Franklin County history.

Tia Hendricks was 31. She was working two jobs, so her kids could have a good Christmas. Her daughter Talia was ten. Her son Mook was two. They were gone before Thanksgiving Day was over.

This episode covers the full case: the crime, the rare capital guilty plea, the 2012 death sentence, over a decade of appeals, and the 2023 resentencing that took the death penalty away after twelve years. But it goes further than the case record. Before recording a single word, Quiana reached out to the family. Tia's brother, Tavarus, agreed to speak. What he shared changed everything.

He talks about the 911 call he still keeps saved on his phone, the one he listens to on her birthday. He talks about Talia shielding Mook in the final moments of her life. He talks about his mother, who has had seven strokes since that Thanksgiving, and who keeps a photograph of the children on her wall because, in her words, that is all she has. And he talks about sitting in court in 2023 and saying, "We already have a life sentence." We deal with a life sentence every single day.

Tia Hendricks. Talia Hendricks. Tyron Hendricks. Say their names.

GET HELP: National DV Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 CHOICES Columbus: 614-224-4663

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She Speaks Crime is produced by Quiana Dickerson. All facts presented in this episode are drawn from verified public records, court documents, and an exclusive interview with Tavarus Hendricks conducted for this podcast. No quotes have been fabricated or taken out of context. The views expressed are those of the host.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed discussion of domestic violence, child death, and systemic failures in the criminal justice system.

On March 13, 2024, eleven-year-old Jayden Perkins was stabbed to death in his Chicago apartment while trying to protect his mother from her abuser. He was a sixth grader. Four foot two. Cast as Nemo in his school play. A kid who noticed when people were hurting and walked toward them. He ran toward the danger that morning, and it cost him his life. The man who killed him had a two-decade criminal history built almost entirely on violence against women. He had been released from prison the day before the attack, after the Illinois Prisoner Review Board made its decision without running a standard background check. The electronic monitoring required by his release conditions was never attached. A court hearing on an emergency protection order filed by Jayden's mother, Laterria Smith, was scheduled for the very next day. This episode covers all of it. Who Jayden was before we ever talked about the crime—the full history of Crosetti Brand. Every institutional failure put him at Smith's door. The trial, in which Brand represented himself, took ninety minutes to convict. The sentencing. The reforms that followed. And the civil lawsuit, Laterria Smith is still fighting.

QUESTIONS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1. What does it mean that Jayden's death was preventable, and we know exactly how it could have been prevented?

2. Why do we keep asking why victims didn't leave, instead of asking why dangerous people keep being released?

3. What do we owe to the children who witness domestic violence, and specifically to Jayden's five-year-old brother?

4. Is legislative reform an adequate response to the death of a child caused by institutional negligence?

5. What does it mean that a standard background check, one that costs essentially nothing, was not run, and a child is dead in part as a result?

6. How do we tell true crime stories about domestic violence without reducing survivors to their victimization?

7. Jayden ran toward the danger. What does that tell us, and what does it demand of us?

IF YOU NEED SUPPORT: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (24/7) Text START to 88788 thehotline.org

In memory of Jayden Perkins, 2012-2024. He saw people. He showed up. He did not flinch.

In this episode of She Speaks Crime, we examine the heartbreaking case of 8-year-old Martonio Wilder from Columbus, Ohio. After being reported missing in June 2024, Martonio was later discovered inside the attic of his home. What investigators uncovered revealed a devastating pattern of severe malnutrition, abuse, and years of warning signs that had been documented but never fully addressed.

This episode explores the timeline of Martonio’s life, the findings from the autopsy report, and the troubling history between the family and child protective services. It also asks difficult questions about system failure, missed opportunities to intervene, and how communities and institutions can better protect vulnerable children.

This is not just the story of a crime; it is a story about silence, accountability, and the urgent need to protect children who cannot protect themselves.

Sources referenced in this episode include reporting from ABC 6 On Your Side, Yahoo News, and publicly available court and investigative records.

If you suspect a child may be experiencing abuse or neglect, please get in touch with the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).