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Minds of Madness Podcast. Listener discretion is advised. Oh, In the heart of Rockbridge Memorial State Park just outside of Columbia, Missouri,

stands a grove of juniper trees or eastern red cedar as Missourians like to call them.

With lifespans of up to 300 years, these evergreens bear silent witness to the passage of time.

We've all heard the phrase, if these walls could talk, but if these trees could speak,

imagine the stories they'd have to tell.

Their narrow trunks would regale us with tales spanning centuries of pioneers

forging paths through untamed wilderness and families picnicking under the shade.

Well in 2017 these trees swayed under the breeze as a man proposed marriage to the love of his life along a hiking trail.

It probably wasn't the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.

But not everything these trees have seen has been so pleasant.

In fact, they've seen terrible things as well.

In 2019, they stood solemnly as a shallow grave was dug into the muddy soil after a pouring rain,

watching as the lifeless body of a young mother was laid within and hastily covered up with fresh dirt.

That day, the trees were the only witnesses to a heinous crime,

but although they couldn't speak for themselves, in the end, they would still find a way

to communicate their dark secret and bring a killer to justice.

...