Hi, crime junkies. I'm your host, Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And man, the story I have for you today, I'm going to warn you. It is going to have you yelling at your phone or whatever you're listening on because the answers to this case were out in the open the entire time. When a family disappears into thin air, it is glaringly obvious that all roads point to one person.

And the answer literally starts at home.

But police at the time jumped on the investigation too little too late,

leaving the family of the victims frustrated with the lack of police response for this family of color,

something that is still all too common in marginalized communities.

But we talked to an attorney in this case, and she gave us the real details on why the

investigation unfolded the way it did, and why no charges were ever brought in what looks

like an open and shut murder case. This is the story of the Thompson family. It's Friday, July 5th, 1996, when Herman Thompson calls his son Everett at the restaurant Everett owned.

He wants to know exactly when he can expect Everett and his young family to get into town for the holiday weekend.

The plan was for them to drive from Chicago to Philly sometime after Everett got off work.

But, you know, when you're the owner-operator, that's always a little TBD. So before they can hash out all the

details over the phone, Everett tells his dad, okay, listen, hang on, my wife Lydia, she's on the other line.

He's only off the phone for a second before he clicks back over and he tells his daddy's

got to go. Lydia has locked herself and their two boys in the closet because her brother is there

at their house threatening them with an axe and Everett's got to get home. Like click. Now based on

reporting from the Chicago Tribune, Herman expects Everett to call him back at any point, right?

Yeah, and be like, hey, everything's fine, whatever. But he doesn't. And I assume he calls back, probably tries Lydia too, but he's not getting anyone. So when a whole day goes by without word, he calls the police in Chicago to report everyone missing. And that's

Everett, Lydia, and their two boys, Everett Jr., who's 11, and Andrew, who's 8. But guess what?

The Chicago PD won't take the missing person's report over the phone from someone who lives

out of state. Okay, did he mention the part about the acts? He had to of, but they seemingly won't budge. So he's like, fine. Can you at least go do like a welfare check on them? Yeah, again, acts. Yes. And this they can do. So they tell Herman, listen, we're going to send someone out to do a welfare check. We'll give you a call back at some point. Minutes must feel like hours, hours like days. Yeah. But eventually his phone does ring. And the department is calling with good news. The family's fine. They're actually on their way to Philly right now. And Herman's like, oh my God, good. Like you talk to them. They're okay. Like, and he's like, well, no, no, no. I talked to someone named Kenneth, said he was Lydia's brother.

Wait, like, you talk to them. They're okay. And he's like, well, no, no, no. I talked to someone named

Kenneth, said he was Lydia's brother. Wait, like the axe brother? Yeah, he's the one who told

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