Gulf Coast Confidential with Mollye Barrows

Mollye Barrows

I’m Investigative Journalist Mollye Barrows. For years, I’ve covered the stories that made headlines in Northwest Florida and all along the Gulf Coast - murders, missing persons, and mysteries of all kinds. These cases are far from over for many victims because the full story has yet to surface. Join me for Gulf Coast Confidential, where I dive into the saltier side of the South and expose the lies, greed, and corruption that often weighs down the truth.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Cheerleader Kimber Mills killed at testosterone fueled Alabama bonfire

    Send us a text  High school cheerleader Kimber Mills, 18, was laid to rest on Sunday after she was shot in the head and taken off of life support at UAB.  She was injured witnesses say trying to break up a fight between several young men at “The Pit,” a gathering place in the woods in Pinson, Alabama that was the regular go-to, weekend hang out spot.  Kimber was one of four people who was shot, including 21-year-old Silas McCay, who was involved in the fight and shot ten times, but survived.  The initial story is that McCay and some of his friends were defending the honor of some of the young women because 27-year Steven Tyler Whitehead allegedly hassled one of them.  In fact, Silas was called a “hero” and he shared pictures of the flowers of he received when he was recovering in the hospital, and thanking people for their support.  Now enter the videos. More are surfacing all the time because if it’s one thing people carry these days, especially young people, it’s phones, and it turns out a lot of them were recording the fight.  The videos show several men approaching Steven as he is walking away, and they start to beat him.  Kimber steps in an apparent attempt to break it up and then shots are fired as Steven is on the ground fending off several men and she and several other are struck. Kimber was shot in the head and leg.  Steven Whitehead, a member of the Alabama National Guard, is charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder.  We’re watching this story because it’s changing every day and it’s a tragic example of how fragile life is. Folks can be here one day and gone the next.  Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Cheerleader Kimber Mills killed at testosterone fueled Alabama bonfire.”  Support the show

    28 min

  2. 21 OCT

    August Borden IV, Overpriced thorn in the side of football in Tuscumbia

    Send us a text  Tuscumbia City Schools says it’s still investigating the incident that nearly took the life of 15-year-old August Borden, a Deshler High School football player who had to be intubated for two days in the hospital with severe head and brain trauma after a so-called “freak accident” after football practice that left him fighting for his life.  Many in the community, including his family, believe the answers authorities claim to be seeking aren’t that hard to find and the Madison County DA’s version of events doesn’t line up with the boy’s injuries.  August’s own doctor says the skull and orbital bone fractures he suffered among other injuries are consistent with an “assault” and not a freak fall as coaches claim happened.  It seems the school selectively follows its own reporting and disciplinary policies. The “subject of interest” at the center of what happened to August is another student, the quarterback for the team Price Thornton.  The Madison County DA determined there was no criminal wrongdoing, but the official version of events has been inconsistent, contradictory, and ever-changing from the beginning.   With the police not filing a report for days until August’s daddy requested one and the school saying first that he fell all by himself, then later admitting another player “bear hugged him” until he passed out and he dropped him.  However, the school never disciplined any of the players allegedly involved with August’s injuries and kept playing football as if the boy didn’t exist.  As Pam Hill says, “Something ain’t right here!”  Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “August Borden IV, Overpriced thorn in the side of football in Tuscumbia.”   Support the show

    38 min

  3. 14 OCT

    Christian Ketchup convicted of murder: Victim’s sister wants maximum sentence

    Send us a text There have been so many crimes, tragedies, and mysteries along the Gulf Coast. What is curious about the brutal shooting death of 25-year-old Tierra Binion is the senselessness of killing a woman and mother of two who was just out trying to enjoy herself like people often do.   Christian Ketchup and his girlfriend, Rachel DeRise, turned what is a routine, normal night out for many young people at the Pensacola bar Mugs and Jugs, into a headline making tragedy that took Tierra's life and ruined Christian's who is now convicted of her murder and awaiting sentencing.  He hollered about self-defense, a claim the court slapped down. Now Ketchup says he wants a new trial for a variety of reasons including the racial make-up of the jury.  Join us as we sit down with the victim's sister, Diamond Jordan, as she discusses the latest legal spike strips Christian Ketchup is laying down on the road to justice in this episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, "Christian Ketchup convicted of murder: Victim’s sister wants maximum sentence.”   Support the show

    44 min

  4. 7 OCT

    Iryna Zarutska: Escaped bombs in the Ukraine to be murdered on a U.S. train

    Send us a text Iryna Zarutska didn't seem much different from any of the other passengers when she boarded the late train leaving Scaleybark station a few miles outside of downtown Charlotte, North Carolina on August 22.  The pretty, 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee wore khaki pants and a dark shirt and her long blonde hair was tucked under a hat from Zepeddie’s Pizzeria where she worked. Like other nearby passengers, she had on earbuds and her head was bowed looking at her phone as the train continued on. She had just sent a message to her boyfriend that she would see him soon.  Iryna had picked an empty row on the train, and sat in front of a man in a red sweatshirt, Decarlos Brown. Unbeknownst to her, she had caught the mentally ill man's attention, and he saw the young woman as a threat to be eliminated.  Within minutes, Brown took a knife out of his clothes, launched himself out of his seat and swiftly stabbed the unsuspecting woman who clutched her throat and cried as she slipped to the ground where she soon died.  Iryna had survived the bombs and violence of war in Ukraine to embrace a new life with her family in the United States, only to have that life snatched away from her by a man who was already well known to the criminal justice and mental health system.   Now legislators are pushing for "Iryna's Law," named after the stabbing victim, which would give death by firing squad as an option for capital punishment in North Carolina. It also increases the checks on criminals getting out on bail, prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and most repeat offenders, as well as alerts judiciary to take a closer look at people who pose an unusual risk of violence.  Little did Iryna know that when she boarded the late night train in Charlotte that ill-fated night, along with her accused killer Decarlos Brown, that her murder would be a rallying cry for criminal justice reform.  Join us for more tomorrow on the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Iryna Zarutska: Escaped bombs in the Ukraine to be murdered on a U.S. train.” Support the show

    33 min

  5. 30 SEPT

    Zero Tolerance adds up to maximum bullying in Alabama: Teenage boys being targeted

    Send us a text Maybe we should throw it back to old school, it used to be real cool before Zero Tolerance made it easier for bullies to do their worst.  Now victims simply have to take it like sitting ducks or find themselves in the crosshairs of school punishment for trying to defend themselves.  More than half a dozen cases involving teenage boys in Alabama, Florida, the Southeast, and beyond have some parents and caretakers crying foul over favoritism. Some students who pick or start fights are getting a slap on the wrist, if any punishment at all, while others who were allegedly merely defending themselves are getting sent to alternative schools or facing extreme discipline.  In many of these cases, school administrators have the power to make a difference, but parents say instead of taking charge and evaluating incidents on a case-by-case basis, they often want to hide behind the Zero Tolerance Policy and fall back on a pre-determined punishment where the offender and the victim are punished equally.  From Tuscumbia football player August Borden to wrestler Butterbean's grandson in Walker County, some folks have zero patience for zero tolerance. Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Zero Tolerance adds up to maximum bullying in Alabama: Teenage boys being targeted.” Support the show

    33 min

  6. 23 SEPT

    Shot in the neck, murder-for-hire: When will Stephanie Linville Perdue go to trial?

    Send us a text Some women ain’t nothing but trouble. No one knows that better than Milton business owner and father, Sean Perdue.  In 2021, Perdue had a successful business and was a single dad to a young daughter he doted on, Lily. Divorced after 20 years, Perdue was looking for someone to build a life with and help him with his special needs child of whom he had custody. He thought he found that special someone in Stephanie Linville Perdue, another woman from the Milton area who was a nurse and seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.  Instead, she shot him by their first wedding anniversary; the bullet went clean through his shoulder and neck. Sean survived and got a restraining order, but she violated it and ended up back behind bars and blamed Sean for it, according to her arrest report.  That’s when investigators say Stephanie and her new boyfriend, David Bollier, tried to hire inmates at the Santa Rosa County to kill Sean with fentanyl in a failed murder-for-hire plot. The goal was allegedly to take everything he owned and pay the would-be-hitwomen $10,000 for "the job" that was described in code words as a "party for my grandmother" with "party favors." Stephanie denied the crime. Now more than two and a half years after she was arrested she still hasn’t gone to trial. Her attorney has yet again asked for another continuance of the trial. It’s the latest in a string of continuances since she was arrested that is frustrating and worrying to Sean, who just wants to move on and get justice after the toxic relationship nearly cost him everything. Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential Podcast, “Shot in the neck, murder-for-hire: When will Stephanie Linville Perdue go to trial?” Support the show

    1h 3m

  7. 16 SEPT

    Cover up, huddle up Tuscumbia: August Borden Part III

    Send us a text This is quite the episode - we're packing in updates on two controversial cases we've been following! Before we dive into the latest on August Borden we have an update on embattled plastic surgeon, Dr. Ben Brown. Now to Tuscumbia, Alabama where the Deshler High School football team’s motto is "Nos Non Ego," which is Latin for "We Not Me."  That begs the question: Isn’t 15-year-old August Borden, #37, part of the football team and wouldn’t he be part of the “we?”  Instead, it seems the “we” is a chosen few.  The team is playing every Friday with everyone but August, as if he had not been critically, injured allegedly after another teammate put his hands on him, after football practice on Aug. 19th.  There are conflicting stories about what happened to him, but it’s clear his coaches and Tuscumbia School administrators are doubling down on the story that he “fell” and there’s nothing to see here, even as a neighboring county begins to investigate the incident that nearly took August’s life.   All of the national attention and outrage has put this town, it’s high school football program and coaches, as well as “Player X” under the microscope.  Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Cover up, huddle up Tuscumbia: August Borden Part III.”  Support the show

    59 min

  8. 10 SEPT

    Heartless Lynn Turner: Loved policemen to death

    Send us a text People lost their heads over praying mantis Lynn Turner, and some people lost their lives.  She poisoned her husband and her boyfriend with anti-freeze laced green Jello, and likely would have gotten away with it all of it, but for pushing her luck killing her second the lover who took to the first husband’s funeral.  When Lynn, 32, got caught in her own poisonous web, she took a third life with a dose of her own medicine.  She hoarded her blood pressure medication and overdosed on it, denying the families of the men she killed a sense of justice.  Join us for the latest Gulf Coast Confidential episode, “Heartless Lynn Turner: Loved policemen to death.” Support the show

    29 min
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About

I’m Investigative Journalist Mollye Barrows. For years, I’ve covered the stories that made headlines in Northwest Florida and all along the Gulf Coast - murders, missing persons, and mysteries of all kinds. These cases are far from over for many victims because the full story has yet to surface. Join me for Gulf Coast Confidential, where I dive into the saltier side of the South and expose the lies, greed, and corruption that often weighs down the truth.

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