Episode 319: Brandon Hilton

The First Degree

On January 8, 1995, a 34-year-old man and his 33-year-old girlfriend are walking to their cars parked along the side of State Highway 295 in Spartanburg, South Carolina, near a fast food restaurant. Suddenly, another vehicle pulls up, driven by the woman’s 49-year-old ex-husband. He pulls out a revolver and begins shooting through the rear window of the other man’s Chevy station wagon, striking the victim multiple times. The mortally wounded man flees on foot but is chased by his attacker into the parking lot of the restaurant and collapses, later dying in hospital. The killer initially takes responsibility but years later appeals, throwing the lives of everyone involved in the ordeal into further turmoil. In episode 319, Jac and Alexis detail the devastating death of Timothy Roach, and how the ripple effects of childhood trauma can come to define not only who we are, but spur us on to achieve success despite the darkest of circumstances.

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