Ep 26 | Jerry Broyles Transcript

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Co-defendant Jerry Broyles is already serving two life terms after a guilty plea. If they ain't gonna let me out, I'd rather have the death penalty. Your brother actually ran over one of the guys with his vehicle? He hit one of them, yes. You did what my brother said because he was a big boy and he didn't take no lip from me. How do you know them? I really didn't know them. Do you feel like there was a crazy rage inside of you? Yes. I was in another place. I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I can't believe that any of this happened. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

You are now listening to the podcast Voices of a Killer. I'm bringing you the stories from the perspective of the people that have taken the life of another human and their current situation thereafter in prison. You will see that although these are the folks that we have been programmed to hate, they all have something in common. They are all humans like us that admit that they made a mistake. Will you forgive them or will you condemn them? They are currently serving time for their murders and they give us an inside glimpse of what took place when they killed and their feelings on the matter now. Here are the voices of those who have killed.

Welcome back to Voices of a Killer. In this episode, we speak to Jerry Broyles, a young man who is serving time for the brutal murder and battery of two teens in small-town Missouri. Along with four other members of his family, Jerry made a drunken mistake in 2007 that altered his life irreversibly.

Throughout our conversation, we relive the events of that chaotic night and seek to pin down Jerry's motive for the crime. We'll also hear Jerry's reflection on his actions and explore the toll prison takes on the psyche. One night's violent rage has had a devastating impact on both the victims and Jerry's family and the more we learn about this case, the clearer it becomes that there are no winners in crimes like these. So sit back and listen to Jerry's story of blind anger, jealousy, and the dark reality of prison life on this episode of Voices of a Killer.

So Jerry, where'd you grow up? In Lebanon, Missouri. What was it like growing up there? It was fairly fun. How would you describe your childhood? Did you have a rough time growing up? Good family or what? No, I had a good family. I had a good childhood. Really didn't need or want for anything. Yeah. Upper-middle class, I guess you would say. Yeah. Did you have any kind of abuse or parents on drugs, alcohol or anything like that? Oh, my dad did drink a little bit. Yeah. Did you ever see any abuse from that? No.

How'd you do in school? Up until a certain point, I was doing good. Then at a certain point, I was like, "Screw it", and I dropped out. Why'd you get to that kind of... that point? Just getting bored with it. Were you using...? Maybe drugs... Yeah, drugs probably had a part in it. What kind of drugs did you get into? Basically everything. M***? Yeah, m***. Coc***e? Marijuana. Coc***e. I never did much he***n or anything like that. Did you feel like a lot of people were doing drugs at that time? Yes. What year was this? When I was in school? Yeah, doing drugs and in school. In the 90s. 80s and 90s.

So, when's the first time you ever got in trouble with the law? When I was like 16. What happened? I stole some gas from a gas station. Did like a gas and run. Tell me about your crime that you're in prison for. You're... What were you sentenced to? I'm sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. I have multiple sentences though. They all ran into one life. Who's the victim in your case? Matthew Bankston and Zachary Jones. How do you know them? I really didn't know them. You didn't know them at all? No, not prior to that night.

So you didn't know these guys at all. What transpired that day? Why did you get in the trouble you're in right now? Because they kept calling and threatening me and my mom and my girl and stuff like that. Making threats, saying they're gonna do this and gonna do that. And how did they have your number? You said you didn't really know these guys. How did they have your information? When I said my girl, they originally was sending it to my girl and she gave me the number and I called them. So I originally called them to tell them to stop.

So, what transpired whenever you... they kept going and they didn't stop threatening you? What actually ended up happening? What was the next step to that? We agreed to meet up to fight. Did they get you pretty agitated where you were like, "Yeah, I'll meet up. I'll fight you. I'm not scared." is that kind of the attitude at the time? Yes. But then my girl talked me out of it because it happened at 10 o'clock that night and I'd been drinking all day, so I was straight lit.

She talked you out of meeting up with them? Yeah, so, I went to bed, and they kept harassing us, calling my mom's cell phone and everything like that. And my brother took over, and you did what my brother said, because he was a big boy, and he didn't take no lip from me. So what ended up happening? We ended up meeting up, and... You and your brother? Yeah, me and my brother, and he ended up calling people, and it was a whole big ordeal.

So you and your brother decide to go ahead and meet up. Is this the next day, after you'd already went to sleep? No, this was that same night. Where was the agreement place to meet to do this? Atchley Park. And y'all were basically gonna meet there to fight each other physically? Yes.

Jerry details the rocky years that led up to his crime. Young and rebellious, he lived recklessly. At only 25, he made some bad life decisions. He had a criminal record, was a drug user, and a high school dropout. This was a young man, maybe lacking direction, but still in the prime of his life.

But in 2007, a string of text messages pushed Jerry to a new edge. Though the exact details are hazy, the texts centered on Jerry's girlfriend at the time, something Jerry took as a direct threat. Although nearly talked out of it by his girlfriend, Jerry resolved to confront two teens who sent the texts, Matthew and Zachary. Perhaps fueled by anger, jealousy, and alcohol, Jerry was pushed by his older brother, Terry. A rendezvous at Atchley Park was set and five of Jerry's family joined in.

Whatever the content of those text messages, Jerry must have felt that some boundary had been crossed that he needed to defend. As he drove to Atchley Park, I wondered, what was running through his mind? Did he know what violence was to follow?

So you and your brother get in your vehicle, and you actually head that way, what's the discussion like? Do y'all have weapons? Are y'all talking about, this is the plan, we're gonna do this? Yeah, he told me to take a bat. Basically, it was my whole family that went. So it was more than just you and your brother? Yeah. Who else was there? Me, my brother, my nephew, my mom, and my brother's wife. All in the same vehicle or...? No, we took separate vehicles. And so y'all head out there. Are you and your brother in one vehicle? No, I'm with my sister-in-law, Kim.

Do you have a bat with you, you said? Yes. The vehicle that you're in, does anybody else have weapons with them? No, she didn't have anything with her. The other vehicles that were with y'all, did they have weapons? I'm not sure. I think so. So whenever y'all pulled up at this Atchley Park, were y'all the first ones there or was this other party already there? They was there. They were there? They was there. Were they outside of their vehicle or in their vehicle? They didn't have a vehicle. I guess they lived close by or something.

Did they look like they were ready to fight or did they look scared? Did they have weapons? When I got there, it had basically already commenced, and my brother hit one with the car. Your brother actually ran over one of the guys with his vehicle? He hit one of them, yes. Were you there to watch that? No. I pulled in, and I heard about it. So the guy was already on the ground, or was he able to get up, or was he hurt too bad? When I got there, he was getting up, and my nephew and him were like tangled up.

The guy got hit by the car, they started fighting, and you're pulling up. What did you do whenever you first pulled up? Did you jump out? I jumped out with the bat and I ran over there and I tried to get that one guy off my nephew and I struck him like two or three times. Where did you hit him? In the back. Did you hit him as hard as you could?

I really don't remember all that. Yeah. What happened whenever you hit him? Did he stop or what? He kept going. What did you do when he kept going? Like I said, I hit him two or three times. Did the last time you hit him, make him stop, or did it kill him? It made him stop. What happened whenever he stopped?

Did he turn around and fall to the ground or did he look at you? He was looking at me and when I looked up, my brother was singled up with the other guy. What did you do then? Did you leave the one guy that you hit three times? Yes, and I ran over and I hit him and he's the one I hit in the back of the head.

How hard did you hit him? It wasn't like a full swing because I didn't wanna hurt my brother or anybody else. So it was like medium, I guess you would say. And you got him with the bat in the back of the head. Yeah. What happened as soon as that bat hit him? He dropped. He just knocked unconscious? Yeah. And did y'all hit him again once y'all did that? Yeah, I hit him like two or three times. With the bat? Yes. As he was already knocked out? Yeah. Did somebody have to tell you to stop? Yes, my sister told me to stop. Did you feel like at that point in time, whenever you were beating somebody like that, that you were in another place? I was in another place.

I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I was drunk. I'd been drinking all day. Did you feel like it...? I know if I was sober, nothing like that would have happened. Did you feel like there was a crazy rage inside of you? Yes. How do you feel about that now? I feel depressed and like, I can't believe that any of this happened. I didn't mean for any of this to happen.

When you got stopped, were you looking at him, yelling at him on the ground? I really don't remember that. The other guy that you'd hit three times, what happened to him once you turned back and knocked the other guy out? He was still moving, and they said, "We gotta go, we gotta go", so I jumped in the truck and went.

My brother forgot his glasses somewhere, so I had to go back and find them. Was that guy still laying there? Yeah. Both of them were still moving when I left. They were both still moving around? Yes. Did you try to offer aid or you just got your glasses and left? I got the glasses and left. Did you say anything to him? No.

At the park, the tensions boiled over. The Broyles family had come prepared for the altercation. They were well-armed, carrying baseball bats and metal rods, while the two victims were defenseless. Atchley Park was a picture of chaos when Jerry turned up. One of the teens had been hit by his brother's car, and Jerry's nephew was locked in a fistfight with another.

Jerry dove into the fight himself, beating the victims repeatedly with his bat until they fell to the ground. At this point, Jerry wasn't thinking clearly. He describes as being disconnected from reality, the alcohol driving him into a hot, blind rage. It's unclear who dealt the final blows, but after all had subsided, the Broyles family made a hasty exit, leaving behind two bodies that were still moving, but grievously injured.

At the time, Jerry didn't realize the extent of what had happened, but it wouldn't be long before reality hit him hard. More on that after the break.

What happened after that? Did the authorities come get you or did days go by? We left and we went home and I went to bed. So Jerry, after you had left, did you think about possibly calling somebody to help those guys out? Did you worry about that? Yes, I did. But I was instructed to go to bed. Who instructed you to do that?

My brother. What did you think about whenever you decided not to call anybody and those guys were left out there like that? It felt pretty bad. Like I said, I never meant to hurt anybody like that. So tell me about... you woke up the next morning probably pretty disoriented, right? Or did you get woken up that night?

I woke up. I got woke up that night by the police. Were they banging at the door? No. They come in and held me at gunpoint. They busted through the door? Yep. What did that feel like? Startling. Shocking. Pretty scary? Yeah. You knew you were in trouble? No, I didn't know what was going on. Certainly, you knew what it was about?

No, not really. Like I said, I thought they would be okay. They was both moving when I left. So, when they arrested you, did they yell out, we're arresting you because of a murder or because somebody was hurt? Did they pass away yet? No, they didn't pass away yet, but I was already charged with murder.

What did that feel like when they said that? Everything I've ever done... My life was over. Did they interrogate you? Yes. Were they aggressive or trying to be your friend? A little bit of both. Did you tell them everything like you just told me or did you lie? I did not lie. I've always taken responsibility for my actions.

At what point did they tell you that you'd killed somebody? They told me while I was in holding and in questioning that the one dude had passed away. Did you take it to trial or did you have a plea deal or what? I plead out. I had a plea deal.

It took time for the gravity of the situation to dawn on Jerry. Perhaps he still wasn't thinking clearly. Perhaps he was just deluding himself. But Jerry seemed to think that Matthew and Zachary would be able to shake off their beating. That night, he went to bed with no inkling of the deep trouble he was in until law enforcement burst in and placed him under arrest. A rude awakening in more than one sense.

To his credit, Jerry chose to be honest with the police about what had happened. Possibly the weight of his actions had started to set in while he was in custody. Soon after, he would find out that Zachary had died of fractures to his skull. And though Matthew had survived, he was left paralyzed on one side, a life-shattering diagnosis to face at 17 years old.

In the following clip from a news report, Matthew speaks to reporters about the ordeal and the aftermath of the incident. This report also outlines the legal consequences that three of Jerry's family faced.

A jury has found Kimberly Duncan guilty on all four counts filed against her, including first-degree murder. KY3's Chad Plein has been following this story and joins us live now from the newsroom. And Chad, this verdict must be emotional for the victims' families. Yeah, Steve, in 2007, two teens were jumped at a park in Lebanon, one beaten to death, the other severely beaten. This reaction from the jury is helping that healing process just a little more.

Hearing the verdict, it was a relief. Matt Bankston woke up Friday to a different world. A burden lifted off my shoulders. One of the four people charged in his severe beating, leaving him facing a lifetime of partial paralysis, was found guilty by a jury: Kimberly Dunkin, guilty of first-degree assault against Matt and first-degree murder in the death of Matt's best friend, Zach Jones. Matt was in the California Missouri courtroom each day of the trial. It was hard for me to relive it and see the autopsy pictures and the pictures taken from the crime scene. Zach's mom, Tina, told me on the phone, while this decision cannot bring her son back, this might help save someone from going and doing something out of anger, a thought echoed by Matt.

Nothing will ever bring Zach back. But knowing that we did all we could to keep that from happening to anybody else. Kimberly Dunkin is the third of the accused to have their fate determined. Her husband hanged himself shortly after the charges inside his Laclede County cell, and co-defendant Jerry Broyles is already serving two life terms after a guilty plea.

The three that are done is a huge relief. Dunkin could receive two life sentences. The sentencing date is scheduled for April 24th. Meanwhile, the fourth person that's charged in this case, Dunkin's son, a date has yet to be scheduled. Steve. Chad, tell us more about Matthew Bankston. How's his health?

He's doing well, Steve. He doesn't have use of his right hand and right now he's going through therapy every day, trying to help him walk, also with his speech. He's hoping that through time he will be able, his ultimate goal, to go back and go to school and go to college.

Regrettably, Jerry's actions have had lasting consequences, both for himself and for the victims.

One night's stupid, drunken decision has torn apart many people's lives. Zachary's family will never see their son grow old. Matthew's future was wrecked by his paralysis. The news report mentions that Matthew had hoped to continue studying, but in a sad turn of events, he actually passed away just six years after the crime.

Each member of Jerry's family has faced prison charges. Jerry's sister-in-law, Kimberly, is serving two life terms and two 50-year sentences. Her 15-year-old son, Nathan, faces four years for his actions. And Jerry himself received four life sentences after pleading guilty in court. But there's one more casualty in this story.

As I mentioned in the news report, Terry, Jerry's brother, hanged himself in Laclede County Jail shortly after being charged with murder. Surprisingly, Jerry has mostly described his brother as a domineering figure up until now. Terry was the instigator of the fight at Atchley Park. He gave the commands for Jerry to carry the bat and what to do after the incident.

I was curious about what led to Terry's suicide and how the loss of his brother might have impacted Jerry. What about your brother? He committed suicide in county jail. How long after the murder did he commit suicide? August 20th is when he committed suicide, and this happened June. Was he in the same wing as you when he did this?

Yes. I'm the one that found the body. Did he talk about suicide to you? No. How did he do it? He hung himself. And you found him? Yes. Explain to me, if you don't mind, I know it's difficult, but a lot of people don't understand hanging. They think it's literal hanging from something, but I'm going to assume, because I know how jail is set up, he probably wasn't actually hanging from something, but he had tied something around his neck.

Is that accurate? Yes, he pulled the mirror away from the wall, tied a sheet around the mirror, and he sat down beside his sink. All he had to do was stand up. Were you in the same cell as him when this happened? No, I was in the same wing. I was upstairs, he was downstairs. Did he wait until... He probably knew his celly's schedule and waited for his celly to leave and did it or he did not have the celly?

Single man cells. Single man cells? Whenever you went in there and you saw him like that, what was your reaction? First I didn't see the sheet or anything. I thought he was... had a heart attack because he was blue and purple. He was still warm. It was probably just occurring still? Yeah. What did you do?

I asked for help. I started yelling, screaming, "Help, I need help!" What happened... did you go and try to aid to him and take the sheet off of him? No. They ran in when I started screaming for help and they pushed me back and that's when I realized that he was hanging from the sheet. Is it surprising that it happened, or did you feel like he was the type of person to do that?

At that point in time, I was the one that was the type of person to do that. Him? No. He was the... he was like the leader of the family. If you could guess why he did that, what would it be? Guilt. Guilt that he had killed someone? Yes. Do you think it was guilt or because he didn't want to go to prison? Maybe because he didn't want to go to prison.

Maybe it's guilt. I have no clue. I don't know what he was thinking. What happened to you? They take your brother's dead body out of that cell. What are you doing at that time, watching that? Did they lock everybody down and you're just looking out the window of your cell? I was in the wing and they realized what happened and they took me downstairs and everybody else had to lock down.

They had you in the nurse? Yeah. Were they nice to you? Yes. I'd imagine you were pretty upset or in shock, right? Yeah, I was in shock. And you still had a trial and everything. Do you feel like, with all the authorities knowing that your brother committed suicide, that they were a little bit nicer to you?

Kinda, it was like they was afraid that I was going to do the same thing. Did they put you in a turtle suit? No. I'm sure they evaluated you though, right? Yeah. They made me cell with someone in the single-man cells too. I had to sleep on the floor. Do you feel like you're suicidal? Not now. Then I was. Did you think about committing suicide as well? Yes. Did you try to do it? Nope.

Using a makeshift device in his prison cell, Terry took his own life at 22 years old. Jerry says he hadn't expected his strong-willed brother to do such a thing. Although we can't know Terry's motive for certain, it's possible that the misery of life in prison and the reality of his actions proved too painful for Terry to live with.

Terry's suicide sheds light on the mental health challenges inmates face. Prison is grim, a lonely place, the perfect breeding ground for despair, and suicide is the leading cause of death in many prisons. Without negating the harm that Jerry and his brother have caused their victims, we can empathize with their mental health struggles.

Discovering your own brother's dead body is a traumatic experience for anybody, and Jerry openly admits that he has struggled with suicidal thoughts. Before wrapping up our interview, I wanted to learn more about the mental health toll of life in prison. Has Jerry been able to confront what he did? Has he found ways of coping with prison where his brother did not?

So you took a plea deal of life with the possibility of parole at what age? At the age of twenty-six. And how old are you now? Forty-two. What's prison been like since you've been in there? It's been rough. Why rough? What comes to mind whenever you explain rough? It's been through hell, man.

Psychologically? Psychologically, physically, mentally. Mentally is the big one. Do you get in fights in there? Yes, I've been in a few. Do you win or do you lose? Usually lose. I've been in a few where I didn't even fight back. I just looked at them and laughed. What's the main reason you were in these fights?

Were they all separate reasons? Yeah. Tell me a couple of reasons. Just disagreements. Stuff like that. People thinking you're being disrespectful, I'm sure? Yeah. When do you have a parole date? I see the board in 2031. What do you think that's going to be like for you? It's going to be scary. Have you ever gotten any hate mail from the family?

No, but for the past few years, I've been wanting to write an apology letter to the family. I just can't find the words to do it. If the family of the victim was listening right now, any loved ones to the victim... if they were listening to this right now, what would you say? I'm extremely sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.

I'd like them to know that they ain't the only one that lost anything, and they ain't the only one that I hurt. Because I destroyed a whole community by what I did, by what transpired. I realize that now. I was young and stupid. Do you think the board's gonna let you out? I don't know. I'm praying. Do you think the victims' family will show up to try to keep you in there? Probably.

What would you say to someone on the outside that was living the lifestyle you were living at the time this happened? Stop. Stop? Yeah, stop. Stop what you're doing, just right now. I have a son that's 21 and I encourage him not to drink and everything like that. I try to talk to him at least once a week. I encourage him not to drink or anything like that. How old is your son, Jerry? He was five. Do you have a relationship with him?

Now I do, yes. Do you have support on the outside? Very little. Is there anything you want to say, Jerry? That I'm sorry, and I'm remorseful for what I've done. That's all I've had. This... If they ain't gonna let me out, I'd rather have the death penalty. It's rough. I imagine, man. I'm sorry that you're in the situation you're in.

Nobody wins, man. Putting you in prison is not a win. It's just another lose. It's another loss for... It's always unfortunate every time I do these interviews. Not yet. I know there are people that aren't remorseful, but I think most of the time, the majority of the time, the people that have taken someone else's life is... It wasn't intentional.

I think when you did this, you didn't strike with the bat going, I want you dead. It's just strike with the bat. I'm mad. And it's just always unfortunate. But I wish the best for you. All right, man, you take it easy. Okay? You too. All right. Bye bye. Bye.

On the next episode of Voices of a Killer. I was never a violent criminal. I never did violent crime, right? So we went back and I went to turn to leave again, and he pulled the pistol on me. What was your reaction when he called you in? And I'm looking, I'm like, "Man, he's tripping." So he was still after you with all those bullets in him? Yes. And he was still fighting.

Dude was extremely high, right? According to his blood work, he was like, high, high, like through the roof high, right? I had made some statements. I was coerced by some police officers. He took me to trial on two murders for one body.

That's a wrap on this episode of Voices of a Killer. I want to thank Jerry for sharing his story with us today. His ability to be open and honest is what makes this podcast so special. If you would like to listen to the raw recordings of these interviews, you can visit https://www.patreon.com/VoicesofaKiller. By becoming a patron, you can access not only this, but hours of bonus recordings, correspondence, and you can contribute to the way the show is produced.

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