69 South
Podcast 69 South is about mystery, true crime, attempting to find the truth in a world full of chaos. We dig deep in to current and past true crime incidents. Reporting what we find to our listeners. We want to become your reliable source for all things relevant, while we live in a society that is truly lost.
69 South
Candles and Chaos: A Tragic Fire Reveals Neglect
A seemingly ordinary day in an apartment shared by Catherine Schwartz, Tyler Mertlow, and their three children ended in unspeakable tragedy when a fire claimed the life of their three-month-old son. The devastating case unravels like a noir mystery, revealing layers of neglect, substance abuse, and domestic turmoil that created perfect conditions for disaster.
The investigation reveals a household in absolute disarray. Dog waste covered children's mattresses, forcing the family to crowd into a single bedroom where a lit candle sat precariously near the infant's crib. Empty Bacardi bottles and trash littered the apartment, creating a tinderbox waiting for a spark. When Katie stepped out to visit a vape shop, Tyler—with a blood alcohol content later measured at a staggering 0.262—was left in charge of three young children.
"The candle just blew up the house," one of the surviving children would later tell investigators, adding the heartbreaking detail that when she asked her father for help, he was drunk and "did nothing." The timeline reconstructed by detectives shows that within just 13 minutes of Katie's departure, the fire had already begun.
What makes this case particularly troubling is that the Department of Child Services had removed the children just 16 months earlier due to domestic violence concerns, returning them only five months before the fatal fire. The infant who perished was born just weeks after the older children came home, raising serious questions about whether proper safety assessments had been conducted.
Digital forensic evidence uncovered during the investigation painted an even more disturbing picture—videos and photos showing the parents engaging in explicit sexual acts in the presence of their young children in the months leading up to the tragedy. Even more shockingly, jail calls recorded after the infant's death and Tyler's arrest revealed the couple continuing their inappropriate behavior, showing a profound lack of remorse or accountability.
This case forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about parental responsibility, the effectiveness of child protective services, and how quickly neglect can turn deadly. The legal proceedings continue with both parents facing multiple felony charges, including neglect resulting in death.
Have you witnessed warning signs of child neglect in your community? Understanding when and how to report concerns could save a life. Share your thoughts with us or reach out if you need resources on recognizing and reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
Welcome to 69 South, where we cuss and discuss true crime, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for viewers and listeners 18 years of age or older. We discuss topics that may be triggering to some listeners, so sit back, relax and enjoy.
Speaker 2:Welcome to 69 South. Sit back, relax and enjoy Developing. Now a three-month-old infant is dead after an apartment fire in Martinsville. This is according to the Morgan County Coroner's Office. The 911 calls started coming in around three o'clock this afternoon for a fire on South Home Avenue. Took firefighters about an hour to get that fire under control. The cause is still under investigation. Sadly, all we know at this time is that infant died in the fire. Unclear if anyone else was injured. Stay with us as more information becomes available on this tragic situation there in Martinsville.
Speaker 1:Welcome back everybody to 69 South. I'm your host Chop, and with me always is my beautiful co-host Julie.
Speaker 3:Good evening everyone. Tonight, we are diving deep into the cases that leave us with more questions than answers, and today we're going to be covering a heartbreaking and complex case involving Catherine Schwartz and her husband Tyler Mertlow.
Speaker 1:This was also last week's True Crime Challenge. We had so many people guess and search really hard to try to figure this out. A few faltered but we did have a few prevail. Our first winner of the free t-shirt was Nikita Weaver, and then we had a group of amazing women working together and they are our true crime queens. Y'all know who we are. We appreciate y'all so much.
Speaker 3:Then we have Rolanda Moore, sunny Beach, brianna Woodford and Lisa Simmons. That came through with the correct answer. If I missed you, please forgive me and let me know and I'll shout you out on the next episode. Also next month, we are doing our true crime treasure hunt through Martinsville with the Big Fat Cash Prize winner. Now let's get into this tragedy the Big Fat Cash.
Speaker 1:Prize winner. Now let's get into this tragedy. On a seemingly normal day, a fire broke out in the couple's apartment, leading to a devastating loss and a tangled web of allegations, neglect and domestic turmoil. We're going to break down what happened using investigation notes from Katie and Tyler's probable cause affidavit, and then we're going to explore the events that led up to this tragedy.
Speaker 3:Now our story begins with Detective Williams and Anderson, who sat down with Katherine Schwartz, known as Katie, to get her account of the day of the fire. Katie's first concern was her baby. She immediately asked if the baby was okay. The detectives informed her that the baby was still alive and out the hospital being treated. Now this baby, as we'll learn, will become the central figure in this heartbreaking case.
Speaker 1:According to Katie, Tyler, the baby's father, and her husband didn't live at the apartment full-time. He would stay over on the weekends, which eventually turned into weeks at a time after he had lost his job. Katie told the detectives that she and Tyler had a volatile relationship marked by domestic violence. In fact, the Department of Child Services, better known as DCS, had removed her children in June of 2022 due to this violence. She only got them back in October of 2023. Now, that was just five months before this incident. That's a short window to rebuild a stable home for the kids, and it seemed like the cracks in her relationship with Tyler were still very much present. However, further investigation revealed that Tyler had actually been living back in the home for approximately six months Now. That's suggesting that he was more of a constant presence than Katie initially let on.
Speaker 3:Now let's get into the Katie's account of the day of the fire. She said that it started out as a normal day. Katie woke up at 11 am that morning to make the girls breakfast, which is a bit late, but she seemed to frame it as routine. After breakfast she went and laid back down, but shortly after 1 pm her two daughters were still sleeping and they took a nap. So they woke up shortly, ate breakfast and then they went back to bed. But then when they go back to bed, supposedly this is where things get murky now 2 38 pm.
Speaker 1:Katie left her kids in the apartment with tyler.
Speaker 3:She told them she'd be right back, heading out to the vape shop, but when she returned, chaos had erupted she came out of the vape shop and headed to the corner where she was met by police and fire trucks. Her apartment looked like it was on fire. You could see smoke rolling. I don't know if you could necessarily see flames, but it was bad. When she got back, they asked her how many kids she had, and she told them that she had three kids.
Speaker 1:I believe that the fire department in the news reports at that point in time said that basically the fire was just contained to where?
Speaker 1:the infant was yeah, but then Tyler dropped a bombshell. He told authorities that the baby was still inside the house. Now let that sink in for a minute. There's a fire raging and the baby is still inside. During the interview, katie had revealed that she had seen DCS coming to intervene again, likely to remove her kids, and this wasn't the first time. As I mentioned earlier, dcs had taken her children in June of 2022. Katie told the detectives that she had just gotten her kids back in October of 2023 after being separated from them for 16 months. That's a long time for little bitty kids to be separated from their parents.
Speaker 3:Now you have got to be kidding me. I can almost guarantee you that she was still being supervised by DCS if she had just got her kids back. They don't just give your children back and disappear. They're supposed to have a safety plan in place before the children even return home and then they follow up weekly, monthly et cetera. They don't just throw your kids back into your care Now that she'd only had her kids back for five months.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure they I would hope that they run her through the ringer like we hear all the other stories that DCS runs you through the ringer. You know, class after class after class, urine screens after urine screen making sure the home is good, everything is, you know, up to par to have children in there. But what's interesting here is how Katie describes her relationship with Tyler. She initially painted a picture of a man who was in and out of her life, but the detective suspected, and later confirmed, that he was more present than she let on. And then there's the question of what happened when she left the apartment. Katie said that when she left Tyler was in the restroom and he knew that she was leaving. She told the kids she'd be right back, but she didn't come right back and in that time a fire broke out, with her children still inside.
Speaker 3:The detectives also pressed Katie on her and Tyler's state of mind that day. They asked if she had any alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs. At first she said no, but then she amended her statement, admitting yeah, I smoked a bong load this morning, about a gram. She quickly clarified that tyler doesn't smoke or do illegal drugs and she claimed that she didn't either. But, as she put it, he wasn't supposed to be drinking or doing anything like that. Now that admission raises a lot of questions about her state of mind that day and whether her actions or inactions played a role in what happened.
Speaker 1:But I wonder what about Tyler? The detectives asked Katie if she'd seen Tyler drink any alcohol. That day. She said she hadn't. Then they asked if Tyler had been drinking the night before. And here's where it gets a little bit interesting. Katie asked if she could plead the fifth little bit interesting. Katie asked if she could plead the fifth. Pleading the fifth means that you don't want to say any information as it could be harmful to yourself. Is what the fifth means.
Speaker 3:Or your spouse Right.
Speaker 1:Now, that's a pretty telling moment. Pleading the fifth means that she didn't want to answer, possibly because her response could incriminate her or Tyler. It leaves us wondering what was both of their state of minds that night, and how might it have impacted what happened the next day.
Speaker 3:The detectives then shifted gears to get a clearer picture of the scene before the fire. They asked Katie where the children were in the apartment. She explained that the baby was in the crib or bassinet and her two girls were in the bedroom on the bed. Crib or bassinet, and her two girls were in the bedroom on the bed. Katie went on to say that all the kids currently share a bedroom with the adults in the apartment. Why? Because, according to Katie, the dogs had been using the other bedroom and she hadn't been in there to clean it up. She didn't want the kids getting into that mess, so they were sleeping in one room together.
Speaker 1:Now let's think about that for a second. The apartment has multiple bedrooms, but the kids are all crammed into one because the other room is being used by the dogs and it's too messy for the kids to be in there. That detail paints a picture of the living conditions in the apartment for me, and it's not a pretty one. It also raises questions about how safe and stable the environment was for the children, especially with a history of DCS involvement in domestic violence.
Speaker 3:Now, at some point during the interview, katie and the detectives took a break. During this break, katie decided that she needed to make a phone call, so she called someone named Leanna. In that call, katie told Leanna that she was probably going to be arrested for neglect. This is a significant moment, because Katie seems to understand the gravity of this situation and the potential consequences that she's facing.
Speaker 1:And it's not hard to see why she might think that Katie went on to tell the detectives that the house was a mess. So much of a mess, meaning DCS would probably find a reason to take the kids again. She also mentioned that there was a half a pound of weed in the apartment. A half pound, I mean, that's a little bit more than just a little bit of a personal smoking quantity. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Well, actually she didn't tell the police that she had a half pound of weed in her apartment. Whenever she called her friend Leanne from the interview room, she was like, yeah, I'm probably getting arrested and I got a half pound burned up in my apartment too. But she didn't know her baby had passed away yet at the time of this phone call.
Speaker 1:So I wonder if she was talking to her friend on the phone in the interview room and you know, like you watch first 48 and shit, they still got the cameras on or maybe a two way mirror type thing, you know what I mean and she's in there going. Oh yeah, we got a half pound of weed in the fucking in the apartment closet. Yeah, and a half pound of weed.
Speaker 3:I'm pretty sure that that could be intent to distribute not just a simple possession charge. Oh yeah, and with children in the home, that's a massive red flag for neglect and endangerment. Now Katie also revealed during the interview that Tyler was being arrested. At the time the detectives didn't have the full wherewithal of everything that was about to be undone, but then they were sitting there waiting and katie gets a phone call from her mom. Now she's using her phone and tyler's mutual cell phone it. It's a red iPhone that was later seized by authorities. Katie learned that the baby had passed away. That news must have been absolutely shattering. The baby, who had been alive in the hospital when the interview began, was now gone?
Speaker 1:How old was the infant that had passed away?
Speaker 3:From the obituary I seen was three and a half months old.
Speaker 1:So she had got the other two children back just five months before that.
Speaker 3:And then had another baby.
Speaker 1:So she had gotten pregnant while the other kids were in DCS custody? Yes, and had another baby just a short time, two months after she got her other children back.
Speaker 3:Actually, I think it was weeks. She got her kids back in October of 2023. She had the baby in November, in the middle of November I think of the next month.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a hard pill to swallow. Right there, the fire that broke out while Katie was at the vape shop. It didn't just destroy her apartment, it took the life of that baby and the circumstances surrounding that fire are deeply troubling. The apartment was in disarray, with a large quantity of drugs present. The children were sleeping in a single bedroom because the other room was too dirty, nasty or covered in dog shit to use. Katie has used drugs that morning and she was hesitant to answer questions about Tyler's drinking the night before.
Speaker 3:Now, as the investigation deepened, the detectives took steps to verify Katie's account of her movements. That day, detective Williams retraced Katie's steps, starting from the front door of the apartment to the vape shop. He confirmed that it took eight minutes to walk to the vape shop, which aligns with Katie's claim that she left at 2.38 pm. Video footage from the store showed Katie inside for eight minutes and the records indicated that she spent $50 on a glass piece, likely a smoking accessory, given her early admission of drug use. Now, from the time she left the vape shop to the time she came back was 18 minutes.
Speaker 1:Well, time sure has changed. I remember when you could get a little glass pipe from the gas station for like six bucks to smoke some pot in. I mean you could see him sitting there from the Indian gas station. I wonder if it was like a great big old water bong or something, who knows. But breaking that timeline down, so she left the apartment at 2.38. So it took her eight minutes to walk to the vape shop. That means she arrived about 2.46 pm. If she spent eight minutes inside, you know, shopping, that meant she left the shop around 2.54 pm. Then, just over a minute later, around 2.55 pm, she was back at the corner where the fire was already raging. That's a pretty tight window. I mean that's less than 20 minutes from the time she left the apartment to when she returned to find the home up in flames. It raises a pretty big question what happened in that short span of time to cause such a catastrophic fire?
Speaker 3:Now, the investigation didn't stop there. Authorities obtained a search warrant for the apartment, along with a blood draw from Katie and Tyler, likely to test for drugs or alcohol in their system, giving her earlier admission of smoking a bong load that morning. Meanwhile, another detective, Sparrow, was canvassing the area for possible witnesses. Sparrow came across A witness in the parking lot of the apartment complex who provided some chilling details about what had happened in the hours leading up to the fire.
Speaker 1:This witness, who lived in the area, told Detective Sparrow that he had surveillance footage of the apartment complex. According to this witness, they pulled up the security system and reviewed the footage from that day, which revealed a disturbing scene. Around 3 am the previous night the witness was woken up by the sounds of Katie and Tyler arguing and fighting. The witness could hear Katie yelling you pushed me down the steps, followed by loud banging that startled the witness awake.
Speaker 3:Now further analysis of the surveillance footage provided even more context. At 1 45 am, the footage captured katie throwing a bottle at an expedition, likely referring to a vehicle, possibly tyler's vehicle, and then, two minutes later, at 10 at 1 47 am, katie and tyler are seen talking on the porch smoking. This adds another layer to the early morning conflict, showing that the titian wasn't just a one-off incident. It was ongoing, with physical aggression and heated interactions continuing for hours. Then, as we already know, at 2.38 am, katie left for the vape shop and shortly thereafter the fire broke out.
Speaker 1:The witness also saw Tyler and Katie come in and out of the apartment with Bacardi bottles and they noted that there was trash everywhere. This aligns with Katie's own admission about the messy state of the apartment, where the kids were sleeping in one room because the other one was too dirty to use. But the witnesses' accounts adds a new layer of tension a fight at 3 am, just hours before the fire, involving yelling, physical aggression and throwing objects. It kind of paints a picture of a volatile situation that was spiraling out of control long before the fire broke out.
Speaker 3:Additional witness statements brings us closer to the moment that the fire broke out. At 2.51 pm, just 13 minutes after Katie left for the vape shop. At 2.38, the witness's camera captured kids coming out of the front door of the apartment. The witness then said they could smell smoke and it smelled like burning trash. Now these video clips, which were recorded or in 10-second intervals, provide a critical snapshot of the fire's early moments. Just minutes after Katie had left, the fire was already started and underway, With smoke noticeable enough for the neighbors to smell it.
Speaker 1:Another witness statement gives us an even more insight to what happened next. This witness saw Tyler go to a neighbor's door, looking like he had just woken up, asking for a fire extinguisher. The footage shows that Tyler tried to go back into the apartment to fight the fire, but he couldn't, and then 911 was called. This detail is significant. It suggests that Tyler may not have been fully aware of the fire until it was already spreading, and his attempt to go back in shows effort to respond, but it was too late. The fire was already out of control and the children were in grave danger. The fire was already out of control and the children were in grave danger.
Speaker 3:Another witness speaking about earlier that day, at 1230 pm, confirmed the ongoing tension in the household. They stated that Katie and Tyler were fighting really bad. This witness emphasized that the fighting between Katie and Tyler was constant and dramatic, in a pattern that aligns with what we've already heard about their volatile relationship.
Speaker 1:The investigation also extended to the surviving children. Dcs had transported the children after the fire and another detective went into an interview at Susie's place to observe a forensic interview of one of the children Now, during this interview, the child stated that she was now at her mom's house and that she lives with her brother. In an interview, the child stated that she was now at her mom's house and that she lives with her brother. But the child's account also provided a chilling glimpse into the moments of the fire and possibly a cause.
Speaker 3:The child said that the baby got hurt in the fire while she was playing with toys. Then, as she put it, the candle just blew up the house. The candle, she said, was upstairs. She recounted seeing fire in the house and asking Daddy to help her, but Daddy did nothing. According to the child, the candle was on the table next to the TV and Mom wasn't home. She was at the store buying supplies, meaning candy. Tyler, however, was in the house but doing nothing. When asked what nothing meant, the child replied that tyler was drunk.
Speaker 1:She explained that tyler was drinking alcohol and she knew this because the baby was upstairs in his crib when the fire happened so there was a lit candle on a table near the tv in the cluttered apartment full of trash and Bacardi bottles, and Bacardi I know from times back gone is flammable. You know what I'm saying. You could light a shot of Bacardi on fire. So maybe that's what she meant when she said it kind of exploded the apartment. Yeah, and with the baby's crib nearby, it's a recipe for disaster. The child's statement that the candle blew up the house likely means it was ignited by something nearby, causing the fire to spread rapidly. Her accusation that Tyler did nothing and he was drunk adds a layer of negligence to the story. It also aligns with the witnesses who saw Tyler looking like he had just woken up when he asked for a fire extinguisher, suggesting he may have been a little impaired or too impaired to respond effectively.
Speaker 3:Now in other interviews, Tyler provided his own version of a bench, which raises more questions. He claimed he lives with his mom, he woke up at 9 am that day to go get a soda pop a polar pop from the polar pop shop, and that katie was home with the kids and he returned 10 minutes later. After that, tyler said he laid down to take a nap and he went to sleep. He was in his bed in the bedroom where the kids were all using. The baby was in the bassinet and the two girls were on the bed.
Speaker 1:Now that account conflicts with Katie's in several ways. In a later interview Katie stated that when she left the baby was asleep along with one daughter, but then she corrected herself saying that they were awake, eating a snack in bed and watching a movie. Catherine initially said that when she left Tyler was at the top of the stairs or in the bathroom. I wonder who's telling the truth that part, because it can't be both. Katie confirmed to the detective that Tyler was physically up and not sleeping, but the detective then told her he learned of a candle and asked if it would have been nearby the baby's crib. Catherine said the dog had diarrhea and shit on both the girls' mattresses and the room smelled like shit. Which is why the kids were all in one room in the first place is because they were letting the dogs shit wherever it pleased, but she didn't directly address the candle at that time.
Speaker 3:So the reason all these people are sleeping in one room in this two-bedroom apartment is because they're letting the dogs shit in the other room, which should be for the kids. That's so neglectful. These kids need their own little space, their own little safe beds, and then they let the dogs in their room to shit all over the girls' mattresses on the floor. That's disgusting. There's no excuse for that at all to let a dog shit all over your house.
Speaker 1:I know that area over there. I wonder if they were even in an apartment that were allowed to have dogs. Maybe that's the reason they weren't let the dogs out. But I mean, come on, man, at the very least get a cage and put the freaking dog in a cage with some newspaper in the cage and let the dog shit there. You know what I'm saying yeah, great.
Speaker 3:I mean, who's more important your dogs or your children?
Speaker 1:I don't know. That's a bad deal there. Now. Tyler's version was a little bit different. He said that he had woken up by his child saying Daddy, daddy, there is fire. He claimed that he literally grabbed everyone and ran downstairs.
Speaker 3:But he didn't grab the baby who was on fire.
Speaker 1:He said they were in the same room, but there were no flames, just heavy smoke. The heat, he said, prevented him from returning upstairs, but he couldn't see any flames. Tyler claimed that he is an occasional drinker, who only drinks a beer, not hard liquor, despite the apartment being full of Bacardi bottles. He also said Katie doesn't use drugs, which we know isn't true, giving her admission of smoking a bong load and the half pound of weed she confessed to having. Tyler said that he saw a glass candle on top of the table before his nap and that it was lit, corroborating the child's account of the candle as a possible fire source.
Speaker 3:The conflicting stories here are very striking. Katie says Tyler was awake and knew that she was leaving, while tyler claims he was asleep and didn't know. The child says tyler was drunk and did nothing, while tyler says he tried to save the kids but couldn't get the baby due to the heat. Both mention a lit candle, but their accounts of the fire's progression differ. Tyler saw only smoke, while the child saw fire. And then there's the state of the apartment. Katie's admission about the dog's diarrhea on the mattress and the room smelling like shit further highlight the squalor that the children were living in.
Speaker 1:As the interview with Katie continued, it's clear that the detectives were piecing together a case of neglect and possibly more. The presence of a half pound of weed, the conditions of the apartment, the early morning fights, the ongoing conflict throughout the day, the lit candle near the baby's crib and the fact that the fire broke out while the children were left in Tyler's care all point to serious failures on the part of both parents. Tyler was arrested following these events.
Speaker 3:Now, as the months progressed, about two months after the incident, the autopsy report came back, along with Katie and Tyler's toxicology reports from that day. The baby's cause of death was determined to be inhalation of products of combustion and thermal burns A tragic confirmation that the fire's smoke and heat were lethal. Katie's toxicology came back positive for weed, which aligns with her earlier admission of smoking a bong load. That morning, tyler's blood alcohol content, or bac, was a staggering 0.262. He was trashed by 3 pm that day. For context, a BAC of 0.08 is typically the legal limit for driving in many places, so Tyler was more than two and a half times over the legal limit 0.262 is fucked up.
Speaker 1:That's pretty drunk. The high BAC supports the child's claim that Tyler was drunk and did nothing during the fire and it raises serious questions about his ability to supervise the children or respond to the emergency. Combined with the lit candle, the cluttered apartment, the presence of drugs and alcohol, it's clear that this is a household where neglect and recklessness created a deadly environment for the children. These notes even suggest that DCS failed yet again. Having returned the children to Katie just five months prior, despite the ongoing issues in the home, it seems the system didn't do enough to ensure their safety this investigation took another disturbing turn when the detectives performed a forensic download on katie and tyler's shared phone.
Speaker 3:They located three videos and seven pictures that paint a horrifying picture of the parents behavior in the months leading up to the fire. The first video is dated March 2nd of 2024, and it shows Tyler and Katie arguing. The second is from December 13th of 2023. It's far more alarming. It shows Katie sitting on a small chair wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, but no clothing or garments covering her vaginal area. In the background, there's a small toddler girl sitting on the floor playing with an electronic device, while a baby can be heard crying. During this video, katie is observed rubbing and manually stimulating her vagina and massaging her breasts, while Tyler can be heard talking in the background.
Speaker 1:Now the third video is just equally disturbing. It shows Katie and Tyler talking to each other in a sexually explicit conversation, and then Katie is observed giving Tyler a BJ in front of their toddler age daughter, who is sitting on the floor where she could clearly see and hear her parents. The third video appears to be a continuation of the same incident. The detectives also located seven pictures of interest, all which further highlight the parents' neglectful and inappropriate behavior around their children.
Speaker 3:I just caught myself in a typo. That was supposed to be fourth video, but that's my fault. Now let's get to the number. These are seven pictures. Picture number one shows Katie pulling down the top of her pants, exposing the top of her vagina. She's taking it of her, but also in the picture is her toddler child without any clothes on, and in this picture it is exposing the toddler's genitals. Now, picture two is similar to the first. Picture 3 shows Katie taking a her own vaginal pictures, and the toddler's legs are visible in the frame. Picture four is another vaginal picture similar to the third. Picture five shows katie wearing a pulled up gray top and a black bra pulled down, exposing her breast, with the toddler's hands hovering over katie's shoulder. Picture six is the same as the fifth and and picture seven shows Katie posing in a sexually suggestive manner with her breast exposed, pulling her bottom lip down with her index finger, with the toddler visible in the photo play with electronic devices.
Speaker 1:They're old enough to talk, they're old enough to see, they're old enough to do this, that and the other. They're old enough to know what the fuck is going on right there in front of them, in that room.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's going to harm them in the future.
Speaker 1:I mean these videos and photos taken in the months leading up to the fire. It just shows that Katie and Tyler are engaging explicit behavior in front of their young children. The toddler is visible and audio in these moments, playing nearby or even appearing in the frame, while her parents behave in ways that are not only inappropriate but also deeply neglectful. This isn't just a one-off incident. It's a pattern of behavior that shows a complete disregard for the well-being and safety of their children, long before the fire even happened.
Speaker 3:Now, the investigation continued to unfold in the months following the fire. On April 24th 2024, detectives went to speak with Tyler, who was still in custody after his arrest. However, tyler declined to speak without an attorney present a clear sign that he understood the seriousness of the situation and the potential legal consequences he was facing. This refusal to speak without legal representation suggests that Tyler may have been advised to protect himself as the investigation deepened.
Speaker 1:By May 2024,. The investigation revealed even more troubling behavior from both Tyler and Katie. On May 9, from both Tyler and Katie. On May 9th 2024, during a recorded jail call, tyler called Katie from jail. The conversation took a disturbing turn. Almost immediately, tyler asked what's up. Katie responded that she had just gotten out of the shower. Then she then showed her breast to Tyler on a video call, saying I hope they don't watch this one. Then she jokingly told him that he could text a little, if you know what I'm trying to say. Tyler responded yeah, I hope they don't watch this one. Then she jokingly told him that he could text a little, if you know what I'm trying to say. Tyler responded yeah, I get what you're trying to do. Katie then talked about glue sticking some photos, saying she didn't know if Tyler could get them in jail, but that she would mail them if he could get them.
Speaker 3:Even after the fire and the death of their baby and Tyler's arrest, Katie and Tyler are engaging in sexual explicit conversations while Tyler is in jail. Katie's comment about hoping they don't watch this one shows she's aware that jail calls are monitored, yet she still chooses to expose herself and discuss sexting. Her mention of mailing photos to Tyler in jail further demonstrates a lack of accountability or concern for the gravity of their situation. This behavior mirrors the pattern we saw in the earlier videos and photos from their phone a complete disregard for boundaries, even in the wake of such a devastating tragedy.
Speaker 1:Now I can understand people making mistakes here, making mistakes there. I mean, you know you get your children took for 16 months you fight to get them back. She, they probably. Obviously they were faking a whole lot of it and doing a damn good job at faking a lot of it to even get them back. But then you realize you look back at what the fuck was going on in your life uh, all the drinking, all the drugging, um, the being irresponsible and not keeping your crib clean, um, you know.
Speaker 1:And then and then now you're on jail video calls still doing the same freaking weird shit. You would think they would be crying. You know what I mean. What in the fuck have we done? And I think that what they mean by glue sticking people who don't know that I was just having a conversation with somebody the other day about this what is it? What they do is they take lined paper and somebody let us know on our Facebook shit, if I'm wrong, but somebody told me that they take lined paper and they take glue stick and they'll put they'll put like pictures or contraband, like drugs or something in there and then they'll glue stick the piece of paper right over with the same exact little blue lines that are on on another piece of paper with this stuff in the middle right and then they'll write with them.
Speaker 1:They'll write with like a real dark pen or a dark marker and you know, in the county jails they just shake the shit out and maybe kind of look at it real quick. So that's what they mean by glue sticking. So they're already experienced in shipping shit into jail. During the same call, tyler told Katie that he was going to sell her pictures on the block for $5 a pop, suggesting that she invest in a little toy so she could stay strong while he was locked up. Katie then mentioned $1,000 hitting her account and getting a toy. Tyler told her that if she came to get his phone from the jail he would sign it out for her so she could watch their sex videos and masturbate. They continued their sexually explicit talk, with Katie exposing her breast again, with Tyler asking her if she had a picture of their child to put on her chest while they were watching her. What the fuck.
Speaker 3:I know I don't understand that part at all.
Speaker 1:Saying he could see everything katie sucked and licked on her own breast during the call and people were just reporting on this stuff. Man, we're not trying to dog these people. I mean people are young and make mistakes. I mean I remember being a young parent and fighting and doing dumb shit.
Speaker 3:But these people right here, they're just and I don't as much as the child exploitation and pornography stuff that they were charged with. I necessarily, I don't know, from the stuff that I read I haven't necessarily seen maybe intent to exploit their, their children, or they're trying to take pictures, exploit their children or they're trying to take pictures of their children. I think it's just because she was so negligent in taking those photos.
Speaker 1:But then you're performing those Naive I mean.
Speaker 3:And then they're performing those acts in front of their kids. I mean, she's giving her old man a blowjob right in front of their daughter. That's, she's giving her old man a blowjob right in front of their daughter. That's less than four years old. I mean, is she thinking, oh well, she's never gonna remember this? But I mean that's why she's they're charged with the, the child exploitation and child pornography and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:It just blows me away, I mean mean, like I said, if the little kid's playing with a tablet, she knows that, she knows what a I hate to say this, but the little three or four year old girl knows what PPs and shit like that is, and she knows what a mouth is and what shouldn't be done. I mean, when you're you're getting exposed to that shit by your parents, I mean how are you supposed to know that that shit's wrong? I mean just a lack of decency.
Speaker 3:Man just sucks that also makes you want to think about how did this young girl because she's young, she's I think she's 24 now, but so she was what I mean in her early 20s, she was young what kind of role model did she have growing up? You I mean that's what it makes you question and not all adults that act that way had bad role models or parents growing up. That's not what I'm trying to say, but when you see certain people act in certain ways, it makes you think who raised them, yeah, and you never know what people went through.
Speaker 1:And, like I was saying, everybody goes through shit, everybody makes mistakes. But reading this shit right here, it's mistake after mistake, after mistake, after fucking mistake.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Now this conversation that they are having, or this video call, is not only inappropriate, but it's also deeply revealing of the mindset of both of the parents. Even after losing their child in a fire caused by their negligence, with Tyler facing serious charges and Katie too, they continue to prioritize their own gratification over any sense of responsibility or remorse. The fact that they're discussing selling explicit photos and thinking it's funny and watching their sex videos while Tyler is in jail is a profound lack of self awareness or concern for the consequences of their actions. I mean, that cost them dearly.
Speaker 1:Based on the probable cause affidavit, formal charges were filed against Katie on May 21st 2024. She was charged with 10 felony charges. She did have a level one felony neglect resulting in the death of a child. That was a reflection of the severity of the incident and the overwhelming evidence of her negligence. These charges are directly tied to the death of her baby in the fire, An outcome that the investigation has shown was preventable had Katie and Tyler taken their responsibilities in parenting seriously.
Speaker 3:Schwartz was released on pretrial supervision on May 29th, but violated terms of that release by November 4th. She's been held without bond since November 22nd 2024, with a pretrial conference set for May 12th of 2025.
Speaker 1:The state's pushing hard with objections and discovery while Schwartz's attorney, Courtney Allen, fights for release, A February 13th 2025 hearing kept her in custody.
Speaker 3:Now Tyler Mertlow, schwartz's co-defendant. He faces nine similar charges, including level one felony neglect resulting in death and child exploitation, filed on May 21st 2024. His case is also pending. Merlo posted a $60,000 surety and $4,000 cash bond on August 1st and remains out on pre-child release.
Speaker 1:Merlo's case has seen delays. A jury trial initially set for September 2024 is now scheduled for July 9th 2025, with a pretrial conference set on July 9th 2025. On February 26th of this year, he filed a motion to suppress evidence, with a hearing set for May 19th year. He filed a motion to suppress evidence, with a hearing set for May 19th.
Speaker 3:His attorney Joseph Gaunt secured extra public defender funds on January 13th of this year. Both cases are moving slowly, with the state filing supplemental discovery and deposition notices. We'll watch the May hearings for updates on Schwartz's custody and Merlot's suppression motion.
Speaker 1:I'm pretty sure that, Merlot. I'm pretty sure that the T is silent. I could be wrong on that.
Speaker 3:I'm a hillbilly.
Speaker 1:I know Well, I've known a couple people with that last name and the T was always silent by any way, shape or form do I think. Even though these charges kind of reflect some shit, I don't think that these people were doing any kind of weird shit with or to their kids at all.
Speaker 3:I think that it was just the fact—.
Speaker 1:Carelessness, irresponsibleness, being young, being naive, being irresponsible, being naive, being irresponsible. I think that the fact that they just got charged with some of that shit, like the child exploitation, and even though they were doing sexual shit in front of the children, which I think is completely fucked up.
Speaker 3:but they deserve that vicarious sexual gratification charge. They do deserve that.
Speaker 1:By any way, shape or form. I could be wrong, but I don't think that they were doing any thing like swapping pictures or or, maybe you know, making the babies in the pictures at the same time. I just think that they didn't give a fuck that the kids were in there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or I mean and a lot of times these prosecutors and the cops, they'll throw as much shit at you so they can be like well, you know, we can't charge you with this bullshit, because you did have pictures of children without clothes on and there was sexual shit going on. So that's just. A lot of times that's bargaining for bargaining purposes for the prosecutors in the courts. I'm just being honest here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I think Tyler's going to need a lot of bargaining options because he has, I believe, three other open cases A couple for domestic battery, maybe one for resisting law enforcement, and then he's got previous cases of domestic battery and strangulation and stuff like that. Now these kids are young. They were born in 98 and 2001. So I mean, they're what? 25 to 24 to 28?
Speaker 1:I can't even imagine somebody being born in 2000 and having kids, that's showing my age, isn't it? I thought I was going to be O when he hit 2000.
Speaker 3:You know they could still come back from this.
Speaker 1:They absolutely could. I mean, unfortunately they can't bring that little, beautiful little angel back. That's the bad part of the story. They cannot change that. But they can most definitely change their lives.
Speaker 3:And make a good life for them and their kids. Hopefully in the future, if they ever get them back I don't, I don't know how that's going to go, or if they ever get to see him again, or you know. They're just going to have to deal with the consequences of this. Take it on the chin and then learn from your mistakes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, everybody fucks up when they're young. You guys just fucked up a little bit more extra than most people and it caused a poor little beautiful baby to go up to heaven, to Jesus, and I hope you know, if you guys are listening to this, I hope you guys take it to heart and maybe this shit being out maybe hurts your feelings a little bit, maybe it'll make you think, maybe we should do better for our children, maybe we should think about others before ourselves. I don't know, am I thinking too deep into it.
Speaker 3:No, I think you're right on it.
Speaker 1:It just hurts my feelings that I'm sure that little beautiful, innocent baby just— I bet it was just fucking horrible.
Speaker 3:The way he died was horrible.
Speaker 1:Very horrible. It was a boy. Yeah, I thought it was a baby girl for some reason. No, it was a boy.
Speaker 3:Now, it was never specified in the probable cause affidavit. You know what the gender of the baby was. I just learned from my investigation that it was a little boy.
Speaker 1:Well, we have missed you guys and we hope you enjoyed this episode, even though it was kind of a somber one. Joy, do you have something you want to tell everybody about? A little treasure hunt maybe?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we have a treasure hunt coming up next month and it's going to be a true crime treasure hunt through Martinsville and we're going to place clues throughout Martinsville and whoever finds the final clue through our riddles is going to win a big fat cash prize.
Speaker 1:I bet them true crime queens are going to be on us like stink on poop.
Speaker 3:I bet they're great.
Speaker 1:We sure appreciate you guys listening, man, and don't forget to get one of our T-shirts and stop by the Centerton Gas Station at Rob Hill in 67. Check us out on Facebook and I always say Twitter, but you always fix me, it's X. And until then, you guys have a wonderful evening, a wonderful day, a wonderful night, whatever.
