The Right Shoe
The Right Shoe
Keisha Jones - the tragedy at 2400 Morris Street
Keisha Jones was a loving mother of four, living in West Philadelphia, with her husband Tyrone Taylor when tragedy struck. One night, she, Taylor and her cousin, Tamara Stanford decided to go out separately but meet up later after drinks. Her and her Tamara did meet up with Tyrone later on as planned, but what wasn't planned was what happened afterward.
An argument broke out about an incident that happened inside one of the bars, it continued as they were driving in South Philly, when her husband got out of the car, telling Keisha he was going to walk to his parents house from there.
What happened next was a split second situation that planned or not was so spur of the moment, the outcome is something only nightmares are made from.
To this day, Keisha, sits inside a jail cell, probably going over those few seconds over and over again...What happened that night? Listen in as Debbie Q investigates - The tragedy at 2400 Morris Street.
This is Debbie Q and you're listening to the right show. Right now. Yes, I'm trying a new intro. I don't know because I am so nuts about changing anything. We'll work on it. We'll get through it together. Also the business in which I always like to start with and get out of the way, as always, for Carolyn Kingston's poetry book, "before the big bang makes the sound" and it is great. And "before the big bang makes a sound" is available to you at all, Amazon and Barnes and Noble bookstores, and a few Brooklyn based bookstores as well. Yes, there are still some mom and pop bookstores left in this planet. It's amazing. But let's move forth. Also, I'd like to welcome Beware the quiet ones. This is a new podcast Pennsylvania based. I'm giving them a shout out, of course is always "murder at bedtime with Lyndon", which is outstanding. His podcasts are just amazing. I'm gonna have him on the show one day, we're gonna do a mash up. But I have to figure out which one to mash up with. I don't even know if the next one that I'm doing today would be considered true crime. It depends on who you are, how you would look at this. Also, we have Grizzly books, always give a shout out to Grizzly books, Grizzly underscore books, the information she has on Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy. It's outstanding. Very, very good. So check out this podcast. Let's move because I don't want to, because it's my first time taping under all this new equipment. I want to make sure it's okay. Regardless, this is a I have things in works. But today we're gonna be talking about the death of Tyrone Taylor, who is Tyrone Taylor you ask? he was the husband of Keyshia Jones, they resided in West Philadelphia, Kesha Jones killed Tyrone Taylor. And it was one night they were driving home. And something horrible happened. So I'm going to take it from the beginning. Let's roll up from the top and go from there. I'll just tell the story because this story to me when I okay, the right shoe is a podcast about all things strange, unusual now, especially in reference to death, but also it focuses on the strange and unusual. Now the right shoe is named because there has been a lot of famous cases that one occurred sova is a big one. It's a big, Unsolved Mysteries case. Robert stack unsolved mysteries. And can I preface this by saying that bill Kurtis is not the narrator of Forensic Files. It's Peter Thomas. I see this mistake glaringly in a lot of posts and it drives me crazy. Peter Thomas was the narrator for Forensic Files. Not bill Kurtis, who is fabulous in his own right, yes, but please, I see that all the time. And it makes me that. But um, so there was a famous case about this guy named Kurt Sova, who when he was drunk, he wandered off, he was found dead and his right shoe was never found Well, same with a Eugene Kvet. And it was in that same ravine, that Sova was found. So then my first podcast I ever did, was about Matthew Larson. And he was a young man who was otherwise known as Pipus the wise. He was. At one night, I think he was going to the kelpius cave where he was to film a documentary there. He had just been paid some money from ABC sign itself about ABC, they're ABC, some sort of division of ABC, but he was given like some like nice amount of money to tape a documentary and he chose Kelpius Cave, but he became obsessed with kelpius cave, and he actually died one night. They originally thought it was a homicide, but I went and it wasn't a homicide. I just happened to be there at the time. I people often asked me that How you know this because it was there was a lot of misinformation about the way he died. He did not he did not make its campus cave. He was at the lemon Hill mansion when he was on a bunch of shipping containers. He had gotten scared. I don't, you'd have to listen to it. I can't tell the entire story again. But the point is, is he fell and they didn't. They thought it might have been a homicide. When it was first called in, they they turned down. It wasn't it was not a homicide, but they never found this right shoe. So that's why I named the right shoe the right shoe. Let's go to the Keisha Jones case. This is the featured case of today. And yes, I'm going to weave in stories of my own with this kitchen Jones case because it's important. It really does fit with what I I do have sympathy for Keyshia Jones, an immense amount of sympathy. Because I see myself in her and and things that I did stupid things that I did that Fortunately, I woke up from the next morning and though I remembered it and thought to myself, Oh my god, how am I going to look at people in the face? I behave so rationally, but you know it? What happened this night. She couldn't just wake up and be embarrassed and have it go away. She got in trouble for this. But there's a lot of other things like the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and their legal system, which I'm not entirely sure why she was charged with certain things. So we'll get into that. All of that. Let's start out. Keisha Jones was born February 24 1981. She had been born to a woman, Alison Jones. And Alison Jones had her at a very young stage in her life. Alison Jones actually had her I think she was 15. But she said because they were so close to the age, they were very, they became best friends. Their relationship was tight, tight as can be. They really, you could tell the love when the mom talks about her. I was actually watching a snapped episode. And if you want to see that it's it's a quite an old one. It's from Season 10 it's the Keisha Jones story, it's it's a shame because this does provide a lot of information. I just had a look up a lot of information about the course itself. There's a uj s portal on that's literally the name uj s portal comm and that will take you to any I think it definitely Philadelphia. But I think any Philadelphia case, you can look up the court documents to that case, through the uj s portal. She's gonna pick up sirens from 90 bucks away. That's what I'm worried about this microphone because I got a lot of action out here. I'm trying to make this sound proof in here. So key Alison Jones. She's her mother and they're very close. That she was a wonderful person by all accounts kishin Jones, she grew up she took care of her kids. She took care of her sisters, and I think it didn't really go it just said she had siblings the one was on this snapped episode. But she was so much younger than her so it seems like he knows but she she said she was like our mom because her mom at a work and stuff. Kierra Allen is the sister of Keyshia Jones, she was on there a lot. And she she was a supporter of KeishaJones. Because this was a heavily divided case. Keisha grew up with very close to her mom, and she was very close to her sisters. But at age 15 or 16, she did come home to her mom and say, Look, I got pregnant, but it wasn't like oh my god, you got pregnant because I feel like when it happens in a family, any young age for the mother, it does tend to have you know, unless that girl makes a conscious decision that she's not going to get pregnant early. It tends to repeat itself. But it's not necessarily a bad thing all the time because in this instance, her mom was very happy that she was having the baby. So they all came together. They all it was just like a big happy family. James Hayes was her first husband. So they had the child together. And they were going through the motions, you know, of raising the child, their relationship wasn't bad. But I think because they were so young after a couple years, and it was like they just got together me and James Hayes seems like a really good guy. He was on he was he was very defensive of his ex. Say that what a good mother she was, and Hayes can't believe this happened. So he was supportive of Keisha, he said that she had married she had met Tyrone Taylor, when they after they broke up, and he said he was actually a little jealous because their relationship was so good. origine Taylor's you know, and and but they still all became, they all watched each other's kids, I believe James pays, watch Tyrone Taylor's kids, they thought that they talked about disciplining the children together. There was no animosity, there was no hate, there was no foundation of anger there, which is another very, very important part to this case. Because it's something that happens further now. That really shocked me. And and this really did not bode well for Keisha Jones. And I'm still surprised. One night, in the police station, a call comes through and I believe Joe bamburski, one of the one of the officers got it, it came in kind of as a routine pedestrian hit at first. But when they arrived on this scene, what they saw was shocking. There was a woman down on her knees cradling this gentleman who, through all intents and purposes was already passed away. But I don't think she realized that at the time. And you know, obviously, it turns out that the people in this image or Keisha Jones and Tyrone Taylor, the cops come and they figure what happened, you know, this looks and I did go down there today. I took pictures of the corner, I took picture of exactly where God rest in peace. Tyrone Taylor lost his life. I mean, that's dreadful. And I cannot imagine the family. Hey, they probably can't even taste Stanley's going over it because actually on that one TV episode, I did not see any of the Taylor family. But I get it, I get it. That's something you wouldn't want to relive. And they, that's rough. So she's screaming and they go and they bring her in. And she says her and her cousin her cousin to my wristband for was in the back when this all happened. Now they ask both of them they pull both of them in and I don't think still at this point. Acacia knew that Tyrone had died. But he did. And she was a mess and then BAM burski officer Van burski had to tell her that he died as a result of his injuries of the SUV being driven at this point by Keyshia I crushed him into a wall and what she said was happening they had gotten into a fight. They were at a bar that night they came out got into a fight. They were driving either home or their home was in West Philly they were in South Philly when this happens. It was the 2400 buck a Morris Street and that is a weird that's a weird place. It literally like before you get to the location there is all these there's almost like this long trestle it's just one stop sign act and other elements looks like you're under the owl but you're not under the L anymore. You're just under these. It's so confusing. It's a very difficult because when you got you got to sneak around these I have pictures I'll put on the website the right shoe pockets that I'm to show you just how confusing it is driving under these things like these concrete structures. And then you have to veer off and right where she veer off there comes more straight and she must have driven down but I am still baffled by so many things. And it's so the one part that baffles me is the little one second that her life was literally rolling to one second is all it takes one second. That's why I picked this case today. I just cannot get over in that split second. It just everything changed. And I've been there. So this is what you know, this is I'm gonna backtrack and tell you the whole story. But this is what's going on so far. She's in the police district, she's telling them that she was they were drinking and he was driving. Then he got out of a car. So she took the wheel. Her feet became she had very high heels on she she's apparently not tall in stature. She's a short woman, and she wears high heels and her heels got stuck. And when she went to she put her foot on the gas instead of the brake, and they became entangled. And that's what happened and she hit her husband and he died. Now the concept first we're like, okay, you know, that sounds, you know, the cousin cooperated this. Everything was dandy. And then came the camera. There was a camera or I when we went down and just took a picture. There was a two cameras, city cameras. I don't think those city cameras were there at the time. But there is a deli, and then there's another piece of joint both in, you know, two there. It's right there. It's right in front of that wall, the little structure where she had hit timer. So it was all right there in this little square. So that was all fine and good. You know, they said that this stories were cooperating and all this and she probably would have just got some sort of manslaughter under the influence. And there is another case that matches this. It was a case in Florida, and her name was Betty j Fowler. She got DUI manslaughter. Man, I'll tell you this case, I had to compare the two because they were very similar. They were out one night they got into a fight. Betty Joe Fowler and her brother and her sister in law went out. Teresa fowler was killed when Betty J Fowler was behind the wheel. But in this instance, she had hit Theresa Fowler and her brother at the same time. Then she backed up and she went after Theresa Fowler. And this is in a video and this video is far more brutal than the one of Keisha Jones, and yet she only got 12 years DUI manslaughter. So that was where but see that was Florida. I think pa the way they charge people is a little different. So let's go into the actual crime. So we back up and they get these images on the camera. And it does show a horrifying incident. It shows them slow down. It shows Tyrone Taylor getting out of the car. And then it shows the car literally like making a hard on the film. It would be a hard left but the way she was calling it the car just swerves at a 90 degree angle literally grabs Tyrone, he is on the hood and then bam, it goes right into that wall killing him instantly. And it is a horrific looking. I mean that camera angle they really got it and it's disturbing. So you have to figure well, you know then they got to bring her back and say what happened? So they go in they get Keyshia Jones and they get her cousin tomorrow or Stanford. They question you know, again, like what happened? Apparently that night, Kesha and tomorrow Stanford they went out to a bar and they were going to meet up with Tyrone Taylor later on. Now they were drinking she didn't love shots either love shots. Their two lawyers were Richard de scipio and Charles peruta are both extremely competent attorneys and and both of them I mean even bamburski they nailed it like what they think happen is you know they she got drunk. They got into a fight. It was like a crime of instant passion so to speak. Because they were they gotten to the car. They were fighting from the get go to there were you know tomorrow in the backseat said they Fighting because Tyrone accused her of flirting with this guy. There was some guy and she was talking to him. And there was a reporter who said that her exact words were I was dealing with him. And he was dealing with her, you know, another girl, so they both had their but they were wrong. They were flirting, but he accused her of cheating. So when they were in the car, she said, Get the hell out of the car. And he said, okay, and he got out. Now it brings me back to when I was in South Philly, I had a birthday party, or not a birthday party. I had a I was my birthday coming up. And I was I at the time I was young, I was seeing two different guys. And the one guy's name was Kenny, the other guy's name was Gene. They both bought me tickets to you to both a different times, which was amazing. Went to the YouTube concert with Gene frickin fantastic time, went to the concert with Kenny had a horrible time. What happened was, we were in the car, we got into some kind of fight, I was drunk. And I said, let me out here and I got out of a car. But I didn't really want him to leave. It left me there in south Philly. And I had to find these two guys from Scranton to get a ride out that night. It was unbelievable. But that little tidbit is just to show you yes, it does happen. You get out of the car and do stupid shit that you really don't plan on doing or say things that he you know, and I can imagine Keisha Jone saying to Tyrone get out of th car, but not really wanting hi to get out of the car. But h did. So of course in that stat of mind, she's gonna be furious Go after him. But in this instance, there was a wall. And from now even when I look at this video, it appears that you can see that the car come up, you see him jump out of the car. And then you see, you do see her swerving and picking him up with the car and then he's on the hood of the car and then bam, right into the wall. Now the prosecutors are saying, oh, that shows cream meditation on her part that she wanted to kill him. But if she had truly gotten her feet tangled, it does actually look like the car just kinda was like jerk so quickly around that it caused it but I don't know when I did talk down inside about this case. They were like now that case that's a clear cut issue of first degree murder. But I still I am with her attorneys on this because the scipio and bruto they both say this should have been a manslaughter case. And I am talking with my head not my heart. If I was Tyrone towers family, I would absolutely be furious and totally agree with what happened because you want that person to pay. There's no never me saying that the family of the victim is wrong ever. I'm looking at this from purely a legal standpoint in the fact that I can't believe in the state of Pennsylvania that not only did they charge you with first degree murder and not DUI manslaughter, but I don't know if they have that again, that you know that that Betty Fowler case happened in Florida, okay, and she only got 12 years so I do believe that this was a case of manslaughter but I guess they don't have that in the state of Pennsylvania especially Philadelphia. Her lawyer said the district attorney is always going to go for the for the throat with the first degree murder because they want you to play down and what they had given her access to was third degree murder, which this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. First Degree means you have the intent to kill the person third degree murder means you had the intent to injure somebody but it came out murder which I don't get the the I'm telling you this legal mumbo jumbo is what why our courts are so messed up. It common sense doesn't prevail. It's who what lawyer can make the most of any given thing. Because that's ridiculous. I mean, come on. The third degree murder thing. I just don't whatever. That's what it means. It's third degree his intent to injure but you wind up killing. So they offered her that. But she was like No way. She had kids and she said no to disipio, rich. I can't I can't be away. For my kids for 10 years, I won't see that they won't have a mother. He said, I fully understood. And I brought forth Hey, I'm not, I am not a judge. don't judge anybody ever. But to the jury, if you can do a first degree murder, which that was on the table, because she refused to take the third degree murder deal, which would have been 15, like 10/15, she wouldn't take that. So in return, he said, I put forth to the, the jury, do you believe in your heart that she wanted him to die? That's her husband. It doesn't seem like they had this horrible relationship. And I never knew that premeditation in Pennsylvania meant I thought it meant planning it doesn't premeditation is in that second, you wanted that person to die. But who, when you're drunk and pissed off at your boyfriend, who just got out of the car, who isn't wanting to kill that other efforts, we think I know me if I was fighting with my man, and we were driving him drunk one night, and I say, Get out of the car, and he got out of the car, I would flip, I would flip it. I don't know if I would stop the car and get out of the car. I don't know. I just, you know, it happens. It happens. This, I know, was an accident. But it became so involved. And it became so horrific because she killed him. And that is why this case grabbed me. It was one second. And she ruined her life for one drunken decision. Her alcohol level was point 110, which is they said that was like a 10th over I believe I can never read those things properly. I know point eight is the legal limit. So this was like at least they gave the quantitative analysis of it. But they did say went over and over that they they have they went over to see what your blood alcohol level means at this point, that point the other point. And yeah, she was in the zone where her motor skills were completely impaired. So that's why this case, I just don't understand to give that first degree murder. I mean, oh, guys, I mean, do you really think she intended to kill him? I'm just very surprised. She did not get me, you know, the even the option of manslaughter first or nothing, or, and she did not take the third degree deal that kind of screwed up. So they go there in the court room. And you know, disipio said, I just knew it was gonna be bad, beca se of that tape. But there was omething else that made it even worse. And that was her cous n, who was in the car that nigh with love in the backseat. she estified for the pros cution. And that is heavy. That s a member of her family who it in the backseat so and happ ned, and apparently was so trau atized by what she saw that she ent for the prosecution. So you ave a family member test fying against you. And you have that tape, and that tape was rutal. And they the lawyers knew they said when they saw that tape, they just realize how bad t was. So they go to trial. And gain, I mean, that's to my ears right? And also, I even look d into the fact sometimes when there is somebody who has mayb a few priors, they'll grab them the DA and they'll say, hey, if you testify Well, we'll knoc off some prior, you know, ther's all kinds of deals made. Her ousin didn't have. She was sque ky clean. I mean, she test fied that that's how she felt that that's bad. That means that you know, I'm trying to wrap my head around, okay, they re in the car. She starts very very driving, she tells him o get out of the car, which he c mplies. He starts walking beca se his parents live in South Ph lly. And she takes that car a d she says her feet got tangled and she tried to put her foo on the brake, but it was th gas. I'm being honest with yo. It doesn't seem that f r from the truth. Well, from w at I can see, but I think the f ct that he was on the hood of t e car, and then it smashed in hat wall. It just looked terribl if the lock was bad. And I don' think Joris could get past t at fact or the fact that her co sin did testify against her. Tha is her right there's two sides. And I woul love to talk. I would love t talk to her Tamara Stanford I would love to talk to Keisha. So I just really would like to sk her a couple questions. Altho gh I have to say when I went on to that uJs portal her lawyers d d, they didn't appeal and it w nt through it had to have g ne through because it doesn't ay life anymore. It said 15 to 0. So he had have got that knoc ed down. It does not say l fe anymore in that uJs portal. So the appeal process didn't wo k. This is a shitty situation. T at happened. Escape scares me to death, because I know I do't drink anymore at all. But j st when I was younger, all t is stuff I did, I think, you kn w, things that I've done in he past that were turned out t is way, because they easily co ld have just right. So she as scared. And when the court c me through, and she was had been in jail for a year, waiting for he preliminary hearing for murd r, first degree murder. I do't believe there's bail in Philadelphia. So she had to w it for the year and she was v ry nervous. She wanted to see er children. The scipio was v ry sympathetic about her bein a mother very good mother to er kids. When they the day he verdict was read. She as anxious as everybody else bu I this disipio you can tel was shocked when they come orth with the first degree murde and the judge had to g ve a mandatory life sentenc. So she's hysterical. She just kept telling my kids my kid, my kids, what am I gonna d? So they I mean even now, ev n if they did not get down to 5 and 30 Yes, she's gonna get ou and I guess even the young st I think at that time the you gest was four so you figure till gonna be 20 years old mi imum and if if if she get out exactly 15 years so that' not that's thinks it for her fo for just that issue for our eing the mother of the childre. So she was crying and then sh was led away and apparently whe the coos It was a very much di ided courtroom, Keisha was on one side. The Taylor family wa on the other end in fact, when she walked in the taylor family was like screaming they were hey were screaming obscenitie at her they were passed to the court was very much divided. And they weren't you know, inne, I don't see any interviews ith them. They probably prob bly very hard for them to get passes. But the one thing hat stuck with me is when they ere in the courtroom, the dad hit Tyrone Taylor's dad, some of the family of Tyrone Taylor sta ted clapping, that she had go ten first degree murder and everything and Tyrone Tay or's dad put up his hand sai no, there will be none of hat. Because not only you kn w, I might agree with the ver ict. But my son is still dead And their kids have no mothe. So that's true. I mean, you now, that is a very ambi uous situation to be in that you were happy with the outcome But yeah, it sucks all th way around. I mean, tyrod Tay or's dead case Jones in jail kids have no mother. They I thin the dad of Tyrone Taylor got cu tody of the children who were rown now, you know, I wanted t get some of that case for you uys. This is the first case wi h my new equipment. So you gotta bear with me. I am it's gonna row. We're growing. We're growin and with all growth is pa nful change. So bear with me. Th s is Debbie Q and you're listeni g to the right Some fun Well don't worry, we'll get back to where it used to be. Oh good there What do you want? Okay. Listen to yes the right shoe you haven't got swayed the wrong way you're not in the wrong zone. And this mic is driving me insane. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hi. Hey, this is Debbie Q and you're listening to the right shoe. The right shoe is podcast. I don't know where the fuck that this is Debbie Q and you're listening to the right shoe. The right shoe is a podcast about all things strange and unusual. Especially when it references a death. This is gonna make me crazy. I gotta find a way that I get the microphone like I feel like I can hear my blood curdling huh maybe I don't need that. And this is Debbie shoe fucking around my microphone. I think I like it like this, but I'm not sure. How do I sound? Tonight we're gonna talk about the death of Tyrone Taylor. He was killed by his wife, Keyshia Jones. What happened that night is a myster So get ready. Get set. And let's rock