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Also, I'm from MD, we have creeks like that all over. No way that was frozen over like the cops said in those temps. And yeah, those rocks would've ripped up the body and clothes if he was carried by the water. Creek beds are no joke.
My family has a house in Prospect Park P.A. which is the next town over from Ridley and I live in Wilmington so apparently, we live really close to each other lol. Also yeah the cops around here are notoriously terrible my dad spent 16 years in jail for a crime he did not commit because a girl was murdered by a guy who shot past his head grazed his ear and hit the girl. Edit; The cops around here are also generally known for their corruption as well it's really bad in the little local townships. When the police made a mistake and believed i had been attempting to flee the scene of an accident when i was trying to move my stricken vehicle out of the road and crippled me by causing spinal nerve damage then just transferred the officers to a different unit and refrused to tell us where they sent him to prevent us from taking legal action against him. If one of the friend groups was part of the local police force, he could and would have had it covered up as a drowning since we already know they were into some shady stuff. They also would likely know where the cameras were on the doors of various local bars. The truth is that someone within the police force very well could have done this and covered it up to prevent him from snitching.
I'm not above begging you to do the Kendrick Johnson case...cuz that kid was murdered in his school & covered up by the local LE & father of the suspects who happened to be an fbi agent. & nobody will touch that case cuz of the politics but his parents are trying everything to get influencers to draw attention to their sons case but their ignored or lied to with broken promises. Please please please will u just look into it & make sure u pull up the autopsy photos cuz she made them public in hopes of getting justice. The moms name is Jackie Johnson ...this is in Georgia. I can send u any info u need If necessary. Thank u
I'm a New England native , I had to drive to Illinois and back once , the thing that stuck in my mind about Pennsylvania. Dead deer , awesome beer stores with bars in them , and Porno shops ... is that accurate ? Go birds
Something like 50% of murders go unsolved…you know the one thing police should actually be concerned about. I guess writing tickets is more important though
I'm old with two grown kids (19 and 26) but I can remember my bar hopping days quite clearly. NONE of my friends would have left me in a bar unless I told them to their face "It's ok. So and so is taking me home." And I never would have taken off without a friend unless they said it was alright if I left early and they would catch a ride with so and so. These people are sketchy.
No disrespect intended, but you kinda proved why you can't relate. Females and males are different, especially in their friend groups. Women know they need numbers for an advantage; especially in the era where they're predominantly left leaning and anti gun, but all of them are still taught from the time they're kids that dangers are in society for you more than others. Men are almost the exact opposite. No one expects a man to have this happen to them. Especially since media doesn't sensationalize it like they do for the fairer sex
Small suggestion in case you didn’t ask already; when asking doctors about medicine and conditions, ask with the context of the year the incident happened. Medical definitions and best practices can change drastically over time so it’s always good to mention the time period.
He tells his uncle his friends are into some kind of sketch activity, talks about getting out of town, goes out with friends to a sketch area, ends up a goner in suspicious circumstances? Nah seems like an accident
Yeah he was brought into something we can only guess at. But it's kinda obvious when you look at everything. The scary part was how the police handled it..... also I wouldn't be surprised if that bar was a hangout tied to whatever he was afraid of and wanted to get away from
@@MatthewGill-nv4tb someone high up in the police department is probably involved. Cops dont do stuff like that for no reason, most of the time its either corruption or straight up laziness/corruption.
If only the law allowed circumstantial evidence in any capacity. Because there is enough to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the police were grossly and criminally negligent in their activities. But unfortunately nothing here can be admitted into court due to it being circumstantial.
Yep! I thought so too, and I believe Aidan decided not to talk about this because it could be problematic - you know, the whole "oh, he's accusing the police officers of criminal involvement" and with him being a local and all that.
Thats something i have wondered about with all those young men in manchester that were getting dumped - are they covering up something in the autopsies
I drank on Xanax one time in my life, blacked out and came back to awareness while on the phone with the police who were on their way to my apartment and I didn’t know why. We figured out that all the roommates had been fighting, and we also called our parents in addition to the police. Not completely related, but I’ve been sober 8 years now lmao
Congrats on the sober life! And yeah, I used to be on zoloft and drinking on it was literal hell. Some drugs and alcohol just really don't mix. (Depending on your body of course)
Ooof yeah, benzos and alcohol can hit some people like an 18-wheeler truck. I've been prescribed Xanax since age 17 and I've blacked out while drinking all of two times, and one of those times was thanks to being roofied. I've seen people have all sorts of weird reactions to xanax though. It always, consistently, has the same effect on me, but I've seen people become wildly aggressive for absolutely no reason.
Kudos to you! I will have two years soon.. Thanks for sharing, I have a similar experience. Only I was found laying in the middle of a clearing on someone’s private 500 acre oak forest ranch. A father and his son going deer hunting found me at 6:15 am on their way to their deer blind. No idea how I managed to get out there, as it was about three miles as the crow flies from the cabin I was at on the neighboring property. I was taken to an emergency room and didn’t wake up for two days. Nowadays I think of how traumatic that must’ve been for that little boy…and I struggle with a lot of guilt. I have a daughter who’s 5 (the same age as that little boy) and it makes me very uneasy to think about stumbling upon a person in such a state…especially in the middle of the woods. I’m sure they thought I was dead. But nonetheless, I’m eternally grateful for them. Stories like the one in this video remind me of how blessed I am to still be alive.
Like all benzodiazepines, X is horribly dangerous . And so, so addictive. Praise God , I got the help I needed-- that was over 20 yrs ago , but I did it. Back then, doctors were prescribing X way too easily. So thankful you're doing clean and well. 💯🙏
The fact that he was on Xanax makes me feel like some of the mystery is gone. It's not hard to black out on Xanax and booze. The time frame is what makes this seem odd. If he wasn't missing for 14 days, it'd be a lot easier to say it was an accident.
@TheMattTrakker A mortician chimed in, who works with keeping bodies cold and preserved, and according to them, it needs to be a specific 40°, otherwise decomposition would either occur or the freezing temperatures can damage the body. And hed have gone from below 40° and then thawed and gone above 40°, the body would have both damage from the cold _and_ decomposition.
@@TheMattTrakkersure but that doesn’t explain the rigor mortis, the cloudy eyes, or the lesions (can’t think of the actual name but if you watched the video you know what I’m talking about) on his back instead of his chest/stomach
@@Princess_Celestia_It's somewhat bizarre that you keep copy pasting this around the comments section in slightly different wording to avoid the spam bot, especially given how delusional this sentiment is.
@@Princess_Celestia_It's somewhat bizarre you keep just copy pasting this around the comments in slightly re phrased ways to avoid triggering the algorithm (Praise Be It's Name!), especially given how droolingly thick headed this sentiment is.
I’ve gotta chime in on the rate of Decomp, mortician here been at this for almost half a decade at this point. A body doesn’t need to be frozen to prevent decomposition, in fact the coolers used to store bodies for preservation for medical examinations and funeral (when not embalmed) are kept around 40° because you don’t wanna damage blood vessels and the like. A body can stay in there up to about a month before noticeable decomposition occurs.
Yeah for real. I live in Delaware County, city of Media, township of Aston, VILLAGE of Village Green... but wait for it... Sun Valley School District. PA is freekin crazy when it comes to "where you live".
@@chrispinchak1511honestly, I've lived here my entire life so I never really thought about how weird it was, but yeah I guess the entire system is kind of scuffed isn't it?
I grew up right down the street, in Middletown Township, and was in high school when this happened. You have done an excellent job with the facts of the case. I bought that smiley face killer series on Amazon, but their theories just got weird. Love what you do, quickly has become one of my favorite channels.
"The way Pennsylvania works is a little weird." Not the understatement of the year but definitely in the category of "Louisiana can be a little moist." and "Gary is a bit run-down." "Keystone State" becomes more accurate if you put "Cops" in the middle of the other two words. That'll make you go "hrm"
@@bigmoist2876You obviously neither watched nor know anything about the Keystone State or Keystone cops. If you did, you would laugh, like the rest of ua.
@@bigmoist2876 It's a reference to an old silent film called keystone cops (keystone kops? I've seen it spelled both ways). It's a comedy about an incompetent police force. The nickname for Pennsylvania is also the "keystone state". They're saying that the Pennsylvania police are incompetent, which as somebody who lives in this state, I wholeheartedly agree with.
So I live in the same county and the Ridley police are the only local police with red chargers. They also have a reputation to the public as the most aggressive police around.
This is so wild - I lived literally a block and a half or so away from this in 2008~2011 on E 19th; I used to walk past this to go to the Wawa, and I was in my late teens/early 20s and have always been interested in mysteries and true crime, and I had NO idea about this case at the time. I remember hearing about his case afterwards, but I never made the connection that it was practically in my backyard.
As a mortician, the post mortem changes & reference to livor mortis aka lividity IS AWESOME AND SPOT ON! I once got a person that was strangled by their partner and then strung up as if they'd hanged themselves. The lividity didn't match with the story the investigators were given so the person ended up getting charged with homicide when further evidence was found. I'm very impressed with your knowledge of rigor, post mortem hemorrhaging, skin slip etc. I hope Tommy can get another, better, look at his case so his family can know what actually happened to him. The sticks being there to keep him in place is pretty creepy. I picked up for a medical examiner for 3 years in Texas when I first started in the death industry. The scene* sounds so insane to me !
@Catty_Wampus4610 I can't know for sure, but I'm concerned about the lack of decomposition from the time frame he was in the water. I've embalmed roughly 4,000+ bodies in my young 6 year career. I've picked up people that were only in water for about 5-6 hours and they were water logged to HECK [other morticians will vouch lmao] they smell & their skin is coming off [similar to de-gloving]. I'm really at a loss for explanations other than he wasn't in the water for the time frame the investigation gave to the public. I also don't like the sticks being oddly placed - I've seen/picked up from enough body dump scenes that it doesn't sound like the evidence is* adding up. So sorry for the long winded comment baha
@@barnesablaze Wow only 5-6 hours and their skin was coming off that's way shorter than the supposed time period that Tommy was in the water that is sooo suspicious and the sticks are super weird like why would they want to keep him in place like they meant for him too be found. Also no need to worry about the long comment lol I love reading especially when it relates to missing person cases, cryptids, or any event with weird circumstances.
As a former Philly cop and new resident to Ridley township I appreciate the case study. I may not be in the field anymore but I still love a good mystery.
So before my comment gets lost, but I have epilepsy myself and just a disclaimer not everyone with epilepsy is going to have the same experience. When I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2012 the medication I was taking made me depressed. So I was put on an anti-depressant to help with that. And at least in the circles of epileptics, I run around with taking anti-seizure medice is often paired with something like Xanax. I eventually got off it because both medications were making me funky and just not myself. Now I just take one medication to manage my epilepsy. So yeah it also does not surprise me if Tommy was on epilepsy medication and was paired with an anti depressant
Although it's for severe, chronic migraines rather than epilepsy, I'm on a similar combination of medications myself. It seems that the medications used for these neurological disorders overlap quite a lot! The side effects of most of these meds aren't much fun, and I'd really prefer not to need them, but if the only other option is constant debilitating pain, I'll live with the meds, at least until I can get back my coverage for Botox treatments!
This was my thought too. Like he would probably have been on a medication for epilepsy and then Xanax for something else. So thank you for this comment :)
Yeah Xanax can make you act very disinhibited. Some people almost become different people once they take some, especially if it's mixed with alcohol. Meanwhile, some people kinda go into a zombie like auto-pilot state. Benzodiazepines are strange drugs. Some people love them, and some people really don't like them.
@@bickyboo7789 My own experiences with them have been good, but I've also been dealing with ASD and serious anxiety disorders since early childhood, so anything with a tranquilising effect will probably work well for me. Then again, I'm also someone who follows my doctor's orders close to the letter, and (for example) doesn't drink more than a glass of wine with dinner because I know that mixing any one of my meds with alcohol is a bad idea, let alone all of them at once. Worth noting is that I'm also not 25 anymore by quite a bit, and I've got the need to party (mostly) out of my system. Along with that is the experience to recognise when something is going very wrong, physically, and know precisely where all my limits are. I really don't think I'd have coped as well with the restrictions of these meds when I was in my 20's!
Xanax is not an antidepressant. It is an anti-anxiety med. It also can be used to prevent seizures (though like you said, an anti-epileptic med would have been prescribed with the Xanax). Also, the Xanax may have been prescribed to be taken as needed, when experiencing anxiety, as stressful, anxiety-producing situations make those with a seizure disorder more likely to have a seizure. And of course, he may have been misusing his Xanax at times, as many people do..
I think the staircases are for fishermen or the local authority who may need to go down there to maintain or clean it out. The reservoir near me has steep stairs all around it leading down to the water and is hundreds of years old.
my first thought was access for baptisms (my community often uses creeks and streams) but i think your line of thinking makes way more sense (especially because i have no idea if there’s any church nearby)
Man, you are not kidding at all. The cops really did fail the Booth family in every way. And for why? That is what I would want to know. Were they too busy with other cases? Just lazy and sloppy police work? It is really sad that Tommy Booth lost his life, but what is worse is that his death was not properly investigated. Until now, with you and Aiden at any rate. You guys are doing a spectacular job of investigation as always. The police there could probably take a few notes from you guys. It really wasn't that difficult to see that this was homicide and not accidental. What was really going with that police department at the time? There must be a reason for the extremely sloppy and pathetic investigations by that police department. Thank you for another excellent video and investigation!
One big detail I've not heard anyone address for this case or any potential smiley face killings: if he was alive for several days between the disappearance and discovery, why had his body not metabolized the alcohol and/or drugs in his system? Did they get him drunk again before killing him? I've heard literally no one, police, PIs, or other investigators even bring this up.
According to his mother and his uncle, Tommy had been afraid of something Did he know the killers? Did he know too much? Did they think he ripped them off? (was heard on the phone issuing a vehement denial "no, I would never do that!") Uncle said the people he knew were involved in illegal dealings Tommy became increasingly worried about activities his friends were involved in and expressed fear for his life prior to his death. did any of the friends who he was involved in killed him and cover it up by putting him in the river????
Was found with money, credit cards, and ID but his cell phone was missing cell phone was missing did his killers keep the phone from being intentified as killing him?????
Above Booth’s head and torso, there was a “drag mark” in the soil with “possible foot/shoe impressions” on either side of it, according to an autopsy report by the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office. The mark was directed upstream from the current, making it plausible that Booth’s body had been dragged by its feet through the creek by an unknown assailant. if he was dragged by its feet by an unknown assailant did they keep the phone from possible location/surveillance evidence that will convict them?
2008, the economic crisis, its unsurprising some would turn to crime during the crunch. I wonder if any of this friend group got pinched for anything serious around this time that could shed some light on what he said about his friends alleged illicit activity.
Idk, I'm leaning towards the cops just not wanting to admit a murder happened there because it's too much work for them to solve (apparently they can only solve crimes committed on camera or those where the criminal walks into the station and confesses). The "friends" being involved in crime "worse" than robbery is pretty serious, like the phone call denying doing *something* and ESPECIALLY planning to move far away soon! Sounds like his "friends" did it and tried to cover it up, and the cops were all too happy to play along. You're right as far as you never know, whatever it was the police MAY have had some involvement!
@@Mike-es2yg This. Anything is possible but we'll find far more lazy people (myself included) than criminal ones. So I definitely believe they just couldnt be assed to do their job.
Based on everything you talked about here there's something that sticks out. One of the "friends" was seen talking to people he knew outside the bar. This could, and I mean a big "could" mean that they had done something similar in the past, or maybe they had someone in the police force that was/is also part of whatever the awful "thing" was Tommy didn't want to be a part of. If it's something like trafficking than that could maybe fit the picture better. Police did as little as possible and/or kept the evidence from being discovered by just "being dumb" or not following procedure to make it impossible for anyone else to get the real answers. I know it sounds real conspiracy nutty, but it's just what came to my mind. At the very least if you do go to that police department, please go with multiple people and be very cautious.
My Mom, who's a retired pharmacist with 35 years of experience said that Xanax could be used as a muscle relaxant when paired with an anti-convulsant. She said it wouldn't be her choice, but sometimes medications work differently or even better for different patients. (Fun fact: my Dad also has 35 years of experience as a pharmacist, so if you have medication questions in the future, they have a wealth of knowledge)!! Glad to have found yall; new favorite obsession! (Thanks Wendigoon)!
I live in Ridley and never heard about this. There’s plenty of unsolved murders like my wife’s mother, who was murdered in Chester PA shot several times, and left in the Delaware river in 2011
Aidan. Aiden. We don't talk about the stairs, Aidan. Are you asking for something? Do you think wistfully of death? If not, we don't talk of the stairs, Aidan.
This case sounds like the explanation could be closer to home the victim than some of the other ones. Thank you for shining a light back on to these cases; there is deffo more than meets the eye here. RIP Tommy Booth
I first heard about this case from Missing 411 A Sobering Coincidence back about 5 years ago and visited the site as well since I live over in Aston Township. Originally I went to see if there were any smiley faces back there (there was not), but yeah I went down to the creek just to try and picture how it happened. Now it was summer when I checked it out, so the creek was potentially lower then it was in winter, but one thing that struck me was how shallow the creek is around there. I remember thinking you would have to hit your head and get knocked out to drown in that creek because otherwise you could just stand up, or even kneel in most places and have your head above water. Also, as you pointed out, there is litterally no reason to walk toward the creek unless you were a complete stumbling mess drunk. Your rendition of this event has alot more detail then the Missing 411 entry, and has solidified my belief this was not an accident. One thing that should be mentioned is this shopping plaza while technically is in Ridley, sits right on the border of the City of Chester. Given, the "nicer" side of Chester, but to put things into perspective Chester consistantly appears in the top 10 most dangerous citys (often the top 3) in the US per capita murder rate. So to answer the question about how it was classified and dealt with by the police... finding bodies in the wooded urban areas around there is not front page news.
I like when you are able to visit the scenes of these cases. I realize it's not always feasible but when you're able it's an awesome treat. I actually hadn't heard of this case before and it's definitely a weird one. Thanks for another great video guys!
I've known a couple epileptics, and at least one of them had a benzo prescription for the epilepsy. It may have been something more common in the past, this was around 2008.
It's still a thing. My son and quite a few of my clients with epilepsy take a benzo with other meds like Depakote. The emergency medication prescribed is Valium in most cases. It's used to treat epilepsy despite the side effects. That's why it's so important to not miss a dose.
Xanax is NOT prescribed for seizures. Ativan, Valium- yes. Would it work? Yes, but not optimal and there is no reason to uses Alprazolam(Xanax) over the other benzos- for seizures.
@@Jessica.Laurenx that makes sense as it has a much longer half life than Xanax. Xanax does seem to be a strange choice. You would think either Valium or Klonopin would be the preferred route.
as someone who's been drunk, pissed off and walking away from bars stumbling and falling into creeks and rivers i had no business being around... you would be surprised at how if your not in a good state of mind (emotions running high) and drunk where you find yourself though i'm also dumb and will do stupid shit even when sober
And i honestly dont think i know anyone thats fallen in a lake or creek while and i was in a fraternity. Pools sure so i know its possible but folks act like thats fairly common. I've been shit faced fishing by ponds and lakes many times or just shit faced on boats and piers not even fishing and never fallen in or seen anyone fall in. Ive seen people jump in to be funny but not just fall in.
@@Wifite They called it a "possibility" - what you're asking for is evidence. Proof is what you ask for when someone makes a claim. They didn't claim anything, just put forward a possibility.
@@fuzzydunlop7928fifth possibility, the police and Bigfoot team up on a buddy cop like adventure hunting and kidnapping the man to get the information of where he kept Bigfoot’s wife. Bigfoot got too emotional when he said he killed her, which Bigfoot killed the man; and since the police were his homies, they obviously decided to cover it all up. Just because the police were beyond incompetent and shady in other areas, it didn’t mean they teamed up with Bigfoot to kill this man. So, it’s understandable to ask for proof for a claim even if it’s just a “possibility”.
I will say a *potential*, not a definite piece of proof for this theory is the fact atleast one of the officers involved in the investigation was later demoted as shown in the video for alleged misconduct so it’s not out of the question
In my county, our local sheriff's office ruled the death of a local business owner to be a suicide. He was shot in the back of the head, the gun was nowhere to be found in the room, and there was no gin-powder residue on his hands.
I live in Ridley right now, I lived in Philadelphia on 2008, we used to go to Bootleggers all the time, you were not going out the back entrance and falling into the creek without being seen people were ALWAYS back there smoking by the creek.
The number one reason this needs to be solved, is that tommy was scared . telling people his friends were into something seriously evil. so bad, that he wanted to move to Florida. Red flags everywhere. He was asking for help.
I really *HATE* getting into conspiracy crap, but honestly, the police behavior in this situation almost sounds like protecting an informant. Laziness is probably more likely, but it wouldn't be unheard of for one department to punt a case as a favor for another. 100% a homocide. That group was into something, sounds like Tommy was getting nervous/cold feet, and they got rid of him. Not exactly a stretch.
I know right? When all the injuries were being listed at the beginning it sounded kind like Tommy could have just fallen down while drunk; but then listening to all the contradicting reports his friends gave. It's just super suspicious
Not unheard of. @@punkinholler Some of the bank actually looks like it was built up with rocks/concrete at one point as well. It's very possible that area was once far more active, but the grounds have been reclaimed by nature.
@@ST4X-0N-ST4X Venice is built on wooden piles, not stilts. Piles are driven vertically into the sediment where there is no oxygen. No oxygen means no significant decay. Stilts would stick up above the sediment into the water and would be long gone by now.
Small towns tend to not have the best cops for dealing with anything outside traffic law violations, so they probably saw the bar, saw Tommy, went, "Yep, homeboy drowned," and stopped investigating. Outside resources definitely should have been called in. A more thorough investigation should have been performed.
Body missing for over two weeks, and is found a stone's throw from where he was last seen, AND evidence the body was moved... Not to mention with such a shallow creek, the S&R crews never fond him?
I'm up in Bethlehem, PA. We have a township and boroughs in the city. We have two Highs schools and I live closer to one, but the way the city/township is cut up, I went to the one further away.
I live in Ashville PA and they wanted me to go to Altoona school district even though Penn Cambria was closer. In the end I went to Penn Cambria but that was a bad decision 😂 worst school for people with severe health issues ever
@@chronicallydisguisedi was raised in Homer city(small town) and Indiana Pa, live by Clymer now and the school districts are all weird. But i love this area
A bar would likely have a large walk in cooler. As someone who used to drink a lot in bad bars in 2008 i can tell you that bouncers would use headlocks as a way to restrain people. As much as everyone is focusing on his friends, i would take a much closer look at the bouncer who was at the back door with no camera. Just some food for thought
Great coverage of this man. And great channel too. I used to live less than 10 mins from that location so I know exactly what you’re saying in this video and agree with you on all points you made. I forgot this happened.
Is it just me or are we missing my number 1 favourite thing about these videos and that being the historical aspect of the whole thing? As in the First Nations historical data and beliefs.
Definitely keep an eye out or rather keep those friends on someone’s radar because if one or two of them were involved and most likely involved in other shady activity, it’s a good probability that they will wind up in some other shady situations and possibly criminal activities or convictions.
Delco resident here, I grew up in Morton postal code but my side of the street was owned by Springfield Township. Across the street was Ridley township. At the end of the block and across that intersection was Swarthmore. Good old PA.
Hey, as a person with epilepsy I have an answer about the Xanax! I've been prescribed benzos (a different one) as an "emergency" med. Basically if I have any warning symptoms that I could have a seizure, I can take those meds to prevent a grand mal. If that's how he was prescribed it, then he may have felt that he needed it. Or someone was using his script to keep him sedated.
Hi Aidens, yet another one of these suspicious deaths. This one is different from others in that Tommy was with a group of “friends “. The overheard conversation with Tommy about how he wouldn’t DO that, man. Tommy’s misgivings about the friend’s activities and his desire to get out of town. I think he was getting blamed for a deal gone bad and was about to haul ass. The outing was to a different bar, supposedly random choice of the Birthday girl. The companions made damn sure he was seen entering the bar and for a while after. Tommy was drinking and he was already on Xanax, so it’s easy for a girl to talk him into going out back. Someone else was waiting for him. This would be the person in charge of the drugs or trafficking scheme. At some point he was put in a head lock and questioned, then burnt with a cigarette. He was placed in the walk in cooler at the bar and died there. Once the “friends “ were able to establish a story and a cursory search for Tommy was done, they saw the police weren’t going to pursue them and ask awkward questions. The body was removed from the cooler and taken to the creek. Despite obvious drag marks and the sticks propping up the body, the police didn’t find anything suspicious and declared it drowning. The excuse, He probably was drunk and fell into the water, is really getting overused. I don’t think police are directly involved, but are either being paid off or are just plain incompetent. Tommy pizzed off the wrong dude. I don’t believe this is the same killer as the previous cases. The more cases you cover, the clearer it is that the smiley face has nothing to do with the deaths. Tommy is close, but doesn’t fit the kidnapping/drowning scenario. His case has clearer motives. Brenda P ❤
There's possibly a 4th option & it's officials could be in on the local crime in a much more reduced way than say the boys on the tracks incident in Arkansas. Like say someone associated with one of the drivers happened to be law enforcement, knowing what or possibly who did it brings up the idea of letting it go down as an accidental drowning while not really investigating too hard into what actually happened
I was born, raised and have lived in New Castle Delaware my entire life. Wilmington Delaware is 15 mins from my house! I clearly remember this incident! I followed the whole story in real time. I've been to Bootlegers dozens of times also. So sad. RIP Tommy Booth 🙏💙
33:17 I really like the whole list thing you got going here. I ussually just listen, so dunno if this is new, but it's neat. As someone with photosensitivity, I WOULD suggest maybe a darker backrgound for t tho - it's hard to see the white lettering on the sllightly less white fog, though the trees do help.
Yeah I didn’t love how it turned out but I didn’t have time for this video to come up with a better option, but I appreciate the reminder and I’ll be sure to do something a bit less extreme for next time. Thank you!
It's genuinely not THAT bad. Like, if I weren't so sensitive to brights, it'd be just fine. Legit just knock the bloom down - presuming you can - and it'd be fine. Or, potentially easier, just outline the letters in black to standnd them out.@@aidanthornbury
Great coverage. I went from being skeptical about your assessment to outraged about what you presented. Makes me wonder how many crimes end up in this "not my problem" limbo between two jurisdictions.
Bro , I was just talking about this with my girl. My family used to own a business right by where that Walmart is in Crum Lynn lol. Used to go to that wawa every morning before work I remember this pretty well. Crazy to realize how close you live lmao
I didn’t know you guys lived in Phoenixville! I’m about 45 from there right by the DE border, but my best friend lives in Phoenixville. Nice to see local peeps so successful!
Great episode as always. I grew up in SE Pennsylvania (though now live in TX) so your coverage of this story was of real interest. Loved you were able to travel to the Bootlegger Bar. And that you had a follow on episode with Tommy’s mom and stepdad. Only one thing would have made it perfect for me. I hope you add in the history of the area as you’ve done with other episodes. I’ve learned a lot from you about our nation’s (and Canada’s) Native Americans and US early settler activity. Thx
The people responsible for an explanation of how he died sound more like they're trying to find an alternate plausible explanation to how he died, than finding out the actual more likely way he perished.
Hey @TheLoreLodge ! Love that You are doing those lately! Would You be interested in looking into the death of Jason David Frank ? Some details seem.... off. It's been bugging Me since He died.
As someone from PA, just outside of Wilmington, DE I can confirm there are some VERY sketchy happenings that everyone knows about but no one does anything about. It's a wealthy area and everyone knows that $$$ can cover anything up.
This is a classic case of American small-town police determining that the homicide did not meet their advanced criteria requiring investigation, those being: 1. Is the victim related to a prominent local figure? 2. Is the victim related to someone related to a prominent local figure? 3. Is the victim related to an officer or police command-level officer? If no to any of these, cops write it off and go back to their speed trap.
When someone states exact times, it is usually due to a well rehearsed story. That time is usually as far away from the time of death or crime, because they know what time it happened and they want to make sure that they were nowhere near the spot whenever the crime went down.
Just wanted to comment on the statements near the 27 minute mark.. It truly is a case-by-case basis when it comes to prescription medications for epilepsy. My son takes 2 meds daily for seizures, one of which is Klonopin. The emergency medicine I have to administer is a nose spray that is straight Valium. Xanax is an odd choice, but it has a short half life so maybe the Dr had their reasons.
Xanax is never even a top 4 benzo option for seizures. There would be no reason except poor prescribing or a dual diagnosis Rx, " PRN for anxiety or seizures." and the patient has a fake Ativan allergy.
It's wild when you cover history that's literally in my background and like you said, VERY concerning cops messed things up just 20 miles from my house but also...what else is new in DelCo and Ridley.
I am *ASTONISHED* at the amount of incompetence on display in this case. The fact only one of the drivers was interviewed, no other cell phone records subpoenaed, NOTHING- it's genuinely crazy. Had there been any kind of serious investigating, I feel like this could have been handled very easily. That's putting aside everything else you listed. How do you fuck up this bad???
It's so cool you guys are in my neck of the woods - I've driven by there so many times yeah weird destination from Wilmington for a birthday celebration
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Also, I'm from MD, we have creeks like that all over. No way that was frozen over like the cops said in those temps. And yeah, those rocks would've ripped up the body and clothes if he was carried by the water. Creek beds are no joke.
My family has a house in Prospect Park P.A. which is the next town over from Ridley and I live in Wilmington so apparently, we live really close to each other lol. Also yeah the cops around here are notoriously terrible my dad spent 16 years in jail for a crime he did not commit because a girl was murdered by a guy who shot past his head grazed his ear and hit the girl.
Edit; The cops around here are also generally known for their corruption as well it's really bad in the little local townships. When the police made a mistake and believed i had been attempting to flee the scene of an accident when i was trying to move my stricken vehicle out of the road and crippled me by causing spinal nerve damage then just transferred the officers to a different unit and refrused to tell us where they sent him to prevent us from taking legal action against him. If one of the friend groups was part of the local police force, he could and would have had it covered up as a drowning since we already know they were into some shady stuff. They also would likely know where the cameras were on the doors of various local bars. The truth is that someone within the police force very well could have done this and covered it up to prevent him from snitching.
I'm not above begging you to do the Kendrick Johnson case...cuz that kid was murdered in his school & covered up by the local LE & father of the suspects who happened to be an fbi agent. & nobody will touch that case cuz of the politics but his parents are trying everything to get influencers to draw attention to their sons case but their ignored or lied to with broken promises. Please please please will u just look into it & make sure u pull up the autopsy photos cuz she made them public in hopes of getting justice. The moms name is Jackie Johnson ...this is in Georgia. I can send u any info u need If necessary. Thank u
I'm a New England native , I had to drive to Illinois and back once , the thing that stuck in my mind about Pennsylvania. Dead deer , awesome beer stores with bars in them , and Porno shops ... is that accurate ? Go birds
@@MichaelVachon-us4ie oh yeah we’ve got a ton of bottle shops and breweries with bars haha
“The police refused to investigate this murder”. “Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down”
Just a regular day on the job 😂
Well, there is that right to not incriminate yourself.
Something like 50% of murders go unsolved…you know the one thing police should actually be concerned about. I guess writing tickets is more important though
@@wilkiebagginstickets (and civil asset forfeiture) make monnneeyyyyy
If they do not do their job, they should not have their job.
Boot prints: no cast taken; no photos taken; just disregarded. This kind of ineptitude makes me want to cry 😭
Don't watch the Karen Reed case then. They collected blood samples in red solo cups and then put those cups in a grocery bag.
@@LKMNOP I’d say “you’ve got to be kidding me”, but I’m not surprised anymore. Just disappointed
We don't talk about the staircases in the woods Aiden.
Nor do we, ryan...
He's about to open up a can of worms...
😂
What staircases in the woods 😉
Staircases in the woods can be quite creepy.
I'm old with two grown kids (19 and 26) but I can remember my bar hopping days quite clearly. NONE of my friends would have left me in a bar unless I told them to their face "It's ok. So and so is taking me home." And I never would have taken off without a friend unless they said it was alright if I left early and they would catch a ride with so and so. These people are sketchy.
You had way better friends than me...
@@Johnny_Colorado Maybe it's a girlfriend thing...having each others backs.
My friend group wouldn't, but my sister had friends that straight up did that to her once. Depends on if your friends are assholes or not
No disrespect intended, but you kinda proved why you can't relate. Females and males are different, especially in their friend groups.
Women know they need numbers for an advantage; especially in the era where they're predominantly left leaning and anti gun, but all of them are still taught from the time they're kids that dangers are in society for you more than others.
Men are almost the exact opposite. No one expects a man to have this happen to them. Especially since media doesn't sensationalize it like they do for the fairer sex
That was the old days. I'm glad i was born in the 50s
Small suggestion in case you didn’t ask already; when asking doctors about medicine and conditions, ask with the context of the year the incident happened. Medical definitions and best practices can change drastically over time so it’s always good to mention the time period.
He tells his uncle his friends are into some kind of sketch activity, talks about getting out of town, goes out with friends to a sketch area, ends up a goner in suspicious circumstances? Nah seems like an accident
He clearly just ended the game himself /s
Yeah he was brought into something we can only guess at. But it's kinda obvious when you look at everything.
The scary part was how the police handled it..... also I wouldn't be surprised if that bar was a hangout tied to whatever he was afraid of and wanted to get away from
@@MatthewGill-nv4tb someone high up in the police department is probably involved. Cops dont do stuff like that for no reason, most of the time its either corruption or straight up laziness/corruption.
If only the law allowed circumstantial evidence in any capacity.
Because there is enough to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the police were grossly and criminally negligent in their activities.
But unfortunately nothing here can be admitted into court due to it being circumstantial.
I assume you mean "criminal activity "? Please use reg English, not urban slang . there are viewers here from both sides of the world
it's also a HUGE possibility that the police were covering it up because they were involved in whatever illegal activity was being done...
even if indirectly, perhaps the perpetrator could be related to someone in the PD
Bingo!
Exactly my thoughts
Yep! I thought so too, and I believe Aidan decided not to talk about this because it could be problematic - you know, the whole "oh, he's accusing the police officers of criminal involvement" and with him being a local and all that.
Thats something i have wondered about with all those young men in manchester that were getting dumped - are they covering up something in the autopsies
I drank on Xanax one time in my life, blacked out and came back to awareness while on the phone with the police who were on their way to my apartment and I didn’t know why.
We figured out that all the roommates had been fighting, and we also called our parents in addition to the police.
Not completely related, but I’ve been sober 8 years now lmao
Congrats on the sober life!
And yeah, I used to be on zoloft and drinking on it was literal hell. Some drugs and alcohol just really don't mix. (Depending on your body of course)
Ooof yeah, benzos and alcohol can hit some people like an 18-wheeler truck.
I've been prescribed Xanax since age 17 and I've blacked out while drinking all of two times, and one of those times was thanks to being roofied.
I've seen people have all sorts of weird reactions to xanax though. It always, consistently, has the same effect on me, but I've seen people become wildly aggressive for absolutely no reason.
Kudos to you! I will have two years soon.. Thanks for sharing, I have a similar experience. Only I was found laying in the middle of a clearing on someone’s private 500 acre oak forest ranch. A father and his son going deer hunting found me at 6:15 am on their way to their deer blind. No idea how I managed to get out there, as it was about three miles as the crow flies from the cabin I was at on the neighboring property. I was taken to an emergency room and didn’t wake up for two days.
Nowadays I think of how traumatic that must’ve been for that little boy…and I struggle with a lot of guilt. I have a daughter who’s 5 (the same age as that little boy) and it makes me very uneasy to think about stumbling upon a person in such a state…especially in the middle of the woods. I’m sure they thought I was dead. But nonetheless, I’m eternally grateful for them.
Stories like the one in this video remind me of how blessed I am to still be alive.
@freeman70yiu are incredibly lucky79
Like all benzodiazepines, X is horribly dangerous . And so, so addictive. Praise God , I got the help I needed-- that was over 20 yrs ago , but I did it.
Back then, doctors were prescribing X way too easily. So thankful you're doing clean and well. 💯🙏
I love the “in the field” segments. It’s so surreal to see the boys out and about
The slow pans from the camera man😂
That fuckin shopping center is 5 mins away from me too😂
The fact that he was on Xanax makes me feel like some of the mystery is gone. It's not hard to black out on Xanax and booze. The time frame is what makes this seem odd. If he wasn't missing for 14 days, it'd be a lot easier to say it was an accident.
This is a real story. Grow the fuck up. It’s not for your entertainment
Cold water can slow down decomp way more than he seems to believe.
@TheMattTrakker A mortician chimed in, who works with keeping bodies cold and preserved, and according to them, it needs to be a specific 40°, otherwise decomposition would either occur or the freezing temperatures can damage the body. And hed have gone from below 40° and then thawed and gone above 40°, the body would have both damage from the cold _and_ decomposition.
@@TheMattTrakkersure but that doesn’t explain the rigor mortis, the cloudy eyes, or the lesions (can’t think of the actual name but if you watched the video you know what I’m talking about) on his back instead of his chest/stomach
Yea, the Xanax explanes it to me also. You can go into a Xanax blackout with alcohol.
This is truly extraordinary levels of suspicious but ignored.
Not really, this video is a lot of wishful thinking.
it s literaly facts what ayden says...you re so deluded and probably one of those implicated@@Princess_Celestia_
@@Princess_Celestia_fed
@@Princess_Celestia_It's somewhat bizarre that you keep copy pasting this around the comments section in slightly different wording to avoid the spam bot, especially given how delusional this sentiment is.
@@Princess_Celestia_It's somewhat bizarre you keep just copy pasting this around the comments in slightly re phrased ways to avoid triggering the algorithm (Praise Be It's Name!), especially given how droolingly thick headed this sentiment is.
I’ve gotta chime in on the rate of Decomp, mortician here been at this for almost half a decade at this point. A body doesn’t need to be frozen to prevent decomposition, in fact the coolers used to store bodies for preservation for medical examinations and funeral (when not embalmed) are kept around 40° because you don’t wanna damage blood vessels and the like. A body can stay in there up to about a month before noticeable decomposition occurs.
Since you’re an expert can I ask if rapid temperature change to the body would change the rate of decomposition? Thanks
Completely off topic, but I think we’re mutuals on facebook? Small world ig, i did not expect to see you in a random comment section lmao 😭
Well, yes, but that doesn't explain him being in rigor.
A whole Lustrums worth of experience? I thought you were going to say half a century.
@@mikeycraig8970more experience than any of us…
I work in real estate law and your explanation of the way municipalities work in the area is so clear. I love it.
Yeah for real. I live in Delaware County, city of Media, township of Aston, VILLAGE of Village Green... but wait for it... Sun Valley School District.
PA is freekin crazy when it comes to "where you live".
@@chrispinchak1511honestly, I've lived here my entire life so I never really thought about how weird it was, but yeah I guess the entire system is kind of scuffed isn't it?
9:10 OH no...sounds like Brian Schaffer vanishing from The Ugly Tuna years ago
@@Deebeez716that case was really weird!!!!
I wasnt expecting to go on a fieldtrip this episode, that was fun.
It was nice to get out of the lodge
I grew up right down the street, in Middletown Township, and was in high school when this happened. You have done an excellent job with the facts of the case. I bought that smiley face killer series on Amazon, but their theories just got weird. Love what you do, quickly has become one of my favorite channels.
Yeah I feel like they’re too invested in the national connection and ignoring what are likely isolated crimes and serial killers
We’re was any proof of anything
"The way Pennsylvania works is a little weird." Not the understatement of the year but definitely in the category of "Louisiana can be a little moist." and "Gary is a bit run-down."
"Keystone State" becomes more accurate if you put "Cops" in the middle of the other two words. That'll make you go "hrm"
What are you yapping about
Pennsylvania cops suck. My opinion is that they suck all over America. But PA cops are the ones I've been around more and they super suck.
@@bigmoist2876You obviously neither watched nor know anything about the Keystone State or Keystone cops. If you did, you would laugh, like the rest of ua.
Oi, the kids may need help with that reference.
@@bigmoist2876 It's a reference to an old silent film called keystone cops (keystone kops? I've seen it spelled both ways). It's a comedy about an incompetent police force. The nickname for Pennsylvania is also the "keystone state".
They're saying that the Pennsylvania police are incompetent, which as somebody who lives in this state, I wholeheartedly agree with.
Were the cops even holding the ball to be able to drop it with this case? No - and that’s VERY concerning!
They were holding the Idiot Ball, if you ask me. Completely missed the actual "ball" (murder) in play.
What kind of reprobate police department drives a red police car my goodness that’s just weird
So I live in the same county and the Ridley police are the only local police with red chargers. They also have a reputation to the public as the most aggressive police around.
Red cars go faster.
Commies!
@@jamesclarkson156 Az Gork an' Mork wilzit!
Ridley cops. The red army.
As a retired crime investigator, l am impressed with your attention to detail and your thoroughness. This is a very suspicious case. Good job!
This is so wild - I lived literally a block and a half or so away from this in 2008~2011 on E 19th; I used to walk past this to go to the Wawa, and I was in my late teens/early 20s and have always been interested in mysteries and true crime, and I had NO idea about this case at the time. I remember hearing about his case afterwards, but I never made the connection that it was practically in my backyard.
As a mortician, the post mortem changes & reference to livor mortis aka lividity IS AWESOME AND SPOT ON! I once got a person that was strangled by their partner and then strung up as if they'd hanged themselves. The lividity didn't match with the story the investigators were given so the person ended up getting charged with homicide when further evidence was found. I'm very impressed with your knowledge of rigor, post mortem hemorrhaging, skin slip etc.
I hope Tommy can get another, better, look at his case so his family can know what actually happened to him. The sticks being there to keep him in place is pretty creepy. I picked up for a medical examiner for 3 years in Texas when I first started in the death industry. The scene* sounds so insane to me !
What do you think happened to him?
@Catty_Wampus4610 I can't know for sure, but I'm concerned about the lack of decomposition from the time frame he was in the water. I've embalmed roughly 4,000+ bodies in my young 6 year career. I've picked up people that were only in water for about 5-6 hours and they were water logged to HECK [other morticians will vouch lmao] they smell & their skin is coming off [similar to de-gloving]. I'm really at a loss for explanations other than he wasn't in the water for the time frame the investigation gave to the public. I also don't like the sticks being oddly placed - I've seen/picked up from enough body dump scenes that it doesn't sound like the evidence is* adding up.
So sorry for the long winded comment baha
@@barnesablaze Wow only 5-6 hours and their skin was coming off that's way shorter than the supposed time period that Tommy was in the water that is sooo suspicious and the sticks are super weird like why would they want to keep him in place like they meant for him too be found. Also no need to worry about the long comment lol I love reading especially when it relates to missing person cases, cryptids, or any event with weird circumstances.
As a former Philly cop and new resident to Ridley township I appreciate the case study. I may not be in the field anymore but I still love a good mystery.
So before my comment gets lost, but I have epilepsy myself and just a disclaimer not everyone with epilepsy is going to have the same experience. When I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2012 the medication I was taking made me depressed. So I was put on an anti-depressant to help with that. And at least in the circles of epileptics, I run around with taking anti-seizure medice is often paired with something like Xanax. I eventually got off it because both medications were making me funky and just not myself. Now I just take one medication to manage my epilepsy.
So yeah it also does not surprise me if Tommy was on epilepsy medication and was paired with an anti depressant
Although it's for severe, chronic migraines rather than epilepsy, I'm on a similar combination of medications myself. It seems that the medications used for these neurological disorders overlap quite a lot!
The side effects of most of these meds aren't much fun, and I'd really prefer not to need them, but if the only other option is constant debilitating pain, I'll live with the meds, at least until I can get back my coverage for Botox treatments!
This was my thought too. Like he would probably have been on a medication for epilepsy and then Xanax for something else. So thank you for this comment :)
Yeah Xanax can make you act very disinhibited. Some people almost become different people once they take some, especially if it's mixed with alcohol. Meanwhile, some people kinda go into a zombie like auto-pilot state. Benzodiazepines are strange drugs. Some people love them, and some people really don't like them.
@@bickyboo7789 My own experiences with them have been good, but I've also been dealing with ASD and serious anxiety disorders since early childhood, so anything with a tranquilising effect will probably work well for me. Then again, I'm also someone who follows my doctor's orders close to the letter, and (for example) doesn't drink more than a glass of wine with dinner because I know that mixing any one of my meds with alcohol is a bad idea, let alone all of them at once. Worth noting is that I'm also not 25 anymore by quite a bit, and I've got the need to party (mostly) out of my system. Along with that is the experience to recognise when something is going very wrong, physically, and know precisely where all my limits are. I really don't think I'd have coped as well with the restrictions of these meds when I was in my 20's!
Xanax is not an antidepressant. It is an anti-anxiety med. It also can be used to prevent seizures (though like you said, an anti-epileptic med would have been prescribed with the Xanax). Also, the Xanax may have been prescribed to be taken as needed, when experiencing anxiety, as stressful, anxiety-producing situations make those with a seizure disorder more likely to have a seizure. And of course, he may have been misusing his Xanax at times, as many people do..
I think the staircases are for fishermen or the local authority who may need to go down there to maintain or clean it out. The reservoir near me has steep stairs all around it leading down to the water and is hundreds of years old.
That is the function
It is also to allow public access without risk or injury.
my first thought was access for baptisms (my community often uses creeks and streams) but i think your line of thinking makes way more sense (especially because i have no idea if there’s any church nearby)
Man, you are not kidding at all. The cops really did fail the Booth family in every way. And for why? That is what I would want to know. Were they too busy with other cases? Just lazy and sloppy police work? It is really sad that Tommy Booth lost his life, but what is worse is that his death was not properly investigated. Until now, with you and Aiden at any rate. You guys are doing a spectacular job of investigation as always. The police there could probably take a few notes from you guys. It really wasn't that difficult to see that this was homicide and not accidental. What was really going with that police department at the time? There must be a reason for the extremely sloppy and pathetic investigations by that police department. Thank you for another excellent video and investigation!
One big detail I've not heard anyone address for this case or any potential smiley face killings: if he was alive for several days between the disappearance and discovery, why had his body not metabolized the alcohol and/or drugs in his system? Did they get him drunk again before killing him? I've heard literally no one, police, PIs, or other investigators even bring this up.
That’s something I’ve wondered too. I would imagine if they kept him for a few days then they would have to
According to his mother and his uncle, Tommy had been afraid of something
Did he know the killers? Did he know too much? Did they think he ripped them off? (was heard on the phone issuing a vehement denial "no, I would never do that!")
Uncle said the people he knew were involved in illegal dealings
Tommy became increasingly worried about activities his friends were involved in and expressed fear for his life prior to his death. did any of the friends who he was involved in killed him and cover it up by putting him in the river????
Was found with money, credit cards, and ID but his cell phone was missing cell phone was missing did his killers keep the phone from being intentified as killing him?????
Above Booth’s head and torso, there was a “drag mark” in the soil with “possible foot/shoe impressions” on either side of it, according to an autopsy report by the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office. The mark was directed upstream from the current, making it plausible that Booth’s body had been dragged by its feet through the creek by an unknown assailant. if he was dragged by its feet by an unknown assailant did they keep the phone from possible location/surveillance evidence that will convict them?
2008, the economic crisis, its unsurprising some would turn to crime during the crunch. I wonder if any of this friend group got pinched for anything serious around this time that could shed some light on what he said about his friends alleged illicit activity.
oh absolutely it can shred light on the illicit activity in 2008 drug dealing?@@cottonysensation3723
when the police murder someone , they don't investigate.
Idk, I'm leaning towards the cops just not wanting to admit a murder happened there because it's too much work for them to solve (apparently they can only solve crimes committed on camera or those where the criminal walks into the station and confesses). The "friends" being involved in crime "worse" than robbery is pretty serious, like the phone call denying doing *something* and ESPECIALLY planning to move far away soon! Sounds like his "friends" did it and tried to cover it up, and the cops were all too happy to play along. You're right as far as you never know, whatever it was the police MAY have had some involvement!
@@Mike-es2yg This. Anything is possible but we'll find far more lazy people (myself included) than criminal ones. So I definitely believe they just couldnt be assed to do their job.
Where did you get the cops murdering him? Thats reaching lol it all points to his friends
My thoughts exactly
When i do they don't either, go figure.
Based on everything you talked about here there's something that sticks out. One of the "friends" was seen talking to people he knew outside the bar. This could, and I mean a big "could" mean that they had done something similar in the past, or maybe they had someone in the police force that was/is also part of whatever the awful "thing" was Tommy didn't want to be a part of. If it's something like trafficking than that could maybe fit the picture better. Police did as little as possible and/or kept the evidence from being discovered by just "being dumb" or not following procedure to make it impossible for anyone else to get the real answers. I know it sounds real conspiracy nutty, but it's just what came to my mind. At the very least if you do go to that police department, please go with multiple people and be very cautious.
My Mom, who's a retired pharmacist with 35 years of experience said that Xanax could be used as a muscle relaxant when paired with an anti-convulsant. She said it wouldn't be her choice, but sometimes medications work differently or even better for different patients. (Fun fact: my Dad also has 35 years of experience as a pharmacist, so if you have medication questions in the future, they have a wealth of knowledge)!!
Glad to have found yall; new favorite obsession! (Thanks Wendigoon)!
I live in Ridley and never heard about this. There’s plenty of unsolved murders like my wife’s mother, who was murdered in Chester PA shot several times, and left in the Delaware river in 2011
What is her name
@@Dp-hu8prI'm guessing Stacie Lee Burnell
Aidan. Aiden. We don't talk about the stairs, Aidan. Are you asking for something? Do you think wistfully of death? If not, we don't talk of the stairs, Aidan.
This case sounds like the explanation could be closer to home the victim than some of the other ones. Thank you for shining a light back on to these cases; there is deffo more than meets the eye here. RIP Tommy Booth
The map graphics were a GREAT aid to my comprehension and train of thought 💭 thank you 😊
Agreed
I first heard about this case from Missing 411 A Sobering Coincidence back about 5 years ago and visited the site as well since I live over in Aston Township. Originally I went to see if there were any smiley faces back there (there was not), but yeah I went down to the creek just to try and picture how it happened. Now it was summer when I checked it out, so the creek was potentially lower then it was in winter, but one thing that struck me was how shallow the creek is around there. I remember thinking you would have to hit your head and get knocked out to drown in that creek because otherwise you could just stand up, or even kneel in most places and have your head above water. Also, as you pointed out, there is litterally no reason to walk toward the creek unless you were a complete stumbling mess drunk.
Your rendition of this event has alot more detail then the Missing 411 entry, and has solidified my belief this was not an accident.
One thing that should be mentioned is this shopping plaza while technically is in Ridley, sits right on the border of the City of Chester. Given, the "nicer" side of Chester, but to put things into perspective Chester consistantly appears in the top 10 most dangerous citys (often the top 3) in the US per capita murder rate. So to answer the question about how it was classified and dealt with by the police... finding bodies in the wooded urban areas around there is not front page news.
I like when you are able to visit the scenes of these cases. I realize it's not always feasible but when you're able it's an awesome treat.
I actually hadn't heard of this case before and it's definitely a weird one.
Thanks for another great video guys!
I've known a couple epileptics, and at least one of them had a benzo prescription for the epilepsy.
It may have been something more common in the past, this was around 2008.
It's still a thing. My son and quite a few of my clients with epilepsy take a benzo with other meds like Depakote. The emergency medication prescribed is Valium in most cases. It's used to treat epilepsy despite the side effects. That's why it's so important to not miss a dose.
Xanax is NOT prescribed for seizures. Ativan, Valium- yes.
Would it work? Yes, but not optimal and there is no reason to uses Alprazolam(Xanax) over the other benzos- for seizures.
@@Jessica.Laurenx that makes sense as it has a much longer half life than Xanax. Xanax does seem to be a strange choice. You would think either Valium or Klonopin would be the preferred route.
Never heard of this case so i appreciate all the work & awareness cause your right people should be accountable.
Really like the production quality and the balance of office recording and visitations to the area.
as someone who's been drunk, pissed off and walking away from bars stumbling and falling into creeks and rivers i had no business being around... you would be surprised at how if your not in a good state of mind (emotions running high) and drunk where you find yourself though i'm also dumb and will do stupid shit even when sober
Yeah that happens on occasion but clearly not with this case.
I was gonna say that. Could clearly see myself turning left to the bushes to take a pee before returning to the parking lot.
And i honestly dont think i know anyone thats fallen in a lake or creek while and i was in a fraternity. Pools sure so i know its possible but folks act like thats fairly common. I've been shit faced fishing by ponds and lakes many times or just shit faced on boats and piers not even fishing and never fallen in or seen anyone fall in. Ive seen people jump in to be funny but not just fall in.
Fourth possibility is police where somehow in on whatever sketch activity was taking place.
Any proof
@@Wifite They called it a "possibility" - what you're asking for is evidence. Proof is what you ask for when someone makes a claim. They didn't claim anything, just put forward a possibility.
@@fuzzydunlop7928fifth possibility, the police and Bigfoot team up on a buddy cop like adventure hunting and kidnapping the man to get the information of where he kept Bigfoot’s wife. Bigfoot got too emotional when he said he killed her, which Bigfoot killed the man; and since the police were his homies, they obviously decided to cover it all up.
Just because the police were beyond incompetent and shady in other areas, it didn’t mean they teamed up with Bigfoot to kill this man. So, it’s understandable to ask for proof for a claim even if it’s just a “possibility”.
I will say a *potential*, not a definite piece of proof for this theory is the fact atleast one of the officers involved in the investigation was later demoted as shown in the video for alleged misconduct so it’s not out of the question
In my county, our local sheriff's office ruled the death of a local business owner to be a suicide.
He was shot in the back of the head, the gun was nowhere to be found in the room, and there was no gin-powder residue on his hands.
I live in Ridley right now, I lived in Philadelphia on 2008, we used to go to Bootleggers all the time, you were not going out the back entrance and falling into the creek without being seen people were ALWAYS back there smoking by the creek.
The number one reason this needs to be solved, is that tommy was scared . telling people his friends were into something seriously evil. so bad, that he wanted to move to Florida.
Red flags everywhere.
He was asking for help.
I really *HATE* getting into conspiracy crap, but honestly, the police behavior in this situation almost sounds like protecting an informant. Laziness is probably more likely, but it wouldn't be unheard of for one department to punt a case as a favor for another. 100% a homocide. That group was into something, sounds like Tommy was getting nervous/cold feet, and they got rid of him. Not exactly a stretch.
I know right? When all the injuries were being listed at the beginning it sounded kind like Tommy could have just fallen down while drunk; but then listening to all the contradicting reports his friends gave. It's just super suspicious
Oh thats a good point. Some confidential informants can totally get away with unaliving sketchy people.
There is quite a bit of evidence that there was foul play here
How about the reason the police didn't investigate the case correctly was because that they were involved in some way.
Staircases are usually for fishermen or for stocking fish. Probably from the early ~1900s.
Would there still be wood there if it was built in the early 1900s? (Not being an ass. Genuinely curious)
@@punkinholler Wood preserves pretty well in fresh water
Not unheard of. @@punkinholler
Some of the bank actually looks like it was built up with rocks/concrete at one point as well. It's very possible that area was once far more active, but the grounds have been reclaimed by nature.
@@punkinhollerVenice was entirely built on wooden stilts and it's still standing and it's been more than 500 years.
@@ST4X-0N-ST4X Venice is built on wooden piles, not stilts. Piles are driven vertically into the sediment where there is no oxygen. No oxygen means no significant decay. Stilts would stick up above the sediment into the water and would be long gone by now.
Well done!! Crazy how often investigations are half assed when conducted by the authorities 🤷🏽♀
You should cover the Noah Donohoe case, it’s absolutely crazy that it hasn’t received more attention
Its awesome to see you guys being able to go on location for your videos!
Small towns tend to not have the best cops for dealing with anything outside traffic law violations, so they probably saw the bar, saw Tommy, went, "Yep, homeboy drowned," and stopped investigating. Outside resources definitely should have been called in. A more thorough investigation should have been performed.
They had Philly’s PD and the Vidoc Society right up the road, and there’s a ton of FBI field offices up the east coast. Just crazy.
You're a big channel, but you PUT SO MUCH HEART AND DILIGENCE into these videos, you'll be in the millions eventually.
I love the in-person parts!!! irl lorelads content is amazing (Aidan is somehow even more sassy then and I'm here for it)
I'm very happy to have found your channel. I've seen other people cover some of the cases you cover, but none have given so much detail
Body missing for over two weeks, and is found a stone's throw from where he was last seen, AND evidence the body was moved...
Not to mention with such a shallow creek, the S&R crews never fond him?
I'm up in Bethlehem, PA. We have a township and boroughs in the city. We have two Highs schools and I live closer to one, but the way the city/township is cut up, I went to the one further away.
My school district included two townships, Tredyffrin and Easttown. Easttown is basically a rectangle most surrounded by Tredyffrin.
It’s just weird.
I live in Ashville PA and they wanted me to go to Altoona school district even though Penn Cambria was closer. In the end I went to Penn Cambria but that was a bad decision 😂 worst school for people with severe health issues ever
@@chronicallydisguisedi was raised in Homer city(small town) and Indiana Pa, live by Clymer now and the school districts are all weird. But i love this area
A bar would likely have a large walk in cooler. As someone who used to drink a lot in bad bars in 2008 i can tell you that bouncers would use headlocks as a way to restrain people.
As much as everyone is focusing on his friends, i would take a much closer look at the bouncer who was at the back door with no camera. Just some food for thought
This is one of my favorite episodes, your research is some of the best on RUclips, you should be really proud of your work
Stoked to finally make a live in time again!
Yeah but prerecorded and someone hit play to make it live lol
@@zacharyharris438 yeah, I was referring to the live chat during premiers
@@CamBoone true
Great coverage of this man. And great channel too. I used to live less than 10 mins from that location so I know exactly what you’re saying in this video and agree with you on all points you made. I forgot this happened.
Is it just me or are we missing my number 1 favourite thing about these videos and that being the historical aspect of the whole thing? As in the First Nations historical data and beliefs.
So awesome when you get to go to the actual places you’re discussing! Very cool for us to see
Definitely keep an eye out or rather keep those friends on someone’s radar because if one or two of them were involved and most likely involved in other shady activity, it’s a good probability that they will wind up in some other shady situations and possibly criminal activities or convictions.
Delco resident here, I grew up in Morton postal code but my side of the street was owned by Springfield Township. Across the street was Ridley township. At the end of the block and across that intersection was Swarthmore. Good old PA.
In my experience (my mom mixed benzos and alcohol nightly) that combination makes you pass out
The Boot was my favorite bar in college. And I was a freshman at Widener in January 2008. Can’t believe I’ve never heard of this case!
This is one of the best lore lodge videos I’ve seen to date
Hey, as a person with epilepsy I have an answer about the Xanax!
I've been prescribed benzos (a different one) as an "emergency" med. Basically if I have any warning symptoms that I could have a seizure, I can take those meds to prevent a grand mal. If that's how he was prescribed it, then he may have felt that he needed it. Or someone was using his script to keep him sedated.
Hi Aidens, yet another one of these suspicious deaths. This one is different from others in that Tommy was with a group of “friends “. The overheard conversation with Tommy about how he wouldn’t DO that, man. Tommy’s misgivings about the friend’s activities and his desire to get out of town. I think he was getting blamed for a deal gone bad and was about to haul ass. The outing was to a different bar, supposedly random choice of the Birthday girl. The companions made damn sure he was seen entering the bar and for a while after. Tommy was drinking and he was already on Xanax, so it’s easy for a girl to talk him into going out back. Someone else was waiting for him. This would be the person in charge of the drugs or trafficking scheme. At some point he was put in a head lock and questioned, then burnt with a cigarette. He was placed in the walk in cooler at the bar and died there.
Once the “friends “ were able to establish a story and a cursory search for Tommy was done, they saw the police weren’t going to pursue them and ask awkward questions. The body was removed from the cooler and taken to the creek. Despite obvious drag marks and the sticks propping up the body, the police didn’t find anything suspicious and declared it drowning. The excuse, He probably was drunk and fell into the water, is really getting overused. I don’t think police are directly involved, but are either being paid off or are just plain incompetent. Tommy pizzed off the wrong dude. I don’t believe this is the same killer as the previous cases.
The more cases you cover, the clearer it is that the smiley face has nothing to do with the deaths. Tommy is close, but doesn’t fit the kidnapping/drowning scenario. His case has clearer motives.
Brenda P ❤
i like this theory! it makes sense
The area is shady af and in the 2000s the drug issue was at high tide in Delco. No one was surprised by deaths at Bootleggers back then.
This my new favorite channel. The pageantry, the presentation, the research...110% win.
There's possibly a 4th option & it's officials could be in on the local crime in a much more reduced way than say the boys on the tracks incident in Arkansas.
Like say someone associated with one of the drivers happened to be law enforcement, knowing what or possibly who did it brings up the idea of letting it go down as an accidental drowning while not really investigating too hard into what actually happened
Learning that Aiden grew up no less than 2 or 3 miles from me was a shocker for sure.
Glad to see the channel growing
That's what she said 🤭
I was born, raised and have lived in New Castle Delaware my entire life. Wilmington Delaware is 15 mins from my house! I clearly remember this incident! I followed the whole story in real time. I've been to Bootlegers dozens of times also. So sad. RIP Tommy Booth 🙏💙
So if the "boot prints" weren't investigated, how do you know they didn't belong to anyone involved in the search?
Thank you for explaining why my ex didn't know what town she grew up in, only that she lived in Coal Township
33:17
I really like the whole list thing you got going here. I ussually just listen, so dunno if this is new, but it's neat. As someone with photosensitivity, I WOULD suggest maybe a darker backrgound for t tho - it's hard to see the white lettering on the sllightly less white fog, though the trees do help.
agreed, was just about to suggest something similar
Yeah I didn’t love how it turned out but I didn’t have time for this video to come up with a better option, but I appreciate the reminder and I’ll be sure to do something a bit less extreme for next time. Thank you!
It's genuinely not THAT bad. Like, if I weren't so sensitive to brights, it'd be just fine. Legit just knock the bloom down - presuming you can - and it'd be fine. Or, potentially easier, just outline the letters in black to standnd them out.@@aidanthornbury
Great coverage. I went from being skeptical about your assessment to outraged about what you presented. Makes me wonder how many crimes end up in this "not my problem" limbo between two jurisdictions.
Bro , I was just talking about this with my girl. My family used to own a business right by where that Walmart is in Crum Lynn lol. Used to go to that wawa every morning before work I remember this pretty well.
Crazy to realize how close you live lmao
I didn’t know you guys lived in Phoenixville! I’m about 45 from there right by the DE border, but my best friend lives in Phoenixville. Nice to see local peeps so successful!
That staircase has been there for a long time, it was used to get water from the creek before bottled water was common place
I just did a job down there. It was surprisingly rough. Wawa employees begging for money with their uniform off thrown over their shoulder.
What? Phoenixville, you are our neighbor. That is crazy.
Love your channel. Maybe I will see you around some time.
Yep! I live right in the borough.
Great episode as always. I grew up in SE Pennsylvania (though now live in TX) so your coverage of this story was of real interest. Loved you were able to travel to the Bootlegger Bar. And that you had a follow on episode with Tommy’s mom and stepdad.
Only one thing would have made it perfect for me. I hope you add in the history of the area as you’ve done with other episodes. I’ve learned a lot from you about our nation’s (and Canada’s) Native Americans and US early settler activity. Thx
Hey Aiden! So I was hoping you might make a video about how you do your research and the resources you use. I'd love to improve my skills
seconded!
Ooooo that could be done. I’ll have to find a way to film it. At the very least I can write it up.
@@TheLoreLodge Fantastic! Thank you
The people responsible for an explanation of how he died sound more like they're trying to find an alternate plausible explanation to how he died, than finding out the actual more likely way he perished.
Hey @TheLoreLodge !
Love that You are doing those lately!
Would You be interested in looking into the death of Jason David Frank ?
Some details seem.... off. It's been bugging Me since He died.
As someone from PA, just outside of Wilmington, DE I can confirm there are some VERY sketchy happenings that everyone knows about but no one does anything about. It's a wealthy area and everyone knows that $$$ can cover anything up.
This is a classic case of American small-town police determining that the homicide did not meet their advanced criteria requiring investigation, those being:
1. Is the victim related to a prominent local figure?
2. Is the victim related to someone related to a prominent local figure?
3. Is the victim related to an officer or police command-level officer?
If no to any of these, cops write it off and go back to their speed trap.
When someone states exact times, it is usually due to a well rehearsed story. That time is usually as far away from the time of death or crime, because they know what time it happened and they want to make sure that they were nowhere near the spot whenever the crime went down.
Just wanted to comment on the statements near the 27 minute mark.. It truly is a case-by-case basis when it comes to prescription medications for epilepsy. My son takes 2 meds daily for seizures, one of which is Klonopin. The emergency medicine I have to administer is a nose spray that is straight Valium. Xanax is an odd choice, but it has a short half life so maybe the Dr had their reasons.
Xanax is never even a top 4 benzo option for seizures. There would be no reason except poor prescribing or a dual diagnosis Rx,
" PRN for anxiety or seizures." and the patient has a fake Ativan allergy.
Love that y’all were able to go out to the scene and film on location, wish y’all could do it more often but not everything is close.
the stairs by the creek it likely for kayakers. Gives them an easier spot to get in and out.
Lmao trust me no one is going kayaking anywhere near this town 🤣🤣
It's wild when you cover history that's literally in my background and like you said, VERY concerning cops messed things up just 20 miles from my house but also...what else is new in DelCo and Ridley.
just found you. excellent channel!
I am *ASTONISHED* at the amount of incompetence on display in this case. The fact only one of the drivers was interviewed, no other cell phone records subpoenaed, NOTHING- it's genuinely crazy. Had there been any kind of serious investigating, I feel like this could have been handled very easily. That's putting aside everything else you listed. How do you fuck up this bad???
Me 32 seconds ago: oh yea!! New lore lodge. Boy do I love these obscure cases that never happen near me-
Me right fucking now: *MILMINTON??*
Wow. This case is close to home. My brother currently lives in Wilmington and my family is from 30 minutes outside of the Delaware line.
It's so cool you guys are in my neck of the woods - I've driven by there so many times yeah weird destination from Wilmington for a birthday celebration