Deborah Roberts talks with producer Blue Browning about what drew him to a story about a mother’s quest for justice for her murdered daughter, and how he was able to find footage of a young woman whose life was cut short before smart phones made video ubiquitous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the story behind Joan Berry's quest for justice?
Hi there, everybody. It's Deborah Roberts, and welcome to 2020 The After Show. Today, we're going to talk a little bit more about the mom who became a warrior to find her daughter's killer. I reported on this story on Friday night's edition of 2020. Joan Berry, whose daughter, Jonna, was stabbed to death when she was a 21-year-old student at UT, the University of Tennessee.
There was no suspect and no arrest for years. And Joan just became consumed by this whole thought of who could do something like this so vicious to her daughter and what laws needed to change to make it a little easier to solve these kinds of crimes. So today we're going to dig into it. And joining me is my colleague, my friend, Blue Browning. Hey, Blue. Hello.
Hey, it's so great to be with you, Deborah.
Oh, good to be with you. And you really are a partner in crime when we come to these stories because you and I have worked on a lot together. This story was actually somewhere you lived. Yeah, yeah, exactly. University of Tennessee. I didn't go to school there, but I worked in Knoxville and I was so familiar with that area.
But how did you wind up thinking about this story and thinking it would work for 2020?
Well, it definitely was Joan and how passionate she was. I saw an interview that she did and I saw the anguish in her voice. But also, I was so inspired listening to her. This mother had no answers for nearly three years. She basically went on a crusade, and it led her to wanting to change the laws in Tennessee.
And she was successful, but she still did not have an answer as to what happened to her daughter, who killed her daughter. But finally, as we saw in the show...
there was an answer there was an answer but it took a very long time and blue you know this is almost like the two of us when we drive along when you and i are off covering these stories and we're in the car and you and i get to talk about not only the background but what your thoughts were my thought so we're kind of like in the car all over again the two of us and i remember you got us on the one of the apps and got us turned right back around we we
turned off the wrong road. And I just found ways and we found our way back on. But when I came to you to meet up with you at Joan's home in Tennessee, as I said, I had worked in Knoxville before. And so I felt a connection in a way to the community. And even though I didn't know her story, to her. And I remember stepping into her doorway and meeting her and her husband. And
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Chapter 2: How did Joan Berry become an advocate for change?
Chapter 3: What challenges did they face in finding footage of Jonna?
Well, also what was touching, too, is that even though this happened a long time ago, Joan is still a crusader. And DNA was a big part of this story because when – The police were investigating. They had unknown DNA. So we're going to take a quick break.
And when we come back, we're going to talk about how Joan helped change laws surrounding one of our most powerful crime-solving tools, which is DNA. This episode is sponsored by Get Contact. Do you remember back in the days of cell phones when the only people who had your number were friends and loved ones who were actually trying to get in touch with you?
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Take control of your calls, block spam, identify unknown numbers, and stay connected securely. Get Contact is available now on the App Store and Google Play. You can download it today. I am back with Blue Browning, one of our producers here at 2020, who worked with me on this most recent story.
Blue, we got into the advocacy that Joan Berry has done around DNA after being so frustrated with the slow progress in the investigation of her daughter, Jonna's murder. And of course, in the show, we touched on that. But I mean, she has done so much and continues even still to and people know her. They know her name because she got involved in state government.
I mean, she really has become a crusader.
Oh, she has. I think for her, more than anything, it was not knowing what happened to her daughter, finding the killer. And as a result of that, she helped change laws. And therefore, she has said that this is now her daughter's name is going to live on as a legacy, helping these other cases of other unsolved cases, cold cases.
So the DNA laws have changed in Tennessee because of the very work that she's been working on.
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Chapter 4: How did Joan's efforts change DNA laws in Tennessee?
Chapter 5: What emotional moments were captured during the interviews?
Chapter 6: How did the lack of technology affect the investigation?
Bring back more memories of Jonna to her friends and family that had never seen these videos. So we unearthed new videos.
Yeah, yeah. And something maybe painful, but also maybe comforting to her as well. You've done a lot of this digging and everything, and that's the only way we can paint a picture.
And I think this meant a lot for the friends. The friend who was in this video, Lacey Pope, who we interviewed. Mm-hmm. She had never seen this video, 20 years. So you can imagine the emotion when she saw it when we interviewed her for the first time seeing this. It really was touching.
Well, also what was touching, too, is that even though this happened a long time ago, Joan is still a crusader. And DNA was a big part of this story because when – The police were investigating. They had unknown DNA. So we're going to take a quick break.
And when we come back, we're going to talk about how Joan helped change laws surrounding one of our most powerful crime-solving tools, which is DNA. This episode is sponsored by Get Contact. Do you remember back in the days of cell phones when the only people who had your number were friends and loved ones who were actually trying to get in touch with you?
Well, these days, with all the spam text and robocalls from uncertain numbers, it feels like that era is long gone. That's how Get Contact comes in handy. It's a free mobile app that helps you identify unknown callers, block spam, and filter unwanted calls. So when you get a call, GetContact's caller ID will instantly show you who's calling, even if they're not in your contacts.
If the call's coming from a known robocaller, your phone will never even ring. GetContact will filter it out and decline the call for you. It works for text, too. If you get a text from a number, GetContact knows to be suspicious. It'll be sent right to spam instead of wasting your time with a notification.
Take control of your calls, block spam, identify unknown numbers, and stay connected securely. Get Contact is available now on the App Store and Google Play. You can download it today. I am back with Blue Browning, one of our producers here at 2020, who worked with me on this most recent story.
Blue, we got into the advocacy that Joan Berry has done around DNA after being so frustrated with the slow progress in the investigation of her daughter, Jonna's murder. And of course, in the show, we touched on that. But I mean, she has done so much and continues even still to and people know her. They know her name because she got involved in state government.
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Chapter 7: What legacy does Joan Berry hope to leave behind?
Well, we know that when they are working on these cases, whether they're advocates or, you know, law enforcement, it can take a toll. So we're going to talk more about that, what we learned when we come back. This episode is sponsored by the podcast Death County PA from Wondery. When Lamont Jones learns that his young cousin died in custody just weeks after entering prison, his world shatters.
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Nicole Kidman returns for the Hulu original Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2.
Breathe out.
This is safe. We take you back to a core trauma. Breathe in. Breathe out. She is manipulating us. Breathe in. Breathe out. Why are you resisting? Is it too late to get a refund?
The all-new season of Nine Perfect Strangers is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu and Disney+. New episodes May 21st.
We are back. Blue and I are talking about the case of Jonna Berry, the 21-year-old student who was murdered all these years ago. And her mom has become an advocate. But, Blue, one of the things we also discovered, and I certainly talked to her mom about, is that she had two sons. Also, in addition to Jonna, Jonna had two brothers.
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