Richy Maria Jacob
Sarah Goode’s death had various elements that were required to be pieced together before it made sense. In any case, she went missing after a night out with her friends. When she did not come back the next day, her anxious family reported it to the police. After finding her car and a massive search party, they found her dead in the woods. The autopsy report revealed that she had been raped and battered to death.
While Dante Taylor was caught and convicted for the crime, the journey up to that point wasn’t smooth. It came with its own hurdles, like an illegal arrest and unwarranted collection of data from the suspect.
Who Are Jason Flores and D.J. Watters?
Jason Flores was an old friend of Goode who had reconnected with her after her break up with her ex. He claimed that her relationship created a wedge between her and her friends. The two were really close. In addition, Taylor was also his friend. The evening of her outing, the two met at a food joint, after which they bought some alcohol and marijuana. Flores then revealed that they drank and smoked at a street party. According to Flores, Goode and Taylor did not know each other. He testified that the only time he saw them talk was when Goode offered Taylor marijuana, and he said he doesn’t smoke.
Flores said he left after a while and didn’t know what happened later. But during the investigation, he shared a relevant piece of information; he said: “This girl she messaged me like, a couple of months after Dante and I hung out with her. She was like, oh, how could you have let him do that to me? I was like, what are you talking about? She’s like, he put a knife to my throat and tried to rape me in the room.” The woman who said this, Nicole, then spoke about it to the police. This would then lead to Taylor’s second arrest. Flores, thus, participated actively in the trial though, towards the end, he wouldn’t really admit that Taylor was his friend.
D. J. Watters was Sarah Goode’s ex-boyfriend she had been dating for quite a while. Over certain allegations, his palm prints were run with other suspects’ during the investigation of the case. It was, however, found that neither his or Flores’ prints matched the one found on Goode’s car. It was in this manner that they had been cleared off as suspects from the investigation.
Where Are They Now?
The last public appearance Jason Flores made was in his interview with NBC’s Dateline, where he mapped out every little detail of the case from his viewpoint. This provided more insight into the details of the case one previously only knew by piecing together newspaper articles and what was being reported on TV. Watters, however, was shown mostly in archival footage. The two perhaps keeps a low profile as they could not be spotted on social media. In any case, it seems like it is not an experience they will ever forget. (Feature Image Credit: NBCNews.com)
Read More: Who Killed Samantha Koenig?
