Unresolved Tragedy: The Suspicious Death of Nathen Magallanes in Foley, Alabama - A Family's Pursuit for Truth and Justice

What if the truth behind a young man's tragic death was buried beneath layers of inconsistencies and unanswered questions? This week, we explore the mysterious case of Nathen Magallanes , a promising 21-year-old from Foley, Alabama, whose life was abruptly ended in September 2017 under circumstances that still spark doubt and suspicion. Nathen's mother, Jamie, and grandmother, Rhonda, share their emotional journey as they recount the events leading to his disappearance and the devastating discovery that followed. By listening to their heartfelt narratives, you'll gain insight into Nathen's life, his job, and his budding relationship—all of which were tragically interrupted.

Listeners will be taken through the troubling details of Nathen's death, from the peculiar handling of evidence by authorities to the numerous inconsistencies that Jamie and Rhonda believe were overlooked. The family’s relentless pursuit of the truth is palpable as they discuss the frustrations of dealing with premature conclusions by law enforcement, including the suspicious destruction of Nathen's vehicle and the locked state of his phone when returned. Their story vividly illustrates the emotional toll this ordeal has taken on them and emphasizes the barriers they've faced in seeking clarity and justice.

In a poignant closing, Jamie and Rhonda share their continued struggle for answers, expressing disbelief at the authorities' dismissal of their concerns and the resilience they’ve had to muster in their pursuit of truth. They offer advice to others in similar predicaments: remain steadfast in seeking answers, cherish your loved ones, and find strength in prayer. Join us as we shed light on this unresolved case, hoping to bring the closure that Nathen’s family so desperately seeks.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome to episode number two of the Murder in your Backyard podcast. If you enjoyed last week's episode of the Popeye story, I appreciate you tuning in again this week. If you're new here, thank you also for tuning in. Please subscribe to the podcast and I'd appreciate a review from any and all of you. Now I imagine not hearing from your child for three days and actually going out to look for them, only to receive a call that they're found dead. That happened in Foley, alabama, on September 19th of 2017. A 21-year-old boy went missing. His body was later found outside of his workplace under a variety of strange circumstances and ruled a suicide. Today, I'll be speaking with his mother and grandmother about the events leading up to his death and what they have been told and hopefully revisit this story to unfold and hopefully find a new resolve to this case. So, jamie, your son, nathan, can you just tell me a little bit about his life? To begin with, Okay, that's fine.

Speaker 2: 0:52

Nathan and I moved to Alabama in 2018. He came to join me. I was already living there and his little life was going on track. He, he got a job. He was getting his own place. Um, we had a car that he drove to work back and forth. Um, and he met a little girl that he worked with. She was pregnant and and he was even there with her when she had her baby. His little life was going good for once. He, he was on track and he was very responsible, very responsible child, very good boy. But, um, all of it come to a halt unexpectedly on the date of september 19th.

Speaker 1: 1:37

You said you lost contact with him. Did he work that day or was he scheduled for work on that day?

Speaker 2: 1:41

no, he was off that day and he was off the 20th. He went in on the 19th to check his schedule, sergeant told me, and they have video recording of him doing that. So that's less than anybody heard of him. I lost contact with him on the 19th around three o'clock in the afternoon and after that I continued. I was worried immediately because we always stayed in contact with one another, and on the 20th, all night long I couldn't get a hold of him, and during that day I couldn't get a hold of him either. I don't know why. They called me because he was supposed to be off work, but they called me and said that he missed it. But he told me that he was off that day. And so as soon as I couldn't get a hold of him, I immediately started searching for him. I drove by, of course, mcdonald's where he worked. I mean, I would have recognized my car there. It wasn't there.

Speaker 3: 2:51

And, rhonda, did you have any contact with Nathan at this time? No, I did not. I talked to him maybe the day before the 19th and then that was it, and the only thing that I had gotten was during the time that they had, I guess, found him. I got a call from his phone and evidently it took almost a year to get an answer for this, but evidently one of the detectives had gotten on his phone and got his password somehow and they called me and I live in California and I have. I was scared. I thought maybe you know that it was him and something was happening to him, and he called me. But then later I was told to know it was the detective.

Speaker 1: 3:42

So that was the last time you ever heard anything from him as far as his phone or anything, correct?

Speaker 3: 3:46

Yes.

Speaker 1: 3:48

And Jamie. When Nathan's body was actually discovered inside of the car, there was a live Facebook news crew that was called to the scene, which showed some of the cops working investigators working in the corner coming to the scene. Is that when you found out about your son's body, or were you contacted at any other time after that?

Speaker 2: 4:05

no, I seen the um. Well, actually they posted it on facebook. The whole situation before I was even contacted.

Speaker 2: 4:12

I was at work when I got the phone call and that was the officers that gave you the phone call yeah, the detectives, and they told me they asked me to meet them somewhere and I stopped immediately because I knew something was wrong. I hadn't been in contact with Nathan for two days, couldn't find him. I had already called all the hospitals. I mean I searched for him. But I met them at a corner store somewhere and they informed me that they found my son and he had been shot in the head and that it was suicide.

Speaker 1: 4:48

And now I know the detectives had told you that your son had been inside of that car for three days and you said you went to the McDonald's on the 19th and you also went on the 20th. Did you make your way down there on the date of the 21st?

Speaker 2: 4:56

No, I didn't go on the 21st. I went to work but I was waiting, you know, for his phone call Immediately. I was going to go searching for him after work again, but, um, yeah, they told me that um, actually they didn't tell me this. There was on the Facebook page a post on the video. It said that, um, when they reported the car being somewhat suspicious outside in the McDonald's parking lot, that it had been parked there for two days, and, um, I beg to differ because I I looked for him there and I know what my own car looks like and they found him. They found him parked in the only parking spot that there was no video, um camera footage, which was kind of weird, especially since they knew what his car looked like and if it did right, he worked there.

Speaker 3: 5:44

Yeah, and if he'd been there for two days they would have known it. Why did it take you know that long to go check that car?

Speaker 1: 5:51

well, the investigators told you that the car had been there for three days, but from the videos and pictures that I've seen, you can clearly tell that the car is draped in mud on the tires. Yeah, did the cops give you any kind of information on that?

Speaker 2: 6:03

I do. I have it all on video. I recorded all of our conversations with all of the detectives and sergeants, but they would not give me any answers. They told me I had to subpoena them for any information, which was completely impossible. I tried there's a routine that you have to take to get that accomplished and none of the attorneys would take my case, they told me, because they just flat out didn't want to. So the only information about the car that I can give you is that I've seen that in the videos and the tires were completely caked in mud. That car didn't travel there very far, if it traveled at all, because there would have been brakes in the tires I mean in the mud on the tires and they didn't recover the keys with the car either. The keys were missing.

Speaker 1: 6:51

And next there was a guy parked across from the McDonald's, directly in front of the parking spot where your son's car would have been. He was the son of the owner of the building, correct?

Speaker 2: 6:59

That's correct. I don't know if I can say any names, but that's correct. He reached out to me actually on on messenger and then I, I, I missed the call so I reached back out to him. I don't know if um that's helpful, but he, I asked him about it and he said Jamie. He said um, I, I, I drive a lifted truck and they asked me to move my truck so they could tarp his car. And um, and I didn't see his car there this morning. I would have seen it when I got into my car to grab my wallet out of the car to go eat lunch. He's like cause I got in the car and was on my phone for a little while. He said I would have seen right down inside your son's car. I would have noticed. So that verifies to me that that car was not there for any amount of time.

Speaker 1: 7:46

And Rhonda, how were you told about the death of your grandson?

Speaker 3: 7:50

I found out. Jamie called me. She was at the police station and she called me, and that's how I found out about it. It was completely out of the nature for him to do anything like this, especially somewhere where there might be children around. Yeah, and see it, he wasn't. He was a very private person. He was. Yeah, he wouldn't have done this.

Speaker 1: 8:13

And to my understanding there was supposedly a suicide note left.

Speaker 3: 8:17

Supposedly, and you know, and in the note it said, he had written supposedly that one of the things was that he had to get a bottle to do this. But they found no bottle, nowhere in the car, around the car, nowhere, nowhere.

Speaker 2: 8:41

Um it's just, it wasn't his handwriting either. And I, I put that through to the sergeant and he said that, um, what did he tell you, mom? Oh, because I wouldn't get any information at all. They wouldn't, they wouldn't talk to me, they completely, completely ignored any of my phone calls. Um, they treated me like a suspect. Actually, um, and I wasn't couldn't get any information on my son or about my son, about what happened. Um, they told my mom, my mom could tell you that the handwriting changes when someone's in distress, that the handwriting could change. That was all that they told us.

Speaker 1: 9:21

I could understand if someone was really stressed out or going through that and their handwriting changes just a bit. But you, having lived with that person, you know if that's their handwriting or not. You can distinctly look at that handwriting and tell if it's theirs.

Speaker 2: 9:35

Well, of course, it took me two months even to get the permission for them to release these letters to me too. They weren't even going to let me have them.

Speaker 3: 9:42

And I don't understand how come there was a what was it? Inquest or what that was all about, when we knew nothing about any of that. You know we could have appeared or we could have been there, we would have liked to known. You know what the outcome of that was, but we were told nothing, nothing at all.

Speaker 2: 10:02

Yeah, and when I called about the grand jury indictment I had to wait two weeks to speak to a special person, the head over there. They were awaiting my phone call. All they could tell me if it was a true bill or a no bill. They wouldn't give me any information about my son's case, which I was informed. Sergeant told me that that was the only way that I could get this information was from them.

Speaker 1: 10:26

They would be happy to tell me, but they were pulled to me and wouldn't tell me anything either now I did get to see a copy of the autopsy report and nathan's one wound showed that his trajectory went from right to left. Was he right-handed?

Speaker 2: 10:42

right. My son was left-handed and the um, the entrance wound was right to left and if my, my son, was going to hold, I know that you know the kick. I don't know about all that, but I know that my son uses his left hand. It was his dominant hand. He would have used it in this situation, I'm sure.

Speaker 1: 11:04

I mean I know it has happened before, but it seems like nine times out of 10 someone would use their dominant hand.

Speaker 3: 11:10

It just doesn't make any sense Right, you're right, you're right, right.

Speaker 2: 11:16

And they, like I said, it took a long time to get any information at all and they were actually quite cold. They even told my mom that if I didn't back off that they could charge me with his death because of some law in Alabama about knowing if someone knows that someone's going to commit suicide or they push them into it, that they could charge that person with a death. So they even threatened me to back off.

Speaker 1: 11:41

And did they ever test Nathan's hands for gunshot residue, and if not, then why?

Speaker 2: 11:46

Mom, I'll let you answer this.

Speaker 3: 11:48

No, no, because they said in the state of Alabama they don't do that and when they it's autopsy, they have him down as a white male. Well, Nathan, he was half Mexican and he was dark complected. They said he had no scars. No, he had a hernia, Double hernia.

Speaker 2: 12:14

Yes, but it was double hernia. Yeah, the autopsy was not correct either, they said. And I mean, yeah, that wasn't done correctly either. And when I filed for a second copy of it, it says on the front page that certain parts were redacted for certain reasons.

Speaker 1: 12:34

And that day, on that video there seemed to be a lot of officers or detectives or investigators on scene. Were you told about how many of them thought this was a suicide?

Speaker 2: 12:43

Well, I have him recorded, mind you, Sergeant Detective, stating to my mom that there was a good 14 people and a majority of them said that it agreed with him that it was suicide, but not all of them. And I have everything recorded.

Speaker 3: 13:02

But yeah, so, and there is, there is in the report. There is no bullet they found no, you know, they didn't find bullet because it did exit Nothing. I mean there, there.

Speaker 2: 13:22

It took a total of 32 minutes on the police report. 32 minutes for them to do this whole investigation, which means is, I guess they found the note and they just chalked it off as suicide. They did no investigation, they talked to nobody, they didn't take any witness statements, they didn't do anything at all, nothing. 32 minutes for the investigation.

Speaker 1: 13:45

I'm sorry, Rhonda, did you have something else to say?

Speaker 3: 13:55

something else to say. Well, um, nathan, he, he was not that type of a person to do any. If nathan was to do, I feel, if he was to do something like this, he would have went off and let the alligators get him and nobody know where he went. You know what I'm saying?

Speaker 2: 14:04

that this was this was not him, yeah, he would never have done it at work like that, in in like that. He just wouldn't have done that like that.

Speaker 3: 14:14

And on Facebook comments and stuff. There are so many people that commented well, we were just there this morning and we didn't see anything. And you know, oh my gosh, we ate there and nobody you know, nobody in the comments had seen the car there either.

Speaker 2: 14:32

That car wasn't there. I searched for him. I searched and that car was not there.

Speaker 1: 14:39

And you said that vehicle was burned in training three days later by the police.

Speaker 2: 14:43

It was a fire exercise. They just burned the car three days later, so there was no investigation at all, at all at all and what about nathan's body?

Speaker 1: 14:55

did they say we're going to do an investigation or we're going to look at this or look at that, or did they give you any kind of indication of which way to go?

Speaker 2: 15:04

well, at that time my mind was a little foggy, so, but I don't remember them even asking me to identify the body. I mean they could have, they could have, but I don't even remember them doing that. On the paperwork, on the autopsy paperwork, um, it states that he was identified by one of the paramedic drivers and by his license in his wallet. And also, um, they got into his phone, but I was. When they gave it to me and I took it to specialists, the bootloader was locked. It was impossible to break this to get into this phone. So somebody I mean they were in it, the officers, the authorities were in it, but when they handed it over to me it was impossible to break and get into. So I couldn't retrieve any of the information on it the phone call that I had gotten.

Speaker 3: 15:56

They said that they had made to me my phone connected for 17 minutes. My phone never rang. I never knew I got that call at all. It was strange.

Speaker 2: 16:08

The whole thing was strange, but there were comments made. There was a Bobby Douglas, I do believe, and a few other comments made that he went into the McDonald's. I mean, this was probably just hearsay, but I like this is what I'm asking the community If you guys have any information at all about my son in those two days 19th or the 20th, 21st. Anything at all would be helpful. Um, they said that he was at the mcdonald's waving a gun around and all these things. I mean we can post all the comments, maybe, joseph, but, um, you know, and I know that people would like to talk about certain things and have no nothing to back it up, but if, if the community knows anything about my son's whereabouts or spoke with them or anything at all, I'd like you know someone to come forth. That would help a lot. It would bring me a little bit of closure. That's what I'm asking I'm hoping, jamie.

Speaker 1: 17:05

I was able to hear some of the recordings between you and a few of the mcdonald's workers, which names I cannot reveal, but the workers were told not to address the public or get involved in any kind of way. Were you able to find out any more information or gain any access to anything new through those recordings?

Speaker 2: 17:21

No, sir, I was not, they wouldn't even. I contacted the McDonald's after because I was going to put up some kind of memorial at that spot and they, they told me no, and I, and I understand kind of, because it's a place of business, but, um, they were very cold and um, and they put up a cement slab and threw a trash can on it. It was the only and the parking spot that he was in. Let me change the subject but um had no video footage of it. Um, it was parked. It was the parking still right there by the, by the main entrance door and where the drive through would have backed up when they were waiting at lunchtime.

Speaker 2: 17:59

You know what I mean. So I mean people would have been parked staring at that car and at nighttime because I picked up my son many nights after work at nighttime that was the door that they exited out of. So all of the workers and the manager exits out that door and my son's car would have been the only car parked there in the parking lot for those two days when they closed. I don't see how, if that car was somewhat suspicious and why they recorded it on the 21st. I mean that kind of raises some awareness. I mean, there was a few points.

Speaker 3: 18:31

Evidently one of the workers had informed the other worker to go check his car Right. Well, all of a sudden it was there. Why, you know? I don't understand how come. If it was there two days, why didn't they check it before that?

Speaker 1: 18:46

Yeah, the employees would have seen the car there every night as they exited the restaurant. That doesn't make any sense.

Speaker 3: 18:52

Right.

Speaker 2: 18:53

Exactly, and there was a bullet hole in the back window. The window was shattered.

Speaker 3: 18:58

I mean, yes, nobody had seen nothing, nobody had heard nothing. There was no report about where the bullet had went to that exited the window. Nothing, nothing.

Speaker 1: 19:11

Do you know if they found any bullet casings inside of the vehicle?

Speaker 2: 19:15

They didn't search at all, no kind of investigation. And even if I did ask that question they would not answer it. They completely just blackballed me. They wouldn't have anything to do with me. They told my mom that I that I you know called them inept and and I and I was pushing my luck. I wasn't. But the only reason I started getting pushy and rude was I think it was about a year and a half to almost two years later when I still didn't have any answers. The only thing they told me was he was wearing the same socks that he had on when he went in to check his schedule on the 19th.

Speaker 3: 19:55

And on that day, the last day that he supposedly worked, I had his, where they checked in and out, you know, and he checked in for work that day and he checked out for lunch that day, but there is no, no, um back in after lunch or no, back back in after you know.

Speaker 1: 20:20

No, after work or anything and what day was that on?

Speaker 3: 20:25

that that that was the 19th did he work on the 19th?

Speaker 2: 20:30

he didn't that on the 19th?

Speaker 3: 20:31

He didn't that was the 18th, wasn't it? Yeah, they said that he went in and ate that evening, remember.

Speaker 2: 20:39

Yeah, that was the 18th. But yeah, and he checked his schedule and he was off the 19th and 20th. That's what our communication was.

Speaker 1: 20:49

It seems to me as though the police department wouldn't be as cold that they would allow you to dig or ask questions. As a mother or grandmother or father or uncle, anyone inside of that family circle should be allowed to ask questions and come a little deeper into the crime and ask what's going on rather than getting mad about it.

Speaker 2: 21:10

And there's quite a bit of crime there in Foley, alabama in that area. He wasn't the only one you know that was found. Bodies are found there quite often. It's sad.

Speaker 3: 21:26

Yeah, and nobody there. The only thing that came out of mcdonald's that was anything at all was the video that one of the workers had posted of the car with the doors open, and all that, and that was before they even put the tarpaulin yeah, and the doors were wide open and you can clearly see my son inside and that was recorded by one of the mcdonald's workers, or it was recorded by the news crew.

Speaker 1: 21:52

That came through facebook there's's two videos online.

Speaker 2: 21:55

One was the short video that the McDonald's worker posted, and then Debbie posted her newscast on there.

Speaker 1: 22:03

And you said you hired a private investigator but at some point they gave your money back and told you that they could no longer be involved in the case.

Speaker 2: 22:10

You remember that, mama? I hired that private investigator and she was gung-ho about the whole situation. I mean, she just couldn't understand the way that it was conducted at all. And then two weeks later she returned my money and told me that she had a family emergency, that she was sorry she couldn't help me.

Speaker 3: 22:25

That's right, that's right, so that's right.

Speaker 1: 22:29

And, in your opinion, what do you think the reason for that back out was? Do you think they were paid off or stumbled across something they didn't want to deal with?

Speaker 2: 22:36

The Alabama authorities handle things the good old boy way. You know what I mean. They don't conduct themselves like all other states do. If they don't want to tell you anything, they're not going to tell you anything.

Speaker 1: 22:57

And if something wasn't right about this or if they feel like they didn't do their job right, um, you aren't going to get any answers. So you feel, overall, it was seen as it's just suicide, shut it down.

Speaker 3: 23:01

We have other stuff to do and that's it it's just completely out of his nature to do something like that, somewhere where a child could have came upon him my son wouldn't have done that at all, anyways, I mean, his little life was going on track, you know, he had things. He had money in the bank, he had gas in his car, he had a job.

Speaker 2: 23:22

I mean he was actually starting his little life. I mean it was completely different than where we moved from and you know, the officers didn't take any kind of no statements from anybody. They just did not do their job. They didn't, they didn't. And then when I tried to ask questions they couldn't answer it. I think they just found that note and chalked it off as suicide and then just closed the investigation. It took them 30 minutes just to wait for the coroner to arrive, that's it.

Speaker 3: 23:52

That's all they did when I asked to speak to the detective that had called me, that had gotten in his phone and then called me um well, he no longer worked there, so we couldn't talk to him either so and yeah, and like, like you mentioned that that day had told the girls at mcdonald's, you know, not to not to deal with public, not to deal with that.

Speaker 2: 24:15

Yeah, they shut down the McDonald's that day and told them not to answer the phones, not to answer any questions. And the manager that worked there for like eight years was one of Nathan's friends. He quit that very next day and I couldn't find him locate him at all. Friends, he quit that very next day and I couldn't find him locate him at all. Um, they moved one of the other I won't say any names, I'm sorry. They moved one of the other managers. Um, that was a little talkative. They moved her to a completely different McDonald's about. Well, I don't know how far Foley is from Orange Beach, but they moved her to the Orange Beach McDonald's.

Speaker 3: 24:49

Um, and then I couldn't get any answers from anybody after that at that point it just so happened that they say that the thought that nathan was in, that their cameras did not record.

Speaker 2: 25:02

They recorded everything in the parking lot up until that point right and I picked up after that parking spot, they said there was no um. When I asked for footage about him coming in driving into the mcdonald's, um, uh, they didn't record that and you know, the officers didn't roll back any of this video footage themselves. They asked to do it and email it to them. So I mean she could have changed anything. I mean anything could have been changed or altered. At that point. I mean they didn't. They just didn't handle this case appropriately.

Speaker 2: 25:38

Yes, that's right, right, and left me completely in the dark. I mean completely in the dark and with all these other questions coming up on Facebook about about him being there and what he was doing. And this gentleman said that he spoke with the McDonald's workers that night. I mean he was in detail about all of these comments and all of these things coming up. I mean I had questions for the officers. You know I mean lots of questions and still to this day I can't get any information of questions and still, to this day, I can't get any information.

Speaker 3: 26:16

It seems like authorities would be not sympathetic, or however you want to describe it. Um, to a mother, they, they blew her off, like she said, like, like she, you know, had something to do with it or she knew that he was going to do this, and this is how they came back on Jamie.

Speaker 1: 26:37

Do you guys feel like there may have been someone out there to get him or hurt him, or do you feel like there was any indication that there could have been?

Speaker 2: 26:47

No, he didn't get along with the prior gentleman that I was living with, but my son was a very likable person, very, very good boy. Very good boy, I mean he stayed to himself, he was very private, but he was a very good boy. I mean he wouldn't have had any enemies at all. Mama, would he? No, he wouldn't have had any enemies at all, mama, would he?

Speaker 3: 27:12

No, he, he went, he did for others before he would do for himself. And and he, he would have known how this would have made us feel and he would have never put us through this, never put us through this, never put us through this.

Speaker 2: 27:34

You know, I'm not I'm. I'm just. What I'm wanting is a little bit of closure here. That's why I reached out to you, joseph. Um, I just want a little bit more information, if not from the authorities, um, you know, from from anybody, if they, if they know you know or heard anything, maybe it could lead me to something else. I mean, any kind of closure would help, joseph, on this matter.

Speaker 1: 28:00

If you had a chance to speak to anyone else who was struggling with feelings of grief or pain in which you endure, what words would you say to them?

Speaker 3: 28:19

say to them I I would tell them that to be very persistent, um, do not back off. If you have questions, ask questions, um, and keep your loved ones close to you. Keep them close i'm'm sorry.

Speaker 2: 28:31

Okay, and I totally avoided that question. I'm sorry, but it always helps to pray and turn to God, you know, in times like this, because that's all I had to lean on. I was angry with him at first, but just to pray and keep your heart open to him.

Speaker 1: 28:52

Well, I just want to tell you, ladies, both thank you so much for being on the show, thank you for answering all my questions and hopefully we'll get this passed around and someone will come forward and give us some answers.

Speaker 3: 29:03

Thank you, joseph, I want to thank you, joseph, for this. Thank you very much. You have been a godsend, thank you.