On July 8, 2003, something happened deep in the woods behind a rural pasture in Arcadia, Florida. Something deadly. Hey, Petter County Sheriff's Office. 9-1-1, I have a problem out here at my house. I need the emergency people or the ambulance.
A 17-year-old boy doing chores on his family's farm turned up dead, face down in a creek. They just found him underwater in a ditch near the house. Is there anybody there giving him CPR or anything? No, ma'am. He's been under there a long time. What was his name, your grandson? John Robert Wells.
beneath the surface of what initially came in as a tragic drowning was something far more sinister. - Law enforcement couldn't tell me anything yet except for he was found, we thought he drowned, but now there's a bullet wound. - I heard a shot, but at that time I had no idea what it was. - Have you ever been spoken to by law enforcement? - No.
This season on Counter Clock, I'm turning back the hands of time to reinvestigate what really happened to 17-year-old John Wells. None of it is what it came out as. He didn't take himself over there. I don't believe that for a minute. There's a distinct feeling that there is to be no access to any of this. This investigation has forced me to reconsider everything I thought I knew about the victim.
and the people closest to him. He seemed to be under his grandmother's thumb a lot and very afraid of consequences. Pat asked me, she's like, Patrick, please don't tell him about the gun. Somebody didn't want society to know the real things, did not want the public to know the family secrets. I've had to uncover if family secrets were worth killing for.
No motive? Are you kidding me? No motive? They asked me flat out, did you kill him? Because I think you're hiding something from me. I'm not hiding nothing from you. I think you're hiding a whole lot from me there, mister. I'm going to tell you, that is a big question that somebody needs to find out with their will. Maybe John was in that will.
The key to unlocking this complicated mystery lies somewhere in the sequence of events that took place 19 years ago. None of this made a bit of sense that they went down there twice and did not find John. That's the thing is nobody was out there. Nobody knows. Highly probable that this was shot by another and either the individual still was able to move or was transported.
Separating fact from fiction has proved challenging, especially when so many people in this story don't want the past resurrected. There's the Ford Explorer. Oh my gosh, no way! Let's get a picture of that. That's the Explorer! There are a couple of people over there talking to my neighbor wanting some information. I want somebody to come tell them to stop it however legally you can do it.
Over the next 15 episodes, you'll come to know everything that I do and have to make up your own mind. He did not have anything to do with this. Nothing. Someone killed him. Someone shot him. Someone drug him down to that water and put him in the water. Are the people responsible for finding the truth concerned or covering up? Somebody's hiding something and the damn police department are helping them.
In the medical examiner system, I think it's no secret that in order to keep your position, you need to keep law enforcement somewhat happy. After nearly two decades, the question no one has answered is what really happened to John Wells? Is there an actual murderer on the loose? God, I hope not. But if there is, that's a lot to worry about.
CounterClock returns Thursday, May 12th, and AudioChuck is dropping all of the episodes at once so you can binge. Be sure to follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.