From: jcs
On August 2, 2017, at approximately 5:15 p.m., 21-year-old Savannah Gold left her parents’ home and drove to San Jose Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida [00:00:01]. She was scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. shift as a waitress at the Bonefish Grill, a casual seafood restaurant, but she never arrived [00:00:14]. Her absence initially caused little concern, as her supervisor simply removed her hours from the roster for the day [00:00:25].
Initial Suspicions and Investigation
Suspicions arose about an hour and fifteen minutes after Savannah left home when her father received a text message from her phone number [00:00:32]. Savannah’s older brother also received a text 43 seconds later [00:00:49]. Despite the texts coming from her phone, her family immediately felt something was wrong [00:01:00]. The messages claimed she was running away with an unidentified man, but she had just left home in high spirits and without packing any clothes [00:01:06]. Furthermore, the texts contained errors and were written in a style unlike her own [00:01:13].
When her family tried calling her phone minutes after receiving the texts, it was switched off [00:01:21]. They then called her workplace and confirmed she hadn’t shown up, leading them to file a missing-persons report with the police [00:01:24].
Discovery of Savannah’s Car and Surveillance Footage
Less than two hours after Savannah disappeared, her car was found unlocked and abandoned in the Bonefish Grill parking lot [00:01:32]. The only item missing was her phone; her wallet, ID, and other valuables remained in the car [00:01:40].
Investigators reviewed the parking lot surveillance tapes, which became a primary piece of evidence [00:01:47]. While most of the footage remains undisclosed, a detailed description was released [00:01:52]:
- Savannah parked her car and exited it at 5:31 p.m. [00:01:58].
- She walked to another vehicle and conversed with its occupant through the driver’s side window for 14 minutes [00:02:05].
- At 5:45 p.m., she entered the backseat of that vehicle [00:02:10].
- Fourteen seconds later, the car began to shake sporadically, suggesting a struggle [00:02:14].
- The rear door swung open three times but was forcefully shut each time, indicating someone was trying to exit but couldn’t [00:02:19]. This lasted for 49 seconds [00:02:28].
- The vehicle then stopped moving, and a male figure exited [00:02:30].
- The male walked to Savannah’s car, which was 20 feet away, took what police believed was her phone, and slashed the front tire with a knife [00:02:34].
- He returned to his vehicle and drove away at 6:04 p.m. [00:02:55].
- Savannah was never seen exiting the car [00:03:00].
The surveillance footage was grainy, and the male could not be identified from it alone, but police noted he had short brown hair and was about 5 feet 11 inches tall [00:02:37]. Investigators kept the existence of this footage secret to prevent a suspect from altering their alibi [00:03:11].
Identifying a Suspect
Over the next two days, investigators discreetly interviewed Bonefish Grill staff, asking when they last saw Savannah, if they knew her whereabouts, or anything that could help the investigation [00:03:30]. Within 48 hours, they had three potential suspects whose names were checked against the motor insurance database [00:03:44].
One suspect’s vehicle, a 2012 silver Chevy Malibu, was an identical match to the car seen in the surveillance footage [00:03:58]. This suspect was Leroy Daugherty, a 28-year-old manager and head chef at the Bonefish Grill [00:04:05]. Daugherty had been the first person interviewed, claiming he hadn’t seen Savannah in about three weeks and knew nothing of her location [00:04:11].
However, co-workers revealed that Daugherty and Savannah had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for the past eight months, despite it being against company policy [00:04:20]. Daugherty was known as a popular individual, rising quickly in his profession, and for his charm [00:04:30]. He was now the prime suspect in a kidnapping investigation [00:04:45].
Interrogation of Leroy Daugherty
On August 5th, at approximately 5:15 p.m., police arrested Leroy Daugherty during his shift [00:04:52]. They informed him it was for an outstanding traffic warrant and took him to the JSO Police Department [00:04:58]. Daugherty was left alone for 90 minutes before Detective Rae Reeves, who had interviewed him previously about Savannah, entered the room, making it clear the situation was more severe than a traffic warrant [00:05:18].
Initial Alibi and Questioning
Detective Reeves began by asking Daugherty about his relationship with Savannah, an open-ended question designed to elicit a detailed response if he had something to hide [00:08:37]. Daugherty provided a lengthy narrative, explaining that he and Savannah had a “somewhat similar background” and had connected [00:10:01]. He claimed their relationship cooled when she began using drugs heavily, specifically mentioning heroin [00:10:33]. He stated he had told her they should stop talking, and she agreed, deleting his number [00:12:47]. He said their last contact was a text message two to three weeks prior, in July [00:13:06].
When asked about the last time he saw Savannah, Daugherty admitted he hadn’t told the truth earlier [00:13:31]. He then changed his story, stating he saw her on Wednesday afternoon (the day she disappeared) [00:13:58]. He claimed Savannah had been telling co-workers they had hooked up and that she was going to expose their relationship, which was against company policy due to his managerial position [00:14:07].
Daugherty described meeting Savannah in the parking lot:
“She pulled in a little bit after me. I parked and I said, ‘Hey, kind of talk to you for a second.’ And she said, ‘Yeah, what’s up?’ And I was like, ‘I heard you’ve been saying some things about me and you continuing to hang out and, you know, that we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.’ And she, she asked me, she said, ‘Can I come sit in the car because I just did some heroin and I’m a little paranoid.‘” [00:14:40]
He explained he was upset because she was jeopardizing his job, and they had agreed to stop talking mutually [00:15:37]. He then claimed she got out of his car, walked towards the main entrance of the plaza with her phone, and got into an “older model Ford pickup green” truck that drove past [00:16:44].
Confrontation with Surveillance Footage
The detectives allowed Daugherty to elaborate on his fabricated alibi, knowing it was untrue, to make him feel believed and lower his guard [00:17:56]. After a period of this, they initiated a direct confrontation, asking, “Where’s Savannah right now?” [00:22:55] Daugherty responded calmly, “I don’t know where she is” [00:22:58]. The detective then stated, “You don’t know because you had something done with her and you weren’t involved in that part” [00:23:09].
The female detective then revealed the critical evidence: “She was in your car, she never got out of your car, she never got out of your car, Lee. We can prove that you left with her in the car… video cameras don’t lie, Lee” [00:26:20]. She pressed him, saying, “Tell us what happened… Was it an overdose? Is that what happened?” [00:27:26] Daugherty continued to deny involvement, stating, “I’m not in the car with you guys” [00:27:33].
Despite the footage, Daugherty initially maintained his denial. The investigators relentlessly appealed to his morality, emphasizing Savannah was “someone’s child” and demanding to know her location [00:29:13]. They pressed him: “She didn’t get out your car and you know that. Just tell us where you went with her” [00:30:30]. Eventually, Daugherty amended his story, admitting, “We went to my house” [00:31:42].
Confession and Aftermath
The interrogation footage cuts off at a critical moment [00:33:12]. However, it is known that Leroy Daugherty admitted to killing Savannah Gold [00:33:23]. According to the released information, he claimed to have killed Savannah by breaking her neck [00:33:27]. He then took her body back to his house, burned it in a self-made fire pit, and dumped her remains in a lake at the end of a secluded road [00:33:30].
Savannah’s body had injuries to over 75 percent of her body, and the medical examiner could not pinpoint the exact cause of death, concluding only that it was a violent homicide [00:33:38]. Footage released immediately after the confession shows Daugherty experiencing profound emotional distress [00:34:00].
Legal Proceedings
Leroy Daugherty was remanded into custody at the Duval County Jail and denied bond [00:39:00]. Despite overwhelming evidence and the prospect of life in prison without parole, he pleaded not guilty [00:39:04].
He claimed that Savannah’s killing was an act of self-defense, stating he was in fear for his life after she slapped him multiple times [00:39:12]. He alleged that he grabbed her neck, felt a “pop,” and accidentally broke it, resulting in her death [00:39:27]. This claim was made despite Daugherty being 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 163 pounds, while Savannah was 5 feet tall and weighed 91 pounds [00:39:14]. As of the transcript, the state’s attorney’s office had no comment on this motion, and the trial was expected to commence in the summer of 2020 [00:39:32].