From: jcs
The case surrounding the disappearance and death of 21-year-old Savannah Gold involved detailed investigation and interrogation techniques, ultimately leading to a confession and subsequent legal proceedings for Leroy Daugherty.
Disappearance and Initial Investigation
On August 2, 2017, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Savannah Gold left her parents’ home for her 5:30 p.m. shift at the Bonefish Grill in Jacksonville, Florida, where she worked as a waitress, but she never arrived [00:00:01]. Her absence initially caused no concern at work [00:00:25]. However, about 1 hour and 15 minutes after she left home, her father received a text message from her phone number [00:00:32]. Her older brother received a similar text 43 seconds later [00:00:49]. The family immediately suspected something was wrong because the texts, claiming she was running away with an unidentified man without packing, were riddled with errors and unlike her usual writing style [00:01:00]. Her phone was switched off when they tried calling [00:01:21]. After confirming she hadn’t shown up for work, they filed a missing-persons report [00:01:24].
Less than two hours after her disappearance, Gold’s car was found unlocked and abandoned in the Bonefish Grill parking lot, with only her phone missing [00:01:32]. Surveillance tapes from the parking lot became a primary piece of evidence [00:01:47]. The footage, though mostly undisclosed, showed Gold parking her car at 5:31 p.m. and conversing with an occupant in another vehicle for 14 minutes [00:02:00]. At 5:45 p.m., she entered the backseat of that vehicle [00:02:10]. Fourteen seconds later, the car began to shake sporadically, as if a struggle was occurring, with the rear door swinging open three times before being forcefully shut [00:02:14]. This lasted 49 seconds until the vehicle stopped moving [00:02:28]. A male figure then exited, walked to Gold’s car 20 feet away, took what police believed was her phone, slashed a front tire, and returned to his vehicle, driving away at 6:04 p.m. [00:02:31] Savannah was never seen exiting the car [00:03:01].
Identifying the Suspect
Investigators secretly worked to identify the man in the video [00:03:09]. Within 48 hours of interviewing Bonefish Grill staff, they identified three potential suspects [00:03:44]. The third suspect, Leroy Daugherty, 28, who was a manager and head chef at the restaurant, owned a 2012 silver Chevy Malibu, an identical match to the vehicle on surveillance [00:03:58]. Daugherty had initially told investigators he hadn’t seen Gold in three weeks [00:04:11]. However, co-workers revealed he had been in an on-and-off relationship with Gold for eight months, which was against company policy [00:04:22].
Interrogation and Confession
On August 5, police arrested Daugherty during his shift, ostensibly for an outstanding traffic warrant [00:04:52]. During the interrogation, Daugherty was left alone for 90 minutes [00:05:20], followed by the appearance of Detective Rae Reeves, who had interviewed him about Gold the day prior [00:06:09].
Daugherty initially provided a lengthy and detailed account of his relationship with Gold, stating they had connected over similar backgrounds but he had stepped back when she started heavy drug use, including heroin [00:10:01]. He claimed their last contact was a text three weeks prior where she agreed to stop talking to him and delete his number [00:12:47].
When confronted, Daugherty amended his alibi, admitting he saw Gold on Wednesday afternoon [00:13:37]. He claimed she had been spreading rumors at work about their sexual relationship, potentially jeopardizing his job due to company policy against manager-employee fraternization [00:14:07]. He alleged she asked to sit in his car, claiming she had just done heroin and was paranoid [00:15:04]. He stated she then got out of his car with her phone and got into an older model green Ford pickup truck [00:16:46].
The detectives, knowing about the surveillance footage, continued to question Daugherty, allowing him to elaborate on his fabricated story to lower his guard [00:17:56]. A sudden confrontation occurred when the detective pressed him about his neck injury, which Daugherty claimed was self-inflicted from July [00:19:56].
The female detective then revealed they had video proof that Gold never got out of Daugherty’s car and that they could prove he left with her in the car [00:26:21]. She stressed that cameras don’t lie [00:27:12]. The detectives appealed to his morality, emphasizing their need to find Gold for her family [00:29:13].
Eventually, Daugherty amended his story again, stating they went to his house after leaving the parking lot [00:31:42]. The footage of the interrogation cuts off at a critical moment [00:33:12].
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
Leroy Daugherty admitted to killing Savannah Gold [00:33:23]. The released information states he killed her by breaking her neck, 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 [00:33:27]. Gold had injuries to over 75 percent of her body, and the medical examiner concluded it was a violent homicide but couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of death [00:33:40].
Daugherty was remanded into custody at Duval County Jail and denied bond [00:39:00]. Despite overwhelming evidence and the prospect of life in prison without parole, he pled not guilty [00:39:04]. He claimed Gold’s killing was an act of self-defense, asserting he feared for his life after she slapped him multiple times, causing him to grab her neck, feel a “pop,” and accidentally break it [00:39:11]. This claim was made despite Daugherty being 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 163 pounds, while Gold was 5 feet tall and weighed 91 pounds [00:39:14]. The state’s attorney’s office made no comment on this motion [00:39:33], only stating that the trial was expected to commence during the summer of 2020 [00:39:37].