Uncovering the Truth:
The Investigation into the Death of Titus Tackett

I became interested in three-year-old Titus Tackett’s disappearance and death when it occurred in 2016 in Ironton, Missouri. I could not stop thinking about this little boy so I began my own investigation in January 2023. I had a gut feeling there was more to this closed case. The investigation wasn't easy. I hit quite a few roadblocks along the way. The Missouri Sunshine Law was the vehicle I had to use to obtain the most important record in my research: the autopsy report. I had wondered about the contents since it was performed on February 11, 2016. The Sunshine Law is the common name for Chapter 610 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, the primary law regarding freedom of the public to access information from any public or quasi-public governmental body in the U.S. state of Missouri.

THE RUNAROUND

I started my investigation by contacting the Iron County Sheriff’s Office at 220 South Shepherd Street, Ironton, Missouri, on 1/26/2023 and spoke to Captain Matt Cozad. He said they did not have records of the investigation, and suggested I call the Ironton Police Department at 123 North Main Street, Ironton. I contacted the police department and was told the records were at the Sheriff's Office. The runaround had begun.

I sent a Sunshine Law records request to the Ironton Police Department on 2/3/2023. Chief Lucas Anderson responded to my request in an email dated 2/10/2023. He indicated that the records were in the Iron County Sheriff’s Office because Titus’s death occurred in an unincorporated area of Iron County that is served by the Sheriff’s Office. 

I tried to contact Jeff Burkett, Iron County Sheriff, by phone but he was unavailable and his staff would not give me his email address. Burkett was sworn in on 12/31/2020 after the former sheriff, Roger Medley, lost the election. I sent a letter to Burkett’s office requesting documents on 2/3/2023 since I could not speak to him by phone or contact him by email. I did not receive a response by 3/2/2023 so I called his office. The mailbox was full so I could not leave a message. I contacted Captain Cozad and told him that Chief Anderson at the Ironton Police Department told me that the records were there at the Sheriff’s Office. I told him that I did not receive a response to my records request dated 2/3/2023. Captain Cozad relayed the following: 

• When Sheriff Burkett replaced Sheriff Medley, they found that Medley had destroyed a lot of records. He said a lot of deaths occurred during the time Medley was in office and a lot of people are complaining that Medley did them wrong because if they had gotten there in time, people could have been saved. He did not elaborate.

• He will look for the records and give me a call within the next few days, but the office is very busy right now and a lot is going on so he might not get a chance to talk to Sheriff Burkett about the location of the records. He said he cannot talk about what is going on. 

It is my belief that the inability for him to speak to Sheriff Burkett was because Sheriff Burkett, Deputy Matt Cozad himself (who had previously introduced himself to me as a captain), Deputy Chase Bresnahan and Iron County resident Ronald Gaston had been charged with street gang activities, misusing 911, stalking, making a false report, looking up criminal records under false pretense and attempted kidnapping.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/crime/iron-county-sheriff-charges-kidnapping/63-7b475361-51b5-4d24-ab98-67d8b7d6693c

On 6/8/23 Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a suit of quo warranto to remove Sheriff Burkett from office.
https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2023/06/08/attorney-general-bailey-moves-for-removal-of-iron-county-sheriff

Sheriff Burkett resigned on January 31, 2024
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/iron-county-sheriff-resigns-from-office-amid-charges-he-ran-a-criminal-street-gang/article_7a914e92-c053-11ee-a7a8-9fe85499a61a.html

(Sheriff Burkett was replaced by Iron County Chief Deputy Sheriff Chuck Helton)

Cozad called me back later in the day on 3/2/2023 and said that Deputy Justin Finch had worked on the case, and Finch told him that Sheriff Medley turned everything over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E. He suggested that I contact the Highway Patrol and in the meantime he would continue to look for the records. I had already submitted a Sunshine Law request to the Missouri State Highway Patrol on 1/28/2023. I received a lengthy form letter reply from Gerald Callahan, Custodian of Records, which stated the estimated time for my request completion was 30 days. I received a flash drive four months later that contained a 275-page Missouri State Highway Patrol report and a good deal of images. Autopsy photos were not included but the following media was. The individuals mentioned below will be addressed later.

• Audio of Amber Tackett's 911 call (Titus's mother)
• Audio of Amber Tackett's interview
• Audio of Esther Rulo’s interview (Amber Tackett's mother)
• Audio and video of Frankie Garrett’s interviews (Amber Tackett's boyfriend)
• Audio of Tiffany Thomlinson’s interview (Frankie Garrett's sister)
• Audio of John Garrett’s interviews (Frankie Garrett's father)
• Photos of John Garrett’s residence
• Photos of John Garrett’s Mitsubishi
• Photos of scene where Titus was found
• Audio of Jerry Williams’s interview (owner of property where Titus was found)
• Photos of Jerry Williams’s residence
• Photos of Jerry Williams’s van
• Audio of Sara Chappell’s interview (co-owner of property where Titus was found)
• Video of Frankie at Casey’s store purchasing cigarettes and soda at 00:52:48.

THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCK

The gnawing in my gut was getting worse since the confusion about the location of the police records. I was more determined than ever to obtain a copy of Titus’s autopsy report. I contacted the current coroner, Tim Harbison, on 1/26/2023. He said that he did not become coroner until 2017, and the coroner at the time of Titus’s death was Tony Cole. Cole was also owner of Cole Family Funeral Home, 210 East Reynolds Street, Ironton, Missouri, from where Titus was buried, and he was friends with the family.

At 9:30 a.m. on 1/26/2023 I called Tony Cole in hopes of quickly securing the autopsy report. Dereck Hughes, Funeral Director Apprentice, answered the phone and told me Tony would call me when he came in around 10:00. Dereck remembered Titus’s death and said the autopsy report was there. When I hadn’t heard back from Tony by 11:30, I sent a request for the report via their website contact form. I received the following canned message. “Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We are committed to respond to all email inquiries. We've made it easy to send your email inquiries via our contact form. Delivered in minutes, your message will not sit in our Inbox for long. We guarantee to respond within one business day.” 

I did not receive a response after four days so I called the funeral home again on 1/30/2023 and spoke to Drew Cole, Tony’s son. I told him I wanted the autopsy report for Titus. He said, “This isn’t the coroner’s office. It’s a funeral home.” I reminded him that his dad was the coroner when Titus died. He said they would not have records because his dad hadn’t been coroner since the 2016 election and to call the current coroner, Tim Harbison. As previously written, I had talked to Tim earlier and he said Cole would have those records since it happened in 2016 and his stint as coroner didn’t begin until 2017. I relayed that info to Drew and he was not very receptive. He asked why I wanted the report. I told him that according to the Sunshine Law all records are public and that I didn’t have to tell him why I wanted it. He said he Googled me. Apparently he did this during the time I was waiting to hear from Tony to see if he could find out more information about me and why I wanted the report. He said his father was very busy and might not come in due to a winter storm. I told him I didn’t need an answer that day but that I would appreciate a return call. He said he would give his father a note to call me. I told him he was asked four days ago to call me and if the records couldn’t be found I would go a step higher by calling whomever was above him. Drew laughed it off and said he had no idea where the records would be but would check into it if I came and did what he was doing, i.e., preparing the dead for burial!

I was livid and promptly sent a Sunshine Law complaint to the Missouri Attorney General on 2/7/2023 regarding the Cole family’s lack of cooperation. Attorney Jason Lewis told me that they usually did not pursue matters such as mine but due to the nature of my complaint they were interested in investigating. I received a letter from Jay Turner, Director of Sunshine Law Compliance, dated 5/10/2023 stating they had concluded their review and had instructed Cole to transfer all of his records to Tim Harbison, the current coroner. Mr. Turner said that it might be a long wait because Tony Cole had hundreds of records since he been coroner for more than 25 years. A copy of the letter they sent to Cole was included. Tim Harbison forwarded an email to me that he received from Jay Turner, telling him that Tony Cole was going to turn all records over to him. Mr. Turner included Cole’s response to him which included, “I was not aware of the Missouri statutes and was never approached from [sic] anyone or asked to turn the records over to the Coroner’s office.” I couldn't believe the ignorance of a coroner thinking he could keep reports in his possession after leaving office. 

I received the jewel of my investigation from Tim Harbison on 7/6/2023: the autopsy. Part of it is included herein. The events that led up to Titus's disappearance and death as documented in the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s report follow.

THE MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL REPORT

Titus Greyson Tackett was born on January 24, 2013. He died on February 10, 2016 at the age of 3 years and 17 days. Titus’s 24-year-old mother Amber Tackett reported him missing from 126 Killarney Drive, Ironton, Missouri at 1:14 in the morning on February 10, 2016. She said he was clad only in a pair of underwear and was not wearing shoes or socks. The temperature was around 15 degrees at midnight, then dropped to 14 degrees at 4 a.m. By sunrise, it was 17 degrees. There was no snow on the ground. The moon phase was waxing crescent with an illumination of 5%.

Amber and her 23-year-old boyfriend Frankie Garrett arrived at Frankie’s 47-year-old father John Garrett’s house at 126 Killarney Drive around 10:15 p.m. on February 9th with Titus and baby daughter Whinrey in tow. John said he got off work at about 10:30 p.m. from Community Manor in Farmington, went to Wal-Mart in Farmington to get come groceries and arrived home between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. The group was at his house when he got home. 

Amber and Frankie were the parents of one-year-old, Whinrey, who lived with John Garrett's mother, Kathleen Powell in Ironton, because Amber was not able to take care of her at the time. Frankie is not Titus’s father but Frankie treated him like a son. Amber lived in Potosi, Missouri, with her mother Esther Rulo. Frankie lived with his sister, Tiffany Thomlinson, in Ironton, Missouri. Frankie borrowed Tiffany’s husband’s Jeep to drive Amber and the children to his father’s house for a visit. Titus was wearing a blue tee-shirt, blue jeans, green underwear, a black and red plaid zip-up jacket, and black and red Velcro Nike tennis shoes that lit up with each step taken.

Statements from Frankie Garrett, John Garrett, Amber Tackett, Esther Rulo and Tiffany Thomlinson and her husband are below, followed by Jerry Williams's statement and that of Sara Chappell. These statements were taken from the Missouri State Highway Patrol report and from audio and video interviews included in that report. All interviews were conducted on the same day. As is the norm when a tragedy occurs, witness statements will differ from other witnesses statements, and the witnesses may even contradict themselves. I have also included law enforcement's input where I thought necessary. Anonymous witness statement are also included below.

Frankie, Amber’s boyfriend:

• He spent most of the day with Amber and Titus and later decided that the two would accompany him to his father's house for a few days. They got to his father's place around 10:15 p.m.
• Titus was last seen on the couch around midnight at John’s house when he (Frankie) and Amber left to return the Jeep to Tiffany after she called and said she forgot that her husband needed it for work the next day. The couple stopped at Casey’s store in Arcadia, Missouri, for cigarettes and soda after dropping off the Jeep. Video from the store confirms Frankie was in the store.
• Amber was laying down on the couch with Titus until he fell asleep. Frankie was sure Titus was asleep when they left, leaving him in John’s charge who was also babysitting Whinrey.
• He went outside to warm up his dad’s car that Amber would be driving to follow him to Tiffany’s. He put the car seat in the car in case Amber decided to take Titus along but she did not say she was going to take him.
• They did not lock the door when they left but they did shut it.
• John was in the front yard feeding the dogs when he and Amber arrived back home at 12:25. They found the front door open and Titus gone.
• John emerged from a room in the back of the house when he and Amber entered the house.
• He left the house and began searching for Titus by way of the path of least resistance, downhill, and continued searching even as law enforcement arrived.
• He began by searching in the woods.
• Said Titus is obsessed with cars and keys and he felt he would get into a vehicle somewhere.

Frankie was not told where Titus was found.
Law enforcement told him they think it was an accident and that one of the three is responsible.|
Frankie to LE: "Obviously you think someone killed him." LE to Frankie: "We don't think. We know."
He told police they needed to find out who did this and put responsible person behind bars forever.
During video interview, one investigator motions to the other that Frankie isn't shedding tears.

John, Frankie’s father:

• Titus was awake when he took baby Whinrey back to the bedroom to put her to sleep. He was wearing gray pants and a shirt.
• He was in the closed-door bedroom with Whinrey when Amber and Frankie left but he didn’t know at that time that they had left; they didn't notify him. After Whinrey fell asleep he "...got up to see what was going on." He first saw that the front door was all the way open and then noticed Titus wasn’t on the couch. He thought that Amber and Frankie had taken the little boy with them.
• He did not fall asleep.
• Frankie and Amber planned on taking the Jeep back after Titus fell asleep. He was unsure if they decided to take Titus with them or leave him on the couch.
• He was feeding the dogs in the yard when Frankie and Amber returned from dropping off the Jeep to Tiffany.
• He searched out by the lake.
• He asked the officers how a kid could get that far away but said he didn’t know where Titus was found. Law enforcement told him that Titus was found dead in a van and they knew he was put there because he wouldn’t be able to get in and close the door. They said Amber and Frankie knew what happened.
• He said that if someone took Titus they wouldn't have put him where he was located.
• He hadn't seen Titus for about a year prior to this.

NOTE: The shoes shown in the photo below are not Titus's. Information that I received from the Missouri State Highway Patrol in a letter dated March 4, 2024, indicates that according to their reports, no shoes were located. If they were located and seized, the seizure of the shoes would have been documented by the FBI or the Iron County Sheriff's Office in their reports of the investigation. On March 2, 2023, Deputy Matt Cozad from the Iron County Sheriff's Office told me that Deputy Justin Finch had worked on the case and told him that Sheriff Medley turned everything over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop E. I contacted the Sheriff's Office on February 12, 2024, asked for Justin Finch so I could question him about the shoes, and was told by the officer that answered the phone that he never heard of him and that someone would contact me. (A FOIA document report is comprised of approximately 1,313 pages, is considered a large track request, and takes 57 [not a typo] months to receive it. I have since cancelled this request.)

 Where are Titus's shoes?

After five weeks of no one from the Iron County Sheriff's Office returning my call regarding Deputy Finch, I called that office on March 18, 2024. Deputy Coffman, Badge #310, confirmed that Deputy Finch no longer works there and might have left law enforcement totally. He told me that the Sheriff Office’s reports are definitely there and to contact Sargent Moody, Badge #502, at the jail for them. He wasn't sure who would have the forensics results. He gave me the number for the Iron City jail but the mailbox was full like it was on March 2, 2023. I called central dispatch and they had Sargent Moody call me. He said his system only started recording records in 2017 and that he has no idea where the records would be.

Amber, Titus's mother: 

Amber called 911 to report Titus missing and said, "He's never done anything like this." 

She had to be assisted to the front seat of an officer’s patrol vehicle due to being very lethargic. She was slurring her words and difficult to understand, and had trouble staying awake due to anxiety medication she had been given at the hospital for a panic attack that occurred when she found Titus missing.

• Before leaving for Tiffany’s she noticed that Titus was half asleep on the couch.
• John was in the northeast bedroom with Whinrey sleeping.
• Another male was sleeping in another room. (Described below.)

She had to be woken up several times so the interview was concluded and finished later.

• Frankie came to her house the morning of February 10, and they decided later in the day to go to John's house to spend a couple of days together.
• They left her mother's house around 9:00 p.m.
• Titus was last seen wearing jeans, a red and black shirt, red and black socks, green underwear and light-up shoes.
• Titus stripped down to his underwear when he got ready for bed.
• She laid down with Titus on the couch while watching TV around midnight. Titus had stripped down to just his underwear.
• When Titus dozed off she left with Frankie to return the Jeep to Tiffany.
• Titus was still watching TV when they left.
• Since Titus was almost asleep they decided to leave him on the couch but did not tell John they were leaving without Titus.
• They went to Casey’s store on their way back to John’s house.
• Titus was not on the couch when they got to John’s around 1:00 a.m.
• She did not feel that anyone hurt her son.
• She knew Titus was in his underwear because she saw his clothes on the couch and on the floor.

Law enforcement told Amber they received information that she and the kids had been near Lake Killarney earlier in the evening. She denied this and stated they did not leave Potosi until 9:00-9:15 and went straight to John's house.

Esther Rulo, Amber’s mother:

• Frankie and Whinrey arrived at her house around 6:00 p.m. on February 9.
• She did not see Titus's underwear.
• She thinks they departed her house around 10:30 or midnight.
• Amber told her that Titus was sleeping on the couch when she and Frankie left John's house to return Tiffany's Jeep.
• Titus was able to unlock doors. He walked to a neighbor's house on one occasion. They installed latches, positioned high on the doors, to prevent him from "sneaking-out."

Tiffany Thomlinson, Frankie's sister:

• Frankie picked up her Jeep around 6:00 p.m. on February 9.
• She texted Frankie about 10:00-10:30 p.m. and asked if he was going to bring the Jeep back. He said he was at the house on Killarney and would return it.
• She texted Frankie again around 12:30 a.m. and asked when he was going to bring the Jeep back. He answered and said he was heading her way. She heard him return the Jeep between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m.
• She found out Titus was missing at 4:00 a.m.
• She didn't think Titus was fully potty trained and thought he wore a diaper at night.
• Titus didn't speak very well; "baby mumbles."

Tiffany Thomlinson's Husband (name unknown)

• At approximately 8:40 p.m. on February 9, Frankie sent a text message to Tiffany asking if he could use the Jeep to pick up Amber and Titus.
• Frankie was told he could use the Jeep as long as he put gas in it and returned it that evening.

Aaron (boarder at John Garrett's house)

Aaron (last name unknown) went to bed around 9 p.m. and did not see Amber and Frankie and the children arrive. He was awakened by Amber’s screams when Titus was discovered missing. 

Witness's Discrepancies

• Titus's underwear are described as being green, green and white striped, and blue and yellow striped.
• Titus never left the house on his own before vs he did leave the house one time.
• Titus stripped down to his underwear for bed vs Titus wore a diaper to bed because he wasn't fully potty-trained.
• Jeans vs gray pants.
Times:
• Frankie arrived at Amber's the morning of February 9 vs he arrived around 6:00 p.m.
• Frankie and Amber left Esther's house between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. on February 9 vs they left her house around 10:30 p.m. or midnight.
• Frankie asked if he could borrow the Jeep at 8:40 p.m. vs he picked it up around 6:00 p.m.
• Frankie and Amber arrived back at John's house at precisely 12:25 a.m. as apposed to around 1:00 a.m.

DISCOVERY

Titus was found at 11:00 a.m. on February 10 inside an unlocked Blue 2005 Dodge Caravan at the home of Jerry Williams and Sara Chappell, 16 Collins Lane, Ironton. It was roughly a mile from John Garrett’s house. He was wearing only underwear, and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was laying on his stomach between the front and back seats, with his head facing the back of the vehicle. Items collected with his body were most probably owned by Williams/Chappell, i.e., dinosaur toy, hat and red silk flower. A bin of dinosaurs was found at their house, and Christmas decorations were found in the van. The owners of the van said they did not know Titus’s family, and had not driven the van in the recent past.

Jerry Williams, van owner:

• He went to bed around 9:30-10:00.
• He told Sara Chappell to look in the dog pens for Titus just in case.
• He went into the house and brought out a blanket to cover Titus, as requested by the officers. He initially gave them the jacket he was wearing. The officers put it on Titus but then later put the blanket on him.
• He was very irritated that police wanted to search his house and also with the length of the interview.

Sara Chappell, co-owner of the van:

• She went to bed around 8:30.
• She got up to use the bathroom during the night and heard their dogs barking but didn't look outside because it was normal for the dogs to bark. She didn't know what time she heard them.
• Jerry was in bed at the time she heard the dogs barking but she didn't know what time he came to bed.
• When she heard Titus was missing, she started to walk to her back yard to see if he was near the dog pen. She walked past her van, looked inside, and saw Titus's feet.
• She opened the sliding door on the driver's side of the van and saw that Titus was facing towards the rear of the van in between the front and back seats.
• She was going to feel for a pulse and noticed he was cold.
• She asked a police officer if she could get a blanket to cover Titus and they said she could. An officer placed the blanket over him.

Anonymous statements from witnesses interviewed during the neighborhood canvass and from witnesses who approached the Command Post with their concerns:

• While helping to search for Titus, an unknown man pulled up to them and asked if they had looked down the road. They answered that they had not and the driver of the vehicle told them they could look down towards his house. When they got towards the direction of the driver's house, another person told them that Titus had been found. They reported that the driver's house was the house where Titus was found.
• Person wanted to inform investigators that Amber was known to use illegal drugs and thought drug use was possibly involved in Titus's death.
• John Garrett entered his silver Mitsubishi Galant and drove to the highway and turned left. He returned 15-20 minutes later and walked around the area. He did not have a flashlight and appeared to be pretending to look for Titus.
• John came back, flying up the road. Not yelling. Didn't look in yards. Just walked around. Didn't seem interested in finding Titus. Doesn't know what direction he was coming from.
• Witnesses stated they overheard a conversation between a couple that were by the command post. The woman said to the man, "You better keep your fucking mouth shut about living in the van."

Police said it would have been difficult for the child to travel through the woods or on Highway 72 to reach the van. It was accepted by some, including then-coroner Tony Cole, that the little boy walked on the road from Garrett’s house to the van, opened it, shut the door, and laid down to die.

Questions/Comment: 
Would a child in the throes of hypothermia lay in a horizontal position or in a fetal position? 
Who knew the van was there and unlocked? Latent prints were found on the hood and door of the vehicle. 

K-9 UNIT THAT ASSISTED IN SEARCH

On February 10, 2016 at 6:35 a.m. the Farmington Correctional Center K-9 unit was called out to assist in the search. Pam and Tila are search dogs. This image shows where Titus disappeared and where he was found. It also shows where Pam and Tila started and stopped and the routes they took. Particulars are below the second image.

The search group arrived at John’s residence at 8:17 a.m. The following scent articles were obtained from the FBI. One pillow case, one pair of baby socks, one pair of pants and one shirt. 

Tila was scented on the baby socks east of the residence. She was led to the edge of the residence's yard and began to circle the house in a counterclockwise direction. When she came back to the front of the residence, she showed more interest to the southwest. The group went to the rear of the houses on that side of the street. She then turned and worked to the south, crossing a dry creek and up a hill and crossed Rogers Drive. Approximately 30 yards west of the road, in a house's yard, a diaper was discovered at approximately 8:39 a.m. It appeared to be aged, but due to it being out of place it was marked and treated as evidence. Canine Tila then headed east for approximately 50 yards behind another house before exiting back onto Rogers Drive. She turned to the east on Rogers Drive and after approximately 100 yards, circled another house and still continued eastward through the woods. She  crossed Carson Street in a southeast direction, back into woods and came upon Ozark Drive. Tila made a 90 degree turn to south on Ozark Drive. Continued to follow Ozark Drive. The the road turned to the right and paralleled the lake heading north/northwest. She made a hard left, exiting the road heading west, showing a lot of interest working out the hill side and rocky terrain near the lake. Canine Tila continued downhill making several circles until she reached the shore of Lake Killarney. She then went north and was taken off track. 

Canine Pam was scented by using the pair of pants. She started west of the residence working clockwise west to north around the home continuing east back to Killarney Drive. Pam then turned west down Killarney Drive and made a 90 degree turn to the left heading south/southeast into the woods working through a drainage ditch and then up a hill to Roger Drive. She made a 90 degree turn to the left heading east up Rogers drive up to Carson Street. It was the same direction that canine Tila had worked earlier. Canine Pam was loaded into a trailer and moved to Ozark Drive where canine Tila had made a hard 90 degree turn left off of the road into the woods towards Lake Killarney. She was then taken out of the trailer and she worked left to right along wood line on Ozark Drive from a privacy fence to an electric pole. She then made another 90 degree turn to the left into the woods working west/southwest down the hill to a walking trail paralleling the lake. She checked right at this trail then made a 180 degree turn working left paralleling the lake down to the dam south/southeast on the trail. Pam worked across the dam continuing southeast/east paralleling Stouts Creek on the north side. The further she worked down trail, the trail began widening out to a gravel road. She continued on the road working east/northeast coming to Day Spring Bible Camp. Pam worked to the far east end of the camp showing great interest in the road, with several what appeared to be empty cabins in this area. 

The group decided to return to the command post to get assistance to conduct a grid search/building clearing of the Day Spring Bible Camp grounds. When they arrived to the intersection of Hwy 72 and Collins Lane at 11:00, a couple approached them and told them there was a baby in a parked car/van in their driveway next to their house.

AUTOPSY FINDINGS AND COMMENTS

Pathologist Russell D. Deidiker, M.D., performed the autopsy. He concluded that Titus died from hypothermia and there were a number of abrasions on his body. The bottom of his feet were totally clean!

Tony Cole, Titus’s funeral director, was in attendance at the autopsy and said there were no signs of foul play or abuse. Sheriff Roger Medley said there was nothing glaring in the report, closed the investigation and turned it over to Brian Parker, prosecuting attorney, 250 South Main Street, Ironton, Missouri. Coroner Cole said Titus spent a lot of time watching the adults in his family work on cars. “The kid has experience,” Cole said. “He can start a four-wheeler, an ATV; he’s very versed at opening car doors. He’s advanced for a three-year-old in that area.” Other folks didn’t understand how Titus could walk so far in the frigid weather. Cole said the boy was no stranger to walking barefoot. “Kids are tough at the age, tougher than what we think they are,” he said. “I don’t think they know they are in trouble or not.”
https://fox2now.com/news/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/ 

Question: Did Titus really walk a mile barefoot and in his underwear through the woods or on the road in freezing weather in the dark of night and his feet were left unscathed?

The Child Fatality Review Panel met as is required by law when a child dies. The panel is made up of members of the sheriff’s department, health department, DFS, juvenile workers, the FBI, Missouri Highway Patrol, and other agencies. “This is far from over. Right now, we have a preliminary cause of death, but everybody is being interviewed,” said Russ Allen, chairman of the panel. “There’s a possibility charges could come later; that would lie with our prosecutor.” All opinions of the Child Fatality Review Panel are confidential. To date, no charges have been brought and the case is closed.
https://fox2now.com/news/questions-remain-after-3-year-old-found-dead-in-van-in-iron-county/

A portion of the 7-page autopsy report is below that details Titus’s injuries and the important conclusion drawn by the pathologist. I have included conversions of centimeters to inches. Toxicology reports were negative. 

COMMENTS/QUESTION: 

Dr. Deidiker's autopsy report included the statement "...the absence of findings on the bottom of the feet is of some concern." I confirmed with Dr. Deidiker that Titus' feet were completely clean in an email exchange. I cannot stress that enough.

"On the ankles and dorsum of both feet are faint purple contusions..." That is a description of bruises. Why were their bruises on Titus's ankles? Why are there no injuries on Titus's back?

Recall that the coroner Tony Cole said there were no signs of foul play or abuse, and that Sheriff Roger Medley said there was nothing glaring in the report. It was also reported that Cole ruled Titus’s death accidental, whereas Dr. Deidiker ruled the manner of death undetermined. 

VIDEO OF "THE WALK"

Samantha Thoroughman, administrator of the Facebook group “Titus Tackett updates and discussion” made excellent videos of the walk some believed Titus took on that dark freezing night. She started filming at the main road down behind John Garrett's house.

RUMORS

As with any disappearances and suspicious deaths, there are always rumors, especially in small towns. They are good food for thought. One that I recently heard through a contact in Missouri makes a very good argument for what happened that night.

MORE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

Did Titus know that Amber and Frankie left the house? Statements are he was asleep, he was almost asleep, he was watching TV.

Was there a reason for Titus to leave the house that night on his own? Some have suggested that he was trying to follow Amber and Frankie. If he had ventured outside would he have had the presence of mind to come back into the warmth of the house even though he was three years old? 

Did he actually go out and the door was shut behind him? If so, why didn't he open it? Apparently he was adept at opening doors. There is no report about the door being locked. 

Was there a reason for someone to kidnap him and put him in the van? Nothing indicates that. No ransom. No evidence of sexual abuse.

Would a very cold Titus have the energy to walk a mile on the road or through the woods and then still have the energy to open a van door and close it?      

How would Titus be able to make his way from the house to the van through the woods? How would he have known the van was there and unlocked?

Where are Titus's shoes?

Everyone grieves differently. A "family" member posted this odd picture on their FaceBook page in December 2023. This same person would not voice their opinion of the autopsy report when I asked for it.  

DO YOU THINK THIS CASE SHOULD BE REOPENED?

Let me know what you think. 

I don't know how he ended up in the van but I don't think he got there himself.

Thank you for reading Titus's story, and please excuse the graininess and size of the following video when viewed on various devices. I have intentionally hidden the face of a band member.