Murder in Mind - Season 1 Episode 02
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00:00Hello, my name is Robert. I live in Pennsylvania. I just got word. Something harmful thing
00:14has happened at my brother's house there in Montclair. And what happened?
00:20I am not certain, but it sounds like there might be a murder victim there.
00:25When someone kills the mother of their child, then, in my opinion, they can harm anybody.
00:33He's very much controlling the narrative to set the story of how he wishes it had happened.
00:39The way the journal is written speaks to his ability to change the facts in his own mind.
00:47He is the hero in his own fantasy.
00:50He wanted to control her until her last breath, and that's what he did.
00:55He wants to steal his life, and he wants to tell you even more.
01:01I am, he wants to踏e his body.
01:06I am.
01:07I am.
01:11I am.
01:13Why do you think someone got killed there?
01:31Because I met up with my brother earlier and he gave me a suicide note
01:36that indicated that his girlfriend got into some disputes.
01:43What's his name?
01:47James Ray.
01:49On October 22nd, 2018, the Montclair Police Department received a 911 call.
01:55The caller was a Robert Ray who reported receiving a concerning note from his brother, James Ray,
02:03which indicated there could possibly have been violence caused upon someone at the house there.
02:09He decided to take Paul to the police department so that we could investigate.
02:12Within approximately six minutes of the initial call going out, I was notified as an investigative supervisor.
02:25And I did respond, along with several officers that night.
02:30We have officers out of the house, but they haven't, you know, made entry yet.
02:35Because there are weapons involved, they're taking every single precaution.
02:39When the Montclair Police Department arrived at that location, it was dark.
02:43There were no lights on.
02:44It didn't appear that there was any activity going on in the house.
02:47Eventually, after not being able to make contact with Mr. James Ray, the decision was made to make entry.
03:04And once we got to the rear, and we knew that we had medics and ambulance on standby,
03:09from the outside of the house through a sliding glass door,
03:11one of the officers was able to observe what he described as a silhouette of a body.
03:19They were able to see an individual's legs protruding out from an area of the kitchen
03:26and what appeared to be a blood trail.
03:29At that point, they made entry into the rear of the home,
03:33and they observed a female on the floor,
03:37and she was mortally wounded from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds.
03:43I guess they're homicide now?
03:45Yeah, yeah, they have confirmed it. It's one DOA inside the house.
03:49Obviously, we have a homicide victim at that point.
03:52So, their priority was to find James Ray.
03:56Hi, sir.
03:58I need you to give me the best description you can of your brother,
04:01including clothing that he was wearing today at dinner.
04:07He is about 5'8".
04:09He has dark skinned black male, right?
04:15Yes.
04:15Okay. Any facial hair?
04:18No.
04:18Okay. What color hair does he have and what kind of style?
04:22He's bald.
04:24He was trying to give them as much detail as he could about his brother
04:27and about any details that he could give
04:31that would potentially lead law enforcement
04:33to at least have a starting point on where to look for James Ray.
04:36Do you know what kind of vehicle he drives?
04:40I think it's a black BMW.
04:43Do you know where your brother is now?
04:45I do not.
04:47We're going to be putting it in the other felony vehicle.
04:51You know, considered armed and dangerous. Use caution.
04:53Our biggest concern is how do we locate James Ray?
04:57We're afraid that he could harm somebody else.
04:59At this current time, he was in the wind,
05:02and we didn't know where he was.
05:03While James was on the run,
05:08he kept an 18-page journal.
05:11It read a little bit like a thriller type of novel.
05:16This writing is an account of what might be
05:18either my last days upon the earth
05:20or my journey, travels, and experiences
05:23before the outcome of a trial for self-defense.
05:26Any actions I may have taken during my final days
05:29was out of pure necessity.
05:33The journal is incredibly fascinating.
05:36I don't think anyone in this office
05:37has any recollection of a similar journal
05:41being prepared by a killer.
05:44The way the journal is written
05:45speaks to his ability to change the facts
05:49in his own mind.
05:52Names in this book are both fictitious and real.
05:56Jack is a pseudonym.
05:57He wrote it in the third person.
06:00He identified himself as Jack.
06:04This journal is, in a way,
06:06his psychological defenses kicking in.
06:09It's very, very grandiose.
06:11It's very self-serving.
06:13Delusional, in a way.
06:14I think that he's got carried away
06:16with the romanticism of being a fugitive.
06:20What's clear here is he's very much
06:23controlling the narrative
06:24to set the story of how he wishes it had happened.
06:28Maybe he also thinks that his writing is so good
06:30that people are going to believe his version of events.
06:33After the tragic course of events,
06:36a road trip was underway
06:37to arrive at my planned destination of obscurity.
06:41For investigators, the urgent questions were,
06:44who is James Ray and where is he?
06:58James Ray was born in Brooklyn in 1963.
07:03He was very driven, even from an early age.
07:07In high school, he played football and wrestling.
07:10When James Ray graduated from high school,
07:12the very next day he went into the Marines.
07:16I think his time in the Marine Corps
07:18really molded who he was
07:21and how he tried to live his life.
07:23James Ray was a black belt in martial arts.
07:27He was successful.
07:27He was smart.
07:28He was a go-getter.
07:30And he wanted to succeed in life, and he did.
07:34After he came out of the Marines,
07:36he spent two years as a New York City police officer.
07:39Then he went on to get his MBA,
07:43and in addition, he went on to law school,
07:46opened up his own law practice,
07:48and even had an insurance brokerage.
07:52Jack's mind drifted into thoughts
07:54about how one single morning
07:56changed Jack's life forever.
07:58The value of the MBA,
08:01the law training diminished in value,
08:03all that he'd worked for for the last 20 years.
08:06It's gone.
08:07James Ray is atypical
08:12of the people that I would normally see
08:14as a forensic psychologist.
08:17He comes from a very stable background.
08:19There's no obvious trauma,
08:21and he's a success story.
08:23He's highly driven,
08:25very, very ambitious,
08:26and he's really got the attributes
08:28that you would need
08:29in order to make something
08:31of yourself and your life.
08:33But sometimes those attributes
08:35can be problematic as well.
08:40James Ray was very concerned
08:42about his social status.
08:45He wanted to play golf
08:46with people that mattered.
08:47He wanted to go to social events
08:49where people mattered.
08:51He wanted to be at black tie events.
08:53He cared about what people thought of him.
08:54Wondering during his waking moments
08:59about how close the police were on his trail,
09:03Jack has never been so nervous about people
09:05with suspicions that everyone was trying to get him.
09:08James Ray and Angela Bledsoe met around 2009
09:18in Brooklyn when she was working
09:21as a financial consultant.
09:23They started a romantic relationship,
09:25and they continued it long distance
09:27between Brooklyn and Montclair.
09:30Angela Bledsoe was extremely ambitious.
09:33She was super intelligent,
09:35well-educated, very successful.
09:41Angela grew up in Maryland,
09:43and she went to Florida A&M University.
09:46She graduated with 11 job offers
09:50and decided to take one in New York.
09:53She became a financial consultant
09:55and was so successful,
09:57she was able to buy a brownstone in Brooklyn
09:59when she was in her 20s.
10:01James was a very charismatic person.
10:03He was somebody who could achieve
10:06what he wanted to achieve.
10:07For Angela, it seemed she had found the perfect man.
10:14Anxious to keep moving,
10:15not knowing if the police were closing in on him,
10:18Jack never remained in the same place
10:20for more than four or five hours.
10:26In Angela's mind, things were going really well.
10:30James Ray was making Angela happy.
10:32They did a lot of things socially
10:35that they both enjoyed,
10:36and Angela became pregnant.
10:40What Angela didn't know when she met James
10:42was that he was married and had two children.
10:48James Ray was married over 20 years.
10:50He had two adult children,
10:52and they lived in the home in Montclair.
10:55He was living a double life.
10:58Both women didn't know about each other,
11:00and then, obviously, that changed
11:02when Angela became pregnant.
11:04She had expectations that he would contribute
11:06and help raise a child.
11:10For long-running affairs,
11:12where you are married
11:14and sleeping with somebody else,
11:16to not tell them that you're married
11:18is evidence both of a really severe form of lying
11:22and also being really good
11:24at keeping that complete other life secret.
11:28For someone who is so, well, on the surface, at least,
11:31rule-oriented and law-abiding,
11:33to then be so duplicitous
11:36when it comes to his own relationships,
11:39that's quite shocking.
11:39In 2012, James and Angela had a baby girl.
11:47Once the baby came along,
11:48the dynamics of the relationship got very difficult.
11:52Angela was in Brooklyn with the baby,
11:54and James was in Montclair with his wife.
11:57James was not a very supportive father,
11:59and he was not very much help to Angela.
12:02When she had business meetings she had to attend,
12:04she could not count on him
12:06to provide any sort of support or child care.
12:09I am doing work,
12:13which requires me to focus.
12:16That timeline, that deadline,
12:19I did everything
12:20that I can possibly do.
12:24I went to Costco and got two of those huge cartons
12:28of pamphlets, two of them, you name it.
12:32I was often so tired from staying out late at night,
12:37visiting her and the baby,
12:40where I was getting maybe one, two hours of sleep.
12:44I can't support you financially if I'm not making money.
12:49I cannot be there with you every day.
12:51In 2013, there was a lawsuit against him
13:08for sexual harassment in the workplace,
13:10and this involved a 27-year-old that he'd employed,
13:14and he'd taken her out to dinner on one occasion,
13:17and he'd insisted that in front of the whole restaurant,
13:21she would feed him with chopsticks.
13:24So, clearly, he is involved in some sort of fantasy here
13:28about having a woman to serve him.
13:34In the sexual harassment suit against James,
13:36there's a statement which says
13:39that he was talking about polygamy.
13:40There's a huge community of people
13:42who agree with their partners
13:44to open their relationships
13:45and to see other people together or separately.
13:47That if you are in a serious relationship
13:49and you haven't talked to your partner about this,
13:51what you're actually saying is,
13:52I want to cheat on my partner.
13:53The problem is that he is systematically lying
13:55to the people he loves, who trust him,
13:57who are the mothers of his children,
13:59and he's sort of seeing this as this game.
14:01James Ray decided that he was going to divorce his wife
14:10and maintain the home.
14:12So, that's what he did.
14:13He kicked his wife out of the house.
14:16And when James Ray and Angela Bledsoe's child
14:19was three years old,
14:21Angela and the child moved into James Ray's home.
14:26Jack began to mentally drift
14:28with thoughts of his ex-wife,
14:30whom he loved dearly.
14:31But their lack of communication
14:33and insufficient quality time
14:35spent together romantically
14:36caused the commitment of the marriage to wane.
14:40Jack felt so bad about his transition
14:42from ex-wife to Angela,
14:45he was embarrassed.
14:48After Angela moved into the house,
14:51she started to see who James was.
14:55And she did not like
14:57who he was revealing himself to be.
14:59He became very controlling.
15:02He was manipulative.
15:06He started checking her phone.
15:08He called her lazy.
15:09She said that I called her lazy.
15:15And I told her, she's very lazy.
15:17I said, you don't take care of this house.
15:19You don't do any dishes.
15:21Everything is sloppy.
15:23His bathroom's got to get cleaned.
15:25If I don't get them cleaned,
15:27they'll call in the calling lady.
15:29Nothing happened.
15:29But also culminated in how he would speak to her.
15:35He would speak down to her.
15:36He would disrespect her.
15:37He would do it in front of other people.
15:39She'd want to tell me
15:42that I don't talk to her nicely
15:44because, listen to this,
15:46because I question her on everything.
15:50And I say, that's conversation.
15:52If I don't understand something,
15:54why can't I ask you?
15:56The who, the what, the why,
15:58to get understanding.
15:59Oh, that's aggravating.
16:02That's annoying.
16:04I said, but that's, that's,
16:05that's intellectual.
16:06That's conversation.
16:09And I don't know how you can
16:10intellectually say it's dumb.
16:12And I'll write dumb.
16:15James went to some extremes.
16:17He put surveillance cameras in the home.
16:20And he even went so far as to send Bible verses
16:22that would underscore the idea
16:25that women should be submissive to their,
16:27to their partners.
16:28Let a woman learn quietly
16:33with all submissiveness.
16:35I do not permit a woman
16:37to teach or exercise authority over a man.
16:40For the husband is the head of the wife.
16:44This is not the kind of relationship
16:46that Angela had envisioned.
16:49Angela Bledsoe kept a journal.
16:52The life that I desire,
16:54to live in a house that I feel comfortable in,
16:56a man that shows grace and mercy,
16:58that speaks to me in a loving voice,
17:01is not a dictator.
17:04Angela is really living
17:05with coercive control at this time.
17:09She describes him in her diary
17:11as a dictator.
17:13Now, that's a very strong word.
17:15That's clearly how she sees this man
17:16that she shares her life with.
17:19Coercive control is the biggest red flag
17:22to potentially fatal violence
17:25in a relationship.
17:26When Angela went back to Florida
17:35for her homecoming event,
17:37she met a college classmate,
17:39Bakari Burns,
17:40and she started a relationship with him.
17:44They had an intimate relationship.
17:47They mostly talked to each other
17:49via text message.
17:50James Ray took screenshots of her cell phone,
17:57and based on the nature of the text messages
18:00that he could see in her cell phone,
18:01it took a turn for him at that point.
18:08Angela woke up one day,
18:09like 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning,
18:11and he was sitting on the edge of the bed,
18:12like, shaking his leg
18:13and just staring at her.
18:14She texts her sister.
18:21He's basically accusing her
18:23of demonstrating behavior
18:24of somebody who cheats.
18:30Her sister was very concerned about it,
18:32and she said, you know,
18:33you've got to get out of there.
18:35You know, it's time to go.
18:36When James Ray finds
18:40that Angela has cheated on him,
18:42he sees this as a massive transgression,
18:44and it's a really big deal.
18:46There's the double standard,
18:47which is that he wants to be able
18:49to have multiple women in his life,
18:51and his woman, however,
18:54should not have any other men.
18:55Stay committed.
18:57Never cheat on your partner.
18:59Keep your head in the marriage at home.
19:01In October of 2018,
19:08James Ray,
19:09in a moment of desperation,
19:12types up a prenuptial agreement.
19:15There was a paragraph in there
19:16that read,
19:17if either party cheats,
19:19then that offending party
19:21has to pay $300,000 per act.
19:26Now, what's interesting about that
19:28is James Ray,
19:29he already knows that Angela
19:31had stepped out of the relationship.
19:36And we also know
19:37that he presented it to Angela
19:39because Angela texted her cousin,
19:41you know,
19:41look at this nonsense, you know.
19:43We're not even engaged to be married,
19:45and he wants me to sign
19:45some prenuptial agreement.
19:48In James Ray's mind,
19:51Angela was humiliating him,
19:54belittling him, even.
19:56The threat that that caused
19:58to his core self
20:01was overwhelming for him.
20:06On October 20th,
20:08James Ray asks Angela
20:10to call Bakari Burns.
20:11The initial conversation
20:12with Bakari is like,
20:14hey, how about you and I
20:16can confront Angela?
20:18And Bakari says,
20:19well, I don't have anything
20:20to confront her about.
20:21James ended the call
20:23with a veiled threat.
20:25I may be coming down there
20:27to visit you in Florida.
20:29Angela's mindset is like,
20:30oh, grow up.
20:31Like, she didn't take it seriously.
20:34After that conversation
20:35with James Ray,
20:36Bakari Burns
20:37took it as a threat,
20:38and he filed a police report.
20:41Angela just had enough.
20:43And at that point,
20:44she had sent him
20:45a text message
20:45basically saying
20:46that she was done
20:47and made it known to him
20:49that she was going to start
20:51making plans
20:52to actually move out
20:53on her own.
20:56She said,
20:56as soon as I get my house,
20:58I'm out.
20:59I'm buying a house.
21:00I'm out.
21:00As soon as I get it.
21:01And she's gone.
21:03We're gone.
21:03It got to the point
21:07for Angela
21:07where living with James Ray
21:09just wasn't an option
21:11for her anymore.
21:12And the last text message
21:13that basically
21:14she sent her sister
21:15was that she was getting out.
21:18Angela is planning to leave.
21:21She feels that she can
21:22extradite herself
21:24from him safely.
21:26But this is going to be
21:28like a red rag to a bull.
21:30When somebody
21:31who is highly controlling
21:32feels that that is slipping
21:34from their hands,
21:35that's when they start
21:36to consider taking
21:37very drastic measures.
21:42On October 22nd, 2018,
21:45James and Angela
21:46take their six-year-old daughter
21:48to school and drop her off.
21:50Angela has an appointment
21:51with a real estate agent
21:53that morning.
21:55Angela never made the meeting.
22:02When our 911 call came in,
22:20it came from Robert Ray,
22:22who was the brother
22:23of James Ray.
22:24And he indicated
22:25that he had met
22:26with his brother,
22:27James, earlier today.
22:28And his behavior
22:29was very concerning.
22:32I met up with my brother
22:33earlier,
22:34and he was a little,
22:35you know,
22:35in a rink-aniky.
22:37He skid out at dinner.
22:39I haven't heard from him since,
22:40but he had left
22:41a bunch of stuff for me.
22:44They met up
22:44earlier that day
22:47at the request
22:47of James Ray
22:48at a Longhorn Steakhouse
22:51in Piscataway, New Jersey.
22:52James Ray had his
23:02minor daughter with him.
23:04She was six years old
23:05at the time.
23:06And he had asked
23:07his brother, Robert,
23:08if he could keep an eye
23:10on the child
23:11for a period of time.
23:14He left his daughter with you?
23:16Yes.
23:18James Ray had provided
23:19Robert with a couple
23:20of suitcases
23:21that belonged to the daughter,
23:22and he indicated
23:23that Robert would know
23:24everything in about 24 hours.
23:26James Ray asked Robert
23:27to take a picture
23:28of him and the daughter,
23:30which Robert did.
23:32And then James Ray
23:32indicated he was going
23:33to use the men's room.
23:35And Robert watched him
23:37as he walked out
23:38the door of the restaurant.
23:39James Ray had gotten
23:40into his BMW,
23:42and he just drove away.
23:43The letter that James Ray
23:47left for his brother,
23:48Robert,
23:49gave his version
23:50of the story.
23:51The letter says,
23:54I was about to clean
23:56my guns,
23:57and Angela picked up one
23:58when she was going
23:59to shoot me.
24:00I reacted in the heat
24:01of the moment,
24:02and I couldn't stop firing.
24:05I am scared
24:05and don't want
24:06the long burden
24:07of the child
24:07to prove my point,
24:08and I want to face
24:09the authentic.
24:11And you had no contact
24:12with your brother
24:13since you read the note?
24:17None since then.
24:18They made entry
24:42into the rear of the home.
24:44They went directly
24:45to the kitchen.
24:46There was a significant
24:47amount of blood
24:48on the kitchen floor.
24:49There was a partial blood trail
24:51leading from the living room
24:53into the kitchen.
24:55As we make entry,
24:56I can see the body.
24:58I couldn't tell exactly
24:59what her injuries were,
25:00but we did notice weapons
25:01lying around the house.
25:03There was a shell casing
25:05in the kitchen,
25:06a spent .45 caliber shell casing.
25:07There was a handgun
25:09in a puddle of blood,
25:10as well as a bloody cell phone
25:12on top of a stool.
25:14There was an additional handgun
25:15in the living room.
25:16A couple of gun cases,
25:19as well as three spent .45 caliber
25:21shell casings,
25:22along with a cleaning kit
25:23for a rifle.
25:24Once we were able
25:25to make the scene safe,
25:27we were able to confirm
25:27that the victim
25:28that was there
25:29was 44-year-old Angela Bledsoe.
25:34Our units are going to be
25:36tied up for a little while.
25:37This just turned into
25:38a homicide investigation.
25:39With James Ray,
25:42we felt comfortable
25:43that he was the person
25:44who committed the murder
25:46of Angela Bledsoe.
25:47When someone kills
25:48the mother of their child,
25:50then, in my opinion,
25:52they can harm anybody.
25:53So we need to latch on to him
25:55as soon as possible.
25:56Hey, Sergeant.
25:59I just want to give you guys
26:00some information.
26:01We had a homicide
26:01in our town.
26:02The actor
26:03is first name James,
26:06last name Ray.
26:07His vehicle is 2007 BMW.
26:11He is a 55-year-old,
26:12dark-skinned black male,
26:15about 5'8",
26:16205 pounds.
26:18He was last seen
26:20in the Scattaway
26:21wearing a gray hoodie,
26:24jeans,
26:25and dark sunglasses.
26:27And now,
26:28we know where he is.
26:29He left his cell phone also
26:31in the belongings.
26:36I had no cell phone,
26:38no credit cards,
26:39no laptop.
26:40It appeared as if
26:41the hours were ticking away
26:42extremely fast.
26:44So I bedded down for the night
26:45in the lounge chairs
26:46of the hotel.
26:47And we put out a bolo
26:51on his vehicle.
26:53Port Authority
26:53was contacted.
26:55Interpol was contacted.
26:56A lot of national
26:57and international agencies
26:58were contacted.
26:59We needed to find him
27:00as soon as possible.
27:03This was a huge story,
27:05not only in Montclair,
27:06but throughout New Jersey.
27:08First,
27:09because murders
27:09are very unusual
27:11in this place.
27:12And second,
27:13because of this
27:14disappearance
27:14of the suspect
27:16in the murder.
27:19Jack's thoughts
27:20of what his encounter
27:21would be like
27:21with the police
27:22was on a pendulum.
27:24I knew that my return
27:26would lead to handcuffs.
27:30If you commit a crime
27:31in the state of New Jersey,
27:33we will not forget,
27:34we will not forgive,
27:35and we will find you.
27:38James Ray
27:39had not been captured.
27:40He was on the run.
27:41The federal authorities
27:43were coming up empty
27:44at that point.
27:45They had no idea
27:45where he might be.
27:48And then,
27:48two days later,
27:50the red notice hits.
27:52And we find out
27:53that he's on his way
27:53to Cuba.
27:57James R. Ray III
27:58is in custody
27:59after FBI agents
28:00had to go to Cuba
28:01to retrieve him.
28:02The United States
28:10had to move very quickly,
28:12very expeditiously,
28:13because of the
28:14very tense relationships
28:16between the two countries.
28:18James Ray
28:19was arrested in Cuba.
28:21They detained him
28:22pursuant to a red notice
28:24that was issued
28:24by Interpol.
28:26With him
28:26was a duffel bag
28:27containing his
28:28personal belongings.
28:29and one of the items
28:31in the duffel bag
28:32was a handwritten journal
28:33that he spent
28:34considerable time
28:35writing while he was
28:37on the run
28:37for this homicide.
28:45He started by saying,
28:46you know,
28:46October 22nd,
28:482018 started like
28:49any other day
28:50in the Ray household.
28:53I arose with my
28:54morning routine
28:55of stretching.
28:56On our way back
28:57from dropping
28:57our daughter off
28:58at school,
28:59we spoke about us
29:00working to improve
29:01our relationship.
29:03On arrival at home,
29:04she said that there
29:05were a few errands
29:06that she was going to run.
29:08Since I was home alone,
29:10I decided to clean
29:11my weapons.
29:13Came out of the bathroom,
29:14Angela had one of the
29:15weapons in her hand.
29:18Angela's conversation
29:19went from going
29:19to run errands
29:20to reflecting
29:22about her frustrations
29:23of our relationship
29:24on what she called
29:25the worst years
29:26of her life.
29:28As she continued
29:29to rant about
29:30all the dysfunctional
29:31things in our relationship
29:32with a weapon
29:33pointed at me,
29:34I remember feeling
29:35nervous and scared
29:37and out of options.
29:40He says,
29:41Angela started
29:42to confront him
29:43about their relationship
29:44and how unhappy
29:45she was.
29:45I quickly picked up
29:49one of the weapons
29:50on the table.
29:51I then fired
29:52in Angela's direction.
29:55She lifted her arm
29:56and pointed at me again.
29:59Out of reaction,
30:00I fired in her direction
30:01and it seemed like
30:02I couldn't stop firing.
30:04I honestly believe
30:06there was no other choice
30:07that she would have
30:08shot first.
30:08If you really were
30:12acting in self-defense,
30:14why didn't you
30:15just call the cops?
30:16If you really were
30:17acting in self-defense,
30:19why did you leave
30:20the house at all?
30:22No, he instead
30:22goes to Cuba.
30:25Here is a man
30:26who can't take
30:28his rejection.
30:30This was not
30:30somebody who snapped.
30:32This is not
30:32somebody losing control.
30:34It's somebody
30:34taking control.
30:36He types out
30:39a letter to his
30:39brother
30:40filled with lies.
30:42He types out
30:44his last will and
30:44testament,
30:45goes to the bank,
30:47gets some cashier's
30:48checks made out
30:48to the daughter
30:50and his brother.
30:50After James Ray
30:57killed Angela Bledsoe,
30:59he had to go
31:00pick up his
31:01daughter from
31:02school.
31:04And on his
31:05way, he calls
31:06a woman
31:07and he records it.
31:08my only concern
31:11is about
31:13my daughter
31:13and her well-being.
31:15You know,
31:16sometimes you have
31:17to protect
31:19people in a way
31:21that's unconventional.
31:24It may sometimes
31:25even be a little
31:29crazy.
31:32And it only takes
31:33a certain person
31:35to understand.
31:36They may not agree.
31:37but it takes
31:40a certain person
31:40to understand.
31:42What he's talking
31:43about when he
31:43says that
31:44is he killed
31:46his daughter's
31:47mother to
31:47protect his
31:48daughter.
31:48How disturbing.
31:53All this is
31:54is him trying
31:55to set up
31:56a victim-blaming
31:57narrative
31:58for in the
31:59future
31:59if he needs it.
32:01So this
32:01telephone call
32:02is a little bit
32:03of insurance
32:04and it's a little
32:05bit of scene
32:06setting.
32:06If you truly
32:08care about
32:09the welfare
32:09of your daughter
32:10and that is
32:11paramount to you,
32:12you don't take
32:13away their
32:14mother.
32:20James Ray
32:21outlines in his
32:22journal how he
32:24started his road
32:25trip to Cuba
32:27and he starts to
32:28tell the story
32:30of what for him
32:32seemed like,
32:32you know,
32:33an adventure.
32:33first stop
32:36was at Newark
32:37airport to
32:38park the
32:38vehicle police
32:39were looking
32:39for.
32:41He details
32:42in his
32:42journal how
32:43he went to
32:43Newark airport
32:44and he left
32:44his car in
32:45short-term
32:46parking.
32:47We were able
32:47to find his
32:48car.
32:48We know
32:48exactly what
32:49time he
32:49checked in
32:49because he
32:50left the
32:50ticket on
32:52his dashboard.
32:53He took
32:53a taxi to
32:55Pennsylvania.
32:57We found
32:58the taxi driver
32:58that took him
32:59to Pennsylvania.
33:00he paid in
33:01cash.
33:03The taxi
33:03dropped Jack
33:04off in
33:05Philadelphia,
33:05Chinatown,
33:06at 2 a.m.
33:07The streets
33:08were empty.
33:10Jack sought
33:10cover of police
33:11by blending in
33:12with the
33:12homeless to
33:13get some
33:13sleep.
33:15He tried to
33:16hide himself
33:16in a homeless
33:17encampment but
33:19realized he
33:19can't do that
33:20long-term and
33:21it's not for
33:21him.
33:23Jack's first
33:24night in
33:25Philadelphia
33:25didn't fare
33:26well.
33:27He began to
33:28quickly realize
33:29that escaping
33:29to the streets
33:30to forever
33:31become homeless
33:32was not a
33:33part of his
33:33DNA.
33:35He finds
33:36like a truck
33:37stop and
33:38he meets a
33:39trucker who
33:40takes him
33:40from Pennsylvania
33:42to Ohio.
33:45Jack awakens
33:46to a bright,
33:47sunny, but
33:48rather chilly
33:48morning in
33:49Ohio.
33:51Shaking from
33:52pure nervousness,
33:53Jack asked a
33:54man for a ride
33:55and they began
33:56a road trip
33:57to Memphis.
33:59from Memphis
34:00into Texas,
34:01he boards
34:01a Greyhound
34:02bus from
34:04one section
34:04of Texas
34:05to another.
34:08It was the
34:08bathroom stall
34:09that provided
34:09an opportunity
34:10to strip the
34:11H&K .45 and
34:13dispose of the
34:13different parts
34:14into numerous
34:15trash cans
34:15during his
34:16travels.
34:17In his
34:18journal, he
34:18said that he
34:19had disassembled
34:21the .45 caliber
34:22handgun that he
34:23used to kill
34:23Angela and
34:24discarded it in
34:25various garbage
34:26cans along the
34:27way.
34:28We never
34:28did find the
34:29.45 caliber.
34:31Jack's anxiety
34:32multiplied tenfold
34:34in Longview,
34:35Texas.
34:36Each hour,
34:38Jack sat in
34:38the bus station
34:39seemed like an
34:40unplanned disaster
34:41waiting to occur.
34:44He gets another
34:46bus from Laredo,
34:47Texas into
34:48Monterey,
34:49Mexico.
34:51Riding the bus
34:52into Monterey
34:53caused Jack's mind
34:54to drift into
34:55how one single
34:56morning changed
34:58Jack's life
34:58forever.
35:01And when he's
35:01in Monterey,
35:02Mexico, he ends
35:03up purchasing a
35:05plane ticket.
35:06Jack purchased
35:07an airline ticket
35:08from Monterey to
35:09Cuba.
35:11This was the
35:11easiest part of
35:12the trip.
35:13The fact that he
35:14made his way down
35:16to Cuba, I think
35:18he would believe
35:19that's a place
35:19where he could
35:20evade detection
35:21and capture for
35:22perhaps the rest
35:23of his life.
35:26His journal is
35:28him trying to
35:29create a narrative
35:31that he will
35:32later use in
35:33his defense.
35:34But I think that
35:36he's got a little
35:36bit carried away
35:38with it.
35:39He is romanticizing
35:40it.
35:41He's turning this
35:42into a big
35:43adventure where he
35:44is surviving
35:44against the odds.
35:46He's on his way
35:48to Cuba, but it's
35:49really not quite as
35:50dramatic as he
35:51makes out in his
35:52journal.
35:53This is just a
35:54very macho man
35:57who has taken
35:58away a mother
36:00from her child
36:02and turned this
36:03into something
36:05that is heroic
36:07and manly.
36:10When you look at
36:12what he wrote in
36:12his journal and
36:13you compare it to
36:13the crime scene,
36:14it contradicted it
36:16completely.
36:17Unfortunately for
36:18James Ray, he
36:19didn't account for
36:20the bullet
36:22trajectories that
36:23were in Angela's
36:24body that were
36:24discovered by the
36:25medical examiner.
36:27The autopsy report
36:29revealed that
36:29Angela Bledsoe was
36:31shot once in the
36:32chest.
36:32She was struck in
36:33the heart.
36:33She was struck in
36:34the lungs.
36:34That bullet went
36:35through her and the
36:36projectile ended up
36:37in the seat cushion
36:39of the love seat.
36:41Angela Bledsoe stood
36:42up.
36:42She placed her palm
36:44on the white sofa.
36:46He shot her at that
36:47point once in the
36:49back.
36:50Angela Bledsoe made
36:51her way to the
36:52kitchen and there
36:54was a trail of blood
36:55that led from the
36:56living room into the
36:56kitchen and she ends
36:59up falling on her
37:00back.
37:03She was initially
37:03sitting up with a gun
37:04towards her side.
37:06She lifted her arm
37:07and pointed it at me
37:08again.
37:10James Ray then took
37:11another shot at her
37:12but he missed.
37:13It caused a ricochet
37:14in the granite tile
37:16floor.
37:18The casing from that
37:19projectile burst apart
37:20and cut through her
37:22clothing and caused
37:23abrasions on her back
37:24and James Ray then
37:26walked over to Angela
37:27Bledsoe, stood over
37:29her and delivered one
37:30final gunshot wound to
37:31her face.
37:33The medical examiner
37:35and the autopsy
37:36revealed that the
37:38trajectory of that
37:39gunshot wound to her
37:40face was steeply
37:41downward.
37:42indicating that James
37:44Ray was standing
37:44right over her when
37:45he delivered that
37:46final gunshot wound.
37:49I honestly believed
37:50there was no other
37:51choice that she would
37:53have shot first.
37:55He claims that Angela
37:56picked up the gun and
37:57was going to shoot him.
37:59There was a gun that
37:59was found on the
38:00kitchen floor in a
38:01puddle of blood.
38:03There wasn't any blood
38:04on that gun.
38:06It was clean.
38:07It was clean as a
38:08whistle.
38:09Yet he claims that
38:10Angela held it in her
38:11hand and she was going
38:12to shoot him with it.
38:13He had no choice but to
38:14shoot her first.
38:16When the medical
38:17examiner examined
38:18Angela's body, she
38:19clearly had blood on
38:20her hands.
38:21But there was no blood
38:22on the gun.
38:23No blood on any part of
38:24the surface of the
38:25weapon.
38:25It was clearly placed in a
38:27pool of blood.
38:27blood on any part of the
38:30hospital.
38:31As our investigators
38:32delved into the scene
38:35and got experts to
38:36really look at it, it
38:37could not have happened
38:38the way that James Ray
38:39indicated that it did.
38:48It took almost five
38:50years for the case to
38:51come to trial.
38:52That was partly because of
38:54the COVID-19 pandemic,
38:55but also just because
38:57sometimes the wheels of
38:59justice move slowly.
39:01I was the lead
39:02prosecutor in charge of
39:03prosecuting State v.
39:04James Ray.
39:08This defendant took his
39:10loaded .45 caliber
39:12semi-automatic handgun
39:16and shot at Angela
39:18for that.
39:20We shot her in the face.
39:24We knew that we had
39:26great evidence.
39:27We wanted to make sure
39:29that it was presented
39:29for the jury to really
39:31come to what we thought
39:32was the inevitable
39:34conclusion, undeniable
39:35conclusion that James Ray
39:37was guilty of murder.
39:39James Ray carried
39:40himself almost as if he
39:43were a lawyer representing
39:45someone else.
39:46He dressed well.
39:47He showed no expression
39:49on his face.
39:51He came in, sat down,
39:52took notes.
39:54conferred with the
39:54lawyers, but there was
39:56never any show of
39:57emotion at all.
40:00Angela Bledsoe on
40:01October 27, 2018,
40:04picked up a 9mm
40:05and pointed it at
40:06James Ray.
40:08Period.
40:09He had no choice
40:10but to shoot.
40:13Defense's strategy was
40:14simply self-defense,
40:16saying that he killed
40:17her, but he had to do
40:19that to save his own
40:20life.
40:20Ray's brother took the
40:23stand.
40:23Immediately I cried
40:25because the letter
40:26indicated that Angela
40:29had been killed.
40:32James Ray brutally, in
40:35cold blood, murdered
40:36Angela Bledsoe simply
40:38because she made a
40:41decision that she didn't
40:42need him in her life
40:43anymore and that she was
40:44going to move on and
40:45start a new chapter, and
40:47that new chapter did not
40:48include him.
40:49And he was going to be
40:50left behind, and he did
40:55not want that to happen.
40:56He wanted to control her
40:57until her last breath, and
40:59that's what he did.
41:00After a six-week trial, the
41:07jury seemed to have no
41:08doubt.
41:09They came back in three
41:10hours with a guilty
41:11verdict.
41:13As the verdict was read in
41:15court, James Ray showed
41:17no emotion at all.
41:19He simply stood up,
41:22allowed the officers to put
41:23the handcuffs on him, said
41:25something to his lawyer, and
41:27then he was taken away.
41:28It was a verdict of guilty
41:31on all counts, which was
41:32just incredible.
41:34Angela's family was there,
41:35her parents were there, they
41:36were able to hear the
41:37verdict.
41:37Everybody was really happy
41:39and, you know, ecstatic
41:42that Angela could hopefully
41:44begin her rest in peace.
41:46We then scheduled a
41:47sentencing date for James
41:49Ray to be sentenced on the
41:51murder charge and the
41:52weapon charge, and it was
41:54scheduled for June.
41:55We have an update on the
41:58case of a New Jersey lawyer
42:00convicted of killing his
42:01girlfriend.
42:02James Ray III died in jail
42:04after he was awaiting
42:05sentencing.
42:08On June 18, 2023, James Ray
42:13was in the Essex County
42:14prison waiting to be
42:16sentenced for his murder
42:17conviction.
42:18An officer found him
42:19unresponsive in his cell and
42:22tried to administer Narcan to
42:23him. He was taken to a
42:25hospital, but he was not
42:27revived and was declared
42:28dead.
42:30Ironically, James Ray died on
42:32Father's Day.
42:35The family was never able to
42:37deliver their victim impact
42:39statements, and now this
42:40little girl lost her mother in
42:42a really brutal, tragic way at
42:45the hands of her own father, and
42:48then her father dies on
42:51Father's Day.
42:52And, you know, whatever
42:53questions she may have had for
42:55him that she may have wanted to
42:57ask him as an adult, she was
42:59never going to be able to
43:00confront him or ask him about
43:01and never get the answers that
43:03maybe, maybe she could have
43:05coaxed out of him.
43:07It was devastating.
43:08For somebody like James Ray, who
43:16had enjoyed all of the
43:17trappings of this really quite
43:21fantastic life that he had for
43:23himself, that he just can't face
43:27the humiliation, really, and the
43:29loss of status that is going to
43:31come from being incarcerated.
43:33So it's a final act, which is a
43:37desperate and sad act in many
43:40respects.
43:41That's not lost on me, but it's
43:43also a final act of control.
43:47Unfortunately, under New Jersey law,
43:49because he was never sentenced, the
43:51case cannot remain open, so it was
43:54dismissed.
43:55I mean, obviously, everybody
43:56knows he was convicted.
43:58He didn't go to his grave an
43:59innocent man.
44:01Prosecutors who prosecute the case
44:02know the truth, and the family
44:04knows the truth, that James Ray
44:05was guilty of killing Angela
44:07Bledsoe.
44:10James Ray had both ambition but
44:13also overconfidence.
44:14He seemed to be intelligent but
44:16also controlling.
44:17He had these multiplicities within
44:20him, these double standards, almost
44:22cherry-picking the rules that he
44:24should live by, and applying other
44:26rules to other people.
44:29James Ray is a man who does what he
44:32sets his mind to, and he does it
44:34very strategically.
44:36This is a man who has very set
44:40ideas about masculinity.
44:43And this is a man with certain
44:46personality traits that could have
44:50and should have catapulted him to
44:53success but stopped there.
44:56Ultimately, I think that his need to
44:59control women and his sense of
45:01entitlement and narcissism and his
45:05sense of outrage that a woman could
45:08assert herself is what led to his
45:12downfall and becoming a killer.
45:13James Ray was an egomaniac who was totally
45:19unprepared to accept that the mother of
45:24his child was going to leave him.
45:29Angela Bledsoe was very successful.
45:33She lived in an affluent neighborhood.
45:36She had money.
45:37She was beautiful.
45:38She was talented.
45:39And domestic violence came to her.
45:42If you're in a relationship with a man
45:43who, or a woman, who is domineering and
45:47controlling and wants to know your every
45:49move, you should think about Angela Bledsoe
45:51and how she ended up.
45:52You should listen to your gut and get out
45:55when you can.
45:56you should listen to her.
45:57You should listen to your gut and
46:08childbeedness.
46:10Mrs.
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