S11, Chapter 16: Full Interview with Andrew Smith

0:00 Testing one two, Testing one two? Can I just call him see for people? Hey, Smitty, let's going man? Can I can I call you right back from my computer? Hello? Hey, can you hear me? Yeah? I hop's up? Brou Hey, what's going on? Man? Thanks for making the time. Yeah, no problem. I rolled three joints because I knew there was gonna be some shit, so I might as well get prepared for it. Okay, okay, worried? But you said you were driving down to Colorado. Yeah, I was going too, but I ended up So I've actually got my retail sales license to buy like all that shit fullsale and I ended up finding someone last minute who would sell me a whole pound for a fucking full sale price.

0:45 So oh wow, that's cool all right, and it's. All federally legal because of that lovely hemp. Though, I appreciate you doing this, and let me uh confirm. Do you like to be called Smitty? I know that's your like online name, but yeah, I'd prefer it's pretty cool, all right, man. So if there's anything like, as far as you don't feel comfortable, I don't want to assume that you know I know where your boundaries are, so if there's anything I know you don't feel. I watched your trial, but it's so I know you don't feel uncomfortable telling someone to fuck off, but just want to let you know you're perfect, Like I won't get offended if but I might ask something that you don't feel comfortable, so totally like, don't take offense, just tell me to fuck off, and no, you're good.

1:36 I fucking uh, it's funny. The only reason that got the angers you got was because she started asking me really dumb ask questions, trying to waste She tried to discredit me in the worst possible way, and it pissed me off to where I fucking retaliated, like right, right, And I don't think I told her to fuck off either. I think it just came out in such a way that I pronounced it that it told her to fuck off on accident, right, actually said it. No, No, you didn't literally. Like anger that was in that fucking sentence. I think you said it is quite frankly none of your business or something along that way. Yeah, something like that, But everyone knew what I actually said.

2:17 Well, I do have to say, in her defense, it was like the only time in the trials, she actually tried to present a defense or like even cross question anyone. I don't know if you saw any of the rest of. The definitely chose the wrong one. Yeah yeah, well, uh yeah, man, did you actually watch the trial? I'm actually I'm kind of curious. No, I didn't. I only learned enough from what I had picked up from reading shit through the news and then like, huck, what is it between the TV I and the weed? It's breaking my head right quick?

2:58 Yeah? Yeah, I feel you did. I'm sorry, Oh, I was just did you watch uh did you watch that? Yeah? No, I didn't really watch any of that ship. I just skimmed some portions enough to where I was confident that I was confident that he was guilty and what he did. You know what I mean, right, I feel you that makes sense? Well man, what what did you say? Did you say you had a TB I was that. Yeah, it's a traumatic brain and drink. I had a humby accident when I was in Germany. I actually had to submit a FOI request to the government for the fucking accident report. Oh wow, that's uh, that's intense. Uh, hang on one second.

3:39 I just want to make sure I'm actually recording this, Okay, I am, You're good. I've done interviews before where I gotten to the end and I wasn't recording it, like. Will you please talk to me one more time? It doesn't usually work out. Oh man, Well, hey, that's actually a question I had for you. Can you tell me a little bit about Germany? Like how long you were stationed there? And did you meet Jazz while you were over there? Had you already met him online before that? I met him when I was stationed over in Germany? Okay, and that was what year was that? Do you remember twenty eighteen? Mm?

4:28 Yeah, I want to say it was end of twenty eighteen ish or early ish or twenty nineteen, maybe whenever my son was born. I know he was born in twenty nineteen. Okay, so sometime in twenty nineteen in the early couple months, okay, the four months. I think? What are those. And did you guys meet in Tarkov or was there another game? Or that was the Arm of three Armor three? Okay? I've never played either of those games. But is Arma similar to Tarkov? Or no? So Alma is a you have to go Okay, so it's either you go and spawn into a world and you hunt for gear and then you kill people. Or you go and spun into a world, kill zombies and hunt for gear and still end up killing people. It's one of the same concept, same shit, you know what I mean. But it's not like as aggressive as like having to hunt for shit, you know what I mean.

5:30 It's so much easier just fucking joining the world right quick, you know what I mean? Okay? Okay, So Arma is a little more casual. Maybe yeah, I'm a military stimulator. It's really casual gameplay. It's not really for not really for long time progression play, because it's really boring after you played for like a week or two, okay, because it's the same shit over and over again. You get into a plane, like Chaz's favorite thing was to fight looking hunt players while he was flying around in an F thirty five in Arma three. Okay, is that to like troll them or is that just a strategy to win the game or something?

6:14 Or I don't know. I wonder if it was just been ap aggression thinking back on it, because he would go into or he would make him This was before I was close friends with him, but like actually friends with them. He would put himself into invisible mode to pretend he wasn't actually on the server, and he would go around and do whatever FU should, pretend to be a different character killing people on the server. Okay, that's the way he wouldn't get bothered by all the friends that he was just straight up murdering there and doing all sorts of other shit. Interesting, is invisible mode? Is that like a cheat or a hack or something. No, he wouldn't be invisible. He would just.

6:56 Oh, oh, I guess that seemed profile to invisible. So that way you can track down if someone was online, like the only way you could tell if you were a fude enough. So like for me, for example, like the only reason I knew was because I shift to have seen his profile. I tro backtracked into my friend's list, and seeing he was offline, I was like, oh that makes sense. Oh interesting, okay. And you guys could talk to each other, like was it through discord or through the game that you could like chat during playing or something. We would chat in the game and then we would chat on discord over time. Okay. Do you remember like how you first became friends.

7:37 Was it just you found yourself in the same army servers a lot or something. Or I had made friends with one of his friends, which was another abin on the server at the time, which because they were both abins, they were friends together. So it was kind of like a friend of a friend situation and we just got really close. Okay, did when did you guys start playing Tarkop? Together? Was it just you go back and forth between the two a lot? Yeah, So I've got it like a genuine question for you. Is there like a is there a real hang up on tarkof or is there like is there something I'm not picking up yet? Or well, okay, so here's my angle is I'm just wondering, I mean, like everybody else, right, like why the fuck he did it?

8:24 Right? Just in no fucking sense, like sure you were dead, like I have dead. I'm like in so much debt and I don't fucking go out murdering people, right, Like that's not the fucking proper answer. God, damn it, you know what I mean? Yeah, exactly, And like, well, actually it's I just learned this. I thought maybe there was some kind of abusive thing, but apparently people who kill their parents, uh, what's it called? Parricide? It's actually pretty rare that there's physical abuse going on. It's like it happens, it's like ten percent of cases, but usually it's about finances or control. So I don't know, just in just in researching stuff, And like the one thing I came back to I might have sent it to you was that his search history, Like in between hiding the bodies, he was like searching how to complete quests in Tarkoff.

9:23 Like, so fucking bizar, I'm just like, what do you go from? Oh, let's go do this shit? Hey, how do I saw this quest right? Quickly? Bro? You can't even do whatever you're trying to do right now correctly? Right? So I don't know that that was like the one thing that stood out to me. And I was reading more about how some people say Tarkoff can be really addictive as far as just compulsively playing it for like twenty or thirty hours straight sometimes. See that's something I've never heard before. But then again, I'm not a hardcore tark player. I don't get into games like that where it's Tarkov's the game where you're supposed to go out, you kill people, you steal all of their ship, you expel and then you drop all of their ship off in your crib, and then you go back and repeat it again. Just keep trying to your best over and over again, killing people in vice versas.

10:19 That's all Tarkov is. Right, right, like a extraction shooter or something. Yeah, something other like that gotcha. So you never got that vibe though. It sounds like you never were like man Chaz is like addicted to this game. You never got that. No, like you would play like all sorts of shit. Well shit, I want to all right now that I have like memories come in. Yeah, I like thinking about it, like, yeah, I did play the fuck out of Tarkov, but like not super aggressively, you know, like I still had a job, Like I have a son and well my ex wife, now you know what I mean. Right right, I gotcham So he might have been playing more.

11:01 But but but even so, you never really got that suspicion or nothing really made you think, right, I didn't have. That idea that he was just sitting here fucking off all day playing video games like he seemed like he was actually like had a genuine job. Right right, So is that possible in retrospect though? Since he didn't. He wasn't in school, and he wasn't working that he was just playing video games. Or like, yeah, probably, like, but I was confused about something. Something always stood out to me, and I don't ever I don't actually know if I ever brought it up to police, because I don't think I thought about it at the time. But there was something that kind of stood out, and I was really strange. It was the fact that when I had visited him, his mom had made some big show about this check hit came in It's the big one and like looked at him and kind of like did a happy like shake smile. Weird thing.

11:58 I don't know, but I'm just trying to understand where the fuck did this money come from? If he was just fucking. Off all day, Yeah, that's interesting. Who was he robbing? Like or not necessarily you know what I mean? Though, Yeah, I had that question to myself, like where was he getting any money? I know he wasn't really you know he had that he had well, at least I learned in the trial. You might know this that he was he said he was working for the insurance company. That was lie, right exactly. And then one of the lies was he told his dad and I guess his mom too, that the reason that he hadn't gotten paid so long is that they were paying him salary and.

12:47 Yeah, yeah, then he tried saying it was payroll or something was fucked up, and then right right, I did read that. Far and then like they did write him a check, but then the bank tried to posited and they said it was too much money, so they didn't deposit or something. Yeah, and that doesn't make sense. That's not how banks work. Yeah, exactly, right, Like, so it wasn't that truck. Do you think it was that check? Like that he somehow faked a check from the bank or something. Yeah, it was weird, like it's the big one. She was like happy and shake, and I'm just like, where the fuck did this money come from? Now? Like that stands out now, but I'm just I mean, I guess it doesn't really matter since the fucking idiot stuck in prison, right right, yeah, but like still I'm curious where did that money come from? How did he get it?

13:42 Do you remember? Did you see the check? It was like something addressed to or made out. I didn't actually ask because I didn't care, like some or none of my business to be looking at his paperwork, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, truly? Yeah, oh cool, you got money? Where'd that come from? Right? Career buddy, Opal, Let's go spend something like you know what I mean? And that was was that the summer of twenty twenty one that you went to visit him? You know what? I actually don't Well, I think it had to have been, because it's I want to say, it's been two years now since the incident.

14:23 Yeah, yeah, it's been about yeah, just about two years a little over. Okay, just going back to the not the video games thing, but like, uh, explanations, do you did you? Did you? Sorry, did you have any suspicions that he was on drugs or besides just like smoking weed or drinking or any I. Don't know if I told you, but my friend had a different friend of ours had told me that Chazz had been potentially drugs with ketamine at one point or another during college.

15:04 And you did mention that, Yeah, tell me about what you heard. About that, just that it fucked him up and I didn't talk to him for like a couple of weeks, and then he magically popped back up. I was like Oh, hey, how you doing, buddy? Like, so, I wonder if he was doing okay and he was just dealing with human shit the way normal humans deal with shit, to deal with shit. And I wonder if when someone fucking drugged in with ketamine, assuming that's not a fucking lie, you know what I mean, right, Like, what how did that do to his psyche? Yeah? That's the only reason why I fuck with mushrooms and like weed, because at least the mushrooms will fucking help my TBI a little bit.

15:45 Right, Yeah, did he did he smoke a lot of weed that you know of? I actually don't know. Did you guys ever smoke together when you saw him or no? That was something I had planned to do with him if he was actually innocent on all this ship? Oh yeah, damn. So like when it first went down, you probably had that thought like this can't be true for a while or. I just kind of sat there and was just thinking like, oh andnocent of proven guilty, you know, like trying to keep positive on it. Please fuck with people all the time for no reason this year because you know the one of those.

16:28 You know, yeah, absolutely, have you did you talk to him at all? When he was in jail. Yeah, I think I talked to him like, oh that should be public record too, by the way, Oh like uh oh yeah, deal records like the phone calls and such, right right, yeah right. I think we actually talked about it once about wasting people's time that we're gonna have to end up listening to this ship. Wow, that's crazy, But you you pretty much. I mean, I know you've seen the evidence. You you don't have any doubts anymore.

17:08 And I still fucking feel absolutely shitty for it every single day. Like what do you feel shitty about, Like the. Fact that I somehow played a part in the fucking evil that took place you intended to happen, right, yeah, But like I fucking wanted him to go out and go, oh do this, Like no, it was a fucking gift because I thought he was my actual friend. I was fucking happy to have a real friend who actually liked me. Yeah. Yeah, it's fucked up. So do you think like he is just some kind of psychopath that like doesn't really have human emotions or or like you know, I mean, he has emotions, but it's a little bit different.

17:57 Like, yeah, I didn't notice one thing like when I went and was visiting them. I remember I had dunked him under the water instead of like you know, as a friend would do, you get up and get not necessarily pissed, but he would fucking around. He got up and he acted like, huh well, I guess I was taking a while to do that. And I stands out now like that's kind of strange. But what do you you said taking a while to do that? What do you mean we. Were fucking swimming in that river that he fucking apparently dumped body parts around? Oh wow, it was the wisconstant or uh yeah, the wherever river the right right, and you dunked him and he said and then he came up and he he.

18:46 Just like, huh well, I guess I was taking some or too long to do that, like and I like laugh haha, like no weird smiling, and it was just like, hmmm, I don't know how I feel about this or like, you know what I mean right, like looking back at it's kind of strange, right, it's just. Kind of like a weird vibe moment. Well, what do you guys? Girlfriends fucking his mom or his girlfriend's mom apparently is somehow related to l Chapel or some fucking crazy bullshit. So oh really, yeah, so if you believe that, how are the fuck do you want to believe that? That's what Kat had told me?

19:28 So? Oh wow, I did read that. Uh, she was some she had somebody that had been in jail for a long time, and that's kind of like people were giving that as an explanation for how she like was very motherly towards Chas while he was in jail at first. And I don't know. I listened to those jail phone calls and they're kind of bizarre. Have you listened to And be honest, I'm curious because I can't remember the crazy shit that I talk about when I make funk calls because I genuinely don't care ninety percent of the time. No, I haven't. I've actually just I've only found this stuff that's been put on YouTube, and there's a guy who put the calls between.

20:18 I know, I've seen them. Okay, you have seen those, Yeah I haven't. I haven't seen years though. Yeah, I don't think that they're going to upload that. I'm sure they were probably quite pissed if they stumbled across the Wae where I talked about. Yeah, I'm pretty sure regardless of what happens here, no one's going to have to listen to all this shit in case it's evident. So I know somewhere we're gonna be wasting someone's time. So let's talk about how birds aren't real. Okay, that's kind of funny. It seemed like he had like a sense of humor, like it was kind of a drug. He was a great it's a great dry sense of humor, like a fucking around and shit, you know what I mean. But like, right, I don't understand where the mental disconnect was, and I really think it had something to do with the college and possibly that drugging if it actually occurred.

21:08 Right, Yeah, so what did you guys do besides go to the river? Did you guys like play video games together? When actually I think when I was up there, because I didn't have a laptop at the time, I was fucking I was up there, and we were just like driving around and bullshitting, eating and like fucking off at random stores, you know what I mean, Like the difference that you do when you don't got anything better to do. Right, Okay, Oh, did you ever did you ever feel like he was a pathological liar or did you ever have like, did you ever catch a mental lie or something like that?

21:52 No, I don't think so. Okay, interesting, Yeah that's something I just saw somebody online. That he applied for appeal. Uh, yeah, I did see that. Has there been any news, I haven't seen anything in the last But no, I. Haven't seen anything like new about that. So I'm assuming that he still has no fucking case or grounds, because yeah, I would rather like I'm torn, honestly, Like I'm torn between one of my best friend back in my life because he was my best fucking friend, but I don't fucking forgive him for what he did. But like, you know what I mean, Yeah, it's weird. It's really fucking weird to describe.

22:40 Yeah, I can imagine, yeah, fucked up. Yeah, like, uh yeah, it's really fucked up. Well, damn, I was kind of hoping you would tell me about his crippling Tarkov addiction that made him do all this stuff, but uh, I mean. Way more fucked up I'd like to think. Yeah, I mean, even if that played a role, it doesn't sound like it was like a tipping point or anything. Like that. Did he ever open up to you about like cheating on cats, or like having other girlfriends or anything like that?

23:23 You know what he did? Had one point when I got back to the States, he had said to me, Hey, man, there's this girl I really like, but I kind of fucked up. I did this. What should I do? And I said, honestly, man, if you cheat on this girl like as you did, or you cheat on her in general, you should just be straight up with her, just fucking tell her. Went up to that shit, and he said, okay, thanks, But I'm pretty sure he also went was like, well, maybe I can get like a voice disguiser or something and say, I'm like this person to like prove my location or some ship. So, yeah, I don't Do you.

24:06 Think that's uh, because I know he called his dad pretending to be one of the school Yeah. Do you think he was using some kind of disguiser? I mean it seems like he had to have been, because his dad would have known right away. Right, surely, that's interesting. Oh and did you mention or I might be making this up, but I thought somewhere he might have mentioned you he was thinking about dump dumping cat or breaking up with her. Yeah, he had mentioned that to me that he was thinking about breaking up with her.

24:49 Was that after he talked to you about the cheating thing. Or I'm actually not quite sure. I don't know when the stage this fucking grand scheme of his that started fucking being a part of the plan. Yeah. Interesting, And you never met Kat though, right? No? I met Kat? Oh you did? Okay, what was your uh impression. She's the fucking psycho? Wait what makes you say that? Well, I was in the military, man, Just take my word for it. Okay, interesting, Like you take that with however you want to take that.

25:33 It wasn't crazy, It wasn't like a thing she did. It was just a vibe. You were getting. That and she was like super fucking infatuated with like knives and shit. Oh, I remember you did say that you went to That might have been the lawyer interview. She was buying a bunch of knives at at some store you guys were at or something. Yeah, they were like looking at or like knives and shit. And she's like, yeah, I really like knives and such like. And that's how I still feel like she's somehow had a fucking part and all that. But fuck, I don't know right, right, but you haven't you haven't, uh, I mean it wasn't like you were friends with her, So you haven't talked with her or anything.

26:18 No, just uh one time before like the trial, like where she had done whatever, I caught her like a goat. I just want to let you know, it's starting to look like you really did do this. Oh and when I talked to her on the phone, it seemed seemed like a real emotional change. It seemed like a oh like she tried to make an emotion up. You know what I mean, You're weird. I don't know if I'm just talking out my ass though, So. You got you got the feeling that she wasn't to the point where she was gonna accept it yet. That I don't know. I feel like she had something to do. With it, right, Interesting.

27:03 Because there's no way in hell he magically decided to do all that dumbass ship by himself. I feel like there had to have been some other little bit that might have helped with that shit. Oh you know, I never actually asked what your YouTube channel was. Oh yeah, it's more podcasts. My YouTube got deleted for some some they said I was bullying somebody or something. But I'm if it's the truth. So yeah, my YouTube now has like one subscriber, but it's called Tapes from the Dark Side, like Tails from the dark Side, but tapes.

27:47 I'll pull it up right quick. Yeah, we're on Spotify and Apple and all that stuff. Yeah, we've done like ten cases or so, so this will be the eleven from the. Tape from the Dark Side. Comm Oh yeah, yeah, we gotta three. Free advertisement even for you. You're welcome, buddy. Is there anything I didn't ask you that I that you can think of be interesting to talk about or anything. No, I just kind of figured you'd lead it. I mean, I'm honestly, I'm gonna be as honest and truthful as possible because I have no reason to why to anyone this fucking life we live, why we die. I have no reason to fucking line of people that requires me to remember the fucking lie. You know how much of pain in the ass that is for me?

28:32 For me? Just sound truth. Fus that ship, that's uh, that's the exact opposite mentality that uh chas seem to have lying about everything crazy. A little ship. Oh man, Yeah, well I think that's all I had for you. Man, that's uh. If you think of anything and you like I want to again, you're welcome to reach out. So oh, I promised me that you don't make me to look like a lunatic. I swear I'm not. I won't. No, I don't think you'll come across that way at all, and I won't intentionally do anything.

29:16 To do that. I'll probably put the folk call for the crazy Patreon people to listen to the full thing. Oh that's okay. They'll have a fucking blast of that. Yeah, yeah, they love that, but it's only a handfil like I don't even know. No, I'm not even worried about it. They're gonna have a fucking blast if they ed a clip as it is, They're just gonna have a fucking trip because I'm just trying to be an honest person. Yeah exactly. But they're they're they're cool, man, They're not. They're non judgmental. They're pretty open minded. So but the rest, I'm gonna just chop it up and edit it in and little bits. But uh, yeah, I won't make you sound crazy or anything I was gonna say before I forget. Yeah, what's your I'll put it at the end of the one of the episodes the uh do you want to shout out the discord and like say who it's for and how they could find that if they wanted to join up.

30:13 Yeah, just give me one second. Pull that up right quick, because the discord's name is actually Forward Operators Group and we are registered five to one C and if you type that into Google, we should be, if not the first tab, the second most popular tab, and we're a veterans organization that's helping for verse responders as well to help prevent suicide and just bring a whole community together of people. That's cool. It's called Forward Operators Group. Did you have found this or are you just like heavily involved. In there's one of the idiots that happened to be around when it started and I just wanted to take a shitty situation and try to help as many people as possible. Nice. That's cool man, that's awesome. Oh yeah, I'm sure this is you know, you hear this a lot, but I appreciate your service. Thank you.

31:02 You're welcome. And it is the first link on Google and it is Forward Operatorsgroup dot com. And that's for Veterans three charity. It's for veterans first responders in military personnel mask and see everyone. Yeah, hang out, support each other, game together. Because only us, the ones who actually go through all the sufferings, know how to take care of each other. Yeah, exactly, that makes sense. Cool Man. Well, thank you, Smittye. I appreciate you, man, and I'll let I'll keep you posted on uh when all this stuff comes out. Yeah, if you have any more questions that you didn't think about, just shoot it all over to me and I'll try to get back to you. I've actually been using disc one more often, but now you have my phone number, so just.

31:51 Techt me helly cool Man. Thanks bro, have a good night, dude, you too,