Five days after the murder, Reasonover and ex-boyfriend Stanley White, having inexplicably emerged as suspects, are placed in adjacent jail cells. The police roll the hidden tape, hoping Reasonover and White will talk about the case. They do, but it's not what detectives want to hear. Both prisoners express puzzlement and anger about why they are in custody. Their 56-minute conversation betrays such ignorance about the details of the crime that an unbiased listener would have to conclude that neither one had anything to do with it.
Prosecutors never tell the defense about it.
Within a few hours, police shift Reasonover to another jail, placing her in a cell with prisoners Rose Carol Jolliff and Marquita Butler. Jolliff later tells police and prosecutors that Reasonover promptly implicated herself, along with White and a third suspect. In important respects, the story contradicts the evidence and common sense. Police do not record the conversation. Reasonover later denies confessing to Jolliff, and Butler supports Reasonover's story, despite enticements to rat on her.