3. An Illegal Adoption Gone Wrong

The following episode contains possibly triggering content including child abuse, drug activity, and sexual activity. Listener discretion is advised.

Part 0: Is Anything a Coincidence?

I often find myself thinking about scenarios that I never used to never consider. I wonder what my whereabouts say about me. I imagine if something were to happen to me, someone would analyze everywhere I went that day, the past few days, and what I had planned for the coming days. They would look at everyone I interacted with – some people would be immediate suspects and others would be chalked up as coincidence. How could someone tell the difference? 

Picture this: Your best friend, your parent, your partner, gets killed. How would you defend yourself? We don’t think about our alibis in the moment because we never assume we’ll need one. Sometimes it all comes down to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

But is anything really a coincidence?

Part 1: The Low Hanging Fruit 

When I decided to look into this case, I reached out to some friends who had experience making successful true crime podcasts. I was new to this world and was struggling to find a starting point. “Go for the low hanging fruit” was their advice. If it seems obvious, it could be true. Start there. 

So I did. 

It’s a common phrase in true crime – “the husband did it.” Was there a life insurance policy? Who was the beneficiary? More often than not, it’s never a coincidence. 

Following this method – looking at the most obvious connections in my dad’s life – there were some stand out characters. All of a sudden situations that seemed slightly unusual became incredibly suspicious… and diving even deeper, would reveal the most unexpected details.

But the list of suspects was a long one.

You know there’s a lot of different angles to this because there’s a lot of people did not like J.C. because he made a lot of enemies because of his choices in life.

There wasn’t only a long list of people who didn’t like my dad – there was an equally long list of motives. And too many theories is never a good thing – especially when you’re trying to prove one of them to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

I had a meeting with the Belmont County Prosecutor’s office back in 2021. I was curious what they would need to start the legal proceedings if eventually I had a solid lead. But with this case – with my dad – there were too many possibilities.

You have a lot of ideas and a lot of theories and a lot of things that could possibly make sense, but a lot of theories isn’t a good thing. One theory is a good thing. And it doesn’t mean you can’t explore a lot of theories to eventually end up at one. If there are three or four versions of what could’ve happened.

In order to find the one theory that made the most sense, I had to rule out all the other theories. 

In the beginning, some of my family members were eager to talk with me. I was getting a lot of different perspectives and angles. Some were very far-fetched, others seemed more realistic. But everything was hearsay or a half memory – nothing was concrete. 

So I took every version of every story I heard, and started to piece together the parts that overlapped. I assumed the parts that were consistent between each person’s retelling could have held a sliver of truth. That was my low-hanging fruit.

In a lot of these stories, my dad wasn’t always painted in the best light. Everyone has secrets, and he was no exception.

We like to remember people for all of their good qualities, the positive things they did for others, and their added benefit to society. But it’s important, for this story, that I understood the shameful qualities that people would normally want hidden. In my dad’s case, his promiscuity.

But with the amount of friends that he had, it’s very possible that you have that many enemies too. You know he’s got girlfriends out the wing wang. You know he’s got many girlfriends so those guys might not like him.

My mom didn’t think my dad’s murder was an accident. She had heard of some of these girlfriends, and from there she had a number one suspect in mind.

But I did tell him that Daneen was gonna be the end of him.

Part 2: An Illegal Adoption Gone Wrong

In the late ‘90s early 2000’s my dad was involved with Daneen Schrader. They were both “in the game” – selling drugs together. And like my dad, Daneen was also an addict. In October of 2001, Daneen gave birth to my little brother Shane.

I don’t have much of a relationship with Shane at all. We are friends on Facebook and check in with each other every so often. He tells me about the cars he’s working on and our mutual cousins that he sees from time to time. I am able to reminisce on some of my early childhood with my dad, but Shane has no memories of him at all. 

There was a lot going on behind the scenes with my dad and Daneen that had a lot of people skeptical. 

I always thought Daneen had something to do with it.

My dad can’t confirm any of this, and Daneen passed away in 2020. But when I heard this story from multiple people, a lot of the details were identical. So just know that this episode has a big fat “allegedly” taped across it.

In addition to selling drugs, Daneen was also a sex worker. I’m not sure if her relationship with my dad was more of a business decision than a personal one, but they were together on and off for a little while.

Your dad and Daneen probably hooked up at an NA meeting. I don’t know how they got together. But they got together. I don’t know what their relationship was. I have no idea. I don’t know if he was paying her. I’m sure he was taking care of her.

There was a brothel in Philadelphia where Daneen would occasionally go for work. Mind you, Philadelphia is a 5 and a half hour drive from where she lived. There were probably other brothels like this closeby, so I’m not sure what the attraction was to this specific one. But here, there were strict rules set by the manager – a woman they called “Madam Marie.” Madam Marie’s biggest rule was that the women could only work at the house for one month at a time – she wanted to keep things fresh and exciting for her customers. So Daneen would go for a month and then go back to the Wheeling area. 

J.C. used to take Daneen up there to work for a month at a time. And he used to tell me he was taking Daneen to work at Madame Marie’s.

Pregnancies can happen in this line of work, even with the strongest precautions. And Madam Marie saw a business opportunity. If the women didn’t want the baby, she would take them in and help them sell the child instead.

She also took in pregnant prostitutes where she sold the babies.

Madam Marie was running an illegal adoption ring out of this house. Pregnant women were allowed to work there while she monitored them to make sure they stayed clean and off of any hard drugs. She needed these women to give birth to healthy babies… So that she could sell healthy babies.

This was the farthest thing from a buttoned up, legitimate business and logistically I am not sure how everything worked. I felt uncomfortable hearing this for the first time and spent days processing it all. I know terrible things happen every day, but this was on a different level. This was hitting incredibly close to home.

When Daneen got pregnant in early 2001, she swore my dad was not the father. Given her history and line of work, he believed her.

But at the time he didn’t know it was his.

‘Cause she told him she didn’t know who the father was because she had been having sex with numerous people.

My dad and Daneen both knew about Madam Marie’s side business. Money talks – and people were paying a lot for these babies. 

$20,000 per baby – $5,000 for doctor. $5,000 for her. $5,000 for the lawyer. And $5,000 for the mother.

So Daneen went to Madam Marie, who had a buyer for her baby…

J.C. had told me that a Philadelphia police officer and his teacher wife had adopted his son.

Let’s take a beat here. There’s a lot going on. Daneen is about to sell her baby to make some extra money. Her baby is actually my dad’s son, but he doesn’t know that yet. She’s going to a brothel in Philadelphia to work while pregnant and the people quote unquote adopting her baby are a police officer and his school teacher wife. 

You really can’t make this stuff up. And when you think it can’t get any worse… it does.

It’s like a lifetime movie. You just can’t imagine this stuff really happens in the world and uh everybody looks the other way.

Madam Marie had another very strict rule – the mothers must stay clean. No hard drugs can be used during pregnancy. But Daneen secretly relapsed.

She was still continuing to use heroin and crack.

As a result, my little brother Shane was born in Philadelphia in October 2001 addicted to heroin. It is heartbreaking to hear stories of what these babies experience as they enter the world with a dependency on such a hard drug.

But the baby was born addicted to heroin. He had a lot of issues as a baby. It’s very traumatic to watch a baby come down off of heroin.

I don’t know if there was a protocol at the time for drug addicted babies, but I do know that today there is. I can only tell you what we do here in the state of West Virginia as far as drug addicted babies. Normally they go to CPS. The mother has the opportunity to get treatment. The baby is detoxed and it can take weeks for them, months, and possibly a whole lifetime of neurological damage.

She had let him be sick, not only that but she was carrying Hepatitis so they were afraid that the baby was gonna have Hepatitis. She should have been really worried.

But even though Shane looked really sick, my dad recognized his features.

After she had the baby your dad decided that he wanted a paternity test because he saw the baby and thought it was his.

And the results weren’t surprising – It was a match.

Now here is where things get a little murky. I’m not sure if the couple who had “adopted” Shane didn’t want him because of his health condition, but some people believe that Daneen saw an opportunity. She could collect a monthly check from the government if she kept the baby.

Daneen had already decided that this baby was worth some money.

They did not want Shane to be with dad because they wanted that social security check. They were riding on that. Not only did Daneen, I’m sure, want to keep her baby. But they wanted that check. They knew that that was a meal ticket for them. So losing the baby meant they’re not going to get that money.

You know, took him from Philadelphia and ran back down here.

And they say that she went back on the adoption deal while keeping the $5,000 that had already been paid to her. 

The people were helping her her whole pregnancy – giving her cash, giving her stuff. I don’t know what all. But she was using heroin the whole pregnancy and then took her baby with her and was like you ain’t getting this baby – took all the money they gave her and took the baby.

One version of the story is that the adoptive parents had already taken Shane home…

But the adoption was legal, but not legal. There’s like a window of opportunity – I don’t know how much time – it could be days, it could be weeks. If you do adopt, you have so much time that you can recant.

So she went and got the baby from these people and what were they gonna say? This is all totally illegal.

Another version is that Shane never left the hospital with the adoptive parents and Daneen immediately took him back to Ohio…

She sold him and then she took the baby with her.

Regardless of what happened in those first few days – whether Shane lived with this cop and his wife for a few days or immediately went back to Ohio, Daneen took him home. As soon as my dad had evidence that Shane was his son, he started fighting for custody.

By the time Daneen had given birth to Shane, she had a new boyfriend – Butchie. Another local drug dealer who had his own reputation and connections in the Wheeling area. Butchie and Daneen were living together and he was with Shane a lot in those first few months of his life. For several reasons, my dad hated that.

Not only was Butchie dating Daneen, my dad’s “ex” – if you can call her that. 

About a decade prior to this, he started dating Barb while she was still married to my dad. Barb. My sister Alyssa’s mom. Her affair led to their divorce and she continued to date Butchie for a while. They dated for so long, Alyssa even has some memories with Butchie as a “step dad” figure.  

Butchie was actually my stepdad at a point in time. So I trusted him because he was never like a weirdo to me. He was always very loving.

This man had been with two of my dad’s baby momma’s… seems like more than a coincidence. 

Him and Daneen were my first two suspects.

The police initially agreed that he was a prime suspect – someone with strong motive – but when Butchie said he didn’t do it, the police took his word at face value and quickly ruled him out. That’s something that never made sense to me.

I remember this, too. I remember Butchie saying that he hated your dad but he would never do that to him.

Part 3: The Custody Battle

During Alyssa’s 9-1-1 call, minutes after my dad was shot and killed, she mentions a very important detail about Shane and Daneen.

Dispatcher: OK, sheriff's department and an ambulance are going to be there soon, OK? Do you know who may have done this, any idea?
Female: I have no idea.
Dispatcher: No idea?
Female: Only, my dad and I were trying to get custody of my little brother
Dispatcher: OK, from who?
Female: From his mom, Daneen Schrader.
Dispatcher: OK – 
Female: We have had problems with her, but everything was going fine recently.
Dispatcher: Right –
Female: And we were going to court Friday to get him –
Dispatcher: Uh-huh –
Female: That’s the only person I knew that my dad had any problems with right now.

On July 12, 2002, the day after his murder, my dad was due in court for Shane’s custody hearing. 

It is assumed he was going to out this illegal adoption scheme, this sex worker house, Daneen and Butchie’s drug activity, and ultimately would have proven he was a better fit for Shane. But my dad never got the chance to fight for his son.

It’s just awful weird that he had court the next day. That always didn’t sit right with me.

It’s very suspicious that he was gonna go to court, testify against them, disclose this stuff about a whore house in Philadelphia that’s selling babies that all this happened.

If Daneen lost custody of Shane, she would lose his social security. To Daneen and Butchie, my dad was a liability because he was messing with their money supply.

Something feels so chilling about my dad getting murdered the day before the final custody hearing.

In a really strange turn of events, Butchie actually stepped up to take care of Shane after my dad was murdered.

Because Butchie and Daneen were together when dad died. He became Shane’s step dad of sorts. I mean Shane had many men in there but Butchie was one of the main guys that always kind of stayed around.

For years, people suspected that Butchie and Daneen had something to do with my dad’s murder – either directly or indirectly. They had access to him. They had a motive and they benefited from his death.

Part 4: Daneen and Butchie

Daneen was interviewed the day of the murder. I was given access to the transcript of that interview. When she sat down with the lead investigator, Detective Nippert, she sounded pretty paranoid.

Detective Nippert: We need to know what you know, Daneen. Maybe you can help us, that’s all.
Daneen: Am I under arrest?
Detective Nippert: Absolutely not.
Daneen: I’m going to tell you what Grace told me. Grace told me to tell yous that if I wasn’t under arrest, then not to make a statement because things get twisted.
Detective Nippert: Daneen, right there’s the door. If you want to get up and walk out of here and go –

It’s hard to analyze Daneen’s testimony because she wasn’t a particularly honest person.

She would just lie and try to tell me crazy things about dad.

But it’s not just Daneen – It’s hard to take anyone’s word at face value. This is all hearsay. People are telling me what they heard from someone else or what they think they remember.  

But looking at Daneen’s initial interview with the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department – Detective Nippert was piecing things together just as I would have.

Detective Nippert: Well, we had to talk to you and Butch, you know, put two and two together here – you’re having a big custody battle
Daneen: Well, I – but –
Detective Nippert: He hated John McGhee –
Daneen: Yes
Detective Nippert: John McGhee – uh – John McGhee’s found dead the day before the final hearing. I mean, why would we not talk to you?
Daneen: We had our differences but I never wished that on anybody, not my worst enemy, whether he wanted my son or not, just for vengeance. I don’t – I’m not that kind of person.
Detective Nippert: Doesn’t mean Butchy isn’t…

The police wasted no time – they brought in Butchie within hours of my dad’s murder. But he didn’t know why he was there for questioning until they warmed him up a little bit.

Detective Nippert: You know why you’re here, right?
Butchie: Yeah – I’m wondering what –
Detective Nippert: J.C. McGhee?
Butchie: Yeah, what about him?
Detective Nippert: He’s dead.
Butchie: Are you shitting me? Tell – don’t lie to me, please. Are you serious?
Detective Nippert: We’re serious.

It seems like there was suspicion around Butchie. And his interview with detectives did him no favors. 

From the moment he learns my dad is dead, he immediately understands why he’s there.

Butchie: No wonder I’m here… Ok, now I understand what’s going on. But not – I swear to God – I was home. Oh, I mean, I’ll be honest with you. Yeah, I hate the man. I do hate the man. But inside my heart, I always said God would take care of it, you know, with some of the things he’s done to me. Just some of the things – and if that’s what – if he say J.C. is dead. Then I can see why you got me here and (fuck) but I know – I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill him. I haven’t seen the man in probably over a month. And the only time I ever seen him was at a gas station in Bridgeport when he was passing through. That was it. That’s when I seen – spoken to J.C. McGhee

Alyssa saw Butchie and my dad get into a fight a few months before his murder. She isn’t completely sure what they were yelling about, but she thinks she remembers them arguing over Shane. The one thing that was never a question – Butchie definitely hated my dad.

Detective DeVaul: You hate him enough to kill him?
Butchie: No, I wouldn’t kill him – I wouldn’t kill a – I mean, I hate enough to want to just choke him, but I would never kill nobody. I don’t have killing in my heart.
Detective Nippert: Do you hate him enough to have somebody else kill him?
Butchie: No I wouldn’t do that.
Detective DeVaul: Would you hate him enough to have someone else – rough him up, beat the shit out of him?
Butchie: No, and I even had offers. People offered me – we’ll take care of that for you. And I have said, no that’s not in my soul. That’s not –
Detective Nippert: Who made you that offer?

My dad’s snitch reputation was no secret. He got a lot of people locked up, including Butchie who went to jail in the early ‘90s.

Maybe Butchie never let that go. 

Butchie: Uh, there’s a lot of drug dealers – J.C. has been – and there’s also been… I can start from the beginning. It all started back when J.C. told on his nephew. I don’t know if you know Rico. This was back in 1992 where I got my first charge at. This is when he sent his nephew to jail for life. See the situations were – J.C.’s a snitch. And there’s just a lot of people – hate him for that. 

Part 5: What Happened to Butchie?

At the end of Butchie’s testimony, he volunteered to take a voice inflection test. This is kind of like a lie detector test, but they use your voice and tone to analyze if you’re telling the truth. According to the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department, Butchie passed. To this day I’ve never seen the copy of this test. So I have to take their word for it. 

Once he was off the hook, to my knowledge, he wasn’t considered a suspect again. I’ve heard he’s moved to Columbus and still has a relationship with Shane. But as far as his involvement in Belmont County, he has none.

‘Cause I saw him several years ago and haven’t seen him since. He’s like vanished.

Part 6: What Did Daneen Really Know?

Daneen’s interview with police was a few hours after the shooting. It’s unclear if she ever took the voice inflection test but she doesn’t give much information up when she is questioned. I’ve always wondered how legitimate her alibi was.

According to Daneen, she went to her mom’s house early that morning and was back at her place until she got the call to go down to the police station. She insists she has no involvement or knowledge of what happened that morning. But she had a reputation of lying so I don’t know if I believe her story.

I’ve always thought that she knew a lot more than she said. And I feel like she knew these people.

Alyssa tried to get what she could from Daneen, while also looking out for Shane.

Daneen is gone. But, I was fine with Daneen. But it was also for information. It was because of Shane mainly. You can’t pry it out of somebody but they might eventually tell you what happened.

Sometimes people feel the pressure, it can feel like their back is against the wall with no other option. And other times when they think the pressure is completely off, they get comfortable. Sometimes they crack.

Before Daneen left the police station that day, she started to crack…

Daneen: I know he got shot. I know that someone over here got tied up. Another thing I heard, his nephew’s the one that shot him. I mean, that’s my baby’s father. I didn’t want him dead.

Next Time on Ice Cold Case

Which leads me to believe it was somebody in the family or somebody he knows.

Omar knows something. There’s no doubt about it.

I’m telling you – they have brainwashed me. Because Omar kept telling me all these stories.

Credits:

Ice Cold Case is brought to you by Yes!
It is written and produced by Madison McGhee
Also produced by Jeremy Benbow
Recorded by Danny Sellers
Mixed by Cody Campbell
Our music is by Matt Bettinson
With creative direction by Austin Christianson