All language subtitles for Snapped.S36E12.Jennifer.Sweeney.WEB-DL.x264-JiVE-CEsubs

A mother and daughter narrowly escape
death after becoming the target of an

unknown gunman.

They didn't attempt to take the car.
They didn't ask for any money.

I had eight shell casings on the street.
I was hoping they weren't hit that many

times.

I thought, why would somebody want to
shoot my daughter?

Their would -be killer is caught on
tape.

Video depicted.

the suspect arrive and flee the scene
after the shooting.

This was not a robbery. This was a
straight -up execution.

But just as the health of one of the
survivors improved, she vanishes.

I was thinking that whoever didn't
finish the job, he found her.

The evidence leads detectives to a
killer driven by jealousy and obsession.

They were in a dating relationship, but
it was not public knowledge.

They didn't want me to.

She loved her so much that she didn't
want to see her be with anyone else.

She was the worst of the worst.

We knew what the motive was.

If I can't have you, no one can.

Tuesday, November 24th, 2015.

It's a brisk fall evening in Linden, New
Jersey, when emergency dispatchers

receive a panicked call from a young
woman.

At

approximately

7 .16 p .m., Linden Central Dispatch.

The police radio broadcasted that there
were shots fired on the 900 block of

Middlesex Street.

The occupants of the vehicle were
Tyreida Julius

and their daughter Chanel, who was 15 at
the time.

Tyreida Julius was the first victim.
She's in the driver's seat of that car.

She is gravely injured. She had
attempted to drive away.

from the shooting area and then
subsequently had crashed the car.

Chanel had been hit. She'd been injured,
but not as seriously injured as Tyreta

clearly was.

There were significant gunshot injuries
to the torso area of Tyreta Julius.

She was in and out of consciousness.

They knew that they needed to get
medical attention.

As Tyreta and Chanel are transported to
the hospital,

officers scour the scene for evidence to
help them piece together what happened.

I had eight shell casings on the street.
I was hoping she wasn't hit that many

times.

One specific neighbor was able to
provide information about seeing a large

walking down the street and then
eventually running back to a silver SUV

car.

The second witness provided me with
basically the same description, large

man, heavy, set.

The Linden Police Department canvassed
the area for video surveillance

recordings, and they were able to
identify a video which depicted the

arrive and flee the scene after the
shooting.

The video I recovered wasn't poor
quality. It was very grainy, but you

that it did fit the description provided
by the witnesses.

At this point, we canvassed additional
areas.

It's a big world out there. There's a
lot of guys driving a sober vehicle.

As they conclude their initial sweep of
the crime scene, investigators receive

news from the hospital.

Tyrata was shot eight times, both in her
chest and in her abdominal area.

Her injuries were significant. She was
ultimately taken into surgery.

Police contact the victims' loved ones
to inform them of the shooting.

My sister called me frantic, yelling,
you have to get to the hospital.

Tyria was shot.

Why would somebody want to shoot my
daughter?

So I just dropped everything, grabbed my
coat.

Detectives also head to the hospital to
speak with those waiting for news on

Tyreta and Chanel.

It's wildly important to get information
about your victims to determine what

might be the motivating factor for this
type of violence.

A lot of times in these cases, the
victims don't survive.

And so we're left with kind of filling
the gaps and the holes by talking to...

You know, the next best thing, the
people who are in their lives every day.

Tyreta Julius was born June 6, 1974, in
Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Tyreta's father was not a constant in
her life, so Tyreta's mother raised her

with the help of her family.

I really wasn't a single parent. I had
my mother. I had my brothers.

I had my sister.

So Tyreta never really wanted for
nothing.

From that strong foundation, Tyreta grew
into a confident and charismatic young

woman.

She's very family -oriented, loved
everyone around her, never really had a

bone of hate in her body for anything.
She just always wanted to see everybody

around her succeed and just be together.

After graduating high school, Tyretta
turned her love of caring for people

a career.

She was an administrative assistant,
office administrator for Rutgers

Hospital.

While making plans for her future, she
fell for a man named Jamar Colbert.

He was basically opposite of her. He was
very laid -back, low -key. He wasn't...

Like the party dance type, you know, he
would kind of just fill back with his

cheese and his drink.

Charita felt like her and Jamar would be
together forever. And she never

mentioned marriage, but she always
talked about Jamar being her one and

They dated about maybe a year before she
got pregnant.

She got pregnant with Dante.

A couple years after that, she got
pregnant with Chanel.

She loved the kid more than anything in
this world.

Dante and Chanel were her first worry
about every and anything on this planet.

We were a real tight -knit family
growing up, you know. My mother's

was huge, larger than life.

While Tyreta thrived as a parent, Jamar
struggled with the expectations of

fatherhood, and it took a toll on their
relationship.

They were rocky.

Ultimately, she just realized that he
just wasn't for her. It wasn't a good

And they just decided to end the
relationship.

Tyreen never shared how tough those
times were. She always had a positive

outlook, that there was a better outlook
on the horizon.

She dated after Jamar and nothing that
even compared to him.

But I think, you know, her kids were
such a focus of her life that dating was

just something that came second.

She put the work in.

She's a service rep at the hospital.

She says, Mom, I want to get a big house
so all of us can live together.

She was getting her life together
financially.

She was just trying to reach that goal.

Now, everything Tyreta has built is at
risk as she fights for her life.

As Tyreta and her daughter Chanel
undergo treatment at the hospital,

focus on their witness interviews and
the viciousness of the attack to narrow

down possible motives.

There's no indication that the person
attempted to take anything.

They didn't attempt to take the car.

In my mind, this was not a robbery.

This was a straight -up execution.

We wanted to know if Tarita and Chanel
had any kind of ongoing disputes with

anybody in the neighborhood, family
members, or anything that could lead us

to the fact of who would do this to
them.

Coming up.

When I heard she was in a motorcycle
club, I immediately thought motorcycle

and thought the worst, right?

And a potential motive is revealed.

They had displayed elements of jealousy
and obsessiveness over Tyreta. There

might be that animosity flowing.

41 -year -old Tyreta Julius and her
daughter, 15 -year -old Chanel Colbert,

being treated for injuries they suffered
during a brutal neighborhood shooting.

Investigators at the hospital check to
see if anyone is well enough to talk.

Chanel Colbert, take one, marker.

I was grazed on my mouth and on my
wrist.

Do you remember how many times that guy
shot you guys?

I believe it was like eight or nine
shots.

Did you feel like you was lucky to only
walk away with just a graze?

I felt extremely lucky.

Like, extremely lucky.

That evening, me and my mom were
supposed to go to my brother's

which was normal for us.

She had just got off work.

I was just getting out of school.

She said she was going to go out to pull
the car around.

As I was coming out, that's when I
noticed a guy walk around the car.

As I was getting into the vehicle, I
just remember, as I was closing the

I'm looking over, and I've seen the gun
pointed into the window.

I didn't even have a moment to think.

I kind of, like, just went into shock,
and I just remember trying to take

I didn't realize that I was injured
until I went to call 911.

I was just concerned for my mom.

Investigators leave her to rest and
learn that Tyreta survived her first

surgery, but is still in the ICU on a
ventilator and therefore unable to talk

them.

Detectives turn to Tyreta's loved ones
to find out if she has any enemies who

might wish her harm.

Nothing made sense to me.

Honestly, when I first heard of the
event, I thought it was like, you know,

a... Random act of violence. Who would
want to hurt my mother and my sister?

But they share an unusual detail about
her that catches the attention of

detectives.

Tyreta was a member of the Rough Riders
Motorcycle Club.

When I heard she was in a motorcycle
club, I immediately thought motorcycle

and thought the worst, right?

Police wonder if her association with
the group led to violence.

But when they locate members of the
Rough Riders to interview, they find

not quite what they expected.

Definitely not a bike gang. But with us,
with Rough Riders, as a lifestyle,

we're closer to an Etsy, social clubs.

Not all of our members have bikes, but
they're still part of our lifestyle.

They did things in the community for the
community.

They weren't belligerent or violent.

We do book bag drives, we do feeding the
homeless, passing out toiletries and

stuff. You're actually doing something
for people that are in need of it, and

you can give it.

The Rough Riders say Tyreta grew
especially close to one member, a woman

Jennifer Sweeney.

Jennifer Sweeney and Tyreta were in a
dating relationship.

It was known to the Rough Riders, known
to certain members, and known to certain

friends of Tyreta's, but it was not
public knowledge to her family.

She never told me that they were
involved.

Some things you just know.

You can just put two and two together.

They said that they had been in a
relationship for upwards of three years.

and in fact had started to end right
before this shooting occurred.

As of the date of the shooting on
November 24th of 2015, they were

broken up, which was kind of the first
sign of, okay, we've got to look into

this more.

In interviewing a few of the Rough
Riders, it became known to us that they

at a fundraising event in New Jersey.

And Jennifer was highly upset at this
time because Tyreta was dancing with a

named Hassan Nicely.

To investigators, it sounds like a
potential motive.

Jennifer Sweeney had displayed elements
of jealousy and obsessiveness over

Tyreta. That's when they're kind of
clued into the fact that there might be

animosity flowing.

happened about three days before.

This information in itself is very
important to us because now we're

little bit of framework on the events
leading up to the shooting. This

could be part of it.

New Jersey investigators are looking for
the gunmen that shot Tyreta Julius and

her teenage daughter while they sat in a
car outside their home.

They explore the possibility that
Tyreta's relationship with Jennifer

led to the attack, and they dig into
Jennifer's life before she joined the

Riders.

Comes from a very good family.

Her mother and her grandmother, both in
the education business, and they were

pretty high up.

She lived with her mother. Her mother
was very involved in her life.

Despite that close relationship,
Jennifer didn't follow the family legacy

become an educator.

Jennifer was a technician for the
utility company.

She had a decent job that she was there
for for many years.

She was financially stable.

Her mother and family loved her. She was
generally described as even -keeled.

She's not a person who speaks too much
or says too much.

She got educated, an intelligent girl.

On the peripheral, she rode motorcycles.

She had some friends that rode
motorcycles too.

And some of them would ride with the
rough riders.

Jen was brought in by a previous member.

She was quiet.

She was cute to herself until she got to
know you.

We had to get her out of her shell a
little bit, you know.

But after that, we got to know her, and
she was cool.

You could talk to her and make jokes.

Tyreta's outgoing personality helped
break through Jennifer's shy nature, and

their friendship quickly turned
romantic.

In the beginning, Tyreta, she enjoyed
being around Jen.

They hung out a lot.

So I thought they were just friends, and
then it got close.

Like, okay, now y 'all besties.

But after that, I found out, like, oh,
you know, okay, cool. Like, it makes

sense now because they was close.

They looked great together, you know.
She broke a smile on Jennifer's face.

Jennifer made sure she was smiling.

However, friends say Jennifer's
dependence on Tyreta bordered on

Tyreta eventually broke things off.

Jen. It was overprotective.

She was always the one sitting next to
Tyreta, saying, you can't do this, you

can't do that.

Tyreta was tired of the arguments.

Tyreta didn't want to be controlled.

And when Tyreta moved on to a man,
Jennifer did not seem happy about it.

It became known that by August, she was
indeed dating Haseen Nicely.

So with that...

I wanted to now speak with Jennifer
Sweeney.

What the detective was trying to do is
figure out, you know, where she was on

the night of the shooting.

She was very calm, noticeably upset,
concerned, and more than willing to

She said that she was the only woman
that Tyreda had ever been with.

Jennifer did.

admit that there had been about three
days prior to the shooting that they had

not been speaking or that they had been
on a break, as she worded it.

She advised me that on the night of the
shooting, she was en route to London

because it was a Tuesday and that was
their normal meeting night.

She received a phone call from a fellow
club member who advised her that the

arena was shut.

They detoured and she went right to the
hospital.

The timeline puts Jennifer nowhere near
the scene of the shooting.

Plus, surveillance video and eyewitness
statements show a male shooter.

So investigators rule her out for the
time being.

Ten days after the attack, there is
miraculous news from the hospital.

Tyreta is awake and is going to survive
the shooting.

I was there, and the first thing she
said was, with my kids, how's Chanel?

It was extremely relieving for me.

That was just the only thing I wanted to
hear, that she made it out and would be

okay.

Tyreta is also well enough to speak with
detectives at the hospital.

My initial contact with Tyreta, she had
difficulty breathing, she was struggling

to speak.

So we just went for the basics.

Do you have any problems with anybody?

Tyreta is open about the tensions in her
relationship with Jennifer.

At the time, she felt that Jen would not
have been behind the shooting.

She was just as in the dark as everybody
else about who would have wanted her

dead.

As detectives work to formulate new
leads...

Tyreta continues her recovery, and
Jennifer remains by her side.

Tyreta felt obligated to have Jen there
because she felt like Jen was there for

her throughout the whole deal.

I don't know if they were still, like,
romantically, like, there, but she

her there, I guess, as a friend.

Jennifer would call and tell us updates
aren't.

Jennifer made it seem like she was back,
her and Tyreta was back together

because of all the stuff she, you know,
Jennifer was doing with being at the

hospital.

Jennifer was showing people pictures of
engagement rings that she was getting

for her.

So without Tyreta's input, Jennifer
decided that they were back together and

told other people that they were
together.

39 days after the incident in January.

Tyreta was released from the hospital.

She was in not best of condition at this
time.

It was decided by her family that she
was going to go stay at her mom's house.

Two months pass without any progress
identifying the shooter.

Then, in March 2016, three and a half
months after Tyreta was first shot, The

case takes an alarming new turn.

When my aunt received the phone call
that my mom was missing, she had went

and she did not make it back home.

Coming up, Tyreta's disappearance renews
efforts to identify her shooter.

When I came home, she wasn't there.

We know that Tyreta is not answering her
phone.

And a new suspect emerges.

You could see his whole demeanor just
change. He was like, oh, they got me.

On March 9, 2016,

Queen Julia, the mother of suiting
victim Tyreta Julius, contacts

She says that over the past few months,
Tyreta's recovery had been difficult.

She was very dependent on others. Her
arm was stiff and she really couldn't

do nothing for herself. So you had to...

Cook, feed her, help her bathe.

Jim was just there as a partner, you
know.

She was playing a role of caring, being
there, you know, help her

with her daily needs.

But now, Queen is worried something else
has happened to her daughter.

Mars to Ace.

I got up and I told Tyree before I went
to work, I said, get up and move that

arm.

When I came home, she wasn't there.

So I called Jen and I said, Jen, is
Tyree with you?

She said, no, I dropped her off at the
train station.

She had dropped her off at the Long
Branch train station at approximately 7

7 .03 p .m.

with the means of taking a 717 train
back to Linden.

Then I asked her, I said, well, why
would you drop her off at the train

if you picked her up from home?

And she said, well, she told me to drop
her off there.

We, as an investigator, found this kind
of odd.

Being that she was recently shot and her
shooter has not yet been apprehended.

I was thinking that whoever they didn't
get got her.

The person that didn't finish the job,
he found her.

It was vitally important to talk to
Jennifer Sweeney because she's the last

person to have seen her.

You went down and picked her up?

Mm -hmm.

Cool. What time was that about?

Like 11 .15, something.

Jennifer explained that they ran a few
errands in the evening hours.

Jennifer had driven Tyreta to the Long
Branch train station to drop her off so

that she could return home to Linden.

Tyreta insisted that she be dropped off
as she didn't want to inconvenience

Jennifer from having to travel back to
her home.

That was the next one that came.

She indicated that after dropping Tyreta
off, she went to her friend Donna

Hafner's house in Long Branch.

Donna was not home at the time, so
Jennifer said she remained there for

approximately one hour with Donna's
husband.

Jennifer was cooperative, and she was
committed to assisting us in locating

Tyreta.

While Jennifer is not considered to be a
suspect in Tyreta's disappearance,

Investigators want to confirm the
details of her statement.

We wanted to go back and search her
vehicle and her house just to ensure

everything that she had told us was
factually accurate.

They were able to find a receipt from
Ichiban which showed that they had been

there. They were able to corroborate
that the two of them went to the DMV

together because they had video from
inside and everything appeared normal.

When detectives follow up with
Jennifer's friend, Donna Hafner, she

that Jennifer visited her husband that
evening, but admits it was very odd.

Jennifer did not particularly get along
with Donna's husband, Jr.

Jennifer ended up awkwardly sitting with
Donna's husband for a good amount of

time before then leaving.

Detectives suspect Jennifer may have
been trying to create an alibi for the

night of Tyreta's disappearance.

Our next efforts were focused on
reviewing video surveillance recordings

effort to locate Tyreta or Jennifer
traveling to the Long Branch train

The footage ultimately makes extremely
clear that neither Jen Sweeney,

nor Tyreta Julius, was ever there on
March 8, 2016.

Being the last person that saw her alive
and then having her give information

that is inconsistent with known
evidence, that's going to lead them to

suspicious of her.

After uncovering evidence that Jennifer
Sweeney lied about the disappearance of

Tyreta Juliet, investigators revisit the
possibility she was also involved in

the shooting that took place four months
prior.

We decided to go to the phones.
Communication data warrant was prepared

Jennifer Sweeney's telephone number.

Records show Jennifer added Tyreta to
her account, giving her full access to

Tyreta's phone.

She was really utilizing that to really
stalk where she was and who she was

stalking.

One of the numbers belongs to the man
Tyreta's friend said Jennifer became

jealous over.

The night before the shooting, she is
constantly calling Hassan Nicely's

like Darcy Sevening, the number.

Basically blocking a number so that they
can't see who's calling.

Building herself up, like, basically
into a fury that whole night.

Though he ignored Jennifer's harassing
calls, the same pattern repeated just

before Tyreta vanished.

February 1st, there was a bevy of
lookups in these phone finders and

that where she's starting to do intel.

That leads us to believe that she was
becoming more and more jealous in the

before both the shooting and then the
disappearance.

However, the most damning evidence comes
from Jennifer's GPS data.

Jennifer Sweeney's phone was accessing
cell phone towers in the Linden area the

same time that Tyreta was shot.

This was contrary to what Jennifer had
told.

Us, when we first met with her.

The data showed that she'd been lying
and she was at the same tower at the

time that Tyreta was.

Not only was Jen in Linden, but she was
speaking to an individual with a prepaid

cell phone.

She spoke to this individual 19 times on
the day of the shooting and 25 times

the following day.

Investigators track the prepaid cell
phone to a user named Andre Harris.

We learned that Jan Sweeney and Andre
Harris went to high school together.

They were friends for sure. Somewhat
more recently, they kind of reconnected

little bit.

From first glance, he certainly fits the
general description of what we were

given for the shooting.

Andre Harris is a big guy.

And he happened to drive a silver
vehicle.

They also were able to look at the
location of his cell phone around the

the shooting. His phone is at the same
tower location that Jennifer Sweeney's

and that Tyreida Julius' is.

So that puts them all in the same area
at the same time on the night of the

shooting.

We found that he had an outstanding long
branch.

warrant for his arrest at this point a
motor vehicle stop was effectuated by a

marked unit and he was taken into
custody he was questioned about his

relationship if any with ty rita julius
as well as his relationship with

jennifer sweeney and he provides
information that he does in fact know

sweeney he considers her to be an
acquaintance that he's had for a long

Andre claims he does not know Tyreta and
denies the evidence placing him near

the scene of the shooting.

While interviewing Andre, there were
search warrants prepared for Andre, his

vehicle, and his residence.

The field team was out there.

We received a phone call advising that
they had located human remains in the

yard of Andre's residence.

Once myself and Detective Mikulajczyk
were informed about the information and

were then able to confront Andre Harris.

You could see his whole demeanor just
change.

He was like, they got me.

While Andre initially denied having any
information, he ultimately confessed

that it was Tyreta Julius's remains that
were buried on his property.

Andre admits to being the gunman in the
shooting nine months earlier, but

insists Jennifer is the one who killed
Tyreta.

He said on the evening of the homicide,
Jen appeared at his door. She had called

him shortly before, saying, hey, gonna
stop by.

This was highly unusual because he tells
me he tries to keep his distance from

Jennifer.

She asked him for a cord. She gives him
apparently the explanation she's having

issues with her trunk, so he supplies
her with a white electrical cord.

She took the cord and went back to her
vehicle where she remained for several

minutes.

He's wondering what Jen's doing out
there.

He exited his home, and at this time, he
noticed that Dorito was in the front

seat with an electrical cord wrapped
around her neck.

Jen is now pointing a gun at him,
demanding, He did the grave.

The details Andre provides are vague,
but evidence from the grave site seems

confirm his statement.

Tyreta is found inside two trash bags,
and the electrical cord was still

around her neck.

He has no known connection or really
anything to do with Tyreta Julius.

which tells us that the motive is still
lying with Jennifer Sweeney.

Now we're thinking, why would Jen kill
Dorita in such a fashion?

Because Jen's intention was to propose
to Dorita. She also wanted Dorita to

move in with her, but Dorita wasn't
quite ready for this yet because she

healthy.

Maybe what triggered it this day was
she...

did propose or she did ask Tyreida to
move in with her, but something occurred

that Jen did a full 180 on.

Shortly after this interview, Jennifer
misplaced into custody.

Andre Harris and Jennifer Sweeney were
charged with the murder and desecration

of human remains of Tyreida Julius.

When they told us that they found
Sarita, I just held my brother. I

even think at that point in time. I just
felt numb.

It's hard.

Your child's supposed to outlive you.
You're not supposed to bury your child.

Prosecutors begin preparing the case for
trial.

But without direct evidence tying
Jennifer to the murder, They know the

is less than certain.

Even if you think you have the strongest
case imaginable, you never know what's

going to happen with the jury.

Following his arrest, Andre Harris, the
confessed shooter of Tyreta Julius and

Chanel Colbert, accepts a plea deal in
exchange for his testimony against

Jennifer Sweeney.

He pled guilty to the attempted murder
of Tyreta Julius, and

he was sentenced to 16 years of New
Jersey State Prison.

Naturally, we ask Andre, how did you
ever get involved in this?

He told us that Jennifer Sweeney was
threatening his, basically his life and

kids.

She would make mention to him that she
knew where his kids were at school or

what they were doing.

Jennifer just couldn't take that.

Tyreda wasn't happy. You couldn't take
the rejection.

She enlisted Andre Harris to shoot her.

And Jen had to kind of play her role as
the caring girlfriend.

I think maybe even legitimately, Jen
tried to make it work, but ultimately,

you know, she got suspicious again and
killed Tarita in Andre Harris's driveway

and made him bury the body.

He said, I went along with it because I
had no choice. It was either my people

or Tarita, and I don't know Tarita.

After multiple delays, the trial finally
gets underway in August 2021.

Prosecutors paint a picture for the jury
of a woman driven by jealousy to commit

murder.

We knew what the motive was. If I can't
have you, no one can.

She did plan on proposing. She had
showed several of her friends an

ring she wanted.

Tyretta was moving on.

Jennifer snapped because she loved
Tyretta so much that she didn't want to

her be with anyone else. She was that
jealous, and she couldn't handle her

moving on.

But the defense argues that the evidence
proves Jennifer had nothing to do with

Tyretta's death.

Andre, we know, attempted to murder
Tyreda up in Linden. And then

second time, her body is dead in the
backyard of his house,

having been choked to death.

Our theory was that Andre was jealous of
Tyreda

because he wanted to have a relationship
with Jen.

So he was wiping out the competition.

On September 3rd, 2021, the jury renders
its verdict.

Jen Sweeney was found guilty of every
count of the indictment except the

attempted murder charge against.

As it related to Chanel Culver was
dismissed.

In May 2022, she is sentenced to 95
years in prison.

Jennifer's sentence, I found fair.

I want her to be in jail, in prison,
suffering for the rest of her life. She

should never see the light of day.

She's the worst of the worst.

I just couldn't stand how she could just
sit up in my house and look you in the

face at all the time, knowing what you
did.

for shooting and then plotting this.

My mom was like the glue. She made sure
we stayed in contact with each other.

She just set things up so that we can be
a family.

My grandmother She lost her daughter. We
lost our mother.

It's a huge loss. You know what I mean?
And all for what?

For nothing.

For nothing.

My cousin asked me one time, well, how
can we get the OU back?

And I told him, that part is gone.

I don't think that part is ever coming
back.