We just want to help out and we don't
want that baby to get hurt. That's all
we care about.
Okay? We don't want that baby to get
hurt. Do you want the baby to get hurt?
Hey, come over here. The are you
doing my baby? Listen. Listen.
Okay. They're going to take right now.
You need to pull your together for your
daughter. Go.
When two officers respond to a report of
a physical domestic disturbance, they
have no idea that they're taking their
final steps toward one of the most
horrifying police encounters ever
documented. The police department
releases an edited body cam to the
public, but it's only now that the full
story of this bleak tragedy can be told.
Here comes the Yep. I went with her
baby. Okay. The following report is
based on official police records and
most of the footage has never been seen
before. until now. On November 7th,
2024, two officers with the
Independence, Missouri Police Department
respond to an apartment complex for a
domestic disturbance. Are you involved
in this? That's my wife. Okay. I just
dropped her off. Go get your gas. And I
guess she got they beat her up. Okay. Is
that person involved? Uh, this is my
husband. No. Is that person involved?
No, not that person. No. No, I'm not.
Okay. What's going on? I I called my son
and asked him if I if it's okay for me
to come up here to see my granddaughter.
The officers determine after speaking to
the woman that she's been assaulted and
they go up to the apartment to
investigate.
[Music]
Number
six. The officers wait to speak with the
occupants, Mitchell Holder and Maria
Pike, not yet knowing that they are only
minutes away from a moment of shocking
violence with irreversible consequences.
But this isn't the Independence Police
Department's first encounter with Maria,
who called 911 2 weeks earlier to report
that her infant daughter was not
breathing. Fell asleep on her
baby. What the stop the bleeding? Yeah.
Where is she burning a little bit from
her mouth?
All right, let's go.
She's too long. Please. I couldn't sleep
on her. Okay, look. You're going to
you're going to get to the hospital.
643. You've got control coming out.
A little more forward.
Baby's crying.
Pull her head forward.
Is there anything there? No. I have
mouth to mouth.
She's scared. She's scared. Hold on.
He's got to look.
Okay. The back of the throat's a little
red.
Hey, Ro.
Why is he bleeding? As the medics tend
to Maria and her baby, additional
officers respond to the scene. Hey, we
need you to take some deep breaths.
Okay.
Hey. Hey. Hey, ma'am. Hey.
Look. Look. Baby's here doing good.
What's her name? What? What's her name?
Little tiny baby. She fell asleep on it.
He's breathing. Got some blood coming
out of his nose.
A little bit more. Look inside. I didn't
see obstructing an airway as well, but I
couldn't tell if it was further down.
I'm not sure. So, I'm seeing it.
dying.
Hey, ma'am. Let's get him in the back.
You got I got him. I got her. I need you
to go to stay here. We're going to do
some things. Okay. Ma'am, let's get some
information. We got to talk to you.
Okay. Let's get some information there.
All right. We'll get it from you. What's
your name? What's your Okay, hold on.
Ma'am, wait. They're not taking her
away. They're helping her. We're going
to get you to her. Okay. There is
nothing you can do right now except talk
to us. Okay.
You have a camp back there. No, I'm
sleeping back there. My boyfriend, you
got to stay still and talk to me. She
was asleep in the woods. She was over
there.
Yeah.
Hey, come over here. The are you doing?
There's nothing you can do. Let them do
their thing and we're going to take
this. Hey, ma'am. You got to talk. Okay.
What happened?
Okay. The officer takes Maria's knife,
ominously foreshadowing the tragedy that
will unfold on November 7th. Meanwhile,
other officers inspect her wooded
campsite.
Got a little shack or a little
ramshackle camp. It's posted. So, I
mean, hopefully they take this kid away
from her. Nah, probably not. living out
here in a they'll call her and they'll
do one of those sit down meeting things
and call it day. Out at the road, the
EMTs are concerned that Maria may have
had a more active role in harming her
baby. Hey, look at me. Look at me. Look
at me. Did you hit her in the face at
all in any way? Like trying to trying to
help her or anything like that? Could
you accidentally struck her in the face?
No. No. When I was just trying to figure
out we're just trying to keep her on
this side of the road.
From where? I her nose, her mouth. I was
trying to resuscitate her. Please don't
worry. Please don't leave me. What? I
don't blowing. I'm squeezing her. I was
shaking her trying to wake her up. Did
she say she was shaking? Yes. Slightly
shaking. Yes. Let's take a seat. But if
Maria's composure is tenuous, it's only
when the ambulance begins pulling away
with her baby that she loses control.
My baby. Listen.
Okay, they're going to take her out and
make sure that she's healthy. Okay, she
has to go to the hospital.
I'm sorry. It's okay. It's okay. Listen,
Mariah. Hey, Mariah. I'm so sorry. It is
fine. What's important right now is your
baby's going to the hospital. Okay.
Okay. Listen to me. Listen to my words.
Hey, let go of this car cuz they're
going to go towards your daughter. Okay.
So, let's let go of this car. Okay,
let's let go of this car. We need to let
go of this dude.
We're fine. Stop. Unfortunately, the
officer's assurances don't make it any
easier to get information from the
distraught mother. Hey, right now you
need to pull your together for your
daughter. I know you are. So, hey, we
need to try to get a hold of your dad so
we can figure this out. What is your
dad's name?
[Music]
She can be somebody else.
[Applause]
Her eyes are she's high. Bad drugs
combined with postpartum combined with
shock.
The holy trinity. The cops go through
Maria's belongings and get some
information about her daughter before
making plans about what to do next. This
phone called Yeah, Destiny is the kid's
name. It was in her phone. And we're
going to take the kiddo into protective
custody. Sit on the kid until the FS
gets there. Um trying to figure out. I
called Hineer. He's wanting a little bit
more information. Sounds like if she's
not talking, she's just completely just
shut down. I mean, just nothing. Maria
is taken to the hospital for a
psychiatric hold and baby Destiny is
placed with a foster family for the
night. One week later, two officers head
out to the apartment where Maria is
staying to check on the baby's
well-being.
Who is it? Police department. Okay. What
do you want? Uh we're just coming to
check on uh your daughter. I believe
she's fine. Okay. Well, children
division has come check on her. Okay.
Can we just see her real quick? That way
we can get out of here.
Do you have a warrant? Maria, we're not
here. Nobody's in trouble. We just need
to check on Destiny.
This is ridiculous.
For the record, you're being recorded.
Okay. You're being recorded, too. We
just need to see the kid cuz what
they're doing is legal. They're trying
to take all my parental rights and I
have full custody. I have paperwork. You
want to see the paperwork? Just need to
see the kid. Just real quick. Okay.
Don't step. here real quick. I'm already
triggered. You can bring it right in.
Okay. Thank you, honey. Can you just
bring her right here?
She's going to be staying here with her
dad. Who's her dad?
You're the father.
Hello. Okay. Oh, appreciate you guys got
food and everything, diapers. Yeah. Can
I have badge numbers and names? The
officers give her their badge numbers
and leave. But it's only five short days
later that police are called out to
Maria's door once again. This time by a
social worker who says the couple is not
responding. So the baby is in the house.
Um I I believe the parents are inside.
They're not opening the door. They have
mental concerns. So what is what are you
wanting from us? Um is there a way that
like we could try to open the door? The
police say that isn't an option, but
they go along with her to knock on the
apartment. It's November 6th,
2024, only one day before Maria and
Destiny's story reaches its unimaginable
conclusion. They are in there because
they just let two home app come out. I
was sitting right there while she was
out there and my son opened the door and
and then shut the door on my baby. Yeah.
I mean, unfortunately,
um
I'm not saying that they're making good
decisions, but they're allowed to have
who they see fit in their house. About a
week ago, they actually um their baby
got into our custody because I got you.
Mom ran out of the house because of the
domestic violence concern. Um and mom
kind of mentioned it, but then she
pulled it back and she was downplaying
it and she was the baby still in her
custody. No. So, we brought the baby
back to them. Okay. Neither Mitchell nor
Maria open the door and almost exactly
24 hours later, Tisa calls 911 to report
that Maria assaulted her. The police
show up again, but this time Mitchell
lets them inside. Did you do something
illegal? No. Okay. So, can we come and
talk about what's going on? Uh, I accept
your terms. What's up? The two officers
enter the apartment where they find
Maria in the bedroom closet with Destiny
in her arms.
Hi there.
What's your name?
Can you come out here, please?
Please.
I got her in the closet.
I don't know what happened because I was
in the Are you okay? Oh, I can't. Are
you hurt?
Okay, can we put the baby down? Come in
here and talk and figure out what's
going on. As the officers try to coax
Maria out of the closet, other cops
begin racing to the scene.
One of the officers is working in here
that respond to that call. She said the
last time she was contacted, she had a
large knife and a knife holder attached
to her belt. With that unsettling
warning coming over the radio, they
prepare for what they're walking into.
They're both off, by the way. He gets
SS2 like he has to have a baby.
They have an incident. They have a baby.
This is the problem. That is super
concerning.
Unfortunately, if there was anything
these two could have done to change the
nightmarish course of events to follow,
they simply don't get there in time. 44
is able to make a connection to resolve
this. Who is 44? That would be Heather.
Hang on. Can you stay right here,
please? You going to give her the bait?
[Applause]
Okay. We just want to help out and we
don't want that baby to get hurt. That's
all we care about. Okay?
We don't want that baby to get
hurt. Do you want the baby to get hurt?
That's okay.
I don't speak sign language. I I caught
the first one, though. I can get the
rest of it. Hey, Mitchell, does she
speak or is it sign language only? It's
only sign language. What can you tell us
what she's saying?
Does she write some things down so I can
talk to her sometimes?
Are you able to understand what I say?
Do you understand me?
Yes or no? Do you understand me?
She's from this continent born. Does she
understand what I'm saying though?
You would know. I mean, does she
understand you when you talk? Sometimes.
I feel like we're having games, too. No,
we have like communication skills that
we have problems with, too. But we
communicate.
Okay. That's not a good idea to let the
baby. You're bobbing the baby's head
around. Please don't do that.
Yeah, I'm with you.
Okay. Here comes that. Yep. I go with
her. Go for her baby. Okay. The other
responders finally arrive at the
building, but the situation inside the
apartment has reached the point of no
return.
Couldn't just stop.
Go. Whoa. Officer Jordan White raises
his gun as Maria approaches and fires
four quick shots in a row.
Uh 32 shots fired. Someone
just shot a man and had in the
apartment.
Oh my god. Get the baby. Get the baby.
Get the baby. The baby's ch
her and the baby. What the [ __ ] Stay
down. Stay down. I am. Cop him up. Cop
him up. Back now.
I didn't do nothing. 135. The baby's
dead. I need AMR immediately. What did I
do? Just relax.
God damn it.
Give me a hand. Give me a hand. Come
here. Here. Get her. Take the baby. Get
the baby out. Get the baby out. And you
killed the
baby. You killed the baby,
too. I remain myself. Okay. And you
killed
her. You killed my girlfriend. And you
What the
hell? And the baby. The other responding
officer finally comes inside, walking
straight into the chaotic aftermath. Get
I didn't do nothing, officer. Officer,
that officer shot her. You know what?
The baby else to do with her. He shot
her. Stay calm. And the baby, sir. Okay.
Hey, we need to get the cuffs off her.
She's going into uh She's stopping the
cuffs off of me, too, cuz I didn't do
nothing. Quiet. He shot her. Get over
here. Get the cuffs off her. We got to
start CCR.
And you shot the baby.
What are you doing, officer? Well, she's
trying to stab me, guys. No. The
officers start compressions on Maria,
but there is to be no happy ending. Baby
Destiny is taken to the hospital where
life-saving efforts end at 2:33 p.m. 5
minutes after that, her mother is
pronounced dead at the scene.
Dude, you live? You good? You good?
Yeah, I'm okay. All I could see was the
Shut the up. It's okay. All I could see
was the knife. Didn't even see anymore.
Is Chad good? Chad's good.
[Music]
In a March 2025 statement, the Jackson
County prosecutor announced that no
charges would be filed against the
officer who shot Maria and her baby,
saying, "The evidence in this case shows
the officer responded to an immediate
threat of deadly force. The suddenness
of the attack left no time for a
different response, and the officer had
no space to retreat. The report from the
medical examiner revealed Maria's
history of psychiatric conditions,
including major depressive disorder,
schizophrenia, and psychosis. The
toxicology report, however, showed no
traces of drugs in her system. A
GoFundMe started by Mitchell's sister
raised nearly $9,000 for funeral
expenses. Maria Masha Pike was 34. Her
daughter Destiny was just two and a half
months