ORLANDO, Fla. — Investigators said they caught Markeith Loyd's niece in a lie, and that it proved she had been talking to the accused cop killer and lying to the police about it.
She's one of several people who were interrogated by detectives in a set of newly released recordings, which show how desperate police were for clues while Loyd was at large.
Police pushed hard to find Loyd and whoever was helping him hide.
"Over the past couple weeks, shit's hit the fan," a detective told Lakensha Smith-Loyd, Loyd's niece. "It's really hit the fan."
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Deputies were blunt with Smith-Loyd the day she was arrested and accused of helping hide one of Orlando's most wanted suspects.
"Kesha: This shit needs to stop," a detective told her.
By the time, Smith-Loyd ended up in an interrogation room, Loyd had been accused of killing Sade Dixon, his pregnant ex-girlfriend, and Orlando police Lt. Debra Clayton.
"It's got to fucking stop," a detective told Smith-Loyd. "And if you don't help me, then the next one is going to be him or maybe one of your family members that gets caught up in between."
At the time, investigators said Smith-Loyd had offered to facilitate Loyd's surrender, but only if a U.S. marshal would confirm that a second gun was discovered at the scene of Dixon's murder.
Detectives said she had been in touch with Loyd, who told her Dixon was dead because she pulled a gun on him. %
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"Why would you ask about a second gun, Kesha? Think about it. You can't even look at me in my face when I tell you that. You know why? Because it's hard. It's hard for you to admit that you know something," a detective told Smith-Loyd. "Even if it's this much, that's what I want. Tell me, if it's this much. Tell me all of it. If it's that much, tell me all of it."
"Sir: I don't know," she said.
She never gave a clear answer.
Law enforcement never agreed to her proposal for Loyd's surrender.
Charges against Smith-Loyd and two others were later dropped. No one was prosecuted for helping Loyd stay at large for a month and a half.
It may not surprise you to know that #MarkeithLoyd’s niece claimed to know nothing. But on #WFTV at 6, I’m breaking down why investigators believed she was lying. pic.twitter.com/pHNY1EgNz7
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) January 8, 2019
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