Michele Barton speaks: the death of Tanner Barton

Tanner Barton with his parents—Michele
and Jeff Barton. 

Imagine waking up one day, thinking your day is going to be great and in a sudden second, all of that changed. This happened to Michele Barton on April 22, 2012 when she received the sudden news that her son Tanner was dead. Barton received a call hours after her son was found. With so many questions left unanswered, she is still trying to find the answers to what happened on that cold Spring night in Kokomo, Indiana. Today, I speak with Michele regarding her son Tanner and his case, as well as, the discrepancies in the investigation and why she believes this was, in fact, a highly suspicious death. 

Sarah: Hello Michele. How are you? First and foremost, I just want to send my condolences to you regarding the death of your son Tanner. I am so sorry for your loss. I am well aware Tanner died over a decade ago, but the pain never goes away. I want to ask, has there been justice for your son’s death?

Michele: Hello Sarah. No, there has not been justice for my son’s death. In fact, a major injustice has been done with Tanner’s case. 

Sarah: Sometimes I hate going back in time, especially if something traumatic happened. The last thing I want to do is let you relive any bad memories, but I feel like asking this question is vital for this interview. Taking you back Michele to the day you heard the words “your son is dead” what were your thoughts?

Michele: On that day, April 22nd—we did not know what to think. We, of course, were in shock. “How could anything happen to our Tanner—I mean, it was Tanner.” I was numb and it was as if time completely had stopped. I remember pulling into the driveway, being met by a deputy and the entire area was roped with crime scene tape. The deputy would not allow us to go into the house. “It was a crime scene,” he stated. It wasn't until the coroner pulled into the driveway that reality hit us. That's when I knew something bad happened to Tanner.

Sarah: What was the original story you were told?

Tanner Barton with his mother Michele Barton.
“He was built for his job on the football field as
an offensive lineman.”

Michele: We were never given an original story. All we had was the initial phone call from Tanner’s friend; however, there were numerous rumors which were already circulating. During this call from Tanner’s friend Tommy, he stated “there has been an accident and we think Tanner is dead.” During this same initial call something drew my attention to what he said. Additionally, he said, “my dad called and told me something bad had happened to Tanner. My dad is on the way out to the house.” Keep in mind, that his dad is a veterinarian, so I began questioning why a veterinarian was called. 

A few days later my husband personally asked Tanner's best friend, the same friend who had just previously contacted us about Tanner's death days before, "have you heard anything or know anything about what happened to Tanner?" Tanner's best friend said something very strange to my husband and I quote, “Just let it go, Jeff. Just let it go.” On April 23rd 2012 (the day after) my sister, was with me and my husband and wanted to reach out to the Lindskoogs’ to ask some questions regarding what happened to my son. Mrs. Lindskoog answered the initial call and stated, “I don't know anything because I wasn't there.” Then, she hung up the phone on my husband.

Then, my sister took the initiative to call the number again and ask to speak to the lady her brother-in-law had spoken with. Mr. Lindskoog proceeded to answer and say to my sister that there was no woman there and no woman here the night before. My sister responded by saying, “my brother-in-law just spoke to her, I want to speak to that woman.” Instead of putting Mrs. Lindskoog on the phone, Mr. Lindskoog said, “here, speak to Marcus.” My sister made it clear she did not want to speak to a kid and was calling to speak to the adult who was there that night. Mr. Lindskoog hung up on my sister. 

Sarah: There are so many red flags already. It’s almost baffling. I have to ask, what did the police originally tell you? 

Michele: The lead detective stated when he arrived at the crime scene that he knew they were lying and that they had already formulated a story. He separated the family members and their family friend, Dr. Todd Cooney, and proceeded to make them go outside. He lined them up with a space of about 10 feet between each family member. He had a deputy monitor them. He stated that he did not want them to continue to collaborate their story before transferring them to the Howard County Sheriff's department in separate squad cars. 

Our entire family was told by the coroner the day of Tanner’s death that his death was highly suspicious. We were also told that the Lindskoog house was known as the party house. At the time, the Salazar children were living there too. The coroner told us, “that house is evil.” The coroner went on to explain to my husband and I that Tanner’s blood alcohol content was very low at 0.063. He was hoping an upcoming autopsy, scheduled for the next day would bring more answers and garner greater clarification as to what really happened to Tanner that night.  

Later that week, the lead detective on the case contacted me and said, “after the autopsy results he was unable to explain what happened to Tanner.” As a result, his death was highly suspicious. The lead detective requested our family meet with the coroner, the pathologist, and himself. Our family met with them and sat down with all of them. Interestingly enough, the lead detective said, “In all of our years combined, we have never seen a perfectly healthy nineteen-year old die for no reason.”

Michele Barton and a young Tanner Barton
in the 90’s. 

Sarah: Absolutely devastating and you still have no answers. Originally, a friend of Morgan Ingram’s contacted me and asked if I heard about the case of Tanner Barton. Upon independent investigation into your son’s case, I noticed quite a few awkward discrepancies. One of them being a fifteen-year old serving Tanner alcohol the night of his death. To me, this is a red flag. I am confused as to why a fifteen-year old is serving a nineteen-year old alcohol. Can you explain this a little further? 

Michele: This is a question that haunts me daily, as me and my husband want to know as well. Why would a fifteen-year old provide a nineteen-year old a beer, a couple fruity drinks, and give him a  “pineapple juice mixture.” One disconcerting factor was the 0.75 liters of hard liquor (the rum) was almost full when they started drinking yet Tanner's blood alcohol level was only 0.063 percent. Anyone knows this is below the legal limit and equivalent to two beers for an individual who is Tanner’s size. 

The fifteen-year old (who is now in her early 20’s), who is his friend’s sister alleges that she never drank before that night yet the next day she did not give any indication of the after effects of drinking. How could a petite fifteen-year old girl consume that much hard liquor within a 60-minute time frame and not show any evidence of over consumption of this much hard liquor? Sarah, if Tanner had consumed this much hard liquor in such a short time, it is clear his blood alcohol level would have been much higher. This created further suspicion in our minds that there had been more than two people consuming alcohol that night. 

NOTE: Ketamine users are known to “mix” pineapple juice with the drug to lessen it's bitter taste. A witness from that house openly admitted to the detectives that the pineapple juice container was intentionally hidden in some panty hose in the laundry room.

Sarah: Positional asphyxia prevents a human being’s body from being exposed to oxygen based on the position of the body. This is usually (not always) caused by physical restraint and/or excited delirium. Do you believe that Tanner was restrained or was resisting any sort of violence upon his death? 

Michele: No, I do not believe that anyone was trying to restrain him. It would have taken an army of men to be able to do such. My son was extremely strong and was a heavy weight wrestler during his high school career. He broke all of the previous high school weightlifting records. After reading through the statements from the family and learning from the crime scene photos that Tanner had an unusual amount of blood on his face, I truly believe some sort of foul play took place. Even the original coroner stated to me, “someone did something to your son—it was not of his own doing.” 

Sarah: Most individuals who die from positional asphyxia suffer something else before they actually do die. For instance, Florence Griffith Joyner died of positional asphyxia. As many believe she had a seizure before her death, many true crime theorists believe she was actually strangled. Either way, the latter proves she suffered prior to dying from the positional asphyxia, which is evidently clear. Especially in this case. I believe Tanner also suffered.

Michele: The original coroner told our family that they had ruled out the possibility of a seizure when they performed the autopsy. The original coroner also told me that there were signs of an overdose and that his death was highly suspicious. 

Sarah: When you looked at the toxicology reports, regarding the death of your son, what did they reveal to you? As a mother, upon examining the reports, what did you notice wrong? 

Michele: We were not supplied with any toxicology reports of any kind. It wasn’t until after I called the wrongful death attorney. He turned over all of the files within his possession regarding Tanner’s case, three years later. The idea of waiting this long really made me angry and sad at the same time. Initially, I did not notice anything regarding the toxicology reports, but then again, I was more focused on the conflicting statements which had been provided to the sheriff’s department by the Lindskoog and Salazar family. It wasn't until we began working on Tanner's case with the FOHVAMP (Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons) and a few other experts, that we realized the toxicology reports from the Howard County Lab and the AIT Forensic Lab were conflicting. This confirmed our suspicions that some type of cover up had taken place. 

Tanner Barton was academically endowed and made
the dean’s list frequently throughout
his freshman year. 

Sarah: Can you tell me more about why you suspect the drug Ketamine was present in your son Tanner’s system? 

Michele: The following scenario caused me to begin to question what really happened that night:

The initial phone call from Tanner’s friend, stated to me that “his dad called him and was on his way out to the house.” After this phone call I became very vocal stating over and over—“Why was a veterinarian called before myself and 911?”

Some two months later, I was contacted and met with an individual who knew the veterinarian and had reached out to me because she had heard I was asking this question. The individual proceeded to inform me that this veterinarian had previously lost his license for seven years due his addiction to Ketamine. In fact, he had actually overdosed on Ketamine in his own home.

After this meeting, I began researching the effects of Ketamine. Then, I compared these facts with what had happened to my son. I was shocked to find the results were exactly the same. 

Sarah: I discovered an article regarding a Dr. Todd Cooney from Kokomo, Indiana. Is this the same vet mentioned in the article here? 

Michele: Yes. 

Sarah: Tanner stayed with a family the night of his death, where the minor gave him alcohol. This is a major red flag within itself. It is extremely baffling to me that this was overlooked, as alcohol is a contributing factor to positional asphyxia. Additionally, it is evident Tanner was a very bright individual and I just don't see him as the type that would get so intoxicated, it would jeopardize his future. 

Michele: Sarah, Tanner’s blood alcohol level was 0.063 which was below the legal limit, so the amount of alcohol in his system did not cause him to suffocate. However, when alcohol is combined with Ketamine it becomes a deadly combination. Ketamine is a paralytic which basically renders an individual unable to re-position them self. As a result, this causes them to suffocate if their body is in a compromised position. Tanner was a very bright student. My son made the dean’s list both semesters of his freshman year, while playing college football and unofficially tutoring other players. 

Sarah: Attacking the victim seems to be a major problematic issue when it comes to anything in the realm of true crime. Currently, the deceased is not protected by any laws, so anyone can speculate what happened. If this means blaming the victim for their own death or theorizing inaccurately to fit a certain narrative. I noticed several people online have described Tanner as a “morbidly obese guy with a short neck and enlarged heart” before insinuating he died from positional asphyxia. What do you want those people to know who make these types of claims? 

Michele: I am no different from any other parent who lost a child under suspicious circumstances and who wants to know what really happened. My son was built for his job on the college football field as an offense lineman. Offensive lineman are notorious for having thick, strong necks and large waists, as they need to be able to do their on-field jobs effectively. Strength and conditioning coaches work hard to prepare these athletes for their position. Tanner performed at a very high level as an offensive lineman. My son was even touted by his college coaches as an individual who would become an all-American due to his hard work and physical assets. In all of Tanner’s medical records and sports physicals, there has never been any indication of an enlarged heart nor of any pre-existing heart conditions. My son had no medical issues at all. 

Sarah: Absolutely. Now, you have appeared on both Dr. Oz and Nancy Grace. After you appeared on both of those shows, what happened with Tanner’s case?

Michele: I first appeared on the Nancy Grace show in late 2017. After the podcast show aired, Dr. Todd Cooney’s attorney sent a cease and desist letter to Joe Scott Morgan, the death investigator and the same letter was also sent to Nancy Grace. So, the second part regarding the death of my son was never released. After I appeared on Nancy Grace, I went on the Dr. Oz show. The show aired on February 13th of 2018. One month after the show aired, an associate of the Dr. Oz show told me that effective March 29, 2018 they terminated all involvement with my son Tanner’s case. 

On that same day I was informed that Dr. Oz’s associate was mad at me because someone else went on national television and mentioned my son’s cell phone, without giving the Dr. Oz associate the credit for it. Strangely enough, one month after this associate terminated her involvement with Tanner’s case, she worked with the Howard County Sheriff’s department to close my son’s case based on a new theory. A theory with no forensic evidence to substantiate any of their findings. 

Sarah: This is absolutely outrageous. I am so sorry. I am so sorry this happened to you and your family.

Michele: Thank you. 

Sarah: Some people paint you as a mother who suffers from Münchausen syndrome or Münchausen syndrome by Proxy.  They say you cannot accept your son’s death. I know you do not have Münchausen syndrome simply because of what you are telling me today. This is, without question, a highly suspicious death. I believe those who say you have Münchausen syndrome enjoy creating false labels and pseudo diagnoses to support their narrative. I have watched several people do this throughout the years as a personal ad hominem attack to any mother who questions the death of their child. I also believe the people who have made these remarks will be reading this interview. What would you like those people to know about you?

This couch was part of the crime scene. There are
unidentified marks on the couch cushion
which appear to resemble blood.
What are they?  

Michele: People will always have their opinions, but when it comes to abusing and harassing grieving families for their own personal enjoyment and vendetta, this reveals a special kind of evil. 

Sarah: Michele, why do you believe Tanner’s death is highly suspicious? This leads me to the question—do you think your son was a victim of foul play?

Michele - I am not the one who came to the conclusion that my son’s death was highly suspicious. Originally, this conclusion came from the coroner and the detective before and after the autopsy. After reviewing my son’s case file, it is obvious why we were told this. I believe my son’s death is highly suspicious and I am firmly convinced that he was a victim of foul play.

Michele Barton is now the force, the face, and the voice for her son Tanner Lane Barton. As a mother with a voice, her message is clear—she wants to know what happened to her son. With so many questions left unanswered, Barton will continue to use her voice to get what is rightfully deserved—justice. Will there ever be justice for Tanner Barton? We can only hope. 

For more information: 

Tanner's Voice on Facebook 
@Justice4Tanner on Twitter

Michele Barton is currently protected by the 1st amendment of the constitution. Any threats or any forms of intimidation regarding legalities are verboten by law, as Mrs. Barton is allowed to exercise her rights as a citizen of the USA. Her natural rights shall not and will not be undermined nor defined in a court of law. All information displayed in this interview pertaining to other third-parties are public record and are not considered defamation nor libel in a court of law.