[distorted static]
[Tish] A warm Southern welcome by new neighbors
is a dream come true.
Welcome to Ridgeview.
Hi, I'm Jed.
She will give you the shirt off her back.
You want a hand with these?
It was perfect.
[Tish] But once personalities clash...
He's just a kid.
Didn't waste any time stepping on toes.
[Tish] ...and the stakes are raised...
You think I'm stupid, Jed?
I'm not dealing with rational people.
[Tish] ...it means war.
[Robin] Hey!
She was scared.
What are you trying to do?
[Cody] If he wants hillbilly...
Hillbilly trash.
...then I'll give you hillbilly.
I bought this property.
I own it, and that's it.
I'll bury your ass.
Yeah, that is a threat.
Nothing but pure rage.
You're gonna hit me with that hammer?
Everything was meeting a boiling point.
[chainsaw revving]
-[gunshot fires] -[woman] Good to see you!
[opening theme music playing]
[men yelling indistinctly]
[man] I know what you did.
[woman 2] Get out of my neighborhood!
[man 2 yelling] Stay away from the plot!
On the ground now!
[woman gasping and screaming]
[gunshot]
[Tish] Knoxville is the vibrant heart of eastern Tennessee.
[Jordan] It's a great place to...
raise a family, build a family.
It's a great college town.
[Tish] Nestled in the green rolling hills outside the city
live the residents of Ridgeview Road.
The neighborhood I'm in,
it's a lot of older people, which I love.
It's quiet. It's peaceful.
[Amanda] We live in a very relaxed neighborhood.
Just people living, working,
trying to make their life better.
[Tish] Jed Elshant is hoping to carve himself
a little slice of heaven.
A truck driver,
Jed has recently moved here from Rhode Island.
[Jed] I had traveled through Knoxville, Tennessee, several times while trucking,
and that's how I learned the area and fell in love with it.
Beautiful scenery.
Beautiful sunsets.
It was my first home.
It was perfect.
[Charlie] I heard someone bought the place.
Welcome to Ridgeview.
Hi, I'm Jed.
Robin. Charlie.
-[Jed] Hey, how are you? -Nice to meet ya.
Charlie. He was a get-to-know-everybody kind of guy.
He liked to mingle with everybody.
[Tish] The Hill family have lived peacefully in the area for many years.
[Cody] Oh, man, the Hills are awesome people.
Charlie, he's, like, the best.
[Tish] Charlie was previously a truck driver.
Robin is a retail worker.
She would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.
What's a city slicker like you doing in these parts?
Have you seen where you live?
You want a hand with these?
When I first met my neighbors, the Hills,
they were pleasant,
offered their help.
That would be much appreciated, thank you.
Oh, don't worry about it, honey.
We look out for each other here.
[Tish] The Hill family aren't the only ones
to offer Jed a hearty welcome.
[Cody] You're too old to move a couch, Charlie.
Come on. Let me-let me help, all right?
Thanks for your help. I'm Jed.
-Cody. -[Jed] Ah. How you doing?
-My wife, Amanda. -Hi there.
Hello. Well.
[Cody] When Jed first moved in,
he seemed like he was gonna be a nice guy.
Everybody got along.
You know, it's nice to have a new face in the area.
I think I picked the right place.
-[motor revving] -Yeah.
Kadence. Come here.
[Tish] Cody Massengill, a factory worker, has lived here
with his adopted son, Kadence,
since 2013.
Me, Kadence, which is my biological nephew,
I have custody of him,
and Amanda my wife.
[Tish] Cody is recently married to Amanda, who works in retail.
Jed actually moved in right about the time
that Cody and I reconnected.
-Come meet our new neighbor, Jed. -Hi, Jed.
-Hi, Mr. Charlie, Miss Robin. -Hi.
-Hi, there. -[Jed] Hey, Kadence.
-Nice 4x4. -[Kadence] Thanks.
There's nothing I wouldn't do for Kadence.
[Cody] Hey, home for dinner, though.
Well, I better get in and get all this stuff packed away.
But, uh, thank you all for your help.
I appreciate it.
We're around if you need anything.
Holler when you're settled.
Will do.
[Tish] Everything seems sweet in this little corner of Eden.
But hell is on the horizon.
[man] Stay away from my son.
Nobody ever thought it would escalate like this.
I just wanted it to all end.
[Tish] After a few weeks,
Jed has unpacked and settled into his new digs.
[Jed] It was always my dream to own a home and...
just live-live my life in peace.
-[thuds] -[Tish] But according to Jed,
a neighborly faux pas rubs him the wrong way.
The Hill's friends were parking on my property.
[loud thud]
I think Jed was well within his right
to be bothered that other people
may have been harking on his property.
-Oh. -[Jed] Hey, guys.
Do you know whose car that is parked on my land over there?
Good morning, Jed. It's my friends.
She always parks there.
Well, uh, could you ask permission next time, please?
I mean, that is my spot.
I might need it sometime.
That's our spot. Our company's been parking there for years.
Right. But I live there now.
So I may need the spot for my own company, you know.
So could you ask permission next time, please?
Thank you.
[Amanda] Jed claimed that where their cars
had been parked at was his property.
The Hills never parked their cars on Jed's property.
[Jed] I bought this property knowing that discrepancy
in the property line, and I knew beforehand
that they've already been approached about the property line
from the previous, uh, owner
that used to own my property.
[Tish] The parking issue is only the tip of the iceberg.
[Jed] It was just so bad.
There was a junkyard with garbage everywhere.
Literally garbage everywhere.
Streaks in oil.
It looks like a rainbow.
What the Hills have on their property
never meant anything to me because that's their property.
And then I come to realize
that one of the junk cars and garbage
was actually on my side of the property
when I researched my property lines.
[Tish] Despite his request,
Jed claims the Hill's friends
continue to park on his land.
[Jed] It's every day. Every single day.
That's what they've been doing for years.
Now, property lines,
you can do the research online.
The paper that he had didn't mean anything
without an actual surveyor and stakes.
You can go back as far as the town was discovered.
To the 1800s and 1700s.
[Tish] Armed with a land survey he finds on the web,
Jed believes the property line dispute
will be settled once and for all.
It was the Hills I approached first.
He started trying to encroach the Hills
and their property almost immediately.
[Charlie] Jed. Wasn't expecting you today.
Hey, Charlie.
Could we have a chat about the property line between our homes?
I think it's pretty clear, Jed.
Well, your stuff is on what this survey says is my land.
[Tish] The Hills believe they know the property lines better than anybody.
Let me stop you right there.
My wife's family used to own all of this,
and they split it up a long time ago.
The Hills have a long history
of living on this piece of land.
They've been there for decades.
But this says that--
We know the property line.
But listen, Charlie--
No, you listen.
I don't know where you got this survey,
but it's incorrect.
I own all that land from behind my parking spot
all the way to your storage locker.
What's all the raised voices for?
Jed here thinks he owns the property
from the parking space to the end of our storage container.
Sorry, Jed. You're mistaken.
Miss Robin. She's born right there.
She's been there all her life.
Her family owned all of that property.
[scoffs] This survey says--
The survey doesn't say squat.
And don't call me a liar.
Now get out of here.
[Jordan] The last thing they want is a new neighbor
telling them where their property starts and begins.
[Jed] There's no reasoning in the conversation.
You couldn't get through to them.
They felt as though they were being attacked.
Stupid hillbilly.
They probably slipped up and maybe said some things to these people.
What an ass.
If you almost immediately start having issues with your neighbors,
that's typically not a good sign.
[Tish] Jed turns his attention to his other neighbors, the Massengill's.
[Jed] I bought this property.
I own it.
And that's it. I'm going to claim it.
[Tish] According to Jed, his survey also says he owns a strip of land
between Cody's house and the driveway.
[Jed] Afternoon, Cody.
Jed. How are ya?
Can I, uh, can I show you something?
He wanted to holler, "Oh, I got the deed. I got the deed."
Which clearly stated showed
that I had more property on there
and it kindly came out on the driveway.
As you can see, this strip of property is, uh, my land.
And I was thinking of clearing out a bit,
maybe trimming these trees back.
I'd be grateful for the help.
We could get to know each other.
I was under the impression that he was a good person
and a good neighbor.
You're reading that wrong.
I own this side of the driveway.
You cut down those trees,
my family won't have any privacy.
[scoffs] But this is correct.
-You're just being-- -What?
You think I'm stupid, Jed?
You touch those trees,
there's gonna be hell to pay.
[Jed] At that point, I was like,
I'm not dealing with rational people.
[Tish] Defeated, Jed tries to put the awkward interactions behind him.
After that, I was looking for some peace.
[Tish] But some things aren't so easy to ignore.
[motor revving]
Kadence was outside riding his four-wheeler.
You know, just having a good old time
riding on our yard.
[Jed] The kids having fun riding the four-wheeler
and they're interrupting my peace.
[motor revving]
[Amanda] He was 12 years old.
He didn't have a lot of friends his age close by,
and that was his favorite thing to do.
[Jed] It got so bad to the point where it's like,
I have to do something about this.
Hey, kid.
Keep it down.
Some of us are trying to enjoy some peace and quiet.
[Amanda] And he comes out there and he reaches over
and he turns that four-wheeler off.
And I felt nothing but pure rage
go through my body because who are you to tell him anything?
Don't you have any friends you can hang out with?
Hey.
Ugh.
What the hell do you think you're doing, Jed?
He's just a kid.
Oh, you done woke up a mama bear. Don't go there.
Shut the phone off before I make you.
And it was almost like Jed's plan from the beginning
was just to come in and cause a lot of drama.
[Tish] The sweet tea in this Tennessee neighborhood
has quickly turned sour.
I did not come here to listen to this racket.
Then go home and leave my son alone.
What the hell's wrong with him?
Home is supposed to be the place where you feel comfortable.
Your safe haven.
[Tish] Jed Elshant has found himself up against it
with everyone he lives beside.
[Jed] It happened simultaneously with both neighbors,
and I was the public enemy number one to them.
[Tish] Cody and Amanda Massengill
don't want Jed talking to their son Kadence...
Jed didn't waste any time stepping on toes and causing a ruckus.
[Tish] ...while Robin and Charlie Hill
resent the disruption to their humble existence.
The Hills have been on this piece of land for so long,
it's been in the family for decades.
[Tish] Since things have turned bitter with his neighbors,
Jed is eager to firmly designate
the true property lines.
I wanted to improve the driveway,
put a fence up, have privacy.
[Tish] But first, Jed wants to clean up.
There was no gasoline or oil
that ever dripped over Jed's property line.
[Tish] His presence doesn't go unnoticed.
What's that fella up to now?
Hey!
Are you coming on to my property again?
Whoa! What is going on here?
-Calm down. -[Charlie] I ain't calming down.
I am tired of your stupid ass.
Charlie, you know where my property line is.
Yeah. I do, and I know where mine is, too.
[Tish] Jed records his side of the confrontation on his phone.
Whether you're wrong or right,
people don't like it when you touch their stuff.
And I think that's what was happening there.
Charlie did not like Jed touching his stuff.
[Tish] With threats on the table,
Jed feels he needs to step up his security.
Jed put cameras on every corner of his house.
If someone threatened me,
I would get security cameras, too.
[Tish] Feeling protected by his new cameras,
the homeowner gets to work.
[motor revving]
Hey.
Jed!
I had gotten a chance, and I was like,
you know, I'm going to cut that down.
I want that piece of land.
Jed!
It made me nervous.
It made me scared.
Stop it!
It was a brand-new chainsaw and it worked pretty well.
Cody, he's cutting down our tree.
You have to get home.
[Tish] Though the property lines are still in question,
Jed moves on to the trees
that the Hills contend are theirs.
Jed just... [mimics swish], cut it down
just to be a butthole.
When he first cut down the trees,
it made me real mad.
And I thought, "Whoa, I gotta get revenge on this."
[Tish] Jed's neighbors won't stand for being disrespected.
We were being looked down on.
[cell phone chiming]
[Tish] And his cameras soon notify him of their rebuttal.
[Amanda] Since he wanted to claim that they were his and cut them down,
we dragged those trees right back to Jed's property.
[Jed] Hey.
What are you doing?
You cut down the trees,
you leave them for us to clean up?
I don't think so, Jed.
You have no respect for other people's land.
It's my land, trailer trash.
Be careful, Jed.
Or what?
Just watch your back.
[Tish] The families return to their homes,
anger heavy in the air.
[grunts]
The tension is especially hard on the Hills.
Their decades of tranquility now turning into war.
The Hills have never had problems with anyone before Jed.
We've gotta do something, hon.
So it was-it was hard for her.
I know.
Should we call the police?
No. We can handle this.
Really?
Can we?
[Tish] The Hills decide to let Jed know
the true property line once and for all.
If Miss Robin had had her land surveyed
'cause Jed kept going, "My property, my property."
[Cody] The surveyor put up the stakes,
which proved that the property
Jed was trying to claim was Miss Robin's.
-[surveyor] Thanks so much. -Thank you very much.
[Tish] After the surveyor's visit,
the Hills believe peace will finally be restored.
They're dead wrong.
[Jed] So they hired a surveyor.
I didn't agree with that whatsoever.
They already know what my position is.
This is my property.
[Tish] Scornful of the surveyor,
Jed takes matters into his own hands.
They're so deep into the ground
that I had to use my truck.
Jed comes up with his truck, wraps it around the stake.
Pulls it right out of the ground.
[Tish] And Jed takes things another step further.
[Jed] They had a junk car that needed to come off my property.
So I contacted code enforcement.
[Robin] Hey!
Stop!
The Hill's son had just passed away.
That's for my grandson!
Stop, please!
So they were gonna keep those vehicles
safe for their grandson
until he was old enough to start learning how to fix them.
She felt as though those were her treasures, like they were memories.
[Tish] Jed is there to capture his handiwork.
You have no right!
I don't think Robin was happy at all
to see her vehicle being towed away.
[Jed] It's county rules,
and I won't have your family's junk on my property anymore.
That made the Hill's grandson...
Oh, it just broke his little heart.
[cries]
Just junk cars.
[Amanda] Jed was not gonna give up,
and he was not gonna stop bothering us,
the Hills or anyone else that got in his way.
[Tish] Things are heating up quickly.
Robin Hill was very upset over that.
[Tish] And these neighbors are gearing up
to cross more than just property lines.
I never saw an end in sight with Jed.
[Jordan] I think there was so much
disdain for his neighbors.
I think Jed would
do things to antagonize them.
[Tish] Jed doesn't plan on letting up.
All I could focus on is defending my own property
and standing for myself and what I own.
[Cody] She was scared.
This man did some mental work on Miss Robin's head.
[Tish] The stress has driven Robin Hill to always carry a firearm.
For Robin, it must have been nerve-racking.
[Cody] Miss Robin's got a Dirty Harry.
That one's like, this big, dude.
It's a .357. She don't play.
[Tish] Today Robin isn't the only one who is armed.
My gosh, is that a shotgun?
[Tish] But it's not a weapon Jed is wielding.
I tried another idea to establish my property lines,
and that was to spray paint a line.
[whirring]
[Robin] What the heck are you doing?
[Jed] This is the real property line.
No, it's not, and you know it.
[Tish] Even with her gun,
Robin feels vulnerable in Jed's presence.
I'm scared of you. Get away from me.
[Tish] Thankfully, Robin has other neighbors she can rely on
to undo Jed's efforts.
[Cody] I got rid of the gravels he painted on
and dug up the lines that he painted into the grass.
[Tish] Yet Jed's constant filming of everyone's activity
is growing tiresome.
It was weird. He knew every move we made.
[narrator] Especially since several of Jed's videos
are recorded with strategic timing.
As soon as he got you angry or pissed off,
he would grab his phone and start recording your reaction.
[Charlie grunting]
[Amanda] He never recorded what he said,
but he always had his phone out
to record your reaction to what he said.
[Tish] Living under Jed's watchful eye,
Robin determines to fight fire with fire.
The Hills put cameras on their property.
Robin pointed them right towards Jed's house.
[Tish] Now everyone is watching each other all the time.
There's no privacy, there's no border,
there's no fences, there's no security.
[Jordan] I think they wanted some kind of proof
to show that Jed was the antagonizer here.
[Tish] The Hills may have their own cameras running,
but the angry confrontations don't stop.
I hear this noise. I'm inside my house,
and I start hearing this thumping noise outside.
Once again, Charlie was putting in the stakes.
Come on, Jed.
Let it go.
Shut the phone off before I make you.
[Tish] As tempers rise,
Jed keeps a constant eye on his antagonizers.
I actually became obsessed with watching video surveillance.
He was some kind of creepy control freak.
[Jed] Just looking through footage.
Take a clip, record it for evidence.
[Amanda] We were being constantly monitored, constantly watched,
and constantly trying to be controlled.
[Jed] You're watching videos all day,
just watching security cameras,
and you become obsessed with them.
Jed saw everything.
[Jed] It just became this toxic, unhealthy lifestyle.
What can I find to get them arrested?
[Tish] But Jed's weapon of choice is wielded against him, too.
Kadence waited in the bus stop.
[Kadence] Bye-bye.
[Cody] Jed would literally stop and tell him,
"Oh, you got 'em goodwill clothes,"
and "you're this and you're that."
He considered everybody broke trailer park trash.
[Kadence] Every [bleep] day.
And I'm like, "Homie, you don't ever talk to Kadence, ever."
[Kadence] Damn!
[Tish] If Jed is so obsessed with keeping a watchful eye,
Cody wants to give him something to look at.
[Cody] I called everybody.
"Got any tarps, everybody? Let me get 'em."
I'm like, "I want them as raggedy as you got."
Cody knew that putting up tarps
would get under Jed's skin.
[Tish] Cody's plan succeeds.
Hey! What the heck is this?
Jed had cow, man. He went nuts.
I got angry at that point and completely lost character.
What are you trying to do? Ruin my view?
What view?
My property? My son?
That's on my land!
[Cody] Oh, yeah. I loved it when I did that.
Like that... that was my masterpiece right there. [chuckles]
Tear these things down right now, or else...
Or else what?
I will.
They were all successful in antagonizing each other.
Come home the next day, and all the tarps would be gone.
I just ripped it down and... and I threw it away.
[Tish] Jed successfully removes the eyesore.
Just leave me alone. I wasn't even near you.
-I was over there. -[Tish] But that's not what sets Cody off
to levels of anger previously unseen.
[Cody] I told you to stay away from my son!
[Amanda] What's wrong with you?
Jed... get over here, Jed!
But it's hard to tell who's doing what first.
because you only see what happens after Jed's phone comes out.
[Tish] Jed captures Cody's rabid outburst.
-[Amanda] Cody! -[Cody] Punk ass...
[Jed] Get in the house.
He put the bat in my face, threatening with violence.
[Tish] Amanda backs her husband up.
Isn't this what you wanted?
What, you like filming?
Do you think my husband's sexy, you creep?
I'll bet you want all this, ha?
You like this?
He's throwing rocks at me.
Every single one of them missed.
I don't know. Is this the Matrix or something?
Like, I'm dodging all of them, so...
You punk ass bitch!
He's not worth it.
-Is that a threat? -Yeah, that is a threat to your life.
Tempers were flaring,
and everything was meeting a boiling point.
[Cody] I'll kill you!
Man, you woke up mad, you went to bed mad.
How are we gonna get this dude to just stop and leave us alone?
Cody threatened my life.
So... the police were called.
[siren wails]
Yeah, he's crazy. He threatened my life.
He cried about me chasing him with the bat.
Cody never hit him with the baseball bat.
He was arrested.
This is what you wanted.
You happy now? Huh?
It was a sad day. It was a very sad day.
[Tish] Aggravated assault charges are laid against Cody
for his blow up at Jed.
Jed made him look like a violent criminal, even though he wasn't.
[Tish] While Cody awaits bail,
Amanda and Kadence live in fear without their protector.
Kadence was scared to death. Amanda was scared.
[Amanda] And I never knew what Jed was gonna do.
I didn't know if he was gonna hurt my nephew.
[Kadence] Uh-huh.
[Kadence laughs]
It would be an everyday thing.
[Tish] The Hills also live in constant dread.
I absolutely think the Hills' fear was solidified.
[Tish] Charlie is unable to contain his frustration.
[Tish] And Robin is concerned that Jed will capture her husband
doing something he'll regret.
[Tish] The tension can be cut with a knife.
[Jed] Charlie was irate.
unreasonable, couldn't talk to him.
He yelled at me, screamed at me.
[Tish] Jed's presence is taking an even harder toll on Charlie.
[exhales]
[Cody] Charlie was an elder man, you know what I mean?
Man was healthy up until Jed moved in.
Then he started having all kinds of health problems.
[sighs wearily]
[Tish] But Charlie is too proud not to confront Jed
whenever the two cross paths.
-Oh, what now? -[Robin] Oh.
What's with this guy?
[Robin] I don't know.
What the hell is wrong with you?
I'm gonna own this property when this is all over.
[Tish] Robin has also had enough.
Throw this phone...
Bitch!
Miss Robin's a hard core country girl, and she don't play.
She literally almost pulled a .357 on Jed one day,
and was like, "I'm done with this crap."
I don't wanna sound like a bitch. [chuckles] Um...
I think that if Jed had forced Robin
to pull the trigger that day,
everyone's life would have been a little more peaceful.
I feel like shooting Jed
would have been the only way to stop him.
It was toxic. And I got freaked out.
[Tish] Jed attempts to barter for peace through a third party.
I asked for mediation. I said,
"Look, I just feel like this is too much."
[Tish] Cody returns home awaiting trial,
but he and Amanda are in no mood to bargain
with their devil next door.
[Amanda] The mediation was a joke.
Jed went into mediation thinking that he was gonna be in control,
and that he was gonna have everything done the way he wanted it.
I'm like, "No, mediation ain't gonna work.
I'm done. Take it to trial."
[Tish] Assault charges against Cody remain in place.
There will be no peace.
We're not seeing eye to eye on anything.
[Tish] The constant back and forth
is barreling Jed to his breaking point.
He tries once more to designate what he contends
is the true property line.
Jed went as far as to get
this ugly orange... bright orange netting.
And he had literally put up this fence.
[Jed] It was about maybe 70-feet long.
I used wooden stakes, carpentry screws,
[Tish] What should've been an afternoon of socializing with a friend,
turns into Cody defending his turf once more.
What the hell?
The plastic orange fencing was just stupid.
Why won't he stop?
The only reason he put that fence up was to make me mad.
It was to instigate a fight.
And he knew how to get me.
I made it really tough and difficult to tear it down.
I knew immediately I was gonna tear it down.
[Jed] If it stays up, I'm good to go.
But if it gets torn down, then I have some evidence,
and I can take this to court.
[Cody] Oh, go ahead, record me, Jed.
I'm not afraid of you, Jed.
Just keep on doing what you're doing.
Yeah?
What are you gonna do?
I think you're going to jail.
Why don't you show the camera
what you've got in your hands there?
You gonna hit me with that hammer, Jed?
I'm not afraid of you, Jed.
Hillbilly trash.
Well, he kept calling us hillbilly trash.
[Tish] With a pending trial,
Cody doesn't want any more charges laid at his feet.
But Jed's words cut deep.
[Cody] If he wants hillbilly and he wants to call me that,
all right, then I'll give you hillbilly.
We painted that sign in the pinkest spray paint I could find.
The situation on Ridgeview Road that day was just crazy.
I was using the mattock, clearing the land, basically, to build my chicken coop.
A mattock is a tool very similar to a pickaxe in size and shape.
[Amanda] Cody was building me a chicken coop
because I wanted a whole flock of chickens.
We live in the country. You're supposed to have farm-fresh eggs.
[Tish] When Jed returns home that day,
he blows a gasket.
We're gonna have eggs for days with this thing.
So, a 4X8 piece of plywood...
-We'll finally be able to tell Jed to flock off... -[chuckles]
-...once we have all these chickens. [laughs] -[chuckling] Yeah, finally.
Me and Kadence was actually getting to spend time together.
I was feeling really good.
[Tish] But Jed isn't feeling good.
Rather, he's had enough
[Jed] Cody!
I'm just done with it.
I'm sick and tired of this crap.
[Kadence laughs]
Hey, what's the matter, Jed?
You don't like my sign?
[Tish] According to Cody, the sign launches Jed into a full on rage...
Stay behind me, Kadence.
[Tish] ...with potentially deadly consequences.
-He said... -You're gonna today, mother...
This report was like nothing I had ever done before.
I was scared, and I never knew
what Jed was really capable of.
[Tish] The Massengill family claims Jed's next move
escalates their feud to frightening new heights.
Why'd you make that sign?
You wanted a hillbilly, you got one.
Kadence was absolutely scared.
-I'm not scared of you, Jed. -[Kadence] Dad!
He grabbed the mattock...
[Cody] Jed...
Jed!
What... No!
[groans]
[Kadence] Dad!
What did you do?
Jed... Dad!
What did you do?
Jed took off like... [chuckles]
like a thief in the night. He was just gone.
Mom, Jed attacked Dad.
Help!
I left work immediately.
I called 911.
They said they would send an ambulance as soon as possible.
I drove like a bat out of hell to get home.
I was scared to death.
[Kadence] Dad.
[Amanda] Cody! [sobs]
[sobbing] Baby!
Cody!
Cody had blood running down his face.
There was so much blood...
You're gonna have to let me see, okay.
[choking]
[Amanda] Cody had a hole in the side of his face.
Like, a hole.
Where's the ambulance? My husband's bleeding. Like, he's hurt.
[crying hysterically] Oh, God.
It was a pain I've never felt before.
That's for sure.
Kadence, I just need you to get the car door for me, please, honey.
[Cody groaning]
[sobbing] Come on.
We're going to the hospital right now.
[Tish] The only thing on Amanda's mind
is getting help for her husband.
[sobbing] Let's go. You're gonna be okay.
They actually transported Cody
from the hospital closest to our house,
to the local trauma hospital,
that specialized in facial injuries.
Kadence was a wreck.
Kadence had his head down, uh, for hours.
He literally just stared at his feet
and the blood on his boots for hours that night.
[Tish] While Cody fights for his life,
one question remains...
Where is Jed?
My girlfriend's house at the time, I stayed the night over there.
He was cocky enough to go to work the next day.
[Tish] And the police are there waiting for him.
They surrounded his truck and they had their guns on him,
and they arrested him right there for attempted murder.
[Jordan] To get arrested in such a dramatic fashion
in front of all of your coworkers,
that's got to be embarrassing.
[Tish] Yet Jed claims that events unfolded
in a different manner than his neighbors contend.
I did not hit Cody with a mattock.
That never happened.
As soon as I tore it down, it made this plume of dust.
Cody!
[Cody] Jed!
He lunged after me with a mattock,
and I got freaked out.
Don't you touch that sign!
Maybe instinct, it was quick thinking...
[Cody groaning]
[Tish] According to Jed, his altercation with Cody
ended with a single shove.
And I remember him dropped the pickaxe,
and I'm just, like, freaked out this time.
-Did you see that? -Yeah, I did.
You see him pushing me?
He's over there yelling and screaming
at his minor child saying, "Did you see this? Did you see that?
I'm gonna call the police."
You see him pushing me?
My adrenaline is so high, and I'm just like, "I got to get out of here."
[Cody] You coward!
But the mattock never happened.
And I will maintain that for the rest of my life.
Jed's a liar. It absolutely happened.
[Jordan] I was there, the day Cody got out of the hospital.
His face was swollen.
He had a huge bandage
on the side of his face.
It was actually a miracle that he wasn't hurt nearly as bad
as we thought he could have been.
He could have died. Cody... Cody literally could have died that day.
[Tish] Despite Jed's claims of innocence,
he is charged with attempted murder.
The neighbors believe they're finally rid of Jed Elshant.
Man, I'm tired of this dude.
Now... now he's going to jail.
[Tish] But the charges don't stick.
It never went to trial.
[Jed] The prosecution...
they made a suggestion to me.
"And what is that property worth to you? Just sell it. Move out."
Like kids on a playground,
they needed to be separated.
"We'll get this dismissed and just move on."
And I was like, I... I immediately agreed with it.
[Tish] If the Massengills also agree with the charges against Jed being dropped,
Cody's will be dismissed as well.
If Cody hadn't had that aggravated assault charge,
then we would have fought to have Jed locked up.
I was very disappointed at first,
but I was like, "Hey, whatever. I'm sick of this crap.
Let's just let it go."
So, I agreed to it.
It's absolutely a bizarre outcome.
I've never heard of a court doing anything like that before.
[Tish] Jed does as the court orders.
He sells his home and moves away.
[Jed] I eventually got it sold for less than what it was worth.
But I mean, I got my freedom.
[Tish] Cody still lives with the pain he suffered that day.
Sometimes it still hurts real bad, and I can't eat.
Sometimes I can't open it.
[Amanda] You can't see it because he has a beard.
But when I rub his face, I can feel his scar.
Every time I shave, I'm reminded of him.
[Amanda] Every single time I look at Cody's face,
I'm reminded of Jed.
[Tish] The Hills, likewise, don't escape the conflict unscathed.
[Amanda] Charlie passed away from a heart attack.
He was stressed out up until the time he died,
and a lot of that had to do with Jed.
[Tish] Robin has no plans to leave.
[Cody] She planted in her roots.
She ain't going nowhere.
[Tish] But Jed just wants to move on.
I apologize, and I forgive you.
I wish you happiness and peace.
[Tish] The Massengills aren't so forgiving.
If I see Jed right now, I'd punch him in his face.
[Amanda] I would never accept an apology from Jed.
I would never accept anything from Jed.
[Cody] I just wanna let Jed know,
I told you I wasn't going nowhere.
[chuckles]
This season on Fear Thy Neighbor...
My parents dreamed just to be able to retire
in a beautiful home.
I'm Raul. These are my parents.
The people in the neighborhood,
they make sure to always say "Hi".
It was perfect.
Guess I'm the new guy on the block.
Everybody got along fine in the beginning.
[yelling]
[jackhammer pounding] What a racket!
This is not your road.
[tearing]
You think I'm stupid?
They got off on the wrong foot immediately.
[popping]
What the hell are you doing?
[pound]
[barking]
Pigs!
I'm not dealing with rational people.
We don't like that kind of music here.
What kind of music?
They were just not good neighbors.
Hillbilly trash.
I'll bury your ass.
Pure rage.
Move your car, June!
That's when it all went bad.
Everyone hates us here.
They heard this pop pop.
Sometimes you just piss off the wrong people.
Hey!
Come on!
[chainsaw motor buzzing]
Better get to running.
Stay with us, please.
[shot blast]