What the Jurors Did Not See.
Liana initiated the lawsuit. But the jury did not see the full record that led her to publicly expose the defendants—and sue them.
The private investigation. The IP-address evidence. Isla’s recordings. The photographs, pleas for help, and messages Haley and Amanda sent directly to Liana.
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
How was Liana supposed to present her case if she was not allowed to show the FACTS that led to her making the choice to publicly expose the defendants and why she sued them?
Liana sued first. The defendants countersued her for defamation. Read how the lawsuit began →
The Jury Did Not See:The Private Investigator’s report linking Paula and Byron to the online slander campaign against Liana.
“A high degree of confidence.” The finding behind Liana’s lawsuit.
Amanda and Drew hired Sourced Intelligence to investigate the online harassment directed at them and Liana. Its draft report identified Paula as a primary participant. Amanda brought that finding to Liana.
The court limited investigator Alexander Feil to his observations. He could not give the jury his opinion identifying the anonymous authors.
The report’s own summary: a high degree of confidence that Paula played a primary role.
About 80–95% confident that Paula and Byron were involved in posting the content.
The Jury Did Not Hear:Isla’s Own Words describing how Byron abused her.
Liana says her determination to speak for Haley and Isla came from the abuse they described. These recordings preserve Isla speaking for herself.
Isla describes being held down until she panicked.
Isla describes being left alone and being hit.
The Jury Did Not See:Pictures of the bruises on Isla or the pictures showing signs of sexual abuse.
Haley sent Liana pictures and messages describing bruising after visits to Byron’s home, concerns about sexual abuse, and her attempts to get help. This was information coming directly from Haley.
“Isla came home to me with bruises all over.”
“My daughter also would come home after every visit with her dad…”
Haley reports finding three bruises and describes her plans to go to the police.
Haley reports a “very bad yeast infection,” back and stomach pain, and says she will take Isla for medical attention.
The Jury Did Not See:The hundreds of screenshots from Haley begging for help, sharing the horrific abuse she and Isla had suffered from Byron.
Haley sent Liana descriptions of violence, drug use, fear, and concerns for Isla. The messages show the information Liana was receiving from the person describing it.
Haley’s account of drug use and the rage incident.
Haley describes screaming and a smashed diffuser while she was holding Isla.
Haley describes her attempts to report abuse and protect her daughter.
“I want Isla to be free. … I believe my daughter.”
Haley says she wants to be free of abuse and asks who will help her daughter.
Haley describes Isla’s fear before visits and says she returned harmed and told her mother, grandmother or aunt.
The conversation continues after Liana says Isla is not lying. Haley agrees and describes her frustration with the system.
Haley shares Byron’s email rejecting a proposed supervisor and responds: “I have no words but blinding rage at the moment.”
The Jury Did Not See:Isla’s drawing praying for a Christmas miracle so she could go home to her mom.
My Letter to Santa · TranscriptionDear Santa,
For Christmas I want a miracle to happen. The miracle is to see my mommy because I never get to have a weekend with my mom.
Merry Christmas Santa,
Love,
Isla
The Jury Did Not Hear:The Death Threats.
Liana and her witnesses were not allowed to share the death threats Liana received against herself and her family—and how she identified Byron, the man she was suing, as the caller.
Liana says she was not able to explain the full story to the jury: that she and her family had received death threats from the man she was suing. The May 19, 2022 calls are central to her account of the escalation. Haley wrote that she recognized Byron’s voice on the voicemail Liana received.
“When I heard the voicemails myself I immediately knew it was Byron’s voice.”
— Haley Winter, signed letter, April 29, 2023
The jury did not hear the excluded voicemail recording. Liana says they never heard the full story of the threats against her and her family—or the context for why she publicly identified and sued Byron.
Read the threat record and Haley’s full letter →The Jury Did Not See:Byron’s friend Paul Thompson chasing Liana’s witnesses down the street in front of the courthouse.
Liana described Paul Thompson following and pursuing witnesses outside the federal courthouse while her trial was underway. The footage below preserves the encounter discussed in her public account.
Liana’s attorney requested a mistrial, but the judge denied it.
“You are being excluded from this courtroom and this courthouse during the duration of this trial.”
— Judge Jill A. Otake to Paul Thompson
The judge barred Paul from the courthouse.
At proceedings held outside the jury’s presence, the judge prohibited Paul from contacting witnesses, photographing them, or posting about them on social media. She referred the matter to the United States Marshals Service.
Liana’s attorney said three witnesses would not testify.
Her counsel told the judge that one had returned to the mainland and two others remained in Hawaiʻi but would not meet with him. The court denied a mistrial.
The Jury Did Not See:The hundreds of Messages from Amanda, providing Liana with detailed information on Paula and Byron being the sources for the online slander campaign.
These exchanges show Amanda relaying the investigation and Liana asking for its source. They are part of the record behind Liana’s public statements about who was targeting her.
Amanda reports her call with Alex and relays the investigators’ attribution to Paula.
Amanda describes Paula as prominent in the report and driving the online posting.
Liana asks how Amanda knows. Amanda answers: “from Alex’s report.”
The Jury Did Not See:The hundreds of messages Amanda sent to Liana sharing how Paula was trying to destroy her family and the trauma she and her kids were enduring because of Paula.
The information Liana received was not limited to the investigator’s findings. Amanda repeatedly described the harm she believed Paula was causing to her and her children.
“She has tried to ruin my family for 8 years.”
Amanda apologizes to Liana for the harm she says Paula is causing.
Amanda says Paula made the girls listen to attacks on their mother, yelled at one daughter, and restricted their access to food.
Amanda describes the girls going from seeing Wade every other day to every other weekend after Paula moved in.
“Paula called the department of labor last week on the place” her daughter volunteered.
Amanda says her daughter immediately believed Paula was responsible: “she knew right away it was Paula.”
Read the record behind Liana’s case.
Liana says she believed Haley and Amanda and relied on the investigator’s work. Understanding that background requires seeing the original messages, recordings, and investigative conclusions—and understanding the limits the court placed on their presentation.