One of the contestants on the new season of American Idol dealt with an unimaginable tragedy in 2023. Freddie McClendon confirmed on Instagram that his audition will be airing during the Sunday, March 23, episode, and he has quite a story to tell.

Freddie’s father, Davis McClendon, died on May 7, 2023. Davis was 46 years old at the time of his death. His body was found next to his wrecked car around 1 a.m. But while his death was initially suspected to be a hit-and-run, there turned out to be a much bigger story behind the incident.

Davis’ body was found about 50 feet away from his BMW, which led authorities to believe that he was outside of his car when he was hit, according to a segment that aired on 48 Hours. They received more information from two women at the scene: Davis’ girlfriend, Meredith Haynie, and Megan McGovern, who babysits Meredith’s kids.

Davis and Meredith were on a date before he was killed. She said he called her just minutes after they parted and told her where he was, then put her on hold and failed to come back on the line, which sparked concern. Megan drove Meredith to the location Davis had given and they found his body.

Investigators noticed a trail of oil near the vehicle, according to investigator Patrick Durkin, who also said that there were also footprints and tire tracks leading away from the oil stain. Tire tracks showed that another vehicle had driven down the road and turned around. At the location of the turn, there were oil spatters on a streetlight post.

The oil stain led to the home of Bud Ackerman’s parents. Bud was Meredith’s estranged husband, and she said she thought Davis had been heading to meet him after their date. Authorities noticed oil leaking from Bud’s truck in the driveway, as well as a crack that seemed to suggest the car had hit someone.

Meredith and Bud reportedly had a contentious relationship. Officials believed that Bud’s truck sideswiped Davis’ car and hit him while he was standing outside of it. Bud claimed that he didn’t see Davis since it was dark out, alleging that the incident was an accident. Authorities began to build a case to prove that Bud had intentionally hit Davis, while Bud’s team stood by the defendant’s story.

In 2024, the case went to trial. After six days of testimony, the jury deliberated for 30 minutes before reaching a verdict. Bud Ackerman was found guilty and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

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