Investigation Discovery’s The Curious Case of … Bam Margera Recap

Investigation Discovery’s The strange case of… The spinoff series has started with a bang – rather a Bam. Bam Margerato be precise. The first episode of the docuseries, which premiered on Monday, January 13, explored the former stunt pro, skateboarder and Jackass alum Brandon Cole “Bam” Margera’s road to sobriety and his controversial guardianship.

Bam Margera, Britney Spears from ‘Jackass’

The episode opened with the police outside a residence in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Bam walked out of the home and was greeted by an unnamed woman. He immediately got excited and rushed to her and said, “Why do you suck so badly? Why are you so mean?” She tried to ask how she was mean, but another woman interrupted by telling her to “stop”.

“Please do me a favor and back up,” she told the first woman. “You did this on purpose. I don’t trust you either.” The second woman described Bam as “my girlfriend” and asked him to get into the car before telling the first woman to “go” again.

In another scene, legal expert and narrator Beth Karas described Bam’s story as one of “the right to make your own decisions.” She first remembered the controversy surrounding Britney Spears‘ conservatory and the #FreeBritney movement, describing the pop star as being “trapped” and “living in a cage” while her guardian made decisions for her.

Beth then explained that Britney isn’t the only celebrity who has experienced an oppressive conservatorship or guardianship, and a clip was shown of Bam describing herself as the “Britney Spears of Jackass.”

What happened to Bam Margera?

Bam is best known as a skateboarder, stunt performer, and one of the stars of the early 2000s MTV series Jackass. He later got his own show, Viva La Bamwhich aired for five seasons from 2003 to 2006.

Teddy bear earlier Jackass costs Stephen Gilchrist Glover, aka Steve-Owas interviewed under the doctor and explained that he has known Bam for more than 20 years. The stunt performer and comedian revealed that at the start of Bam’s career, he was successful as a skateboarder and “wasn’t interested in drug addiction at all.” Although Steve-O was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction at the time, he said he and Bam eventually switched roles.

The doctor described an incident in 2023 in which Bam was arrested for public intoxication at a Thai food restaurant in Burbank, California. Police said at the time that he was “drunk in public and unable to take care of himself.”

Steve-O admitted that Bam’s battle with addiction has been “hard to watch.”

“People love a comeback story so much, but will that point come or will he be dead first? I don’t know,” he said.

Bam Margera’s family sought help

According to the doctor, Bam’s family tried to get an intervention in 2021. However, he refused to accept their help. They addressed a woman by name Lima Jevremovica “Hollywood entrepreneur who worked in the addiction and recovery industry.” It was revealed that Lima was the woman who tried to talk to Bam at the beginning of the episode.

Lima explained that she started a small business called Aura, “a virtual reality software company focused on substance abuse treatment. The VR software is designed to track progress, according to Lima, and “predict whether someone is at risk of harm herself or someone else.” Lima revealed that she became the legal guardian of a woman named Amanda, who was struggling with substance abuse, and began treating her with the VR technology.

Lima said she became Bam’s guardian in June 2021. “I became a guardian because no one wanted to be a guardian,” she explained. “Nobody wanted to be the bad guy who had to say ‘No’ or ‘You have to do this.’ They kept saying, ‘Bam holds a grudge and it would destroy our personal relationship with him.’

Lima revealed that she was granted a one-year temporary guardianship of Bam and became close to him, describing it as a “mother-son relationship.”

Steve-O initially supported the conservatory, knowing it would keep Bam out of trouble. But when asked by a producer how it’s “really worked,” Steve-O only replied, “Uhm.”

Bam faced several legal problems during his conservatory

Beth revealed that Lima placed Ben in a traditional treatment facility that used her Aura technology. But he left the center in 2022 and “assaulted his brother, threatened his parents and it was clear he was using again,” the legal expert continued, noting that things did not look good for the guardian.

Lima met with Bam’s mother, April Margerawho said she felt conflicted because she wanted her son home, but “he has to understand what he agreed to. I’m scared because it’s just so out of control.”

On a property Bam leased to brother Jesse, who he allegedly assaulted, the former skateboarding pro spray-painted a fence to send a “message.”

“I’m writing a message to my fake brother. I own the castle Bam. And big brother got me in the ass,” said Bam. He also said he could knock his brother out with one punch.

When asked about his guardianship, Bam told a producer, “Guardianship? Well, I’m Britney Spears Jackass. Lima is very nice with all her things. And she helped me completely, phenomenally. But every 911 call, she tells the police, ‘You have to make Bam think we’re on his side.’ If she was on my side, she would say to the police, ‘Tell Bam we’re on his side’.”

Inside the #FreeBam movement

The internet quickly picked up on Bam’s experience with his guardianship coinciding with his legal troubles, and reactions flooded social media. A Princeton, New Jersey-based YouTuber named BJ Courville described himself as “the leader of the #FreeBam movement.” BJ said she found Lima’s actions “very strange” and claimed she “doesn’t really have the credentials to do what she does.”

BJ also pointed out that Lima said Bam is in a guardianship and not a conservatorship, which BJ claimed was the “same thing.” Beth explained that there is a difference between the two terms — a guardian has control over a “person’s medical care and living arrangements,” while a conservator has financial control. Beth also pointed out that because Bam is a celebrity, it would be a “huge win” for Lima’s company if her software successfully processed him.

Lima explained that she entered the mental health field to help her two sisters, who struggled with mental health issues and substance abuse after experiencing alleged sexual and physical abuse from a family member.

“Instead of raising money for my own sisters to get treatment, I thought it would be a more neutral way to go if I helped a stranger I didn’t know,” she said, referring to Amanda. Although Lima described Amanda’s treatment as a “success story”, it was later revealed that the woman died.

Beth revealed that she found a complaint about Aura that she thought was about Amanda’s case, but the names were redacted. The report stated that Aura’s technology was used on “vulnerable people against their will who will meet the same fate.”

BJ claimed she saw no evidence that Aura worked, adding: “The problem with me is not the software; the problem with me is corruption and lies.”

BJ explained that she saw Lima reading Amanda’s autopsy report on a YouTube channel. Lima stated that Amanda’s cause of death was a seizure disorder that the woman never struggled with until she was homeless, so they believed it was “post-traumatic epilepsy.”

However, BJ claimed she requested the autopsy report and saw no mention of a seizure disorder, with the report allegedly saying Amanda died of “cardiac arrhythmia.” Beth explained that Lima said she received the information in an email from the coroner.

BJ Courville vs. Lima Jevremovic

Lima revealed that she was doxxed because of the traction that BJ’s YouTube videos about Aura gained. Lima’s mother said their family is always “on the run” because of the hate messages they receive.

Beth confirmed that “Amanda had a drug in her system for epilepsy or seizures,” adding that she didn’t know if “we can conclude that Lima is lying.” Meanwhile, Steve-O agreed that BJ seemed “a bit dangerous” and claimed that she appeared to be “planting dangerous ideas” in Bam’s head during an interview one day. These ideas may have caused him to turn against Lima and his family.

Beth revealed that it was possible that Lima’s sisters were in their own conservatory. She explained that there was a recent “domestic violence incident” involving her sisters, Dahlia and Dia. A clip dated December 6, 2022, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, showed Lima’s mother claiming, “She choked me.” Dahlia claimed her mother tried to kill her and revive her. She also alleged that her mother had acted with her.

“It didn’t seem right to me, it didn’t seem right to a lot of other people,” BJ said, noting that police did not investigate the incident.

Lima claimed her sister saw a video of BJ talking about sex trafficking and went into a “psychosis”, believing she was a victim.

Bam Margera’s guardianship is over

Bam’s temporary guardianship ended in July 2023, but Lima remained close to his family and accompanied them to court over his brother’s assault. He pleaded not guilty to assault and terrorist threats. He was also ordered to undergo drug and alcohol screenings and was released on his own recognizance. No guardianship was established.

“I think Bam should be in a guardianship because he doesn’t think anything he’s doing is wrong,” Lima said.

The scene from the start of the episode was shown again, where Lima claimed that April called her to say that Bam came over to her house and threatened to “crash through the gate.” She took the police with her to “keep the peace”. Beth found it strange though because Bam was already there and seemed to be peaceful.

Beth theorized that Lima was trying to get Bam back in court so she could become his guardian again.

It was revealed that in May 2024, Dahlia checked into a facility in Long Beach. She disappeared three weeks into her stay and was later found by a private detective in full psychosis.

A title card at the end of the episode revealed that Aura has been set. Lima filed a libel suit against BJ, which is still pending. Bam pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for the argument with his family at home and was later arrested again for violating his probation in September 2024. He was ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation.