After Doug Janis was murdered in 2020, police were focused on one suspect: his wife, 31-year-old April Mae Janis. 

Was April a loving wife who adored Doug or a master manipulator who orchestrated his murder? In Hemphill, Texas, it depends on who you ask. Half the town thinks that April was this vixen who has murdered multiple people, while the other half see her as a victim of sexual abuse. 

This week, we finally got in touch with April Janis. And we learned about an alternative suspect...someone the police apparently never considered. 

If you have a case you'd like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145.

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We’re in Sabine County, Texas, investigating the area where Doug Janis was murdered. We’ve talked a lot about April and Doug’s relationship - one that went on for years - but what I wonder is, if April did kill Doug, why did she choose that moment? What was her motive? 

I think that solving Doug Janis murder starts with figuring out what really happened to April’s mother, Anna, on the night she was fatally shot, September 3, 2004. That's the same night when Anna told her friend Yvonne that she found out that April was being molested by Doug Janis. 

Last week, we heard from April’s father's book, which gave his version of what happened the night his wife was fatally shot. But Yvonne has a very different version of what went down that night.

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Catherine and Amy head to Sabine County, Texas, where on December 13, 2020, there was a massive explosion on Toledo Bend lake. The houseboat belonging to 64-year-old Doug Janis, a well known commercial catfisherman, went up in flames. Doug Janis was found dead inside the boat. At first, police assumed that it had been a propane leak, but then the medical examiner found the two bullets in the back of Doug’s head. 

Doug Janis had been murdered. And his much younger wife, 30-year-old April Mae Janis was nowhere to be found. A witness told police that they saw April leaving the scene shortly before it blew up. 

And as we said last week we found out that April’s mother, Anna, had also died of a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Another a mysterious death that was never fully explained. 

April's dad Bob Thompson wrote a book which he self published called A Different Ballgame. In that book, he described in detail what happened the night Anna was shot and his version of events. And we've talked to some of the other people who were around that night, and let’s just say that we will be taking everything that Bob says with a very large grain of salt. 

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On December 13, 2020, in Hemphill, Texas, police in Sabine County got a call about a houseboat on fire. 

The houseboat was docked behind 322 Echo Ridge, off of Cedar Grove Road on Highway 21 in the Pendleton area of Toledo Bend. And the scene very quickly descended into total chaos. 

The firefighters had trouble getting out to the remote location, and by the time they got there the boat was engulfed in flames.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the boat but it was too late. By the time they got there the walls had caved in. And then, when they dug through the remains of the boat, they found the body of 64-year-old Doug Janis. 

At first, they thought that the fire had been some kind of accident and that Doug had died as a result of a propane leak. But then, they took Doug's body in for an autopsy, and they found two bullets in his head. 

Doug Janis had been murdered. And his much younger wife April Mae Janis was nowhere to be found.

But Doug’s death was just the beginning of a story that goes back twenty years and involves sex, allegations of corruption, and multiple murders.

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to us at our Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello Hell and Gone listeners! We'll be back on September 26th with brand new episodes of Hell and Gone Murder Line. 

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello Hell and Gone listeners! We'll be back on September 26th with brand new episodes of Hell and Gone Murder Line. 

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello Hell and Gone listeners! We'll be back on September 26th with brand new episodes of Hell and Gone Murder Line. 

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New episodes of Hell and Gone Murder Line start September 26th!

In the meantime, if you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend and her team to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello Hell and Gone listeners! We'll be back on September 26th with brand new episodes of Hell and Gone Murder Line. 

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday, December 12, 1980 at approximately 6: 45 in the morning, the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department got a call about a female body lying on the side of Highway 181, just south of Highway 158. 

The woman was dressed in a striped red colored dress and velveteen jacket and was five foot five. She weighed around 115 pounds. 

It wasn’t hard to figure out the cause of death - Barbara had massive holes blown into her body by a shotgun. The shots were so violent that pieces of her hair and skull were found 20 feet away. 

And just like in Amanda Tusing’s case, there were suspicions that a police officer may have been involved - and the murder is still unsolved.

If you have a case you’d like Catherine Townsend to look into, you can reach out to the Hell and Gone Murder Line at 678-744-6145. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.