No one really knows what happens between two people in a marriage.  But after events in the home of couple Mary and Matthew Winkler led to a deadly shooting, everyone had an opinion.  Mary and Matthew had married young.  Matthew was a preacher for the Church of Christ in a small town in Tennessee.  Depending on who you’re talking to, Matthew was either a devoted family man or an abusive deviant and Mary was either a long-suffering victim or a repressed and vindictive wife.

Join us at the quiet end for Wife of a Preacherman. In 2006, Mary Winkler became involved in a financial scam.  She wrote bad checks and opened a separate bank account without Matthew’s knowledge.  Then, just days before Matthew would learn about her banking escapades, he was on their bedroom floor, bleeding to death, while Mary and their three children left town in the family van.  This should be an interesting discussion today because Dick and I have some different takes on what happened and if the punishment fit the crime.

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Sources

Did Preacher’s Wife Get Away with Murder? Mike Celizic, 8/16/2007

Feminism and the Disposable Male, Karen Straughan, https://youtu.be/vp8tToFv-bA

Oprah Interview with Mary Winkler, cnn.com. 9/12/2007, retrieved 4/28/2022 on YouTube

Slain Preacher’s Wife Denies Pulling Trigger, CNN.com, 4/19/2007

Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder by Ann Rule

Snapped: Mary Winkler, S6 E1

The Pastor’s Wife by Diane Fanning

The Preacher’s Wife, Dateline NBC, S19 E8

When Jeanne Dominico woke up on the morning of August 6, 2003, she didn’t expect to die that day. She was a hard-working divorced mom of two teenagers, so every day was a busy one.  After working one of her three jobs, Jeanne would go home to fix dinner and clean up the house for her son, Charlie, and her daughter, Nicole.  Nothing was more important to Jeanne than her children.

For the past three years or so, 43-year-old Jeanne had been in a loving relationship with a co-worker named Chris McGowen.  He got along well with Jeanne’s children and they planned a future together as a family.  But in the months leading up to August 6, Jeanne had been having trouble with 14-year-old Charlie, who was hanging with a rough crowd, and 16-year-old Nicole, who had become obsessed with a new boyfriend.

Join us at the quiet end for First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder. It was Chris McGowen who called the police after finding Jeanne unresponsive in her home.  Interviews with Chris and Jeanne’s ex-husband were done that evening, but Charlie, Nicole, and Nicole’s boyfriend weren’t immediately found. The police had their suspicions about what had happened to Jeanne, but a confession that night would surprise detectives, devastate family members, and leave their New Hampshire community in shock.

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Billy and Nicole

Sources

Because You Loved Me by M. William Phelps

Daughter Sentenced To 40 Years For Mother’s Death, WMUR9, 9/8/2005

Hartford Current Archives, retrieved 4/22/2022

Snapped: Killer Couples, S1 E9, 2013

State of New Hampshire v. Nicole Kasinskas, Bernstein & Mello P.L.L.C., The Telegraph (Nashua, NH), 9/9/2005

State of New Hampshire v. William Joseph Sullivan, The Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 4/18/2008

On a chilly January morning in 2002, 12-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared on her way to her school bus stop in Oregon City, Oregon. Two months after Ashley disappeared, Miranda Gaddis, age 13, also vanished while on her way to the same bus stop. Miranda and Ashley were good friends and they lived in the same apartment complex. They were both friends with Mallori Weaver too, the daughter of local man Ward Weaver III.

Join us at the quiet end for On the Way to the Bus Stop.  After Miranda’s disappearance, the FBI put together a task force to search for both girls. While some were holding out hope that they had run away, law enforcement and family members alike soon believed that the girls had been abducted.  Ashley’s mom believed that Ward Weaver was responsible.  And she had good reason to believe that.  Just five months before her disappearance, Ashley had accused Weaver of molesting her. While the two girls were missing, he dug a hole in his yard and covered it with cement. And, as public opinion and law enforcement turned toward him as the primary suspect, Weaver made plans to move out of state. But it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought it would be to escape his demons and his crimes.

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Sources

Estate of Pond v Oregon, United States District Court, D. Oregon, 6/22/2004 

Inmate Charged with Ward Weaver Stabbing, Argus Observer, 7/7/2011

KATU News Oregon Archives, 2002-2016

KOIN News Oregon Archives, 2002-2014

The People v. Ward Francis Weaver, Jr., Superior Court of Kern County, 8/20/2001

The Missing Girls by Linda O’Neal, Philip Tennyson & Rick Watson, 2006

Unlucky Thirteen, Unsolved Mysteries, S13 E48, 9/20/2002

Ward Weaver’s Daughter Acquitted in Alleged Security-Guard Attack, Williamette Week, by James Pitkin, 12/22/2010

What the Private Eye Knew, NBC news, by Keith Morrison, 1/27/2006

The day of July 22, 2007 had been a typical Sunday for the Petit family of Cheshire, Connecticut. But on that summer day, a convicted felon out on parole noticed mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11-year-old daughter, Michaela, shopping at a neighborhood grocery store. Michaela had taken an interest in cooking and she was choosing ingredients for the family dinner she would prepare that night.

After following the mother and daughter home, the convict and another career criminal plotted out a ruthless home invasion for the Petit home. They would return that night, terrorizing the family and leaving all but one family member murdered with their house in flames.

Join us at the quiet end for The Cheshire Murders.  The murders of Jennifer and her two daughters Michaela and Hayley occurred after hours of torment and sexual assault. By the time husband and father, Bill Petit, was able to escape to get help, it was too late.  This crime left the town of Cheshire shocked and disturbed.  After the story made the national news, people were unsettled by these seemingly random acts of evil perpetrated on a family in their own home. Today we’re talking about the horrors endured by the Petit family, Bill Petit’s unimaginable loss, the backgrounds of the killers, and the police response which many have criticized.

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Sources

Cheshire Connecticut Home Invasion Murders 10 Years Later, USA Today, 7/17/20017

The Cheshire Murders, an HBO documentary

The Cheshire Murders and the Illusion of Safety, Newsweek Magazine, by Alexander Nazaryan, 8/30/2015

Chilling Account in Connecticut Triple-Murder Case, The New York Times, William Glaberson, 9/22/2010

In the Middle of the Night by Brian McDonald

Murder in Connecticut by Michael Benson

Timeline: Deadly Cheshire Home Invasion, The Hartford Currant, by Tina Lender, 7/16/2013

Whenever we hear of a case of a healthcare professional purposefully hurting a patient, we feel outraged.  When the hurt patients are children, it’s ten times worse.  The case of Genene Jones, LVN, is one of the most reprehensible instances of child abuse and murder in recent history.  During her time working in a pediatric intensive care unit and then in a pediatric office, Genene was responsible for multiple codes and deaths.  But Genene didn’t do it all on her own.  If not for the willingness of physicians and hospital administrators to look the other way, she could not have gotten away with it and the children she killed would still be alive.

Join us at the quiet end for In the Arms of Evil.  Genene Jones is the deeply disturbed serial killer nurse who was the inspiration for the psychotic nurse in Stephen King’s book and movie Misery.  And her actions were definitely in line with the horror genre.  Genene Jones actually took pleasure from putting the children in her care at risk and she got a sick thrill from killing them.  Her connection to disastrous pediatric outcomes was clear, so why did it take so long for anyone to protect children from her?

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Read “The Death Shift” by Peter Elkind

Sources

The Death Shift: Nurse Genene Jones and the Texas Baby Murders, by Peter Elkind

Former Nurse Indicted in Texas Child Injury Case, The New York Times, November 22, 1983, retrieved March 3, 2022

Nurse Genene Faces Trial in Children’s Hospital Deaths, United Press International, by Teresa Anderson, January 14, 1984, retrieved February 22, 2022

Nursery Crimes, Forensic Files, Season 5, Episode 10

Grand Jury of Bexar County, Texas, True Bill of Indictment, Defendant Genene Jones, June 29, 2017

Jay Orbin lived to be exactly forty-five years old.  He was murdered on September 8, 2004, which was his forty-fifth birthday.  It was just over a month later when his decomposing torso was found in a Rubbermaid container in the Phoenix desert.

Everyone would agree that Jay had been kind and hard-working.  He was a self-made man and a loving father.  Unfortunately, he was married to a conniving and cold-hearted woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Jay met his future wife, Marjorie, while she was working at a Phoenix strip club.  She was just Jay’s type– a beautiful, blonde, big-breasted, exotic dancer.  Soon he was calling her “the love of his life.”

Join us at the quiet end for What She Wanted: The Plot to Kill Jay Orbin. Jay and Marjorie married and eventually had a child together.  But Marjorie wasn’t cut out for long-term monogamy.  She had multiple extramarital affairs while married to Jay and she soon wanted him out of her way.  But leaving him was not an acceptable solution for Marjorie, who wanted to keep all of Jay’s money for herself.  So, she decided that murder was the only solution.

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Read “Dancing with Death”

Sources

“Dancing with Death” by Shanna Hogan

Diary of a Showgirl, 48 Hours, November 13, 2010

Inmate Profile with Arizona Department of Corrections, Retrieved February 25, 2022

State v. Orbin, Court of Appeals State of Arizona Division One, November 3, 2011

Jay & Noah Orbin

Russ Faria was a normal, working guy, in love with his wife, Betsy, when he was framed for her murder. He was convicted and spent years in prison before an acquittal was won by his attorney, Joel Schwartz. This story was enough for a true crime book or an episode of Dateline, but it was just the beginning. It turns out that the person responsible for framing Russ and brutally murdering Betsy was her “friend” Pam Hupp, who is now in prison for another murder.

Join us at the quiet end today for this bonus episode, an interview with defense attorney Joel Schwartz. We recommend that you listen to our November 2021 episode on this case titled “Pam’s Path to Prison” before listening to this interview. After listening, we recommend that you read Joel’s book “Bone Deep” about this case and his work in getting Russ Faria out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit. You can find the book on Joel’s website https://joeljschwartz.com/ along with more information on the case!

Read “Bone Deep”

On May 27, 1978, a crime took place in the Lowcountry town of Walterboro, South Carolina, that created a cloud of fear and sadness over everyone who lived there. Hometown girl, twenty-six-year-old Gwendolyn Elaine Fogle, was attacked in her home, sexually assaulted and brutally murdered.

That Saturday evening, Elaine had babysat for friends, arriving at their home at about 6:45 p.m. She was happy and excited over her plans to visit with her mom and dad the next day and celebrate her mom’s birthday. At 11:15 p.m., Elaine headed home from babysitting.  Hours later, when her roommate came home, she was met by a shocking and bloody scene.

Join us at the quiet end for A Murder in Lowcountry. For decades, evidence remained in storage at the Walterboro Police Department. Elaine’s murder was a cold case for thirty-seven years. But then, in May 2015, with advancements in DNA and fingerprint technology, investigators were able to solve the case in just four months.

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Read “The Lowcountry Murder of Gwendolyn Elaine Fogle” by Ret. Special Agent Lt. Rita Shuler

Sources

Interview with Rita Shuler, Author of The Lowcountry Murder of Gwendolyn Elaine Fogle, https://wordlifeeditorial.com/2021/05/19/interview-with-rita-shuler-author-of-the-lowcountry-murder-of-gwendolyn-elaine-fogle/

The Lowcountry Murder of Gwendolyn Elaine Fogle: A Cold Case Solved, by Lt. Rita Y. Shuler

Twisted Justice, On the Case with Paula Zahn, Nov. 24, 2019

the fire poker

After sharing a celebratory birthday dinner with her family, 57-year-old Susan Sutton and her husband John were attacked in their home by a masked gunman.  Because credit cards, jewelry, and cash were found out in the open and undisturbed, investigators believed early on that this was an inside job.

John Sutton was a successful civil attorney who had made some enemies over the years.  Susan was loved by everyone, or at least that what’s most people believed.  But when investigators learned that Susan had been involved in an extramarital romance with John’s business partner, they thought they may have found a suspect with a strong motive for the crime.  When the business partner failed a polygraph, suspicions against him grew.

Join us at the quiet end for Blinded. The plot to kill John and Susan Sutton seemed to be well-planned and professionally carried out, possibly a case of murder-for hire.  But who was behind it?  The case seemed like it might never be solved, until the murder weapon turned up on a man with long-standing connections to the Sutton family.

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Sources

Quality of Life Interview with John Sutton, Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar

Secrets, Lies, & Alibis, 48 Hours Mystery, 11/20/2010

The Unlikliest Suspect, Deadline Crime With Tamron Hall, S1, E5

World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, http://wwaspsurvivors.com/, Paradise Cove, Ret. 01/28/2022