Preview: Joan wants to kill her husband, and her daughter may be the perfect hitman. -Behind the Picket Fence, Scorned: Love Kills (S1, E1)
Military spouse Joan Shannon conspired with her daughter Elizabeth to murder Army Major David Shannon for the Servicemens Group Life Insurance. On July 23, 2002, Elizabeth Shannon fatally shot Major David Shannon twice at close range while he laid in his bed in his Fort Bragg, North Carolina home. Joan Shannon was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in prison plus thirteen years for conspiracy to commit murder. The gunman, Elizabeth Shannon, pleaded guilty to the murder of Major Shannon and was sentenced to 25-31 years in prison. The motive for the crime was greed and Joan Shannon manipulated and coerced her teen daughter Elizabeth to commit the crime.
Major David Shannon, U.S. Army
Investigation Discovery:
An Army Major lay lifeless in his bed, shot twice at close range while sleeping next to his wife. Investigators would soon uncover an intricately planned murder plot involving sex parties, adultery and coercion. -Behind the Picket Fence, Scorned: Love Kills (S1, E1)
When Special Forces Major David Shannon is fatally shot in his family home, investigators wonder if his job made him a target. But a deeper inspection of his personal life reveals sordid secrets… possibly leading to his murder. -She Loves Me Not, Married with Secrets (S2, E3)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Army veteran Andrea Floyd was found raped and murdered by Army spouse and special operations soldier Brandon Floyd in a murder-suicide in their North Carolina home on July 19, 2002. The murder was the one of five domestic abuse incidents that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg. According to the book Army Wives, Andrea was planning on divorcing Brandon and had informed him that either she or he was leaving because the relationship was over. Their children were in Alliance, Ohio with Andrea’s family at the time of the incident.
“On July 19 the perfect picture shattered. After a loud argument that was overheard by neighbors, Brandon Floyd shot his wife, then turned his gun on himself. The double slaying was the fourth domestic tragedy at Fort Bragg in recent weeks. On June 11 Sgt. First Class Rigoberto Nieves, 32, shot himself and his wife, Teresa, 28, two days after returning from Afghanistan. Over the next six weeks Master Sgt. William Wright, 36, allegedly strangled his wife, Jennifer, 32; Sgt. Cedric Griffin, 28, allegedly stabbed his estranged wife, Marilyn, 32, and set fire to her home; and Maj. David Shannon, 40, was shot while sleeping in his home, a killing in which police have said that the wife remains a suspect.”
In March 2005, Fort Bragg Army Sergeant Cedric Ramon Griffin, 28, pleaded guilty to murdering his wife Marilyn Griffin and setting her home on fire on July 9, 2002 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Sgt. Griffin was charged by the Cumberland County Superior Court with the first-degree murder of his estranged wife Marilyn Griffin, first-degree arson, and the attempted murder of Marilyn’s two daughters. Marilyn died as a result of approximately 50 stab wounds to the chest, neck, back and abdomen; the preliminary autopsy results indicated Marilyn died prior to the fire. Marilyn’s daughters, ages 6 and 2, woke up during the fire, escaped, and went to a neighbor’s house for help. According to law enforcement officials, the motive appeared to be “domestic related” and Sgt. Griffin turned violent after Marilyn threatened to reveal his infidelity to his commander. The couple were married for eight years and Marilyn was murdered two months after she left Sgt. Griffin. She moved into her new home only a week before she died. Sgt. Cedric Griffin faced the death sentence in North Carolina if he was convicted of stabbing his wife to death but according to the Army Wives book, former Army Sgt. Cedric Griffin pleaded guilty to murdering Marilyn Griffin and is serving a life sentence in the Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. Rigoberto Nieves fatally shot his wife Teresa after an argument on June 11, 2002; William Wright admitted to strangling his wife Jennifer on June 29, 2002; Brandon Floyd fatally shot his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.
Forbidden: Dying for Love featured the Jennifer and William Wright 2002 homicide-suicide case on Investigation Discovery. ‘Onward, Christian Soldier’ highlighted the circumstances that lead to the murder of Jennifer Wright and the pain it inflicted on those who were left behind including their three sons. According to the show, William Wright was a Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina with his wife and three children. MSgt Wright was routinely deployed after 9/11/2001 and as a result he was never home. Bill’s absence was hard on Jennifer and the marriage. She wanted Bill to leave the Army but the Army was his life; it’s what he was meant to do. While Bill was deployed in Afghanistan, he learned that Jennifer was telling people back home that he divorced her.
Bill was stunned to learn the news and was granted leave to go back stateside and deal with his family crisis. Bill learned Jennifer was having an affair with the pastor at church and she wanted a divorce. Instead of salvaging his marriage, Bill murdered Jennifer in the family home on June 29, 2002 and covered it up. When investigators questioned Bill about Jennifer’s murder, he broke down and told them everything. Bill admitted he hit his wife with a baseball bat and then strangled her to death. He then put her body in a garbage bag and buried her in some woods near Fort Bragg. In 2003, William Wright was in prison awaiting trial when he died by suicide in his jail cell. Jennifer and William’s sons expressed concern that the Army’s anti-malaria drugs negatively impacted their father’s health and was most likely the reason this tragedy occurred.
This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. Rigoberto Nieves fatally shot his wife Teresa on June 11, 2002; Cedric Griffin fatally stabbed his wife Marilyn on July 9, 2002; Brandon Floyd fatally shot his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.
ID Go: While her husband serves in the army, a lonely married mother of three finds comfort in the arms of her church’s charismatic new minister. But danger looms in the form of a jealous love-rival that will stop at nothing to scare her away. -Onward, Christian Soldier, Forbidden: Dying for Love (S4,E4)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Two days after returning home from Afghanistan, Fort Bragg Army SFC Rigoberto Nieves shot and killed his wife Teresa Nieves after an argument on June 11, 2002 in their Fayetteville, North Carolina home; SFC Nieves then turned his .40-caliber service revolver on himself. This domestic violence related homicide was one of five murders that occurred in a six week period at Fort Bragg in 2002. William Wright admitted to murdering his wife Jennifer on June 29, 2002; Cedric Griffin murdered his wife Marilyn on July 9, 2002; Brandon Floyd murdered his wife Andrea on July 19, 2002; and military spouse Joan Shannon manipulated her daughter Elizabeth to shoot her step-father Major David Shannon on July 23, 2002 while he slept.
On May 24, 2001, enlisted Army soldier Roger Reister, 27, found his pregnant wife Captain Lynn (Armstrong) Reister, 31, murdered in their off post home in El Paso, Texas. Roger claimed on a panicked 911 call that she was dead and it looked like her throat had been ripped out. Both were stationed at nearby Fort Bliss. Captain Reister was a Commander and was scheduled to transfer in just a few days to a new position as an ROTC instructor in Missouri. Captain Reister was a distinguished Norwich Academy graduate, a Commander, and an Air Defense Artillery Tactical Control Officer for patriot missiles in Saudi Arabia. Lynn was a mother to a five year old son Triston and was pregnant with another son. Lynn’s co-workers scheduled a going away party for her the day she died. She never showed up.
Lynn and Roger met at a club in Oxbar, Germany where both of them were stationed. Lynn thought Roger was charming and nice. They met when she was only twenty-two years old. She was a Lieutenant; he was Private First Class. In the Army it is against regulation to get involved with anyone below your rank unless you are married. Roger continued to salute Lynn while they simultaneously hid their relationship. Lynn was a higher ranking military officer and in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If they were found out, Lynn could have lost her career. Despite the risks, they both pursued a passionate relationship. Roger was approached by military leadership about the affair but denied it. They decided to get married in Denmark so they could openly be together and then Lynn got pregnant. Once they were married, the military couldn’t do anything. Roger was deployed and missed the birth of their son.
After Roger got home from deployment, Lynn was deployed to Hungary for six months. Now both of them experienced being away from their newborn and got a shot at being a single parent. The couple decided to ask for a transfer back to the states so they could raise their son. In the fall of 1996 they were transferred to Fort Bliss. Lynn had a Command and was shortly promoted to Captain. She was described as a great Commander who took care of her soldiers and their spouses. In the summer of 2000, Lynn deployed to Saudi Arabia as a Patriot Missile Commander. She had a highly stressful job because she made the decision when to launch the defensive missiles. Meanwhile Roger suspected her of cheating on him so when she returned home from Saudi Arabia, tensions were high. Lynn denied cheating on Roger but he moved to the barracks on post. Lynn did not want to give up on Roger because she didn’t believe in divorce so they went to marriage counseling. Eventually they reconciled and Roger moved back home, then Lynn found out she was pregnant with their second son.
On the day of the crime. Roger Reister took their son Triston to work with him for the day. Lynn stayed home because she had a doctor’s appointment and was going to pick up Triston after she was done. Early that same day, Roger claimed that his vehicle wouldn’t start and he called his brother Rodney to help him get it started. According to Roger, they both left afterwards. Roger tried calling Lynn throughout the day but she wasn’t answering the phone. He was beginning to get worried. When he got home from work he found Lynn dead on the bedroom floor. According to investigators her throat had been slit from ear to ear all the way to her spine. She had been nearly decapitated. Police always look at the spouse first but Roger had a solid alibi that day. He last saw Lynn alive at 4:30 a.m. before he left for work with his son. In the meantime, Roger’s brother Rodney showed up to the crime scene to support him. He claimed he had not seen Lynn for over a week and the only person he could think of that could do this may be a girl named April who had a crush on Roger.
According to Roger and Rodney, April hit on Roger while Lynn was deployed to Saudi Arabia and her Army husband was deployed to Korea. At one point Lynn’s tires had been slashed and they wondered if it was April. In addition Triston told investigators that “April wanted to marry daddy.” Investigators learned that Roger met April at a local dance club and she offered to help him with Triston while Lynn was deployed. Detectives questioned April next. She admitted to having an affair with Roger for a few months in 2000 but denied killing Lynn. April felt betrayed that Roger pointed the finger at her. She told investigators that Roger said “maybe when she gets back, I’ll take care of her for good.” But Roger told detectives that he was an every day man who cheats on his spouse and ended things with April when Lynn got home. Investigators learned that Roger continued to meet up with April 2-3 times a week at the dance club and Lynn caught him. After Lynn confronted Roger about the affair, he moved back to the barracks. Then Lynn found out April was pregnant with Roger’s child. When police interviewed April she was pregnant and admitted that she was pregnant with Roger’s child. April suggested detectives speak with Army soldier Patrick Meuller.
Patrick Mueller immediately asked for immunity from both the military and civilian authorities when questioned. Mueller was given immunity and shared with investigators that Roger asked him to kill Lynn. Roger asked him to stab her in the throat so she couldn’t scream. Roger convinced him to do it, built him up, offered $10,000 cash, and reminded him of the $250,000 life insurance pay-out. Mueller agreed to do it. The plan was for Roger to take Triston to work and leave the door unlocked but Mueller admitted to never going into the house because he got spooked when he thought a neighbor saw him. Mueller had an alibi. Mueller was friends with Roger’s brother Rodney and shared that Rodney might have beef with Lynn because she kicked him out of the marital home. Apparently Rodney had been in a lot of trouble including setting fires and stealing. Rodney moved in with them after getting out of jail in Florida. Roger and Lynn let him move in temporarily in an attempt to help him out. After six weeks of the living arrangement, Rodney put a strain on the marriage because he didn’t contribute to the household, laid around all day, and made no attempt to get a job. Rodney was also disrespectful to Lynn. Maybe Rodney had motive to kill Lynn because he had no job, little money, and nowhere to live. Rodney Reister was a person of interest.
Investigators questioned Rodney Reister who was now living with his girlfriend Amber. Rodney Reister told detectives that Roger asked him to kill Lynn because she was cheating on him. Rodney said Roger wanted her dead because Lynn would get custody of their son Triston in a divorce due to the fact that she is a military officer. Roger in essence pressured Rodney to kill Lynn for him. But Rodney said Lynn was awake when he entered the house so he took off. Rodney was one of six people Roger had manipulated and asked to kill his wife. Meanwhile, El Paso crime scene investigators discovered a bloody palm print on Captain Reister’s arm. The palm print did not match Roger Reister or his mistress April, but it did match Roger’s brother Rodney Reister. Police questioned Rodney again and this time he confessed to the crime. Rodney admitted to a second attempt the morning Lynn died. He also implicated Roger in the murder-for-hire plot. Roger set the plan in motion and used the problems with his vehicle as a signal for Rodney to kill Lynn. Roger took Rodney into the house, showed him where the knife was, and then went to work with his son. Roger told Rodney to cut her throat to keep her from screaming.
Rodney admitted to losing his nerve initially but Lynn saw him. In the struggle Lynn said to Rodney “you don’t have to do this” and “don’t believe Roger.” A pregnant Lynn fought for her life but was no match for the knife wielding Rodney. Rodney Reister nearly decapitated Lynn when he cut her throat and Roger left him a fresh set of clothes so he could leave the home without raising any suspicion. The motive was the $250,000 Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) pay-out. Roger offered Rodney $1000 to kill Lynn and then more after he got the insurance money. Rodney was arrested for capital murder and faced the death penalty. The big question in Rodney’s case was did he do it for love or did he do it for money. The jury decided Rodney committed first degree murder for the love of his brother and he was sentenced to life in prison. Roger Reister was arrested but claimed that his brother Rodney acted alone despite four people willing to testify that he asked them to kill his wife. A civilian jury found Roger guilty of four counts of solicitation of murder and he was sentenced to four concurrent life terms in prison. The conclusion: Roger wanted girls, money, the house, and custody of his kid; Roger didn’t want to move to Missouri and be married anymore.
A soldier comes home with his five year old son and finds his wife, an Army Officer stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, brutally stabbed to death. -The Affairs of Soldiers, Shadow of Doubt (S1,E2)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Captain Frank ‘Marty’ Theer, US Air Force, was murdered on December 17, 2000 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Military and civilian prosecutors believe Marty was murdered by his wife Michelle Theer and her lover SSG John Diamond, a sniper in the US Army stationed at Fort Bragg. Michelle tried to claim that John was obsessed with her and killed Marty so he could be with her. John Diamond’s defense team claimed that Michelle killed Marty for his large life insurance policy and set John up to take the fall. Prosecutors theorized that Michelle Theer manipulated John Diamond into committing the murder by claiming that Marty abused her. John’s family believe that the Army railroaded John because he was an enlisted man accused of killing an officer. In the end they would both be convicted of the murder of Marty Theer and spend the rest of their life in prison.
“Michelle Theer was named as a conspirator by Army prosecutors, but they had no jurisdiction over her because she is a civilian. She has not been charged in civilian courts.” -FayObserver (5/19/2002)
Investigation Discovery:
In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
ID Go: When landowner Jeff Brisebois is found shot to the head in the bedroom of his Hawaii plantation home, police uncover angry neighbors, disgruntled tenants, estranged family members — and soon find themselves with an island full of suspects. -Warm Revolver, Devil in the Details (S1, E4)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
Navy Petty Officer James Kuenn, 40, was found guilty on February 9, 2000 for the first-degree murder of his teen girlfriend Carol Hutto on December 13, 1976 in Largo, Florida. Carol Hutto’s half-brother found her dead in a pond in the neighborhood; she was weighed down with cement blocks. An autopsy revealed Carol was hit and strangled, lost consciousness, and then thrown in the water alive. Initially, police suspected Carol’s half-brother committed the crime but they did not have enough evidence to charge him so the case went unsolved for nearly two decades. Then in 1994, two Largo Police Department investigators reopened the cold case.
The detective’s determination to find the killer led them to a former Largo resident who by then was an eleven year Navy veteran stationed at U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. In 1996, DNA testing was making it’s way into police departments across the country so the investigators submitted several unknown hairs to the FBI lab. But they needed a sample of Kuenn’s DNA to see if it was a match. Investigator’s obtained a search warrant to get the DNA via a blood sample and used the interrogation to elicit a confession while they waited for the results. Since Kuenn was active duty Navy, detectives brought in the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) in Mayport, Florida to assist with the interrogation.
On July 15, 1998, the NCIS used the interrogation to push Kuenn into a confession. Investigators had no physical evidence linking Kuenn to the scene but that didn’t stop them from bluffing and hoping Kuenn would cave. Kuenn eventually admitted to investigators that the whole thing was an accident and he brought Carol to the lake to cover up the crime. Kuenn claimed that Carol tripped and fell and became unconscious so he took off her clothes to make it look like someone else did it. Despite Kuenn’s tears, detectives believed he was lying because Carol’s injuries did not come from an accidental trip and fall; they came from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Kuenn was charged with murder, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years.
“Kuenn recalled the fateful night when he and Carol met at the house under construction. They kissed but the young woman was reluctant to have sex with him. As she struggled, her screams rang out through the foggy night air. Kuenn, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, hit her with a 2 by 4 to quiet her. He then dumped her in the pond, where she drowned, according to the autopsy.” –Tampa Bay Times
16-year-old Carol Hutto is a dependable friend, daughter and sister. She’s a good student, loves wrestling and hanging out with friends. So when she misses her curfew one evening, her mother knows something awful has happened. -Swamp Murders
Army veteran Peter Theriault went missing on December 2, 1998 from Irvine, California. Live-in girlfriend Judy Valot, 54, was charged and convicted of second degree murder in January 2000 despite a body, weapon, or any physical evidence. She was found guilty of murdering Peter Theriault and disposing of his body in a California desert because she was convinced he was cheating on her. There was no evidence that Peter was in fact cheating on her. Valot appealed her conviction and was granted a new trial. And again in 2005, Judy Valot was found guilty of second degree murder. She was sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison. Judy Valot was denied parole in February 2013 as she maintains her innocence and refuses to reveal the location of Peter’s body who is still missing to this day.
Investigation Discovery:
In December 1998, Peter Theriault, 51, fails to arrive for his shift at a car plant in Commerce City, California. Pete hasn’t missed a day of work in almost three decades. Friends and family immediately suspect something is very wrong. -The Green Eyed Monster, The Perfect Murder (S5,E7)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 