“In August of 2012, Tony and Sue Bemis received the news no parent wants to hear. Their son, Chief Petty Officer John Keith Bemis had died by suicide. As they struggled to make sense of their loss, things didn’t add up. Seven years later, they still have questions about what exactly did happen to their son.” –CPO John Keith Bemis, Crimelines True Crime Podcast (December 22, 2019)
“In August of 2007, Kamisha Block was killed by friendly fire while serving in Iraq – or that was what her family was told. Her family uncovered several lies by the U.S. Army and ultimately learned that Kamisha was murdered. Why did the military lie to the Block family? This is a story about domestic abuse, murder, a military cover-up, and the relentless pursuit of justice by the Block family.” –Kamisha Block, Murderific True Crime Podcast (December 8, 2019)
Preview: 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)
The young and wild Monique Wallace is married to 40-year-old Paul Berkley, a navy reservist and father of two in suburban North Carolina. But with Paul leaving on a mission overseas, temptation and lust will lead them all down a dark path to murder. -Rules of Engagement, Scorned: Love Kills (S2, E7)
Fred and Jennifer have a picture perfect marriage. But when Fred meets Danielle, a young doctor in the Navy, Jennifer fights to keep Fred for herself. The love triangle explodes, leaving police struggling to understand a grisly crime scene. -Naval Affairs, Scorned: Love Kills (S3, E1)
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)
American soldier Megan Touma has left her husband for her lover Edgar. Turns out Edgar has a spouse of his own. When Megan gets pregnant Edgar must make a decision between two women. Someone will be left brokenhearted and someone will be left dead. -Love is a Battlefield, Scorned: Love Kills (S5, E2)
Preview: While Kathy Lipscomb spends late nights at the hospital with the handsome Dr. Pearle, her husband’s career in the Air Force is taking off, but so is his relationship with a hot young officer. When the affairs are exposed the consequences are fatal. -Sex, Secrets & Sergeants, Scorned: Love Kills (S5, 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: After Christmas in 2003, on Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington State, Russel Douglas is found shot in the head, in his car along a deserted road. It’s the start of a case that will take a decade to solve, and leave many with lingering questions. -Whidbey Island Mystery, The Perfect Murder (S5, E6)
Russel Douglas was found dead in his car on Whidbey Island in Washington on December 26, 2003. It turns out Navy veteran Peggy Sue Thomas lured him to his death. Both Peggy Thomas and Jim Huden conspired to murder Russel Douglas for revenge. Investigators suspect that the duo committed the murder for Peggy’s friend Brenna, who alleged abuse, but there was never enough evidence to charge Brenna Douglas with any crimes. Jim Huden was convicted and sentenced to eighty years in prison. Peggy Thomas agreed to a plea bargain in exchange for a reduced sentence. Thomas was sentenced to four years for her role in the murder. Peggy Thomas continues to deny any involvement in the murder and claims she didn’t know that her boyfriend at the time was going to kill Douglas (despite being the last to text him shortly before he was murdered). Peggy Thomas was released from prison in 2016.
In the News:
From pageants to famous husband to prison, murder suspect allowed to visit NM. -KRQE (October 7, 2011)
48 Hours:
How did a former beauty queen end up at the heart of a murder case? -48 Hours
The true-crime author of over two dozen New York Times bestsellers tells “48 Hours” she couldn’t help but write about the Russel Douglas case. -48 Hours
Gail O’Neil shares memories of her son, Russel Douglas, who was murdered on Sept. 26, 2003, on Whidbey Island, Wash. -48 Hours
Jim Huden’s former band mates talk to “48 Hours” correspondent Peter Van Sant about what it was like to find out their one-time lead guitarist was accused of murder. -48 Hours
Detectives allege Jim Huden and Peggy Thomas lured Russel Douglas to his death by asking to drop off a present for Russel’s wife, Brenna. Both Jim and Peggy claim the present was delivered to Russel days before the murder. When investigators surprise their suspects with simultaneous separate interrogations, they discover discrepancies. Do you think Jim and Peggy are making up a story to throw off investigators? -48 Hours
Oxygen:
A Las Vegas red haired siren and her millionaire boyfriend become suspects in a murder, hundreds of miles away. -Peggy Sue Thomas & Jim Huden, Snapped: Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E4 After the Verdict – Peggy Thomas and Jim Huden | Oxygen
A Las Vegas red haired siren and her millionaire boyfriend become suspects in a murder, hundreds of miles away. -Peggy Thomas & Jim Huden, Snapped: Killer Couples (S8, E4)
Investigation Discovery:
ID Go: On tiny Whidbey Island, Washington, beauty queen Peggy Sue Thomas seems to be a perfect wife and mother. But when her best friend’s husband is shot to death, Peggy finds herself on center stage of a murder investigation. -If Looks Could Kill, Beauty Queen Murders (S1, E5)
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.
US Air Force sergeant Nathan Paet and his family appear to live a blissfully normal life – as these never-before-aired home videos attest. But blind greed would bring about the destruction of this loving family. -Watch Your Back, American Monster (S3, E6)
Oxygen:
A happy military family kept walls up that were soon to be knocked down. Did Michelle’s husband bring his fate upon himself, or was she behind the whole thing? -Michelle Paet, Snapped
Those involved with the case give their input on the verdict and Michelle’s future. -Michelle Paet, Snapped
Michelle Fleck details all the ways Michelle Paet plotted to “get rid” of her late husband, Nathan. -Michelle Paet, Snapped
Michelle’s sister, Melissa, speaks fondly of Michelle. -Michelle Paet, Snapped
An Air Force sergeant is gunned down in his garage revealing an elaborate conspiracy with an unlikely mastermind. -Michelle Paet, Snapped
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: Two women living next to each other since childhood descend into bitter conflict when the ex husband of one starts seeing the other. Add property issues to this toxic mix and the result is an act of shocking violence that engulfs all. -Mistress of Death, Fear Thy Neighbor (Investigation Discovery: S5, E6)
On December 18, 2009, Army veteran Vinson Thomas-Ward Cowan shot at and injured his neighbor Christie Jackson in Burnet, Texas. Christie Jackson and Vinson’s mother, Linda Cowan, were engaged in a bitter three month feud between neighbors after Christie’s estranged husband Rudy started dating Linda. What started out as a disagreement between neighbors ended in someone getting shot. It is believed that Linda Cowan enlisted the help of her son Vinson to shoot and kill Christie Jackson and he obliged because he was protective of his mother. Vinson followed through and indeed shot Christie in the head through the window of her own home. Miraculously, despite the severe head wound, Christie lived, but will forever be affected by the ordeal. On the night in question, Christie was sleeping with both her daughters who also are forever changed by the experience.
One of Vinson’s friends, Thomas Pierson, who was aware of the plan to shoot Christie and be a look-out that night, informed the police of Linda and Vinson’s plans to shoot Christie in retaliation for all the trouble she caused her. The bottom line was Linda wanted Christie out of the picture. Linda Cowan was jealous that Rudy continued to see Christie and their children and angry because she assumed Christie called the City of Burnet to complain about her septic issues. Linda wanted revenge and she wanted to date Rudy despite his intentions to continue seeing Christie. In 2013, Linda Cowan was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for second-degree felony of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. And Vinson Thomas-Ward plead guilty to ten years in prison for second-degree felony of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Christie’s mother sold the family home in Burnet.
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.
In 2001, Kathleen Peterson’s body was found at the foot of a staircase in her home. The Missing Pieces looks at the nagging questions surrounding her death, dissecting a frantic 911 call, a potentially killer owl, and a blood-soaked stairwell. -The Staircase, Investigation Discovery
A woman’s body is found in a tent bag in the Kentucky woods. A thousand miles away, a family searches for a missing mother of three. Both cases go unsolved for decades, until a man’s obsession and a family’s determination converge, uncovering the truth. -Who Killed Jane Doe?, Investigation Discovery
Who Killed Jane Doe? featured the story of ‘The Tent Girl’ on Investigation Discovery in January 2018. On May 17, 1968, a man walking in the woods in Georgetown, Kentucky discovered a body wrapped in a tent. He reported the finding to authorities who determined that the body was that of a female she didn’t have a nam. This Jane Doe was dubbed ‘The Tent Girl’ in the media because the authorities attempted to find out who she was. She had been murdered and they wanted to find her family. The Tent Girl was buried in a local cemetery in an attempt to honor this girl who didn’t have a name. ‘Who Killed Jane Doe?’ began the episode by explaining that in the early sixties, Barbara Ann ‘Bobbie’ Hackmann of Lexington, Kentucky met George ‘Earl’ Taylor when she was a teenager. He was a single father from Florida who claimed his wife left him to be with another man and he needed a babysitter. Bobbie babysat Earl’s daughter Bonnie while he worked for the Carnival.
Although Earl Taylor was five years older than Bobbie Hackmann, the pair fell in love and decided to get married. Because Earl worked for the Carnival, they moved constantly but in 1964 they settled for an apartment in Miami, Florida. Bobbie and Earl had children of their own and Bobbie’s sister moved to Florida to be closer to her. Then one day, Bobbie told her sister she needed to leave town quickly and asked her for some money. Bobbie told her sister the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) was in town and they were looking for Earl because he went Absent without Leave (AWOL) from the military; Earl did not want to go back in. She told her sister they were moving to Texas. Nobody ever heard from Bobbie Taylor again. When Bobbie’s sister finally caught up with Earl, Bobbie wasn’t with him and he told her that she ran off with another man. Once again Earl’s significant other left their children and ran off with another man. Earl would not tell Bobbie’s sister where Bobbie’s kids were. Bobbie’s family filed an official missing person’s report.
Todd Matthews and Bobbie’s family were both obsessed with finding the same person but they didn’t know it. Todd was looking for the identity of a Jane Doe dubbed ‘The Tent Girl’ and Bobbie’s family was obsessed with finding their missing family member Bobbie Taylor. With the invent of the internet, it helped both Bobbie’s family and Todd Matthews get in touch with one another to compare notes. Todd e-mailed Bobbie’s family to tell them about ‘The Tent Girl’ because he believed the Jane Doe in Kentucky was the missing girl Bobbie Hackmann Taylor. Bobbie’s family contacted the police in Kentucky to find out if their Jane Doe was Bobbie. The authorities found enough similarities between the composite drawing and the real photos that they exhumed The Tent Girl’s remains. After DNA testing, The Tent Girl was indeed a match to Barbara Hackmann. The family finally found their missing Bobbie. Bobbie’s children were relieved to know their mother didn’t walk away from them but devastated that she was found and had been murdered.
Earl’s daughter Bonnie described a night on December 6, 1967 where she was awakened by a struggle in Bobbie and Earl’s bedroom. But, she didn’t want to get in trouble so she fell back asleep. When seven year old Bonnie woke up in the morning, Bobbie was gone. The family suspects that Earl murdered Bobbie and then disposed of her body in the woods. He most likely used tents from the Carnivals he worked at to wrap her body. When Bonnie asked Earl where Bobbie was, she never got an answer from him. When Bonnie returned home from school that same day, Earl had packed up the car and informed the children they were moving. When Bonnie asked about Bobbie again, Earl said “she’ll catch up with us later.” Bonnie said this was the last time she saw or heard from Bobbie. When Bobbie was finally identified via DNA in 1998, authorities couldn’t question Earl because he died of cancer 10 years earlier. Bobbie’s family decided to leave Bobbie in the same plot because she had been part of that community for over thirty years. They cared about ‘The Tent Girl’ and the case is still an open investigation.
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.
The Tent Girl
Tent Girl | 18 News
The Eerie Case Of Barbara Ann Hackmann Taylor (Jane Doe Identified After 30 Years) -CreepyNews
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 