A young woman’s scrapbook offers insight into a shocking crime. -Erika Sifrit, Snapped (S8,E11)
A vacationing couple’s disappearance exposes the horrific crimes of a murderous husband and wife. -Erika and BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (S11,E2)
Oxygen (Previews & Bonus Clips):
Erica Sifrit was your typical girl next door during high school, but experienced issues with anxiety and OCD at Mary Washington College. -Erika & BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (January 29, 2019)
Erika and Benjamin Sifrit’s marriage ended in thrill killings, pain, and anguish. -Erika & BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (January 29, 2019)
Scott Bernal, Ocean City Lead Detective discusses the murder trials of Erika and Benjamin Sifrit’s for the death two tourists. -Erika & BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (January 30, 2019)
Ocean City Detectives Brett Case and Scott Bernal reflect on the murder of Joshua Edward Ford and the acquittal of Benjamin Sifrit, and his potential release. -Erika & BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (January 30, 2019)
Kristen Heinbaugh, a high school friend of Erika Sifrit, reflects on the character of the person she used to know before the murders of Joshua Edward Ford and Martha Margene Crutchley. -Erika & BJ Sifrit, Killer Couples (January 30, 2019)
Forensic Files:
Full Episode: The couple spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach, and then they simply vanished. Their clothes and personal items were still in the rented condo, their car was parked outside, and there were no signs of forced entry or foul play. A week later, police would get an unexpected lead from a robbery in progress, and the evidence they found helped them to solve a crime of unparalleled violence and brutality. -Dirty Little Seacret, Forensic Files (S13, E46)
Podcast:
Once Upon A Crime – Episode 112: Listener Suggestions: Erika and Benjamin Sifrit – Killer Couple (December 22, 2018)
Army Major Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death by a military court for killing thirteen people and wounding 30 others at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009. Major Hasan was a military officer employed as a psychiatrist and nearly all of the victims of his crimes were unarmed soldiers. This was the worst mass murder at a U.S. military installation. Hasan was armed with a semi-automatic pistol, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), and then opened fire at a crowd inside a Fort Hood deployment and medical screening processing center. The massacre lasted about 10 minutes before Hasan was shot by civilian police and taken into custody. The shooting spree left 12 service members and one Department of Defense employee dead. Reviews by the Pentagon and a U.S. Senate panel found Hasan’s superiors had continued to promote him despite the fact that concerns had been raised over his behavior. His behavior suggested that he had become a radical and potentially violent Islamic extremist. On August 23, 2013, a jury found Hasan guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. He was sentenced to death for his crimes and sits on death row at Fort Leavenworth with three other service members: Timothy Hennis, Ronald Gray, and Hasan Akbar.
The victims of the 2009 Fort Hood Mass Shooting Spree. [Photo: Yahoo]
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In the News:
An Army major goes on a murderous rampage at Fort Hood. -ABC News (November 5, 2009)
Army Psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is suspected of killing 13 and wounding 30 in a rampage shooting in Fort Hood, Texas on the largest military base in the U.S. -CBS News (November 6, 2009)
David Martin reports on new details of suspected Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army Psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress. -CBS News (November 6, 2009)
Nidal Malik Hasan is an army psychiatrist, deeply opposed to America’s wars, and now accused of committing one of the worst attacks ever at a U.S. military base. -CBS (November 6, 2009)
Details of what happened during the massacre at Fort Hood. -ABC News (November 7, 2009)
Soldier shot tells of chaos and how a friend pulled the bullet from her back. -ABC News (November 7, 2009)
New information continues to emerge on the background of Major Nidal Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist who allegedly opened fire on soldiers at Fort Hood in (the U.S. state of) Texas. A 2007 U.S. Army memo speaks of his poor performance treating soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. His Palestinian relatives in the occupied West Bank, meanwhile, speak of his sudden turn to a strict adherence to Islam. -VOA News (November 24, 2009)
Interview with Nader Hasan -ABC News (September 4, 2011)
Victims have been neglected, says hero cop Kimberly Munley. -ABC News (February 13, 2013)
A military jury recommended Major Nidal Hasan be executed for killing 13 people in a 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. -CNN (August 28, 2013)
“For The Record” examines the Fort Hood Shooting, talking to survivors, in its premiere episode of the 2nd season. -Blaze TV (March 13, 2014)
CNN’s John Berman takes a look at the lives lost in the shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. -CNN (April 4, 2014)
Fort Hood’s base commander eulogized his men, and President Barack Obama delivered a speech at a memorial service for soldiers killed in a shooting last week at Fort Hood Army post in Texas. It marked the second time the president had to come to Fort Hood after a mass shooting. -CBS Evening News (April 9, 2014)
On November 5, 2009, a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to death. -AP Archive (November 5, 2016)
Retired staff sergeant Alonzo Lunsford shares his thoughts on ‘Fox & Friends.’ -Fox News (November 5, 2017)
Army veteran Allan Kowalski, 51, was found buried in a shallow grave on his Ingram, Texas property on November 6, 2008. A routine traffic stop on October 22, 2008 lead police to learn of Al’s fate. Charlie Tidwell was pulled over by the police and presented with Al’s identification. The police found Al’s birth certificate, credit cards, and Tidwell was driving Al’s vehicle. Charlie Tidwell also forged Army 1st Lt. Al Kowalski’s active military ID by cutting out Al’s picture and inserting his own. As a result, Charlie Tidwell was arrested for failure to present an ID and an outstanding warrant. Initially, Charlie Tidwell told investigators Al was in Africa. The police were concerned about him because no one had seen or heard from Al since August 26 and his dog was still at his house. Al never went anywhere without his dog. Police visited Al’s house and it was ransacked, furniture had been stolen, and all of Al’s cars were gone.
They also found most of Al’s personal effects in trash bags. The police suspected a murder but now they had to find the body. They brought in a cadaver dog and the dog hit on a spot on the property; Al was buried in a shallow grave not far from the house. Charles Tidwell was charged with murder and after several interviews, Charlie admitted shooting Al but he claimed it was self-defense. An autopsy revealed Al was shot twice in the back of the head; authorities were unclear of motive. In the end, twelve people were indicted in the theft of Al’s property including Charlie’s wife Lisa. Lisa Rassi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for organized crime; Jeremiah McGregor was sentenced to 10 years in prison; and Wayne Christiansen was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In 2010, Charlie Tidwell was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Other individuals who were indicted are: Wayne Earl Christiansen, 35 and Jeremiah Jason McGregor, 31 (both charged with aggravated assault and organized crime). The rest have been charged with organized crime: Theresa Jo Bruffett, 43; Elizabeth D. Carmona, 43; Amanda Rassi Contreras, 20; Raymundo Daniel Contreras, 24; Andrea Helen Cooper, 25; Michael Rene Garcia, 25; Richard Alcorta Garza, 39; Silver Star Hernandez, 24; Danita Dee Horner, 20; Kelli Rae Lagrone, 52; John Centeno Moreno, Jr., 26; and Lisa Gale Rassi, 41. Charles Tidwell and Ricado Ricky Giovannetti are both being held on charges of murder, with a $500,000 bond, and of organized crime (theft) with another $100,000 bond. Hierholzer said that there are likely more charges to be filed on several defendants. –West Kerr Current (2008)
Investigation Discovery:
Al Kowalski is new to Hill Country, Texas. He plans to spend his early retirement hunting and fixing his vintage vehicles. Al welcomes meth-addicted mechanic Charlie Tidwell into his home to help with the cars, but Charlie has a different plan. -Buried Secrets, A Stranger in My Home (S1,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.
Dark Secrets are the stock-in-trad of Deadly Women. -Dark Secrets, Deadly Women (S2, E4)
Judy Buenoano
1. Judy Buenoano
Date: June 25, 1983 (the date of the explosion that was her downfall) Victims: John Goodyear (husband), Michael Buenoano (son), and John Gentry (fiancé, survived) Location: Pensacola, Florida Circumstances: John Gentry found out his wife Judy was pregnant and he was excited about their future; then John left the house, got into his car, and the car blew up; someone blew the car up with dynamite and it got the attention of investigators; John survived the blast but the discovery of dynamite residue meant this was no accident; four days later, detectives asked John who would profit from his death; they learned his mother and his fiancé Judy did; although John never imagined Judy had anything to do with it because he thought the policy was cancelled; a reporter recognized Judy from the nail salon she went to; news of the explosion was on at the nail salon; Judy didn’t say a word and just quietly kept working on her nails; the reporter noticed she had a darkness about her; the reporter took notice of the feelings she had about her; investigators learned that Judy told John she was pregnant with his child but she was lying because she had been surgically sterilized five years earlier; investigators found an insurance policy that showed she took out $500,000 on John; John thought the policy was cancelled but it was not; John was in denial initially but began to realize this may not have been Judy’s first attempt to kill him; Judy pushed John to take vitamins and after he took them he would get sick and throw up; he went to the hospital and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong; he stopped taking them but hid it from Judy; they were Judy’s poison pills; John was shocked to learn she had a secret life insurance policy on him for half a million dollars; investigators believe Judy may have killed before; 12 years earlier, Judy was married to James Goodyear; James was an Air Force sergeant who served in Vietnam; he was home on leave enjoying some R&R with his new wife but what he got was arsenic poisoning; it had no odor and dissolved easily; Judy served up tiny amounts so it went unnoticed; it progressively damages the liver and the heart; chronic arsenic poisoning is hard to detect; within 3 months, James was dead and Judy collected a large insurance settlement; this first murder set the stage for Judy’s career as a serial killer because she killed for profit; a decade later, James spoke from the grave when he was exhumed and they found arsenic in his system; Judy got away with murder for 12 years; investigators also learned when her son Michael turned 18, he wanted to join the military; on his way to a post in Georgia, he visited with his mom at which time Judy fed him arsenic because she had several life insurance policies on her son too; sociopaths don’t feel love and lack empathy; to Judy, her son was just another check waiting to get in her bank account; Michael didn’t die but he became crippled from the arsenic and was discharged from the Army as a result; he wore braces on both his arms and legs because he was paralyzed from the elbow down and the knee down; he was back in Judy’s care at it wasn’t long before Judy took Michael on a canoeing trip; he had 15 lbs of weighted braces on his arms and legs and could barely walk, let alone swim; she took him out of site of the landing and public view and the canoe some how capsized; one of her stories was they hit a log and the canoe overturned; she also said a snake fell in the boat; Michael, weighted down by the braces, could not swim and sunk to the bottom of the lake; Judy never attempted to save her son and he drowned; most parents would do whatever they could to save their child; later Judy hailed a passing fisherman, told him about the accident and drank a cold beer; she collected from two life insurance policies; she knew the braces would render Michael helpless; the police finally pieced together Judy’s secrets; she went too far when she used the dynamite because she wanted too much, too soon; the prosecutor said he never witnessed the sense of evil he did with Judy in his 30 years of prosecuting cases; Judy insisted she was innocent to her grave but those who knew her had no question about her guilt Motive: Greed (life insurance money) Disposition: Judy Buenoano was found guilty of first degree murder and first degree grand theft and sentenced to death; Judy was executed on March 30, 1998 by the State of Florida
Date: September 28, 1917 Victim: Annie Burkett (wife) Location: Australia Circumstances: Harry Crawford was barely scraping by in life; he had a lot of different jobs and moved often; if people asked too many questions, he would move again; Annie Burkett was married to Harry and he was a stepfather to her son; they were a typical family and Annie didn’t know Harry was living a lie; his name really wasn’t Harry Crawford because he wasn’t even a man; his name was Eugenia Falleni, and she wasn’t a Scotsman, she was an Italian woman; it was a secret he would kill to protect; he deceived everyone for decades; Eugenia was a woman living as a man at a time transsexuals were not accepted; she could be discovered at any time and jailed for living as a deviant; what she was doing was actually quite dangerous in those times because she would experience a lot of hostility; the marriage to Annie was actually null and void because she entered into a marriage as a man under false pretenses; Annie had no idea her husband was a woman because Eugenia hid it from her in the bedroom too; but after 4 years of marriage, Annie realized she’d been duped and she was devastated; she discovered the true gender of her life partner and threatened to expose Harry; he was afraid he would go to prison; Harry lured Annie to a secluded park for a picnic and smashed Annie over the head with a bottle, then she panicked; while Annie was still alive, Eugenia set her body on fire in a campfire because she believed she could burn the body beyond recognition; but Eugenia’s body was found yet not identified right away; Eugenia’s motivation for killing was to save herself and her standing in the community, she wanted to protect her identity; now her biggest concern was Annie’s son Harry; with Annie out of the way, there was only one other obstacle so she took Harry to a notorious suicide spot and tried to lure him to the edge; Harry hung back and it literally saved his life because she couldn’t convince him to go to the edge; the fear and panic was not enough to drive her to kill Harry; Eugenia kept this dark secret hidden for another 3 years; she went on to marry another woman and after 12 months, she was arrested by the police and charged with the murder of Annie Burkett whose body was finally identified; after the arrest, she became a freak show and even the media referred to her as a “freak,” “monster,” and “pervert” Motive: Wife Annie threatened to reveal the true identity of Eugenia; she did not want to go to prison or lose standing in the community Disposition: On July 5, 1920, Eugenia Falleni was charged with the murder of Annie Burkett; on October 6, 1920, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death; although in the end, she was spared execution and released after 11 years in prison; she lived the rest of her life as a woman
Date: 1977-1982 Victims:Chelsea McClellan (Genene is suspected of killing up to 60 infants) Location: Bexar County, Texas (San Antonio and Kerrville) Circumstances: Babies were dying without cause at a medical center in San Antonio, Texas; they saw an increase in pulmonary arrests in the children’s ward; the death rate went from one a week to 3-5 a week; staff knew they had a murderer inside the hospital and the prime suspect was nurse Genene Jones, a 31 year old vocational nurse who had a hero complex; she liked the idea that she could save lives in an emergency; when someone has a strong need to be seen as a hero or savior, this is the hero complex; when someone creates a scenario where they can rush in and save the person, that’s dangerous; Genene used a variety of drugs to stress her patients like blood thinners and cardiac arrest agents; she didn’t necessarily want to kill her victims, just make them sick enough so she can rescue them; this was her way of getting attention; she would call a code red and people would rush to the scene; she would resuscitate them and bring them back to life when she could but all too often Genene miscalculated her poison; she was searching for respect; she felt important and powerful when she was tending to defenseless children; perhaps Genene was overcompensating for previous losses; soon after birth, Genene was abandoned by her natural parents and given up for adoption; at 16, her closest brother died in a car accident; another brother succumbed to cancer 8 years later; cancer also took her father at age 56; if someone feels unloved, they may spend the rest of their adult life trying to acquire the attention they did not get as a child and engage in various behavior including criminal behavior to gain the attention; in one two week period at the San Antonio medical center, 7 children died; but co-workers started to connect the dots and asked questions; they discovered all of the deaths were on the same shift and were taken care of by Genene; they thought it was suspicious and reported it to administrators; but administrators failed to report the information to the medical examiner’s office and didn’t instantly remove Nurse Jones; she was left on the ward even after they knew what was going on; they finally did something when staff insisted but they were fearful of getting sued more than saving the lives of the children; according to the medical examiner at the time, Genene was the worse serial murderer in the history of Texas; and what’s worse is that a nurse could murder and it was covered up; no one is sure how many children died because a lot of the records disappeared and the deaths were not reported or autopsied; eventually the hospital raised the qualifications for nurses in the ward and Genene no longer qualified so they let her go but gave her an excellent letter of recommendation; she was free to kill again; soon she was working in a pediatric facility in Kerrville, Texas; her new boss had no idea about Genene’s past; Genene was asked to look after a child with a cold and suddenly Chelsea stopped breathing; she saved her and was hailed a hero; the need to do this is a bottomless pit that is never filled; one month later, Chelsea is once again in respiratory arrest after another routine check up by Nurse Jones; she was rushed to the ER but didn’t survive this time; death was incidental to all the excitement Genene got from trying to save a child; Chelsea’s death was initially ruled Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) but upon closer inspection, Genene’s secret was discovered; the death was suspicious and Genene was once again investigated; the autopsy revealed that the baby suffocated to death from Succinylcholine poisoning; and after Chelsea’s death, Genene visited Chelsea’s grave and appeared genuinely remorseful; Chelsea’s mother happened to visit at the same time and she was curious why this nurse was at the gravesite, so distraught; more evidence was discovered; hospital staff noticed pinholes in the agent used to kill little Chelsea; she replaced what she took with saline solution; Chelsea’s body revealed traces of Succinylcholine (anectine); Genene’s colleagues at her last job confirmed that she was a suspected killer long before she arrived at the Kerrville clinic; Chelsea’s murder was the one that finally put her way for good but no one was ever charged for the several deaths at the medical center in San Antonio; to this day, Genene insists that she’s innocent; professionals acknowledge this is a common form of denial that comes with who have the hero complex; they need to be incarcerated for the rest of their lives because there is no way to know if they won’t kill again Motive: Attention, hero complex Disposition: Genene Jones was found guilty of first degree murder and causing injury to seven other children; she was sentenced to 99 years in prison
Date: October 30, 1985 Victims: Recife Cosmen, 2, Ernest Trout, 67, and Augusto Ferrara, 64 (she also injured 7 others in the shooting incident) Location: Springfield Mall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Circumstances: Sylvia dressed in fatigues began shooting at people in the Springfield Mall with a 22 caliber rifle; victims were diving behind racks of clothing and hiding in the backs of stores; store owners realized that it was a familiar face; Sylvia would go into the Springfield Mall and complain to store owners that the bright lights bothered her; she would also march up and down the hall in the mall; Sylvia was obsessed with the military and the Army discharged her early; the Army recognized that Sylvia was not right in her mind; she muttered to herself and used obscenities because Sylvia had schizophrenia; she couldn’t perceive reality for what it was; she responded to the negative voices in her head; she was diagnosed 10 years earlier but refused to take her medication; Sylvia’s mother tried to get her to take the medication but she wouldn’t; her delusional system involved military power and control over people; her history revealed the potential for violence; she had been working up to the violence at the mall for a long time; Sylvia was driven by paranoid schizophrenia, the delusions centered around the fact that one is being persecuted and people are after them; she was in and out of mental institutions for years and feared her mother wanted to send her back; she refused to take medication and was suspicious of the medication and anyone who wanted her to take it; she thought her family wanted to hurt her and was out to get her, she was fearful that they wanted to send her back to the hospital; to Sylvia, the shooting was a ticket to a better life in prison; for some reason she decided that the hospital was worse than prison and she would do something to get her to prison instead; thankfully someone in the mall walked up to her and took the gun from her thinking it was a prank; John Loufer was an accidental hero; once medicated again, Sylvia displayed remorse for her actions; she was angry that she was free to buy a gun despite her mental illness; but she checked “no” on the form and was able to purchase a gun with no problems whatsoever; Sylvia criticized her ability to buy a weapon and wrote to Congress, the President, etc telling them she should not have been allowed to buy the gun Motive: Mental Illness (paranoid schizophrenia) Disposition: Sylvia Seegrist, 24, was found guilty but mentally ill of 3 counts of murder and 7 counts of attempted murder; she received 3 life sentences
Date: November 4, 1997 Victims: Justin Thomas, 5, and Shelby Alexis Riggs, 2 Location: Sherwood, Arkansas Circumstances: Single mother Christina Riggs killed her own children; something snapped in her mind because she killed two defenseless children that didn’t know what was coming; Christina was going to kill her children with potassium chloride which she thought would stop their heart; what she didn’t understand is that a diluted form through IV would burn the skin and destroy the vein in the process; the potassium chloride binds and burns all of the blood vessels on the way to the heart; trouble followed Christina through her entire life; Christina was separated from her siblings and raised alone by her mother; in her diary, she wrote of sexual abuse by a neighbor and a family member; by 13, she was desperately unhappy and overweight; it was a psychological barrier for offenders; if I look unattractive, they won’t be interested in me; when she got older, she turned to sex because that’s all she knew; she got pregnant at 20 with her son Justin and his father skipped town; she married John Riggs and had another child Shelby but the marriage didn’t last; she was alone and raising the children by herself; she lost a cousin to suicide, her mother made a suicide attempt when she was growing up, and she had a grandmother who was institutionalized; potassium chloride is often used in prison executions; she thought she would give the children a quick and painless death but Justin was in pain and agony; she reached for another injection and tried to give him morphine; he was in so much pain and wiggling about that it was impossible for Christina to get the needle in the vein; Christina was a nurse known for always helping people; her sister wanted to know why she did this (filicide); her sister said she was great with her kids and worked long hours at the hospital to provide for her kids; after her divorce, she started another relationship but this guy broke her heart and stole her credit card; he left her broke and destitute; she told a doctor she was depressed and was prescribed Prozac; it was unclear if she was taking meds at the time of the homicide; the combination of mood swings, irritability and depression was the perfect storm; her plan to poison her two children failed so she resorted to suffocation and smothered both the children; she carefully laid their bodies on her bed and then tried to take her own life; she took 28 anti-depressants and injected herself with potassium chloride but it burned a hole and collapsed the vein; she decided to kill her children 2 days before she did it; she was afraid if she died, the children would be separated and go with their respective fathers, she thought she would prevent future sadness; 19 hours after the suicide attempt, Christina’s mom found her shortly before she died; Christina was demonized once the community learned what she had done; if she had died, nobody would have cared and would have wrote this off as another horrible tragedy; her sister hopes to shed light on the issue to help others learn from their experience; at trial, many discounted Christina’s state of mind and thought she wanted to rid herself of the children; in the end, the State of Arkansas finished what she started; Christina was obsessed with a black depression and didn’t want her children to live the same way Motive: Mental Illness (depression) Disposition: Christina Riggs, 26, was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to death by the State of Arkansas; she was executed by lethal injection (potassium chloride) on May 2, 2000
“There is no way words can express how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies. Now I can be with my babies, as I always intended.” -Christina Marie Riggs (last words before execution)
Date: November 1984 Victims: Aggie Marsh, 97, Stella Bradham, 85, Leathy McKnight, 85, and Mary Rae Carter, 79 (Anna Larsen, 94, was injected with insulin but rushed to the hospital and saved) Location: North Horizon, St. Petersburg, Florida Circumstances: In a 50 bed nursing facility, 12 people died in 13 days; Bobbie was an angel of death and killed her patients; she had an intense compulsion to murder because of what it did for her; Bobbie Sue had deep rooted psychological issues that surfaced after the investigation began; she used to mutilate herself to attract attention; she had Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy; she had a long history of self-harm; she had her ovaries removed, stomach tumors, a broken arm that wouldn’t heal, hysterectomy, gall bladder problems, ulcers and pneumonia; it brought her the attention she craved; she would faint in between surgeries; she craved attention so she hurt herself to get it; her mind was twisted at an early age because four of her siblings had muscular dystrophy so she didn’t get the attention she wanted; at a young age, she learned the way to get love and attention was to be sick; her life revolved around sickness; it lead her to a career in nursing; she saw the power her mother had taking care of sick children and she wanted that; her desire switched from harming herself to harming others; detectives found a common thread with each death; Bobbie Sue was working when they died; they learned she had a long history of harming herself for attention; somehow she got a license in nursing in 1975 despite being in and out of institutions for years in Illinois prior to her move to Florida; the victims in the nursing facility showed no signs of injury; the cops needed to substantiate their gut feelings; one of the individuals who died had several injection points and there seemed to be a trace of zync, maybe possible use of insulin; it’s used to help diabetic patients from becoming hypoglycemic; the use of insulin overdose would cause blood sugars to drop, stop the heart, and cause insulin death; Anna Larsen was sent to the hospital with insulin shock but she wasn’t a diabetic; someone injected the insulin and staffing records revealed Bobbie Sue was the common theme; cops investigated records and exhumed the bodies; they finally had enough to charge Bobbie Sue; they not only proved that she committed murder but they got a conviction; detectives believe that she probably has more victims that we don’t know about; Bobbie Sue died of an infection in prison on August 27, 2007 Motive: Mental Illness (Munchausen syndrome by proxy) Disposition: Prosecutors wanted first degree murder charges for Bobbie Sue Dudley, 35, but she plead guilty to second degree murder in a plea bargain and was sentenced to 65 years in prison for 4 homicides; she also received 30 years for the attempted murder of Anna Larsen to be served concurrently with the 65 year sentence; the plea bargain locked her away for the rest of her life; she died of an infection in 2007
Army Sgt. Christina Smith was stabbed to death on September 30, 2008 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Sgt. Smith was stationed at Fort Bragg with her husband Richard Smith, also a soldier. After an investigation, Fayetteville authorities learned that Richard Smith hired Army soldier Matthew Kvapil to kill Christina. Richard Smith set up the murder by asking Christina to take a walk with him. Matthew Kvapil was hiding in the bushes waiting for the pre-planned moment to attack her. Both soldiers were arrested and charged with the first degree murder. Civilian prosecutors sought the death penalty for both soldiers in this case. In 2012, Richard Smith and Matthew Kvapil plead guilty to Christina’s murder and were sentenced to life in prison instead. Christina Smith’s death was the fourth murder involving military personnel in North Carolina in 2008. Pregnant Marine Maria Lauterbach disappeared from Camp Lejeune in 2007 and her remains were found in early 2008. She was murdered by fellow Camp Lejeune Marine Cesar Laurean. Fort Bragg Army Lt. Holley Wimunc was murdered by her Marine husband John Wimunc on July 19th. And pregnant Army soldier Megan Touma was murdered by her lover Edgar Patino, a married Fort Bragg soldier, on June 21st.
“In a way, it’s surprising that there aren’t more bodies piling up at military bases all over this nation” –The Fayetteville Observer (October 16, 2008)
In the News:
Steve Loehrke received Ohio’s first Military Sacrifice License Plate at the special license plate’s unveiling ceremony, June 9, 2015, at Ohio Department of Public Safety Headquarters, Columbus, OH. Steve is the proud father of fallen soldier Sgt. Christina E. Loehrke Smith and U.S. Boarder Patrol Agent Steven Loehrke. (June 21, 2015)
Pvt. Matthew Brown, U.S. Army (photo: Vanity Fair)
Army Pvt. Matthew W. Brown, 20, of Zelienople, Pennsylvania, died May 11, 2008 in Asadabad, Afghanistan from injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. Pvt. Brown was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the time of the incident, the Department of Defense announced Pvt. Brown’s death was under investigation. On January 8, 2019, the family alleged Matthew was murdered in a Vanity Fair publication titled “Leave No Soldier Behind”: The Unsolved Mystery of the Soldier Who Died in the Watchtower.
Spc. Timothy Juneman, Washington Army National Guard (Screenshot from DVIDS)
“The identity of one other veteran who killed himself this year became public when his family wrote U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in April about concerns with VA mental health care. Spc. Timothy Juneman, 25, a National Guardsman and former [Fort Lewis] Stryker Brigade soldier who was injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq, died March 5, 2008…Juneman’s body was found in his Pullman home March 25, nearly three weeks after he had hanged himself. He had missed several appointments at the Spokane VA. In records obtained by Juneman before his death, Brown wrote that imminent redeployment to Iraq with the National Guard was a ‘major stressor’ contributing to Juneman’s condition, his mother said.” Read more from The Spokesmanhere.
In the News:
CBS News first reported on the staggering number of veteran suicides in a report last year. Now, newly-released data shows that vets who get help from the VA are still at risk. -CBS News (March 20, 2008)
They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane’s VA Hospital have committed suicide. -4 News Now (April 29, 2008)
Despite recent efforts by the Veterans Administration to prevent veteran suicide, seven have committed suicide in the Inland Northwest in the last four months and US Senator Patty Murray is calling the situation unacceptable. -4 News Now (May 1, 2008)
House of Representatives Veterans Suicide Prevention Act Debate:
The House debates the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and implement a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. The bill is named for an Iraq veteran who took his own life, and recognizes the special needs of veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide. The bill follows hearings in the Oversight and Veterans Affairs committees seeking to address the tragic mental anguish experienced by many veterans, and is part of ongoing, comprehensive efforts by the new Congress to make veterans a top priority. Rep. Tim Walz speaks in favor. -Nancy Pelosi (October 23, 2007)
Rep. Bruce Braley speaks in favor. -Nancy Pelosi (October 23, 2007)
Rep. Tim Walz speaks in favor. -Nancy Pelosi (October 23, 2007)
Congressman Boswell’s floor statement before the final passage of the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act. (October 23, 2007)
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act Signed Into Law:
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, Congressman Leonard Boswell, Sen. Tom Harkin and Sen. Charles Grassley present Randy and Ellen Omvig with the red line copy of the bill signed by President George W. Bush at a Jan. 25 ceremony at the Iowa Statehouse. Joshua Omvig was an Iowa soldier who committed suicide upon returning home from Iraq. The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, authored by Boswell, is now national law. –
IowaPoliticsDotCom (January 25, 2008)
Part 1 -IowaPoliticsDotCom (January 25, 2008)
Part 2 -IowaPoliticsDotCom (January 25, 2008)
Part 3 -IowaPoliticsDotCom (January 25, 2008)
Rep. Boswell Asks for Increased Funding for Soldier Suicide Prevention:
In 2007, Boswell’s legislation, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, was the first major legislation passed and signed into law to address and prevent veteran suicide. Since enactment, the Veterans Crisis Hotline and VA Suicide Prevention Coordinators have made more than 21,000 life-saving rescues. -Rep. Leonard Boswell (July 9, 2012)
Army veteran Kirby Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo offered to pay a Miami, Florida based charter company $4000 to take them to Bimini to meet up with their girlfriends. The Joe Cool agreed and the two headed out with Jake Branam, Kelley Branam, Scott Gamble, and Samuel Kairy. When they didn’t return home on Sunday, their families began to worry. They eventually contacted the United States Coast Guard for assistance with locating them. The USCG found the boat off the coast of Cuba, 140 miles off course. They also found two survivors: Archer and Zarabozo. The two claimed to be victims of crimes. They said the boat had been hijacked and the other four were shot. They claimed their lives were spared because they knew Spanish and were asked to drive the boat until it ran out of gas. Both the USCG and the Federal Bureau of Investigation got involved with this case. They learned that Kirby Archer was dishonorably discharged from the Army after he went Absent Without Leave (AWOL).
He was arrested for child sexual abuse and was on the run after stealing money from his place of employment. It is believed that he met Zarabozo at Guantanamo Bay where Archer was once assigned; Zarabozo was a child refugee. They made plans to flee to Cuba and used the Joe Cool to execute the plan. Both of them were arrested for lying to federal agents. After Zarabozo’s home was searched, they found shell casings that matched those found on the boat. They also observed that Zarabozo’s 9 mm was not in the case and unaccounted for. Both Archer and Zarabozo were charged with sixteen counts including four murders. There was no body and no murder weapons so it was considered a circumstantial case. The defendants turned on each other but the prosecutors were able to show how it took both men to commit the crimes against the four individuals on the boat. There were two guns used in the commission of the crimes, therefore both were involved. Archer and Zarabozo were sentenced to five consecutive life terms. The Joe Cool slip is empty to this day. Jake and Kelley Branam’s children are living with her sister in Washington.
Investigation Discovery:
ID Go: Kelley Branam lives in Miami’s most exclusive neighborhood. Guillermo Zarabozo lives in its grittiest.It’s improbable that their paths would ever cross.But, in less than 24 hours, their lives will intersect at sea in a fatal encounter. -Fatal Voyage, Fatal Encounters (S1,E4)
ID Go: The crew of a luxury charter yacht falls prey to a fugitive’s cold-blooded escape plan en route to Bimini, a remote Bahamian paradise in the Bermuda Triangle. -Hook, Lines and Murder, Murder in Paradise (S1,E4)
ID Go: Kelley Branam’s husband Jake is a Miami charter boat captain with high aspirations. Jake works long hours to support his new family but Kelley’s suspicions run deep. Out of the blue, she decides to join Jake on a charter and is never heard from again. -Hijacked, Dark Waters (S2,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.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 