Show full transcript 0:51 skittered away. 0:52 Kelly was ultimately searching for clues here, and so far he hadn't found any. 0:57 However, as he was standing there in the kitchen, revolted by what he had just seen and felt, 1:01 he started to wonder if maybe the actual filth of this house, the actual griminess of this place, 1:08 what if that's a clue? And as it would turn out, Kelly would be right. 1:13 But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of The Strange, 1:16 Dark, and Mysterious, delivered in story format, then you come to the 1:19 podcast because that's all we do and we upload twice a week once on Monday and once on Thursday. 1:25 So if that's of interest to you, please take pictures of the follow button's brand new car 1:29 and then list their car for sale online. Okay, let's get into today's story. 1:56 In a world of buffering and bad signal, two star cross connections found each other from 2:02 40 euros a month. Ireland's best fixed broadband and best mobile are together at last. 2:07 and you're invited to the wedding new Vodafone together award-winning fixed 2:12 broadband and mobile together from just 40 euro a month 40 euro a month for 6 2:16 months 55 year thereafter separate 24-month contracts each subject the 2:20 terms availability eligibility and annual price increase each April certified 2:23 by Omelow 2026 full-term see Vodafone.ai 2:25 Kia Seltos meet Ireland's outdoors Ireland's outdoors meet Kia Seltos 2:32 you'll get along famously bold SUV design seamless 2:37 connectivity and Kia hybrid technology, along with best-in-class boot space and rear leg room 2:43 to tackle the practicalities of any adventure. Discover it for yourself at your local Kia dealer, 2:49 the Kia Celtus, built for real life. Kia, movement that inspires. 3:03 Around 6pm on December 10th, 2003, 45-year-old Susie Wamsley unpacked Christmas decorations 3:09 at her home in the city of Mansfield, Texas, 3:12 alternating between removing items from boxes 3:14 and explaining what they were 3:16 to her three-year-old granddaughter. 3:18 Christmas had always been a big deal to Susie, 3:20 and so every year she went all out. 3:23 Her 46-year-old husband, Rick, 3:25 had hung the lights outside last night, 3:27 and now it was time for her to tackle the interior. 3:29 And it was extra important to get it done early this year 3:32 because their neighbors were coming over 3:33 for a holiday party in just a few days. 3:36 The thought gave Susie a little twinge of anxiety, 3:38 and so she twirled her red hair around her finger as she watched her granddaughter inspect 3:42 an ornament. 3:44 Just then, Susie heard a camera shutter, and she looked up to see Rick taking a picture 3:48 of the moment. 3:49 He winked and told her it was a good one, before plopping down on the couch and showing 3:53 their granddaughter another ornament from the box. 3:56 Susie smiled. 3:57 She was so happy that Rick got to have these moments with their granddaughter. 4:00 When their own kids had been young, Rick had worked a lot at his accounting job. 4:04 This had allowed the family to live in a big house in an exclusive neighborhood, 4:07 hood, but it also meant that Rick missed out on a lot. 4:11 He'd spent long hours at the office while Susie stayed home with their kids, Sarah and Andrew. 4:16 And so it was Susie who had gotten to go to all of Sarah's cheerleading pep rallies and 4:20 take Andrew on fishing trips. 4:22 But now that Rick worked from home and so had more time, it was his turn now with 4:26 their granddaughter. 4:28 Just then, Susie heard the door open and a voice call out. 4:32 Seconds later, Sarah walked into the room. 4:34 Sarah first gave her little girl a big hug, then she stood and greeted Susie and Rick. 4:39 But right away, Susie noticed that Sarah looked worried. 4:42 Susie asked her what was up, and Sarah sort of looked down and said sort of sheepishly 4:47 that she'd gotten another bill. 4:49 Susie knew that the bill Sarah must be referring to was a legal bill, and it wouldn't 4:54 be the last. 4:55 Sarah was right in the middle of a custody battle with her ex-husband Todd, and Susie 5:00 and Rick were funding it. 5:01 Which Susie was more than willing to do, because she knew Sarah was a great mom and they wanted 5:06 to continue seeing their granddaughter as much as they could. 5:09 But this whole mess was not the first time Sarah's problems had put a lot of stress 5:13 on the family. 5:14 Sarah used to be sort of a typical kid, you know, she was an outgoing bubbly cheerleader 5:19 with lots of friends and just did typical teenage girl things, but then by the end 5:24 of her teen years, she really began leaning into partying and also dating older men. 5:29 At one point, towards the end of high school, Susie and Rick had even kicked her out of 5:33 the house. 5:34 But unfortunately, that had backfired, because Sarah had moved in with her ex-husband, Todd, 5:40 and gotten pregnant. 5:41 And their relationship resulted in lots of mental health struggles for Sarah and also 5:45 some substance abuse. 5:47 But the whole family had still gotten through it, and now Sarah was 25 years old and 5:51 doing much better, and they had their beautiful granddaughter. 5:54 So, Susie just swallowed down her own complicated feelings about Sarah's newest legal bill 5:59 and just smiled at her daughter. 6:01 She told her not to worry about it, she and her father would pay for it. 6:04 Sarah was visibly relieved and thanked her mother and father. 6:08 And then not long after that, the family decided to head out for dinner. 6:11 And at that point, Susie dashed upstairs to let her other child, her 19-year-old son 6:15 Andrew, know that they were leaving. 6:18 Andrew still lived at home, because he had been going to a community college 6:21 nearby. 6:21 by. However, when Susie got up to his room, she found it was empty. And Susie just shook her head, 6:27 trying her best to suppress her bitter disappointment. But ultimately, she really 6:32 wasn't surprised by his absence, because Andrew, lately, had been spending more and more time 6:36 out of the house. Andrew had always been a pretty quiet kid, but, lately, he'd been 6:41 getting so frustrated and mad so easily, and basically fought with everybody in the family 6:46 constantly. 6:47 And then, just this past fall, Susie had found out that her son had secretly dropped out of 6:52 community college, even though she and her husband had just bought him a car for having 6:57 kept up his grades. 6:58 And ever since, the mood in the house had been tense, to say the least. 7:02 So Andrew, probably to get away from that tense feeling, had been spending more and 7:06 more time out of the house with his girlfriend Chelsea. 7:09 And so Susie figured that must be where he was now, out with Chelsea. 7:12 Which was sort of a bummer to Susie, because he'd slipped out without saying anything to 7:17 anyone, even though they had all talked about how after dinner that night, the family was 7:21 going to decorate the Christmas tree, which was a family tradition, and it looked like 7:24 he wouldn't be there. 7:26 But there was nothing she could do, so Susie sighed, left the room, and headed downstairs. 7:33 Hours later, the family was back at home after having dinner and after decorating 7:37 the Christmas tree, and Rick and Susie were playing a board game with Sarah and 7:41 their granddaughter. 7:41 And they were having a nice time until Sarah finally stood up and announced that she was 7:45 tired and needed to get her daughter off to bed. 7:48 And just a few minutes after that, they had left the house and suddenly the house felt 7:52 really quiet. 7:54 Susie looked around the room, which was now a Christmas wonderland after all the decorating 7:58 they had done. 7:59 They had covered the stair banister and the fireplace mantel with wreaths and 8:02 the tree was all lit up and bright. 8:04 There were even presents already under the tree, wrapped and ready for their kids 8:08 and granddaughter. 8:08 her. Susie took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of brownies that she had taken out of the oven 8:13 just a little bit ago. They were Andrew's favorite, but Andrew was not here. Susie asked Rick if he 8:19 wanted a brownie, but he didn't answer. And when she looked up, she saw that Rick was starting 8:24 to doze off on the couch. So she suggested that they both just go upstairs and go to bed. 8:29 But hours later, Susie lay in bed, completely awake. She still had a million things on her 8:35 mind, like other presents she still had to buy and the errand she had to run for the party 8:39 with the neighbors that was coming up later that week. She tossed and turned a bit longer, 8:43 but when she just could not sleep, she finally just got up and went downstairs, turned on 8:47 the TV, and laid down on the couch. And sure enough, not long after laying down and 8:52 suddenly being surrounded by the sparkle of Christmas lights, Susie felt tired and 8:57 finally drifted off to sleep. 8:58 Around 24 hours later, at 11.40pm on December 11th, a 911 operator sat at their post in 9:11 the Mansfield police station. 9:13 They were nearing the end of their shift, so they were tired and bleary eyed, but they 9:17 snapped back into focus when a call came in. 9:20 They picked it up and clearly announced themselves, but there was no answer from the caller. 9:24 However, this wasn't really unusual to the operator. 9:27 Calls like this are referred to as silent calls and are often an accident or a prank. 9:32 bank. But a caller who doesn't say anything could also be in danger and may be unable 9:37 to speak. So the operator followed protocol and looked up the phone number the call was 9:41 being made from and was able to get an address. 820 Turnberry Drive, Mansfield, Texas. And 9:47 as soon as the operator had that location, they sent a message to the officers on duty 9:51 requesting that somebody go to the scene and just make sure everything was okay. 9:58 Just four minutes later, three officers pulled up to 820 Turnberry Drive. And 10:03 And they didn't need to do much investigating to see that they were clearly in a wealthy 10:06 part of town. 10:08 This was an exclusive neighborhood called Walnut Estates, and the street was lined with 10:12 all these big beautiful houses. 10:14 And number 820 was no exception. 10:16 It was a sprawling two-story brick home that was clearly getting a jump on Christmas because 10:20 it was already covered in holiday lights. 10:22 However, those lights were currently off and the house was dark. 10:26 It was close to midnight, so the officer's guest, the homeowners, must have accidentally 10:30 dialed the emergency line and not known it, and then gone to sleep, not realizing what they had done. 10:36 Regardless, the officers got out of their cruiser and went to the front door to knock and ring the 10:40 doorbell. And when nobody answered, they went around the side of the house and began to look 10:44 in the windows. But they couldn't see much, and they also couldn't hear any movement coming 10:48 from inside. And this did put them a bit on edge, because somebody had to have been home 10:53 in order to call 911 a few minutes ago, and you know whoever it was, even if it was 10:58 by mistake, now wasn't answering. 11:01 So the officers decided they did need to get inside this house, because now they were thinking, 11:05 you know, it was possible that somebody could be injured, and maybe unable to respond. 11:10 When they tried the front door, they found it was locked, so they walked around to 11:13 look for a way in, and they saw the attached garage door was open. 11:17 So they opened it up, stepped inside, and called out. 11:20 Nobody answered, so they kept walking into the house. 11:23 And as they kept walking into the house, they began to hear this low-pitched electronic 11:28 droning sound. 11:29 The officers shined their flashlights through the dark and followed the sound into the kitchen. 11:34 And there, on the counter, was the source of that droning sound. 11:37 It was the receiver of a landline phone that had been left off its hook. 11:41 At this point, the officers drew their weapons. 11:44 They didn't know what was going on, but it felt suspicious enough that they 11:47 should be on guard. 11:48 As they made their way out of the kitchen, they moved quickly and quietly, because 11:52 as they really weren't sure what was waiting for them 11:54 in the rest of the house. 11:55 But even with their guards up, 11:57 they were not ready for the scene 11:59 they stumbled onto in the living room. 12:01 At first glance, even in the dark, 12:03 it was clear this room was destroyed. 12:06 And then as their eyes began to adjust, 12:08 they saw the room was also covered with blood. 12:11 There were huge pools of it soaked through the carpet 12:14 in front of the fireplace, 12:15 and lamps and furniture had been overturned 12:17 and spattered with more blood. 12:19 And then one of the police officers' flashlight beams 12:21 landed on the couch. There, under a blanket that was also soaked with blood, was the body 12:26 of a woman. For a second, none of the officers said anything. Then, another officer shined 12:32 his flashlight around the room in a slow circle until the light fell on the body of a man, 12:37 lying face down only a few feet away. Two victims, both almost certainly dead, the 12:43 Sir's called for backup. 12:52 In a world of buffering and bad signal, two star-cross connections found each other. 12:58 From 40 euros a month, Ireland's best-fixed broadband and best mobile are together, at 13:03 last. 13:04 And you're invited to the wedding, new Vodafone together, award-winning fixed broadband and 13:08 mobile, together, from just 40 euro a month. 13:12 40 euro a month for 6 months, 55 euro thereafter, separate 24-month contracts each subject to 13:16 terms availability, eligibility, and annual price increase each April, certified by 13:47 KIA Omlau 2026, Full Term C, Vodafone, Data-E. 13:51 When a good night's sleep feels out of reach, try Nytal One a Night, Ireland's number one 13:56 sleep aid brand. 13:56 Just one tablet helps you fall into a restful sleep so you can wake refreshed and ready 14:00 for tomorrow. 14:01 Available in pharmacies. 14:02 Based on IQVS sales data, Nytal One a Night 50mg tablets contain diphenhydramine hydrochloride 14:06 and aid to the relief of temporary sleep disturbances in adults. 14:09 For further information, ask your doctor or pharmacist. 14:11 Always read the leaflet. 14:17 Not long after that backup call went out, the detective on call for the Mansfield 14:21 police department, Ralph Standifer, stood in the front yard of 820 Turnberry Drive, 14:25 staring up at the home. All the lights were on inside, and uniformed officers had pulled 14:30 crime scene tape around the perimeter. Outside, flashing police and ambulance lights lit up 14:35 the street as crime scene techs geared up to begin their job. 14:39 Standifer rubbed his eyes. He'd been with the department for almost 20 years, 14:42 but it was still hard to get used to being woken up from a deep sleep by his pager. 14:46 He was there with another detective, Mark Kelly. They'd already been briefed 14:50 the situation. The home was owned by a couple in their 40s named Rick and Susie Wamsley, 14:55 and they both appeared to have been shot to death. Now, Standifer hadn't even stepped 14:59 foot in the house yet, but he already knew there was a lot about this case that didn't make sense. 15:05 Officers had gone to the scene because of a 911 call that came in less than an hour ago, 15:09 but it didn't seem like Rick or Susie had made that call. Judging by the state of 15:13 their bodies, they'd been dead for a lot longer than that. Standifer assumed, 15:17 you know this meant that the killer must have made the 911 call either because they lingered in the 15:22 home after killing them and then made the call or they left the scene and then returned at some 15:27 point to make that 911 call. Stanifer knew that you know it was possible that somebody else who 15:32 was not the killer could have anonymously made the call after discovering the bodies but that 15:36 felt far-fetched like why would that person not stay and at least give more information to 15:41 police and so Stanifer was hoping that once he got inside and looked around things would 15:46 make more sense. 15:47 Standifer and Kelly walked up to the home and pulled plastic booties over their shoes 15:51 before entering. 15:52 Once inside, they split up. 15:55 Kelly went through each room taking video, while Standifer just did a walkthrough of 15:59 the entire crime scene. 16:00 Standifer first stopped to examine the front door, and he didn't see anything that 16:04 indicated it had been forced open. 16:06 And as he walked through the home, he didn't notice any other doors or windows 16:09 that showed evidence of forced entry either. 16:12 However, that was where the killer's smoothness ended. 16:15 it. 16:15 The whole scene was an incredible mess. 16:18 There was a ton of bloody shoe prints all over the place, there were some bloody fingerprints 16:21 on the wallpaper in the dining room, there was a knife blade that was missing its handle 16:25 on the carpet, and then of course there was the living room, where it looked like an intense, 16:30 bloody, horrible fight had taken place. 16:33 In addition to the overturned furniture, there was also a lot of blood splatter 16:37 and splotches that indicated whoever was bleeding had fallen multiple times. 16:42 But despite the mess, there wasn't anything obviously missing. 16:46 The TV was still there, there were still wrapped presents under the tree, and there weren't 16:50 any open drawers or closets, which he would have expected if somebody was here looking 16:54 for something to steal. 16:56 So Standifer did not think this was a robbery gone wrong. 16:59 He turned to look at the couch where the woman still lay under the blanket. 17:03 This was Susie Wamsley. 17:05 She'd been shot in the head, but her blanket had been pulled up and her expression 17:09 was almost peaceful, which suggested she might have died 17:12 while she was still asleep. 17:14 But this didn't track with the rest of her wounds 17:16 because whoever had shot her 17:17 had apparently also stabbed her repeatedly 17:20 in the neck and torso. 17:22 It was clear she hadn't struggled though, 17:24 which suggested she likely was the first one shot. 17:27 But that meant the killer stabbed her 17:28 after she was already dead. 17:31 It was unusual for a killer 17:32 to use multiple weapons like that, 17:34 but it also lined up 17:36 with the rest of the very chaotic crime scene. 17:38 who ever did this was clearly frenzied and highly emotional. 17:43 Standifer frowned and moved away from Susie 17:45 towards his other victim, her husband, Rick Wamsley. 17:48 Rick's body was shirtless, 17:49 so right away, Standifer saw 17:51 that he too had been attacked with multiple weapons. 17:54 He was covered in slashing wounds 17:56 and he'd been shot at least once in the head. 17:59 But unlike Susie, it was clear to Standifer 18:01 that Rick had fought with his killer. 18:03 Rick's fist was clenched tightly 18:05 and Standifer saw there were actually 18:07 a few pieces of hair wrapped around Rick's fingers. And so Standifer put on some gloves, 18:12 and then he knelt down and he opened up Rick's hand to find strands of dark, long hair inside 18:17 of his palm. And next to Rick's hand on the carpet was a broken blue hair clip. 18:22 Standifer knew this could be something major, because at least at first glance, 18:26 it appeared like in Rick's final moments of life he had managed to grab the hair of his 18:30 killer and rip some of it out. And this was incredibly lucky, because it meant they would 18:35 now have an actual piece of forensic evidence, this hair, to test against any suspects that 18:40 they had. 18:41 But the evidence was also kind of confusing, because the long hair and the feminine-looking 18:46 clip suggested that Rick had been fighting with a woman. 18:49 But physically, that just didn't make much sense. 18:52 Rick was a big guy. 18:54 He was at least six feet tall and at least 200 pounds, and so Standifer had a hard 18:58 time imagining a typical woman alone being able to overpower him. 19:02 him. Even a strong man might have had trouble dealing with Rick, given Rick's size. 19:08 So now, as Standifer stood there looking at the hair and the blue clip, he started to 19:12 wonder if, you know, maybe there wasn't just one killer here. Maybe there were multiple 19:17 killers and that's how Rick had been overpowered. 19:20 Standifer went to go find Detective Kelly. Whether it was one killer or multiple, it 19:25 was clear the level of brutality at this crime scene suggested there had to 19:29 have been a personal motive. 19:31 And so the detectives needed to start making a list of everyone 19:34 the Wamsleys were close to. 19:40 It was almost 8 AM the following morning 19:42 by the time Standifer was done at the scene. 19:45 When he left the house, he saw that beyond the yellow crime 19:48 scene tape, there was a crowd of neighbors and news trucks 19:50 gathered to see what was going on at the Wamsleys. 19:53 As Standifer walked to his patrol car, 19:56 a deputy approached him and told him they'd 19:57 been talking to some of these neighbors, 19:59 and they had some information. 20:00 One person said they heard multiple gunshots around 3 a.m. yesterday morning, which was 21 hours 20:07 before the 911 call came in. And another said that last night around 9 p.m. they noticed the 20:13 whamslees had not turned on their Christmas lights, which was unusual for them. 20:18 Standifer ran through this timeline in his head. If it was true that there were gunshots at 20:22 3 a.m. on December 11th, and then by 9 p.m. later that same day, the house was uncharacteristically 20:28 dark and the Christmas lights were not on, well, the reason for that could be because 20:33 by that time, the Whamsleys were already dead. 20:37 The 911 call had come about two and a half hours after that neighbor had noticed the 20:41 Christmas lights were not on in the house. 20:44 But somebody was in that house who made the 911 call and based on this timeline, 20:49 it seemed it could not have been Rick or Susie because they were dead by the time 20:53 the 911 call happened. 20:54 end. So who was in the house making that call? 20:58 Standifer asked the deputies if there was anything else, and they said, yeah, there was. 21:03 The neighbors had also told them that the Wamsleys had two adult children, Sarah and Andrew. 21:08 Sarah lived in her own apartment, and the deputies had already contacted her, she was 21:11 on her way to the station. But Andrews still lived with his parents, and the deputies, 21:16 so far, had not been able to reach him. 21:18 At this, Standifer felt himself immediately tense up. Both the Wamsleys' children 21:23 Aaron needed to be looked at as suspects. 21:25 It was highly likely that with the parents both dead, the kids would inherit money, and 21:30 probably a lot of it, judging from the very upscale neighborhood where their parents lived. 21:34 And the fact that Andrew lived with his parents, but wasn't at home and was currently unreachable, 21:40 made him the much more suspicious of the two siblings. 21:43 But just then, Standipa heard somebody yelling. 21:46 He looked up to see a dark-haired young man getting out of the driver's side of 21:49 a Ford Mustang. 21:49 He was gesturing wildly to a police officer who had stopped the car, pointing to the home, 21:54 the crime scene, and saying that that was his house. 21:57 A young woman got out of the passenger side of the vehicle, and stand if her could see 22:01 she and this young man both looked totally panicked. 22:05 The detective hustled over to the car and asked the young man what his name was, although 22:09 he was already pretty sure he knew. 22:11 It was, in fact, Andrew Wamsley. 22:13 Andrew told them that he and his girlfriend, the woman he was with, had seen a news 22:17 News report about two bodies in this neighborhood being found, and he had driven here to make 22:21 sure it was not his mother and father. 22:24 As he said this, Standifer's eyes immediately went to the girlfriend's hair, hoping it 22:28 was dark brown, like the hair he had found inside of Rick's fist. 22:32 But it was blonde. 22:34 Standifer was momentarily disappointed, but he knew that the girlfriend's hair 22:37 color didn't actually prove or disprove anything about Andrew himself. 22:41 And so, Standifer looked around at the news cameras in the crowd and decided 22:45 he would wait to give Andrew any details about what had happened. And so he just told the young 22:49 couple to come with him back to the station where he would explain everything. A short time later, 22:57 Standifer sat across the table from Andrew inside of an interview room, 23:00 watching the young man fall apart as he learned his parents were both dead. 23:05 Andrew looked down at the ground as Standifer broke the news, unable to speak as tears 23:09 streamed down his cheeks. Standifer waited for Andrew to calm down a little bit, 23:13 but he didn't really calm down at all. 23:16 And so, Stanifor just began asking basic questions 23:18 because it seemed like Andrew was not gonna be capable 23:21 of giving anything more than short, simple answers. 23:25 He said that he lived with his parents, 23:26 but stated his girlfriend, Chelsea's, most of the time. 23:30 And during the period of time 23:31 that police believed the couple was murdered, 23:33 Andrew said that he and Chelsea played 23:35 some miniature golf, they went to the movies, 23:37 and then they went to a friend's house 23:38 for most of the night 23:39 before heading back to Chelsea's to sleep. 23:42 After that, Andrew went quiet again, staring hard at the floor as his eyes 23:46 welled up with more tears. To Standifer, Andrew's emotional reaction to this news seemed pretty 23:52 sincere, and when Standifer looked over Andrew's hands and forearms looking for any of the telltale 23:57 cuts or bruises the killer almost certainly would have picked up while fighting with Rigg, 24:02 he only saw one small shallow scratch on his hand, which realistically Andrew could have 24:06 gotten anywhere. 24:08 But his emotional reaction and the lack of cuts and bruises on his body was not enough 24:13 to rule Andrew out, especially if he was potentially working with somebody else. 24:18 And so Standover decided to push him a little bit, just to see how he reacted. 24:22 He told Andrew that he was going to send some officers to check his car for blood, 24:26 and he was also going to get Andrew's fingerprints. 24:29 Then he also said he was going to have to confirm his alibi with his girlfriend 24:33 friend and friends, and he was going to check his bank records, looking specifically for 24:38 large payments that could suggest a paid hit. 24:41 After that, Standifer just stood there, waiting for Andrew to get defensive or angry. 24:46 But Andrew just nodded and said that all sounded fine. 24:50 And so when Standifer stepped out of the interview room, he was not feeling too 24:53 optimistic about Andrew as a suspect. 24:56 And so when his partner, Detective Kelly, came around the corner and said Andrew's 24:59 sister Sarah was in an interview room ready to be spoken to, Standifer was glad to hear 25:04 it. 25:10 The first thing Standifer noticed when he went into Sarah's interrogation room was 25:14 that Sarah had long, dark hair, which was roughly the same color as the strands he 25:19 had seen in Rick's hand. 25:21 Now, he didn't let his excitement show, instead he just sat down at the table 25:24 and simply asked Sarah what she had been doing on December 10th. 25:29 Like her brother, Sarah was visibly devastated, but unlike Andrew, who had been barely 25:34 able to talk, Sarah seemed almost like she was impatient with Standifer's questions. 25:38 She rattled off her actions on the night of her parents' murders so quickly that 25:42 Standifer could barely keep up with her. She said that she had gone to her parents' house 25:46 around 6pm and they had all gone out to dinner. They had all briefly come back to 25:51 the parents' house after, and then Sarah took her daughter and went home for the night. 25:55 And Sarah seemed like she might just keep on rambling, but Standifer stopped her and 25:59 just said, look, do you know of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your parents? 26:02 parents. 26:03 And at this, Sarah's eyes widened and she nodded furiously like she had been waiting 26:08 for this question. 26:09 She leaned forward and blurted out that this was exactly what she wanted to tell him. 26:14 Because one month ago, according to Sarah, somebody had tried to kill her and her parents. 26:21 She said it happened in November. 26:23 They had been driving on the highway when out of nowhere they heard this loud banging 26:27 sound. 26:28 Worried it could be something to do with the car, they pulled over into a parking 26:31 lot to see what had happened. That's when they found a distinct bullet hole in the rear of their 26:37 car near their gas tank. Sarah said they had reported this to police, but despite looking 26:42 into it, the police never found a suspect. However, Sarah told Standifer that she always 26:48 suspected her ex-husband, Todd Cleveland, was the shooter. She told the detective that she 26:54 and Todd were in a custody battle over their daughter, which her parents were paying for. 26:58 or Todd was furious about it. 27:01 Standover sat back in his seat, 27:03 trying to keep his face neutral, 27:04 but he felt like a bomb had just been dropped 27:06 in the middle of his case. 27:08 The Whamsleys had been shot at twice over a 30-day period. 27:12 Whoever had killed them was brazen and determined. 27:15 The detective leaned back and folded his arms 27:17 as he tried to work out what all this meant to him. 27:20 On one hand, Sarah had been in the car 27:22 during that first shooting, 27:23 which made it very unlikely, 27:25 quickly, but not impossible, that she was involved in that attempt. 27:28 But she also had no real alibi for the night of her parents' murder, and had admitted she 27:33 was in desperate need of money. 27:35 She was also eager to talk, maybe too eager, and she had pointed the finger right at her 27:39 ex, which could mean she was trying to distract Standifer from looking at her. 27:44 Or it could mean she was scared, and that Todd Cleveland was the shooter and he 27:48 was guilty. 27:49 Luckily though, Standifer didn't have to make any decisions about her guilt 27:52 or innocence on her demeanor alone. 27:54 alone. He had those strands of hair from the crime scene, so he told Sarah they would 27:59 need a DNA sample from her. And Standifer had half expected her to protest, but instead 28:04 she agreed immediately. As Standifer left to get one of the evidence texts, he felt 28:09 more confused than ever. Sarah had seemed like a promising suspect, but her willingness 28:15 to provide DNA told Standifer she likely did not have much to hide. 28:19 it. Standifer suddenly felt the weight of how tired he was. He'd been awake all night, 28:24 and his exhaustion was making it hard to unravel this case that seemed to get murkier with 28:29 every clue. In a world of buffering and bad signal, two star-cross connections found each 28:43 other. From 40 euros a month, Ireland's best-fixed broadband and best mobile are together at last. 28:49 And you're invited to the wedding. New Vodafone Together, award-winning fixed broadband and 28:54 mobile, together from just 40 euro a month. 40 euro a month for 6 months, 55 euros thereafter, 29:00 separate 24-month contracts each subject to terms availability, eligibility and annual 29:03 price increase each April, certified by Omelow 2026, full-term C-Vodafone datae. 29:08 Kia Seltos, meet Ireland's outdoors. 29:11 Ireland's outdoors, meet Kia Seltos, you'll get along famously. 29:16 Bold SUV design, seamless connectivity and Kia Hybrid technology, along with best-in-class 29:23 boot space and rear legroom to tackle the practicalities of any adventure. 29:35 The next day was December 13th. It had been two days since Rick and Susie Wamsley's bodies 29:48 had been found, and detectives Ralph Standifer and Mark Kelly were standing around a desk 29:53 at the Mansfield, Texas police precinct. They were going over photos, financial documents, 29:58 witness statements, and the newly released autopsy results, which just confirmed a 30:02 of what they already knew, that both Rick and Susie had been shot and stabbed, and that Rick 30:07 had fought back very hard. Standifer was more sure than ever that this was a personal crime, 30:13 so he and Kelly were going over all of the evidence they had on their two key suspects, 30:17 the children, Sarah and Andrew Wamsley. In the last couple of days, they had learned a lot 30:22 more about the Wamsleys and their children. Standifer had been right, the parents had a 30:27 biggest date that their kids were set to inherit. It was worth over $1.5 million, and Rick also had 30:34 a large life insurance policy as well. And so this gave the siblings a very strong financial 30:39 motivation for killing their parents. But all Standifer could come up with to this point 30:44 was evidence that actually ruled both the kids out. They had taken Sarah Wamsley's DNA 30:49 when they interviewed her, and it was not a match for the hair found at the scene, 30:53 which didn't mean she wasn't somehow involved, 30:55 but it meant the only real evidence 30:57 Standover had against her was her financial motive 30:59 and a lack of an alibi. 31:01 As for Andrew, his alibi checked out. 31:04 His girlfriend, Chelsea Richardson, confirmed a story. 31:07 The detectives had also contacted one of his friends, 31:10 a guy named Jeremy Lavender, 31:12 and he confirmed that Andrew and Chelsea 31:13 were with him the night Andrew's parents were killed. 31:16 Plus, Andrew's fingerprints didn't match 31:18 the bloody ones that were found at the crime scene. 31:21 There had also been a preliminary search 31:22 of Andrew's car and they hadn't seen any obvious blood yet, although the evidence texts were not 31:27 quite finished. So, Standifer and Kelly were at the point in this case where they needed to seriously 31:33 consider other suspects. And luckily, they already had somebody at the top of their list. 31:38 Sarah had been sure that her ex-husband Todd was responsible for the attack on the 31:43 Wamsleys that happened a month ago. Standifer had already reached out to the police of 31:47 the town where the Wamsleys were shot at, and luckily, the officers there had extracted 31:52 the bullet from their car door. And after testing that bullet, it showed that bullet came from the 31:57 same gun that was later used to kill the Wamsleys. So if Todd was a suspect for that attack, 32:05 well then by almost a fault, he had to be a suspect for the murders. So, 32:10 Stanifor grabbed his keys off his desk and flagged Kelly to come with him. 32:13 It was time to go see Todd Cleveland. When the detective sat down with Todd at his home, 32:20 him, he seemed extremely agitated and sort of rattled. 32:24 He said he had just heard about the murders, and he was totally stunned. 32:27 He also said he knew this looked bad for him, but he was adamant he was not involved. 32:32 He may have been at war with Sarah and Susie, but he liked Rick, and besides, he wasn't 32:38 around the night of the tents because he was working. 32:40 He was a plumber, and he said he had a few emergency jobs that night and in 32:44 the early morning too. 32:46 Stanifer and Kelly stayed for a bit longer, but they didn't get much more out of Todd. 32:49 So, eventually they left and headed back to the station, and right away they called 32:54 Todd's plumbing clients to confirm his alibi. 32:56 And sure enough, it all checked out. 32:59 Once again, the detectives were back to square one. 33:08 The following day, Standifer and Kelly drove out to the home of Andrew's girlfriend, 33:12 Chelsea. 33:13 They weren't there because they thought Chelsea was a suspect. 33:15 Her blonde hair had pretty much ruled her out. 33:18 But the detectives had decided that, since they were already starting over, they may 33:22 as well begin by reevaluating their first two suspects, the Wamsley's children, Andrew and Sarah. 33:28 Neither sibling appeared to have been at the crime scene, but Standifer and Kelly wanted 33:32 to learn more about who they were close to, specifically who in their lives they might 33:37 have trusted enough to help them plan or even carry out a murder. 33:41 When the detectives arrived at Chelsea's mother's house where Chelsea lived, 33:45 they knocked on the door and Chelsea opened it up, and quickly she invited the detectives 33:50 inside. And as soon as they stepped in, Stanford just froze. Because the house was truly a mess. 33:56 Not just in disarray, but like, disgusting. There was trash everywhere and grime on everything. I mean, 34:02 it really looked deeply dirty and uncared for. The two detectives just looked at each other and 34:08 raised their eyebrows. Over on the couch was another young woman who looked to be about 34:12 Chelsea's age. When she saw the detectives, she stood up, walked over, and introduced 34:17 herself as Chelsea's friend, Susanna. And over the course of their brief conversation, 34:22 she told them that she'd actually been staying in this house with Chelsea for quite a while. 34:26 After that, Standifer asked Susanna to please give them some privacy, 34:30 and she nodded and disappeared into a bedroom. At this point, 34:34 Standifer sat down with Chelsea and began asking her a couple questions about the 34:37 days around the murders, while his partner, Kelly, began to pace around the house. 34:42 Chelsea had already confirmed Andrew's alibi once, 34:44 But she seemed perfectly willing to go through it again, and nothing about her story changed. 34:49 And Standifer was just wrapping things up when he heard Kelly gasp in the next room. 34:54 When Kelly reappeared in the living room, he looked visibly shaken, but he said he was 34:59 fine. 35:00 The detectives left shortly after that, and when they got back in the car, Kelly explained 35:05 why he had reacted like that in the other room. 35:07 He said he had been looking through all the kitchen drawers because there had been 35:11 a knife blade at the murder scene and he wanted to see if it's matching handle that was missing 35:15 was in Chelsea's kitchen. But at some point when he opened up a drawer, 35:19 a whole bunch of roaches crawled out. That's why he gasped. 35:23 Stanifer grimaced. But also, the thought of those roaches made something else click into place 35:28 that had been bothering him the whole time they were at Chelsea's. He was thinking, 35:33 it seemed very likely somebody living in a place like that, living truly in squalor, 35:38 might be eager for some money. 35:40 And so as they drove back to the station, 35:42 Standifer decided he needed to widen the range 35:45 of people he was asking for DNA from. 35:47 It clearly was not enough to get DNA 35:49 just from Andrew and Sarah that really had gone nowhere. 35:53 What they needed to do was also get DNA samples 35:55 from all of their friends as well. 35:59 It would take almost a month 36:00 to collect all the DNA samples they requested. 36:03 And then the detectives had to wait another two months 36:05 just to get the results back, 36:07 which arrived on March 30th. 36:09 And when the results did arrive, 36:11 Standifer just sat at his desk 36:12 staring at the results in shock. 36:15 Because now he realized that a major piece of the puzzle 36:18 had been right in front of him the entire time. 36:26 Based on these DNA results, the investigation 36:29 and also a confession, 36:31 here is a reconstruction of what police believe happened 36:33 to Rick and Susie Wamsley 36:35 in the early morning hours of December 11th, 2003. 36:38 Just before 3am on December 11th, the killer stood outside of 820 Turnberry Drive, watching 36:53 Rick and Susie's garage door slowly rise. 36:56 As they waited for it to open all the way, they felt both dread, and also a sense of 37:01 nervous anticipation. 37:03 They had been talking about killing Susie and Rick for months, and actually, they 37:07 had already tried to do it once before. 37:09 But now, if everything went according to plan, it was actually going to happen. 37:13 Once the door was fully open, the killer slipped inside, and as they entered, they could hear 37:19 the sound of footsteps right behind them. They're two accomplices. All three very quietly began 37:25 to creep through the home, and as they passed through the kitchen, two of them grabbed knives. 37:30 They already had a gun with them, but they figured it didn't hurt to be as prepared as 37:33 possible. The house was completely silent. It was obvious both Rick and Susie were asleep. 37:40 The killer was eager to get started, because in their mind, Rick and Susie had more money 37:45 and a better life than they deserved, and it just was not fair. 37:49 The killer had nothing, and so killing Rick and Susie would not only feel good, but it 37:53 would be the answer to all of their problems. 37:56 On the other side of what they did this night was going to be a much better life. 38:01 And so with the gun in hand, the killer walked down the hallway to the living room 38:04 where they found Susie, a sleep on the couch under a blanket. 38:08 it. And the killer, as soon as they were standing over her, raised their gun, aimed it at Suzy's head, 38:13 and fired a shot. And immediately, the killer then hurried upstairs to the bedroom where Rick was, 38:19 and they shot at him too. Except this time, their aim was off. Their bullets hit the doorway 38:25 outside the bedroom, and as Rick jolted up, the killer fired again. This shot hit Rick in 38:30 the temple, but Rick didn't fall. Instead, to the killer's horror, he ran at the killer 38:36 and began to fight them. The killer struggled with Rick and before they knew it, they both were 38:41 in the living room where Rick managed to force the killer to drop the gun. At this point, one of 38:46 the two accomplices tried to get Rick off the killer, but while Rick was being pulled away, 38:52 he managed to grab the killer's hair and ripped some of their hair out of their head, 38:56 along with their hair clip. When Rick then tried to turn and run for the front door, 39:01 the other accomplice grabbed the gun from the ground and shot Rick in the back, 39:05 Rick, which caused him to finally collapse. 39:08 But he still wasn't dead, and he looked up at the killer and the accomplices to ask 39:12 why they were doing this. 39:14 But the three of them just stared at Rick in shock. 39:17 They hadn't realized how hard it was going to be to kill someone, and so now they were 39:20 actually wondering if just shooting Susie once was actually enough to kill her. 39:25 And so instead of talking to Rick, the killer and one of the accomplices began 39:30 and simultaneously stabbing Rick and Suzy over and over again 39:35 until they both were for sure dead. 39:39 The trio then fled the home 39:41 and the primary killer spent the rest of the night 39:44 totally excited about the good fortune 39:46 that would almost certainly befall them 39:48 once the bodies were discovered. 39:50 But after that whole day passed, 39:52 the next 20 or so hours passed, 39:54 there still had been no indication 39:56 that anybody knew Rick and Suzy were dead. 39:59 This was a problem for the killer 40:00 and their accomplices because the sooner the bodies were found, the sooner they would get 40:05 access to the money that they had killed for. 40:08 So just before midnight, they returned to the crime scene, picked up the landline phone, 40:14 and dialed 911. 40:15 Then without saying anything, they placed the phone receiver on the counter and fled 40:19 the house for a second time. 40:26 When Detective Standifer got the DNA test results back from the hair that had been 40:30 found at the crime scene, it told him exactly who had attacked Rick. 40:33 Rick. 40:33 But the hair didn't actually match any of his suspects. 40:37 It belonged to someone that they actually hadn't even interviewed. 40:40 The hair was a match for Susanna Toldano, the same Susanna who was a friend of Andrew's 40:46 girlfriend Chelsea who was present at her house the day they went to go re-interview 40:50 her. 40:51 It would turn out, Susanna was the one who had fired at Rick and Susie's car 40:55 back in November, and on the night of the actual murders, it was Susanna who 41:00 shot Susie and fought Rick. 41:01 Rick. 41:02 She was the primary killer. 41:04 Susanna did this because she needed money, and she had actually been promised a large 41:08 chunk of it by her accomplices, Andrew and Chelsea. 41:13 It was Andrew and Chelsea's idea to murder Susie and Rick. 41:16 Andrew was furious with his parents because they had cut him off financially after they 41:20 found out he'd secretly dropped out of college. 41:23 He was also in love with Chelsea, who didn't have a lot of money, and she lived with 41:27 single mother who had to work multiple jobs to barely keep their family afloat. And so the plan 41:32 was made to murder the parents for money. But it was ultimately Susanna who pulled the trigger. 41:40 Susanna, Chelsea, and Andrew were all convicted of murder, and they were all sentenced to life in 41:45 prison. As for Sarah, she had nothing to do with the murders, and she has never healed from 41:51 the loss of her parents. A quick note about our stories, they are all based on true events, 42:04 But, we sometimes use pseudonyms to protect the people involved, and some details are 42:10 fictionalized for dramatic purposes. 42:15 The Mr. Ballin podcast, Strange, Dark, and Mysterious Stories, is hosted and executive 42:19 produced by me, Mr. Ballin. 42:21 Our head of writing is Evan Allen, produced by Jeremy Bone and Cole Ocasio. 42:25 This episode was written by Kate Murdock. 42:27 Research and fact-checking by Shelley Xu, Samantha Van Hoos, Evan Beamer, Abigail 42:31 Shumway, Camille Callahan, Alex Paul, Ben Faciano. 42:35 No. 42:35 Research and Fact-Checking Supervision by Steven Ear, audio editing and post-produced 42:40 by Whit Lacasio and Jordan Stidham, production support by Antonio Monata and Delana Corley, 42:45 artwork by Jessica Klogston-Keyner, theme song Something Wicked by Ross Bugden. 42:51 Thank you for listening to the Mr. Ballin podcast. 42:53 And just a reminder, every new and exclusive episode we put out on the Mr. Ballin podcast, 42:58 you can also now watch on the Mr. Ballin YouTube channel that very same day. 43:02 And trust me, some of these stories you truly have to see to believe. 43:06 Again, my YouTube channel is just called MrBallin. 43:09 If you want to listen to episodes one week early and add free, you can subscribe to SiriusXM 43:15 Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts, or visit SiriusXM.com slash Podcasts Plus to listen 43:21 with Spotify or another app of your choice. 43:24 So that's going to do it. 43:26 I really appreciate your support. 43:27 Until next time, see ya. 43:29 In 43:49 a world of buffering and bad signal, two star-cross connections found each other. 43:54 From €40 a month, Ireland's best-fixed broadband and best mobile are together, at last. 44:00 And you're invited to the wedding, new Vodafone Together, award-winning fixed broadband and 44:04 mobile, together from just €40 a month. 44:08 €40 a month for six months, 55-year, thereafter, separate 24-month contracts each subject 44:12 to terms availability, eligibility and annual price increase each April, certified by 44:15 KIA Omlau 2026, Full Term C, Vodafone, Datai. 44:45 Movement that inspires.
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