Episode 801: Blanche Taylor Moore, The Oldest Woman on Death Row (Part 1) | Forensic Files

Hey weirdos. I'm Ash. I'm Elena. And this is Morbid. This is morbid, honey. It's morbid post
Radio City. >> It is. >> We had a [ __ ] blast. >> We did. It was amazing meeting you guys
afterwards. It was so much fun. >> It was so much fun. Yeah. meeting everybody afterwards was you guys made
me feel like Harry Styles. Felt like >> that's exactly what I felt like. >> Yeah, we were like the Beatles or
something. >> It's true. >> It was so much fun. >> And my parents got to come. >> Ma and Papa had the best time.
>> They did. They had They were beaming. >> Seeing Ma in New York hadn't been to New
York City in like decades and had like the best time. We got to like do a really fun dinner afterwards with all of
our friends. Like my cup is full to the brim right now. >> It truly is. But it's time to get back.
Yeah. I'm happy to get back to normaly a little bit. >> We spent so much time planning that live
show. I think the last weeks of our lives were spent just like going over every single detail.
>> Yeah. >> To get it all perfect and now >> and there's just like the production
everything. It was a bigger it's such a big venue that it was such a bigger production.
>> Mara production. I just have to shout them out. Marcus and Sophie specifically.
>> Jeez. >> Truly. >> Not cheese. >> Jeez. Truly. They were the sweetest people I think I've ever met in my life
and like took such good care of us, took such good care of the stage and like just so much went into that.
>> Yeah. >> So, thank you to everybody who made that happen and thank you to everybody who
showed up to support us. It really means a lot to us. >> You guys rule. You do. But now it's time
to get back to like our our normal dayto-day, our regular morbid schedule. >> We're back. We're home. Mercury is in
Gatorade and we saw something that said >> or I should say >> it wants you to slow down.
>> I should say Mercury is retrograde. I have to stop saying in retrograde as a student of astrology.
>> It's retrograde >> because that's just saying Mercury is in backwards. >> Yeah, it's in backwards, you know,
>> but it's just it's just backward. >> It's in backwards right now. And it and it said according to Alisa Kelly, who I
trust >> Oh, yeah. >> trust in Alisa Kelly. >> She said it wants you to slow down. And
I said, "I'm gonna take that to heart, babe, because I'm like a missile right now, and I
>> I need to slow down. >> Frankly, I'd like to slow down. >> Mama's tired." >> Truly,
>> mama is tired. >> I'm exhausted. And my asthma is flaring up again. >> My asthma
>> My asthma is in the humidity. It said flare up. Flare up. Give that [ __ ] some
mucus in her throat and a a cough. >> That's what it said. I don't know. You sounded like Donald Trump.
>> Oh. I've never been more insulted in my life. Wow. >> It sounded like it. >> Yucky.
>> It did. >> Well, how do we move away from that? >> Any Anyway, >> anything else you do you want me to
Should we just get right into the story? I actually We probably should because I
do have a long one today. >> Yeah, let's go. >> And I know like um Jeffrey has his timer
out. So, here we go. Jeeoff. >> Here we go. >> All right. So, I have a two-parter. This
is obviously part one. Welcome. So, we're going to be talking about Blanch Taylor Moore. And Blanch Taylor Moore
is, spoiler alert, just to really start you off to to know what you're getting into, the oldest woman on death row in
the United States. >> That's what we're getting into. Okay. >> Yeah. >> All right.
>> That's where we're headed. So, >> let's go. >> Before she headed to death row, she was
born on February 17th, 1933 in conquered, North Carolina. She was the fifth of seven children born to Parker
PD Kaiser and his wife Flanie. >> Okay. >> I'm obsessed with >> Okay. Flie. >> Okay. Flawny Flaunted.
>> All right. >> Now, technically PD, the dad was a mill worker, but his real passion was
preaching the gospel. >> Okay. Preaching the gospel. PD proudly fell into the category of primitive
preachers, which was kind of a group of untrained, definitely unpaid Baptist uh preachers who traveled around to rural
locations like campgrounds to preach, which only makes me think of True Detective season 1.
>> Yes, absolutely. Like what a >> like tent revival. >> What an iconic season of television.
>> True Detective is so good. I love season one. >> Truly. >> Now, according to author Jim Shoots, who
um we will link in the show notes and who we have used before, great author, PD preached an intense monotonous
singong literal interpretation of the Bible. >> Oh, okay. >> I don't really know exactly what that
means. >> It's a lot. >> It's a lot. >> It's a lot. But, you know, >> it felt like a lot.
>> Yeah. >> He always seemed to find a way to make money, which was a good thing. You know,
>> all right. he was working or he got donations >> always be closing, >> but he rarely used that money on his own
family. The work of raising children and paying the bills basically just fell completely on Flanie, who worked
full-time to just make do basically. Basically, just to keep a head u I almost just said a head over their
roofs, a roof over their heads. Now, of the 40 or so dollars a week that she made, she always gave half of that to
her husband, who, according to Shoots, never made any secret of the fact that he was spending it all on young girls.
Oh, yeah. So, that wasn't awesome. That was terrible. Now, in 1942, when Blanch was only 9 years old, the family moved
to Burlington. Burlington did offer better job prospects, but the real reason for the move was probably because
Pey couldn't manage to stay employed for very long, and he kind of just ran out of options for employment and conquered.
Now, despite his own proclivity for sex workers and gambling and drinking and generally not spending time with his own
young family, he was very, very strict on his own children when he was around. and he had I don't even want to call
them high standards because it's impossible. >> Impossible standards. The family didn't
have much flowing in. So, the girls were usually dressed in tattered rags and handme-downs essentially. But he would
routinely inspect their outfits to make sure that they were quote unquote sufficiently modest.
>> Come on. >> Which is also like you're the biggest hypocrite ever. >> Yeah. You got to you got to make sure.
You just have to be sure that everybody's modest, even though you're clearly not.
>> Modesty is the most important thing. So important. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> [ __ ] off. Now, the high standards didn't
just end with what the kids looked like, what they were wearing, their appearances. They also were completely
forbidden from participating in any after school activities. >> That's so [ __ ] up. That actually
pisses me off. >> Truly. Truly. >> Like a lot. Like, what good does that do? >> They couldn't socialize with their
friends. They couldn't join a club. nothing like that. They had to come sad right home from school and probably
pray. >> That's that's [ __ ] up. >> Now, when Blanch reached her early teens, she was finally given enough
freedom to get a job in one of the local shops downtown. Probably because they needed more money and less about like
her happiness. >> Exactly. >> But more time outside of the house also meant that she was able to socialize a
little bit. >> And when she was about 15 or 16, she started dating a boy named James Taylor.
No, it's not that one. >> Thank you. I said of Tanglewood. Not of Not of Tanglewood fame. Not of Not Sweet
Baby James. >> Not sweet baby James. >> I [ __ ] so heavy with that James Taylor
though. >> James Taylor, like our James Taylor, like collectively all of our James
Taylor. >> He is the most soothing. >> He does >> voice. >> He's the voice of a generation.
>> He is. He actually I feel he's the voice of many generations. >> I think he is too. You hear a James
Taylor song like a specific one that like you just >> You just hear that beginning,
right? >> It does. like that old. To be honest, my nervous system has been a little alike
lately. >> Yeah. >> I'm going to listen to a James Taylor song and I bet I'm going to feel right
as rain. >> You probably shouldn't. I think you will. >> I will. Period. Thank you for that. You
bet. >> So, she met James Taylor. Not V, but A. A. James Taylor. In a lot of ways, James
and Blanch did seem like a really good fit for each other. In public, he was a good Christian boy. He doted on his
mama. He did well in school. But in private, he loved a cross joke and a cold beer. So, he had two sides to him.
>> Yeah. >> Within a few weeks of starting their relationship, James introduced Blanch to
his family, which was kind of a revelation for her cuz she knew most people came from stable and happy homes,
but she had never seen one up close or experienced one. >> That's so sad. >> It is really sad. But the cool thing was
that in the beginning of their rel relationship, she kind of like inshed in this family and they loved her
>> and they supported her and she like got her cup filled that way. >> Nice. >> Now, by that time, she had actually quit
school and was just always looking for a good reason not to be home at her house.
So, she spent a lot of time at the Taylor house. And apparently, her and James' mom, Isa, were very close. When
it came to James' relationship with Blanch, I told you the good things about him.
>> But it was also hard not to see the similarities between her boyfriend James and her father.
>> James wasn't dismissive. He wasn't controlling. Not in the way that her dad was, but he was a drinker and he did
love to gamble. And he was also at times, according to Shoots, sentimental, childish, and given to eruptions of a
violent temper. >> That's not great. He had very good facets of his personality. He had flaws
>> and a lot of flaws. >> Some real flaws >> as we all do. But he really needed to
figure out how to rein those in. >> Yeah. When your when your flaws start, you know, becoming violent
>> and when they start like messing with someone else, like affecting someone else.
>> Yeah. >> Those are flaws you got to take care of. >> That's the thing, you know.
>> So, not long after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, James was drafted and he was sent to the Pacific to serve
in the Army. He returned a year later to Burlington. He proposed to Blanch and they got married on May 29th, 1952. At
the same time, he found work restoring and refinishing fine furniture, which I feel like would be such a fun job.
>> Yeah. >> I love furniture videos on TikTok. >> Yeah. I feel like that would be very
like uh fulfilling. >> Yeah. And like at the same time, too. >> He was really really good at the job,
but the income was modest. It really was barely enough to cover the bills of two
people. So when Blanch gave birth to their daughter in 1953, the family really started to struggle financially.
But never one to shy away from hard work. Soon after her daughter was born, Blanch got a job as a checkout clerk at
the local Kroger grocery store. And she was an immediate hit with all of the customers.
>> Dang. Uh, former co-orker Brenda Green told a reporter in 1989, "She was always
pleasant, always outgoing to the customers." And she wasn't just a hit with the customers. She was really
popular with the men who came into the store. She had a way about, huh? >> Her name's Blanch.
>> I know. It's just comes with the territory. >> It does. >> Uh, author Sh said, "Men lined up behind
her register just so they could look at her. She sang to each one in her busy little chitter chittering bird voice,
always with some expression of concern for their personal affairs. >> Wow. >> So, she was a little bit of a flirt.
>> I was going to say she was kind of she was digging it. >> She was Yeah, she was doing her thing.
No, >> I knew nothing about this case, by the way. So, >> well, she's the oldest woman on death
row, so >> So, there's that. >> Just like I said, keep that. Keep that with you.
>> Yeah. >> So, at that time, the roles for Kroger employees were strictly segregated.
Women filled the customer service jobs in the front of the store. Men worked the management, the stock room, butcher
roles in the back. >> Okay. >> Now, given the hierarchy, the highest that a female employee at Kroger could
generally expect to make, like the highest position was head cashier. >> Okay. >> It was kind of like a front-end manager
position. They were like responsible for supervising the cashiers and the bag boys, just keeping everything in check.
We've seen them. >> Yeah. >> Now, that was the We love them. >> We've seen them. We love them.
That was the job that Blanch was really determined to get. And once she set her mind to something, she did usually
achieve it. Now, I said that the customers loved her. Co-workers, not so much. >> E outwardly, she seemed to get along
with people pretty fine, you know, >> but a lot of her co-workers didn't like the way that she played obvious office
politics. Oh, and they saw that she was very clearly intent on climbing the ladder to get that head cashier
position, >> which like that's bound to happen in any kind of like corporate or you know any
retail environment. >> Well, and people are all vying for the same job. So that it kind of creates
like a >> it's competitive, >> not a great environment. >> But that wasn't just it. Some of the
cashiers suspected that Blanch was stealing from the company. >> Oh, that's not good. According to
shoots, Blanch had a penchant for using laner registers and for moving around using other checkers drawers rather than
following the safe and sure procedures designed so that each cashier would check out on a register that was
entirely her own responsibility for each shift. Eek, she just kind of floated amongst them.
>> Yeah. Now, despite the rumors of her um embezzling small sums of money, by 1959,
Blanch did work her way up at Kroger and she got that head cashier position. >> Oh, yeah. She got it. And the promotion
couldn't have come at a better time because just a few months after she moved up, she gave birth to the couple's
second daughter. So, the extra income was an asset. >> Oh, hey. >> You know, it seemed things were going
pretty good for Blanch in 1959. You like it? >> Yeah. But her personal life was starting
to unravel a bit. That same year, her mother, Fla, filed for a divorce from PD, citing her husband's abandonment as
the reason. M >> Pety Kaiser had basically left his wife and children a few years earlier to
quote find himself a younger woman. >> Oh, excuse you. And he also didn't contribute a dime to the support of
their children since he left them. And now even though all of that is true that he was just a prick at the time, going
through a divorce would have been a pretty shameful experience, which is silly, but it just was. And sharing the
details of her failed marriage in such a public form wouldn't just be embarrassing, but humiliating not just
for Flamie, but also for the children like Blanch, even like the adult children.
>> Now, luckily, the judge was sympathetic and ordered PD to pay $25 a week in child support, which was dropped then to
$10 a week the following year. >> And to everyone's surprise, though, he did pay the support.
>> Huh. >> Yeah. So, >> that is interesting. I didn't see that coming. at least he paid it, you know,
the bare minimum. But the public dissolution of her parents' marriage, which became then a big source of gossip
in the small town, was kind of a a a source of shame for Blanch. And on top of that, things in her own marriage
weren't really going well. After the birth of her second baby, she wasn't really interested in being with James
romantically. And since getting married, in her view, he had changed quite a bit physically,
and she just wasn't feeling very attracted to him. >> Oh, okay. >> In addition, the gambling and the
drinking that when he was younger made him seem wild and fun and carefree, now made him seem irresponsible and reckless
and probably reminded her of her father. >> Yeah, that makes sense. >> Yeah. Now, even though he knew he was
being judged, it didn't really seem like he gave a [ __ ] at this time. James kept
drinking. He kept gambling. And he also had picked up a new hobby since he got back from Korea and just spent a lot of
his weekends editing tape recordings of sermons from the Glen Hope Baptist Church so that the tapes could be sent
overseas for missionary work which like >> cool like you know you're getting a little extra cash by doing that but
you're also spending all your time away from your family by >> that's the thing >> working gambling and drinking.
>> Yeah it's like one a couple of those things could go >> right you know >> like work for sure keep that gambling
and drinking if it's affecting you negatively. You got to stop. >> Maybe cut that back. Cut it back.
>> Yeah. >> Now, so by 1962, the distance between James and Blanch had become so evident
that even strangers would have felt the tension between them. It wasn't just a lack of physical intimacy or the fact
that he was just never home. But Blanch also found other ways to spend her time in the absence of her husband.
>> Oh boy. >> That year, she started an affair with her boss, Raven. Yeah. And she barely
tried to hide it, not only from her husband, but like from anyone. >> Yeah, she doesn't give a [ __ ]
>> She really didn't give a single [ __ ] >> That doesn't shock me. >> One theme of this story that you'll find
is that Blanch does not give a [ __ ] >> [ __ ] are nowhere to be found. >> No, her [ __ ] basket is barren. That
sounded a lot worse than I meant for it to, but you can leave it in. So, before long, the tension over Blanch's obvious
affair escalated to verbal abuse and occas occasionally physical abuse from her husband. Like the night that James
and uh Blanch argued over her relationship and he just started flinging spoonfuls of chocolate pudding
at her >> in a mean way. I know that sounds silly. >> It does. But it's like >> but it's mean when you really think of
that. H I want you to picture that. That's weird. >> Like they're having a serious
conversation. >> Yeah. Like that's [ __ ] up. >> Flinging pudding at her. >> Also so childish.
>> He was quite childish. >> Wow. >> Yeah. No. >> Wow. Despite their troubles and Blanch's
ongoing affair, which he didn't give a [ __ ] about, they kind of tried to keep up appearances as a happy couple, even
though it was blatantly obvious to everyone that Blanch was having an affair. >> Mhm.
>> But in the early 1960s, James did decide to slow his drinking and he cut off all
contact with his gambling circle and he joined a church and found new friends there.
>> Now, Blanch continued to work at Kroger and she also filled a lot of her free
time by selling Tupperware, which was such a thing. My god, Tupperware parties. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah, that was like a real thing. >> I've always heard of them, but >> just buy Tupperware.
>> I kind of want to go to a Tupperware party because one thing about me is I make people food and then I lose my
Tupperware. >> That's the thing when when I think of Tupperware parties, I'm like, not a bad
idea because I can always use more Tupperware. >> Should we start Tupperware parties
again? >> Maybe we should have a Tupperware party. >> Maybe we should have a Tupperware party.
Do you feel like the word Tupperware is losing all meaning? >> Tupperware. >> Say Tupperware again. Tupperware.
>> Tupperware. I want to say it again. Tupperware. Sorry. One more time. >> So, yeah, we should have those parties
again. >> I think so, too. >> So, she just randomly started doing that. And it seemed like she was a
powerhouse salesperson because she routinely filled her nights with those parties and other events. But uh what
James thought was his wife's satisfying side job was in fact a cover story that allowed her to keep her nights free to
spend with her boss Raymond who she was sleeping with and other men in town who she was also sleeping with.
>> [ __ ] Blanch. >> She kind of seemed to have a growing obsession with sex. >> Oh.
>> And it was obvious to anybody who spent any time with her at work. She was relentlessly flirty, not just with her
boss Raymond, but with any man she found attractive. And she found a lot of men attractive. According to shoots, this is
wild. She might be mid-sentence talking about Jesus in the Bible, and she would stop and mutter to a coworker, "Man, I'd
like to see the dick on that guy." >> At no part of that did I know where it was going.
>> But then we got there. I had no part of that. Even at the end, >> she said, "What the fuck?" Imagine
>> I've never had someone say that to me >> or in my presence. >> I don't think I have yet.
>> No, I've never heard somebody say that, >> man. I'd love to see the dick on that
guy. What do you say? It's very Samantha Jones. I guess >> it is very Samantha Jones. I feel like
you just have to be like, "Okay, >> we blanch. I bet. I bet." Yeah. That's like what
you said. Neat. Go for it. Yay. >> Hope that works out for you. Awesome. Period.
>> Hey, honestly, period to me is like the best response >> cuz you have to put an end on that
sentence. >> Just period. >> Period. Blanch. So, she grew more promiscuous, more reckless. And as she
was doing that, James actually seemed to finally grow into adulthood. >> Oh, >> yeah.
>> Look at this. >> His drinking and gambling was pretty much under control at that point. And he
actually started spending more time with his kids. and at this point in time found that he genuinely loved being a
father. >> Wow. >> Like >> took him a minute. >> Kind of did a 180 here. >> Okay.
>> Took him a minute there. Exactly. >> Now, when he wasn't doing on his daughters, he could easily be found
spoiling his nieces and nephews, especially his sister Dot's children because their father had died a few
years earlier in a drowning accident. >> Oh, jeez. >> So, he was really trying to fill that
that role, too. Hm. >> The happier James became though, the more frustrated and disgruntled Blanch
became, >> which shouldn't be the case. >> No. When your husband's succeeding, like
you're supposed to be really happy about that. And vice versa. >> Your husband or wife or partner is
thriving. That should make you feel like, "Oh, hell yeah." >> Yeah. Like part of marriage is
celebrating each other's wins. >> But no matter the circumstances, she criticized his every move. She
constantly commented on his appearance, which included a lot of fat shaming. Oh,
>> which is like really shitty. >> And if she wasn't complaining about how much money he was spending on his
hobbies or on the kids, she was criticizing him, like I said, for how much weight that he had put on since
they got married. >> That's just mean, man. >> Which I'd like to point out sometimes as
a sign of happiness. Okay. >> It's true. Comfortability. >> Exactly. Now, at the same time, James'
family, who had once been very kind and welcoming to Blanch, remember? >> But they're probably like, "What the
fuck?" >> That's the thing. and they started to grow cold and distant around there
because it wasn't any secret that she was cheating on him. >> Not only is she cheating, but she's also
bullying him while he's being a good dad >> and humiliating him when he's made these
like life changes, >> these life changes that it seemed like she wanted him to make. But then
>> that's the thing, not everybody makes those changes or grows like that. And here's the thing, like
>> sometimes it is too late for you for you to make it up to another person like
>> for them to want to be along for the ride with you going through these changes. And that's okay.
>> That's okay. But you just get divorced. >> Yeah. You don't bully them. Like you
just you say, "Okay, this is cool that you're doing this, but I'm it's past the point of being repaired."
>> I'm glad you made those changes, but >> Well, you're going to make them without
me. >> It's too far gone, and I I hope you keep it up. >> Yeah. So yeah, his family was just like,
"You know what? Um, we really don't like you anymore." >> Yeah, I don't blame him.
>> So by the mid60s, her world was rapidly changing and it doesn't really sound like for the better. For somebody who
craved and seemed to require control to feel a sense of stability at at least one point, the ongoing upset at home was
becoming unbearable for her. >> So in September of 1966, Blanch experienced one of the more defining
moments of her life when her father PD passed away. Oh, >> this is interesting. >> And that's all I can say. It's allegedly
pretty interesting. >> Okay. >> According to the coroner, the cause of death was a heart attack brought on by
chronic emphyma. The death didn't come as a big surprise to really anybody who knew him because PD had been a pretty
much a lifelong smoker and he had always been pretty reckless when it came to his
health. Uh, and he also led a kind of nomadic existence. He just moved from one town to another. So there wasn't a
real consistent record of his healthcare to speak of. >> Okay. >> I think that, you know, um, raised some
eyebrows later. >> Yeah. >> Now, if anybody had been paying close attention to his symptoms just before
his death, the cause of death might have been diagnosed as something altogether different. He entered the hospital the
day before he died, complaining of chest and stomach pains, and he was admitted and moved to a room. Over the course of
the next 30 hours or so though, he experienced a range of symptoms, most of which were internal that included
paralysis in the limbs, >> painful irritation of the nose and throat, aggressive bloating, and a
burning sensation in his hands and feet, among other things. What also if somebody had been at his bedside when he
died or immediately after, they maybe would have noticed a strong scent of garlic on his breath. Oh,
>> despite the fact that he hadn't been eating garlic, >> and I don't know if you guys know this,
but um >> all of those signs are prominent telltale signs of arsenic poisoning. >> Oh, our old friend arsenic.
>> Yeah. Now, the problem was Pety checked into a large busy city hospital where he
was obviously attended to, but it was periodically by nurses and doctors. There was nobody there who was
consistently monitoring his symptoms. And even if they had suspected that his death wasn't natural, by the time of the
autopsy, arsenic would have passed out of his system entirely. >> Yeah. >> So even if the if the coroner had
suspected arsenic poisoning, they might not have found any evidence of that to put on a toxicology report.
>> Now, weirdly, Blanch didn't really seem moved by her father's death. Um, you know, maybe that could have
provided some insight to people. >> I think that would be something that you would at least be like, "Huh?"
>> Yeah. You know, but >> who's to say they had a tough relationship? >> They did. That's the thing. They had a
very complicated relationship. >> So, I see both sides. >> And it's not like he was a warm fuzzy.
>> Yeah. >> Um, and didn't allow them to have any kind of real life as they were growing
up. So that could just be distance emotionally in that way. >> And she also had a lot going on at home.
>> Yeah. >> While PD was writhing in pain in the hospital, Blanch's marriage was rapidly
deteriorating. >> By the late60s, the once private arguments between Blanch and James
started to spill over into public spaces, and their neighbors became accustomed to not only hearing, but
seeing the couple scream at each other in the front yard or driveway. H. In one particularly bad incident in 1969,
neighbors watched in horror as they got into a shoving match one Sunday on their
way to church. Oh. And what started as a verbal agreement quickly escalated to James trying to shove Blanch into the
car. She immediately got out of the car and slammed the door behind her, but her
coat was caught in the door when it shut and he started backing down the driveway. So, she was pulled to the
ground and dragged down the driveway on her knees until James finally stopped the car.
>> We were rooting for you. >> We were rooting for you. >> We were all rooting for you. How dare
you? >> Yeah. >> What? >> And on your way to church. >> On your way to church. >> Are you going to confession, too?
>> You're going to sit in that pew and act like everything's fine? >> The [ __ ] That is crazy.
>> It is crazy. Holy [ __ ] Now, James had always been a pretty easily excitable
man. You know, he had gambled and drank in the past, he was >> he got hered really quickly. But with
all the tension in his marriage and the changing state of the world around them,
the stress of life was starting to take a toll on him physically. And one afternoon in 1970, as he was driving
into downtown Burlington, he was stopped by a police roadblock and told he couldn't go in the direction he was
going because there was an active shooting situation. >> Wow. Now, obviously, he immediately
turned the car around and drove home, but the situation caused him such incredible anxiety that by the time he
got home, he was shaking and sweating profusely. And then that turned into vomiting and
violent diarrhea. >> What? >> So, he finally went to see his doctor and was informed that he had had a
fairly serious heart attack. >> Holy [ __ ] >> And unless he wanted to experience
another one, he needed to make some major changes in his life. >> Yeah. So, the health scare marked a
major turning point in his life. About 6 months later, Blanch came to her own major turning point, too, when Raymond
Reed and his wife finally divorced. That's her boss that she was having an affair with.
>> James was still doing his best to raise their kids and, you know, avoid his blood pressure spiking.
>> Jesus Christ. >> And Blanch was spending almost all of her free time with Raymond, explaining
to anyone who cared that she was just trying to help him out because he didn't have a wife anymore.
>> Oh, yeah. just trying to stand in as his wife. >> But at that point, they had been
carrying on a pretty public affair for almost 10 years. >> So people were like, "Are you guys
serious?" >> Yeah. >> Are you for real? >> That's the thing. >> Be so serious right now.
>> The increased attention really didn't seem that unusual to anybody, not even to James. He fully knew that they were
continuing their affair. Now, maybe it was because he was so accustomed to his wife's infidelity, or maybe he was just
trying to not have another heart attack. But whatever the case, he really never expressed any disappointment in Blanch
after they went through that really big period of arguing and then it just seemed like they were like, "Okay, we'll
live together and we'll be married, but like I [ __ ] hate you and you know I do, so let's not even talk about it."
>> That's really sad. What a sad existence >> and sad for their kids. >> Yeah. It's sad for everybody.
>> Yeah. So they just carried on as usual. She worked a lot, took care of the bills. She, you know, had a grand old
time at Kroger. Holy [ __ ] But all of that came to an end in the fall of 1973. One day in late September of that year,
James started experiencing symptoms of what he thought was the flu. He was getting bad headaches, his glands were
swollen, and he was becoming violently ill. When the symptoms finally got so bad that he couldn't manage them
anymore, he went to see a doctor. But by then, things had uh had escalated significantly. In addition to all the
earlier flu-l like symptoms, he now had painful blisters on his hands and feet. His hair was falling out in clumps.
>> What? And his face was beginning to swell. >> The doctors had actually never seen
anything like this, but they were like, "It's not related to your heart, that's for sure."
>> Yeah, some [ __ ] is going on. >> So, the doctor ordered a myriad of tests to rule out various illnesses and
hopefully find the cause in the case of what the [ __ ] was going on here. But after several tests, James was worried
about the cost of the treatment and asked that no more tests be conducted, >> which is like really sad.
>> Yeah. Because it's like something is obviously going wrong. >> Yeah. Now, on the night of October 2nd,
Blanch had just cooked dinner and set the table, but James told her his throat was hurting too much to eat, so he
skipped dinner. >> But rather than let her husband go without dinner entirely, Blanch, being the sweetie Bobiti that
she is, >> oh no. brought him some ice cream and convinced him to at least have some of
it. It might make his throat feel better. You know, I'm scared. Now, unfortunately, within the hour after
having said ice cream, James was was writhing in tremendous pain on the couple's bed, which then escalated to,
I'm so sorry, violent projectile vomiting. >> Oh, no. >> And he said the feeling that something
was inside of him trying to claw its way out. What the [ __ ] Rather than call for an
ambulance, Blanch sent her daughter away, telling the girl she'd arranged for a doctor in
the morning. And then she made up the couch and she went to sleep on it. What? While her husband lay upstairs
projectile vomiting with the feeling that somebody was trying to claw its way out of him. That is horrifying.
I'm sure you will be shocked to hear this, but the next morning when Blanch went to the bedroom to check on James,
she found him on his side, his hands twisted like claws, and his face a bluish purple color.
>> Oh my god. >> Under the circumstances, I think almost [ __ ] anybody would call for some sort
of help. >> Yeah, >> emergency services, police, what have you. >> Dead to me. Blanch just calmly informed
her daughter that her father was dead and then went to call her other daughter, who I think maybe was at a
sleepover or something, and informed her of the same thing. In fact, Blanch called nearly every single one of James'
relatives, to tell them that their loved one was dead. And also, she called the man she'd
been having an affair with for 10 years, Raymond Reed, to tell him also that her
husband was dead. and to please come over. And then finally, she called an ambulance and reported the death.
I can't even picture this. Like, this is next level. >> This is mayhem. >> Why would you call what's like a male
mistress? Just a mister. >> Your paramore. Maybe >> paramore. Why would you call your side
man's over >> your side piece >> to your house when like your husband just died?
>> Yeah. >> And why would you call his whole family instead of emergency services? And why
would you call your daughter and just tell them calmly, "Daddy's dead?" >> What?
>> I I don't even know what to say. I don't even know what to say. His death was
listed a heart attack, which made sense given his medical history. But like PD Kaiser's death one
uh just years earlier, no one considered the events and the symptoms that led up
to the 45year-old supposed heart attack. >> Yeah. >> Or the fact that those symptoms would
not have been caused by heart failure. >> H So for a short time after James' death, which just happened and life
moved on, apparently. Yeah, apparently Blanch played the role of a grieving widow, but really in no time things got
back to normal. Her daughter Cindy said in 1989, "Mom never expected to spend the rest of her life by herself. She
said she had too much to offer." >> Wow. >> Mhm. She was just like, "Yeah, I don't
give a shit." Yeah. Blanch and Raymond continued to see each other, but they would only visit each other at their
respective homes so as to not contribute to any gossip, even though they'd literally been together for like 15
years. Like really, >> but other than the living arrangements, they were very much a couple in every
sense. And thinking back on that time, uh, Blanch's daughter, Vanessa, had fond memories. She said Raymond was a very
good man. He was very good to us. >> I mean, that's good. So, for a little bit, the arrangement seemed to suit
everybody just fine. They could carry on their affair while Blanch still had enough space to continue building her
own identity independent of men in her life for like 4 seconds. >> But her relationship with Reed wasn't
the only bad habit that she carried on after her husband died abruptly. She also kept up her scheme of petty theft
from the registers at the store. >> She's still at that. >> She's she's been at that.
>> God damn. Uh people started to notice the missing money and and people already
had in the past, but more and more people were beginning to notice. >> Yeah. >> And finally in 1976, a bag of cash went
missing from the store. >> Wow. >> As the person responsible for the register when the money went missing,
Blanch was immediately suspected of the theft and she was actually even questioned by the police and a private
investigator that Kroger hired. >> Oh my god. But they couldn't find any evidence and so there was no way she
could be charged with anything. But a few months later, most people in Burlington did find it pretty odd that
Blanch was able to afford a down payment on a new house. >> Pretty interesting. >> Even though she had the salary of a
grocery store clerk. >> She's just she's really good at it. >> She's just thrifty.
>> Yeah. Now, just as it had been with her now dead husband, as Blanch started to
come into her own as a single woman, Raymond Reed's life became considerably more difficult.
>> After he got divorced, his relationship with his wife was very bitter and it was
worse than it had ever been actually, even when they were married. So, it was hard for him to keep seeing his kids on
a regular basis, which like maybe you should think about that before you cheat on your wife. Just saying.
>> Yeah, I think that would be a good advice. >> That's just how I feel. >> But then there was problems at the
store. In addition to the occasionally mysteriously missing money that he probably knew his mistress was
responsible for, the store wasn't making the kind of profit that it needed to remain a viable branch.
>> So that meant that there were more frequent visits by the store's regional manager, Robert Hutton. Now like
Raymond, Robert, sorry, it might get confusing here. >> Robert >> Robert Marcus the Worm.
>> We must quote Marcus the Worm at all times. Uh, Robert Hutton was very devoted to the Kroger Kroger company, a
lot like Raymond, and he loved his job. But that's where the similarities between the two of them ended. Robert
Hutton, the manager, he was young. He was apparently good-looking and uh said to be cartoonishly masculine.
I'm just picturing Johnny Bravo. What is What was the It was in Twilight, one of
the Twilight movies. Something feminine, like aggressively feminine. Oh, >> that it reminds me of that. Cartoonishly
masculine. >> It's hard to say, too. Masculine. Masculine. >> Was it aggressively feminine?
>> I think it's not like aggressively feminine. >> It was in I think it was in the book.
>> Yeah, it is in the book. I think it's like Jacob's chapter. >> Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Didn't he
says Rosalie and um >> and Alice >> and Alice, right? Yeah. >> Just reminded me of that.
>> Now we have cartoonishly masculine. >> I love it. >> Robert bragged about his ability to
sleep with any woman he wanted to. loved telling runchy jokes, which like you probably shouldn't do as the manager of
a store. >> Probably not. >> Yeah. And he also had a habit of sleeping around with women at various
stores in his district. >> E, what a pig. >> And really didn't make it a secret. So,
after careful review, he concluded that the Burlington Kroger did not stand a chance of survival and the store ended
up having to be closed. Now, fortunately, he did recognize that a lot of the staff was in fact very reliable,
very competent, good people, including Blanch and Raymond. So, like maybe not good people, but so they were all
offered jobs at other area locations at a pay cut, though. Raymond was demoted to assistant manager in Martinsville,
and that was in uh one of the Virginia stores, and Blanch was demoted to just a regular old cashier position in
Greensboro. >> A few months later, uh Hutton moved Raymond to the Durham, North Carolina
store and then promoted him back to manager, but Blanch stayed where she was. Now, not surprisingly, the demotion
and relocation were major disappointments for Blanch. She didn't have the power that she had over other
cashiers anymore. >> Oh, no. >> And she also didn't get to spend every day with her sideman.
>> So, therefore, she didn't know what he was getting up to while she was away. >> Who's to be sure?
>> I know. Well, you know, the way you have to worry about. >> Yeah, you got to be worried.
>> It took some time, but by 1983, she managed to get transferred to the store that he worked at.
>> Oh, man. Guys, the relocation meant at least an hour long commute each way, but
apparently it was worth it to her to keep up her relationship with Raymond, and it also meant that she would be
working alongside Robert Hutton, who she thought was irresistibly attractive since they had met years earlier.
>> This [ __ ] wants to have her cake and eat it, too. >> She does. Now, by the 1980s, the early
1980s, Blanch and Raymond's relationship had been going on for like 15 years or possibly more. And like her marriage
before it, things had become less exciting than they once were. >> As he got older, Blanch didn't find
Raymond to be so attractive anymore. She didn't think he was as fit as he should
be. She really loves to fat Shame. I just got to say it. >> She really does. >> She does. He also had grown tired of
their not so secret relationship and really just wanted to be together since they could be now.
>> Yeah. >> But that wasn't fun for her. After she moved to the Greensboro store, he
actually asked her to marry him, but she was like, "No." >> My god. >> And then he asked her to marry him
again. She said no. >> And she was like, "No." >> Yeah, guys. She said no. >> And then he kept asking her to marry him
and she continued to say no. >> Oh my god. Get it together. >> Yeah. She didn't just not want to marry
him, but she really wasn't interested in changing their relationship at all. She
was like, "We can have a clandestine affair forever and ever." Now, if she wasn't interested in marrying Raymond
and committing to monogamy, it's probably because she had her sights set on Robert Hutton, now the store manager,
the other one. Over the months that they've been working together, she was dropping hints indicating her interest
in him, but he hadn't really picked up on anything, which was kind of crazy because he was a disgusting pig who
regularly groped women that he employed. God. So, I guess subtlety was something
he wasn't accustomed to. >> He lacked sorely. But despite his aggressiveness with some women at the
store and his tendency to grab them without permission, he knew that his attention wasn't wanted from Blanch. He
like he thought that she didn't want him to do that to her, I guess. >> Oh. >> Um, what made him think that?
>> I don't really know to be honest with you. >> But eventually Blanch dropped the
subtlety and got right to the point and just told him that she wanted him and she knew he wanted her.
>> Yeah. >> So I guess they got together. >> There it is. Now, by 1985, her life was
spinning out of control again. She was still seeing Raymond regularly and continuing to deny his marriage
proposals. >> Cool. While also carrying on a sexual relationship with her boss, Robert
Hutton, and apparently balancing the two was getting a little bit difficult. >> Yeah.
>> So, that January, the chaos escalated when Blanch called Raymond one day to tell him that she had come home and her
house was ablaze. >> Oh. She said, "Hello, Raymond. I got home and it's engulfed in flames.
>> Hi. >> My house is on fire. >> He raced over to Blanch's house and when he got there, luckily by then the
firefighters had managed to put out the flames, but the damage had been done. >> When they went into the bedroom, fire
investigators found all of Blanch's underwear and lingerie scattered about. And she claimed that there had been a
pervert prowling around the house days before, and she was pretty sure that he was the one who set the fire.
>> Oh, excuse me. But weirdly, when they asked for any defining characteristics of this person that she had seen only
days earlier, Blanch couldn't remember any details, >> okay, >> at all. >> Okay.
>> So, her homeowner's insurance paid out a large sum >> and she sold the house as is, which is
crazy, but she managed to come out ahead and she used the money to buy a mobile home a few miles away. But this fire is
where things really started to get [ __ ] crazier in her life. Over the course of a year, she continued her
affair with Robert Hutton and her relationship with Raymond while also having a bunch of one night stands with
a bunch of other men in town. >> Blanch, she's young and she's getting it. I guess
>> she she is young and getting it. >> So that's one way of describing this. >> I don't know how else to say it. A few
months after the fire that destroyed her her house, Blanch was again sadly the victim of another house fire. You know
what? Some people arson just kind of follows. It's crazy. >> Follows them around.
>> It's the weirdest thing. >> You can never figure out why. >> You really can't.
>> You know, sometimes fire just >> fire curses. >> Fire follows people. >> Yeah. Like it follows but it's fire. It
>> does follows. >> Fire follows. >> So Raymond got to Blanch's house to pick her up for for [ __ ] church one
afternoon. I'm sorry. It's just wild to me that this woman goes to church. >> But he was getting annoyed that she was
taking so long, which was going to make them late, and he didn't want to be late
for church. So after she finally No, he's he's a righteous man. >> Yeah, >> he's a righteous man righteous rap.
>> Let's be real. So after she finally got out to the car, they had barely pulled
out of the driveway when Raymond slammed on the brakes and said, "Blanch, there's
smoke coming out of your bedroom window." In response, she didn't look back. She just said, "No, I think that's
the sun reflecting on it." >> Yeah. I'm sorry, but if somebody tells me that there's smoke coming from my
bedroom window, I'm going to tell them, "Hey, would you mind pulling back in the
driveway so I can figure out what the [ __ ] that's about?" >> Yeah. No, I'd just be like, "I bet it's
just the sun reflecting. I'm not worried." >> Yeah. She was like, "Listen, we're late.
We have to get to church. >> Don't worry about that." >> Now, crazy. >> Yeah. >> When they returned from church later
that evening, >> I bet I know. >> They entered the house to find that the place was on fire.
>> Oh my god. So much fire. >> Can you believe it? >> More fire. Small flames were licking
around the corners of the bedroom and Blanch exclaimed, "Ah, damn it. Must have been that pervert again."
>> Must have been >> just that that arsonist pervert. >> Yeah, that fiery pervert.
>> Not a not a fiery pervert. So Raymond grabbed the fire fire extinguisher from
the kitchen and managed to put out the remains of the flames, but again, the damage had been done and Blanch's
bedroom was a mess of fire and smoke damage because of the fiery pervert. In the closet, there was a single wax
candle burning on the floor. >> That's odd. >> That's the mark of a fiery arsonist
pervert. >> Yes. >> To Raymond's surprise, though, the insurance company paid out a second
claim on the fire without any questions. >> Huh. I feel like a man took that claim.
I just have to say it. So during this time, Blanch managed to get a medical note from a doctor that claimed she had
um intestinal problems which had been exacerbated by the fire. So it was possible she may need to take time off
from work periodically. Of course, she very much used that as an excuse to blow off work or call out whenever she felt
like it. >> Mhm. >> Which put Raymond in a difficult position every time she did it because
he was her manager. By that summer, he finally insisted that Blanch had to return to work or she had to find a
different job. But rather than give in, she apparently went to Robert Hutton and
initiated sex with him in his office, which produced a favorable result in terms of extending her medical leave.
Every decision she makes, I just never know where it's going. >> I know that was a crazy way to tell you
what happened, but like how else was I supposed to word it? >> Honestly, I don't know.
>> Yeah, >> I don't know. >> So, she didn't want to lose that job, so she got to work.
>> Okay. in a different way. >> She did. She sure did. >> Yeah. In case you didn't pick that up, I
picked it up. >> Everything that was happening at the time, it's very abundantly, massively
clear that Blanch was becoming more and more reckless with every day that was passing.
>> It would seem so. But all like that being said, at the same time, it really didn't seem like she had a long-term
strategy for anything. But at the same time, not everything she did was on impulse. One week after she and uh
Hutton had sex in his office, Blanch showed up at the law office of Walker Hoy and uh Kernodal,
>> Walker and or Hoy and Kenodal. >> Yeah. Them >> them >> the law. >> The office
>> of law. >> Yep. >> In a meeting with Douglas Hoy, one of the men >> of Kodal.
>> The law. >> Mhm. >> Uh she laid out a long history of the sexual harassment that she experienced
at Kroger at the hands of the district manager, Robert Hutton. >> Whoa. Oh >> yeah, do remember that she did go to his
office and initiate sex to keep her job. >> After hearing the story she told, Hoy
agreed to take the case, obviously. And in January of 1986, she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Kroger.
>> Holy [ __ ] >> For 13.8 million in Superior Court. >> Wow. Among other things, the suit
accused Robert Hutton of four counts of battery, four counts of assault, four counts of inflicting emotional distress,
and one count of invasion of privacy. The suit also alleged that executives at Kroger were aware of Hutton's sexual
proclivities and failed to take any precautionary measures. Wow. She claimed that on one on multiple occasions,
excuse me, he had called her into his office or conference rooms and exposed himself to her, fondled her, or made
sexual advances. >> [ __ ] that guy. >> In the most egregious of these incidents, she claimed that he
approached her from behind. Sorry, this is all very graphic. >> He approached her from behind while she
was stalking items and grabbed her around the waist and said, "Are you ready for this?"
>> E. >> And I'm not asking you if you're ready for this. That's what he asked her.
>> No, that's like literally what he said. And she said, "They're in the grocery
store. Please remember that they're not." She said when she turned around, he was nude from the waist down.
>> Ew. >> She said she managed to get out of his grasp and grab his pants and underwear
and then she ran out of the store, which forced him to leave wearing a shirt and
a tie and a butcher's apron. >> Oh my god. >> She also alleged that he frequently
threatened to fire her or transfer her to another store if she didn't acquies to his demands. I mean, that's [ __ ]
up. Remember that Blanch is the oldest woman on death row. >> Remember that. >> Okay.
>> Yeah, we should remember that. >> Now, given his history with women at the company though, because he is a pig.
>> Yeah. >> Not all of this is true. Like all everything that she put in her lawsuit
and like we know that he is piggy. >> But he is a pig. >> Yeah. >> Uh so given his history with women, it
really wasn't that hard for anybody to believe what Blanch had alleged and Robert Hutton was forced to resign from
his position. >> Yeah. The case got held up in prehering motions for the next 2 years until in
late 1987 Kroger finally agreed to settle for 250,000. Damn. So Blanch has a lot of money now. Sure
does. Now in the spring of 1986, one of Blanch's sisters called and asked if she
would join them for Easter service at the Carolina United Church of Christ in Burlington of Cr. Her husband uh
Blanch's sister's husband was in the hospital dying from cancer and this was a tradition that they always looked
forward to. So Blanch agreed to accompany her to the service. Now Blanch had been to that service many times in
her laugh. >> I just feel like it's like, you know what I mean? >> Laugh. >> I think it's Blanch and Christ.
>> You got to. >> But here's So she had been there a million times. But when she arrived for
Easter service in 1986, she was surprised to find that the church had been taken over by a fine new pastor.
>> Oh, you don't say. >> Reverend Dwight Moore. >> Dwight, you say? >> In Dwight. Yeah. In fact, Easter was to
be Moore's first big celebration as the new pastor. >> So, the stakes were very high and he was
very much looking forward to this event. >> Oh, absolutely. >> Now, not long before he arrived in
Burlington, before he found himself as head pastor, >> he had gone through a really painful
divorce, which was not officially the cause for his moving, but it was almost certainly why he was reassigned.
>> Yeah. So, he hoped the new scenery in the new community would be an opportunity to heal some of his pain.
Now, for someone who had been drawn to the flare and drama of her father's fire and brimstone preaching, Blanch wasn't
terribly impressed with Reverend Moore once when she first saw him. >> Unlike the preacher she was used to from
her youth, he was kind of a modern church leader who focused on the more positive aspects of Christianity.
>> Yeah. >> And he kind of left behind like darker Old Testament lessons that he thought
were scary. >> Screw. >> Screw. But still, there was something about him that Blanch found intriguing.
He was handsome. He was friendly. He was energetic. Maybe she didn't like his preaching, but she liked his face.
>> Oh, there you go. >> And for his part, he couldn't help but find himself drawn to Blanch as well.
>> Oh no. >> As soon as that Easter service ended and the congregation made their way to
Easter breakfast, he immediately spotted Blanch and her sister and he made his way over to their table. Now, if he had
been in Burlington for more than a few weeks, the odds were that he probably would have heard a lot of rumors about
Blanch. >> Yeah. Yeah. And while he may not have approved of that gossip, he probably
would have stayed away. >> Probably. >> But he hadn't heard about Blanch's salacious and occasionally scandalous
past. >> So he saw no reason why he shouldn't reach out to her. >> Yeah, why not?
>> About a week after the Easter service, he managed to get a hold of her address,
which is a little bit sketchy, and he showed up at her house one evening, but she wasn't home. H
>> he returned a few days later and managed to catch her. And the two sat down, chatted over coffee, gave her a little
of his history. They got to know one another. Now, as religious leaders go, Dwight
Moore's backstory was surprisingly atypical. After high school, he went to Duke University where he studied
theology. Uh, being educated in a traditional university, I guess, made him kind of an outlier in the Christian
church. But what was more surprising was that shortly after beginning his service, uh, at his previous assignment,
he started having an affair with his secretary, Eileen. Oh. Who was also married at the time. Okay. Eileen
eventually left her husband and she and Moore made their relationship public, but it was always a well-known secret
that they started seeing each other when they were both married. My god. After nearly 20 years together, their uh their
relationship eventually soured and they divorced, which proved too scandalous for the congregation and that's why he
moved. They said, "We can't have this." They said, "Now, maybe Blanch saw something of
herself in Dwight Moore's story, or maybe she just liked the way he looked. Who's to say?"
>> She liked his face. >> She did like his face. Whatever it was, the two hit it off, and they started
seeing each other more again, more and more. Uh, and they made sure to keep everything a secret. For more, another
romantic scandal would have had him excommunicated and probably kicked out of his new congregation.
>> Yeah. And as for Blanch, her lawsuit against Kroger alleged that as a result of workplace harassment, she had been
unable to form healthy relationships with men. Yeah. So if the new relationship got out, that case probably
would have been lost. Probably. Now, as her interest in Dwight Moore grew, the amount of time that she had in her life
for Raymond decreased, and that wasn't lost on him. In the spring of 1986, he showed up at Blanch's house unannounced
and he gave her a very expensive ring and a velvet lined box and he said, "Don't feel like I'm trying to pressure
you. I just wanted you to have something nice for me." >> Now, that wasn't all Raymond gave her
that day. He also handed her over two tickets and a hotel confirmation for a trip to Florida.
Just wants to have a nice little trip with her. >> Okay. Now, during their trip to Florida,
they did embark on a trip to Florida. Okay, >> Raymond did everything he could to
endear himself to Blanch. He wanted to rekindle their once passionate romance. He paid for everything. He complimented
her. He flattered her endlessly. Doted on her morning until night. Sounds really nice, but nothing really seemed
to work. When they got back from the trip, she told her psychiatrist, "I feel really guilty when I tell Raymond not to
come over. He always wants to come to my house. I got to tell him goodbye." She's like, "You know what? This is kind
of bullshit." >> She's like, "I do feel feelings, but like I'm not into it, but like I'm kind
of annoyed." >> So, like she had done years ago when she was cheating on her husband, Blanch went
out of her way to keep Dwight, Pastor Dwight, a secret from Raymond. But he was hearing the rumors from the cashiers
at the store and from everybody else in town. And the thought of losing Blanch to another man was so incredibly
stressful that eventually his body began to react to the stress. >> Oh, no. You don't say.
>> Or so he thought. H. >> One afternoon in the spring of 1986, after experiencing an outbreak of some
kind of painful blistering rash, >> oh no. Probably out of nowhere. >> Out of nowhere, I tell you, Raymond went
to his doctor, Dr. Norman Garrett, who took one look at one of those red blister and boils on his skin and
diagnosed him with >> shingles. Shingles is incredibly painful and incredibly disrupting, but it can be
brought back under control with medication and with rest. But no matter how much Raymond rested and took the
medication as he was directed, he wasn't getting any better. >> Oh no. >> And by April, he ended up being admitted
to the hospital. By that time, he was experiencing significant numbness in his arms and legs.
>> Oh [ __ ] >> And a burning sensation with severe stomach discomfort. >> Oh no. So for the next several months,
he spent most of his time in and out of the hospital and traveling to different specialists just trying to figure out
what the [ __ ] was going on. Eventually they diagnosed him with gillon beret syndrome. Gon beret
>> um which is a rare immune disorder where basically your body's muscle system just
starts to fail. >> Yeah, that's crazy. The symptoms can look a lot like the symptoms of
poisoning. >> But at the time, nobody had any reason to suspect that it wasn't Gon Beret.
>> Yeah. >> Now, in early October, only 5 months after his symptoms emerged, Raymond Reed
died in the hospital. >> Oh [ __ ] >> Now, according to her daughters, Blanch visited Raymond often in the hospital
and seemed distraught by his death. >> But I'd like to highlight visited him often in the hospital. was in the
hospital with him. >> Yeah. Not only that, she she did act publicly distraught over his death, but
not so distraught that she wasted any time in delivering his safe to his kids, his sons, a few days after his after
their father had died. The safe had been in Raymond's house when he died, and the
boys knew that's where he kept an antique coin collection that he was saving for them.
>> Yeah. >> And uh there was silver bars in there, too, that he collected over the years.
But when they opened the safe with the key that Blanch gave them, his sons were surprised to find that the silver bars
were missing and so was the large chunk of a coin collection. >> A >> everything was gone.
>> That's so [ __ ] up. >> So [ __ ] up and so strange. How did that happen? >> That's so [ __ ] up when things
disappear like that. >> I know. And people just die miraculously after having >> the strangest symptoms.
>> So crazy. >> But that, my friends, is where we're going to end for part one. Damn.
>> And in part two, we'll learn a lot more about strange symptoms and things that
go missing and the woman that is behind all of it. >> Blanch is really out here.
>> Blanch Taylormore is a reckless woman. >> I mean, she's the oldest woman on death
row, so she she did it. >> She did something. >> So, whatever whatever been done, she did
it. >> Period. >> I I can't believe she's going to do more. >> She's going to do more. I have a whole
part two. >> Oh, [ __ ] >> Yeah. There's a pastor, too. >> Oh, man. Of course there is.
>> There's I mean, you know him. Dwight. >> Of course. Yeah. >> I I knew Dwight wasn't going to get out
of this. >> Maybe, maybe you don't. >> Not scot-free. I imagine. >> I'll tell you in part two.
>> I guess you will. >> All right. Well, I have a fun fact for you. Actually, I don't even know if it's
my turn, but it is. >> Cool. >> I got a Snapple yesterday. >> Oh, you did? I haven't had a Snapple in
forever, and I forgot that they put fun facts in the cap. >> I forgot that, too. And my fun fact was
gorillas burp when they're happy. >> I love that. Good for gorillas. >> Burp when I'm happy.
>> I do too. >> It's awesome. >> So good for all of us. >> Mikey knows that better than anyone.
>> Yes. >> All right. Well, with all that being said, we hope you keep listening
>> and we hope you >> keep it wee. It's so weird that you're so happy that you burp burp burp burp
burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burp burps
away. >> Yeah. Burp burp all your wows away. But not so weird that people around you
start dying with painful blisters all over their body cuz like that's just so strange.
>> That's so weird. Unexplainable. And don't you know be followed by a fire perve.
>> No, >> don't do that. >> That's weird. >> Don't do that. A fiery perve if you
will. >> Not a fiery perve.

When the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation and Blanche was charged with the attempted murder, the arrest came as a shock to those who knew her. How was it possible that someone they all knew as “a sweet, Christian lady”—was an attempted murderer? And if she had been cunning enough to hide that side of herself from her community, what else had she been hiding?

References

Associated Press. 1989. "Arsenic victim feels 'sorrow' for his wife." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), August 16: 1.

Avery, Sarah. 1990. "Blanche Moore finally gets days in court." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), October 15: 1.

Catanoso, Justin. 1990. "Arsenix suspect Moore: temptress or churchwoman." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), October 23: 1.

—. 1990. "Moore breaks her silence." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), November 8: 1.

—. 1990. "Moore insisted on haircut after poisoning." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), October 26: 1.

Catanoso, Justin, and Taft Wireback. 1990. "Blanche sentenced to die." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), November 17: 1.

Chapman, Dan. 1989. "Rumors are out of hand, attorney for woman says." Winston-Salem Journal, July 23: 1.

Hoke, Kathy. 1989. "2nd body to be exhumed for arsenic." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), July 4: 1.

Leland, Eizabeth. 1990. "Moore guilty in arsenic poisoning." The Charlotte Observer, November 15: 1.

Nowell, Paul. 1990. "Did prosectution link Moore to arsenic?" The Charlotte Observer, November 13: 1.

Schutze, Jim. 1993. Preacher's Girl: The Life and Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore. New York, NY: Avon.

Stinebaker, Joe. 1989. "Moore's friends confused, saddened by recent events." Winston-Salem Journal, July 23: 1.

Struck, Doug. 1989. "Pastor's wife: Arsenic and old lace?" Los Angeles Times, August 22.

United Press International. 1989. "Accused arsenic killer described as loving person." United Press International, July 29.

Williams, Ed. 1986. "Woman sues Kroger, alleges sex harassment." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), January 24.

Williams, Ed, and Taft Wireback. 1989. "Why did someone want him dead." News and Record (Greensboro, NC), October 3: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022) Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023) Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Listener Tale Theme Music licensed from https://www.purple-planet.com Main Theme: Matti Paalanen — Trick or Treat — Provided by Jamendo Ad Music: Title: Artist: BlueJay Studio — Spooky Waltz — Provided by Jamendo

Brief Summary

Blanch Taylor Moore's chaotic life leads to multiple suspicious deaths and her status as the oldest woman on death row.

Key points

Live Show Recap. Ash and Elena reflect on their recent live show experience and the joy of meeting fans.
Blanch Taylor Moore's Early Life. Explore the challenging upbringing of Blanch Taylor Moore, who would become the oldest woman on death row.
Blanch's Affair. Amidst marital troubles, Blanch begins an affair with her boss, leading to escalating tensions at home.
Blanch's Secret Life. Blanch's Tupperware parties were a cover for her infidelity.
James's Health Scare. James experiences a serious heart attack after a stressful incident.
The Night of James's Death. James's health rapidly deteriorates after eating ice cream.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That's so [ __ ] up.

Reaction to the missing items from the safe.

6:37WatchJul 5, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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