Relative Danger | "Blood is Thicker: The Farris Wheel" | "48 Hours" Podcast Episode 2 | Forensic Files

This is horrible. They had to put out all the secrets out on the table. >> Melody Ferris was upset that her
family's private lives were now public record. She was talking to detectives Daniel Hayes and Trent [music]
Kuykendall in Cherokee County, Georgia. >> And just so you know, I am sincerely sorry for you and you and your family's
loss. Um >> I didn't want to say. >> It was on the morning of July 6th, 2018, the day after Gary Ferris's remains were
found. Melody was at the local sheriff's office. Unlike her earlier conversations with
the detectives, >> [music] >> this one would go on for nearly 8 hours as Melody spun stories of intrigue
[music] and suspicion. >> I had nothing, nothing to gain by him dying. I had everything to lose.
Everything to lose. >> Almost as soon as they started recording, Melody didn't hesitate to
point fingers. >> The only thing I found odd was that he wanted to leave immediately.
>> Melody was talking about her oldest son, Chris. He had left the farm not long after
investigators arrived. Melody said she didn't trust him. >> And he left and came back.
>> Yeah. He came back after Emily got here. I forbid him from being in my house without me being there.
>> The two had been [music] feuding for at least a year. Melody would go on to share disparaging
details about more of her children that day. >> And the worst part of it is how he's
doing. >> Tensions [music] were high. Midway through her marathon interview [music] with detectives, Melody casually
alluded to a parent's worst fear. >> I was just there thinking last night, you know,
could one of my children have done it, which is the worst nightmare. It's just thinking that one of them
could have done it. That's my worst nightmare. >> I'm Peter Van Sant. From [music] 48
Hours, this is Blood Is Thicker, the Ferris Wheel. Episode 2, Relative Danger. >> [music]
>> Okay. >> Peter, we're pulling up now. This is uh this is the Ferris property here on the
right. >> Right here? >> It is. >> That big house off in the distance there? >> Yes.
>> This is beautiful. When I pulled up to the Ferris property with Detective Daniel Hayes, it was hard
to believe it had been a crime scene just a few years earlier. >> We believe Gary was shot and killed
based off the evidence, and we know he was burned. What we don't know is exactly when those two
things occurred. >> Based on a few drops of blood in the house, >> [music] >> this is what Detective Hayes believed
happened to Gary Ferris. First, he was shot in the kitchen. [music] Wounded, Hayes said Gary then ran
downstairs, where he was likely shot a second time. He believed [music] Gary didn't try to
fight with his attacker. >> He was trying to take the path of path of least resistance to get out of that
house, which at the time was down the stairs and out those side doors that led to the backyard.
>> Investigators found blood both upstairs and downstairs, and they discovered Gary's DNA on a
bullet they found in the basement. >> Which told you what then about what may have happened in that room?
>> That told me that that bullet went through some portion of Gary Ferris's body.
>> And if he was shot in both that kitchen area and also in the basement, uh there would have been a I would think
an enormous amount of blood loss. That's part of the mystery to me. Is it to you?
>> Yes, um again, what we get a lot of our a lot of people get their information
from Hollywood. You know, watching the movies. And of course you want a lot of blood coming out. But the same on the
same token as the bullet being in the floor not being lodged in something. Not every scene that you expect to be that
way is that way. Uh Gary was a large guy. We know at least one bullet didn't come out of him cuz we found it in his
ribs. >> So investigators believed they knew where Gary was shot. But what about the when?
Sorting out all the evidence was a daunting task for Detective Hayes. >> We don't have a lot of homicides and
murders in Cherokee County. So this was my second one being named lead detective. This is your case.
>> Just your second murder investigation? >> Second one ever. And this is the first
case I've been involved with with so much electronic forensic data. Um you know, the cell phones, the computers, uh
cell phone tower dumps, all these, you know, big words that I've had to research to figure out even what they
were and uh how to utilize this this data that we got to our analyst. >> Interestingly, [music] one of the most
critical bits of information came from the breathing device Gary kept on his bedside.
>> So another detective with with different experience to me [music] uh overheard us talking about Gary sleeping
with a CPAP every [music] night. He actually brought up. He's like, "You know those record data, right?" I
actually wrote another search warrant, went back to [music] the house, took CPAP, learned
you know, technology's updated. It's just got an SD card in there. So we were able to take the SD card and get the
data off of it that we were looking for. >> Hayes was [music] interested in the data
from the evening of July 3rd, the last day anyone saw Gary alive. >> [music] >> That's when we determined
that Gary always went to bed around midnight. >> [music] >> And he hadn't gone to bed that night. Uh
he had never put on the CPAP. We know he [music] was killed that night. >> But who pulled the trigger? And where
was the gun? Was a murder weapon found? >> No. >> And you guys looked, right? >> We did.
>> What do you think happened to that gun? >> [sighs and gasps] >> That's the million-dollar question.
>> Another million-dollar question, how did Gary's body get from the house where he
was presumably shot onto the burn pile more than 50 yards away? >> We don't have any evidence directly
stating when he was put on that fire, so it's possible he laid in the backyard or
wherever he expired for quite some time while someone made the decision to put him on the fire and dispose of the body.
>> Gary weighed nearly 300 lb and was 6'4". How exactly can someone move a man of
that size such a distance? Is there any blood that was discovered going from the
house to the burn pile? >> None that we found. >> Any drag marks? >> None that we saw.
>> Any any vehicle tracks whatsoever? >> There were tracks in the area. Uh you could tell they were well-traveled
paths [music] usually that people often would drive the RTV or the the tractor or something, but nothing that was
definitive it went from that area of the basement straight to the burn pile. >> Detective Hayes figured there was a
chance one of the vehicles was used. [music] >> This family has utilized both of those machines to move
dead horses. Um pull stumps out of the ground. So, anyone who's been on the property that
saw knew the capabilities of these machines. >> Investigators [music] found drops of
Gary's blood on both the family's tractor and RTV, >> [music] >> the rough terrain vehicle.
But who had a motive to kill him? And in the weeks and and months leading up to Gary's death, [music]
is it is it accurate to say that there was a lot of bickering, a lot of fights over over money in that family?
>> of bickering, a lot of fights over money, a lot of jealousy. [music] >> Do you have any idea what he was totally
worth? >> I believe at some point we added it up to around four and a half, five million
dollars is what someone would stand to inherit. >> That would be Gary's personal
investments, including life insurance and the value of the property. Melody claimed ignorance when it came to
the family's finances, but she asserted that her children, Chris, Scott, and Emily relied heavily on their father's
money. >> Evidence shows that made Melody turn against her children because the children were spending money.
>> Melody strongly felt her children needed to grow up and be financially independent. She told investigators that
Gary was about to make a big change in their lives that would largely turn off the money spigot.
>> I mean, my world is literally falling apart in last 24 hours. Literally. I'm going to have got four kids. Yeah.
Chris and Scott have their demons. >> [music] >> They do. Emily's got hers. >> We've spent a lot of time talking
[music] about suspicions within the Ferris family, but what about outside? [music]
It's something I asked Detective Hayes about. Are you wondering [music] did someone come in from the outside?
Perhaps someone [music] he competes with in business or uh financial problem that he's had that
he may have an enemies who came onto property [music] and killed him. >> Sure. You know, uh
when you get to a homicide, it starts everyone in the world's a suspect, [music] and you narrow that down, right?
You have to keep an open mind. >> But according to Gary's family, he didn't have any enemies.
Here's Scott. >> He had no enemies. I mean, I'm sure the detectives will say [music]
probably say, "We couldn't find a single person I hated your dad." >> And Scott's right. The data
investigators collected back that [music] up. So, Detective Hayes focused on each
family member, >> [music] >> not just what they were telling him in interviews, but the actual evidence.
What were they all doing on July 3rd? Let's start with eldest daughter, Emily. >> From what I knew about her, she
had moved away from Georgia. She lived in uh Franklin, Tennessee, which is up near Nashville, in a home with her
husband. >> Emily was 30 then. >> Gary gave her money, helped fund part of her lifestyle in Tennessee, helped them
get the house. >> Hayes said around the time of Gary's murder and on the day when the remains
were discovered, Emily had an alibi. >> She arrived after I did. I recall her arriving and trying to speak to her, and
she just basically said, "I don't know anything. I live in Tennessee. I'm here because my family called me and
and told me what was going on." >> No way she could have been involved. >> No way she could have been involved.
>> As for the youngest, 29-year-old Amanda, detectives were certain she wasn't at
the farm that day. The people who were at the farm on the 3rd were her mother, Scott, and Chris.
As we know, Chris stopped by the farm with one of his daughters late that afternoon and talked to Gary as he was
preparing the burn pile. In 2018, Chris was 38 and had moved back to Georgia after living in Maine with
his first wife. They had two daughters before getting a divorce. When his mother Melody was talking to
detectives on the second day of the investigation, she alleged that Chris wasn't showing very much emotion for
someone whose father's remains had just been discovered. >> You know, and Amanda said
you know, I found it very odd that he did not seem sad. >> Mhm. >> It was just like
you know, like nothing had really happened. >> Detective Hayes also noticed that Chris
kept his distance. >> He was kind of hands-off in the beginning of the investigation. He didn't know much.
Some people had some suspicions about him early in the investigation because he didn't want to stick around. He
didn't want to be involved with it. >> Melody told [music] detectives that Chris struggled with both his temper and
his alcohol. Could that dangerous [music] combination have led to Gary's death? >> I believe there [music] were some
threats made by Chris when he was intoxicated. >> Detective Hayes was talking about a time
back in the summer of 2017 when Chris, [music] who had been drinking, was ready to
drive his daughters home. Melody said she confronted [music] Chris about being drunk, telling him he wasn't
going to drive off the property [music] with the girls. That's when Melody said Chris flew off
the handle. >> He's standing in my driveway, >> [music] >> you know, I would beat you beyond
recognition. And the next time I see you is when I put you in a grave [music] in a box.
>> Chris later testified that there was indeed a confrontation because Melody wasn't giving [music] his children back
to him. But he said that he didn't know why Melody would say it was over his drinking.
During the confrontation, [music] Melody said that she threatened to call the police. Instead, she called Gary.
>> I know that Chris absolutely despises me because I'm the one who preaches to him
all the time about taking money. >> His mother believed that he was stealing money from his father. His His father
believed that you know, he was Chris was using him for the money, but he wasn't stopping it and
he was he was allowing him to do so. >> Chris had his own painting company. >> There were some indications that he
was not as successful as I'm sure any businessman would want to be. >> Investigators discovered that Chris did
have money troubles. >> Chris was having to borrow money and float checks is what I would call it,
write people checks and tell them not to cash it till later or whatever. >> In a text message on June 12th, 2018, 3
weeks before the murder, Gary wrote to Chris, "Your stealing money is out of control. [music]
I will change my accounts tomorrow." But while there was evidence Gary was upset
about Chris's spending, there was no evidence detectives [music] concluded that Chris killed his father.
According to digital records, the night [music] that Gary was shot, Chris was 40
miles away at his Atlanta home. This meant there were likely only two family members left to investigate,
Melody and her son [music] Scott. Law enforcement had thoroughly searched the property's main house that Melody
shared with her husband. They'd also searched the barn, including Scott's apartment [music] on the top
floor. That's where investigators made an intriguing discovery. >> I wake up and work,
feed all the animals, start doing, you know, my daily chores around the farm. >> Scott Ferris had been working on the
family farm for nearly 5 [music] years before his dad was killed. But his own mother saw Scott
>> [music] >> as a failure. I talked to Scott in 2024. You've been characterized as a mooch,
[music] as a as a leech, as somebody who could never hold down a job, and that your your father was incredibly [music]
disappointed in you. >> No. >> Is that true? >> No, it's not true because I served in the military. I served in
the army. I got released back in 2012, [music] 2013 timeframe, and it was a reduction
in force. So, that's why I got released from the military. >> This gunfire is from a Facebook post
Scott made in 2009. In the video, he's got on his army combat uniform and sunglasses, standing
and shooting at targets. The post reads, "Having fun with my M249 SAW." His original plan, once he was out of
the military, was to enter law enforcement, but that didn't quite work out. >> I came back into a economy that nobody
was really hiring at the time. So, yeah, I went back into selling cars, and at the time, nobody had money, and I wasn't
making a lot of money doing that, and whatever jobs I was able to find were, you know,
$8 to $10 an hour, and, you know, when you're in your 30s, you can't it's kind of hard to,
you know, live on your own off of that. >> Gary threw his son a financial lifeline.
>> We we had a We sat down and talked and we arranged for me to manage the property and take care of the
farm. >> Part of the arrangement was free room and board in that apartment above the
barn. >> He didn't cut me a paycheck. Uh he basically He gave me a credit card or he gave me his a debit card. So, I
used the card to buy horse feed and goat feed and, you know, the hay and fertilizer for the pastures. And then,
you know, I would use the same card to, you know, go get lunch and go to go get dinner.
>> Scott told Detective Hayes that his father kept a close eye on his spending. >> He kept control of all the banking.
>> Mhm. >> And then, he watched everything. >> Scott said sometimes he'd be out with
friends, look down at his phone, and there would be a text from his dad. >> I can get a text message from him
saying, "Okay, you spent enough money at this, you know, for tonight or something
like that." I'm like, "Really?" It's like, "I work for you 24/7. You know, I don't take a day off. I
don't ask for much. Just go out every once in a while." >> Scott relied on his father for just
about everything. Here again is Detective Hayes. >> When he needed something or wanted
something or wanted to go out, he had to go to Gary and ask, "Hey, can I have some cash to spend or can I can you put
some money on this card or can you unlock the credit card, whatever it was." >> And he's an adult, right? He's a a war
veteran. He'd served in the Middle East and he's talking to his dad like he's getting his allowance all the time, like
he's 12 years old. That must have been humiliating for him. >> At the time, he didn't seem humiliated.
He very much seemed like he enjoyed the lifestyle of uh being there and taking care of the farm.
>> But Melody told me that Scott's leisurely lifestyle was about to end. >> Gary had made it very well known that
Scott needed to get a job. Things [music] were fixing to change on that property.
>> Scott knew the end was coming. >> He was just letting me know, "Hey, things are going to change around
here. You need to probably [music] pursue another job." >> Could this sudden change have been a
motive for murder? There were certain [music] things that happened the day Gary Ferris's remains
were found that raised suspicion. When family members first began their search for Gary, Melody asked Scott,
[music] an avid hunter, to go check his trail camera. It's used for tracking deer.
>> I was looking at that trail camera to see if there was any clues to where my dad
>> [music] >> could have gone. But just out of habit that I've done hundreds and thousands of times before,
I checked it and just hit clear all because I didn't see my dad on there. >> [music]
>> He just hit clear. >> Claims there's nothing on it and deletes the memory [music] card.
>> It seemed fishy, but then the sheriff's office was eventually able to recover
some of the images from that memory card. There was no picture of Gary. Then, there was the question of the gun.
Scott Ferris [music] had flagged that there was a .38 snub-nose revolver that had gone missing in the basement.
[music] And detectives had found a bullet of the same caliber on the basement floor,
>> [music] >> as well as the bullet pulled from Gary's rib. >> Some people thought, "Wow, Scott found a
gun and now there's one missing." And other people think immediately, "Why is he telling us this?
>> [music] >> He's He's He may be responsible." >> Investigators then checked Scott's
apartment above the barn, where they opened his [music] dresser drawer. >> Scott had some .38 caliber rounds in his
in one of his dresser drawers. >> Which member of the Ferris family at the farm is most familiar with firearms?
>> That would be Scott. >> That would be Scott. Which family member has been trained by
the United States Army to kill? >> Scott. >> Which family member at the farm has the
physical strength to lift a 300-lb man into that fire pile? >> It would be Scott would be the most
likely. I'm not sure if he's strong enough to do that or not. >> Scott defended himself when we spoke in
2024. Did you murder your father? Did you shoot him and put his body [music] on a burn pile?
>> No. There's no reason why I wouldn't There's no There's not an absolute reason why I
would want to murder my father. He was the backbone of our family. Why would [music] I kill the man that I'm
trying to be? >> Detectives determined that while the bullets found in Scott's drawer [music]
were .38s, they were a different version than the recovered bullets that had Gary's DNA [music] on them.
Technically, they were not a match. That left [music] only one other person for investigators.
>> The only person who hated him was Melody. The only person who was having affairs
and you know, spending all his money was Melody. >> From 48 Hours, this is Blood Is Thicker,
the Ferris Wheel, produced by Sony Music Entertainment. I'm your host, Peter Van Sant.
Judy Tygard is the executive producer of 48 Hours. Original reporting by 48 Hours producers
[music] Betsy Schuler, Ryan Smith, and Hannah Vere. Jamie Benson is the senior producer for
CBS News podcasts, and Mara Waltz [music] is the senior story editor. Recording assistance from Alan Peng and
Alana Myers. Special thanks to CBS News podcast [music] vice president Megan Marcus.
Blood Is Thicker was written [music] and produced by Alex Shum. Stephanie Serrano is our editor.
Our executive producer is Shera Morris. Our associate producer [music] is Zoe Colkin.
Theme and original music composed by Hansdale She. Cedric Wilson is [music] our sound
designer and mixed the episodes. We also use music from Epidemic Sounds. [music]
Fendel Fulton is our fact-checker. Our production manager is Tamika Balance Kolasny. [music]
If you're enjoying the show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find [music] it and hear our reporting.
Thanks for listening.

As detectives begin investigating the murder of Gary Farris, his wife, Melody, makes a disturbing statement: she fears one of their children may be responsible. Investigators uncover a family powered by resentment, mistrust, and financial disputes. Melody says Gary was planning changes to the way money was handled before he was killed. Was that enough to give someone a motive for murder?

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Brief Summary

The episode investigates the murder of Gary Ferris, focusing on family dynamics and suspicions surrounding Melody and her sons.

Key points

Melody's Nightmare. Melody fears one of her children could be responsible for the murder.
Detective's Challenge. Detective Hayes faces the daunting task of piecing together evidence in a complex case.
The Missing Gun Mystery. A .38 snub-nose revolver goes missing, raising suspicions about Scott.
Blood Is Thicker: The Ferris Wheel. A gripping investigation into family secrets and murder accusations.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had nothing, nothing to gain by him dying. I had everything to lose.

Melody Ferris expressing her feelings during the investigation.

0:50WatchMar 18, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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