Schemes and Plots | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] The disappearance of Ray Wright was a complete mystery. There was no explanation of why he was
gone. The first real break is when your uncle Dean went to your father's house and
found an intruder in the house. Did it strike you all as, "Okay, that seems too coincidental. Our dad is
missing and here's a guy in his house." Yeah, 100%. Because it was just it was scary. So,
Ray Wright has been missing since Friday when he failed to show up for a meeting
at work. This case was a series of mysteries. You have a AM PM soda cup just like you would pick up at the gas
station. The soda cup was the one piece of evidence left by the burglar at the victim's residence in which we get some
key forensic evidence. Is it a white man? And then that evidence is linked to a car wreck.
And as ground units arrived, it was like the scene uh out of a movie. Put your hands up. Put your hands up. Inside that
van is just a treasure trove of evidence. [Music] a rain jacket covered in blood and a
letter. I handd delivered you your revenge. Now it's time to pay me. All that added up to someone's got Ray.
I knew something bad was happening to him. I felt it. It was weeks to months to then years
without really knowing. Right. Years of not knowing. Yeah. Throughout the case, it was clear that
many of the witnesses were afraid to come forward because I'm terrified of them. All of them. You guys are going to
get me killed. I can't help you. I have to go. You're going to I love you. You're going to get me killed. 100% of
the truth. What happened to Rey? I don't know. What happened to Ray? I don't know. I don't know what happened to Ray.
officers in the family are left with essentially a person that has vanished off the face of the earth.
[Music] [Music] Dean Wright was nervous. Where's Ry? It was Saturday morning, January 13th, 2018
in Sacramento, California. I just wanted to know where Ry is. Dean hadn't heard from his younger brother Ray in 2 days.
Highly unusual for brothers who spoke every day without fail. All of a sudden, middle of
January, there's just nothing. Nothing. No phone calls, no texts, no social media posts. Nothing. Ray Wright, 55,
had missed work. No one had seen or heard from him, including his daughters, Haley and Kennedy. My sister called me
and she was like, "Hey, like, have you heard from dad?" Like, no one's heard from him.
immediately hung up and called him and I called and I called and I called straight to voicemail every time. So, I
was getting increasingly concerned. [Music] Dean had repeatedly checked his brother's house in Rockland, a
Sacramento suburb, and the shop Ray rented in Rio Linda for his work as a master carpenter. Nothing seemed unusual
except the silence of Ray's absence. And you didn't see his truck? No, his truck was not there. You're panicked at
this point, right? I think the first couple of days was when it really started to get real and
serious. I just felt really powerless over the situation, and it was really scary. It was the worst thing that could
have ever happened. Ray's ex-wife, Peggy Wright, was also upset. I knew right away when he was out of touch that there
was something wrong. Although they were no longer married, Peggy still considered Ry to be the love
of her life. Was he romantic? Oh god, he was super romantic. They married in June
1994, and Ry became an instant dad to stepdaughter Haley, then 3 years old. He was meant to be a father and he was so
good with her. [Music] He was always there for me. First male role model and he always did everything
to the fullest. Along came Kennedy nearly 3 years later. She says her father, a loving, hands-on dad, would
never just up and disappear. He was like a te-ball dad. Um, and he would like take me like fishing, soccer,
soccer dad, swim meets. He could do it all. Yeah, he could do it all. He was good at
everything. Yeah. But after several good years, Peggy says the couple found themselves drifting
apart. He was so busy working. I was busy parenting and I also worked. They divorced in 2001. Ray remarried and
divorced again in 2009. I think it was the end of his second marriage that kind of put him over the edge and that's when
he fell off the wagon at almost 20 years sober. Ray Wright, a recovering alcoholic, had stayed sober for most of
his adult life. But when he went missing, Peggy worried he was in trouble. You think, "Oh gosh, maybe, you
know, he had a setback or something." He was sober during your marriage. Oh, yeah. It was Ray's relapse after his
second marriage that sparked a downward spiral, exploding one night in November 2011 when Ry got in a car and drove
drunk. He slammed headon into a vehicle, severely injuring a husband and wife. Ry, then 49, was convicted of felony DUI
and sentenced to 18 months in jail. I think that was rock bottom for him. Yeah. Rock bottom was getting in
this devastating accident. Yeah. And hurting people in the midst of it. Ray immediately stopped drinking, rejoined
Alcoholics Anonymous, and checked in with his sponsor every day. I think the Ray after that time was even better than
the Ray prior to that time because he wanted to be the best version of Ray Wright that he could be. Just weeks
before he went missing. This is the last Thanksgiving. And Ray spent Thanksgiving
and Christmas with his growing family. Celebrations that included Ray's first granddaughter, Ashton. That's Ashton
when she was really small. Oh, I love that. Proud mom Haley was thrilled for her dad. He was super excited. He built
her a custom crib. He loved being a grandpa and she loved Grandpa Ray. Ray was at such a great spot in his life. He
had it all. And then he [Music] disappeared. By Saturday afternoon on January 13th, more than 48 hours had
passed without a single sign of Ry. Dean Wright went back to his brother's house
yet again, knocked on the door, then let himself in. Said, "Hello. Hello." And immediately I smelled marijuana smoke.
And that's when I knew this is completely wrong cuz he didn't like that. And I'm getting increasingly tense
about it. So as I walked forward, I saw a cup and that had not been there. I took
another step and a half. That's when a back door burst open and a guy yell at me, "Get out of here." And I
said, "Who are you? Where's Ry?" The man took a step toward Dean, he says, then turned away and ran out the back door. I
immediately called 911. Rockland police arrived. Dean Shaken filed a missing person's report and
pointed to the soda cup on the kitchen counter, explaining that the intruder must have left it. The cup is full of
ice. Uh, it's full of soda. Sacramento County Prosecutor Matt Chisum. It has a lid and a straw and it's sweating, so
it's fresh. When did you start to fear the worst, Dean? Then. Right then. It was crushing. And you suspected foul
play? Yes. [Music] [Music] [Music] Ray Wright, much admired and loved by friends and family, described as
generous, creative, and vibrant, had seemingly vanished with a snap of a finger. No one has any leads as to where
he is or what happened to him. It was the frightening home invasion just 2 days after Ray had disappeared
that seemed too coincidental, says prosecutor Matt Chisum. I think that raised everyone's concern to a different
level. As days go by, it becomes more suspicious. Rockland Police Sergeant Zach Lewis briefly considered Ray's
history of alcohol abuse, but dismissed the possibility of a relapse. We checked
his bank accounts. There was no activity on his bank. His vehicle had disappeared
off of license plate readers. We couldn't find his vehicle anymore. His phone wasn't working. All those things
led us to believe that it was more than just him not calling family members back
and and drinking. Ray's family immediately organized a search. We all met up at a Target parking lot and
passed out flyers. And then we just spread out and went in all different directions. We were doing everything we
could and exhausting everything that we could do. The resounding question for the Wright
family echoing at all hours of the day and night. Where was Ry? Vanished without a trace. He was last
seen a week ago today. He was driving a white Ford F. 10 days after his disappearance, police discovered Ray's
abandoned pickup truck in a North Highlands apartment complex. In this really high crime area, the radio and
license plates had been stripped. For police, finding Ray's vehicle was a break in the
case. For Haley, it was just heartbreaking. That was the first real piece of evidence I was like, "Okay, we
know something bad happened to him." Rockland PD uh seized the car and collaborated with the FBI to have it
processed for trace evidence. In the back of the truck, brown stains barely visible on black carpet liner were later
determined to be human blood. That was tested for DNA against Ray Wright's toothbrushes. Since we don't have a
body, and it was a match. 16 days after Ray's disappearance, something happened that would shift the
investigation into overdrive. Chevy unknown occupants. It all began with a harrowing high-speed police chase
through Sacramento. It was a very dangerous high-speed chase, speeds of up to 100 miles an
hour. There was a terrible accident at the end of that pursuit. Put your hands up and
open the door. Anybody in the car with you? This is one of those chases that you watch on TV and it's like, whoa.
Yes. Except in this case, the guy who was responsible for that is much more dangerous than we even know. The driver
pinned inside the vehicle with a broken leg was unable to move. [Applause] [Music]
California Highway Patrol officers cuffed the driver, who appeared to be intoxicated. The man's name, Victor
Gray. He had problems with the law before and police arrested him this time for felony evasion and DUI.
He's taken to a hospital for treatment and uh is under guard and is then booked in the Sacramento County Jail.
It was Gray's expired registration with current registration sticker tabs that caught the attention
of a police officer. Like a stolen vehicle. Is that what they're thinking? Possibly. or somebody stole a
registration tab and just stuck it on their license plate. A DMV records search showed the registration tab
actually belonged to a 2016 Ford pickup truck that had recently been reported missing along with its owner, Raymond
Wright. The registration tab is actually Ray Wright's registration tag off of his
license plate. And so that's the first connection that they are able to make between Victor Gray and Ray Wright's
disappearance. And then 3 months after Ray's disappearance, another turning point in the
case. Investigators got a DNA hit off that soda straw in the cup left behind by the fleeing intruder who finally had
a name. And it's one the police already knew. Victor Gray. So now we have two pieces
of evidence linking him to Ray Wright. The DNA match placed Victor Gray inside Ray's home and at the center of the
expanding investigation. Turned out things were about to get a lot worse for Gray
because his wrecked smoking van was a smoking gun. Here you've got a treasure trove of evidence. Where was all of this
found? All this was located in the vehicle that uh Victor Gray was driving. In the van's cluttered cargo area,
Rockland PD and FBI investigators unraveled a black plastic tarp. Inside, disturbing evidence deepened the Ray
Wright mystery. The hat. You pull that hat out. Ray Wright design. It was like a holy moment. This is huge for us. The
yellow rain jacket. That is Ray Wright's jacket. And what was found on that? His
DNA was found on that jacket. The glasses. The glasses. Yeah. And they're just broken into a bunch of pieces. His
wallet, which it it appeared they tried to burn a cell phone that's clearly been
destroyed. Like somebody took a hammer to it, right? Is that what it looked like? That's what it looked like. Yes.
We had to run the serial number on the back and it was registered to Ray Wright's cell phone carrier. We now were
definitely able to tie Victor Gray to Ray Ray going missing. But police had not found Ry. There was still a sliver
of hope. It was just really hard being patient. It's still a hot investigation. There's still uh many details left to
figure out. Perhaps none more significant than Victor Gay's cell phone. It wasn't just Ray's phone in the
van. Victor Grace was there, too. The violent collision ending the police chase sent Gray's cell phone sliding
underneath the van center console. The FBI found that and was able to process it for its contents. And inside that
cell phone was also a treasure trove of evidence. Astonishingly, there was a photo of a handwritten three-page
letter, prosecutors say, from Victor Gray to someone named Bob. And at this point, we don't know who Bob is. It was
dated January 27th, the same day as Gray's ill- fated chase with police. And it's clear that Victor has grievances
with Bob. And the grievances stem about not being paid for delivering the dude to you. Those are
his words. The dude. Yeah. I handd delivered you your revenge. Now it's time to pay me.
[Music] [Music] [Music] Let's talk about what was found in that phone. Text messages that seem to
referred to Ray Wright's possible kidnapping at that point, right? Yes. It took months, but investigators
eventually dug up a gold mine of evidence from Victor Gay's cell phone. There was a text conversation with a
woman who appeared to be working as a lookout for Mr. Gray. Rays out front of the shop texted the
woman, California Katie, in a series of misspelled texts. It was 9:50 a.m. January 11th, 2018.
Yes, I'm watching out front for anything. Tracing California Katie's number found in Gray's cell phone,
police identified her as Katie Bernard. The text messages with Katie Bernard were invaluable. Those messages were
sent the very morning Ray Wright went missing, last seen at his workshop. They revealed a plan of sorts, says Pler
County District Attorney investigator Ashley Angelfield. Ray Wright's house probably about 30 or 40 minutes east
from here. Investigator Angelfield showed us Ray Wright's former workshop in Rio Linda and its close proximity to
a neighbor, Katie Bernard. She happened to be living in a trailer next to Ray Wright's cabinet shop. So that trailer
right there is where Katie Bernard was staying. That morning, Angelfield believes Katie Bernard was watching
Ray's workshop from just yards away. She was in a prime spot to be a source of intelligence for Victor Gray. She's
looking out that window and she's looking at the shop. So, where do we think Victor Gray is on
that morning? During the course of that text conversation, we think Victor is out
there on the road. He's waiting for the text from Katie, the one that would tell
him when Ray Wright was alone at his shop. It came just before 10:00 a.m. Just you and him,
hun. A few hours later, Ray Wright would disappear. [Music] I see right there. We'll be right with
you. Okay. Okay. Angelfield brought in Katie Bernard for questioning in October 2018. Ray Wright had been missing for
nearly 300 days. If we don't have reasons for why you did certain things and you lie to us about doing the things
we know you did, it makes you look like a killer. Okay. Are you a killer? No. Katie Bernard would grudgingly become a
pivotal witness. What did Katie Bernard think she was doing this all for? She told us that she was only involved
because she thought that Victor Gray wanted to steal Raymond Wright's truck. This wasn't about Ray's truck. This
doesn't start in the end with Victor Gray. It starts with somebody else. You're about to say it.
Who? Bob. Katie knew the key players, including the mysterious Bob named in that letter. Who's Bob? Bob is my
ex-boyfriend. What's Bob Cler? Bob Manor. Robert Bobby Manor. And so what's the story then? What's the whole
backtory? Ray and Bob were in a car accident. When Ray Wright drove drunk 6 years
earlier in November 2011, the married couple he struck was Robert Manor and his wife. She nearly died, and Manor
suffered multiple broken bones that left him with a permanent limp and lingering
pain. He was reminded about it on a daily basis from his injuries, and he could never let it go. After Ray's DUI
conviction, he was ordered to pay more than $275,000 in restitution to Manor and his
wife. He had occasionally made payments, but not very much. Police say Robert Manor was not a man to
stiff. He was a feared methamphetamine dealer in North Sacramento, authorities say, who had done time for assault and
selling drugs armed with a gun. And witnesses told police that Manor was enraged and wanted revenge against Ray
Wright. That gives you a motive, right? The money and the revenge mostly. [Music]
A few months before Ry went missing in a staggering coincidence, police believe that Manor,
while visiting Katie, just happened to see the man who had smashed into him driving drunk years ago. the man he
blamed for shattering his life. He came over one day and Ray was there. Ray Wright was working in his
shop about 30 feet away. That might have been the moment Angelfield says when Manor lit the fuse,
igniting his plot for revenge that had smoldered for years. Truck is gone. Yes. And Ray has been
miss. Yes. Katie told police when she heard the news that Ry was missing, she realized this wasn't just about stealing
his truck. I'm freaking out. Why? Because like it's obvious, you know, like what? That he's been taken or hurt
or something. The cops can tell Victor and Bob. Katie says Victor Gray later told her that morning, armed with
a gun, he approached Ray Wright and punched him. I think he then somehow secured Ray's hands and he was able to
put Ray into his own truck. Then Angelfield says Victor Gray drove Ray's truck with a bloodied Ray Wright in the
back to Manor's house a few miles away. I don't know what they did with Ray. Afraid she might be implicated in Ray
Wright's disappearance, Katie told investigators she confronted Robert Manor. She asked him about whether he killed
Ray Wright and he tells her that he did. Manor then grabbed her around the neck, choked her, and told her never to
speak about this again. According to Chisum, Manor's chilling admission came in just three words.
He says, "I got him. I got him. I got him." We heard that quote from Mr. Manor from
multiple witnesses. I didn't do anything. I'm not saying you did. Like Tessa Trimble. I'm not
involved in it. I'm not saying that you are. In an audio only police interview, Ashley Angelfield spoke to Tessa, a
massage therapist who had treated Robert Manor's injuries from the accident. She
says they eventually became romantically involved. Tessa was very hesitant to speak initially and she was also very
afraid of Bobby. You're going to get me killed. I have to go. How do I get out of here? It would take some time, but
Tessa began to talk. She received a phone call from Bobby. And Bobby had told her, "Hey, come over to the house.
We need to talk." According to her, what she thought at the time was that they were going to talk about their
relationship. But when she saw Manor, Tessa says there was something else on his mind.
What did he talk to you about? He told me he took care of whatever something he was trying to take care of for a long
time. He didn't give me details. He just told me that he took care of it. He felt
good about him. When he said that, who do you think he was talking about? Not right. Why would you think he was
talking about? because he had a he had a problem with that guy. He he mentioned on numerous
occasions he wanted to get that guy. It sounded to me like one of the only persons that Bobby could tell about this
was Tessa. And so he did. Bobby's telling you what he got him. Is that what he said? I got him. Yeah.
Everyone knew that Manor was talking about Ray Wright. And then the first time they see him after the
disappearance, see Manor, he says, "I got him." In March 2021, prosecutors charged
Robert Manor and Victor Gray with the kidnapping and murder of Ray Wright. Even though police had yet to find Rey,
both men pleaded not guilty. Manor facing a life sentence without parole. Can you hear me, Mr. Manor? Had
a very different story to tell. I'm innocent. You had nothing to do with the murder of Ray Ray. Nothing to do with
it. [Music] It was still a missing person, but we all assumed it was a homicide.
Did they tell you at any point we believe your brother is dead? Yes. Maybe 3 and 1/2 years in.
During those agonizing years, Ray Wright's family one by one eventually came to the same
conclusion. Ry was no longer alive and their grief was compounded by not having his body to
bury. That's definitely still a source of pain for us. There was no laying him to rest.
like he doesn't get the send away that he deserves. Prosecutor Matt Chisum hoped to provide
the family a measure of justice by convicting Robert Manor and Victor Gray. Approaching trial, Chisum's crucial
concern was the credibility of his witnesses. You've got witnesses who have history of drugs and drug use. Does that
create a complication with the jury? Yes. All these witnesses had significant credibility issues.
[Music] including another witness who had come forward, Victor Gay's cellmate, Chris
Mitchell. [Music] Well, I started off talking to him. Yeah. And I'm real comfortable talking
to him. In an audio only interview, Mitchell says Victor Gray told him about Ray Wright's tortured final hours in Bob
Manor's house. What did Gray tell you? He delivered due to Bobby alive, though. Mitchell claims Victor Gray told him
there was plastic sheeting laying on the floor. Plastic everywhere. According to Mitchell, Gray said Manor
had Ray Wright poisoned. He poisoned him. Mitchell says Gray also told him that Manor had Ray's body dismembered.
cut the body up. Did he tell you what they did with it? No, he didn't tell me none of that.
Victor was your accomplice in this kidnapping and murder plot. There's no connection whatsoever with me and Victor
before the incident. Robert Manor spoke to us from the Sacramento County Jail. They searched my house. They tore the
carpet up. They did everything like that. There was no DNA found. Well, because you put plastic all over the
floor. No, he was good at covering his tracks. He got other people to do the dirty work. People like Victor Gray says
Chisum. We find all the evidence of Ray Wright's death in Victor Gay's van. The cleanup is done. And Victor Gray tells
you that on the jail call. I miss you. In a jail house visit with his wife after the high-speed chase with police,
Victor Gray made a powerful admission, says Chisum. He almost kind of confesses to his wife and brings his wife into the
no. Clean up the scene or whatever. I had to clean up. You know what I mean? He said,
"I had to clean up the scene." As if he was almost bitter about it. Such a mess.
else, but he played me and he was good. We believe that Victor was supposed to be paid $10,000.
He was pissed off because he didn't get paid by Bob. That's why prosecutors believe Victor Gray wrote the three-page
letter found on his cell phone. In it, he said, "I'm done waiting and need a fat package today." Meaning the money
Gray believed he was owed. He told Bob Manor to take care of him because he had handd delivered you your revenge. But
Manor never paid, Chisum says. So Victor Gray decided to deliver some revenge of
his own. No white unknown occupants. He was on his way to Manor's house with all
the Raywright evidence still inside the van. According to Chisum, that's when police tried pulling Gray over. Had
Victor Gray been paid, then maybe he's not driving across town with this treasure trove of evidence in the back
of the van. The trial finally began in March 2023, more than 5 years after Raymond
Wright went missing. Since there was still nobody, the case had become a nobody homicide.
Nobody cases are tough to prove. You lose a lot of information by losing the body. We developed every single lead
possible in order to prove this case. As Chisum fully expected, the credibility of his witnesses came under relentless
fire. The thrust of the defense was, "These witnesses are saying whatever the cops want them to say in order to help
themselves. I'm terrified of them. They're dangerous people. They have guns." But Katie Bernard, who was
granted immunity and never charged with the crime, emerged as a star witness, says Chisum, for her damaging testimony
about Gray's involvement and Manor's admission. And it was something that Manor was trying to keep under wraps.
Even though that he said it to her, uh, it was something that she was to take to
her grave. In court, Manor and Gray's defense teams zeroed in on the prosecution's lack of direct physical
evidence against Robert Manor and the absence of a [Music] body. I reminded the jury that it'd been
1,889 days and no one on the face of this earth had seen Ray Wright. And this one was magical. He spent hours on that.
The trial says Peggy left her imagining the unimaginable. Ray's final moments. It's
even worse to find out what it must have been like at the end for him. How scared
he must have been. He knew what was going to [Music] happen. After an 8-day trial, the jury
got the case. I remember like squeezing Haley's hand and like thinking I was going to throw up like while we were
waiting for the verdict. What do you make of the evidence against Manor and Gray? See a
timeline of the investigation at 48 hours.com. How long before you got word there's a
verdict? The jury was out about 4 hours. It was late afternoon on March 17th, 2023. The verdict was in.
It was the most gut-wrenching day of my life. Robert Manor and Victor Gray were found
guilty of firstdegree murder and kidnapping. But it didn't bring him back. So it was like it was a
bittersweet victory. It's unthinkable that someone would do something like that. Like you can't imagine that your
loved one would be swept off the earth like that. April 28th, the day of reckoning for Manor and Gray. Before
hearing their sentence, they heard from Ray Wright's family. I said, "My dad will be in heaven like amongst the
angels, like where he belongs, and you'll be in prison for life where you belong. We'll never be the same. None of
us. You just can't imagine how it impacts a family." Manor and Gray were sentenced
to life without the possibility of parole. Gray never responded to our request for an interview, but Robert
Manor insisted there had been a miscarriage of justice. I did not have anything to do with Ray Wright's
disappearance at all. Ray Wright's body has never been found. No. Where did you bury him? I I never buried Ray Wright. I
never I never chopped Ray Wright up. I never had anything to do with Ray Wright's disappearance or murder.
Nothing. He has a family that deserves answers. They want to know why. Why did you do this? I didn't I did not do this.
And there was something else Manor wanted to say. He claimed it was Victor Gray and Katie Bernard who had plotted
to set him up by kidnapping and killing Ray Wright. They came up with this and tried to come and ask me for money.
Gray and Bernard tried to extort Manor for $20,000. He says a claim that was never raised in court. Manor was making
it for the first time during our interview. What do you make of that argument? Wow. It's it that's a whopper, right?
There's no proof of of anything like that in Chisum argues it makes much more sense that Manor was the mastermind. You
also have this monster motive, revenge. Let the evidence speak for itself. It's not people that got on there said the
same exact phrase, you know, I got him. I didn't get nobody. The remnants of Ray Wright's life, these
silent witnesses, did speak loud and clear. His famous yellow raincoat that he had
had for like 15 years, like soaked in blood. Yeah. I think seeing his broken glasses
is what that killed us. Sealed the deal for me. Haley says even her young daughter
Ashton was overwhelmed by losing Grandpa Ray. She always thought people were going to go missing. I caught her
singing in the dark songs that she would make up about where her grandpa went. I hope we did enough for the family
until we find the body. It's still an open missing person's case with the Rock Police Department.
At the end of the day, do you believe justice was served? Yes, justice was served. It gives this family somewhere
to to start over. Consumed by Ray's disappearance and death for years, friends and family
decided it was time to celebrate his life. I'm glad you all are here to share these times with us. Ry was to me my
first best and forever friend. On this day, June 17th, day 1,983, since he went missing, Ray
Wright's presence filled the room and the hearts of those who loved him. We love you, Ray. How do you want your dad
to be remembered? Haley, exactly how he is remembered. lovable, accountable, creative, thoughtful. I
have never met anyone like my dad. Like I definitely used this whole event as motivation to do better. It's all like a
testament to my dad. I hope he's, you know, at peace. Free as a bird. [Music] [Music]
New CBS next. A young mother missing for 6 years. We'd called the hospitals, the
shelters, anywhere we could think of. They got this puzzle in front of me. Now, this exclusive video could be the
key to solving the mystery. Someone out there knows what happened. Come forward.
Be brave. A new 48 hours next on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music] Court will come to order will arise. The
case starts on Monday, June 29th, 2015. Hi, I'm Dr. Terresa Severs. Dr. Terresa Severs was due at work and
she didn't arrive. Teresa Severs is found on her kitchen floor dead. A pool of blood surrounds her
head. She is cold to the [Music] touch. This is Dr. Teresa Severs. High-profile doctor. did a lot of
holistic medicine and people uh you know said that she was just a little spitfire
just a short little thing and always wearing you know 4-in heels clack clacking around so let's get started we
got a lot of stuff to talk about ladies remember walking into a room meant turning heads
when I got into work that day we were getting word that this um 46-year-old doctor was
dead this beloved woman in our community had been brutally killed inside her own
house. Mark and Teresa have been a couple since 2003 uh when they got married in a beachside ceremony in St.
Petersburg. She was sort of the bread winner and he was the office manager at her practice and he helped raise the
kids. They had a trip planned to New York and Teresa would fly home that Sunday night to be at work Monday
morning. So on Sunday night, she comes back here to the Southwest Florida International
Airport. She calls Mark, tells him she's safe, and then gets in her car and heads
back to their house. 911. What is your emergency? Uh I'm at a friend's house. Mark had a friend come
and check up on her. Uh he's out of town and she's dead on the floor and there's
hammer at the side and she's dashed in the back of the head. It will later be determined that there are 17 impact
wounds to her skull. Who would possibly want this feisty Florida doctor dead? That question led investigators on a
wild chase that ended more than a thousand miles away with a shocking arrest of three
people. A break in the case came from all places from the state of Missouri. There were electronic footprints. When
you step outside your home, folks, you're always being observed. Once you started to unwrap it a little
bit, it was nutty. It was weird, and it was hard to keep track of it all. This is a case in which 21st century
technology became vital. I've been told we have a verdict. [Music] [Music] I think anytime there is a beautiful,
successful woman who is murdered, that's sort of what society pays attention to.
For better or for worse. The shocking murder of Dr. Teresa Severs in Bonita Springs, Florida, was a
huge story, especially for Jessica Lipkcom, who covered crime for the Naples Daily News. To think of this
mother of two who was killed brutally inside her home was horrifying to people. The doctor had cut short a
family vacation in upstate New York and had flown home alone on Sunday night, June 28th,
2015 so she could see patients the next morning. You kind of put yourself in her shoes
rolling your suitcase through the door and then to be attacked by someone from behind is
It's hard to imagine. Investigators believe that as soon as Dr. Severs walked into her kitchen, she
was killed, struck repeatedly with a hammer. The next morning, uh, her office staff got in. It's now
9:00. Now it's 9:05. Now it's 9:15. I said, "Where's doctor?" Sandra Hoskins was Theresa Sver's
longtime medical assistant. I was texting back and forth trying to see if you know where you at and no
response called. No answer. Mark's out of town. He says, "I can't get a hold of her either." How unusual was it for Dr.
Severs not to show up. Even if it was 9:00 and 3 seconds after, you would hear her heels coming in.
was just so unbelievable. When Connie Reese heard the tragic news, she contacted her stepbrother, Mark
Severs, the doctor's husband. How did he react to the death of his wife? He couldn't
speak. He's not the kind of guy that has been overly emotional on the outside, but he couldn't speak.
Connie and Mark became family when her mother married his father. I asked him what happened to Teresa. And
what did he say? No idea. Mark met his future wife in 2003 when he was visiting St. Petersburg, Florida.
Pretty much love at first sight. Well, I think by the time that he introduced her
to mom, uh, I think he was pretty much done. He was off the market officially. Yeah. Really? He was working as a nurse
while she was a recently divorced physician. Teresa hung the moon. She was a remarkable human being and very
special. And that's the way Mark treated it from the beginning. You could just you could hear it in his voice. They
were married on the beach surrounded by friends and family including stepmother Jenny Wacklman.
Was a sunset wedding and she had a beautiful gown and it was very nice. Was he happy on that day? Oh my
gosh, he was very happy. 6 months later, their first daughter was born. The Severs built a large house in Bonita
Springs and in 2007 welcomed another daughter. How did Mark feel about being a dad? It
was everything to him. They were his reason for being, but he was also all about Teresa and her mission. We talk
about our physical health, mental health. That mission was to open a holistic practice where she could heal
patients by blending traditional and alternative medicine. She also spread her message in speeches and videos.
There's our spiritual and energetic health. We would have patients from all over the world. They would come to us
after they failed everything else. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Talking about the doctor still makes
Sandra emotional. And as a patient, she wouldn't allow you to say, "I'm never going to get better." While patients
love the doctor, Sandra and her husband, Frank Pays, who also worked at the practice, admit it wasn't always easy
working for Severs. She had a short fuse. I would hear doctors screaming and yelling in the in back office. Dr.
receivers would yell at the patients. She was there to help you get better. Didn't have what they call the bedside
manner. Would she yell at you? Yes. Yeah. A wrist is a problem. The biggest problem. She expected perfection
and if it wasn't perfect, she would get upset because I need to maintain my mental sharpness. She was a big presence
and sometimes that meant that she got really feisty with people. She was the the biggest figure in the
room. While Teresa took care of her patients, Mark managed her office and took care of their daughters. The girls
were his pride and joy. And according to her sister, Annie Lisa, Teresa was equally devoted to Mark. Teresa always
said, "I'll never leave Mark. I won't ever do that to my girls." Nevertheless, within weeks, Mark Severs became a
person of interest. Did he cooperate initially? Oh, yes. I think he thought he was doing the right thing. Mark spoke
to investigators without a lawyer present and even handed over his cell phone and allowed them to download the
contents. Was he worried he might be arrested? He thought, "Why would they? What kind of evidence could they
possibly have? Cuz I didn't do anything." In fact, Mark Severs had an airtight alibi. At the time of Teresa's murder,
he and their two girls were with Teresa's family hundreds of miles away in New York.
[Music] Eight days after Dr. Teresa Severs was murdered, friends and family came
together for her funeral, including Mark's stepmother, Jenny Wacklman. There were a lot of people. Yes. Yeah. And it
was sad, of course. Almost all her patients were there. I was numb. Mark Severs reportedly had a
gun strapped to his waist at his wife's funeral. Strange? Well, perhaps, but her
killer hadn't yet been arrested. And according to stepsister Connie Ree, Mark was on edge. He's very much in
protective mode. When you say protective mode, what do you mean? Well, I think, you know, he always keeps an eye and an
ear to the ground, so to speak, and is aware of his surroundings and, you know, he he was concerned for their their
safety. I think it was in the back of his mind that that there might be some danger to his daughters because of what
happened to their mother. It just didn't make any sense. Who would want the vibrant and dedicated Dr. Teresa Severs
dead? and why killer was such anger and force. Could have been anybody. I really
thought maybe it was just somebody that was in the area and broke in or something. There were signs of a forced
entry, primarks on a side door, but Mark's extensive gun collection, and $40,000 in cash discovered inside the
Sever's home hadn't been touched. So when this happened, everyone wanted to know what happened with the alarm.
And as it turns out, it it hadn't been activated. While the family was on vacation, Mark had asked his mother,
Bonnie Severs, to feed the family pets. She had trouble setting the alarm that Sunday and told detectives her son Mark
said not to worry about it. Monday morning, Dr. Severs was discovered dead on her kitchen floor.
This is Mark's mother speaking to investigators. So, I really feel that it's my fault.
You can't you cannot blame yourself. Around the time of Dr. Sver's murder, the internet was buzzing with reports
about the suspicious deaths of other alternative doctors in the US. Did Mark think that her death might be
connected with that? Yes. Yes, he did. But with no real evidence to make that connection, investigators turned their
attention to the people who might have had an axe to grime with the energetic, often abrasive Dr. Severs. I think the
theory that I heard was that maybe it was a patient. Um, obviously they were interviewing all of her friends and
family members, so it was pretty much like a wide open field of suspects at that point. Then a surprising name
emerged. In her police interview, Dr. Siver's sister, Annie Lisa, said she heard Sandra Hoskins was a disgruntled
employee. That's the same Sandra who seemed so upset by Dr. Sver's death. You may not like your boss, but you
don't badmouth them to patients that are coming in the doors like Dr. Severs. You
know, she's she's a I'm like, "Oh my god, they think I did it." Sandra, who claimed she had been treated harshly
by Dr. Severs in the past, had planned to hand in a resignation that very Monday, the doctor was found dead.
According to Sandra, the doctor told her she was bringing bad energy to the office. Now I know why I was not
received very well at her memorial. Why would anyone think that you did this? That is shocking to me. A lot of the
patients did know the way she treated me. And so people thought maybe you just had enough. Yeah.
Sandra Hoskins was cleared when nearly 2 months after Dr. receivers was murdered.
There was a stunning break in the case. Police made arrests and the suspects were not from
Florida. So, we showed up to a press conference, I believe that August, and the sheriff
gets up there and tells us uh simply the name of uh the first suspect, Jimmy Rogers. And he says he's from Missouri
and he's been booked for the murder of Theresa Severs. Never heard of him. So, I thought, "Oh, well, who is he and
what's he got to do with this?" And then about an hour later, he calls us in again and says, "We've now picked up a
second suspect, Curtis Wayne Wright, also from Missouri." It was so shocking. To solve this murder,
investigators would travel more than a thousand miles and they were in for a wild ride. They would soon discover this
case had as many twists and turns as the Missouri River. [Music] Terresa Severs was bludgeoned to death
with a hammer. Neighbors are still waiting for answers. I said to my husband, the two arrests for Teresa
Sver's murder made,00 miles away in Missouri seemed to come out of the blue. Mark's stepmother, Jenny Wkelman. Why,
you know, what's going on? Just seemed like such a disconnect. No one had ever heard of the suspect, Jimmy Ray Rogers,
but it was the mug shot of the other suspect, Wayne Wright, that struck everyone. He had an uncanny resemblance
to the victim's husband, Mark Severs. They look alike. Yeah. At least in pictures, they look like twins. And
that's in that's that's when I be started to believe, you know, that definitely there is not something right
with with Curtis Wayight. As it turns out, Curtis Wayne Wright, he goes by Wayne, was no stranger to Mark's
family. He was Mark's very good friends and ages and ages. So, I didn't believe it. I didn't. It just didn't make sense.
Wayne and Mark had grown up together in Missouri. Wayne was at Teresa's funeral.
He had celebrated Mark and Teresa's wedding with them. And just two months before the murder, Mark had been Wayne's
best man at his wedding. Wayne was also a familiar face around the office. Did you two know Wayne Wright? How did
you know him? He was the computer guy that looked just like Mark. Wayne would travel from Missouri to Florida to work
on the computers in Dr. Sever's office. How would you describe Wayne? He was geeky. All he wanted to do was get the
computers up and running, focused. But to me, he just seemed like a very geeky creepster. Did he make you
nervous? A little bit. I can't explain it. It's just a woman's intuition. How would you describe Mark and Wayne's
relationship? They appear to be close friends. Yeah. He always said he's my brother from another mother. Yeah, that
was his lingo. Back in Hillsboro, Missouri, Greg Bolan knew both Mark and Wayne when they both
had hair. This here is Hillsboro Elementary School. This is where me and Wayne met for the very first time in
third grade. Greg Bolan remembers his high school classmate Wayne as a tech wiz. The kid voted most dependable and
as a fun guy to hang around with. He actually ran for and became our class president. Smart. Very smart. Quite
honestly, he was one of the smartest people with computers that I ever met. But it wasn't long before Greg suspected
Wayne Wright had a dark side. In 1996, Greg's brother, Ronnie Bolan, a preacher, mysteriously disappeared. His
body has never been found. And according to police, Ronnie was last seen with Wayne. Do you believe Wayne Wright
killed your brother? Yes, I do. You have no question about that? I have no doubt
in my mind. Greg believes the motive was money that Wayne owed Ronnie. Reporter Jessica Lipkcom. They found his car with
the car keys still in the ignition in a car wash in St. Louis. Wayne has never been charged in Ronnie's disappearance,
but he is listed in a police report as a person of interest. And Wayne's no stranger to the criminal justice system.
In 2011, he was serving time for drug possession when he befriended the other suspect in Dr. receivers's murder. A
young inmate named Jimmy Ray Rogers who was doing time on a weapons charge. You could just tell he needed a job. He
wanted a job. You know, Jimmy was released from jail. I'll show you. Tyler Juliet and Jeff Conway hired him to work
at a contracting company. He liked to tell a lot of stories. A lot of things he told at the time, nobody really
believed him. He liked to brag a little bit about the things he had done in the past. a colorful criminal past. He says
Jimmy would brag about con jobs ranging from stolen merchandise to counterfeit money.
I never felt Jimmy was a dangerous guy. I just felt like he was a blowhard, honestly. You know, I really felt like
he was just a talker. Conway recalls that he had asked Jimmy to work on Monday, June 29th.
But Jimmy texted him back and said he wasn't available. All it said was, "I can't do that. I'm still in Florida.
It was on June 29th that Dr. Terresa Severs was discovered bludgeoning to death with a hammer inside her Florida
home. And it didn't go unnoticed to investigators that Jimmy Ray Rogers had a unique nickname. Supposedly Jimmy
Rogers nickname was the hammer, but I think that was more of like a self-given nickname. If you talk to some of his
friends from high school, they say nobody really called him that. But I think maybe going to jail for the first
time, you know, trying to make a name for himself, maybe that's something he sort of assigned himself to fit in. Why
was Jimmy the Hammer Rogers in Florida that fateful weekend? Was Wayne Wright with him? And what led authorities to
believe they were involved in a doctor's murder? Why would Wayne try to look like Mark?
See more evidence from the case on Facebook at 48 [Music] hours. Back in June 2015, practically
everyone in Hillsboro, Missouri knew that Wayne Wright was planning a weekend trip out of town.
He let it slip to lots of people that he was going down to Florida. told some people he was even going to visit the
Severs. And it wasn't long before police got a tip that Wayne had been in Florida
at the time of Dr. Sever's murder. And he hadn't gone there alone. He went with his jail house pal, Jimmy the Hammer
Rogers. Jimmy's boss, Jeff Conway. He told me a story that his brother had graduated from law school and that he
had invited Jimmy down to Florida for the weekend. Uh, all expenses paid. But he told his pregnant girlfriend, Taylor
Showmaker, another story. He was going out of town for a few days to work with Wayne. He had told her that he was going
down to Florida to make some money. Weeks after Jimmy and Wayne returned, detectives from Florida showed up in
Hillsboro, Missouri. They confronted Wayne about that tip placing him in Florida, but he refused to talk. He
didn't need to. A rental car GPS gave the cops what they needed to know. On the morning of June 27th, 2015,
Wayne Ray got into a rental car here in Hillsboro, Missouri, and then went to pick up Jimmy Ray Rogers. At some point,
this address was put into the GPS and then the two men took off for the 1100 mile ride to Bonita Springs,
Florida. After driving all day and all night on Sunday, June 28th, Wayne and Jimmy arrived at the Sever's home, the
Bonita Springs address. It's all right there in the GPS, a digital footprint for
investigators. When Jimmy and Wayne arrived around 6 a.m., authorities believe they turned off the house alarm.
That may explain why Mark's mother, Bonnie, was so confused about the alarm system.
I wasn't there at 6:09 in the morning. He was turned off for 609 in there. That's what I'm trying to
work. Oh my god. Then according to the GPS, Jimmy and Wayne left the Sever's home and typed in
another address for a Walmart to do some shopping. Obviously looking at that security footage from the Walmart,
they're able to pretty quickly determine that that's who who was with Wayne. They
made no effort to cover their faces, disguise themselves. They just waltz through like they were anyone else. They
bought, among other things, trash bags, flushable wet wipes, black towels, black
shoes, and a lockpicking kit. They paid cash for their purchase with a $100 bill. After shopping at Walmart, Jimmy
and Wayne continued using the navigation system, even to find the beach and soak
up some sun. Does it make any sense that this guy who was so good with computers would
have left such a trail? It does, but it doesn't. Uh to a lot of people looking at it, it it kind of makes it look like,
you know, these guys were just dumb and dumber, but that's a lot of how he operated. After their beach trip,
according to police affidavit, Wayne and Jimmy returned to the Sever's home where
they hung out for hours in the garage, waiting for an unsuspecting Dr. Severs to
arrive. In the early morning hours of Monday, June 29th, the GPS again shows Jimmy and Wayne on the highway headed
northbound for the 17-hour drive back to Missouri. The electronic trail would eventually lead detectives to Jimmy Ray
Rogers door. But like Wayne, he denied he had anything to do with the murder. But when police brought in Jimmy's
girlfriend, Taylor Shellmaker, which means you're going to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth. Correct. Yes. What a story she had to tell. Jimmy Ray Rogers took his
girlfriend Taylor for a ride right along here, Route 47 in rural Missouri. And along this road, he asked
her to throw out parts of his cell phone, which he had smashed earlier, some gloves, and a jumpsuit.
[Applause] He said, "Throw this in the river." And it took me a minute to click in. And
then I threw uh the gloves out and waited a minute and then I threw out the jumpsuit. Did you ask why or you just
did it? No, I just did it. I was scared. Okay, it's understand. Taylor told police that's when she pushed Jimmy to
tell her exactly what happened in Florida. And he told me about using a hammer on her.
Okay. And he said that he killed Teresa Siver, Mark's wife. Yes. With a hammer. Yes. Okay.
Florida detectives now thought they knew who killed Teresa Severs, but they still
didn't know the why. Why would Wayne Wright want to kill his best friend's wife?
Did everyone then say, "Oh my gosh, Mark had to be involved." Definitely. I mean,
there was really no putting Wayne in Florida in Bonita Springs inside their house without Mark knowing about it.
Did it occur to either one of you that Mark might be involved? No. Not even a thought in the back of your mind? No.
No. Absolutely not. But when investigators downloaded Mark's cell phone, they discovered the Sver's
marriage was more troubled than anyone guessed. Despite having $40,000 in cash around the house, they had serious
financial problems. And when investigators discovered five insurance policies on Teresa totaling more than $4
million, it was a big red flag. Jimmy's girlfriend had told police that Teresa's death was a murder for
hire and that Jimmy was supposed to be paid $10,000. and then asked him how he was
going to make money and it was murdering Mark's wife. He said that Mark hired Wayne. Yes. And Wayne hired him. Mark
didn't know anything about Jimmy being hired. Where's the money supposed to come from? Insurance from her death.
Okay. And did he ever get paid? No. Then almost eight months after Teresa Sver's murder, Wayne Wright, Mark's
lookalike best friend, suddenly turned on him and took a deal. Mr. Wright, why are you pleading guilty
today to seconddegree murder? Wayne Wright admitted killing Teresa. I'm I'm pleading guilty uh because of my role in
the planning and participating of the murder of Teresa Severs. He said the murder was all Mark's
idea and that's what police needed. Mark, did you hire Wayne Wright to kill your wife? Did you? Mark Severs was
charged with the murder of his wife. Did you hire anyone to kill your wife? But Sever's stepsister says he would never
risk losing his children. She believes Wayne Wright had long envied his best friend's life and he's the one who
killed Teresa on his own. Why would Wayne kill Theresa? Because he's a sick man. Do you think Wayne was jealous of
Mark? I think it's possible. Whether he's jealous of Mark or wanted to be Mark, I don't I don't have any clue.
Family and friends point to how Wayne Wright began to model himself after Severs, even shaving his own head when
Sver started to go bald. I can't They didn't look alike when we were younger. How much they they morphed into
each other over the years. If it was by chance or by their plan, I don't know. More than four years after Curtis Wayne
Wright cut that deal to testify against Mark Severs and ex-con Jimmy Rogers, the
two men go on trial, but separately. Rogers case went first October 2019. Terresa Sver's mother and siblings
were in the courtroom. This case was about the the perfect marriage, the perfect
friendship, the perfect alibi, the perfect murder. Assistant state attorney Hamid Hunter
told the jury that Terresa Sver's death was a classic case of murder for hire. Mark Severs was miles away while Curtis
Wayne Wright and Jimmy Ray Rogers killed his wife. Mr. Right. Hit her with the hammer. Hit her again.
[Music] Mr. Rogers came out of nowhere. Mr. Rogers engages with his hammer and he
starts hitting her, hitting her, hitting her. Rogers defense attorney, Kathleen Fitz
George. What you heard from the state attorney is what they believe or expect or hope the evidence will show. But it's
a bumpy road because they haven't told you [Music] [Music] everything. The state actually believes
Teresa Severs was killed with two hammers, but only one was discovered on the Sever's kitchen floor. They showed
the jury that weapon and the damaging video evidence of the two men near the crime scene.
[Music] Is this how you found this jumpsuit when you took it into your custody on the
side of the road in Cadet, Missouri? Yes. A fiber from the jumpsuit worn by Rogers was found on Teresa's body.
[Music] This time the state calls Taylor Showmaker. [Music] Roger's former girlfriend, Taylor
Showmaker, appeared shaken when she entered the courtroom. She identified that blue
jumpsuit. It's his jumpsuit and told the jury Rogers confessed to her and then asked him how well how. And he said with
a hammer. Then the state called their star witness. Next witness. State calls Curtis Wright.
In exchange for his testimony at both trials, Wright was allowed to plead guilty to secondderee murder and will
spend 25 years in prison. Mr. Wright, who killed Dr. Terresa Severs? Uh, I did. And Jimmy Rogers. How many
times did you hit Dr. Severs with that hammer? At three, Mr. Rogers came from somewhere and he started hitting her.
What did he do? Just just started hitting her over and over. How would you describe how I was
hitting her? In a frenzy. [Music] Rogers did not testify, and his attorney, Donald McFarland, called no
witnesses, but told jurors they should not believe Curtis Wayne Wright. Curtis Wright's the only one who ever hit that
woman and he's lying to you to save his own worthless skin. Jimmy didn't have a hammer.
The jury was out nearly 2 days and then I've been told we have a verdict. Is the
state ready? Yes, sure. The defendant is guilty of secondderee murder. Rogers showed no emotion. He was
sentenced to life in prison. And then in November 2019, Mark Severs went on trial for the murder of his
wife. He spent much of the prior 3 years in jail, still denying he had any involvement, and his family was still
behind him. Just haven't seen any evidence that makes any sense as far as Mark being involved. Both his stepmother
Jenny and stepsister Connie vowed to support him through the trial. I will do everything that I can to be there. Are
you nervous about it? Yeah. Yeah. Please be seated. Mark Severs, charged with firstdegree murder
of his wife, appeared unfased even though he faced the death penalty. The same prosecutors who tried Jimmy Rogers
will use much of the same evidence in front of a different jury. This is a case in which 21st century technology
became vital. Cell towers, cell tower dumps, called detail records that allowed massive amounts of data to be
sorted, organized, and searched. But Sver's defense attorney, Michael Mummer, says all that evidence only points to
Curtis Wright and Jimmy Rogers as the killers. Curtis swings that hammer bam right in the side of the
head, followed by another one across the bridge of the nose. Curtis says, "I struck Teresa three times in
the head with a hammer, but Jimmy did the rest." Testifying again is Jimmy Rogers former
girlfriend, Taylor Shellmaker, now with a new look. She says her ex was promised
a payday, but she can't connect Severs to it. And did he tell you how much money he expected to be making from
this? Yes. And what did he tell you? I think it was 10,000. The case again comes down to that star
witness, Curtis Wayne Wright, who will now come face to face with his mirror image and once closest friend,
Mr. Wright, who killed Dr. Terresa Severs? Uh Jimmy Rogers and I physically did it,
but uh Mark Severs was also involved in the planning. For several hours, Wright testified against Severs, the man he
affectionately called his brother from another mother. Why did you do it? Um I was asked to do it. By whom? Mr.
Severs. Wright told the jury that Severs and his wife were having marital and money
problems and that Severs believed Teresa was planning to leave him and take the kids. The only option that he had was
for her to die. Um, and he said that he needed to have her killed. When the judge asked Mark Severs if he
wanted to testify, I'm not going to testify. Okay, but I like to go home. This time the jury was out just four
hours. The families gathered in the court for the verdict. The jury find as follows as to the
defendant in this case. Count one first-degree murder. The defendant is guilty of first-degree murder.
Svers, stoic at first, began to cry. In addition to the guilty verdict, the jury
asked the judge to sentence Severs to death. This is how former employee Frank Pays
felt before the trial. What should happen to Mark Severs? He's facing the death penalty. I I I think the death
penalty is the easy way out. I think the the pain and torture that he deserves is to sit in jail to the rest
of his life thinking about his two pride and joy daughters. That should be his punishment.
[Music] On January 3rd, 2020, Mark Sever, now a convicted killer, returned to court to
find out if he will get life in prison or be sentenced to death. Is it okay if I refer to my notes? Yes, sir.
Absolutely. This time, he agreed to speak to plead for his life. Although a jury found me guilty, I am innocent of
all charges, as I've maintained since this heinous crime took place. Our girls have tragically lost their
mommy and now they're about to lose their daddy as well. It didn't take long for the judge to
rule. I judge uh people's actions. I don't judge people's souls. That's for somebody else to do. Sir, I'm going to
go ahead and adjudicate you guilty on each count on the first countderee murder. And it's the order of the court
that you be sentenced to death, sir. For Teresa's family, it's the end of an agonizing nearly 5-year wait for
justice. This has been an incredible nightmare from the beginning. Teresa took down three
guys that took her from us. She was my modern bday mother Theresa. I always called her
that because she always was trying to help people. Our focus now is to go on to take care take care
of the girls and uh give them the love and support that they need. And we're glad
that it's over. Justice has been served. [Music] CBS next Saturday. 48 Hours brings you
backtoback episodes all summer long. Next week, unsolved. I want to find out who murdered my sister. This is a woman
that has fought this battle alone since 2015. 48 hours prime time double feature
next Saturday 98 central on CBS and streaming on Paramount [Music] Plus. What was lost when Alyssa was
taken? What was lost with her murder? my daughter, Willow's mother, everything. How do you keep Alyssa alive for her
daughter, Willow? Show her pictures. This is your mom. This is your [Music] mom. Every Mother's Day, we visit the
grave. We take flowers. We take cards. You know, we talk about her all the time. What does this say?
Hello. Mother of Willow An. I hope that when she learns what happened, she doesn't let it tear her apart.
October 2nd, 2020. [Music] Any crime scene is going to be inside that tape. It's inside that tape. All
right. I remember my phone was continuously ringing [Music] ringing and I finally answer it cuz it's
my supervisor and she's frantic and she's telling me you've got to get to Green Tree Apartments.
I heard that pop. I turn around. I know it was a gunshot. And she says something
has happened to Alyssa. What? What happened to her? We're going to start having family
members show up here. I pull up. police, fire trucks, ambulance everywhere. She got shot in the car. Okay. She can see
her handprints. Who are you? I'm Detective Harding. I remember asking that officer. I said, "She didn't make
it, did she?" And he said, "No, she didn't." And I just lost it at that point. When you learned that your sister was
dead, did you have a suspect in mind? I knew immediately it was Andrew Beard. I knew that the only person I
could think that would want her dead was Andrew Beard. She even said, "I think he's the kind of person that's going to
try to kill me." And he did. And he did. Oh my god. It was one of the most brutal scenes
that I've been to in 32 years law enforcement. You could see the rage. Don't touch anything. Okay.
What does it tell you when it's this vicious about the killer? It's personal. She apparently has had a history with
baby daddy. Within an hour of getting to the crime scene, we knew that we needed
to look for Andrew Beard. Andrew Beard is a suspect. Yes. He cannot get away with this. He cannot get away with this.
At first, this seemed like an openandsh shut case. But as it turned out, Andrew Beard was
only half the story. [Music] [Music] In the months after Alyssa Berquette was murdered, she appeared to her mother,
Teresa Collard, in a dream. [Music] I see her across the room. And in my dream, I knew she was
gone. But I was hysterically happy that I was seeing her. And I was thinking, you're
back. She came to me and said, "No, I'm not back and I don't want to come back and I never want to be there
[Music] again." I was puzzled. why don't you want to come back? And she said, because
I was always afraid there. Although 24year-old Alyssa Bquette had been afraid for months, the attack at
this apartment complex where she worked in Carolton, Texas, north of Dallas, came as a surprise.
So, when you arrive here, what do you see? According to one of the lead detectives, Michael Harding, Alyssa
pulled into her usual parking space at around 9:00 a.m. Alyssa's car was actually parked right here where this
green van is right here. And the asalent's vehicle had parked right next to her in this spot.
Were you here when everything happened? Yes, I was sitting on my desk. Witnesses
say the asalent exited his vehicle, a black Ford Expedition SUV, with a gun in his hand. She had the window up and he
shot right through the wind. Right through the window. Maintenance supervisor Darren Ikler about 15 ft
away. It's horrible. I mean heard the gun blast and turned around. What do you see? Uh I see a a black
SUV starting to back out of the parking spot. Investigators believe the shooter thought Alyssa was dead. The blast had
destroyed her left eye and part of her face, but Alyssa Burquette was still alive.
She gets out of her car and she walks up to this landing to try to get help cuz she knows her her co-workers are here.
The shooter, described by some as a black man, I can say he's a black baby. Got out of the vehicle and began
sprinting toward Alyssa. this time with a new weapon in his hand. Something more
personal. A large hunting knife. Did you see him holding the knife? Uh yeah, in the hand after he starts to to stab her.
She's still fighting on this window right here. There was a blood handprint smear where Alyssa was trying to get
anyone to come out and help her. [Music] But fearing it was an active shooter situation, they stayed inside. We're
just getting our day started. And the attacker launched into a rapid killing frenzy, plunging his knife into flesh
and bone again and again. Incredibly, Alyssa was still breathing when her asalent fled. Once the suspect left, her
co-workers came out to try to render aid. One of her colleagues made this call to 911. 911. What is the address of
the emergency? Someone came up and just shot my my assistant manager. Where is the shooter? I don't have enough
information. I need He's gone. He left in his car. He literally left a second ago. Fire department pulled up first.
They come up. I get out of the way and let them do their thing. And they start working on her right here.
Immediately. Yeah. And it was too late. She was gone. Alyssa had been stabbed and slashed a
total of 44 times. Alyssa's mother, Teresa, immediately gave the police a name, and
it wasn't a black man. It was Andrew Beard. I know he did this. He's an evil person. Teresa told detectives that
Andrew Beard and Alyssa were in the throws of an ugly custody battle over their one-year-old daughter, Willowanne.
A battle that began when Alyssa was still pregnant, says her friend Brandy Reagan. He initiated by asking her if he
could have full custody of the baby after the baby was born. And what did Alyssa have to say to his idea of him
getting full custody? You better be effing kidding me. Alyssa and Andrew were worlds apart from
the beginning. He was almost 9 years older, established with a good job at a tool company, a nice house, even had a
plane. She was 22, loved eating turkey legs at state fairs, and was still figuring life out. After meeting on a
dating app, they had a fling, nothing serious, but then she found out she was pregnant, says her friend and roommate,
Shelby Wright. I'll never forget. She's just standing there hysterically crying.
um and upset. She couldn't even speak and she hands me a pregnancy test that said
positive and I honestly had no words for her. But as the pregnancy progressed, Alyssa's fears turned to excitement,
says Shelby. Especially when she learned it was a girl. On July 23rd, 2019, Alyssa gave birth to a baby girl she
named Willow. And when you saw them together, Alyssa and Willow, what was that experience
like? Amazing. Motherhood looked great on her. It did. Yes. Just looking at the two of them, you
could tell that their relationship was I mean, everything. I always love how she's looking at her in this picture.
Madison Grimes is Alyssa's younger sister. Willow clung to her every second of every day. And I think that tells you
a lot about the mother Alyssa was. Alyssa went back to college and got a good job as an assistant property
manager. I think everything she did at that point in her life was for Willow. She wanted to be successful for Willow.
She didn't want Willow to grow up and struggle. She just wanted Willow to have an easy life.
Andrew, who had joint custody, had Willow a few days every week, but he kept pushing for primary
custody. Dragging Alyssa in and out of court hearings, emptying her bank account. She was terrified.
Um, Willow at this point was the most important thing in her life. And when she, you know, looked at the bigger
picture, Andrew, he made more money than her. you know, he had a house. He had all of the nice things that she didn't
have. So, she was afraid that, you know, he wanted Willow and he was going to get
her. Andrew's mother, Lette Bowers, says her son was acting out of love, not malice. My son, Andrew Beard, is a
loving, warm individual who always operated from his heart, from his core center. When he had Willow, she was
constantly strapped to the front of him. He was reading to her. He wanted her to
see the whole world every day. He just felt that he could provide her more stability. In March 2020, when Willow
was 8 months old, things seemed to change for the better. The feuding parents found common ground, finally
reaching an agreement on visitation and child support. And so things seemed to calm down. Things calm down. Yeah.
But a gathering storm was about to come barreling in. Carolton Police Department. Church warn.
If you're in there, come out your hands up. [Music] In the spring of 2020, it looked like
the bitter custody battle between Alyssa and Andrew had finally come to an end. Alyssa had a new guy named Ben. And
Andrew fell hard for a woman named Holly Elkins, someone his mom, Lette, was thrilled about. A daughter from Minute
One. She just has this charm and energy. I warmed to her very quickly. Alyssa was happy that he started dating
someone else. I guess hopeful that Holly would help this situation, that Holly would be supportive of the mother that's
involved. Holly sent this text to Alyssa. Look forward to having a super healthy relationship with you and Ben.
Alyssa responded, "I hope your influence helps because I'd love nothing more for
us all to have a healthy relationship." Despite Holly's message, Andrew suddenly became hostile with
Alyssa. He was once again demanding primary custody of Willow, dragging Alyssa back into court. He was always
very short, very rude, very hateful. It just totally changed the way that they communicated together. Alyssa
couldn't shake this uneasy feeling that she was being watched and began telling family and friends that Andrew always
seemed to know what she was doing. He knew where she was. He knew where Willow was. He knew just other places that she
had been. I remember one night she was out with one of her friends and they were at a bar in downtown Dallas and
she's like, "Text me, oh my gosh, Andrew is here." And in my mind, I'm like, "The
odds of that happening are slim to none." You know, she didn't know how he was tracking her. She just knew that she
was being tracked. How would you describe what she went through? Hell. I mean, every day you feel like
you're having to watch over your shoulder. That's how I felt she lived. Hi everyone. Um, my name's Alyssa.
Madison found this video after Alyssa's death. It was never posted. This past year, I have been going through a
custody battle, a very ugly one. I have a one-year-old child. Um, it's taken a toll on my mental and physical health.
With that being said, I've become a lot stronger in the process. And I guess just my message is um no matter what
you're going through, stick it out. You can do it and stay strong. But she would
continue to be tested. In September 2020, one month before her murder, it reached a whole new level. A man who
said his name was Frank Marorrow called 911 and reported that Alyssa was selling
drugs out of the trunk of her car at work. I saw what I thought looked like someone just selling some drugs out of
their truck and I could smell it and I could see it and Okay. What kind of vehicle is it? It's a little Toyota
Corolla. I have a license plate if that help out. Okay, Frank. What was your last name? Marorrow. Acting on this tip,
Carolton police officers descended on the Green Tree Apartments leasing office and confronted Alyssa. She gave them the
keys to her car and they opened the trunk. Inside they discovered drugs, a pistol, and some cash, exactly where the
caller said they would be. So, your daughter suddenly now looks like a drug dealer and a dangerous one
as well. She's armed. Yes. I mean, is Alyssa worried that she's going to get arrested, lose her job? Yes. All of the
above. She's worried about her job. She thinks, "Yeah, she's going to be arrested now. He's going to use this in
court, so she's for sure going to lose Willow." After questioning Alyssa, it was clear
to police that she knew nothing about the drugs and pistol in the trunk of her car. They concluded those items had been
planted. The caller had tried to frame her. Alyssa knew in her gut that caller was Andrew Beard. Later that day, she
texted her roommate, Shelby. Alyssa messaged me and said, "He is going to try to get someone to kill me next."
And when you read those words, my heart dropped. That wasn't who she was. She wasn't a
fearful person. Showing and asking for help shows me that she was genuinely scared. She knew
that, you know, whatever was coming next was going to be serious. The once fearless young woman had become scared
for her life. These are some of the texts she sent to her sister Madison. Come over while I walk inside.
Lock the door behind you. Do you see anyone around you? And Alyssa wasn't the only one who
was terrified. It kept progressing. Each thing that he would do just kept getting
worse. And after this point framing her and she didn't get arrested, I thought, well, what else is there to do besides
kill her? One month after the drugs and gun were planted in Alyssa Briquette's car,
she was dead. I knew that it was him when when the drugs didn't work in the car for him to get the baby. Once we
talked to Alyssa's mom, we had an idea who we were looking for. And who was that person? That person was Andrew
Beard. Oh my god. And to Teresa's horror, he had visitation with Willow that day. The baby was with him. Yes. I
want my grand baby away from him. My first thoughts were if he's going to kill Willow.
Within hours of the murder, the police pulled over Andrew Beard's F-150 pickup truck for an alleged traffic violation.
Andrew and his fianceé, Holly Elkins, were asked to get out of the vehicle. The daughters in a car seat in the back
seat. Much of the body cam footage in this program has been resized so you can see it better. They've been pretty
cooperative. Andrew seemed unfased by the whole thing, says Detective Harding. He was very calm. He wasn't amped up. He
He didn't seem nervous. My part was to just find you. That's all they asked me to do. Ultimately, Andrew and Holly were
allowed to go. And because he had courtmandated visitation rights, take Willow with them, but the police seized
his F-150 pickup and instructed him not to return home. Andrew, Holly, and Willow went to a hotel. Yeah, garage
code. And that night, a search of Andrew's house turned up critical evidence. This was found inside the
living room in one of Andrew Beard's backpacks, such as this envelope scribbled with incriminating notes. Upon
reading the notes, we realized those were tied to the Frank Marorrow 911 call. Frank Marorrow, the caller who had
reported Alyssa was selling drugs out of her car. Alyssa's license plate number,
the color and model of the vehicle, Frank Marorrow, everything that he needed to make that 911 call was on this
back of this. Looks like you discovered the screenplay to this FOD call to 911. I was kind of shocked. I was like, did
he he kept this? So, we found this GPS tracker box. Also in plain view, says another lead detective, Jeremy
Shiovalier, charging stations and batteries that match the tracking device detectives discovered on Alyssa's car
after the murder. So, this is the device that was put on her car. That was all part of his plan to to catch her doing
something that he believed that she shouldn't be doing to gain an advantage in that child
custody dispute. A search of that Ford F-150 seized at the traffic stop turned up more
jaw-dropping evidence. So, this is one of the makeup vials that were recovered from inside one of the bags in the
F-150. It was a foundation called Java. It's really dark. Very dark. And the purpose of that was what do you believe?
Was to disguise Andrew Beard's face to make him look like an African-American. The police found the knife sheath at the
scene, but never found the knife or the gun. But the day after the homicide, they found something just as important.
That black SUV. They learned Andrew had bought it specifically to commit the murder. And there it was, abandoned less
than a mile from Andrew's house. He drove it to that location and he fled back to his house the morning of the
murder. That's Andrew Beard captured on a home security camera fleeing through the neighborhood. He is doing the
Bigfoot run from this vehicle. What'd you find when you guys process the inside of this vehicle? We were able to
recover multiple spots where blood was recovered. That was later tested to be Alyssa's blood.
They also found another part of his disguise, a fake beard. That looks like a Halloween kind of beard.
Exactly. Yes. He purchased a Halloween costume. So that's what led us to get the arrest warrant for Andrew Beard.
Andrew Beard, who still had Willow, had been staying in an Airbnb with his fianceé, Holly Elkins, and mother,
Lzette. When we were at the Airbnb, he got a call. He was going to be arrested. Just 3 days after Alyssa was killed,
Willow was sent back to Teresa and Andrew Beard turned himself into the police. Andrew Beard, come over here. He
was charged with murder. I was confident they had the wrong man. So was Holly Elkins. She volunteered to speak to the
police. I want to help. I really do, but I don't have any answers. Incredulous that the man she planned to marry was
capable of murder. So, I just told all my friends and family that I'm engaged to the most wonderful man on the planet.
And now people want me to believe that he's not that. And there are so many emotional roadblocks for you to try to
believe that. I get that. I can't believe that my fiance would do something like that to a woman or to
anybody, but a woman. Detective Shiovalier on the right and Detective Harding on the left
interviewed Holly for about an hour, hoping to turn her into a witness for the prosecution. I'm telling you,
there's a side of him that you do not know. But she stood by Andrew, insisting that he had an alibi. He was home with
her when the murder took place. There are a few hours that, you know, he was not in that house. You cannot tell me
that I feel that way, sir. I can tell you that because I know that for a fact that he was out of the house. Holly, I
don't know that for a fact. That's what my problem is. Holly remained adamant that she would have known if he had
left. I am a total stage five clinger girlfriend. I'm always up his ass. I find it hard to believe.
The interview ended with Holly standing by her man. She and Andrew's mom, Lette,
continued living together in an Airbnb. They became extremely close and bonded over their shared belief that
Andrew was innocent, says Lzette. "We stayed so close, we were just connected at the hip and made agreements to never
go anywhere without one another." Finally, after two weeks behind bars, Andrew was released on bond. Lette was
overjoyed. Holly, as Lette would soon discover, not so much. They've told us he's coming home tomorrow. And Holly
says, "I'm going." She hold is holding her suitcase and she goes, "I'm going. I'm leaving. I'm going home." But the
day before Andrew gets home, what? Why are you choosing now? during this scary scary time for
his in his life. She'd already ordered her her Uber and never came back. Detective Shiovalier says he was
so worried about Willow's safety, he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm
laws. Because an unregistered silencer was found in Andrew's home, the feds agreed. Andrew Beard was rearrested
eight days after he bonded out. Ultimately, at that point, our goal was to get him back into custody. Andrew was
ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death. One year and 8 months after
Alyssa's murder, Andrew called his mother with unimaginable news. He said, "You know, Mom, I'm I'm going to plead
guilty." So, I immediately said, "Well, Andrew, you're not going to you're not going to plead guilty to anything you
didn't do because clearly he didn't murder her in my mind because that's out of character and not who he is and it
was stupidly done and he's not stupid. So, it never was him." But she would learn it was him. He admitted he did it.
He killed the mother of his child. I have physically dropped to my knees sometimes
feeling like I've gotten punched in the stomach. And I have to tell myself I have to tell myself that that
was a a moment, a heinous, awful, out of character, broken moment. Andrew Beard pleaded guilty, but the
investigation wasn't over. Andrew Beard was talking and he had a lot to say. How
come you waited so long to talk about what like what Holly did? What do you make of Holly Elkins
interview with detectives? See more evidence from the case at 48 hours.com. Holly Elkins left Texas and returned to
her home state of Michigan 2 and 1/2 weeks after the murder of Alyssa Burquette. She gave no hint of what
she'd left behind says her best friend from childhood, Stephanie Goddard. Did she ever mention the name Alyssa
Berquette to you? Never. Never. Never. Never. Not once. She didn't talk about Andrew Beard either. Not even once.
Nope. Stephanie, who met up with Holly about 7 months after she returned to Michigan, says her old friend appeared
to be starting life a new. A new condo, a new Lexus, a new man. She had this boyfriend with her, so everything just
seemed really normal. Stephanie says from the time she was a teenager, Polly always had a guy, and she knew how to
wrap them around her little finger. It was like a cat and mouse thing. When you say cat and mouse, she was the cat. Oh,
absolutely. Yes, she was the cat. She controlled the relationship. Absolutely. She was the one in the driver's seat.
Back in Texas, investigators were just beginning to learn more about the fiance who had skipped town after the murder. 1
year and 9 months after Alyssa was killed, Andrew Beard spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal, which I'm assuming
absolutely does look planned out cuz it was the process was planned out. It quickly became clear to investigators
that this Holly Elkins I'm trying to help and no one's helping me. The Holly Elkins seemingly torn apart by Alyssa's
death. I just feel bad to not I just feel bad to not help something that I think is very sad that happened. Was
giving the performance of her life. I've literally cried myself to nauseium every
single night over this. What did you learn about her true feelings about Alyssa? She hated Alyssa
with a with a burning passion. Investigators dug back into Andrew and Holly's text messages, many of which
Alyssa's family also saw. Both of you learn that Holly had um some derogatory words about Alyssa. What did
she call her? Ugly, fat, a bad mom. all things that she wasn't. And baby mama is was my sister's contact
name in Holly's phone. See, baby mama, derogatory word that any woman finds despicable. What the heck's all that
jealousy? Holly wanted something Alyssa had and she didn't. Says Madison. She wanted Willow. Why was she so obsessed
with Willow? That was her life. She wanted a a perfect family and that was her way of getting it. Alyssa was going
to stand in her way of doing that. If it was Friday, Holly would have been. The more Andrew talked, the clearer Holly's
role became, says Detective Shioalier. What portrait did he paint of Holly Elkins? That she was the one running the
show. uh that she was telling him what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, how he was going to do it.
Remember that drug plant? If you were to ask me whose idea was what, drugs and and the planting of drugs was was was
Elkins. Holly Elkins even tried to get Alyssa's mom, Teresa, arrested. The incident started when Teresa and Alyssa
drove by Holly and Andrew's home. Teresa says Holly and Andrew had failed to return Willow at the appointed time. We
see Holly on the golf cart with Willow in her lap coming towards the end of their driveway. And I got out of the car
and I grabbed Willow, went and got back in the car, handed Willow to Alyssa and sped off. Holly immediately called the
police who arrived with body cams rolling. and the grandmother. Holly told them Teresa assaulted her when she
grabbed Willow from her lap. She literally attacked me from behind or from behind side. I was facing the lake.
Teresa says she never touched Holly, but Holly pulled up her shirt to show cops scratches she claimed Teresa had
inflicted. I have a No, no, no. Oh, you have some in your on your stomach. What did you think of those pictures?
That they were ridiculous. that it was so apparent that she had done that to herself. How would they even think
someone else did that to her? Because they're going downwards like your own hand did it.
The police agreed, concluding the injuries looked like they were self-inflicted. But it only made things
more dangerous for Alyssa, says Detective Shiovalier. The things that they were doing to try to get custody of
Willow wasn't working at that point. And I think that they decided we we got to up the game. And uh upping the game
meant getting rid of of Alyssa. Holly began playing her game of cat and mouse. It was made very clear to me that your
previous methods aren't working. This is what you're going to do now in order to
prove that um that that that you're basically you're worthy worthy of being a man who deserved her love. Holly
Elkins writes to Andrew, "I don't want anyone who is a to some low life or a pushover. I want a man who protects his
women and child before anyone and doesn't give two Fs otherwise." Your comment, just straightforward
manipulation. She was going to make him do what she felt needed to be done no matter what. And Andrew told
investigators it worked. like I was emotionally drained and at that point I just basically said okay and became
submissive to whatever she wanted me to do. That's the task I did. A week and a half before the murder, Holly left for
Mexico, but didn't let up on Andrew. Here's a text. This is one week before the murders. This is September 25th,
2020. Holly Elkins writes, "I hope you handle it. I'm not coming home to BS. Andrew Beard says, "That's my goal." To
that, Holly texted back, "Well, it will be a whole different conversation if I feel like you are ride or die. If not,
then I don't know." What is she saying to him? To me, it means that you're either with me or you're not with me.
Uh, you're either going to ride with me and die with me or you're not going to be with me at all. After he killed
Alyssa, Andrew told investigators Paulie begged for details about the crime. Her
request was that he described uh the murder to her while they were in bed together. It's one of the most degrading
things I've ever heard. In May of 2023, Andrew Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Investigators believe
Holly Elkins thought the case was over. I think she believed that the further she got away from this, the less
involved she was going to be, but it didn't work out for [Music] her. These are the photos of the grave.
We always decorated for every holiday in July of 2023, Valentine's Day. And then
Christmas. Almost 3 years after Alyssa's death, happy Mother's Day. Holly Elkins
was arrested by federal agents at the Miami airport as she was returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic. The
lantern. That was I think one of my favorite things that we did. An arrest a long time coming for Alyssa's family.
What is that balloon? I thought we were never going to see that happen. I felt relief. Holly, who pleaded not
guilty, was charged with conspiracy to stalk and stalking using a dangerous weapon, resulting in death. The FBI had
built a compelling case against her, says Detective Shiovalier. Holly's phone really had a lot of stuff on it.
Searching for tracking devices. There were indications that they were together whenever the ammunition and the knife
were purchased. And they also tied Holly to the makeup Andrew used to disguise himself as a black man. It was um you're
going to dress dress up as a as a different person. Essentially, you're going to wear this dark makeup. That was
her plan. That was how it's going to be done. While Andrew seems harmless in this
video, never forget that he was the one who chased Alyssa down like a hunter tracking a wounded animal. He furiously
stabbed her with a brutality these detectives had never seen. Andrew ends up saying about why he
came back to finish her. What did he say? His statement to us during the interview with Agent Hansen was that he
did it out of mercy, that he knew that she was still alive and he was somehow doing her a favor by by killing her.
Andrew may have committed the murder alone, but according to the US Attorney's Office, he didn't plan it
alone. In April 2024, Paulie Elkins went on trial as a co-conspirator. In the courtroom, where
no cameras were permitted, one of the prosecutors put it like this, says Detective Harding. Andrew Beard is a
monster, but he was Holly Elkins's monster. "I don't want or need a lawyer because I don't have anything to hide."
US attorneys painted a picture of a woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Well, I feel like the
dumbest, most manipulated woman on the entire planet, if this is true. Yes. And what she wanted was a little girl named
Willow. And do you believe Holly Elkins was a puppet master in all of this? 100%
I do. She orchestrated this whole thing. I think Holly is wicked. I think she's wicked to the core that she would ever
want this to happen to another woman, to a mother, to a mother of the child that
she had come to love. What if these two had never come together, Holly and Andrew? Would Andrew
have committed this murder? I I don't think they would have. I don't 100% believe that if Holly and Andrew had
never met that Alyssa Briquette would be alive today. After a one-week trial, the case went to
the jury. The jury takes just 90 minutes to deliberate. When they come back to that courtroom, what is the verdict?
Guilty. Holly was found guilty and sentenced to two life terms, much longer than Andrew.
For Alyssa's family, the verdict was a bittersweet victory. I was thrilled but heartbroken at the same time.
I'm I'm so happy that Alyssa is getting the justice she deserved, but at that point it's over. Our fight is over.
Two families are left to grapple with the wreckage Holly Elkins and Andrew Beard left
behind. Lette Bowers will forever be known as the mother of a murderer. He killed
someone and that is beyond awful. It's the worst thing anyone can do. But that's not who I love.
And Teresa and Madison must try to make sense of a world without Alyssa in it. We don't get to live the normal life
anymore. It was always me and her, my best friend. Like that was my person. And only getting to be with her for 20
years, that's not just not fair. After the trial, Teresa was allowed to take Alyssa's things out of her car. It
was pretty emotional for all of us, actually. This was the mirror that she used so she could see Willow from the
driver's seat. You know, just knowing that was the last place she was sitting when it happened.
I want mama. Willow, who was with Teresa, had never cried over her mother until that day. She was crying, asking
me if I could please bring her mom back just so she could see her one more time.
And I tried to explain to her that she's in heaven. And then she asked me if she
had a phone number in heaven. One day, Willow will learn the whole story of what happened to her mother.
Do you know what this is? Willow tree. Yeah. And when that time comes, her family
hopes Willow will see the beauty in Alyssa's life, not the tragedy of her death. I
hope that one day she grows up and she feels the love that her mom sincerely had for her.
[Music] You've probably heard of the NCIS from the hit TV series, but we're about to
take you inside its real life work. Listen to 48 hours NCIS early and adree on the 48 hours plus subscription on
Apple Podcasts. As a kid growing up in Chicago, there was one horror movie I was too scared to
watch. It was called Candyman. But did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder?
Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, wherever you get your podcasts.

“48 Hours" reports on cases involving dark plots. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "Who Took Our Dad? The Abduction of Ray Wright," "The Plot to Kill Dr. Sievers" and "The Plot to Eliminate Alyssa Burkett."

00:00 Who Took Our Dad? The Abduction of Ray Wright 40:42 The Plot to Kill Dr. Sievers 1:22:37 The Plot to Eliminate Alyssa Burkett

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Ray Wright's disappearance leads to a murder investigation, revealing a plot of revenge and resulting in the conviction of two suspects.

Key points

The Mysterious Disappearance of Ray Wright. Ray Wright vanished without a trace, leaving family and friends desperate for answers.
Victor Gray's Arrest. A high-speed chase leads to the arrest of Victor Gray, a key suspect in Ray's case.
Trial Begins for Manor and Gray. Prosecutors charge Robert Manor and Victor Gray with kidnapping and murder, despite no body found.
Sentencing of Manor and Gray. Both men sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after a heart-wrenching trial.
Dr. Severs' Mysterious Death. Dr. Teresa Severs was found dead in her home, raising questions about her murder.
Surprising Suspects Emerge. Two suspects from Missouri were arrested in connection with Dr. Severs' murder, shocking the community.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I knew something bad was happening to him. I felt it.

A family member's intuition about Ray's disappearance.

1:40WatchMay 29, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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