Women Behind Bars in HD - Season 3, Episode 7 - Courenay and Lorri - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] A lot of "Women Behind Bars." One woman was caught on tape shooting
at the home of a former business associate and then eluded authorities for over a year.
I just wanted to scare her. When I shot, I shot high. I wanted her to feel the way I felt when I was sick.
I wanted her to feel helpless. The video gives us a very clear picture of exactly how close these people
have came to dying that night. Then Lorri Worley is found guilty in the fatal stabbing
of her son-in-law after her daughter dies of a drug overdose. He was laughing because my daughter was dead.
And then he put the kitchen knife to his chest, and I went over and I popped it into his chest.
And I couldn't stop because my baby was dead. I believe that Lorri Worley ran out of the bedroom
and grabbed a bigger knife. As Josh began to exit out into the kitchen, Lorri Worley attacked him.
And when he went down, she continued to stab him. Two women. Two brutal crimes. These are the stories of Courtenay
Savage and Lorri Worley. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] In the early morning hours of September 7th, 2006,
Courtenay Savage, a former police officer, drove up to the home of her friend and business associate, Christina,
and pulled out a gun. The suspect approached the house, to this location, and fired six rounds from a six-shot revolver.
[GUNSHOTS FIRING] All I can remember is hearing the sound of glass just shattering all around me,
and then my baby was crying. [BABY CRYING] The infant suffered a minor cut from a smashed mirror.
Fortunately, all eight residents survived the attack with no further injuries. Christina turned to her security cameras for answers.
When I first watched it, my heart just completely stopped. It hit me then. "Oh, my God.
That's Courtenay." Authorities arrested Christina's friend, Courtenay Savage. The 31-year-old admitted to the shooting
but insisted she never intended to hurt or kill anyone. Courtenay believed that Christina owed her money,
and that may have driven why she acted the way she did. She was going to dictate her own form of justice,
and the facts show that her intent was not to scare but was to kill. If I wanted to kill Christina, there's easier ways.
I was trying to make her feel helpless, the way I had felt when she ran the business to the ground.
Did Courtenay Savage plan to murder her friend by firing a round of bullets into her home,
or was she only trying to intimidate her into paying back a debt? [MUSIC PLAYING]
My childhood was rough not in the sense that I had a bad upbringing, but I just was not a happy child.
I didn't have a father, and I didn't-- we didn't live in a big home with expensive
cars and money to throw around. It made me feel inferior. We would drive around the neighborhood,
and you could sense there was a little bit of envy. She realized that the only way that she
was going to have anything is if she did it herself. By the age of 13, Courtenay developed
a fixation on making money. It was an obsession that would later haunt her as an adult.
She loved money. She loved making it and saving it, and she wanted to go to work as soon as she possibly could.
I can remember her ironing all of the dollar bills that she had earned. She was so proud.
Having money made me feel secure and stable and carefree. The teenager maintained a B average
at school while juggling her various jobs. In 1993, the high school graduate started her career search.
I wanted a job that was different every day, and I read in the paper about the Corrections Academy.
And I said, "Why not?" Courtenay moved to Florida and attended corrections classes
in New Port Richey. There, she met classmate David Savage. David and I started out as friends.
He used to pull my hair and punch me like we were in third grade. He was not my type.
He really just grew on me. Soon, the two began dating. In 1996, Courtenay graduated from the program
and enrolled in a law enforcement academy in Tampa. I did a stint at Hillsborough Sheriff's Office as detention
deputy, and it was a boring job. I was working part-time, and I was looking for something
that was going to be cash. And I fell upon an ad for aromatherapists. We use natural products to heighten the senses.
I wouldn't say it was massage because we'd have to be licensed for that. It's a light touch, body rub type of thing.
The 22-year-old continued to work as a detention deputy but also took a job at the store, Fantasy & Lingerie,
to explore her new endeavor. While working in the field, she bonded with fellow aromatherapist, Christina.
Christina was a good friend. I always could call her and talk to her about anything,
and she always listened. We didn't really have a whole lot in common, but we got along very well.
We were best friends. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Unsure of which path to take, Courtenay
pursued both occupations. In 1999, she received an associate's degree in criminal justice.
That March, she and David decided to tie the knot. We married in Las Vegas. You go to a little chapel, you get married,
and you can go gambling in the same night. It was great. The newlyweds both joined the Tampa Police Department.
Courtenay became a reserve officer while David took on the role of full-time cop.
Hoping to augment their income, Courtenay opened her own aromatherapy business called "The Den" in 2003.
I had a fully-stocked showroom with the lingerie clothes, stuff for the alternative lifestyle.
Then I had a three themed session rooms where we did aromatherapy. I had clientele, and all the girls I hired
to work for me had clientele. So the business was successful. The young proprietor hired her friend Christina
to help out at the shop. I gave her a key, and she would come and open if I couldn't make it in time.
And she looked out for me. Courtenay's business was booming, and she left her job at the police department.
But in the fall of 2004, she began experiencing dental problems. They were starting to chip and crumble.
The enamel was coming off, so I decided that I wanted to have them all fixed. She had priced the cost of having her teeth capped,
and it was prohibitive in the United States. So she found a couple of dentists in Mexico
that would do it for $6,000 as opposed to 50. When I went to Mexico for my teeth, everything went well
and the teeth looked great. But within about a month, I started to get very, very sick.
I had ulcers in my mouth. I had widespread body pain. I started coming down with grand mal seizures.
I was having extreme anxiety attacks, periods of delirium. It was-- it was insane.
I didn't really notice a change when she first came back. She just wasn't coming to work, but then I
had heard that she had started using prescription medications. I went from doctor to doctor.
They just kept on giving me more drugs-- more Xanax, more antidepressants. I definitely became addicted.
I was so sick I just wanted to die. She thought this might have been due to the fact
that the amalgam in her teeth was all metal, but toxic poisoning is one of those things that's still
not a proven scientific malady. Although Courtenay's husband, David, was supportive during the illness,
their marriage began to suffer. David was helping me try to look into getting some help,
but he didn't know what to do. They were fighting a lot. She wasn't going home a lot of times.
It was just not going to last. By April of 2005, Courtenay says she had become too ill to tend to her aromatherapy business.
She turned to her friend of eight years and made her an offer. I decided to turn the business over to Christina.
She was ecstatic. She thanked me, then made me promises. According to Courtenay, Christina verbally agreed
to a number of conditions. The merchandise she had to continue to sell, and I would receive the income from that.
And the main stipulation I required was that she remained in business. Everything, it was signed over to me on April 1st.
And she just didn't have anything to do with it after that. Courtenay claims the shop was making $80,000 a year when she
handed it over to Christina. But within a few months of the exchange, the business hit a snag.
The landlords told me that she hadn't been paying rent. They had to put a formal eviction order.
I was in disbelief, and I was shocked. And that turned into anger. Courtenay never gave me any indication that she was angry
that the store was closed, and I had made a phone call to tell her that we were not going to be allowed
to stay there any longer. And then she came, and she got all of her merchandise.
Not only does Courtenay deny this but claims she could not get a hold of Christina for months.
She owed me thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise. I felt entirely helpless.
I was sick, and I felt like she was taking advantage of that and that just made it twice as bad.
I said to Courtenay, "Why don't you take her to civil court?" She said to me, "If I do that, I'll never get anything."
The only way I felt I was going to be-- feel satisfied is if I basically took matters into my own hands.
When "When Behind Bars" continues-- And after speaking with Courtenay for several hours,
there's no doubt in my mind that she is a sociopath. I thought, "Oh, God. I got to leave."
I went to Oklahoma and blended in. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] By the summer of 2006, Courtenay Savage--
a 31-year-old former police officer turned entrepreneur-- was desperate to get back
thousands of dollars in personal belongings from her friend Christina. I called her and called her, and she
wouldn't answer her cell phone or she was out of minutes. A year earlier, Courtenay had fallen ill
and given Christina her aromatherapy business free of charge. But within months, the shop was evicted from its space.
According to Courtenay, Christina had broken their verbal agreement. One of the stipulations was that business remained open
and that there was a job for me when I got better. And when I found out that the business was going under,
I became furious. There was a certain degree of pride, and Courtenay didn't want to see something that she had
nurtured to go down the tubes. Courtenay made a trip down with her mom, and she actually did two truckloads of different things
that she wanted. According to Courtenay, it was not enough. She wanted to get back at Christina
and felt that Christina should pay in some way for what she had done to Courtenay.
I never had any indication that she was angry about anything. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]
On July 10th, 2006, at 3:30 AM, the front windows of Christina's new business called "Hidden
Treasures" were smashed in. Less than an hour later, bullets grazed Christina's home.
[GUNSHOTS FIRING] It was surreal. Never did I really think we were intentionally being targeted.
When police arrived at the residence, they discovered the bullets had only struck
the vehicles in the driveway. We asked if she had anybody that was mad at her, if she owed anybody any money.
She told us that she knew of no one else that could be after her. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Authorities combed the area and questioned neighbors but had no leads. Then on August 9th, the shooter struck again.
[GUNSHOTS FIRING] It happened at approximately the same time, and it was the same type of incident.
There were gunshots, there were vehicles that were damaged, and the family was visibly scared.
Fearing additional shootings, detectives moved Christina and her family to a motel.
We stayed away for a couple of days, but I thought, whoever it is, they would be able to find us anyways.
And Detective Lewis said, "What about putting in a camera?" And I started taping every single night.
[MUSIC PLAYING] I had driven all the way up there thinking, "OK. I can't get her on the phone.
Maybe I can catch her coming home from work." I was just so angry that I've gone through this
for over a year at this time, and I always keep a firearm in my car. I had a concealed weapons permit,
and I just lost it and shot at the house. She had gotten out of her car, walked to the front of the home, lifted her arm,
and fired that gun six separate times into the face of the home. The shots were way louder than the two prior times.
It felt like they were right there. I just wanted to scare her. When I shot, I shot high.
I wanted her to feel the way I felt when I was sick. I wanted her to feel helpless.
[MUSIC PLAYING] All eight family members inside the home, including five young children, survived the shooting.
The only injury was a minor cut to the arm of Christina's infant daughter. I put the tape in.
I knew it was a girl, but it didn't hit me until, at one point in the tape, she literally turns around
and walks back to her car. Christina, after watching the video, knew. She recognized Courtenay Savage.
And based on that, law enforcement pursued her as a suspect. Surveillance teams started trailing Courtenay
and discovered she was driving a rental car that matched the vehicle in the video.
Meanwhile, Christina called Courtenay while police listened in. Christina was trying to get Courtenay to say if she did,
in fact, shoot at her house on three different occasions and also to see what her motive was.
I just wanted her to admit that she had done it, and I asked her, "What do I got to do
to make you stop doing this?" And that's when she told me, "$2,000." I think you owe me that-- I feel about $2,000.
OK. That was the money that was supposed to be-- Well, if I pay you tonight, will the shooting stop?
If you give me the money you owe me, we're straight. Christina told her former business
associate to meet at a local restaurant for the exchange. Little did Courtenay know that the authorities were there
waiting to make the arrest. I remember a man coming out of nowhere and swung open my car door and dragged me out of the car,
threw me on the ground, and I'm being tasered. And then all of a sudden, there's all these police
officers everywhere. Inside her vehicle was a book on how to make a silencer for handguns and a police raid jacket and other objects
that showed that she possibly had other intentions of just trying to scare Christina.
Detectives charged Courtenay with shooting into an occupied dwelling and then took her
into custody for questioning. Post-Miranda, Courtenay did admit to shooting at Christina's house on three separate occasions.
In addition, she admitted that she had smashed a window out of Christina's business.
But Courtenay maintains she only committed one shooting and says she doesn't remember confessing to all three.
I could've admitted to it. I know I just wanted to go home. I-- [SCOFFS]-- I just figured the quicker I tell them
whatever they want to hear. Charge me with the shooting of occupied dwelling. I have no record.
How much time was I really looking at? And after speaking with her for several hours,
there's no doubt in my mind that she is a sociopath based on the fact of how she spoke,
how she showed no remorse. I specifically asked her the question if she would have been
upset if she killed one of the kids in the house, and she said, "Not at all." I would never have said that.
I was delirious at the time, and I think I was probably joking with detectives. Courtenay told police she had used
a .357 Magnum revolver that was stowed at her grandmother's home. Her family was shocked by the news.
It was so unlike her. She never showed any evidence of violence throughout her entire life.
She was definitely depressed when she did this, temporarily insane, over-medicated,
and physically ill. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Courtenay was taken to the county jail.
The state attorney's office then began their own investigation. She took various measures to conceal what she had done.
She rented a car to facilitate these crimes. She wore a mask to go undetected. It was obvious that her intention was to kill.
To strengthen their case, the prosecution turned to forensic specialist Woody Miller
to trace the path of the bullets using laser technology. Since we knew from the video where
the shooting had occurred, it gave us a very good starting point. Once we were able to get the laser
to pass through the hole in the window and through to its final resting spot, that gives us a very clear picture
of exactly how close these people have came to dying that night. Miller discovered one bullet came within a foot
of a sleeping child. And based on that, we decided to file charges of attempted murder.
I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. I absolutely never planned to kill Christina.
And the state attorney's office had a very strong case against her, and I don't think there
was any way to resolve the case without some period of prison time. Because of Florida's strict gun laws,
Courtenay faced anywhere from 20 years to life in prison. I thought, "Oh, God. I got to leave because this is ridiculous.
They're going to try to send me to prison for life, and nobody was even injured?"
I knew that I had to get up some cash, and the only way to do that was to get divorced.
In an amicable arrangement, Courtenay's husband, David, agreed to buy out her half of their home.
With the money received from the divorce settlement, Courtenay was able to post the $115,500 bond.
She got out of jail and vanished. The 32-year-old was now a fugitive. Nothing is more important than your freedom,
and it was something that had to be done. I went to Oklahoma and blended in. [MUSIC PLAYING]
When "Women Behind Bars" continues-- We were contacted by "America's Most Wanted," who offered
their assistance in this case. And later-- The scene was very gruesome. There was blood on the floors, blood on the walls.
[SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] On July 20th, 2007, 32-year-old Courtenay Savage
was due in court for a pretrial hearing. The former police officer turned aromatherapist was facing eight
counts of attempted murder after video footage captured her shooting into the occupied home of her friend, Christina.
She had been involved in a business with Christina, and law enforcement's theory was Courtenay
did these things because Christina owed her money from the failed business. She made bond late April of 2007,
and her bond was going to be readdressed by the judge. And Courtenay did not appear for that hearing,
and I never saw her again. And when she didn't appear, that's when we took action.
Warrants were issued for her arrest, and further investigation was conducted to determine where,
in fact, she had gone to. I was a nervous wreck. It was extremely difficult, and I went to a place
where I knew nobody, never been before, and started out as somebody else. Courtenay felt that everybody was against her.
She was convinced that she would not do well in any way with the outcome of the case,
so she was intent on running away. Though detectives traced Courtenay from state to state,
they were always one step behind. After more than a year, the search was at a standstill.
We used the assistance of the United States Marshals Service to help us try to locate Courtenay.
During this time, we were contacted by "America's Most Wanted," who offered their assistance in this case.
I knew about 48 hours in advance that they were going to be airing the "America's Most
Wanted" about me. I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, I thought that was reserved for murderers
and serious crimes. On September 20th, 2008, "America's Most Wanted" aired an episode highlighting the case of Courtenay Savage.
That was the first time I had seen the videotape of the shooting, and I was devastated because I had
a feeling that it wouldn't be much time before Courtenay would be caught. Within hours of the broadcast, detectives
started receiving calls. There was upwards of 20 tips received nationwide. Two of the tips actually led us to Texas.
Just 48 hours later, Courtenay was captured in Humble, Texas. And I was driving into my apartment,
and I noticed a man standing outside, which it seemed like he didn't fit in. And it was like everything was in slow motion.
Courtenay was extradited back to Florida where she ultimately signed a plea agreement.
I was afraid to take it to trial because I was-- I was guilty but not of attempted murder.
But the way the justice system is, who knew? And if I was convicted, they would give me a life sentence.
So I felt like I had no other choice. Under Florida's 10-20-Life gun law, Courtenay received a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years
in prison followed by 10 years probation. You get 10 years minimum mandatory if you possess a gun during the commission of a crime,
you will get no less than 20 years if you discharge that gun, and you will get 25 years to life if you cause
serious bodily harm to someone. While Courtenay accepts responsibility for her actions,
she and her family believe the punishment does not fit the crime. I think a 20-year sentence is insanely outlandish.
Nobody was injured. I have no prior record. It still baffles me. I think it was the prosecution wanting retaliation
because Courtenay had been a law enforcement officer at one time. Courtenay Savage was not treated any
differently than anyone else. Gun violence is certainly very serious, regardless of your background.
Courtenay is currently serving her sentence at a maximum security prison in Ocala, Florida.
I'm training to be a law clerk. Now, I realize that nobody needs money. Nobody needs all the material possessions we think we do.
She has filed a post-conviction relief and maintains that, while she is guilty of shooting
into an occupied dwelling, she never intended to kill anyone. I'm arguing mitigating factors, which was my toxic poisoning.
I never would have done what I did if it wasn't for the heavy metal poisoning. The facts show that Courtenay did intend to kill.
There was no indication of insanity on her part, and I think her actions and her statements
all reflect that she knew what she was doing. Courtenay has not spoken to Christina since the shooting.
It wasn't about the $2,000. It was much more personal than that. I felt that Christina betrayed me.
I hope that Courtenay, at some point in time, accepts that what she did was wrong.
And when she gets released, I hope that she can make a life for herself. I take the blame for the shooting.
I don't feel any remorse in the fact that nobody was injured. I do feel guilty for scaring the children.
But as far as Christina is concerned, I don't think it's anything in comparison to what
she-- what she put me through. [MUSIC PLAYING] Next up on "Women Behind Bars," a grandmother allegedly
stabs her son-in-law to death. He put the kitchen knife to his chest, and I went over
and I popped it into his chest. And then I couldn't stop because my baby was dead.
For more information about "Women Behind Bars," go to WEtv.com. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]
[SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] At 3:39 AM on September 24th, 2004, police responded to an alarming 911 call.
On the phone was 43-year-old Lorri Worley. She told authorities her son-in-law had stabbed himself repeatedly.
Police arrived within minutes, but the horrific scene told a much different story than what Lorri described.
[MUSIC PLAYING] There were stab wounds on his back, and I immediately knew that that was not a suicide.
The scene was very gruesome. There was blood on the floors, blood on the walls. Detectives determined 20-year-old Josh
Blankenship had been stabbed 44 times in the chest and stomach. Police questioned Lorri, Josh's mother-in-law.
Lorri explained to us that she "assisted him" in stabbing himself. He picked up the knife, and then he started off
like this, scratching himself. And then he started jabbing, jabbing, jabbing, jabbing.
Lorri's daughter, Kelly, who was married to Josh, had died two days earlier from a cocaine overdose.
Lorri would later tell police that Josh claimed he helped Kelly commit suicide--
provoking her into a frenzy. According to Lorri, Josh was laughing then stabbing himself and claiming that he had
administered the fatal dose. After he said, "I killed Kelly," Lorri lost it. She said it was like a rage just took her over.
But authorities believed Lorri had other reasons to dispose of her son-in-law. Lorri told the police that Josh was a Satan worshipper,
and she was quite anxious that her granddaughter not live with Josh. His family's not good.
They're Satan worshippers, and nobody will ever bring that baby to see me. Did Lorri Worley deliberately stab Josh Blankenship in order
to gain custody of her granddaughter, or was she provoked into murdering him when he claimed
he killed her beloved daughter? [MUSIC PLAYING] We were a close-knit family, and we all
got along pretty good. We rode horses a lot, and my dad had a farm. [MUSIC PLAYING]
The youngest of three, Lorri looked up to her older sister, Stephanie. We took dance.
Oh, she loved to tap dance. She was in a few beauty contests, and she enjoyed that.
In high school, the teenage beauty joined the gymnastics team and excelled. I thought she did well enough and it probably
could have been a dream for her at some time to maybe even looked at the Olympics.
But her athletic pursuits were cut short when she became pregnant in her junior year.
On March 23rd, 1978, Lorri gave birth to a baby boy. The whole family chipped in to raise the newborn.
He had more mamas than he knew what to do with. He's always known that Lorri is his natural mother,
but my mom and dad adopted him. Shortly after giving birth, the 18-year-old enrolled in a junior college in Mississippi.
Lorri went to college for a total of six years, studied two different disciplines.
She studied drafting. She took a lot of math courses. She wanted to be an architect.
As a drafting student, Lorri started dating Steve Nevilles, a local mechanic. In 1979, they decided to marry.
Lorri became pregnant, and they were very happy to have a baby coming. At just 7 and 1/2 months pregnant,
Lorri went into labor on September 1st, 1980. She called the baby girl Kelly. It was a little scary right there at first, a little touch
and go. She had the IVs and her skin was very transparent, but she picked up very quickly.
But Lorri's marriage didn't survive. Some family members say she started using drugs to cope with the pressure
of being a single parent. She worked a lot, and it was hard trying to make ends meet.
So it was a very stressful time, but Kelly was well taken care of. In 1989, Lorri married for a second time,
but that relationship, too, ended in divorce. Her daughter, Kelly, was the only constant in her life.
They were always together and had become very dependent on one another emotionally,
and Kelly had a lot of anxiety. Back to being a single mother, Lorri became overwhelmed with financial struggles.
Between 1992 and 1998, she was in and out of jail for grand theft and forgery. She had several brushes with the law,
at least two felony convictions, and two misdemeanors involving dishonesty. She felt her situation was so bad that she may have
done some things that were not in her and Kelly's best interest. As Lorri tells it, Kelly struggled with depression,
but some believe the divorcee was manipulating and controlling her teenage daughter.
Lorri was forcing Kelly to take psych medications and see a psychiatrist, and Kelly didn't feel
like there was a need for that. In high school, Kelly became friendly with Josh Blankenship.
Although he was four years younger, the two started dating. Josh and Kelly were both into the goth scene,
and they liked the same music. They both liked snakes. It was the lifestyle. They were like two peas in a pod.
Josh, he loved Kelly. He wanted to spend every last minute with her. But Josh's appearance and goth way of life worried Lorri.
They were into some very dark beliefs. Lorri thought he might have worshipped the devil.
He had dark hair and red highlights, and he had some odd tattoos on his shoulder-- one
that depicted a face of Christ and then, on the other, a picture of Satan. They might have been Gothic, but they--
he was not a devil worshipper. And he went-- he went to church with me on Sundays.
He was a good kid He just didn't want the same appearance as everybody. He had some bizarre things up on the walls-- a dagger,
for example. He was a responsible citizen. He worked as a chef at a local restaurant.
And unfortunately, he also used cocaine. In 2004, the young couple decided to tie the knot.
Before long, they discovered they were pregnant. So I loaned them money to get a pregnancy test.
I think they were so happy when it came through positive. Lorri was very excited about Kelly being pregnant.
She was looking forward to having a little grandchild. On June 21st, 2004, Kelly gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Soon, Lorri, who was between homes, moved in with the new parents. According to Josh's family, she forced her way into their lives
and took over. Josh and Kelly felt bad and didn't want her to live out on the streets,
but they hated her being there. She was real controlling over the baby. She was almost obsessed.
But Lorri's sister says the couple needed grandma's help. Kelly would call and say, "Please, help me.
The baby cries." So Lorri would help her because she said she just couldn't do it by herself.
Josh wanted her out of the house, and there was a great deal of stress as a result of that.
The tension between Josh and Lorri became so caustic that police were called numerous times.
We responded to this location on several occasions in reference to domestic disputes between Ms.
Worley and her son-in-law. It was clearly a volatile situation. To make matters worse, the three battled with drug abuse.
It was apparent that they were using narcotics there at the home. Lorri had an addiction to various prescription drugs.
She was unstable and just went overboard in their use. Josh and Kelly were cocaine abusers,
and a mix of drugs and a young child, young parents, is a recipe for a rotten result.
On September 22nd, 2004, Kelly died from what appeared to be an accidental cocaine overdose.
She was in the bathroom at the time, and it caused her to go into convulsions. Lorri was in another room caring for her granddaughter.
Josh ended up kicking the door in. And unfortunately, she never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead later on that same night.
Kelly was 24 years old. Her daughter was only three months. Lorri was devastated.
She had lost her baby and, of course, she was in shock. She was heartbroken, as any mom would be.
On the other hand, she was able to focus and contend with this devastation. She was making arrangements for a funeral,
making arrangements to get clothes to wear at the ceremony. And so I think that she was coping.
According to the prosecution, Lorri then confronted Josh about the future of her granddaughter.
Lorri considered the child her baby and, after the death of her daughter, wanted to take the child to Mississippi.
And Josh had some differing ideas. Josh was absolutely heartbroken. However, he started making plans to put his life back together.
Ms. Worley felt threatened that he was going to be taking her granddaughter, and she was anxious
that she not be separated from the love of her life now that Kelly was gone. When "Women Behind Bars" continues--
She had blood on her hands and on her clothing. Then he put the kitchen knife to his chest and I went over
and I popped it into his chest. And then I couldn't stop. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]
[MUSIC PLAYING] On September 24th, 2004, 43-year-old Lorri Worley was mourning the death of her daughter, Kelly.
Two days earlier, the 24-year-old had gone into cardiac arrest due to a cocaine overdose.
Lorri was devastated. Kelly's death certainly was unexpected, so she was crushed-- just as everybody was.
It was a surreal time. Actually, time stopped. It's like, "What's happened?" Lorri turned her attention to the fate of her granddaughter.
According to police, she believed her son-in-law worshipped Satan and she did not want him
to get custody of the child. In Florida, grandparents have very little rights and Lorri was afraid that she would lose the child.
That night, Josh's aunt was looking after the baby while he and Lorri grieved at their home.
Authorities believe the two began fighting over custody. Josh was very distraught.
He told me that he could not stay in that house and that he wanted to come and stay with me.
And he said, "Promise me you'll be here first thing in the morning," and I said, "Yes, baby.
I promise," and that's the last thing that I said to him. [CRYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]
Lorri claimed that she heard Josh screaming, and she got up and saw him with a knife, stabbing himself.
And he said, "I killed Kelly, and now Kelly is with Satan." And he was laughing, she said, as he admitted that he had
knocked Kelly over the head with a bass guitar causing her to become unconscious, at which point
he then injected Kelly with cocaine and said that he and she had a suicide pact and now it was his time to die.
At this point, Lorri became overwhelmed with emotion and anger. And he had a knife to his chest.
She just helped him push in the knife. She doesn't remember a lot after that. She says that she realized what had happened,
and she called 911. [SIRENS BLARING] Officers arrived shortly before 4:00 AM and found Josh's body in the area between the kitchen
and the living room. The victim was just inside the doorway, on the floor, lying face down in a pool of blood.
And there was a lot of blood scattered throughout the residence, on the walls, smear marks everywhere.
Very gruesome. Josh was pronounced dead at the scene. 44 stab wounds covered his mutilated body-- puncturing
his heart, lungs, and liver. Authorities turned to Lorri for answers. She appeared to be calm and confused.
However, during the next several hours, she was interviewed repeatedly on tape and she appeared to be coherent.
She had blood on her hands and on her clothing. She indicated her story, that Josh had stabbed himself.
He was laughing because my daughter was dead. And he told me he had a pact with her,
that they were going to die together. And then he put the kitchen knife to his chest,
and I went over and I popped it into his chest. He had already started making it bleed a little bit,
but I put my hand up and I jammed it. And then I couldn't stop because my baby was dead.
Josh's family was stunned by the news. No, he was not suicidal. Not at all. I was overwhelmed with losing Josh.
I still don't believe it. Investigators found a kitchen knife that had been cleaned
and placed in Josh's hand. They also discovered a 16-inch decorative dagger with blood on the tip.
The evidence was more consistent with a brutal attack. I believe the Lorri Worley tried to stab Josh with the dagger,
but it's not very sharp and so it did not kill him. It woke Josh up. Lorri ran out of the bedroom and grabbed a bigger knife.
As Josh began to exit out into the kitchen, Lorri Worley attacked him. And when he went down, she continued to stab him.
He had crawled from the carpet and start-- and keep stabbing himself. And then he got-- he got all the way to the cooler
and knocked it over on top of himself. This was a blur. This was unexpected. I don't think I did anything wrong.
You could see smears where Josh had tried to crawl to the door. [SNIFFLING] You could see that he had tried to get out.
[SNIFFLING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Lorri was arrested and charged with second degree murder.
While preparing for trial, the State of Florida focused on her confession to police and the autopsy results.
The medical examiner's conclusion was that this was a homicide, not a suicide. The location of a number of the wounds
would have been extremely difficult for Josh to have inflicted himself. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]
[MUSIC PLAYING] Lorri testified that she just lost it, essentially. She remembers pushing the knife in,
and then the next thing she remembers is being in the police car. When a person goes into a rage, many times,
they don't remember what's happened. It's out of their control. It's a bad thing to lose control to that extent,
but she had experienced a devastating loss. Lorri also told the jury that Josh was a Satan worshiper who
taunted her into stabbing him. There is absolutely no basis to believe that Josh provoked her.
That was a preposterous and desperate attempt on Lorri's part to get away with murder.
She killed Josh Blankenship because she wanted to that night. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]
The evidence against Lorri was overwhelming. Hoping to minimize prison time, the defense argued for a lesser
charge of manslaughter. The killing was done in a heat of passion. In certain circumstances, the law
recognizes that the emotion rises to such a level that it overwhelms your reason.
It doesn't justify the killing, but it does reduce the person's culpability. And if the jury accepted that defense,
manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. So it would have lower her exposure
to prison sentence drastically. [THUNDER RUMBLING] [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] I was devastated.
He was stabbing himself. She stabbed him. Two wrongs don't make a right. It was wrong all the way around.
People say that's justice. At the end, I still don't have my son. She destroyed our lives.
The jury saw through her lies, and I believe that they accepted the state's argument that this death
was caused because she wanted her granddaughter all to herself. Lorri lost her appeal in September of 2005
and has since filed again. She is currently serving her sentence at a maximum security
prison in Florida. I think the 40-year sentence is too much. She's had time to reflect on everything that happened.
I believe she's definitely learned a lot about herself. She's earned a law clerk certification,
so she's able to work in the law library. She's been rebaptized, and she's holding on to her faith.
Lorri's granddaughter is in the custody of relatives. They have had no contact since Josh's death.
It's a tragedy to lose not only two parents in less than two days but then to have your grandmother
be the person responsible for the death of one of those parents. Does she feel remorse for everything that's happened?
Yes. Does she feel at fault? Yes. She feels like she should have been able to see the train
wreck coming down the line and was too busy putting out little fires. And I'm just sorry I didn't do what I was supposed to do.
It's just that I didn't want to lose my family. [SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING]

Courtenay a former law enforcement officer, who pled guilty to second-degree attempted murder. Lorri was convicted of second-degree-murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder of her son-in-law.

Brief Summary

Courtenay Savage shot at a friend over money; Lorri Worley stabbed her son-in-law after her daughter's overdose.

Key points

Shooting Incident. Courtenay Savage fires into her friend's home, claiming it was to scare her.
Courtenay Savage's Descent. Courtenay's life spirals after a dental procedure leads to addiction and violence.
Fugitive Status. After making bond, Courtenay Savage disappears, becoming a fugitive.
Courtenay Savage's Capture. Within 48 hours of airing on 'America's Most Wanted,' Courtenay was captured in Texas.
Lorri's Grief and Rage. After her daughter's overdose, Lorri confronts her son-in-law, leading to a tragic confrontation.
The Aftermath of Violence. Lorri is arrested and charged with second-degree murder after the death of Josh Blankenship.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I wanted her to feel helpless.

Courtenay's intent during the shooting.

0:19WatchSep 23, 2014

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from True Crime Files

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.