1 00:00:02,393 --> 00:00:03,794 - FEMALE NARRATOR: A gruesome crime 2 00:00:04,747 --> 00:00:06,663 rocks a small-town community. 3 00:00:06,674 --> 00:00:08,790 - DAVID A: She had discovered the head 4 00:00:08,867 --> 00:00:11,835 of a decapitated victim. 5 00:00:11,846 --> 00:00:15,964 - The torso was cut in half. The arms were just gone. 6 00:00:16,041 --> 00:00:20,594 - Who does that kind of thing? Who is that monstrous? 7 00:00:20,670 --> 00:00:23,138 - NARRATOR: The hunt for answers will uncover the story 8 00:00:23,215 --> 00:00:27,184 of a pastor's widow with a new lease on life. 9 00:00:27,194 --> 00:00:28,602 - DR. PLASTER: She kind of spread her wings. 10 00:00:28,678 --> 00:00:31,938 She was making friends and--and living her own life. 11 00:00:32,015 --> 00:00:34,983 - NARRATOR: But did this innocent grandma put her faith 12 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:38,195 in the wrong people? 13 00:00:38,205 --> 00:00:41,656 - It turned out he was married. 14 00:00:41,733 --> 00:00:43,533 - LINDA: It's a story of a sweet woman 15 00:00:43,544 --> 00:00:45,878 that had no idea who she was taking in. 16 00:00:45,954 --> 00:00:49,956 And she was deceived, she was lied to. 17 00:00:50,033 --> 00:00:53,502 - They brought this woman in, and she looked normal. 18 00:00:53,578 --> 00:00:56,722 I started thinking: is this the woman who killed my mother? 19 00:00:59,751 --> 00:01:04,605 - ♪ 20 00:01:07,142 --> 00:01:08,650 ♪♪ 21 00:01:10,646 --> 00:01:13,238 - NARRATOR: October 6, 1989. 22 00:01:13,315 --> 00:01:14,815 It's a quiet afternoon 23 00:01:14,891 --> 00:01:17,242 just outside of Springfield, Missouri, 24 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:19,912 as school teacher Jean Walker drives home 25 00:01:19,988 --> 00:01:21,663 from a long day at work. 26 00:01:22,750 --> 00:01:23,999 - She's driving home. 27 00:01:25,494 --> 00:01:28,087 She just happens to notice off to the side a black bag. 28 00:01:28,163 --> 00:01:32,833 - It was about two feet into the roadway, so she pulled over. 29 00:01:32,909 --> 00:01:34,593 - SARA: She's curious enough to open it, 30 00:01:34,670 --> 00:01:37,513 and she made a horribly gruesome discovery. 31 00:01:40,292 --> 00:01:42,142 - DAVID T: Inside, she found a set of garden shears. 32 00:01:43,604 --> 00:01:48,223 Also inside was a knife and some bloody paper towels. 33 00:01:48,300 --> 00:01:50,067 And that obviously alarms her very much. 34 00:01:52,929 --> 00:01:56,273 - NARRATOR: Jean quickly flags down a passing neighbor. 35 00:01:56,283 --> 00:01:57,774 - She talks with her neighbor, 36 00:01:57,785 --> 00:02:00,694 who is the chief of police for her town. 37 00:02:00,770 --> 00:02:02,121 - NARRATOR: As the chief inspects the bag 38 00:02:02,197 --> 00:02:05,240 with the bloody items, just a few feet away, 39 00:02:05,317 --> 00:02:09,786 Jean makes a far more horrific discovery. 40 00:02:09,797 --> 00:02:11,746 - DAVID T: She noticed something that she hadn't noticed at first 41 00:02:11,823 --> 00:02:13,966 wrapped up in a trash bag. 42 00:02:14,042 --> 00:02:17,136 - She had discovered the upper torso of a body. 43 00:02:20,641 --> 00:02:22,808 - The torso was cut in half. 44 00:02:22,885 --> 00:02:25,310 The body had been decapitated. 45 00:02:25,387 --> 00:02:27,804 And the arms were just gone. 46 00:02:27,815 --> 00:02:30,691 It was a pretty graphic, horrific crime. 47 00:02:34,730 --> 00:02:36,321 - NARRATOR: As officers arrive on the scene 48 00:02:36,398 --> 00:02:41,234 and begin to search the area, the horror escalates. 49 00:02:41,311 --> 00:02:45,080 - They discovered the head of a decapitated woman. 50 00:02:48,693 --> 00:02:50,836 - They had found a single gunshot wound 51 00:02:50,913 --> 00:02:52,996 to the back of her head. 52 00:02:53,007 --> 00:02:56,082 - NARRATOR: The victim appears to be an older woman, 53 00:02:56,159 --> 00:03:00,337 but detectives need more information to secure an ID. 54 00:03:00,347 --> 00:03:03,173 - They did a drawing that their police sketch artist 55 00:03:03,184 --> 00:03:05,350 had done from the severed head, 56 00:03:05,427 --> 00:03:09,137 trying to help identify the victim of this crime. 57 00:03:09,214 --> 00:03:10,689 - DAVID A: It was posted in the news 58 00:03:10,766 --> 00:03:14,684 in effort to locate this person. 59 00:03:14,695 --> 00:03:17,112 And it didn't take long for people to start calling. 60 00:03:20,225 --> 00:03:21,983 - NARRATOR: Word of the chilling discovery 61 00:03:22,060 --> 00:03:24,870 sends shockwaves through the area... 62 00:03:24,947 --> 00:03:29,875 especially for the family of missing person Wilma Plaster. 63 00:03:29,952 --> 00:03:32,953 - LINDA: My daughter called, and she said they said on the news 64 00:03:33,029 --> 00:03:35,881 that there's a body that's been found. 65 00:03:35,958 --> 00:03:41,720 It was so out of the blue that this could have happened. 66 00:03:41,797 --> 00:03:43,672 All I knew was a body. 67 00:03:43,748 --> 00:03:46,132 I didn't know any of the other details. 68 00:03:46,209 --> 00:03:49,052 I was scared... 69 00:03:49,063 --> 00:03:51,221 because I think in--in some ways, 70 00:03:51,232 --> 00:03:55,308 it was in the back of my head that this could be my mother, 71 00:03:55,385 --> 00:03:56,860 but I didn't want to admit it. 72 00:03:59,815 --> 00:04:01,406 - ♪ 73 00:04:01,483 --> 00:04:05,735 - NARRATOR: Born in Ozark County, Missouri, in 1923, 74 00:04:05,746 --> 00:04:09,414 Wilma Plaster was known for her heart of gold. 75 00:04:09,491 --> 00:04:11,866 - LINDA: She really wanted us to do the right thing. 76 00:04:11,943 --> 00:04:13,143 To be good people. 77 00:04:13,145 --> 00:04:16,871 To love God, to love them, to love others. 78 00:04:16,948 --> 00:04:18,873 - NARRATOR: For more than four decades, 79 00:04:18,950 --> 00:04:21,927 Wilma's partner in life was a former naval pilot 80 00:04:22,004 --> 00:04:25,255 that she met at the tender age of 15. 81 00:04:25,266 --> 00:04:27,099 - They were very young. 82 00:04:27,175 --> 00:04:30,769 Uh, Daddy was, uh, 18 when they married. 83 00:04:30,846 --> 00:04:34,431 Mom was 15, and she turned 16 two months later. 84 00:04:34,441 --> 00:04:35,983 - DR. PLASTER: They fell in love. 85 00:04:37,278 --> 00:04:38,277 They went to the same church. I think that's where they met. 86 00:04:39,855 --> 00:04:41,446 My dad volunteered to go to the South Pacific with the Navy, 87 00:04:41,523 --> 00:04:45,450 where he flew a variety of aircraft at that time, 88 00:04:45,527 --> 00:04:49,237 and came home and decided he was going to become a preacher. 89 00:04:49,314 --> 00:04:51,790 He dedicated his life to preaching the gospel 90 00:04:51,867 --> 00:04:53,375 and pastoring churches. 91 00:04:56,538 --> 00:05:00,290 - NARRATOR: Wilma reveled in the role of a pastor's wife. 92 00:05:00,301 --> 00:05:01,791 - LINDA: As a pastor's wife, 93 00:05:02,994 --> 00:05:05,137 she had to kind of get out in the forefront, you know, 94 00:05:05,213 --> 00:05:08,048 and go with Dad wherever he needed to go, 95 00:05:08,124 --> 00:05:11,926 and, uh, be with him and, you know, greet people, and-- 96 00:05:12,003 --> 00:05:14,479 and go see sick people, and, and grieve with them 97 00:05:14,556 --> 00:05:16,315 as they're dying, and--and all of that. 98 00:05:16,391 --> 00:05:19,985 And--and she, you know, she was compassionate. 99 00:05:20,062 --> 00:05:21,820 - NARRATOR: Wilma also fit effortlessly 100 00:05:21,897 --> 00:05:25,065 into another role... motherhood. 101 00:05:25,141 --> 00:05:26,941 - She, for the most part, stayed at home 102 00:05:27,018 --> 00:05:30,070 and took care of our-- our family. 103 00:05:30,146 --> 00:05:32,238 - LINDA: We were very, very close. 104 00:05:32,315 --> 00:05:33,999 I followed her around like a puppy. 105 00:05:34,076 --> 00:05:36,835 Uh, everywhere she went, I went. 106 00:05:36,912 --> 00:05:39,245 - NARRATOR: After her four children moved out of the house 107 00:05:39,322 --> 00:05:42,082 and started having children of their own, 108 00:05:42,158 --> 00:05:46,419 Wilma was thrilled to take on the role of grandmother. 109 00:05:46,496 --> 00:05:48,171 - DR. PLASTER: My boys loved her. 110 00:05:48,182 --> 00:05:51,183 She was sweet to them when she was around them. 111 00:05:55,213 --> 00:05:59,808 - NARRATOR: But in 1984, after 45 years of marital bliss, 112 00:05:59,884 --> 00:06:02,185 tragedy struck. 113 00:06:02,196 --> 00:06:04,813 - My father developed Lou Gehrig's disease, 114 00:06:04,889 --> 00:06:08,867 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and ALS, and, 115 00:06:08,944 --> 00:06:14,539 and unfortunately succumbed to this disease rather quickly. 116 00:06:14,616 --> 00:06:18,210 - LINDA: He lived 5 months, 15 days from diagnosis to death. 117 00:06:19,571 --> 00:06:22,372 My mom tried to take care of him as best she could at home, 118 00:06:22,383 --> 00:06:24,124 but it was hard on her. 119 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,551 All of a sudden, she's by herself. 120 00:06:26,628 --> 00:06:28,929 And I think she felt lost. 121 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:36,010 - NARRATOR: After some time, Wilma met a woman at church 122 00:06:36,087 --> 00:06:41,233 named Janice Cook whose husband had also recently passed away. 123 00:06:41,309 --> 00:06:43,402 - DR. PLASTER: Janice was a widow also. 124 00:06:43,478 --> 00:06:45,570 And so she and Janice became good friends. 125 00:06:45,647 --> 00:06:49,065 It really, really helped her. 126 00:06:49,076 --> 00:06:52,235 - NARRATOR: At 60 years old, Wilma and Janice started going 127 00:06:52,246 --> 00:06:54,529 out on the town together. 128 00:06:54,606 --> 00:06:56,415 - LINDA: The lounges-- or most of them, 129 00:06:56,491 --> 00:06:58,366 it was like country line dancing. 130 00:06:58,443 --> 00:07:00,419 That's what she and, and Janice got into with. 131 00:07:00,495 --> 00:07:03,422 And they--they enjoyed it. It was exercise. 132 00:07:03,498 --> 00:07:07,592 It was--it was a way to get out and meet people. 133 00:07:07,669 --> 00:07:09,085 - DR. PLASTER: She's still a pastor's wife, 134 00:07:09,096 --> 00:07:10,587 uh, a pastor's widow. 135 00:07:10,597 --> 00:07:14,007 So yeah, her idea of living a wild life would-- 136 00:07:14,083 --> 00:07:17,927 would not be what we--what most of us would--would think of. 137 00:07:17,938 --> 00:07:21,014 It looked like she was doing fine with making friends 138 00:07:21,090 --> 00:07:22,858 and living her own life. 139 00:07:25,020 --> 00:07:29,022 - NARRATOR: In time, Wilma took another big step. 140 00:07:29,098 --> 00:07:31,566 - She had formed a romantic relationship 141 00:07:31,643 --> 00:07:34,068 with a man named Carl. 142 00:07:34,145 --> 00:07:36,029 - LINDA: She had met him actually at one of 143 00:07:36,105 --> 00:07:38,290 the country line dancing places. 144 00:07:38,366 --> 00:07:39,458 - She liked Carl. 145 00:07:39,534 --> 00:07:42,961 And that, uh, maybe even loved Carl. 146 00:07:43,038 --> 00:07:45,914 - He was just amazingly sweet to her. 147 00:07:45,990 --> 00:07:48,175 Really treated her nice, took good care of her. 148 00:07:51,472 --> 00:07:55,256 - NARRATOR: Wilma seemed to be enjoying her third act in life. 149 00:07:55,333 --> 00:07:59,385 But on October 3, 1989, her children become worried 150 00:07:59,462 --> 00:08:02,597 when they struggle to get ahold of her. 151 00:08:02,674 --> 00:08:06,651 - The last time I spoke to my mom was on a Tuesday morning. 152 00:08:06,728 --> 00:08:09,488 And she said she'd talk to me in a couple of days. 153 00:08:09,564 --> 00:08:13,942 I called her a couple of times and didn't get a hold of her. 154 00:08:14,018 --> 00:08:16,661 And called her the next day, didn't get a hold of her. 155 00:08:16,738 --> 00:08:18,997 My mother always answered the phone, 156 00:08:19,074 --> 00:08:21,491 and she always let me know where she was going. 157 00:08:21,502 --> 00:08:25,662 It registered in the back of my mind that she's missing. 158 00:08:25,672 --> 00:08:27,172 Where is she? 159 00:08:30,660 --> 00:08:32,961 - NARRATOR: On Friday, October 6, 160 00:08:33,037 --> 00:08:36,256 3 days since she last spoke with her mother, 161 00:08:36,332 --> 00:08:39,509 Wilma's daughter, Linda, has just heard news of a body 162 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,511 discovered in Springfield. 163 00:08:41,522 --> 00:08:43,021 And she and her husband begin 164 00:08:43,098 --> 00:08:46,432 to frantically call friends and family. 165 00:08:46,509 --> 00:08:49,528 - DR. PLASTER: My brother-in-law Mike Baker called and said 166 00:08:49,604 --> 00:08:52,313 something that just stopped me in my tracks. 167 00:08:52,390 --> 00:08:56,442 And he said, "We-- they found a body 168 00:08:56,519 --> 00:08:58,703 outside of Springfield." 169 00:08:58,780 --> 00:09:01,039 - I said, "There's something wrong. 170 00:09:01,116 --> 00:09:03,491 There is something wrong. I don't know what it is." 171 00:09:03,568 --> 00:09:08,288 But I prayed like crazy... 172 00:09:08,364 --> 00:09:10,423 that my mother was still alive. 173 00:09:14,555 --> 00:09:17,722 - NARRATOR: Wilma's worried family contacts authorities, 174 00:09:17,799 --> 00:09:20,383 and detectives ask them to come to the station 175 00:09:20,394 --> 00:09:26,014 to look at the forensic sketch broadcast by the news that week. 176 00:09:26,090 --> 00:09:29,183 - LINDA: He said, "I need you to look at this, Linda." 177 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:34,147 And he, he asked me to look at this paper. 178 00:09:34,223 --> 00:09:38,076 I shoved it back to him and I said, "No, it's not her. 179 00:09:38,153 --> 00:09:40,412 Don't make me look at it again." 180 00:09:40,488 --> 00:09:43,239 And he pushed it back. And I said, "I can't." 181 00:09:43,250 --> 00:09:47,586 Of course, by this time I'm-- I've broken down into a puddle. 182 00:09:47,662 --> 00:09:51,497 - NARRATOR: The family is spared from having to ID the body 183 00:09:51,574 --> 00:09:53,207 when dental records come in 184 00:09:53,284 --> 00:09:56,544 from the medical examiner on October 8. 185 00:09:56,621 --> 00:10:01,090 Their Jane Doe is identified as widow Wilma Plaster. 186 00:10:04,846 --> 00:10:06,763 - DAVID A: Through dental records, 187 00:10:06,773 --> 00:10:11,392 Wilma Plaster was positively identified. 188 00:10:11,469 --> 00:10:14,062 - DR. PLASTER: It was a feel like I'll never forget. 189 00:10:14,138 --> 00:10:15,780 I was--I felt like an orphan. 190 00:10:15,857 --> 00:10:17,782 Here I was--you know, I was thirty some-odd years old. 191 00:10:17,859 --> 00:10:20,068 I was a father of two boys. 192 00:10:20,144 --> 00:10:23,237 And--and I felt like an orphan. 193 00:10:23,314 --> 00:10:25,365 - LINDA: It was just so hard to believe. 194 00:10:25,441 --> 00:10:28,201 She was just a mother, a grandmother. 195 00:10:28,277 --> 00:10:31,204 She was a pastor's wife. 196 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:33,798 She was a good person. Why her? 197 00:10:33,875 --> 00:10:37,344 Who could have done something to such a sweet little lady? 198 00:10:39,163 --> 00:10:40,805 - ♪ 199 00:10:40,882 --> 00:10:44,142 - NARRATOR: Coming up: Is there more to this elderly widow's 200 00:10:44,219 --> 00:10:47,312 personal life than meets the eye? 201 00:10:47,389 --> 00:10:48,813 - LINDA: She cried all the way home because she was-- 202 00:10:48,890 --> 00:10:51,641 she felt so betrayed by him. 203 00:10:51,652 --> 00:10:55,153 - NARRATOR: And detectives uncover a frightful scene. 204 00:10:55,230 --> 00:10:58,648 - The crime lab found blood residue there. 205 00:10:58,659 --> 00:11:00,659 A lot of blood. 206 00:11:00,735 --> 00:11:03,078 - It was obviously the scene of a butchery. 207 00:11:05,523 --> 00:11:09,042 - ♪ 208 00:11:19,036 --> 00:11:21,346 - NARRATOR: October 8, 1989. 209 00:11:21,423 --> 00:11:24,424 Two days after a body was found dismembered 210 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:28,344 along a rural roadside outside Springfield, Missouri, 211 00:11:28,355 --> 00:11:30,346 an autopsy has just revealed 212 00:11:30,357 --> 00:11:34,442 the victim is 66-year-old Wilma Plaster. 213 00:11:37,013 --> 00:11:42,701 - She had been dumped along a rural highway 214 00:11:42,777 --> 00:11:45,537 like yesterday's trash. 215 00:11:45,613 --> 00:11:48,540 And it was like, "Who does that kind of thing? 216 00:11:48,616 --> 00:11:50,250 Who is that monstrous?" 217 00:11:52,904 --> 00:11:55,455 - NARRATOR: Detectives pour over the autopsy results 218 00:11:55,531 --> 00:11:57,790 hoping for a lead. 219 00:11:57,867 --> 00:12:00,293 - Not only was the victim decapitated, 220 00:12:00,369 --> 00:12:02,879 she was shot in the head. 221 00:12:02,889 --> 00:12:05,506 That ultimately was the cause of death-- 222 00:12:05,583 --> 00:12:07,800 was the bullet wound to the head. 223 00:12:07,877 --> 00:12:11,813 It was a .38 caliber that was used to shoot her. 224 00:12:13,308 --> 00:12:14,515 - SARA: Chopping the torso in half, 225 00:12:14,592 --> 00:12:15,525 removing the arms and legs, 226 00:12:16,719 --> 00:12:18,644 all that happened after she had been dead. 227 00:12:18,721 --> 00:12:19,904 The investigators speculated 228 00:12:21,390 --> 00:12:22,690 that the killer cut the body up into smaller pieces 229 00:12:22,767 --> 00:12:24,484 because then it would be easier for them 230 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:25,660 to move it and dispose of it. 231 00:12:28,940 --> 00:12:32,408 - NARRATOR: To detectives, the gruesome disposal of the body 232 00:12:32,419 --> 00:12:36,996 suggests the crime may not be the work of a stranger. 233 00:12:37,073 --> 00:12:39,916 - It just didn't seem like it was a random crime that-- 234 00:12:39,926 --> 00:12:42,376 that someone would attack a stranger, 235 00:12:42,453 --> 00:12:44,879 kill them and chop up their body like that. 236 00:12:44,956 --> 00:12:48,349 - It was a definite crime of premeditation. 237 00:12:52,088 --> 00:12:54,514 - NARRATOR: That afternoon, investigators sit down 238 00:12:54,590 --> 00:12:56,891 once again with Wilma's children 239 00:12:56,968 --> 00:13:01,020 to gain as much insight into her life as possible. 240 00:13:01,097 --> 00:13:03,731 - She had no enemies. 241 00:13:03,808 --> 00:13:05,617 She was well loved. 242 00:13:05,693 --> 00:13:08,027 People were shocked. 243 00:13:08,104 --> 00:13:10,029 - NARRATOR: Wilma's children tell detectives they should 244 00:13:10,106 --> 00:13:13,032 speak to their mother's best friend, Janice, 245 00:13:13,109 --> 00:13:17,745 for more information about their mother's day-to-day activities. 246 00:13:17,822 --> 00:13:21,040 - They were together, very good friends, 247 00:13:21,117 --> 00:13:25,419 constant friends for almost-- right at about six years. 248 00:13:25,496 --> 00:13:27,713 - NARRATOR: Wilma's family states that the two friends 249 00:13:27,790 --> 00:13:29,632 hadn't seen each other in a while, 250 00:13:29,643 --> 00:13:32,718 but kept in contact over the phone. 251 00:13:32,795 --> 00:13:35,888 - Janice had started to have a relationship with a gentleman 252 00:13:35,965 --> 00:13:37,816 and was possibly going to get married. 253 00:13:37,892 --> 00:13:42,395 And Mom was feeling left out again. 254 00:13:42,471 --> 00:13:46,899 - I know that my mom was deeply, um, disappointed. 255 00:13:46,976 --> 00:13:48,785 She may have felt a little abandoned. 256 00:13:51,573 --> 00:13:54,448 - NARRATOR: Janice wasn't the only person Wilma had recently 257 00:13:54,525 --> 00:13:56,576 distanced herself from. 258 00:13:56,652 --> 00:13:58,077 Wilma's children explain 259 00:13:58,154 --> 00:14:01,080 that a few weeks before Wilma disappeared, 260 00:14:01,157 --> 00:14:04,917 she abruptly ended her romance with Carl. 261 00:14:04,994 --> 00:14:07,587 - LINDA: She had started dating Carl four years ago. 262 00:14:07,663 --> 00:14:12,592 Carl was from Arkansas, and so he didn't live local. 263 00:14:12,668 --> 00:14:15,595 - It turned out he was married. 264 00:14:15,671 --> 00:14:17,346 - LINDA: She broke up with him. 265 00:14:17,357 --> 00:14:21,934 And she told me later that she cried all the way home because 266 00:14:22,011 --> 00:14:24,612 she was--she felt so betrayed by him. 267 00:14:27,868 --> 00:14:30,610 - NARRATOR: After concluding the interview at the station, 268 00:14:30,686 --> 00:14:34,822 detectives head to Wilma's home in Branson in search of answers 269 00:14:34,899 --> 00:14:39,544 for how this elderly woman met such a horrific end. 270 00:14:39,621 --> 00:14:42,622 - When we entered the home, it looked pristine. 271 00:14:42,698 --> 00:14:45,550 It even smelled tidy. 272 00:14:45,627 --> 00:14:47,719 - There was no evidence of any struggle 273 00:14:47,795 --> 00:14:50,796 or anything of that nature. 274 00:14:50,873 --> 00:14:53,007 - NARRATOR: Despite the perfect façade, 275 00:14:53,084 --> 00:14:54,800 detectives are able to prove 276 00:14:54,877 --> 00:14:57,729 that two items found with Wilma's body-- 277 00:14:57,805 --> 00:14:59,847 the garden shears and knife-- 278 00:14:59,924 --> 00:15:02,975 appeared to have originated from the home. 279 00:15:03,052 --> 00:15:04,852 - DR. PLASTER: There's a knife missing here. 280 00:15:04,929 --> 00:15:07,980 And, uh, it was that butcher, that--that butcher's knife-- 281 00:15:08,057 --> 00:15:13,819 a wooden-handled knife with a big heavy blade. 282 00:15:13,896 --> 00:15:15,079 - DAVID T: They also determined 283 00:15:15,156 --> 00:15:17,907 that Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta was missing. 284 00:15:17,918 --> 00:15:19,792 There was no car in the garage. 285 00:15:21,946 --> 00:15:24,497 - NARRATOR: Detectives immediately put out an APB 286 00:15:24,573 --> 00:15:28,426 on Wilma's vehicle and continue processing the garage, 287 00:15:28,503 --> 00:15:31,921 where they make a startling discovery. 288 00:15:31,932 --> 00:15:33,714 - It was pretty obvious the garage 289 00:15:33,791 --> 00:15:35,758 had recently been cleaned. 290 00:15:35,769 --> 00:15:39,771 And so they sprayed luminol in the garage. 291 00:15:39,847 --> 00:15:42,848 - They found some blood in a--in a swirling pattern, 292 00:15:42,925 --> 00:15:46,102 indicating that there might have been some effort to clean blood 293 00:15:46,112 --> 00:15:48,780 off of the floor of the garage. 294 00:15:48,856 --> 00:15:53,025 - DAVID A: The crime lab found blood residue there. 295 00:15:53,102 --> 00:15:55,119 A lot of blood. 296 00:15:55,196 --> 00:15:59,782 We felt like the actual decapitation 297 00:15:59,793 --> 00:16:05,454 and body dismemberment occurred in the garage of Wilma's house. 298 00:16:05,465 --> 00:16:08,716 - It was obviously the scene of a butchery. 299 00:16:13,164 --> 00:16:16,215 - NARRATOR: Investigators fan out to speak with neighbors, 300 00:16:16,292 --> 00:16:18,968 hoping they may have noticed anything unusual 301 00:16:18,979 --> 00:16:21,145 in the last few days. 302 00:16:21,222 --> 00:16:23,889 One neighbor recalls hearing a loud pop 303 00:16:23,966 --> 00:16:26,651 on the night of October 3. 304 00:16:26,728 --> 00:16:31,063 - DAVID A: There was a neighbor nearby Wilma Plaster's home 305 00:16:31,140 --> 00:16:36,736 that heard a loud bang, like a gun. 306 00:16:36,812 --> 00:16:40,823 It was later in the night, and it frightened him to the point 307 00:16:40,834 --> 00:16:44,243 that he went in his own garage and was looking around for 308 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,838 something that might have fallen. 309 00:16:46,914 --> 00:16:50,249 - He had no idea that, uh, it--it was a gunshot. 310 00:16:50,326 --> 00:16:53,627 He just didn't put two and two together. 311 00:16:53,704 --> 00:16:56,255 - NARRATOR: Another neighbor recalls seeing a silver car 312 00:16:56,332 --> 00:17:00,018 at Wilma's residence over the last few days. 313 00:17:00,094 --> 00:17:04,263 - They talked with one of the neighbors who twice could say 314 00:17:04,340 --> 00:17:07,266 she had seen a silver car parked at Wilma's house 315 00:17:07,343 --> 00:17:10,862 and, at one point, the car had pulled into the garage. 316 00:17:14,534 --> 00:17:16,692 - NARRATOR: Detectives put out another APB 317 00:17:16,703 --> 00:17:19,871 for the suspicious silver sedan. 318 00:17:19,947 --> 00:17:21,614 As they await results, 319 00:17:21,690 --> 00:17:25,785 they track down Wilma's former flame, Carl Hughes. 320 00:17:25,861 --> 00:17:30,206 - It's in our best interest to identify everybody involved. 321 00:17:30,216 --> 00:17:33,209 And so, he agreed to talk, 322 00:17:33,219 --> 00:17:37,129 even though he was a potential suspect. 323 00:17:37,206 --> 00:17:38,839 - NARRATOR: When they sit down with Carl, 324 00:17:38,916 --> 00:17:40,800 detectives ask him point blank 325 00:17:40,876 --> 00:17:44,637 if he knows anything about Wilma's death. 326 00:17:44,713 --> 00:17:49,809 - Carl was Wilma's boyfriend who lived in Arkansas. 327 00:17:49,885 --> 00:17:53,687 And upon being contacted and interviewed, 328 00:17:53,764 --> 00:17:56,816 he indicated that he was home in Arkansas 329 00:17:56,892 --> 00:18:00,745 at the time preceding her death. 330 00:18:00,822 --> 00:18:02,196 - NARRATOR: When detectives press Carl 331 00:18:02,273 --> 00:18:04,916 about a potential love triangle, 332 00:18:04,992 --> 00:18:08,744 Carl claims his wife didn't know about Wilma. 333 00:18:08,755 --> 00:18:10,755 - It turned out he was married. 334 00:18:10,832 --> 00:18:14,208 I don't think she knew about my mother. 335 00:18:14,285 --> 00:18:17,753 - NARRATOR: Carl's alibi is verified by his wife. 336 00:18:17,764 --> 00:18:20,714 In addition, detectives find no record of him 337 00:18:20,791 --> 00:18:24,009 owning or renting a silver car. 338 00:18:24,086 --> 00:18:27,346 - Carl did not own a silver vehicle described 339 00:18:27,423 --> 00:18:31,350 as being at Wilma Plaster's residence. 340 00:18:31,427 --> 00:18:34,278 That helped eliminate him as a suspect. 341 00:18:37,641 --> 00:18:39,859 - NARRATOR: With Carl cleared as a suspect, 342 00:18:39,935 --> 00:18:44,363 detectives move on to another member of Wilma's inner circle. 343 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:49,869 On October 9, 1989, 3 days after Wilma's body was found, 344 00:18:49,945 --> 00:18:52,621 detectives sit down with Janice Cook, 345 00:18:52,632 --> 00:18:55,958 previously one of Wilma's closest friends. 346 00:18:55,969 --> 00:19:00,087 - Janice Cook, who is Wilma Plaster's 347 00:19:00,164 --> 00:19:02,807 neighbor and friend, 348 00:19:02,884 --> 00:19:07,052 was concerned because she hadn't seen her in several days. 349 00:19:07,129 --> 00:19:09,263 - LINDA: Janice was going a different direction. 350 00:19:09,340 --> 00:19:12,975 And Mom had had this constant companion for all this time. 351 00:19:12,986 --> 00:19:15,820 And now all of a sudden, she was going to be alone. 352 00:19:15,897 --> 00:19:16,896 - DR. PLASTER: I don't think Janice 353 00:19:16,972 --> 00:19:19,064 was ever a serious suspect. 354 00:19:19,141 --> 00:19:21,150 I think that they might have had, you know, 355 00:19:21,161 --> 00:19:23,402 your typical friendship tiffs. 356 00:19:23,479 --> 00:19:26,247 I think they were good friends right to the very end. 357 00:19:29,076 --> 00:19:31,118 - NARRATOR: Detectives ask Janice if she knows of 358 00:19:31,195 --> 00:19:34,672 anyone else who was close with Wilma. 359 00:19:34,749 --> 00:19:36,415 - DR. PLASTER: Mom had mentioned a new friend. 360 00:19:36,492 --> 00:19:39,752 That's when I found out about Shirley Phillips. 361 00:19:39,828 --> 00:19:42,013 - LINDA: Shirley was a friend that she met at one of these 362 00:19:42,089 --> 00:19:45,424 country line dancing places there in Branson. 363 00:19:45,501 --> 00:19:48,135 - DR. PLASTER: Mom was excited about having a new friend. 364 00:19:48,212 --> 00:19:50,855 Janice had started dating somebody and kind of moved on 365 00:19:50,932 --> 00:19:53,766 away from their relationship, and she was sort of alone. 366 00:19:53,842 --> 00:19:56,611 And so Shirley stepped in and filled the gap. 367 00:19:58,105 --> 00:19:59,197 - NARRATOR: Janice says Wilma 368 00:19:59,273 --> 00:20:02,316 and 53-year-old Shirley Jo Phillips 369 00:20:02,393 --> 00:20:06,037 had become inseparable over the last few weeks. 370 00:20:06,113 --> 00:20:09,281 - I don't think their relationship was all that long. 371 00:20:09,358 --> 00:20:12,826 My understanding from what Mom had said, 372 00:20:12,903 --> 00:20:16,830 it was maybe three weeks to a month is all she knew her. 373 00:20:16,907 --> 00:20:18,207 - NARRATOR: Detectives ask Janice 374 00:20:18,218 --> 00:20:22,169 what kind of car Shirley Jo drives. 375 00:20:22,246 --> 00:20:23,804 - Shirley Jo Phillips had a silver Cadillac. 376 00:20:24,966 --> 00:20:26,799 - ♪ 377 00:20:26,875 --> 00:20:29,176 - NARRATOR: Coming up: detectives learn more about 378 00:20:29,253 --> 00:20:34,899 Wilma's new friend, who may be harboring a dark secret. 379 00:20:34,976 --> 00:20:39,070 - She told her what she wanted to hear and, man, she was in. 380 00:20:39,146 --> 00:20:40,479 Mom took her in. 381 00:20:40,556 --> 00:20:42,231 - NARRATOR: And a witness comes forward 382 00:20:42,242 --> 00:20:45,150 with a terrifying realization. 383 00:20:45,227 --> 00:20:47,027 - She was scared out of her mind. 384 00:20:47,104 --> 00:20:50,998 She realized that she probably was, uh, friends with a killer. 385 00:20:54,420 --> 00:20:58,089 - ♪ 386 00:21:08,101 --> 00:21:09,267 - NARRATOR: Detectives in Springfield, Missouri, 387 00:21:09,343 --> 00:21:11,093 are on the hunt for the killer 388 00:21:11,104 --> 00:21:15,889 of 66-year-old grandmother Wilma Plaster. 389 00:21:15,966 --> 00:21:18,559 During an interview with Janice Cook, 390 00:21:18,635 --> 00:21:21,562 they learn that a new fixture in Wilma's life, 391 00:21:21,638 --> 00:21:24,398 53-year-old Shirley Jo Phillips, 392 00:21:24,475 --> 00:21:28,402 owns a silver Cadillac matching the one seen at Wilma's 393 00:21:28,479 --> 00:21:31,447 prior to her disappearance. 394 00:21:31,457 --> 00:21:33,124 - Obviously, that was the car 395 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,961 seen by the neighbor of Wilma Plaster. 396 00:21:37,038 --> 00:21:38,954 That was a piece of evidence 397 00:21:38,965 --> 00:21:41,966 that turned us more towards Shirley. 398 00:21:46,472 --> 00:21:49,590 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo Phillips was known for her lively spirit 399 00:21:49,666 --> 00:21:52,259 and zest for life. 400 00:21:52,336 --> 00:21:53,552 - JACK: I just thought the world of her. 401 00:21:53,629 --> 00:21:54,937 And she just thought the world of me. 402 00:21:56,173 --> 00:21:58,474 She just had the greatest laugh and smile. 403 00:21:58,484 --> 00:22:01,319 Uh, she was a very beautiful woman. 404 00:22:01,395 --> 00:22:02,636 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo's beauty 405 00:22:02,713 --> 00:22:06,324 had always captivated the attention of men. 406 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,275 - JACK: She worked in an office. 407 00:22:08,352 --> 00:22:12,112 My aunt was dressed to the nines. You know? 408 00:22:12,189 --> 00:22:15,407 She always--her makeup was perfect. 409 00:22:15,484 --> 00:22:18,577 She carried herself very elegantly. 410 00:22:18,654 --> 00:22:20,496 - MICKEY: She was very energetic. 411 00:22:20,506 --> 00:22:23,415 She had this way about her, a smile and just a personality 412 00:22:23,492 --> 00:22:25,134 that you were immediately attracted to. 413 00:22:27,704 --> 00:22:30,181 - NARRATOR: After a brief marriage and subsequent divorce 414 00:22:30,257 --> 00:22:33,092 during the '60s, Shirley Jo found herself 415 00:22:33,168 --> 00:22:38,305 a young single mother to a son-- Glenn "Buddy" Minster. 416 00:22:38,382 --> 00:22:41,141 - She loved her son. She took care of her son. 417 00:22:41,218 --> 00:22:45,354 I don't think he really wanted for anything. 418 00:22:45,365 --> 00:22:48,148 Back in the '60s, you know, she had jobs in Wichita, 419 00:22:48,225 --> 00:22:50,651 she had jobs in Dallas. 420 00:22:50,727 --> 00:22:53,037 You know, you can barely have an apartment and raise a child 421 00:22:53,114 --> 00:22:55,280 and you don't have a husband, you know. 422 00:22:55,357 --> 00:22:57,491 It's not an easy life. 423 00:22:57,568 --> 00:23:01,420 You basically did what you had to, to get by. 424 00:23:04,384 --> 00:23:06,458 - NARRATOR: Faced with many hardships, 425 00:23:06,535 --> 00:23:12,005 Shirley Jo found other ways to provide for herself and her son. 426 00:23:12,082 --> 00:23:13,674 - My mother always said, "Your aunt's a kleptomaniac. 427 00:23:13,750 --> 00:23:16,552 She can't come in the house without stealing something." 428 00:23:16,562 --> 00:23:20,973 So, we always watched out for, you know, sticky fingers. 429 00:23:21,049 --> 00:23:23,475 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo's mother, Lela Kyle, 430 00:23:23,552 --> 00:23:26,478 did not agree with her daughter's life choices, 431 00:23:26,555 --> 00:23:29,022 and wanted better for her. 432 00:23:29,099 --> 00:23:31,066 - It was always a combative relationship. 433 00:23:31,077 --> 00:23:34,027 She didn't like my aunt's lifestyle. 434 00:23:34,104 --> 00:23:36,196 - My grandmother blamed her for her lifestyle. 435 00:23:36,273 --> 00:23:40,409 It made for a very bad situation between them. 436 00:23:40,420 --> 00:23:43,662 - NARRATOR: By the fall of 1984, Shirley Jo seemed 437 00:23:43,739 --> 00:23:48,208 to take another turn, and not for the better. 438 00:23:48,285 --> 00:23:51,095 - She wasn't as friendly, uh, almost depressed. 439 00:23:51,172 --> 00:23:52,930 - JACK: There was a change in my aunt. 440 00:23:53,007 --> 00:23:58,385 She was cold, no pulse, no feelings. 441 00:23:58,462 --> 00:24:02,014 She barely looked at me, wouldn't talk to me. 442 00:24:02,090 --> 00:24:03,557 And I even commented to my grandmother, I said, 443 00:24:03,634 --> 00:24:05,225 "What's the deal?" 444 00:24:05,302 --> 00:24:09,730 And she's like, "Your aunt just changed in a bad way." 445 00:24:09,806 --> 00:24:12,107 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo started using her beauty 446 00:24:12,118 --> 00:24:15,068 to con men for money. 447 00:24:15,145 --> 00:24:19,239 - She was--would find--find men, take all their stuff, 448 00:24:19,316 --> 00:24:22,743 go to another state, and had a huge yard sale. 449 00:24:22,819 --> 00:24:24,019 - MICKEY: She usually chose men. 450 00:24:24,021 --> 00:24:26,464 But when men no longer availed themselves, 451 00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:28,299 she looked for other people. 452 00:24:28,375 --> 00:24:30,542 And, uh, when she found somebody, 453 00:24:30,619 --> 00:24:32,136 she took them for everything she could. 454 00:24:32,213 --> 00:24:36,131 - ♪ 455 00:24:36,142 --> 00:24:38,550 - NARRATOR: Now, detectives investigating the murder of 456 00:24:38,627 --> 00:24:42,054 Wilma Plaster wonder if Shirley Jo 457 00:24:42,130 --> 00:24:45,983 may have taken her latest con too far. 458 00:24:46,060 --> 00:24:47,985 - LINDA: My mom was an easy target. 459 00:24:48,062 --> 00:24:50,604 I think she realized how--how lonely Mom was, 460 00:24:50,681 --> 00:24:52,606 'cause Shirley Phillips popped in there 461 00:24:52,683 --> 00:24:54,325 and she told her what she wanted to hear 462 00:24:54,401 --> 00:24:57,778 and, man, she was in. 463 00:24:57,854 --> 00:24:59,497 Mom took her in. 464 00:24:59,573 --> 00:25:00,623 - NARRATOR: It isn't long before 465 00:25:01,892 --> 00:25:03,667 an informant contacts police on October 10. 466 00:25:05,338 --> 00:25:07,788 - Nora Martin was a friend of Shirley Jo Phillips. 467 00:25:07,864 --> 00:25:10,624 She worked at a jeans factory in Harrison, Arkansas, 468 00:25:10,701 --> 00:25:14,127 which is about a hundred miles south of Springfield. 469 00:25:14,204 --> 00:25:17,631 - She had called the police saying, I think I have evidence. 470 00:25:17,708 --> 00:25:20,184 And she was scared to death. 471 00:25:23,597 --> 00:25:27,599 - NARRATOR: Detectives rush to the home of Nora Martin. 472 00:25:27,676 --> 00:25:31,645 - LINDA: She was frightened. She was shaking. 473 00:25:31,722 --> 00:25:36,367 And she relays to the police that Shirley had come down 474 00:25:36,443 --> 00:25:40,153 and had--actually had spent a couple of days with her. 475 00:25:40,230 --> 00:25:42,281 - NARRATOR: Nora tells detectives that as soon as 476 00:25:42,357 --> 00:25:44,157 Shirley Jo had arrived, 477 00:25:44,234 --> 00:25:46,702 she started cutting the passenger side seatbelt 478 00:25:46,712 --> 00:25:49,663 out of her silver Cadillac. 479 00:25:49,740 --> 00:25:51,048 - DAVID T: Shirley said that there was-- 480 00:25:51,125 --> 00:25:52,666 the seatbelt wasn't retracting, 481 00:25:52,743 --> 00:25:54,209 and it kept getting caught in the door. 482 00:25:54,220 --> 00:25:55,669 So she was cutting it out of the car 483 00:25:55,746 --> 00:25:58,505 so that that wouldn't happen anymore. 484 00:25:58,582 --> 00:26:00,507 - NARRATOR: Nora says after that, 485 00:26:00,584 --> 00:26:05,679 Shirley Jo suggested they both take their cars to the car wash. 486 00:26:05,756 --> 00:26:07,556 - DAVID T: They went to a car wash that was nearby. 487 00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:09,850 While the two of them were at the car wash, 488 00:26:09,926 --> 00:26:13,186 Shirley vacuumed her car out three separate times 489 00:26:13,263 --> 00:26:14,572 and washed it twice. 490 00:26:18,244 --> 00:26:20,360 - SARA: The women then go back to--to Nora's. 491 00:26:20,437 --> 00:26:23,196 And they're watching the news. 492 00:26:23,273 --> 00:26:25,332 And they see a report about, about the murder. 493 00:26:26,568 --> 00:26:27,501 - DAVID T: Nora told police that 494 00:26:28,662 --> 00:26:29,503 Shirley became very nervous and upset. 495 00:26:31,148 --> 00:26:33,707 And she said, "My fingerprints are all over Wilma's house." 496 00:26:33,784 --> 00:26:37,419 - NARRATOR: Though Shirley Jo's behavior certainly seemed odd, 497 00:26:37,430 --> 00:26:41,173 Nora admits she didn't think much of it at the time. 498 00:26:41,249 --> 00:26:43,884 That is, until she found some items 499 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,887 Shirley Jo had left behind. 500 00:26:46,963 --> 00:26:50,608 - There's a bunch of stuff stuffed under her front porch 501 00:26:50,684 --> 00:26:52,109 in trash bags. 502 00:26:54,355 --> 00:26:57,731 - DAVID: Inside the trash bag, police found hundreds of checks 503 00:26:57,808 --> 00:27:00,359 belonging to Wilma Plaster. 504 00:27:00,435 --> 00:27:01,693 - SARA: There were some bloody towels, 505 00:27:01,770 --> 00:27:03,454 there were the floor mats, 506 00:27:03,530 --> 00:27:05,864 there were other things from the car. 507 00:27:05,941 --> 00:27:10,294 They find a receipt from Walmart for cleaning supplies. 508 00:27:10,371 --> 00:27:12,871 - DR. PLASTER: This person also found, uh, 509 00:27:12,948 --> 00:27:16,291 the carpet that was cut out of Shirley's trunk, 510 00:27:16,302 --> 00:27:18,469 which was deeply bloodstained. 511 00:27:18,545 --> 00:27:21,755 And when it kind of dawned on her what her friend had done, 512 00:27:21,832 --> 00:27:24,883 she was--I mean, she was scared out of her mind. 513 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:29,104 She realized that she probably was, uh, friends with a killer. 514 00:27:33,343 --> 00:27:35,819 - NARRATOR: Nora hands over all the content left behind 515 00:27:35,896 --> 00:27:40,649 by Shirley Jo and allows detectives to search her home. 516 00:27:40,660 --> 00:27:45,737 - That is where they found, um, the gun. 517 00:27:45,814 --> 00:27:47,656 - DAVID T: The gun that the police found under the porch 518 00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:50,501 was a .38 caliber revolver. 519 00:27:50,577 --> 00:27:53,245 Ballistics testing was later done in comparison with 520 00:27:53,321 --> 00:27:56,507 the bullet fragments taken from Wilma Plaster's brain. 521 00:27:56,583 --> 00:27:58,917 And the expert determined that those fragments had come from 522 00:27:58,994 --> 00:28:01,679 that gun that was found under the porch. 523 00:28:01,755 --> 00:28:04,673 - So, it just kind of brought everything together. 524 00:28:04,684 --> 00:28:07,851 Plus, all the evidence of the checks. 525 00:28:07,928 --> 00:28:12,681 The forged check and the other checks from Wilma. 526 00:28:12,692 --> 00:28:16,527 - NARRATOR: The gun, however, is not registered to Shirley Jo, 527 00:28:16,603 --> 00:28:19,655 but to her son, Glenn "Buddy" Minster. 528 00:28:23,852 --> 00:28:27,371 Detectives quickly call him into the station for an interview 529 00:28:27,448 --> 00:28:31,709 wondering if there is a darker side to Buddy. 530 00:28:31,785 --> 00:28:36,371 - DAVID A: In the interview with Buddy, he was quite candid. 531 00:28:36,382 --> 00:28:37,497 - JACK: Here's the thing. 532 00:28:37,574 --> 00:28:40,292 He's a thief. He'd steal from you. 533 00:28:40,368 --> 00:28:43,378 But, you know, murder? What do you mean? 534 00:28:43,389 --> 00:28:44,722 It didn't compute. 535 00:28:46,374 --> 00:28:47,841 - ♪ 536 00:28:47,918 --> 00:28:50,510 - NARRATOR: Coming up: detectives double down on 537 00:28:50,587 --> 00:28:54,231 finding Shirley Jo and catch a break. 538 00:28:54,308 --> 00:28:55,390 - DAVID T: When the police arrived, 539 00:28:55,401 --> 00:28:56,641 they determined that this car 540 00:28:56,718 --> 00:28:59,686 was Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta. 541 00:28:59,763 --> 00:29:01,480 - NARRATOR: But another discovery proves 542 00:29:01,556 --> 00:29:03,690 far more shocking. 543 00:29:03,767 --> 00:29:07,360 - They had recovered nine pounds of human flesh 544 00:29:07,437 --> 00:29:09,029 at a roadside park. 545 00:29:09,105 --> 00:29:11,206 This case just exploded. 546 00:29:14,495 --> 00:29:18,213 - ♪ 547 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,716 - NARRATOR: October 10, 1989. 548 00:29:29,793 --> 00:29:33,845 It's been 4 days since 66-year-old Wilma Plaster's 549 00:29:33,922 --> 00:29:37,098 dismembered body was found alongside a roadway 550 00:29:37,109 --> 00:29:40,936 just outside of Springfield, Missouri. 551 00:29:40,946 --> 00:29:44,439 Investigators are now speaking with Buddy Minster, 552 00:29:44,450 --> 00:29:49,110 the son of Wilma's close friend, Shirley Jo Phillips. 553 00:29:49,121 --> 00:29:52,113 - In the interview with Buddy, he had alibis. 554 00:29:52,124 --> 00:29:55,951 He had witnesses to verify where he was. 555 00:29:55,961 --> 00:29:57,461 - NARRATOR: After interviewing him, 556 00:29:57,538 --> 00:30:00,121 it seems the murder of Wilma Plaster 557 00:30:00,132 --> 00:30:03,875 is far beyond his usual crimes. 558 00:30:03,952 --> 00:30:06,878 - JACK: He's been in jail off and on, had went to prison. 559 00:30:06,955 --> 00:30:09,464 He'd break into a place. 560 00:30:09,475 --> 00:30:13,310 But violence, murder--my cousin wasn't like that. 561 00:30:15,481 --> 00:30:17,940 - Buddy was absolved from any involvement. 562 00:30:20,894 --> 00:30:23,987 - NARRATOR: Now detectives look back to Buddy's mother. 563 00:30:24,064 --> 00:30:27,107 And the evidence suggests that Shirley Jo Phillips had been 564 00:30:27,183 --> 00:30:30,402 stealing from the late widow. 565 00:30:30,478 --> 00:30:32,487 - SARA: Police found hundreds of checks 566 00:30:32,498 --> 00:30:34,739 from Wilma Plaster's account. 567 00:30:34,816 --> 00:30:37,492 They also were able to determine that Shirley Jo's fingerprints 568 00:30:37,503 --> 00:30:39,744 were on those checks. 569 00:30:39,821 --> 00:30:41,663 - DR. PLASTER: The investigators basically asked us, 570 00:30:41,674 --> 00:30:44,082 "Is it plausible that your mother would have written 571 00:30:44,159 --> 00:30:46,835 a $4,000 check to Shirley Phillips?" 572 00:30:46,846 --> 00:30:49,963 And we all said, "Number one, it's not plausible. 573 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:51,723 And number two, that's not her signature." 574 00:30:54,761 --> 00:30:56,803 - NARRATOR: Detectives reach out to Wilma's bank 575 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:58,930 for more information. 576 00:30:59,007 --> 00:31:02,183 - Her bank account had been totally drained. 577 00:31:02,194 --> 00:31:06,029 Her bank account being empty totally shocked us all. 578 00:31:09,034 --> 00:31:10,868 - NARRATOR: With evidence beginning to point to 579 00:31:10,944 --> 00:31:15,030 Shirley Jo's involvement, detectives catch a lucky break 580 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,867 when a lead comes through on Wilma's Chevy Beretta. 581 00:31:18,878 --> 00:31:20,869 - DAVID T: The staff at the hotel of the Ramada Inn in 582 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,496 Springfield called police because they had noticed 583 00:31:23,573 --> 00:31:25,624 a red Chevrolet Beretta had been in their parking lot 584 00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:28,543 for several days and hadn't been disturbed in any way. 585 00:31:28,554 --> 00:31:31,054 When the police arrived, they determined that this car was 586 00:31:31,131 --> 00:31:34,132 Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta. 587 00:31:34,209 --> 00:31:37,144 But there was no evidence of a struggle from the car. 588 00:31:39,899 --> 00:31:42,223 - NARRATOR: While detectives decide their next steps, 589 00:31:42,234 --> 00:31:45,226 something unexpected happens. 590 00:31:45,237 --> 00:31:48,897 - Shirley walked into the police station and said, 591 00:31:48,908 --> 00:31:51,858 "I hear you're looking for me." 592 00:31:51,935 --> 00:31:54,069 And sat down. 593 00:31:54,079 --> 00:31:55,579 And started talking to them. 594 00:31:58,751 --> 00:32:02,702 - DAVID A: She repeatedly would refuse to admit 595 00:32:02,779 --> 00:32:04,663 that she wrote the check. 596 00:32:04,739 --> 00:32:09,042 She would just say, "She"-- referring to Wilma-- 597 00:32:09,119 --> 00:32:11,920 "Handed it to me." 598 00:32:11,931 --> 00:32:17,008 We said, "Now, tell us the truth, Shirley. 599 00:32:17,085 --> 00:32:20,095 Just tell us the truth." 600 00:32:20,105 --> 00:32:23,264 Even though she confronted in that manner at times, 601 00:32:23,275 --> 00:32:27,602 she held her ground. She wouldn't confess. 602 00:32:27,613 --> 00:32:30,230 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo insists that Wilma issued the checks as 603 00:32:30,306 --> 00:32:32,899 payment for some of her furniture. 604 00:32:32,976 --> 00:32:35,777 But detectives aren't biting. 605 00:32:35,788 --> 00:32:38,238 - It was completely implausible that my mom would 606 00:32:38,314 --> 00:32:41,282 purchase anything from Shirley for $4,000-- 607 00:32:41,293 --> 00:32:43,118 any furniture. 608 00:32:43,128 --> 00:32:44,786 - She denies that she killed her friend. 609 00:32:44,797 --> 00:32:46,287 She denies that she chopped up the body. 610 00:32:46,298 --> 00:32:48,131 She--she's just, you know, 611 00:32:48,208 --> 00:32:50,217 "How could you possibly think I did this?" 612 00:32:52,328 --> 00:32:54,295 - NARRATOR: But Shirley Jo tells detectives 613 00:32:54,306 --> 00:32:56,965 she might know who did. 614 00:32:56,976 --> 00:32:58,967 - Shirley said that the two of them had gone to 615 00:32:58,978 --> 00:33:02,053 the hotel bar at the Ramada Inn in Springfield. 616 00:33:02,130 --> 00:33:03,555 - She made the statement that 617 00:33:03,631 --> 00:33:07,225 she was leaving with a strange man. 618 00:33:07,302 --> 00:33:08,977 - NARRATOR: Investigators ask Shirley Jo 619 00:33:08,988 --> 00:33:10,812 for a handwriting sample 620 00:33:10,823 --> 00:33:13,314 to compare with Wilma's forged signature, 621 00:33:13,325 --> 00:33:17,152 and shockingly, she complies. 622 00:33:17,162 --> 00:33:18,987 - DAVID A: From the handwriting samples, 623 00:33:18,998 --> 00:33:24,325 the calligrapher determined that the check for $4,050 624 00:33:24,336 --> 00:33:29,664 was not signed by Wilma Plaster. 625 00:33:29,675 --> 00:33:32,000 That was not her handwriting 626 00:33:32,011 --> 00:33:34,845 and was confirmed as being Shirley's. 627 00:33:37,207 --> 00:33:39,257 - It just became, um, 628 00:33:39,334 --> 00:33:41,184 pretty much irrefutable in our minds 629 00:33:41,261 --> 00:33:42,853 that it was Shirley Phillips. 630 00:33:44,598 --> 00:33:47,182 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo is detained on suspicion of 631 00:33:47,192 --> 00:33:51,019 check forgery, and investigators reach out to the bartender 632 00:33:51,030 --> 00:33:55,815 at the Ramada Inn to confirm Shirley Jo's story. 633 00:33:55,892 --> 00:33:59,194 - No one at the hotel had seen the two women there that night. 634 00:33:59,204 --> 00:34:00,695 That was just where Shirley Jo 635 00:34:00,706 --> 00:34:03,031 took Wilma's car later and left it. 636 00:34:03,042 --> 00:34:04,708 And then she tried to make up some story 637 00:34:04,785 --> 00:34:08,045 to explain why the car was there. 638 00:34:08,121 --> 00:34:10,371 - NARRATOR: Detectives then issue a search warrant for 639 00:34:10,382 --> 00:34:14,793 Shirley Jo's car, and unlike Wilma's Chevy Beretta, 640 00:34:14,869 --> 00:34:18,379 this car yields some damning evidence. 641 00:34:18,390 --> 00:34:21,382 - DAVID A: When Shirley came to headquarters for the interview, 642 00:34:21,393 --> 00:34:23,218 she brought the car with her 643 00:34:23,228 --> 00:34:27,889 and provided a consent to search on her Cadillac. 644 00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:31,234 - Police found blood in the front seat area of the car 645 00:34:31,311 --> 00:34:33,311 and also in the trunk. 646 00:34:33,388 --> 00:34:36,898 Luminol testing shoed that there was blood residue in the areas 647 00:34:36,909 --> 00:34:40,235 of the back seat, and particularly under the place 648 00:34:40,245 --> 00:34:41,995 where the floormats would have been in the back seat. 649 00:34:45,250 --> 00:34:47,325 - NARRATOR: After the luminol search of her car showed 650 00:34:47,402 --> 00:34:49,911 evidence of a violent struggle, 651 00:34:49,922 --> 00:34:53,081 a search of Shirley Jo's home also reveals 652 00:34:53,092 --> 00:34:57,710 the same type of ammunition used in Wilma's murder. 653 00:34:57,787 --> 00:34:59,838 - In Shirley's bedroom, police found numerous 654 00:34:59,914 --> 00:35:02,882 .38 caliber bullet rounds. 655 00:35:02,959 --> 00:35:06,094 - The evidence reconfirmed and--and tied together 656 00:35:06,105 --> 00:35:07,979 some theories they were already working from. 657 00:35:10,943 --> 00:35:12,109 - NARRATOR: On October 12, 658 00:35:12,185 --> 00:35:14,769 detectives arrest Shirley Jo Phillips 659 00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:18,022 for the murder of Wilma Plaster. 660 00:35:18,099 --> 00:35:22,285 - We knew she had decided to go in and talk to the police. 661 00:35:22,362 --> 00:35:24,696 Um, but she never left. 662 00:35:24,772 --> 00:35:28,116 It had been a hard, hard time. 663 00:35:28,127 --> 00:35:30,702 You're so relieved, you almost are exhausted. 664 00:35:30,778 --> 00:35:34,956 - ♪ 665 00:35:34,967 --> 00:35:37,792 - NARRATOR: Three weeks after Shirley Jo's arrest, 666 00:35:37,803 --> 00:35:40,044 detectives get disturbing news 667 00:35:40,121 --> 00:35:43,464 from the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation. 668 00:35:43,475 --> 00:35:49,137 It seems Wilma may not have been Shirley Jo's first victim. 669 00:35:49,148 --> 00:35:52,473 - This case just exploded, mushroomed. 670 00:35:52,484 --> 00:35:56,436 We were contacted by Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 671 00:35:56,512 --> 00:36:00,064 in reference to nine pounds of human flesh 672 00:36:00,141 --> 00:36:04,736 they had recovered at a roadside park. 673 00:36:04,812 --> 00:36:10,000 This was recovered back on about Mother's Day of that year. 674 00:36:10,076 --> 00:36:15,413 And, uh, what it was--was four fingers of a left hand, 675 00:36:15,490 --> 00:36:18,499 a part of an upper lip, 676 00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:23,847 a nose, an ear, and other body parts. 677 00:36:23,924 --> 00:36:28,343 They couldn't develop blood type or DNA at that point, you know, 678 00:36:28,353 --> 00:36:32,305 the investigator brought us the body parts. 679 00:36:32,382 --> 00:36:37,852 We, of course, photographed them and fingerprinted them. 680 00:36:37,863 --> 00:36:41,189 - They were able to then identify her for sure 681 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,867 as Lela Kyle, and Shirley's mom. 682 00:36:46,562 --> 00:36:49,364 - NARRATOR: It seems 76-year-old Lela Kyle 683 00:36:49,374 --> 00:36:53,034 had gone missing 7 months earlier. 684 00:36:53,045 --> 00:36:55,495 - The story from my aunt was she ran off with some guy. 685 00:36:55,571 --> 00:36:57,997 Well, my grandmother at 76 years old 686 00:36:58,074 --> 00:37:01,209 with no car didn't meet a guy and run off with him. 687 00:37:01,220 --> 00:37:03,878 - DR. PLASTER: It was ironic because she had used exactly 688 00:37:03,889 --> 00:37:06,130 the same language when she was questioned about 689 00:37:06,207 --> 00:37:08,391 her mother's death. 690 00:37:08,468 --> 00:37:12,220 That she had saw her walk away with a strange man. 691 00:37:12,231 --> 00:37:15,223 - They were trying to tie the cases together. 692 00:37:15,234 --> 00:37:17,400 But basically, you know, they--they couldn't get enough 693 00:37:17,477 --> 00:37:18,960 evidence to do that. 694 00:37:18,962 --> 00:37:22,230 Plus, they had enough evidence in the Wilma Plaster case 695 00:37:22,241 --> 00:37:25,408 to go to trial, and they felt very confident about that. 696 00:37:27,562 --> 00:37:29,246 - ♪ 697 00:37:29,322 --> 00:37:33,324 - NARRATOR: Coming up: a new theory emerges that might just 698 00:37:33,401 --> 00:37:36,920 let Shirley Jo walk free. 699 00:37:36,997 --> 00:37:40,832 - SARA: She clearly had her attorney go after her own son. 700 00:37:40,908 --> 00:37:42,092 - One of the prosecutors referred to 701 00:37:42,168 --> 00:37:44,919 the defense strategy as Shirley Jo 702 00:37:44,930 --> 00:37:47,430 offering up her own son as a sacrificial lamb. 703 00:37:49,584 --> 00:37:53,144 - ♪ 704 00:38:03,448 --> 00:38:07,284 - NARRATOR: In February of 1992, Shirley Jo Phillips stands trial 705 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:10,236 for the murder of her supposed friend, 706 00:38:10,313 --> 00:38:13,906 66-year-old Wilma Plaster. 707 00:38:13,983 --> 00:38:17,627 - DR. PLASTER: They brought this woman in, and she looked normal. 708 00:38:17,704 --> 00:38:21,080 It was the most bizarre thing I'd ever seen in my life. 709 00:38:21,157 --> 00:38:25,135 She was a middle-aged woman, attractive, 710 00:38:25,211 --> 00:38:29,964 who seemed to be completely possessed of herself. 711 00:38:29,975 --> 00:38:31,975 And I started thinking about, 712 00:38:32,052 --> 00:38:35,478 "Is this the woman who killed my mother?" 713 00:38:35,555 --> 00:38:37,063 It was unbelievable. 714 00:38:40,176 --> 00:38:41,601 - NARRATOR: Prosecutors paint Shirley Jo 715 00:38:41,677 --> 00:38:44,103 as a ruthless con artist, 716 00:38:44,180 --> 00:38:46,489 ready and willing to do anything necessary 717 00:38:46,566 --> 00:38:49,326 for her next score. 718 00:38:49,402 --> 00:38:51,152 - DAVID T: A major focus of the State's case 719 00:38:51,163 --> 00:38:54,655 was that Shirley had killed Wilma for money, 720 00:38:54,666 --> 00:38:57,116 focusing on the forged check that was found 721 00:38:57,193 --> 00:38:59,169 and that had been made out to Shirley Jo 722 00:38:59,245 --> 00:39:00,920 in the amount of $4,050. 723 00:39:03,032 --> 00:39:05,166 - DAVID A: It's my opinion that 724 00:39:05,177 --> 00:39:10,430 the homicide occurred after her source of funds had dried up. 725 00:39:13,376 --> 00:39:16,594 - NARRATOR: Prosecutors theorize that Shirley Jo befriended Wilma 726 00:39:16,671 --> 00:39:18,521 solely to take advantage of her. 727 00:39:20,025 --> 00:39:22,359 - Wilma Plaster would have been somebody that she-- 728 00:39:22,435 --> 00:39:24,018 another woman of her age, 729 00:39:24,029 --> 00:39:26,571 that was a widow that was looking for a friend. 730 00:39:29,392 --> 00:39:31,317 - NARRATOR: Prosecutors believe that Shirley Jo 731 00:39:31,394 --> 00:39:33,370 earned Wilma's trust. 732 00:39:33,446 --> 00:39:36,489 But on the night of October 3, 1989, 733 00:39:36,566 --> 00:39:40,535 Wilma likely learned the truth about her new friend. 734 00:39:40,545 --> 00:39:43,380 - They think Wilma discovered that money 735 00:39:43,456 --> 00:39:45,665 was missing from her account. 736 00:39:45,741 --> 00:39:49,127 And they were in the car when she confronted her. 737 00:39:49,203 --> 00:39:50,387 - DR. PLASTER: The murder was committed 738 00:39:50,463 --> 00:39:52,004 in--in the front seat of the car. 739 00:39:53,299 --> 00:39:55,392 Either she looked away or was getting out of the car because 740 00:39:55,468 --> 00:39:58,937 the gunshot wound was from the left back of her head. 741 00:40:00,423 --> 00:40:04,234 - LINDA: Shirley had taken every dime she had. 742 00:40:04,310 --> 00:40:06,686 She would have no money to live on. 743 00:40:06,762 --> 00:40:09,730 And... 744 00:40:09,741 --> 00:40:12,283 Mom had to be--had to be gotten rid of. 745 00:40:14,154 --> 00:40:15,203 - [gunshot] 746 00:40:19,084 --> 00:40:20,741 - NARRATOR: Prosecutors assert Shirley Jo 747 00:40:20,752 --> 00:40:24,162 then tried to cover her tracks. 748 00:40:24,238 --> 00:40:27,257 - The blood all over the place suggested that the dismemberment 749 00:40:27,333 --> 00:40:29,134 occurred in the garage. 750 00:40:30,786 --> 00:40:33,754 - SARA: Then they think she drives back up to Springfield, 751 00:40:33,765 --> 00:40:36,048 past Springfield, up into Greene County, 752 00:40:36,125 --> 00:40:38,601 and dumps the body off the side of the road. 753 00:40:38,678 --> 00:40:41,271 Then at some point, she drives down to Arkansas 754 00:40:41,347 --> 00:40:44,774 and dumps the bloody floor mats, the gun, the checks 755 00:40:44,851 --> 00:40:46,192 at her friend's house. 756 00:40:48,429 --> 00:40:49,446 - NARRATOR: The defense, however, 757 00:40:49,522 --> 00:40:52,282 offers up a theory of their own. 758 00:40:52,358 --> 00:40:55,785 - She clearly had her attorney go after her own son 759 00:40:55,862 --> 00:40:59,572 and try to blame him for killing this other woman. 760 00:40:59,649 --> 00:41:03,618 - I don't think Buddy even knew what was going on... 761 00:41:03,628 --> 00:41:05,128 until all of a sudden, 762 00:41:05,205 --> 00:41:08,631 he realizes that they're trying to pin this on him. 763 00:41:08,708 --> 00:41:10,291 - DAVID T: One of the prosecutors referred to 764 00:41:10,302 --> 00:41:12,627 the defense strategy of attempting to blame Buddy 765 00:41:12,637 --> 00:41:17,474 as Shirley Jo offering up her own son as a sacrificial lamb. 766 00:41:21,221 --> 00:41:25,139 - NARRATOR: In the end, the jury sides with the prosecution. 767 00:41:25,150 --> 00:41:27,317 - The jury found Shirley Jo Phillips guilty of murder 768 00:41:27,393 --> 00:41:29,486 in the first degree for the killing of Wilma Plaster. 769 00:41:30,730 --> 00:41:36,159 - There was just this incredible weight 770 00:41:36,236 --> 00:41:37,368 lifted off my shoulders. 771 00:41:38,497 --> 00:41:39,704 - JACK: You know, it may have not been 772 00:41:41,224 --> 00:41:42,832 for my grandmother's murder, but a justification and-- 773 00:41:42,909 --> 00:41:44,834 and just glad to see that 774 00:41:44,911 --> 00:41:50,173 this endless cycle of kleptomania, violence, 775 00:41:50,250 --> 00:41:52,675 murder was going to come to an end, 776 00:41:52,752 --> 00:41:55,345 and no other family was going to have to suffer 777 00:41:55,421 --> 00:41:56,671 what Wilma's family did. 778 00:41:58,374 --> 00:42:00,800 - NARRATOR: Shirley Jo is sentenced to death. 779 00:42:00,876 --> 00:42:05,355 But six years later, an appeal reduces her sentence. 780 00:42:05,431 --> 00:42:07,857 - We were contacted by a new prosecutor in-- 781 00:42:07,934 --> 00:42:11,852 in Missouri who said that some evidence had surfaced 782 00:42:11,863 --> 00:42:16,866 that would allow them to appeal, uh, this case. 783 00:42:16,943 --> 00:42:18,868 - DAVID T: The argument that Shirley Jo's lawyers made was 784 00:42:18,945 --> 00:42:21,195 that this was exculpatory evidence that should've been 785 00:42:21,206 --> 00:42:24,207 turned over by the State to the defense. 786 00:42:24,284 --> 00:42:27,368 It was not presented at Shirley Jo Phillips' trial. 787 00:42:27,379 --> 00:42:28,828 - Her sentence was commuted to life in prison 788 00:42:28,904 --> 00:42:30,880 without chance for parole. 789 00:42:30,957 --> 00:42:32,665 - DR. PLASTER: The fact that she couldn't kill somebody else, 790 00:42:32,742 --> 00:42:33,958 well, that was the-- 791 00:42:34,035 --> 00:42:37,595 the basic minimum that--that we felt good about. 792 00:42:40,875 --> 00:42:43,226 - NARRATOR: Though time has eased the pain, 793 00:42:43,303 --> 00:42:47,722 the impact of Shirley Jo's horrific actions still haunts 794 00:42:47,732 --> 00:42:51,234 those affected by the case. 795 00:42:51,311 --> 00:42:53,236 - LINDA: It's the story of a sweet woman that had no idea 796 00:42:53,313 --> 00:42:54,904 who she was taking in. 797 00:42:54,981 --> 00:42:58,357 And she was deceived. 798 00:42:58,434 --> 00:42:59,734 She was lied to. 799 00:42:59,744 --> 00:43:02,412 And ultimately, she was killed by. 800 00:43:02,488 --> 00:43:05,582 - DR. PLASTER: She lived a long and loving life 801 00:43:05,658 --> 00:43:08,492 prior to the last evening. 802 00:43:08,569 --> 00:43:11,704 And the last evening will not define her. 803 00:43:11,781 --> 00:43:15,416 She loved her kids. She was incredibly proud of us. 804 00:43:15,427 --> 00:43:18,544 - LINDA: She would have reveled in all of this, 805 00:43:18,621 --> 00:43:20,713 to see her children succeed. 806 00:43:20,790 --> 00:43:23,382 To see her grandchildren grow. 807 00:43:23,459 --> 00:43:26,436 But she missed out on so much. 808 00:43:26,512 --> 00:43:28,146 So much. 809 00:43:29,590 --> 00:43:38,156 - ♪