WEBVTT - The Lookalike, The Polarizing Doctor and The Hammer

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<v Speaker 1>Falling in love is the best feeling in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>You see stars, you feel giddy, but sometimes that makes

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<v Speaker 1>you do crazy things, and sometimes that means murder. Just

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<v Speaker 1>because the story starts out with once upon a Time's

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean it ends happily ever after. Welcome to Crazy

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<v Speaker 1>and Love, a production of Katie Studios and I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's guests are true crime producers Stephanie Laijicker and Jeff Shane.

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<v Speaker 1>Episode forty one, The Case of the Lookalike, The Polarizing Doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Hammer. The year was two thousand and three

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<v Speaker 1>and Mark Sievers was on vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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<v Speaker 1>As a traveling nurse, his job could be pretty stressful,

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<v Speaker 1>so little R and R was much needed. In between

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<v Speaker 1>time at the beach and poolside drinks. He met a

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<v Speaker 1>recently divorced doctor named Teresa. For the thirty five year old,

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<v Speaker 1>it was love at first sight. As a holistic doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>Teresa was outspoken and confident to her friends and family.

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<v Speaker 1>She was something special and Mark saw that right away.

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<v Speaker 1>After dating for some time, the pair got engaged to

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<v Speaker 1>honor how they met. Mark and Teresa got married on

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<v Speaker 1>a beach at sunset surrounded by loved ones. Teresa let

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<v Speaker 1>her hair fall curly and wore a stunning white dress.

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<v Speaker 1>She was the epitome of a glowing bride. Six months

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<v Speaker 1>after time the not the couple welcome their first daughter.

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<v Speaker 1>They built a large home around forty five minutes south

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<v Speaker 1>of Fort Myers in a safe community named Bonita Springs.

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<v Speaker 1>In two thousand seven, they had another little girl for

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<v Speaker 1>Mark and Teresa. It seemed like all of their dreams

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<v Speaker 1>were finally coming true. Here's Stephanie. Theresa found success as

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<v Speaker 1>a holistic doctor. She basically combined traditional and alternative medicine,

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<v Speaker 1>which healed people from all over the world who couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>find help elsewhere. She also made motivational speaking videotapes that

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<v Speaker 1>she would sell online, and with multiple sources of income,

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<v Speaker 1>she became the family's breadwinner. Mark helped manage the office

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<v Speaker 1>though when he took care of their two girls. And

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps she was so successful because Teresa was a fighter

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<v Speaker 1>and she would fight for her patients to receive the

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<v Speaker 1>best care possible. A fighter indeed stuff. Teresa was known

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<v Speaker 1>to have a really strong personality. She was considered pretty

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<v Speaker 1>polarizing from the people in her life. He either loved

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<v Speaker 1>her or you hated her. People described her as a dynamo.

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<v Speaker 1>She had a very short fuse, and this probably comes

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<v Speaker 1>from the fact that she really expected perfection from everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>She would even yell at patients who weren't following her orders.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite being a very small woman, she often had the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest personality in every room she stepped into. But what

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<v Speaker 1>really it came down to was it all came from

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<v Speaker 1>a place of wanting to help people. On June twenty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>dispatchers received a call nine one one, When is your emergency? Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>I had a friend's house. Uh, he's out of town

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<v Speaker 1>and I came here to check on his flight. And

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<v Speaker 1>she's down on the floor the sea. Her family had

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<v Speaker 1>been on vacation in Connecticut celebrating Teresa's mother's birthday, while

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<v Speaker 1>Mark stayed behind to continue the fund. Teresa had to

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<v Speaker 1>come home early to get to work Monday morning. When

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<v Speaker 1>she failed to arrive at the office, the staff texted Mark,

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<v Speaker 1>who contacted a friend to check on her. Here's audio

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<v Speaker 1>from the call. My friend. Uh, she's a doctor. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a doctor. She came home last night. Her husband is

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<v Speaker 1>in Connecticut and she was supposed to go at nine o'clock.

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<v Speaker 1>They called me and I was on my way in

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<v Speaker 1>the work slice one by and she's down on the

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<v Speaker 1>s and there's hammer at the side and she's bashed

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<v Speaker 1>in the back of the head. And then knocked on

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<v Speaker 1>the front door and nobody answered, and the lights were on.

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<v Speaker 1>I could see her persons on the countertop and she

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<v Speaker 1>didn't answer at pound and pounding needed to keep goat

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<v Speaker 1>to get into the glass door. Glass door, and the

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<v Speaker 1>door leading to it was opened. One of the dogs

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<v Speaker 1>ran out. I don't know if he left un and uh,

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<v Speaker 1>and I walked and I just opened up the door,

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<v Speaker 1>walked in the door and you can have on the floor.

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<v Speaker 1>He's doing great, okay, okay. I did then know that

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<v Speaker 1>you're outside? The fire guys are here, okay, go yeah's dad.

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<v Speaker 1>So when the detectives arrived, their first thought was a

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<v Speaker 1>robbery gone wrong. Theresa had just gotten home and perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>a Robert didn't think anyone would be there, and she

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<v Speaker 1>had walked in on a crime being committed. What cops

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<v Speaker 1>noticed that kind of added to this theory was that

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<v Speaker 1>the home's alarm system wasn't on, and this all stemmed

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<v Speaker 1>from the fact that when the family was on vacation,

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<v Speaker 1>Mark had asked his mom to come over and feed

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<v Speaker 1>the family pets. When she arrived at the house, she

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<v Speaker 1>noticed that the alarm was off and had called her

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<v Speaker 1>son Mark to ask him about it, and he told

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<v Speaker 1>her not to worry about it. So perhaps the alarm

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<v Speaker 1>system got left off which allowed a Robert to break in, because,

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<v Speaker 1>as we know later that evening, Teresa was killed by

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<v Speaker 1>someone in the hall. The issue was that nothing was

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<v Speaker 1>missing in the house. Everything was in pristine condition, so

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<v Speaker 1>it didn't even look like a break in. Plus worth

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<v Speaker 1>noting this crime was absolutely brutal. Teresa had been beaten

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<v Speaker 1>to death with a hammer. She sustained severe head trauma,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was a ton of blood. It was clear

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<v Speaker 1>to detectives that this was not a quick and painless death.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, it looked very personal. While the detectives were

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<v Speaker 1>looking at everyone in Teresa's life, like her office staff,

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<v Speaker 1>her patients, her manicurists, and her landscaper, the online web

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<v Speaker 1>sleuth community also kind of took on the case. Online

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<v Speaker 1>web sleuths are amateur, everyday men and woman who are

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<v Speaker 1>passionate about true crime and really investigate cases from the

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<v Speaker 1>comfort of their own homes. They've been known to have

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<v Speaker 1>a fair amount of success, and so according to this community,

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<v Speaker 1>there had actually been at least five holistic doctors across

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<v Speaker 1>the country who were found dead. Their thought was that

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<v Speaker 1>could someone have been targeting these men and women because

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps they had a cure for cancer or something else

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<v Speaker 1>that a big pharmaceutical company wouldn't want getting out. At

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<v Speaker 1>that time, police did not buy that. They were looking

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<v Speaker 1>at a disgruntled employee by the name of Sandra Hoskins. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>Sandra had been treated harshly by Teresa, apparently telling her

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<v Speaker 1>that she had very bad energy, and Sandra responded to

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<v Speaker 1>Teresa by calling her a bit. The relationship had soured,

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<v Speaker 1>and so much so that Sandra had been planning on

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<v Speaker 1>quitting her job the very Monday that Teresa was actually

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<v Speaker 1>found dead. The police also wanted to talk to the

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<v Speaker 1>person closest to Teresa, her husband Mark. For around three hours,

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<v Speaker 1>he spoke to detectives without an attorney. Let's take a listen,

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<v Speaker 1>appreciate has been something key read and tell her whatever

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<v Speaker 1>you're leaving going in dark at night, always have it

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<v Speaker 1>your finger on it. Your purse is ne any good.

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<v Speaker 1>If you carry a gun, you had your hand on it.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't be any good if it's not accessible. I

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<v Speaker 1>spoke to our financial advisor, who's a really good friend.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like a father to Teresa. He's also telling me

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<v Speaker 1>what I need to do. Stop crying, stop doing. We

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<v Speaker 1>have to do all these things, and I know it's

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<v Speaker 1>just I'm doing as much as I can as people

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<v Speaker 1>are telling me. I feel so I guess I feel pathetically,

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<v Speaker 1>but at the same time, there's so much going on.

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<v Speaker 1>It's hard that I could stop this. How do make

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<v Speaker 1>it all? Can you tell me when she died? I

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<v Speaker 1>need to know what she told you was, what happened

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<v Speaker 1>to this stage, we're still working on that. This is hard.

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<v Speaker 1>This is really should be nothing. We should say this

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<v Speaker 1>is because it's gonna help solve. Relaxed, starting yourself, trying

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<v Speaker 1>to focus. Okay, now talking about your relationship. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>guys been contemplating any kind of separation or divorce? Has

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<v Speaker 1>there been any marital problems? How about six months ago?

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<v Speaker 1>How about a year ago? And at one point Mark

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<v Speaker 1>had a moment alone and he completely broke down. Oh

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<v Speaker 1>helping do this pretty harrowing stuff. So really, at this point,

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<v Speaker 1>despite all of his crying and heartbreak. It looked like

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<v Speaker 1>he was one of the two biggest suspects in the case,

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<v Speaker 1>the former employee Sandra, and I suppose by default, the

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<v Speaker 1>husband Mark, which is very common. Typically when anybody has

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<v Speaker 1>murdered the first suspect, there's always their spouse or their

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<v Speaker 1>partner or their significant other. It's just stage one of

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<v Speaker 1>obviously starting an investigation, and you want to start ruling

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<v Speaker 1>people out as quickly as possible. That's a great point. Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>And because remember Mark had actually been out of town

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<v Speaker 1>in Connecticut with the kids at the time of the murder,

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<v Speaker 1>so it was physically impossible that he would even be

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<v Speaker 1>able to kill his wife, but cops often assumed that

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<v Speaker 1>spouses have information or insight into the frame of mind

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<v Speaker 1>of the victim. In July, nearly a month after the

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<v Speaker 1>doctor was found dead in her home, the police got

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<v Speaker 1>a tip that had them looking in a completely new direction.

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<v Speaker 1>The tiptold investigators to take a closer look at a

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<v Speaker 1>man named Curtis Wainwright in small town, Missouri. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the tip, Curtis had been in Florida at the time

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<v Speaker 1>of the murders. So who was this man thousands of

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<v Speaker 1>miles away? Here's Jeff. As it turned out, Curtis was

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<v Speaker 1>actually Mark's childhood friend. The two men, both bald and

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<v Speaker 1>large in stature, looked more like identical twins than buddies.

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<v Speaker 1>They were also incredibly close. Mark would tell people Curtis

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<v Speaker 1>was his brother from another mother. He was at the

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<v Speaker 1>couple's wedding. Curtis was incredibly smart. He was his class

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<v Speaker 1>president and a whiz with technology. He would come down

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<v Speaker 1>to Florida to work on the Sabers computers in their

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<v Speaker 1>home and office. Two months before his wife's death, Mark

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<v Speaker 1>had traveled all the way to Missouri to be the

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<v Speaker 1>best man at Curtis's wedding. Curtis then had traveled down

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<v Speaker 1>to Florida to attend Teresa's funeral. But he also had

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of a dark side. He was a five

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<v Speaker 1>time convicted felon, and Curtis was also a person of

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<v Speaker 1>interest in missing person case. The tip also said that

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<v Speaker 1>Curtis hadn't been alone on that Florida trip. He was

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<v Speaker 1>allegedly with a friend from prison, a man named Jimmy Rogers.

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<v Speaker 1>Now Jimmy had a pretty interesting and relevant nick thing,

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<v Speaker 1>the Hammer, which of course we know was the weapon

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<v Speaker 1>that ultimately killed her. So the police went to talk

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<v Speaker 1>to both men and they denied every being in Florida.

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<v Speaker 1>This big tip, however, seemed like a dead end until

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<v Speaker 1>police noticed a car and Curtis's driveway. Inside the car

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<v Speaker 1>was a GPS device, which, you know, police were very

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<v Speaker 1>hopeful would shed some light on his whereabouts and that

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<v Speaker 1>that information could be used as potential evidence. But unfortunately

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<v Speaker 1>the GPS had been cleared. But we know how technology works.

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<v Speaker 1>Detectives spent hours recovering data and luckily pulled up all

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<v Speaker 1>of the previous destinations and bingo, sure enough, it seemed that,

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<v Speaker 1>in fact, Curtis had driven one thousand one miles from

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<v Speaker 1>Missouri down to Florida. Yeah, this GPS device really showed

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<v Speaker 1>a true road trip from hell. On the morning of June,

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<v Speaker 1>two days before Teresa was killed, Curtis first stopped at

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmy's house. Next, the pair drove south all the way

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<v Speaker 1>to the Ciba residence and according to the g PS,

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<v Speaker 1>they arrived around six am. Detectives surmised the men probably

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<v Speaker 1>went into the home, turning the alarm system off at

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<v Speaker 1>six o nine am. Remember, Mark's mom was really confused

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<v Speaker 1>why the alarm system was off. When she went to

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<v Speaker 1>the house. Here's what cops told her. I wasn't there

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<v Speaker 1>at six o nine in the morning. He was six nine.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what we're trying to work. Oh my god. After

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<v Speaker 1>getting into the house, Curtis and Jimmy had some time

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<v Speaker 1>to kill literally, so they went to Walmart. The police

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<v Speaker 1>tracked down surveillance footage of the two men at the

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<v Speaker 1>store buying items like a lock pick set, black towels,

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<v Speaker 1>flushable wipes, and garbage bags. After doing this macab shopping,

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<v Speaker 1>the men drove to the beach to enjoy the Florida sun.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you imagine? And by the way, all of this

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<v Speaker 1>is trackable on a GPS system. But that wasn't all

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<v Speaker 1>the police were relying on. Jimmy a k a. The

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<v Speaker 1>Hammer had a girlfriend. Her name was Taylor's shoemaker, and

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<v Speaker 1>she was also talking to police. She told cops that

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmy had confessed to her. Have a listen, and you

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<v Speaker 1>still don't know anything about what happened yet, right? He

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<v Speaker 1>tells you that night, did your mom? Yeah, tells me

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<v Speaker 1>the next night and my mom I told him that

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<v Speaker 1>I knew. I didn't actually know. It was after you

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<v Speaker 1>guys came and I told him that I knew that

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<v Speaker 1>he had something to do with it, okay, and then

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<v Speaker 1>you And then he started asking questions like what I

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<v Speaker 1>know about and I'm like, well, I know you went

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<v Speaker 1>down and kill some night and then he said yeah.

0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.360
<v Speaker 1>And then, um, I took a guess at Mark five.

0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:36.080
<v Speaker 1>Let me said yeah, And you said when you said

0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.600
<v Speaker 1>Mark some way, we're talking about Teresa Severs, the doctor

0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:42.640
<v Speaker 1>that was killed. Yes, And then um I said did

0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:47.520
<v Speaker 1>you shoot her? And he said no? And I said

0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:51.480
<v Speaker 1>then how how did you kill her? And he made

0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:54.120
<v Speaker 1>his people little chocolate lady does and then said with

0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:58.439
<v Speaker 1>it he said, with a hammer? Yeah, okay. Taylor then

0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:00.680
<v Speaker 1>took the cops to the area where he said Jimmy

0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.680
<v Speaker 1>had her dispose of the bloody clothes, and sure enough,

0:14:03.760 --> 0:14:05.720
<v Speaker 1>the clothes were right where she said they would be.

0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:08.640
<v Speaker 1>With all the signs pointing towards Curtis and Jimmy as

0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.480
<v Speaker 1>the killers, the cops could close the case, but the

0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:15.200
<v Speaker 1>question remained, why did these two men so far away

0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:19.920
<v Speaker 1>killed Teresa Severs. Curtis Wainwright offered the full story in

0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:24.000
<v Speaker 1>exchange for a lesser sentence. Prosecutors offered him a plea

0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:26.840
<v Speaker 1>of second degree manslaughter with a twenty five year sentence.

0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:31.280
<v Speaker 1>It was a deal he could not refuse. We're going

0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.880
<v Speaker 1>to take a break. We'll be back in just a moment.

0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:52.280
<v Speaker 1>At Jimmy's trial, Curtis testified that he and Jimmy killed Teresa.

0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.360
<v Speaker 1>He also told the courtroom that he had offered Jimmy

0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:01.080
<v Speaker 1>ten dollars for his part in the murder. After two

0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.200
<v Speaker 1>days of deliberating, the jury found Jimmy guilty of second

0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:08.520
<v Speaker 1>degree murder and sends him to life in prison. But

0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:12.640
<v Speaker 1>what Curtis offered to prosecutors wasn't just testimony against Jimmy.

0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.720
<v Speaker 1>It was also a story that pointed the blame towards

0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:22.040
<v Speaker 1>his best friend and Teresa's husband, Mark. According to Curtis,

0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:24.720
<v Speaker 1>Mark had offered him a hundred thousand dollars to kill

0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.960
<v Speaker 1>his wife Teresa, and it all started two months before

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.720
<v Speaker 1>the murder at Curtis's wedding, the one where Mark was

0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.920
<v Speaker 1>the best man. Curtis said that Mark was complaining of

0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.920
<v Speaker 1>marriage problems and suggested that Curtis killed Teresa to make

0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:40.520
<v Speaker 1>all of his problems go away. At first, Mark's idea

0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:42.680
<v Speaker 1>was that Curtis shoot her as she was leaving work.

0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.720
<v Speaker 1>Now to that. Curtis pointed out that he might accidentally

0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:49.000
<v Speaker 1>hurt someone else in the process, but Mark countered that,

0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.680
<v Speaker 1>saying that it would actually maybe work even better if

0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:54.120
<v Speaker 1>someone else died, because then the suspicion would be off

0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.200
<v Speaker 1>of him. Well, the cops had figured out Mark and

0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.360
<v Speaker 1>Theresa had serious money issues. They also discovered that Teresa

0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.000
<v Speaker 1>had a four million dollar life insurance policy against her.

0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.960
<v Speaker 1>This backed up everything Curtis had told them about the

0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.600
<v Speaker 1>marriage and financial issues that Mark had allegedly told him.

0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:15.560
<v Speaker 1>It's so predictable because an insurance policy with that amount

0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.280
<v Speaker 1>of money, I mean four million dollars is a large

0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.400
<v Speaker 1>life insurance policy. And sure enough, here we go. That

0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.840
<v Speaker 1>seems to be one of the motives. The police also

0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.360
<v Speaker 1>discovered one interesting thing. They said that Mark had been

0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.920
<v Speaker 1>communicating with Curtis via some kind of a burner phone.

0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.600
<v Speaker 1>On their regular phones, they would text like normal, but

0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.960
<v Speaker 1>when one of them said the word quote other then

0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.560
<v Speaker 1>they would switch to the burner phone. It was kind

0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.240
<v Speaker 1>of their code stuff. We've covered a fair amount of

0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.840
<v Speaker 1>true crime cases, and criminals always think they can get

0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:51.280
<v Speaker 1>around cops with things like burner phones and code words,

0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:54.280
<v Speaker 1>and they always get found out, no one is smarter

0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:58.560
<v Speaker 1>than the police in these situations, and that's what happened.

0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.080
<v Speaker 1>With all this information, the police had enough to arrest

0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:06.439
<v Speaker 1>Mark Severs for murder in February, grossly enough. As he

0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:08.360
<v Speaker 1>was being walked out of his house where his two

0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:13.480
<v Speaker 1>daughters waited for him, he had a noticeable smirk. The

0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:17.000
<v Speaker 1>press became obsessed with the lookalike friends turned murderers who

0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.560
<v Speaker 1>would now testify against each other in court. As the

0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:25.640
<v Speaker 1>trial started, Mike appealed jovial, laughing and smiling with his attorney,

0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:30.879
<v Speaker 1>but when Curtis took the stand, his disposition shifted. Here's

0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.719
<v Speaker 1>some audio from the trial. I think when we were

0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:37.919
<v Speaker 1>in high school, I think the relationship was it was

0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:41.440
<v Speaker 1>less deep, So the the confiding and part of it

0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:48.080
<v Speaker 1>really probably didn't happen until we got closed after that. Yeah,

0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.840
<v Speaker 1>Dr Severs and his daughters. Did you ever spend time

0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:55.920
<v Speaker 1>with them? Did? I didn't spend much time with all

0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:59.040
<v Speaker 1>of them together, but I spent quite a bit of

0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.480
<v Speaker 1>time with Mark and and the children. When we kind

0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.480
<v Speaker 1>of make exhausted that he told me that really the

0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:07.960
<v Speaker 1>only option that he had was for her to die.

0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:13.080
<v Speaker 1>Um and he said that he needed to have her killed. Okay,

0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:19.360
<v Speaker 1>so on your wedding day, on your drive to pick

0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.240
<v Speaker 1>up we meet for your wedding, MS Receivers are telling

0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.920
<v Speaker 1>you that he wants to have his wife killed. Yes,

0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:30.600
<v Speaker 1>he asked me to help him. I mean, what kind

0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.800
<v Speaker 1>of help was he asking for? Was he asking you

0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:37.680
<v Speaker 1>to do it yourself? Or or what like? What kind

0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.080
<v Speaker 1>of help could he be possibly asking his friend for?

0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:44.119
<v Speaker 1>He it was pretty direct. He asked me to if

0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:48.320
<v Speaker 1>I could, I would kill her or take care of it.

0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:55.159
<v Speaker 1>And what did you what was your response when he

0:18:55.200 --> 0:18:59.480
<v Speaker 1>asked you to help him kill his wife? I was

0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:04.159
<v Speaker 1>surprised first, Um, I mean, are the two of you

0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.520
<v Speaker 1>that were the two of you that close? Mr? Wright?

0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:09.840
<v Speaker 1>That I mean Mr Sivers could ask you to kill

0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:16.240
<v Speaker 1>his wife and you would actually consider it? And yes,

0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.159
<v Speaker 1>I mean definitely the asking part question whether or not

0:19:23.080 --> 0:19:25.800
<v Speaker 1>actually a question whether or not actually doing it was

0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:29.320
<v Speaker 1>should have been part of the friendship. But let's just

0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.680
<v Speaker 1>say it shouldn't have been. Let's just say that. During

0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:35.520
<v Speaker 1>the trial, Curtis described in graphic detail the day he

0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:39.800
<v Speaker 1>murdered Theresa Sievers. As he was testifying, his former best

0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:43.439
<v Speaker 1>friend Mark was no longer smiling, but now crying. I

0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.080
<v Speaker 1>kicked that stand. The dog dish went fly and water

0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:51.080
<v Speaker 1>went everywhere. She jumped and started to turn towards me

0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:55.439
<v Speaker 1>and um. When she started to turn towards you, what

0:19:55.480 --> 0:20:01.919
<v Speaker 1>did you do? I had her hit her? Damn you

0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:05.560
<v Speaker 1>hit Dr Shivers with the hammer? Yes? Where did you

0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:09.880
<v Speaker 1>hit her in the head? The defense had a plan

0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:14.439
<v Speaker 1>to counter Curtis's story. According to the defense, Curtis was

0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:16.920
<v Speaker 1>gay and he was deeply in love with his best

0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.040
<v Speaker 1>friend Mark. He was jealous of Mark's perfect life with

0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:23.280
<v Speaker 1>Teresa and couldn't handle it anymore, so he decided to

0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:26.560
<v Speaker 1>kill Teresa. That way he could hopefully be with Mark.

0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:31.439
<v Speaker 1>Despite the fact that Mark had attended Curtis's wedding and

0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.400
<v Speaker 1>that's where the whole thing started. Mark's defense lawyer said

0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:36.480
<v Speaker 1>that he could feel a chemistry between the two men.

0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.080
<v Speaker 1>While the defense started to go in this direction, asking

0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:42.320
<v Speaker 1>Curtis if he had ever had sex with Mark, the

0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:44.840
<v Speaker 1>judge was not having any of it and shut down

0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:47.679
<v Speaker 1>the line of questioning pretty much immediately. This meant that

0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.240
<v Speaker 1>the defense had just lost their biggest theory. When the

0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:54.720
<v Speaker 1>prosecution and defense rested, the jury took just four hours

0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:58.080
<v Speaker 1>to deliberate and sure enough, Mark was found guilty of

0:20:58.119 --> 0:21:06.160
<v Speaker 1>first degree murder. Did hurry get this recommended death? Let's

0:21:06.200 --> 0:21:21.399
<v Speaker 1>stop here for another break. At the end of the trial,

0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:25.600
<v Speaker 1>Teresa's mother made a harrowing victims statement. The biggest loss

0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:30.200
<v Speaker 1>fought upon her two daughters, whom Teresa loved with all

0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:36.080
<v Speaker 1>her heart. These two girls have been robbed of their

0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:43.880
<v Speaker 1>remarkable mother, their home, their pets, their possessions, their family

0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:48.760
<v Speaker 1>and friends. Teresa will not be able to love and

0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:54.840
<v Speaker 1>guide them. She won't be there when they graduate high school,

0:21:55.800 --> 0:21:59.080
<v Speaker 1>or when they need their mother to kiss away tears

0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:03.120
<v Speaker 1>from their first heartbreak. She won't be able to impact

0:22:03.160 --> 0:22:07.000
<v Speaker 1>her wisdom and in life experiences. Her daughters will miss

0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:11.680
<v Speaker 1>their mother on every birthday and every holiday, On their

0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:15.359
<v Speaker 1>wedding day, and when they have children of their own,

0:22:19.119 --> 0:22:22.240
<v Speaker 1>they will spend the rest of their lives hoping to

0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:25.280
<v Speaker 1>hold on the memories of the mother they once knew

0:22:26.760 --> 0:22:30.720
<v Speaker 1>and trying to forget the nightmare she endured the last

0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:34.920
<v Speaker 1>days moments of her life. But my children have lost

0:22:34.960 --> 0:22:45.239
<v Speaker 1>the mother they want SNeW because a big part of

0:22:45.280 --> 0:22:54.520
<v Speaker 1>me died with her. June fifteen, While the Jerry suggested

0:22:54.600 --> 0:22:57.679
<v Speaker 1>Marc recy at the death sentence, there was one person

0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:01.840
<v Speaker 1>who felt Marks should be spared, his now teenage daughter.

0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:05.120
<v Speaker 1>She wrote a letter to the court saying that while

0:23:05.200 --> 0:23:09.040
<v Speaker 1>she currently wanted no relationship with her father, that if

0:23:09.080 --> 0:23:11.879
<v Speaker 1>in the future she changed her mind, sentencing him to

0:23:11.960 --> 0:23:15.720
<v Speaker 1>death would ensure she would never have the opportunity. Mark

0:23:15.840 --> 0:23:19.040
<v Speaker 1>also made a statement to the court. Here's a partial

0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:23.399
<v Speaker 1>recording of that although a jury found me guilty, I

0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:26.520
<v Speaker 1>am innocent of all charges, as I maintained since his

0:23:26.520 --> 0:23:30.840
<v Speaker 1>Haina's crime took place. I love my wife, Teresa and

0:23:30.840 --> 0:23:33.280
<v Speaker 1>her two daughters, Josie and Karmy, with all my heart.

0:23:34.359 --> 0:23:38.040
<v Speaker 1>Our girls have tragically lost their mommy, and now they're

0:23:38.040 --> 0:23:42.280
<v Speaker 1>about to lose her daddy as well. Therefore, I respectfully

0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:46.239
<v Speaker 1>asked the court for life is not to compound their

0:23:46.280 --> 0:23:51.000
<v Speaker 1>loss and suffering. I am grateful, however, that the court

0:23:51.000 --> 0:23:53.960
<v Speaker 1>can only determine my fate on earth. Well, my soul

0:23:54.040 --> 0:23:58.840
<v Speaker 1>is in God's hands, and God knows the truth. Although

0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:01.600
<v Speaker 1>I cannot feel remorse for something I had absolutely nothing

0:24:01.640 --> 0:24:06.200
<v Speaker 1>to do with, I am deeply saddened and forever heartbroken,

0:24:06.280 --> 0:24:09.199
<v Speaker 1>to say the very least, the Teresa was taken from us.

0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:14.159
<v Speaker 1>Teresa is my soul neat I will miss her and

0:24:14.280 --> 0:24:18.400
<v Speaker 1>chears her memories until we are reunited in heaven. Until then,

0:24:19.000 --> 0:24:21.800
<v Speaker 1>I will fight the s wrongful conviction until I improve

0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:25.360
<v Speaker 1>an innocent and set free to rejoin my family. When

0:24:25.359 --> 0:24:27.840
<v Speaker 1>it came time to decide Mark's faith, the judge hands

0:24:27.840 --> 0:24:31.760
<v Speaker 1>at him the death sentence. Mark Seevers is currently the

0:24:31.800 --> 0:24:35.400
<v Speaker 1>only person on Florida's death row who didn't physically kill anyone.

0:24:36.560 --> 0:24:43.359
<v Speaker 1>In January, he requested a new trial shameless plug. If

0:24:43.400 --> 0:24:46.560
<v Speaker 1>you're enjoying Crazy and Love, leave us a review and

0:24:46.720 --> 0:24:49.160
<v Speaker 1>listen to season three of our hit series The Piked

0:24:49.160 --> 0:24:53.440
<v Speaker 1>and Massacre. New episodes there every Wednesday wherever you get

0:24:53.480 --> 0:24:57.600
<v Speaker 1>your podcasts, and don't forget to follow us on Instagram

0:24:57.640 --> 0:25:02.119
<v Speaker 1>at Katie Underscore Studio us. Crazy in Love is produced

0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:07.520
<v Speaker 1>by Stephanie Lydecker, Jeff Shane, Chris Graves, and me Courtney Armstrong.

0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:11.400
<v Speaker 1>Editing and sound design by Jeff Ba. Crazy in Love

0:25:11.480 --> 0:25:14.840
<v Speaker 1>is a production of I Heart Radio and Katie Studios.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I

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<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows. Stay safe, lovers,