WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Connie Townsend Part 2 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:48.001 School of Humans. 0:00:49.241 --> 0:00:53.000 Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold case murders in 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.200 an effort to raise public awareness invite witnesses to come 0:00:56.241 --> 0:01:00.121 forward and present evidence that could potentially be further investigated 0:01:00.121 --> 0:01:03.761 by law enforcement. While we value insights from family and 0:01:03.801 --> 0:01:07.720 community members, their statements should not be considered evidence and 0:01:07.761 --> 0:01:11.520 point to the challenges of verifying facts inherent in cold cases. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.800 We remind listeners that everyone is presumed innocent until proven 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.080 guilty in a court of law. Nothing in the podcast 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.080 is intended to state or imply that anyone who has 0:01:22.161 --> 0:01:25.601 not been convicted of a crime is guilty of any wrongdoing. 0:01:26.241 --> 0:01:27.121 Thanks for listening. 0:01:30.881 --> 0:01:34.481 On January seventh, nineteen ninety five, forty three year old 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:38.481 Connie Townsend's home burned to the ground in Brockwell, Arkansas, 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:42.200 in front of over twenty witnesses. Connie was moving out 0:01:42.241 --> 0:01:44.841 of her house that day. He had separated from her 0:01:44.961 --> 0:01:46.920 estranged husband, David Townsend. 0:01:47.080 --> 0:01:47.761 Years earlier. 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.520 David had been staying with his parents, Dale and Ramona, 0:01:51.881 --> 0:01:55.161 and also with his girlfriend of three years, joe Anne Ellis, 0:01:56.041 --> 0:01:59.921 But according to Connie's daughters Stacy and Amber, David was 0:01:59.960 --> 0:02:03.760 angry that day and had threatened Connie. They also said 0:02:03.761 --> 0:02:06.641 that David had threatened to burn the house down in 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.520 the past. Connie's body was found in a utility room. 0:02:11.041 --> 0:02:13.561 She was lying face down with a pair of sewing 0:02:13.601 --> 0:02:18.441 scissors underneath her body. Investigators said that Connie had died 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:22.561 of smoke and soot inhalation, and according to the autopsy report, 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:26.801 there was basically no tissue left and it seemed like 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:30.441 after investigators went through the charred remains of her trailer, 0:02:30.881 --> 0:02:34.680 they had a lot more questions. Was Connie's death due 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:39.121 to an accidental fire or was this a murder an arson? 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:44.120 Thirty years later, her daughters still have no Joe justice 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:47.840 and no answers. And if you ask around Brockwell, Arkansas, 0:02:48.361 --> 0:02:51.201 a lot of people will tell you police know who 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.641 did it, but that there will never be justice. I 0:02:54.761 --> 0:02:58.001 don't believe that. We've only had this case file for 0:02:58.041 --> 0:03:01.201 about two weeks, and in that time we have managed 0:03:01.241 --> 0:03:03.281 to answer a lot of the questions that we had 0:03:03.361 --> 0:03:07.001 last week, and a lot of people have reached out, 0:03:07.801 --> 0:03:11.561 but there's still more to uncover. Last week we talked 0:03:11.601 --> 0:03:15.401 about someone named Eddie. Eddie was a name mentioned in 0:03:15.401 --> 0:03:18.761 the handwritten note in the case file. We wondered why 0:03:19.001 --> 0:03:22.240 was his name mentioned in connection to joe Anne Ellis. 0:03:22.961 --> 0:03:24.441 We found Eddie. 0:03:24.481 --> 0:03:26.681 He was the coroner at the time of Connie's death, 0:03:27.161 --> 0:03:29.960 so he was the first one to examine Connie's body. 0:03:30.721 --> 0:03:33.641 Obviously it's been thirty years, and he said he doesn't 0:03:33.681 --> 0:03:37.281 remember a lot, but he did have some information that 0:03:37.321 --> 0:03:41.481 we've never heard before. We had heard from Connie's daughters 0:03:41.801 --> 0:03:45.161 and from the case file that Connie's body was found 0:03:45.241 --> 0:03:48.241 in a junk room, a bedroom that the family used 0:03:48.281 --> 0:03:52.921 as an extra utility room. Eddie told us that Connie 0:03:53.081 --> 0:03:54.281 was found in a closet. 0:03:55.121 --> 0:03:57.441 Thirty years later. I can't even remember what they said 0:03:57.481 --> 0:04:01.001 because of death was but I do remember toxicology was 0:04:01.161 --> 0:04:04.681 negative for any Incoxicans. I know she was found in 0:04:04.721 --> 0:04:09.281 a closet. I remember that she was leaving, moving out, 0:04:09.601 --> 0:04:11.761 and had her sister and brother in law coming to 0:04:11.801 --> 0:04:14.441 help her move stuff. What I understood she was making 0:04:14.481 --> 0:04:16.761 trips in now that's carrying stuff out to her car. 0:04:17.281 --> 0:04:19.880 That was the middle of the day, and it just 0:04:19.921 --> 0:04:21.641 struck me there, you know, you're not going to get 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:23.681 caught up at a house fire if you're going in 0:04:23.721 --> 0:04:25.921 and out and leaving and got somebody coming to help 0:04:25.921 --> 0:04:28.601 you and all that stuff. So I always felt that 0:04:28.681 --> 0:04:30.121 it was really suspicious. 0:04:31.001 --> 0:04:34.681 If there was a fire, why would Connie shut herself 0:04:34.721 --> 0:04:37.281 into a closet in the back of a utility room, 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.920 into a place where there was no escape or could 0:04:41.961 --> 0:04:46.641 someone have put her in that closet it I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:04:47.001 --> 0:04:50.001 Over the past seven years of making my true crime podcast, 0:04:50.041 --> 0:04:52.721 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:04:52.841 --> 0:04:56.400 as a small town where murder never happens. I have 0:04:56.481 --> 0:04:59.921 received hundreds of messages from people all around the country 0:04:59.961 --> 0:05:02.641 asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:05:02.841 --> 0:05:04.921 their families, and their communities. 0:05:05.601 --> 0:05:07.281 If you have a case you'd like me. 0:05:07.161 --> 0:05:09.440 And my team to look into, you can reach out 0:05:09.481 --> 0:05:11.721 to us at our Helen Gone Murder line at six 0:05:11.761 --> 0:05:15.561 seven eight seven four four six one four five. That's 0:05:15.601 --> 0:05:19.321 six seven eight seven four four six one four five, 0:05:20.121 --> 0:05:22.881 or you can send us a message on Instagram at 0:05:23.161 --> 0:06:10.961 Helen gonepod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. The Arkansas 0:06:10.961 --> 0:06:14.241 State Police said they're done with this case file. They've 0:06:14.321 --> 0:06:19.641 labeled Connie Townsend's case inactive. Connie's daughter Stacey emailed the 0:06:19.721 --> 0:06:22.401 Arkansas State Police in two thousand and seven and in 0:06:22.401 --> 0:06:24.481 two thousand and nine asking for a copy of the 0:06:24.481 --> 0:06:28.361 case file. She also spoke to Arkansas State Police investigator 0:06:28.481 --> 0:06:32.241 Dennis Simons. Now side note here, if you've listened to 0:06:32.241 --> 0:06:35.561 season one of Helen Gone or followed the Rebecca Gould case, 0:06:35.921 --> 0:06:38.801 you'll know that I have my own history with Dennis Simons. 0:06:39.281 --> 0:06:42.001 So I'm going to refrain on commenting on what he 0:06:42.121 --> 0:06:45.440 did or did not do in conn investigation because I 0:06:45.521 --> 0:06:49.041 truly don't know, And to be fair, he wasn't the 0:06:49.081 --> 0:06:52.440 only investigator saying that they had exhausted all investigative leads. 0:06:53.121 --> 0:06:55.201 As we said last week, TJ. 0:06:55.361 --> 0:06:58.601 Hively and the prosecutor's office had also said there was 0:06:58.681 --> 0:07:02.200 nowhere else that they could go with this investigation. I 0:07:02.441 --> 0:07:04.641 just want to go back and go over the case 0:07:04.681 --> 0:07:06.840 file with a fine tooth comb and see if there 0:07:06.881 --> 0:07:09.681 are any questions that we can answer. Thirty years later, 0:07:10.481 --> 0:07:12.961 I want to go back to the timeline. I want 0:07:13.001 --> 0:07:16.121 to go back in time to January seventh, nineteen ninety five. 0:07:17.001 --> 0:07:19.801 Connie Townshend was moving out of her trailer. She had 0:07:19.801 --> 0:07:22.801 told people that she was afraid of her estranged husband, 0:07:22.881 --> 0:07:27.041 David Townsend, both of Connie's daughters told us that David 0:07:27.041 --> 0:07:29.761 had verbally abused their mother in the past and that 0:07:29.841 --> 0:07:34.001 he had made threats. Though Connie and David had been 0:07:34.001 --> 0:07:37.481 separated for years, there was a lot happening that week. 0:07:37.521 --> 0:07:41.641 Because Connie had just filed for divorce. David would not 0:07:41.721 --> 0:07:45.481 get the divorce paperwork until January eleven, four days after 0:07:45.521 --> 0:07:45.961 the fire. 0:07:47.161 --> 0:07:49.161 This was intentional on Connie's part. 0:07:49.841 --> 0:07:52.281 Connie had hired a lawyer, and she had a conversation 0:07:52.401 --> 0:07:56.001 with her lawyer about serving David after she left home. 0:07:56.641 --> 0:07:58.841 She did not want to escalate the situation. 0:07:59.721 --> 0:08:00.801 The police talked. 0:08:00.561 --> 0:08:03.841 To Connie's attorney on January eighteenth. He said that he 0:08:03.921 --> 0:08:07.081 looked for her case file but was unable to locate it. 0:08:07.681 --> 0:08:10.841 He told police he believed someone may have broken in 0:08:11.041 --> 0:08:13.441 and stolen it, which honestly is a bit of a 0:08:13.481 --> 0:08:17.601 bizarre answer in my opinion. But then there's no follow 0:08:17.681 --> 0:08:20.721 up by police in the case file. But we found 0:08:20.721 --> 0:08:24.041 out something else from the case file. Even though Connie 0:08:24.161 --> 0:08:27.441 had that conversation with her lawyer about serving David after 0:08:27.481 --> 0:08:31.681 she left home, something happened that morning before she died. 0:08:32.521 --> 0:08:35.960 Connie told her sisters that she had let it slip 0:08:36.361 --> 0:08:40.280 to David Townsend's mother, Ramona that she was filing for divorce. 0:08:50.441 --> 0:08:53.401 We went back and tried to piece together everyone's interviews 0:08:53.601 --> 0:08:55.721 to see if there are gaps in the timeline or 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.401 any conflicting information about the morning of the fire, and 0:08:59.521 --> 0:09:03.680 we have found a lot of inconsistencies, places where facts 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:06.961 don't match, gaps of time where it seems as though 0:09:07.001 --> 0:09:12.081 either someone is misremembering or someone is lying. As we 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.121 said last week, Connie called both of her sisters on 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:15.961 the morning of the move. 0:09:16.441 --> 0:09:18.800 She wanted her brothers in law to come and help. 0:09:19.361 --> 0:09:21.921 This was a point of conflict between Connie and her 0:09:22.001 --> 0:09:26.481 estranged husband David and his parents, Ramona and Dale Townsend. 0:09:27.201 --> 0:09:30.401 We talked to Connie's sister, Dolores Brown about what she 0:09:30.481 --> 0:09:32.841 remembers from the day her sister died. 0:09:33.881 --> 0:09:37.841 Connie called me somewhere around ten or ten thirty on 0:09:38.001 --> 0:09:41.641 Saturday morning and she said that her and David had 0:09:41.641 --> 0:09:44.241 got into it again, and she says that David said 0:09:44.321 --> 0:09:46.561 she had to get out right away, so she said 0:09:46.601 --> 0:09:48.921 I stayed as soon as possible. 0:09:50.201 --> 0:09:53.601 The night before the fire, both of Connie's daughters, Amber 0:09:53.641 --> 0:09:57.561 and Stacy spoke to their mom remember Amber was moving 0:09:57.601 --> 0:10:01.361 with her mother, so her stuff was packed along with Connie's. 0:10:01.881 --> 0:10:04.321 At two am on the morning of the seventh, Amber 0:10:04.361 --> 0:10:05.601 showed up at Connie's trailer. 0:10:06.121 --> 0:10:07.721 Her mom was in the process. 0:10:07.361 --> 0:10:10.921 Of moving out, but Amber said that because of icy roads, 0:10:11.561 --> 0:10:14.561 they decided to stay one last night in the trailer. 0:10:15.401 --> 0:10:18.560 The next morning, Amber loaded her stuff into Connie's car 0:10:18.721 --> 0:10:20.921 and left to go to her grandmother's house. At around 0:10:20.961 --> 0:10:24.281 seven to fifty five am. She clarified to police that 0:10:24.321 --> 0:10:26.641 she was planning to shower at her grandmother's so she 0:10:26.641 --> 0:10:29.481 could get ready for the day because the hot water 0:10:29.681 --> 0:10:32.881 was not working at the trailer. She drove back by 0:10:32.881 --> 0:10:35.561 the trailer at around nine am, and she said that 0:10:35.681 --> 0:10:39.521 at that time she saw David's two tone brown Cadillac 0:10:39.601 --> 0:10:43.281 park there. When she saw that, she just honked and 0:10:43.321 --> 0:10:46.801 drove on one. She said, quote, my mom didn't want 0:10:46.801 --> 0:10:50.281 me there when he was there end quote. This would 0:10:50.361 --> 0:10:53.761 match David's statement he told police, which was that he 0:10:53.841 --> 0:10:56.601 left his parents' house some time after nine am and 0:10:56.641 --> 0:10:59.761 that he drove over to Connie's. David said that he 0:10:59.841 --> 0:11:02.401 and Connie argued about who was going to help her move. 0:11:03.321 --> 0:11:06.521 Connie's daughter, Stacy told police that she called her mom 0:11:06.561 --> 0:11:09.201 at around ten am. She said that by that point 0:11:09.361 --> 0:11:13.681 David was gone. Connie told Stacy that when David was there, 0:11:13.721 --> 0:11:16.761 they had an argument and that at that time David 0:11:16.841 --> 0:11:21.201 had threatened her with bodily harm. Connie had rented an 0:11:21.241 --> 0:11:23.921 apartment with Amber, and she had actually just gotten the 0:11:23.961 --> 0:11:26.321 keys to her new place a couple of days earlier, 0:11:26.441 --> 0:11:29.920 on January fifth. For Connie, this was going to be 0:11:29.961 --> 0:11:33.801 a new start. But after David came by the trailer, 0:11:34.001 --> 0:11:37.321 then his parents went over. His father, Dale, told police 0:11:37.601 --> 0:11:39.961 that he and his wife Ramona, drove over to Connie's 0:11:40.001 --> 0:11:43.681 at around eleven am. At this point, Connie broke down. 0:11:44.321 --> 0:11:46.601 She had talked to her sister Dolores on the phone 0:11:46.801 --> 0:11:50.121 about five times that morning, and this time when she called, 0:11:50.601 --> 0:11:51.481 she was in tears. 0:11:52.481 --> 0:11:57.361 She called and she was crying. She was upset. David's parents, 0:11:57.521 --> 0:12:02.361 Ramona and Dale, were there and they were concerned about 0:12:02.361 --> 0:12:06.081 what she was gonna take, and they were telling her 0:12:06.121 --> 0:12:09.361 she couldn't do this and couldn't do that, and Connie said, 0:12:09.441 --> 0:12:10.881 I guess you've got to get out. 0:12:11.121 --> 0:12:11.641 It's bad. 0:12:11.721 --> 0:12:14.601 And then I've tried to calm her down, and then 0:12:14.721 --> 0:12:18.521 I asked to speak to one of them, and Ramona 0:12:18.601 --> 0:12:22.281 came to the phone. I asked her what we could 0:12:22.321 --> 0:12:25.841 do about that situation that we were coming, if they 0:12:25.881 --> 0:12:28.841 couldn't just go home and just let us get her 0:12:28.961 --> 0:12:33.001 out of there and then everything would calm down. And 0:12:33.401 --> 0:12:36.561 she said they were gonna stay there make sure we 0:12:36.601 --> 0:12:39.521 didn't take anything, and I said that would be fine. 0:12:40.081 --> 0:12:42.201 I asked her if maybe if she could go home, 0:12:42.761 --> 0:12:45.961 and then I would call her whenever we left here 0:12:46.361 --> 0:12:48.441 and they could meet us back over there and let 0:12:48.441 --> 0:12:51.721 Connie have some peace. And I talked to Connie again, 0:12:52.361 --> 0:12:55.161 and she was calming down and explained to her what 0:12:55.201 --> 0:12:55.961 they were going to do. 0:12:56.921 --> 0:12:59.641 Dale's told police that he and Ramona stayed for a 0:12:59.641 --> 0:13:02.081 little while and then left, and that they got back 0:13:02.081 --> 0:13:05.441 to their own home at noon. At some point after 0:13:05.481 --> 0:13:09.401 heated arguments, Dolores said that the situation at Connie's house 0:13:09.441 --> 0:13:12.441 seemed to have calmed down, or so she thought. 0:13:13.361 --> 0:13:16.201 And so she got feeling better about it. We hung 0:13:16.241 --> 0:13:20.160 out that Ramona and Dale did not leave right away. 0:13:20.841 --> 0:13:24.161 I called just to check to see if they're gone. 0:13:24.761 --> 0:13:27.361 I waited not very long because I was nervous about 0:13:27.401 --> 0:13:31.081 it all, and Dale answered the phone, so I asked 0:13:31.161 --> 0:13:34.441 him where Connie was, and he said, well, she's outside. 0:13:34.521 --> 0:13:37.401 I think I think she's putting her purse in the 0:13:37.481 --> 0:13:39.961 car and she's loading the car, you know, and all 0:13:40.001 --> 0:13:42.361 this stuff. And I said, well, I'm just gonna hang 0:13:42.401 --> 0:13:44.921 on until she came back in nan and I want 0:13:44.921 --> 0:13:47.481 to talk to her because I was not quite sure 0:13:47.641 --> 0:13:50.641 he was telling me the truth. So in a little 0:13:50.641 --> 0:13:53.401 bit she came back in though, and I talked to 0:13:53.441 --> 0:13:55.521 her and she said, yeah, she would say little better 0:13:55.521 --> 0:13:57.961 about it, you know. So we hung up again, and 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.321 I called Connie for about twelve thirty and told her 0:14:01.321 --> 0:14:03.721 we were on our way, and she said, don't be 0:14:03.761 --> 0:14:05.761 in any hurry, eat some lunch if you want to 0:14:06.041 --> 0:14:09.761 or whatever. I'm okay now, I'm okay. And this was 0:14:09.801 --> 0:14:13.881 the last conversation I had with her. And so we 0:14:13.881 --> 0:14:18.441 were there quickly, and when we talked, that hill that 0:14:18.601 --> 0:14:22.921 home was already in plazes. It was already really burning. 0:14:23.961 --> 0:14:27.721 The fire department was dispatched at one eleven PM, which 0:14:27.761 --> 0:14:30.481 means that shortly after Dolores hung up the phone with 0:14:30.561 --> 0:14:34.241 her sister, the fire broke out. Delores said that by 0:14:34.281 --> 0:14:37.441 the time she got to Connie's trailer, she was shocked 0:14:37.481 --> 0:14:42.001 to see the raging fire. Her sister Marlene showed up 0:14:42.041 --> 0:14:43.121 shortly after she did. 0:14:44.081 --> 0:14:47.080 We were trying to figure out how to get inside, 0:14:47.201 --> 0:14:50.321 but then it was already so bad. Everything was hot, 0:14:50.401 --> 0:14:52.561 the door knob was the hutch, couldn't touch it, and 0:14:52.681 --> 0:14:55.161 there just wasn't enough windows. We couldn't get in. We 0:14:55.201 --> 0:14:58.001 couldn't see in even because of the smoke, and of 0:14:58.041 --> 0:15:00.481 course we didn't know for a while whether Connie was 0:15:00.521 --> 0:15:04.681 in there or not. We started searching around outside Marlene 0:15:04.681 --> 0:15:08.281 and I did, hoping that she was outside somewhere, and 0:15:08.961 --> 0:15:09.961 it took off running. 0:15:11.361 --> 0:15:15.161 We asked another question last week, what happened to Connie 0:15:15.201 --> 0:15:19.161 and David's big black dog, Bobo. Connie was an animal 0:15:19.201 --> 0:15:22.241 lover and had several cats that she let into the home, 0:15:22.801 --> 0:15:25.921 and the dog didn't roam free normally. He was either 0:15:25.921 --> 0:15:29.041 tied up by the carport or he was inside the house. 0:15:29.801 --> 0:15:33.641 Dolores believed that the dog might be significant because when 0:15:33.681 --> 0:15:37.481 she called Connie that last time, she heard the dog bark, 0:15:38.041 --> 0:15:41.761 and she said he normally only barked when people came 0:15:41.841 --> 0:15:42.441 to the trailer. 0:15:43.841 --> 0:15:47.001 Org had started barking when we were fixing to hang 0:15:47.121 --> 0:15:51.041 up from that last phone conversation. At that last phone 0:15:51.041 --> 0:15:53.281 conversation when I told her we were on our way 0:15:54.001 --> 0:15:56.761 and we were actually driving when I called her, and 0:15:56.841 --> 0:15:59.481 I thought about that later. It didn't hit me until 0:15:59.521 --> 0:16:01.801 I threw you know, of course, until it was over 0:16:01.841 --> 0:16:04.201 with and I got home and was thinking about that, 0:16:04.681 --> 0:16:07.041 and then I thought I heard that dog start barking 0:16:07.081 --> 0:16:10.481 off the phone. He only barked when someone came in and. 0:16:10.601 --> 0:16:15.521 Drove in the drive, so was someone outside Connie's trailer 0:16:15.561 --> 0:16:20.561 When they hung up, Dolores mentioned seeing something else a witness, 0:16:20.601 --> 0:16:24.721 someone who she said, spoke to David Townsend at the scene. 0:16:25.761 --> 0:16:29.561 David did make a statement at least to one or 0:16:29.601 --> 0:16:34.041 two people that at least he untied that gd dog 0:16:34.441 --> 0:16:36.681 and didn't let it burn up in the fire too. 0:16:37.521 --> 0:16:41.201 I spoke to Billy and she told me that the 0:16:41.281 --> 0:16:44.761 front door was locked, but that the side by the 0:16:44.761 --> 0:16:50.081 carport was not, and to say opened that and several 0:16:50.161 --> 0:16:53.441 cat went running and one cat came out and it 0:16:53.481 --> 0:16:54.161 was on fire. 0:16:55.641 --> 0:16:59.281 We checked the case file and found that reference. Police 0:16:59.361 --> 0:17:02.001 did talk to a witness. It was a witness named 0:17:02.081 --> 0:17:05.920 David Herron, and he told police that David made a 0:17:05.961 --> 0:17:09.121 comment to him about the dog The witness told police 0:17:09.120 --> 0:17:11.840 that on the day of the fire, David said something 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:15.080 to the effect of quote, well, at least I turned 0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:17.600 the goddamn dog loose so he wouldn't burn up. 0:17:17.481 --> 0:17:18.561 Too end quote. 0:17:19.281 --> 0:17:21.801 The witness told police that another friend of his name, 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.640 Scotty Mast, was also there at the time, and that 0:17:24.681 --> 0:17:28.200 Scotty had apparently heard David say the same thing, but 0:17:28.241 --> 0:17:30.400 there's no record of an interview with Scotty in the 0:17:30.441 --> 0:17:37.561 case file. Was the fire arson or not? We said 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:40.120 last week that an electrician did go in with law 0:17:40.161 --> 0:17:42.960 enforcement and looked at the service box and found that 0:17:43.001 --> 0:17:46.281 the service box had been shorted, So the electrician stated 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:49.721 the short could have contributed to or caused the fire 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:54.321 that destroyed the trailer. But in late February, police brought 0:17:54.321 --> 0:17:57.121 in a specially trained dog named Gallagher from Little Rock. 0:17:57.681 --> 0:18:01.360 This dog could detect accelerants, and the dog alerted for 0:18:01.441 --> 0:18:05.801 accelerants at several different parts of the house, but no 0:18:06.001 --> 0:18:08.681 actual accelerant was found in the samples taken from the 0:18:08.681 --> 0:18:11.360 crime scene or from the samples that were taken from 0:18:11.401 --> 0:18:16.041 Connie's body at the medical Examiner's office, so investigators could. 0:18:15.801 --> 0:18:16.481 Not be sure. 0:18:18.041 --> 0:18:20.161 One of the handwritten notes that we were talking about 0:18:20.281 --> 0:18:23.241 last week referred to the arson theory. The note was 0:18:23.321 --> 0:18:26.521 hard to decipher, but part of it reads quote, they 0:18:26.601 --> 0:18:28.801 started at the living room and went to the kitchen 0:18:29.001 --> 0:18:33.281 throwing diesel gas end quote. Also in the emails from 0:18:33.281 --> 0:18:37.481 the Arkansas State Police to Stacy, Connie's daughter, they referred 0:18:37.521 --> 0:18:42.640 to Connie's investigation as an arson homicide investigation. Connie's daughters 0:18:42.681 --> 0:18:46.121 told us the Arkansas police felt that David was their suspect, 0:18:46.601 --> 0:18:49.561 but that they told them they just didn't have enough 0:18:49.601 --> 0:18:53.721 evidence to prosecute him. David did have an alibi at 0:18:53.721 --> 0:18:57.400 the approximate time of the fire. Remember David's son, David 0:18:57.441 --> 0:19:00.481 Lynn said they drove to Caligo Rock together and went 0:19:00.521 --> 0:19:02.840 fishing after leaving David's parents' house. 0:19:03.721 --> 0:19:07.121 But could there be any holes in this alibi? 0:19:17.201 --> 0:19:21.281 Police did investigate leads other than David Townsend. There are 0:19:21.281 --> 0:19:23.881 two other names in the case file, names I'd never 0:19:23.921 --> 0:19:28.721 heard before, Tony Montgomery and Stanley Montgomery. One handwritten note 0:19:28.801 --> 0:19:31.761 read that Stanley and Tony quote had to leave Little 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.281 Rock because of arson problems. We tracked down the police 0:19:35.281 --> 0:19:39.801 report regarding Stanley Montgomery. Connie's trailer burned down on Saturday. 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:43.120 On Monday, Stanley showed up at the hospital with severe 0:19:43.201 --> 0:19:46.001 burns to his arms, and according to the police report, 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:49.281 quote told three different stories about how he got the burn. 0:19:50.041 --> 0:19:52.681 Police were apparently suspicious and they did a search of 0:19:52.681 --> 0:19:55.721 Stanley's residence. There's a search warrant for his house in 0:19:55.761 --> 0:19:58.840 the case file, stating they seized several items from his 0:19:58.921 --> 0:20:01.801 residence and that one of the items seized was a 0:20:01.881 --> 0:20:05.600 charred bathrobe. But police tested that bathrobe and found no 0:20:05.761 --> 0:20:09.361 traces of accelerant on it, So it seems as though 0:20:09.401 --> 0:20:14.521 Stanley and anyone connected with him was ruled out. When 0:20:14.561 --> 0:20:17.801 I look through the police interviews with Connie's daughter Amber, 0:20:18.321 --> 0:20:22.481 the timeline, in my opinion, becomes more and more heartbreaking 0:20:22.801 --> 0:20:26.440 because she did everything in her power to make a 0:20:26.561 --> 0:20:30.561 safe plan to cut her ties with an abusive relationship. 0:20:31.321 --> 0:20:35.001 It's obvious that Connie was terrified of David, but on 0:20:35.041 --> 0:20:39.840 that very last day, she seemed to relax. At twelve thirty, 0:20:39.961 --> 0:20:42.521 when Dolores talked to her sister for the last time, 0:20:42.881 --> 0:20:44.721 calling Connie to sa say that she and her husband 0:20:44.721 --> 0:20:48.041 were on their way. She told police that Connie seemed 0:20:48.041 --> 0:20:52.640 calmer and said that there was no Rush. Amber said, quote, 0:20:52.921 --> 0:20:55.561 my mother was in real good spirits and she was 0:20:55.601 --> 0:20:57.600 moving and told me to go ahead and go on 0:20:57.681 --> 0:21:00.961 to work today end quote. One question that we had 0:21:00.961 --> 0:21:04.521 from last week was who was driving the black truck 0:21:04.681 --> 0:21:09.721 with the rainbow stripes. One possibility is David Lynn, David's 0:21:09.721 --> 0:21:13.841 son and Connie's stepson. At the time, David Lynn drove 0:21:13.881 --> 0:21:17.201 a black truck with bright red stripes. Obviously, he's not 0:21:17.361 --> 0:21:20.641 the only person who drove a vehicle somewhat matching this description, 0:21:21.321 --> 0:21:24.080 but it is interesting that there's no real record of 0:21:24.121 --> 0:21:28.161 his location before noon. That's when Dale and Ramona Townsend 0:21:28.201 --> 0:21:31.241 told police he arrived at their place to eat lunch 0:21:31.321 --> 0:21:35.481 with them and his father. David Townsend was at Connie's 0:21:35.481 --> 0:21:38.001 at around nine am in his two tone brown Cadillac. 0:21:38.361 --> 0:21:41.601 Connie confirmed this, and Amber saw his car park there 0:21:41.681 --> 0:21:43.360 when she drove by on her way to work in 0:21:43.401 --> 0:21:47.321 Mountain Home. After that, David left Connie's trailer and told 0:21:47.401 --> 0:21:50.321 police that he drove back to his parents' house. Then 0:21:50.521 --> 0:21:53.681 Dale Townsend told police that he and Ramona went to 0:21:53.761 --> 0:21:57.921 Connie's at around ten am, but this was before David 0:21:58.001 --> 0:22:01.241 Lynn came to their house in his vehicle. Dale was 0:22:01.281 --> 0:22:04.521 driving his own vehicle that day, a maroon truck. Where 0:22:04.601 --> 0:22:08.440 was David Lynn that morning before noon? It's a question 0:22:08.721 --> 0:22:11.840 that's not answered in this case file. And this is 0:22:11.881 --> 0:22:16.481 when we've found even more discrepancies because Ramona also reportedly 0:22:16.601 --> 0:22:20.961 told witnesses a slightly different story. A witness told police 0:22:21.001 --> 0:22:23.200 that they were there when the fire broke out. They 0:22:23.241 --> 0:22:26.200 said they saw David's mother, Ramona, and they were asking 0:22:26.281 --> 0:22:29.801 what happened, who lived there, et cetera. They said that 0:22:29.921 --> 0:22:32.801 Ramona told him that she and her husband had been 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:36.441 to Connie's trailer earlier that day, but she said she 0:22:36.561 --> 0:22:40.401 brought Connie some wood. This was never mentioned in any 0:22:40.441 --> 0:22:48.241 other report. David told police that he and David Lynn 0:22:48.401 --> 0:22:51.640 stopped at Harp's grocery store when they went fishing. This 0:22:51.881 --> 0:22:54.561 was confirmed by a witness who worked at Harp's grocery store. 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:57.920 This person said that they saw David Lynne between two 0:22:57.961 --> 0:23:01.161 and two thirty pm. That would have been before David 0:23:01.241 --> 0:23:03.561 and his son said they passed Dale townshend on the 0:23:03.641 --> 0:23:06.641 road after three pm when he supposedly told them about 0:23:06.641 --> 0:23:10.201 the fire. She said that he bought cigarettes and a 0:23:10.241 --> 0:23:13.801 pack of coke at that point. She asked if Connie 0:23:13.840 --> 0:23:16.601 was heart in the fire, and he said no, that 0:23:16.641 --> 0:23:20.080 someone was bringing Connie back from Mountain Home. This is 0:23:20.241 --> 0:23:23.841 very confusing because if this is true, that would mean 0:23:23.881 --> 0:23:28.281 that David Lynn already knew about the fire before three pm, 0:23:28.321 --> 0:23:31.161 which is when David claims they ran into his father 0:23:31.281 --> 0:23:34.201 on the road and first learned about the fire. But again, 0:23:34.241 --> 0:23:37.600 it's very frustrating because there's no record that police ever 0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:42.241 explained this discrepancy. Joe Anne Ellis also had a different story. 0:23:42.881 --> 0:23:45.681 Joe Anne told she had been living with David Townsend 0:23:45.721 --> 0:23:47.840 for three years, but that he had been married to 0:23:47.881 --> 0:23:51.361 Connie for fifteen years. She said that David told her 0:23:51.361 --> 0:23:53.721 that he loved Connie and that he married her for 0:23:53.761 --> 0:23:56.561 the kids. She said that David did not talk to 0:23:56.601 --> 0:24:00.801 her about his and Connie's problems. She said, quote, someone 0:24:00.881 --> 0:24:03.681 called Dale and told him that the trailer was on fire, 0:24:04.201 --> 0:24:07.041 and David was at Dale's when the call was made. 0:24:07.321 --> 0:24:07.881 End quote. 0:24:08.561 --> 0:24:11.160 Now that's a totally different story than the one that 0:24:11.281 --> 0:24:14.241 David and Dale told police about David and David Lynn 0:24:14.321 --> 0:24:16.721 being out fishing, Dale, finding out about the trailer and 0:24:16.801 --> 0:24:18.761