1 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: Diversion audio. 2 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 2: A note this episode contains mature content and quite graphic 3 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 2: descriptions of violence that may be disturbing for some listeners. 4 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 2: I mean it, y'all this episode especially, please take care 5 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 2: and listening. Dolores Lynch lived in a two story, pink brick, 6 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 2: fourteen bedroom and four and a half bath country house 7 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 2: outside of Louisville, Kentucky. It was on four and a 8 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 2: half acres. She had lived there with her husband until 9 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 2: his death eight months ago. Now she lived there by herself, 10 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 2: except for when her Janie visited. 11 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: Every weekend up from university. 12 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,959 Speaker 2: Janie was thirty nine, but she and her mother were close, 13 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,479 Speaker 2: too close, some of her friends thought, and Janie's boyfriends 14 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 2: definitely thought so. None of them were good enough for Janie, 15 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 2: just like none of Dolores's son's girlfriends. 16 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: Were good enough for Tom. 17 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: Dolores's friends knew that the Lynches could afford help around 18 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 2: the house, but Delores mowed her own four acre lawn, 19 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 2: and when her longtime housekeeper and friend went up on 20 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 2: her rates, Delores let her go. She was the type 21 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 2: of person to clean behind the housekeeper anyway, Even though 22 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 2: she was rich, Delores didn't act like it. She had 23 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 2: grown up in the Great Depression, and it showed through 24 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 2: her frugality. She mashed old bars of soap together, and 25 00:01:58,000 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 2: she bought all her clothes secondhand. 26 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: But she wasn't humble. 27 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 2: Dolores was vocally conservative and very judgmental. People liked her 28 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:14,359 Speaker 2: adult children, Sweet Jane and all American Tom, and Delores 29 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 2: thought no one was good enough. 30 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: For either of them. 31 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 2: Although she mothered some kids in her neighborhood, she made 32 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 2: enemies of others. She threatened to shoot a neighbor's dog 33 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 2: if it pooped on her lawn. Again, when it did, 34 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 2: she shot the dog, not fatally, but still she shot 35 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 2: her neighbor's dog. She also popped out of her front 36 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,519 Speaker 2: hedges when a horseback rider happened to pass in front, 37 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 2: taking photos as if he was trespassing, which she wasn't. 38 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 2: Delores was also quite paranoid. Her security alarms were always set, 39 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 2: and when she left the house she took the phone 40 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 2: off the hook so no one could call to. 41 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: See if she was home. 42 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 2: In short, Dolores was the type to ask to see 43 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 2: the manager, and she was very resentful of her. 44 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: Husband when he was alive. 45 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 2: It's probably part of what drove him to the alcoholism 46 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 2: that eventually ended his life. Dolores very seldom missed church. 47 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 2: On this day, July twenty second, nineteen eighty four, she 48 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 2: left the pew with her friend Marjorie, chit chatted with 49 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:26,959 Speaker 2: her frenemies on the way to the car, and then 50 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 2: said she had to leave because Janie would be coming 51 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 2: home with their Sunday doughnuts soon. Her friend Susan called 52 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 2: that evening, and the next morning. She even called Tuesday 53 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 2: morning without reaching her. Susan didn't need anything in particular, 54 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 2: but she thought it odd when the phone rang and rang. 55 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: After work, Susan decided she would just drop by and 56 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 2: make sure Dolores was all right. She brought her dog 57 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 2: just to visit, but when Susan pulled in to the 58 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 2: long driveway, she saw all three family cars in the driveway, 59 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 2: and then when she topped the hill, she saw Dolores's 60 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 2: body lying at the garage door. Later, one of Janey's 61 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 2: ex boyfriends would tell police. 62 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: Dolores was a pain in the ass. 63 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 2: She was the kind of person you'd invite to leave, 64 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 2: then take an aspirin and sit down to rest for 65 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 2: an hour or two. But you know, shooting her in 66 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 2: the head is a bit extreme. Welcome to the greatest 67 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 2: true crime stories ever told. I'm Mary Kay mcbraer. Today's 68 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:03,039 Speaker 2: episode we're calling Family Betrayal the Susie Newsome Lynch Story. 69 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 2: It's the story of Susie Newsom Lynch and it has 70 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 2: everything you'd expect from a Southern Gothic tale. Aristocratic families, 71 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 2: old South, racism, paranoia, a feud, and of course murder. 72 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 2: I'll tell you all about it after this quick break. 73 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 2: Normally I try to empathize with pretty much all our characters, 74 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 2: especially the protagonists, but listeners, I need y'all to know 75 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 2: I can't stand any of these people. I'm clearly from 76 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:55,799 Speaker 2: the South, and there's nothing more annoying about the South 77 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 2: than old money. Because the thing is there might really 78 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:03,479 Speaker 2: ain't that old, because the South ain't really that old. 79 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 2: There's a kind of new money that's only a couple 80 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 2: generations old, too, like the kind that makes people not 81 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 2: know how to act with actual old money. There's the 82 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 2: dignity of the noblesse of Liege. It's the reason why 83 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 2: Lord Grantham on Downton Abbey isn't an asshole to his servants. 84 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 2: He's got nothing to prove he's rich and his family 85 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 2: probably has been rich since before Hadrian's Wall. But new money, 86 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,120 Speaker 2: this type, it's. 87 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: The most annoying. 88 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 2: People wave it around like it's an indication of their goodness, 89 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 2: but without doing anything good with it. 90 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: Let me give you an example. 91 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 2: In my hometown, there was a private school. Generally, when 92 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 2: you think about private schools, you'd think that the education 93 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 2: would be better, the teachers would have masters and doctorates, 94 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 2: and the curriculum would be so tight that everyone graduates 95 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:03,719 Speaker 2: and everyone gets into top tier colleges. 96 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:06,280 Speaker 1: But not this school. 97 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 2: This school was actually inside a megachurch. There were no 98 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 2: honors or ap offerings, and grades were inflated. Actually, there 99 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 2: were no entrance exams or qualifications. You literally just bought 100 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 2: your way in into a lesser education. But among elitists, 101 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 2: I cannot abide this shit, and I really couldn't abide 102 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 2: the attitude that those kids thought they were better than 103 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 2: we lowly public school kids who graduated high school with 104 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 2: a year of college credits just because their parents had 105 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 2: money and they thought it was important to show that 106 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 2: they had money in that weird flex which made the 107 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 2: kids mostly insufferable. I mean, like you didn't earn that money. 108 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 2: Your daddy did put him on the phone. Also, no 109 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 2: one cares about your money, at least I don't. Maybe 110 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 2: other people with money care about whether you have money, 111 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 2: but the rest of us are busy. Granted, not all 112 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 2: the kids were evil or rotten, of course, and a 113 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 2: few of them went there instead of going to the 114 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 2: reform school. They got expelled to, which was an interesting dynamic, 115 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 2: But that was the general attitude, and anyone who came 116 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 2: out of there without their nose and the air was 117 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 2: kind of an anomaly. So that's the class of people 118 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 2: we're dealing with in this story. 119 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: And again, to be. 120 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 2: Fair, being well off does not necessarily make someone evil 121 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 2: or bad or wrong. It's the holier inou attitude because 122 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 2: of the money, not because of any sincere altruism that 123 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 2: makes these folks so gross to me. I don't like 124 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 2: any of them, not the victims, not the predators. But 125 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 2: I'm still going to try to be fair because they 126 00:08:53,600 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 2: do deserve that. I mentioned in the cold Open that 127 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 2: Dolores was resentful of her husband, Chuck, and that was 128 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 2: a gross understatement. 129 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: She hated him. 130 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 2: Chuck had been a big deal at ge and because 131 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 2: he loved his work so much and it was a 132 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 2: good job. He had to relocate several times across the states. 133 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 2: They were originally from Pennsylvania, but they lived all over, 134 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 2: from New York to New Jersey, Washington, d c. To Maryland, 135 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 2: Chicago to Louisville. That's when he retired and Delores swore 136 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,040 Speaker 2: she would never move again. She took every chance she 137 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 2: could to belittle her husband in front of her friends, 138 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 2: even cooking for him horrible combinations like green beans and 139 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 2: scrambled eggs. She often said I wish he'd die. When 140 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 2: her friend said, surely you don't mean that, Dolores doubled down. 141 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 2: Her maid, Helen said he never walked out the door, 142 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 2: that she didn't wish him dead. None of their friends 143 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 2: understood why they never divorced. One friend said he seemed 144 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 2: like a moral guy. I think he considered this was 145 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 2: his payback for the suffering he inflicted on Dolores. It 146 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 2: seems like Chuck felt he was atoning from making her 147 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 2: move so many times, a sort of she was miserable before, 148 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 2: so I'll be miserable now mentality. He started drinking to cope, 149 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 2: and then she called him a worthless drunk Chuck said 150 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,360 Speaker 2: she's a good woman personally, I don't see it. She 151 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 2: may have been a moral person, but even the people 152 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,239 Speaker 2: who knew her best said she was irritated by everything. 153 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 2: But by the time Chuck died, Dolores begrudgingly called the 154 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 2: police when she couldn't find his pulse as he lay 155 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 2: on the floor in front of the TV. She was 156 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 2: an empty nester, it is, until Janie moved back east. 157 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 2: Janie had already earned two degrees, and she'd been studying 158 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: dental work in Santa Monica, California for a while before 159 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 2: deciding to return to Kentucky. Janie was sweet and really pretty, 160 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:20,959 Speaker 2: and she had no problems finding boyfriends, but her boyfriends 161 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 2: did have trouble appeasing her mother, and Dolores was overbearing. 162 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,840 Speaker 2: Janie took it all in stride, but I have to 163 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 2: think it affected her somehow, since even though she'd been 164 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 2: engaged several times, she always begged off when it came 165 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 2: down to the real commitment. Such was the case with 166 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 2: her boyfriend Phil. They were very much in love at 167 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 2: the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, despite that she 168 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 2: was fourteen years older than he. Phil actually had thought 169 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 2: she was joking when she told him her age, but 170 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 2: she wasn't. After Phil had asked her to meet his parents, 171 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 2: Janie got spooped, at least I think she did. That's 172 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,079 Speaker 2: why she didn't go on the trip to meet them. Instead. 173 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 2: Dolores's son, Tom, Jane's brother, was supposed to visit the 174 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,959 Speaker 2: family in Kentucky in just a few days, and Janie 175 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,680 Speaker 2: would be home for that. Tom Lynch had moved to 176 00:12:18,679 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 2: Albuquerque with his first wife in nineteen seventy. She was 177 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 2: two years older than he was when he proposed. After 178 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 2: he graduated, Tom was twenty two when they made the move, 179 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 2: and he started his dental practice in New Mexico. Since then, 180 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 2: his practice had been steadily growing, and he didn't mind 181 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,400 Speaker 2: that in New Mexico no one cared about his pedigree. 182 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,160 Speaker 2: Tom was actually in New Mexico just leaving work when 183 00:12:47,200 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 2: he learned the news. Officer Steve Nobles was the one 184 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 2: who responded to Susan's police call. He didn't notice anything 185 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 2: amiss at the Lynch house until he got out of 186 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:15,040 Speaker 2: the car. That's when the smell hit him and he 187 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 2: saw the body laid out by the garage. Steve realized 188 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 2: he was exposed, and he took cover until his backup 189 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 2: arrived just a few minutes later. His first thought while 190 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 2: he waited was that the daughter might have killed her 191 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 2: mother and could still be in the house. Officer Steve 192 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,719 Speaker 2: Swinney knew the Lynches, though, and he was familiar with 193 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 2: the house too. He'd investigated Chuck's death a few months earlier. 194 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 2: Now they both approached the body of his wife. She 195 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:52,839 Speaker 2: lay on her left side. Jerry Bledsoe says in his book, 196 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 2: the top of her head and the left side of 197 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 2: her face were gone. The hot sun had blackened the 198 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 2: remains of her head, which squirmed with maggots and was 199 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 2: swarmed by flies and ants, the most grotesque sight those 200 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 2: police officers had ever seen, but they had to move on. 201 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 2: A third officer arrived. As they rounded the back of 202 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 2: the house, the officers saw a bullet hole in the 203 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 2: gutter drain at the end of the house. When they 204 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 2: slid open the unlocked storm door, two tiny, hungry dogs 205 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 2: yapped at them. They saw two drops of blood by 206 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 2: the counter, next to the telephone. The house was big, 207 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 2: but mismatched in decorps, and the officers crept down the hallway, 208 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 2: pushing open doors until they came to Janie's room. Her 209 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 2: purse and jewelry box had been dumped onto the bed. 210 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 2: Jannie lay face down in the sun room. She was barefoot, 211 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 2: and she had curlers in her hair. Them had been 212 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 2: driven into her skull by the second bullet. The first 213 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 2: was lodged in her right shoulder blade. The police continued 214 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 2: to secure the house, then they called in the mobile 215 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 2: evidence lab. They knew this would be a difficult case 216 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 2: to solve. It was two white women in a wealthy neighborhood, 217 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 2: days after the murder, and the trail had gone cold. 218 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: The state Police Department had to be called in. This 219 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 2: one was no match for Oldham County. It was just 220 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 2: an hour after the murders made the news in Louisville 221 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 2: when a volunteer minister at the Albuquerque Police Department came 222 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 2: to notify Tom Lynch. Tom was rushing to meet his wife, Kathy, 223 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 2: and his sons from his first marriage at the movies. 224 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 2: The chaplain said he had bad news. His mother and 225 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 2: sister had been killed. Tom assumed it was a car, 226 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 2: the chaplain said otherwise. Still in shock, Tom drove to 227 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 2: the movie theater to round up his family. His wife 228 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 2: was shocked. His eight year old Jim asked, well, Daddy, 229 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 2: who shot him? Oh? Tom didn't know what would make 230 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 2: a child ask that, but he was right, and they 231 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 2: didn't know who had killed them. Just one day before 232 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 2: he was scheduled to go see his mother in Louisville, 233 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 2: Tom touched down at the airport. The police met him 234 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,680 Speaker 2: at the airport and they drove him to the station. 235 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 2: Tom looked devastated, but they still had to question him. 236 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 2: Detective Dan Davidson offered his condolences and then asked basic questions. 237 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 2: When was the last time they talked? Had she expressed 238 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 2: any fears? And after they got the preliminary questions out 239 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 2: of the way, the policeman said, doctor, to be quite 240 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 2: candid with you, I don't know if you realize this, 241 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 2: and Tom replied, I think I know what you're gonna say. 242 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 2: I'm the sole heir. I think you'd be negligent if 243 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 2: you didn't look at that possibility too. Tom agreed to 244 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 2: take a polygraph test. This is elimination, a detective said. 245 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 2: The detectives asked him about his financial condition. Tom said 246 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 2: that he'd been practicing for eight years and he made 247 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 2: about one hundred and twenty thousand a year. He had 248 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:41,439 Speaker 2: some bills, a nice house, two cars, an ira, and 249 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 2: a little money in the bank. And then he added 250 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,880 Speaker 2: that he paid five hundred dollars a month in child support. 251 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,680 Speaker 2: After the polygraph, the detectives turned to one another and agreed. 252 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:57,440 Speaker 2: Even though the polygraph proved inconclusive, Tom was tense and upset. 253 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:03,680 Speaker 2: They didn't think that Tom Lynch did it, So who did? 254 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 2: We'll take a closer look after the break. Tom Lynch 255 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,880 Speaker 2: met his first wife when he was in college at 256 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 2: wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. When he 257 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 2: was a freshman. He was a basketball player, and they 258 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 2: struck up a conversation at the library. Susie Newsom had 259 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,640 Speaker 2: transferred to this private school in her hometown of Winston 260 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 2: Salem from another small, expensive private girls' school, Queen's College. 261 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,119 Speaker 2: She hadn't liked it much there because the girls were frivolous. 262 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 2: They were almost all wealthy, but they weren't what she 263 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 2: thought of as good families. She thought you didn't have 264 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,399 Speaker 2: to be wealthy to be good. She felt there was 265 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 2: such a thing as listen to this shit genteel poverty? 266 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:25,360 Speaker 2: Is that not the most condescending thing you've ever heard. Anyway, 267 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,439 Speaker 2: Susie was drawn to Tom because he looked wholesome and 268 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 2: he was medically ambitious. She had always liked doctors, but 269 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:39,560 Speaker 2: she hated hippies, war protesters, and civil rights activists. This 270 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 2: was nineteen sixty eight and she was in college, and 271 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 2: she strongly supported the war in Vietnam. She was also 272 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 2: a sorority sweetheart, which is a title that still makes 273 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 2: no damn sense to me. So when she met Dolores, 274 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 2: it didn't go great. It didn't go well at all. 275 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 2: They immediately disliked each other. Delores didn't like when someone 276 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 2: looked down on her origins. Susie was a privileged kid, 277 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 2: and she absolutely looked down on Dolores for her hard 278 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 2: scrabble upbringing. Tom didn't know of any actual conflict during 279 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 2: the meeting, but afterward, Susie told her family that Dolores 280 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 2: was quote overbearing and domineering, and Dolores told her friend 281 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 2: that Susie was quote snooty and pretentious. 282 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:35,400 Speaker 1: And both of them were right. 283 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 2: It's not that uncommon for there to be drama between 284 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 2: mother and daughter in law. Delores and Susie were both 285 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 2: bull headed about bossing Tom around. They didn't want to 286 00:20:47,560 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 2: get along. They both wanted to win. Obviously, Susie won, 287 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 2: daughters in law always do. At least she won Tom. 288 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 2: They got married in nineteen seventy, right after Tom's graduation. 289 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 2: Even though Dolores did everything she could to try to 290 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 2: dissuade him. She said she had a gut feeling that 291 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,439 Speaker 2: made her dislike Susie, even after she had tried to 292 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 2: get close to her. I don't know what trying to 293 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 2: get close to her looked like, but it didn't work. 294 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 2: They moved to the University of Kentucky and Lexington to 295 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 2: complete dental school. Dolores tried to be friendly, but her 296 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 2: friendly looked like surprise. 297 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: Visits and doting on Tom. 298 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,959 Speaker 2: And I can't blame Susie for being annoyed that there 299 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:53,200 Speaker 2: is absolutely no reason why anyone should drop by your 300 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:58,439 Speaker 2: house unannounced. Ever, it is the most rude thing you 301 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:03,680 Speaker 2: can do, vipecially when telephones exist and there are small 302 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:09,440 Speaker 2: napping children involved, and soon there were. Susie had John 303 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 2: Wesley in nineteen seventy four and then James Thomas in 304 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 2: nineteen seventy six, and then they moved to New Mexico 305 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 2: for Tom to open his own dental practice. 306 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: Susie didn't like New Mexico. 307 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 2: More specifically, she didn't like that people there didn't already 308 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,680 Speaker 2: know who she was, and they didn't respect her out 309 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:38,400 Speaker 2: of habit At Christmas of nineteen seventy eight, Susie brought 310 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 2: the boys home to Winston Salem on her own. Tom 311 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:48,720 Speaker 2: stayed behind with no explanation. While she was home, Susie 312 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 2: often complained about Dolores, but it wasn't just the normal 313 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,359 Speaker 2: pest type complaints of her dropping in or being overbearing. 314 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 2: Susie said quote she's mean and evil. When she returned, 315 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 2: Susie said that it might be better for everyone if 316 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 2: she took the boys back home for good. Susie was 317 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 2: unhappy in Albuquerque and apparently unhappy in her marriage as well. 318 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 2: Tom resisted for a while he didn't want to lose 319 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 2: his sons. Susie favored Jim the younger boy big time. 320 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,720 Speaker 2: She thought Jim was more like her. Really, he just 321 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,399 Speaker 2: looked more like her. He was laid back and relaxed 322 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 2: like Tom. So John, the child who acted more like Susie, 323 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:44,120 Speaker 2: sad and withdrawn, was the one who was punished more naturally. 324 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 2: He acted out this unfairness in tantrums and destroying his things. 325 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 2: But by the following spring of nineteen seventy nine, Jim 326 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:58,200 Speaker 2: displayed behavioral concerns too. He put objects in his eyes, 327 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:03,639 Speaker 2: and then one day Tom came home from work and 328 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 2: John was holding his arm in a weird way. As 329 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 2: soon as he took off the boy's shirt, he could 330 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:13,040 Speaker 2: see the arm was broken. John said he fell off 331 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:18,159 Speaker 2: the bed at his babysitter's home, but that was a lie. 332 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 2: The babysitter's husband worked nights and he slept all day. 333 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 2: They never played on the bed there, and both boys 334 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 2: had bedwetting problems, which is another sign of abuse, so 335 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,879 Speaker 2: the sitter had palettes fixed for them on the floor 336 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 2: just in case. The babysitter said she saw injuries on 337 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 2: the boys all the time, like bruises and bloody noses. 338 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 2: One day, Jim showed up with red eyes, which not 339 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 2: unusual for him, and then she saw that Jim had 340 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 2: a big, mushy lump on the side of his head. 341 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 2: He didn't get to the doctor until Tom came home 342 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,800 Speaker 2: from work and Tom saw the three year old's eyes 343 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:04,640 Speaker 2: were starting to blacken. The doctors suspected something wasn't right, 344 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 2: especially after they diagnosed Jim with a mild concussion. The 345 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 2: nurses strongly suggested it might not have been an accident. 346 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 2: Both parents were pretty offended at the implied accusation, but 347 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 2: especially Susie. Nothing came of it. There were no further 348 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:40,159 Speaker 2: investigations by child services. Susie and Tom separated soon after, 349 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 2: and while it was not hard for Tom to say 350 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 2: goodbye to Susie at this point, it was hard for 351 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,120 Speaker 2: him to say goodbye to his two little boys. Susie 352 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 2: took them with her back to Winston Salem. In the divorce, 353 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 2: Tom got two weeks summer vacation. That wasn't enough. He 354 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:06,679 Speaker 2: wanted more visitation, but Susie denied him that. I just 355 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:10,359 Speaker 2: want to note he's not suing her for custody, not 356 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 2: even partial custody. Tom just wanted more visitation, like four 357 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,719 Speaker 2: weeks instead of two, and not even necessarily all at 358 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 2: the same time. It wasn't a lot to ask, but 359 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 2: Susie wouldn't have it. Instead, she tried to keep the 360 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:33,159 Speaker 2: boys away from Tom completely. She took them with her 361 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 2: to Taiwan for a year while she was studying Chinese. 362 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 2: At one point, Tom didn't see John and Jim for 363 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:45,439 Speaker 2: two years. Not only is that some evil shit, but 364 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 2: it's completely unnecessary and the reason why Susie was keeping 365 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 2: the kids from him is even more disturbing. She thought 366 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 2: Tom was a drug dealer with a mafia connection. To recap, 367 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 2: Tom was a dentist. That's it. It might be just 368 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 2: my personal opinion, but it seems to me like there 369 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 2: might have been some jealousy at play. Tom had married 370 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:17,239 Speaker 2: his dental hygienist, Kathy after he and Susie divorced, and 371 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,719 Speaker 2: I say it might have been jealousy because John and 372 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:24,920 Speaker 2: Jim really liked Kathy. When a child psychologist asked them 373 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,919 Speaker 2: about it, they said they felt even more comfortable with 374 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:31,760 Speaker 2: Kathy than their own dad, although they felt good around 375 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 2: him too. Remember, it was Kathy who had taken the 376 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 2: boys to the movies when Tom got the news that 377 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 2: his family had been murdered, So the boys happened to 378 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,159 Speaker 2: be on that two week visitation with Tom when his 379 00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 2: family died. He actually asked Susie to extend their visitation 380 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 2: just by a few days, but of course she declined 381 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 2: she was going camping. Tom thought that was weird. Susie 382 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 2: going camping, but he had other concerns. 383 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: He was back in. 384 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 2: Louisville for the arrangements when he received a bouquet of 385 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 2: flowers from his former in laws, Susie's parents. Tom felt 386 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 2: like that opened a line of communication. So after a 387 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 2: few interactions, Tom asked Bob, that's his former father in law, 388 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 2: if he would be willing to testify in the custody hearing. 389 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 2: Bob agreed to do it. 390 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:42,640 Speaker 1: Again. 391 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 2: Tom was just asking for more visitation, not full custody, 392 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 2: not even joint custody, just more visitation. It shouldn't have 393 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 2: been all that surprising that Bob agreed to testify on 394 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 2: Tom's behalf, but I imagine it felt pretty relieving to Tom. Besides, 395 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 2: Bob had noticed the kids were acting weird. Tom had 396 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:11,000 Speaker 2: noticed it too. First was their appearance. They were so pale, 397 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 2: they had deep circles under their eyes, and the plaque 398 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 2: build up on their teeth was egregious, especially I'm guessing 399 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 2: to Tom as a dentist. 400 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: But John and Jim. 401 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 2: Were also behaving weirdly. They talked mostly to each other, 402 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 2: they didn't say much about their mother, and they seemed 403 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 2: to check themselves when they. 404 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:33,200 Speaker 1: Were about to speak about her. 405 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:37,280 Speaker 2: Plus, over the course of the stay, each of them 406 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 2: had accidentally called Tom Papa a handful of times. And 407 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 2: if Bob had noticed the kids were acting weird, it 408 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:50,200 Speaker 2: was nothing compared to how weird Susie was acting. I'll 409 00:29:50,200 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 2: tell you all about it after the break. When Susie 410 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 2: and Tom had divorced in nineteen seventy nine, Susie moved 411 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 2: back to Winston Salem, back in with her parents. She 412 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 2: wasn't feeling right. Susie chose to go to doctor Fred Klinner. 413 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 2: Fred was her uncle, and depending on whom you asked, 414 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 2: he was either a man treating patients at the end 415 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:38,440 Speaker 2: of the line with cutting edge experimental vitamin treatments or 416 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 2: a complete crackpot mad scientist. If you want to know 417 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 2: my opinion on doctor Fred Klinner, well let me just 418 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 2: describe his practice for you. Firstly, his practice was on 419 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 2: the second floor above a drug store in an old 420 00:30:54,760 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 2: building in downtown Reidsville, up a steep wooden staircase. Plaster 421 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:05,520 Speaker 2: crumbled from the rain stained walls. Doors led to separate 422 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:12,920 Speaker 2: segregated waiting rooms in the nineteen eighties. In the waiting rooms, 423 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 2: the magazines were for gun aficionados, stuff like tracts from 424 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 2: the White Citizens' Councils, Christian Crusades, pamphlets about how integration 425 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 2: was a Communist plot, that FDR was a trader, and 426 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:34,040 Speaker 2: how women's rights were sacrilegious. He was a first generation 427 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 2: American from Austria, and his whole family had been Nazi sympathizers, 428 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 2: claiming to date that Adolph Hitler was misunderstood on. 429 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: This side of the pond. 430 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,239 Speaker 2: He was also a Civil War buff who claimed the 431 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 2: wrong side had won the war, and he spoke favorably 432 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,320 Speaker 2: of the KKK. I'm not sure I personally would have 433 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 2: even made it up the staircase, let alone into the 434 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 2: hallway to wonder which waiting room I was supposed to enter, 435 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,400 Speaker 2: since I'm not really black or white. But people with 436 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:14,800 Speaker 2: progressed neurological disorders, people who had already been told by 437 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 2: multiple doctors that there was no hope for them, I 438 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 2: can imagine that they would overlook a lot on the 439 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 2: off chance of a miracle. It's actually really strange to 440 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 2: me how much educated people can overlook. Not only did 441 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 2: Susie go to Fred for treatment, but her family encouraged 442 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:51,880 Speaker 2: it because they were family listeners, do y'all overlook this 443 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 2: kind of thing in favor of your family? I get 444 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 2: that to a degree, you have to, like not cause 445 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 2: a scene at Thanksgiving at a stupid political comment or whatever. 446 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:04,959 Speaker 2: And I understand that a certain amount of loyalty in 447 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 2: like getting your roof replaced by your brother rather than 448 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 2: a rando, but only if they're good at their job, right, 449 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 2: or if it's very low stakes. But this didn't seem 450 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,239 Speaker 2: low stakes. Fred was a doctor, but he was not 451 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 2: a neurologist. Actual neurological doctors almost always disagreed with Fred's diagnoses, 452 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 2: so his success rate was flawed because basically, it's easy 453 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:35,040 Speaker 2: to cure someone of a disease they never had. So 454 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:39,479 Speaker 2: when he diagnosed Susie with multiple sclerosis, he treated her 455 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 2: with vitamin C injections and she started to feel better. 456 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,280 Speaker 2: Vitamin C will do that. It will give you more energy. 457 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 2: Susie had more energy, and Fred claimed that the vitamin 458 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:55,560 Speaker 2: C was helping her multiple sclerosis. Listeners, I don't know 459 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 2: a lot about MS, but I know it's a chronic 460 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 2: condition that's hard to diagnose. A lot of tests happen 461 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:06,640 Speaker 2: before you can secure that diagnosis, like MRIs blood tests, 462 00:34:06,680 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 2: even spinal taps. And while some symptoms of IT might 463 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:13,240 Speaker 2: be treated with vitamins, vitamin C is not a cure 464 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 2: for that neurological disease. There is no cure for MS. 465 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:22,440 Speaker 2: Most doctors try to slow its progression. Much of the 466 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:28,520 Speaker 2: treatment addresses attacks. So when Fred pronounced Susie cured of 467 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:47,000 Speaker 2: a disease that only he confirmed even existed, I should 468 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,160 Speaker 2: tell you too that Fred's son, Fritz, worked at the clinic. 469 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 2: Fritz is Susie's first cousin, and the whole family thinks 470 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:59,080 Speaker 2: he's weird. He prowls around at night, he's too enthralled 471 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 2: with guns and in Susie didn't know him well when 472 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 2: she was growing up, and she had barely seen him 473 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:09,080 Speaker 2: in years now, though they were both going through a divorce, 474 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,120 Speaker 2: he started pecking around Susie's parents' house a lot, spending 475 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 2: time with her. Fritz was also not a doctor. The 476 00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 2: family thought he was in medical school, but he wasn't. 477 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:23,360 Speaker 1: He was a fraud. 478 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 2: He just helped his dad out and lied to everyone 479 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:30,680 Speaker 2: about his medical studies. Fritz was actually pretty obsessed with 480 00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:34,880 Speaker 2: his dad, like wanted to be him. He would sign 481 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,040 Speaker 2: Fred Klinner on forms that were addressed to him and stuff. 482 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 1: It was a weird relationship. 483 00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:45,440 Speaker 2: Susie's mom, Florence, also thought Fritz's relationship with Susie was weird. 484 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,920 Speaker 2: She thought they were getting too close, and Florence confronted 485 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 2: Susie about having a romantic relationship with Fritz. Susie was irate, 486 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,480 Speaker 2: so upset that she left the house with the boys 487 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,360 Speaker 2: and rented an apartment for the three of them. After that, 488 00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:07,400 Speaker 2: Susie's parents and siblings didn't see them all that much. 489 00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 2: They wanted to, but Susie kept them away. When the 490 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:16,520 Speaker 2: boys showed up to visit, their appearance was shocking. They 491 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:20,279 Speaker 2: had sallow skin and deep circles under their eyes. They 492 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,480 Speaker 2: showed up with bags and bags of vitamins and supplements, 493 00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 2: which Tom threw away. How could he know what was 494 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:28,280 Speaker 2: in those pills? 495 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:28,640 Speaker 1: Really? 496 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,120 Speaker 2: Dolores had been willing to testify at the custody hearing 497 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:36,680 Speaker 2: on Tom's behalf, and now his former father in law 498 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:40,279 Speaker 2: was ready to testify for Tom too. And as for 499 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:44,040 Speaker 2: Susie and the kids in her new apartment, well, she 500 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 2: felt much safer there now that Fritz had moved in. 501 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: Join me. 502 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 2: Next week on the greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told 503 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,480 Speaker 2: For our second episode of three on Susie Newsom Lynch 504 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 2: and the Southern Gothic tale of aristocratic families, Old South, racism, paranoia, 505 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 2: a feud, and of course murder, I'd like to shout 506 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,279 Speaker 2: out a few key sources that made it possible for 507 00:37:35,320 --> 00:37:39,080 Speaker 2: me to tell this week's story, especially Jerry Bledsoe's book 508 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:44,040 Speaker 2: Bitter Blood and the episode of Southern Fried Homicide about 509 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 2: this case. The Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told is 510 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:57,880 Speaker 2: a production of Diversion Audio. I'm Mary Kay McBrayer, and 511 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,520 Speaker 2: I hosted this episode. Also wrote this episode. Our show 512 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 2: is produced by Emma Dumouth and edited by Antonio Enriquez. 513 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:11,440 Speaker 2: Theme music by Tyler Cash. Executive producer Scott Waxman