WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Doug Janis Part 4 0:00:08.285 --> 0:00:09.205 School of Humans. 0:00:14.365 --> 0:00:18.245 After Doug Janis was murdered in twenty twenty, police were 0:00:18.285 --> 0:00:23.085 focused on one suspect, his wife, April May Janis. Was 0:00:23.205 --> 0:00:26.525 April a loving wife who adored Doug or was she 0:00:26.565 --> 0:00:31.205 a master manipulator who had orchestrated his murder in Himple, Texas. 0:00:31.645 --> 0:00:35.605 That depends on who you ask, because the town is divided. 0:00:36.845 --> 0:00:39.165 We talked to several people who were close to April. 0:00:39.765 --> 0:00:42.245 They said they felt sorry for April, but at the 0:00:42.245 --> 0:00:44.685 same time, some of them seemed to be afraid of her. 0:00:45.125 --> 0:00:47.805 Ever since her mother, Anna Thompson, was killed in two 0:00:47.845 --> 0:00:50.965 thousand and four in what was either a freak accident 0:00:51.365 --> 0:00:54.885 or a murder. April was charged with her mother's murder, 0:00:55.205 --> 0:00:57.885 but she was found not guilty after a two day trial. 0:00:58.525 --> 0:01:01.845 And after that, some people felt sorry for April because 0:01:01.885 --> 0:01:05.765 she was preyed on by older men, including Doug. Janiss 0:01:05.805 --> 0:01:08.725 were afraid of April. They believe she had something to 0:01:08.765 --> 0:01:11.125 do with her mother's death and that she had gotten 0:01:11.125 --> 0:01:15.605 away clean with murder. This week, we finally got in 0:01:15.645 --> 0:01:19.885 touch with April Janis and we learned about an alternative suspect, 0:01:20.485 --> 0:01:25.485 someone who the police have apparently never considered I'm Catherine Townsend. 0:01:26.005 --> 0:01:29.005 Over the past five years of making my true crime podcast, 0:01:29.045 --> 0:01:32.205 Helen Gone, I've learned that there's no such thing as 0:01:32.205 --> 0:01:35.765 a small town where murder never happens. I have received 0:01:35.885 --> 0:01:39.285 hundreds of messages from people all around the country asking 0:01:39.325 --> 0:01:42.245 for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, their families, 0:01:42.365 --> 0:01:45.645 and their communities. If you have a case you'd like 0:01:45.725 --> 0:01:47.805 me and my team to look into, you can reach 0:01:47.845 --> 0:01:50.165 out to us at our Helen Gone Murder line at 0:01:50.205 --> 0:01:53.325 six seven eight seven four four six one four five 0:01:53.805 --> 0:01:57.125 that's six seven eight seven four four six one four 0:01:57.205 --> 0:01:59.765 or five, Or you can send us a message on 0:01:59.805 --> 0:02:52.565 Instagram at Helen Gone pod. This is Helen Gone Murder Line. 0:02:53.285 --> 0:02:56.965 If you ask people in Doug Janis's neighborhood, the only 0:02:57.045 --> 0:03:00.805 suspect the police ever considered was April, but there were 0:03:00.845 --> 0:03:03.725 other people around near the time when Doug Janis was murdered. 0:03:04.405 --> 0:03:07.005 It turns out that there was someone else living on 0:03:07.045 --> 0:03:10.245 Doug's property. Remember we said that April had moved out 0:03:10.245 --> 0:03:12.565 of the mobile home there and was living in Louisiana. 0:03:13.165 --> 0:03:16.325 But after April moved out, someone else moved in, a 0:03:16.365 --> 0:03:19.885 man named Ken, and because of the fact that Doug 0:03:19.965 --> 0:03:22.845 Janis was murdered just a couple of months after Ken 0:03:22.925 --> 0:03:26.165 was moving in, A lot of people were questioning Ken. 0:03:26.685 --> 0:03:29.365 They wondered if it was a coincidence that someone showed up, 0:03:29.485 --> 0:03:32.005 moved in, and then shortly after that that Doug was dead, 0:03:32.045 --> 0:03:33.485 which would be a natural question. 0:03:34.325 --> 0:03:35.045 But we got in. 0:03:34.965 --> 0:03:38.725 Touch with Ken and he admits that he believes he 0:03:38.925 --> 0:03:42.165 was considered a suspect. We asked him about the day 0:03:42.205 --> 0:03:45.365 when the police showed up at his house. Ken opened 0:03:45.445 --> 0:03:48.925 up about his relationship with Doug Janis, someone he said 0:03:48.965 --> 0:03:50.245 he considered a close. 0:03:50.005 --> 0:03:55.365 Friend, and that was about around twenty ten. I'm an 0:03:55.405 --> 0:03:59.925 avid hunter and I've been hunting up here since about then, 0:04:00.325 --> 0:04:04.045 and I've known Doug good by acquaintance, and I met 0:04:04.125 --> 0:04:08.085 him on feveral occasions. My house got torn up by 0:04:08.965 --> 0:04:11.685 Hurricane Harvey, and Doug heard about it. 0:04:12.285 --> 0:04:15.725 Ken knew Doug casually for several years, and Ken said 0:04:15.725 --> 0:04:18.365 that after his house was wrecked by the hurricane, he 0:04:18.485 --> 0:04:21.285 was looking for a place to live, so he reconnected 0:04:21.285 --> 0:04:24.605 with Doug and found out that April had recently moved 0:04:24.645 --> 0:04:27.565 out of the mobile home on Doug's property, leaving a vacancy. 0:04:28.365 --> 0:04:31.765 I knew April and that he had moved out. I'd 0:04:31.765 --> 0:04:35.685 only met her on a couple occasions prior to me 0:04:35.845 --> 0:04:40.525 moving here. But I got to know April very well 0:04:40.525 --> 0:04:44.285 and Doug even better. And he offered me this place 0:04:44.325 --> 0:04:47.445 to rent until my house got fixed or until you know, 0:04:47.445 --> 0:04:49.925 I found another place to live. But it was in 0:04:50.245 --> 0:04:53.765 pretty bad shape. Anyway, I got to pick up, and 0:04:54.725 --> 0:04:58.845 Doug offered me to haul captis to market, and I 0:04:58.885 --> 0:05:02.045 told him, you know, I've got a commercial driver's line 0:05:02.085 --> 0:05:06.645 of CLD, and he he would want me to haul 0:05:06.845 --> 0:05:10.325 fish for him, and I live here in the trailer, 0:05:10.485 --> 0:05:14.005 and anyway, I've got to pick up and we got 0:05:14.045 --> 0:05:16.205 it able to be live livapool. 0:05:17.525 --> 0:05:20.645 Ken remembers the last time that he talked to doub. 0:05:21.165 --> 0:05:25.765 If it was in December of the year he passed 0:05:25.925 --> 0:05:32.245 and twenty twenty, I believe it was. And I leader 0:05:32.325 --> 0:05:34.845 the review hault unload everything that was in my house 0:05:35.325 --> 0:05:37.605 and bring it up here, and he said that he'd 0:05:37.645 --> 0:05:42.205 help me. And I got here Saturday night about midnight, 0:05:42.485 --> 0:05:48.005 and there was a sheriff department and a fire department 0:05:48.485 --> 0:05:51.605 employee at the front entrance of how you get down 0:05:51.645 --> 0:05:54.485 here where you know the trailer is and I'm in 0:05:54.565 --> 0:06:00.045 my U haul and it's muddy, wet, nasty, and I 0:06:00.165 --> 0:06:02.805 pull up and they got it, who are you a jo? Well, 0:06:03.965 --> 0:06:07.285 you know, he all. I got my information on my 0:06:07.365 --> 0:06:10.005 driver's life, ale everything. Then after if I knew Doug, 0:06:10.045 --> 0:06:14.205 I said, yeah, my landlord, he's my neighbor, he's my 0:06:14.205 --> 0:06:18.125 my friend, my future employer. And they said, well he's 0:06:18.765 --> 0:06:20.605 but you didn't know about the have fire. You know, 0:06:20.645 --> 0:06:22.445 I don't know want half fire And they said that 0:06:23.205 --> 0:06:27.645 he'd passed in a fire. I was unimpressionated with an accident, 0:06:27.765 --> 0:06:31.405 that he had died from a gas leak or something 0:06:32.405 --> 0:06:35.525 that you know that it was the further thing from 0:06:35.525 --> 0:06:42.245 my mind that he was preyed upon by somebody. But 0:06:42.885 --> 0:06:47.565 the that week, whether it was a week later, they 0:06:47.645 --> 0:06:50.765 showed up here. They wanted a search warrant here. And 0:06:52.605 --> 0:06:54.245 I mean I walked out of home Front from pot 0:06:54.365 --> 0:06:57.685 Port and there like seven different police cars lined up 0:06:57.725 --> 0:07:04.325 with a sheriff car and uh this investigator shroud and uh. 0:07:04.485 --> 0:07:08.245 They started asking by questions about what's comings goings. 0:07:09.165 --> 0:07:12.325 Ken said that from what he observed, Doug in April 0:07:12.525 --> 0:07:15.885 seemed to have a great relationship. Ken said the police 0:07:15.965 --> 0:07:18.565 ruled him out after they realized that he wasn't in 0:07:18.605 --> 0:07:21.485 the area when Doug was shot, and that he had 0:07:21.525 --> 0:07:25.085 no issues with Doug. Ken said that Doug was charming. 0:07:26.205 --> 0:07:29.485 I'm still stunned. I still can't believe it. The man 0:07:29.685 --> 0:07:34.645 was a very generous man. He was the kind of 0:07:34.645 --> 0:07:36.165 guy that would give him a shirt off his back, 0:07:36.205 --> 0:07:38.365 and he pretty much did. He allowed me to live 0:07:38.405 --> 0:07:42.525 here pre of charge up until January was going to 0:07:42.565 --> 0:07:48.245 be my first rent payment. Yeah, and that year. And 0:07:48.285 --> 0:07:50.765 that was a decent man, like a lot. 0:07:50.645 --> 0:07:53.165 Of people did. He said. Most people love Doug. 0:07:53.925 --> 0:07:57.045 But Ken said that Doug had employed people in the 0:07:57.085 --> 0:07:59.205 past who Doug did have issues with. 0:08:00.045 --> 0:08:03.565 He's never from the time that I knew him, I 0:08:03.685 --> 0:08:12.125 never knew of him, you know, having affiliation with anyone 0:08:12.845 --> 0:08:17.285 of although his employees there, he didn't employ, he did 0:08:17.365 --> 0:08:18.845 employee some characters. 0:08:19.525 --> 0:08:23.205 Ken talked about Doug's employees, and he mentioned one person 0:08:23.245 --> 0:08:27.045 in particular who Doug had recent dealings with, someone who 0:08:27.125 --> 0:08:30.205 allegedly used Doug's credit card without Doug's permission. 0:08:30.725 --> 0:08:32.565 I happen to meet a couple of them men they've 0:08:32.605 --> 0:08:35.485 actually been here, but there are old guys. They were 0:08:35.645 --> 0:08:38.285 I mean, this guy was already too old to climb 0:08:38.325 --> 0:08:41.405 up to hill from the boat dog down there. Anyway, 0:08:41.525 --> 0:08:44.605 I met a couple of employees are people that helped 0:08:44.645 --> 0:08:49.965 him haul fish the market. But uh, I never knew 0:08:50.365 --> 0:08:55.005 of this one person of interest that we think of. 0:08:55.285 --> 0:09:00.085 His nickname is Heckory Nuts. I never met the man, 0:09:00.565 --> 0:09:04.645 but it was a parent that Doug had problems with 0:09:04.765 --> 0:09:07.645 him and got some kind of altercation in the day 0:09:07.685 --> 0:09:14.845 before that Saturday before he was brutally executed. But anyway, 0:09:16.605 --> 0:09:18.685 that's pretty much all I know. Doug allowed me to 0:09:18.805 --> 0:09:24.765 unhear and picked up the trailer, and you know, he's 0:09:24.765 --> 0:09:30.125 a good guy man. I mean, I had nothing from 0:09:30.165 --> 0:09:32.845 the time I met him time he passed. I've never 0:09:32.925 --> 0:09:36.405 had ever seen a bad side of Doug. I mean, 0:09:36.525 --> 0:09:38.925 you know, some people have an attitude anger problem, but 0:09:39.885 --> 0:09:41.645 he wasn't that kind of a guy as far as 0:09:41.685 --> 0:09:43.685 I knew. And April was just a sweetheart. 0:09:44.805 --> 0:09:47.845 Ken's impression of April is the opposite of other people 0:09:47.925 --> 0:09:52.325 we've talked to, people who described April as manipulative. Ken 0:09:52.365 --> 0:09:55.765 describes her as a kind, fun loving person and a 0:09:55.805 --> 0:09:59.885 complete sweetheart. He said that even though Doug had recently 0:09:59.925 --> 0:10:03.645 had a hernia operation. Doug was very fit for his age. 0:10:04.325 --> 0:10:06.245 He talked about how Doug had no fear of the 0:10:06.245 --> 0:10:10.005 wilderness around him. Doug even had an alligator out there 0:10:10.085 --> 0:10:14.645 who he fed marshmallows to. We already knew about Ken, 0:10:15.005 --> 0:10:17.805 because again, even though we had no access to the 0:10:17.805 --> 0:10:21.405 police case file. One of the first things that got 0:10:21.405 --> 0:10:24.045 me interested in Doug's death after a listener called to 0:10:24.085 --> 0:10:27.325 tell us about it, was when I started looking into 0:10:27.445 --> 0:10:31.605 land transfers that took place after Doug's death. I find 0:10:31.605 --> 0:10:33.725 that when you're trying to follow the money, the devil 0:10:33.765 --> 0:10:37.805 is always in the very boring details. April had actually 0:10:37.845 --> 0:10:40.405 sold the land to Ken, the guy who was staying 0:10:40.445 --> 0:10:44.525 on the property after April left. Since police had mentioned 0:10:44.565 --> 0:10:47.925 a potential life insurance policy and the probab will cause affidavit, 0:10:48.445 --> 0:10:51.485 that would mean money was potentially a motive. So I 0:10:51.565 --> 0:10:53.565 was trying to figure out if there was a life 0:10:53.565 --> 0:10:58.525 insurance policy and also what April's financial situation was around 0:10:58.565 --> 0:11:02.205 the time when Doug was murdered. We've got conflicting information 0:11:02.285 --> 0:11:04.805 on this because in the police report, after the police 0:11:04.845 --> 0:11:08.485 interviewed April Well, they said Doug kept around ten thousand 0:11:08.525 --> 0:11:10.845 dollars on the boat and that there was a life 0:11:10.885 --> 0:11:15.125 insurance policy for one hundred thousand dollars. So we reached 0:11:15.125 --> 0:11:23.725 out to April. Honestly, I didn't expect a response from April, 0:11:23.765 --> 0:11:28.325 because remember, she had the charges against her dropped, and 0:11:28.445 --> 0:11:32.405 from everything that we're hearing, police are not pursuing April, 0:11:32.485 --> 0:11:35.885 nor are they pursuing any alternative suspects. We didn't expect 0:11:35.885 --> 0:11:38.245 a response, but we wanted to hear her side of 0:11:38.285 --> 0:11:41.205 the story. I was a little shocked when she got 0:11:41.245 --> 0:11:43.725 back to us A couple of days later. She sent 0:11:43.805 --> 0:11:47.325 us a series of text messages. April said that her 0:11:47.325 --> 0:11:50.405 attorney had advised her not to talk to us, but 0:11:50.725 --> 0:11:53.285 she did say she wants to help get justice for Doug. 0:11:54.405 --> 0:11:56.765 She provided us with a list of phone numbers of 0:11:56.805 --> 0:12:00.605 Doug's close friends, people she believed could give us more 0:12:00.605 --> 0:12:03.565 information about the case, and we are reaching out to 0:12:03.605 --> 0:12:05.285 every single one of them. 0:12:05.725 --> 0:12:07.085 In one of her texts. 0:12:06.765 --> 0:12:09.605 April had said that it was ridiculous for police to 0:12:09.605 --> 0:12:12.045 be focused on her and that basically the Sheriff's department 0:12:12.045 --> 0:12:15.925 had lied in the arrest Affidavid. April said there was 0:12:16.125 --> 0:12:19.925 no million dollar life insurance policy when we asked her 0:12:19.925 --> 0:12:21.885 if there was a policy at all. She said yes, 0:12:22.565 --> 0:12:24.445 but she said that she was unaware of it until 0:12:24.445 --> 0:12:28.085 her aunt told her that the policy existed. From the 0:12:28.205 --> 0:12:31.205 land records that we found, it does seem like April 0:12:31.285 --> 0:12:34.445 had a lot of cash after Doug's death. We found 0:12:34.485 --> 0:12:38.045 that shortly after Doug passed away, April purchased a house 0:12:38.165 --> 0:12:42.365 for ninety five thousand dollars in cash. So we wondered, 0:12:42.885 --> 0:12:45.325 could there have been even more money on that boat 0:12:45.445 --> 0:12:48.085 and if so, what happened? Did it burn up in 0:12:48.085 --> 0:12:52.925 the fire or was it already gone. Here's Sarah April's friend. 0:12:53.885 --> 0:12:56.205 Yeah, I didn't believe in banks today. 0:12:56.245 --> 0:12:59.845 He was just repair annoid by that right for money 0:12:59.925 --> 0:13:05.325 he had accumulated in his lifetime or whatever was on 0:13:05.605 --> 0:13:06.085 that boat. 0:13:07.885 --> 0:13:12.205 Yeah, I would imagine too, and a fisherman probably trying 0:13:12.205 --> 0:13:14.405 to hide income from the irs. 0:13:14.565 --> 0:13:16.725 Also, if you read. 0:13:16.605 --> 0:13:20.365 The affidavit of probable cause, it seems like police focused 0:13:20.405 --> 0:13:24.125 on April's suspect for three reasons. One the fact that 0:13:24.125 --> 0:13:26.285 she allegedly had a boyfriend at the time when Doug 0:13:26.325 --> 0:13:30.405 was murdered. Two, Doug's money and potential life insurance policy. 0:13:31.005 --> 0:13:34.925 And there was also a third big reason the witness. Remember, 0:13:35.125 --> 0:13:38.485 police interviewed a neighbor, someone who said that they saw 0:13:38.525 --> 0:13:41.125 April driving away from the scene of the crime just 0:13:41.165 --> 0:13:44.685 a few minutes before the fire truck showed up. We 0:13:44.805 --> 0:13:47.765 also looked more into the witness who saw April on 0:13:47.805 --> 0:13:50.125 the day the boat blew up. We went to where 0:13:50.125 --> 0:13:53.165 this witness lives, a short distance from Doug's boat. Now, 0:13:53.165 --> 0:13:55.725 there are only two ways to get to where Doug lives. 0:13:56.125 --> 0:13:58.725 There's one long dirt road that passes right by the 0:13:58.765 --> 0:14:03.125 witness's house. There's also a second backway, though going that 0:14:03.205 --> 0:14:06.365 way would be longer and a lot more complicated. But 0:14:06.445 --> 0:14:09.885 we did have to consider every possibility. Maybe the killer 0:14:09.965 --> 0:14:13.245 drove out the other way. Maybe that's why the witness 0:14:13.285 --> 0:14:16.205 only saw April. Maybe the witness didn't see that person. 0:14:16.765 --> 0:14:19.125 We quickly found out that this would have been impossible 0:14:19.725 --> 0:14:22.645 because on the day that Doug Janis was murdered, there 0:14:22.685 --> 0:14:25.645 was a trail ride happening, one that was organized by 0:14:25.645 --> 0:14:28.445 some of the neighbors living that subdivision. There were a 0:14:28.485 --> 0:14:30.765 ton of horses out there and a lot of people. 0:14:31.605 --> 0:14:34.805 They had the road blocked off that day, and it 0:14:34.885 --> 0:14:37.085 was the road that could have been the killer's other 0:14:37.205 --> 0:14:40.765 escape route. In other words, there was only one way 0:14:40.805 --> 0:14:43.605 in and one way out to Doug Janis's boat on 0:14:43.725 --> 0:14:48.285 that day. If the killer drove to Doug's houseboat, they 0:14:48.325 --> 0:14:50.645 would have had to pass by the trail ride area 0:14:50.685 --> 0:14:53.085 on their way out, And to our knowledge, the only 0:14:53.165 --> 0:14:55.725 person that the witness mentioned seeing in. 0:14:55.725 --> 0:14:56.805 That area was April. 0:14:58.325 --> 0:15:01.045 We talked to one of the people on April's lists, 0:15:01.365 --> 0:15:05.085 a guy named now has another theory about what happened 0:15:05.085 --> 0:15:08.125 on the day died. This is something I considered as well, 0:15:08.125 --> 0:15:10.365 and I was surprised the police never seemed to bring 0:15:10.445 --> 0:15:14.125 up He wondered, could the killer have come to Doug's 0:15:14.125 --> 0:15:15.365 property by boat. 0:15:16.525 --> 0:15:21.125 I'm all for looking into this case because it was 0:15:21.165 --> 0:15:27.445 a travesty. Yeah, how it was handled Stroud, All of this, 0:15:28.885 --> 0:15:32.445 every bit of it, the mess that it is comes 0:15:32.445 --> 0:15:41.445 from Stroud. And the original case against April where they 0:15:41.605 --> 0:15:48.405 tried to convict her of her mother's murder, that was Stroud. 0:15:48.765 --> 0:15:52.645 Oh so it was the same investigator, same investigator. 0:15:52.765 --> 0:15:53.645 Wow, I didn't know that. 0:15:54.285 --> 0:16:01.965 And they basically I think April was like thirteen, and 0:16:03.125 --> 0:16:05.525 April believes her father killed her. 0:16:05.725 --> 0:16:10.645 Mother, and it's talking about an investigator Stroud, who investigated 0:16:10.645 --> 0:16:13.725 the murder of April's mother Anna Thompson in two thousand 0:16:13.765 --> 0:16:17.205 and four, said that an April's version of the story, 0:16:17.765 --> 0:16:21.045 she has been persecuted by this same investigator, and that 0:16:21.125 --> 0:16:24.725 when Doug died, the investigator seemed like he was basically 0:16:24.725 --> 0:16:27.525 out to get her. What if April has been an 0:16:27.525 --> 0:16:29.565 innocent victim this whole time. 0:16:29.965 --> 0:16:35.525 A drugger and questioner. Her father was questioning in her 0:16:35.645 --> 0:16:39.245 in front with the sheriffs. One of her neighbors, a 0:16:39.285 --> 0:16:47.165 woman was in on the question and they over on 0:16:47.445 --> 0:16:50.845 eight ten hours beat her down, say yeah. 0:16:50.685 --> 0:16:51.125 I did it. 0:16:51.765 --> 0:16:54.045 Yeah, Well, I can't believe she was allowed to be 0:16:54.125 --> 0:16:58.485 questioned at that young age with no Well. 0:16:58.245 --> 0:17:01.725 Her father allowed it because he was trying to put 0:17:01.765 --> 0:17:02.565 it on her. 0:17:03.245 --> 0:17:06.685 Right And and. 0:17:08.805 --> 0:17:13.165 April grew up her her father was a drug dealer, right. 0:17:14.205 --> 0:17:19.405 And I've known April since she was a teenager. My 0:17:19.605 --> 0:17:23.685 mother known her since before she was born. My mother 0:17:23.805 --> 0:17:31.205 made her first baby blanket for her. And I know 0:17:31.285 --> 0:17:38.125 that April has done nothing to nobody. She is. I 0:17:38.245 --> 0:17:40.845 trusted her with the care of my mother. My mother 0:17:41.245 --> 0:17:44.845 passed away about a year ago, and she was old 0:17:45.085 --> 0:17:49.005 in her nineties and April came and helped to take 0:17:49.045 --> 0:17:52.725 care of her and stuff like that, and I would 0:17:52.765 --> 0:17:55.045 not allow her to come in where it's near my 0:17:55.165 --> 0:17:59.645 mother if I thought she had anything to do with that. 0:18:00.205 --> 0:18:02.725 Doug was a good friend of mine. He was a 0:18:02.765 --> 0:18:04.605 friend of mine before he married April. 0:18:06.045 --> 0:18:10.365 So believes that Bob, not April, killed Anna, and that 0:18:10.445 --> 0:18:15.525 April has been wrongly accused, not once, but twice mentioned 0:18:15.565 --> 0:18:18.285 the same guy that Ken talked about. The man they 0:18:18.325 --> 0:18:20.845 knew is Hickory Nut And. 0:18:20.925 --> 0:18:24.525 I think I know who killed him, and I don't 0:18:24.565 --> 0:18:30.045 have proof. I just have suspicion, but they're well founded suspicious. 0:18:31.165 --> 0:18:33.245 I want to back up a minute, because we talked 0:18:33.245 --> 0:18:37.245 a lot about April's childhood. We devoted almost an entire 0:18:37.285 --> 0:18:41.565 episode to April's childhood through the perspective of her father, 0:18:41.765 --> 0:18:43.845 Bob Thompson, and I've talked a lot about how I 0:18:43.845 --> 0:18:47.565 believe April was a victim and Bob was blaming everything 0:18:47.645 --> 0:18:50.605 that happened on other people rather than taking responsibility for 0:18:50.685 --> 0:18:54.605 protecting his daughter. After April moved out of the house 0:18:54.645 --> 0:18:57.645 and Mary Doug. Even though Doug and April continued to 0:18:57.685 --> 0:19:00.605 live in the same neighborhood as her father, Bob. April 0:19:00.725 --> 0:19:04.205 rarely saw her father after that. We passed by the 0:19:04.245 --> 0:19:07.125 house where April grew up. You can still see a 0:19:07.125 --> 0:19:10.885 lot of Bob's workshop stuff back there. Bob Thompson wrote 0:19:10.885 --> 0:19:13.205 in his book that he started to distance himself from 0:19:13.245 --> 0:19:15.685 the hemp Hill area after his wife died and April 0:19:15.725 --> 0:19:19.525 moved out of the house. Eventually, he moved to Gatesville, Texas, 0:19:19.605 --> 0:19:23.445 where he lived alone. On September tenth, twenty seventeen, just 0:19:23.485 --> 0:19:26.605 after noon, Bob called one of his neighbors, a woman 0:19:26.685 --> 0:19:28.725 named Ruth, and asked her to pick him up from 0:19:28.765 --> 0:19:30.965 Hillside Nursing Home, where he had been going back and 0:19:31.005 --> 0:19:33.525 forth to have rehabilitation for his right shoulder. 0:19:34.605 --> 0:19:36.045 Ruth picked Bob up and. 0:19:36.045 --> 0:19:39.605 Drove him home. On the way home, Bob was complaining 0:19:39.645 --> 0:19:42.205 about the doctors. He said he just didn't feel like 0:19:42.245 --> 0:19:45.005 he was getting the help he needed. Ruth dropped him 0:19:45.045 --> 0:19:47.285 off at his place at twelve thirty. She lived across 0:19:47.325 --> 0:19:49.685 the street. The plan was for her to pick him 0:19:49.725 --> 0:19:52.165 up again at three thirty and take him back to rehab. 0:19:53.085 --> 0:19:56.045 She came back over a little before that. She yelled 0:19:56.045 --> 0:19:58.485 at Bob through the screen door, but he didn't respond. 0:19:58.885 --> 0:20:02.245 So Ruth went inside and that's when she saw Bob 0:20:02.325 --> 0:20:04.925 lying on the bed. There was a pool of blood 0:20:04.965 --> 0:20:08.165 beside his head. Ruth called nine one one, and when 0:20:08.205 --> 0:20:11.485 police got there, they saw Bob lying there. His feet 0:20:11.525 --> 0:20:14.045 were hanging off the bed and there was black residue 0:20:14.125 --> 0:20:16.605 on his index finger that seemed to the police to 0:20:16.645 --> 0:20:18.565 be gunpowder residue. 0:20:18.645 --> 0:20:19.245 They saw the. 0:20:19.245 --> 0:20:23.125 Small Darringer pistol on the floor by his feet. It 0:20:23.205 --> 0:20:26.725 was a twenty two caliber revolver, the same caliber that 0:20:26.805 --> 0:20:32.285 killed Anna, his wife, and Doug Janis. Police found that 0:20:32.525 --> 0:20:35.485 only one round had been discharged from the weapon. The 0:20:35.525 --> 0:20:38.565 gun had fallen to a spot directly below Bob's right hand. 0:20:39.285 --> 0:20:41.565 So they took a look at the blood spatter patterns 0:20:41.565 --> 0:20:44.605 and everything in the room, and investigators. 0:20:43.765 --> 0:20:45.725 Believed that it was a suicide. 0:20:45.765 --> 0:20:47.765 They believe Bob sat down on the left side of 0:20:47.805 --> 0:20:50.205 the bed, put the gun to his right temple, fired 0:20:50.205 --> 0:20:52.805 the fatal shot, and then the gun slipped out of 0:20:52.805 --> 0:20:57.085 his hand and he fell back on the bed. Investigators 0:20:57.085 --> 0:21:01.485 concluded that Bob died by suicide, though some of his 0:21:01.525 --> 0:21:03.725 neighbors didn't seem to believe that he would have taken 0:21:03.725 --> 0:21:04.365 his own life. 0:21:04.845 --> 0:21:05.445 The truth was. 0:21:05.845 --> 0:21:09.485 Bob was depressed. He had clogged arteries and pneumonia and 0:21:09.525 --> 0:21:13.005 some other physical problems. He thought physical therapy wasn't helping, 0:21:13.445 --> 0:21:16.005 and he was very worried that he would lose the 0:21:16.125 --> 0:21:19.925 use of his one remaining arm. This scared him. His 0:21:20.045 --> 0:21:23.085 nurse said he had been showing signs of depression. He 0:21:23.125 --> 0:21:27.405 was put on prozac. There was something else, one tiny 0:21:27.445 --> 0:21:30.925 little detail that really stuck with me. Apparently Bob had 0:21:30.925 --> 0:21:33.845 a big bag of bird seed, and on that same day, 0:21:33.965 --> 0:21:36.565 shortly before he took his own life, he went to 0:21:36.605 --> 0:21:38.845 a neighbor's house, told her he didn't feel good and 0:21:38.925 --> 0:21:41.165 gave her the bird seed. He said for her to 0:21:41.165 --> 0:21:43.365 share it with other neighbors, saying it would just get 0:21:43.405 --> 0:21:46.125 moldy in his place, and he wanted to feed the birds. 0:21:46.805 --> 0:21:48.845 It reminded me of the story about his late wife 0:21:48.885 --> 0:21:52.525 Anna feeding hummingbirds. I wonder if he was thinking about 0:21:52.565 --> 0:21:57.725 her and about those birds. One other strange thing about 0:21:57.765 --> 0:22:01.245 Bob's suicide was that neighbors mentioned that Bob had a 0:22:01.325 --> 0:22:04.445 daughter who lived in Pennsylvania. No one who knew him 0:22:04.445 --> 0:22:10.285 at this apartment, Compla knew anything about April. April sent 0:22:10.405 --> 0:22:13.005 us a handwritten note that she said was written by 0:22:13.005 --> 0:22:16.725 her father, Bob. There are several questions written on the 0:22:16.765 --> 0:22:20.565 paper about why there were no fingerprints or residue test 0:22:20.605 --> 0:22:24.445 done after Anna was murdered, and other unanswered questions that 0:22:24.485 --> 0:22:25.725 the letter writer had about. 0:22:25.525 --> 0:22:27.005 The crime scene. 0:22:27.085 --> 0:22:30.245 From those notes, it seems like Bob went to his 0:22:30.365 --> 0:22:34.165 grave thinking that April and possibly Doug Janis killed Anna, 0:22:35.165 --> 0:22:46.405 and that he died with these questions still haunting him. 0:22:47.045 --> 0:22:50.405 When we talked to April over text, she completely denied 0:22:50.445 --> 0:22:53.285 having anything to do with Doug's murder. We told her 0:22:53.325 --> 0:22:56.045 we considered her a victim and that what happened to 0:22:56.085 --> 0:22:58.285 her at such a young age should never have happened. 0:22:59.005 --> 0:23:01.365 She said she appreciated that we saw it that way. 0:23:02.405 --> 0:23:05.485 April said she does want justice for Doug. She gave 0:23:05.485 --> 0:23:07.845 give us some phone numbers of people who knew Doug 0:23:07.885 --> 0:23:11.285 well who she believed may be able to help. Another man, 0:23:11.405 --> 0:23:15.125 Nathan said something similar to what Ken said. He said 0:23:15.245 --> 0:23:18.245 that a guy named John, who went by the nickname 0:23:18.325 --> 0:23:21.565 Hickory Nut, had recently gotten into an altercation with Doug. 0:23:22.045 --> 0:23:24.925 I asked about Hickory Nut. Here's what he said. 0:23:25.725 --> 0:23:29.525 I was doing some construction out here at my place, 0:23:30.405 --> 0:23:33.485 and I hired Hickory Nutt to do some digging and 0:23:33.605 --> 0:23:39.125 stuff for me, and I didn't know him from pat Oh. 0:23:39.285 --> 0:23:42.845 I asked Doug if he knew anybody that needed some more. 0:23:43.045 --> 0:23:46.725 He said, well, yeah, this guy. And so he came 0:23:46.765 --> 0:23:51.565 out and he worked pretty good. But I had known 0:23:51.645 --> 0:23:55.005 him for ten minutes. And he's bragging about how he 0:23:55.165 --> 0:24:01.565 was in prison for stabbing somebody in the bar. And 0:24:01.685 --> 0:24:04.205 you know, he talked like he was John Wayne looked 0:24:04.205 --> 0:24:07.285 more like he's Party five. Yeah, it's not a very 0:24:07.325 --> 0:24:12.125 big guy. And so somebody bragging about that kind of 0:24:12.165 --> 0:24:15.605 stuff to somebody they don't know that kind of lets 0:24:15.645 --> 0:24:18.445 you know what kind of person they are. So they're 0:24:18.445 --> 0:24:21.365 proud of that kind of shit. And so Hickory nut 0:24:22.285 --> 0:24:27.525 was a violent felon out on pro. Doug hired him 0:24:27.925 --> 0:24:32.765 to haul fish for him to market. They would have 0:24:32.845 --> 0:24:37.005 to use Dug's truck to haul the fish. He give 0:24:37.085 --> 0:24:41.205 them a credit card to fill up the truck with gas. 0:24:41.925 --> 0:24:47.965 One of Doug's customers, a fish market, called Doug. They said, 0:24:48.005 --> 0:24:50.965 don't send this guy anymore because they caught him snooping 0:24:51.005 --> 0:24:53.765