WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Lori Murchison 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 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:11.520 point to the challenges of verifying facts inherent in cold cases. 0:01:12.321 --> 0:01:15.800 We remind listeners that everyone has presumed innocent until proven 0:01:15.840 --> 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. 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.600 On September one, nineteen ninety five, a police officer in 0:01:35.681 --> 0:01:39.241 Fort Smith, Arkansas, pulled over a vehicle. A man named 0:01:39.321 --> 0:01:42.680 Jerry Cogan was driving and his girlfriend, twenty four year 0:01:42.721 --> 0:01:47.000 old Laurie Murchis, was the passenger. Laurie worked at a 0:01:47.001 --> 0:01:49.481 local nursing home. She had a four year old daughter 0:01:49.561 --> 0:01:53.721 named Brittany, and she adored her little girl. But Laurie 0:01:53.761 --> 0:01:57.001 had been battling an addiction to drugs, according to what 0:01:57.041 --> 0:02:01.320 her friends told police, mainly to crank or methamphetamines and 0:02:01.441 --> 0:02:05.840 Laurie also drank alcohol. Because of that, Laurie had been 0:02:05.881 --> 0:02:08.561 moving around a little. She had been living on and 0:02:08.601 --> 0:02:12.561 off with her mother, Nancy Murchison, and also sometimes staying 0:02:12.561 --> 0:02:17.120 at different local motels. Her mother, Nancy, had been taking 0:02:17.121 --> 0:02:20.561 care of Laurie's daughter. Laurie and Jerry were out at 0:02:20.601 --> 0:02:23.120 a bar that night when the officer pulled them over. 0:02:23.561 --> 0:02:26.241 He believed that both of them had been drinking, so 0:02:26.321 --> 0:02:30.161 he placed Jerry under arrest for DUI and Laurie for 0:02:30.201 --> 0:02:34.761 suspicion of public intoxication. Laurie was taken to the Sebastian 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.561 County Jail. She was released some time after five am 0:02:38.601 --> 0:02:42.641 on September second. She told detectives that she planned to 0:02:42.641 --> 0:02:46.240 get money and come back to bail Jerry out. Jerry 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.001 had given her fifty dollars, but Laurie needed more. Another 0:02:50.201 --> 0:02:54.721 inmate later told detectives that she heard Laurie talking to 0:02:54.801 --> 0:02:57.520 other women in the holding cells about finding a bail 0:02:57.601 --> 0:03:02.441 bond place. Laurie also specifically told jailers she was going 0:03:02.521 --> 0:03:04.881 to pick up her paycheck from the Oaks Lodge nursing 0:03:04.881 --> 0:03:07.921 home where she had been working, cash it, and come 0:03:07.961 --> 0:03:12.361 back to bail Jerry out. Most recently, Laurie had been 0:03:12.441 --> 0:03:15.321 staying with Jerry at the Continental Motel in Fort Smith. 0:03:16.041 --> 0:03:19.481 Between two and four pm on September second, Laurie went 0:03:19.481 --> 0:03:21.481 to the office of the Continental Motel to get a 0:03:21.561 --> 0:03:24.201 key to her room. This is according to an April 0:03:24.241 --> 0:03:28.721 two thousand and five Times Record report. Laurie's mother said 0:03:28.761 --> 0:03:31.921 that she last talked to Laurie on September second. She 0:03:32.041 --> 0:03:33.961 said that when she talked to her on the phone, 0:03:34.401 --> 0:03:36.881 Laurie told her that she and Jerry were planning on 0:03:36.921 --> 0:03:39.441 moving out of Nancy's house, that they had found a 0:03:39.521 --> 0:03:43.041 room at a local motel. Laurie said that she would 0:03:43.081 --> 0:03:46.321 come to NaN's house the next day to pick Brittany up, 0:03:47.161 --> 0:03:50.401 but she never returned to the jail, and she did 0:03:50.441 --> 0:03:53.361 not pick up her paycheck at the nursing home. The 0:03:53.561 --> 0:03:56.441 last time she was seen alive was at the Continental 0:03:56.481 --> 0:03:59.161 Motel when she picked up a key to her room. 0:04:00.081 --> 0:04:03.561 After that, she left that motel. None of her close 0:04:03.601 --> 0:04:07.481 friends or family ever heard from Laurie Murchison again. Her 0:04:07.521 --> 0:04:10.641 family had no way of knowing where she was, or 0:04:10.921 --> 0:04:14.481 that the hunt for this missing mother would eventually involve 0:04:14.641 --> 0:04:18.001 charges of corruption at the highest levels of State government. 0:04:19.241 --> 0:04:22.320 I'm Catherine Townsend. Over the past five years of making 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.521 my true crime podcast, Helling Gone, I've learned that there 0:04:25.601 --> 0:04:28.160 is no such thing as a small town where murdered 0:04:28.281 --> 0:04:32.081 never happens. I've received hundreds of messages from people all 0:04:32.121 --> 0:04:35.121 around the country asking for help with an unsolved murder 0:04:35.121 --> 0:04:39.641 that's affected them, their families, and their communities. If you 0:04:39.801 --> 0:04:41.520 have a case you'd like me and my team to 0:04:41.521 --> 0:04:43.961 look into, you can reach out to us at our 0:04:43.961 --> 0:04:47.121 Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight seven four 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.681 four six one four five that's six seven eight seven 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.001 four four six one four or five, or you can 0:04:54.041 --> 0:04:58.801 send us a message at Helen gonpod. This is Helen 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:46.840 Gone Murder Line. Days went by, Laurie Murchison never showed 0:05:46.881 --> 0:05:49.841 up to pick up her daughter, Brittany. According to media 0:05:49.881 --> 0:05:54.241 reports at the time, Laurie had been making regular trips 0:05:54.361 --> 0:05:58.601 back and forth to Wilburton, Oklahoma. This was happening for 0:05:58.801 --> 0:06:02.161 some time prior to her disappearance. A friend of hers 0:06:02.201 --> 0:06:05.921 told police that Laurie had disappeared before and that she 0:06:05.961 --> 0:06:08.761 had stayed gone for as long as a month at 0:06:08.761 --> 0:06:12.841 a time. But Laurie's mother, Nancy, was worried because she 0:06:13.041 --> 0:06:17.881 told detectives even if Lourie didn't come by, she always 0:06:18.001 --> 0:06:20.761 checked in, and Nancy believed she would never stay out 0:06:20.801 --> 0:06:24.921 of communication with her daughter for that long. Nancy officially 0:06:24.961 --> 0:06:28.961 reported Lourie missing on September fifth, nineteen ninety five. Police 0:06:29.081 --> 0:06:32.320 talked to people who claimed they had seen Laurie walking 0:06:32.361 --> 0:06:36.601 around in different locations. They confirmed she was released from 0:06:36.681 --> 0:06:41.281 jail at approximately five forty am on September second. In 0:06:41.321 --> 0:06:45.201 the day's following Laurie's disappearance, missing posters went up describing 0:06:45.281 --> 0:06:48.161 Laurie and the last clothes. She was seen in a 0:06:48.201 --> 0:06:52.801 white sleeveless cotton shirt cut off blue denim shorts, white socks, 0:06:52.841 --> 0:06:56.441 black sandals, a gold oval shaped knuckle ring on her 0:06:56.481 --> 0:07:00.880 left index finger, and a cross necklace on a black ribbon. 0:07:01.681 --> 0:07:04.641 Laurie was white, with brown hair that was bleached blonde, 0:07:04.761 --> 0:07:09.321 and brown eyes. She did have several distinctive tattoos, including 0:07:09.321 --> 0:07:11.801 a tattoo of a unicorn on her left shoulder, a 0:07:11.841 --> 0:07:14.081 tattoo of a heart with an arrow piercing it on 0:07:14.081 --> 0:07:17.921 her left breast, and a rose tattoo on her left ankle. 0:07:18.001 --> 0:07:23.281 Laurie also wore dentures and had several teeth missing. Police, 0:07:23.281 --> 0:07:26.361 of course had to consider the possibility that Lurie had 0:07:26.401 --> 0:07:31.121 gone missing voluntarily, but this seemed unlikely given the fact 0:07:31.161 --> 0:07:35.561 she never picked up her last paycheck from work. Detective Barrows, 0:07:35.801 --> 0:07:39.401 one of the investigators on the case, met with Laurie's mother, Nancy. 0:07:40.081 --> 0:07:43.721 Nancy gave detectives information about some of Laurie's close friends. 0:07:44.761 --> 0:07:48.401 Nancy later told The Times Record that Laurie was scared 0:07:49.041 --> 0:07:51.881 worried about something that she had seen or heard in 0:07:51.961 --> 0:07:55.401 the weeks before her disappearance. A few weeks before her 0:07:55.481 --> 0:07:59.081 daughter went missing, Nancy told police that Laurie came home 0:07:59.601 --> 0:08:02.561 afraid that someone was going to come after her, saying 0:08:02.601 --> 0:08:06.801 things like they're gonna off me. Nancy said she didn't 0:08:06.801 --> 0:08:09.841 know who or what Laurie was talking about or what 0:08:09.921 --> 0:08:13.121 could have scared her, and police weren't getting much from 0:08:13.161 --> 0:08:15.841 Laurie's friends. None of them had heard from her, and 0:08:15.881 --> 0:08:18.921 no one seemed to know where she had gone. Laurie 0:08:19.081 --> 0:08:21.961 had been talking to some female prisoners in jail before 0:08:21.961 --> 0:08:26.241 she was released. They told police they heard Lurie talking 0:08:26.241 --> 0:08:30.161 about a local bonding agency, so it seemed like Laurie 0:08:30.281 --> 0:08:32.881 had been planning on getting out of jail, picking up 0:08:32.881 --> 0:08:35.560 her paycheck, and bailing out her boyfriend, but there were 0:08:35.601 --> 0:08:38.641 a lot of dead ends. We did a Foyer request 0:08:38.641 --> 0:08:41.680 for Laurie's case file, but we only got part of 0:08:41.680 --> 0:08:45.441 it covering the first few weeks of the investigation. An 0:08:45.481 --> 0:08:48.080 officer from the Fort Smith Police Department went to the 0:08:48.121 --> 0:08:51.841 Midland Motel, the motel where Laurie was living before she 0:08:51.881 --> 0:08:54.601 moved to the Continental, but no one had seen her there. 0:08:55.401 --> 0:08:58.121 Police were able to figure out that on the night 0:08:58.201 --> 0:09:01.161 Laurie was arrested, she and her boyfriend Jerry, went to 0:09:01.201 --> 0:09:04.121 a bar called Shooters. They were hanging out there from 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.961 around seven to around eleven PM or midnight, right before 0:09:08.001 --> 0:09:13.041 they were pulled over by police. Police checked local hospitals, motels, 0:09:13.121 --> 0:09:17.160 and rehabs, but no one had seen Laurie Murchison. Police 0:09:17.201 --> 0:09:21.241 also talked to Laurie's boyfriend, Jerry. He said he had 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.481 no idea where his girlfriend had gone. Police did say 0:09:24.561 --> 0:09:28.641 he was cooperative and they cleared him pretty quickly. Nancy 0:09:29.001 --> 0:09:32.721 did tell police that Jerry had told her that since 0:09:32.761 --> 0:09:34.681 he and Laurie had been together, they hadn't been to 0:09:34.721 --> 0:09:39.321 any bars. Now obviously this wasn't true because Laurie and 0:09:39.401 --> 0:09:42.281 Jerry were at shooters and they were intoxicated when they 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.401 were picked up. But there are a lot of reasons 0:09:45.521 --> 0:09:48.481 why Jerry might have told this small white lie to 0:09:48.641 --> 0:09:52.521 Laurie's mother. Jerry Cogan was working at a glass plant 0:09:52.521 --> 0:09:55.320 in Midland. He came in and talked to detectives, and 0:09:55.361 --> 0:09:58.721 apparently he was very cooperative. He said he was as 0:09:58.761 --> 0:10:01.201 shocked as anyone else when Laurie never showed up to 0:10:01.201 --> 0:10:04.800 come bail him out. During this time, detectives did get 0:10:04.801 --> 0:10:07.881 a report that a body was found a white female 0:10:07.921 --> 0:10:12.920 in Salasaw Creek in Oklahoma, but it was not Laurie. 0:10:13.041 --> 0:10:15.961 Laurie had been at work at the nursing home on Friday. 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:18.441 A friend of hers named Ronda had seen her there, 0:10:19.201 --> 0:10:21.561 but Ronda said that was the last time that she 0:10:21.641 --> 0:10:26.841 saw Laurie. Laurie never came back. Police wondered could someone 0:10:26.881 --> 0:10:32.641 at the nursing home have wanted to hurt Laurie. During 0:10:32.681 --> 0:10:36.241 this time, Captain J. C Ryder, one of the investigators 0:10:36.241 --> 0:10:39.521 on the case, interviewed a confidential informant. This was someone 0:10:39.521 --> 0:10:42.801 who was in jail in Ozark. Now. This person told 0:10:42.841 --> 0:10:46.201 him Laurie had been having a sexual relationship with a 0:10:46.241 --> 0:10:48.280 married man who worked with her at the nursing home, 0:10:48.801 --> 0:10:51.601 and that the married man's wife was violent and it 0:10:51.721 --> 0:10:55.721 threatened to kill Laurie. J. C. Rider interviewed the married man. 0:10:56.161 --> 0:10:59.841 This person denied having a relationship with Laurie. They said 0:10:59.961 --> 0:11:02.961 they had never had more than a casual conversation with her. 0:11:03.881 --> 0:11:06.801 When Captain Rider asked who would have a reason to 0:11:06.881 --> 0:11:09.721 make up a story like that, this person gave the 0:11:09.801 --> 0:11:11.481 name of someone who was married to one of his 0:11:11.521 --> 0:11:15.001 family members, someone with a grudge against him. He said 0:11:15.081 --> 0:11:16.681 he didn't know if this guy would know about the 0:11:16.681 --> 0:11:20.401 disappearance of Laurie since this person was in jail in Ozark. 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:25.361 Captain Rider said after reviewing the information, he believed that 0:11:25.401 --> 0:11:28.241 the married man was being truthful about not having a 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:32.721 relationship with Laurie. Captain Rider also spoke to the man's wife. 0:11:32.761 --> 0:11:35.321 She said she had no knowledge of an affair between 0:11:35.401 --> 0:11:39.201 him and Laurie, so that possibility of Laurie having an 0:11:39.201 --> 0:11:41.241 affair with a married man that led to her death 0:11:41.641 --> 0:11:46.601 was apparently ruled out. Police investigated another man, someone with 0:11:46.641 --> 0:11:51.280 a long criminal record, including aggravated robbery, burglary, assault and battery. 0:11:51.801 --> 0:11:56.121 This person was one of Lurie's acquaintances, but apparently this 0:11:56.280 --> 0:12:00.721 was another dead end. Nancy told police about some friends 0:12:00.721 --> 0:12:04.401 of Lourie's, a man named Floyd who was nicknamed Corky, 0:12:04.761 --> 0:12:10.361 and his wife Sue. Nancy Murchison said Sue told someone 0:12:10.481 --> 0:12:12.721 that one night Laurie showed up at her house with 0:12:12.801 --> 0:12:16.801 two men in a red car. Sue denied telling Nancy 0:12:16.801 --> 0:12:19.761 this when police asked her about it, but Corky said 0:12:20.001 --> 0:12:24.201 Sue had told him that same story. So who were 0:12:24.241 --> 0:12:27.280 these two men, what did they want? And could they 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:31.121 have had anything to do with Lurie's disappearance. Another detective, 0:12:31.121 --> 0:12:35.361 Detective Reese, called the Razorback cab company, trying to retrace 0:12:35.441 --> 0:12:39.241 Lori's steps after she was released from jail. He figured 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.641 out that a driver had picked her up at a 0:12:41.641 --> 0:12:45.241 local bonding company. The driver told police he took Lurie 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:47.920 to a local Taco bell to pick up her car, 0:12:48.721 --> 0:12:51.601 but the driver said that Lourie's car was not there. 0:12:52.361 --> 0:12:55.121 The cab driver said at this point, Laurie was upset 0:12:55.161 --> 0:12:58.521 and surprised because she said the police had told her 0:12:58.681 --> 0:13:01.001 they were not going to tow the car, so the 0:13:01.081 --> 0:13:04.161 driver told police that after that, Laurie had him drive 0:13:04.201 --> 0:13:08.481 her to a local apartment complex. The Weregond Courts, so 0:13:08.681 --> 0:13:12.721 detectives went to that apartment complex they found a man 0:13:12.801 --> 0:13:16.401 named Billy Aaron. Billy told them that he knew someone 0:13:16.561 --> 0:13:20.401 who may have information about Loriie. This person's name was Jimmy. 0:13:20.841 --> 0:13:23.841 He was living in an apartment in that complex, and 0:13:23.961 --> 0:13:25.881 Jimmy was living on and off with a woman named 0:13:25.881 --> 0:13:30.001 Mary Chipman who went by the nickname Cricket. Jimmy's exact 0:13:30.001 --> 0:13:33.081 address was kind of a mystery. He said. He stayed 0:13:33.121 --> 0:13:35.521 sometimes in Van Buren with a woman, some of the 0:13:35.521 --> 0:13:37.641 time with his mom, and part of the time in 0:13:37.681 --> 0:13:41.961 another house. Billy said Jimmy and Cricket fought a lot, 0:13:42.601 --> 0:13:44.881 that Cricket had kicked you out of his house from 0:13:44.881 --> 0:13:48.241 time to time, and that at that point Jimmy ended 0:13:48.321 --> 0:13:51.401 up crashing with Billy. In fact, a lot of what 0:13:51.601 --> 0:13:55.800 unfolded next would center on that apartment complex, the Ragon Court, 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:59.921 and on apartment number eighty seven, where Billy said Jimmy 0:13:59.961 --> 0:14:03.041 and Cricket were living, and according to Billy, they also 0:14:03.241 --> 0:14:06.521 all hung out regularly at Shooters, the bar where Laurie 0:14:06.641 --> 0:14:10.641 and Jerry were last seen before they got arrested. Billy's 0:14:10.721 --> 0:14:13.601 story was that Jimmy had come over to his place 0:14:13.721 --> 0:14:16.481 and that they were drinking one night. Billy said they 0:14:16.481 --> 0:14:19.081 happened to be watching TV and a news story about 0:14:19.121 --> 0:14:22.841 Lourie's disappearance came on. Billy said Jimmy told him that 0:14:22.921 --> 0:14:27.161 he recognized Laurie. Billy said Jimmy had seen Laurie at 0:14:27.161 --> 0:14:30.201 a party at Cricket's place, which he said was apartment 0:14:30.281 --> 0:14:33.401 number eighty seven, where they were doing drugs. He said 0:14:33.481 --> 0:14:36.641 Kirky was there too that night, and at that party, 0:14:37.041 --> 0:14:41.241 Laurie was sitting in a chair. Laurie overdosed and died. 0:14:42.241 --> 0:14:45.961 Billy said, quote, Cricket went ape, shit, started throwing shit, 0:14:46.041 --> 0:14:49.201 throwing everybody out, flipping out and all this. That's when 0:14:49.241 --> 0:14:52.481 they picked her up and carried her outside. He said 0:14:52.561 --> 0:14:55.121 that they carried her out like she was drunk, put 0:14:55.121 --> 0:14:57.201 her in the vehicle like she was drunk, and he 0:14:57.321 --> 0:15:01.361 drove off end quote. He is in reference to Corky, 0:15:01.401 --> 0:15:05.121 by the way, because according to Jimmy's story, Corky drove 0:15:05.201 --> 0:15:09.161 off somewhere and buried the body. Billy said that Jimmy 0:15:09.201 --> 0:15:11.561 told him he didn't know where they went and that 0:15:11.641 --> 0:15:14.961 he didn't have a lot of other details. Billy said, quote, 0:15:15.521 --> 0:15:17.601 he said, at least you ought to have the decency 0:15:17.641 --> 0:15:20.801 to tell somebody or just let somebody know. That's what 0:15:20.881 --> 0:15:24.441 he said there in my house end quote. Later, the 0:15:24.481 --> 0:15:28.041 Fort Smith Police Department interviewed Cricket, but they said she 0:15:28.121 --> 0:15:31.441 was actually living in apartment number ninety nine. At first, 0:15:31.521 --> 0:15:35.561 police said Cricket seemed uncooperative, but she eventually told police 0:15:35.601 --> 0:15:38.121 that on the night Laurie was arrested, she was out 0:15:38.161 --> 0:15:41.081 with her boyfriend. She said Laurie had stopped by her 0:15:41.121 --> 0:15:43.681 residence while she was out and talked to her babysitter, 0:15:43.721 --> 0:15:48.641 then Laurie left. Cricket said she never saw Laurie that night. 0:15:49.361 --> 0:15:52.761 Then Cricket changed her story. This time she said she 0:15:52.841 --> 0:15:56.961 was out with another guy. Police said she never mentioned 0:15:57.001 --> 0:15:59.041 this other guy before, and they were asking her a 0:15:59.081 --> 0:16:01.801 lot of questions about her story and why it changed. 0:16:02.601 --> 0:16:06.681 They searched Cricket's room and seized items described as drug paraphernalia, 0:16:07.321 --> 0:16:10.841 but Cricket was never arrested or charged in connection with 0:16:10.921 --> 0:16:14.681 Laurie's death, and after the initial few weeks it seemed 0:16:14.721 --> 0:16:18.521 like Laurie's case went cold. No trace of Laurie was 0:16:18.521 --> 0:16:23.641 found and no body. But then Lourie Murchison made headlines 0:16:23.641 --> 0:16:27.121 again because there was a big development in the case 0:16:27.161 --> 0:16:32.001 from a very unexpected source. News broke that the FBI 0:16:32.121 --> 0:16:36.321 was investigating the prosecutor for Sebastian County, Ron Fields, of 0:16:36.401 --> 0:16:40.681 dealing drugs and of ordering the murder of Lorie Murchison, 0:16:41.641 --> 0:16:45.201 and that the person who ron Fields allegedly ordered to 0:16:45.281 --> 0:16:49.121 murder Laurie Murchison was one of the investigators on the case, 0:16:49.681 --> 0:17:04.601 the police captain j c Ryder. In the weeks following 0:17:04.801 --> 0:17:09.001 Laurie Murchison's disappearance, police were questioning people at a nearby 0:17:09.041 --> 0:17:12.881 apartment complex. They found a man named Billy, who claimed 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.921 that Laurie overdosed at the residence of a woman named 0:17:15.921 --> 0:17:19.801 Cricket in a room at the Ragencourt apartment complex, and 0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.480 that they carried her lifeless body out in a vehicle. 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.400 Billy claimed that Jimmy was afraid to tell the authorities 0:17:26.921 --> 0:17:29.920 because Jimmy was afraid that he would be charged with 0:17:29.961 --> 0:17:33.600 her death and disposal of her body. Then the case 0:17:33.761 --> 0:17:38.120 went quiet for years, but then all of a sudden. 0:17:38.281 --> 0:17:42.441 Around two thousand and five, Laurie Murchison made headlines again 0:17:43.120 --> 0:17:45.600 because there was a huge development in the case from 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:50.080 a very unexpected source. News broke that the FBI was 0:17:50.121 --> 0:17:54.441 investigating the prosecutor for Sebastian County, Ron Fields, of dealing 0:17:54.521 --> 0:17:58.761 drugs and of ordering the murder of Lorie Murchison, and 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.801 that the person Ron Fields allegedly ordered to murder Laurie 0:18:03.201 --> 0:18:05.841 was one of the investigators on the case, the police 0:18:05.881 --> 0:18:09.521 Captain J. C. Rider. I want to back up a 0:18:09.521 --> 0:18:12.241 minute and talk about ron Fields, because there is a 0:18:12.401 --> 0:18:17.001 massive controversy about ron Fields that is still unresolved. We've 0:18:17.041 --> 0:18:19.881 talked about him briefly before when we were talking about 0:18:19.881 --> 0:18:23.881 the unsolved murder of Melissa Witt. Ron Fields was close 0:18:23.961 --> 0:18:26.721 to Captain J. C. Rider of the Fort Smith Police Department, 0:18:27.281 --> 0:18:30.481 and Captain J. C. Rider later made news for becoming 0:18:30.521 --> 0:18:32.600 involved in the Melissa Witt cold case. 0:18:33.481 --> 0:18:33.721 J C. 0:18:33.921 --> 0:18:37.521 Rider and Ron Fields have a lot of history. Ron 0:18:37.601 --> 0:18:41.400 Fields served as the Sebastian County prosecutor for eighteen years. 0:18:41.921 --> 0:18:44.961 In nineteen ninety, he was a point by then Arkansas 0:18:45.041 --> 0:18:49.360 Governor Bill Clinton to become Arkansas Attorney General. During the 0:18:49.441 --> 0:18:52.761 time ron Fields was the prosecutor. He was very publicly 0:18:52.801 --> 0:18:56.840 anti drug He helped write laws that required longer prison 0:18:56.881 --> 0:19:00.840 sentences for drug abusers. He led the twelfth Judicial Drug 0:19:00.881 --> 0:19:05.801 Task Force in Western Arkansas. Ron Fields actually started in 0:19:06.041 --> 0:19:11.041 Arkansas the practice of requiring prosecutors rather than police to 0:19:11.121 --> 0:19:14.681 get search warrants in drug cases. This meant that ron 0:19:14.721 --> 0:19:17.880 Fields or one of his deputies actually went on drug 0:19:17.961 --> 0:19:21.080 raids with the police. Now, his supporters said that this 0:19:21.201 --> 0:19:23.521 made sure the evidence was all gathered by the book, 0:19:24.121 --> 0:19:27.721 and to be fair, the conviction rate in Arkansas for 0:19:27.761 --> 0:19:31.161 drug offenses did go up under ron Fields. His critics 0:19:31.201 --> 0:19:33.801 said the fact that he personally went on those drug 0:19:33.881 --> 0:19:37.561 raids was a massive red flag for other reasons which 0:19:37.561 --> 0:19:41.201 we'll get to a little later. Ron Fields was also 0:19:41.361 --> 0:19:44.441 a close friend of Republican Congressman A. SA SA Hutchinson. 0:19:45.001 --> 0:19:48.401 ASA Hutchinson, of course, served as US Attorney and later 0:19:48.441 --> 0:19:50.801 went on to become the forty six governor of Arkansas. 0:19:51.041 --> 0:19:54.881 He served from twenty fifteen to twenty twenty three. In 0:19:54.921 --> 0:19:58.360 two thousand and one, ASA Hutchinson took ron Fields with 0:19:58.441 --> 0:20:02.160 him to Washington, d C. Ron Fields became A. SA 0:20:02.241 --> 0:20:06.080 Hutchinson's special assistant at the Drug Enforcement Agency and later 0:20:06.361 --> 0:20:10.121 worked with Hutchinson in the Department of Homeland Security. According 0:20:10.121 --> 0:20:13.361 to The Arkansas Times, this position that ron Fields had 0:20:13.401 --> 0:20:17.360 with DA was very powerful. He worked on a coalition 0:20:17.601 --> 0:20:22.120 that battled terrorism and drug trafficking, and then in around 0:20:22.161 --> 0:20:24.841 two thousand and four two thousand and five, these accusations 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:28.121 surfaced about J. C. Ryder and ron Fields that according 0:20:28.161 --> 0:20:31.681 to media reports, these two men were allegedly involved in 0:20:31.801 --> 0:20:35.441 Lourie Murchison's murder. On May second, two thousand and five, 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.561 officials at the Department of Homeland Security pulled ron Fields 0:20:39.601 --> 0:20:43.360 security clearance and then he was suspended from his position 0:20:43.441 --> 0:20:47.041 at the Department of Homeland Security. He appealed that decision 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:52.481 but lost. Suddenly, ron fields days in Washington were numbered 0:20:53.281 --> 0:20:57.681 the FBI continued their investigation. Ron Fields went back to 0:20:57.721 --> 0:21:01.880 Fort Smith ASA. Hutchinson also left Washington at around that time. 0:21:03.080 --> 0:21:07.281 This connection between ron Fields and Lori Murchison was allegedly 0:21:07.441 --> 0:21:11.401 JC Rider. J. C. Rider was also a powerful figure 0:21:11.441 --> 0:21:14.440 in Arkansas. He had been in the Department since nineteen 0:21:14.481 --> 0:21:16.840 seventy five and was head of the Department's Major Crimes 0:21:16.921 --> 0:21:19.961 Unit until his retirement in two thousand and two. So 0:21:20.041 --> 0:21:23.881 suddenly the FBI have announced they were investigating claims that 0:21:24.001 --> 0:21:27.120 ron Fields had allegedly been involved in drug dealing and 0:21:27.121 --> 0:21:29.801 that he ordered J. C. Rider to kill Laurie Murchison 0:21:29.961 --> 0:21:34.120 and to dump her body. J C. Rider was subpoena 0:21:34.281 --> 0:21:36.840 to Washington, d c. To appear in front of a 0:21:36.881 --> 0:21:40.400 grand jury convened by the Public Corruption Section of the 0:21:40.401 --> 0:21:44.401 Department of Justice. Now, in the end, no charges were 0:21:44.401 --> 0:21:47.761 filed against J. C. Rider or Ron Fields, but it 0:21:47.881 --> 0:21:51.001 is hard to find any information out about exactly what 0:21:51.080 --> 0:21:54.921 went down during this investigation. We have made a Foyer 0:21:55.001 --> 0:21:57.681 request to the FBI for any and all case files 0:21:57.761 --> 0:22:03.761 involving investigations into ron Fields, but our request has been denied. Meanwhile, 0:22:04.041 --> 0:22:08.161 ron Field's lawyer Eddie Christian said the FBI investigation into 0:22:08.241 --> 0:22:11.080 ron Fields was the biggest witch hunt he'd ever seen. 0:22:11.961 --> 0:22:15.561 Eddie Christian was also J. C. Rider's attorney. He later 0:22:15.681 --> 0:22:20.041 told The Arkansas Times that the investigators were absolutely nuts. 0:22:21.241 --> 0:22:24.880 Eddie Christian told the Southwest Times Record in April two 0:22:24.921 --> 0:22:28.601 thousand and five, quote, I've known this guy, meaning ron Fields, 0:22:28.761 --> 0:22:31.561 for a long damn time. Let me tell you he's 0:22:31.641 --> 0:22:34.921 one of the most impoverished lawyers. I know he wears J. C. 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:37.281 Penny suits. He does not live high on the hog. 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:40.840 This boy's never made any money. I mean, he's been 0:22:40.881 --> 0:22:43.241 a public servant and that's been about it, except for 0:22:43.281 --> 0:22:47.041 a short stant in private practice. It's crazy to accuse 0:22:47.121 --> 0:22:50.761 ron Fields of selling drugs or doing drugs end quote. 0:22:51.681 --> 0:22:55.441 Eddie Christian also claimed that FBI agents had harassed ron 0:22:55.521 --> 0:23:00.721 Fields and J. C Ryder's families. Ron Fields had other supporters. 0:23:01.201 --> 0:23:04.321 Jack Moseley, the former editor of the Times Record, wrote, 0:23:04.601 --> 0:23:07.761 I would sooner believe mother Teresa was an axe murderer 0:23:07.881 --> 0:23:10.281 than think Ron Fields could be guilty of using and 0:23:10.321 --> 0:23:13.641 trafficking in illegal drugs. I've never known a more straight 0:23:13.721 --> 0:23:17.080 error fellow than Fields, and the idea of him ordering 0:23:17.121 --> 0:23:19.441 a police officer to kill a missing woman in Fort 0:23:19.481 --> 0:23:22.881 Smith to keep her quiet about his alleged drug activities 0:23:23.041 --> 0:23:26.801 is even more ridiculous. End quote. But it's interesting because 0:23:26.881 --> 0:23:31.400 in that same column, Jack Moseley wrote, quote, Fields or 0:23:31.401 --> 0:23:34.721 one of his deputies personally went on almost every local 0:23:34.761 --> 0:23:38.081 drug rate in order to guarantee that evidence was properly gathered, 0:23:38.201 --> 0:23:41.521 protected and kept for use in criminal trials. En quote. 0:23:42.041 --> 0:23:45.360 But the Arkansas Times reported that they had spoken to 0:23:45.441 --> 0:23:48.361 a lawyer. They didn't name this person, but they said 0:23:48.441 --> 0:23:51.561 the source had been interviewed by the FBI and that 0:23:51.641 --> 0:23:54.921 the FBI were asking about money that was forfeited as 0:23:54.921 --> 0:23:57.561 a result of drug arrests. Now, this source said the 0:23:57.641 --> 0:24:01.080 DOJ threatened to pull the lawyer's license if he didn't 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:04.041 give them the information they wanted about ron Fields. The 0:24:04.121 --> 0:24:06.801 source said they didn't have any information on ron Fields. 0:24:07.161 --> 0:24:09.441 They didn't know why this investigation was happening at all. 0:24:10.080 --> 0:24:12.881 But The Arkansas Times talked to other sources who said 0:24:12.921 --> 0:24:16.640 that ron Fields quote ran the police department and that 0:24:16.681 --> 0:24:19.641 the fact that he carried a gun and accompanied police 0:24:19.681 --> 0:24:23.001 on drug raids was in fact a massive red flag 0:24:23.161 --> 0:24:27.041 and a conflict of interest. The source told the Times 0:24:27.241 --> 0:24:31.001 that he had seen statements from witnesses people who claimed 0:24:31.080 --> 0:24:35.001 that they had seen ron Fields use drugs. So what 0:24:35.121 --> 0:24:38.361 does any of this have to do with Lourie Murchison. Well. 0:24:39.001 --> 0:24:41.920 One of the allegations that federal investigators were looking into 0:24:42.401 --> 0:24:46.001 was whether ry Murchison may have had knowledge about ron 0:24:46.041 --> 0:24:50.241 Field's alleged drug activities and whether j. C Ryder went 0:24:50.281 --> 0:24:53.920 to question Laurie Murchison. The allegation was that he and 0:24:54.080 --> 0:24:58.681 ron Fields may have gone together to question Laurie. This 0:24:58.761 --> 0:25:03.120 federal investigation went on for two years. During that time, 0:25:03.201 --> 0:25:06.080 a lot of rock Field's supporters stated it was ridiculous 0:25:06.121 --> 0:25:09.721 to believe that Ronfield's impeccable character could ever be questioned 0:25:10.201 --> 0:25:13.321 and that his activities could be covered up. But later 0:25:13.761 --> 0:25:17.721 in two thousand and seven, very ugly allegations surfaced again 0:25:17.881 --> 0:25:22.121 about ron Fields, allegations that he sexually assaulted his mentally 0:25:22.121 --> 0:25:25.600 disabled daughter, twenty six year old Bridget Dollar, and that 0:25:25.681 --> 0:25:30.281 the prosecutor's office declined to prosecute. On June twenty second, 0:25:30.401 --> 0:25:33.481 two thousand and seven, Bridget told the police in Fort 0:25:33.521 --> 0:25:37.600 Smith that her stepfather, ron Fields, had raped her. She 0:25:37.801 --> 0:25:41.081 came to police after first confessing the alleged sexual assault 0:25:41.121 --> 0:25:45.080 to a relative. The officer who interviewed Bridget, Christine Deeson, 0:25:45.361 --> 0:25:48.761 was quoted in The Arkansas Times. Bridget said she was 0:25:48.801 --> 0:25:51.360