WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Lee Dickson, Karen Dickson, and Dennis Flowers 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:09.645 School of Humans. 0:00:13.165 --> 0:00:15.725 On the morning of March twenty second, nineteen eighty four, 0:00:15.805 --> 0:00:19.765 at around six thirty am, police came to the one story, 0:00:20.005 --> 0:00:24.205 nondescript home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, that belonged to a quiet, 0:00:24.365 --> 0:00:27.725 unassuming thirty three year old pharmacist named Lee Dixon and 0:00:27.805 --> 0:00:32.045 his wife Karen. Apparently police had gotten a tip to 0:00:32.045 --> 0:00:34.925 do a welfare check from the local prosecuting attorney, whose 0:00:35.005 --> 0:00:37.885 name was Kim Smith, which is just one of the 0:00:37.925 --> 0:00:40.525 many unusual facets of this case that we'll go into 0:00:40.565 --> 0:00:44.525 detail about. Shortly, Kim Smith had gotten a call that 0:00:44.605 --> 0:00:48.805 morning telling her to get someone to check the Dixon home. Now, 0:00:49.005 --> 0:00:52.765 Lee Dixon was already on law enforcement's radar. He had 0:00:52.805 --> 0:00:55.845 recently been embroiled in a scandal after losing his job 0:00:55.925 --> 0:00:59.605 at Consumer's Pharmacy. Apparently there had been an audit at 0:00:59.605 --> 0:01:04.005 that pharmacy and there were drugs missing, including pharmaceutical grade cocaine. 0:01:05.605 --> 0:01:09.365 So a picture was emerging of the quiet, polite pharmacist 0:01:09.925 --> 0:01:15.165 as someone who was potentially involved in the drug trade. 0:01:15.685 --> 0:01:18.285 So police got to the door and they knocked, but 0:01:18.405 --> 0:01:22.085 Lee and Karen didn't answer. Finally, a little two and 0:01:22.125 --> 0:01:24.685 a half year old boy Lee and Karen's son came 0:01:24.725 --> 0:01:27.925 to the door. He told police that his mother was 0:01:27.925 --> 0:01:31.885 sleeping and that daddy went out. Police entered the home 0:01:31.925 --> 0:01:34.565 looking for his parents, and it didn't take long to 0:01:34.605 --> 0:01:38.325 find their bodies. Lee was in the garage, lying face down. 0:01:38.925 --> 0:01:43.565 He had been shot point blank. Police later determined that 0:01:43.685 --> 0:01:48.085 Lee had been shot first, then the killer came for Karen. 0:01:48.765 --> 0:01:51.445 Police found Karen in the living room. She had been 0:01:51.485 --> 0:01:54.365 tied to a chair, and her legs and wrists were 0:01:54.405 --> 0:01:58.365 bound together with masking tape. Her wrists had also been 0:01:58.405 --> 0:02:02.285 wrapped with three different types of cords, an extension cord, 0:02:02.405 --> 0:02:05.525 a telephone cord, and a black cord that was a 0:02:05.525 --> 0:02:08.925 hatched to a recording device. Her blue bathrobe and her 0:02:09.005 --> 0:02:12.685 nightgown were soaked with blood. Police later discovered that she 0:02:12.765 --> 0:02:17.685 had also been shot multiple times, execution style, but unlike 0:02:17.725 --> 0:02:21.805 her husband, Karen did not die right away. Investigators believed 0:02:21.805 --> 0:02:25.405 that her killer, after fatally shooting Lee, told her to 0:02:25.445 --> 0:02:29.085 be still, then shot her in the head. They found 0:02:29.125 --> 0:02:32.725 aspirated blood in her lungs, which meant, according to the 0:02:32.725 --> 0:02:36.085 autopsy report, that she lived for several minutes after that, 0:02:36.805 --> 0:02:42.325 but eventually, of course, her wounds were fatal. There was 0:02:42.365 --> 0:02:45.925 a gunshot wound to Karen's right hand. According to the 0:02:45.925 --> 0:02:49.725 autopsy report, one of her fingers had been almost shot off. 0:02:50.485 --> 0:02:53.645 In her left hand, Karen was clutching a gray, white 0:02:53.725 --> 0:02:57.605 and red child's jacket. Karen was eight and a half 0:02:57.685 --> 0:03:04.365 months pregnant, so her unborn child became the third victim. Fortunately, 0:03:04.645 --> 0:03:07.365 their little boy, the one who answered the door, was unharmed. 0:03:07.885 --> 0:03:10.525 Police later said that he had probably slept through the 0:03:10.525 --> 0:03:15.845 whole thing. What started as a family massacre turned out 0:03:15.845 --> 0:03:19.045 to have ties to another mysterious death, one of a 0:03:19.085 --> 0:03:22.365 man who drowned in under three feet of water. Later, 0:03:22.485 --> 0:03:26.085 there would be allegations that Lee, this quiet local pharmacist 0:03:26.085 --> 0:03:29.445 at the Consumered Pharmacy had been making backdoor deals with 0:03:29.485 --> 0:03:32.685 local criminals to provide the power players of faet ball 0:03:32.845 --> 0:03:38.045 with pharmaceutical grade cocaine. I'm Catherine Townsend. If you have 0:03:38.165 --> 0:03:40.285 a case you'd like me and my team to look into, 0:03:40.925 --> 0:03:42.925 you can reach out to us at our Helen Gone 0:03:43.005 --> 0:03:46.845 Murder Line at six seven eight seven four four six' 0:03:46.925 --> 0:03:50.325 one four or five. That's six seven eight seven four 0:03:50.445 --> 0:03:53.965 four six ' one four five. This is Helen Gone 0:03:54.285 --> 0:04:29.125 Murder Line. The double homicide of Lee Dixon and his 0:04:29.205 --> 0:04:33.245 wife Karen was shocking in its brutality, but actually it 0:04:33.405 --> 0:04:36.285 wasn't much of a who done it because police very 0:04:36.365 --> 0:04:39.325 quickly announced that they were looking for a single suspect. 0:04:39.925 --> 0:04:44.325 Lee's friend, forty two year old Dennis Flowers. Neighbors told 0:04:44.405 --> 0:04:47.645 police they had not heard shots that night, but witnesses 0:04:47.685 --> 0:04:51.845 said that Dennis Flowers was with Lee at around midnight, 0:04:52.365 --> 0:04:56.365 hours before he was killed. Witnesses also said that they 0:04:56.445 --> 0:04:58.925 had heard a vehicle at the Dixon house at around 0:04:58.925 --> 0:05:02.965 twelve thirty am, and that call that Kim Smith, the attorney, 0:05:03.005 --> 0:05:06.165 made to police. She was tipped off a man named 0:05:06.245 --> 0:05:09.805 Lamar Pettis, an attorney who is the friend and landlord 0:05:09.805 --> 0:05:14.245 of Dennis Flowers. When Lamar talked to police, he told 0:05:14.285 --> 0:05:17.045 them that Dennis had called him just after four am 0:05:17.085 --> 0:05:18.965 with a wild story about how he. 0:05:18.925 --> 0:05:21.605 Had killed two people and was holding hostages. 0:05:22.405 --> 0:05:24.645 We're going to get more into what happened with Dennis 0:05:24.685 --> 0:05:27.485 next and how that night unfolded, but first I want 0:05:27.485 --> 0:05:30.405 to go back and understand the history between these two men, 0:05:30.685 --> 0:05:36.285 Dennis Flowers and Lee Dixon. Let me take a quick 0:05:36.365 --> 0:05:39.125 detour for a minute. We've been covering the Gail Vault 0:05:39.205 --> 0:05:42.285 murder case for the past couple of weeks, and we're 0:05:42.325 --> 0:05:45.805 following some leads in that case. So while we do that, 0:05:45.925 --> 0:05:48.085 I want to go back and explore one of the 0:05:48.085 --> 0:05:50.925 theories we covered in last week's episode, the one that 0:05:51.005 --> 0:05:54.965 involved the drug trade in northwest Arkansas. Last week, we 0:05:55.045 --> 0:05:58.485 talked about the three main theories in Gail's case. One 0:05:58.605 --> 0:06:00.845 that she was involved in some sort of drug trafficking 0:06:01.045 --> 0:06:03.765 or that her boyfriend Ray was, and that Gail was 0:06:03.845 --> 0:06:06.765 killed as a result of that. The second theory was 0:06:06.765 --> 0:06:09.445 that Gail was killed as a result of domestic violence. 0:06:10.045 --> 0:06:11.565 The third was that. 0:06:11.445 --> 0:06:15.485 It was something completely random, a sexual assault by someone else, 0:06:15.765 --> 0:06:19.965 possibly a stranger. As we explore this drug theory and 0:06:20.045 --> 0:06:23.005 how things worked in Northwest Arkansas, I want you to 0:06:23.085 --> 0:06:25.845 keep in mind something that I've said before, which is 0:06:26.045 --> 0:06:29.165 we talk about six degrees of separation, but I think 0:06:29.165 --> 0:06:32.485 in the state of Arkansas you get two degrees at most. 0:06:33.045 --> 0:06:35.445 This case, I believe, really illustrates that. 0:06:36.125 --> 0:06:36.405 Now. 0:06:36.445 --> 0:06:38.965 I won't say that this is related to Gayle's case, 0:06:39.005 --> 0:06:41.725 because there's no evidence that it is, but I do 0:06:41.765 --> 0:06:45.605 think it's tangential because at least one of the names 0:06:45.725 --> 0:06:49.525 that came up in Gayle's case is also mentioned in 0:06:49.685 --> 0:06:50.765 Lee and Karen's case. 0:06:51.205 --> 0:06:53.205 And again, I want to take a much. 0:06:53.085 --> 0:06:55.925 Closer look at this alleged drug mob that was working 0:06:55.925 --> 0:06:59.045 at that time in Arkansas and crossed over into Oklahoma. 0:06:59.765 --> 0:07:02.165 A lot of the drug deals were made by biker gangs. 0:07:04.765 --> 0:07:08.805 The private and investigator Marty, who told me about Gail's case, 0:07:09.445 --> 0:07:14.005 also has an interesting backstory connected to Lee and Karen's murders. 0:07:14.685 --> 0:07:17.445 Marty is married to the daughter of the main suspect 0:07:17.485 --> 0:07:21.685 in the case of Lee and Karen Dixon's murders, Dennis Flowers. 0:07:22.165 --> 0:07:24.605 Obviously, I've been talking to your husband for a while. 0:07:24.885 --> 0:07:27.245 I wondered if you could just tell people sort of 0:07:27.285 --> 0:07:31.645 how you and he got involved on this case. Well, yeah, 0:07:31.725 --> 0:07:33.525 it's a strange situation. 0:07:34.005 --> 0:07:34.805 This is Nana. 0:07:35.285 --> 0:07:40.165 He's always had a passion for cold cases and you know, 0:07:40.245 --> 0:07:43.925 watching unsolved mysteries and all those shows that are on TV. 0:07:44.245 --> 0:07:46.805 And finally I told him when we were dating, I said, 0:07:47.285 --> 0:07:50.245 you know, I can't watch these with you anymore, because 0:07:51.085 --> 0:07:53.925 you know, I've lived this, and he I had. At 0:07:53.925 --> 0:07:56.045 that time, I hadn't told him anything about my past 0:07:56.085 --> 0:07:59.485 because it's something really Catherine that you know, I've always 0:07:59.485 --> 0:08:03.045 been ashamed of and guarded you know, with who I 0:08:03.565 --> 0:08:06.685 shared that with. I was never open about it. It 0:08:06.765 --> 0:08:08.845 was just something I really kept close to my heart. 0:08:09.525 --> 0:08:11.725 And part of it was fear, you know, at one 0:08:11.765 --> 0:08:14.165 point in my life, it was fear of who was 0:08:14.205 --> 0:08:16.845 still out there and and what did they know about me? 0:08:17.045 --> 0:08:19.165 And you know, they think I knew more than what 0:08:19.245 --> 0:08:23.245 I did, and that kind of stuff. Whether it was 0:08:23.285 --> 0:08:25.205 real or not, you know, it was it was still 0:08:25.205 --> 0:08:28.845 a fear and you know, a shame on our family name, 0:08:29.085 --> 0:08:31.885 you know, the Flowers name. Anyway, I just kind of 0:08:31.925 --> 0:08:34.205 told him, you know, I've lived this. I can't I 0:08:34.245 --> 0:08:36.205 can't watch these shows anymore with you. I can't be 0:08:36.245 --> 0:08:39.205 involved in that part of you know, your entertainment or 0:08:39.245 --> 0:08:42.805 your you know, your hobby. But you know, a few 0:08:42.845 --> 0:08:45.285 months into our dating, I kind of shared with him, 0:08:45.965 --> 0:08:49.005 you know, my thoughts on you know, what happened to 0:08:49.005 --> 0:08:52.605 my dad and the history of you know, Northwest Arkansas 0:08:52.605 --> 0:08:54.965 at the time, back in the eighties. And I think 0:08:55.005 --> 0:08:57.845 he was skeptical because I was his daughter, you know, 0:08:57.885 --> 0:09:01.525 I'm his daughter that I've found. I thought he was innocent, 0:09:01.645 --> 0:09:03.885 and I you know, that's what I claimed, and told 0:09:04.405 --> 0:09:07.405 told him that, you know, I think my dad, Jennison, 0:09:07.525 --> 0:09:09.205 I know he is I know he didn't do it. 0:09:09.245 --> 0:09:11.565 I know he was framed. I know he was a setup. 0:09:12.325 --> 0:09:14.685 And he said, well, do you mind if I look 0:09:14.725 --> 0:09:16.565 into it? And I was like, well, no, that would 0:09:16.605 --> 0:09:19.925 be great. You know, I've never had anybody offer to, 0:09:20.125 --> 0:09:22.765 you know, look into it for me. And as an adult, 0:09:22.885 --> 0:09:24.725 you know, I could see things in a different light. 0:09:24.965 --> 0:09:27.365 And the more he dug and the more he looked 0:09:27.405 --> 0:09:30.085 into it, he was like, I agree with you, and 0:09:30.125 --> 0:09:32.525 I think he really had to change of heart. 0:09:34.605 --> 0:09:38.485 This case has been called for years, but in twenty sixteen, 0:09:38.925 --> 0:09:42.645 the news station KARK did a special report on the case, 0:09:42.725 --> 0:09:45.125 and as part of that they talked to Karen's brother, 0:09:45.285 --> 0:09:50.005 Tommy Bryant. Tommy told Kark that the question of what 0:09:50.085 --> 0:09:52.805 had really happened the night is pregnant sister was viciously 0:09:52.925 --> 0:09:57.005 murdered has never left his mind. He talked about what 0:09:57.045 --> 0:10:00.485 a wonderful person Karen was, but he did admit to 0:10:00.525 --> 0:10:03.485 the reporter Ashley Keats Nolan, who by the way, has 0:10:03.525 --> 0:10:06.245 helped us out in the past a lot on Helen Gone, 0:10:06.405 --> 0:10:09.565 that he was not fond of the guy. She eventually 0:10:09.565 --> 0:10:15.005 married Lee Dixon. Karen and Lee dated in high school. 0:10:15.685 --> 0:10:20.085 Lee Dixon was this nerdy, somewhat shy guy. He ultimately 0:10:20.125 --> 0:10:22.965 became a pharmacist and got the job at Consumer's Pharmacy. 0:10:23.565 --> 0:10:27.525 He married Karen in nineteen seventy two. After Karen and 0:10:27.605 --> 0:10:30.765 Lee got married and relocated to northwest Arkansas, they wanted 0:10:30.765 --> 0:10:33.325 to start a family. She got pregnant with their son, 0:10:33.645 --> 0:10:36.965 and then just a few months before she died, Karen 0:10:37.005 --> 0:10:41.125 had learned that she was pregnant again. Dennis Flowers had 0:10:41.165 --> 0:10:45.685 known Lee since the early eighties. According to early reports, 0:10:46.205 --> 0:10:49.725 police were focused in on Dennis Flowers for a few reasons, 0:10:50.405 --> 0:10:53.645 first because he had been seen with Lee shortly before 0:10:53.645 --> 0:10:57.245 the murders. Secondly because he had a long criminal record, 0:10:57.885 --> 0:11:00.685 and as we'll get into now, there is a lot 0:11:00.765 --> 0:11:04.085 more to this story because Dennis and Lee, even though 0:11:04.085 --> 0:11:07.725 they were very different, had one very important thing in common. 0:11:08.285 --> 0:11:13.885 They were both addicted to drugs, especially pharmaceutical grade cocaine. 0:11:14.405 --> 0:11:17.485 According to the Southern Fried True crime podcast, who did 0:11:17.485 --> 0:11:20.965 an episode on this case, Dennis Flowers had a tough childhood. 0:11:21.485 --> 0:11:23.085 He lost his mom when he was young, and he 0:11:23.125 --> 0:11:26.045 spent time at a juvenile facility after he got caught stealing, 0:11:26.925 --> 0:11:29.365 But his life seemed to kind of turn around when 0:11:29.405 --> 0:11:32.525 he met a woman named Betty Joe Murray. Betty Joe 0:11:32.565 --> 0:11:35.725 already had a daughter from a previous marriage. Dennis and 0:11:35.765 --> 0:11:39.565 Betty Joe raised that daughter, who Dennis adopted. They later 0:11:39.605 --> 0:11:43.565 had two children of their own, Dana and Marcus. Dana 0:11:43.725 --> 0:11:46.405 said that when she was young, her dad was a 0:11:46.445 --> 0:11:49.525 great father. She said she had lots of happy memories 0:11:49.565 --> 0:11:53.325 from that time. For a while, Dennis's life seemed to 0:11:53.325 --> 0:11:54.525 have turned around for the better. 0:11:55.445 --> 0:11:56.205 He got a job. 0:11:56.325 --> 0:11:58.365 He went to work at the VA, so he had 0:11:58.405 --> 0:12:01.085 steady employment and a happy marriage and what seemed to 0:12:01.085 --> 0:12:05.405 be the perfect family. But then in nineteen seventy five, 0:12:05.765 --> 0:12:09.085 the marriage fell apart. Dennis was in Las Vegas when 0:12:09.125 --> 0:12:12.045 he met a woman named Linda Dientton. He fell for her, 0:12:12.285 --> 0:12:16.605 had an affair with her, and later filed for divorce. Eventually, 0:12:17.085 --> 0:12:19.605 he and his wife divorced and he and Linda got married. 0:12:20.245 --> 0:12:23.165 Dennis got a tattoo to mark their anniversary in nineteen 0:12:23.165 --> 0:12:27.445 seventy seven. Then Dennis's life took a dark turn. In 0:12:27.525 --> 0:12:30.965 nineteen seventy nine, he fell down at work and hurt 0:12:30.965 --> 0:12:34.685 his back, and this would turn into a chronic pain condition. 0:12:35.405 --> 0:12:37.845 His family says this was kind of the beginning of 0:12:37.845 --> 0:12:40.645 the end for Dennis because that's when he became addicted 0:12:40.685 --> 0:12:41.525 to pain medication. 0:12:42.445 --> 0:12:47.085 My parents are actually divorced. When I was seven years old, 0:12:47.365 --> 0:12:51.125 and so I started going to my dad's on weekend 0:12:51.245 --> 0:12:54.485 spring break during the summer. And so I was fourteen 0:12:55.045 --> 0:12:57.765 when this happened. I was in ninth grade and it 0:12:57.805 --> 0:13:00.285 was so it was the spring break of the eighty 0:13:00.325 --> 0:13:05.445 four when everything happened. But I was a daddy's girl 0:13:06.285 --> 0:13:10.285 named after him. My middle name is Denise, his is Dennis, 0:13:10.285 --> 0:13:13.365 and so, you know, it's just I thought he hung 0:13:13.405 --> 0:13:16.965 the moon. Still do. But you know, like any man, 0:13:17.285 --> 0:13:19.325 he any you know, we're all human, we all make 0:13:19.445 --> 0:13:23.485 mistakes and we trust people. Maybe that don't, you know, 0:13:23.565 --> 0:13:26.245 deserve our trust. And he was no angel by any 0:13:26.245 --> 0:13:29.925 stretch of imagination. But he was a good man. He 0:13:30.045 --> 0:13:34.685 had values and family, friends, you know, he was trustworthy. 0:13:35.205 --> 0:13:38.365 I think he just put his trust in the wrong 0:13:38.525 --> 0:13:43.205 folks and he got caught up in a lot of 0:13:43.245 --> 0:13:46.365 what was going on at the time in northwest Arkansas. 0:13:47.085 --> 0:13:49.405 If you want to describe it as the Dixie Mafia. 0:13:49.725 --> 0:13:52.885 You know something I don't say lightly. It was clearly 0:13:52.965 --> 0:14:01.805 the wild Wild West back in the day. 0:13:58.325 --> 0:13:59.485 In the early eighties. 0:13:59.565 --> 0:14:02.605 As all this was going down, Dennis was introduced to 0:14:02.685 --> 0:14:07.045 Lee Dixon by Ronnie t Again, my sources say that 0:14:07.165 --> 0:14:09.565 Ronnie Tigue is a key player in the drug trade 0:14:09.565 --> 0:14:12.445 in the area at the time. And I mentioned before 0:14:12.765 --> 0:14:15.125 that Ronnie Tig is a name that came up in 0:14:15.205 --> 0:14:20.045 Gaile Vaught's case. Remember Gail's friend Sheila. Sheila is the 0:14:20.125 --> 0:14:22.645 friend who Gayle believes she was supposed to hang out 0:14:22.685 --> 0:14:26.085 with on the weekend right after she was murdered. If 0:14:26.085 --> 0:14:28.485 you listen to the Gail Vaught episode, you know that 0:14:29.165 --> 0:14:32.045 Sheila was not actually in town when Gayle was murdered. 0:14:32.085 --> 0:14:35.285 But she did talk to police afterwards, and when she did, 0:14:35.965 --> 0:14:39.885 she mentioned Ronnie Tigue's name. She said that Ronnie had 0:14:39.885 --> 0:14:44.005 made some comments to her about Gail getting what she deserved, 0:14:44.085 --> 0:14:47.645 about her killer running over her more than once, and 0:14:48.165 --> 0:14:52.565 Sheila indicated that she was scared of Ronnie and his associates. Now, 0:14:53.005 --> 0:14:56.885 it was never proven that anything that Ronnie said had 0:14:56.965 --> 0:14:59.885 anything to do with Gaile's murder. There were no details 0:14:59.925 --> 0:15:01.885 that only the killer would have known. Nothing like that, 0:15:02.245 --> 0:15:06.165 but it is a name that has come up. We 0:15:06.285 --> 0:15:09.005 know that Ronnie was friends with several people who were 0:15:09.045 --> 0:15:12.405 alleged to have been big players in the fayette drug trade, 0:15:12.565 --> 0:15:15.525 and Ronnie Tigue was the guy who introduced Lee and 0:15:15.565 --> 0:15:16.725 Dennis Flowers. 0:15:19.325 --> 0:15:20.485 Lee seemed to. 0:15:20.445 --> 0:15:23.565 Have kind of a similar trajectory to Dennis. He had 0:15:23.605 --> 0:15:26.285 a good job, He was happily married to his wife, Karen, 0:15:26.525 --> 0:15:29.765 who taught elementary school. They wanted a family, and they 0:15:29.805 --> 0:15:32.325 were thrilled when Karen got pregnant for the first and 0:15:32.405 --> 0:15:37.165 second time. But this was the eighties and cocaine was 0:15:37.205 --> 0:15:41.405 definitely the drug of choice. So Lee's job gave him 0:15:41.445 --> 0:15:46.645 access to something that was like gold dust. And suddenly 0:15:47.165 --> 0:15:49.925 this pharmacist who had been kind of this shy, slightly 0:15:49.965 --> 0:15:53.485 nerdy guy, suddenly he's got access to all the movers 0:15:53.485 --> 0:15:57.885 and shakers in Fayetteful. So they started a business transaction. 0:15:58.445 --> 0:16:01.605 Lee would provide the pharmaceutical grade coke and Dennis would 0:16:01.605 --> 0:16:06.845 move it. Pharmaceutical grade cocaine, by the way, was kind 0:16:06.845 --> 0:16:09.645 of the best of the best back then, and to 0:16:09.805 --> 0:16:13.205 this day it is used in surgeries because it's still 0:16:13.205 --> 0:16:17.805 an excellent anesthetic and also a vasoconstrictor, so it was 0:16:17.925 --> 0:16:20.605 used in nasal surgeries and all types of surgeries. 0:16:20.685 --> 0:16:24.885 And it still is. Unlike some of the street stuff 0:16:24.925 --> 0:16:25.885 that's cut with a. 0:16:25.805 --> 0:16:29.685 Lot of cheap additives, pharmaceutical grade cocaine is up to 0:16:29.805 --> 0:16:33.485 ninety eight percent pure. The only way to get access 0:16:33.525 --> 0:16:35.485 to it was to have access to someone with either 0:16:35.565 --> 0:16:38.205 a medical license or a pharmaceutical license. 0:16:39.205 --> 0:16:41.525 So Lee and Dennis for. 0:16:41.405 --> 0:16:44.845 A while were running what was probably a very lucrative 0:16:44.885 --> 0:16:49.125 business side note here. In addition to dealing drugs, there 0:16:49.125 --> 0:16:51.845 were also rumors that Dennis was the guy to call 0:16:51.925 --> 0:16:54.645 if you wanted to book a sex worker, and the 0:16:54.765 --> 0:16:57.885 rumor was that Dennis supplied these women to powerful men 0:16:58.005 --> 0:17:03.245 at parties. Some people, including Ronnie Tige, called Dennis the 0:17:03.285 --> 0:17:07.405 flim flam Man or flimflam Flows because he always seemed 0:17:07.445 --> 0:17:09.085 to be running some kind of scam. 0:17:10.085 --> 0:17:12.685 I didn't know that it was strange. I didn't understand. 0:17:13.325 --> 0:17:15.405 I didn't put a lot together. There was definitely some 0:17:15.485 --> 0:17:18.525 red red flags that I would come home and tell 0:17:18.565 --> 0:17:21.525 my mom, like, well, there was this party, you know, 0:17:21.605 --> 0:17:24.205 and or I went to a club with my dad, 0:17:24.325 --> 0:17:28.405 and you know, there was just a lot of things 0:17:28.445 --> 0:17:31.205 that didn't add up, you know, especially as you're growing 0:17:31.285 --> 0:17:33.445 up and you're like, oh, you didn't go to a 0:17:33.485 --> 0:17:37.125 club and you didn't dance with grown men, you know, 0:17:37.845 --> 0:17:41.125 And yeah, it was just, you know, there was I 0:17:41.205 --> 0:17:45.005 was putting into a lot of dangerous situations. And I'm 0:17:45.125 --> 0:17:49.285 very thankful that I came out where I did, because 0:17:50.085 --> 0:17:51.685 I don't think my dad meant to put me in 0:17:51.685 --> 0:17:55.725 those situations. But definitely there was some there was some 0:17:55.805 --> 0:17:59.565 bad things going on. I was not there to party, 0:17:59.725 --> 0:18:02.005 I wasn't doing the party, and I was just exposed. 0:18:02.005 --> 0:18:04.565 You know, I might be in the bedroom watching TV 0:18:04.685 --> 0:18:07.205 and eating pizza and the party was going on around me. 0:18:07.485 --> 0:18:09.925 Or you know, we were going to a club and 0:18:10.285 --> 0:18:12.605 things are going on in the back room. You know. 0:18:12.885 --> 0:18:16.005 I can remember going to one and they said that 0:18:16.205 --> 0:18:19.125 it was snowing in the back room. Well I'm you know, 0:18:19.165 --> 0:18:21.845 at that age, I'm like, what, you know, I don't 0:18:21.885 --> 0:18:24.645 know that there's cocaine going on in the back room, 0:18:25.165 --> 0:18:27.805 But now I do, you know, then you put it together. 0:18:29.125 --> 0:18:33.765 So just numerous things like that that I was exposed 0:18:33.805 --> 0:18:34.885 to it at a young age. 0:18:36.565 --> 0:18:39.685 For a while, As we said, business was pretty good. But, 0:18:40.005 --> 0:18:42.805 as it so often happens in cases where people become 0:18:42.805 --> 0:18:46.885 involved in drug dealing, Dennison Lee got in over their heads, 0:18:47.525 --> 0:18:52.045 and investigators were already following the drugs and the money. 0:18:52.125 --> 0:18:54.925 It turned out that about a week before the double homicide, 0:18:55.365 --> 0:18:59.325 State auditors were at Lead Dixon's pharmacy. They were counting 0:18:59.405 --> 0:19:06.405 drugs and Lee came up short. When Lee developed his 0:19:06.445 --> 0:19:11.525 addiction to pharmaceutical grade cocaine, according to multiple sources, he 0:19:11.605 --> 0:19:15.605 started to violate what I call the Scarface rules. They're 0:19:15.645 --> 0:19:19.205 from the movie Scarface, from the scene when Frank, the 0:19:19.245 --> 0:19:22.045 gangster who took Tony under his wing, is at the nightclub. 0:19:22.885 --> 0:19:25.645 He says something that I think is very applicable. Even 0:19:25.685 --> 0:19:28.045 though this isn't over the top movie, I can say, 0:19:28.525 --> 0:19:31.205 as someone who's investigated fraud and murder for a long 0:19:31.285 --> 0:19:34.965 time now, this advice is actually very sound and very 0:19:34.965 --> 0:19:38.125 applicable to people in the drug trade. So Frank tells 0:19:38.165 --> 0:19:41.245 Tony two things. He gives them two rules. One, don't 0:19:41.325 --> 0:19:45.725 underestimate the other guy's greed. Lesson number two, never get 0:19:45.765 --> 0:19:49.405 high on your own supply. Lee seemed to be violating 0:19:49.445 --> 0:19:52.525 this rule. He and Dennis were both addicts by the 0:19:52.525 --> 0:19:55.365 winner of nineteen eighty three, they owed a lot of 0:19:55.405 --> 0:19:59.325 money to their suppliers. According to the Southern Fried Homicide podcast, 0:19:59.685 --> 0:20:03.205 they owed around forty thousand dollars, which in today's money 0:20:03.245 --> 0:20:05.485 would be around one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars. 0:20:06.245 --> 0:20:08.845 The people they owed money to were looking to collect. 0:20:09.485 --> 0:20:13.445 Dennis was scared. He reportedly checked himself into the hospital 0:20:13.445 --> 0:20:18.645 for back pain, but Ronnie t came to visit. After that, 0:20:18.805 --> 0:20:26.125 Dennis called Lee and Lee brought him a gun. After 0:20:26.205 --> 0:20:29.765 leaving the hospital, Dennis went into rehab and it seemed 0:20:29.805 --> 0:20:32.325 like he actually made progress while he was there. 0:20:33.005 --> 0:20:36.805 They involved a family on intervention days, and it was 0:20:36.845 --> 0:20:39.045 a lot for him to go through that through the 0:20:39.085 --> 0:20:41.965 amount of time. You know, I've never done drugs or 0:20:41.965 --> 0:20:44.085 I've never been through a rehab like that, but I 0:20:44.125 --> 0:20:48.125 know it's not a picnic, but definitely for the emotional 0:20:48.165 --> 0:20:50.605 side of it, for people to come in, you know, 0:20:50.645 --> 0:20:53.205 your loved ones and write letters to you and tell 0:20:53.245 --> 0:20:57.485 you how their drug abuse and their alcohol abuse you 0:20:57.525 --> 0:21:00.445 know affected them. You know, the tears that were shed, 0:21:00.685 --> 0:21:03.605 you know during that during that time, you know, it 0:21:03.645 --> 0:21:06.005 was just it was a really painful. But at the 0:21:06.005 --> 0:21:09.325 same time healing experienced because we had we were so 0:21:09.445 --> 0:21:13.605 hopeful that things were going to get back on and 0:21:13.725 --> 0:21:17.365 even kill you know, that we were going to kind 0:21:17.365 --> 0:21:22.325 of have a rebirth, you know, if anything, just back 0:21:22.445 --> 0:21:27.205 to a norm of him, you know, not relying on 0:21:27.405 --> 0:21:31.165 the drugs and the drinking, and we were getting ready 0:21:31.165 --> 0:21:35.725 actually to move closer to him, and I was just 0:21:35.765 --> 0:21:37.205 really hopeful at the time. 0:21:38.645 --> 0:21:41.245 Dennis was released on March fourteenth. 0:21:41.205 --> 0:21:45.525 He'd gotten out to rehab and they were living in 0:21:45.525 --> 0:21:49.485 Fadeville at the time, and spring break came up just 0:21:49.845 --> 0:21:52.365 right after that, and so we went down for the 0:21:52.365 --> 0:21:55.925 week of spring break, and it was just a real 0:21:56.005 --> 0:22:00.485 loving time, you know, because we had really bonded and 0:22:00.565 --> 0:22:04.605 shared some close things, just our feelings about how he 0:22:04.645 --> 0:22:07.245 had heard us, and you know, I think he was 0:22:07.285 --> 0:22:12.045 really trying to make amends on spring break. I really 0:22:12.085 --> 0:22:15.085 felt like that in my heart, and really, you know, 0:22:15.085 --> 0:22:18.245 we had some great memories, you know, ordered pizza and 0:22:19.165 --> 0:22:22.085 you know, watch movies and just hung out. Just just 0:22:22.125 --> 0:22:25.605 that precious time that you look back and think, thank 0:22:25.845 --> 0:22:27.365 the Lord that you had. 0:22:31.405 --> 0:22:34.245 Now I know that a lot of people who were 0:22:34.285 --> 0:22:38.405 deep into addiction are definitely capable of incredible highs followed 0:22:38.445 --> 0:22:41.925 by crushing lows, but according to people around Dennis, he 0:22:42.005 --> 0:22:46.485 did seem sincere. But then on March sixteenth, Dennis and 0:22:46.565 --> 0:22:49.645 Lee were hit with some more bad news. Auditors were 0:22:49.685 --> 0:22:54.325 coming to Lee's workplace, Consumer's pharmacy. The auditor found there 0:22:54.325 --> 0:22:57.725 were a lot of drugs missing, over eight ounces of 0:22:57.765 --> 0:23:01.205 pharmaceutical cocaine, as well as a lot of pills and 0:23:01.245 --> 0:23:04.805 other drugs. At this point, Dennis and Lee knew that 0:23:04.925 --> 0:23:08.525 the house of was about to fall down, so Dennis 0:23:08.565 --> 0:23:11.405 and Lee apparently hatched a plan. At this point, they 0:23:11.445 --> 0:23:14.285 decided that they would rob the pharmacy. They would steal 0:23:14.325 --> 0:23:17.045 drugs and give the drugs to Dennis's wife, Linda, to 0:23:17.125 --> 0:23:19.445 drive across state lines and sell in Oklahoma. 0:23:20.525 --> 0:23:22.285 Then they would have one. 0:23:22.085 --> 0:23:25.045 Of their associates send a kid over to kind of 0:23:25.125 --> 0:23:28.005 ransack the pharmacy so that they could stage a burglary there. 0:23:28.765 --> 0:23:32.045 But their plan hit some snacks. Linda was supposed to 0:23:32.085 --> 0:23:34.365 rent a car to drive to Oklahoma. When she got 0:23:34.405 --> 0:23:37.165 to the rental car place, she had no credit card, 0:23:37.605 --> 0:23:40.645 so she could not get the vehicle. Secondly, there was 0:23:40.685 --> 0:23:43.765 a problem with their fake robbery. In the early morning 0:23:43.805 --> 0:23:46.845 hours of March eighteenth, a kid did show up and 0:23:46.925 --> 0:23:50.645