1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: It's been a long difficult search. Hello, but with the 2 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: help of my private investigator, I found Drusilla Merita. How 3 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: can I help you. We're working on a podcast about 4 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: about Ron Thomas, and she was alive, not in prison, 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: not buried somewhere, and not in any trouble. It's clear 6 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: Dick Weston's former girlfriend knows details about what happened to 7 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: the Stevenson's that no one else does. She could give 8 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: Carol Thompson and her daughter Shannon answers at least some 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: answers that have escaped that family for the past four decades. Uh. 10 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: I'd rather not talk about that right now, thank you 11 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: very much. At this point, I've done all I can 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: to get Drusilla to talk, phone calls, messages, even a 13 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: door knock, but you won't, Budge. I can understand why 14 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,320 Speaker 1: Drusilla doesn't want to talk. She wants to forget about 15 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: all of this move on liver heal life. The problem 16 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: I have with that sort of thinking is Stevenson family 17 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: members deserve answers, and Drusilla undoubtedly has plenty. Yet, because 18 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: there is no statute of limitations on murder, I can 19 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: also see why she wouldn't want to say the wrong 20 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: thing and wind up with the FEDS standing at her 21 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: front door. Previously on Paper Ghosts, this right, he said, 22 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,559 Speaker 1: this friend and his run at the FBI was looking 23 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: for him. Wait, I figured, if he is involved in 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: a shootout, I guess he was, and you know I 25 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: had something to do with him. Him and that Ron Thomas. 26 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: Why do you think Dick protected Roy money he paid Dick? 27 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: You think, well, yeah, you get paid too. If you 28 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: had two grocery bags slept full of money, that was 29 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: your tire to do. But cover up his set of 30 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: the deal? I said, Oh my god, he wants to 31 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: kill me. He wants me on. My name is m 32 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: William Phelps. I'm an investigative journalist and author of forty 33 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: four true crime books. This is season two of Paper Ghosts. 34 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: Burned cases like the Stevenson murders are generally not too 35 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: difficult to unpack, the challenges, providing families with the resolution 36 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: they have been searching for, realizing they may not be 37 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,760 Speaker 1: ready to accept what you find. Did Billy become entangled 38 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: with the wrong people? Was his family collateral? Damn image? 39 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: Was family friend Ron Thomas involved? And what's more, did 40 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: Ron hired Dick Weston to help him settle a personal 41 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: and or monetary debt. These questions have plagued me throughout 42 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: the years I have been involved in this case, and 43 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: the hardest part. By asking these questions, you are, to 44 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: some extent, blaming the victim. Yet it is an unavoidable 45 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: facet of mass murder investigation, one you hope to come 46 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: away from with an answer that won't hurt the family 47 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: more than they have already been. So at times you 48 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: find yourself facing an uncomfortable dilemma. Does the family actually 49 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: want to know what happened when it's clear there are 50 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: disturbing details within that reality, because that truth can be 51 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: a hell of a lot uglier than one could have 52 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: ever imagined. I grew up here in my mom's story. 53 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: I think she had this fear that they were going 54 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: to be forgotten, and Ron's name was never tied to it. 55 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: You might recall Shannon Group, Carol Thompson's daughter from a 56 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: previous episode. Shannon was just three and a half when 57 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: her mom pulled her out of bed in the middle 58 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,159 Speaker 1: of the night after learning their family's house was on fire. 59 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: I remember standing there and watching them bring the bodies 60 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: out of the house. Of course, I was devastated. I 61 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: didn't know what was going on in there. There's fire 62 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: trucks and there's people, and there's police, and you know, 63 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: then I see the bodies coming out, and and it 64 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: was It's pretty devastating for you know, that's my first 65 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: you know, I have minor memories of a kid, you know, 66 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: just seeing things, but that's my first real memory. That 67 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: just always stuck with me, you know what. I had 68 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: nightmares for years. I thought about it for years. Within 69 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 1: all of this, Shannon has remained her mother's rock. One 70 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: might think she lives with some sort of secondary PTSD, 71 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,919 Speaker 1: having been there weathering the aftermath of watching family suffer 72 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: for decades while dealing with the loss herself, But Shannon 73 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: has remained steadfast and finding answers, taking on the all 74 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: consuming task of digging in and over the course of 75 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: twenty years, actually uncovering information so as you grow up, 76 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 1: what's going through your mind about this case and what 77 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: is driving I was a strange kid. UM didn't have 78 00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:30,400 Speaker 1: a lot of friends in school. I was very quietly reserved. 79 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: I had a lot of anxiety, you know, when it 80 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 1: came to people. Um, you know, my mom was kind 81 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: of paranoid, and I was, you know, I think it 82 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: just kind of rubbed off on me because you know, 83 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: I saw firsthand what you know, a friend is capable of. 84 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 1: So I think that kind of just screwed me up. 85 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: And as I was growing, you know, I thought a 86 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: lot about this case and the fact that Ron got away, 87 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: and it always broke my heart that, you know, my 88 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 1: mom would watch over her shoulder for the longest time. 89 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: Ron Thomas, that friend Shannon mentions became like a recurring 90 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: cant her on this family. Carol Thompson remains terrified to 91 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: this day, even after forty years, because of a possible 92 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: threat still existing in their world, and that fear she 93 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: has passed down to her daughter Shannon is exacerbated by 94 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 1: not knowing what happened and most importantly, who else is responsible. 95 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: Fear feeds on itself. I remember this man came to 96 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: the door one day knocking, and I opened the door 97 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,359 Speaker 1: and he said that he had gotten something in his 98 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: eye and could what I let him in to go 99 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: rinse his eye out. Me being this native eight year old, 100 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,719 Speaker 1: you know, I let this man into my home and 101 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: now I'm home alone. I was all by myself, Mom Daoud, 102 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: probably at work or something. So you know, Mom got 103 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: home and I told her about it, and I just 104 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: remember her reaction. She freaked out so bad, she was 105 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: so scared because it could have been wrong. To this day, 106 00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: we don't know who it was. It might have been wrong, 107 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: and I don't know, just her reaction and just everything 108 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: growing up, and it just ate it even more that 109 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: this man is free. You know, who knows who else 110 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:10,960 Speaker 1: he heard after that? Who knows what he went on 111 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: into it after that. As I have come to learn 112 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: throughout my investigation, I can say with certainty that Ron 113 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: Thomas wasn't a family friend as Carol had thought. He 114 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:26,280 Speaker 1: was a cunning sociopath who had masterminded the murder of 115 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: her entire family. Every single law enforcement source I have 116 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 1: spoken to has confirmed this Ron was the man behind 117 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: the curtain from the very beginning, telling Dick Weston what 118 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: to do and when to do it. This became clear 119 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: to Carol and Shannon as they tried to move on 120 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: with their lives in the decades that followed. I wanted 121 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: my mom to have peace. You know, yes, it would 122 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: help me too, But me and my mom boys been very, 123 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: very close. She was very close to her mom. Me 124 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: and her are very very close. We're like best friends. 125 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: My mom. You know, she was so scared and it 126 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 1: bothered her so bad. So it kind of turns you 127 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: into an armchair investigator, if you will, as I love 128 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 1: to investigate, love it. What do you first do? And 129 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: so I contacted UM Records here and the Sheriff's office here, 130 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: enquiring if the files were still around, if you know, 131 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: because I knew that the files we do not destroy 132 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: because they told me on the phone. And I'm like, 133 00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: how can I get access to these? I know it's 134 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: supposed to be public records. So you're beginning to look 135 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: into this, and your main goal is to get ahold 136 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: of the records so you can find out exactly what 137 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: I wanted to torture on I did. I'm not gonna lie. 138 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: My goal was to find her on get these records, 139 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: and I wanted to send him crime scene photos, newspaper 140 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,839 Speaker 1: artists and stuff to make him think about it every 141 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:53,160 Speaker 1: day for the rest of his life. I want him 142 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: to get these in the mail once a week, just constantly, 143 00:08:55,720 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: constant reminders I wanted to torture the man. Yeah, so 144 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: far I've learned all I can about Ron Thomas's life 145 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: before the Stevenson murders, but I need to dig into 146 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: what happened to this so called family friend after. I've 147 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: come to understand there is one man who knows more 148 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,959 Speaker 1: than most about Ron Thomas's life after he ran from Bethel, Ohio, 149 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: A detective who has never spoken publicly about any of this, 150 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: and who has been hard to track down. In fact, 151 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: once I found him, I sensed a bit of trepidation 152 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: in his voice about sharing his story, and he chose 153 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: to remain quiet. Yet, after some time and a bit 154 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: of discussion, one day in early spring, he decided it 155 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: was time to talk. Dave. How you doing? M William Phelps, Hey, 156 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: how you doing? You're doing all right? I'm doing all right. 157 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: I'm doing all right. I get I gotta say, I 158 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 1: can't complain much. You know, wouldn't do any good if 159 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 1: it did. Anyway. That's so true, That's so true. How's 160 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: the weather? David Bell is a former Columbia, South Carolina 161 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: detective who began his law enforcement career in nineteen seventy 162 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: two as a line deputy with the Richland County Sheriff's 163 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 1: Office for I Love Beautiful Division because I loved the 164 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: connection with the people, you know, because you know, I 165 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: just like trying to help people if I could. And finally, uh, 166 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: they said, come on, man, you know, we really need 167 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: your you know, your experience and uh, investigation division. So 168 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: I went ahead and transferred to investigation division. And I 169 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: didn't major crimes in a particular area that I patrolled 170 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: as a uniform division, and I was you had a 171 00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:51,720 Speaker 1: lot of actions and contacts of that area. You know, 172 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: the people we come to me and give me information 173 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: on certain crimes and so forth. Those connections in the 174 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: community are priceless the cops who lead to become detectives. 175 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 1: The trust is established and for a detective there is 176 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: no better information than what he or she can develop 177 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 1: on the street. Ron Thomas's name did not cross David 178 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: Bell's desk until the early two thousand's, after Bell had 179 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: been assigned to a brand new cold case unit, and 180 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: of course that opened up the big can of worms. 181 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:29,160 Speaker 1: That's when we learned about the Stevenson murders, the gold 182 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: buying business, nemafia connection, you know, Richard West and all 183 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: these all these people you know, connected to all this crime, 184 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: from robberies and murders and lower those wardels. Now what 185 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: kind of guy did Ron Thomas strike you as when 186 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: you began to look into this cold case and look 187 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: at his background. Ron Thomas was a scum bay. If 188 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: there was something dirtie, he has hands in. It turns 189 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: out Ron Thomas left behind his wife in Ohio and 190 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: fled the South Carolina, where he owned and operated a gold, silver, 191 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: and jewelry exchange. This was the main location where he'd 192 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 1: been running off to each time he evaded the police 193 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: looking into his involvement in the Stevenson case. And yet 194 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: there was another reason for Ron's frequent visits to South Carolina. 195 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: Ron Thomas had a mistress there for what had amounted 196 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: to the past fourteen years, a woman named Irene Floyd, 197 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 1: who first met Ron when he was her foreman at 198 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: a manufacturing company in nineteen sixty eight and continued to 199 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: work for him at his store in South Carolina. To 200 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: understand this case, we have to take a few steps 201 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: back before the Stevenson murders, because to really know Ron Thomas, 202 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: you have to look at Irene Floyd. Irene was no 203 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,040 Speaker 1: common middle aged woman living the cozy life in a 204 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: warm South She had quite the checkered past, starting with 205 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 1: her first husband, her high school sweetheart who had died 206 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:13,319 Speaker 1: tragically in nineteen sixty six. They had a bad relationship 207 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,240 Speaker 1: from the get go, and uh they got a real 208 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: bad domestic dispute one night, so she called the Clubia 209 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: police department on him. So they were looking for his car, 210 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: and when she happened to see the car, and so 211 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: she went to go find a police officer to tell 212 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:33,640 Speaker 1: him where he was at. And while she was talking 213 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: to the police officer, he actually drove drove by and 214 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: she goes there, he goes now, So the police went 215 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: to stop him and he took off running from the police. Well, 216 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,600 Speaker 1: he got just a couple of blocks and read there 217 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: in the middle of Clubia, we have these trains that 218 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: come to Clubia, and there was a train coming and 219 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: he tried to beat the train and he lost in 220 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: his train. His car got hit by the train. He 221 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: was killed instantly at the accident. Actually, Irene made a 222 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: lot of money on his insurance plus from the train company. 223 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: Irene Floyd sued everyone involved after her first husband was 224 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: killed by that train. I've been told she was awarded 225 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: life changing money, yet nobody could give me an exact figure. 226 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:30,960 Speaker 1: So she uh learned real quick how easy she could 227 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: come about money with insurance policies and sue the person's 228 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 1: you know, responsible for the death. So that day is 229 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: the husband number two. Not long after, Irene married her 230 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: second husband, a Kentucky born transplant named William Floyd. The 231 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,520 Speaker 1: following year, Irene met and began working for Ron Thomas. Yeah, 232 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 1: she was a secretary in the photo speak you and 233 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: they started having an affair while she was married a 234 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: Willyam Floyd. But William says, well, you know, I'd rather 235 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,480 Speaker 1: have you share you that lose you. I love you 236 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: that much. Even though William Floyd knew his wife was 237 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: having an affair with Ron Thomas, William decided against divorcing Irene, 238 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,920 Speaker 1: but at some point it became too much to bear 239 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: and William filed. The divorce was finalized in July. They divorce, 240 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: and then what happens. What happened was we employed never 241 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: removed Irene is being beneficiary on residenturance policy. And Irene 242 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: found out about this. So Irene kind of let him 243 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: along and implied that she wanted to remarry him. So 244 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: I renehatched a plan. She convinced William that she had 245 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: left Ron Thomas for good and wanted to make their 246 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: relationship work, you know, give the marriage a second try. 247 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: After a few months, she set up a rendezvous at 248 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: a Tennessee motel. William Floyd, still in love with Irene, 249 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: agreed to meet and talk. When Irene got to the myths, 250 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: you know, she got him drunk because she met him 251 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: up there with the pretense of getting remarried. And uh so, 252 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: when she got him set up in the motel, she 253 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: was supposed to call there's other motel and h and 254 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: asked for a gym, and she was supposed to identify 255 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: herself as Linda and uh and that was to uh 256 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: satan that she told them what room he was in 257 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: and that the door was unlocked. Ron Thomas was on 258 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: the other end of that call. He had been waiting 259 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: in a nearby motel, ready to receive word to set 260 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,400 Speaker 1: his next course of action in motion and get this 261 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:07,360 Speaker 1: Ron's so called bodyguard, Dick Weston. He and another man 262 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: Ron had hired were not too far away waiting in 263 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:15,639 Speaker 1: the wings for Ron's direction. And Richard Weston and a 264 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: guy from Indiana across the state line within there with 265 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: baseball bats and beat Bill Floyd's severely with baseball bats 266 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: in the head and the pre torso and left him 267 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: for dead. You know, I mean they beat him unmercifully. 268 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: Here again was Ron Thomas ordering others to do for 269 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: him what he did not have the guts to do himself, 270 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: and Irene Thomas at for an alibi. She drove herself 271 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 1: as she made the boat goal to a hospital and 272 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 1: says she was having a severe migraine headache to give 273 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: herself an alibi. William Floyd did not die from that 274 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: motel beating it. He was left severely deformed, with nearly 275 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,760 Speaker 1: all of the skin on his face beaten off and 276 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: parts of his skull caved in. She called Ron Thomas 277 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: and told Ron Thomas that Bill was still alive, and 278 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 1: Ron Thomas as well, Uh, I doubt uh, don't worry, 279 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:21,640 Speaker 1: He's not going to live. There's no way he could 280 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: survive that assault. Ron was so certain William Floyd wouldn't 281 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: make it, he instructed Irene to call him when that 282 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: time came to pass and say this the Lincoln has 283 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 1: been sold. According to police reports, several men posing as 284 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: preachers even showed up at the hospital to inquire about 285 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:47,159 Speaker 1: William Floyd's condition. The hospital staff became immediately suspicious and 286 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: would not allow them into the room. So he was 287 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,640 Speaker 1: put in a facility that cared for people that were 288 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,080 Speaker 1: like vegetables. Bill Floyd's family would not allow her to 289 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:04,199 Speaker 1: see him, and so she could get to him. William 290 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 1: Floyd was confined to a wheelchair, incapable of walking, talking, 291 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 1: bending for himself. The guy was left blind in one eye, 292 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: deaf in one ear, and would suffer multiple seizures every 293 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,359 Speaker 1: single day. All this man did, mind you with She 294 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: forgiveness to his cheating wife by agreeing to talk about 295 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: moving on and getting back together. And this is how 296 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,439 Speaker 1: she repays him. William sat idly all day inside the 297 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: rehab facility and staring into space, a shell of the 298 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: caring and loving man I have heard he once was. 299 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:42,920 Speaker 1: I don't know how she did it. I could never 300 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,439 Speaker 1: did was able to figure it out. But she was 301 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: able to sneak him out of this facility, and she 302 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: drove him to a probate's office in South Carolina. And 303 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: that even though that he was in that condition, that 304 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: judge married her and Bill remarried. How she finaggled the 305 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: system to be able to remarry him, and his condition 306 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: is beyond my imagination. So she immediately took him out 307 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: of that facility and took him home to her house 308 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: here in glub You to take care of me because 309 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: that he still had that internce policy, Shannah. The day 310 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: before I planned to leave Ohio, I got a call 311 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,359 Speaker 1: from Carol Thompson's daughter, Shannon Group, asking to meet up. 312 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: Shannon had a sore close to Ron Thomas, who she's 313 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,040 Speaker 1: been messaging with on Facebook, and over time she had 314 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: collected close to fifty pages of information about the guy. 315 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: A treasure trove if there ever was one. How's it 316 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:19,400 Speaker 1: going really good? Brought those documents you requested? She doesn't 317 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,239 Speaker 1: want to be in this at all. She doesn't want 318 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 1: her name in it. Why do you think that beer? 319 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: Maybe I don't know. I really don't know, you know, 320 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: till many years of past. I don't know why anyone 321 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: would you know? And it could be hard on her 322 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: to given her relation to the people involved. I know 323 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,679 Speaker 1: who this sources, and the information I've been given is 324 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,719 Speaker 1: highly credible. Like others who have been hesitant to speak 325 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: or prefer to use an alias, I understand and respect 326 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: the need to keep a distance. Shannon handed me a 327 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: quarter inch thick stack of documents to go through all 328 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,160 Speaker 1: of it dealing with Thomas and his relationship to Irene Floyd. 329 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,120 Speaker 1: Information no one would be able to find out through 330 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:12,560 Speaker 1: public records while I was looking into Juicilla Merita's whereabouts. 331 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,920 Speaker 1: I handed the material off to my producer, Christina Everett 332 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: and asked her to find out what she could break 333 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,639 Speaker 1: down the social media conversations included in the documents and 334 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,160 Speaker 1: determine what we could learn from it. There's a lot 335 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: to go through. This woman is really complicated and knows 336 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: a lot more than we imagined. Yeah, I mean, you 337 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: read through everything and did some digging. What do you 338 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: think what did you come up with? Well, what's interesting 339 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: is the timing of everything, Right, So William Floyd is 340 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:52,439 Speaker 1: attacked in May, and Irene marries William for the second 341 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: time in August, and you know what happened between those months, 342 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: the Stevenson murders. Right, So she ends up talking to 343 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,000 Speaker 1: the FBI, and we know now that she was still 344 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: carrying on her affair with Ron during this time. So 345 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: it's really interesting because we get to learn a little 346 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,400 Speaker 1: bit more about what Ron was going through during the 347 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: months that the murders happened. Um She says that she 348 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: talked on the phone with Ron at one point on 349 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: June and said that she wanted to come visit him, 350 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: but he was adamant and said that under no circumstances 351 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: was she to come to either Indiana or Ohio to 352 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: visit him, because the next weekend he was carrying off 353 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: some big deal that he needed to be there for. 354 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: That next weekend would be the fourth of July, and 355 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: that big deal turned out to be the Stevenson murders. 356 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,440 Speaker 1: We look back and we see that she spoke to 357 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: him on the phone about five weeks earlier and at 358 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: the end of May, and she's telling Ron that she 359 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: doesn't have any money and he doesn't have any i her, 360 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: but suggests to her that if money is an issue, 361 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: that he could arrange to have her house burned down 362 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: for ten thousand dollars and she can just collect the 363 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: insurance money on it. So Ron said that he didn't 364 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:17,399 Speaker 1: have any money to lend her, but he was going 365 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,880 Speaker 1: to be working on a deal that would really set 366 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,639 Speaker 1: him up financially, but was complicated. He said that the 367 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: deal would involve several people. He mentioned the name Steve 368 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: and Linda in relation to this deal that he was 369 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: going to be doing um And according to Irene, Ron 370 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 1: said quote that s ob had more money than he 371 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,960 Speaker 1: could ever spend, but yet he wanted to steal everything 372 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,439 Speaker 1: that he could from everybody else. So there's a second 373 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: call between Ron and Irene that happens July tenth, after 374 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,879 Speaker 1: the murders um and the tone of this one is 375 00:24:55,920 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: far different. Ron says the FBI had the goods on him, 376 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:04,240 Speaker 1: that his house was surrounded, the phone was tapped, and 377 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: he was going to go prison for a long time. 378 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: So Irenes and tears. She's crying. She's asking, are you 379 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: in trouble? He says yes. She asks what did you do? 380 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,440 Speaker 1: And he says, you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Well, 381 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: it sounds there to me like Ron's basically admitting his 382 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: involvement in this. There was enough talk beforehand during their 383 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: phone calls for Irene to figure out that this was 384 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: not a spontaneous attack. This was a planned thing. It 385 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: was something that Ron had thought of for weeks at 386 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: least before he carried it out. It was not in 387 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 1: the heat at the moment. But Irene did say that 388 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: Ron was waiting for somebody else to get out of 389 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: prison to help him carry out this deal, and so 390 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,639 Speaker 1: Irene figured that that person he was talking about was 391 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: Dick Weston, because she knows that Dick had just gotten 392 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: out of prison a few months earlier in February for 393 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: bank robberies. Considering how long they worked together at this point, 394 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: it's puzzling why Irene Floyd would suddenly flip on Ron 395 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 1: Thomas and ran them out to the FEDS. Around the 396 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: time when Irene married William Floyd, there was a bump 397 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:17,320 Speaker 1: in Irene's relationship with Ron, and it had to do 398 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:21,080 Speaker 1: with a bankruptcy issue on Ron's behalf um and it 399 00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: was messy and it involved Irene and her assets. So 400 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: it seems like they were on the rocks for some 401 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:34,040 Speaker 1: time and they weren't talking, and maybe Irene thought that 402 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 1: was the end of it, because then she went to 403 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: the FBI and ratted him out. That rough patch didn't 404 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 1: last long, though, because Irene and Ron continued their affair 405 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 1: in According to Detective David Bell, Ron continued his business 406 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:55,040 Speaker 1: affairs with Dick Weston all while Dick remained in prison 407 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:59,640 Speaker 1: on suspicion of the Stevenson murders. Do you think Ron 408 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: Thomas was involved in running guns and drugs? I don't 409 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,640 Speaker 1: know about the the gun, but now if I remember right, 410 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:19,040 Speaker 1: the FBI was looking and this came from Irene that 411 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: they suspected Ron and Uh smuggling drugs into prison where 412 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: Richard Dick he worked with Dick. I so him and 413 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:35,000 Speaker 1: Dick had a scam going where Ron would get the 414 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:37,919 Speaker 1: drugs into Dick and Dick would sell them. Yeah, that 415 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,920 Speaker 1: may not have been actually burned, but that was what 416 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: he was suspected. Two years had gone by since Irene 417 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,399 Speaker 1: married William Floyd the second time. With Ron Thomas lying 418 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,040 Speaker 1: low from the police and Dick Weston still in jail, 419 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: Irene had to find someone else to do her dirty work. 420 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 1: Yet again, we got a statement from her I who 421 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:10,960 Speaker 1: knew had connections Uh Irene Irene got to shoot Bill 422 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 1: Floyd and the head was the shotgun and make it 423 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,400 Speaker 1: look like a suicide. The name of the person mentioned 424 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,439 Speaker 1: is bleeped because although Detective Bell is certain based on 425 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: his investigation, nobody was ever arrested for that murder. Now, Irene, 426 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: she had convenually left the house that morning and went 427 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 1: some place to give herself an alibi, and while she 428 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: was gone, supposedly now her husband and wheelchair pulled down 429 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: this attic stairwell under the body stairs, crawled up into 430 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: the attic, got a twelve game shotgun, brought it back 431 00:28:55,280 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: down the stairs, went into a bathroom, put the shotgun 432 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: in his mouth, and pushed the trigger with the big 433 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: toe of his right foot that was paralyzed, and blew 434 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: his head off. That's what they expected you to believe. 435 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: That what that's what they ruled it. They will actually 436 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 1: ruled it a suicide. And you go back and you 437 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: look at the cold case, the autopsy reports, the crime 438 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 1: scene reports, et cetera, and you find it it's not 439 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:32,800 Speaker 1: a suicide. Well, you know, here is here is our problem. 440 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: Those records only kept so many years, and those records 441 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: are destroyed. We did not have a file copy uh 442 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: Floud's suicide because it had been destroyed. The only information 443 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,480 Speaker 1: I could get on his suicide was from the Corners 444 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:56,480 Speaker 1: office and you reinterviewed everybody. Yeah, well wherever we those 445 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:00,320 Speaker 1: that we can find, Yeah, yeah, But so that's the 446 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,480 Speaker 1: only way that we were able to get the information 447 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: on Floyd's led suicide. And it still blew my mind. 448 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: I couldn't believe because I knew the investigators that responded 449 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,400 Speaker 1: to the scene of Bill Floyd, and apparently they were 450 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: lied to on the real condition of Floyd when they 451 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: got there, or they would have never ever signed off 452 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: on Oh yeah, that's okay, suicide, you know, I mean, 453 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: if they knew he was confined to a wheelchair, they 454 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: would never you know, I mean, that would just ludicrous anyway. So, 455 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,760 Speaker 1: so Bill Floyd was death and was ruled a suicide. 456 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:43,440 Speaker 1: She eventually was got his shed away a little bit longer. 457 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: She got the insurance me Ron Thomas happy. William Floyd's 458 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: death conveniently paved the way for Irene and Ron Thomas 459 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: to ride off into the sunset together with a fat 460 00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: insurance payout to celebrate with nine dollars to be act. 461 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: The only problem was Ron still had a wife back 462 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,960 Speaker 1: in Indiana, and Irene, well, unless we forget she had 463 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:26,480 Speaker 1: two dead husbands in her past. In the next episode 464 00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: of paper Ghosts, let's try to at him. How's he 465 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,719 Speaker 1: done it? And I didn't What kind of look did 466 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 1: he give you back? It weren't nice? It was evil. 467 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: If Lukes and guilty'd kill him so I decide that 468 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: I am going to take a gun to court the 469 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: next day, and I'm going to kill Ron on the 470 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: courthouse steps. We were looking into Ron Thomas when we 471 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 1: got familiar with Irene Compash. The Black Widow Paper Ghosts 472 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,200 Speaker 1: is written in exact, produced by me Am William Phelps 473 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 1: and I Heart executive producer Christina Everett, with script consultant 474 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,840 Speaker 1: Matthew Riddle, Audio editing and mixing by a Booze Afar 475 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: thanks to Will Pearson at I Heart Radio. Series theme 476 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,840 Speaker 1: number four four two is written and performed by Thomas 477 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:22,760 Speaker 1: Phelps and Tom Mooney. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 478 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 479 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:28,520 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.