WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: Lori Murchison [From the Archives]

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<v Speaker 1>School of Humans. Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold

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<v Speaker 1>case murders in an effort to raise public awareness invite

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<v Speaker 1>witnesses to come forward and present evidence that could potentially

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<v Speaker 1>be further investigated by law enforcement. While we value insights

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<v Speaker 1>from family and community members, their statements should not be

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<v Speaker 1>considered evidence and point to the challenges of verifying facts

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<v Speaker 1>inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has

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<v Speaker 1>presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply

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<v Speaker 1>that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime

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<v Speaker 1>is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 2>On September one, nineteen ninety five, a police officer in

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<v Speaker 2>Fort Smith, Arkansas, pulled over a vehicle. A man named

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<v Speaker 2>Jerry Cogan was driving and his girlfriend, twenty four year

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<v Speaker 2>old Laurie Murchis, was the passenger. Laurie worked at a

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<v Speaker 2>local nursing home. She had a four year old daughter

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<v Speaker 2>named Brittany, and she adored her little girl. But Laurie

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<v Speaker 2>had been battling an addiction to drugs, according to what

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<v Speaker 2>her friends told police, mainly to crank or methamphetamines and

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie also drank alcohol. Because of that, Laurie had been

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<v Speaker 2>moving around a little. She had been living on and

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<v Speaker 2>off with her mother, Nancy Murchison, and also sometimes staying

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<v Speaker 2>at different local motels. Her mother, Nancy, had been taking

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<v Speaker 2>care of Laurie's daughter. Laurie and Jerry were out at

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<v Speaker 2>a bar that night when the officer pulled them over.

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<v Speaker 2>He believed that both of them had been drinking, so

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<v Speaker 2>he placed Jerry under arrest for DUI and Laurie for

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<v Speaker 2>suspicion of public intoxication. Laurie was taken to the Sebastian

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<v Speaker 2>County Jail. She was released some time after five am

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<v Speaker 2>on September second. She told detectives that she planned to

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<v Speaker 2>get money and come back to bail Jerry out. Jerry

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<v Speaker 2>had given her fifty dollars, but Laurie needed more. Another

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<v Speaker 2>inmate later told detectives that she heard Laurie talking to

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<v Speaker 2>other women in the holding cells about finding a bail

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<v Speaker 2>bond place. Laurie also specifically told jailers she was going

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<v Speaker 2>to pick up her paycheck from the Oaks Lodge nursing

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<v Speaker 2>home where she had been working, cash it, and come

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<v Speaker 2>back to bail Jerry out. Most recently, Laurie had been

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<v Speaker 2>staying with Jerry at the Continental Motel in Fort Smith.

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<v Speaker 2>Between two and four pm on September second, Laurie went

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<v Speaker 2>to the office of the Continental Motel to get a

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<v Speaker 2>key to her room. This is according to an April

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<v Speaker 2>two thousand and five Times Record report. Laurie's mother said

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<v Speaker 2>that she last talked to Laurie on September second. She

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<v Speaker 2>said that when she talked to her on the phone,

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie told her that she and Jerry were planning on

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<v Speaker 2>moving out of Nancy's house, that they had found a

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<v Speaker 2>room at a local motel. Laurie said that she would

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<v Speaker 2>come to NaN's house the next day to pick Brittany up,

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<v Speaker 2>but she never returned to the jail, and she did

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<v Speaker 2>not pick up her paycheck at the nursing home. The

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<v Speaker 2>last time she was seen alive was at the Continental

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<v Speaker 2>Motel when she picked up a key to her room.

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<v Speaker 2>After that, she left that motel. None of her close

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<v Speaker 2>friends or family ever heard from Laurie Murchison again. Her

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<v Speaker 2>family had no way of knowing where she was, or

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<v Speaker 2>that the hunt for this missing mother would eventually involve

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<v Speaker 2>charges of corruption at the highest levels of State government.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Catherine Townsend. Over the past five years of making

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<v Speaker 2>my true crime podcast, Healing Gone, I've learned that there

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<v Speaker 2>is no such thing as a small town where murdered

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<v Speaker 2>never happens. I've received hundreds of messages from people all

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<v Speaker 2>around the country asking for help with an unsolved murder

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<v Speaker 2>that's affected them, their families, and their communities. If you

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<v Speaker 2>have a case you'd like me and my team to

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<v Speaker 2>look into, you can reach out to us at our

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<v Speaker 2>Helen Gone Murder Line at six seven eight seven four

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<v Speaker 2>four six one four five that's six seven eight seven

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<v Speaker 2>four four six one four or five, or you can

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<v Speaker 2>send us a message at Helen gonpod. This is Helen

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<v Speaker 2>Gone Murder Line. Days went by, Laurie Murchison never showed

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<v Speaker 2>up to pick up her daughter, Brittany. According to media

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<v Speaker 2>reports at the time, Laurie had been making regular trips

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<v Speaker 2>back and forth to Wilburton, Oklahoma. This was happening for

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<v Speaker 2>some time prior to her disappearance. A friend of hers

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<v Speaker 2>told police that Laurie had disappeared before and that she

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<v Speaker 2>had stayed gone for as long as a month at

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<v Speaker 2>a time. But Laurie's mother, Nancy, was worried because she

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<v Speaker 2>told detectives even if Lourie didn't come by, she always

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<v Speaker 2>checked in, and Nancy believed she would never stay out

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<v Speaker 2>of communication with her daughter for that long. Nancy officially

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<v Speaker 2>reported Lourie missing on September fifth, nineteen ninety five. Police

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<v Speaker 2>talked to people who claimed they had seen Laurie walking

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<v Speaker 2>around in different locations. They confirmed she was released from

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<v Speaker 2>jail at approximately five forty am on September second. In

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<v Speaker 2>the day's following Laurie's disappearances, missing posters went up describing

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie and the last clothes. She was seen in a

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<v Speaker 2>white sleeveless cotton shirt cut off blue denim shorts, white socks,

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<v Speaker 2>black sandals, a gold oval shaped knuckle ring on her

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<v Speaker 2>left index finger, and a cross necklace on a black ribbon.

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie was white, with brown hair that was bleached blonde,

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<v Speaker 2>and brown eyes. She did have several distinctive tattoos, including

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<v Speaker 2>a tattoo of a unicorn on her left shoulder, a

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<v Speaker 2>tattoo of a heart with an arrow piercing it on

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<v Speaker 2>her left breast, and a rose tattoo on her left ankle.

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie also wore dentures and had several teeth missing. Police,

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<v Speaker 2>of course had to consider the possibility that Lurie had

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<v Speaker 2>gone missing voluntarily, but this seemed unlikely given the fact

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<v Speaker 2>she never picked up her last paycheck from work. Detective Barrows,

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<v Speaker 2>one of the investigators on the case, met with Laurie's mother, Nancy.

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<v Speaker 2>Nancy gave detectives information about some of Laurie's close friends.

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<v Speaker 2>Nancy later told The Times Record that Laurie was scared

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<v Speaker 2>worried about something that she had seen or heard in

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<v Speaker 2>the weeks before her disappearance. A few weeks before her

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<v Speaker 2>daughter went missing, Nancy told police that Laurie came home

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<v Speaker 2>afraid that someone was going to come after her, saying

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<v Speaker 2>things like they're gonna off me. Nancy said she didn't

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<v Speaker 2>know who or what Laurie was talking about or what

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<v Speaker 2>could have scared her, and police weren't getting much from

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie's friends. None of them had heard from her, and

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<v Speaker 2>no one seemed to know where she had gone. Laurie

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<v Speaker 2>had been talking to some female prisoners in jail before

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<v Speaker 2>she was released. They told police they heard Lurie talking

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<v Speaker 2>about a local bonding agency, so it seemed like Laurie

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<v Speaker 2>had been planning on getting out of jail, picking up

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<v Speaker 2>her paycheck, and bailing out her boyfriend, but there were

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of dead ends. We did a Foyer request

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<v Speaker 2>for Laurie's case file, but we only got part of

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<v Speaker 2>it covering the first few weeks of the investigation. An

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<v Speaker 2>officer from the Fort Smith Police Department went to the

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<v Speaker 2>Midland Motel, the motel where Laurie was living before she

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<v Speaker 2>moved to the Continental, but no one had seen her there.

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<v Speaker 2>Police were able to figure out that on the night

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie was arrested, she and her boyfriend Jerry, went to

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<v Speaker 2>a bar called Shooters. They were hanging out there from

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<v Speaker 2>around seven to around eleven PM or midnight, right before

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<v Speaker 2>they were pulled over by police. Police checked local hospitals, motels,

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<v Speaker 2>and rehabs, but no one had seen Laurie Murchison. Police

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<v Speaker 2>also talked to Laurie's boyfriend, Jerry. He said he had

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<v Speaker 2>no idea where his girlfriend had gone. Police did say

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<v Speaker 2>he was cooperative and they cleared him pretty quickly. Nancy

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<v Speaker 2>did tell police that Jerry had told her that since

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<v Speaker 2>he and Laurie had been together, they hadn't been to

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<v Speaker 2>any bars. Now obviously this wasn't true because Laurie and

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<v Speaker 2>Jerry were at shooters and they were intoxicated when they

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<v Speaker 2>were picked up. But there are a lot of reasons

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<v Speaker 2>why Jerry might have told this small white lie to

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie's mother. Jerry Cogan was working at a glass plant

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<v Speaker 2>in Midland. He came in and talked to detectives, and

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<v Speaker 2>apparently he was very cooperative. He said he was as

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<v Speaker 2>shocked as anyone else when Laurie never showed up to

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<v Speaker 2>come bail him out. During this time, detectives did get

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<v Speaker 2>a report that a body was found a white female

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<v Speaker 2>in Salasaw Creek in Oklahoma, but it was not Laurie.

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie had been at work at the nursing home on Friday.

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<v Speaker 2>A friend of hers named Ronda had seen her there,

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<v Speaker 2>but Ronda said that was the last time that she

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<v Speaker 2>saw Laurie. Laurie never came back. Police wondered could someone

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<v Speaker 2>at the nursing home have wanted to hurt Laurie. During

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<v Speaker 2>this time, Captain J. C Ryder, one of the investigators

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<v Speaker 2>on the case, interviewed a confidential informant. This was someone

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<v Speaker 2>who was in jail in Ozark. Now. This person told

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<v Speaker 2>him Laurie had been having a sexual relationship with a

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<v Speaker 2>married man who worked with her at the nursing home,

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<v Speaker 2>and that the married man's wife was violent and it

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<v Speaker 2>threatened to kill Laurie. J. C. Rider interviewed the married man.

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<v Speaker 2>This person denied having a relationship with Laurie. They said

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<v Speaker 2>they had never had more than a casual conversation with her.

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<v Speaker 2>When Captain Rider asked who would have a reason to

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<v Speaker 2>make up a story like that, this person gave the

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<v Speaker 2>name of someone who was married to one of his

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<v Speaker 2>family members, someone with a grudge against him. He said

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<v Speaker 2>he didn't know if this guy would know about the

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<v Speaker 2>disappearance of Lurie since this person was in jail in Ozark.

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<v Speaker 2>Captain Rider said after reviewing the information, he believed that

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<v Speaker 2>the married man was being truthful about not having a

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<v Speaker 2>relationship with Laurie. Captain Rider also spoke to the man's wife.

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<v Speaker 2>She said she had no knowledge of an affair between

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<v Speaker 2>him and Laurie, so that possibility of Laurie having an

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<v Speaker 2>affair with a married man that led to her death

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<v Speaker 2>was apparently ruled out. Police investigated another man, someone with

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<v Speaker 2>a long criminal record, including aggravated robbery, burglary, assault and battery.

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<v Speaker 2>This person was one of Lurie's acquaintances, but apparently this

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<v Speaker 2>was another dead end. Nancy told police about some friends

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<v Speaker 2>of Lourie's, a man named Floyd who was nicknamed Corky,

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<v Speaker 2>and his wife Sue. Nancy Murchison said Sue told someone

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<v Speaker 2>that one night Laurie showed up at her house with

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<v Speaker 2>two men in a red car. Sue denied telling Nancy

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<v Speaker 2>this when police asked her about it, but Corky said

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<v Speaker 2>Sue had told him that same story. So who were

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<v Speaker 2>these two men, what did they want? And could they

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<v Speaker 2>have had anything to do with Lurie's disappearance. Another detective,

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<v Speaker 2>Detective Reese, called the Razorback cab company, trying to retrace

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<v Speaker 2>Lori's steps after she was released from jail. He figured

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<v Speaker 2>out that a driver had picked her up at a

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<v Speaker 2>local bonding company. The driver told police he took Lurie

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<v Speaker 2>to a local Taco bell to pick up her car,

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<v Speaker 2>but the driver said that Lourie's car was not there.

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<v Speaker 2>The cab driver said at this point, Laurie was upset

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<v Speaker 2>and surprised because she said the police had told her

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<v Speaker 2>they were not going to tow the car, so the

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<v Speaker 2>driver told police that after that, Laurie had him drive

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<v Speaker 2>her to a local apartment complex. The Weregond Courts, so

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<v Speaker 2>detectives went to that apartment complex they found a man

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<v Speaker 2>named Billy Aaron. Billy told them that he knew someone

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<v Speaker 2>who may have information about Loriie. This person's name was Jimmy.

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<v Speaker 2>He was living in an apartment in that complex, and

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<v Speaker 2>Jimmy was living on and off with a woman named

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<v Speaker 2>Mary Chipman who went by the nickname Cricket. Jimmy's exact

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<v Speaker 2>address was kind of a mystery. He said. He stayed

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<v Speaker 2>sometimes in Van Buren with a woman, some of the

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<v Speaker 2>time with his mom, and part of the time in

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<v Speaker 2>another house. Billy said Jimmy and Cricket fought a lot,

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<v Speaker 2>that Cricket had kicked you out of his house from

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<v Speaker 2>time to time, and that at that point Jimmy ended

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<v Speaker 2>up crashing with Billy. In fact, a lot of what

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<v Speaker 2>unfolded next would center on that apartment complex, the Ragon Court,

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<v Speaker 2>and on apartment number eighty seven, where Billy said Jimmy

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<v Speaker 2>and Cricket were living, and according to Billy, they also

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<v Speaker 2>all hung out regularly at Shooters, the bar where Laurie

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<v Speaker 2>and Jerry were last seen before they got arrested. Billy's

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<v Speaker 2>story was that Jimmy had come over to his place

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<v Speaker 2>and that they were drinking one night. Billy said they

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<v Speaker 2>happened to be watching TV and a news story about

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<v Speaker 2>Lourie's disappearance came on. Billy said Jimmy told him that

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<v Speaker 2>he recognized Laurie. Billy said Jimmy had seen Laurie at

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<v Speaker 2>a party at Cricket's place, which he said was apartment

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<v Speaker 2>number eighty seven, where they were doing drugs. He said

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<v Speaker 2>Kirky was there too that night, and at that party,

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<v Speaker 2>Laurie was sitting in a chair. Laurie overdosed and died.

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<v Speaker 2>Billy said, quote, Cricket went ape, shit, started throwing shit,

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<v Speaker 2>throwing everybody out, flipping out and all this. That's when

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<v Speaker 2>they picked her up and carried her outside. He said

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<v Speaker 2>that they carried her out like she was drunk, put

0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:57.200
<v Speaker 2>her in the vehicle like she was drunk, and he

0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:01.360
<v Speaker 2>drove off end quote. He is in reference to Corky,

0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.120
<v Speaker 2>by the way, because according to Jimmy's story, Corky drove

0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:09.160
<v Speaker 2>off somewhere and buried the body. Billy said that Jimmy

0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:11.560
<v Speaker 2>told him he didn't know where they went and that

0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.960
<v Speaker 2>he didn't have a lot of other details. Billy said, quote,

0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:17.600
<v Speaker 2>he said, at least you ought to have the decency

0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:20.800
<v Speaker 2>to tell somebody or just let somebody know. That's what

0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:24.440
<v Speaker 2>he said there in my house end quote. Later, the

0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.040
<v Speaker 2>Fort Smith Police Department interviewed Cricket, but they said she

0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 2>was actually living in apartment number ninety nine. At first,

0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.560
<v Speaker 2>police said Cricket seemed uncooperative, but she eventually told police

0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.120
<v Speaker 2>that on the night Laurie was arrested, she was out

0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.080
<v Speaker 2>with her boyfriend. She said Laurie had stopped by her

0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.680
<v Speaker 2>residence while she was out and talked to her babysitter,

0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:48.640
<v Speaker 2>then Laurie left. Cricket said she never saw Laurie that night.

0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.760
<v Speaker 2>Then Cricket changed her story. This time she said she

0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:57.000
<v Speaker 2>was out with another guy. Police said she never mentioned

0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.040
<v Speaker 2>this other guy before, and they were asking her a

0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.800
<v Speaker 2>lot of questions about her story and why it changed.

0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:06.680
<v Speaker 2>They searched Cricket's room and seized items described as drug paraphernalia,

0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:10.840
<v Speaker 2>but Cricket was never arrested or charged in connection with

0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.680
<v Speaker 2>Laurie's death, and after the initial few weeks it seemed

0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:18.520
<v Speaker 2>like Laurie's case went cold. No trace of Laurie was

0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:23.640
<v Speaker 2>found and no body. But then Lourie Murchison made headlines

0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:27.120
<v Speaker 2>again because there was a big development in the case

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:32.000
<v Speaker 2>from a very unexpected source. News broke that the FBI

0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:36.320
<v Speaker 2>was investigating the prosecutor for Sebastian County, Ron Fields, of

0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.680
<v Speaker 2>dealing drugs and of ordering the murder of Lorie Murchison,

0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:45.200
<v Speaker 2>and that the person who ron Fields allegedly ordered to

0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:49.120
<v Speaker 2>murder Laurie Murchison was one of the investigators on the case,

0:16:49.680 --> 0:17:04.600
<v Speaker 2>the police captain j c Ryder. In the weeks following

0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:09.000
<v Speaker 2>Laurie Murchison's disappearance, police were questioning people at a nearby

0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.880
<v Speaker 2>apartment complex. They found a man named Billy, who claimed

0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.920
<v Speaker 2>that Laurie overdosed at the residence of a woman named

0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.800
<v Speaker 2>Cricket in a room at the Ragencourt apartment complex, and

0:17:19.840 --> 0:17:22.480
<v Speaker 2>that they carried her lifeless body out in a vehicle.

0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.400
<v Speaker 2>Billy claimed that Jimmy was afraid to tell the authorities

0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.920
<v Speaker 2>because Jimmy was afraid that he would be charged with

0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.600
<v Speaker 2>her death and disposal of her body. Then the case

0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:38.120
<v Speaker 2>went quiet for years, but then all of a sudden.

0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:42.440
<v Speaker 2>Around two thousand and five, Laurie Murchison made headlines again

0:17:43.120 --> 0:17:45.600
<v Speaker 2>because there was a huge development in the case from

0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:50.080
<v Speaker 2>a very unexpected source. News broke that the FBI was

0:17:50.120 --> 0:17:54.440
<v Speaker 2>investigating the prosecutor for Sebastian County, Ron Fields, of dealing

0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:58.760
<v Speaker 2>drugs and of ordering the murder of Lorie Murchison, and

0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.800
<v Speaker 2>that the person Ron Fields allegedly ordered to murder Laurie

0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.840
<v Speaker 2>was one of the investigators on the case, the police

0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:09.520
<v Speaker 2>Captain J. C. Rider. I want to back up a

0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:12.240
<v Speaker 2>minute and talk about ron Fields, because there is a

0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:17.000
<v Speaker 2>massive controversy about ron Fields that is still unresolved. We've

0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.880
<v Speaker 2>talked about him briefly before when we were talking about

0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:23.880
<v Speaker 2>the unsolved murder of Melissa Witt. Ron Fields was close

0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:26.720
<v Speaker 2>to Captain J. C. Rider of the Fort Smith Police Department,

0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:30.480
<v Speaker 2>and Captain J. C. Rider later made news for becoming

0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:32.600
<v Speaker 2>involved in the Melissa Witt cold case.

0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:33.720
<v Speaker 1>J C.

0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.520
<v Speaker 2>Rider and Ron Fields have a lot of history. Ron

0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:41.400
<v Speaker 2>Fields served as the Sebastian County prosecutor for eighteen years.

0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:44.960
<v Speaker 2>In nineteen ninety, he was a point by then Arkansas

0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:49.360
<v Speaker 2>Governor Bill Clinton to become Arkansas Attorney General. During the

0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:52.760
<v Speaker 2>time ron Fields was the prosecutor. He was very publicly

0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.840
<v Speaker 2>anti drug He helped write laws that required longer prison

0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.840
<v Speaker 2>sentences for drug abusers. He led the twelfth Judicial Drug

0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:05.800
<v Speaker 2>Task Force in Western Arkansas. Ron Fields actually started in

0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:11.040
<v Speaker 2>Arkansas the practice of requiring prosecutors rather than police to

0:19:11.120 --> 0:19:14.680
<v Speaker 2>get search warrants in drug cases. This meant that ron

0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.880
<v Speaker 2>Fields or one of his deputies actually went on drug

0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:21.080
<v Speaker 2>raids with the police. Now, his supporters said that this

0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:23.520
<v Speaker 2>made sure the evidence was all gathered by the book,

0:19:24.120 --> 0:19:27.720
<v Speaker 2>and to be fair, the conviction rate in Arkansas for

0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:31.160
<v Speaker 2>drug offenses did go up under ron Fields. His critics

0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:33.800
<v Speaker 2>said the fact that he personally went on those drug

0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:37.560
<v Speaker 2>raids was a massive red flag for other reasons which

0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:41.160
<v Speaker 2>we'll get to a little later. Ron Fields was also

0:19:41.360 --> 0:19:44.440
<v Speaker 2>a close friend of Republican Congressman A. SA SA Hutchinson.

0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:48.400
<v Speaker 2>ASA Hutchinson, of course, served as US Attorney and later

0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:50.800
<v Speaker 2>went on to become the forty six governor of Arkansas.

0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:54.880
<v Speaker 2>He served from twenty fifteen to twenty twenty three. In

0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.360
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and one, ASA Hutchinson took ron Fields with

0:19:58.440 --> 0:20:02.160
<v Speaker 2>him to Washington, d C. Ron Fields became A. SA

0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:06.080
<v Speaker 2>Hutchinson's special assistant at the Drug Enforcement Agency and later

0:20:06.360 --> 0:20:10.120
<v Speaker 2>worked with Hutchinson in the Department of Homeland Security. According

0:20:10.120 --> 0:20:13.360
<v Speaker 2>to The Arkansas Times, this position that ron Fields had

0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:17.360
<v Speaker 2>with DA was very powerful. He worked on a coalition

0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:22.120
<v Speaker 2>that battled terrorism and drug trafficking, and then in around

0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:24.840
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and four two thousand and five, these accusations

0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:28.120
<v Speaker 2>surfaced about J. C. Ryder and Ron Fields that according

0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:31.680
<v Speaker 2>to media reports, these two men were allegedly involved in

0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:35.440
<v Speaker 2>Lourie Murchison's murder. On May second, two thousand and five,

0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.560
<v Speaker 2>officials at the Department of Homeland Security pulled ron Fields

0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:43.360
<v Speaker 2>security clearance and then he was suspended from his position

0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:47.040
<v Speaker 2>at the Department of Homeland Security. He appealed that decision

0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:52.480
<v Speaker 2>but lost. Suddenly, ron fields days in Washington were numbered

0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:57.680
<v Speaker 2>the FBI continued their investigation. Ron Fields went back to

0:20:57.720 --> 0:21:01.880
<v Speaker 2>Fort Smith ASA. Hutchinson also left Washington at around that time.

0:21:03.080 --> 0:21:08.280
<v Speaker 2>This connection between ron Fields and Lori Murchison was allegedly J. C. Rider.

0:21:09.120 --> 0:21:09.440
<v Speaker 1>J C.

0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:12.840
<v Speaker 2>Rider was also a powerful figure in Arkansas. He had

0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:15.280
<v Speaker 2>been in the department since nineteen seventy five and was

0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:18.040
<v Speaker 2>head of the Department's Major Crimes Unit until his retirement

0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:21.600
<v Speaker 2>in two thousand and two. So suddenly the FBI have

0:21:21.640 --> 0:21:25.560
<v Speaker 2>announced they were investigating claims that ron Fields had allegedly

0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:28.080
<v Speaker 2>been involved in drug dealing and that he ordered J. C.

0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:30.920
<v Speaker 2>Rider to kill Laurie Murchison and to dump her body.

0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:35.800
<v Speaker 2>J C. Rider was subpoena to Washington, d c. To

0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:38.880
<v Speaker 2>appear in front of a grand jury convened by the

0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.320
<v Speaker 2>Public Corruption Section of the Department of Justice. Now, in

0:21:42.400 --> 0:21:45.880
<v Speaker 2>the end, no charges were filed against J. C. Rider

0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:49.240
<v Speaker 2>or Ron Fields, but it is hard to find any

0:21:49.280 --> 0:21:52.640
<v Speaker 2>information out about exactly what went down during this investigation.

0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:56.360
<v Speaker 2>We have made a Foyer request to the FBI for

0:21:56.440 --> 0:21:59.920
<v Speaker 2>any and all case files involving investigations into ron Fields,

0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:05.120
<v Speaker 2>but our request has been denied. Meanwhile, ron Field's lawyer

0:22:05.240 --> 0:22:09.160
<v Speaker 2>Eddie Christian said the FBI investigation into ron Fields was

0:22:09.360 --> 0:22:12.840
<v Speaker 2>the biggest witch hunt he'd ever seen. Eddie Christian was

0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:16.640
<v Speaker 2>also J. C. Rider's attorney. He later told The Arkansas

0:22:16.680 --> 0:22:22.440
<v Speaker 2>Times that the investigators were absolutely nuts. Eddie Christian told

0:22:22.440 --> 0:22:26.160
<v Speaker 2>the Southwest Times Record in April two thousand and five, quote,

0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:29.320
<v Speaker 2>I've known this guy, meaning ron Fields, for a long

0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:32.000
<v Speaker 2>damn time. Let me tell you he's one of the

0:22:32.000 --> 0:22:35.760
<v Speaker 2>most impoverished lawyers. I know he wears J. C. Penny suits.

0:22:35.760 --> 0:22:38.400
<v Speaker 2>He does not live high on the hog. This boy's

0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:41.320
<v Speaker 2>never made any money. I mean he's been a public

0:22:41.360 --> 0:22:43.720
<v Speaker 2>servant and that's been about it, except for a short

0:22:43.720 --> 0:22:47.720
<v Speaker 2>stant in private practice. It's crazy to accuse ron Fields

0:22:47.720 --> 0:22:52.320
<v Speaker 2>of selling drugs or doing drugs end quote. Eddie Christian

0:22:52.360 --> 0:22:56.440
<v Speaker 2>also claimed that FBI agents had harassed ron Fields and J.

0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:02.000
<v Speaker 2>C Ryder's families. Ron Fields had other supporters. Jack Moseley,

0:23:02.120 --> 0:23:04.960
<v Speaker 2>the former editor of the Times Record, wrote, I would

0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:08.280
<v Speaker 2>sooner believe mother Teresa was an axe murderer than think

0:23:08.360 --> 0:23:10.960
<v Speaker 2>Ron Fields could be guilty of using and trafficking in

0:23:11.000 --> 0:23:14.280
<v Speaker 2>illegal drugs. I've never known a more straight error fellow

0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:17.600
<v Speaker 2>than Fields, and the idea of him ordering a police

0:23:17.600 --> 0:23:20.160
<v Speaker 2>officer to kill a missing woman in Fort Smith to

0:23:20.320 --> 0:23:23.400
<v Speaker 2>keep her quiet about his alleged drug activities is even

0:23:23.440 --> 0:23:27.280
<v Speaker 2>more ridiculous end quote. But it's interesting because in that

0:23:27.400 --> 0:23:31.680
<v Speaker 2>same column, Jack Moseley wrote, quote Fields or one of

0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:35.280
<v Speaker 2>his deputies personally went on almost every local drug rate

0:23:35.320 --> 0:23:38.800
<v Speaker 2>in order to guarantee that evidence was properly gathered, protected

0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:42.120
<v Speaker 2>and kept for use in criminal trials en quote. But

0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:45.920
<v Speaker 2>The Arkansas Times reported that they had spoken to a lawyer.

0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:48.960
<v Speaker 2>They didn't name this person, but they said the source

0:23:49.040 --> 0:23:52.160
<v Speaker 2>had been interviewed by the FBI and that the FBI

0:23:52.240 --> 0:23:55.320
<v Speaker 2>were asking about money that was forfeited as a result

0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:58.880
<v Speaker 2>of drug arrests. Now, this source said the DOJ threatened

0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:01.440
<v Speaker 2>to pull the lawyer's license if he didn't give them

0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:04.640
<v Speaker 2>the information they wanted about ron Fields. The source said

0:24:04.680 --> 0:24:07.600
<v Speaker 2>they didn't have any information on ron Fields. They didn't

0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:10.320
<v Speaker 2>know why this investigation was happening at all. But The

0:24:10.440 --> 0:24:13.400
<v Speaker 2>Arkansas Times talked to other sources who said that ron

0:24:13.400 --> 0:24:17.080
<v Speaker 2>Fields quote ran the police department, and that the fact

0:24:17.120 --> 0:24:20.120
<v Speaker 2>that he carried a gun and accompanied police on drug

0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.400
<v Speaker 2>raids was in fact a massive red flag and a

0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:27.600
<v Speaker 2>conflict of interest. The source told the Times that he

0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:31.440
<v Speaker 2>had seen statements from witnesses people who claimed that they

0:24:31.560 --> 0:24:35.680
<v Speaker 2>had seen ron Fields use drugs. So what does any

0:24:35.720 --> 0:24:39.200
<v Speaker 2>of this have to do with Lourie Murchison. Well. One

0:24:39.200 --> 0:24:42.480
<v Speaker 2>of the allegations that federal investigators were looking into was

0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:46.360
<v Speaker 2>whether ry Murchison may have had knowledge about ron Field's

0:24:46.360 --> 0:24:50.320
<v Speaker 2>alleged drug activities and whether j. C Ryder went to

0:24:50.400 --> 0:24:54.360
<v Speaker 2>question Laurie Murchison. The allegation was that he and ron

0:24:54.400 --> 0:24:59.160
<v Speaker 2>Fields may have gone together to question Laurie. This federal

0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:03.320
<v Speaker 2>investigation went on for two years. During that time, a

0:25:03.360 --> 0:25:06.200
<v Speaker 2>lot of rock Field's supporters stated it was ridiculous to

0:25:06.240 --> 0:25:10.280
<v Speaker 2>believe that Ronfield's impeccable character could ever be questioned and

0:25:10.360 --> 0:25:13.880
<v Speaker 2>that his activities could be covered up. But later in

0:25:13.920 --> 0:25:18.120
<v Speaker 2>two thousand and seven, very ugly allegations surfaced again about

0:25:18.160 --> 0:25:22.920
<v Speaker 2>ron Fields, allegations that he sexually assaulted his mentally disabled daughter,

0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:26.480
<v Speaker 2>twenty six year old Bridget Dollar, and that the prosecutor's

0:25:26.560 --> 0:25:30.880
<v Speaker 2>office declined to prosecute. On June twenty second, two thousand

0:25:30.920 --> 0:25:33.920
<v Speaker 2>and seven, Bridget told the police in Fort Smith that

0:25:33.960 --> 0:25:38.160
<v Speaker 2>her stepfather, ron Fields, had raped her. She came to

0:25:38.240 --> 0:25:41.720
<v Speaker 2>police after first confessing the alleged sexual assault to a relative.

0:25:42.520 --> 0:25:45.880
<v Speaker 2>The officer who interviewed Bridget, Christine Deeson, was quoted in

0:25:45.880 --> 0:25:49.320
<v Speaker 2>The Arkansas Times. Bridget said she was sitting on the

0:25:49.320 --> 0:25:52.800
<v Speaker 2>couch watching The Prices Ride on TV when ron Fields

0:25:52.840 --> 0:25:55.480
<v Speaker 2>came in and quote pulled her off of the couch

0:25:55.600 --> 0:25:58.280
<v Speaker 2>by her arm and took her to her mom's bedroom.

0:25:58.720 --> 0:26:00.840
<v Speaker 2>He took off her clothes and put her on the bed.

0:26:01.440 --> 0:26:03.480
<v Speaker 2>She said she knew what he was doing was wrong.

0:26:04.000 --> 0:26:07.200
<v Speaker 2>She also told me it was painful. I asked her

0:26:07.320 --> 0:26:10.120
<v Speaker 2>what made him stop. She said she thought his cell

0:26:10.160 --> 0:26:12.680
<v Speaker 2>phone rang and he stopped to answer it. When asked

0:26:12.720 --> 0:26:15.320
<v Speaker 2>what happened next, Bridget said that he put on his

0:26:15.360 --> 0:26:19.560
<v Speaker 2>clothes and left. Bridget said that after that he would

0:26:19.600 --> 0:26:22.640
<v Speaker 2>come on Tuesdays and do the same thing. She couldn't

0:26:22.680 --> 0:26:25.240
<v Speaker 2>tell me how many times this happened, but said it

0:26:25.280 --> 0:26:27.960
<v Speaker 2>was more than two. She said he told her not

0:26:28.120 --> 0:26:32.320
<v Speaker 2>to tell or he would get in big trouble. End quote.

0:26:32.600 --> 0:26:35.880
<v Speaker 2>Now this became a big story because not only did

0:26:35.880 --> 0:26:39.560
<v Speaker 2>it involve a powerful politician and his former stepdaughter, but

0:26:39.680 --> 0:26:43.360
<v Speaker 2>her mother, ron Field's ex wife, Claire, was at the

0:26:43.400 --> 0:26:46.240
<v Speaker 2>time the prosecuting attorney for the city of Fort Smith.

0:26:47.480 --> 0:26:50.080
<v Speaker 2>Bridget lived at home with her mother. She had never

0:26:50.120 --> 0:26:53.480
<v Speaker 2>held a job and had an intellectual development disorder. She

0:26:53.720 --> 0:26:57.560
<v Speaker 2>is described in court documents as a disabled and incapacitated adult.

0:26:58.200 --> 0:27:00.800
<v Speaker 2>She has always had a family member appointed as a

0:27:00.840 --> 0:27:05.440
<v Speaker 2>permanent guardian. Despite that, and despite the fact that police

0:27:05.480 --> 0:27:08.520
<v Speaker 2>reviewed phone records and voice mails and said they believe

0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:13.800
<v Speaker 2>Bridget ron Fields was never interviewed. The Arkansas Times kind

0:27:13.800 --> 0:27:15.720
<v Speaker 2>of summed up the case progress in two thousand and

0:27:15.720 --> 0:27:19.800
<v Speaker 2>eight by quoting an investigator who said of Ron Fields, quote,

0:27:20.080 --> 0:27:22.120
<v Speaker 2>if he had been a janitor, he would have been

0:27:22.200 --> 0:27:26.760
<v Speaker 2>arrested the next day end quote. According to the police

0:27:26.800 --> 0:27:29.040
<v Speaker 2>record of the rape investigation that was quoted in the

0:27:29.120 --> 0:27:32.840
<v Speaker 2>Arkansas Times, Claire boy and Gasser, ron Fields X's wife

0:27:33.080 --> 0:27:35.880
<v Speaker 2>told police that ron was drinking heavily when he came

0:27:35.880 --> 0:27:37.960
<v Speaker 2>back from Washington, d c. In two thousand and five,

0:27:38.680 --> 0:27:41.680
<v Speaker 2>but she told investigators they were on good terms even

0:27:41.680 --> 0:27:45.240
<v Speaker 2>after the divorce. She said the accusations had shocked her,

0:27:45.640 --> 0:27:48.800
<v Speaker 2>but that she believed her daughter Bridget. She was willing

0:27:48.880 --> 0:27:51.920
<v Speaker 2>to put herself and her daughter through whatever police and

0:27:51.960 --> 0:27:55.360
<v Speaker 2>prosecution and cross examination they would need to go through

0:27:55.480 --> 0:27:59.720
<v Speaker 2>to get justice. The investigators also believed that Bridget was

0:27:59.760 --> 0:28:04.360
<v Speaker 2>telling the truth. So why wasn't Ron Fields prosecuted or

0:28:04.400 --> 0:28:08.520
<v Speaker 2>even questioned? According to Arkansas law, it's a crime to

0:28:08.720 --> 0:28:11.960
<v Speaker 2>have sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of

0:28:12.000 --> 0:28:15.520
<v Speaker 2>consent because she is mentally defective. That would mean a

0:28:15.640 --> 0:28:19.480
<v Speaker 2>person who is incapable of understanding the nature and consequences

0:28:19.480 --> 0:28:23.440
<v Speaker 2>of sexual acts. But in the memo quoted in the Times,

0:28:23.560 --> 0:28:27.800
<v Speaker 2>the prosecutors wrote, Bridget understood what sex was. She knew

0:28:27.800 --> 0:28:30.160
<v Speaker 2>that she did not want to go upstairs with Ron.

0:28:30.720 --> 0:28:34.080
<v Speaker 2>But the memo stated this meant that mentally defective does

0:28:34.080 --> 0:28:36.760
<v Speaker 2>not apply because she kind of understood what was happening.

0:28:37.280 --> 0:28:41.920
<v Speaker 2>So apparently, because Bridget understood the concept of sex, the

0:28:42.000 --> 0:28:45.840
<v Speaker 2>prosecutors believe she was not mentally defective, at least according

0:28:45.840 --> 0:28:48.360
<v Speaker 2>to the law at the time. So the next question

0:28:48.640 --> 0:28:51.400
<v Speaker 2>was if she understood what was happening, did she consent?

0:28:52.080 --> 0:28:55.120
<v Speaker 2>The memo reads quote this question is very difficult to

0:28:55.160 --> 0:28:58.080
<v Speaker 2>answer at this time. Victim is stated that the defendant

0:28:58.120 --> 0:29:00.480
<v Speaker 2>would come to her home, grab her arm, pull her

0:29:00.520 --> 0:29:03.400
<v Speaker 2>off the couch, and take her upstairs to perform sexual intercourse.

0:29:04.200 --> 0:29:09.720
<v Speaker 2>How much force was exerted end quote. So in this

0:29:09.800 --> 0:29:12.880
<v Speaker 2>memo they talk about a nineteen ninety five case and

0:29:12.920 --> 0:29:15.560
<v Speaker 2>that it involved a fourteen year old in her stepfather.

0:29:15.600 --> 0:29:19.000
<v Speaker 2>And apparently the Arkansas Supreme Court found that when an

0:29:19.040 --> 0:29:23.200
<v Speaker 2>assailant has an in loco parenthous relationship to a victim,

0:29:23.440 --> 0:29:26.600
<v Speaker 2>that the law regarding force is a little bit different.

0:29:26.640 --> 0:29:30.200
<v Speaker 2>When someone is acting as a parent, the victim does

0:29:30.240 --> 0:29:35.600
<v Speaker 2>not have to display what they call utmost physical resistance. Now,

0:29:35.760 --> 0:29:39.160
<v Speaker 2>this would definitely seem to apply to Ronfield's and bridget

0:29:39.160 --> 0:29:43.120
<v Speaker 2>dollar And yet six months after this alleged assault was reported,

0:29:43.520 --> 0:29:47.480
<v Speaker 2>the prosecutor's office notified the police charges would not be filed.

0:29:48.360 --> 0:29:51.360
<v Speaker 2>And this blows my mind. In the explanation letter, the

0:29:51.400 --> 0:29:55.400
<v Speaker 2>prosecutor wrote, Bridget's mental deficiencies do not rise to the

0:29:55.520 --> 0:29:58.600
<v Speaker 2>level of charging rape under the law. While in the

0:29:58.640 --> 0:30:03.040
<v Speaker 2>prosecutor's opinion, Bridget was not lying, the office believed she

0:30:03.120 --> 0:30:07.480
<v Speaker 2>would have perhaps insurmountable problems if she was cross examined

0:30:07.520 --> 0:30:10.360
<v Speaker 2>if the case went to trial, and one of the

0:30:10.360 --> 0:30:12.800
<v Speaker 2>main issues they kept debating was the question of force.

0:30:13.360 --> 0:30:17.040
<v Speaker 2>Prosecutor's office stated the only force that Bridget talked about

0:30:17.080 --> 0:30:19.320
<v Speaker 2>was when ron Fields grabbed her arm when she was

0:30:19.360 --> 0:30:22.080
<v Speaker 2>on the couch and took her upstairs. Bridget did say

0:30:22.200 --> 0:30:25.760
<v Speaker 2>she said no and slapped at him. However, the prosecutor's

0:30:25.800 --> 0:30:30.280
<v Speaker 2>office believed she did have an opportunity to leave while

0:30:30.360 --> 0:30:35.400
<v Speaker 2>ron Fields was undressing. Bridget's family were outraged. They believed

0:30:35.400 --> 0:30:40.280
<v Speaker 2>the prosecutors were saying basically that Bridget wasn't mentally capable

0:30:40.320 --> 0:30:44.280
<v Speaker 2>of testifying, but she was mentally capable of consenting sex.

0:30:45.240 --> 0:30:49.800
<v Speaker 2>Claire's sister, Sarah Estraut, wrote to the prosecutor about Ron Fields.

0:30:50.120 --> 0:30:53.200
<v Speaker 2>She wrote, quote, Ron Fields is a cunning lawyer who

0:30:53.240 --> 0:30:56.920
<v Speaker 2>was accustomed to kicking indoors during drug raids. A terrified,

0:30:56.960 --> 0:31:00.240
<v Speaker 2>mentally impaired young woman is no match for him. End quote.

0:31:01.040 --> 0:31:04.120
<v Speaker 2>So no action was taken against ron Fields in the

0:31:04.160 --> 0:31:08.760
<v Speaker 2>sexual assault case, and the FBI never conclusively linked him

0:31:08.800 --> 0:31:13.280
<v Speaker 2>to Laurie Murchison's disappearance. The FBI investigation was ended with

0:31:13.360 --> 0:31:21.120
<v Speaker 2>no progress on Laurie's case. Over the years, Nancy Murchison

0:31:21.160 --> 0:31:23.720
<v Speaker 2>told The Times Record she would get anonymous calls from

0:31:23.760 --> 0:31:27.320
<v Speaker 2>people claiming they knew what happened to Laurie. They would

0:31:27.320 --> 0:31:29.520
<v Speaker 2>tell her that Laurie had been burned in a stove

0:31:29.920 --> 0:31:32.200
<v Speaker 2>or put through a wood shipper, or that she had

0:31:32.240 --> 0:31:36.480
<v Speaker 2>been fed to pigs. In two thousand, a new detective

0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:40.000
<v Speaker 2>named Ron Lockhart was put on Laurie's case, and he

0:31:40.120 --> 0:31:51.400
<v Speaker 2>started digging for answers. According to news reports, the new

0:31:51.440 --> 0:31:54.800
<v Speaker 2>detective assigned to Laurie's case, Ron Lockhart, and his team,

0:31:54.880 --> 0:31:59.640
<v Speaker 2>conducted interviews and they went under cover wearing wires. Ron

0:31:59.720 --> 0:32:03.160
<v Speaker 2>Lockhart did not believe that the investigation into Ron Fields

0:32:03.160 --> 0:32:06.560
<v Speaker 2>and J. C. Rider were justified. He said he found

0:32:06.560 --> 0:32:08.960
<v Speaker 2>no evidence that either of them were involved in Laurie

0:32:09.040 --> 0:32:13.720
<v Speaker 2>Murchison's disappearance. He called this investigation a waste of taxpayers

0:32:13.800 --> 0:32:18.320
<v Speaker 2>money and a waste of time. He said he believed

0:32:18.320 --> 0:32:21.400
<v Speaker 2>that the allegations against ron Fields had come from someone

0:32:21.440 --> 0:32:24.480
<v Speaker 2>with a grudge. Others have suggested it could be someone

0:32:24.560 --> 0:32:27.920
<v Speaker 2>Ron prosecuted in the past. Obviously, in a job like

0:32:28.040 --> 0:32:30.680
<v Speaker 2>ron Fields, it goes without saying that you can make

0:32:30.680 --> 0:32:33.880
<v Speaker 2>a lot of enemies. But that person or person's were

0:32:33.920 --> 0:32:38.080
<v Speaker 2>never named. The FBI never filed any charges against Ron

0:32:38.120 --> 0:32:41.920
<v Speaker 2>Fields or J. C. Ryder. The jury in Washington, d C.

0:32:42.240 --> 0:32:46.640
<v Speaker 2>Heard testimony that it led to nothing. Over the years,

0:32:47.000 --> 0:32:50.480
<v Speaker 2>Ron Lockhart developed a theory, one that seemed very similar

0:32:50.600 --> 0:32:54.200
<v Speaker 2>to what Billy had initially told detectives, that Laurie had

0:32:54.240 --> 0:32:57.480
<v Speaker 2>accidentally overdosed and then the person or people she was

0:32:57.520 --> 0:33:01.360
<v Speaker 2>with got rid of her body. Every once in a while,

0:33:01.440 --> 0:33:04.560
<v Speaker 2>Lourie's name pops up in headlines again. Back in two

0:33:04.600 --> 0:33:07.960
<v Speaker 2>thousand and five, n WA News reported that someone had

0:33:08.000 --> 0:33:11.280
<v Speaker 2>tipped off the Fort Smith police that Laurie's body was

0:33:11.320 --> 0:33:14.560
<v Speaker 2>buried in salvageyard, so they went out and dug there.

0:33:15.600 --> 0:33:18.720
<v Speaker 2>That salvage yard was reportedly less than a mile from

0:33:18.800 --> 0:33:22.480
<v Speaker 2>the motel where Laurie was last seen. Searchers were sent

0:33:22.520 --> 0:33:25.360
<v Speaker 2>in to dig. In the end, they found no trace

0:33:25.400 --> 0:33:28.800
<v Speaker 2>of Lourie. The Times Record did a follow up story

0:33:28.800 --> 0:33:31.880
<v Speaker 2>on Laurie Murchison in twenty fourteen, coming up on the

0:33:31.880 --> 0:33:36.360
<v Speaker 2>twenty year anniversary of her disappearance. They interviewed Ron Lockhart

0:33:36.360 --> 0:33:40.640
<v Speaker 2>and he gave more details about his theory. Ron Lockhart

0:33:40.680 --> 0:33:44.080
<v Speaker 2>said he had a suspect in mind, and it was J.

0:33:44.200 --> 0:33:47.040
<v Speaker 2>C Ryder or Ron Fields or anyone connected to them.

0:33:47.840 --> 0:33:50.240
<v Speaker 2>He told The Times Record it was someone who was

0:33:50.320 --> 0:33:53.200
<v Speaker 2>in prison in Oklahoma. He said that he felt that

0:33:53.240 --> 0:33:55.760
<v Speaker 2>he did have enough to charge this person with abuse

0:33:55.800 --> 0:33:58.440
<v Speaker 2>of a corpse. He said he took the information he

0:33:58.520 --> 0:34:02.640
<v Speaker 2>had to the Sebastian County prosecuting Attorney, but unfortunately he

0:34:02.760 --> 0:34:06.080
<v Speaker 2>found out that it was too late. Ron Lockhart told

0:34:06.080 --> 0:34:09.480
<v Speaker 2>the Times Record quote, back then there was enough evidence

0:34:09.520 --> 0:34:12.040
<v Speaker 2>to file disposing of a corpse, but the statute of

0:34:12.080 --> 0:34:15.640
<v Speaker 2>limitations had run over. But we did have a strong

0:34:15.720 --> 0:34:19.000
<v Speaker 2>suspect that we felt like knew what happened with her.

0:34:19.360 --> 0:34:23.040
<v Speaker 2>End quote. He said the detectives did interview their suspect

0:34:23.120 --> 0:34:27.280
<v Speaker 2>in prison, that they asked the person where Laurie's body was,

0:34:27.720 --> 0:34:29.840
<v Speaker 2>but in the end they weren't able to find her.

0:34:30.760 --> 0:34:34.600
<v Speaker 2>At the time, Ron Lockhart said he believed someone might

0:34:34.640 --> 0:34:38.080
<v Speaker 2>have dumped Loriie into the Arkansas River. He said, quote,

0:34:38.640 --> 0:34:41.200
<v Speaker 2>it was a sad deal. We did everything we could do,

0:34:41.560 --> 0:34:44.000
<v Speaker 2>and I feel confident I know what happened to her.

0:34:45.760 --> 0:34:49.040
<v Speaker 2>Ron Lockhart said five different sources told him that a

0:34:49.080 --> 0:34:51.960
<v Speaker 2>man whom you would not name, said Laurie died of

0:34:51.960 --> 0:34:55.080
<v Speaker 2>a drug overdose and that this man worried about being

0:34:55.160 --> 0:34:58.600
<v Speaker 2>charged with her death and disposal of her body. So

0:34:58.720 --> 0:35:02.040
<v Speaker 2>my question is, are these the same people who were

0:35:02.120 --> 0:35:05.800
<v Speaker 2>questioned in the early weeks of the investigation or someone else?

0:35:06.720 --> 0:35:09.240
<v Speaker 2>And if this is where police have landed, if this

0:35:09.320 --> 0:35:11.320
<v Speaker 2>is all they're going to do, then why won't they

0:35:11.360 --> 0:35:15.360
<v Speaker 2>release the rest of the case file. Nancy Murchison said

0:35:15.680 --> 0:35:19.480
<v Speaker 2>back then she still believes that Laurie was murdered. She

0:35:19.680 --> 0:35:22.640
<v Speaker 2>can't forget what Laurie said in the weeks before she disappeared,

0:35:23.040 --> 0:35:25.800
<v Speaker 2>especially that one time when Laurie came home and said

0:35:25.800 --> 0:35:29.360
<v Speaker 2>that someone was planning to offer her. But could that

0:35:29.480 --> 0:35:33.240
<v Speaker 2>have been Laurie's paranoia due to drug use or could

0:35:33.240 --> 0:35:36.040
<v Speaker 2>it have been something more? After all, there was a

0:35:36.040 --> 0:35:39.240
<v Speaker 2>lot that Nancy Murchison admitted she didn't know about what

0:35:39.280 --> 0:35:42.520
<v Speaker 2>was going on with Lourie. She told the newspaper she

0:35:42.600 --> 0:35:46.240
<v Speaker 2>didn't even know that Laurie was on drugs. In twenty twelve,

0:35:46.320 --> 0:35:49.040
<v Speaker 2>she met with a volunteer group called the Cold Case Survivors,

0:35:49.480 --> 0:35:53.080
<v Speaker 2>people whose relatives had been murdered or missing. They had

0:35:53.120 --> 0:35:57.760
<v Speaker 2>regular meetings in Muldrow, Oklahoma. But I don't think that

0:35:57.800 --> 0:36:00.840
<v Speaker 2>group still exists because a link to the organization's web

0:36:00.880 --> 0:36:08.480
<v Speaker 2>page appears to be inactive. The latest update about Laurie's

0:36:08.520 --> 0:36:11.320
<v Speaker 2>case from the Fort Smith Police Department came from a

0:36:11.360 --> 0:36:14.840
<v Speaker 2>news report in twenty fourteen. It said a new detective

0:36:14.880 --> 0:36:18.920
<v Speaker 2>had been assigned to Laurie's case, Detective David Williams. This

0:36:19.000 --> 0:36:21.920
<v Speaker 2>person had been working in the Criminal Investigation division for

0:36:21.960 --> 0:36:25.560
<v Speaker 2>a year and at that time in twenty fourteen, he

0:36:25.680 --> 0:36:28.400
<v Speaker 2>told the newspaper there had been nothing new added to

0:36:28.480 --> 0:36:32.480
<v Speaker 2>Laurie's case file in years. He said, quote that things

0:36:32.560 --> 0:36:35.560
<v Speaker 2>hundreds of pages. I haven't even been able to make

0:36:35.560 --> 0:36:40.360
<v Speaker 2>it through all that end quote. Laurie's mother, Nancy took

0:36:40.400 --> 0:36:43.320
<v Speaker 2>custody of her daughter Brittany, who would now be in

0:36:43.360 --> 0:36:47.480
<v Speaker 2>her thirdies. Nancy Murchison talked to the media several times

0:36:47.520 --> 0:36:50.840
<v Speaker 2>over the years. She made public police for whoever killed

0:36:50.920 --> 0:36:53.520
<v Speaker 2>Laurie or who was involved in any way to come forward.

0:36:54.000 --> 0:36:56.160
<v Speaker 2>She said, even if it was an accident, she would

0:36:56.200 --> 0:36:58.760
<v Speaker 2>want to know so that the family could have some

0:36:58.880 --> 0:37:01.400
<v Speaker 2>kind of closure and they could put Laurie in the

0:37:01.440 --> 0:37:06.760
<v Speaker 2>family plot. But in twenty seventeen, Nancy passed away, never

0:37:06.880 --> 0:37:10.320
<v Speaker 2>knowing what happened to her daughter Laurie and never being

0:37:10.400 --> 0:37:14.280
<v Speaker 2>able to bring her body home. Anyone with information on

0:37:14.320 --> 0:37:17.200
<v Speaker 2>the disappearance of Laurie Murchison can call the Fort Smith

0:37:17.200 --> 0:37:21.120
<v Speaker 2>Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division at four seven nine seven

0:37:21.120 --> 0:37:25.360
<v Speaker 2>oh nine five one one six, or email Missing Persons

0:37:25.800 --> 0:37:33.080
<v Speaker 2>at Fort SMITHPD dot org. I'm Katherine Townsend. This is

0:37:33.120 --> 0:37:36.480
<v Speaker 2>Helen Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line is a

0:37:36.480 --> 0:37:39.840
<v Speaker 2>production of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. It's written

0:37:39.840 --> 0:37:43.400
<v Speaker 2>and narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced by Gabby Watts.

0:37:44.000 --> 0:37:47.720
<v Speaker 2>Special thanks to Amy Tubbs for her research assistance and

0:37:47.840 --> 0:37:51.440
<v Speaker 2>to James Wheaton for Legal Review. Noah camer mixed and

0:37:51.480 --> 0:37:54.640
<v Speaker 2>scored this episode. Our theme song is by Ben Sale,

0:37:54.960 --> 0:37:58.760
<v Speaker 2>Executive producers of Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, and L. C. Crowley.

0:37:59.400 --> 0:38:01.760
<v Speaker 2>Listen to Helen Gone ad free by subscribing to the

0:38:01.800 --> 0:38:05.440
<v Speaker 2>iHeart True Crime Plus channel on Apple Podcasts. If you

0:38:05.480 --> 0:38:08.160
<v Speaker 2>were interested in seeing documents and materials from the case,

0:38:08.720 --> 0:38:12.240
<v Speaker 2>you can follow the show on Instagram at Helen gonpot.

0:38:12.800 --> 0:38:14.480
<v Speaker 2>If you have a case you'd like me and my

0:38:14.520 --> 0:38:16.720
<v Speaker 2>team to look into, you can reach out to us

0:38:16.760 --> 0:38:19.320
<v Speaker 2>at our Helen Gone Murder line at six seven eight

0:38:19.640 --> 0:38:22.920
<v Speaker 2>seven four four six one four five. That's six seven

0:38:22.960 --> 0:38:30.240
<v Speaker 2>eight seven four four six' one four or. Five school

0:38:30.280 --> 0:38:31.160
<v Speaker 2>Of humans