Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is not intended for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Hello, Oh my god, there's minimurmur
Oh God, Hello, and welcome to season ten, episode two forty seven
of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.
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many pluses. Check it out. In December of twenty twenty two, a
former landscaper named Chad t Absher sat in the floor to courtroom in a gray
suit and a bright blue shirt. Chad wasn't the type to dress up like
that, but this was a special occasion. He was taking the stand at
his former girlfriend's murder trial. Thirty seven year old Chad Absher sat on the
stand and prepared to discuss the night that his former girlfriend, Ashley Rucker had
been killed. It was October thirty, twenty seventeen. The evening was like
any other. After work, the couple connected at Ashley's apartment and decided to
order pizza for dinner. We wouldn't get a pizza, say, we wouldn't
gut a pieces when you think we will win? Joseph ash and were you
drinking that day? Of course? Of course? Do you remember who paye
for pizza? Just want to Ashley's do a little critical and said who eating?
Well, of course the kids and then whoever Realse got a piece?
So Chad stayed at Ashley's apartment most of the time. You didn't actually live
there. Ashley's sister and best friend, Lisa was her roommate. The two
women were single mothers with young boys. Everyone was home that night, Ashley,
Lisa, they're two boys, Chad and Lisa's new boyfriend, Lyle Scheideman.
Chad said that after eating pizza in the living room, he, Ashley,
and her son Joseph were hired to the bedroom. Where did you lie?
And Ashley's okay? And Ashley's left in the bed to you cry?
Of course, she's slipping minky. Where did who's in the cubby hill?
What's the gully? He let the full pillows of pity in the corner right
there, and he made him a little little spot right you know, in
the bed by you guys, of course. So after you went to sleep,
what do you remember happening? Aster? That will come to being beating
in my sleep? Who was beating him? I was on top of me,
Lyle? What was he doing? Beating him in my face? After
falling asleep, Chad said he was awakened by the feeling of Lyle's fist on
his face. Lisa's boyfriend was attacking him. So at this point you're staying
telling us that Lyle is eating you? What did you do after? At
that point I got about the situation. Lisa was right here. Lyle was
only and actually was this side. When did I come up out of this
situation? I got a pull on my feet. Okay, now where'd you
go? I went out towards the living room. Did the fighting enswered that
point? It was never a fight. Well, the lyall beating, you
know, did that entered that point? Yes, ma'am. So once you
got up out of the room and walked around the living room with jagnast.
I was getting my stuff to get up. I was just on the lead,
but Chad said he couldn't get out that easily. Lyle had taken charge.
What was actually at Leasta that Lyle doing at that point? The boy
ran out of the whole place. And when you said that boy in me
Lyle, yes, remember that Lisa was sending about the bar asolutely to follow
me around because my finger was just dripping gloves. I'm just getting my stuff.
She was wiping on the glove, Chad said. Lisa stood angrily at
the bar while Ashley followed Chad trying to clean up the blood he was dripping
all over the floor. Were you gathering up closed? I'm sure, Jack,
please phones all that. What were you getting reduced to? I was
just gonna mead. Were you aware that these the head called name on one
of the point, No, no, no, okay, what's going on?
Then an alternation, someone believe they will not get out of my apartment?
Hey man, thank you? Does adn't want to have any weapons?
And they drink the dress a while? No, all, I will sing
the next available office, I guess called a track of fing The caase,
but Lisa was wrong. There were weapons in the house. Chad had a
pocket knife, there was a bat in the bedroom, and there was a
rifle hidden in the couch. As the chaos escalated, Chad said that Ashley
went and grabbed the rifle. Did anyone point a rifle at each yash just
brought up in man couch? What did you do? Well? What happened?
They shot? That's just the show shooting. So Ashley had the rifle,
points about you and where was the police of standing at that time?
Do you hear the vague one word responses like it can't be bothered to elaborate.
Do you know anybody who talks like that? Are they an honest person?
Hm? Chad said that Ashley blasted the rifle across the room Adam,
but the bullet missed and shot her sister in the jaw. Lisa fell to
the ground screaming. Chad told the court that a struggle ensued as he tried
to get the gun out of Ashley's grasp and it went off into her head.
So what happened after the second round of fire? Any Ashley, what
did you do? Did you realize yourself? What did you do? That
why did Juliet Because I was a kiver. Chad had been in trouble with
the law before. He didn't want the police to find him in an apartment
with two dead women and they're crying children. It's usually not a good look.
He was scared and didn't know what to do, so he ran.
Ashley and her sister Lisa had both been shot in the face at their apartment
in Florida. The sisters had been home with their boyfriends, Lyle and Chad
when a fight broke out, which escalated into gun violence. Chad claimed that
Ashley had shot her sister, then accidentally shot herself in the head. He
fled the scene, leaving the sisters to bleed out as their young children cried
in the other room. Ashley was flat on her back and her head was
cradled in a slick pool of blood. She had been shot just behind the
ear. The bullet blew through her brain, killing her instantly, but by
some miracle, Lisa was still breathing. Her boyfriend Lyle hovered over her,
begging Lisa to stay awake as he called nine one one, Hello, Oh
my god, mur I don't even know Come on, give me what you
are what's this about? Lyle didn't know the address because he and Lisa had
only been dating for a little while. As Lisa and Ashley's sons wailed in
the background, Lyle scrambled to get help, and then a woman complex play
here part complet the appomer company, upon the complant, upon the company number.
What you apart may number? Oh my god, who apart? Because
I don't know? It's right here? Also fucking it's right quote of quote
of quote, it's it's eleven elevens one to eleven eleven. Yeah. Lyle
had figured out the apartment number, but he still didn't know the address.
He left the boys inside and Lisa bleeding on the floor as he ran out
into the hallway to find a neighbor. All sad, where's here? Now?
Right now? Right now, right now? He shot him in the
head. Home, Lyle said Chad was the killer, not Ashley. Chad
had shot the sisters. Now he was gone on foot. Lyle ran back
to Lisa and cradled her bloody head, trying to keep her alert until help
arrived. In the next clip, you can hear Lisa murmuring and trying to
stay alive. He'll carry on sure. Hello, hello, Hello, hello
hello. When the police arrived at the Rutgers apartment, they quickly removed the
two young boys from the scene and Lisa was taken to the hospital. Lyle
went outside with the police. He was sweating and out of breath. His
blue pants were covered in blood. He looked at the officer and said,
get ready, I want you to write down exactly what happened and who did
it. It was Chad Absher. The police ran Chad's name through the computer
system and started pulling up pictures. As soon as Chad's face appeared on the
screen, Lyle yelled, that's the motherfucker. That's the one who did it.
I know it. The police put out a bolo for Chad and made
Lyle sit in the back of a patrol car. But that's when Lyle became
irate. He refused to tell the officers his full name and started screaming,
I just saw my girlfriend get shot. Why am I here? Fuck you?
I will not answer any questions. Tonight. Police are searching for the
man wanted in connection with the murder of a woman and the shooting of her
sister. Your family members tell us that he is the ex boyfriend of Ashley
Rocker. Police will weave thirty two year old Chad Absher is armed and dangerous.
When police processed the crime scene, they could not find the rifle shell
casings lay all over the floor. A closet had been destroyed and the shelves
were smashed to the ground. A struggle had clearly taken place before the murder,
but still no one knew exactly what had happened in that apartment. None
of the neighbors had witnessed anything except for Lyle running outside for help. They
all heard the gunshots. This was a big apartment building with many residents and
what it's surprised you to know in twenty twenty three that only one neighbor called
nine one guess I won't as location in the emergency here. I believe somebody
I put them up short, Okay, Peter people And was it a male
a female? I'm not sure. Okay, do you know the scyc of
the succycle slide from I don't know. Any day, Michael I was in
the room from my cousin. Just the whole state of Florida was looking for
Chad Absher. His face was shared on every news station every hour Lisa was
in the hospital and expected to make a full recovery and goodness, despite being
shot through the jaw and neck. She was unable to speak, of course,
but she could write just like Lyle. She used her pen and paper
to tell the cops that Chad was the one who shot her and her sister.
It took less than forty eight hours, but police caught Chad a short
time ago. Police responded to an individual that call police saying that they thought
Chad Apsher was inside a residence in the fifty four hundred block of one hundred
and eighteenth Street. When police responded to the scene, we also fully the
same information and SWAT was called out to the scene and we are glad to
say after some talk and after some discussion, he has come out of the
house and he is now in police custody. After running for days, Chad
finally showed up at his buddy's house. As soon as we put it out
to the media yesterday, we were actually overwhelming tips. I mean people were
calling in someone that may have looked like him, and then we were getting
specific tips from people that knew him. Hey he may hang out he or
hey he may be here. We were following them all up, and we're
just glad that the community came forward. They really stepped up with this and
called in those tips. And the reason he's off the street right now.
You were starching this area yesterday hing or at eighteenth Street, and I guess
no one was here. Did you believe there was a girlfriend, a friend
somewhere he was holding up the house is someone who's an acquaintance of him.
That person who was in the house told us that when he woke up this
morning, he was inside his house. He has known him from the past.
He's known to him, so it wasn't like he just broke into a
stranger's house. Is somewhere he has gone before. It has been so that's
how he ended up there. So where he was from the time the shooting
happened until this morning when the malblesoup and he was at his house because we
don't know. According to the police report, the SWAT team used a robot
to get into the house where Chad was. The robot had a camera and
speaker inside, so once the police were able to see Chad in the house
pacing around with a rifle in his hands, detectives spoke to Chad through the
robot's speaker. Gotta say, this is a pretty weird world we're all living
in now. Can you imagine being arrested by a robot? The robot told
Chad to put the gun down and come out with his hands up, Probably
not in the cool way that RoboCop used to do, but you know,
we'll get what we get. He kept insisting that he didn't kill Lisa and
Ashley, but after some protesting, he placed the gun down down on the
bed and walked outside as he was told, Well, we're glad. It's
a horrific isn't Hammond? Him shooting these two women and killing one and now
another one has to deal with that tragedy of her sister being killed. But
we're glad he's off the street. He can't victimize anybody else. Chad was
in rough shape when he sat down for his police interview. His forehead was
banged up and scratched. He had marks on his back. He was wearing
dirty pants. He looked pretty much like dog shit. Hey, yes,
sir, we wouldn't grab some burgers. Got a whopper here you want it?
Yah? Yeah, I'll work how means I appreciate hell, not a
problem. You think a you mosta with it or something? I wash my
hands. Honestly, you got some kind of Let me see what I can
do on that. Okay, I'm gonna bring some handgel or something real quick.
You go with that and a nascular out. Okay, you established in
you will some side water to drink? Chad? Have you guys? Yeah?
Have you got to get a soda or something? All right? To
thank Hi. After getting Chad his soda and hand sanitizer, they got down
to business, digging into who Chad is dream right, Yes, he used
to make a little bit of money. I can't all of new ship.
Yeah. How do your school just complete its high school? Yeah? Chad
didn't have an education. He could barely read or write, but he still
managed to run his own landscaping business. But things weren't going so well.
Chad took xanax to sleep every night, and adder all and percocet to keep
him alert every day. He drank quite a bit. He had a son
from a previous relationship, but he didn't see him much in the last two
years. I got some produces, you got some information for us. I
want to tell us some things about what's going on and what happened and kind
of your side of things to help us understand what happened? Can you kind
of just go through the last twenty four hours of men kind of tell me
what happened and what's going on? And it's like, yeah, beat up
a little bit. I don't know where you all are right really in all
this? Right? One? Okay? For two? What can I do
to help you understand where we're at? What do you what do you want
to Where can I start to get to get to that point? I mean,
ultimately we're here talking about this is what you happened the department over there?
I say, what happened? I mean ultimately that's what this is about.
Ultimately something happened over there, And I've got some pieces of a story,
but there's a lot of bit different parts of it, you know,
I'm trying to figure it out. So they started at the top, who
are you dating? Now? Who was? Just? Who's your girlfriend?
After the girl you had the baby with? Christina? Christina? They call
Ashley? Right, Okay, how long are you going hear it together?
Yeah? So y'all got off and on for a while. There is that
kind of what it was or what I mean not at first. Hell,
he verse, I ain't never had a woman taking me on a cruise.
I've never been on a cruise. Okay, we get together, we go
on a cruise, and I mean he's like, hell yeah, all right,
yeah, favor it was her someone who worked Okay, cool trip,
shit man, Yeah, yeah, it was all just a bait lines slinker.
Chad was painting himself in a strange light and creating a picture that made
Ashley up to be a rich lady with deep pockets, and he was just
an innocent sugar baby. Ashley had a good job as a medical assistant,
but she wasn't wealthy by any means. She worked hard to provide for her
son and save money by living with her sister. There was a sister too
that had to be took care of. Here's that what he said. Okay,
so part of the package, Yeah, was over her. A lot
of jealousy issues and shit, you know between the two sisters. Yeah,
I don't really know what they ever, so likely with each other kind of
thing or like jealous of the time you were spending with her. Yeah,
so she was. It was about it was above man. It was like
it was a fucking mild mind ride like constantly. But Chad said that most
of the bickering between himself and Ashley had to do with the fact that he
had a son from a previous relationship. Was that what most yells bicker rule
was about, it is your son? What was your other stuff? Well?
How hard she went up me about that or deal? You know?
It kind of made me kind of wonder, like, well, what day
you got going on? You know what I mean? He was gonna send
in the beginning or was this more in her recent Chad said that the son's
mother was the one that had warned him about Ashley my baker's mom. She
wanted to do our lady's mother. It's hard to say that. Sorry,
you still have a good relationship with your child's mother. I mean considering,
yeah, she this whole she told him when I first got one. I'm
sure. Yeah, they used to be your girlfriends at a little a little
I get the part where it's it's hard. I mean, you got you
got mixed families with kids, you got things going on, there's all kind
of craziness, you know, you got the relationships are hard to begin with.
At the end of the day, you can't be. I mean,
we're not the same. The cops were really hamming it up to make Chad
think they were on his side. They really do put on quite the show
to me. I think he's a woman's world of control. You know,
they got the power. I mean, at the end of the day,
they control things. But yeah, it drives us the same. But yeah,
at the same time, we can't live up for guys, we get
it. Chad admitted that his relationship with Ashley was far from perfect, but
he skirted any blame and swept it over to someone else. He was just
the innocent party in this whole situation. Lisa was a pesky, jealous sister.
Ashley had issues with his ax, so he barely saw his son.
They're out of nowhere. Chad said he slept with Lisa, which kind of
complicated the situation. Well, he never like they did, you know?
But good, I guess you young Book's term of it. What would you
call it? Kid? All right? He did? Did I actually know
that? I don't know. This is when detectives gave Chad a much need
a dose of reality. There's a pictures her her beat up pretty good,
so as that we're talking about yet her at the rossphol and everything right,
all right, those pictures are getting put up big Yeah, I got it,
got all kind of blowed all all out of different wax and all that
ship. When it actually happened, we was out there on Beaver Street.
Okay, you can actually uh yeah, going up look at it. Probably
probably you know, I mean, I probably can't. I have a have
a chance review that reything to tell. I mean, if you know Amanda
goes to the does that to her? What hell? Am I going here
and to the hospital and I'll sit here with you for I'm sitting in the
mother and I realized the cowboald down is like wait a minute, bro,
this ain't look this ain't seeming right here, you know what I mean?
Because I could tell the body language and how it's like and the annoy the
officer kind of looking and all like wait, oh you playing, Oh you've
playing? So she was playing games with that part? Yeah yeah, man,
what she didn't do it? No, It was this is where things
started to fall apart for Chad. Prior to his arrest, the Rucker family
had shared pictures of Ashley with the media, mainly photos Ashley herself had documented
of beatings Chad had given her. There was one infamous photograph of her in
the hospital. She had two black eyes, as well as a bandaged nose
and lips. Chad is snuggling beside her in the photograph, knowing that Chad
was the one who did this to her. Ashley's family called the police when
they showed up at the hospital. Chad played innocent and Ashley did not press
charges. That's what he's mumbling about in the clip we just played you.
This seemed to be a pattern. Chad would hit ash she would confide in
someone, but when the police became involved, she wouldn't file a charge.
Sadly, this is a pretty common thing, and Chad always had an excuse
for her injuries. Her eye. She was leaving. It was a Friday
night, total people up there at the damn the hospital. She tripped over
the dog, hit a motor, one of my motors on the engine stand.
But I'm going to kick her bag that she was packing the leave you
in as she was leaning over, and that's actually what happened to her eyes.
I never put my hands on her. Chad had an excuse for every
bruise, but there were many witnesses to corroborate otherwise. Ashley's older sister,
Jennifer said this he wasn't just making my sister around a little bit. He
was meeting her like he was eating meat. Ashley and Lisa's father and stepmother
said they too knew about the abuse Chad inflicted on Ashley. She tried to
get away from him, and like most abusers, he always weaseled his way
back in through a combination of fear and manipulation. They were trying to get
away from news, climbing up balconies, tern screen doors, down on slide
glass doors, putting guns to her heads. Horrible. She's a very sick
man. Another time, in twenty fifteen, Chad called Lisa saying that Ashley
had gone crazy and stabbed herself in the stomach. Chad then called the police,
saying his girlfriend had tried to kill herself. While Chad was distracted with
nine one one, Ashley managed to get in her car and rushed herself to
the hospital, where surgeons sewed up her wounds. Concerned, the doctor asked
Ashley how this happened, noting it's almost physically impossible for you to stab yourself
through your abdomen wall The incident was reported as a suicide attempt, and Ashley
didn't argue. During one beating in twenty seventeen, Ashley called nine one.
Chad grabbed his gun and threatened to kill himself, so Ashley barricaded herself in
the bedroom and escaped at the window where cops were waiting to get her to
safety. The cops reasoned with Chad, and because he had calmed down and
stopped making threats, they left. Even Lisa spoke out about Chad's control over
her sister. He killed someone that loved him. My sister really loved him,
because if she didn't, she would have send jail A long time ago,
but Ashley wasn't the first woman Chad abused. In two thousand and six,
he was arrested and served three years for domestic violence and stalking after he
threatened to kill his ex girlfriend after she broke things off with Chad. He
began to follow her to her job, her home, and her school,
telling her he still loved her. He even used the stereotypical stalker line,
if I can't have you no one, Well, how completely original. This
guy's a real Chad. If you know what I mean, Chad would call
her constantly and even cut off the head of a teddy bear she gave him,
leaving the head on her driveway and the body near her car at work.
What a sociopath. Chad's ex girlfriend filed police reports and got a restraining
order, but that didn't stop Chad. He kept harassing her until one night.
It all came to a head after he showed up at her house shooting
his gun. Four bullets pierced the home. He was arrested and then charged.
The police knew all of this. Chad was a felon with a record
a mile long, including a felony charge for hitting a man with his business
truck which said Tea's Landscaping on the side the name of Chad's company. That's
how brazen this motherfucker is. The arrest report stated that Chad drove into the
pedestrians so hard his mirror fell off, then yelled that's what you get for
being in the road. He was later arrested when police found his banged up
work truck and his friend's driveway only a few miles away. So this is
Chad absure in a nutshell, convicted felon abuse of stalker, world class dumbass.
This is who the police had been sitting with for almost four hours.
Now it was time to cut the crap and get down to what happened on
the night that Lisa and Ashley were shot. Remember, at the top of
the episode, Chad told the court that the night started with a simple pizza
dinner at home. So we'll begin there. So I'll get back from getting
pizza and what happened. Take sleeps Helen. Does it usually take you to
betterfect you? Probably? The fireball speed it up. I got much food
in with stomach sometimes and then sometimes it don't really do nothing. Yeah,
it is outpens on whatever if I guess in the mood, I man.
After the pizza, Chad took his usual Xanax bar and chased it down with
a little fireball if you know what that is, and then he got ready
to go to bed with Ashley and her son Joseph of ah the joys of
cramped apartment living. You know, I'm just going to sleep, and next
thing I know, Joseph jumps out and runs out, and here Lisa and
the dude is on me and they I don't know who, and always got
what I thought there was a the good being the new worker. Yeah,
okay. This time, Chad said that Lisa and Lyle jumped him out of
nowhere. A struggle developed and somehow the rifle hidden in the couch was pulled
out and fired. No details though, So actually had the gun, you
said, right, and you went to grab it from her, which it
went off, and I grab it the gun and turn like this and she
just see other fight of the gun, right and he goes off a second
though, right, So actually pulls up the first time, as far as
you know, you didn't know hill at the first shot. You grab it.
Yeah, now you're tussling grabbed it before went off. Yeah, we're
somewhat tussling over it. When I went off the first time, No,
he said, first time over went off. She shot it the first time,
right right. The second time gun just went off. You grab it
from her now and you start fighting over the gun. Not fighting, you'll
get shot of this gun. You grab it to start getting away from her,
right and as this happens, she gets shot. Right. Chad said,
it was all just a big accident. Ashley shot Lisa. Then when
he tried to get the gun away, Ashley shot herself. But this wasn't
a handgun or a pistol. This was a large nine millimeter high point carbine
rifle. This is a serious weapon that kind of makes you a little scared
if you aren't familiar with the firearms. So why on earth was that hidden
in the couch of an apartment that housed two young children? I guess,
I guess. My question is is why why do you keep that around?
Is it can? Yeah, let me understand that part of it. Why
why do you feel need to have a gun with you? Not a wrong
or right answer either. I'm just again trying to understand why that makes sense
when I'm asking, I mean why I'm asking it? And you accounts are
getting food and all different. I don't know you trust usually lying to you?
Who really? I mean you never really. Part of my job is
investigating, And like I told you when I sat down, I'm not a
judger. I don't come in here to make a decision of what's right or
wrong. I go in, I look at what happens. I'll talk to
witnesses, I look at evidence, I get the facts, I get the
supporting evidence. I need to look at the case, and I try to
go from there. In this case, I've been able to be with them
and a lot of what you're telling me to just ride along. But there's
a bit and pieces of it are quite right. It was more than just
bits and pieces. The story Chad's spun seemed completely implausible because here's the ultimate
thing. You can see it here and run thing you mind. Well,
you know, they're all in Caho's together against you. But as he said,
we weren't reute patrols and reute to y'all's place. Anyways, they get
there. One of the first things we do when we get there, as
we separate everybody involved, so they're not going to have time to coaborate their
stories, okay, and at the end of the day, I mean even
the kids. We separate the kids from the parents, which is the hardest
part. Which is the hardest part. That's like a four year old kid
that as us bomb get shots, pull them away for everything in the world
of gloves and everything he cares about, and just watch some good, poor
thing and it you know, two three o'clock in the morning, these kids
are half asleep and they're gonna they give the exact same story as Lisa and
the two boys, same story I'll tell you this. You said that ash
is a manipulator that you know, Lisa's her sisters. She's probably half fullshit.
Sometimes I get that law. We don't know him from anybody else,
you know what, Maybe they're lying, but what doesn't happen. We don't
bring four year old or nine year olds down here and ask them what happens
to mine and they don't come in here and lie because they don't. They
don't have that nature yet they're not. They're innocent kids. They're innocent kids
that don't know any better than they're so brutally awesome to everything that it's the
thing that the truth comes out of their mouth. That's right. The two
boys watched everything happen. The innocent, blameless children of Ashley and Lisa saw
the whole thing. What were they doing, you know, they're in a
house and they're watching things go crazy. That's the worst part of this day.
That's that's anything that happened. This one was that kissed me off,
where anything else is. These kids had to watch the happened. You know,
both of them went to the fact that they're watching their moms plead out
in the middle of the living room. They're covering in blood, they're walking
around with death and on. But uh, what they had on all?
Joseph Pennel was prevon we're towle writing. I thinks we had on money.
He wasn't wearing anything. I mean, it's when I get there and I
see these kids, it burned my heart. You gotta help me out with
this thing. Man, you gotta, you gotta tell me the whole story.
Man, You've gotta You've gotta lay this out for me and let me
understand where we're at, because I don't want these kids have to tell the
story again. But tugging on Chad's heart strings don't work. Either the strings
had been frayed and snapped decades ago, or he didn't have any to begin
with. And no, I gotta my boy, And I'm not taking a
rap for some ship that a man. Yeah, I've told them when I
started back coming to her did I'm not taking a hit for nobody else No
more. I'm told it mother that Yeah, So that was it. Chad
was going to make Ashley Son tell the story of what really happened the night
he watched his mother die. This time, the entire nation would be watching
this time, Chad would not have a hamburger to snack on while two cops
pretended to take his side, He'd be on the witness stand with nothing but
his lies to comfort him. Sisters Lisa and Ashley Rucker had been shot in
the head in their apartment after a fight broke out between the girls and Ashley's
boyfriend, Chad Absher. Chad had fled the apartment after the shooting, leaving
Ashley dead and Lisa clinging to life. Chad had been arrested and charged with
the murder, but he was sticking to his story. Ashley shot Lisa,
then accidentally shot herself. He was completely innocent. There were four witnesses in
the home that night, Ashley's son Joseph, Lisa's son Colton, Lisa,
herself, and Lisa's boyfriend Lyle, but all three of the boys weren't in
the living room when the gun was fired. Lyle was testy with police on
the night of the murder, but after Chad was arrested, he opened up
to the media about what he saw that night. Lyle said that both couples
were in their bedrooms, then he heard a knock on Lisa's bedroom door.
Her son came being in on the door. You say, Lyle, he's
smoking my mom. He's choking my mom. Lisa and Lyle ran into Ashley's
room. Chad was on top of Ashley. His meaty hands were wrapped so
tightly around her neck. Her face was turning purple. Lisa screamed she was
going to call the cops, and Chad jumped off Ashley and lunged at Lisa.
He then put his hand on Lisa. I rushed him, and I
knocked him out and knocked him into the closet. He was out cold.
I'm telling everyone we need to go. Lisa literally is guiding me down the
stairs. When we get down to the bottom of the stairs, Lisa's like,
my sister still of stairs, my sister still upstairs. Don't leave,
loud, Please don't leave, Please don't leave me. I said, look,
Lisa, I'm not going nowhere. I'm not going anywhere at all.
Get them, we will get into we'll get a hotel, whatever we have
to do. Lisa goes back upstairs, and not even twenty seconds later,
I hear the first gunshot, and I hear a scream, and then I
hear another gun shot. Soon Lisa was well enough to speak to the media
too. She had a tracheotomy and spoke by placing her finger to cover a
hole in her throat. Now I thought I was gonna die. I did.
I saw him with the gun. He shot me, and then I
heard her scream, and I when I heard her scream and everything was black,
I saw a light. It looked like it was like blue and white
in the corner of my eye, and it felt like I was hauling and
drowning at the same time. At that point, after heard the gunshots,
I went to the stairwell next to me, and I crouched down, and
I'm looking up at the stairwell and I see Chad acts at the stairwell and
put a gun in his waist and zip his jacket up. But I saw
my sister laying on the ground, and the boys were running back and horse
and her and I saying, please don't die. I dropped to my knees
and I'm holding Ashley's head in my hand and I'm holding her and I'm holding
Leas's hand and I'm telling Lisa, you need to fight Chinessa to be strong,
and like I'm hysterically crying, I'm kissing Ashley only head. I know
she's already dead. I had heard him say before that he was going to
kill us all, but he also would say things like, no one's ever
going to touch y'all. You know, he would act like he would protect
us, so you know, I never thought that he would actually shoot us.
Ashley was only thirty years old when Chad killed her. Lisa was twenty
eight. It took five years for the case to go to trial. Lisa
had made great strides in her recovery and looked like a completely different woman when
she entered the courtroom to face her sister's killer. The case had made waves
in the public, and though everyone believed Chad was guilty, there was still
the question of why, why on this night did things escalate to murder?
Soon, the public would have answers. Chad's strategy in court was similar to
a large Egyptian river denial. He didn't do anything. Ashley was the shooter,
and Lyle started the fight out of nowhere, just like the cops feared.
Ashley's son took the stand to testify about what he saw that night.
Joseph was fourteen now, and he'd been living in New Jersey with his father
since Ashley was murdered? Yes? And Arson, do you can you have
a memory of what happened to your Yes? Were you able to sleep through
the night on to her? Thirty first one? Seven? Now? And
when not? Because of what happened? Just like Lyle had told the media,
Joseph recalled how Chad started king Ashley on the bed, so he ran
to get help from Lisa. And did you go okay? Yes? And
is that because the printed with Lendo over home? Yes? And who did
you go get over Lisa? The fight between adults migrated into the living room
while Colton and Joseph hid in Lisa's room. Did you hear anything moving on
outside of the Desbrod Yes? What did you care? Do you who says
you were hearing Lisa the wrong che Did you hear while at all of that
zone? I don't think so. Did you hear something else to Joe?
Yes? What did you hear? No? Shocks? What happened after you
heard that shocks? Room? Who did you see your list? Then?
Line? Let me say, did you say that Lisa? Did you show
m Yes? What did you see about your long her dead? Next?
Lisa got up on the stand the jagged's scar on her jaw was an obvious
battle wound from the night she lost her sister. Lisa said that she,
Lyle, and Colton returned to the condo around eight pm. Everyone eight pizza,
but it was clear that Chad and Ashley had been arguing. Well,
your sister and the party at the Yes and Jar see your arguing about her
parties was a car. The sister had a La Mercedes. You're sister round
parties at yes and then Yes when he did your sister eventually Yes. Ashley
and Chad had been fighting over her car. He wanted the keys and she
refused. After he finally gave them back, she hid them on her person
when he wasn't looking. When the police processed her dead body later that evening,
they found the keys nestled in her bra. Lisa's story was consistent with
Joseph's. She was the most credible living witness. She had known Chad for
years. She was sober on the night of the murder, unlike Chad,
who had been taking his usual nightcap of fireball, whiskey and xanax. After
Joseph screamed for help, Lisa and Lyle went into Ashley's room. Now to
your sister's that what was that? My sister is laying on the bed.
Chad is kind of sitting on the edge of the bed next to her,
and do you say anything? I believe Mile said sitting work with your hands
a woman and Chad got out with my sister jumped out of the bed and
round the room. I got in between Chad and Lyle and grabbed my nephew's
sell them And that was at the end of my sister's bed and looked at
the Chad and told him I was calling nine on one. And the defendant
pushed you. Yes, out of the way, Yes, did a lot
of out of that, you know. I spoon as he pushed me while
I started hitting him. Did you you want one? I did? No,
No, I don't want Okay, what's going on there? And then
an occupation I think someone believe they will not get out of my apartment.
No, mother, not keep getting if you're a call. You were repeatedly
saying no bone, no Why both viol and Tea were telling me to hand
up the phone. It also masked abl drows an alcohol about three. Why
do you say no to that? I thought, just the phone home and
being Japanie, but I didn't do it. No, did you ask the
defensively multiple times? Did your sister ask defensively multiple times? At this time?
Was the defendant an unadvided person? Yes, Chad wasn't supposed to be
at the Rucker House that night. He and Nashley were broken up. He
had weaseled his way back, trying to use her car like a typical deadbeat
boyfriend. Now after he made us call, what happened? So there I
phone call. I had to walk away because there was a film. I
need to hang up the phone. So I walked back, changed my sister's
edom and Lyle and chat or young Mat shutter my whole chat that I called
the police and police are on their way. That he needed to leave.
That's when he pushed me and the fight started. Let me see if I
started between you Lyle on chat and then the fight starts. We're thinking about
the diagram, say seven ten, was there any area between your sister Venom
and that hallway? Guess me, right in her doorway basically, and then
also too where we selady are Lenning closet, you know, Sam, That's
where the fight ended. Chatto was basically he was beat down into the Lenning
closet. Now, how did the fight between the defendant and a lile hind?
My sister came to the edge of the home, away from the lighting
room and told me to stop the fight because Chadi had done Did you tell
a lot of that? Yes? And did aw stop by a chat?
Yes. Ashley was the only one who knew about the rifle chatted hidden in
the couch. Yeah, I'm kind of walking back and we're talking to Ashley
and Lyle. Once I held Lyle at the that Chad had done file downstairs.
I went for him to make sure that he was okay, and he
told me to go back and checking my sister. I went out upstairs,
and that's when I saw Chad was walking in the circle around the condo.
Basically, I thought it was pacing this. You justest in a fight,
you know, blowing off seat. That's what I thought. Lisa went back
upstairs to check on everyone. The boys were still in her bedroom after all,
and that's when things got worse. I thought that the police were coming
and they would be there in a minute. The boys would eventually need to
come out of my bedroom, so I grabbed some clean stuff from underneath the
kitchen cabinet and started cleaning the well the floor and there was a drop to
help him the clean yes, and she helped. We separated the limb post
what has along it, but didn't have a lot now she finished me on
the blood No W, howdo my he refereal vision? I was watching Chad
and he walked to her by bedroom door and I thought that he was gonna
go into my bedroom. So I was a day him and he had passed
my bedroom to bar in her living room to brads W. I was from
behind my chair cushion. Are you the longer Anthony finding out the world?
Guess me? Okay, that's a the gun from my hide chair cushion.
I looked straight at him, only the guy at me, and he said,
so that's how it is, Lisa, did you say it? I
don't remember. Did your sister saying? I believe she said, don't think
that at her. That's why I remember. He pointed the guy at me
and I didn't. He was one. She decide to turn my head down.
And as soon as I went to turn everything with black Star story all
that year was the ringing. I couldn't see anything. I was in it
out of consciousness, release a one about here? So that was it?
A fight over car keys escalated, the one woman dead and her sister critically
injured. Chatted the audacity to take the stand. He relayed the same story
he did for the police, perhaps thinking he was going to trick them and
manipulate them like he had this former girlfriend. The prosecutor was having none of
it. Karen and love Joseph like your own son. Correct. However,
he left is another work dead, and you left Lisa her dead dead too.
You thought Lisa was dead too, didn't you? In that you thought
you were going to leave no witnesses didn't and you thought they would both dead,
and you you led out that conqueror or off Juber thirty first, didn't
he therefore leading no witnesses to what you did? Correct? Chad tried to
explain to the jury how exactly Ashley shot Lisa then managed to turn a nineteen
inch long rifle on herself. He got up and did a big pantomime of
all of his lies. But the holes were too easy to poke in this
story. You talked about spinnering right, spin room matter that you even stepped
down. Today you show us about spinner around with the gun. Correct,
yes, okay, So how did that spin around a her? And that
small little area there, It looks small from this angle, but it's not
a small area. We'll atch your charger. You just answer my questions.
Yes man, that's not a big area. Is there's plenty of room for
her that do occur? Okay? You agree that there's no partners or disturbed
too, correct, yes man? Okay, So there is nothing around that
area that showed the struggle over a gun of her. Correct. Well,
that never say it was a struggle. You never said it was a struggle.
Okay, But didn't you say that you all were struggling over the gun.
She didn't wanna let to go about it wasn't she wouldn't. We wouldn't
like tustle and fight me your little gun. She just well, she told
her gun and then when I twisted, I ran. But your your megger.
Never tolust your trigger. And that's what you told us, right,
yes man. So she shot herself with that rifle in the back of her
head, going pottentionally, she shot herself and the back of the head with
their rifle. Correct, okay, And how did that happen? How did
she shoot her something the back of the head with their rifle. Chad couldn't
explain it because it was the dumbest lie ever told. I'm seriously surprised that
his defense team went along with it. Didn't these people graduate from law school.
The prosecutor held up a yardstick for Chad and the jury, demonstrating how
physically impossible it would be for Ashley to shoot herself in the back of the
head with a rifle in case just saying that out loud isn't obvious enough.
You agree that my finger only goes to the ends to where the barrel will
be correct, and it would be even harder if it's in the back of
my head correct for me to reach. Do you agree that I can't even
reach it? Would do it? Were you again? Okay, so I
got in the back of your head and I'm reaching. I can't even reach
Canna. So how in the world would Ashley pulled trigger and shoot herself in
the back of the head. I don't know. I didn't say that because
it didn't happen that way. Didn't even though physically it's not possible, that
physic possible. You're using the yard state where are we going into it?
In court? Chad was rude, defensive, and arrogant. Even with his
own female lawyer. He strutted off the witness stand like a proud gorilla.
Was he really dumb enough to think at any one of those jerors would find
reasonable doubt in the prosecution. Well, if he did, he was wrong,
because they sure didn't. The Florida birds. Chad Asher ask, cant
one we the jury finding defended guilty of orthree murdered as charged in the day,
We'd rather find the feeling was premeditated. We'd rather find the feeling What
does during the commission or attended the commission of a felonies to wit attended first
degree premeditated birth? Ask the count too, We the durayminded defended guilty of
attended worth pre premeditated murder and ask charge in the day We've got to defend
a discharged bar causing death or very bottling car during the commission of the effen
Chad was guilty. Lisa then spoke to the court. If a person can
sit five years in jail and have all that time to think about what they
have done, but they come into the four room with lies and false intend.
I simply cannot believe that I asked any n pars for what he has
done. Fire alone. I love because Chad took the last person that I
could go to for advice, for help, for understand for love, holidays
alone because the last namely. The judge gave Chad Abstra two life sentences and
fifteen extra years for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. After his sentence
was handed out, Chad turned and blew kisses to Lisa and the jurors.
Lisa spoke to the media outside the court. I am glad that he got
the maximum sentence that was allowed. Now no one will ever possibly be hurt
by him again. The family stood together outside while the media watched. They
read a poem Ashley loved, then released butterflies into the sky in her honor.
Chad Absher was simply just a bad person, a true monster. I'm
sure you've probably met a few people like him in your life. He thought
he was above the law and that he could control any woman who entered his
life, whether he was stalking an ex girlfriend, beating Ashley's face in running
over a pedestrian with his truck, or lying to the entire world in a
court of law, it didn't matter. Chad was the kind of person who
felt no remorse for anyone. He never shed a tear at Ashley's murder trial.
He just looked over at her family, the family that he destroyed,
blew them all a kiss. Ashley's family all wanted her to get away from
Chad. Her father, her siblings, and even her uncle's tried to tell
her that the only road this relationship would lead to was death. They knew
Chad was dangerous, and he had proven it time and time again every time
he beat Ashley and then posted a photo of her on Facebook. Ashley's family
members called the cops on Chad many times, but charges, for some reason,
were never pressed. The point is that everyone in Ashley's life tried to
get Chad away from her. Even Ashley herself tried to get away from him,
but he was persistent. He was manipulative, he was controlling, and
he always managed to get back to her, soften her up, and make
her take him back in. There was no stopping him. Chad was pure
evil and he didn't care about anyone else but himself. We'll never know why
Chad ended up the way he did. But what we do know is that
he is finally where he deserves to be, alone in prison. Hopefully life
behind bars is as cruel to him as he was cruel to Ashley and the
rest of the women unfortunate enough to cross his path. Maybe he'll learn what
remorse actually is. But something tells me that he lacks the capability to harness
such emotions, because that's what a real monster is. That does it for
another episode of Sword and Scale. If you are with a violent partner,
do not accept the unacceptable. You are loved and there is help out there
called the National Domestic Violence Hotline at one eight hundred seven nine nine seven two
three three and please stay safe. Well that's gonna do it. Thank you
for joining us. If you want a shirt or a hat or some other
kind of cool stuff, check out our store store dot Sword and Scale dot
com. Stay safe. Hey, I started listening to your podcasts at episode
one and I currently own the episode one sixty eight. I liked what you
said about not talking to the top, but because of an incident that my
son had at school, I tell parents all the time, keep your children
not to talk to the school people. The principal, assistant principal, teachers,
shut up and call your parents. Anything a child says to a principal
or school teachers can be used can afford a lass, even though they're miners.
If they call that they say, say call my parents, and then
the parents hit there and the police come. The police have to have the
parents presents talk to Myers. School does not tell your children shut up and
have them called me. Don't talk to them because just like you look at
a your innocence keeps from in trouble