WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.399 --> 00:00:05.799 Southern fried True crime covers cases that are not suitable for young listeners, and 2 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:14.519 there may also be some explicit language used. Listener discretion is advised. The 3 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:18.640 morning of December twenty ninth, two thousand and five was gearing up to be 4 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:24.399 a beautiful day in the small rural town of Sawmills, North Carolina. When 5 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:28.120 forty nine year old Emily Anderson got out of bed at six point thirty that 6 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:32.560 morning, it was about forty six degrees out. It was chilly, but 7 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:37.719 no rain or snow. Not that snow is common in this area, nestled 8 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:41.960 in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, but it would have been the rainier 9 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:47.079 part of winter on that day. Snowfall is not common in Sawmills, but 10 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:52.039 you may see a few light snowfalls there each season. As a dairy farmer, 11 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:57.079 Emily would normally be grateful for such clear weather anyway, but as it 12 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:00.560 was, it was shaping up to be a nice day for running errands, 13 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.400 which is what she had planned. She put on a cozy, old navy 14 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:08.920 sweatshirt as she got ready to head out that morning. It was supposed to 15 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:12.480 get up to near sixty degrees later. There was no need for a jacket. 16 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:19.000 That morning, Emily probably tossed back some coffee fast because she was out 17 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.920 of the house early to do list ready. She was doing the normal errands 18 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:29.040 and tasks necessary to run the dairy farm she owned with her husband, Jerry. 19 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:32.920 The only thing different about that day was a dinner party she and Jerry 20 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:38.120 were attending that evening friends of theirs were hosting, and Emily was looking forward 21 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:42.959 to it. She knew her husband was chronically late, so she made a 22 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:47.239 point of reminding him to be on time. That was early in the day 23 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:52.920 when she touched base with him briefly at the farm. The plan was she 24 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:57.040 would meet him at the dinner party later, and when Jerry arrived at the 25 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.200 dinner party that evening, he was on time. In fact, he was 26 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:07.239 thirty minutes early, but Emily wasn't there. Jerry called her to see where 27 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:12.240 she was. Her errands shouldn't have taken that long, but Emily didn't pick 28 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:17.800 up. A Few hours later, Jerry contacted the Caldwell County Sheriff's Department to 29 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:25.639 report his wife missing. Welcome to episode two twenty one, The Disappearance and 30 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:35.319 Murder of Emily Anderson, Part one, Emily Young Griffith was born on July 31 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:39.039 eighth, nineteen fifty six, in Lexington, Kentucky, to doctor and missus 32 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:45.479 Joseph R. Griffith. Her mother, Amanda, had been a Waterson before 33 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:51.240 she married Emily's father. Doctor Griffith, was a World War Two veteran. 34 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:55.560 According to government documents, he worked for the military as a physician, and 35 00:02:55.639 --> 00:03:01.120 at one point, doctor Griffith was a prisoner of war, but thankfully he 36 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:06.039 made it back home in the spring of nineteen forty five, which is when 37 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:09.520 he and Amanda married and soon began a family. They had three kids. 38 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.520 Emily was the middle child. She had one older brother named Mike and one 39 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:20.159 younger sister named Dee. They all grew up in Kentucky, just like their 40 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:24.400 parents before them. Although Emily was born in Lexington, she spent most of 41 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:30.439 childhood one hundred miles south in adare County, Kentucky. The Griffiths moved to 42 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:37.479 Dareck County when doctor Griffith began working at the local health department. The Griffiths 43 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:42.360 lived in a historic two story brick house in Columbia. Doctor Griffith was a 44 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:46.960 beloved physician from the health department and the whole family were strong Adair Countians with 45 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:53.319 so many friends. Judge Anne Melton was friends with both Griffith's sisters and became 46 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:58.639 blood sisters, with the girls breaking their fingers and touching them together. De 47 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:02.800 said we were blood sisters for after that, she said. The oldest Mike 48 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:08.759 Griffith, was a prankster but excellent student who grew up to be a veterinarian 49 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:14.240 an animal lover like his sister, d short for Adelia, became a second 50 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:19.160 grade school teacher. The Griffiths seemed to have lived a charmed life. In 51 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:25.360 the nineteen seventies, Emily attended Adair County High School. She was briefly on 52 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:29.560 the drill team, but her friends and classmates remembered her more for her sense 53 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:34.959 of humor, quick smile, and infectious laugh. Even after Emily graduated from 54 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:40.360 high school in nineteen seventy four, her laughter would continue to be one of 55 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:45.240 her most defining traits. In the nineteen eighties, she lived in Corbin, 56 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:50.079 Kentucky. There she met a woman who had become a lifelong friend. Her 57 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:56.800 name was Patricia Thorpe. Emily and pat worked together at an Optometrius office. 58 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.199 Pat told the Hickory Daily Record. The best time when she was in the 59 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.920 car with me and my daughter, and I would deliberately get them both tickled, 60 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:09.000 and then you'd have two snorters in the car. The more they snorted, 61 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.839 the more they laughed. It was hilarious. More than once I've had 62 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.000 to pull off the road because I would be laughing so hard at the two 63 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:20.240 of them, I couldn't drive. Emily also had a fantastic singing voice. 64 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.319 Pat said Emily would call her every year on her birthday. When she picked 65 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:30.439 up the phone, Emily would sing Happy Birthday to her sweet friend. Emily, 66 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:34.079 who was a pretty devout Christian, also sang in her church's choir, 67 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:41.759 and she also taught Sunday School and vacation Bible School. Those who knew Emily 68 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:46.360 said she was a loving woman. She cared deeply for her friends and family. 69 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:50.439 She is described as witty and warm. In her obituary. She was 70 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:56.560 known as Annie em to her six nieces and nephews and four great nieces and 71 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:01.879 nephews. I love that like Annie em from the Wizard of Oz. Emily 72 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:08.160 was also loved by her friends as such a caring and compassionate woman. She 73 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:12.000 was the kind of friend who would draw hours to attend the funeral of the 74 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:16.399 parent of one of her friends. She had lost her own parents just a 75 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:21.079 year apart from each other when she was twenty three. That's still so young. 76 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:28.360 I am positive that colored her beautiful empathy for the rest of her life. 77 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.519 Another friend said of Emily, she loved everyone for what she saw in 78 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:35.319 them and made us feel as if she was honored to be in our presence. 79 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:41.879 Emily was also a member of the American Red Cross. She donated blood 80 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:46.240 regularly, and she helped clean up the damage in the wake of the nineteen 81 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:50.920 ninety seven tornado that ripped through Caine Valley, Kentucky. Emily brought breakfast for 82 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:58.600 the other volunteers. Pat described Emily as a trusting soul who never saw the 83 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:02.279 bad in anyone. But Emily wasn't just kind of people. She had a 84 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:08.399 big soft spot for animals too. It was fairly common for Emily to take 85 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:13.439 in strays, and she was a huge fan of the beach. She loved 86 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:17.560 to just sit and watch the water. She found the waves soothing. Emily 87 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.040 married for the first time in July of nineteen seventy three, when she was 88 00:07:21.040 --> 00:07:27.319 only seventeen years old he was nineteen, but the couple didn't last long, 89 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:31.120 and Emily remarried in August of nineteen seventy nine, when she was twenty three, 90 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.639 about the time when she lost her parents. This husband was about six 91 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:43.959 years older than her. Emily seemed to falter in the relationship and marriage department. 92 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.480 It happens some people are just unlucky in love, but she kept on 93 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:54.879 trying. According to her attorney, Emily was married two more times before she 94 00:07:54.920 --> 00:08:01.040 met Jerry Anderson, her final husband, in the late nineteen nineties. Jerry 95 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:05.319 Lee Anderson was born in nineteen sixty. Like Emily, Jerry was also from 96 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:11.240 Kentucky. We don't know much about his childhood, but he was a dairy 97 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:16.439 farmer when he and Emily met. Around nineteen ninety six, Jerry moved to 98 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:22.199 North Carolina. He managed a growing dairy farm there with approximately five hundred heads 99 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.959 of cattle. The dairy farm, which was called Carolina Holstein's, was located 100 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:33.440 in Sawmills, North Carolina. Jerry was described by some who knew him as 101 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:39.159 talkative, nice and kind, but others said he wasn't overly friendly. I 102 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.799 get the feeling that Jerry didn't express a lot of emotion. He was described 103 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.320 more as hard working and driven. Some said work was his life, so 104 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:54.200 a serious man. Before Emily, Jerry had been married two other times. 105 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:58.120 He had a son with his first wife, named Matt, born in nineteen 106 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:03.360 ninety three. Around the year two thousand, Jerry and Emily got married. 107 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.799 Jerry was forty and Emily was forty four. We don't know much about their 108 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:13.799 private life, whether it was always the plan or not, but they never 109 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.759 had children together, though Matt did live with them some Over the years. 110 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:24.039 With the help of some fellow investors, Jerry was able to purchase the Carolina 111 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:31.799 Holstein's dairy farm. Now he was the owner and operator, and after Emily 112 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:37.759 married Jerry, she also had a wide range of responsibilities. But she was 113 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:43.399 especially good at handling the young calves. Diyke's wilson, whose family previously owned 114 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:48.799 Carolina Holstein's, told the Charlotte Observer she get out there and wrestle them cows 115 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:54.080 and give them shots. Over the course of about five years, Jerry and 116 00:09:54.120 --> 00:10:00.799 Emily became very involved in the local sawmills community. They were both div Christians 117 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:07.720 who attended draw Pins Baptist Church regularly, and they would assist in church events 118 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:13.799 like ice cream socials. In a small town like this, where everyone knew 119 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:18.440 everybody, the townspeople were aware of who Emily and Jerry were, even if 120 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:22.679 they didn't know them personally. But although Emily and Jerry were newer to the 121 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:26.960 area than some locals, they were still fairly well known and had made many 122 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:31.519 friends. They made a point to socialize in their community, and they were 123 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:37.360 well liked. That's why when Emily went missing, the town of Sawmills was 124 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:43.840 shocked and rallied to try and help find her. I'm going to pause now 125 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:52.759 for a short commercial break. On Wednesday, December twenty eighth, two thousand 126 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:56.679 and five, Emily got her hair done. She told her stylist she wanted 127 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:01.639 colored freshly before dinner parties. She and Jerry you were going to the next 128 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:05.600 evening on Thursday. So on Wednesday Emily had her roots touched up with some 129 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:11.240 blonde highlights. Then on that Thursday, Emily's day began like any other. 130 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.799 As I said in the beginning, By six thirty am, she was up 131 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:20.960 and ready to run errands, as I'm sure you'd guess, like any farmer. 132 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:24.600 Jerry was up before the sun and ready to hit the farm by six 133 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:28.559 point thirty himself. First, she stopped by the grocery store for a couple 134 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:33.240 items, and the clerk noticed that Emily's hair was different, lighter, and 135 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:39.240 also that Emily was more dressed up than usual. Instead of her usual farm 136 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:43.720 work clothes, she was wearing khakis, brown loafers and had tucked in her 137 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:48.440 shirt. When the grocer asked her why she looked so nice, Emily replied 138 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:54.240 that she was just running errands that day. By seven am, she had 139 00:11:54.279 --> 00:12:00.240 purchased a new pair of work gloves from Sawmills Hardware. It was owned by 140 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:03.200 Tim and Jenny Wilson, the couple who were having the dinner party that evening. 141 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:09.159 After chatting with Tim, Emily headed out to the farm to drop off 142 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:13.720 the gloves. While there, she also spoke to Jerry. She made a 143 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:18.639 point of fussing at Jerry to be on time for the dinner party. After 144 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:22.200 that, she traveled about eight miles to Lenora, North Carolina. She got 145 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:28.360 there at about eight fifteen am and paid a bill at Martin Marrietta Materials. 146 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:31.879 Then she was supposed to go to Sam's Club in the nearby town of Hickory, 147 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:37.799 but that's where her trail ends. We know she never made it to 148 00:12:37.879 --> 00:12:43.320 Sam's club. By six o'clock that evening, Jerry was at Tim and Jenny's 149 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:46.279 house for the dinner party. He had made sure he was there before six, 150 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:52.399 since Emily had specifically warned him about being late. He was on time, 151 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:56.279 but Emily wasn't there, which was strange, if not alarming. Yet. 152 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:01.679 He called his wife's cell phone to see what was going on, but 153 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.759 she didn't pick up, so he finished dinner with their friends and then he 154 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:09.120 went home. Jenny Wilson also tried calling Emily and left her a couple of 155 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:16.120 messages. Now it was becoming alarming because Emily was known to live by her 156 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:20.600 phone. You got to remember this was two thousand and five, and while 157 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:24.440 people had cell phones, they weren't the many computers we are obsessed with today. 158 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.639 The first iPhone was released in two thousand and seven. Not everyone used 159 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:35.399 a cell phone regularly, but Emily had her clip to her belt. You 160 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.720 also got to remember she didn't just need it for work. Her family lived 161 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.159 in Kentucky, her best friend lived in New Jersey, and she liked to 162 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:48.840 talk to the people she loved often, so she was a dedicated phone chatter. 163 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:54.039 By eight pm, Jerry still had not heard from his wife, so 164 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:58.759 he drove about eight minutes to the nearest police station in Granite Falls. He 165 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:03.000 asked if his wife had been reported in an accident. He worried he needed 166 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:07.000 to file a missing person's report. The communications employee he first talked to said 167 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:13.279 he was calm and didn't seem too concerned. At just before ten pm, 168 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:18.559 a Caldwell County Sheriff's deputy arrived at Jerry's home. That's when forty nine year 169 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:26.200 old Emily Griffith Anderson was officially reported missing. Search for Emily began immediately. 170 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:31.440 A bolo was issued for her truck, her description passed out, and the 171 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.840 tough phone calls to friends and family were made. She drove a white two 172 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.919 thousand Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. She had been driving it when she vanished, 173 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:45.720 and it was nowhere to be found. Local authorities used helicopters to try to 174 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:50.480 find her truck. The Dry Ponds Baptist Church passed out more than twelve hundred 175 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:54.320 flyers with Emily's photo on them. They held prayer services dedicated to her safe 176 00:14:54.399 --> 00:15:00.600 return, and their church letter board read please pray for Emily Anderson and her 177 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:09.879 family. Emily's disappearance left Sawmills Residence scared and confused. Reverendret Cross from Emily's 178 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.799 church told the Charlotte Observer. I am as mystified as anyone else. That 179 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:20.279 doesn't happen in this area, this small community we have, everybody trusts everybody. 180 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.200 It's been an eye opener to people here that this could happen here. 181 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:30.320 But then most small town folks will tell you that Sawmills is six point three 182 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:35.120 square miles with a commanding view of the Appalachian Mountains. Incorporated in nineteen eighty 183 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:39.080 eight, it's called the biggest little town in the Foothills, with around five 184 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:46.399 thousand residents. The Town of Sawmills website touts it as having safer streets as 185 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:50.639 a bedroom community to the big cities around it, but actually the crime rate 186 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:56.960 is fifteen percent higher than the national average. It has its good areas and 187 00:15:56.039 --> 00:16:00.919 it's not so good areas. I'm not trying to crap on Sawmills, but 188 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:04.519 just wanted to give you a fair look. Anyway. Despite the best efforts 189 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.960 of those who looked for Emily, no one had a clue where she was. 190 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.720 No one knew if she had left of her own volition, or if 191 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:18.000 something worse had happened. For nearly ten days, Emily's case grew colder and 192 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:22.279 colder. Then, at twelve thirty pm on Saturday, January seventh, two 193 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:26.600 thousand and six, an unknown man called a waffle house in Duncan, South 194 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:33.480 Carolina. The anonymous caller said that the white pickup truck in the parking lot 195 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.559 of a hotel behind waffle house was connected to a North Carolina missing Parsons case. 196 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:42.759 The caller said that someone should check it out, So a Duncan police 197 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:48.639 officer arrived at the waffle house just off Interstate eighty five and ran the truck's 198 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:53.840 tags and realized that Caldwell County was looking for this exact vehicle. It was 199 00:16:53.879 --> 00:17:00.480 Emily's truck. Initially, this discovery led to more questions than it answers. 200 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.880 The Duncan waffle house and the quality and parking lot her truck was found in 201 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:08.519 were more than one hundred miles away from where Emily was last seen. It 202 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:15.640 wasn't even the same state. Caldwell County authorities decided to tow Emily's truck back 203 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:21.160 to North Carolina. There they searched the vehicle. When they pried opened the 204 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:26.880 toolbox compartment in the truck bed, they found Emily. Her body was stuffed 205 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:30.000 face down in the toolbox in her own truck bed. It was clear that 206 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:37.519 Emily had been shot to death. Emily Griffith Anderson's funeral was four days later 207 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:41.440 at four pm on Wednesday, January eleventh, two thousand and six. Her 208 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:48.119 service was held at the Dry Ponds Baptist Church. Grissom Funeral Home held a 209 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:52.359 memorial service the next day, Thursday, at three pm, at the Cane 210 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:57.319 Valley Christian Church in Columbia, Kentucky, back in Emily's home state, in 211 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:02.480 lieu of flowers, her family asked for donations to be sent to the Red 212 00:18:02.519 --> 00:18:07.119 Cross or Humane Society. A private burial ceremony for the family was held not 213 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:14.279 long after. Emily's obituary noted that she was survived by her husband, Jerry 214 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.559 steps On Matt as well as her older brother, doctor Mike Griffith, and 215 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:23.279 younger sister d Watson. Her six nieces and nephews were also named, as 216 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:29.640 well as her four great nieces and nephews. Her headstone reflects her special family 217 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:37.480 relationship as beloved aunt. It reads Annie m Emily Young Griffith without her married 218 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:45.559 name. The epitaph below cherishes Emily's memorable laughter. It reads take time to 219 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.440 laugh. It is the music of the soul. She was buried in the 220 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:56.200 Cane Valley Cemetery in Kine Valley, Kentucky. I'm going to pause nowitar a 221 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:06.119 word from our sponsors. Unexpected expenses can really throw off your budget. Worrying 222 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.960 about it doesn't help. Earn In does earn In relief stress or gives you 223 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.920 that extra boost by providing up to one hundred dollars a day of your paycheck 224 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:18.920 within minutes of earning it, no mandatory fees and no credit check. 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It tore through her ribs along 283 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:04.680 and her heart before exiting through her upper chest. The second bullet had entered 284 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:08.799 the left side of Emily's abdomen. It passed through her ribs, spleen, 285 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.400 a kidney, and her spine, then it exited through her right lower back. 286 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.799 Emily had also suffered multiple abrasions above both eyes, on the bridge of 287 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:23.599 her nose, her left cheek, her chin, her right hand, and 288 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:30.119 her right knee. Her old navy sweatshirt had holes from the bullets, and 289 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.240 there was dirt and grass in the bottom of the toolbox near Emily's face and 290 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:40.440 hands. The items in Emily's pockets included her damaged cell phone, thirty dollars, 291 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:45.039 a pocket knife, and a set of keys. Later, concerns were 292 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:49.880 raised about why the authorities hadn't found Emily's body before moving her truck more than 293 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:55.880 one hundred miles back to North Carolina. After all, who knows what evidence 294 00:24:55.960 --> 00:25:00.319 was lost during that trip. Anything can fly off at seventy plus mis miles 295 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:04.759 per hour on a highway. The lieutenant on the scene claimed that he hadn't 296 00:25:04.759 --> 00:25:08.400 seen any blood in the truck bed when they started their journey from the waffle 297 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:14.759 house. I'm going to go ahead and simply question why the truck wasn't searched 298 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:18.119 in South Carolina. This was a missing persons case, not just as still 299 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.480 in vehicle case. I would think any law enforcement officer would or should know 300 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:30.119 the importance of blood and trace evidence or any kind of evidence really in a 301 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.359 victim's vehicle. I mean, hell, there could have been a damn ransom 302 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:38.160 note in the glove box anything. But Duncan, South Carolina, is an 303 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:44.279 even smaller town than Sawmills, with a crime rate twenty one percent lower than 304 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:48.240 the national average. So maybe local PD just weren't accustomed to this kind of 305 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:52.960 crime. I guess it's not surprising that they just called Caldwell County in North 306 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:59.039 Carolina to deal with their own case. And I guess they lifted up to 307 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:03.559 Caldwell County call in the FEDS if they wanted to. Emily and her truck 308 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:07.440 were taken across state lines. That easily makes it a federal case, I 309 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:11.240 guess, unless you believe she was dead before she was taken over state lines. 310 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:17.920 Later, an SBI agent working with the FBI was said to have been 311 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:25.839 consulted. According to an investigating officer explaining to the Charlotte Observer quote, the 312 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:29.119 vehicle was locked, there was no odor coming from it. It was clean 313 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:33.759 as a whistle, though it did have a flat front tire. But interestingly, 314 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:40.240 by the time law enforcement arrived at their headquarters, Emily's blood pulled underneath 315 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:45.319 the toolbox. Later on in court, jurors could clearly see her dried blood 316 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:49.680 and crime scene photos. So I'm calling bullshit on this clean as a whistle 317 00:26:49.720 --> 00:26:55.240 crap. I don't think they looked. Local officers ran the plates and called 318 00:26:55.279 --> 00:26:59.359 it into Caldwell, and perhaps they wouldn't have been given clearance to search it 319 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:03.039 anyway. But I still find that really troubling, because again, this was 320 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:07.920 a missing person's case. What if Emily had been alive, bound and gagged 321 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:11.920 in that toolbox. Police show up, she hears them and thanks God, 322 00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:17.200 now she is saved, and no one searches the truck. I mean, 323 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.359 I know that didn't happen, but it could have. That's why this feels 324 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:26.079 like such a serious mistake to me. Then Caldwell County showed up and decided 325 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:30.039 to tow it home before searching it. That's an even bigger mistake than local 326 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:36.440 Duncan officers made. Caldwell knew they were investigating a missing person from their community. 327 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.759 How could they not search that truck. That truck should have been treated 328 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:45.720 as a crime scene, carefully searched for clues about Emily's whereabouts, and then 329 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:51.359 given to forensic investigators to come through If they had done this, she would 330 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:56.400 have been found and surely the truck would have been investigated properly rather than towed 331 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:00.880 back to Caldwell. But who knows, they may have still made that choice. 332 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:07.359 Immediately after Emily's body was discovered, law enforcement officers told the Charlotte Observer 333 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.279 that the case was wide open for suspects. They had no clear ideas about 334 00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:17.079 who had killed Emily. I know what you're thinking. Emily was a married 335 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:22.079 woman, so we know her husband, Jerry was the first suspect. But 336 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:26.519 when Emily was still missing, Jerry had provided the authorities with a statement. 337 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:32.839 That statement detailed his exact whereabouts on Thursday December twenty ninth, the day Emily 338 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:37.319 went missing. For the most part, Jerry's time appeared to be accounted for. 339 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:41.559 Jerry claimed that he had gotten out of bed at four thirty am, 340 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:47.440 then he went for a walk before getting ready for work. He arrived at 341 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.200 the dairy farm at about six thirty am, right about the time that Emily 342 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:55.440 was getting out of bed. Then Jerry said that he had a quick meeting 343 00:28:55.480 --> 00:29:00.519 with his employees. Later that morning. Jerry said he saw Emily briefly. 344 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:03.839 He said she gave him a list of items that she needed, and then 345 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:08.160 she reminded Jerry not to be late for their six o'clock dinner party. Then, 346 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:14.480 he said, she loved to go finish her errands. I do wonder 347 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:18.240 what was on the list she gave him since she was doing errands herself. 348 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:22.359 A to do list he was the boss at the farm, A honeydew list. 349 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:29.680 Maybe details like this bother me Anyway, As his wife went about her 350 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:33.839 day of errands, Jerry said, he checked his emails and read an online 351 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:37.119 newspaper. At eleven fifteen am, he said that he left the farm. 352 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.799 After that he ran into his neighbor, Tony Ramsey. They were both at 353 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:47.839 the Hickory Home and garden store. Tony would later verify that this was true. 354 00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:52.240 He specifically remembered their conversation. Tony was trying to get the things he 355 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:56.359 needed to fix his lawnmower. He had been having ongoing issues with it. 356 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:00.599 He remembered. Jerry said, I guess Santa Claus didn't bring you a new 357 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:06.759 lawnmar and you have to fix the other one. Next, Jerry said, 358 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:11.279 he called Emily. He asked her to pick up owl filters for their tractors. 359 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:15.400 After that he ate lunch at als Diner at about twelve fifteen pm, 360 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:21.759 then he went to the Granite Falls post office. According to Jerry, he 361 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:25.799 was back at the farm by one fifteen PM, and he stated the farm 362 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:30.160 for the rest of the afternoon, Jerry said he was working on fixing a 363 00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:33.920 broken tractor. At approximately five to fifteen pm, he said he went to 364 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:40.079 get gas. That's when he saw his friend Walter Moore. Walter would later 365 00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:45.759 say this was accurate too. Ultimately, the only time that Jerry was unaccounted 366 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:51.160 for was for a few hours in the afternoon, and that's when Jerry claimed 367 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:56.359 that he was working on the dairy farm as he usually would be. Before 368 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:02.240 Emily's body was discovered. Jerry had also's so taken a three question polygraph test. 369 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:06.400 The first question of the test was did you have anything to do with 370 00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:11.240 Emily's disappearance? Jerry responded no. The second question was right now, do 371 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:17.119 you know where Emily is? And he said no. The last question was 372 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:21.160 do you know for sure where Emily is right now? And Jerry said once 373 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:26.720 more no. According to the polygraph machine, Jerry was telling the truth when 374 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:33.160 responding to all three questions. But keep in mind polygraph tests are notoriously unreliable. 375 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.079 We all know that the results are rarely admissible in court unless the prosecution 376 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:41.960 and defense both agree to allow the results to be entered as evidence. Even 377 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:48.000 then, many courts do not allow it. But anyway, all this is 378 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:52.799 to say that when Emily's body was found, Jerry wasn't necessarily a suspect, 379 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:57.640 but I'm sure he remained a person of interest, especially since investigators noted that 380 00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:05.000 Jerry's reaction to learning about his wife's death was odd. According to court documents, 381 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:08.960 Jerry had shown very little emotion, and at one point he even laughed. 382 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:15.920 But people react to trauma differently and grieve differently. It's impossible to predict 383 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:20.240 how a person will react to a horrific situation, but I'm willing to bet 384 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:25.920 most investigators either have gut feelings or they've seen enough reactions to feel confident about 385 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:32.319 their own assessments, and others would later testify that Jerry did cry about Emily's 386 00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:37.839 loss. These people even noted that they distinctly remember Jerry crying because of how 387 00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:45.400 rare it was. He wasn't known to be a demonstrably emotional man. Around 388 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:50.960 the time investigators found Emily's body. Jerry told the Charlotte Observer, there's comfort 389 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:53.400 that she's home now. It's not the way I wanted her home, but 390 00:32:53.440 --> 00:33:00.319 I'm glad she's home and I'll deal with the rest later. She's safe, 391 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:04.319 She's dead, sir, not safe. Yeah, quotes can be taken out 392 00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:07.599 of context. And I know what he means. But would you really say 393 00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:13.279 your murdered wife was home safe. That was just weird. But Jerry was 394 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:17.680 kind of different, very dry, kind of all business. In some ways. 395 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.400 It probably hurt how he was perceived, and others his friends said he 396 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:29.640 was the same old Jerry regardless, it seemed that Caldwell County investigators weren't pointing 397 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:32.640 a finger at Jerry yet, or at least they weren't in the beginning. 398 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:38.079 Then they spoke to Emily's friends and family, because although Emily and Jerry ran 399 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:44.079 a thriving business together, their marriage was not as successful as their dairy farm. 400 00:33:44.880 --> 00:33:50.599 For about three years, their relationship had been strained, and two years 401 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:53.799 before, in two thousand and three, the Andersons had separated for about six 402 00:33:53.880 --> 00:34:00.319 weeks. During that time, Emily stayed in Kentucky. Most of Emily Lee's 403 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:04.680 family still lived there. We're not sure what caused Emily and Jerry to take 404 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:09.519 this break, but her court documents Jerry had at some unknown time found cards 405 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:15.519 addressed to Emily from a man named Bill and someone, though we're not sure 406 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:21.840 who sent Emily flowers on at least one occasion, but they evidently made up 407 00:34:22.480 --> 00:34:27.800 because eventually Emily returned to her North Carolina home with Jerry, and their merry 408 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:32.360 life seemingly continued on as usual. But two years later, in the fall 409 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:36.639 of two thousand and five, Emily and Jerry were on the rocks again. 410 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:42.440 A few days before Thanksgiving that year, Emily visited her older brother Mike in 411 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:47.760 Nicholasville, Kentucky. Emily told Mike that she was considering leaving Jerry. She 412 00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:52.280 said that Jerry overworked and bullied her. He belittled her in front of their 413 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:58.039 employees. But Emily's brother urged her to stay with Jerry, at least for 414 00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:02.119 a little while longer. He thought he had a good reason. Emily and 415 00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:07.320 Jerry were planning on moving to Mountain City, Tennessee. There, they planned 416 00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:12.719 to build a new cattle feeding operation called High Mountain Holsteins. This new farm 417 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:15.280 was going to bring in more money than their dairy farm in North Carolina. 418 00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:21.639 And at this new farm, Emily would be a part owner. She wouldn't 419 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:25.760 just be working for Jerry, she would be a partner. Mike advised Emily 420 00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:30.800 to wait until she was an owner of this new farm to divorce Jerry. 421 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:36.559 That way, she would get a larger settlement. According to the Charlotte Observer, 422 00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:39.559 Mike said, get as much as you can out of it. I 423 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:45.239 don't think Mike was particularly vindictive toward his brother in law. He just wanted 424 00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:49.639 what was best for his sister. Though Mike would later state that he thought 425 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.920 it was weird that Jerry never went to any of Emily's family functions. He 426 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:58.880 seemed to pretty much stay away from his in laws. Shortly after speaking with 427 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:04.000 her brother about a pta divorce, Emily called her friend Pat Thorpe. I 428 00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:07.599 mentioned her earlier in the episode. Emily and Patt met when they worked together 429 00:36:07.639 --> 00:36:13.320 in Corbin, Kentucky. By this time, Patt had moved to New Jersey. 430 00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:17.360 Despite living multiple states away, the friends still talked on the phone regularly. 431 00:36:19.079 --> 00:36:22.360 That's how Pat knew that Emily and Jerry's relationship had been going downhill. 432 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:30.039 According to Pat, Emily often complained that Jerry was verbally and emotionally abusive towards 433 00:36:30.039 --> 00:36:35.880 her. She told the Charlotte Observer. I talked to her many times when 434 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:38.800 she was in tears because of things he had said to her. He had 435 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:45.679 told her basically that she wasn't smart enough to do anything really. Patt did 436 00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:52.599 clarify that Emily never mentioned Jerry physically abusing her. Still, it's clear that 437 00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:58.519 Emily was very unhappy in her marriage and felt emotionally abused by Jerry. And 438 00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:02.159 since her brother seemed to be worrying about Emily's finances, going so far as 439 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:06.119 advising her to wait to get out of the marriage until she was co owner 440 00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:12.039 of their business, maybe Jerry was financially abusive. He held the purse strings. 441 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:15.159 Later it was found he even ran a credit check on his wife. 442 00:37:15.719 --> 00:37:20.599 He was pissy that he found a Victoria's secret credit card that he didn't know 443 00:37:20.639 --> 00:37:27.519 about, especially since Emily was known only to wear long John's. So the 444 00:37:27.559 --> 00:37:31.079 Saturday after that Thanksgiving, on November twenty sixth, two thousand and five, 445 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:37.079 Emily called Pat told her that she had finally gotten the courage to leave in 446 00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:42.079 divorce Jerry. Pat told the Charlotte observer. She told me she was going 447 00:37:42.119 --> 00:37:45.840 to contact a lawyer, that she had made her mind up. She said, 448 00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:50.280 I have to get out. Emily also explained to Pat that she was 449 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:52.840 waiting to tell Jerry about the divorce. She wanted to be out of the 450 00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:58.440 house before she let him know she was leaving him. She was afraid of 451 00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:02.960 how Jerry would respond. Concerned for her friend, Pat asked Emily, is 452 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:07.320 it really that bad? And she said Emily said yes, it is. 453 00:38:09.320 --> 00:38:15.480 Following this, Emily reached out to another friend for a divorce attorney recommendation. 454 00:38:15.519 --> 00:38:22.960 She was referred to divorce lawyer Rachel Leclair. During Emily's consultation with miss Leclair, 455 00:38:22.519 --> 00:38:27.920 she said her relationship with Jerry had reached a tipping point. Emily said 456 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:30.440 that Jerry had a bad temper. She claimed he would treat her like a 457 00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:37.559 child or a dog. When she approached Jerry about his disrespectful behavior, she 458 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:40.519 said that Jerry would ignore her. He would even go so far as taking 459 00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:47.440 out his hearing aids Without hearing aids. Jerry was about seventy percent death and 460 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:52.960 she said she and her husband hadn't shared a bed since late October were early 461 00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:59.719 November of two thousand and five. Just like Emily's brother, Miss Leclair suggested 462 00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:04.039 that Emily stayed with Jerry until they had started their new farm in Tennessee, 463 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:08.119 but Emily was adamant that she couldn't wait that long to end things with her 464 00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:14.239 husband, and all of this was just a month before she went missing. 465 00:39:15.480 --> 00:39:21.599 Patt spoke to Emily one last time on December twenty sixth. Their conversation wasn't 466 00:39:21.639 --> 00:39:25.519 long, and she said that Emily didn't reveal any information pertinent to the investigation. 467 00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:31.840 But in an interesting turn of events, Jerry actually called Pat on January 468 00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:37.800 third. This would have been while Emily was missing, but before her body 469 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:43.400 was found. Jerry and Patt spoke for seventy two minutes. During their call, 470 00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:49.119 Jerry acknowledged that his marriage had not been going well. He told Pat 471 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:52.960 he was pretty sure Emily had left him for another man, which surprised Pat. 472 00:39:53.559 --> 00:39:58.519 While Emily had complained at length about her marriage, she had never told 473 00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:04.639 Pat that she was having an affair. But now multiple people could confirm that 474 00:40:04.679 --> 00:40:09.159 Emily Anderson wanted to leave her husband and was making plans to just a month 475 00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:15.239 before she disappeared and was found murdered. I'm going to pause now for a 476 00:40:15.280 --> 00:40:27.079 final commercial break. Equipped with this new information about Emily and Jerry's marriage, 477 00:40:27.400 --> 00:40:30.320 law enforcement held a news conference on January ninth, two thousand and six. 478 00:40:31.440 --> 00:40:37.079 Sheriff Gary Clark said that he was confident Emily's case was solvable. He said 479 00:40:37.119 --> 00:40:42.599 it again on January fifteenth in a phone interview with Fox News. He would 480 00:40:42.679 --> 00:40:47.480 later appear on National TV on a Fox station. By January twentieth, the 481 00:40:47.559 --> 00:40:52.760 authorities got a search warrant for Jerry's home and the farm. Less than a 482 00:40:52.800 --> 00:40:59.480 week later, on January twenty sixth, investigator searched his properties again. Following 483 00:40:59.519 --> 00:41:04.760 that second search, an investigator told the Charlotte Observer that they had found very 484 00:41:04.760 --> 00:41:09.079 compelling evidence, but they wouldn't share what that evidence was not yet anyway. 485 00:41:09.960 --> 00:41:15.159 That same officer later said during a news conference, this story's only beginning as 486 00:41:15.199 --> 00:41:22.519 far as I'm concerned. Shortly after that second search, employees from Jerry's dairy 487 00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:27.920 farm contacted the authorities. These employees told investigators that they were scared of Jerry 488 00:41:27.960 --> 00:41:32.719 Anderson. They were worried he would harm them. Law enforcement would not disclose 489 00:41:32.760 --> 00:41:37.159 why these employees were worried, or even how many employees had reached out, 490 00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:44.360 but this concern caused the authorities to move quickly to arrest Jerry, even though 491 00:41:44.360 --> 00:41:50.360 the investigation was ongoing, and they publicly said they were still open to other 492 00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:54.840 suspects. So on Friday, January twenty seventh, forty seven year old Jerry 493 00:41:54.920 --> 00:42:01.119 Lee Anderson was arrested in his home just after midnight. The Caldwell County Sheriff's 494 00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:07.159 Department charged Jerry with first degree murder. He was held in the Caldwell County 495 00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:13.000 Jail without bond during his arrest. Jerry fully cooperated with the authorities, and 496 00:42:13.079 --> 00:42:17.679 he requested a court appointed defense attorney right away. He was indicted by a 497 00:42:17.679 --> 00:42:23.039 grand jury on first degree murder two weeks after his arrest. But a few 498 00:42:23.119 --> 00:42:29.400 days after Jerry was arrested, the local newspapers began reporting that Jerry had taken 499 00:42:29.400 --> 00:42:34.920 out a life insurance policy on Emily. Initially, the Sheriff's department would not 500 00:42:35.039 --> 00:42:39.800 confirm how much that life insurance policy was worth, and since the search warrants 501 00:42:39.840 --> 00:42:45.639 and affidavits related to this case were sealed from public viewing, there was no 502 00:42:45.679 --> 00:42:51.400 way for anyone to find out. So the Charlotte Observer and the Associated Press 503 00:42:51.679 --> 00:42:57.880 requested that Caldwell County unseal those documents. They had questions that they believed these 504 00:42:57.920 --> 00:43:02.679 documents could answer, like what witnesses had the authorities talked to so far? 505 00:43:04.519 --> 00:43:09.639 And what evidence had investigators found on Jerry's properties. The prosecuting lawyers were opposed 506 00:43:09.639 --> 00:43:15.639 to this. They argued this information, among other things, might bias the 507 00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:22.360 community of potential jurors. But the presiding Caldwell County judge believed that the court 508 00:43:22.400 --> 00:43:27.159 shouldn't put its judgment ahead of the public ability to understand the legal system, 509 00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:31.440 he said, and on Monday February twentieth, two thousand and six, that 510 00:43:31.559 --> 00:43:38.519 same judge unselled sixty pages of documents. The information within those pages caused an 511 00:43:38.559 --> 00:43:45.719 absolute uproar. On the morning of December twenty ninth, the day that Emily 512 00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:50.079 went missing, several people had seen Emily and Jerry together at the dairy farm. 513 00:43:50.760 --> 00:43:53.800 They saw the couple go into a tree filled area behind the property. 514 00:43:54.559 --> 00:43:59.920 Jerry had driven his tractor and Emily had followed behind him in her truck. 515 00:44:00.199 --> 00:44:06.480 Shortly after, multiple witnesses heard gunshots come from the same area where Jerry and 516 00:44:06.519 --> 00:44:15.079 Emily had gone. Then Jerry emerged alone Afterward, Jerry asked some of his 517 00:44:15.159 --> 00:44:20.639 employees to powerwash his tractor, a task that, according to Jerry's employees, 518 00:44:21.000 --> 00:44:25.000 he had never asked them to do before. During the authority's investigation, they 519 00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:30.719 found traces of fluid inside the tractor. Samples of this fluid were sent to 520 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:37.599 the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for DNA analysis. While the 521 00:44:37.639 --> 00:44:40.679 crime lab was able to confirm that, yes, this fluid was blood, 522 00:44:42.159 --> 00:44:45.480 the samples were too small for DNA testing. They couldn't even tell if it 523 00:44:45.559 --> 00:44:50.679 was human blood. It may have come from an animal. But this didn't 524 00:44:50.679 --> 00:44:53.719 mean Jerry was in the clear. In fact, for these court documents, 525 00:44:54.079 --> 00:45:00.920 he had exhibited even more concerning behaviors. Sometime after dis Zember twenty ninth, 526 00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:06.880 Jerry asked an employee to replace the oil filters for some tractors. Those filters 527 00:45:06.920 --> 00:45:10.159 he had asked his wife to buy the last day she was seen. The 528 00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:15.480 employee was supposed to write that day's date on the oil filters, but Jerry 529 00:45:15.480 --> 00:45:19.360 told them to put down twelve twenty nine, two thousand and five, even 530 00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:24.599 though that day had since passed. Jerry also wanted this employee to tell anyone 531 00:45:24.599 --> 00:45:30.000 who asked that he was working with his employees between nine am and ten am 532 00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:35.639 on December twenty ninth, and Jerry also wanted the employee to say that they 533 00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:38.679 had both been working on changing the oil filters between one thirty pm and three 534 00:45:38.719 --> 00:45:45.760 pm that same day. Then Jerry hid the old tractor oil filters that had 535 00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:51.559 been replaced During the two searches of Jerry's properties, investigators found these discarded oil 536 00:45:51.639 --> 00:45:57.400 filters in a nearby drainage ditch and miner pile. You can imagine how damning 537 00:45:57.480 --> 00:46:02.280 this information was. Jerry, whose wife was actively seeking a divorce, was 538 00:46:02.320 --> 00:46:07.159 seen going into a secluded location with her. Then gunshots were heard coming from 539 00:46:07.159 --> 00:46:12.920 that area. Afterward, he had allegedly asked his employees to lie about his 540 00:46:12.960 --> 00:46:17.519 whereabouts from nine am to ten am and one thirty pm to three pm. 541 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:23.519 Those afternoon hours were the exact same hours that Jerry had been unaccounted for during 542 00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:30.239 that statement he had provided to the authorities. Also, Emily's phone record showed 543 00:46:30.599 --> 00:46:35.519 that she had not used her cell phone at all since December twenty eighth, 544 00:46:35.920 --> 00:46:40.159 the day before the last witness in town saw her, and that's not the 545 00:46:40.280 --> 00:46:46.079 end of it. Also revealed in these unsealed court documents, Jerry had recently 546 00:46:46.199 --> 00:46:52.239 taken out a one point five million dollar life insurance policy on Emily. This 547 00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:58.480 newer policy was in addition to a previously established life insurance policy for three million. 548 00:46:59.360 --> 00:47:04.519 In total, Jerry would receive approximately four point five million in the event 549 00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:09.639 of Emily's death in twenty twenty four dollars. That's almost seven million. And 550 00:47:09.760 --> 00:47:15.599 as if that wasn't enough, Jerry had also obtained his passport on January fifth. 551 00:47:16.320 --> 00:47:21.239 For context, that would have been a week after Emily went missing and 552 00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:25.519 only two days before her body was found on January seventh. Dude, come 553 00:47:25.559 --> 00:47:30.719 on, I guess you could see this as an innocent man with nothing to 554 00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:35.599 hide, or as a man about to flee the country. Most people would 555 00:47:35.599 --> 00:47:42.039 think the worst. The realization that dairy farmer Jerry Anderson might have killed his 556 00:47:42.159 --> 00:47:47.239 wife caused chaos in this rural North Carolina community. A neighbor who lived across 557 00:47:47.239 --> 00:47:52.920 the street from Jerry's dairy farm told the Charlotte Observer, the whole incident has 558 00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:58.159 been difficult for our entire community. There are thousands of unanswered questions right now, 559 00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:04.039 and we're patiently waiting for them. Answers. Some of the biggest questions 560 00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:08.320 were, had Emily truly intended to divorce Jerry, did Jerry have time to 561 00:48:08.320 --> 00:48:14.280 get to Duncan, South Carolina that afternoon? And why on God's green Earth 562 00:48:14.599 --> 00:48:19.199 did Jerry get a passport so soon after Emily's disappearance. He had to have 563 00:48:19.280 --> 00:48:24.159 known how bad that would look. Local residents were split in their opinions. 564 00:48:24.719 --> 00:48:30.000 Some stood by Jerry. They couldn't believe that he would harm his wife. 565 00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:37.159 Jerry was their friend and neighbor, a fellow churchgoer. They couldn't fathom that 566 00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:43.480 Jerry there Jerry could do this. One member of the Dry Pond's Baptist church 567 00:48:43.519 --> 00:48:46.840 told reporters, I believe in Jerry until he tells me that he killed Emily, 568 00:48:47.559 --> 00:48:52.000 which wow, okay, but wouldn't you at least want him to legally 569 00:48:52.079 --> 00:48:59.480 clear his name? And one neighbor of Jerry's said, ninety percent of the 570 00:48:59.480 --> 00:49:04.159 people around here think he's innocent. Anyone who knows Jerry doesn't think he did 571 00:49:04.199 --> 00:49:07.639 it, But there were plenty of other people who thought Jerry did kill his 572 00:49:07.679 --> 00:49:13.280 wife. The manager of a local grocery store in Deli, Jean Bristol, 573 00:49:13.679 --> 00:49:16.400 told the press after Jerry's arrest. I think it's more of a sigh of 574 00:49:16.400 --> 00:49:21.719 relief. I know it is for a lot of the women. And Another 575 00:49:21.800 --> 00:49:25.360 Dry Ponds Baptist church member said she wasn't shocked in the slightest about the news 576 00:49:25.360 --> 00:49:30.320 about Jerry. She told the Hickory Daily Record that he never showed no tears, 577 00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:37.360 no emotions. It's a real shame. For months and months, Jerry's 578 00:49:37.400 --> 00:49:42.760 innocence or lack thereof, was a hot button topic in the Sawmills area. 579 00:49:43.320 --> 00:49:46.920 One local told the Charlotte Observer, if the paper comes out with an article 580 00:49:47.000 --> 00:49:51.079 about Jerry on the front of it, it will be sold out in two 581 00:49:51.119 --> 00:49:54.679 minutes. If something like this happened in Charlotte, it just be an ordinary 582 00:49:54.679 --> 00:49:59.719 thing. But when it happens in a small community like this, it just 583 00:49:59.760 --> 00:50:05.800 threw you off center. And that is the stopping point for Part one, 584 00:50:05.880 --> 00:50:09.440 folks. As this started as a one episode case. Part two will come 585 00:50:09.480 --> 00:50:14.440 out pretty quickly in the next couple of days. I appreciate your patience. 586 00:50:14.960 --> 00:50:19.840 Some cases like these drag you down rabbit holes and you keep going and suddenly 587 00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:23.039 it's fourteen thousand words, which is crazy. That's almost as long as a 588 00:50:23.039 --> 00:50:29.039 feature length film and I know a lot of you love two parters. Anyway, 589 00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:34.599 Jerry's trial and more details about the investigation will be covered in the next 590 00:50:34.599 --> 00:50:39.119 episode. This case is a wild ride with a twist I didn't see coming, 591 00:50:39.840 --> 00:50:46.440 so stick with me. It'll be worth it. Southern Fried True Crime 592 00:50:46.519 --> 00:50:51.960 is hosted and produced by me Erica Kelly. Today's episode was researched and written 593 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:55.840 by me and Andrea Marshbank. As usual, any editorial comments and opinions are 594 00:50:55.880 --> 00:51:00.199 my own. Southern Fred's original music as by Rob Harrison of the game I'm 595 00:51:00.119 --> 00:51:04.320 a Radio and the original graphic artist by Khely Horner. Today's episode was edited 596 00:51:04.360 --> 00:51:09.000 and mixed by Sarah Wendell of VW Sound LLC and Erica Kelly. Thank you 597 00:51:09.039 --> 00:51:14.760 to Sarah and Kristen for suggesting today's case. If you have any case suggestions, 598 00:51:14.800 --> 00:51:17.280 please go to my website, Southernfred True Crime dot com and click on 599 00:51:17.320 --> 00:51:23.119 the listeners suggestion tab or email SFTC Research at gmail dot com. This is 600 00:51:23.159 --> 00:51:27.159 the best way for me to get those little known cases. Y'all always send 601 00:51:27.199 --> 00:51:30.280 me. 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