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Investigators in central Florida residents were horrified when 32 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:52.359 sixteen year old vampire cult leader Rod Ferrell was arrested 33 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.599 and charged with bludgeoning occult member's parents. When they realized 34 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:01.040 the slain couple's fifteen year old daughter was me they 35 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:05.760 feared she was a victim too. Detectives and journalists swarming 36 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.479 over three states soon uncovered a web of blood drinking, 37 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:17.080 occult rituals, illicit sex, wildly dysfunctional families, and spiritual warfare. Then, 38 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:20.680 when police officers captured the teens, they discovered that the 39 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.599 murdered couple's daughter was among them. But was she a 40 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:30.080 victim or a participant? Ferrell faced the death penalty, sparking 41 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:34.639 constitutional battles over the ultimate punishment, juveniles in the court system, 42 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.879 free pressed versus a defendant's right to a fair trial, 43 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.639 and psychologists who worked to save him and prosecutors who 44 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.319 wanted him dead. More than twenty years later, the battle 45 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:49.039 continues with new court rulings. Is he a changed man 46 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:53.000 deserving freedom or is he still gaming the system as 47 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:58.199 prosecutors and his victim's family members believe. Decide for yourself 48 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:02.280 after reading Cold Blooded by Ian newspaper reporter Frank Stanfield, 49 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.719 who has covered the case from the beginning in November 50 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.840 nineteen ninety six and sheds new light on one of 51 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:12.159 the darkest killers in modern history. The book that we're 52 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:15.599 featuring this evening is Cold Blooded, a true crime story 53 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:19.479 of a murderous teenage vampire cult, with my special guest, 54 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.280 journalist and author Frank Stanfield. Welcome to the program, and 55 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.520 thank you very much for this interview. Frank Stanfield, Thanks 56 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:28.000 for having me. 57 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:28.719 I appreciate it. 58 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:34.919 Thank you very much. An incredible story and an incredible book, 59 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:41.240 Cold Blooded. Let me ask this question, how did you 60 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:46.400 come to be the author of this book and how 61 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:47.560 did you come to this story. 62 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.680 I was working for the Orlando Sentinel in it's Lake 63 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:57.000 County bureau, which is a county just north of Orlando, 64 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:01.560 and when the story broke and I covered the courts. 65 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:07.080 So that's how it was going to be the line's 66 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:09.319 share of the story, as it turns out. 67 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:14.360 So that's how I got involved, right, So let's talk 68 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:18.240 about this place that you say is very close to Orlando, 69 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:23.800 and this is November twenty fifth, nineteen ninety six, So 70 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:28.079 tell us a little bit about this, and also Jennifer 71 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:33.079 Wendorf and her call to police just after ten thirty 72 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.639 five pm November twenty fifth, nineteen ninety six. 73 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.759 Jennifer was seventeen years old, a pretty cheerleader, popular girl 74 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:48.360 at Eustas High School, and she came home after work. 75 00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:52.120 She worked part time in a grocery store, and she 76 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:54.800 had stopped to see her boyfriend. She was running a 77 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.360 little late, so she kind of slipped into the house. 78 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.839 Her dad, she thought, was asleep on the count, and 79 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.560 her mother was back in her bedroom, she figured. So 80 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:09.279 she went in and called her boyfriend, says I'm home safe, 81 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:12.720 and then went out to the living room and discovered 82 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:15.560 But she didn't discover anything right off, but she was 83 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:18.839 headed for the living room and she noticed this blood 84 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.759 trail leading into the kitchen, and then she saw her 85 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.040 mother had just been bludging to death. Her mother's ruth queen, 86 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.040 what was her name. She runs back to get her dad, 87 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:35.839 Richard Windoor, and then realized he was dead. So she 88 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.480 gets on nine one one and just makes this horrific 89 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:44.879 telephone call, voice quavering, but she held it together pretty good. 90 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:48.360 She said, my parents have been killed. And they said, well, 91 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:50.360 how do you know your parents have been killed? She says, 92 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:51.959 because there's blood everywhere? 93 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:02.279 Now, what do Lake County officials find? Officers find at 94 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:04.839 this scene of the Windworfs. 95 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.800 It was probably the most horrific crime scene they've ever seen. 96 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:16.319 I would say, yes, because there was blood spatters everywhere 97 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:20.360 there was they'd been beaten, that the man had been 98 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.399 beaten till he was just unrecognizable, and the mother had 99 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.680 been beaten and tried to crawl away from her killer. 100 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:34.160 Her brainstem was exposed to the point where one of 101 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:37.480 the investigators that, well, maybe she's been shot, But it 102 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:41.759 turned out they'd been bludgeoned with repeatedly with this crowbar. 103 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:49.120 What was there any evidence of any other crime perpetrated 104 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:50.480 at the same time. 105 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:55.600 Well, one of the things, Jennifer is on the phone saying, well, 106 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.480 my sister's not here. She's only fifteen, she's not here. 107 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:05.920 So now the investigators are thinking, well, was she kidnapped? 108 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:10.120 Her name is Heather? Was she kidnapped? Is she a 109 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:14.160 part of this crime? You know what's going on here? 110 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:15.639 What's happening. 111 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:22.279 In terms of theft that the officers immediately realized that 112 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:23.519 anything was stolen. 113 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:29.800 The family's Ford Explorer was missing, so they realized that 114 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:30.920 that had been stolen. 115 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:36.079 We talked about Detective al Gussler. He is asking Jennifer 116 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:40.279 immediately questions about who may have killed the parents. What 117 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:46.720 is Jennifer's reaction? Who does she conclude could have done this? 118 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.160 Well, she names Heather for one, and then she says 119 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:56.480 her friend Rod Ferrell, this sixteen year old kid that 120 00:07:56.839 --> 00:07:58.839 used to go to Eustas High School, but he had 121 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:03.040 moved back to Kentucky with his friend, with his family 122 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:06.120 rather about a year ago. So those two names pop 123 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:12.720 up immediately, and they said, well, what why would mentioned 124 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:16.199 Heather's name? Well, Heather one time had a conversation with 125 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.199 her saying, Jen, have you ever plotted mom and Dad's death? 126 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.560 And was not just that, but Rod had this reputation 127 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:30.519 of being kind of a bad character, and she also 128 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:35.720 Heather supposedly said, you know, if you ever need anybody killed, 129 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:39.240 you know, this bad boyfriend that Jennifer had at one time. 130 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:42.320 She says, I know somebody can do it and be Rod. 131 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.519 Questions about what she knows about this Rod, and also 132 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:50.240 I guess the police wouldn't immediately look for any kind 133 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:55.399 of record or police report regarding Rod. So what was 134 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:59.559 what was done in that regard? And before we talk 135 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:04.000 about neighbor, Suzanne Leclair tells Detective Adams. 136 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:11.679 Well, the Lake County detectives called Kentucky, Murray Kentucky, and 137 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:15.799 the sheriff up there says, you've got a wild bunch 138 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.600 on the loose there. Apparently Rod was the leader of 139 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.879 a cult with a handful of kids, and they had 140 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.679 been suspected of going into an animal shelter and abusing 141 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:33.720 about sixty animals in a horrific, terrible thing. That Rod 142 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:39.679 had been suspected of building gasoline bombs and all this 143 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:45.960 blood drinking vampire cult business. They just had their eye 144 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.960 on him, and they were not They were shocked with 145 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.320 the murders, but they weren't surprised that his name had 146 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:55.000 come up. And then as the police were still at 147 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:59.639 the crime scene, this lady named Suzanne Leclair drives up 148 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:05.440 and she says well, what's going on is Jennifer Okay, 149 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:08.440 she figured maybe Jennifer rector Carr in the driveway or something. 150 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:12.200 They said, no, Jennifer's fine. And then Susanne says, well, 151 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:19.159 my daughter, Janine is was Heather's best friend. Heather's runaway. 152 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:21.279 I just found out. 153 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:21.840 And so. 154 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:26.600 The detective says, we'll bring your daughter back up here. 155 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:29.440 We need to talk to her. So that's how that 156 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:30.159 got started. 157 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:35.840 So what information did did it get from her Heather's 158 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:40.360 best friend Janine regarding this running away and more importantly 159 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:42.840 the murder of her parents. 160 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.840 Well, Janine was fifteen and Heather was fifteen, and they 161 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:51.559 were best friends, had been best friends for years. So 162 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.559 the girls had been talking about running away with Rod, 163 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:02.840 just running away, nothing about murder whatever. But Rod had 164 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.799 earlier that we'll see this murder happened on a Monday night. 165 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:17.919 So on Saturday, Rod and his friends showed up. There 166 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.200 was three other four other people with Rod, and they 167 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:27.159 show up at this fellow classmates, old classroomates of theirs 168 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.519 and makes arrangements. He meets with Janine and he says 169 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:36.799 he talks about killing Jeanine's parents, and she says, no, 170 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:40.960 you're not killing my parents. You know, I'm not. You 171 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.679 can you can take money or whatever you want to do. 172 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:46.679 I'll give you money from my bank account or whatever, 173 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:51.200 but you're not killing my parents. So then Janine and 174 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:55.799 Heather talking back and forth about running away with Rod, 175 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:01.320 and at one point Heather says, oh, he's he's got 176 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.480 to leave now, We've got to leave now. They thought 177 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:07.240 they've had several days to leave, and Heather says, well, 178 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:12.360 he's talking about killing my parents. So now all of 179 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:17.200 a sudden everything's thrown them into motion. And earlier on 180 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:26.200 Monday afternoon, they do this thing called crossover, a ritual 181 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:32.080 vampire blood draw blood sucking thing they do. So Rod 182 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:36.200 Ferrell had Heather crossover to be a vampire. So the 183 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:40.360 police are learning about all this information. Now Heather's gone, 184 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:45.279 but they're getting all this information from Janine and Heather's 185 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.960 boyfriend who didn't go away on this trip, and they're 186 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:49.919 putting it all together. 187 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:58.480 So what is their next step for police in terms 188 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:03.480 of continuing to questioned Jennifer and then Janine as well, 189 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.080 and then another person, Shan and Joey. You mentioned where 190 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:12.200 this former classmate where all this group had visited, including 191 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:15.279 Rod Ferrell and the group had visited before these murders. 192 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.279 What do they do next in their investigation. 193 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.120 Well, they didn't waste any time. I mean they were 194 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.840 knocking on doors at two o'clock in the morning, four 195 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:26.240 o'clock in the morning, that kind of thing. So they 196 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:31.919 tracked down this Shannon Joe, this girl, former classmate of 197 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:38.320 Rod's and Janine's. So they talked with her and she says, yeah, 198 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:42.200 this group showed up at my house, surprised, no warning. 199 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.200 But Rod was different now, and he looked different. He 200 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:49.960 was wearing all black he had he was smoking and 201 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:55.720 talking about how he had to steal the Windorf's car 202 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.279 because the car they came down in, which belonged to 203 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.159 one of the Cold member, Scott Anderson, was a little 204 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.840 Buick Skyhawk and it wasn't running very well. And so 205 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:10.000 he says, we got to steal the Windorf's car, and 206 00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:15.080 then he says, we got to kill him too. Well, 207 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:19.080 this girl, Shannon, she said, I didn't take him seriously 208 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:25.519 that they were going to kill her parents because he 209 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.279 was always talking smack, you know, always talking kind of trash. 210 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:32.679 So she didn't take him seriously about it, but she 211 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:35.360 should have. She's in retrospect. 212 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:41.360 Now while they're looking for these people. You also mentioned 213 00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:46.200 something that's very interesting that the grandfather is James Wendorf, 214 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.279 and he's a retired lawyer and he became the family 215 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:55.159 spokesman immediately after these murders. And as you said later, 216 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:01.200 we will talk about his support of Heather later. Now, 217 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:07.679 this is three days after the slaying Thanksgiving Day. What 218 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:11.559 does one of the people that's involved with this and 219 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.879 who calls their grandmother. 220 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:20.120 One of the cult members, Charity Casey, her name, nickname 221 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:25.639 is Shay. She calls her grandmother because they're they're broke, 222 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:35.519 they're tired, they're dirty, they're hungry, and she's called her 223 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:37.840 grandmother to try to get a hold of her mother. 224 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:44.000 So the grandmother calls the sherif Lake County Sheriff's office. 225 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:47.679 She these kids are by now in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 226 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:51.799 Their initial goal was to go to New Orleans. Well, 227 00:15:51.799 --> 00:15:54.399 they went there and Shaye didn't like it. She was 228 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:57.000 freaked out because it was they went to a bad neighborhood. 229 00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.679 So they left New Orleans and went to Baton Rouge. 230 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.080 So they end up in Baton Rouge. Everything's closed down. 231 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:07.919 She's just tired of the whole thing, so she calls 232 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:13.360 her grandmother. Grandmother recognizes that she has this phone number 233 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:17.840 from a payphone on her phone, and she calls and 234 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:21.240 notifies the Lake County Sheriff's office. Lake County calls the 235 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:26.320 Baton Rouge police and they track these kids down. Finally, 236 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:31.480 the girl's mother acts like she's going to send money. 237 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:35.279 They can go to a motel in Baton Rouge, and 238 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:37.039 it's a trap. They're all trapped. 239 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:39.759 Us has an opportunity to stop for a second for 240 00:16:39.879 --> 00:16:40.559 these messages. 241 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:44.720 With Lucky Lancelots, you can get lucky just about. 242 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:48.320 Anywhere, Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today. Has anyone 243 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:49.480 seen the bride and groom? 244 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:50.320 Maury? 245 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.159 Sorry we're here. We were getting lucky in the limo 246 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:56.279 and we lost track of time. No Lucky Land casino 247 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.480 with cash prizes that add up quicker than he gets 248 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:01.320 registered lucky. 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They at first they talked with Rod 260 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:53.559 and here's the thing. Rod is says, look, my girlfriend Shay, 261 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:58.440 he thinks she's pregnant. And he says, I'll tell you 262 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:00.720 anything you want to know, just let me talk to 263 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:05.000 my girlfriend. And so the cops interview him and he 264 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:09.319 just he says, yeah, I did it. Nobody else really 265 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.839 had any part in it, you know, although the one kid, 266 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.680 Howard Anderson, was with him in the house. The other 267 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.400 girls had picked up, had taken Heather away from the 268 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.920 house to go see your boyfriend when all this murder 269 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:30.279 was going on. So they start with Rod and he's 270 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:36.559 like matter of fact in a way. He said, you know, yeah, 271 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:38.599 I did it, and I got it was a rush 272 00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:44.440 and all this kind of bold, silliest stuff that he 273 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.079 was saying. And we're all animals basically, and you know, 274 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:51.720 humans are just animals and all this kind of stuff 275 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.519 and then he claims he was mentally disturbed, you know, 276 00:18:56.759 --> 00:19:00.720 all that jazz. So that's the Baton Rouge of the Meanwhile, 277 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.759 the Lake County Detectives are on the way to go 278 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.680 get to Baton Rouge. But the Baton Rouge police get 279 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.000 their first crack add him. 280 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.000 What does he say in terms of regards to the 281 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:18.640 culpability of the others, but especially the culpability of Heather 282 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:20.759 in regards to her parents' death. 283 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:27.599 He's The cops, of course by this time, are are 284 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:30.920 very interested in what Heather knows, what her role is, 285 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:34.759 you know, did she have any part in it? And 286 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:38.960 he says, well, the plan was just to first, he says, 287 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:40.680 the plan was just to pick her up and for 288 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:44.599 all of us to go to Baton Rouge. But then 289 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:51.960 he says, yeah, because people in Florida were telling the police, 290 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:57.599 you know, she was he was talking about killing her parents, 291 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.319 and she was talking about They had a big correspondence 292 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.079 and with the telephones and all this stuff, talking back 293 00:20:06.119 --> 00:20:09.279 and forth, and so they really wanted to know, you 294 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:12.680 know what about it, and so they said okay. So 295 00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:17.559 eventually the Lake County detectives get up there and they 296 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.720 talk with Heather and then they talked to Rod and 297 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.759 Heather says, yeah, he had mentioned about killing my parents. 298 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.319 How many times had he mentioned it? Why did he 299 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:30.759 mention it? She says, well, he's obsessed with killing people. 300 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.599 He's killed people before, he says. And so they were 301 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:37.079 very interested in all this, and they said, well, how 302 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.440 many times did he talk about this? And she said, well, 303 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.880 he would just say something in passing, you know. And 304 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.960 so they're building this case they think where Heather and 305 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.160 Rod are working together this kind of thing, but there's 306 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:57.079 holes in the story. It's sort of murky, you know. 307 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:01.000 And then of course they ok to the other kids too, 308 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.680 Dana Cooper, who was the oldest, I think she was 309 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:06.400 about twenty at the time. She was the only adult. 310 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:11.559 And then Howard Anderson I think he was seventeen. Shay 311 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:16.039 was fifteen or sixteen. So they're talking to all of them, 312 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.880 and then the Lake County detectives talk with Rod. They 313 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.440 finally get their chance to talk with Rod, and he's 314 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.599 telling them all this stuff about it. It's a rush 315 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:31.039 and it's like a god. If you kill somebody, you 316 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.839 feel like a god for a minute. Then he says, well, 317 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:35.880 I was really a god. I wouldn't be here though, 318 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.000 what that was interesting. 319 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:44.200 At the same time, he tells the other his accomplices 320 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:50.400 and their role in this, including addresson But at the 321 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:56.839 same time they're wanting they're questioning Heather about things like 322 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:00.640 her sister saying that she had plotted and asked the 323 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.880 question if they ever plotted she ever plotted her parents death, 324 00:22:04.119 --> 00:22:07.480 And so there was other people that they and there 325 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:10.599 was other people that they spoke to as well that 326 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:15.920 had things to say regarding what Heather had said, apparently 327 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.920 about her parents. Tell us about some of the things 328 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:19.759 that other people said. 329 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:23.640 Right, Well, Heather first of all denied ever asking her 330 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.440 sister about that, but her sister would end up testifying 331 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:31.720 that she had said it. So that was interesting. But 332 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:36.000 they were classmates to school that said, yeah, I overheard 333 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:42.599 Heather say she wished her parents were dead. One girl 334 00:22:42.759 --> 00:22:47.079 comes forward and says, yeah, I saw Rod one time 335 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.839 at Heather's house and I heard him her try to 336 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:53.359 get me to go with him and all that sort 337 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:56.240 of thing. That girl turned out to be a liar. 338 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:00.519 That was a whole can of worms. She just well, 339 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:02.440 I don't know why she did it, but she was 340 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:05.240 claiming all the stuff that wasn't true. That would come 341 00:23:05.319 --> 00:23:15.519 back to haunt the investigation. But also Rod's mother, Sondra Gibson, 342 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:20.039 told the police, Yeah, I overheard Heather saying she wished 343 00:23:20.039 --> 00:23:23.400 their parents were dead. So those two things were kind 344 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:25.160 of hanging out there. They were getting ready to go 345 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:26.119 into the grand jury. 346 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:33.799 They also the police looked into Sondra, his mother and 347 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:38.000 her background as well. What did they find and when 348 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:39.960 they spoke with her, what did they discover. 349 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.759 Well, Sondra Gibson had her own problems. She was arrested 350 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:50.440 for trying to solicit sex with a fourteen year old 351 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:55.440 boy in the middle of a vampire ritual. That was 352 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:57.720 what her plan was. She was going to have sex 353 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:04.079 with this kid while crossing him over. And so she 354 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:08.480 was arrested for that, and then they got to doing 355 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:13.519 more investigation, and it turns out that Rod, who also 356 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:17.160 told this to the police, told the police that he 357 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.839 had been raped as a five year old by his 358 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:26.720 grandfather's friends in a cult ritual called the by a 359 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:32.799 cult called the Black Black Mask. And that was a 360 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:37.720 whole other kettle of fish. And see, basically, Sondra had 361 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.880 a whole history of failed relationships with men, so she 362 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:45.519 lived with her parents. So this grandfather that Rod talked 363 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:48.000 about was he was living with his grandfather and his 364 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:54.599 grandmother in Kentucky. So that was another whole thing that 365 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:57.680 came up. They would be a very important part in 366 00:24:57.799 --> 00:24:58.680 the trial later on. 367 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:04.680 And what did she and Rod share other than this 368 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:08.240 interest in well, what interest did they share, but also 369 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:12.079 even the clothing and some of the behavior that people 370 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:16.200 thought they were siblings rather than a parent and. 371 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:21.960 Son or a boyfriend girlfriend. Actually they had an apartment 372 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:25.720 together and they both wore black all black, black fingernails, 373 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:29.960 black clothes, everything dyed their hair dark black, and they 374 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:33.160 walked around together in the parking lot holding hands and stuff. 375 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:38.000 And when they moved out of the apartment, they found 376 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:41.319 a pentagram painted on the floor in her bedroom. So 377 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:46.599 she was into this vampire thing too, But then she 378 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:51.640 would Rod became a real problem at school, was a 379 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:54.720 real discipline problem, and wasn't doing his work and so on. 380 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:58.400 And she went and told the officials there in Kentucky 381 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:02.759 that Rod had threat that the members of this vampire 382 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:06.920 cult had threatened her, that this rival cult leader had 383 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:11.039 raped her during an orgy. So it was really just 384 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:14.599 the craziest sounding story you could ever imagine. 385 00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:21.519 This is his mother. So now you talked about this 386 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:25.680 grand jury being convened, But you also write in this 387 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:31.160 book about writing a letter to Rod Ferrell in December. 388 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:36.119 So tell us which which happened first, and tell us 389 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:36.480 about that. 390 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:40.759 Well, the the letter came first. As soon as they 391 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:45.400 brought him back to Florida. I sent a letter to 392 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:49.519 the jail through the jail and asked him for an interview. 393 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:53.400 It's kind of the standard thing in a big case 394 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:56.640 where I say, look, we're getting all our information from 395 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.519 the police, you know, we want to hear your side 396 00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:02.720 of the story. So then it was before I had 397 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:06.880 a cell phone, and I left the office finally, and 398 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.599 he called, and the editor sent two other people to 399 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:14.519 interview him. Well, in this interview, he claims to have 400 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:19.039 had multiple personalities. He didn't know what he was like, 401 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:24.039