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True Murder with your host, 30 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:33.239 journalist and author Dan Zufanski. 31 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:46.599 When widow Francis Lacy was murdered in July nineteen sixty 32 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:50.719 on Mackinaw Island, only a few meager clues were found 33 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:54.120 by police, and the case soon turned cold. But more 34 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:58.159 than sixty years later, will those same clues finally solve 35 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:03.079 the mystery. On twenty fourth, nineteen sixty, the quaint charm 36 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:07.519 and serenity of mckinaw nestled between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, 37 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:12.080 was shattered by Lacy's brutal death. Despite a massive manhunt 38 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:16.199 and thousands of pages of police reports, her killer was 39 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:21.719 never caught. Now in Grim Paradise, true crime author Rod 40 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.479 Sadler of Killing Women delves into the secrets of one 41 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.479 of Michigan's most perplexing murder cases. Offering an in depth 42 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.560 and suspenseful account of the long standing mystery, he poses 43 00:02:33.639 --> 00:02:38.199 the question, could advance DNA technology lead to the identity 44 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:42.039 of the Mackinaw Island murderer, as it did recently in 45 00:02:42.120 --> 00:02:45.759 the case of the Golden State Killer. Find out in 46 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:50.080 Grim Paradise, the cold case Search for the mckinaw Island 47 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.199 Killer with my special guest, retired police officer, journalist and 48 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:57.960 author Rod Sadler. Welcome to the program, and thank you 49 00:02:58.439 --> 00:02:59.680 once again for this interview. 50 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.919 Rod Sadler, Dan, thank you. It is always a pleasure 51 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.719 to be on your podcast, and I'm excited for this 52 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.919 new book titled Grim Paradise. I think that your audience 53 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:18.039 would certainly enjoy reading it. It's an interesting case, so 54 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:19.159 thank you for having me here. 55 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.560 It certainly is, and thank you so much. It's always 56 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.199 great to have you back as a guest and to 57 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:27.520 interview you. And congratulations on this new book, Grim Paradise. 58 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:30.879 It is a very fascinating case. Let's get right to 59 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:33.919 the genesis of this book, and you do mention right 60 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.680 in the very beginning a little bit about this book 61 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:40.000 and what you derive from it, but also a little 62 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:43.759 bit about Mackinaw Island, It's proximity to the mainland and 63 00:03:44.120 --> 00:03:44.759 its history. 64 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:50.439 Mackinaw Island is really considered Michigan's crown jewel as far 65 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:55.360 as vacation destinations. It's a small island that sits in 66 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.319 Lake Huron in the Straits of Mackinaw. It's about five 67 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:04.560 miles from the coast of our upper peninsula and maybe 68 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:08.879 eight miles from the coast of our lower peninsula. It 69 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:12.960 is home to the world famous Grand Hotel. If you've 70 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:15.800 ever seen the Grand Hotel, you'll know why it's called 71 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:20.560 the Grand Hotel. It's absolutely gorgeous. But this particular vacation 72 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.079 destination has been there for well over one hundred years. 73 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:30.720 It's known mostly because there are no vehicles allowed on 74 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:34.439 the island. In eighteen ninety eight, town council or the 75 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:39.680 village council outlawed the horseless carriage, and of course there 76 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:43.920 are fire vehicles and an ambulance and a police vehicle 77 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:48.240 and some public service vehicles. Beyond that, transportation around the 78 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.720 island is by foot or by horse and carriage or 79 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.639 by bicycle, and that's what makes it so charming. It's 80 00:04:55.879 --> 00:05:00.720 just a beautiful, beautiful place. It's got geologic outcropping, it's 81 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:04.040 got all sorts of touristy things in town to do, 82 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:09.040 great restaurants, Fort Mcinawe's on the island, you can tour that. 83 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:15.160 It's just really a perfect vacation destination. And violent crime 84 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:20.959 on Macinaw Island is virtuallyheard of, really, and so that's 85 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:25.920 the setting for this murder, this particular murder in nineteen 86 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.600 sixty of a dearborn widow. 87 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.639 You talk about this place as a choice vacation destination eventually, 88 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.720 but even very at the very beginning. But part of 89 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:38.600 that is this Grand Hotel. Tell us about this Grand 90 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:40.279 Hotel and its origins. 91 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.160 Well, the Grand Hotel was built in the eighteen hundreds. 92 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:48.360 It is known for having the longest porch in the world, 93 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:53.079 which I believe it's over six hundred feet long. It's 94 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:57.800 a five story hotel, very opulent. You can see it 95 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:02.079 for miles coming across the straits and Mackinaws you're approaching 96 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.920 the island. It's very upscale. There's been a couple movies 97 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.040 that have been filmed there, the most recent being Somewhere 98 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.279 in Time with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. It's visited 99 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:18.519 by people from all around the world every year and 100 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:21.560 it's a sight to behold. It's absolutely beautiful. 101 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:26.720 Now, let's introduce this main character, Francis Lacey, her daughter Kay. 102 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:29.560 She's married. This is our third marriage to a person 103 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:32.480 named Ford Lacey. Tell us a little bit about the 104 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:36.639 background of Francis Lacy before we talk about where she is, 105 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.639 her in her family. July twenty second, nineteen sixty. 106 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:44.959 Sure. Sure, Francis Lacy was a widow in nineteen sixty. 107 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:50.000 She had been married actually twice before in the nineteen 108 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:55.000 thirties and had divorced. Those marriages didn't last very long. 109 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.879 But she had remarried a man named Ford Lacey and 110 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:04.600 passed away in nineteen fifty seven, and so it had 111 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:09.360 been about three years since his death when this particular 112 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:14.199 event occurred. And Francis was really a very well liked, 113 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.000 personable person, but she was hard to get to know. 114 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.199 She kind of stayed to herself, yet she was very 115 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:26.480 friendly in the same sense to people. She had two kids, 116 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.399 a son and a daughter in their twenties early twenties, 117 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:34.120 and she came from a large family down in the Nashville, 118 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:38.439 Michigan Hastings, Michigan area is where she grew up. And 119 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:44.319 she originally was going to nursing school and had dropped 120 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.639 out of that and started her family. And when this particular, 121 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.000 I hate to term it as an event, when her 122 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.079 murder occurred, it had been three years since her husband's death, 123 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:00.279 and the trip to Mackinaw Island with her daughter and 124 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.480 son in law and his sister, she was so looking 125 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.959 forward to because she hadn't really done anything in the 126 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:12.720 past three years for herself and so for this short vacation, 127 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:14.439 she was really looking forward to it. 128 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:18.040 Yes, you're right that she had struggled with depression and 129 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.000 she took medication for that depression, and it looked like 130 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:25.199 she was much better after this three year interval after 131 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:27.279 her husband had died and she had cared for him 132 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:30.000 until his death. And so on July twenty second, as 133 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:33.039 you write that Francis nineteen sixty, Francis set off on 134 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:35.759 a trip to Mackinaw Island with the small group and 135 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:38.399 they needed to take a ferry for this eight mile 136 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:40.960 trip to the Mackinaw Island. Tell Us who was with 137 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.720 Francis and people that were in the family group and 138 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:47.759 also where they were their destination on the island. 139 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:52.799 Well, their destination was an area on the island called 140 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:57.120 British Landing. It's around on the northwest side of the island. 141 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:01.559 Mackinaw Island is only about eight mile in circumference, so 142 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.320 it's a very small island and you can literally walk 143 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:11.799 anywhere on that island. And so the group that was 144 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:15.679 heading out with Francis was her daughter Ka and Kay's 145 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:21.799 husband Wesley, and then they also had Wesley's sister Mary 146 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:24.480 with them, and they set off on a Friday night. 147 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:28.799 They got up their early Saturday morning, they were only 148 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:32.039 staying the weekend, and they went to a restaurant because 149 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:36.200 the fairies, the passenger fairies, weren't running until eight o'clock, 150 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.080 so at eight o'clock they boarded the passenger ferry and 151 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:45.759 they got over to the island. Now, Wesley's mother was 152 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.320 already on the island and had rented a cabin at 153 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:54.039 British Landing, and they had planned on everybody staying there. Well, 154 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:57.720 missus Lacey decided that she didn't want to put anyone out, 155 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:00.120 and she told them that she was going to to 156 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.519 stay at a hotel and so she stopped at the 157 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:07.600 first hotel was literally at the end of the pier, 158 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:10.840 and they weren't sure they were going to have a room. 159 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:13.559 They wouldn't know until like eleven o'clock, and she didn't 160 00:10:13.559 --> 00:10:17.000 want to wait, so she took a brochure for that 161 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:20.159 particular hotel and she put it in her purse, and 162 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.000 then she walked across the street to the Murray Hotel 163 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:27.000 and they had a room available and she paid. In 164 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:30.480 nineteen sixty, she paid five dollars and some cents for 165 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:34.639 one night's stay, and she told kay that you know, 166 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:38.080 after a day of sight seeing that evening, hey, I'll 167 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:40.960 walk out to British landing tomorrow morning and meet all 168 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:41.200 of you. 169 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.440 So the next day around eleven am. You say that 170 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.080 they had expected her. Also, her sister had encouraged her 171 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.080 k to not walk the distance and to take a 172 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:54.519 carriage instead, because they thought it was like an hour 173 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.519 and a half walk. So tell us about their concern 174 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.399 and what happens when they make a call and wiring 175 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:01.440 at the hotel. 176 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:06.279 Sure what happened was missus Lacy. Police theorized that she 177 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:10.240 had breakfast at the Murray Hotel based on some forensic 178 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:15.960 evidence that was discovered, and after her breakfast at the 179 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:20.720 Murray Hotel, she began walking down Main Street westbound. She 180 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:24.559 walked for it's not big long street at all, you 181 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:28.919 can probably walk it in ten or fifteen minutes if that. 182 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:32.559 So she got to the end of Main Street and 183 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:35.679 continued on around the west side of the island on 184 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.440 a boardwalk which was in place back in nineteen sixty 185 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:43.360 and she was going to be at the British Land 186 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.159 and at about eleven o'clock that's when they were expecting her. 187 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:50.480 So at eleven o'clock she doesn't show up and the 188 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:55.559 family begins to get concerned. They wait until one o'clock 189 00:11:56.279 --> 00:12:01.080 she still hasn't shown up, and at that point they decide, hey, 190 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.919 let's notify the police. Wesley's half brother was also there 191 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:08.720 with his mother, young man by the name of Marvin, 192 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:13.919 and Marvin called the Murray Hotel right away at eleven 193 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:16.480 when she didn't show up, and they said that she 194 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.200 had already checked out, and so he left. He left 195 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:23.879 British Landing on a bike and planned on probably finding 196 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:27.279 Francis along the roadway on the west end of the island, 197 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:30.360 but he did not. He was not able to locate her, 198 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:34.039 and so they contacted the Michigan State Police. The Michigan 199 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.120 State Police had a trooper assigned to the island during 200 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:39.480 the summer. There was actually three of them assigned in 201 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.720 different shifts. At that time. There was one trooper on 202 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.360 the island and he rode a bike out to British 203 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:51.240 Landing and his first thought was, hey, missus Lacy's she's 204 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:56.519 probably lost. She's on a trail here somewhere, She's probably lost. 205 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.519 But his first concern was, hey, let's make sure she 206 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:05.000 didn't leave the island. So he called the Mcinaw City Police. 207 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:10.240 Mckinaw City is at the tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsulas 208 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:14.320 where the ferries run out of and they checked and 209 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:16.679 made sure that the vehicle that she had come in 210 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:19.840 with Wesleyan k was still there. He also had the 211 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.360 local police, the Mackinaw Island Police check her hotel room 212 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:29.279 and they actually found six pack of Carling black label 213 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:32.399 beer under the bed, but she was not there. They 214 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:35.200 checked with the front desk. The front desk said she 215 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:38.320 had left her luggage there. They found a key on 216 00:13:38.600 --> 00:13:41.679 the front desk that her room, so they assumed that 217 00:13:42.200 --> 00:13:44.840 she left her luggage there and was probably going to 218 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:46.919 come back for it before she left the island. That 219 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:49.519 was standard procedure people that were going to spend the 220 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.360 day on the island, you know, rather than tote their 221 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:54.519 luggage around with them all day, they leave it at 222 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:56.720 the hotel and they pick it up later. So her 223 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:59.919 luggage was still at the Murray hotel, and so they 224 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:05.159 they searched all day, all day, into the evening, and 225 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:09.240 up until eleven o'clock at night. And by that time 226 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:14.039 the trooper was certain something was amiss and he had 227 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.799 to contact his supervisors. So he made a phone call 228 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:21.159 over to his supervisor, who was insane ignas just five 229 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:25.720 miles across the water to the mainland, and because it 230 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.600 was so late, he said, Hey, we'll be out tomorrow 231 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.879 with a contingent of men and we'll search the island again. 232 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:34.360 And so that's how this all got started. 233 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:39.080 I let's talk about that search, because they soon realized 234 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.799 that it's unlikely that anybody could get lost on this 235 00:14:42.919 --> 00:14:45.720 series of trails because it's all of the trails lead 236 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:49.759 to somewhere accessible, which is maybe one hundred yards away. 237 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:54.240 So explain how they proceed with his search. Combination of 238 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:55.879 law enforcement and volunteers. 239 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.360 The island again is only eight miles in circumference, and 240 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:06.399 it is interlace with horse trails, walking trails. They're just everywhere, 241 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:10.639 and you're literally, like you said, probably within one hundred 242 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:14.759 yards of another trail, so it's very, very unlikely for 243 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:19.600 anyone to get lost there. The search party on Monday 244 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:25.879 morning consisted of probably a dozen police officers, sixty five 245 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:31.559 volunteers including some boy scouts, and the Coastguard, and they 246 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:36.639 searched all day and there was absolutely no sign of 247 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:41.240 missus Lacy at all. And then the theory became that 248 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:45.759 maybe she had fallen into the water, or if she 249 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:49.399 was suffering from depression. It couldn't rule out the possibility 250 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:52.240 that she might have harmed herself. So they were looking 251 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:56.039 at all different avenues of all different explanations for why 252 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:57.200 she might be missing. 253 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.960 We should talk about the exhaustive investigation, really, all of 254 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:06.759 the directions that the police looked at simultaneously, including the 255 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:11.320 Grand Hotel employees, chambermaids and employees. Tell us a little 256 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:14.200 bit about some of the directions that the police looked 257 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.039 into that might be leading to a good suspect before 258 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:20.320 we talk about the emergence of Paul Strands. 259 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:23.919 Well. Once it was decided that hey, there's something to 260 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:28.120 miss here and we can't find her, officers started arriving 261 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.720 from literally from around the state to help in the search. 262 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:38.200 They looked immediately at employees at different hotels, including the 263 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:42.519 Grand Hotel employees that suddenly quit maybe on the morning 264 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:47.559 that she came up missing. They looked at seasonal employees 265 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:52.559 because Mackinac Island has a huge transient population in the 266 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.480 summer of employees that work at the hotels and the 267 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:59.720 souvenir shops and take care of the horses and things 268 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:03.559 like that. This was during the Chicago to Mackinaw Yacht Race, 269 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:07.720 which is an annual event. It coincides within a week 270 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.680 of the port here on the Mackinaw Yacht Race, and 271 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:16.200 so the island is literally flooded with tourists during those 272 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:21.039 two particular weekends. It is during those two weekends Macinaw 273 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:24.279 Island is considered the yachting capital of the world. And 274 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:28.400 it was on the weekend of the Chicago to Mackinaw 275 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.559 Race that missus Lacy came up missing. So, in addition 276 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:38.160 to the tourists and the seasonal employees and the regular employees, 277 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:42.440 and the island natives and the people on the boats. 278 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:46.519 The police literally were overwhelmed. There was just so many 279 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:48.680 people coming and going from that island. 280 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.519 One of the detectives that's involved in this murder investigation 281 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.440 has a sort of a famous person connected with Hollywood somewhat, 282 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.400 and that's Detective Anthony Barrato, and he is the that 283 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:04.960 is really very high on Paul Strants as a suspect. 284 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:10.079 He is Paul Strands was a local, transient resident, if 285 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.960 you will. Every summer he came to the island and 286 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.240 to work, and all he would do is odd jobs 287 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.079 on the island. That's how he survived. He was from 288 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:24.079 the Indiana and he was a little different. And as 289 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:28.720 the investigation began to take shape, he was interviewed by 290 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:35.160 Detective Sprato, and Detective Sprato was certain that he was 291 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:37.720 involved somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it, 292 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:40.720 and so he said, hey, can we search your room? 293 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:43.839 You know, if you're innocent, can we look in your room? 294 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.559 And Strantz said yeah, So he took him over to 295 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:50.160 the hotel. They searched his room and Strants had some 296 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:54.400 very odd things. He had a newspaper article about women 297 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:57.640 protecting themselves. He had some drawings of some women that 298 00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:00.759 he had done. His suit coat was and when they 299 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:02.519 asked him about it, he said he got caught in 300 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:05.640 the rain on Saturday and it hadn't dried out yet. 301 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.400 That they thought they had some blood spots on one 302 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:10.720 of his shirts. It turned out that that was just paint. 303 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:15.279 But he just wasn't all there, according to the police reports, 304 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.799 and they didn't have enough to hold him at that point, 305 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:24.400 but Sprouto made some mental notes about strants. In other words, 306 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.839 he said, we'll revisit strants again. Maybe this is the 307 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:31.640 guy that's responsible for Missus Lacy's disappearance. So they don't 308 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:35.599 have enough to hold strands. Anthony Sproto is pretty certain 309 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:40.119 that he's involved in Missus Lacy's disappearance somehow, and so 310 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:44.160 they release him from questioning. He was never arrested at 311 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:48.599 that point, but as the investigation goes on, Sprato gets 312 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:53.240 a tip, a very valuable tip that leads sadly to 313 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:57.359 the discovery of Missus Lacy's body. And that tip, if 314 00:19:57.400 --> 00:20:00.960 I can get into that, came about from a couple 315 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.799 on the island who weren't supposed to be there, and 316 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.160 by that I mean they were having an affair. Nobody 317 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.960 was supposed to know they were there. And on Sunday morning, 318 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.839 the day that Missus Lacey came up missing, they arrived 319 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:19.119 on the island at about nine point thirty and they 320 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:23.119 rented a bike because that's the only transportation, and they 321 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:26.319 started some sightseeing and they rode around the west end 322 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:30.119 of the island and as they neared an area where 323 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:35.119 there's a large gate that's flanked by two cobblestone pillars, 324 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.759 they noticed personally and along the side of the road, 325 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.400 and so they stopped and picked it up, and inside 326 00:20:41.640 --> 00:20:45.200 was the identification of a woman named Francis Lacy. Now 327 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:47.880 understand that she hasn't been reported missing. This is on 328 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:52.759 Sunday morning, and it's about eleven am. And as they stop, 329 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:57.359 they hear some lumbering around in the brush on the 330 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.440 inside of the roadway. On the outside of the roadway 331 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:05.680 is Lake Huron, because it's a coastal roadway, and they 332 00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.759 hear this lumbering around and they don't pay any attention 333 00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:12.319 to it. They think it's a large animal. And they 334 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.519 see this purse. They see the identification of a woman 335 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.160 named Francis Lacy. And so they find a brochure for 336 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.559 the hotel that's at the end of the pier that 337 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.680 she had sucked in to her purse, and they said, well, 338 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:26.599 we'll go back to the hotel and we'll find her 339 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.119 and we'll give her purse to her. Well, they go 340 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.079 back there and Missus Lacey didn't stay at that hotel, 341 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.720 if you remember correctly. So the hotel says, no, we 342 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:38.759 don't have anybody here by that name. And so they 343 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.720 see that missus Lacy's from Dearborn and they're from Detroit. 344 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:44.279 So they said, we'll just take it back to Detroit 345 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:46.480 with us and we'll track her down there and give 346 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.160 it to her rather than try to find her on 347 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:50.200 the island. So at the end of the day they 348 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:53.920 leave the island. Jump ahead four days. It's now made 349 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:58.000 national news that dearborn widow is missing on Mackinaw Island 350 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.160 and her faces all over the newspapers and the TV. 351 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:04.480 And they see it and they recognize the name. Hey, 352 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:09.359 we've got this lady's purse. So they call the state police. 353 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.559 And I'm giving you kind of the abridged version here. Yes, 354 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:16.000 they called the state police, and the State Police go 355 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:19.759 back to the location where they found the person. That's 356 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:23.880 where they begin to zero in their search for Missus Lacy, 357 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:28.039 and sadly, that's when they find her body. She'd been 358 00:22:28.119 --> 00:22:31.839 there for four days. And the theory is, and it's 359 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:36.559 probably correct, the lumbering around the large animal they thought 360 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.079 they heard they probably had just interrupted the murder of 361 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:44.039 Francis Lacy. That was probably the suspect getting away. 362 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.839 Wow, you're right that they first find a denture in 363 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.880 the pavement crushed or a piece of denture crushed and 364 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:54.039 pavement before they find her body. Tell us the condition 365 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:57.119 that they find her body, and obviously they can find 366 00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:59.000 out more information with the autopsy. 367 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:02.960 Oh sure. When they started their search, they did find 368 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:08.319 a smashed like a dental plate in the roadway, almost 369 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.519 as if it had been run over, probably by a carriage. 370 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.680 That did turn out to be Missus Lacy's dental plate. 371 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:19.680 When they found her body. Well, that the officer, the 372 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.119 first officer they got on the inside of the gate, 373 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:27.480 and he noticed an old overturned a boat, and he 374 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:29.799 went up to that and looked under it, and he 375 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:35.400 found a plastic like a shopping bag and had one 376 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:38.359 shoe in it a woman's dress shoe, and there was 377 00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.759 a woman's dress shoe laying next to the bag, so 378 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:46.480 obviously someone had concealed those there. And as he looked 379 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.680 a little bit further into the brush, understand that this 380 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:55.319 small cliff is covered with cedar trees and rocks and brush, 381 00:23:56.200 --> 00:24:00.200 and he notices a tree down with it looks like 382 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.119 some branches are propped up against it. And as he 383 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:07.960 looks closer, he sees human hair and he discovers missus 384 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:12.680 Lacy's body. She is laying face down. One of her 385 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:16.559 arms is twisted up behind her back, her clothing is 386 00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:20.839 pulled up to her shoulders. She has quite a bit 387 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:27.039 of advanced decomposition because it's the hot summer. Her body's 388 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:31.519 been out there for four days, so there's some decomposition 389 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:35.480 going on. And as they turn her over, they discover 390 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:40.519 that she has been strangled with her own panties. 391 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:45.920 There is also forensic evidence gathered. There are hairs, pubic 392 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:48.240 and head hair gathered as well. 393 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:53.359 Yes, the police located some hairs on her body that 394 00:24:53.599 --> 00:24:56.480 did not belong to her. Her hair was black and 395 00:24:56.960 --> 00:24:59.960 with some graying, and she was only forty nine years old, 396 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:03.640 and they did take some of her own hair off 397 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:07.319 of her clothing, but they also discovered some light brown 398 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:10.440 to blonde colored hair. I think there was five or 399 00:25:10.519 --> 00:25:13.880 six different hairs that were recovered not only at the 400 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.519 scene but during her autopsy, and those were crucial in 401 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:21.079