WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:10.279 In January of two thousand and three, a Houston mother 2 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:13.439 named Susan Wright walked into a police station to file 3 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:17.199 a domestic violence complaint, and she did so two days 4 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:20.399 after she viciously stabbed her husband and buried him in 5 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:24.480 the backyard. What unfolded next was a case that gripped 6 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:28.199 the nation, blending claims of long term abuse with one 7 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:32.560 of the most brutal homicides in Texas history. Was Susan 8 00:00:32.600 --> 00:00:35.200 a battered wife pushed to the edge, or a cold 9 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.799 calculated killer hiding behind a carefully crafted tail. This is 10 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.399 the story of the Blue Eyed Butcher. 11 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.719 My name's Ben, I'm Nicole, and you're listening to Wicked Ingram, 12 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:52.439 a true crime podcast. 13 00:00:52.479 --> 00:01:21.120 The following material intended venture audience. Happy, Oh, I think 14 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:22.519 we were both about to stay at the same time. 15 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:26.560 Happy Canada Day. Yes, July first, it's Canada Day. 16 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:27.599 It's Canada Day. 17 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.079 And then of course you know we got July fourth 18 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:32.079 coming up for those who are in the US and everything. 19 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:34.799 So yeah, it's just good times all around. Yeah, it's 20 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.439 quite a week, and you're annual reminder of be careful 21 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.359 with fireworks. In all honesty, we I just don't use fireworks. 22 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:45.920 Yeah, well, I mean I get they are pretty. They're 23 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.599 pretty purpose and stuff. But yeah, some people are against fireworks, 24 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:50.879 and I guess our hosthold is a. 25 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:55.560 Little They're bad for the environments, you know. They terrify animals, 26 00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:58.840 birds die, and dogs run away off leash out of yard. 27 00:01:58.879 --> 00:01:59.480 They're scared. 28 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:02.120 It does a lot of damage, but it brings up 29 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:03.599 PTSD for some people. 30 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:06.920 It does. So I mean, enjoy what you need to enjoy. 31 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.759 We totally get it. Don't let you, don't let us 32 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.120 stop you. However, if you can make the choice, you know, 33 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:14.479 just just think of those around you. 34 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.680 Yeah. Ben's tip of the Day, Yeah, tip of the day. 35 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.319 I get those all the time, little like do you 36 00:02:22.360 --> 00:02:23.280 know this? Do you know this? 37 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.360 Like, I don't know, You're just bends facts the day. 38 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:27.400 Okay, yeah, that's what I called it. I'm always like, 39 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:29.240 oh is that a fat Ben's fact of the day? 40 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:31.479 Yeap, Just little facts that pop up my head all 41 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:33.039 the time. I do a lot of cruising on the 42 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:36.159 internet since I'm like researching true crimes, so I learned 43 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:38.439 a lot of little facts, and yeah, I like to 44 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:38.919 share them. 45 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.759 We had to re record our intro because we had 46 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:45.319 a chicken doing an egg song. Our chickens, I feel like, 47 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:48.800 are so loud. I don't know if I need to 48 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.439 spend maybe some time with other people's chickens, but I 49 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.800 think ours are freaking loud chickens. 50 00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:55.000 I think you're just loud in general. 51 00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:58.479 I don't the perception of them is they're not. And 52 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.840 like when we first got our and they were doing 53 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:02.800 this egg song, I was like, holy shit, what is that. 54 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.520 Yeah, people are like, oh, I'm just gonna get hens 55 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.919 and not a rooster, because roosters are loud. No, hens 56 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:08.759 are fucking loud. 57 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:10.159 They're loud. Yeah. 58 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.039 Yeah. They lay an egg and then they sing what 59 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.759 they call the egg song. It's basically like, oh my god, 60 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:16.840 I just laid an egg and they're like searching for 61 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:19.919 like a rooster to like come over and you know, 62 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:21.520 like protect it and well, you know. 63 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:23.960 And maybe they don't do that so much if there 64 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.280 is a rooster, because we don't have a rooster so 65 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:29.240 and we may end up getting one this year, so 66 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:30.039 maybe we'll see. 67 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:31.919 I think they do still sing the egg song, it's 68 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.120 just maybe they won't carry on quite as much as 69 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:38.439 ours do. Yeah, they have the rooster. I don't know, huh, Anyways, 70 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:41.560 we got quite the story today. The blue eyed Butcher. 71 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.159 Yeah, that is okay. When you gave me the title 72 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.080 the other day, I for some reason didn't think it 73 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:46.599 was a woman. 74 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:47.439 I don't know. 75 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.120 I mean because generally, you know, nine times out of ten, 76 00:03:50.199 --> 00:03:52.080 I feel like the case is the bad person is 77 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:52.479 the male. 78 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:56.479 Yeah, I mean, perpetrators generally are our men. I'm not 79 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:58.800 going to say it's not true, because it is true. 80 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:01.560 So hey, if you went in the direction of thinking 81 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:04.080 it was a dude at first, I can understand. 82 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:06.800 Yea whoever, but there are bad women out there too, 83 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:09.360 so I don't if you're a male, I'm not saying 84 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:10.919 you know, it's always you. 85 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.680 But and here's the thing though, too, the dude might 86 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:16.240 still be the bad guy in this case. 87 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:20.120 Well, yeah, that's true. Actually just throw Yeah. 88 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:25.279 So there is a heated topic about whether Susan is 89 00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:26.360 the bad person or not. 90 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.000 Okay, well, I'm very intrigued to hear. But we do 91 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:30.519 got some patrons to thank for. 92 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.560 We do, We certainly do. So shout out to j 93 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:39.360 m Ashley, Lynn, Megan Nak Caprice, and Marie Pierre at Cornew. 94 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:41.279 Hopefully I pronounce your name right. 95 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:42.560 Haunded like you did. 96 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:44.040 I think I think they might be French. 97 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:48.639 And yeah, they just got an episode yesterday exclusive, so 98 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:49.639 that's pretty cool. 99 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:52.600 Yeah, a good mystery one too. And there's gonna be 100 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.000 a little bit of changes happening over on Patreons soon. 101 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:57.839 We're thinking of we've had a lot of troubles with 102 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.040 getting the ad free episodes out to our patrons. It 103 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:03.079 was never really something that we like, oh, you know, 104 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:05.720 it's definitely part of Patreon. It was just always just 105 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:08.319 thrown in there because it was it was a good 106 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.360 thing to throw in there, you know. But it's just 107 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:13.399 been this mess of trying to get the ad freeze 108 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:16.839 to them in accordance to working with Patreon, and accordance 109 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:19.399 to working with different platforms. Everyone works differently, so it's 110 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.360 just been this haywire mess. And I think we're going 111 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:24.279 to just say, you know what, screw it and just 112 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:27.439 upload the ad freeze directly to Patreon. 113 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:29.160 Here soon, yeah, which will be easy peasy. 114 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:31.439 So yeah, it will. So it'll make life a lot 115 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:33.759 easier for us and for our patrons. They'll get the 116 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.079 ad free all that extra bonus content. So if you're 117 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:38.759 interested in that, go ahead and sign up over in Patreon, 118 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:41.439 you can be that little you know, that community that 119 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:42.439 supports us over there. 120 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:44.240 Yeah, we love our patrons for sure. 121 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.399 Yeah and if not, hey, we still appreciate you. You 122 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:49.160 can listen to episodes like this the Blue ad Butcher 123 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:49.680 right now. 124 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:54.240 Yeah, okay, I mean I'm going in this in this 125 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:58.240 case for some reason with a judgment just from your intro. 126 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:00.800 So I need to probably like wipe my little. 127 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:03.839 On what's your judgment. I'm curious. I don't know. 128 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.720 I think that she was probably provoked. 129 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.680 You think she was provoked over I just. 130 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:11.800 Have this feeling, but I have literally no facts about it. 131 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:13.759 So let's hear okay and see. 132 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.319 Well, let me tell you the story and you can 133 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:17.920 form your opinions with the actual facts. 134 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:19.000 Yeah sounds good. 135 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:21.800 So Susan Wright was just like any young girl growing 136 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:24.240 up in the Houston suburbs. She was born in April 137 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:26.439 twenty fourth of nineteen seventy six, and she was the 138 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.279 middle child in a household that, at least from the outside, 139 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.800 seemed solid and stable. Her father was a mechanical engineer. 140 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:36.160 Her mother stayed home raising the children, cooking the meals 141 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.680 and tending the house. The classic image of a middle 142 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:40.240 class American family sort of thing. 143 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:41.560 I love it now. 144 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:45.199 Susan's father, by her account, was not just a disciplinarian. 145 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.839 He was, in fact violent. His temper loomed over the 146 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:52.040 family like a storm cloud, ready to break at any moment. 147 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:54.879 When he wasn't directing his rage at his wife, It's 148 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:58.639 spilled over under the children. Susan and her siblings learned 149 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.439 early to read the room, to stay quiet and disappear 150 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:03.519 when things turn dark. 151 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.519 I don't love that, and I think that's sometimes kind 152 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.639 of common, too common in which regard well maybe that era, 153 00:07:10.759 --> 00:07:13.519 I don't know, but yeah, kids having to like read 154 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:17.600 the room and stuff, you know, like that that goes 155 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:19.120 with you as you get older. 156 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:21.680 What do you mean common though? Common amongst who. 157 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:25.399 Like that generation where like kids, you know, the dad 158 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:28.480 has a temper or whatever, and then kids are kind 159 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:30.199 of having to be like, Okay, well I have to 160 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.439 act this way if my dad's like in this mood. 161 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:34.480 I'm not I understand what you're saying. I'm not sure. 162 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:36.720 If i'd say it's common in that generation, I would 163 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:40.800 say it's it was more prevalent, get more the farther 164 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.040 back you go. But like in the nineteen seventies, you 165 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:44.879 still had a lot of happy, good families and stuff 166 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:45.199 like that. 167 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:47.639 Yeah, I mean, I think it can still be a 168 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.800 little bit prominent to this day. Like lots of times 169 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:53.959 kids have to be like weary of their parents' mood. Yeah. 170 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.319 I think what you trying to say is it's unfortunately 171 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.439 more common than we think. Yeah, probably something like that. 172 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.519 There you go. I'm not saying all that. Okay, people 173 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.199 are gonna be like, holy shit, Nicole's just like, you know, 174 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:06.000 not all dads are like that, but even moms can 175 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.879 and like kids have to read rooms and I think 176 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:09.360 that sucks definitely. 177 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.480 Now, they didn't talk about these sort of things. They didn't, 178 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:14.759 you know, always ask for help or anything. They smiled 179 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.480 in public and walked on eggshells at home. Sort of situation. 180 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:22.040 For Susan that childhood it shaped everything. Abuse wasn't something 181 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.360 to be escaped from or anything. It was something to 182 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:29.079 be endured, hidden and just absorbed, live with it sort 183 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:32.679 of thing. It was what marriage looked like to her, 184 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:37.879 what love looked like to her. In high school, Susan's 185 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.559 sense of self worth was already tangled up in approval, 186 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.519 especially from men. She craved attention, validation and clung to 187 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.879 it whenever she got it. One boyfriend that she eventually 188 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:50.000 had in high school, in fact, even made a cruel 189 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:55.320 remark about her appearance, specifically her weight, and instead of 190 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.399 walking away from the situation, she dropped nearly twenty pounds 191 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.320 in response. 192 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:05.000 Oh shit, yeah, oh man, probably twenty pounds She didn't 193 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.519 even need to drop probably. 194 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.240 Yeah. Now, when she was a senior, Susan took a 195 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:13.519 job as an exotic dancer. Not out of rebellion, she 196 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.919 would later explain, anyways, but more out of necessity. The 197 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.679 work was temporary, just long enough to make enough money 198 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:23.759 to enroll in nursing school. So for eight weeks she danced, 199 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:26.279 saved her tips and her money, and then left that 200 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:27.000 world behind. 201 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:29.799 Oh wow, that's actually surprising. She could just do that 202 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:30.279 for eight. 203 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.279 Weeks, say, yeah, didn't get entrapped in that. 204 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:33.960 Or anything when the money is like real good? 205 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.759 Yeah, or you know, potentially people who who lure in 206 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.960 and trap her in other ways. But I digress. Now, 207 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.559 she enrolled in school and started and she took a 208 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:46.679 job at a hair salon to continue to pay bills. However, 209 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.440 the demands of education, work and financial pressure eventually became 210 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:53.480 too much for her, and nursing school kind of faded 211 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:56.240 into the background, and this lawn job is kind of 212 00:09:56.279 --> 00:10:00.159 all that really remained. That Then, in April of nineteen ninety, 213 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:03.200 at just twenty years old, Susan went on a trip 214 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:06.440 to Galveston, Texas with a friend, and that's where she 215 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.639 met Jeff. Right. She was just twenty and he was 216 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:14.679 twenty nine, nearly a decade older. He was confident and charismatic. 217 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:18.559 Jeff swept her off her feet almost immediately, the kind 218 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.519 of man who brought flowers without reason, opened car doors 219 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:24.799 and said all the right things. To Susan, whose past 220 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.720 relationships had been marked by insecurity, self doubt, Jeff felt 221 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.960 like safety. He told her he loved her. Within weeks, 222 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:35.360 he talked about building a future together, starting his own business, 223 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:39.840 raising a family, providing everything they'd ever needed. He made 224 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.480 her feel chosen, protected and adored. And when Susan brought 225 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.559 Jeff home to meet her parents, they loved him too. 226 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:50.039 There were no red flags then, just plans and promises. 227 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:52.840 When she found out she was pregnant a few months 228 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:56.440 into the relationship, Susan didn't panic. To her, It's just 229 00:10:56.519 --> 00:10:59.519 the next step in the family life that finally seemed 230 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.759 to be falling into place for her. Jeff's reaction, however, 231 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.519 was a little bit more detached. He didn't get angry 232 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:09.080 or anything. He didn't celebrate really either, but he did 233 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:13.279 offer that if she's open for termination, he would be fine. 234 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.159 With that, because he was feeling like it was a 235 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:17.279 bit early or something. 236 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:20.600 Maybe potentially he wasn't opposed to a child. He just 237 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:22.960 made sure that, you know, if you want to terminate it, 238 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:24.879 I'll be okay with that. Oh, you know. So it 239 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:28.000 wasn't exactly the reaction she's looking for, but it wasn't 240 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:30.399 the worst reaction in the world either. He wasn't asking 241 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.080 her to terminate, just stating he'd be fine with the option. 242 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.120 There was that option there available to them if they 243 00:11:36.120 --> 00:11:37.080 wanted it exactly. 244 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:40.799 It wasn't exactly what she expected to hear, but Susan 245 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:42.759 did already decide that she wanted to keep the baby, 246 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.720 and so the two were married in a small ceremony 247 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:48.559 just outside Houston in October of nineteen ninety eight, just 248 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.799 a month before their son, Bradley was born. That should 249 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.639 have been a new beginning, but Susan would later say 250 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.879 that it was the beginning of something else. Entirely, Jeff changed. 251 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.200 The man who once brought her roses now brought insults. 252 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:07.360 When Susan gained weight after the pregnancy, Jeff ridiculed her, 253 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.879 and when she struggled with postpartum depression he dismissed it. 254 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.039 He even refused to let her take her medication that 255 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.600 a doctor prescribed her, saying just suck it up and 256 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:19.720 go do your job. Control crept into their relationship like 257 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:23.799 water through a crack, slow and very steady. Susan said 258 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.000 that she only was allowed to leave the house for 259 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:28.600 short errands or to visit her mother. If she stayed 260 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:32.000 out too long, she'd come home to shouting in accusations. 261 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.840 When she tried to take college classes again, though Jeff 262 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.440 said no, however, she went anyways quietly, just once, just 263 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:44.519 to talk about potential online courses. And Jeff found out 264 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:48.200 about this, and the accusation started more. He called her 265 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:52.320 names and accused her of cheating. See, Jeff had a history, 266 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.360 one that he never told her about. A year before 267 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:59.360 they met, he pleaded guilty to felony drug possessions. Susan 268 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.360 didn't know what the time, but Jeff had been struggling 269 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:04.480 with drugs and alcohol since high school, and now those 270 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:08.600 habits were creeping back into his life. No, according to Susan, 271 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:12.919 he smoked marijuana daily, he drank heavily, and some nights 272 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:15.600 he used harder drugs, and when he did he came 273 00:13:15.679 --> 00:13:21.039 home angry, and that anger turned violent. Susan said he 274 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:23.960 began hitting her, slamming her against walls, throwing her to 275 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.240 the floor, kicking her when she curled up in fear. 276 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:29.159 On one road trip to visit her parents, she said 277 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.159 that he slammed her head into the dashboard of the 278 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.960 vehicle while her young son sat in the back seat. 279 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.600 Susan didn't tell anyone, not her family, not her friends. 280 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:42.200 She did what she always did. She stayed quiet, made excuses, 281 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.480 and kept the abuse behind closed doors. From the outside 282 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:50.279 the rights, they still looked normal. Their new home that 283 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.639 they purchased in nineteen ninety nine sat in a quiet neighborhood. 284 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:56.200 They had a son and a steady income from Jeff's 285 00:13:56.200 --> 00:14:00.399 flooring business, and another child now on the way. But 286 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:02.960 Susan would later describe this move not as a fresh start, 287 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:06.039 but as a turning point. Inside the walls of that 288 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:10.000 new home, the abuse worsened. Jeff's temper had become volatile, 289 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:13.440 and the smallest things a late bill, an overcook dinner, 290 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.080 or even just a stressful day at work could set 291 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:19.120 him off. She claimed that he would throw her into 292 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.480 the walls, punch or kick her, even beat her while 293 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:25.720 she was pregnant, and when she was pregnant. This second time, 294 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:29.159 she said, Jeff assaulted her during an argument, hitting her 295 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.399 in the stomach, and not long after she miscarried. 296 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.720 Oh no, oh no, oh no okay. 297 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:39.519 There were no police reports, there were no hospital records 298 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.360 tying injuries to abuse, no cries for help, But according 299 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.360 to Susan, the silence was part of survival. She had 300 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.480 grown up in a home where hiding violence was second nature, 301 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.799 and now, as a wife and a mother, she was 302 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:56.799 repeating the same pattern, and she stayed. In the summer 303 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:01.840 of nineteen ninety nine, Susan finally broke after another alleged beating. 304 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:04.320 She picked up the phone and called her sister, Cindy, 305 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.320 asking for help. For the first time, she admitted that 306 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:11.159 things were bad, worse than anyone knew. Cindy was blindsided 307 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:15.559 by the confession came immediately, bringing her husband and a 308 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:19.080 moving vehicle as well. Together, they helped Susan and little 309 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:23.759 Bradley pack their things and left Jeff behind. It could 310 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.200 have been the start of a new chapter, but by 311 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:29.480 the next morning, Jeff was on the phone. His voice, though, 312 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:34.600 wasn't apologetic like what many would think. Instead, it was threatening. 313 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.200 He told Susan to come home, and he told her 314 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:40.240 to load her things into the van that he was 315 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:44.240 sending and to bring their son to and if she didn't, 316 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:46.399 he threatened he would kill them both. 317 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:53.080 Oh okay, this is like messy hay very, and so 318 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:54.039 Susan went back. 319 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.360 That return marked another shift, but not in Jeff's behavior, 320 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.559 but in Susan's perception of it. She no longer believed 321 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.879 that he would stop. She no longer thought that she 322 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.600 could wait it out, and when she got pregnant again, 323 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:11.000 she feared it was another reason Jeff would just never 324 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:13.919 let her go. It was December of two thousand and 325 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:16.600 one when Susan was pregnant again, and this time she 326 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:19.559 did carry to term and they had a daughter they 327 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.480 named Kayleie. She was born into a household that, according 328 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:27.600 to Susan, was already suffocated with fear, control and violence. Jeff, 329 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:30.840 she claimed was still using drugs, including cocaine, which for 330 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.279 my research seems to be as drug a choice, and 331 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.399 still coming home angry, still accusing her of cheating, still 332 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:39.279 monitoring every move that she made, and through it all, 333 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.639 Susan didn't really tell anyone. There was no police reports, 334 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.840 friends didn't know, no official files or anything. Just trying 335 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:51.559 to maintain the happy wife, happy home sort of lifestyle 336 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.360 and picture that you know, people see from the outside. 337 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:57.919 If she didn't have to leave the house, you know, 338 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.279 people didn't see her bruises, they wouldn't ask questions to 339 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:03.519 the outside world. Jeff and Susan were just another young 340 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.880 couple raising two kids in a modest Texas home, but 341 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:10.799 behind closed doors, Susan said she was waiting for the inevitable, 342 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:13.799 a moment when Jeff's anger would boil over and she 343 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:20.200 wouldn't survive. That moment she believed was coming fast. And 344 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:24.160 it was Monday, January thirteenth, two thousand and three, and 345 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:27.680 Jeff had just returned home from his weekly boxing class. 346 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.200 The kids were getting ready for bed when the house 347 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.359 was quiet, but Susan said she knew something was wrong 348 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:36.079 the moment Jeff walked through that door. His eyes were 349 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:39.319 wide and his movements were erratic, and she recognized the 350 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:42.960 signs he was high and from accounts, he was especially 351 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:47.240 wired this time. Jeff called over their four year old son, Bradley, 352 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:49.680 and tried to get him into a little friendly father 353 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:53.160 son sparring match together. It was playfleft first, with little 354 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:56.279 light jabs, teasing, that sort of thing. But then Susan said, 355 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.480 Jeff hit their son across the face a little bit 356 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:02.319 too hard, hard enough to leave a mark. When Bradley 357 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:04.599 turned and tried to run, Jeff mocked him and called 358 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:08.680 him names, cruel ones. Susan stepped in, pulled the kids 359 00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:10.839 out of the room and got them settled into bed, 360 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.119 But inside her something had shifted. She said she was 361 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:18.960 done being afraid at this point, done staying quiet, and 362 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.720 that night she walked into the bedroom and confronted Jeff. 363 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.119 She told him that he needed help, that his rage, 364 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:29.119 his addiction, the violence, it had to stop. She told 365 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.039 him that he needed to go to therapy or do 366 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:35.319 something before he destroyed their family. Now Jeff, of course, 367 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:36.759 didn't take it. 368 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:38.799 Well, well, yeah, I'm like this, this is not going 369 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:39.400 to go well. 370 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:45.119 According to Susan, Jeff exploded. He shoved her hard against 371 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:47.839 the wall, and then she said he threw her down 372 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.640 on the bed and began to sexually assault her. She 373 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:54.880 closed her eyes and braced herself for it, and then 374 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:58.359 when she opened her eyes she saw he had a knife, 375 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.359 and in that inn instant she knew he's going to 376 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:06.519 kill me. It was either kill or be killed. For Susan, 377 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.440 instincts took over and she kicked him off of her 378 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:13.079 and fought back, and she reached for that knife. She 379 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.839 took control and raised the blade over her head and 380 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:22.240 then stabbed Jeff again and again and again. In the 381 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.799 moments that followed, Susan said she completely lost control. She 382 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:28.240 didn't count the wounds. She just continued to thrust the 383 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:33.880 knife into the flesh across Jeff's body, into his chest, neck, stomach, legs, 384 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:38.559 and groin. It was rage, terror, and something entirely primal. 385 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:42.920 When it was over, she said she wasn't even sure 386 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.839 it was over. In the next room, she heard a 387 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:49.920 small knock at the door. It was her son, Bradley. 388 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:55.319 He said, Mommy, are you okay. Jeff wasn't moving, but 389 00:19:55.400 --> 00:19:57.480 Susan said that she couldn't be sure he was dead. 390 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:00.799 She wiped the blood from her skin, tucked Bradley back 391 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:03.599 into bed, told him everything was fine, and went back 392 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.119 into the kitchen, grabbed a second knife, and returned to 393 00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:10.839 the bedroom, where she stabbed him several more times. 394 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:12.640 Oh wow, okay. 395 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.440 That part the second knife would later become a critical 396 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:19.799 detail in the prosecution's argument. But that night, in Susan's mind, 397 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.079 she said she wasn't trying to hide a murder. She 398 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:26.400 was trying to make sure he couldn't get back up. Afterwards, 399 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.559 she sat down on the couch, knife in hand, staring 400 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:32.440 at that bedroom door, certain Jeff would come through and 401 00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.799