Jan. 16, 2025

Part 2 | Avenging the Peaceful Warrior - The Conviction of Eric Mickelson and Beverly Arthur

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode of Bloody Angola Podcast, Jim Chapman covers the case, conviction and incarceration of Eric Mickelson and Beverly Arthur, linked to the tragic murder of 86-year-old war hero Charles Martin Jr. Jim provides insight into Charles’s life, the tragic incident that led to his murder and the manhunt for those responsible. What starts out as a quest to prove a case for one victim turns into a race to solve a missing persons case from eleven years prior.

Timestamps:
10:26 Trial of Eric Mickelson Begins
12:45 Beverly Arthur's Guilty Plea
14:37 Shocking Supreme Court Ruling
20:04 Retrial of Eric Mickelson
26:11 The Fate of Christy O'Pri
30:03 Closing Remarks and Next Episode

Sources:

Find-a-grave. Kristi Gwen O’Pry.
Kristi Gwen O’Pry Obituary.
Kristi Gwen O’Pry. The Charley Project. Accessed 07 Dec 2024.
Find-a-grave. Charles Martin Jr.
Allen, Sammy G. “Local woman still…” The Times. 28 Jul 1996.
Martin, Margaret. “Family searches for…” The Times. 11 Aug 1996.
Staff Writer. “Times Update: Missing…” The Times. 07 Dec 1996.
Burton, Larry. “Woman missing for…” The Times. 27 May 1997.
Walker, Don. “Search for woman…” The Times. 28 Nov 1997.
Walker, Don. “Search planned for…” The Times. 27 Dec 1997.
Burton, Larry. “Search for woman…” The Times. 28 Dec 1997.
Staff Writer. “O’Pry case topic…” The Times. 03 Feb 1998.
Staff Writer. “East Carroll inmate…” The Times. 16 Nov 2004.
Staff Writer. “Murder Suspect admits…” KTBS3 News. 13 Jul 2007.
Wilson, Loresha, and Causey, Adam Kealoha. “Accused killer admits…” The Times. 14 Jul 2007.
Prime, John Andrew.

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WEBVTT

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M M.

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A Wall Street line, shackle change, Oh, do someome gird

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it's calling my name. There is no mercy and it's

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been a tentery juice as the huge stream game Wrangle three.

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Come here be by me to die inside these walls,

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inside the wild and went no girl as I.

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Hey won. And Welcome back to Bloody Angola Podcast one,

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forty two years in the making, the complete story of

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America's bloodiest present. I'm Jim Chapman and we are back

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with the second episode in the Peaceful Warrior series. Of course,

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the conviction and incarceration of Eric Michelson and Christy oh Priye.

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So the last time we left you, Eric Michlson had

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confessed to the murder, dismemberment, and disposal of the remains

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of Christy o' prye in dumpsters around Caddo Parish, Louisiana,

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and while police are working to locate those remains, on

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Friday July twentieth of two thousand and seven, the funeral

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for Charles Martin is held at First Baptist Church in

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Boser City, Louisiana. Also around this time, more information comes

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out through the confession made regarding Christy o'price's death. Now,

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it seems that though Michelson told detectives he disposed of

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Christy's remains in dumpsters, that was not initially what he did.

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According to Michelson, he strangled Christy with his bare hands

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than disposed of her body in a pond on his property,

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even claiming that he had to weigh the body down.

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Then he said some time later that he moved the

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remains to several other locations. And to tell you how

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sick this sum bitch was. Police, when they're trying to

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get an idea of where Christy's remains are, they asked him, Eric,

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don't you think her family deserves closure? And of course

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you never get closure, right when something like this happened.

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She might get what you would consider justice, but you're

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never gonna get closure. But irregardless of that, they asked

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Eric Michelson that in his response was let it be

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a festered open wound that is half ass healed now

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quote unquote what an asshole. So on August twenty third

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of two thousand and seven, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office

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they charge Mickelson with second degree murder in the death

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of Christy Opry, saying Michelson's confession was cooperated with evidence

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found near a location he said to have left Christie's body. Then,

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on September fifth of two thousand and seven, Michelson and

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Author were indicted by a Caddo Parish grand jury on

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the first degree murder charges for the death of Charles Martin,

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so about ten days after he's charged with the second

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degree murder charge in the death of Christy opryh Now

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Betty Copeland, Beverly, Author's mother, said if she killed Charlie,

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I hope she gets what she deserves life. Of course,

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referring to her daughter, they didn't have any mercy on Charlie,

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Poor Charlie. He didn't deserve that. This is not my

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little girl. This is a monster. Susie is a smart

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girl and a good girl, but she got on drugs

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and started doing bad things. Betty also gave a little

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bit of breaking news to investigators when she told them

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that Charles Martin came to her house around midnight the

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day before he was reported missing and he was questioning

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Betty about Mickelson. Betty said she was quoted as saying

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Charlie knocked on the door and asked me, is that

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the same Eric that Susie knew from Amelia Street. I

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told him yes, and he left. She said, so police

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have all this evidence, slash information, slash witnesses saying things,

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and even with all that, it took five years to

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get from the point of Michelson confessing to this shit

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and Author and actually going to trial. And Michelson was

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up for trial first, and he was up for the

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murder of Charles Martin. This is on July thirtieth, two

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thy eleven. And during the trial, Michelson's attorney, Mario Guatemalade,

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said that Eric Michilson did not possess the specific intent

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to kill Charles Martin and did so only because his

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mentally damaged brain quote unquote was taken over by cocaine,

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and that statement is going to become very important as

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we go on today. His attorney also said that Michelson

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was Author's puppet throughout the crime and used him like

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she did Charles Norton to obtain drugs. The defense attorney

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referred to Charles Martin as Author's sugar daddy quote unquote,

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and said Author is a predator willing to do whatever

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is necessary to get what she wants. So he's doing

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what any defense attorney should do, and he's trying to

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point the light away from his client. Right. But it's

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interesting that even Mickelson turns on author and basically his

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defense attorney blames everything on her. She's a manipulator, right,

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She manipulated Charles Martin, she manipulated Eric Mickelson. She's just

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this girl going around wanting drugs and manipulating all these men.

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And that's why Micholson killed Charles Martin. Just ridiculous shit.

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No responsibility for Michelson. Right now, KADO Assistant District Attorney

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Leah Hall read from a state satement Mickelson gave the

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police in which he said, quote unquote, I wrung his

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neck like a pit bull would lock up. The audio

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of this interrogation was played and Mickelson is heard saying

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on that audio in open court, I locked up like

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a pit bull. I locked up, and he quit hissing,

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he quit grunning, he quit everything. Members of the jury

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were shown photos of Charles dismember body. Sergeant Danny Duddy,

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a Shreport police crime scene investigator, said it appears the arms, legs,

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and head were separated from the torso. It appears there

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were some tool marks or damages to the side of

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the torso. So what they're trying to do there is

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they're trying to paint a picture of how heinous this

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actual crime was. He didn't just choke him and Charles

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Martin died, this eighty six year old war hero after

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he did that. He chopped him into fucking pieces. And

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he wants that jury, obviously, the prosecutor, they want that

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jury to have that picture and feel absolutely no mercy

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for Eric Michilson because he overkilled in this case. Now,

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according to court testimony, Author had been getting money from Charles,

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but he was threatening to cut Beverly Author off. And

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they're trying to establish motive, right, why would Eric Micholson

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do this, Why would Beverly Author do it? Well, it

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was all about money and getting drugs and those sorts

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of things. The jury also heard jailhouse phone calls of

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Michelson admitting on those phone calls to killing Charles to

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his mother. Michelson had hoped to take all of the

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blame for the crime, according to his jail calls, so

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that his girlfriend would be free. But we know now

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that we have the benefit of hindsight looking at that

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trial that that was far from the truth. He may

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have been saying it on those phone calls, but when

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it came down to reality, they were trying to point

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everything at Beverly author. So on August second of two

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thousand and eleven, Eric Dale Mickelson is found guilty of

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first degree murder in Charles Martin's death, and it took

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the jury only about an hour to reach that verdict. Now,

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first degree murder in the state of Louisiana, he's in

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a bind, right, that is the death penalty on the

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table when you're convicted of first degree murder in the

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state of Louisiana. So his sentencing is scheduled for just

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a week later, and on August tenth of two thousand

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and eleven, Michelson is indeed sentenced to death for the

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murder of Charles Martin. Now at the sentencing here in

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Christio Priz's daughter, who was eighteen by this time, she said,

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Eric Micholson got just what he deserved, and I'm glad

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the court went the way it did today. I think

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that was the most difficult part, just having no idea

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what had really happened to my mom. Referring to Christio Pry.

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Michelson was sent to Angola to serve his sentence on

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death row and eventually get that needle. Right. So two

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years later, and I don't know why it took two

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years to get to the point where Beverly Author's trial

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came up. It's ridiculous how slow things moved. Five years

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it took Eric Michelson to actually get a trial after

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a confession. This was a situation where the guy confessed.

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They had tons of evidence, They had people saying that

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just the day before the deceased Charles Morton, the guy killed,

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was at their house, meaning Beverly Author in her mother's house.

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You got all that evidence, it still took you five

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years to bring the guy a trial. Then it takes

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another two to get to Beverly Author's trial, but it

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finally begins. This is on April of two thousand and thirteen.

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So Author enters a guilty plea in Caddo Parish District

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Court to second degree murder in Charles Martin's death. And

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that kind of surprised me. Apparently I am opining here,

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but I would think that first degree murder was on

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the table, which means the death penalties on the table,

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and she took a plea to second degree murder, which

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is life in prison in Louisiana, a lot better than death,

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I guess in her eyes. But I would have been

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surprised with a first degree charge when you weren't the

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one actually committing the murder. But in this case, something

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happens and she pled to second degree murder. And you

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don't do that without a deal. You got nothing to

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lose if they're going to automatically charge you with that anyway.

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But that's what she did. In District Judge Ramona Emmanuel

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sentences Author to life in prison without the benefit of parole,

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probation or suspension of sentence. An Author, of course, was

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immediately reminded to the custody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections.

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So at this point in time, you have Eric Michelson,

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he's awaiting the needle, he's in Louisiana State Penitentiary's death Row,

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Bloody Angola, and you have Beverly Author in jail for

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the rest of your life. Right, no problems, We're just

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waiting on justice to serve. Well, there was a big

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problem a year later, in September of twenty fourteen, a

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shocking ruling is made when the Louisiana Supreme Court completely

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throws out the conviction and the death sentence for Eric Michilson.

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So let's talk about this for a second. Not only

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did they take the death penalty off the table, he

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had been sentenced to death, they totally threw that out.

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They didn't just say, well, you're getting life in prison. Instead,

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they threw out the fucking conviction. This dude gets a

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brand new trial. It's not unprecedented that this stuff happens,

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but it's very rare, especially when someone's been sentenced to death.

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So what happened to make the Supreme Court vote four

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to three to throw out his conviction and his death sentence. Well,

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apparently Michelson had appealed his conviction, and he argued that

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the district court failed to allow the defense to exercise

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what's done as a preemptory challenge and excuse a prospective

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juror from the case because he would not consider intoxication

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as a mitigating factor in the sentencing phase. Now, part

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of Mickelson's defense was that he was high on cocaine.

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Remember I told you that at the time of the murder.

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And so let's break this down. A juror actually said

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that even if Michelson was high on cocaine, it doesn't

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excuse him from killing somebody. And I would I would

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place my vote in court as him being guilty regardless

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of what his mental condition was at the time of

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the murders. It's okay. Everybody has their opinion, and that

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was his. The problem was they didn't dismiss him at

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that point. That was a major problem. As a matter

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of fact, let's get into it. Cado District Court Judge

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Scott Krichton, he denied the defense request to bring the

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juror back for further questioning in order to challenge the

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inclusion of the juror. Crichton reminded counsel that it is

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inappropriate to take one isolated, out of context statement of

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one perspective jur and micro dissect it to the point

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of reaching an absurd result. In his opinion. Now, the

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Supreme Court found that the jur did not make just

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a one out of context statement, but that he stated

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unequivocally on the record, not once, but five times that

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he would not consider evidence of intoxication as a mitigating

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factor in his determination of the appropriate sentence. The ruling

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also stated, rather than retract from that statement, the last

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time he was questioned on the subject, he indicated that

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not only would he not consider intoxication as a mitigating circumstance,

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but that he would give the guy the penalty if

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he was on drugs and alcohol and go out and

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kill somebody. And he emphasized, yes, I would do that,

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repeating his lack of equivocation. The final response to questioning

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indicates not just an unwillingness to consider intoxication as a

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mitigating factor in the sentencing during determination, but a predisposition

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to vote for the death penalty if drugs or alcohol

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fueled the crime. When a perspective jur is not excused

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for cause and the defense exhaust its preempatory challenges as

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occurred here, this is reversible error. So they fucked up,

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for lack of a better term, you had this jur,

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this perspective jur that ended up being chosen on that

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jury telling in vardir that whether someone's high or on

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drugs or drunk or whatever, if they go out and

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kill somebody, they're responsible. It's okay. He can have that opinion.

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And I'm not saying I disagree with him. But the

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problem is the defense objected to that juror and they

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would not dismiss that juror based off of that statement,

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and it came back to totally bite them in the ass.

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It's absolutely crazy. But Mickelson gets a new trial. It

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was set to start on October of twenty fifteen, and

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this guy who has been sentenced to death now not

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only has an opportunity to get off of death row,

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but get out of jail completely over this mistake. That's

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why it's so important that every tea is crossed and

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every eye is dotted. So they do this whole thing,

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this whole trial while over again. Can you believe it?

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So on October twenty fifteen, once again Mickelson's trial begins,

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and it was not without its theatrics. Let's just say

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that even threats from council lawyers threatening other lawyers. At

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one point during the retrial, Cado District Attorney Dale Cox

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threatened to cut the throats of defense counsel representing Mickelson.

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In court documents, Mickelson's defense council wrote that they were

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within earshot of Cox when they overheard the prosecutor tell

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his co counsel, he wanted to kill everyone in here,

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quote unquote, I want to cut their fucking throats. I'm

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just being honest, and if any of them want to

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go outside, we can do it right now, he said.

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According to the transcript attached to the filing, the comments

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were made while First Judicial District Court Judge Katherine Dora,

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who was presiding over the case, was out of the room,

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so lead defens's earning Catherine Sheeley. She questioned Mickelson's close

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friend and his mother, and each spoke about how Michelson

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could be delusional, imagine that claiming to have special powers

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such as the ability to levitate and frequently has out

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of body experiences. They also talked about his crack cocaine

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addiction and its effects on his mental state. Now the

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defense also called a forensic psychiatrist and a neuro psychologist

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both spoke on Michelson's mental stability, claiming he suffered from

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schizo effective disorder, which is characterized by suffering from symptoms

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of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Forensic psychologist doctor Brushan Akbar

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said that Michelson was delusional, citing his claim to have

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made three point six million dollars by stealing quarters from

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vending machines, and he used that as a major example.

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Of course, that was total bullshit. Michelson did not ever

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in his life have three point six million dollars da Dale.

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Cox said the fact that two doctors say he had

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schizo effective disorder and was impulsive does not necessarily mean

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he had an extreme mental disturbance. Indeed, everything about Mickelson's

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conduct before, during, and after the murder of Charles Martin

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reveals that he was cold, calculated, and under complete control,

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and so there is not extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

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Cox used Mickelson's own words against him during his closing arguments, saying,

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I'm a killer and I love ringing people's neck. And

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what was he trying to get out there that DA?

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What's he trying to prove and what was the defense

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trying to prove? Obviously the defense is trying to prove

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that Mickelson is crazy, he's out of his mind. But

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the problem is the premeditation and post meditation with this crime,

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when you make an effort to conceal the fact that

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you committed a crime. In this case, they buried and

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hid Charles Martin's remains. When you make an effort to

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do that, you're proving at that point that you knew

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what was wrong because you're trying to cover it up.

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And if you know right from wrong, in the eyes

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of the law, you're not crazy. So he knew what

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he was doing was wrong because he tried to hide

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and cover it up, right, And I think the prosecution

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did a good job of pointing that out. Now. Thankfully,

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at the retrial, Michelson was again convicted, thankfully, But but

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Mickelson was taken off of death row and was granted

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life in prison without parole by that second Caddo Parish jury.

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So that one mistake with that one juror in the

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very first trial totally flipped Mickelson's fate. Instead of facing

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the death penalty, which he faced it at that second trial,

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there was an opportunity, but the jury would not give

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him the death penalty that second time around, So that

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one mistake made that big of a difference. So Christy

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Opri's sister, she commented about the sentence change from death

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to life, and she said, if what he did didn't

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deserve the death penalty, nothing does. In the state of Louisiana.

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They put people on death row, but they don't kill people.

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They hardly ever do. Charles's grandson said, a killer, a

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murderer that murdered countless people and is proud of it.

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He gets to live out the rest of his life

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in prison. I figured they give him the death penalty.

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Especially with what this guy did. Every guard is going

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to have to walk him to and from and every

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single person is in danger. He added, to make us

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go back through it. And then at the end of it,

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just one more dagger, we pray for Eric Mickelson's soul. Now,

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by twenty eighteen, Michelson had exhausted all of his appeals

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and even as if today, remains in prison for the

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rest of his life. And what about Christy O. Priye. Well, Sadly,

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Christy O. Prize remains have never been found and Michelson,

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though charge, was never tried for her murder. Now on

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July tenth of twenty sixteen, her family did hold a

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memorial service for Christy and in lieu of flowers, the

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family requested memorial donations be made to dog Tired Ranch

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the Living Memorial of Christy gwyn Oh Pry and this

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living memorial celebrates Christie's life and blesses the lives of

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many in her honor. Every day. So Dog Tired Ranch

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has celebrated over two thousand dogs being adopted in Christie's name,

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and y'all, that gives me absolute goosemumps. I stumbled across

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another podcast as a matter of fact, while looking at

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this case and a pome I thought was fitting for

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this episode. Her sister shared via this podcast or on

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this other podcast, and she wrote, the loss of her,

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the loss of anyone, my sister, my blood. So many

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years of uncertainty. Words could never express the sadness. Happier

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she is, with beaming smiles and radiant eyes of glow,

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an invisible plane right before me, her scent still lingering

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in my soul. Good night to you? But where are you?

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Oh God? Holding back emotions, learning to live with such agony,

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numb my family, an empty place, an empty space where

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she should be? How do I do? What do I say?

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Hold back? I still can't imagine, visions haunting my being forever.

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Where is she? Where could she be? She could be

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under my feet, Oh God, mend me. I could have

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walked right past her. I could have been down the street,

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I look up at the black night sky and say

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good night, for I know she is here with me.

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And that was a poem from her sister that she

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wrote shortly after her disappearance. As for Charles Martin, his

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headstone reflects the way in which he lived as a

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heroic tribute, saying Charles Martin, Corporal, US Army, World War II,

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May fourteenth, nineteen twenty one to July eleventh, two thousand

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and seven, Purple Heart. And right there as the last

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line on that headstone reads peace full Warrior, and there

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it is, thank you so much for lessening. And next

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week we have another crazy case for you, complete with

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conviction and incarceration into Bloody and Gola. But we're going

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to bring you on a journey to a bunch of

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killings in New Orleans as we cover the Storyville Slayer

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of New Orleans. So that's coming to you next week.

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Check out the Patreon if you would like to help

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support what we do here at Bloody in Gola. Thank

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you as always to Rachel Spiller's and Rachel Spiller's research

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for the amazing details provided for this episode. And until

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next time for Bloody and goa a podcast one forty

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two years of making the complete story of America's Bloody

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Is Prison. I'm Jim Chapman, Peace, a.

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Wall Street line shackle Chaine. Who's some girdie it's calling

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my name? There is no mercy and this's been a

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teneri juice as the hill Stream game. Wrangle three, I'm here.

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Fum me to die inside these walls, inside the water.

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And when wal

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I know it's overbody angle, obody angle,