Cold Case Files - Dead West: Murder In The City of Saints

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

When beloved matriarch, Sherry Black, 64, is murdered in her rare books store in Salt Lake City, investigators suspect theft as the motive. The case goes cold until her daughter teams with a wily investigator to bring Sherry's killer to justice.Progressive: Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.Quince: Go to Quince.com/coldcase for free shipping on your order and 365-day returnsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson. And if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of cold case files as well as the A&E classic podcasts, I survived, American justice and city confidential are all available ad free on the new A&E crime and investigation channel on Apple podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. My wife, Sherry, loved to read. Her life was books. She was always helping people, teaching people. She got along with everyone. My dad calls and he said, said, somebody's killed your mom.

I'm having anxiety right now. Just get here. You can't save her. She's gone. She had a pair of scissors sticking out of her belly. How do you forget finding someone you love like that? There was blood on the books, blood on the bookshelves. The human in me cried. The entire state was concerned who this person was

and are they going to do this again? There was just a rapid, violent slashing and thrashing. I was silently fuming. There was a pair of scissors nearby. I picked them up and I hit her. I knew, I knew we would get a solve. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. It's 1 30 p.m. on November 30th 2010 2010, in Salt Lake City, Utah, when a call comes in

to emergency dispatch. 911, what is the address of the emergency? Hello, my wife's been murdered. And what city are you in? Salt Lake. Are you in South Salt Lake? Yes. I come home with my wife's been murdered.

A pair of scissors sticking in her and I pulled them out. Okay, is she awake? No, she's dead. Okay, is she breathing at all? No, she's dead. Okay, is she breathing at all? No, she's dead. Dwayne Ruth is the former deputy chief

of the South Salt Lake City Police Department. South Salt Lake is about six square miles. The population is roughly 20,000 people. On one side you have the mountains, the other side you have Utah mountains, the other side you have Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake. Dave Colley is the host of the True Crime podcast Cold. No skyscraper in Salt Lake City will ever steal the majesty of the peaks that ring the Salt Lake Valley. There is a history of mining and kind of that Old

West feel to some of the buildings that still stand from a century ago. It's predominantly one religion, which is the LDS faith of the Latter-day Saints. Anywhere you go is very family oriented, which I think just makes this place a really innocent place to live. It's not uncommon to have zero homicides in a year in South Salt Lake. They just don't happen. So when an obvious homicide case happens, it's the all hands on deck investigation. It's a chilly late autumn afternoon as freezing winds flow in from the shores of the Great Salt Lake.

Earl Black returns home from work. Attached to the residence is a family-owned bookstore run by his wife Sherry. My wife Sherry, her car was in her parking place, so I figured she's home. I walked in the shop and hollered, Sherry, and she didn't appear. There's room across the back. This door was shut at that time,

and I could see blood right above me. So I opened the door, and that's when I found her. Earl's wife Sherry lays prone on the floor. She's not breathing. She had a pair of scissors sticking out of her belly. I was running around crazy, and yeah, there's blood, shit knocked over. You're not thinking straight.

Yeah, total shock. That's all I could do to dial 911. Just get here. You can't save her. She's gone. I'll never forget it. I mean, how do you forget finding someone you love like that? No, it'll always be right there. Heidi Miller is Sherry's daughter. The morning of November 30th,

I tried to call my mom and she didn't answer her cell phone. I just felt like that was really weird. My mom would always answer her phone. I had an appointment, came home, and my dad called. And he said, somebody's killed your mom. Get here as fast as you can. So I'm having a panic attack, and my daughter happened to be there,

and she drove us to my parents' house. I'm having anxiety right now. Courtney Hawks is Sherry's granddaughter. I remember seeing a detective and I said, I need to get in, I need to go see her. And he said, you do not want to go in there. And it was at that moment that it was real, that there's no saving her,

that we had just entered into a different life. My mom Sherry's birthday is October 14th, 1946. She was born in Provo, Utah, and raised in Provo and Orem her whole life. She's had an average upbringing. She would walk home from school, she would stop at the library every day and get a book and take it home and read it that night. The next day she would return it and get another book. She spent a lot of time just by herself reading. I didn't get to know her till junior high school.

The two of us were on a bowling team together. I thought she was just cute. You know, I didn't have a chance with her. Oh, hell. And then later on, we went skiing with friends, and that's when things progressed. It just clicked. We dated for a good year, and then we got married.

I was only 17. Sherry was 18. Heidi was born in 1965. Jason was born in 71. They were good kids. Heidi was an in 71. They were good kids. Heidi was an excellent kid. Jason was very giving, a cute little guy. Sherry and Earl's family isn't the only thing that's growing.

My mom just started collecting all these books, and it just got bigger and bigger and bigger. She told my dad that she always wanted to have her own library, and she had her own library. Her bookstore was a little bit of chaos. She specialized in rare and valuable LDS books, but she had Steinbecks and Hemingways and novels, children's books.

She had it all. I had a very special bond with my grandma. My earliest memories of her are her reading to me and then teaching me to read. I don't know that my mom ever really felt unsafe. She wasn't fearful. She was strong and courageous. I wish she would have been more fearful and a little more careful to protect herself. Yeah. One hour after Sherry's body is found, Detective Dwayne Ruth receives a call. I was participating in some tactical training and my phone rang. I was a lieutenant at the time,

which puts me in charge of scene oversight. I went into the bookstore. As you walk in, it's a little bit of a labyrinth, books everywhere. I was directed towards the back, and our murder victim was on the ground and clearly deceased. The human in me cried. It was a horrific sight to see. She died violently, and at whose hands we don't know yet.

We knew instantly that this was a homicide. There was a struggle. There was some evidence that was obvious to me. A large pair of shears, probably 10 inches long. They were bloody. They were next to her. She had a slipper boot that had been removed. She clearly had been injured in a number of different locations.

There was blood around her, blood under her, blood on her, blood on the books, blood on the bookshelves. I noticed a broken bottle and some shards of glass. So clearly there was violence, but this is where it happened. I'm a religious man, and there was a presence of evil in that back room. Based on my experience, the romantic partner is gonna be the first one that's looked at

absent any obvious suspects. Well, when something like this happens, you know, the husband's always number one suspect. I expected it. You know, I'd seen enough movies and read enough books. The alibi that Earl explained to us, he left roughly nine o'clock in the morning and came back roughly at 1 p.m. Same day. We were looking for surveillance cameras in hopes of, you know, seeing anything that may lead to this suspect. We found a camera that proved Earl's alibi.

Him leaving in the morning and him returning when he said he returned. So the alibi that he explained to us became fact. With Earl in the clear, word spreads of Sherry Black's murder and her connection to a prominent local family, the Millers. Larry H. Miller was a big deal in the Utah business community. He built a car dealership empire and during the 1980s was instrumental in keeping the Utah Jazz, the NBA franchise, here in Utah, Larry H. Miller passes away and his son, Greg Miller, takes over this business empire, inherits the Utah jazz. And Sherry Black was the mother-in-law of Greg Miller.

That connection between the Black family and the Miller family elevated the interest in this story. As crime scene investigators continue processing the scene for evidence, police develop a theory about what happened to Sherry and discover the killer may have left multiple clues behind. What became evident is clearly there was a fight in this back room. With all of this blood, we have to assume that maybe this murderer's blood is going to be there also. We also were able to locate a partial fingerprint and a palm print. We felt elated because, as we know, just like DNA, fingerprints are specific

to one particular individual, palm prints are the same. Police collect the fingerprints and blood samples and send them off for analysis. Sherry's body, meanwhile, is transported to the morgue. The body is taken by the medical examiner's office up for an autopsy, which reveals the extent of the injuries. Their report detailed that she was struck 15 times around her face, around her head, around her face, around her head, around her neck.

She received some injuries to her fingers, presumably some defensive wounds. They determined the cause of death was from a slash in the left side of her neck, presumably from the shears, and then she essentially bled out relatively quick. It was just a rapid, violent, brutal slashing and thrashing. She fought for her life and maybe that made it more violent because she fought so hard. It's really hard to think about

what her last moments were like. I'm sure she was really scared and really sad to leave her family. While detectives pour over the autopsy report, a new detail comes to light about a potential suspect at the crime scene the day Sherry was killed. Investigators learned that a regular customer of Sherry Black was the last person

to be in that bookstore during, before, or after Sherry was brutally murdered. And obviously that became very critical to the investigation and a priority for us to get on immediately. This customer was a primary suspect just right out the gate. Father's Day gifting for my husband always felt like a repeat. Socks, grill tools, and then socks again. This year I wanted to do better. That's when I turned to Quince,

and they made finding a thoughtful, stylish gift so easy. Quince has all the pieces dads actually want to wear, like organic cotton silk polos that feel amazing, European linen beach shorts perfect for summer, and comfortable pants that work just as well for weekend hangouts as for nice dinners. For my husband, I picked up a pair of European linen beach shorts and their comfortable stretch pants for lounging on the couch. The fabrics are premium, the fit is spot on, and the style is timeless.

But what really amazes me is that Quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with top artisans and cut out the middlemen to deliver luxury quality without the crazy markups. Plus, Quince only partners with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices using premium fabrics and finishes you can feel good about. For the dad who deserves better than basic, Quince has you covered. Go to quince.com slash cold case for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

That's quince.com slash cold case to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash cold case. The customer who was in the bookstore on the day of the murder agreed to meet with us. We gathered DNA swabs, cell phone logs, a written account of what he did, and also photographs of his hands and his torso. We were doing that because we were looking at the suspect as potentially being injured. This customer provided an explanation as to what took place that day.

He had scheduled an appointment with Sherry. He was going to be late because of traffic, so he wound up calling Sherry and telling her that he was going to be late. This was at 10.15, the morning of the murder. He went into the bookstore, did not find her, tried to call her, and then decided that he was going to wait in the bookstore. And he just sat in there.

After 45 minutes and not having any contact with her, he just got up and left. There was nothing that indicated that he had heard anything, witnessed anything, or had any idea that Sherry Black presumably was laying in that back room while he was there. The customer is cleared by law enforcement just as Sherry's family lays her to rest.

My mom was buried December 6, 2010, was the day before my 45th birthday. I helped dress my mom for her funeral. Part of that's our religion, but for me it was also a last act of service, something that I could do for her. I saw her defensive wounds and knew she fought like heck, and it was really hard. She had a lot of life before her, and laying her to rest before she was ready was very painful. We felt an immense sense of having been robbed of this pillar in our lives. Eight days after Sherry's murder, results from the blood and fingerprints collected

from the scene come back, offering new clues about the suspect's identity. We were able to find blood evidence at the scene that did not belong to our murder victim, Sherry Black. Our suspect, we learned, through DNA, was a male, and his blood was found on Sherry Black's sock, on that doorway to the back room, those maps, and also on that Armani exchange belt,

in addition to the exit door to the business itself. When I found out that we had suspect DNA, we ran it into CODIS, which is a database of criminal offender DNA, and we were informed that there was no match for DNA in that database. As far as the fingerprints and the palm prints, we didn't get any hits. I was disappointed, but this unnamed known profile

from the crime scene became critical because now we could start to eliminate suspects based on the DNA. Investigators expand their ranks to search for Sherry's killer, and cold case investigator Ben Pender joins the case. When I heard about Sherry Black's murder, I was assigned to the homicide unit at the Unified Police Department. South Salt Lake Police Department invited several homicide investigators to talk about Sherry's case to make sure everything is getting covered or if anybody has ideas or suggestions

they can provide. And as the case was presented to me, I could see how brutal it was for Sherry Black. I was surprised. It was my community as well that I was living in at the time I grew up in. Everybody was concerned. Not only the South Salt Lake Police Department, but I think the entire state was concerned

of who this person was and where they could be and are they gonna do this again? One of the most perplexing things about this case is it lacked motive. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out if anything was taken from that store. There wasn't any money missing out of the cash register. She had diamond necklace, diamond earrings, rings on her fingers, and they didn't take any of that. Nothing around the shop appeared to be missing.

So you wonder, who? Why? You know, what did they want? You have no idea. We're at the point where interviews are being conducted with the family, friends. We followed up on witness accounts of what they happened to possibly see, and at this point, we still have no suspect.

With the stream of tips slowing to a trickle, Detective Ruth receives a call that may open up the floodgates. I received a call from Salt Lake City Police indicating they had a similar homicide 18 days after Sherry Black's murder. And it happened 10 blocks away in a place called Fairmont Park.

There was an older female that was brutally murdered, very violent, in a bathroom in the park. The Salt Lake City Police Department had investigated and they ultimately came up with a suspect, Paul Vara. We definitely had to take a look at Paul Vara to determine if he was involved in Sherry Black's homicide. The fact that this was similar in its brutality made us really think that our suspect who had murdered Sherry Black had murdered this other female victim. I was convinced that Paul Vara was going to be our murderer. We needed to move on it very quickly. We couldn't wait around. I scrambled up my team and we went out and met with them and wound up learning the details of that brutal crime and who this perpetrator was. Paul Vara's DNA was found in the database and we subsequently compared them to the murder suspect of Sherry Black.

And it was not him. He was not our murderer. It was disheartening and upsetting. And I know the family were disappointed as well. With another suspect ruled out, Sherry Black's family grows increasingly desperate, waiting for information that will lead investigators to her killer. About a year later, Heidi Black Miller and Earl Black talked to the media at the bookstore.

The main reason for having that meeting there was just to keep it out there, keep her name fresh in people's minds. I was on assignment that day. I went to the store. and I remember thinking to myself, what a difficult thing it must have been for Earl and Heidi to be standing in this place, only a few feet away from where they know Sherry was murdered, and pleading with us in the media pleading with us in the media to help them share that story. By 2013, we didn't hear a lot in the media

about what, if anything, was happening with the investigation. There wasn't a lot coming up. After three years of investigation, leads dry up and the case goes cold. I would get at least weekly updates in the beginning, and that lasted for a long time. And then we got to where we would have monthly meetings,

and then those became fewer and fewer, and then I started to get no calls. I really was feeling frustrated. I never wanted to use that word cold, but I really was feeling like we're not getting any answers, and we've got to get somebody trying different things. It's now March 2018, seven and a half years after Sherry's murder. The case was transferred over to the Unified Police Department.

I had been involved in assisting South Salt Lake in this investigation. Now it's exclusively over at Unified Police Department. I would be assigned as the lead investigator to this case. And I decided I wanted to start fresh. In these types of cases, you really have to try to think of anything and try everything that you possibly can. And on occasion, you might turn over that little stone

that all of a sudden produces something. As Detective Pender searches for strategies to help find Sherry's killer, he comes across a new technology that may hold the key. I was familiar with genealogy because my mother used to do that to make a little extra money for the family, but I hadn't even heard of anything called investigative genetic genealogy. We know that there are multiple different databases. People will submit their DNA to determine their genealogy, their familial history.

And if we can find through our suspect DNA who this person may be related to, then there's a good chance that we can trace back to our suspect. This private company took a look at the DNA. They were able to provide me with 400 to 600 names. These would have been relatives, but the connection was so far down the line. I was sent out to other states to try to see

if we could get a closer match to our perpetrator. Detective Ben Pender spends the next two years crisscrossing the country, collecting DNA swabs from potential relatives of Sherry Black's killer. The genealogist would put together a list of individuals to contact and see if they would be willing to not only give us some information about their family history, but also be willing to voluntarily give us their DNA.

I would knock on the door. I would tell them what I was doing. I was very surprised. Approximately 98% of the people were extremely willing to help. I got a call from the genealogist who said we have a match to a individual who we believe is closely related to your perpetrator. The family were located in Sacramento, California. I knew I needed to get out there and interview them. And I actually brought a photograph of Sherry and Earl Black to this home.

As we were talking, I asked the adult son if maybe in high school he would have had some type of intimate relationship. He said, I did. And she had indicated to me that I had fathered a child. He received some paperwork signing off custody. That paperwork was actually out of Utah. Cold Case Files is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today.

Smart choice. Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called AutoQuote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies. So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this episode at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. September 21st of 2020,

we're coming up on 10 years since the Sherry Black murder occurred in her bookstore in South Salt Lake. We have a match to a individual who we believe is closely related to the perpetrator. He had fathered a child with this female, and she's also in Utah, which obviously got my attention for sure with that information. He had a photograph of the child, and on the back there was a name, Antonio.

As soon as I left their residence, I immediately got on the phone with the genealogist. We just started going crazy trying to figure out who this Antonio was. We were able to actually identify that his name is now Adam Antonio Spencer Durbrough. He had an extensive record in his juvenile criminal history of violence. As far in his juvenile criminal history of violence.

As far as his adult criminal history, Adam was charged with shoplifting. That's the only thing he has on his adult criminal history. He would have been 19 years of age when Sherry was murdered. And now he was living in the Orem area, 30 miles south of Salt Lake County. The following day, we drove down to Orem and held surveillance on this residence for a number of days to kind of get his routine down. One of the investigators happened to see a sack

from a fast food restaurant inside of his vehicle and ultimately saw Adam dispose of this at his residence in the waste container outside. We took the trash and I informed our state crime lab. dispose of this at his residence in the waste container outside. We took the trash and I informed our state crime lab. They said, great, bring it down to our office. So I went home for the night, went to bed about two or three in the morning. I actually got a text and my wife asked, who's texting you at this time in the morning?

And I said, it's the lab. It's a match. And I really became emotional at that point. I just laid there and kind of started thinking things through of where we go from here. We followed Adam to Walmart. Six plainclothes investigators approached Adam. Adam was told he was under arrest.

We immediately put him in my patrol vehicle. I'm thinking to myself, we've got to get him to the office. We've got to get this interview going. As we're driving, he says, I know what you want to talk about, and if it's what I think you want to talk to me about, then I would want an attorney present. He lawyered up.

However, we did have a warrant already prepared for his fingerprints, for his DNA, and for photographs. I thought, after we take those items, do I just take him to jail and book him in, or do I put him in the interview room and give it a chance? Detective Pender rolls the dice. He places Adam Derbrow in an interrogation room. I went into the room and I said, I'm not here to ask any questions because you've asked for an attorney,

but I want to tell you a little bit about Sherry Black. I've been working this case for over five years. The reason you're here today is you're here because of the Sherry Black case, okay? And this was somebody's mother, this was somebody's grandmother. When would you guys stop me today? I knew.

I mean, I haven't done anything else in my life. This family's been, I've seen them, they've asked for answers. We sit there in silence for a couple of minutes, and before I even start asking any questions, Adam will then just kind of unload and talk about what happened. Probably shouldn't say it was not a lawyer, but honestly, it's just something they do need to know. It's been a long 10 years. I went into that store and I had no intention at all to do anything.

There's no one else in the store. And it had been over a week. I remember that. My mom was super stressed out. She was afraid that I was just going to be another number in the system again. It just happened. She was there, and I just was so angry,

and I just lashed out. When he started opening up, I felt as though he was being a little bit cautious. I mean, he's admitting to it, but is he really going to give us the details? So I entered the store, asked if she had a particular book series, Ben Stock, and she didn't, but I decided to look around.

Anyways, I was to look around anyways. I was just silently fuming. She walked over and asked if everything was fine. Holder was fine. She smiled and turned away. There was just a pair of scissors nearby. Picked them up and I hit her. I just hit her on the back of the head.

At one point, I do remember it was by her, I forgot her cashier station, it was this bottle. And I picked it up and hit her on the back of the head with it. Okay. I ran out of that store. I'm surprised nobody saw me. I didn't realize what I had done until I was in the bathroom just scrubbing. He appears to be pretty deflated.

He's been caught. In my mind, I'm really wanting him to provide all the information he can and the reason why he would have done what he did. When you get over to the bookstore, is there something that, I mean, is there something that sets you off? I think it was just her being kind, honestly. Just, I saw myself as a terrible, terrible person. I guess I'm trying to understand. Why her?

Well, why? Yeah, why her? Why Sherry? I don't know, man. I just, I don't know. I thought that I was this horrible person growing up. I was gone and stupid. I didn't control myself. It wasn't personal, it wasn't planned, it was spontaneous. I wish I could take it back. I'm not a hundred percent sure why Adam picked Sherry other than the fact that I do believe Sherry was kind to Adam and I think Adam had not had that in his life. And I also believe based on her kindness,

for whatever reason that snapped Adam, and unfortunately just brutally killed Sherry. It was the opening day of the deer hunt up in Idaho. All of us, family, we were up at the ranch. My son-in-law, Greg, just happened to get a phone call. They needed us back in Salt Lake. Greg and I drove like a bat all the way to Salt Lake. Couldn't get here soon enough.

We all met at the sheriff's office, and then Ben came in and just looked at us and said, we got him. Wow. Finally. Huge sigh of relief. Well, I dealt with that memory as a joyful moment. It doesn't take it away, the pain, but it certainly was a joyful moment. As Adam Derbrow went into court, it was maybe a mercy that he fast-tracked his own case. He did not try to fight the charges. He did not try to plead down to get a lighter sentence for himself.

Sherry Black's family gathers at the courthouse for Adam Derbrow's sentencing. But before the judge announces the decision, Sherry's family addresses the court. Okay, so this is part of my victim's impact statement. I believe we lost an advocate. She was an advocate for her daughter, Heidi, first and foremost. She was an advocate for my sweet grandpa Earl and all the things he wanted to do. She was an advocate for my sweet grandpa Earl and all the things he wanted to do. She was an advocate for my father and for her six grandchildren.

She helped anyone she could, any way she could. Here's the real irony of all this. She would have kindly spoken with, helped, or taught Derbrow, perhaps even becoming his advocate or friend if he'd only chosen a different path. The judge sentences Adam Derbrow to life without the possibility of parole. I do believe justice was served. Should there be some other condemnation, that's not for me to decide. Rot in hell, you son of a bitch. That's what I think.

Just rot rotten hell. There's no answer that DeVarro could give me to make me feel any better or any different about him. It was a huge relief to know he's done, he's put away, and he won't ever hurt another person. That gives me comfort and I hope it gives everybody else comfort. I consider it a privilege to have been part of witnessing people that come together for a greater good and utilize in Sherry's death in ways that will help other people from here on out.

The family of Sherry Black have advocated for a new law in the state of Utah that basically establishes some guardrails for police use of this investigative genetic genealogy. It's the Sherry Black Law. I want people to remember my mom and my mom's story because I want them to know that they can have an impact on unsolved crimes, that they can be genetic witnesses. I think my grandma would be very grateful to know that she is a part of helping solve other crimes. If I could say anything to my grandmother,

it would be, I miss you. I miss you. I keep my mom in my heart with me all the time. I celebrate her by advocating for people who are going through what we're going through and by remembering her name for good. Pluto TV has all the shows and movies you love streaming for free.

That means laughter is free with gut busting comedies like The Neighborhood, Boomerang, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Bueller. Mystery is free with countless cases to crack from Criminal Minds, Tracker, and Matlock. I'm a lawyer like the old TV show. And thrills are free with heart-pumping hits like The Walking Dead and Pulp Fiction. Correct the mundo. Feel the free. Pluto TV. Stream now, pay never.