Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Man and Fiancé Murdered in Their Sleep

Episode Date: November 5, 2021

It's been fifteen years since Judy Conley said good night to her son, then woke up to the news that he'd been murdered in his bed. Curtis Francis was gunned down alongside his fiancé, Jennifer Burgette. No suspect has been named in the case, but there's lots of speculation in this rural Ohio community. The discovery of a well at the home where Francis was last seen, uncovered two weapons. Those weapons were lost when the fire department, working with police to recover the guns, blew out the bottom of the well. Investigative Reporter Jody Barr found a statement in another murder case, where the suspect offered information in exchange for a deal in his case. That information has not come into play in solving the Hopper Road murders.Joining Nancy Grace Today: Judy Conley - Curtis Francis' Mother Angela Montgomery - Cousin of Curtis Francis, [e-mail], Facebook: "Justice For Curtis Francis and Jennifer Burgette" Troy Slaten - Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, Slaten Lawyers, APC, Twitter @TroySlaten Dr. Jorey Krawczyn - Police Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty with Saint Leo University; Research Consultant with Blue Wall Institute, Author: Operation S.O.S. - Practical Recommendations to Help “Stop Officer Suicide,” bw-institute.com Joe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadio Jody Barr - Chief Investigator, FOX 46 Charlotte, NC, former investigative reporter FOX 19 Cincinnati, OH, Facebook: "Jody Barr KXAN", Twitter: @JodyBarr Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Why are so many dead bodies piling up in one small town, Piketon. Today, two people, deeply in love, planning a life together, go to sleep just before Christmas. They never wake up, shot dead in the night. Why is there no resolution? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Curtis Francis and Jennifer Burgett made plans for a future together. They were engaged and had talked about having children.

That was something friends say Francis was excited about, starting a family of his own. Francis was also an avid outdoorsman. He loved to hunt and fish and was close to and protective of his family. That family welcomed Jennifer Burgett with open arms. Francis's mother described her daughter-in-law as being just like a daughter. One night in December, someone came into the couple's home and shot them as they slept. But why? Why gun down a couple unarmed in their sleep at home in their own beds? And why is the case cold? Again, thank you for being with us here at Crime Stories. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of it all. First of all, Ken Belkin, renowned criminal defense attorney joining us out of New York at BelkinLaw.com. Dr. Jory Croson, psychologist, faculty, St. Leo

University, consultant with Blue Wall Institute, and author of Operation SOS. Also with me, forensics expert, Joseph Scott Morgan, professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, and star of a brand new hit series, The Piketon Massacre, a whole other set of murders in Piketon. He's now a star on iHeartRadio. But first, I want to go to Jody Barr, also joining me right now, two very special guests. Judy Conley, that's Curtis France's mom, found dead in their own bed. Also, Angela Montgomery, one of the France's cousins and family representative and a victim's advocate. Ladies, thank you for being with us. I'm going to first go to Jody Barr, Chief Investigative Reporter, Fox 46.

And you can find him on Facebook, Jody Barr. Jody, I don't understand why this case is cold. There had to be forensic evidence left behind, such as fingerprints, cartridges to get some type of an etching on it, a striation mark to match back in the database. There's a slew of investigative techniques. I'm not sure why the case has gone cold, but let's just start at the beginning. Tell me what happened the night, December 9th. Well, Kurt Francis and Jennifer Burgett were laying in their beds and Curtis had just left a neighboring house about seven minutes away. They were having a get together there and Curtis came home. And at some point the night while those two lay in their bed, someone or some people came into that home and shot some point in the night, while those two lay in their beds, someone or some people came into that home and shot them multiple times. With me, Jody Barr, Chief Investigative

Reporter, Fox 46. You say laying in their beds. Correct. Were they asleep? Because that makes a difference. Well, some of the evidence we have found in the autopsy reports would indicate at least one was asleep. The autopsy would indicate that Jennifer Burgett at some point may have raised up in bed. Okay, so probably asleep and then awakened by the sound of gunfire or someone breaking in. And I, of course, did not perform the autopsy. I'm a J.D., not an M.D., but it's got to be because of the trajectory path of the bullets. If she raised up in bed when she heard something, the gunshot wound would have come in at a different angle. Or she may have a defensive wound, such as holding your hand up and being shot in the hand or the arm, but that movement of her sitting up indicates to me she was asleep at the get-go and then woke up during the shooting. Something woke her up, and that's why

the bullet path would be different for her. Jody Barr, again, Fox 46. Tell me about the area. What can you tell me about not only Piketon, Ohio, but this particular spot where they were living? I understand it's a very low crime rate. Yeah, it's very low because it's very rural. This is about two hours east of Cincinnati in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. And, you know, that's where. Hey, wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jody Barr.

You'd be surprised about how much meth is getting cooked up in rural areas. Okay? So other than that, and there's no connection between these two and any sort of an operation like that, but the reason I'm bringing it up is you'd be very surprised at where crime rears its ugly head. But from what I understand, Jody, you're right that this was a very low crime rate. It's rural. It's not like you're in a big city and somebody walks by and sees your door open so they break in. Yeah, well, that's part of the problem with it being rural is the fact that the law enforcement force and the capabilities and experience of investigators

within those law enforcement agencies in that area makes a crime like this even more difficult to solve if they keep this in-house. So to answer your original question, that could be another reason why this case is still nearly 15 years later unsolved and we don't know who killed these two people. It's because it was rural and you know it's um but with it being rural people the people or person who did this likely knew the victims and vice versa so you know it's still this is why still today even with what has been uncovered in this case is you you wonder why we're here j Barr, I know you're the chief investigative reporter at Fox 46, but I'm going to give you a newsflash. Murders in rural areas get solved every day. I mean, I'm just thinking right now about Molly Tibbetts.

Molly Tibbetts, remember her? Running along a rural road. Went missing. It took a minute. But the perp, Christian Rivera, was caught. I mean, that's just off the top of my head. Then you've got Karina Vetrano, who was running along a deserted area on Long Island. Her case was solved. I mean, I could go on and on and on about cases in rural areas that are solved.

There's something more to this, why it's not solved, other than it's a rural area. That's no reason for it not to be solved. As a matter of fact, that should make it more easily solved, Jody, because as you pointed out, without a lot of strangers coming through, you would expect the killer to be someone from that area, someone they know. And speaking of the area that you so accurately brought up, Jody Barr, let me go now to Joe Scott Morgan, who is currently the star of the Piketon Massacre and has spent a lot of time in Piketon. What can you tell me about the area, Joe Scott? And don't tell me the case hasn't been solved because it's rural. I'm not going to tell you that. What I'll tell you it's a beautiful area it's you know as Jody mentioned it's in the

Appalachian foothills it's it's secluded uh winding roads you know I've I've driven I've driven through quite a bit of it and some of it actually reminds me of trips I've made to Ireland beautiful green and lush but it is isolated Nancy these people live in an isolated environment I just jump in with something you said before I lose the thought? Yeah, sure. Foothills. You know, as the crow flies, something may be two miles away. But when you have to go up one side of a mountain and down the other side of the mountain to get to it, it can be an hour drive.

So when you say this is in the foothills, let me tell you, that is an impediment to people coming in and out of the area. Okay, go ahead. Just throw that in. Also kind of dovetailing what you're saying there. It also goes to this idea that people that are involved in crimes there that are locals, they're going to know where to go, what to avoid. They're going to know every little hem and holler that's in this area. You know, you've got switchback curves. You've got, you know, the old saying about when you go around a curve, you can actually meet your rear end when you're going around it. It's narrow. You know, I've been in a car up there and knowing that you have to pull over on the side of the road to give somebody else passage in order to get through there. So it's very isolated. The people all know one another. And many times the people like to

keep their mouth shut. They don't talk about other people's business many times. And sometimes it's tough to crack that nut. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining me right now is one of the victims' mother, Judy Conley. This is Curtis Francis' mother, also with me. A Francis cousin, Angela Montgomery. And the only way I found out about this case is because of Angela Montgomery. She contacted me via our Facebook. Wasn't it Facebook, Angela, where I found you? Yes. I believe I got you through Facebook, Instagram, email. I tried everything.

Well, that's how we connected. You wrote the Nancy Grace Facebook. And if I hadn't seen that, I would never have known that these beautiful people, and it hurts me. I mean, Jennifer's just 30. Kurt is 34. And they're settling down together. They're at the point of life where they want a family. That's about when it hit me, too, that I knew somehow, and I didn't know how it was going to happen,

that I wanted a family, somebody to love. And I think about them. They're getting married. They're going to immediately start a family, and here they are in their own bed at night and get gunned down. I mean, Judy, Ms. Connelly, you think when you go to bed at night, you're safe. Yeah. And I'm thinking about how mine and my husband's bedroom is about, what would you say, Jackie, 10 feet maybe?

Yeah, not far. 15 feet most from my children's. And I sleep with all the doors open so I can hear. But when I go to bed at night, I, knock on wood, really believe we're all safe. And I know that's what your son thought when he went to sleep that night. Tell me how you found out about the shootings. My son had been at my house the night before, about 10.30 at night. And I told him when he got home to call me.

And I talked to him about 11 o'clock. I told him, I said, don't you go back out of the house. Stay there. Oh, Judy, you sound like, you sound just like my mother to this day. Just call me when you get there. Don't be out and about. Don't do this. When I go on an investigation, sometimes i hate to even tell her judy because

it gets her so upset i know so i i'm just imagining you telling curtis francis age 34 don't go back out of the house he was my baby just hear you saying it he was the baby oh you know what can i tell you something which is totally irrelevant my son is is 13. You know, I have boy-girl twins. He's 6'4", but he's my baby. I still make him sit in my lap. They will always be your baby. I can just hear you right now saying, don't go back out of that house.

I did. I told you. I said, don't go back out because I don't know what it was. I wanted to know, like you said, that he's safe in bed. That way i can sleep you know so the next day he he had been at my house and wanted my other son paul to come and fix a dryer vent and wanted him to go with him and i said no he can't go with you you go home they will come over tomorrow my husband and Paul, and fix your driver's license.

When they went over there, it was all taped off. The sheriff and everybody was there, and they had the crime scene taped off. So when my husband got home, I was in the bathroom cleaning. He said, you need to come in here. I had just lost my daughter six months before that. She committed suicide. She was bipolar. So I was still dealing with that. When I walked in there, I said, Curtis is dead, ain't he? He said, who's been here? I said, nobody. I just know it. I said, Jenny is too, ain't he said who's been here i said nobody i just know it i said jenny is too ain't you i don't know it's just an instinct i don't know what it was to this day but i just something i

felt but and he said somebody has talked to you i said no nobody's talked to him i haven't seen anybody so that's how miss conley i got to tell you something, Ms. Conley. With me is Judy Conley. This is Curtis's mom, and Angela Montgomery, Francis' cousin. Judy, I remember when I got the call about my fiancé, and his Keith sister said, where are you? And I said, I'm at school. Is Keith gone? I mean, somehow I knew he was dead.

I know. And I was in a completely different city. I know. And I've had so many victims' family. Tell me that. So, okay, then what happens? I hit the floor, of course. Then my son, Paul, he grabbed me.

And I asked him to pray. I said, pray with me. He said, I don't know if I know how, Mom. I said, yes, you do know how. And after we did that, it was like something come over me, and I got up. I was fine. I handled everything. I handled everything until it was all over and then I fell apart. And I've been falling apart ever since because I need that closure. I need to know who killed my baby.

Angela Montgomery, join in. What are your recollections? Sorry, I got choked up a little bit. I just remember that my dad had told me. I just didn't believe it, and I didn't understand it. And it didn't make sense. Just kind of like you're numb, in shock, I guess. And we went to their funerals, and after everything was all over, that's when it kind of

hits you, like, who did this? What happened? You get angry. You know, I want something done about this. And you have hope that, you know know you have law enforcement telling you we're gonna um we're gonna get these people and and here we are 15 years later almost and nothing the same we're in the same spot we were the day it happened you know i don't know about you angela but um when you were saying you were choked up i felt felt the same way, but I feel choked up and like it makes me want to cry. And at the same time, I'm angry that nothing has been done. I don't understand it. I mean, Joe Scott Morgan, I don't understand what the hay is going on.

Why don't we have any answers? Well, I think one of the problems, Nancy, is that they've got limited resources in this area. And that's a hollow excuse. And it's sad that you have to tell the family that. But I think that because it's so insulated from the rest of the world, that I think that they really wasted time getting people like the state AG involved in this case. It just kind of went on and on and on until it wound up getting backburnered with a lot of other cases that occur up there, Nancy. And not to mention, I got to be perfectly frank with you. They've got a certain level of corruption up there as well. You know, you look at the sheriff, Sheriff Reeder, former sheriff, who's now doing time as a result of malfeasance in

office. I think that there's a deep-seated root that flows through all of this, where people are not put first in this area, The residents, they're kind of forgotten. And it really rears its ugly head in cases like this where people's lives have just been completely destroyed. Well, before we get off on corruption and ulterior motives, can we talk about the forensics in this case? What, if anything, do you know? Well, this is what I do know. I know that at the scene, they were unable to actually recover a weapon that may have been used in the commission of this crime. And, you know, for us, you know, you were talking about the attitude of the bodies, you know, in the position, the trajectory of these rounds. What do you know about the position of the body or the trajectory?

Well, I think the most striking thing, Nancy, is the fact that both of these poor souls were in bed. They had no awareness. That gives me an indication that this was probably not just a single person that came in and did this. They probably came in and issued control over these individuals. It's probably a pair of people that came into this environment and ended their lives in their bed as they slept. Okay, why do you believe there was more than one perp? Well, because I think that when you show up at a home in order to do this kind of violence, this kind of violence, I think that you're prepared with more than one person in order to manhandle people.

And there's also an indication that there's more than one weapon that's associated with this case by virtue of what they found later on, sequestered away. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. You just heard Joe Scott Morgan, professor of forensics, mention that evidence had been, quote, sequestered away. What he's trying to say in plain English is evidence hidden. Take a listen to our cut five. This is Jody Barr, Fox 19. This well was covered up that deep. I dug for two to three days. Pretty well around the clock. Last summer, Paul Francis was knocking out a plumbing job for a friend here on Wynn Road. It's the last place his brother was before he was murdered in 2006. Paul's waited ever since for investigators to solve this case.

Never did he think he might be the one to break it wide open. And it was buried underneath like four foot rocks and dirt. And it was being hid. Nobody knew the well was there until we found it. So it was an accident and you found it? Yeah, complete accident. Somebody wanted, the Lord on the island wanted us to find it. I reckon we found it.

And listen to more. Here's Fox 19, our cut six. The Francis family called the sheriff's office last July to report finding the well. The Pike County Sheriff's Office taped it off, then hired a plumber to run a camera down it. Investigators, Francis says, showed him the pictures of what they found down there. I've seen the pictures later. Me and my mom, I call it a saddle gun, a lever action, 18 shot, 30 out of 6. That's what my brother was killed with and his wife, his fiancee, and a pistol. It's in that well right now.

We're supposed to not say nothing about that, but I think something's time for it to be said. Out of the blue, when working on a project, a well hidden is uncovered. And in that well, between feet of dirt and rocks, the murder weapon. Straight out to Angela Montgomery, a Francis cousin. What can you tell me about that? Paul, which is Curtis's brother, he was doing a job, like you said, a plumbing cousin. What can you tell me about that? Paul, which is Curtis's brother, he was doing a job, like you said, a plumbing job. He found the well and he thought, okay, nobody knew this well was here when Curtis and Jenny got murdered. Maybe I should call the cops and let them know because the place where he was working at is the last place Curtis was seen alive.

Okay, that's not just a coincidence. It can't be. No. Take a listen to Our Cut OC. This is our friend Tyler Hunt at Crime Online. As work progresses, Francis finds a water line and exposed wires that are not supposed to be where they are. Francis starts following the wires as they are pulled out from under the grass through the front yard to a pile of rubble 50 yards away. Under four feet of rubble is a well, and in the well, possibly a break in the deaths of his brother and future sister-in-law. This wind road home was the last place his brother was the night he was murdered. Straight back out to Judy Conley. This is Curtis Francis' mother. So

Paul is also your son. Curtis's brother. Tell me what happened. He went over there to do some work, plumbing work for a guy that lived there. And he comes home and he says, Mom, we found a well. I pulled on the wires, said they have county water, but this is a drilled well. And it's covered up said do you want to call the law i said yes so i called them he worked in the rain for three days digging that out and when they got to it they ran the camera down there which me and him both the sheriff reader showed us the picture and it was a two guns a pistol and a rifle the pistol was curtis's it was missing not saying they were

killed with that gun but someone stole it out of his hoster because I have his holster. So that's where it started. And then they brought the fire department and my son telling them, don't do that. You'll blow the bottom of the well out. They did. They blew 80 foot at the bottom of the well out and the guns are lost. We don't have the guns? No. The Sheriff's Department filled the well. Straight out to veteran criminal defense attorney Ken Belkin at BelkinLaw.com joining us out of New York. Ken, you have tried a lot of cases.

How rare is it that evidence like this literally just falls in your lap? Here is the victim, one of the two shooting victims' brother, working on a plumbing issue, sees a wire that is not supposed to be there, follows the wire, and it leads to a hidden well. They run a camera down. They see the guns. And they're the same caliber guns used in the double murder. And then they blow out the well and lose the evidence.

I mean, this is unbelievable. If you're law enforcement investigating a double murder, one of your top priorities, aside from catching the actual murderer or murderers, is to get that murder weapon. Because it's probably going to be one of the biggest pieces of evidence that ties you to the person who committed these crimes. Okay. We've lost the evidence. But from what you could tell, Judy Connolly, what type of weapons were down the well? It was a rifle and a pistol.

I don't know much about guns, but my son said that the rifle was the one that Curtis owned or had had. So, Joe Scott Morgan, you're a ballistics expert. What can you tell me? Well, from what we understand, the brother, when he saw these weapons, he referred to the rifle as a saddle gun. And if folks will just think about watching old Western movies where they have lever action weapons, lever action rifles, this is something that would go into the scabbard on the side of a horse, like in an old cowboy movie.

And he actually said that he believed that it was a 30-06, which is a kind of a robust round. It's a hunting round that's used in this weapon. And he said specifically that it holds 18 rounds, which, you know, in order to actuate it, you have to work the action, work the lever, it ejects one and seats a new fresh round after you fire it. So it's a very specific weapon and it's not something you commonly see used in a crime like this. So it's very unique to the ownership. It would give me an indication that someone had to know that he possessed these

weapons. And again, Nancy, just, I got to say, who in the world would know that that well was back there? This opening to this thing is only six inches in diameter, Nancy. This isn't like some kind of wishing well, you know, that you think about in a fairy tale story. This is a very narrow opening. You have to have intimate knowledge of this environment to know that this thing even exists back there. So for me as an investigator, for me as an investigator, Nancy, this tells me that whoever did this had intimate knowledge of the geography and the people that occupied this location. Then is there a break? Take a listen to our cut eight. This is our friend Jody Barr, Fox 19. A few months ago, we uncovered 10-year-old witness statements in a

separate Pike County murder case. Statements that appear to tell the whole story about what happened here on Hopper Road in December 2006. These are the six people whose names show up in the statements we found. Robin Howes owned the house with the well. She shared that home with her boyfriend, Kevin Hoskins Prater, and her son, James Howes. Corey Howes is Robin's youngest son. Corey and his girlfriend at the time, Eden Canterbury, gave investigators statements in a separate murder case. Eden wrote, Robin Howes ordered the hit that killed Kurt Francis and Jenny Burgett. Corey in Eden's statements went on to say his brother James Howes and a family friend, Eric Horn, took a rifle out of the home and came back later with bloody clothes. Ordered a hit,

bloody clothes. Take a listen to our cut 9 there's more now those same statements show that Robin house ordered James house and Eric horn into the shower while Kevin Hoskins Prater burned their bloody clothes and buried them somewhere in their yard we tried to track the people down who gave those statements. Corey Howes is in prison. So was his brother, James Howes. Neither agreed to interviews. We could not track Eden Canterbury down. And after several trips to Pike County, we found the new home Robin Howes and Kevin Hoskins Prater share in Piketon. Robin Howes' son, Corey Howes' girlfriend, told investigators in 2007,

Robin Howes ordered the hit against Kurt Francis. Corey Howes told investigators Jenny Burgett wasn't supposed to be home. I just, it's crazy. Do you know any of these names? Yes. Yes, I do. How do you know them? They lived up the road from one of my rental houses. So they knew your son?

Yes. Yes, they knew him. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Ken Belkin, veteran trial lawyer at BelkinLaw.com. Ken, you know the phrase familiarity breeds contempt, right? Very often homicides are committed by people that know each other, be it neighbors, a family member, an ex-boyfriend, a husband, very often the perp will know the victim. In fact, it's rare that a murder goes down where the perp doesn't know the victim in some fashion. Would you agree with that? I would totally agree with that.

I mean, to hate someone enough to kill them, you must really know them. And another thing, Ken Belkin, what we're talking about is a jailhouse informant. When you get people behind bars that say, hey, I know about this, that or the other thing, you have a credibility problem because it's going to be argued that the only reason they're talking is because they want leniency in another case. Absolutely. But it appears that Eric Horn, you know, he's already serving a life sentence for a murder that he pled guilty to in 2006, that of Paul Shope III. And he's already in jail. He really he's already been given the life sentence. At this point, he doesn't really have any motive to fabricate anything. In fact, you could argue that he had significant motive not to come forward because he was afraid that him or his family, who are not in jail, could have been retaliated against by the perpetrator. Let me go to our psychologist joining us today.

He's esteemed psychologist, faculty St. Leo, consultant, author, Dr. Jory Croson. Dr. Jory, I've used jailhouse informants before. I've used witnesses from behind bars. And the first thing I do in an opening statement is tell the jury. He's an inmate, but even an inmate has information. Even somebody with a conviction can tell the truth. You be the judge. See if it fits the evidence. So inmates can tell the truth. They don't always want leniency. Yeah, the main thing you want to do with that information or the statement is to collaborate it. And, you know, either through other sources, connecting it to evidence.

That's the investigative method to use on that. But inmates, they do tell the truth. I mean, you know, the motivation can be leniency, like we've already said. It can be just wanting to clear their conscience. Is there any chance of another witness? Take a listen to our Cut 12 Fox 19. We tracked down a man who claims to be a witness in the Hopper Road case. We found him at a state prison in Pickaway County. The question has to be asked, did you have anything to do with this double homicide? No. Eric Horn is one of the people accused in the Hopper Road statements.

Horn serving a life sentence in a separate murder case. He claims he was at the Howells Wynn Road home the night of the murders, but left before Kurt Francis left and was later murdered. Did you ever see Kurt Francis again? No, I did not. Back to Judy Conley. This is Curtis's mother. Do you believe he's telling the truth? Yes.

Yes, I do. What do you think happened the night your son was murdered? I think he went home, went to sleep, and they come in and killed him. Do you believe this guy, Eric Horn, is telling the truth? Yes, I do. Why? I don't know why. I just do. He's got nothing to lose. Why? I mean, there was just something about them. I told Paul, my son, I said, don't go around them.

That's the last place your brother was. I said, I don't know what it is, but I just have a feeling. And I did. To you, Angela Montgomery, does the story that this inmate, Eric Horn, is telling makes sense to you? I've did a lot of research on this case, and I've noticed that Eric likes to make sure he excludes himself out of anything to do with that night. I found some proffer letters that he was making in the Paul Shope case between the prosecutor and Eric's lawyer.

And it does say that Eric would give up information that he had driven James to Curt and Jenny's house that night, but he had no idea that James was going to murder them. So he says one thing, then another. I think personally that they were both there, and they both know what happened. But do you believe what he's saying about the murders themselves, whether he was the getaway driver or not? Yes, I do.

Take a listen to our Cut 13, Fox 19. In September 2008, nearly a year following the Hopper Road murders, Eric Horn was inside the Pike County courthouse about to take a plea deal in a separate murder case. State prosecutors, Horn's case file shows, were negotiating a deal with Horn for information on the Hopper Road case. Horn says he wrote a statement then claiming Robin Howes ordered the hit against Kurt Francis and Kevin Hoskins Prater and James Howes carried it out. Horn says James Howes admitted that to him a few months after the Hopper Road murders.

What did James tell you? James was in the front yard chopping firewood and he broke down and said, Kevin done it. Kevin done it. And I said, Kevin did what? He said he broke down and started crying. It was Robin's doing. She's the one that basically made him do it. Then a mystery letter emerges. Listen to our cut for it.

Eric Horn says days after giving prosecutors the information on the Hopper Road murders, he wrote this letter and sent it home to his mother for safekeeping. In it, he described what he told investigators. Why did you decide to write this letter and include these details in and send that home? Because if anything were to happen to me, there would be, I said there would at least be some type of record so that justice could be served. Horn says he told investigators about a lever action rifle that was hanging in the Howe's home. A rifle similar to the one Paul Francis says he saw in the pictures from inside this well. Now, a decade later, Horton says this well's proven what he told investigators nearly

10 years ago. You gave investigators this information almost a decade ago now and there have been no arrests. This case is still considered a cold case by the Ohio Attorney General's office. Because they did not want to listen to me. They did not want to hear what I had to say. Judy Conley, this is Curtis Francis's mother. How does it make you feel to know they've been sitting on this evidence for 10 years? It makes me sick because there's no reason for it. I told him once before, I said, this case is too simple. My son had a circle he went in.

He had one circle of friends, and that was it, and it's just too simple. I feel like I know who did it or who was involved in it. The working theory is that Curtis Francis was the intended victim and Jennifer Burgett, his fiancee, was collateral damage, that she had to be murdered because she saw who murdered Curtis Francis. You know, Joe Scott, Morgan, you have been working in Piketon for quite some time now on your special investigation. I don't understand what the holdup is on the Hopper Road murders.

I don't either. Yeah, I don't either. I'd have to agree with Miss Connolly. You know, you've got a brutal double homicide here. If that's not motivation enough in order to move forward and get these cases satisfied, get them solved, I can't figure out what would be. Because, look, the fact that these two innocent people were gunned down in their home where you're supposed to be safe. Somebody came into that home and literally executed them in their beds. I don't understand what the holdup to get this issue resolved.

I mean, listen to these poor family members, Nancy. You know, the fact that they're having to suffer after all of this time and there's so much information that they could move forward with, it just baffles the mind. Ms. Connelly, final word from you. What is your message today? I want to know who killed my baby. I want to know. And I think that they can find out if they will get up and do it. How has this affected your life?

I mean, my life has been a mess. And it just kept getting worse because Paul was a twin he lost his twin brother in a swimming accident when he was 11 years old my daughter she was a nurse she was bipolar she stuck a gun in her mouth six months before Curtis was murdered. I lost my husband three years ago. You know, I'm just, I don't know. I need something out of this. You need justice. I need it. If anyone has information or thinks they have information, please dial 740-977-7725. You know how many times I've given out tip lines? Thousands. I am begging you on behalf of this mother

to please put her mind at rest in the murder of her son, Curtis. 740-977-7725. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.