Murder In America - EP. 58 WYOMING - Gerald & Alice: A Match Made In Hell

Episode Date: March 23, 2022

In 2013, an elderly couple was arrested in rural Missouri, and the details of their arrests were not only salacious but also deeply disturbing. You won't believe what these two did in their pasts... seriously, prepare for a twist ending in this story. You're listening, to MURDER IN AMERICA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is sponsored by Hocum, the new film that critics are calling Damian McCarthy's most unnerving horror yet. From the director of Audity, Hocom stars Adam Scott, in a deeply monstrous horror that bloody disgusting called Pure Nightmare Fuel that holds you firmly in its grip. Don't miss Hocom, the groundbreaking new horror from Damian McCarthy, now playing in theaters. This episode is sponsored by Better Help. is a journey. I know this. I think we all know this. Some days feel good and other days feel absolutely overwhelming. Whatever's keeping you up at night. It's easy sometimes to feel like you have to figure it all out on your own. But the truth is, nobody has all the answers. And no journey should be taken alone. However, having someone with you to listen, to understand, and to support you can make

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Now available in Canada too. That's QI-N-C-E.com slash America for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quence.com slash America. The following podcast is not suitable for all audiences. We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects. Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children. This podcast is not for everyone.

You have been warned. Karma is something that always catches up to people. When you're a good person and you put goodness out into the world, I wholeheartedly believe that that goodness will eventually come back to you. But inversely, if you're a bad person, karma hits someone. you even harder than may take weeks, years, or in today's case, decades. But the bad karma will always come back around. In 1973, a young mother and her two sons vanished out of a small and secluded town in Wyoming. And for years, investigators were always one step behind their killer.

But this case goes to show that no matter where you run, no matter how long you hide for, your crimes have consequences. And it's only a matter of time until the that karma comes knocking on your door. This is the story of Alice Prunty and Gerald Udn. I'm Courtney Brown and I'm Colin Brown. And you're listening to Murder in America. In the summer of 1964, a young Gerald Uton had just been honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after four years of service on the USS Independence. Other than the Navy, Gerald didn't have a lot of experience in the workplace. He grew up as a shy farming boy in the small town of Harvard, Nebraska, and he spent the majority of his life shooting guns, hunting, fishing,

and fixing up old cars. Hunting was a huge part of his life and had been a hobby in his family for generations. In fact, the Udans were such avid hunters, Gerald's own grandpa used to hunt buffalo with Buffalo Bill himself. The country life was all Gerald knew, and now that he was out of the Navy, he wanted to settle down somewhere rural and quiet, where people keep to themselves, somewhere he could find a career, start a family. But as for now, Gerald didn't have the means to be off on his own. So he decided to move in with his parents for the time being. They had a spare trailer in their backyard which wasn't ideal, but Gerald didn't need a fancy house or nice things. He was a simple man. As long as he had a little privacy and his guns, he was content.

Gerald had always loved guns, and he had a pretty big collection of them. When he came back from the Navy, he went back to what he knew best, minding his own business and spending his free time hunting any chance he could. One day in the fall of 1965, Gerald went up into the mountains and shot himself a bull elk. And like he did with every animal he hunted, he brought it back to his parents' house to butcher it. Gerald spent the evening in his parents' yard hacking away at the carcass. When all of a sudden, a girl walked up out of nowhere. Her name was Barbara Ann Phillips, who lived next door. But instead of being disgusted with the dead animal in front of her, she was fascinated. And this really impressed Gerald. The two would end up spending a lot of time

together after this interaction. And before they knew it, they were in love. That Christmas, they got married. And Barbara moved in to Gerald's small trailer. A lot of women wouldn't prefer this kind of lifestyle, living in a trailer in your in-law's backyard. But Barbara didn't mind. And she and Gerald spent most of their time outdoors anyway. Gerald was a country boy through and through, and he needed a country girl that could satisfy him. He wanted someone who loved to hunt, fish, go camping, and not only loved guns, but could shoot them too. And Barbara was just that.

In Gerald's eyes, she was the perfect woman, but just like in any relationship, life wasn't always easy for the two of them. At the beginning of their marriage, Barbara had a pretty big health scare. She got blood clots from her birth control and had to be hospitalized. When she returned from the hospital, her body was weak and needed rest. So she wasn't able to go out and hunt or even cook dinner for them. matter and Gerald didn't like that. He wanted her to get up and continue her wifely duties, despite nearly dying weeks before. And this really upset Barbara. She felt like Gerald didn't

even care about her health. And soon after she filed for divorce. Gerald was now in his late 20s with one divorce already under his belt, but it wouldn't be long until he found another woman. Her name was Wanda. Wanda was described as a wild outspoken girl who loved motorcycles, and like Barbara absolutely loved guns, which was important to Gerald. Shortly after meeting her in the spring of 1973, the two would get married, a marriage that only lasted six weeks before they two got divorced. Gerald was controlling of his woman. He was hard to please, and now he was 30 and twice divorced. This divorce was eye-opening for Gerald. He was getting older now, and more than anything, he wanted a family of his own. There weren't a lot of eligible women in the rural town

of Lander, Wyoming. But little did Gerald know. One would soon come knocking on his door. One day, while he was home, he heard that knock. When he opened it, a nice, dark-haired woman was standing on his porch. She introduced herself as Virginia and said that a friend of her sent her over. One thing that Gerald immediately noticed was that Virginia had a rifle on her hip. It was an old gun that had been passed down in her family, and she wanted to know how much it was worth. Since Gerald was educated with guns, her friend sent her over to ask him about it.

So Gerald invited her inside, and they told her. talked for a while while he examined the old gun. During their conversation, Virginia told him that she was a single mother of two in her mid-20s. She went on to say that her ex-husband wasn't a good man, who never supported them or ever paid any child support. Gerald was fond of Virginia. Not only did he think she was pretty, but he felt bad for her in her situation, so we offered to help her out around the house if she ever needed it.

Virginia blushed, knowing that this wouldn't be the last they would see of each other. And it wouldn't be. That very next weekend, Gerald drove to Hudson, Wyoming, where Virginia lived. She had a small home that she shared with her two young sons, 6-year-old Richard and 4-year-old Reagan. Like most little boys their age, they were full of energy. And it was clear that Virginia was going through a lot, caring for them all by herself. And something about that intrigued Gerald. He liked the fact that Virginia needed help. He also liked the fact that the boys needed a little discipline, and as he watched them run around, like crazy, he thought to himself, I could be a good father figure to these boys. Virginia got pregnant at 20 years old from a Korean war vet who had already had children of his own.

One day after Virginia called one of his sons a son of a bitch for disobeying her, he kicked her out of the house and abandoned her, even though she was months away from having their baby, Richard. Her next son, Reagan, was born two years later after a fling with a bartender, so neither of the boys' fathers were present in their lives. And on top of being a single mom, Virginia always struggled to find a steady, job. She took odd jobs here and there, and when she needed extra cash, she would resell items from garage sales, but she always seemed to be struggling to make ends meet. But in 1974, when Virginia met Gerald, she felt like her life was finally turning around for the better. Gerald treated

her well. He would always take them out to go hunting and fishing, and he never complained about having her boys there. He was a man that not only made her feel secure and loved, but he made her sons happy too. And before long, she and Gerald felt deeply in love. Virginia's oldest son Richard was in first grade. He had your typical 70s haircut and bangs that nearly touched the top of his dark-rimmed glasses. Richard was good in school and more relaxed than his younger energetic brother. Reagan was a bright-eyed, dark-haired boy with a big gap in his front teeth. And according to everyone, he had a hard time sitting still. Virginia always struggled with her boys. Because she spent all of her time trying to provide for them, she never learned how to

properly discipline. Dinner time was always a struggle in the family. The boys were often complaining about their food, throwing it across the room if they didn't like the way it tasted. In bedtime was even harder. They always protested going to bed, and they were pretty much scared of everything, a shadow, the sound of the wind, monsters under the bed. But in all honesty, the boys just lacked a little direction and they acted out because of it, which is why Gerald was a perfect fit for the family. He was the man that Virginia always wanted. He was the father figure that the boys desperately needed. And Gerald was happy too. He finally felt like he found the family he had always longed for. In just three months after Virginia showed up at Gerald's doorstep, he proposed to her.

And of course, Virginia said yes. They had their wedding a few days later on July 3rd, 1974. and they even moved into a house together, with Gerald's job at a steel company, and Virginia's job selling furniture, they were comfortable in their finances for the first time ever. And from the outside looking end, they seemed like the perfect family. They spent their free time hunting and fishing, shooting cans up in the mountains, and taking joy rides on Gerald's motorcycle. Richard and Reagan had even started calling Gerald Dad, which he loved. Even though they weren't his own children, he felt like their father,

and in March of 1975, Gerald decided to legally adopt Richard and Reagan. A few months later in the summer of 1975, the family decided to take a road trip to Pennsylvania to visit Virginia's parents. To Gerald, it was a nice trip. He got to take a few days away from work, spend time with his family, and all was well in the world. But when it was time to go back to Wyoming, Virginia didn't want to go. She told Gerald that she wasn't done visiting family just yet. In fact, she wanted to take the boys to Philly to visit some relatives for a few days. Gerald thought this change of plans was weird, but he ultimately bought a plane ticket back home while his wife and kids finished visiting family, and he wasn't worried because

Richard and Reagan were supposed to start school in Wyoming in just a few days, so they would have to come back soon, but they never did. When Virginia finally called Gerald, she told him that she was done with him, and she didn't want to come back home. They argued for a while before Gerald ultimately convinced her and the boys to come back. Once he hung up the phone, Gerald was devastated. He thought he had finally got the family he always wanted. He thought their lives were perfect together. So why did she want to leave? When Virginia returned, she was different. She stopped sleeping in his bed. She wasn't her usual happy and smiling self. And she barely even talked to him. The boys had been acting differently too. For months they had called Gerald Dad, but once they got back from

Philly, they started calling him Gerald again. And Gerald was devastated and confused. What happened in Philly? Did her family disapprove of him? Was Virginia using him to get back on her No one really knows the reason why Virginia fell out of love with Gerald. But about a month later, she filed for divorce, and the paperwork stated its cause was intolerable indignities. After the divorce, Gerald was left with his truck, his motorcycle, and his old trailer that he had to move back into his parents' backyard. Virginia and the boys got to keep the house.

Gerald was also ordered to pay $150 a month in child support, which he wasn't very happy about because he was only making about $8 an hour at his job. He was pissed and he felt used. Gerald still saw his adopted sons occasionally, but in his mind, they were just a reminder that he failed in life. Here he is, divorced three times, and now he's alone again. In the months after the divorce, he fell into a deep depression and even thought about killing himself from time to time.

But somehow, Gerald always ended up finding another woman. Soon after his divorce, a lady named Alice Prunty would come into town and park her trailer in the lot right next to his. When Gerald laid eyes on Alice for the first time, he thought she was beautiful. She had long dark hair, wore cowboy boots and turquoise earrings, and she carried herself with confidence. Like Virginia, Alice too had children, but she was different. Alice was honest, more aggressive and outspoken. And Gerald liked that. I was a about her. Alice was a nurse in her 30s and also a widow who came into town looking for a fresh start. And like Gerald, she too had her fair share of failed relationships. Alice was from Illinois,

married twice with five kids, most of whom lived with various family members. Her first husband was a cop back in Illinois from whom she divorced. Her second husband was a ranch hand in Wyoming who died from alcoholism. After her late husband died, Alice was left with a lot of debt and ultimately had to file for bankruptcy. She worked as a bus driver, barmaid, and now she worked as a nurse and a psychiatric hospital in town. And Gerald was intrigued by Alice, and he really liked that she was in need of a man. You see, Gerald liked women who were down in the dumps. He wasn't an extraordinary man, so we often sought after women that desperately needed him. And Alice was one of those people, so he asked her out on a date to go hunting and fishing in the mountains. Not really my idea of a good

first date, but Alice didn't mind. She loved the outdoors and she was beginning to like Gerald too. The next morning, Alice and her two-year-old daughter showed up to Gerald's trailer with their fishing rods ready to go, and the three spent the day in the mountains, picnicking and fishing all day long. On this date, Gerald noticed that Alice was much different than his last wife. Alice was in control. She had her own home, made her own money, and her children were much more behaved. He also learned a lot about her on this date, like the fact that she was born to a teenage mom who gave her up for adoption. Her adoptive parents were a military family who raised her on a farm in Illinois. Alice got pregnant for the first time at 16, and her other four children came

quickly after that. Gerald was amazed by Alice's life story and how she was still independent in making it work for her and her children, and he told Alice, right then and there, that if things worked out between them, he would take good care of her. But Gerald was still going through his divorce with Virginia when he and Alice fell in love that summer. And by late October, just two weeks after his divorce was finalized, Gerald and Alice got married, making it their fourth marriage for the both of them. They spent their honeymoon camping in the mountains, hunting elk, before returning back to the normal life. Their first year of marriage wasn't the easiest, but Gerald did everything he could to make Alice happy. He even bought them a 20-acre piece of land and pavilion,

Wyoming, a small and quiet place for them to move their trailer and live the simple life. Gerald worked and cared for the land, while Alice handled their money and made all of the big decisions. Soon after moving to this property, Alice's son Michael moved in with them and joined the local high school's ag program. Wanting to be a good stepfather, Gerald built him a pig pen to raise his animals. Life was good for their family. Eventually, Alice even moved her adoptive parents on a trailer on the property. Everyone seemed to be happy, and it was one big happy family, but there was one big problem in their marriage.

Alice didn't like the fact that Gerald adopted his ex-wife's sons. He still occasionally saw Richard and Reagan from time to time, but once he and Alice got married, those visits stopped. Now, even if they ran into each other on the streets, Gerald would act like he didn't know them. He still paid Virginia $150 a month in child support, something that really angered Alice. After Virginia and Gerald's divorce was finalized, Virginia really struggled to make ends meet. She moved back to Pennsylvania to be with family, but for years she moved around jobs

and couldn't really find her place in this world, especially while caring for her two boys all by herself. She eventually left Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey, but no matter where she went, she always struggled to make money. And to make matters worse, Richard and Reagan were constantly getting sick, and the medical bills were piling up. It was the hardest time in Virginia's life, and she started sinking into a deep depression. Even though she was the one that filed for divorce, she was angry with Gerald that she and the boys were struggling, and she vented that anger by writing him mean letters. In the letters, she would call Gerald names and attempt to push his buttons by demanding he pay more child support. She would ask him to please help her figure out the medical

insurance so that she could pay for their children's medical bills. But after seeing this, Alice Gerald's new wife had had enough. And she responded to Virginia with the following letter. Virginia, Gerald and I enjoyed your letter, as we always do. It appears to me that you have the idea that I try and keep your messages from my husband. We keep no secrets from one another. We have a lot of laughs at your expense. It is very difficult for either of us to understand how any human being can be as brainless as you are. If you have, you have a lot of laughs at your expense, it is very difficult for If you get the idea that I don't like you, you're very correct. I have no use for any woman that does not have the mind, backbone, or guts,

to stand on her own two feet and take care of herself and her kids by herself without raping some poor man's pocket. Any woman that can't do that is a worthless piece of garbage. I worked, supported five children, and also had to give my tax money to support leeches like you, who are too lazy to go out and get a good enough job to take care of your own. You're worse than most of your kind. Everyone in the family knows how you hounded Gerald to adopt your kids, so he could wind up supporting them since their father wouldn't. You're quite a con artist.

Most lazy trash are. Gerald must have really tried to hold his marriage together by adopting your boys, because he doesn't even like kids. He swallowed your line, hook, line, and sinker, and now he pays for it. He was hoping the power plant would explode and take you with it. It's really a shame that it didn't. When Virginia read Alice's letter, she was angry, and she responded with another heated letter.

We weren't able to find Virginia's response to Alice, probably because it was thrown away. But by this time, Alice was done playing games and wrote Virginia another letter dated January 26, 1980. Virginia, I'm afraid I owe you an apology. When I stated in my last letter last spring that Gerald didn't like children and did not want to be a father, I was mistaken. Gerald never told me that he did not like children and didn't want to be. a father. I only assumed that since he didn't go to see his sons that he didn't like them. We discussed this recently and I found out that the reason he stopped seeing them was because

he thought I didn't want him to. He knows that this is not accurate and he does want to see them. My opinion of you has changed. Unfortunately, I gave you credit for a little more intelligence than you actually have. Not only are you now or have been in the past, a parasite on the taxpayers. You are a snoop that breaks federal laws. Only a few days after Virginia received the last letter from Alice in the mail, she received another. But this time, it was different. The letter was written in Gerald's handwriting, and it was taking direct shots at Virginia and threatening her with some pretty serious stuff.

Virginia didn't know if Gerald himself had written the letter, or if Alice had drafted something and had Gerald copy it down in his handwriting. But she knew deep down that the next letter had Alice written all over it, and here's what the letter said. Virginia, our records show that we made the September payment. It seems to me that every time you move anymore, you forget to leave a forwarding address. I can't help it if the mail gets lost because you want to hide. I guess it's time I have a say about the harassment we've received in the last three and a half

years. Up till now, I have been easy going and let things slide. Every time I turn around anymore, you are threatening to go to court for something, so I guess that's what I'm also going to do. I've never liked the idea of not seeing the boys or contacting them. This will change. I have never been around a more selfish, domineering scheming person than you. You never had any intention of wanting a father for the boys.

Your only interest is in the money. I'm not sure you are a good influence on the boys or mentally capable where they are concerned. You seem to have some pretty sick ideas about a father-son relationship. It may interest you to know I have been seeing an attorney for some months now to see what we can do to straighten this mess out. I have been reluctant to start proceedings because of possible harm it could do to my sons. Since you insist on this course of action, I am proceeding also. I will insist on visitation rights. You live two-four. far away for weekly visits so they will have to come for the summer and holidays such as christmas and easter of course while they are here the money support would stop my attorney feels a judge would be

very interested in your dirty underhanded dealing i want the chance to be the dad to my boys that i was not allowed to be having the boys here will give me the chance to help them grow up and become men instead of street bums or mama's boys tied to apron strings richard and regan carry my name i think and i intend that they do so with honor when a child reaches the age of 14 they can choose to live with either parent and there isn't anything the other can do about it. Alice and I intend to do everything we can to show my sons that they will be much happier living with us. We have so much more to offer them than you ever will. I intend to see my boys grow up having some real fun in life. We are really looking forward to their coming to be with us and having the time so that Alice can get to know her two new sons. Alice is really good with kids and I'm sure she will have them loving her in no time. There is nothing that will give me more pleasure than watching them grow up just like me.

There is one way you could stop all of this, and that is to have the adoption set aside and declare null and void. I don't think you'll do that. You worked and skying too hard to give up now. You have no honor or self-respect. No one on welfare does. The letter then ended with a sarcastic, happy new year. And once again, before Virginia even had time to process, which she had just read in the previous letter, another letter arrived at her home, this time from Alice.

And as you can hear in these writings, the letters were getting darker and dark. This letter from Alice to Virginia read. Virginia, just wanted you to know we sent you a money order in September. Since it was never returned to us, I will have to assume you received it and are trying to hold us up for more money. You will have to furnish more proof that you didn't get it. I'm looking forward to meeting my new sons. I know the three of us will get along just fine and will love one another in no time at all.

With the experience I've had of raising five children, three of them sons, I know just what boys need to make them happy. They will love their new mother. We are going to have our boys for part of every year and hopefully in the future on a permanent basis for as many years as Gerald is their legal father. That is the only way we can mold them to be like their father. We have to have some influence in their lives

if they are going to bring honor to Gerald's name. We know that you haven't had the ability to do so as your past record show. If you think we are bluffing, then you are in for a big show. shock come Easter. The boys will come to Wyoming or you'll go to court on contempt charges. If you try to disappear to avoid this, you will lose the support money. As Gerald says, Happy New Year. And as if these three letters weren't enough, they just kept on coming. And they came

quickly with a new letter from Alice or Gerald arriving at Virginia's residence every other day. And eventually in February of 1980, Virginia had had enough. She wrote up a letter and sent it to a local district judge in the small community of Lander, Wyoming, near where Gerald and Alice lived, and asked if anything that the two had said to her in the letters would make for a good court case against the couple. In the letter to the judge, Virginia made some pretty serious allegations about Gerald. She claimed that Gerald had beaten her two sons with a belt when they were younger. She claimed that Richard, her son, had often been the target of Gerald's anger. Richard wouldn't even be allowed in the same room as Gerald unless it was dinner time. And she even

claimed that when Richard had told Gerald that he had been bullied at school, Gerald had told him that he probably had it coming. Virginia also wrote about a time when her son, Reagan, developed a very serious eye infection while she was out of town, an infection which caused Reagan's eye to swell full of blood, but Gerald, she alleged, had refused to even take her son to the doctor. She also stated that in one instance, Gerald had shot and killed a bird in front of Richard, knowing full well that Richard loved animals. While Richard was crying over the bird, Gerald tossed its body to their cat, who then ripped it limb from limb and consumed it. Seeing this, Richard started to cry even harder, which angered Gerald. Virginia was

hoping that the judge would read the letter and realize that Gerald and Alice wouldn't be good role models for her boys, and she hoped that they could give her some advice on how to move forward. But sadly, when she got a response from the court in Lander, Wyoming, it wasn't even close to what she wanted to hear. They told her that they couldn't give her any legal advice, and in a move that angered Virginia, a copy of the judge's response was also sent to Alice and Gerald. Desperate, in April of 1980, Virginia filed a complaint in New Jersey, stating that Gerald's child support payments weren't enough to actually help pay for her children, and that they were erratic and didn't come through to her half the time. However, when Gerald's lawyer proved that he had paid

every payment faithfully and fully on time, the judge came back and ruled against Virginia. And this was her breaking point. She was out of options, and the stress of the entire ordeal was beginning to affect her children. So in the summer of 1980, Virginia decided to pack up her things and move her and the boys back to Wyoming to live with her mom in a trailer. After moving back to Wyoming, Alice and Gerald quickly learned that Virginia and the boys were back in town. Virginia had called the two almost immediately upon her arrival to let them know that Gerald needed to send his next child support check to her address in Wyoming. And it was then when Alice and Gerald realized they could no longer ignore Richard and Reagan, after they had written so many letters and made such a fuss about visitation.

So they arranged for the boys to have a sleepover at their house. Virginia wasn't crazy about the idea, but she ultimately agreed to let them stay there, under one condition. Virginia wanted to meet Alice first. The only interactions they had had were pretty ugly. And Virginia wanted to make things civil before Alice met her boys. So when Gerald arrived to pick up Richard and Reagan, Virginia walked out to the car to introduce herself to Alice. But as soon as she approached the vehicle, Alice ducked down in the

seat, hiding from her like a child. When Virginia asked Gerald why she was hiding, Gerald told her that it probably wouldn't be the best idea for them to meet. And from that point on, Virginia never actually officially met Alice. When the couple would pick up Richard and Regan for their sleepovers and weekends together, it would always be Gerald who came to the door while Alice hid in the car. Now that Virginia was back in Wyoming, life got a little easier. She had the help of her mother, and Gerald took the kids off her hands from time to time. But she still couldn't seem to catch a break. In the short time that they were back in town, Richard had been hospitalized three times,

one being from a painful lump she found on his neck. Richard was rushed to the ER and held overnight for a biopsy. Gerald even came to visit him in the hospital that night, and he and Virginia actually had a civil conversation. In the conversation, Virginia asked Gerald if he had a trailer she could borrow, so that she could bring all of her stuff back from New Jersey. Gerald said that, yeah, he could help her, and that he would get back to her with details.

Virginia was pleasantly surprised that Gerald was being so kind, and it was becoming clear that he did indeed care about her children. That was until the fishing trip. One weekend after Richard and Reagan spent the weekend at Gerald and Alice's, they came home with a frightening story. First, they told Virginia that the couple had locked them in a dirty trailer at night. and had forced them to sleep on a filthy mattress on the floor. The next morning, Gerald and Alice woke them up to go on a fishing trip.

The boys were excited. But once Gerald got to the center of the reservoir, where the water was the coldest, darkest, and the deepest, he forced the boys to strip down and jump into the freezing water so that they could work on their swimming skills. Neither of the boys wanted to jump in, and they protested, but Gerald forced them. Once they were in the water, Gerald yelled out, sink or swim, and then took off in the boat,

leaving the two boys stranded in the middle of the water. Richard had to think fast as his younger brother began to cry. Gerald's boat was now nowhere in sight, and the shore was too far away, so all they could do was scream for help, desperately trying to get someone's attention. And just when the boys were about to sink, Gerald and Alice returned with the boat and yanked them out of the water. For Gerald and Alice, this incident wasn't a big deal. They were trying to teach the boys how to be men, how to survive in the wild. But to Virginia, they had crossed the line.

She was horrified to hear that her ex-husband had left her two boys in the middle of the water. Intentions were rising higher than ever between Virginia, Alice, and Gerald. Unbeknownst to Gerald, Virginia had begun to think about hiring a lawyer and was planning on suing him for more child support money. The medical bills were just too high, and Virginia literally had no way to pay for them. She had planned on contacting the lawyer on the morning of September 12, 1980, but on the evening before, on September 11th, she received an interesting phone call from none other than Gerald. It seems as though he had found someone who had a trailer that Virginia could use to haul her things from New Jersey to Wyoming, something that he had promised to help her with when Richard

was in the hospital. He even said that the next day, Friday, he could meet up with Virginia and the boys. take them bird hunting and bring her the trailer that he had promised. And Virginia agreed. She even told Gerald that she would bring along the old 22 caliber rifle that her mother owned so that they could use it to hunt birds. Virginia was a bit suspicious of Gerald's random act of kindness, but she thought maybe he turned a new leaf,

like he was finally ready to be a helpful presence in their lives, so she agreed to meet Gerald with the boys the next day. The next morning, on September 12, 1980, Virginia's mother Claire headed out and purchased a box of 22 shells for their bird hunting trip. Richard and Reagan were so excited for their day of hunting, and they got up early, cleaned out their grandmother's station wagon, and sat in the car 30 minutes before they were set to leave, cleaning the 22-caliber rifle and preparing for their day of fun. Virginia, the night before, had decided to hold off on filing the legal paperwork.

She had seen a new side of her ex-husband and was willing to give him a chance to redeem himself. And overall, she was ready for a fresh outlook on life. And so that day, Virginia took off in her mother's station wagon with her two boys in the back seat. They waved goodbye to their grandmother and took off to meet Gerald. As Claire watched her grandsons and her daughter pull on to the road, she had a good feeling about that day. She felt relieved that her daughter had finally begun to find some peace. and she was happy to see her grandson so excited to spend time with her dad. But unfortunately, after they disappeared down the road, Claire had no idea that she would never

see them alive again. As the day carried on, Claire began to grow anxious. Virginia and her two grandsons were supposed to be home by now with her car and her gun. But 5 o'clock came around and there was still no sign of them. By 7 o'clock, Claire's anxiety began to spike through the roof. Virginia would have at least called, wouldn't she? Claire told herself that she was just overthinking that Virginia, Gerald, and the kids probably got dinner after hunting and went to see a movie. They were probably just spending some extra quality time with one another.

But once the clock struck 9 p.m. and they still weren't home, Claire knew something was wrong. So she picked up the phone and dialed Gerald's number. When Gerald answered, he sounded angry. Where's Virginia? He growled. Claire was surprised. What do you mean, where's Virginia? She's supposed to be with you.

But Gerald assured her that they never showed up that day. He had waited and waited for them at their designated meetup spot, but they had ghosted him. And after a while, Gerald had given up on waiting and had headed back home. Immediately after hearing Claire's concerns, Gerald offered to come pick her up and start looking for his ex-wife and kids. Claire initially denied his offer, but Gerald stated that he was going to come over anyways to help her start the search. After calling Gerald, Claire called her friend Marie and asked if she could use her car to help search for her daughter and grandsons. Marie immediately agreed and headed over. The two talked for a while while waiting for Gerald,

but after waiting a few hours, they decided to go out and search on their own. Just a few minutes into their drive, they passed Gerald, who was on the road in his own car searching for the trio himself. When they saw each other, Gerald hopped into the car with Marie and Claire. And according to the two of them, he seemed a bit nervous. He was twitchy, rocking back and forth in his seat. But at the end of the day, he seemed genuine in his concern for his missing ex-wife and kids. The trio drove through town, checked a local drive-in theater, called other movie theaters,

and even placed a call to the local hospital. But after hours of searching, they couldn't find a trace of Virginia, Richard, or Reagan. It was starting to get late, and Gerald told Claire and Marie that Alice had been searching on her own and had planned to meet up with Gerald at midnight if they still hadn't found it. anything. Eventually, Claire told Gerald that she and Marie were going to go to the sheriff's office and file a missing person's report. But instead of being supportive, this made Gerald angry. He didn't want to get the police involved, and he told them that if they were going to go to the police, then he was going home. Claire watched as Gerald aggressively hopped out of the car

and walked down the road. And something about that reaction didn't sit right with her. Claire would continue searching that night, but there was no trace of her daughter, or grandsons. She ended up filing a police report, but the police assured her that they would probably turn up sooner than later. Virginia was, after all, a grown adult, and she's allowed to leave town if she wants. But Claire knew better, and she went to bed that night praying that this was all a big misunderstanding, that at any moment they would all come running through the front door, but they never did. A few days after Virginia, Richard, and Reagan went missing, Claire received a peculiar message from an address in Illinois using the Mailgram service. If you don't know what a mailgram is,

trust me, we didn't either. It was a type of telegram that was sent through the mail and delivered personally by the Postal Service. But when Claire received this message, she was immediately relieved, but also a little concerned. The message read, Mom, sorry I have worried you. I'm in trouble. The boys are okay. Cover for me. Say I'm in California. Will right when possible. Claire had no idea what any of this meant. Virginia was in trouble in California, why would she leave to go on the run? Claire became even more suspicious when she realized that Virginia didn't pack any clothes for she or the boys. She also left without taking the $1,000 in savings that she kept in a mason jar in her bedroom. If she was really in trouble, surely

she would have brought her savings? In addition, Virginia had a very specific style of writing. For one, she wrote in long rambling sentences and always seemed to overshare information. This mailgram was short, to the point, and it just didn't seem like Virginia. Secondly, she wrote in a long rambling. She always signed her letters not with her full name, but with her nickname, Jin. On the mailgram, though, it had been signed Virginia. But despite the inconsistencies, Claire responded to the mailgram asking Virginia to personally contact her, but she never received further communication. The day after Claire received the suspicious letter, Gerald showed up at her doorstep unannounced,

and he was angry. He asked her why she never picked up her phone. But confused, Claire told him that she hadn't received any phone calls. She even went over to the phone to check it, but when she did, she realized the line was dead. Upon further inspection, Gerald noticed that the phone lines to Claire's home had been cut, being somewhat of a handyman. He offered to fix it. While doing so, he told Claire that he had been out and about endlessly searching for Virginia and the kids, but he hadn't found a single trace of them. It seemed as though they had vanished into thin air, and the police weren't doing much to help find them either.

Later that evening, a police report was filed about a suspicious man in a red pickup who was using binoculars to spy on a local business. That business happened to be Claire's laundromat, and when police went to the scene, they discovered that the suspicious man was none other than Gerald Uden. So what was Gerald doing spying on his ex-wife's mother? Well, he told the officers that he feared his ex-wife was somewhere in the area and that she was in trouble with the mafia because she had racked up some gambling debts in New Jersey. Gerald said that she fled to Wyoming to escape the mafia, but he feared.

feared that some of the members were in town looking for her. And that's the reason he was spying on Claire's business, because he was scared for her safety. Gerald's story was fishy, but police didn't question him any further. They did, however, give him a ticket for concealing a weapon during this questioning. But other than that, Gerald was free to leave without raising any other suspicions. A few days later, on September 23rd, 1980, Claire received another typed letter with no return address that read, Mom, hope I haven't worried you too much. I'm in trouble. It's best if you don't know about it. I had to leave in a hurry. There wasn't time to tell you. Last Wednesday,

I stopped at a drugstore in Illinois long enough to buy some things. I gave one of the clerks some money to send you a message. I hope you got it. I couldn't take the time to do it myself. We're with friends in Pennsylvania now. You don't know them. I think we'll be all right for a while. I have money for now. That's why I'm in trouble. I'm sitting this in a way that I can't give my exact location. They may be watching you. It's safer for you. if you don't know exactly where we are right now. If anyone asks, tell them we're in California. I need to figure out how to get our things and money from our house in New Jersey and how to get support money. When I do, I'll let you know. We're safe for now, but I have to keep going. We'll be

in touch when possible. It's important that we don't attract attention, so we'll have to be careful. I'm counting on you to cover for me. Take good care of Freddie and George. The kids miss them and you, Virginia. The message made Claire even more concerned. Yes, Virginia had struggled throughout her life, but she couldn't have imagined she would get into this much trouble. And knowing something was terribly wrong, Claire decided to bring this letter and the last one she received to the police. But unfortunately, the police were no help.

Upon seeing these letters, the captain of the sheriff's department, a man named Larry Matthews, smiled right in front of Claire, and he told her that these letters are proof that her daughter was alive and she didn't need to worry. They're safe, he told her. I'm sure she'll contact you soon enough. After all, isn't this her signature at the bottom? But Claire stood firm. No, Virginia always signs her letters, Jim, not Virginia.

I know she didn't write this. But it didn't matter how many times Claire pleaded with them. The police wouldn't take her seriously. And with that, Claire had no choice but to leave the police station with no answers and no help in finding her daughter and grandsons. That evening, Claire received a phone call from a woman named Joyce Johnson in Illinois, who claimed to be Virginia's friend. In the call, Joyce claimed that Virginia was on her way to New Jersey and that she would call her as soon as she arrived.

But before Claire could ask any more questions, the mysterious woman ended the call. Later that day, the police also received a call from Joyce Johnson, telling them that Virginia was indeed alive and well. And shockingly, after hearing this news, Captain Larry Matthews canceled Virginia's missing persons report, Even though he hadn't spoken to Virginia directly, he felt like Joyce Johnson's word was good enough to cancel the entire report. Keep in mind, we are talking about a missing young woman and her two children that hadn't been seen in weeks. This lousy police work made it to where no one was looking for Virginia, Richard, and Reagan. No one but Claire and Gerald. A couple of days later, the disappearance of Virginia and her sons became even more mysterious when Claire received another letter in the mail.

Once again, there was no return address on the envelope, but to her surprise, when Claire opened up the letter, she saw that both of the mailgrams that she had sent her daughter had been enclosed and returned, along with a handwritten letter that said, "...enclosed are two telegrams that have been sent to my address. There is no one by the name of VU Martin at this address. A lady came in the place where I work and asked if I would send this telegram for her. She gave me some money and the message, and then left. That was my only contact.

I would appreciate no further messages be sent to this. address. It is very annoying. Thank you. As Claire stared at the letter, she couldn't believe what she was reading. She had been right the entire time. This was finally hard evidence that proved that her daughter had not communicated with her since her disappearance. And if it wasn't Virginia sending these letters, then who was this mysterious woman paying people to send these telegrams? Claire didn't have those answers, but she was eager to tell the police so that they could finally take her case seriously. And surprisingly, they did. The authorities in Wyoming reopened their investigation by trying to track down the tenant who lived at the address from which the letters had been sent.

Eventually, they found the property. It was a vacant house. But after doing some research, they were able to find out the name and current address of the previous tenant, a woman named Thea Thomas. Two agents in Illinois were assigned to the case and were sent over to question Mrs. Thomas, who admitted that she knew all about Virginia and her mother, and that she indeed had sent the mailgrams to clear. But the investigators weren't buying her story, and after some questioning, Thia admitted

that she had lied. and the real person behind sending the letters was a woman named Alice Udn. Finally, the investigators had a promising lead, and their next step was to find out why Alice was sending these letters, but they wouldn't have to look for too long. Because the same day that Thea Thomas dropped Alice's name to investigators, Alice and Gerald came into the police station wanting to make a confession. Their confession had nothing to do with their part in Virginia and the boy's disappearance.

Instead, they admitted that they were the ones who had been sending the letters to Claire, but not because they were guilty. They said they did it because they knew they would be likely suspects, and they wanted to take the pressure off of them. Gerald and Alice told detectives that they were worried Claire would attempt to frame them for the disappearances, and to avoid that, they sent the letters to make Claire think that they were safe. Now, obviously, after hearing this confession, the police reprimanded the couple for interfering with investigation. But Gerald and Alice told the officers that they felt really bad and that they never

meant to get in the way. And with that, the police let them leave with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. A few weeks later on October 4, 1980, Claire's station wagon that Virginia had been driving on the day of her disappearance was finally found and called into the police station. But as it turned out, two other people had already noticed the car and phoned in their discovery to local authorities, but nothing had been done. The first sighting of the car, the first sighting of the car came from a local woodcutter who had discovered the vehicle with his wife while surveying the area one weekend. And shockingly, this first sighting occurred only days after Virginia, Richard and Reagan went missing. But despite the couple reporting the abandoned car to the police,

the lead was never investigated. A week later, a tribal cop who was on patrol came across the station wagon and reported it to authorities back on the reservation. However, no further action was taken and the car was just left to sit where it was found. Finally, on October 4, 1980, when a rancher and his son came across the car and reported it to the sheriff's office, a local deputy and sergeant were finally sent out to the area. The station wagon was discovered on Dickinson Park Road, a very secluded road that ran along a nearby gorge. It was isolated, up in the mountains, away from heavy traffic, and it was obvious that whoever left the car up there didn't want it to be found. When the officers arrived to investigate the abandoned vehicle, they immediately noticed that it had

crashed into a boulder near the edge of the cliff, almost as if it had been purposefully driven towards the gorge. To put it into perspective, the gorge, named the Trout Creek Canyon, is an almost mild deep ravine that only the most intrepid adventurers would ever dare to enter. If one were to drop something off of those cliffs atop the canyon, it's almost guaranteed that you would never see that item again. If someone had attempted to throw the station wagon, and off of the canyon, they were unsuccessful because instead it crashed into the boulder near the edge. To investigators, the abandoned car definitely looked suspicious. But as they canvassed the area, there was no sign of Virginia or the kids. The car was unlocked. The taillights had been busted out

and the keys to the vehicle were nowhere to be found. There was nothing overly suspicious observed around the scene. A quick check of the glove box showed that it was indeed the missing station wagon that belonged to Claire Martin, Virginia's mother. The same station wagon that Virginia and her children were seen driving in on the day of their disappearance. After the discovery of the vehicle, a tow truck was called out to the scene, and the car was pulled away from the boulder and onto the main road. Immediately after the initial tow of the car was completed, the authorities again searched the vehicle, but noticed nothing suspicious. And trust us, this next little detail is really going to make all of you really, really

mad. After recovering and searching the car, the cops that responded to the call radioed into the sheriff and asked him what to do next. Should they wait for a crime lab to come out and investigate the vehicle? Or should they bring the car into the station and hold it as evidence? But the sheriff told them no, no, no. Just bring the car back to Claire Martin, the owner. And so they did. No forensic examination of the car was done. No fingerprinting, no search for fiber, blood, or skin evidence. None of it, even though a young mother and her two young children had been missing and were last seen in this vehicle. And disturbingly, after they towed the station wagon, the police department simply delivered it back to Claire at her trailer. And that was the end of the story.

Or so they thought. Upon hearing that investigators did nothing with the vehicle, Claire was enraged. This was her missing daughter and two grandsons. Claire was disappointed with the inadequacy of the local authorities. and she knew that there was more to the story than anyone cared enough to look for. So she decided to do some investigating of her own. All she had to do was open the tailgate of the station wagon to find something. In the back, she found a piece of wood, a roll of duct tape,

and a cardboard box that she had never seen before. As she continued looking throughout the vehicle, she noticed two popsicle sticks and two small pieces of wood that reminded her of the fact that her two grandsons were still missing. But it was when she looked under the passenger seat when she began to grow gravely concerned. There, under the seat, was a box of ammunition for the 22-caliber rifle, ammunition that she had bought them on the morning of their disappearance so that they could go bird hunting. But the thing that concerned Claire the most was that the box was empty.

She felt an overwhelming sense of dread, trying to piece together what could have possibly happened. But unfortunately, the empty box of ammo wouldn't be the way. work's thing Claire would find in the car. To Claire's horror in the backseat of the station wagon, she noticed a number of patchy, dark, brownish stains. She noticed these same discolourations on the passenger door as well, and immediately Claire knew she had to call the authorities, once again to come do their job. Once the two officers arrived at Claire's trailer and checked out the stains for themselves, they knew that what they were looking at was blood. Upon further inspection, a large blood stain was discovered underneath the cargo man. And from that point forward, the

disappearance of Virginia, Richard, and Reagan-Yudin was taken more seriously, but the damage from the police department was already done. The car was contaminated since they never examined it or took it in as evidence. And because they released the car back to Claire, they would never be able to use it as evidence if they ever even had a trial. But they were able to take the car back to the police station to test the blood and help lead them in their investigation. And the second time around, they found a lot of evidence. Thanks to Claire's discovery, investigators found blood on the back seat, blood on the passenger door, blood on the tailgate plate, blood on and under the rear cargo mat, and it was clear that something violent had happened to Virginia and her kids. Loads of fingerprints were identified

in and on the car. But unfortunately, since so many people had touched the vehicle before and after the crime occurred, the fingerprint evidence was largely inconclusive. But luckily, after this discovery, officials were finally taking their case seriously. It wasn't a question of where Virginia Uden and her kids were, or if they were okay. There was what happened to the case. It was what happened to them and who heard them. After all of the testing was done, Claire was called by the authorities once again, this time to inform her that at any time she could stop by the impound lot to pick up her car. It was the longest and hardest car ride of Claire's life.

Upon entering the station wagon, she wept. She couldn't help but break down to release the anger, the pain that she had been feeling deep inside for weeks. It was inside of this very car where something horrific, something violent, how much. happened to her daughter and grandsons. But still, they had no answers. Claire made it her life's mission to keep searching for the truth. The search for Virginia, Richard, and Reagan heated up over the next couple months.

Various items were found in the area where the station wagon was found, cigarette butts, a knife, a pair of boys' underwear, and a brown furry coat. Claire claimed that the coat looked like an item of clothing that belonged to her daughter, and she even tried it on and confirmed it. It was marked down as some form of evidence and put into storage. Alice and Gerald were questioned, but of course, they denied any involvement. And Alice continuously declined to take a lie detector test. Captain Larry Matthews even wrote in his notes, quote,

It's apparent to me, but only my personal feelings, that she was very guilty in covering up the issue, almost broke at one time. End quote. Gerald was also interviewed by Larry Matthews, but he too declined to take a lie. detector test and maintained his innocence. And even though Alice and Gerald were suspects, there were no more routes for authorities to take, no more tricks to try. Until they found a body or more evidence, the investigation would have to sit at a standstill. But even though Gerald and Alice were airtight with their stories, their alibis and their defense strategies, Alice's seven-year-old daughter, Eliza, provided some pretty interesting details about her parents to the authorities.

She told her teacher at one point that she might be absent from class after Thanksgiving break because she was afraid her parents would be in jail. She told a school nurse that she felt like her parents were ignoring her all the time because they were always too busy discussing things that they were going to tell the sheriff. Another time, Eliza drew out a picture for the school nurse of a girl standing on a box with a noose around her neck, with a speech bubble coming out of her mouth that read, Help me, help me, and eerily. Eliza also told the school nurse that she had recently had a nightmare

where she saw two young boys get murdered and buried in the desert. Obviously, this was all concerning, but it wasn't hard evidence. One year anniversary of their disappearance came and went, and there were still no answers. By the second anniversary, there had been plenty of tips sent in, but nothing ever came about them. Some locals had called in about strange findings around town. Some were school officials who had heard whispers from Alison Gerald's daughter, but still, two years later, there were no promising leads. On October 26, 1982, the Fremont County attorney took an extreme step and convened a grand

jury to deliberate on whether or not the state should indict Gerald and Alice and charge them in the disappearance of Virginia, Richard, and Reagan. But after questioning Alice's parents and both Gerald and Alice themselves, the indictments were never made. There wasn't enough evidence to bring it to trial. The authorities even admitted that the entire grand jury thing was brought about to try and quote, shake some things loose, end quote. Investigators were sure that the couple had something to do with it, but they couldn't prove it. And it was shortly after this, when Gerald and Alice, who were sick of being the town gossip, decided to pack up and move to a quiet property in Missouri, far away from the controversy they had found themselves in in Fremont County, Wyoming.

Upon moving to Missouri, Gerald and Alice carried on with their lives. They befriended locals. They went to church. They took the time to care for their plants and animals on their property. Alice even got a job as a nurse at a local hospital. While Gerald stayed at home to care for their daughter. Gerald, however, wasn't a homebody, and after a while, he took up a job driving semi-trucks across the country. Alice later quit her job at the hospital so that she could join her husband on his long halls from state to state. They were a very quiet, reserved couple, and according to neighbors, a caring couple as well. Gerald even enrolled himself in some painting classes and posed for a picture with Bob Ross. When he visited the group at one of their meetings,

life was good, and they vowed to live out the rest of their lives in the shadows, away from the watchful eyes of the law. In 1986, Alice and Gerald would sell their farm and move to another town in Missouri called Springfield. It seemed, though, that Eliza, the couple's daughter, was suffering. With her parents gone so often driving semis across the country, she was neglected, and one day Eliza spoke up and got angry with Gerald. He responded by hitting her. And this was the final draw. Eliza was later taken by children's services and placed in an orphanage. And Gerald and Alice didn't even seem to care. They let her go and continued on with life, happy that she wasn't holding them back anymore. But upon hearing about Eliza's displacement from their family home,

Larry Matthews, the captain of the Fremont County Police Department, immediately took interest. You see, Larry realized his faults early on in the investigation. And even now, years later, he often thought about Virginia and the boys. Even if he wanted to forget about it, Claire Martin wouldn't ever let him. She kept in constant contact with the police department over the years, always checking in to see if they had any more leads. Her calls usually ended in disappointment. But now that Gerald and Alice's daughter was in an orphanage,

Claire hoped that maybe she could give them some answers. Shortly after, two investigators in Missouri paid Eliza a visit. and when they did, some interesting new details came to light. Eliza told the authorities that she remembered Gerald removing pictures of Richard and Reagan from family scrapbooks after their disappearance. She went on to say that she remembered her parents constantly trying to hide her from investigators because they were scared they would ask her questions. Eliza recalled, at one point, finding a pair of rusted Wyoming license plates in her mother's car.

When Alice saw that Eliza had found the plates, she immediately grabbed them and hid them from her. This was all pretty damning evidence the investigators questioning Eliza. And something that really sparked investigators' interest was something that Eliza recalled from the day after Richard, Reagan, and Virginia's disappearance. Eliza said that she and her parents had visited a nearby lake, and while they were there, Gerald had gone off on a boat trip for an extended period of time, all by himself. Was Gerald disposing of his ex-family's bodies? They weren't sure, but questioning Eliza gave them more answers than they had received in years. One would think that investigators would have had enough to make an arrest by now. But regardless of all of these leads, regardless of who came in to the authorities with what evidence,

there were never any arrest. The truth was out there somewhere, but it seemed like it was always just out of reach. And then the case went cold for decades. Now and again news reports like this would pop up on local Wyoming news stations. But at the end of the day, no one had any idea what happened on that fateful day back in 1980. No one but their killers. But Colin and I believe that karma eventually catches up with everyone. It may take months, years, or in this case, decades, but it always comes back around. Fast forward almost 33 years from the date that Virginia, Reagan, and Richard disappeared, all the way back to September 27, 2013.

We're now in rural Missouri, in a town named Chadwick. It's a small community in the shadow of the Ozarks. Chadwick is a very isolated place. It's deep in the woods, surrounded by trees, and it's a place where people could go if they want to disappear. And on that September day in 2013, an elderly couple who had become staples in the community were about to finally face their karma

and be charged for the crimes they committed 33 years earlier. They were just the old neighbors next door. They were good people. We've known them for about 12 years now, And that kind of neighbors, you lean over the fence and talk about your chickens with. But police say Alice and Gerald Udden have a dark past, murder. It's just disbelief. I mean, you know, they're old people.

They don't do things like that. Police say in 1974, Alice shot and killed her ex-husband in the back of his head while he slept. Investigators say she dumped his body in an abandoned gold mine. Six years later, police say this woman, Virginia Udyn and her two kids, 12-year-old Richard, and 10-year-old Reagan disappeared. Now investigators say Virginia's ex-husband, Gerald, is the one who killed them. It's just something that you wouldn't expect now. That's fire the words, as they call it, you know?

While police in Wyoming worked to solve the murders, Alice and Gerald moved into this house in Chadwick. Neighbors say they went to church and raised two adult children. There is something to be said for the life that they've lived for the last four years. I hope people don't judge them too harshly. Everyone's suspicions had been right all along, and Gerald Uden was charged with murdering his ex-wife Virginia and his two adopted sons Richard and Reagan. And, wait, did you hear that right?

Yes, you did. Alice Udn had also been charged with murdering one of her ex-partners. You see, one thing we left out of the story earlier was that before Virginia and her boys disappeared, Alice admitted to Gerald that she had killed her ex-husband, a man named Ronald Holtz. Allegedly, the two met while Alice was working as a nurse at the side. psych ward, Ron was a patient that she fell in love with. But according to Alice, shortly after they got married, Ronald started beating her and threatened to kill her and her children. And one night

around Christmas, Ron snapped and Alice had had had enough, so she shot him in self-defense and shoved his body into a barrel before driving it and dropping it down and abandoned mine shaft on her old property. After she dumped his body, Alice hurried and packed everything up and left town. A few months later, she filed for divorce, telling everyone that Ron left her. Now, he obviously didn't show up for court because he was at the bottom of the mineshaft, so their divorce was granted and no one ever asked any questions. Alice was bold for telling Gerald this right when they first started dating. She actually told him while they were laying in bed after they had sex for the first time. Maybe she thought that Gerald would never tell anyone, which he didn't. Or maybe she saw that

he too had homicidal tendencies. But regardless, Alice and Gerald seemed to be a murderous mass. made in hell. And even if Alice did murder her ex-husband in self-defense, it's hard to give her any sympathy because at the end of the day, she aided Gerald in the murder and cover-up of a mother and her two young boys. But now, after 33 years, their crimes were finally catching up to them. The arrest of the elderly couple in 2013 made national headlines. It's not every day that you see a husband and wife in their 70s on trial for murder. Their arrest was especially shocking for the community of Chadwick.

The couple was known to be nice, friendly, harmless even. And now, here they are on trial, in jumpsuits and chains. And it seemed impossible that between the two of them, four people had been brutally murdered. But the one thing the jury had to constantly remind themselves of was that their crimes happened over three decades ago. It's easy to look at the frail couple and feel sympathy, especially when they heard Alice's defense. She claimed that on the day she murdered her ex-husband, Ronald woke up angry from his sleep because Alice's 19-month-old daughter was crying. And for some reason, Ronald snapped.

He stormed over to the baby's room, and when Alice tried to stop him, he hit her and pushed her to the ground. Alice said that at that point, she felt like she had to take action. So she grabbed a 22-caliber rifle, entered her daughter's bedroom, and shot Ronald in the head. And she said, She painted this picture that she was a concerned mother defending her children, and her story was convincing that was until her own children took the stand to testify against her. In their testimony, they claimed that their mother had bragged over the years that she had shot Ronald in the head as he slept, not because he was hurting her baby. Alice had apparently been sick of him and set out one day to kill him. After the murder, Alice threw his body deep down within the shaft in a place where she never thought he would be found. But secrets can't be kept in the dark forever.

And almost 40 years later, in 2013, Ronald's remains were discovered deep in the depths of that mine, and Alice's dark secret came to light. Investigators believe that Gerald acted alone in the killing of his ex-wife and children, but that Alice played a big part in the planning and cover-up. It's interesting that in this case, a killer found a killer. And even though they never killed together, it's intriguing to note that both Alice and Gerald were willing to go to the same extremes to simply get out of a relationship. But what happened to Virginia, Richard, and Reagan? How did their stories come to an end decades earlier? Well, let's bring you back to that day on September 12, 1980.

Virginia and her boys took off down the road and cleared station wagon to meet Gerald. And it turns out that indeed, they did find each other. Gerald had maintained for the longest time that he never saw Virginia or the kids that day, but in fact, he did. Remember how the original plan for that day was for the group to go bird hunting? Well, part of that was true. The only thing was, Gerald wasn't hunting birds that day. When Virginia and her sons arrived to meet Gerald, they were shocked to see that there was

no trailer for Virginia to borrow, like he had promised. And when they pulled up, Gerald quickly hopped into the passenger side of the vehicle and told Virginia and the kids that his friend would meet them after they went hunting. He pointed forwards down the desolate road and said that the perfect spot for bird hunting was only a few miles away. And so they went, merrily down the road. Richard and Reagan were happy. They rarely got to see their adopted dad, and they never got to hunt.

Today had been the perfect storm of consequences for everyone, and this was a storm that would leave the landscape forever changed. Once the four of them reached a remote area, Gerald told Virginia to stop the car, and she did. Richard and Reagan immediately hopped out, ready to go hunting. But Gerald told them that he first needed to test out the gun before anyone could shoot it. And so he did. He took the 22 caliber rifle, inspected it, loaded it up, and popped off a couple of shots into a surrounding bush. Nobody in the group got anything of this.

It just seemed like Gerald was getting the group ready for their day of fun. But their excitement would quickly descend into madness and only a moment's notice. Virginia never saw it come. She had absolutely no time to react. After firing off a couple of practice shots, Gerald immediately placed the barrel of the 22 caliber to the back of Virginia's head and fired. Immediately, Virginia dropped to the ground dead. Richard was next.

At the time, the 11-year-old was playing around with his brother, tossing around the unloaded 22-caliber bullets. After shooting his mother, Gerald walked up and shot Richard from behind in his left ear, killing him almost instantly. Reagan, the youngest, was last. He watched in horror as his mother and brother were shot and killed in front of him, and he took off running for the nearby canal, screaming in absolute terror. But unfortunately, this did Reagan no good.

No one was around to hear his screams. Gerald slowly stalked Reagan from behind, methodically approaching step by step, aiming his rifle. Gerald lined up his shot and pulled the trigger. Reagan's small body splashed down into the water, killed by a bullet wound to the head. In just a few short moments, Gerald had murdered, his ex-wife, and his two adopted sons, and now he had to dispose of their bodies. Gerald was methodical with these murders.

After killing Virginia, Richard, and Reagan, he placed the three bodies in the back of their own vehicle, stole the station wagon, and headed back to his home. Alice had already left with her daughter to her parents' house that night to play cards, in order to avoid any unwarranted and unneeded suspicions about where she was on the night of the murders. After arriving back at home, Gerald transferred the bodies into the bed of his own truck and set into stage two of his plan, but it was at this point when he noticed the blood in the station wagon. It was everywhere, and he hadn't accounted for that. Gerald then attempted to wash the blood out with some water, but he eventually gave up.

There was no time for all of these nitty-gritty little details. He had three bodies to hide, and he had to hide them quickly before people started asking questions about their whereabouts. Gerald then took off in his truck to the mine that was aptly named Hidden Hand Mine, and he decided that here was where the bodies of his ex-wife and two step-sons would rest for now. The mine was isolated, it was barren, and it turned out to be the perfect place to bury his sins. After loading the three bodies deep inside of the Hidden Hand Mine, Gerald returned to his home, and was shortly after that point when he contacted Claire, Virginia's mom, and told her that he was pissed that Virginia and the kids had never showed up for their hunting trip.

Later that night, after pretending to search for them, Gerald tried to dispose of the blood-stained station wagon. While Alice was following him and her car, Gerald drove the station wagon up to Dickinson Park Road, a place where he knew it couldn't be seen. Once there, he decided that the best place for the vehicle was down in the gorge. When he reached the perfect drop-off point for the station wagon, Richard put the car in neutral and allowed it to roll freely towards the edge of the steep cliff. However, to his dismay, the car swerved on its own in a different direction and crashed into the boulder. The car was only a few hundred feet from the road, and it was pretty visible, but there was nothing he could do about it.

So he cleaned the crime scene the best he could, hopped back into the car with Alice and headed home. That night, the two of them fell asleep, happy that they no longer had to deal with Virginia and the boys. We know these details now because Gerald eventually admitted to it, about it. About a month after his arrest, he pled guilty to the murders of Virginia, Richard, and Reagan, and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. He's currently still serving his time, alive and well, paying for the sins of his past. Alice, at age 74, was convicted of second-degree murder in 2014, but she died in prison in 2019 after only serving five years of her sentence.

Now, Virginia, Reagan, and Richard's bodies didn't stay in that mind forever. The mine actually nowadays has been thoroughly searched, and Gerald admitted that he took the bodies out to a lake. And remember how earlier in the story, we said that Gerald's adopted daughter, Eliza, remembered her stepdad heading out to the center of a lake one day when she was young, alone? Well, it turns out that Gerald admitted that he actually dumped the bodies of Virginia, Richard, and Reagan in that lake. And to this day, they've never been found. Even though both Alice and Gerald were brought to justice, there's another sad part of this story. Claire Martin, Virginia's mother and Richard and Reagan's grandmother, died on April 4, 2013.

Only months before the world found out the truth behind what happened to her family members. She went to the grave carrying guilt and fear about what she could have done differently, how she could have helped bring her daughter and her grandson's justice. The story of Virginia and her two boys Richard and Reagan is heartbreaking. And to make matters worse, their bodies have yet to be discovered. This story is the tale of a single mother trying to make it in this world. only to be brutally murdered alongside her children, and it's hard to fathom. It's even more sad that their killers got to walk free for over 30 years.

That's 33 years that Virginia and the boys never got. But like we mentioned at the beginning of our story, Karma always comes back to you. It doesn't discriminate about how old you are or how long ago you committed your crimes. And Karma did its job back in 2013 when the elderly killer couple had to face a jury and pay for what they did. And we hope that Claire, Virginia, Richard, Reagan, and Alice's ex-husband Ronald, are all resting in peace, knowing that their killers at the end of the day didn't get away with it. Good hair days do more than we give them credit for. When your hair feels healthy, you show up differently. You feel more confident, more relaxed, and you're not constantly checking the mirror.

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For a limited time, listeners can get $25 off their best-selling Carver Matt Frame with code M-I-A. That's A-U-R-A-Frames.com promo code M-I-A. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout, terms and conditions, apply. Hey everybody, it's Colin again. Thank you for tuning in for another week of murder in America. We have some massive, massive cases coming up in the next couple of weeks. Sorry on the day delay on this episode. Courtney and I, if you don't know through our social media, we are in Philadelphia right now. We actually recorded this episode in our hotel room and edited it in our hotel room. So we're touring apartments because we're moving out here to Philly in May. We love the city. We're having

such a good time. But yeah, we want to thank everybody out there for listening. The show has grown so much since we started it in early 2021. It is crazy to see our dreams just coming true and growing bigger day after day. We're so proud to have so many amazing, beautiful people out there listening to our show. I want to give a shout out to our new patrons this week who signed up on Patreon, Andrew Brown, Allison Fleming, McKenzie, David Ledford, Julie Capitano, Jesse Hayden, Andrea Kinyonez, Tatum Morgan, Machiavelli and Cheese, Ashley, Emerson Walker, Aria, Brooklyn Knox, Jeanette Coe, Sarah Edwards, and Tiffany

Muclewich. I hope I said that right, Tiffany. If you want to sign up to be a patron, we post all of our episodes ad-free right when they're posted on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. So if you don't like the ads, you can head over to Patreon. We post some other bonus stuff too, and we love talking to you guys on there. But yeah, we have some big cases coming up soon. If you want to watch a full documentary that I just produced about Richard Ramirez,

you can head over to my YouTube channel, The Paranormal Files. I actually interviewed Richard Ramirez. his childhood best friend Eddie Milam. It was a very thought-provoking interview. But yeah, we will see you guys next week. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. We love everybody out there so much. And keep asking that same old question. The dead don't talk. Or do they? I was going to say it. Oh, sorry.