Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Best of 2022: Madalyn Murray O'Hair Pt. 1

Episode Date: December 28, 2022

She was a popular atheist speaker who challenged American evangelicals wherever she went. She was also called "the most hated woman in America" and had no shortage of enemies. So when Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family went missing in 1995, no one went looking... for two whole years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, listeners, we hope you're having a wonderful holiday season. Solved Murders is taking a break this week. So to celebrate the year that was, we're featuring our very best episodes of 2022. Enjoy our best of solved murders and join us again next week for an all-new episode. And from everyone here at Parcast, have a happy and healthy New Year. Due to the graphic nature of this story, listener discretion is advised. We advise extreme caution for children on. I knew the lawsuit wasn't going to make me the most popular woman in Baltimore, but I sure didn't

anticipate the tidal wave of virulent, vindictive, murderous hatred that thundered down on top of me and my family in its wake. That was a quote from Madeline Murray O'Hare, who Life magazine dubbed The Most Hated Woman in America in 1964. Her infamy began when she sued a woman. Baltimore Public School District for requiring her son to recite prayers and read Bible passages. The case was absorbed into a larger one and made it all the way to the Supreme Court. On June 17th of 1963, they ruled that mandatory prayer in public schools was unconstitutional. In the wake of this ruling, Ms. Murray O'Hare found herself at the vanguard of 20th century atheism. It was a calling she took to with relish.

She became a fixture of daytime TV programs and a focal point of controversy. And not without reason. Madeline Murray O'Hare was notoriously litigious. Starting in the 60s, she filed lawsuit after lawsuit. Her lawsuits challenged prayers in the White House, critiqued Bible readings by U.S. astronauts in space, and attempted to remove the phrase, in God we trust from U.S. currency.

Her passionate crusade earned her as many enemies as it did supporters. Many cities welcomed her with threats and gunfire. So along with her son, John, and her son William's daughter, Robin, she relocated multiple times, trying to find a suitable home for American atheists. By the 1990s, they had settled in Austin, Texas. Despite being in her early 70s, she continued to fight with all the strength she had. She refused to be silenced.

That is until August of 1995, when she abruptly vanished. Few wondered what became of her. Even fewer prayed for her well-being, which may be for the best. We know exactly what she would have thought of that. I feel that that's terribly insulting. I can't imagine that anyone would attempt to include me in their prayer.

Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives closed the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free, exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the Murder.

of Madeline Murray O'Hare. Today we'll tell the story of the vacuum left behind when the O'Hare's disappeared, how the atheist community in Austin responded, and how long it took for the authorities to catch on to what really happened. Next time, we'll piece together the details of her last days

and the horrific series of events that ended her three decades-long crusade against religion. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly, big board buck slot machine by aristocrat gaming,

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Hasbro is not a sponsor of this promotion. When Spike Tyson arrived at the American Atheists' headquarters on August 28, 1995, he found a small crowd of his coworkers gathered outside. The building was locked and a note had been taped to the door. It explained that American Atheists' founder, Madeline Murray O'Hare, her 40-year-old son, John Garth Murray, and her 30-year-old granddaughter and adopted daughter Robin, had been called away by an emergency.

The staff's paychecks would be sent out, and the family would likely be back before September 15th. It was signed by John Garth Murray, who was also the organization's president. The employees groaned. It was a blistering hot day in Austin, so they all went to a nearby cafe to escape the heat. Oh, God, that family is so selfish. Picking up and leaving on a whim. What about us? What about our livelihoods?

Now let's calm down, guys. They did say it's an emergency. Oh, please. I don't believe that for a second. And anyway, why should we suffer because they've gone and gotten themselves into something? Hey, Madeline has been good to you. She gave you a job when no one else did.

A little sensitivity and understanding wouldn't kill you. Ugh, you would say that, Tyson. I know her better than all of you. If she left without telling me, it must have been an emergency. Tyson was empathetic. The Murray O'Hare's had pulled these antics before, but the family's abrupt departure felt different this time. Tyson and 76-year-old Madeline were quite close. He'd worked for the family for years in differing capacities. He'd been everything from a bodyguard to an electrician. She'd even quipped that he was the song she'd always wanted, much to the annoyance of John.

Perplexed by their sudden departure, Tyson headed over to the Murray O'Hare's home. on Greystone Drive to investigate. He didn't have a passcode for the alarm system, so he stood at the window his hands cupped around his face, peeking inside. The alarm had been installed following an incident with former American Atheists' employee, David Waters, but it wasn't going off, so there didn't appear to be a break-in. But the garage door was left open,

and the family's luxury cars, a Porsche, and the Mercedes were gone. Tyson was most surprised to find that the family's dogs were in the backyard. The Murray O'Hare's loved their pets and rarely went anywhere without them. He scribbled a note informing the family that he'd come back to check on the dogs and the house while they were away. He taped it to the front door and left. When he returned to the house the next day, he was met with an unnerving silence from the yard where he'd last left the dogs playing. He anxiously searched for them, but the dogs were gone. Meanwhile, American atheist vice president, Ellen Johnson, was busy running the organization's branch in New Jersey,

mostly indifferent to the family's sudden departure. Ellen was, like Tyson, part of the Muriel Hares' inner circle. But unlike Tyson, she was also an ambitious ideologue, heavily involved in running American atheists. If it wasn't for John and Robin, she'd probably be the one to inherit the organization from Madeline. A few days after the note had been left on the door, Ellen received a strange phone call from John. Hi, Ellen. Yes, yes, we're fine. Listen, I have a really important favor to ask. An atheist trust based in New Zealand is sending a lot of money our way, but the funds will be sent to New Jersey. I need you to open a bank account out there to receive them.

Oh, thanks, Helen. I knew we could count on you. Ellen thought the request was strange, but she was eager to stay in the family's good graces. She had no idea what they were up to, but these odd financial moves weren't out of character for the capricious Madeline. Back in Austin, Madeline's unpredictability increased Tyson's anxiety. A slew of frustrated talk show producers called him repeatedly, asking if Madeline was available for upcoming segments. Madeline regularly appeared on the talk show circuit. In fact, she was the Phil Donahue show's first guest and a frequent one for good reason. Madeline became an overnight celebrity after

she sued the Baltimore public school system in 1960 over in school prayers. A few years later, she founded the organization, American Atheists, where she continued to, to challenge the mingling of church and state. But Madeline's activism wasn't the only thing that made her so highly requested on talk show stages. She was also a fearless and captivating debater, who could duke it out with the best of them. Suffice it to say, Madeline was entertaining. One show in particular was filming its final episode, and they wanted to go out with a bang. Madeline was the perfect spark.

She'd only been gone for around a week. But Tyson had no idea when they were coming back. So, it's... Let's just say it's a tentative, yes. Madeline's away at the moment, but she should be back soon. I can't see her saying no to an opportunity to preach her gospel, so to speak. In any case, we need an answer like yesterday. All right, I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Remember, this will be one of our biggest episodes ever. Tyson called John. The family had been away for about a week at this point. Even if they were dealing with an emergency, he was sure they'd want to know about upcoming media appearances. To his surprise, John answered and told Tyson he'd speak to Madeline and get back to him. After that call, Tyson and John spoke on the phone daily, mostly dealing with the logistics of the family's absence. But he wasn't the only American atheist staff member, still in contact with the Murray O'Hare's. Ellen Johnson spoke with Madeline once through John's cell phone. The chat was unusually short, but uneventful. Up until this point, most people in the Murray-O'Hare Circle

weren't too concerned about the family's well-being. Though they didn't know where the family was, they communicated with John often. He never gave them any information about why they'd left, but he reassured them that everything was fine and that they'd be back soon. He'd given them no reason to doubt him, so they believed him.

After a few weeks had passed, Ellen got another call from John. Ellen, I need another favor. Can you send two blank corporate checks to a post office box in San Antonio? I know it's unusual. We're running a little low on cash for expenses. I'm not sure how much we need.

It's okay. It's okay. I understand. The phone call made Ellen uneasy. The request seemed too unusual, and she spiraled considering the worst-case scenarios. She didn't want to be responsible if something bad happened to them. But a few days later, her resistance waned and she sent the checks, along with $1,000 of her own money. The last phone call she had with the family took place almost a month after they disappeared.

She spoke with Robin, Madeline's granddaughter. The call was strange and a little unnerving. But by this point, Ellen was used to the family's erratic behavior. She simply accepted that sometimes they did things that didn't make sense to her. It was around that same time at the end of September that Spike Tyson's communication with the family also came to an abrupt end. For days, his calls to John's cell phone were unanswered, until finally the line went dead.

Tyson was getting nervous. People wanted to know where the family had gone, and they were getting more serious. Tyson didn't know what to tell them. Tyson, this is James from the IRS calling again. We've left your three messages about getting in touch with the Murielhairs. Or call me back at... Tyson?

To pay, man? Tyson, we've got to nail down our special guests. Call me back today, or I'm going to assume the answer is no. Unnerved and full of questions, Tyson resolved to go over to Madeline's house and see if he could find anything. There was only one problem. The house had an alarm system and Tyson didn't know the codes. To get inside, he'd have to crawl through the air conditioning ducts. It was unconventional, but desperate times called for desperate measures. When he finally got inside, his heart dropped.

Mail had accumulated in a giant heap near the front door, and all of Madeline's plants were dead. Tyson walked to the kitchen, navigating a minefield of dog feces. When he opened the refrigerator, the stench of rotten, moldy food struck him. His gaze shifted to the top shelf where Madeline's insulin sat, untouched. She was diabetic and could barely go a few hours, let alone days or weeks. without her medication. Tyson stood for a minute. The refrigerator door still open,

thinking about what to do next. He knew that the trio had been in San Antonio because that's where Ellen had sent the blank checks. He decided to drive the 80-mile south to look for them himself. When he got to San Antonio, two hours later, he checked all of the local hospitals for Madeline,

but to no avail. Just when he was about to give up, he popped into a form. for one last ditch effort. He described Madeline, John, and Robin to a staff member and asked if any of them had been in to pick up some insulin. The employee sifted through patient files. They confirmed that Madeline's medications had been refilled three times, most recently in the last week of September. Tyson breathed a sigh of relief.

As he walked back to his car, he ended his search. He decided to move into their house and take care of things till they returned. Wherever Madeline, John, and Robin were, it was clear they didn't want to be found. Just as Tyson's hunt for the Muriel Hairs was coming to a close, another entity was ramping up its chase. The IRS. Coming up, a member of the family's surfaces and the IRS breaks new ground. Now back to the story. Late in August of 1995, the woman who Life magazine once named the most hated woman in America, was missing.

Madeline Murray O'Hare, her son John, and granddaughter Robin hadn't been seen in weeks. But in the minds of many, this wasn't all that unusual. The Murray O'Hare's had vanished at a moment's notice before. Decades prior, Madeline had fled to Hawaii and Mexico to avoid minor robert. run-ins with authorities, and it wasn't out of the ordinary for the family to unexpectedly leave on vacation from time to time. Unbeknownst to many of their subordinates, though, the family had ample motive to skip town. For quite some time, the IRS had come knocking. The three family members owed around $1.5 million in back taxes. Having vanished with a known bank account in New Zealand,

the Murillo hairs appeared to have gotten away Scott-free, at least in theory. In mid-September of 1995, 40-year-old John called a jeweler in San Antonio. Corey's fine jewelry. How can I help you? Got to buy some gold coins in bulk? Would you be able to help me out? Of course. I'll write all this down for Mr. Tickner. How many coins are we talking? Around $600,000 worth. A six with five. zero's.

Yeah, is that a problem? Depends. How soon you're looking? As soon as you can. I'll double check with the boss, but based on the last few orders, I'd say it's gonna take a few weeks. You'll have to transfer the funds first, not only for the coins, but for the store's standard fee. Once that's squared away, we'll be in business. What type?

Golden Eagles? Golden Eagles, Krugaran's, and... Krugaran's, and some Canadian maple leaves. I'll wire the funds right away. After the call, Corey Tickner looked at the order. That was a lot of coins. And it would take some special wrangling to pull everything together. But he wasn't going to turn down a commission on a 600 grand order.

If Tickner had any concerns about his customer's unusual request, they disappeared when he received John's wire transfer later that day from a bank in New Jersey. Now, all he had to do was order the gold and wait for it to arrive. A few weeks later, on September 28th, John called the shop about picking up the gold. We've got a bit of a problem. Jeez, what is it? The boss has only received $500,000 worth of coins. There's some hold-up with the last $100K.

Now, before you start worrying, I'm sure it'll only be a few days. We can just meet up when the whole shipment arrived. No, it's fine. I still want to pick up what I can tomorrow. Okay, then. We'll meet tomorrow afternoon at the bank just down the street from my shop. The next day at 12.24 p.m. on September 29th, John called into the American Atheist's office in Austin.

While we don't know exactly what he said, it was probably something like this. Hey, it's John. No, I don't. have any firm answer on mother's availability for the talk show. Just tell the producer to hang tight. I just need to get a few dominoes lined up first. That's all I can say for now. Later that day, John arrived at the bank to pick up the coins. It was the first time anyone had seen him in a month. Tickner had no way of knowing this, but he did notice something odd. It appeared as if John had slept in the same shirt for days. His beard was unshaven,

and he smelled as if he hadn't showered. However, John's odd appearance wasn't going to stop the jewelers from making the sale. Nice to finally meet you. Mr. Tickner will rejoin us in the conference room. That's where we'll get you all set up. Sure thing. How long do you think this is going to take? Depends on how fast we can count. We'd want to make sure you're getting the right amount. It'd be a crime if you didn't get all of your $500,000. Yeah. Well, let's get started so we can get you out of here as soon as possible.

About an hour later, they were finished. But as John went to leave with over 100 pounds of gold coins, the jeweler stopped him. Whoa there. Hold on a minute. Why? What is it? Just need to send one of our security guys outside to check out your car. Tickner wants us to be sure that no one's fixing to rob you. Oh, okay.

Yeah, we wouldn't want that. Hope it doesn't take too long. Nah, already over. We're all clear and you're good to go. The boss will have me call you when those remaining coins get in. John then walked outside and placed the $500,000 worth of coins carefully in the trunk of a sedan before getting in and driving away. The following Monday, the last batch of coins arrived.

Tickner called John's cell phone. No one answered. In the meantime, the remaining coins just sat at the jewelers. No one came to claim them. And Tickner never heard from John. In the month that followed, word of them. the Murray-O-Hare disappearances spread to local media, and things inside the American Atheist's office deteriorated. Publicly, the organization claimed everything was fine.

Now at two, new developments in the disappearance of Madeline Murray-O-Hare and her family. After weeks of public confusion, American Atheists has released a statement assuring that the family is simply gone on routine business. Internally, though, people worried. Yeah, right. No one here knows where they are. Madeline and the other two are off living it up on some beach in South America, sipping dafferies with our paychecks. Grab a life jacket. We're on a sinking ship without a captain.

And I don't plan on being here when everything goes under. I need to get paid. As the money dried up in the family's absence, employees walked away from American atheists in droves. All of this played out in front of the news media, who ate up every bit of information. that they could find. For the better part of three decades, Madeline had made a spectacle of herself. Now, her disappearance fueled speculation. Most believed she, John Garth, and Robin were in San Antonio.

Others thought they were out of the country. As such, no one really seemed to care what happened to them. Even Madeline's eldest child, William Murray, didn't appear concerned. William had launched Madeline's career. He was the young boy forced to pray in school until his mother brought the case to the Supreme Court. As an adult, however, he'd done a full 180. William became an evangelical preacher. In the 1980s and 90s, he regularly spoke out against his mother,

claiming that she'd used him for her own benefit. He'd also become estranged from his daughter Robin after his mother adopted her. They were his kin, but he hadn't talked with them in decades. The family's disappearance didn't surprise him. He knew that they'd hit the road plenty of times before when the opportunity suited them. So at this point, he didn't find it necessary

to file a missing person's report. And with local authorities gathering information by the six-month mark, papers hardly reported on the matter anymore. There hadn't been any development. at least that were publicly disclosed. A whole year passed and the Austin PD continued operating under the assumption that the family had left of their own volition. To them, there were no signs to the contrary. Outside of skipping out on the IRS, it wasn't illegal for people to disappear.

And police suspected the family took what funds they had and ran. Sometime around August 1996, a very much. veteran journalist from the San Antonio Express News, named John McCormick, was put onto the story by his editor. He'd barely heard of Madeline and her family and hadn't paid much attention to the specifics of this case. He started his article as a simple anniversary recap of the disappearance, but it quickly turned into something very different. McCormick took a hard look at the case and interviewed some of those closest to the family, like Spike-Torke. Tyson and Ellen Johnson. As he got a better understanding of the family, he understood why the authorities had

concluded they were runaways, but something seemed off, especially as he dug into the family's ongoing tax issues. During his research, McCormick discovered that one of the family's lawyers had successfully negotiated with the IRS. The organization drastically decreased the amount the family owed from $1.5 million, down to only tens of thousands. McCormick noticed that had happened months ago, yet the family still hadn't paid off their tax debts,

even though they had the money. The story didn't add up. The family had no logical reason to leave. By this time, McCormick wasn't the only one who found their continued absence odd. Not long after McCormick started investigating, William Murray begrudgingly filed a missing persons report for his family members.

For the sake of her grandchildren and supporters and the public at large, the time had come for some central agency to make a determination as to what had happened to her. It is just that simple. No one else had demonstrated this level of concern, not even most of her employees at American atheists. Now, William wanted answers. Shortly after, the Austin PD opened up their own investigation. They did not start off on a strong foot.

That October, a bright red Porsche was found in the parking lot of an Austin airport, belonged to Robin Murray O'Hare. Authorities shrugged it off. It didn't seem all that important to them. McCormick saw this candy apple car as yet another red flag. It reminded him of something he'd discovered a year earlier. An ad appeared in the newspaper for a 1988 Mercedes-Berickrude. bends for sale at a very low price.

McCormick knew that was John Garth's car. From everything he'd seen, John had little reason to sell it, and at sale in September of 1995 implied he was still in town then, which seemed impossible. Nothing added up. It looked less and less likely that the family left willingly, and it introduced the possibility that something much worse had happened. After all, Madeline had once been named the most hated woman in America. Maybe someone wanted her gone.

McCormick knew he needed to keep investigating, and soon he'd uncover crucial information that brought the case into a harsh new light. Coming up, McCormick and a private detective pull on the thread that unravels the case. I knew about investing, but I really didn't know how to go about it. Meet Corey, a Walthfront client. With Welfront, it could put money in, and it would automatically distribute it into a diversified portfolio. Then it starts to compound. The compounding compounds on the compounding. Just let it wrong, and it's great. Over one million clients trust

Wealthfront. Get started at Wealthfront.com. Client was paid $1,000 for their testimonial, creating a conflict of interest. Outcomes vary. Investment management and advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk to principle regardless of the strategy used. Task performance does not guarantee future results. And now, back to our story. By February of 1997, it had been nearly two years since anyone had heard from the Muriel Hares. That's when a horde of government cars appeared outside their Austin estate. For the next few days, the feds conducted a thorough raid on the home.

Everything inside, from Madeline's toiletries to her collection of the godfather videotapes, was now government property. This was bad news for the missing atheists, but it was also. also unfortunate for Spike Tyson, Madeline's employee and close confidant. He'd been squatting in their home while he waited for them to return. But the IRS got there first. Watch how you're holding that owl statue. It's made of dried sunflower seeds, so it's really delicate.

It's her favorite. According to you, it's all her favorite. Just get out of the way. Can't this wait until Madeline's back? Who can I ask about that? The government. Real funny. There's got to be a supervisor I can talk to.

Hey, you want to talk to someone? Talk to you, boss. Tell her all this junk is going to auction if she doesn't show up soon. Hey, don't take that. That's mine. It's just a bag of laundry. If it's in this house, it's not yours anymore, pal. Following the raid, the IRS prepared the family's belongings for auction and put the house up for sale.

It wouldn't pay for the back taxes that the family owed, but it was a start. Most people barely noticed the IRS activity. but one person found it especially intriguing. San Antonio Express News reporter John McCormick had already written about the disappearance of Madeline, John, and Robin, and their financial drama with the IRS. He was certain he hadn't even scratched the surface of what really happened. Luckily for McCormick, there was another person who felt the same way,

a private investigator named Tim Young. Young had read McCormick's 1996 article and had been following the case since. He got in touch with the journalists the following year and offered to help. Young was a 20-something maverick with a very valuable specialty, finding people who don't want to be found. Young and McCormick were made for each other. As a journalist, McCormick needed to follow the rules. But as a private investigator, Young sometimes through the rulebook,

out the window. Among his many talents, young was tenacious. He was young and hungry and didn't take no for an answer. The duo worked together for 19 months, waiting through the American atheists' complicated finances. A former employee, David Waters, had done some devious rewriting of the company records when he stole money from them, and Madeline wasn't exactly forthcoming with her finances to begin with. The books were full of discrepancies. Dummy corporations, missing chunks of undeclared cash,

and bogus paychecks that Madeline had written to herself. It was a stark glimpse into the psyche of a woman who seemed eager to hang on to every dollar. And who could blame her? Madeline was used to a cushy life. In the 1970s and 1980s, the American Atheist Association was making millions in donations and bequests.

The books were an interesting read, but they yielded little information that pointed toward where the missing family might be. Finally, at the end of 1997, there was a break in the case. Young used his silver tongue to get a hold of John's phone records from September 1995.

The last month anyone heard from the trio. McCormick and Young could now pour over every one of the 200 incoming and outgoing calls made during that time. Um, you, you wanted how much cash? The investigative duo

went to every place John had called, pharmacies, jewelers, financial institutions. This was how they found Corey Tickner, the man who had sold John $600,000 worth of gold coins. To Young and McCormick, the gold coins were a sign

that Madeline and her family were on the run. No one buys that much gold unless they're trying to disappear. But what stuck out to McCormick was that John had only collected $500,000 worth of it. He'd never returned to get the final $100,000 worth of coins. Those close with Madeline knew she'd never leave money on the table. Such was the roller coaster of McCormick and Young's investigation. Just as one clue pointed towards the family having fled, another would cross. up that suggested a far more sinister fate.

The latter seemed more likely the deeper they dug because young, the master of locating people who didn't want to be found, had a problem. He couldn't find any sign of the family alive. In February of 1998, McCormick was finally ready to print. He published another article in the San Antonio Express News detailing his investigation of Madeline. The piece pointed to foul play and laid out plenty of evidence to support it. Even so, their findings didn't do much to excite the police.

But someone else was intrigued. ABC correspondent Valerie Williams. Williams had actually interviewed Madeline a few years before. According to author Ted Dracos, Williams had found Madeline repulsively fascinating. So when she read McCormick's news, juicy article, it piqued her interest. She enthusiastically began her own investigation. Biggest contribution to the case involved the mysterious sale of John's beloved Mercedes.

Back in 1995, Evan Moore of the Houston Chronicle had discovered that John's car was sold to a couple in San Antonio. It was a detail that Young and McCormick had stumbled upon in their investigation, but had initially felt like a dead end. William's instincts told her it was a key piece of the puzzle. She tracked down Mike Sparrow, the ex-cop who had bought the Mercedes. When Sparrow saw a photo of John, he repeated what he had told Young and McCormick. It looked nothing like the guy who sold it to him. With Sparrow's help, Williams took the lead to the next level. She had a police sketch drawn of the cellar.

Whoever this impersonator was, his face was about to be. be plastered across millions of television sets around the country. The nightline segment aired in June of 1998. Afterwards, Williams turned her findings over to the Austin Police. It didn't do much good. As author Ted Dracos pointed out, Austin PD's response to the network correspondence information was an arrogant yawn. McCormick, Young, and Williams still had some irons in the fire.

The network's tip line was ringing off the hook. Of course, almost none of these calls were actual leads, but it only takes one. That month, McCormick got a call from Florida. The caller was a Vietnam veteran named Bob Fry, who had seen the nightline segment and was certain he recognized the man in the police sketch, the one who impersonated John. It was his brother, Danny Fry. According to Bob, Danny had gone missing three years' prior in September of 1995.

When McCormick pressed for more info, Bob Fry gave another name. He said that David Waters was the reason his brother was missing. McCormick knew that name. He'd been investigating Madeline and her organization's accounting books for months, and in 1993, she hired Waters first as a typesetter and then as an office manager for the American atheists. McCormick also knew that the relationship ended a year later when Madeline accused David Waters of stealing $54,000 from the organization.

She had reported him to the police and written quite a nasty article about him too. McCormick's heart raced. If everything Bob said was true, then Danny disappeared at the same time as Madeline and her family. So McCormick listened very carefully to Bob Fry's story. Danny Fry was a small-time hustler and heavy drinker. According to Bob, Danny left his teenage daughter and headed to Texas in September of 1995 for a big job. Shortly after his departure, Bob got a phone call from his brother.

Of course I need a gun, Bob. This is Texas, man. I'm sitting on these people. It's part of the job. Yeah, San Antonio. We're staying at the Warren Inn. Got a van to get around. Dave arranged it. all. Yeah, well, I'm fine. Keeping some weird hours, but the money's going to be worth it. Enough cash to, well, when is it ever enough? Right. In fact, Danny called his daughter and Bob quite a few times. Bob, I sent you a letter. No big deal, but just don't open unless I don't come back.

Hey, darling, how was school? Bob, it's Dan. You know, things are good here. I was just being... You can go ahead and burn that letter. Hey, princess, it's dad. What would you say to a shopping spree when I get back? But Danny Fry never made it back to Florida.

The Frye went through a lot of effort to find out what happened to Danny. They likely called David Waters for information. When that didn't yield answers, they filed two missing persons reports. The Fry family had heard a lot about what. Waters from Danny, and Danny's daughter was able to provide Florida police with his Austin phone number. The authorities had the contact information on a silver platter, ready to be followed up on. Yet, no action was taken. The police might not have been interested in the Fries, but David Waters was.

In late 1995, he and another man went to Florida to pay Bob Fry a visit. Bob, hey, come on out. I got to talk to you. I know you're in there. I saw your face looking through that curtain. No, that's fine. How about I just talk and you listen? Your two-bit criminal brother drinks too much.

Guys got a big mouth. I know you have that letter. I sure would like to see that. And if you don't want to show me then, you know what? I got time. I'll wait right here. According to Bob Fry,

Waters and his mysterious associate an intimidating man, lingered for over two hours. Finally, Waters believed Bob's pleas that he had destroyed the letter before reading it. McCormick was stunned by the conversation with Bob Fry.

There was yet another missing person which meant more mysteries to unpack. He already had quite a few. The vanishing of the Murray O'Hare's, the lack of police involvement, the stunning disinterest of Madeline's family and employees, the blatant trail of tax evasion and lies. But one thing had become clear.

There was finally a suspect. David Waters. Thanks again for tuning in to Solved Murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with Part 2 of Madeline Murray O'Hare. The investigation of the case narrows its focus onto David Waters, and all the pieces finally fall into place. For more information on this case, amongst the many sources we used, we found ungodly the passions, torments, and murder of atheist Madeline Murray O'Hare by Ted Dracos,

extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parkast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solve Murders is a Spotify original from Podcast. Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Nick Johnson, Trent Williamson, and Carly Madden.

This episode of Solve Murders was written by Robert Teamstra, Sarah Hussein, Tyler Walker, and Kate Murdoch, edited by the Parcast content team and Giles Hofseth, fact-checked by Claire Cronin, researched by Mickey Taylor, and produced by Freddie Beckley. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tiana Camacho, Joe Hernandez, Cameron Nicod, Julian Smith, and Lath Walsh Lager. Solved Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.