Snapped: Women Who Murder - Amber Burch

Episode Date: November 9, 2025

When two men disappear in the quiet community of Clemmons, North Carolina, rumors swirl about a devil-worshipping couple and their house of horrors. An investigation leads police to discover there may be more than secrets buried in the backyard.Season 32 Episode 25Originally aired: Oct 15, 2023Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the suburbs of North Carolina, residents talk of a house of horrors. They got a report of body buried in the backyard. It was absolutely crazy. An investigation leads to a self-proclaimed Satanist and his most devoted follower. He publicly announced that he was a devil worshiper. They would tranquilize. another's blood. She was his queen.

He was her king. A series of terrifying discoveries proves the truth can be even stranger than fiction. He had started following a religion that were part animal sacrifice. People had informed deputies that he had killed several people. Every one of the friends I talked to, They all said they were scared to death.

In this Southern Gothic story, demons are very, very real. The devil didn't go to Georgia. He came to North Carolina. February 15th, 2010. It's a chilly Monday in Moxville, North Carolina, when an anxious young woman shows up at the Davy County Sheriff's Office. It appears her ex-fiance, 32-year-old Joshua Wetzler, has been missing for over six months.

Stacey Carter came to my office, when she filed a missing person's report. She said she has totally lost contact with him. When I stopped hearing from him and he stopped showing up, it was not like Josh to not contact our son. Stacey explains that Josh was always a free spirit, but after months of radio silence, a missed milestone is the final straw.

At first, I just made the... the assumption that Josh is fine. He just went off the radar. He chose to disappear. It was sporadic as to when I'd hear from him. So there was no, like, you know, rhyme or reason to when he would call or come by. And when his mom's birthday came and went and she hadn't heard from him, that sent off some alarm bells because that was not like him at all.

And he always called, you know, for big things like that. And he didn't call. Josh Wetzler was born in Naples, Italy in 1977. His parents were both in the U.S. military, so they never stayed in one place for long. Josh was born about a year before we came back. My husband went to a school in California, and after he finished that schooling, we went to New Orleans. After New Orleans, we went to Chesapeake, Virginia. Josh was a good kid. He had a good personality.

In high school, Josh developed a passion for music. Josh and I went to see The Grateful Dead. Several of us continued for the summer in 95 following the Grateful Dead around the country. Josh continued to follow the band as they toured, and in 1999, he met his future fiancé, Stacey Carter. Josh ended up out in Washington State. I was traveling cross-country, and I met some folks who told me about this great party that was happening. And that was where Josh was living at the time. And we hit it off.

It was, you know, love at first sight. We definitely had chemistry. We also had so much in common. He loved horses. We loved horses and we both loved music and going to concerts. Two years into dating, Stacey and Josh began a new adventure together in North Carolina. Josh and I bought 11 acres of land in Davy County. Shortly after that, he started horseshoe in school.

So we had visions of operating a business out on our property. The couple got engaged, and in 2004, the family grew with the birth of their son. But a year later, with a new business and a new baby, financial troubles began to take a toll. Josh wasn't making as much money. I wasn't making a lot of money, so it was really hard to try to get our bills paid. And Josh and I were fighting a lot, and I think that's ultimately what caused me to leave. Stacey called and told me that her and Josh had separated. I think I was more upset than she was.

Despite the breakup, Josh remained a devoted father. We had shared custody of our son, and we had a schedule, and he would go back and forth and stay with us. Josh was an amazing dad. He loved his son more than anything. Josh chose to stay on our property, and I told him, okay, well, that's fine. You know, you can stay there as long as you pay the mortgage. Then I found out that he had stopped making the mortgage payments and that our property was going into foreclosure.

I think that's when his mental health, you know, was really starting to decline or had been declining for some time. But in May 2008, a brush with the law would cost Josh everything. He was arrested for having mushrooms delivered to his home through the mail. It was probably found by dog at the post office, and so they arrested him. When the police came to his house, He had his son with him, and so then he was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

So at that point he was a felon, and he lost all custody of our son. He would come to my house and spend time with him there, but that was really the downward spiral for him. He didn't work very much. You know, he didn't either show up for a job or sometimes he would miss going to work for somebody and things like that.

Eventually, he kind of drifted away, not just from me, but from our circle of friends. He started hanging out with other people that I didn't know. The last time we saw him was in July. We were cooking out, and Josh, he made pizzas. his sporadic visits dropped off and by early 2010 Josh hadn't spoken to his family

in several months finally I said there's something wrong because he would have called me I just made the assumption that Josh is fine he just went off the radar he chose to disappear it wasn't until I heard

otherwise that it occurred to me that something could have happened. Stacey explains to authorities that what she heard is frightening. The first person to tell me what had happened to Josh was our friend who called me and just learned it out. Josh was buried in Pizzou's backyard and I was like, what? I had never heard of Pizzou, I had no idea who he was. So I went to the police and reported him missing.

Those were my words. You're going to think I'm crazy, but my son's father is buried in, you know, this guy's backyard. When Stacy mentioned Pizzou to me, I was like, who and what's Pizzou? And she said, that's his name. Investigators search social media sites and find a profile for someone who goes by Pazuzuzzi. When I saw Fazuzu's My Space account, the first thing that all drawed in my mind was the Manson family. And the photos, this guy was trying to live that lifestyle.

You could tell by the graffiti on the walls, the filth, claiming to do animal sacrifices and the dark moon. Yeah, tattoos on his face and his teeth were sharpened. His hair was in dreads. In the photos, Pizzou was doing satanic worshipping. He'd bleed in bloodletting. He made general statements he wanted to be a demon,

so therefore everybody should bow down to him and respect him and be fearful of him. I'd never seen anything exactly like this. Pizzou sort of reminded me of something you'd watch on TV, a horror flick. But here it was in North Carolina. Coming up, the search for Josh Wetzler leads to the door of a suburban devilware. When you roll up pulling the driveway, it looks like a normal cookie cutter Clemens' house. And investigators descend into a den of evil.

Unless you've been into a death house, there's no way to mentally prepare yourself for something like this. Jesus Christ, look at that. After receiving a tip about 31-year-old Pizzou-Algarad, Davy County investigators learn everything they can from social media before talking to friends of their missing person, Josh Wetzler. I have no idea what Josh's relationship to Pizzou was. But I feel like that it was the time where Josh was feeling like an outcast.

I think it kind of pushed him to the edges of society, and, you know, he was drawn to other people who were also on that edge. Every one of the friends I talked to, they all said they were scared to death of Pizzou. He publicly announced that he was a devil worshipper, and rumors out that he was. He killed somebody in his basement, presumably Joshua Wessler.

The biggest hurdle for me and my agency was he was supposedly killed and buried in another jurisdiction. Joshua is a resident of Davy County, North Carolina. But Fizzou's in Forsype County. I contacted Forsype County Sheriff's Office. and advised him a missing person's report that I was initiating. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is quite familiar with the name Pizzou. Either anonymously or by name, multiple people had informed him that he had killed several people

and buried them in the backyard. Due to those allegations, Forsyth County also. already has a profile on the alleged murderer from previous interviews with him and those who know him. When I first met him, he actually didn't seem that messed up. I mean, no more than the rest of us, just drinking, party, and having a good time. He presented himself as this non-theistic, maybe atheist, Satanist. He had, you know, a weird kind of macabre charm. He was very good at drawing people going against the grains.

the black sheep, the rejects the outcast. Pizzou Altgrad lived with his mother. It's a residential neighborhood. He lived in a single-story brick ranch-type house. Pazuzu's house was the land of Do What Thou wilt. It was like never, never land. The place to go to be whoever, whatever you wanted to be. It was his kingdom, but I think it was also an opportunity to control and manipulate people.

Pizzou had a girlfriend, Amber. Apparently, the girlfriend was willing participant in the whole thing. Amber Birch grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Her friends described her as a normal girl growing up. At some point, she met Pizzou and her friends describe a change in her. As she got more and more involved with Pizzou, she became almost just a female extension of Pizzou himself. She got very heavily involved in the rituals that he did. They would drink one another's blood.

Everything Paz did, Amber did. She was his queen, he was her king kind of thing, you know. From the description of Josh Wetzler's emotional state before he disappeared, it seems possible he'd been pulled into Pizzou's orbit. Still, an alternative lifestyle isn't proof a crime has been committed. I might not agree with it, but you got a right to practice. practice your own religion. Davy County detectives learn that Forsyth County deputies received ominous allegations about Pizzuzzi

six months before Josh was reported missing. Terena Billings on August 3rd, 2009, went to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, and she told them that a couple weeks before Her father had gone to Pizzouza's house. And then after her father, Alan Billings, came back, he told her this fantastical tale that when he went over to the house, he saw a dead body, covered in a tarp. Pizzou had told him that he had shot this person

10 times for being a snitch. And Alam had helped to Zuzu chop up the body and buried in the backyard. Mr. Billings told his daughter he was afraid that because now he was an accessory to the crime that he would be facing life in prison. But when deputies questioned Billings, he told a different tale.

Allen Billings denies ever seeing a dead body, so there's some discrepancy there. But what he did tell them was that Fizzou had told him that he did shoot someone ten times, and it was buried in the backyard. The statement that Mr. Billings gave, more or less gave suspicion, but not probable cause. Nothing that detectives could get a search warrant for. When questioned, Pizzuzzi told deputies Alan Billing's story was made up. Ultimately, authorities dropped the investigation due to lack of evidence. But now, the new allegations about Josh Wetzler's connection to Pizzou

inspire Forsyth County to check the home. On February 23, 2010, they return with a search warrant and cadaver dog. When you roll up, pulling the driveway, it looks like a normal cookie cutter Clemens' house. Immediately going into the house, the inspectors are overwhelmed by the smell. They said it stinks. It's almost hard for them to continue. Watch your stick. There's a lot of broken glass. There is a lot of graffiti on the wall.

walls, weird posters, weird signs. Look at that. The kitchen was probably the cleanest, most normal looking room in the house. No drainage. And his mother, Cynthia's room. She only ever came out of her room to grab something from the kitchen real quick

or to leave for work. The rest of the house is just crazy. Filthy, nasty, unkempt, spider webs everywhere, dirt all over the floors, supposedly animal carcasses laying around. Unless you've been into a death house, there's no way to mentally prepare yourself for something like this. It was like an air of evil resonating from the basement area where all of this was supposedly taking place. Despite the horrific state of the house, they find no evidence of foul play. There were four canine cadaver dogs used, but unfortunately none of them hit. There's always factors that can't.

in, you know, it's not always 100%. Officers weren't able to visually queue in on any locations in the backyard where a recent burial was made or anything. So I'm just waiting in anticipation, you know, for them to tell me that they had found Josh. When I heard back from the police that they didn't find anything, They didn't find anything. It was really devastating because now, you know, we had no answers.

After the unproductive search of Pizzou Algarad's home, Borsight County deputies find themselves at a dead end. As the weeks pass, it seems increasingly unlike, they will ever find Josh Wetzler. But four months into the investigation, detectives get a new lead. On June 7, 2010, Yakin County Sheriff's Office got a 911 phone call

of a body found at the Yakin River Park area. It's a male subject. who had been apparently shot in the head. As you go down towards the water, that's where we found the victim lying on his back. He had $148 in his pocket. He still had his wallet. There didn't seem to be any type of defensive wounds

or any evidence of a struggle at the same. The victim is identified as 30-year-old Joseph Chandler. His mother reported him missing earlier that morning. She advised us that he was legally blind. However, he can still see enough to walk to places that he knew as long as he didn't have to cross too much traffic. It would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for him to get there on his own. So we thought he probably met with somebody and got a ride up there. Joseph would go to a convenience store

on Louisville Clemens Road to purchase beer. Other than that, there was in very many places that he would travel. We interviewed the clerk who did recognize him as coming in the night before and leaving with a local person known as Pizzou-Algren. With another potential victim linked to Pizzouzziu, detectives question him again.

When he came to the door, we told him who we were and why we were there. And we were able to go inside and speak to him. He said that there was a get-together at his house that night, that he met Joseph Chandler at the convenience store and invited him back to drink some beer with them. Joseph was there for a short period of time and then left with an unknown Hispanic male named Pete. At that point, our first goal was to identify as many people as we could that were in the house tonight

that Joseph Chandler was there so we could conduct interviews. One of the partygoers was 20-year-old Nicholas Rizzi. They got Mr. Reesie's cell phone number, and while doing an investigation on his cell phone number, they found that it had, in fact, peened at the Yakin River that night near the location where the body was found. Authorities confront Rizzi about the phone records. At that point, he admitted that he and Pizzuzu were there that night.

He broke down and confessed. According to Rizzi, Joseph's death was an accident. They had been drinking all day, and at the end of the night, Pizzuzu wanted to go shooting. They got to the park. Nicholas had a 22-caliper pistol that he had described as in poor state of repair. Rizzi pulled the slide back,

around ejected from the pistol, and when the slide went forward, the pistol discharged, and Joseph fell to the ground. At that point, they panicked. They didn't know what to do. Joseph wasn't breathing. They got in the car.

They left the park. He threw the pistol out of the window of the vehicle. And they returned back to Vizu's house. Rizzi's statement is enough to place both men under arrest. On October 4, 2010, Rizzi is charged with involuntary manslaughter. I think the charges were correct at the time with, you know, with the evidence that we had. There just wasn't enough evidence to support a murder charge at that time.

Rizzi pleads guilty and is sentenced to 13 months in prison. Pizzuzzi claims he was too drunk to remember what happened. But he is charged as an accessory and the court orders the 31-year-old to undergo a psychic. psychiatric evaluation. Pizzou Alguerette was evaluated because of concerns of whether or not he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Fizzouzzi's real name was John Lawson. He grew up in California.

His parents moved to North Carolina at some point. They split up. His father left the family. His mother was left to raise him by herself. Mr. Algarod had a history of significant anxiety, agoraphobia, and other types of mental health concerns from relatively early age. He only finished ninth grade and eventually dropped out. He had started following a Samarian kind of religion that required animal sacrifice. At some point, he changed his name. Pizzou was the name of the demon and the movie The Exorcist.

I think that the beliefs in Satanism and these other religions were more a means of him gaining power over others. Pizzuzu's persona, it was about shock and awe. you know, there's just taking pleasure in people's averse reaction to seeing or hearing or experiencing something different and uncomfortable. After a thorough assessment, Pizzou is deemed fit to stand trial. However, the case never makes it to court. Instead, Pizzuzzi enters into a plea agreement.

Pizzou, Algrad, received, I believe it was five years of probation. So at the time, the facts, the statements, the confession from Nicholas Rizzi, all the evidence at the scene, wouldn't support a second-degree murder charge. But as one case closes, another remains unsuited. solved. I felt in my gut that Josh was buried in position's backyard, and every day I hope maybe this will be the day I'll get that information that'll break this case. You don't give up.

You never give up. Coming up, another local man goes missing. The door was unlocked. We could hear the music from Asteria, but Tommy wasn't there. And a member of Pizzuzu's inner circle finally breaks his silence. He never thought his friend would go that fault. Satanist Pazuzu Algarad has been put on probation for his role in one man's death, but detectives still suspect he's also responsible for the disappearance of Josh Wetzler.

So far, Forsyth County sheriffs have been unable to prove it. But nearly two years into the investigation, they get a surprise phone call. In November 2011, Pizzou's mom, Cynthia, reported in 2009 that a boy named Tommy was over at their house, and she heard a gunshot. She went down to the basement, and was told her. she witnessed a male subject slumped over and it appeared to have been shot. But according to Cynthia James, the killer was not her son. It was Amber Birch, Pizzou's girlfriend of three years. She said that she saw Amber with a rifle in her hand

pointed at Tommy. Zuzu told his mama to get upstairs back to her room, which she did. Investigators search police records and discover that around the same time, a local man named Tommy Welch had been reported missing by his sister-in-law, Carrie Welch. Tommy lived in Clemens, North Carolina. I was engaged to his brother, Rusty Welch. On October 3rd, 2009, I had a shift at work and didn't have nobody to watch my children. So I asked Tommy and his mother, if they would mind watching them, they were going to do a movie night.

When he walked to the door, right? I was so excited at me, and Leah was like, I'll go to happen. He got me to watch and scare movies. He always was a big fan of Halloween. When I came home, his mom was there with the children, and she was frantic. I didn't understand what was going on. She said she had sent Tommy to their apartment in Clemens.

But he'd been gone longer than he should. should have. Tommy could leave our apartment and be at his apartment. Walking, probably take him about 15, 20 minutes. And she just felt something was wrong. Not wanting to alarm her children, Carrie took them to Tommy's apartment to look for him. She just basically made up stuff because we were just so little. She told us that he's possibly playing hide-and-seek with us. Like, keeping the positivity for us. When we arrived at Tommy and his mother's apartment, we knew he had been there.

The door was unlocked. We could hear the music from hysteria, but Tommy wasn't there. The next day, Tommy's family filed a missing person's report, and police obtained a haunting clue. Surveillance cameras catch him at a nearby gas station, walking toward it, and at some point he goes behind the gas station out of the camera's view, and that's the last time anyone publicly sees Tommy alive.

It's like he walked off the face there. Without any direct evidence, sheriff's deputies can't obtain another search warrant, for Pizzuzu's home. With all the information that's coming in, you're still stuck. You know, it's like banging your head up against the wall. Nobody will go on record. Nobody wants to be involved.

Your hands are tied. Three more years pass, and any leads in the murders of Josh Wetzler and Tommy Welch hit a dead end. But in 2014, one of Pizzuzu's inner circle finally stands up to him. September 26th, 2014,

Matthew Fathers comes into the picture. Matthew was a Army veteran, stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and had returned home from Iraq. Matt Flyers had known Pizzou for about eight years, had parted with him. He had kept, in contact with Pizzou over the years.

And Pizzuzu would tell Matthew that he'd kill people. Matthew thought he was just boasted. He never thought his friend would go that far. But when he returned to the States after his deployment, Matthew found out the truth when his ex-girlfriend Dixie told him a harrowing story. Dixie told Matt that she was contacted by Amber that she needed help at Pizzouzu's house where Amber resided.

Dixie said she went to the residence and she saw Tommy Welch deceased on the ground. He'd been shot. And Amber said, I got my first just like Paz does, Paz being Pizuza. Amber and Azizu told Dixie, we need you help to bury him. If you say anything, you'll join it.

And Dixie rightfully so, at that point, believed the threat. Dixie told Matthew that her and Amber spent quite a long time digging the grave outside. And when they try to put Tommy's body in the ground, well, the hole was too small. So they used the shovels to break Tommy's legs because his legs were sticking up out of the hole. Matthew tells investigators he reported the incident anonymously back in 2009, but nothing came of it. This time, he decided to go on the record, and Dixie agreed to back him up. Matthew was worried about her getting in trouble and also didn't want Pizzou going after her.

Dixie gives a 13-page statement detailing where the body was located. And luckily, Dixie, had evidence to show cooperation to her statement. She had pictures. She took pictures of the body. And this provides enough information for the sheriff's office to again apply for a search warrant. And this time, they have actual locations

for where the bodies might be buried. You know, I was ready for these answers On October 5th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 2014, 4 years after the first disturbing search, Forsyth County sheriffs have enough for a warrant to search the home of Pizzou-Algorod again. When they executed the search warrant in 2014, they found the remains of two bodies. Because the bodies were interred in the ground so long, it was just skeletal remains that were left.

The bodies were collected and transported to Wake Forest Medical Facility for identification purposes using DNA and also dental records. The bodies were positively identified as Tommy Wilts. And Joshua Whistler. For the families of the victims, the news comes as a strange relief. It was really difficult to try to explain to my son

why his dad wasn't around. He was not even three years old when Josh disappeared. But the truth was, I was euphoric. Like, I was just so happy. We finally had some closure and we, you know, were able to have a funeral for him. I had a lot of emotions going through because I was angry for one that they took a really good person out of the world. It was sad because then I had to tell the kids, how do I explain to them that bad people got a hold of their Uncle Tommy and they just killed it? How do you tell that to your kids?

Pazuzu Algarad and Amber Birch are immediately arrested. Pazuzu is charged with Josh's murder. Amber is charged with Tommy's murder, and both are charged with one count of accessory after the fact. It's not something I can really wrap my head around. And I didn't realize the monstrous things he was capable of. I think this is an individual who became increasingly antisocial, psychopathic in nature. Those traits were reinforced over time.

I believe Amber Birch was brought into the influence or circle orb of Mr. Algarad, and she was willing to engage in whatever. behaviors he encouraged her to do. Devil didn't go to Georgia, he came to North Carolina. A date is set for Pizzou's trial, but he never makes it to court. Pizzou Algueret was found in his cell early the morning of October 28, 2015. He had committed suicide. According to the autopsy report, he used some kind of object to cut into his wrist, and he bled out.

He took the coward's way out and killed himself. Let's hope he burned in hell. When Amber's day in court finally arrives, she pleads guilty to most. multiple charges, including second-degree murder for the death of Tommy Welch. She receives a sentence of 30 to 40 years. Amber took it upon herself on the night that they took him to shoot him and kill him because Pizzou already took care of Josh. She wanted to be part of it.

Let me do it this time. That's cold-blooded. Today, nothing remains of the den of evil Pizzou created with Amber Birch, but the memories of their victims live on. The house was ordered to be demolished, raised to the ground. Neighbors set up long chairs to personally watch this nightmare finally come to an end. This whole incident was nothing more than a nightmare. married to them. Just the evil of the place, I mean,

could never be washed out of it. Josh and I went through some really hard times. And our lives kind of diverged. But I can't help but wonder would they have come back together again? I'll never know. And that hurts, you know. It's hard to have to have. to have to live with that.

We cry about it, but we don't constantly grieve about it. We've got to keep the good stuff going, not the evil. The good times is what's going to make Tommy stay alive. Pizzou's mother, Cynthia, was never charged. Amber Birch is scheduled to be released. April 29th, 2048.