Snapped: Women Who Murder - BONUS: Susan and Blane Barksdale (Snapped: Killer Couples)

Episode Date: June 12, 2025

An elderly veteran is nowhere to be found after his house suddenly bursts into flames in Arizona.Season 17, Episode 7Originally aired: July 23, 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.

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Hi, Snap listeners. We are bringing you a special bonus episode today from Oxygen's hit series, Killer Couples. You can also watch full episodes live or on demand on the free Oxygen app or on Peacock by clicking the link in our description. Enjoy. He was a retired veteran enjoying his golden years in the Southwest. He ended up being stationed in Arizona, and he fell in love with it out there. He kept his circle very small. He was close with his brother and his family and was living his life.

But a comfortable retirement would be upended by a devastating fire. The calls reported sounds of an explosion and a house that was fully engulfed in flames. The owner of the house is missing. Investigators find large open empty safes inside. I knew something wasn't right. As the investigation unfolds, the search for a missing person will escalate to the hunt for a killer. There had been a considerable amount of blood. We were treating it as a homicide investigation. Culminating in a nationwide manhunt for a pair of dangerous fugitives who will stop at nothing for freedom. There's Bonnie and Clyde on the run. Their violent tendencies could come through,

especially desperation. Both of them showed this greed. She didn't necessarily want to see him killed, but we all know how it ended. I was so blinded by this fantasy that he was presenting to her. His character came shining through full, bright beacon,

like a lighthouse. Evil. With its warm weather and breathtaking scenery, Tucson, Arizona ranks as one of the southwest's most popular places to call home. Really what draws people to Tucson is a sense of community, affordability, fun things to do and the climate that we have. It allows you to be active year round. On April 16, 2019, a dark cloud looms over that community when residents of one quiet neighborhood are jolted awake at 4 a.m.

They all awoke to the sounds of this explosion and this fire. They all awoke to the sounds of this explosion and this fire. Within seconds, Tucson dispatchers receive a flurry of calls. The calls reported the house that was fully engulfed in flames. The neighbors who called in were scared. So the fire department responded immediately. It was important to get this fire put out as quickly as possible. Not only so that they could get inside the residence to determine if anybody needed medical

help, but also to prevent that fire from spreading to other houses in the neighborhood. By daylight, firefighters are finally able to extinguish the blaze. But the home is destroyed. By the time they got it put out, there were portions of the roof that had caved in, portions of walls that had come down. The home was a complete loss.

And so Tucson Police Department arrived on scene. The first thing that they're going to collectively do between both of the field public safety resources is look for victims, which they didn't find that night. The owner of the house is missing. Where's the homeowner? Detectives don't have to wait long for the answer. Later on, on that same day, April 16, William Skip Bligh called Tucson police to request a check welfare on his brother, Frank.

Every Sunday, either he called me or I called him. And that last Sunday that I called him, which was April 7th, there was no answer. I called Monday, no answer. I called Monday, no answer. Wednesday I called, no answer. And I'm just interested, this is not like him at all. Something's not right here. So I called the police department.

Police ultimately responded out to the house and it was at that point that police realized, oh, this is the same house where that house fire and explosion had occurred earlier on. The important part of the conversation with William at that point in time was to obtain as much information about Frank as possible to assist us in locating him. Originally from Connecticut, 72-year-old Frank Bly had called Arizona home for more than four decades.

He graduated in 1966 and he joined the Air Force. He spent two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was a helicopter and jet mechanic and he ended up being stationed in Tucson, Arizona. And he fell in love with it out there. After retiring from active duty, Frank bought a home in Tucson and worked in the aviation industry. So he joined the Air Force Reserves. Loved that. He went flying all over the world. He got a job working for Grumman Northrop, and they were working on it. He was either a stealth fighter

or a stealth bomber, one or the other. It was all top secret. In his spare time, the deserts and long stretches of highway outside Tucson afforded Frank the opportunity to practice his two favorite hobbies. My brother was a very avid gun collector. He had quite an extensive collection of guns. Also, my brother had more to say. He had Harleys, he had dirt bikes.

There was times that when I used to go out and visit him, we'd go riding together. In fact, he rode with a bunch of guys from Tucson up to Sturgis, South Dakota. My brother used to go on these trips all the time because he was married. He was a guy, you know? He did what he wanted.

By 2019, Frank had settled into his golden years and enjoyed a weekly social routine. He would go into breakfast with his friends the same day of the week, every week without fail. He would go to breakfast with his friends the same day of the week, every week, without fail. He would go to the same bar, meet with the same group of friends, have one or two beers, and then he would leave and go home. He kept his circle very small. He was close with his brother and his family and was living his life.

his brother and his family and was living his life. But on April 16th, 2019, concern grows when Frank's home erupts into flames and the 72-year-old is nowhere to be found. Inside, detectives uncover evidence of arson. Tucson police concluded that accelerants were found inside the house. They have the odor of gasoline. And that led them to conclude that the fire was deliberately set. When you are searching a residence that has been burned,

it creates a number of different challenges. First and foremost is that fires destroy physical evidence. It prohibits the responding, investigating detectives to be able to obtain any sort of physical evidence from the crime scene itself, such as DNA, or fibers, or fingerprints. As investigators were walking through the house, police investigators noted multiple gun safes

that were inside the residence. They were open, unlocked, and they were empty. There were no guns inside them. When the investigators find large, open, empty safes inside of a house, it's certainly a suspicious factor at that point. They would have been concluding that someone had perhaps deliberately set the fire after having taken items, probably valuable items, from inside those safes.

It was potential evidence of some kind of theft or potential robbery. But the fire damage eradicated a lot of potential evidence for us The only place that was left intact so to speak was the garage portion of the residence The information that skip gave investigators was that his brother Frank had two cars He had an old pickup truck and he had a red or maroon passenger car. And now that pickup truck was in the garage when the fire occurred. However, the red passenger car was missing.

We need to locate Frank. Coming up, a discovery on a remote highway all but confirms detectives' worst fears. At that point, we were treating it as a homicide investigation. There had been a considerable amount of blood in the trunk. And a disturbing phone call reveals someone else may be in danger.

She called me, and she's like, I got to leave town. She was panicked. I was really concerned that he would just kill her. that he would just kill her. [♪ dramatic music playing, gunshot sound effect, gunshot sound effect, gunshot some role in his house burning down, we know that Frank's missing and a vehicle is missing from his residence as well. As authorities begin searching for Frank's car, detectives follow up with Frank's brother, William Skip-Bly, to update him on the situation. We were in a complete fog in what was going on. My brother's missing.

I knew something wasn't right. It was very unusual for Frank to kind of drop off the radar. According to Skip, Frank led a very regimented lifestyle, so he had a very set routine and he rarely deviated from that routine. I told the detectives that the Cow Pony was his Sunday routine. Detective Cheek and I spoke to a bartender at the Cow Pony,

whom remembered Frank and knew who he was. The last person that we were able to find at that point who had seen him was the folks at the Cow Pony that saw him leaving on, I believe, April 7th. According to the bartender, Frank was alone that night, but a few weeks earlier, someone had joined him for drinks. Questioning the bartender further, she remembered a friend of Frank's coming in

that was introduced as Sue. When detectives run the name by William, he informs them that Sue is Frank's close friend, 58-year-old Susan Barksdale. Detectives learned that Susan and Frank were long-time friends. Sue was married to Frank's boss. I guess that's how he ended up meeting her.

My brother, he got to be very good friends with Sue and the family and the kids and everything. They called him Uncle Frank. Susan was married previously and divorced. After that, Susan had married another male by the name of Blaine Barksdale. Susan lived in the Sholo area, and that's a location roughly four hours north of Tucson.

It's comprised of several towns. One of those is Vernon, Arizona. ["Darkest Night"] those is Vernon, Arizona. So Detective Cheek and I interviewed Susan. Through the course of the interview, Susan seemed concerned for Frank. She had no idea what had happened with Frank and didn't know where he was.

We asked him when the last time she saw Frank was. According to Susan, she had last seen Frank on April 12th. She said both she and Blaine had been in Tucson. They had seen Frank. They'd been at Frank's house. She and Blaine ended up driving back to Vernon and she claimed that that was the last time she'd spoken with him.

Susan promises to contact authorities if she hears from Frank. In the meantime, Tucson police focus their efforts on finding Frank's car and release its description to neighboring communities. One day later, they get a call from the sheriff's department. The day after the fire, Pima County Sheriff's Deputy sees a vehicle on South Wilmot Road, about 10 miles away from Frank Bly's house.

And the vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road. Nobody's inside the vehicle. When the Sheriff's Department personnel ran the license plate, it returned to Frank and they notified us that they had located the vehicle. That was a huge step forward in the investigation. Immediately, personnel from the department responded to this area and began a ground search in an attempt to locate Frank. There's no sign of Frank in the surrounding desert,

but when authorities search his car, they make a harrowing discovery. The vehicle was fairly clean. However, in the trunk, there was visual signs of blood. And there were bags with rags that were soaked in gasoline. And there were bags with rags that were soaked in gasoline. We used a chemical reagent to figure out that there had been a considerable amount of blood in the trunk at one time. They were able to collect and figure out that it was Frank's blood through DNA tests. The fact that the blood was in Frank's own vehicle led them to the conclusion that Frank

had been seriously injured, he had bled, and then somebody had placed him into the trunk of his own car where he'd been for at least some period of time after that. Just based on the quantity of blood that appeared to have been in that trunk, I believed that Frank had died, that he had been murdered. At that point, we were treating it as a homicide investigation. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to suggest who had put him there.

There weren't many leads at this point in time. Then, one week into the investigation, the daughter of Frank's close friend, Susan Barksdale, reaches out to law enforcement, claiming to have received an alarming call from her mother. She called me from a random number, and she's like, I gotta go, I gotta leave town. Like, you could hear it in her voice.

She was panicked. Jada expressed to investigators that Susan's husband Blaine was a danger. And she was concerned that he hurt Frank. I believe Blaine saw Frank as a threat. He knew that, you know, Frank and my mother had been good friends for many years.

They would hang out together. They would go to eat together. Susan would go out shooting with Frank. But Jada claims that when her mother married Blaine, he became jealous of her relationship with Frank. Blaine had a lot of control over my mom. And he was very verbally, emotionally, and eventually physically abusive with my mother.

Anyone who knew my mom knew that she's very assertive in her opinions and beliefs, just a very strong personality, and he was able to chip away at her very strong personality until she was just terrified to have an opinion about anything. I know that Frank did confront Blaine about this abuse and said to keep your hands off Sue.

Blaine knew that Frank could help her get on her feet if she decided to leave him. Jada tells detectives that she can no longer get a hold of her mother, and she believes Blaine has taken her hostage. I was really concerned that he would just kill her. I believe her life is absolutely in danger. Authorities immediately attempt to locate Susan and Blaine

at their residence, but they're too late. They are nowhere to be found. We did, however, locate some of Blaine's family members up in that area, and they were able to tell us that Blaine talked about signing over titles of vehicles to them. He talked about, hey, can you check on our dog? We're leaving our dog. That was obviously vehicles to them. We talked about, hey, can you check on our dog? We're leaving our dog.

That was obviously suspicious to us. That was suspicious to family as well. It didn't make any sense as to why Susan and Blaine would be doing this. By all appearances, it seemed that Susan and Blaine were just walking away from that property. They're in vehicles, they're in dog, and never coming back. It was clear to us at that point

that Susan and Blaine were going on the run. was the past as horrific as it seems. Each week we tackle a brand new subject from life in Nelson's Navy to death in ancient Rome. From maniacal monarchs to Soviet spies to the history of milk. And we ask the questions other history shows are too chicken to. How would you feel about consummating your marriage in front of your in-laws in medieval Britain? No thanks. How would your puny little arms fair as part of the crew on a Viking longboat? And would you be up for a night out to see a sapient pig in Victorian London?

This is Oh What A Time, the podcast that the Times newspaper described as very funny, if less scholarly than its rivals, probably fair. This podcast is guaranteed to make your life better by reminding you that things in the past were so much worse That's all the time available every Monday and Tuesday on Wondry with two bonus episodes every month on Wondry Plus My name is Madison McGee from LA Times Studios comes its latest series LA crimes from deep dives into the Menendez brothers to conversations about why Bravo TV seems to be a hotbed of white-collar criminals We'll cover it all we'll speak with LA Times reporters and others in the true crime industry to put a lens,

not just on these cases, but on our own culture's fascination with them and what that says about us. Tune in every Wednesday wherever you stream your podcast. One week after Frank Bly's home erupted into flames, Frank is presumed dead, and detectives are searching for his friend Susan Barksdale and her husband Blaine. Blaine and Susan were nowhere to be found. In speaking with some of their friends and family, we learned that they had indicated that they were leaving town. So investigators served a search warrant on the Barksdale's property in Vernon.

Through the course of that search, detectives were able to locate some cell phones. We were able to actually access the content of those cell phones. When detectives perform a forensic analysis on the phones, they uncover a potential clue. One of the cell phones that belonged to Susan, there were deleted text messages that we

recovered from that phone. Around the time that Frank's home went up in flames, Susan had been in contact with a person named Brent. And so that became immediately significant to us. They were sent the morning of the fire on April 16th. And in those text messages, Susan expressed concern that Brent and Blaine had become separated from each other in Tucson, where Frank lived.

The phone number for Brent was researched by Tucson police detectives. They were able to figure out Brent was Brent Mallard. We learned that Blaine was his uncle. On April 24, we worked with police in the Avondale area. That's in the outskirts of Phoenix. And they were able to locate an address associated to Brent Mallard. When detectives meet with Brent, they're immediately taken off guard by his appearance.

Detective Cheek and I observed that he had numerous bandages over different parts of his body. He had abrasions on his face, and the marks on him and the injuries appeared to be that of burns. I remember just looking at Detective Cheek and having a moment, because burns all over your body are, that's, that's a clue. Detectives asked Brent to accompany them to the station for an interview. We didn't tell Brent initially what we were talking to him

for, and he was cooperative and calm. Brent initially stated that he was, in fact, burned, but he stated that it was due to a welding accident. Coincidentally, he talked about sustaining these burns around the same time period as the fire that occurred at Frank's house. We didn't believe his story, and we began to press him even harder in the interview

for him to just come clean and tell us the truth. And it was at that point that he admitted that he'd lied to us. Brent eventually told Detective Cheek and I that he was involved in the arson in lighting the fire at Frank's house. According to Brent, on April 15th, his uncle had asked him for a ride to Tucson.

Brent advised that Blaine provided a gun as payment and gave Brent a Ruger pistol for him to drive to Tucson. He and Blaine drove to Tucson. They went to a house. And Blaine had a garage remote control, or clicker, that activated the remote control and opened the garage at this residence. Blaine had entered the home and had some gasoline.

Blaine took the gasoline and spilled it throughout the house. Brent tells police, to his shock, gasoline and spilled it throughout the house. Brent tells police to his shock, his uncle ordered him to ignite the accelerant. Blaine told Brent that he was going to do it and that if he had told anyone, he would be in serious danger. Brent felt extremely threatened,

stated he got a rolled up magazine. Lit the magazine and threw it further into the hole. A fire flashback at Brent. He ended up sustaining some serious burn injuries to his hands and his arms and his face. Brent described running away on foot, and he said that Blaine took off in a vehicle. This was huge, because this was the first time we had anybody directly implicating Blaine Barksdale in the arson fire that occurred at the residence.

Detectives finally have the confession they need, but the whereabouts of Frank's body is still unclear. Brett indicated that at no time did he see the homeowner or know who Frank Blight was. Brent said that he had no idea as to where Frank was, and he said that Blaine was very cautious not to give him details. It didn't make much sense to a degree

why Brent had involved himself in this particular incident. However, I think that part of Brent wanted to prove himself to Blaine and also felt that he was a dangerous person and didn't want to cross him. Based upon the descriptions given and his admitted involvement, Brent was arrested for arson. for ours. Hoping to learn more about Blaine and where he might go, detectives continue interviewing his family members. The same day that we interviewed Brent Mallard, we interviewed his mother, Thalene, Blaine's

sister. Thalene tells detectives that her brother had a troubled childhood growing up in Tucson. He dropped out of school. He was arrested right before his 18th birthday for selling drugs and stealing and selling like ATVs and things. I believe he got seven years that time for that. Biden got married right after he got out of prison, I believe. Had three children and then went back to prison,

another drug case, and they divorced the while he was in prison. So basically he kind of grew up in the prison system. ["The Last Supper"] After his release from prison in 2011, Thylene says Blaine earned an honest living as a woodworker. He went to work building cabinets and things like that, crayon and that type of thing.

And that was where he met Susan. I thought that she was great for Blaine. I didn't know what she saw in him, but I was happy because I thought maybe that that would settle him down. I guess I was happy because I thought maybe that that would settle him down. I guess I was wrong. Thylene has no idea where her brother is now, and she agrees with Jada that Susan is likely in danger.

We continually interviewed friends and family of Susan Barksdale and Blaine Barksdale. And what family has been able to tell us is that after the fire, Blaine ultimately procured or purchased an RV for cash. Detectives issue a BOLO for the RV and alert the U.S. Marshal Service. The U.S. Marshals have more resources in that regard because if somebody flees the state of Arizona, the Marshals can be anywhere. They can use a variety of different methods

to locate and track potential fugitives. On May 23, more than a month after Frank went missing, authorities get a hit when Blaine and Susan are spotted in New York. They were pawning items of property in a pawn shop. Anytime a person goes to a pawn shop, they have to show a photo ID if they're going to sell or pawn an item at that pawn shop. I don't know if Susan realized it, but when she did that,

it set up a flag. And as soon as we conducted a records query on her name, we were able to determine that that pawn had actually occurred, where it had occurred, and surveillance images of Susan actually going into the shop. Detectives are relieved to learn Susan is alive, but whether she is acting of her own accord or not is still a mystery to law enforcement. We knew they were in the motor home and we passed it on to the New Jersey, New York deputies

out there. They were able to locate them at a motel parking lot in the Rochester area late that night. In the early morning hours of May 24, 2019, authorities set up a perimeter. They had the state troopers, the SWAT, they had brought everybody out there. If you take in the criminal history of Blaine with the desperation and then mix that with guns that were missing and taken, you never know what you're going to get. Coming up, law enforcement have their suspect in their crosshairs, but a daring escape will

leave the whole case in jeopardy. When you're on the run, your propensity for violence is very high. And I've never seen an operation of this magnitude. More than a month into the search for assumed murder victim Frank Bly, authorities in upstate New York have surrounded a motor home linked to their primary suspect, Blaine Barksdale, and his wife Susan. We didn't know what Blaine was going to do.

We certainly considered the possibility that he was armed and dangerous. When you're on the run and you're fleeing, your propensity for violence is very high. At 3.30 a.m., authorities cautiously approached the vehicle and announced their presence. We just had to wait and be patient till Blaine came up. Then moments later, Susan came out. After more than three weeks on the run, the Barksdale's are taken into custody Then moments later, Susan came out. After more than three weeks on the run, the Barksdale's are taken into custody and transported

to the Monroe County Jail in Rochester, New York. When Arizona detectives arrive, Blaine refuses to give a statement. But Susan appears anxious to talk. When I first saw Susan, she seemed extremely frightened. She was crying and it sure appeared like she had two black eyes. It was the first thing that I noticed about her. Susan claimed that she had been beaten by Blaine throughout their trip across the country.

In addition, she told Detective Cheek and I some additional information about the events prior to Frank's disappearance. Frank had indicated that if anything were to happen to him, he wanted her to be responsible for his items. Frank had a large number of his gun safes throughout his house. Susan claims that Blaine was present when Frank showed her

the combinations. Susan explains that Blaine saw an opportunity to make some quick cash. She'd indicated that Blaine had been taking guns from Frank for a period of time. She'd indicated that he was selling some of those guns to a male in the Sholo area. Blaine was a very opportunistic person, very manipulative.

He knew that Frank had guns, money. He saw an opportunity to benefit from Frank. Susan said that Blaine was afraid that Frank was going to find out that he had been an opportunity to benefit from Frank. Susan said that Blaine was afraid that Frank was gonna find out that he had been stealing his guns from him. According to Susan, that's when Blaine made the decision to kill Frank. On April 12th, 2019, four days before the fire,

Susan was visiting with Frank at his home when Blaine arrived and a confrontation broke out between the two men. Frank's guns had been stolen. Frank confronted Blaine about that. She says that Blaine and Frank were having a suspicion or an argument. We're having a discussion or an argument. Frank left to walk down the hall, and that Blaine walked down the hall after Frank. She heard a loud thud,

and she figured something bad had happened. She said she didn't see what happened. She came around a corner. She described seeing Frank on the ground, bleeding from his head, and Blaine standing over him. And that's when she learned that Frank had been killed by Blaine.

Susan told us that Blaine forced her to clean up the blood and threatened to come after Susan's family if Susan did not help him clean this evidence up. One point, Blaine moved Frank's body, but Susan claimed she didn't know where. Susan described driving her car back from Tucson to Vernon. And she said that Blaine drove Frank's car. At one point in time, she lost track of where Blaine was.

And then he later arrived at their property up in Vernon. Susan denied that she had any involvement after that point besides cleaning up. Susan says that she was a victim of Blaine and was doing what Blaine directed her to do. Susan felt threatened. Despite her willingness to cooperate with law enforcement, authorities

charged Susan with multiple crimes, including first degree murder, first degree burglary, arson, felony criminal damage, and theft. Susan was able to confirm much of the evidence and our suspicions of everything. What Susan couldn't confirm was the location of Frank's remains. Blaine faces the same charges as Susan. And in late August of 2019, the couple is extradited back to Arizona.

A subcontractor or a third-party vendor was responsible for the transportation of Blaine and Susan. This guard company was driving Blaine and Susan through South Utah. When Blaine claimed that he had to use the restroom, Blaine was able to slip his handcuffs in front of his person, grab ahold of the guard. The guards were not armed at the time of this offense. There was no weapons readily available to them. Blaine was able to force both guards into the holding area of the vehicle.

He had both of them remove their shirts, which were uniform shirts. Blaine and Susan put these shirts on. He detained them, locked them up inside the transport van. They kidnapped the guards. They drove quite a distance. At some point, Blaine and Susan left the guards, locked in this transport vehicle, and they left the unknown individuals in this red truck. I was in complete disbelief. I've done this job for a number of years and I've never had anything even remotely like this

happen on any of my cases that I've investigated. We believe that Susan was an accomplice at this point, that Blaine was the one that was kind of the mastermind of how they were gonna be able to get away at that point when they kidnapped the guards. They were going on the run, and they were going to try to put as much distance between themselves and investigators as possible. And at that point, the chase was on. MUSIC

In August of 2019, Blaine Barksdale and his wife Susan have escaped after being extradited for the murder of Frank Bly. Authorities from Utah to Arizona are desperately searching for the fugitives after receiving reports they've been spotted in a red truck. They've gained access to this red GMC pickup truck. It became famous overnight in Arizona. Every billboard over all the interstates and the highways, DPS had already put up, you know, a lookout for that vehicle. The media had really picked up on that.

There's Bonnie and Clyde on the run. look out for that vehicle. The media had really picked up on that. There's Bonnie and Clyde on the run. Obviously, Blaine's actions indicated that he was a threat and that he was dangerous. Additionally, what's important to remember is that we have still dozens and dozens of firearms that are unaccounted for. We didn't know if Blaine had hidden those firearms somewhere

where he might obtain access to them. We believe that from Blaine in Utah they came down into kind of northeast Arizona, and that's where the Marshals and our task force and all of our partners really kind of picked up the pieces and started the hunt. As the manhunt intensifies, authorities work to track down the couple's known contacts. In her earlier conversation with detectives, Susan had dropped a possible tip. Susan stated that Blaine sold a number of Frank's guns to a man in Sholo, Arizona, and identified him. We responded to his residence and interviewed him. He was in possession of a large number of guns,

but he purchased those guns not from Blaine, but from Susan. Blaine has a pretty checkered criminal history. He has a past. But how was he able to turn this lady, you know, who lived a very normal life for all these decades, now into being something else? to be able to turn this lady, you know, who lived a very normal life for all these decades, now into being something else. Both of them were committing criminal acts.

You know, both of them showed this greed that they needed to have more money, and they thought it was a good idea to get that money by selling Frank's guns. I think all of those reasons are why Susan could bypass and look past the long friendship that she had with Frank. She didn't necessarily want to see him killed, I'm sure.

But we all know how it ended. 16 days into the manhunt, authorities receive a tip that the couple could be hiding out in a notorious stretch of northern Arizona. It's a very rural, rugged, remote area, and a lot of people will go there just to hide from law enforcement. We were able to put together information

from a call that we got to this guy that's on probation that lives in an area that happened to be in custody in the pass with Blaine. There's a likelihood that Blaine and Susan are there. And so that's when the decision was made and it was put together of a plan that we're going to go and surround this house. It was a large lot with a lot of vehicles and outbuildings.

There's no streetlights in this area. It was a dark night. We wanted to make sure that we can make contact and as safe as possible in case Blaine, Susan, or this other guy decided we're going to shoot it out. It was a very tense period of time there. We were not going to allow them to escape again. While a helicopter moves into position,

authorities on the ground move in. We started making the commands over the loudspeaker, both by loudspeaker that was down on the ground and also we asked the helicopter to put out announcements or turn on the spotlight. We wanted Blaine and Susan to know that there was nowhere that they could escape from or that they could go to. Their only safe option was to come to us.

escape from or that they could go to, their only safe option was to come to us. After several tense minutes, the homeowner emerges and Susan follows. Moments later, Blaine Barksdale exits the residence with his hands up and he's complying with the directives and the orders of the officers. As he approached the marshals that were getting ready to take him into custody, it was almost like he had a change of mind last minute and he became very aggressive. He started cussing out the officers who were in front of him. He dropped his hands close to his waistband. Blaine was pretty agitated, still wasn't complying. They used beam backgrounds when they hit Blaine.

One of them struck him in the leg and kind of took his leg out from under him. That's when the team goes in there and puts cuffs on him. With Susan and Blaine Barksdale finally in custody, authorities pushed them for intel on the whereabouts of Frank Bly's body. And we were able to negotiate plea agreements in the case, so Blaine agreed to plead guilty to a second degree murder with a sentencing range of 19 to 22 years.

And as part of his plea deal, he had to reveal the whereabouts of Frank Bly. He stated that he pushed Frank Bly's body out over the edge of a cliff in Salt River Canyon. MUSIC Following an exhaustive search, Arizona authorities finally recover Frank's remains on January 4, 2022. Everybody said, oh, you must have closure now.

You never have closure. You never will. Because you always sit there and say, why did this happen? Blaine said he had been kind of out of his mind during that time. He'd been using meth. He felt terrible about getting himself into trouble, killing Frank, and then getting Susan into trouble as well. Blaine was never blaming Susan for Frank's death

and was trying to take as much of the blame as he could throughout the process. So the relative roles of Blaine and Susan were pretty clear. Blaine was more culpable. Blaine admits that. My mother was under extreme duress during this entire time period. The only reason my mom went anywhere with that man was in an effort to protect her family because our lives were under threat by Blaine.

Susan says she's a victim. She says that Blaine made a lot of threats towards her and forced her to do things that she didn't want to do. Only Susan really knows how much of a victim she was and how willing or unwilling of a participant she was in Frank's death. Prosecutors also cut a deal with Susan. Prosecutors also cut a deal with Susan. Susan pled guilty to manslaughter, which is a less serious crime than second-degree murder and first-degree murder. She was sentenced to five years' prison.

I believe that Frank was trying to stand up for my mom, who was being terribly abused, and Blaine ended his life for it. None of this would have happened to Frank if it weren't for Blaine, and None of this would have happened to Frank if it weren't for Blaine, and none of it would have happened to Frank if it weren't for Susan. If those two don't come together,

Frank's still with us today. -♪ -♪ My brother, I miss our Sunday conversations. You know, going out and seeing him. He lived the life that he wanted, which I couldn't ask anything less of anybody.

In September 2019, Brent Millard pled guilty to arson. He was sentenced to seven years probation. Susan Barksdale served four years in prison. She was released in 2023 at the age of 63. Blaine Barksdale will be released in 2041 at the age of 77. It's all a lighthearted nightmare on our podcast, Morbid. We're your hosts. I'm Alina Urquhart. And I'm Ash Kelly. And our show is part true crime, part spooky, and part comedy. The stories we cover are well researched. Of the 880 men who survived the attack, around 400 would eventually find their way to one another and merge into one larger group. With a touch of humor.

Shout out to her. Shout out to all my therapists out there. There's been like eight of them. A dash of sarcasm and just garnished a bit with a little bit of cursing. That mother- is not real! And if you're a weirdo like us, I'd love to cozy up to a creepy tale of the paranormal. Or you love to hop in the way back machine

and dissect the details of some of history's most notorious crimes. You should tune into our podcast, Morbid. Follow Morbid on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to episodes early and ad free by joining Wondery Plus and the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.