Snapped: Women Who Murder - Donna Blanton

Episode Date: February 14, 2021

The death of a state trooper leads to an all-out hunt for his killer, but the evidence points to his new wife and a big secret.Season 18, Episode 10Originally aired: October 16, 2016See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondries Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Susan and Larry had been married for almost 30 years. They seem to be your typical family. They'd raised four kids.

She loved children and made a home together. Mr. O Country House. But one afternoon, when Susan came home to their quiet country house. She has just found her husband dead. The room looked like a bad horror movie. Was it a robbery gone bad? The house was ransacked. Someone settling a school.

A couple of guys were going to come down and slay at his throat. Or did this typical family have a dark secret? She just couldn't take it anymore. Go inside with exclusive family interviews. She's one of the strongest people I know. And find out what pushed one woman to her breaking point. She just snapped. And what? It would cost her worse justice. the city of August 8, 2012. It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon in this tiny community of 1300, an hour south of Nashville. One of those small towns where if you blink, you'll miss it.

There's just like two gas stations and a post office. The kind of town where nothing ever happens, at least not usually. Favorite county, 911, where is your emergency? Right over, right over, you're ready. Right over. The first person on the line was screaming and incoherent. The distraught woman on the phone was 54-year-old Susan Walsh. She was hysterical. I don't think you could really make out what the nature of the call was.

And when the operator asked her to slow down, you're going to have to calm down, okay? Susan handed the phone to her 27-year-old daughter, Don. Don gets on the line and you can understand her a little bit better. Yes, ma'am. Honey, what's going on? I was in Nashville and my mom's in my cell. She went to Nashville to spend time with her daughter's children. She's coming back to the other church of Jesus.

One of them was having a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. But when Susan and Don got home that afternoon, it's like someone's on a funeral something. Things appeared to be ransacked. It's furniture everywhere and appear to be ransacked. It's fronted to everywhere. It needs to shut the lake flowing out. Although according to Don, whoever had ransacked the house appeared to be long gone. They're not still there.

No, no, nobody here. Just me and my mom. All right, honey. I'll get you an officer out there, OK? 9-1-1, dispatches is a theft call. And the deputy nearest the scene responded accordingly. The first deputy who goes out there, he took his time

because he thinks he's responding to a theft call that's already occurred. But when he arrived at the house, almost 30 minutes later. When he pulls up in the driveway, there's dawn and Susan, They're crying hysterical. And once the deputy went inside the house, he discovered why Susan was crying.

She has just found her husband dead. The deputy found 55-year-old Larry Walls inside the house sprawled dead on his bedroom floor. He had been stabbed and beaten severely. Blood was everywhere splattered all over the place. But was the bloody scene really the result of a random home invasion? Or was there a deadly secret lurking in Larry and Susan's past?

Born in 1957, Susan Bloom spent her childhood in Indiana. She grew up in a loving home, Christian family. She's brought up Catholic. One of eight children, Susan was quiet and reserved growing up. Susan was kind of shy, but once you got to know her, she was a really loving person. She was the type of person that would do anything for you. Not that many people got past her shyness, especially boys. She was kind of quiet, stepped herself, you know, she wasn't a very outgoing person

as far as me. I don't think she ever got a lot of attention from other guys. In fact, it wasn't until 1982 when she was well out of high school, working and living on her own, that she finally caught the eye of one young man, Larry Wals. They met at a bar. Born the same year as Susan, Larry had grown up not far from her in the town of South Bend. He worked in construction. He was a hard worker. And when he met Susan, things quickly became serious.

They seemed to be getting off of the... Within months of meeting, Susan and Larry were married. And just a few months after that, Susan gave birth to a daughter. They had Melissa, who was the oldest. Three more children followed in quick succession, a boy and two girls. She loved children, always, always had a house full of kids. And then around 1990, when Susan and Larry were both in their early 30s, they left Indiana behind and moved their growing family to Tennessee.

They have family here, three, I believe, of Larry's uncles, his fat brothers lived here, around Bedford County area. Once in Tennessee, the couple and their four children, the oldest only eight, moved into a trailer park where Larry had a range for them to live rent-free. He was like the maintenance guy for the trailer park pint and or maybe fixing a fence or plumbing or something. He could do different stuff. However, despite free rent, life was hard. It was just a little tabatum trailer. And money was typed too, despite the fact that Susan got a factory job to help support

the family. She worked at Samford, which is a pencil company. They lived pretty much paycheck to paycheck. However, after years of scrimping and saving, by 1998, the family was finally able to rent a bigger place, just outside the tiny town of Unionville. Just a old country, quiet, two-story outhouse. Larry put his carpentry skills to work, turning the old house into a home. You know, needed work.

He also, in a repeat of his earlier trailer park deal, did chores the property's absentee owner. He worked on the farm for the O'Gatta, take it off the rent. And when he wasn't working for their landlord, he was either out in the garden. It had a great garden every year. He's always proud of his gardens. Or doing odd jobs to earn a little extra money. He was somewhat of a handyman, not necessarily steadily employed. Little construction, little carpentry, just kind of a jack of all trades. Just enough to make his bare money, pretty much.

For a steady paycheck, the family depended on Susan. It was mainly Mama, her money. She paid the bills. She worked at a federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal federal But Larry and Susan didn't seem to mind. They were just working class folks. They just seemed to be your typical family. And by the time Susan turned 54 in 2011, she'd been with Larry almost 30 years. There was some good times. And with the kids all grown,

it looked as if Susan could finally afford to take it easy. Oldest daughter Melissa was already out on her own, as was her sister Dawn. Dawn moved to an apartment in Antioch, and she was a suburb of Nashville. She had a couple jobs, she worked at, she always worked, supported herself. The couple's 28-year-old son still lived at home,

but he was supporting himself. He lived with them and he worked for an uncle doing construction. Susan and Larry's youngest daughter was still living with them too. She had been living with a boyfriend, they had broken up, so she moved back home with her children. It was a situation that the children's grandparents wasted no time taking advantage of, especially Larry. He was a pretty good granddad.

He liked to take him to his garden and let him play in the dirt and things like that. But Larry wouldn't be doting on his grandchildren for much longer because in August of 2012, just as a comfortable retirement was starting to seem possible for Susan, she would come home to find that her husband had been beaten to death. Coming up, the crime scene leaves the investigators puzzled.

There's something more to this than just a home invasion. As they wonder, is there a dark secret lurking deep in Susan's marriage? He would drink for a week. On the afternoon of August 8, 2012, 54-year-old Susan Walls called 911 to report a break-in at her rural Unionville, Tennessee home. Sue and her daughter Dawn returned to the residence to find the door unlocked. Someone's broken into the house, what y'all are going to do. But when the first deputies arrived on the scene

more than 20 minutes later, they discovered that they were dealing with far more than a break-in. They found Sue's husband, Don's father, Larry, deceased on the floor. The 55-year-old had been murdered. His head was just bashed in. He had obviously had a multitude of stab wounds all over his body. And it didn't look like he'd made any attempt to resist.

He had virtually no defensive looms of any type. It was apparent that he had been in bed when he was attacked. There was one prominent bloodstain at the head of the bed. Which led the investigators to conclude that Larry had been killed in his sleep. Why he'd been killed didn't appear to be a mystery either. Contents of drawers have been taken out, thrown about the house, couch cushions, have been turned over and thrown on the floor.

It was apparent to us that the house had been ransacked. It definitely made it look like it was, they were looking for something. And Larry, he may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was perhaps a burglary that went wrong. When the burglar panics and murders the homeowner. So, trying to get a handle on when the break-in could have occurred,

the investigators turned to the only witnesses they had, Susan, and her 27-year-old daughter, Don. Question by the investigators, Susan told them that she had gotten up early that morning, shortly before her son, who still lived at home, had gone to work. He left for work around 630 that morning. Susan said that she and her youngest daughter who also lived at home had left shortly after that to take Susan's grandchildren to Nashville for the day. One of the children was having a birthday.

They were going to have a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese in Nashville. And Larry, according to Susan, he had been awake when she left that morning. She described how that morning she fixed him breakfast, kissed him goodbye and headed to Nashville. Susan said her daughter Dawn had joined them at Chuckie Cheese. She lived in Nashville. And then after leaving the restaurant, Dawn, Susan, and her youngest daughter had all driven back to her daughter Melissa's house near Unionville. I dropped my younger sister off and let the kids play.

And then, while her grandkids played at Melissa's, Susan and Dawn had driven home. They were supposed to come back. I never came back. She had returned home and found his body. The house had been robbed and he had been murdered. But who would do such a thing? Susan couldn't say. She said, I don't know who could have done this. Although, naturally, as Larry spouse,

and the person who found his body, the investigators had to consider Susan a potential suspect. Could she have had anything to do with his dad? She told us they had a good marriage. She said, we're like any married couple, we fight about different things, but overall, we have a loving relationship. And when the investigators questioned Dawn,

she backed her mother up 100%. She said their relationship wasn't perfect, but he was a good dad and a good grandfather. Her account of how they'd spent the day also matched Susan's story. Everybody had met up at Dawn's apartment and gone to Chuckie Cheese and then they'd come home and discovered this horrific crime. And just the same as Susan, Dawn said she had no idea who could have killed her father. Neither one of them said, you know, any reason why someone would do this to him.

They just didn't understand why something like this would happen. However, while Susan and Don said they had no idea who could have killed Larry, when the investigator started questioning the couple's friends and neighbors, they heard a very different story. According to most people, Larry had no shortage of enemies. It was kind of in my head a long list of people that there was problems with. Although according to friends and neighbors, Larry's real problem wasn't people. It was alcohol.

He had a drinking problem. I've been over there nine, 10 o'clock in the morning since I've seen him drinking. He'd go two, three days, always keep engines. He would drink for a whole week. You know, he wouldn't stop. And inevitably, when Larry was drunk, that's when his problems with people began.

He was a good guy when he wasn't drunk, when he started that drinking, though. He would always just try to start something. Which meant that there was no shortage of people with a grudge against Larry. He had been into a fight a couple weeks before that with his cousin's husband. Larry's nephew, him and Larry had been into a really violent fight a couple weeks before. Was it possible that rather than a robbery gone wrong,

someone Larry had picked a fight with had broken in and settled things once and for all? When the investigators took a closer look at the crime scene, a few things stood out. The house had been ransacked, but everything of any values was still in the house. They ransacked the house so that it would look as though they were there to steal.

But they hadn't come to steal. Instead, based on what the medical examiner uncovered in Larry's autopsy, the intruders had clearly come looking to kill. The medical examiner determined he had been stabbed 49 times, and he wanted the stab wounds would have killed him. In fact, it appeared that the intruders had been so determined to kill Larry that they'd more than finished the job.

Some of the wounds appeared to be host-mortem. It was an extremely violent crime. There's something more to this than just a stranger committing a home invasion of this home and in the process murdering Larry Walls. But while the investigators suspected Larry's murder was more than just a home invasion, they only knew two things for certain. One was that the bloody scene offered no clues to the killer's identity. There were prints couldn't identify them because they were smear. And the other was that Susan and Dawn had an airtight alibi. Chuck and Cheese asked for valence videos, so we were actually able to watch them,

just playing the games and things like that. That's where they were when the murder took place. Still, there were a few things about Susan's story that bothered the investigators. She talked about preparing Larry's breakfast that morning. She talked about him being up out of bed. Yeah, it was apparent that he had been in bed when he was attacked.

And then there was her 9-1-1 call. In the 9-1-1 call, she spends most of her time explaining where they've been that afternoon. What's going on, ma'am? I don't know why I was going to answer with my daughter. Her daughter, Dawn, did the same thing when she took the phone. I was an asshole, and my mom's from a cell phone. Her and my other sister. This more building up in Alabama than establishing what had happened at the residence.

Was Susan and Dawn's alibi as staged as the robbery? The investigators were starting to wonder. That did grow up a few red flags. However, the investigators had barely begun to suspect Susan and her daughter knew more about Larry's death than they let on when something happened that would break the case wide open. Coming up, an unsolicited tip reveals a possible conspiracy. She had found a couple of guys in Nashville.

But will it also reveal a shocking motive? She couldn't take it anymore. Summer is finally here, which means the great outdoors are hotter, more humid, and filled with bugs. Actually, come to think of it, there's no better way to spend the summer than an air-conditioned comfort while listening to your favorite podcasts. Discover the Summer of Podcast with two months free of Wondery Plus. With Wondery Plus, you get early and ad free access to your favorite podcasts.

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Visit Wondry.com or download the Wondry app to get started. By the evening of August 9th, it had been a little more than 24 hours since Sheriff's deputies had discovered Susan Wall's husband Larry brutally slain in the couple's home outside rural Unionville, Tennessee. It was a very, very bloody murder. Mr. Walls was at 48 times. And while it had initially looked as if the murder was the result of a robbery. Everything was turned upside down, the TV was overturned, just with everywhere. The investigators were starting to suspect that Susan knew more about her husband's death

than she had initially led on. Not only had the supposed robbers come and gone without taking anything, Susan seemed strangely preoccupied with establishing her alibi. The 911 called, she spent a great deal of time being very specific on where she was at at a particular time, which we thought was seemed unusual. And the investigators were still wondering about that.

When a few hours after the murder, they received an urgent call from the ex-boyfriend of Susan's youngest daughter. When he found out that Larry had been killed, he contacted the Sheriff's Department. He told us about a conversation that he had had with Susan a couple of weeks prior to Larry's killing. And what she had allegedly said may have explained why she had been so anxious to establish an

alibi. She told him or confided in him that she had found a couple of guys in Nashville who were going to come down and in her words slid his throat. At the time, the ex-boyfriend said he'd figured it was all talk on Susan's part, especially considering the cut-rate price the killers had apparently agreed to. He didn't believe that a hitman would kill someone for $400. That was a cheap, cheap price from life. But then, when he heard that Larry had been murdered. He realized that, yes, indeed, perhaps there is a hitman who would kill someone for $400. So at 9 o'clock on the evening of the ninth, after her daughter's ex-boyfriend

had come forward with his shocking information, the investigators asked Susan and her 27-year-old daughter, Dawn, to come back down to the sheriff's department for a follow-up interview. And once they sat down with Susan in the interrogation room, we've started confronting her with the testimony of the daughter's boyfriend. Accused of masterminding her husband's murder,

Susan didn't immediately deny it. Instead, she started telling the investigators an entirely new story, one that was very different from what she'd initially told them. It's a 180 degree change. The first statement was we had a great marriage. I can't understand why anyone would do this. But this time Susan begins talking about domestic violence. She talked about years of abuse that she had endured from Larry. She claimed that she had been a victim of it virtually of the entire length of their marriage. This went on for 30 years.

She couldn't take it anymore. According to Susan, the abuse was a product of her husband's alcoholism. You get a drunk on and yeah, you just lose it. And while Larry's drunken beatings were bad, Susan claimed that if she tried to leave him, he promised to take the kids and disappear. He told her she would never see him again. And if she ever tried to report his abuse. Larry threatened to kill Susan if anyone talked with police. I think she truly believed if she lived and took them kids,

he would find her and he would kill her. So according to Susan, she had lived in a nightmare for 30 years, mostly to protect her children. She claimed that your children had been victims. She said when we were grown, she would leave, but when we were grown, she still had my young sister, living with her and my brother, and she started having kids. So she pretty much started raising her grandkids.

And she just stayed. But after suffering for so long, why kill Larry now? What had pushed her over the edge? According to Susan, the answer was simple. She feared that he was now going to start abusing the grandchildren. And according to Susan, she was in a position to do something about it.

Thanks to her daughter, Dawn's new roommate, 25-year-old Jason Starrick. He apparently made himself out to be a badass. He claimed to have been a bounty hunter. Although the purported bounty hunter was currently waiting tables, which is how he'd met Don. They knew each other from having worked at Staking Shake. And according to Susan, it was Don who'd first approached Jason about killing her father. Don told Stick about the abuse

and this really enraged him. And his code, you just didn't hurt children. And then, once Dawn had convinced Jason to kill Larry. She said that Dawn made all the arrangements. They had actually set it up so that they would both be at Chuckie Cheese restaurant up in Nashville about 50 miles north so that they would have a solid alibi. Meanwhile, according to Susan, Jason had recruited a second man to help him carry out the

hit. 19-year-old Sean Gerhart. Sean Gerhart was just a follower. If Jason Stere could not gotten him involved, Sean Gerhardt's not the type of person that would have gone forth and committed a murder. Once the arrangements had been made and the accomplice recruited,

Susan said she had taken her grandchildren to Nashville and met with Dawn to establish their alibos while Jason and Sean drove out to Unionville to commit the murder. We think Larry was asleep when they came into the house. They'd stab him nearly 50 times. They beat him in the head so many times that as I recall, the medical examiner could not determine the number of wounds he had to his head.

And when they were sure Larry was dead, Jason and Sean went their separate ways. And then Sean returned back to Nashville to Chuck E. Cheese, met with Sue and Don and informed them that indeed Larry had been killed. Questioned after her mother, Don essentially confirmed everything Susan had just said. Dawn essentially confirmed everything Susan had just said. We confronted her with the fact that her mother had confessed. As a result of that, then Dawn confessed to her role in having Larry Keele. Dawn, according to her confession, had served as the middleman, arranging all the details of the hit. She confessed to having conversations

directly with Jason Sterec, and an agreement was reached between her and Sterec that she would pay Jason $400 for coming down or going down to Unionville to kill Larry. And while she hadn't paid them up front, Don did cover their expenses. There were some supplies that he needed to commit to killing, but he didn't have any money to pay for those supplies, so she had given him her debit card.

They went to Walmart where they purchased bandanas, rubber gloves. In addition to detailing the arrangements for the hit, Dawn also echoed everything that Susan had said about Larry being abusive. And she leveled a new accusation against her father. Dawn in her second statement did claim that Larry had sexually abused her. Once, when she was only 15, she had a lot of hate for Dady.

However, like her mother, Dawn said that her primary motivation was to protect an entirely new generation of victims, the grandchildren. Dawn's version was that we just could not allow this to continue. Although, despite that, Dawn claimed that she'd had second thoughts on the morning of the murder. As part of her confession, she told us that there was a point on the morning of the killing that she had tried to call it off. But she said that neither Jason nor Sean answered their phones or her texts. Apparently, they were already on their way to Unionville to commit the murder.

And Dawn claimed that her second thoughts had turned to horror, when she ensues and found her father's body. Dawn had asked smothering to death, and she actually became very upset about the way that they killed him, beaten him and stabbing him multiple times. They weren't supposed to have done it so violently. The gruesomeness of the murder I think had really worn particularly on Dawn. Which may explain why once her interview was over. Dawn actually agreed to try to assist and capture in both Jason Serik and Sean Gerhard. Surprisingly, once they had both confessions and Dawn's promise to cooperate, the investigators didn't place Susan and her daughter under arrest. They knew they had

already did it, but they actually let them leave. Whether the abuse claims had earned the investigator's sympathy, or they feared taking them into custody would tip off Sean and Jason. Susan and Dawn spent the night at a friend's house in Unionville. And of course they couldn't stay in the house because it was the crime scene. And I told them they could come and stay until everything was okay. But they were back at the sheriff's Department the next morning, where investigators had dawn call both Jason and Sean and leave messages on their voicemail. Dawn placed a call to them saying,

hey, my mother and I have the rest of your money. We would like to meet with you and give you the money. Unfortunately, the meeting never happened. Neither Jason nor Sean return Don's call. Apparently the two of them were suspicious, wouldn't communicate with her at all. So they had to go on sort of a man hunt for them. It was a short man hunt, though.

By late that night, both Jason, Starrick and Sean Gerhart were in custody. And when the investigators arrested the alleged hitmen, they discovered an amazing piece of evidence, considering it had been four days since the murder. Jason Sterec, his bell had blood on it. With the bloodstained belt apparently confirming Susan and Don's story, once Sterec and Gerhardt were in custody, the investigators finally placed the mother and daughter duo under arrest. For murder.

It was crazy, you know, it was the middle of the night, and it was a lot of police cars and police, and it was a little bit scary, you know, because they had my house surrounded. They came in and they arrested them. Coming up, Susan's trial hits mother against daughter. People looking at my life sentence will not hesitate to point to finger.

But will her eldest daughter, Rally, to her defense? She looks like she's pushing 80, because she's been beating her on so much. On May 5, 2014, almost two years after she'd called 911 and reported finding her husband Larry, dead in her rural Tennessee home, Susan Walls went on trial for murder. The 56-year-old was accused of hiring two men to commit the crime. It was going to be $400 to have him murdered. And Susan had already confessed to being in on the murder plot.

She admits that she was willing to pay for it. She admits she left the house to facilitate the oncoming end to commit the murder. The case was strong against Susan. However, while she had confessed to arranging the hit, Susan claimed that she had only killed Larry to escape decades of abuse. She had just had the crap knocked out of her

and she couldn't deal with it anymore. And her allegation certainly gave the prosecutors reason to worry. We were afraid that Jury might be sympathetic because he had been abusive to her in the past. But did that justify murder, not according to the prosecution's opening statement? She could have reached out to law enforcement,

and she didn't do that. Instead, prosecutors said that Susan had decided to take the law into her own hands. It was her idea to have her husband killed. And the prosecutors had a witness willing to back that out. Susan's 29-year-old daughter, don't. When people are looking at potential life sentence, they will not hesitate to point the finger at anyone else,

including a mother and a daughter. Like Susan, Dawn had confessed to being in on her father's murder. She acknowledged that she had told her mother about a couple of guys that she knew, and she felt like that she could get them to do it. She was very remorseful for what had happened. I think she felt just really bad about the role that she had played she felt like that she could get them to do it. She was very remorseful for what had happened. I think she felt just really bad about the role that she had played. And once charged with first-degree murder, Don had made a deal with the prosecutors to testify against her mother.

That agreement was made without any promises of leniency. And that may have been wise on the prosecutor's part, because while Dawn did take the stand for the prosecution, her testimony focused on her father's abuse. Dawn said that she had been sexually molested and described the abuse that had been going on against her and her mother and other family members, just all their lives. And she told the jury that fear had driven her and her mother to consider a desperate

solution. They had been discussing on and off since dawn was 15 the possibility of having Larry killed. It's very sad. You had an entire family that had suffered under this man for 30 years. But they never told the police. They let it build up until finally she snapped. Dawn said it was the spring of 2012,

when her mother had finally decided to turn their idol talk into action. There was one last incident of abuse, where Susan had gotten a black eye. It was no worse than what she'd endured for years, but this time, according to Dawn. She said, that's it, I've had enough. Tell her over the years and dealing with that. It was just too much.

She just couldn't take it anymore. And according to Dawn, when Jason Sterex said he was willing to kill Larry, her mother had leaped at the offer, and she had gone along with it, arranging everything according to her mother's wishes. It's like, why would you do that? It's my mom. Plus, according to Don, Susan told her that Larry was sexually abusing one of his grandchildren,

just as he allegedly abused her. I think Susan knew if she pushed Dawn's button on that particular issue, that that would get more cooperation from Dawn. Dawn testified that Susan had told Jason Starrick the same thing too, and gotten much the same reaction. He really became interested in being involved once he found out that the grandchildren were being harmed. But the prosecutors wondered,

was it possible that Dawn and Jason had both been played by Susan? There was zero indication that Larry Walls ever harmed a grandchild. Still, there was no denying that Larry had abused Susan. Everyone knew this was going on. And during the investigation, there had been no shortage of friends and neighbors willing to back up Susan's claims. You could expect every few weeks

that she would have a black eye or a busted mouth, bruises. However, the prosecution argued that Larry's abuse didn't excuse what Susan had done. This was not a situation where one day something happened and she grabbed a gun and defended herself. Susan had option. Including friends and neighbors that were more than willing to take her in, too. People testified that, yeah, we would that were more than willing to take her in to.

People testified that yeah, we would have been more than happy to let her live with us. So what her real motive was, I don't know, it was this to have her husband killed for whatever reason. This was a very violent crime that in our mind was completely unnecessary. But would the jury agree? When the defense started laying out their case, they portrayed Larry as a monster. The defense really centered on the abuse. And to counter Don's testimony, they had a powerful witness of their own, Susan's oldest daughter, Melissa.

She told about her upbringing, what life was with her father. According to Melissa, life with Larry was a nightmare. My brother was 10 years old. My dad would hit him and they have the tube I thought. He'd like to put fear in the kids. However, according to Melissa, no one had more to fear than her mother. I was eight years old and walked him j joke her just she passed out and hit the floor.

And there was no escape, her daughter claimed. Larry went after Susan because that's his bread and butter and that's his life. Mama worked so he could get drunk and go mess with other women and knew what he wanted to. Plus Melissa said that her mother was the only thing that stood between the children and Larry's drunken rage. She stepped in and took a meeting for us if she had to. And the beatings Susan endured were horrifying, according to her daughter.

She thought were downstairs, put her hair, kick her, and her. Throw anything you could at her. She looks like she's pushing 80, because she's been meet on so much. But while the defense made it clear that Susan had more than enough reason to want her husband dead, they disputed the idea that she had been the mastermind behind the murder. The defense essentially was that all she did was say a few things. She would say stuff when, you know, when he was drunk and hitting on her. I wish she was dead. You know, I wish he, someone would just kill him.

Instead, the defense argued that it was Susan's daughter Dawn, who'd followed through and arranged the hit. She's the one that set it up. It was her roommates. She's the one that gave the debit card to equip the murderers with the items that they needed to commit the murder. Everything's laid on Dawn.

And according to the defense, when she got caught, Dawn had taken the easy way out and cut a deal with the prosecutors, blaming the murder on her mother in an attempt to excuse her own guilt. Dawn said that it was all soo that soo done everything and she just was the backup. I don't believe any of that for a second. Perhaps, although as the prosecutors argued in closing, before the case went to the jury, no matter who had arranged

the details. The ultimate responsibility rested with Susan. If she had not wanted where he was dead, he wouldn't have been dead, because Don wouldn't have come up with this on her own and recruited these guys to murder her father. It was Susan getting Don involved, Don willing to to be involved and dawn getting Jason and Sean involved Coming up will the jurors send Susan to prison or Justice or will Larry's long history of abuse lead them to set her free. She spent 30 years in a prison, worse than any prison. On May 9, 2014, the jury announced that it had reached a verdict in the murder trial of 56-year-old Susan Walls.

The mother of four was accused of masterminding the August 2012 murder of her husband, Larry. She was part of the conspiracy, even though she didn't lay a hand on it. At trial, the defense argued that the murder had been motivated by decades of abuse at Larry's hands. We certainly were worried that the jury might feel sorry for her. Plus, they argued that it was Susan's daughter Don who'd really been behind the murder. She said it up where the men would come to the house and kill.

But would either of those be enough to sway the jury? It all came down to the reading of the verdict. The jury found her guilty. Susan Walsh was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. I was devastated. I really thought that she had a chance to go home. Instead, Susan received a sentence of 60 years for murder

and 21 years for conspiracy, although she would technically be eligible for parole. Given her age, she will die in prison unless she is successful once some type of appeal. Friends and supporters were outraged, considering all the abuse Susan had suffered. She had been through enough. She's been tortured, she's been abused for 30 years.

Where's the justice? And this sense of injustice grew even deeper. When Susan's daughter Dawn pleaded guilty and was sentenced to only 23 years for her role in the murder. How do you take tape people that charge with the same crime and the same everything and try to turn one against the other? How does one get 23 years and one gets life? Although according to her supporters, there is one consolation.

While Susan may be in prison, she's finally free of her husband's abuse. Even though she's in jail, she's not such a nervous, stressed out Rick anymore because she's spent 30 years in a prison worse than any prison. She's one of the strongest people I know to go through that for 30 years. And still keep going every day for her kids. Every day, she never gave up.

Donna Blanton appealed her second conviction. That appeal was denied. At her second trial, she was given a life sentence and is not eligible for her own. I love it. I love it.