Snapped: Women Who Murder - Judith Singer

Episode Date: October 9, 2022

After a young California father is ambushed on the steps of his own home, Santa Clara detectives uncover a complex murder plot that ultimately leads them to an unexpected mastermind who's been hiding in plain sight all along.Season 27, Episode 04Originally aired: April 5, 2020Watch 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.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wonder East 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. She was a beautiful socialite. She always tried to have that Maryland Monroe type persona. He was a hard-partying businessman who could never be pinned down. I think he felt he had done well by marrying her.

But when this fun-loving playboy falls victim to a vicious attack, the party is cut short. They had five or six soldiers at the cocaine and seven or eight to ten thousand dollars. We initially thought that that's a problem because for dope hit. The ensuing investigation will uncover a web of lust, power, and deceit.

She writes these rapturous things all about what it's like to sleep with them. They had a lot of problems going on. Everything was a battle. And when the truth is revealed, it will bring investigators face-to-face with a ruthless killer hiding in plain sight. He's gonna give him $10,000 to do the murder. I think there's a great deal of evil in her.

He goes, I know who you are, and, Santa Clara, California. It's around 9.30 p.m. as Howard Wittkins' friends, Robert and Kathleen pull up to his residence. Howard had quite a few friends, and he had currently arranged for some to get together on the weekend, and he didn't show up, which wasn't a little unusual. They went over to do a security check. See if he's OK.

As Robert and Kathleen walk up to the front porch, they make a terrifying discovery. They noticed her's put on the doorstep, and it might have pretty be obvious puller holes in the front doors. KATHLEEN AND ROBERD RUSHED TO A NEBOR'S HOME TO DIL 911. The Santa Clara Police Department arrives within minutes. The door was still locked. There's no sign that it had been forced

so the officers themselves forced the sliding door in made entry. As they make their way back to the front entryway, investigators find Howard. And a 14-year-long mystery begins. We didn't know anybody who could want to hurt Howard. Though he was born into Santa Clara's upper crust, by the time Howard Whitkin made it to college at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, he was more concerned with having fun than one day

running his family's glass business. Howard is the fun-loving, crazy, adventurous person. He's the type that would be the car going to the grocery store. Next thing, he's like, hey, let's go to Washington. He liked to have people around him. I like to say he's sort of liked the party in a sense. In 1968, while visiting friends back in California, Howard noticed a striking young woman at a party.

She wore very tailored, beautiful outfits. She was very slender. Her name was Judy Adele. Raised in an upper-class Detroit neighborhood, Judy had a life any girl would dream of. She had a bowling alley in the basement and maids that waited on them and nine bedrooms. She always tried to have that Maryland Monroe type persona.

She was really successful in high school. She was a member of lots of clubs, study, got good grades. In 1967, Judy was accepted into the prestigious Mills College in Oakland, California, and declared her major as religious studies. She didn't seem at all ambitious professionally. Judy told her friends that all she ever wanted was to be a mother and have a bunch of kids. When she met Howard Wittken, it seemed Judy was on her way

to the life she'd always hoped for. From my understanding, he just felt head over heels. To Judy Howard represented stability and prestige and wealth. The couple's engagement a few months later was the social event of the season. Judy and Howard had a great old-style kind of an engagement and everything was celebrated with big parties and they had a huge wedding, very traditional wedding,

and then went off for like three weeks to Europe for a honeymoon. When the couple returned from their honeymoon, Howard finished school and stepped in to run his father's glass factory. Then, in 1969, Judy's wish to become a mother finally came true when she gave birth to a son. Judy called her first born son, Daniel, the little Messiah.

She couldn't wait until she had a bunch of kids. But fate had other plans. She had some miscarriages and was told that she couldn't conceive and was just completely overwrought about this. But Judy was never one to give up easily and she quickly started looking for other ways to have the large family she dreamed of. Finally, she and Howard adopted a young girl, Marie.

I even recall the day that we actually went to the lawyer's office and as a family and we signed the adoption papers. Everybody seemed really excited. Judy just said welcome to the family. We love you. You know, it felt good to feel like somebody wanted to. The family of four settled into a comfortable life in sunny California, where their social calendar revolved around life at the local temple.

We would all go every Friday night on the Sabbath to the temple. We would go to a lot of the bar mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs, all the high holidays. While Judy was thrilled to have the stable loving family she had always dreamed of, Howard was struggling with the weight of his responsibilities. I think in some ways they married too early because my dad was still kind of like going through his wild stage.

Still, you know, what, dang out with his friends. They had more and more arguments. Arguments over him being out late at night. Arguments over him gambling, being with the guys too much. Not even the miraculous birth of a third child, Nathan, could keep Howard at home. As her marriage began to crumble, Judy spent more and more time at her temple,

where she met Bob Singer, a businessman and married father of three, 14 years Judy's senior. Bob seemed like a really nice man. He was running a vending company with his father. He's always in suits to a nice car. They meet over fundraising and gradually go out for lunch and get closer and closer. By 1976, Judy and Bob's friendship had grown into something more. This became eventually an open secret and it was sort of became this Judy and Bob's friendship had grown into something more.

This became eventually an open secret, and it was sort of became this big scandal with the synagogue that Judith Wittgen was seeing Bob Singer. You heard the arguments. You heard the slamming of the doors. Dad, I just got to the point where he just had enough. In 1978, Judy and Howard divorced. And Bob's singer and his wife soon followed suit.

Judy starts spending more time with Bob, and then they got married. Their divorce from their spouses causes such a scandal in their community, the Judy tells Bob that she can no longer live in San Jose. In 1979, Judy, Bob and their children moved from sunny California to Michigan, where Judy's wealthy family still lived.

There, in December of 1979, Bob bought a franchise of the Onion Croc, a local super sandwich restaurant. He opened up the restaurant and we all kind of helped get the place up and running. Back in California, Howard was enjoying the single life after 10 years as a family man. I mean, women found him attractive, and he had the right personality. You know, he was like this totally teddy bear. He was a man, being a man, you know.

Little did Howard know that his new life would end nearly as soon as it began. Hara was laying the floor belly up, and yet obvious both wounds, tooth, stomach, areas, and also both arms. When detectives begin to survey the scene, one motive is immediately ruled out. The front door was locked. There were a number of shots through the front door, and it just didn't meet the smell test of a robbery. So this was obviously a planned killing of some type

whoever the suspect was, wanted him dead. Coming up, a curious discovery sends detectives down a city path in search of a modelist. Maybe it was a drug deal that went dead. And investigators land their first suspect. You would tell us the fact that she was going out with Howard. Don't see his always a modif from a sign.

On March 22, 1980, detectives in Santa Clara, California are investigating the violent murder of Howard Whitkin. We had tool officers checking the neighborhood for possible witnesses. We had evidence people inside processing the interior of the house. I could look at the crime scene and guess various scenarios, but I just didn't know. Canvassing the home, investigators find 22-millimeter casings near the front door and front gate. This is always some lies at the time that whoever was, probably went not on the door, and ran back to where the gate

was, and when Howard came out, he had to step out onto the cement step to see who it was. And at that time, Urva was shot at him. I'll be hitting him so Howard and Rand back inside the house. Close the door and the guy who was ran up and shot to the door, obviously from the number rounds fired to there. Investigators first question is, who would want Howard dead? While crime scene experts pick apart the scene, Santa Clara officers canvass the

neighborhood. The elongated two witnesses that heard what they thought were gunshots or similar to the gunshots in life before. As soon as they were firecrackers and did not call in. So we were able to establish the probable time of the homicide based on their statements. Investigators asked neighbors if they had noticed anything else suspicious that day. We also found out in a meantime that a neighbor had copied down a license plate of a car going through the neighborhood. It was at 1970 Chevy Malibu. It turned out it was a nice prior to when we found the body.

He saw a suspicious vehicle driving around the complex there. He thought it was unusual so he followed it. He couldn't identify the drivers or give me any more information. We ran a plate as a telephone you've played, and it came back known on the file. While Leeds outside seem to be drying up, investigators inside make a game-changing discovery. We found a safe in Howard Whitkins residence, and we called the installer the safe people.

We were able to finally get some of our token of safe forest. When detectives look inside, they're disturbed by what they find. They informed me that they had found me. I think by every six ounces of cocaine and separate the $10,000 with a cash. We initially thought that's a problem because for maybe a dope hit. Either somebody owed him money, he owed somebody money. Maybe it was a drug deal that went bad.

The next morning, as a team of officers continues to examine the crime scene, detectives pay a visit to Howard's father, hoping to learn more about his son's personal life. He was completely shocked. Of course, he doesn't really have to. He has no idea who could do anything like that. Mr. Whitkin tells police that after Howard's divorce from his wife, Judy,

he had initially embraced the bachelor lifestyle. But as the months passed, Howard started to miss his family. He missed his kids. Judy remarried and moved to Flint, Michigan, and I'd custody the children. The victim wanted to get hesitation rights and they had a court hearing schedule. But he said that there didn't seem to be any real problem there.

There's no animosity toward Judy or between the victim and duty. When asked about the possibility Howard was involved in the drug trade, his father is shocked. You would stun at Howard was involved in cocaine. With Howard's father unable to provide any new leads on March 25, 1980, three days after Howard's body was found, detectives call his ex-wife Judy Singer to deliver the tragic news. She says she's upset to hear about it. I mean, but she's very supportive to me, very

remarkable. She just did it. She's sorry to hear that that happened. towards me very remarkable. She just stated it. She started to hear that that happened. However, when detectives mentioned the cocaine in Howard's safe, Judy says she's not entirely surprised. Judy told one of the detectives that one of the reasons that she and Howard ended up splitting up was because of his drug use.

According to Judy, Howard's new lifestyle was the main reason she was hesitant to let her children visit Howard alone. My dad had his own little stash of troops and his own little stash of coke and his own little stash of weed. And I don't people come and knock on the door. Hey, I can get a blunter too. They had a court hearing pending.

He wanted visitation rights, thinking with a young kid. And she says, Hey, I can get a blutter, too. They had a court hearing pending. He wanted visitation rights, particularly with a young kid. And she says, he's just a young baby, and I didn't want him around Howard's lifestyle. Judy says that since the divorce, she hasn't been back in California and hasn't kept track of who Howard parties with.

But she claims that Howard's best friend, Philip Frandler, might have some insight. She had no idea who would want to kill him, or would be the motive for the tug of the killing. After speaking with Judy, Detective set up a meeting with Philip Franlar. After some hesitation, Philip admits that he and Howard sold cocaine,

but insists that his childhood friend was no drug kingpin. Franlar said that they did sell some drugs, but only to the extent that they could finance their own use of the drugs. I think you use cocaine as a social lubricant at parties. It's one of the drug, big time drug dealers. So that would negate probably a drug hit.

When investigators ask Philip if there is anyone else they should talk to, he mentions Howard's newest girlfriend, Stephanie Brown. He mentioned that Howard was dating a girls' McClaud Club, and that she had a ex-boyfriend who was extremely jealous and the possibility that if he started being invited all that he would be the most likely person to do it is.

That enhanced our interest even more. So he became very much of a person that we were interested in. Investigators work quickly to bring Stephanie in. When we contacted her, she was upset. She had a lot of strong feelings for Howard and it seemed to be obviously upset about his death. Stephanie admits that she and Howard had been casually dating and she would frequently go to his home,

something that upset her now ex-boyfriend, a card player named Henry Brooks. She had a very jealous ex-boyfriend and we tell us in the back that she was going out with Howard. Then, Stephanie offers investigators a compelling piece of evidence. There was a boyfriend, Bid on a 22. Coming up, the killer makes a fatal error. He noticed that Gary had a lot of money, and he was talking about getting a tan. He'd gone to California.

At this point, we began to put two and two together and there was something wrong here. And an eyewitness exposes a shocking suspect. He's going to pay him $10,000 to do the murder. Hey, listener, it is me, Jason Bateman. I want to tell you that we've struck podcast gold in our new episode with David Letterman available four weeks early on one Dree Plus. It's like a late night talk show hangout, but with a smart list twist. We are diving deep into David Letterman's incredible career in the moments that shaped him into the beloved icon he is today. Our interview with David Letterman's incredible career in the moments that shaped him into the beloved icon he is today.

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In March 1980, investigators from the Santa Clara Police Department are closing in on Henry Brooks. The ex-boyfriend of the woman Howard Whitkin was allegedly involved with before his death. He is an ex-boyfriend, so the jealous he's always a moody for homicide. So obviously we're going to look closely at him too. Investigators ask Henry Brooks to come in for an interview, where he immediately denies any involvement in Howard's death. They really had no hard feelings against Wicken. He did admit that he had a 22 rifle, and he was willing to turn that over to us so we can compare with the case scenes.

Also, he was willing to take a polygraph test to show that over to us so we can compare with the caseings. Also, he was willing to take a polygraph test to show that he had nothing to do with the killing. And he took a polygraph and passed it. The crime lab also does a thorough analysis of Henry's rifle. Relystice came back and it would not have gone using the murder weapon. After clearing their most promising lead, investigators are at a dead end.

Then, on April 2nd, 11 days into their investigation, the Santa Clara Police Department receives an unexpected call from a detective in Flint, Michigan. That Michigan call over to San Jose PD said, are you guys handling an active murder? He said that an informant he had approached him and told him that he had been approached to kill an individual in California, specifically Santa Clara.

On June 2, 1980, investigators fly to Flint, Michigan where they meet the informant, a local restaurant manager named Kevin McCarthy. Kevin says that in early March, the owner of the restaurant where he works came to him with a strange request. He was trying to find a hitman to come out to California and hit to kill somebody. He wanted the manager to find a hit man to come out to California and hit to kill somebody. He wanted the manager to find somebody for him.

He was stunned at first. He thought it was a joke. I mean, I'll often just someone approach you and say, do you know anyone who kills someone for me. MacCarsie says a few weeks later on March 25th, he discovered that one of the bus boys, Gary Oliver, had just returned from a vacation with his friend Andy Granger and was flashing a wallet full of $100 bills. He noticed that Gary had a lot of money, and he was dishwasher, he didn't make much

money, and he was talking about, yet it tanned into California. Kevin says that's when he remembered that his boss had just returned from a funeral in california. McCarty, at this point, began to put two and two together. It was something wrong here. Had the restaurant owner hired a bus boy to do his dirty work instead, Santa Clara detectives immediately want to know the name of Kevin's boss. The informant was the manager at a restaurant

called the Onion Cron, which was a franchise restaurant owned by Bob Singer. You as a current husband, the victim's ex-wife, duty singer. Before bringing in Bob himself, investigators want to speak to 21-year-old bus boy, Gary Oliver, and 20-year-old Andy Granger. So we interviewed Gary Oliver first, he immediately told us he didn't want to talk to us and want to annoy him.

So we didn't continue questioning. Sorry, but Andy Granger had a very outgoing, sort of, dare-devilish type of an individual. Andy Granger spilled beans immediately and seemed eager to confess to the police. Andy tells officers that back in March, his friend Gary Oliver said that Bob Singer had hired him to commit a murder.

He's going to him $10,000 to do the murder. Gary Oliver told Andy Granger, I'm getting $5,000, and I'll split it with you. Andy says that the pair left for California in a gold 1970 Chevy Malibu with Andy's Marlin 22 rifle. They had a picture of the victim, the address, phone numbers, those type of things that they needed to identify were the victim lived.

They drove to the area and they didn't want to park near the victim's townhouse. They parked about a blocker so away. Here we got out to put the rifle down his pant leg and walked over to theer's hallway. Here he got out to put the right phone down his pant leg and walked over to the victim's house. Now we're going to step out onto the cement step to see who it was. And at that time, here is shot, I think.

Andy says that Gary rushed back to the car and they sped away. Investigators are floored, but the story is just beginning. The mission state police interview rooms are fairly thin, so Gary Oliver could hear Andy's story. He asked the guard there and that he wanted to talk to the Santa Clara authorities again. Gary tells officers that he is finally ready to come clean. He says that his boss, Bob Singer, had spent weeks trying to find an assassin. He told Gary Albert, I want to hire somebody and kill somebody, but I don't know who to do it.

And Gary said, oh, I'll do it. Gary admits that he originally planned to shoot Howard himself. But as they drove to California, he started to have second thoughts. He apparently just completely lost confidence and told Andrew that he wanted to drive back to Flynn and tell Bob Singer that he couldn't do it. Granger wasn't having a Zoom.

I don't know. We're out here doing the job. We should do it, you know. So, according to Gary, Andy agreed to be the trigger man. I was also admitted to coming out to do the killing. And the only bone of a... contention was that Granger said that Oliver pulled the trigger. Oliver said Granger pulled the trigger. Investigators confront Andy with Gary's side of the story.

At that point, he finally admitted to me, yeah, it was me that did it. Andy says that on the night of March 22nd, he walked up to Howard's home and board him outside. He said, I fired at him. But he went back inside the house, so I ran up to the fun door, and then I shot through the door. to the door. After hearing their accounts, detectives charge Andy Granger and Gary Oliver with murder and conspiracy. Now, investigators need to bring down the ringleader, Bob Singer.

Investigators Sapina Bob's financial records and quickly learned that the supposedly well-heeled restaurant owner has been living a lie. Bob Singer was not only had no money, he was a terrible businessman. His restaurant in Flint, Michigan was failing badly. Howard, on the other hand, had plenty of money. Bob, me on his own, figured it

would want to save my restaurant. And now, since somebody got to kill this guy, some of that weight to kids who want to hear it to money, I can use that money to save my restaurant. With a solid motive and multiple witnesses, investigators arrest Bob on June 6, 1980. Bob Singer refused to wave his rights, so it took him in a custom annual for the questioning.

Coming up, a stunning turn of events exposes a love affair that no one could imagine. She looks through his files and discovers, to her surprise, that there's a lot of letters there, love letters. It's unbelievable, but it happened. Oh, it's huge. Who else would have better motive than to see him shift away?

In July of 1981, all eyes in Santa Clara, California are on the trial of Bob Singer and his hitman Andy Granger. This case was so full of extraordinary characters, it was like nothing I'd covered before. There was a lawyer who came from Beverly Hills. There was a lot of press attention, and there was a lot of drama. The courtroom was packed.

As for co-conspirator Gary Oliver, he opts to turn state's witness. Gary Oliver ratted out Bob and Andy. And so because of that, he was given a reduced sense. When Bob Singer and Andy Granger's trial gets underway, prosecutors alleged that Bob was a man mired in debt and desperate for money. Apparently he was not a good restaurant owner or manager.

He was apparently taking money on the tell, and things just weren't going well financially for him. But the defense says otherwise. You'll melt your the attorney, kept telling us that there were drug mobs after the victim. In the trial, he tried to imply that it was a hit going bad, and actually Bob Singer was the victim. You know, I don't get the logic there, but that's what the implication was. By Bob's side, every step of the way is his wife, Judy. She would walk into court every day

and be laughing with the attorney and they'd be whispering together, sitting very close to each other. And she never particularly looked as if she was unhappy that her first husband had been killed and her new husband was on trial. On August 3, 1981, the jury finds Andy Granger guilty of first-degree murder

and sentences him to life in prison. But on Bob's case, the jury can't make up its mind. Bob Singer is a home jury on him. In the first trial, the one juror who held out thought he could not be a murderer because he was a nice-looking man. I was not a happy camper, though he got no choice and we have to try it again.

In January 1982, Bob Judy and their attorney, Bill Melcher, returned to the courtroom for round two. The second trial was easier because we've been down that road. And the jury found Bob Singer guilty for screamer. Judy seemed as if she were surprised. She burst out in tears. Bob is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility

of parole. Minutes later, after Bob is led away in chains, Bill Melcher and Judy Singer hold a press conference on the steps of the courthouse. There, Bill makes a surprising announcement. Judy was gonna go to law school and join his firm and Bill Melcher said she had a brilliant legal mind. They were also going to write a book about the case,

and there were movie companies already interested in it. This is bright after Bob Singer is convicted. Ultimately, Judy and Bill's dreams of a shared law practice and movie deals don't pan out. After Bob was convicted and went to prison, Judy divorced him and took the kids and went back to Michigan. The case seems closed, but in February 1984, two years after Bob's conviction, prosecutors, judges and journalists all receive a strange package from a woman named Leslie Bennett. Leslie Bennett is the secretary for the Defense Lawyer Bill Melcher, and she knows she's going to get fired.

So while he's up in San Jose, she looks through his vials and discovers, to her surprise, that there's a lot of letters there, love letters from Judy Singer, to Bill Melcher. She photocopied some of these love letters that Judy Singer sent to Bill Melcher. And when he fired her, she sent letters to everyone who she can think of. State Bar, the DA's office, defense attorneys. Judy writes these rapturous things to Bill Melcher,

all about what it's like to sleep with him in great detail. Copies of the letters eventually make it all the way to Bob Singer's maximum security prison cell. Bob Singer is so furious when he sees these letters that he sends them to his new attorney who's working on his appeal and his attorney realizes that they are great fodder for a possible appeal. Oh, it's huge because he had a massive conflict of interest

feasts in a romantic relationship with the defendant's wife. Rills would have a better motive than to see in him ship the way. After winding through the appeals courts, a judge rules in favor of a new trial in December 1990. But rather than face another jury, Bob tells prosecutors he wants a plea deal, and in exchange, he will reveal the true mastermind

of Howard Wittkind's murder. He said Judy Singer was the driving force behind this whole homicide. According to Bob, Judy and Howard's divorce was not as amicable as she had led police to believe. They had a lot of problems going on just fighting over the money and fighting over visitations. Everything was a battle. fighting over the money, and fighting over visitations. Everything was a battle. The visitation issue was a big thing for her. I don't think she just did not like Howard Quickkin at all.

The thing that really set it off was when Howard decided that he was going to file a custody request to have full custody of their three children. According to Bob, Judy badgered him for weeks to find someone to kill Howard before the custody hearing on April 1st. Judy Singer was a ruthless person and wanted to get what she wanted to get.

She kept pressuring Bob Singer to do it. I think Bob loved Judy very much. The main reason he committed the murder, I believe, is because Judith threatened to leave him if he didn't. Bob says that when he was arrested for Howard's murder, he and Judy agreed that he would take the fall for the crime. I think Judy convinced him that it was best for the kids

to have an adult with them, one of the parents, and he really loved those kids. I think his goal was to protect her, which is why he sat there, got convicted, took a sentence of life without parole, and never once said a word about Judy being behind it. and never once said a word about Judith being behind it. Now, after 10 years in jail, Bob tells prosecutors that he's not covering for Judy anymore.

I think Bob decided to finally testify against her because he learned that she had been having an affair with his lawyer during his first trial, which is unbelievable, but it happened. So he said, why am I doing this to hide for Judy when she betrayed? Bob was very eager to cooperate with the prosecutors.

He told the prosecutors everything he knew, and then took a polygraph to confirm it. Bob passed his polygraph test. I mean, I kind of knew. to confirm it. Bob passed his polygraph test. I mean, I kind of knew. I looked at it like for me to know, in my mind, that Judy did it, and Judy had to put Bob up to do it. But Bob's statement isn't enough.

Prosecutors need hard evidence to prove Judy's involvement. Before they will sign the plea deal, they want Bob to help them get a confession. They had set up phone call between Bob and Judy, and they were hoping to get an admission out of Judy. Bob said, you know, they're trying to get me to roll over on you. Judy was smart.

And she was too smart to fall for that. I think she caught on pretty quickly to what he was trying to do and didn't say anything that would confirm that she had been involved. But nor did she deny it. The phone call isn't a confession, but it is enough to convince prosecutors that Bob is telling the truth. is telling the truth. On August 14, 1991, Bob pleads guilty to first degree murder and is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

On August 27, 1991, a judge signs an arrest warrant for Judy Singer. On August 28, 1991, officers from Michigan, and Sandy Williams, the DA's investigator, come to Judy's apartment and knock on her door. When Judy doesn't respond, investigators call her father for answers. He says she left with her son, Nathan, a while ago, without telling anyone where she was going.

The police are convinced at this point that Judy is on the land. Coming up, a frantic search begins. I think she might have even gone to Canada, so the clock is ticking. And a guilty conscience leads to desperation. Because I know who you are, Judy, and I know what you did. And she said, what's it going to take? How much money do you want?

On August 28, 1991, investigators from the Flint and Santa Clara Police Department discover that murder suspect Judy Singer is on the run. I think she might have even gone to Canada, so the clock is ticking. They issue a statewide alert, and they're worried that she might already have reached the border. As police across Michigan search for Judy, investigators receive a call from Richard Goldstein, Judy's lawyer.

He tells them that she is not trying to escape, and she's willing to come in, but she wants it to be on her terms. Shortly after 5 p.m., on September 4th of 1991, Judy finally turns herself in. I couldn't believe it. It was quite a shock. In the summer of 1994, Judy's trial begins,

as part of the plea deal, Bob testifies against his ex-wife. And since Judy's arrest, other witnesses have also come forward. I did test my Judy's trial. I felt like somebody had to avenge his murder. Somebody had to get to the truth. Someone had to do it. Marie says she suspected that Judy was involved for years, and in 1986, she decided to do some investigation of her own. My fiance Greg said, let's call your mom. Let's full print.

I was like, nah, we shouldn't do this. She's going to look, he's like, nah, she ain't going to know my voice. I was like, all right. He got on the phone. He goes, I know who you are, Judy. And I know what you did. She would be like, what's it gonna take? How much money do you want?

And my fiance was so shocked. He just looked at me and hung up the phone. He goes, she really did it. She really did it. Prosecutors also called to the stand Bob Singer's youngest son, Eric Singer. At the time of the murder, he said that he had heard Bob and Judy arguing in their room. He went up and he listened outside the room.

And he heard Judy say, I want him dead, Bob. I want him dead. On September 20, Judy takes the stand to tell her side of the story. She was very self-confident, and she presented herself up. I am totally innocent. Bob did the whole thing. I didn't know about it. I was told by detectives at Santa Clara PD

you'll never get Judy. I feared greatly the jury might believe her. I was told by detectives at Santa Clara PD, you'll never get Judy. I feared greatly the jury might believe her. On October 4th, 1994, the jury announces that they have reached a verdict. She was convicted as charged, murdered in the first degree, with special circumstances.

I think what I did was I just put my head down in my hands and said, thank God, justice has been done. I just hope that people will see who Judy is, to know the real Judy, to not want to have anything to do with this woman. Judy is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She was already working on her appeal, and she was confident that she would not

be in prison very long. 17 years pass, and in 2011, faced with overcrowded prisons, the governor of California decides to commute the sentences of offenders who are no longer considered a threat. On June 4, 2019, 71-year-old Judy seems to fit the bill, and she is summoned before a parole board.

She had aged about 40 years. Her hair was gray, and she was obviously despondent and she started to table all the time. She's in a wheelchair. She has all sorts of ailments, including lupus. She's a woman, elderly, ill, so all those things made it unlikely that she would commit new crimes. I think by the end of it, the commissioners felt that they almost had no choice but to grant her parole. On October 16, 2019, after spending 25 years in prison for orchestrating her ex-husband's murder,

Judy is released from prison. I'm livid to the point just makes me to shake. I'm so angry. She just makes me to shake. I'm so angry. She doesn't deserve to live what little life she has left. Now, when my father wasn't given a chance to live his life. I never heard Judy express a word of regret. And I don't think to this day she regrets it.

I think there's a great deal of evil in her. I've interviewed a lot of really scary people, but the only person who really haunted me all through these decades was this upper middle class synagogue-going mother of three. Bob Singer was released on parole in 2009. He died in 2018. Angie Granger remains in prison. Gary Oliver pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was released after serving a shorter

sentence. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com. You you you you. you