Snapped: Women Who Murder - Kristen Durgen

Episode Date: March 20, 2022

The sudden disappearance of a devoted father exposes a treasure trove of family secrets and reveals a twisted plot driven by greed.Season 26, Episode 18Originally aired: March 1, 2020Watch fu...ll episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WsLCJWqmIebSee 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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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, I'm Lindsay 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. Their comfortable lifestyle and loving children weren't always enough to keep their 18-year romance afloat. They were trying to put their marriage back together.
Starting point is 00:00:31 He was my best friend, he still talked on the phone five times a day. Until a mysterious disappearance changes everything. He's so reliable that he wouldn't just disappear. Is this a case of a person who doesn't want to be found? I did not know he was married for the first time here. It was that moment where you knew that first big piece of the puzzle had just been set out in front of you. They're beginning to realize that maybe he's
Starting point is 00:01:04 leading a double life. Or has greed corrupted someone into doing the unthinkable? He was begging for his money. Saying he didn't do anything. He didn't do anything. He didn't even do anything. He said he did it for the money. It was a trap.
Starting point is 00:01:19 What about you? You can join this. You were sustaining your power. It was absolutely amazing to me what someone would do for money. July 11, 2008. Selida, Colorado. It's about 3 p.m. on a quiet summer afternoon, when officers at the Selida Police Department receive a worried call
Starting point is 00:01:56 from 40-year-old mother, Kristen Durgan. On the night of July 10,, her estranged husband, Jim Dorian, had rented a hotel room in Canyon City to stay. On the morning of July 11th, he was supposed to drive out to Selita to go pick up his children, but he never arrived. Kristen says as night fell with no sign of Jim, she and her children grew increasingly worried. Kristen called me and said, have you seen Jimmy?
Starting point is 00:02:28 I said, no. He said, he's gone and we can't find him. She and Soundbury frantic. My dad called me and told me he was missing. I actually got his phone number and tried calling him several times. Jim's sister called me and said, Jim is missing. She said he didn't show to pick up the kids. That's unusual.
Starting point is 00:02:50 I was puzzled, but worried. Jim was reliable. After three days pass with no sign of Jim, detectives open a formal investigation. My partner called and said that he received a missing person's report and that from the initial indication that seemed like this person was legitimately missing.
Starting point is 00:03:18 James Durgan, known as Jim to friends, was born on December 19th, 1970 in Phoenix, Arizona. Jim was a good kid. He enjoyed going to Honey with me. I had a little boat and he enjoyed fishing, and we've had a lot of fun experiences. He was fun-loving, great to be around,
Starting point is 00:03:41 never saw him angry. He was always very helpful. In 1988, Jim graduated high school and went to college. But after a few months, he realized that four more years of school wasn't for him. I said, you are going to get a job. And so I introduced him to a guy there in northern Telcom. And I said, now it's up to you.
Starting point is 00:04:08 James would travel anywhere they were installing new telecommunications equipment, wiring, things like that. He would do a lot of traveling. He traveled all over the western side of the US. of the U.S. Then, in 1990, after returning home to Phoenix for the weekend, Jim was set up on a blind date with 22-year-old Kristen Tragdy. She was just so put together and dressed really nicely and she was real soft-spoken and she could really connect to people and just real sweet girl. Kristen was the daughter of a multi-millionaire. Her father was an inventor. My understanding is that Kristen grew up in the lap of luxury.
Starting point is 00:04:50 She could have whatever she wanted. So when Kristen met Jim, she knew she would eventually have him, too. July of 1992, they got married in Las Vegas and a little chapel. And there's just a bunch of family and friends. They were cute together. You know, I always seem to be happy. This time, Jim and Kristen are like you both to join your right hands, like in a handshake.
Starting point is 00:05:19 The signifying that you're coming together as big bulls. When the honeymoon phase was over, Kristen and Jim found a way to keep their romance alive despite the demands of Jim's job. Kristen was able to travel with Jim on his work trips, and they were able to keep a fun-loving, kind of party spirit in their marriage.
Starting point is 00:05:48 Then in 1995, Kristen and Jim had a son, followed quickly by a daughter. When they started having children, she was content to stay at home and be a stay-at-home mom. When Jim was home, he made his time count. He was really a devoted father.
Starting point is 00:06:08 I'm sure he missed him when he was traveling, but he did speak highly of them. In 1998, Jim decided to move the family to the picturesque town of Salida, Colorado. He was making very good money. So he was going to do everything he could to make life for her and the kids very good. As the years went by, Jim's work schedule
Starting point is 00:06:34 took its toll on the marriage. I guess it seemed to put a lot of strain on Kristen. It was pretty hard, I guess, for her being alone all the time. And my brother out traveling on the road. But it wasn't just Jim's traveling that caused a strain on the marriage. They were having problems. She didn't work, so there was a lot to keep up the house payments, the car payment, and all the other bills. Even though Jim worked hard to provide money
Starting point is 00:07:07 for his family's needs, Kristen would often spend it only on herself. He says, I would leave money to pay the bills and the bills were not being paid. And so I would come home and have to make up money to pay the bills and I just don't have it. In the spring of 2008, after years of fighting over money and his time spent away, Jim moved to Wyoming,
Starting point is 00:07:36 and the couple finalized the terms of their divorce. Well, he agreed that he was going to give her the house, and he was going to give her, like, $1,200 a month. He was going to pay off the cars, and he was going to give her half of his retirement. Kristen also maintained primary custody of their 14- and 10-year-old children. I believe it was going fairly amicable.
Starting point is 00:08:06 Jim would travel back from his business trips to see the children. It seemed as if Jim was involved in the children's lives as much as he could be. To prepare for her new life as a single mother, Kristen took a job at a local restaurant. I had hired her to work as a server, and we became friends after that. Kristen was always smiling and happy, and she did a great job.
Starting point is 00:08:34 Although Jim and Kristen had established their new lives apart, the spark between them hadn't died. Not long after he filed for divorce, they rekindled their relationship. They thought they could probably hatch up their marriage. He told me the week before he was important missing. He loved her and he was doing everything he could to keep it together. But on July 14, 2008, Kristen and Jim's reconciliation is put in danger when Jim is classified as a missing person.
Starting point is 00:09:10 After I was given the assignment to look into Jim's disappearance, the first thing that I did was drive to the hotel Jim checked into. There is no sign of Jim's car in the parking lot. But according to the clerk from the front desk of Jim's car in the parking lot. But according to the clerk from the front desk, Jim didn't sound like a man planning to disappear. The clerk that helped me out actually told me
Starting point is 00:09:35 that Jim had acquired about the swimming pool because he was bringing his children back. They gave me a key to the room. I checked the room. And that's when they find out that something's not right. The room itself was absolutely undisturbed. It appeared that he walked in, set his stuff down, and turned around and walked out.
Starting point is 00:10:00 Nothing was sat on, nothing was moved, everything was in place. It's like he's just vanished. Coming up, twisted love triangles cast a shadow on the investigation. She couldn't stay away from him. She was in a new relationship two decades younger than her. Both members of that marriage were in extramarital affairs. I expected in state that the teams that it had big going on longer than that.
Starting point is 00:10:39 July 14, 2008. Investigators in Salida, Colorado have just discovered the deserted hotel room of 37-year-old missing father, Jim Durgin. He checked in, but he didn't stay in the room. He hadn't slept in the bed. This man, as far as we could tell, had vanished off the place in the planet.
Starting point is 00:11:06 We took Jim's driver's license photo that we obtained from the state and a stock photograph of what his car should have looked like and started passing out missing person's fliers. Next, detectives pay a visit to the person who reported Jim missing the three days earlier. His recently estranged wife, 40-year-old Kristen Durgan. She reiterated that he was supposed to pick up the children and take them back with him for the weekend. Like I told the other officers, if he was more than 15
Starting point is 00:11:37 and it's like anywhere, he would have at least called. That was kind of his thing. Kristen initially said that she had taken a couple of trips towards Canyon in an effort to look for Jim. She started to suggest that maybe he had been fishing, and she was checking along the Arkansas River where he may have gone fishing. According to Chris and Ergen, Jim was an avid fisherman and an outdoorsman. So it wouldn't have been unusual for him to be out fishing, out shooting. Though they can't rule out the possibility that Jim has had
Starting point is 00:12:12 an accident, detectives need to know if something in his personal life could be responsible for his disappearance. She mentions to police that Jim has filed for a divorce, but they were working on reconciling. for his disappearance. She mentions to police that Jim has filed for a divorce, but they were working on reconciling. And she mentions to them that they had this intimate weekend over Mother's Day. He was my best friend.
Starting point is 00:12:36 He still talked on the phone five times a day. And we were still very close. According to Kristen, though the two were on the path to reconciliation, there was something holding them back. If I'd done that, then he had a girlfriend. She had found a letter sometime prior to that. It was signed Tara. She seemed upset about it.
Starting point is 00:13:02 Jim appeared to have moved on. He had found someone, and he was working towards getting the divorce in order so that he could move forward. I don't know. I expected him to date, but it seems that it had been going on longer than that. Though she's hurt by Jim's infidelity, Kristen admits to detectives that he isn't the only one
Starting point is 00:13:24 who has stepped outside of the marriage. -♪ -♪ Kristen had told us that she was in a new relationship, younger male, almost two decades younger than her, named Andy Tanner. They met when they both worked at a pizza restaurant in Salida. He was a delivery driver, and she was a waitress. According to Kristen, when she and Jim were intimate on Mother's Day,
Starting point is 00:13:56 Jim said that if she would break off her relationship with Andy, she would break things off with Tara. He just said, well, I know, I still love you. I would like to get, you know, maybe hopefully someday this might get back together. But the reconciliation was short-lived. Kristen said that lasted for one day, and then she was back together with Andy.
Starting point is 00:14:19 She couldn't stay away from him. Kristen says after that, she and Jim agreed divorce might be their best option. Her and Jim were in the process of getting a divorce, but the divorce was very amicable. And the, there was no real child custody issues with the divorce. Still, detectives need to know what
Starting point is 00:14:42 Kristen was doing on the night of June 10th. The last night, Jim was seen alive by the hotel clerk. I worked at night. I think I got out at 10.45 to 11. I was somewhere in the room. Now I came home from work and I fell asleep. After speaking to Kristen, detectives know who they need to question next.
Starting point is 00:15:07 Jim's alleged mistress, Tara. We wanted to find out where she was. I mean, if she had an alibi, if it was a solid alibi, what involvement, if she had any, in the situation would have been. But before they track her down, detectives bring in Kristen's boyfriend Andy Tanner for questioning. I engaged him in a conversation about what he knew about Jim Durgan's disappearance. I asked him if he had any problem with Jim Durgan,
Starting point is 00:15:36 or if Jim Durgan had any problem with anybody else. Um, you know, I really don't know. You know, he's a real standup guy. He as well said that Jim was well-liked and that he and Jim, uh, despite the situation, had never had any sort of a crossing counter. I mean, he talked to Ellie Twittis, so I mean, he's dying from rotational.
Starting point is 00:16:03 He's never been always in for somebody to hurt him. Like Kristen, Andy also has an alibi for the night of June 10th. When we talked to Mr. Tanner, he explained that his shift would have ended around the same time. He is well at home. After speaking to Kristen and Andy, detectives request time sheets from their employers. When we check out Andy Tanner and Kristen Durgan's alibis as far as the night that we believe Jim went missing, everything seems to be in order that Andy Tanner was at work and Kristen Durgan had been at work.
Starting point is 00:16:43 With Kristen and Andy's alibis confirmed, detectives decide to take a drive-down highway 50, which parallels the Arkansas River in an attempt to locate Jim Durgan. He was an avid fisherman. We didn't know if he stopped and decided to do a little fishing and ended up falling into the river. We paid particular attention to those areas where someone might go fishing.
Starting point is 00:17:11 It's not long before detectives find something. Pulled into the lone pine recreation site, we did locate Jim Durgan's car. When we approached Jim Durgan's car. We noticed that there was a citation underneath the windshield white bird. The ticket was written for July 11th, which was also the same day that Christian Durgan had reported
Starting point is 00:17:33 Jim Durgan missing. Otherwise, the car appears to be untouched. We checked the area, which is a very remote area inside of a very boxed canyon, so there wasn't a lot of car appears to be untouched. We checked the area, which is a very remote area inside of a very boxed canyon. So there wasn't a lot of area that he could have gone.
Starting point is 00:17:52 When we saw Jim Durgan's car parked in the recreation site, it was that moment where you knew that that first big piece of the puzzle had just been set out in front of you. I think we knew at that point there was something around. Coming up, investigators uncover a damning, eyewitness account. He went to the bathroom immediately and started scrubbing his hands, scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing scrubbing. That's when I asked him, like, you gotta tell me what's going on with you. And he says, well, I'm the one they're looking for.
Starting point is 00:18:24 And immediately his red flag went off. 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 Drup 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 was reported live in Brooklyn in front of thousands of our biggest
Starting point is 00:18:59 fans from our smart list tour. This is the fourth of 10 interviews with new episodes releasing every Thursday. We're talking with celebrities and icons like the great Will Farrell, Kevin Hart, Mark Cuban, Jimmy Kimmel, so many more. Join us for an unforgettable conversation that will have you laughing pondering and quite possibly contemplating growing a beard like Letterman's. I know I have. You can listen to these episodes four weeks early and add free on Wundry Plus, find Wundry Plus in the Wundry app or on Apple podcasts. ["Wundry Up"] ["Wundry Up"] After finding missing person, James Durgan's car
Starting point is 00:19:36 off a remote Riverside pull-off, detectives in Selida, Colorado have growing concerns for the beloved father's safety. We are pretty concerned with that moment in time we're not going to find Jim Durgan alive. While police still don't know what happened to Jim, they believe his alleged mistress, Tara, could help them. The DA at the time really wanted us to check out Tara
Starting point is 00:20:03 for additional information. However, on July 18th, one week after Jim's disappearance, detectives are taken aback when Tara walks into the Canyon City Police Department, demanding answers of her own. She too was concerned that Jim had not contacted her. Jim had not contacted her. I told him. He's still holding up to Rita.
Starting point is 00:20:26 Tara tells police that Jim left her home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on the morning of July 10th. And he flew to Colorado Springs and called her when he landed. We learned speaking with Tara that Jim had already actually purchased his airline ticket back to the Jackson Hole Wyoming and was to return July 13th, and he never showed up. When detectives ask how much Tara knew about Jim's life in Salida,
Starting point is 00:20:56 she admits he hadn't always been honest. During our conversations and interviews with Tara, we discovered that she initially met Jim in 2001 on an online dating site. We had it all really long and really good friends, really. They started dating more seriously. The one and only period where he did like me. I did not know it was America the first time I had there. After that, we broke out. Over the next few years, Tara says that she had tried to move on.
Starting point is 00:21:37 But in early 2007, Jim called her up while on a work trip. January, he got to one day, I went down to the other coastline and I had to drop the truck over. She helped nurse him back to health. They rekindled their relationship, but she made it very clear that she wanted him to get a divorce. So, in March of 2008, he started talking to Kristen about getting a divorce. He was ready to give up on his marriage and start a new relationship with Tara.
Starting point is 00:22:13 Though, according to Tara, she'd grown frustrated with Jim's lingering connection to his ex-wife. I said, it's ridiculous. You guys at the end of the worse when you, you know, or you'd feel she needs to learn the boundaries. You're not in your best friend, you're not in her comfort. Did Jim's reluctance to call it quits with Kristen lead Tara to do the unthinkable? To find out, detectives ask for her whereabouts
Starting point is 00:22:40 on the night Jim disappeared. Tara was in Wyoming through the whole period. She was fairly quickly ruled out as a suspect. Then, five days later, detectives get a call that confirms their worst fears. Two kayakters were kayaking down the Arkansas River, just east of the Lompine recreational area when they discovered a body floating
Starting point is 00:23:10 down the river. Jim Durgan was the only person that was the logical. Jim's dental records were obtained. I took those X-rays to the Odin, and he compared Jim Durgan's X-rays to the body that was discovered, and he made an absolute identification that was the body of James Durgan. When the Sheriff Department told me
Starting point is 00:23:39 that they had found him in the river, and it just couldn't sink in, I just, I had to go in and throw up and, and cry and I couldn't fathom what was going on. I just, I, how could this happen? It was really devastating. The question on everyone's mind is how had this healthy father of two died? Everyone's natural instinct is to assume drowning. Initially X-rays were taken of the body, and it was discovered that there was metallic projectiles
Starting point is 00:24:18 in the skull of the body. The autopsy showed that Jim Durgan had been shot in the head three times. It was clear that he had been murdered. Investigators reach out to Jim's wife, Kristen. I told her that we had found Jim's car. She began to cry and then I went on to tell her that we had also found Jim as well and that Jim was not alive. She began to cry again.
Starting point is 00:24:50 Next, detectives break the news to Jim's girlfriend, Tara. I felt sorry for Tara because she lost a person that she described was her soulmate. When detectives asked Tara who might have wanted Jim dead, she doesn't hesitate. The first thing that she said to them was, you should look at Kristen's boyfriend, Andy Tanner. According to Tara, Andy's statement that his relationship
Starting point is 00:25:23 with Jim was amicable couldn't be further from the truth. Tara knew that Andy and Jim had this sort of a volatile relationship where they definitely didn't respect each other and didn't get along. Could the tension between Jim and Andy have reached a breaking point? To find out, detective speak with employees who were working with Andy on the evening of July 10th. One of those employees said that Andrew left for a period of time on the night of July 10th for between half an hour and an hour. He claimed that he was helping a friend with a car stereo and then giving a friend a ride and asked that this woman to cover for him.
Starting point is 00:26:15 But who was Andy supposedly helping? Looking through Andy's phone records for the days before and after Jim's disappearance, one number appears again and again. Through phone record analysis, we came up with a gentleman by the name of Brian Foulson. There was a lot of communication between Andy and Brian, the night Jim with missing, as well as the following day when Jim was reported missing.
Starting point is 00:26:41 When detectives pull Brian's record, they realize he is no stranger to crying. At the time of the murder, he was actually on parole with the state of Colorado for his strong armed robbery. Confident there is more to the story, on August 27, 2008, detectives obtain a search warrant for Brian's home. When they arrive, they find Brian and his girlfriend
Starting point is 00:27:08 and bring them to the station for formal interviews. Marlene Aviesman was questioned Brian Folsom's girlfriend about July 10th night if Brian was around. Well, that night, Brian told me that he had to go help somebody with his car stereo. And immediately this red flag went off, you know, the BS flag.
Starting point is 00:27:29 He was gone for about four hours, I'd say. It was a long time. And right when he got back, Brian, he came up the stairs and went to the bathroom and immediately started scrubbing his hands, scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing. At this point in investigation, we felt we were on the right path. The the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the What the f*** is this? Coming up. Detective Discover a Brutal Crime Driven by Green.
Starting point is 00:28:09 It was absolutely amazing to me what someone would do for money. But just how deep does this conspiracy go? What about you? You can down this. You assisted in your health. Go. On August 27, 2008, 48 days since Jim Durgan's murder, detectives are seated with convicted
Starting point is 00:28:37 felon Brian Fulson, who's desperate to get something off his chest. Yeah, really? I thought his suits had every fucking day, man. I might have died already, don't be a sped up a little, I hope not. I and another detective went in and spoke with Mr. Fulsome, and he basically, he confessed to his part of Jim
Starting point is 00:29:04 Durgan's death. The real bad things were you and the... Don't you f**king see these guys get killed? Let it kill up at all. According to Brian, it all began when he struck up a friendship with 22-year-old Andy Tanner. At the fast food restaurant, they both worked at in Samada, Colorado. Brian says when Andy learned that he had done time
Starting point is 00:29:28 in prison for strong armed robbery, he asked for his help. He says that this guy's been a very bad problem for a very long time. He says that this guy's done a lot of things to f**king his life up. And he says that he was going to kill him. He told us initially that he was hired He was gonna kill him.
Starting point is 00:29:51 He told us initially that he was hired by Andy Tanner to kidnap Jim Durgan from the Lumpine Recreational Area. Although Brian says he had doubts about the plan, greed got the better of him. He said he was going to get paid $2,000 from Permandi. And we asked him if he knew Jim Durgin, he said he'd never met him. He said he just did it for the money. Brian says that on July 10th, 2008,
Starting point is 00:30:20 Andy told him to wait for Jim at the Lone Pine recreational area. When Jim turned and showed up, he attacked Jim. He had a large knife with him. He handcuffed Jim, threw him in the back of the vehicle. They were like, three to six miles. Driving up this f***ing dirt road, took him up to the top of the dirt, and tied him to a f***ing tree with rope
Starting point is 00:30:45 and f***ing that those handcuffs. And he was banging for his f***ing life, saying he didn't do anything, he didn't do anything. Then he told him, I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm just leaving you here, don't panic. And then he leaves and returns to Salida.
Starting point is 00:31:03 Rhyne says he drives back to the burger joint where Andy was working currently. He told Andy that he's got him tied to the tree. He took a piece of white receipt paper and drew a map for Andy, showing him where he had taken Jim and tied him to a tree. So Andy looked at the map, studied it, and then wadded it up and ate it. into a tree. So Andy looked at the map, studied it,
Starting point is 00:31:25 and then wadded it up and ate it. At that point, Brian Felsen exits the story. All he did was the kidnapping. He did not shoot Jim Bergen. I think anyone left and going back and done a glono. I don't know that's what I think anyone who left and going back and done it, but I don't know. I don't know, that's what I think happened. He had to know that this man that he had kidnapped from the side of the road was not going to survive the night.
Starting point is 00:31:56 It was absolutely amazing to me what someone would do for money. Following Brian's confession, detectives charge him with Jim Durgan's kidnapping and murder. As police shift their focus to Andy Tanner, they subpoena financial records. Once we looked into where Andy got the money to pray, Brian Fulsom, we found out that Andy had received a small inheritance from his father's death. While they're looking into Andy,
Starting point is 00:32:30 they also pull his girlfriend, Kristen Durgan's financial records. It became very obvious that Kristen Durgan had a huge gambling problem. She lost a lot of money. Anywhere from $200,000 to tens of thousands of dollars, it had any given time. My brother was giving her money to pay the bills and she was spending it on the gambling. It was just an addiction.
Starting point is 00:32:57 She went to rehab twice, but it didn't take. Kristen had been gambling for a very long time, probably from near the beginning of their marriage. When detectives examine the couple's provisional divorce agreement, it's clear that Jim wasn't willing to put up with Kristen's spending any longer. During the analysis of the divorce agreement, Christen was required by the divorce agreement
Starting point is 00:33:28 to pay certain debts off. Once she paid those debts off, she was only going to walk away with under $20,000. But those aren't the only financial implications of their divorce. If Jim survived long enough for the divorce to be finalized, he would have changed the beneficiaries of his life insurance from Kristen to his children.
Starting point is 00:33:51 If Jim was to die before the divorce was finalized, she would receive the house, his full pension, his full 401k, and a $250,000 life insurance policy. When they added all up, they realized that she stands to inherit nearly a half a million dollars. Jim was worth a lot of money, Dad. She was so greedy, she wanted it all,
Starting point is 00:34:23 and she needed it all. And she needed it all. On August 28th, 2008, Kristen makes a surprising move and shows up at the station accompanied by her father. We conducted another interview with her after she had stated she had additional information about the case. Kristen tells police that she finally
Starting point is 00:34:45 knows what happened to Jim. She told that detective that Andy had confessed to her that he actually was responsible for Jim Durkin's death. He had told her that he shot Jim. When he said he was going to recognize him, I think Andy really hurt us, didn't want that to happen. Because Andy was in love with you.
Starting point is 00:35:12 He said he wanted me to go to the gay man restaurant. He said he loved my kids. I would eat him, damn, why do you eat him? Kristen played the victim in that she didn't know what he was gonna do Please, any of us, I should have inspired him to be a bad wife. Kristen played the victim in that she didn't know what he was going to do and that she didn't have any active role in it. But Kristen's cry falls on deaf ears. You're not being cheerful, is it? Yeah. I can't be sure if the law is...
Starting point is 00:35:51 I confronted her with the fact that we were aware of what happened. And I started giving her facts that Brian Fulson had told us the night before. He was worth about $100,000 to give a life. And $400,000 to you, okay. I didn't see it that way. Out in the hallway, Detective Lopez pulls Kristen's father aside and lays out their case. I let Kristen's father in on the facts that we had obtained. I think he clearly saw that there was no way
Starting point is 00:36:21 this didn't happen without Kristen's involvement. Back in the interrogation room, Kristen is feeling the heat. You have this opportunity to explain it to us. Why did this happen? Whose idea of words help yourself out? Can I help my dad? I don't see why not. When Kristen's father comes into the room, he doesn't come to his daughter's rescue.
Starting point is 00:36:52 He was angry, and he confronted Kristen and asked if the things that he was being pulled were true. What about you? You could dumb this. You assisted and you helped. This is right. Kristen didn't really seem particularly surprised by it. She cried, but mostly she just sat there sort of in disbelief that this had all just come
Starting point is 00:37:21 crashing in around her. I never said any side here.er. I'm not the same. He's the idea. Okay. Tell me what was said. He said that place would be easier if Jim were on the way. You said. Yeah, it would be. Coming up details of Jim's final hours in Mirage. He was horse from screaming.
Starting point is 00:37:47 He had actually chewed through the duct tape and was trying to scream for help. On August 28, 2008, under pressure from her father and police, 40-year-old Kristen Durgan finally admits that she and her boyfriend, Andy Tanner, were involved in the kidnapping and shooting death of her husband, 37-year-old Jim Durgan.
Starting point is 00:38:18 He said that life would be easier if Jim were out of the way. You said, I didn't say please go kill my husband. I said, you're right, life would be easier if Jim were out of the way. You said I didn't say please go kill my husband. I said you're right, life would be easier. According to Kristen, she and Andy had been planning Jim's death for multiple days. She told them that her and Andy began plotting how they would go about killing Jim and that it was sort of a team effort. Kristen says that on July 10th, she and Andy agreed to go through with their plan.
Starting point is 00:38:53 You need several phone calls. The last one where you truly spoke to you. When did you tell them? That, um, that my car broke down. Where did you say your car broke down? It was the long-time immigration. Kristen never left Slido. Kristen's kids never left Slido.
Starting point is 00:39:16 It was a trap. Kristen says that after she made the call around 8 p.m., she finished working her shift, drove home, and went to sleep. Around 6 the next morning, Andy finally came home. You just see the lunch bag, and you just said it's fun. What does that mean to you? It means you're the champion.
Starting point is 00:39:42 I need to go to the temple. According to her, Andy tells her later that he goes up, finds Jim tied to the tree. He was horse from screaming. He had actually chute through the duct tape and was trying to scream for help. And that's funny, and he said, you know, I'm gonna kill you. And is there anything you want to say to your kids? A kid through Chris. And he told me, he told my kids that he wanted a ticker. I think I'm slow and have the job's good.
Starting point is 00:40:21 And he told me that he was smart. And he never me that was something that he was smart. And he never said one, just said, I'm sorry. And at that point, Andy Tanner, according to Kristen, shot Jim in the head. Andy tells Kristen that he covered him in plastic, so he didn't spill any blood in the car. And he put him in the vehicle, and he drives down to the river. -♪ -♪
Starting point is 00:40:49 Kristen's father appears horrified. Her father realized that she was actually responsible for Jim's death, and that she was part of it. Her father became very upset at that point. Marissa, keep answering. Her father became very upset at that point. Marissa, keep answering. On August 28, 2008, Kristen Durgan is charged with conspiracy, kidnapping,
Starting point is 00:41:18 and the murder of her husband. I was just shocked. The week's leading up to that, I think I was still in an end in aisle that she could possibly commit a murder. Hours later, detectives place Andy Tanner under arrest. At the time we arrested Andy, Andy really didn't react. Either way, I don't think he said a word. We arrested Andy. Andy really didn't react either way. I don't think he said a word.
Starting point is 00:41:49 Though Andy immediately requests a lawyer and never speaks with police, Kristen and Brian are more cooperatives. Brian Folsom and Kristen Durgan struck a deal with the District Attorney's Office. Both of them were charged with second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping in exchange for them testifying and standy Tanner.
Starting point is 00:42:12 Brian pledged to 48 years to Department of Corrections with, I believe, a five-year parole step. Kristen pledged to 54 years and five years' parole. In August of 2009, You've been in prison for 54 years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years,
Starting point is 00:42:37 and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, and five years, committed the murder for Jim's life insurance policy.
Starting point is 00:42:45 That is some kind of greedy that you would kill a human being for money. She wants to have plenty of money to keep gambling, and this is her meal ticket. It's all about greed, it's all about money, it's all about her and not anyone else. On September 3rd, 2009, the jury finds Andy Tanner Guilty and sentences him to life in prison. I was happy. I was glad justice was served.
Starting point is 00:43:20 Still, no amount of justice can bring back Jim Durgan. Still, no amount of justice can bring back Jim Durgan. I told her how evil she was to take away a friend, a husband, and a son. He was a good friend, and he was a good friend to me. In the end, Kristen Durgan discovered that, like all sins, greed can corrupt a person until nothing can satisfy them. Her parents were extremely wealthy. She would have stood to have inherited millions of dollars upon their death, but her greed overtook her and she would rather kill the man who fathered her children to get some money now. Brian Fulsom will be released in 2052. He will be 73 years old.
Starting point is 00:44:12 Piston will be released in 2059. She will be 91 years old. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com.

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