Snapped: Women Who Murder - Mary Ann Hughs

Episode Date: December 11, 2022

An investigation quickly turns cold in rural Tennessee when the body of a small-town farmer and businessman is found near a trash pile; the case is reopened 25 years later, hoping advances in technology will finally help close this cold case.Season 30, Episode 2Originally aired: October 17, 2021Watch 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 Lindsey 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. Big city crime strikes this small Tennessee town when a local legend disappears without a trace. We have to decide whether that person is missing

or whether they chose to go missing. There was questions about maybe some infidelity. I got mad because I thought he didn't have that much in my house. But a grim discovery changes everything. The rock down through it runs through it's surface. It was not some type of natural causes. It was a homicide. To find the truth, authorities must narrow down the killer

between two sets of twisted siblings. There were twins. Not only in this area, there's an evil twins. must narrow down the killer between two sets of twisted siblings. There were twins, none in this area is the evil twins. There's an old saying that, you know, a friend will help you move, but family will help you move the body. I didn't know who to believe or who did what and who I could trust. And when this 25-year-long cold case is finally reopened,

it heats up fast. They sprayed that lumen on there, and they told us it lit up like a Christmas tree. I'm thankful. It's so bad for that community of Crump Home, but not. It was just, thank God, we may find out the truth. Can't be nothing else but evil. Plain evil. They do a person like that. found out the truth. Can't be nothing else but evil, plain evil,

to do a person like that. Life moves slowly in the small town of Pulaski, Tennessee. But on March 29, 1990, deputies race to the home of 43-year-old Mary Ann Hughes, who hasn't seen her husband Larry in over 24 hours. The morning of the 28th, 1990, Mary Ann and Larry got up as they usually did. They lived in the country, they had a farm, of the 28th, 1990. Mary Ann and Larry got up as they usually did. They lived in the country, they had a farm, but they also were partners in a hardware store here in town, and that's where they worked. He took the day off. She says when she left about seven

that morning he was in the house, drinking cup of coffee and everything was fine. She rode to work with one of the neighbors, Jeff Claude, who worked at Hardware Store. Mary Ann said she made an attempt to call Larry around 12 o'clock that day and there was no answer. She returned back home that afternoon, sometime around 5-30pm. Marianne tells investigators as Jeff dropped her back home,

she immediately noticed something wasn't right. She goes in the house, he's not there. The car's there, it hadn't been moved, so she gets in her car and drives and starts to look for them and she goes by a brother's house, for ex-house. And her and Rex go looking for Larry so they went out there and didn't find him. So she went back to the house.

With no word from Larry in over a day, Mary Ann says her worry intensified. So, 36 hours after Larry's missing, she contacts the local Sheriff's Department and reports Larry missing. With time not on their side, investigators hit the ground running. You want to find out what kind of person they are,

what their habits are. I think it along with your family. I mean you're hoping tips come along that will help you find them. Born in 1946, Paloski Native Larry Hughes was well known throughout Giles County. I think everybody in the community knew my father. It's a tight knit community. Everybody liked him, you know, everybody I've ever met that finds out I'm his nephew.

They always say, oh yeah, I know him, he's a good man. In his teens, Larry became a bit of a local celebrity. My father was apparently an amazing basketball player. When he was a senior in high school, he had a scholarship to play basketball in college. But in November 1964, Larry had a devastating accident. He worked in a grocery store in the meat department. In November 1964, Larry had a devastating accident. He worked in a grocery store in the meat department. His hand got caught in a meat grinder.

He lost his hand. Therefore, his college basketball career went to the wayside. Despite the accident, Larry adapted quickly. My father losing his hand did not hold him back at all. At some point, you know, he picked up the strap so to speak and moved on with life. He could do more with one hand than most people can with two.

I never seen anything that he could do. In his early 20s, Larry met and married a young woman named Nancy Sneed, and the couple soon welcomed their baby girl, Benay. Though the marriage was short-lived, Larry and Nancy remained friends. My mother never said anything bad about my father and vice versa. They both spoke very highly of each other. ["Benei and her mother moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and Larry stayed in Polaski, Tennessee,

where he fell in love again in 1972. This time, with a single mother named Mary Ann Bailey Beats. She was an outgoing person, her personality. You know, she was always bubbly and cheerful and smiling. They seemed to be a good match for each other. Mary Ann was previously married, she already had three sons. After a brief courtship, the 226-year-olds married in February of 1973. Their newly blended family moved into a home perched on over 100 acres of farmland.

I would come up to Blaskeyspin my summer's vacations. I gained a mom and three brothers when they got together. We became an instant family. In addition to farming, Larry also had a passion for business. He ended up buying into the Abernathy Hardware store here in town on the square. Abernathy Hardware was a small business when Uncle Larry got into it. And they built the business up shortly thereafter. Mary Ann come to work up there with him. She was a hard worker.

By 1990, after 17 years of marriage, the kids were grown and out of the house. With the farm and the hardware store thriving, the empty nesters seemed like the perfect team. I always thought that Uncle Larry and Mary Ann had a good relationship. They was always, you know, a loving couple. But on March 29th, after 17 years of marriage,

Mary Ann is now desperate to find her loving husband as she files a missing persons report with the Giles County Sheriff's Department. They took a what I would call a general statement from her as to a couple of days leading up to his disappearance and actually the day of him disappearing.

Mary Ann says on March 27, the evening before Larry went missing, the couple went out for a nice dinner. She said that he had chicken and salad and peaches. They ate around seven. They came home, sat around, went to bed about 10, 10, 30. Mary Ann says when she came home from work the following evening, Larry was gone, along with his gun. She reported that his 22 pistol was also missing.

Investigators ask Mary Ann if Larry had any enemies. Larry was a very respected business person. There were no enemies that brought forth any type of ill-wield towards Larry. Marianne suggests that her husband may be too well-liked, especially by the opposite sex. Mary Ann put out the theory that he'd run off with another woman. But after a day or two and he's still ain't found him, then he began to get worried. Maybe he walked in on a drug bust. I mean, there was just insane rumors at that time.

Nobody knew what to believe. MUSIC Coming up, a new lead gives investigators hope. She said that she's seen Larry, and he was with another woman. And Larry's daughter begins her own investigation. I went to the drawer in the bathroom, and all of his stuff was there. Those would be things that Larry would not leave the house

without. At that point, I'm scared. I'm like, who's done this? March 29, 1990. Well-known farmer and businessman Larry Hughes has just been reported missing by his wife of 17 years Mary Ann Hughes. She said that I think he's run off with another woman.

We have to decide whether that person is missing or whether they chose to go missing. whether that person is missing or whether they chose to go missing. While investigators follow up on the possibility that Larry abandoned his wife for another woman, a different team speaks with Larry's worried daughter, Benay. It was a shock, I didn't understand. Especially when you're talking about a man who stays home, goes to work, comes home, works on the farm, and that's it. That's his life. Bene says, based on her own investigating, she feels something terrible has happened to her dad. She said her dad kept all of his personal items and her drawer in the bathroom.

When I got to the house, the first place that I went was his drawer in the bathroom. And all of his stuff was there. His keys were there, his wallet was there, his ring was there, and his watch was there. Larry was a creature of habit. If Larry was leaving the premises, those would be things that Larry would not leave the house without. I kind of knew in that moment that I would never see my father again.

Investigators ask Benet her thoughts on Mary Ann's theory of an affair. I never believed that the two of them were so tightly intertwined. I don't know how either one of them could have had an affair. After a week of working the case with zero leads, investigators reach out to the public for help. A few days in, they got a phone call from a lady that worked in Franklin, Tennessee, which is north of Jiles County. And she said that she seemed Larry.

And he was with another woman. While investigators send deputies to check out the lead, they get another call about something peculiar at the Hughes farm. The neighbor contacts the Sheriff's Department and says that Mary and Hughes is cutting the mattress up and attempting to burn it. She took the mattress outside and she sliced it like a piece of bread and she cut the top and the bottom off and she putashed it like a piece of bread and she cut the top

in the bottom off and she put the cover in a 55 gallon bucket and set it all on fire. And she had taken all the stuffing that was inside the bed and put it into a doll kennel. When investigators arrive at the farm, they ask Marianne about her sudden urge to burn the couple's bed. She told him I didn't want that bad because I was mad because he'd been with another woman. Although Marianne's explanation seems plausible, investigators collect what's left of the mattress. He took what we would call the inner stuffing, or the innards of the mattress, and placed it into evidence.

Days pass, with no sign of Larry, since a tipster reportedly spotted him in Franklin, Tennessee. They went down there, man. As they were doing that, he wasn't located. No one had seen him. Desperate for answers, Larry's daughter takes matters into her own hands. We were all just like, this makes no sense. So I drove to Franklin, Tennessee and sat down with this woman with pictures. And she actually identified the woman that was with him that day that she saw him as my stepmother, Mary Ann.

It was determined that her time frame was off. He'd actually had a doctor's appointment, cardiologist's appointment. And he was actually in that restaurant with Mary Ann. It was relief that, okay, my dad isn't a bad person. I was right. He's not doing anything crazy. And now we're back to where is he and what's happened.

On April 13, 16 days after Larry was reported missing, investigators respond to reports of a gruesome discovery. Two kids were playing on a county road in Jows, an area where people just sort of threw trash off to the side of the road. We're walking down the road, and then it's not something that bad. And we're walking down the road, down through it,

and then it's not something that bad. Is it got closer? They realized it's seen a fool it. They realized it was a bottom. When investigators surveyed the scene, they encounter a horrific sight. He was there completely nude. No socks, no underwear, no pants, no shirt, no nothing, laying there in that ditch.

Nobody should have to die like that. Just throw it away, discard it, like trash. Thank you, right? A closer look gives investigators a probable idea. By the time they found his body, I think it's been 16 days since he was killed. So the decomposition was pretty bad, but the hand was still visible and was clearly identical to the way Larry's hand looked. A subsequent autopsy confirms the recovered body is Larry Hughes,

and provides more context for his gruesome end. Larry had two gunshot wounds to the head. So it was apparent that it was not a missing person or some type of natural causes. It was a homicide. He realized, OK, he's been found bad. You're never going to see him again. And all your fears just come to realization. This was extremely, extremely hard on my father. Don't go lay it being his baby brother.

We just all sat around and cried, and we're all in shock, and upset, and at that point, I'm scared. I'm like, who's done this? Should I be worried about my life? It was just a whole lot of questions, and a whole lot of fear. The autopsy report reveals that Larry's stomach contents mirror those of the dinner he shared with Marianne. The stomach contents of Mr. Hughes contained chicken, potatoes, salad, and peaches.

The report also notes the recovery of two 22 caliber projectiles from Larry's skull. The significance of the 22 projectiles that were removed from Mr. Hughes. If you recall, there was a 22 Armanius revolver that that Miss Hughes reported missing. Investigators collect projectiles from Larry's target range on his farm. Those bullets along with the projectiles removed from Mr. Hughes' body was sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

where they were compared. The same gun was used at target practice, was used to kill Larry Hughes, which within, they wanted to believe that it was his weapon. Coming up, investigators uncover a promising new witness that could be the key to solving this case. What's the corner from the Larry's family's down there is a fact.

And it's back to the commission. Back to the draft way. And a curveball throws the investigation into a tailspin. The community was very afraid of them. The folks that they killed, as folks they believed to get them wrong. The hardest true crime story to report on is your own. I'm Tiffany Reese, host of the podcast,

something was wrong. For 15 seasons, I've always aimed to validate and amplify the voices of those who have survived abuse and crime. But for season 16, I'm opening up for the first time about my own experiences as an abuse survivor and a murder co-victim. With the help of trusted friends will unpack my journey to becoming a victim advocate by examining my past. From the emotional and physical abuse I endured at the hands of my parents and the bullying I received from my classmates to the murder of my brother and the securities fraud my father was convicted of. I'm covering it all and even learning more about myself through this process. This is obviously a very personal journey for me but I believe that this will play a

part in my healing helping me to process the trauma that I endured. Follow something was wrong wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon Music or Wondery app. April 14, 1990. Less than 24 hours after the body of 43-year-old Larry Hughes was found shot to death. Investigators interview Larry's worried neighbor, Elmer Rainey, who says he might have some key information. Mr. Rainey says at 3 o'clock on the morning of the 28th,

he sees a vehicle backed in over there at the Hughes house. And he doesn't recognize the vehicle. It's a question and it's back to what's a car in front of the Larry's family. It's on the Larry's house and it's back to the back wall. It's a huge drive way. He sees a pickup truck back up under the canopy and the ports light come on and then the ports light go off. And then the low-violet truck leaves.

It concerned Elmer Rainey to the extent that when Mary Ann left at 6.30 that morning, Elmer walks over to the house at 7 o'clock in Knoxville or gets no response. He calls multiple times and even calls Marion in at work and says, hey, do you know where Larry's at? He's that concerned. Sensing Marion knows more than she's letting on.

Investigators consider the possibility of her involvement. Larry was a big guy. No way, Marion, he was the first at you could even move him. So she would have to have help. There's an old saying that, you know, friend will help you move, but family will help you move the body. Her brother is a big guy,

and he drove a pickup truck. So, they would make you leave to believe that Rex was involved. As they dig deeper into their new theory, investigators subpoena phone records from the Hughes home and find some intriguing activity on the night of March 27. There was two phone calls from that house at night, one at 10.30

and one at 1230. They were from the Hughes household wrecks and then wrecks to the Hughes household. And remember, she says she went to bed. Investigators contact Rex and ask him to provide an alibi and an explanation of the late night phone calls. They had talked to Mary Ann's brother at Rex Bailey. He recalls on the night of March the 27th.

There was two distinct phone calls. He does remember it on one point in time that he talks to Larry. And Larry is upset talking about Mary Ann's gonna leave him. After Rex passes a polygraph, investigators confront Mary Ann, who originally claimed she was asleep by 10.30 p.m. on March 27th. She said in her statement, she don't remember anybody calling and she don't remember Larry getting out of bed.

She was given some polygraph exam, and she failed all of them. Despite Marianne's suspected deception, investigators lack hard evidence to bring any charges. She didn't have to have to just go by or any physical evidence, so didn't charge anyone with anything. But several months later on August 1st, the case is turned on its head and it's not a big deal. So they didn't charge anyone with anything. But several months later on August 1st, the case is turned on its head when a shocking tip comes in from the local jail,

involving two serial killers. Peat and pet bondurant were twins. None in this area is the evil twins. They peddled in drugs, and the folks that they killed, as folks they believed to get them wrong. The community was very afraid of them. They were known to be ruthless murderers. There was a jailhouse tip that one of that bonder

took and fast that they killed Mr. Larry Hughes. MUSIC He said they went to the hardware store that confessed that they killed Mr. Larry Hughes. He said they went to the hardware store and got this business man, carried him out the back door, carried him up out in the county and shot him. The investigators focused in a lot on that. Obviously, they had prior knowledge about the bond parents and what they were capable of. When confronted, the bond parents refused to cooperate.

When the bond parents' name came up, it seemed like that's when the case just became kind of fractured and the investigation lost its focus. He wouldn't have had any interaction with them. I never believed it or understood it. Despite their efforts, the case grows cold again and remains unsolved for decades. I didn't know who to believe or who did what and who I could trust.

There was a lot of fear. And I high-tailed it back to Birmingham, Alabama, and just kind of cut myself off. Finally, 25 years later, Lieutenant Shane Hunter is tasked with re-examining the case. Basically, there's a new sheriff in town. We've got these co-cases. Can we revisit them?

We're looking at 25 years. Technology has definitely changed a lot. So we reached out to Bonaire and said, look, we want to revisit this. On January 7th, 2015, Lieutenant Hunter sits down with Larry's daughter, Benet, who, for decades, has held on to suspicion of her estranged stepmother, Mary Ann. I used to do it somehow that involves. I mean, I always thought that.

I didn't want to believe it, and I tried not to believe it, and went to denial about it, and it's always been there all these years, in the back of my head. Everything leads back to her. She kept it here, don't you? Not to my knowledge. She's selling dogs, vehicles. I don't know what she got out of a hardware store,

and then I feel like there's probably some kind of life insurance. She, if all she was gonna get some insurance money, $100,000 to be exact. And when she got to money, she realized she didn't get $100,000 to be exact. And when she got to money, she realized she didn't get $100,000. That money went towards paying off the hardware store. It was an agreement between Larry and the other owner. Mary Ann was very angry when she found out that most of it was going to have to be paid to the partners at the Harvard store.

Bene says the partial payout didn't stop Maryanne from flaunting her money. She was going to shop and freeze, and she'd buy clothes. All of a sudden she's out caring about how she looked and all that. It was like a, I'm free time. I hate time. When you take the totality of the evidence,

the projectiles from Mr. Hughes, the projectiles from the target area, you know, obviously she was spending a lot of money. It becomes very clear who the primary suspect was. Investigators tried a narrow down Larry's time of death by the food found in his stomach during the autopsy. When we research that and talked to some experts, it was determined that after eight hours,

do you eat the food is unrecognizable. So basically from 7 p.m. sometime within the next six to eight hours Larry was murdered. I don't think they ever recognized that back in 1990. Despite this revelation, the 25-year-old cold case is riddled with its share of setbacks. They built a new jail, and when they moved to the new jail, everything got lost. A lot of the original evidence and stuff they had from the original investigation was lost.

We realized pretty quick some evidence is missing. We lost the bullets. It was all gone. Luckily, the mattress stuffing is still accounted for. We sent the mattress stuff into the lab to see if they could find any blood or anything on it. While investigators await results, they interview Jeff Claude, the man who gave Mary Ann a ride to and from work on March 28th, 1990.

He didn't see Larry that morning. He didn't see Larry that afternoon, which was strange because he usually sees Larry standing in the door around on the porch. But Jeff says even more unusual was what Mary Ann said right as he dropped her off. It struck me as funny as I mean before the tires were even stock-rolled. You know, it was, look, there ain't been no work down here to back. And I didn't fight much of it, yeah. But looking back, how would you know? Coming up, when investigators put Larry Hughes' widow

in the hot seat, tensions mount. She leaned back, she crossed her arms, and she came defensive. I did not kill my husband. And buried secrets come to the surface. I asked her, what time did she look for you? She said, really anything. I said, what about blood? I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful.

I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful.

I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going to be a little bit more careful. I'm going her specific questions, you know, just running through pistol. How did you know that was gone? Did you keep it beside the bayon? She goes where you used to, but now you keep it in the shade. Do you remember the last place you seen there? That the shop, like, I'm not a cop. I said, so, you knew the gun was gone from the shade?

Yeah, I went out there and I didn't see it. I said, well, okay, and then we went on about to bathe. That's what it was. I got mad because I thought he had had that weapon in my house. Got it in the end, but I thought he had. And I hated that bathe. And I said, well, what were you going to do to let it walk back through that door and he didn't have a bag.

But he didn't like it either, it was her reply. Unconvince to buy Marion's answer, investigators turn up the heat. So I'm thankful to you. It's so powerful that community will come home tonight. As we went, her demeanor changed. She leaned back, she crossed her arms, and she came defensive.

I did not kill my husband. Just rigging her body language, you could see it. That may have been the really the tipment point for me was sitting across from her and realizing that this is the person that killed their use Investigators continue to push Marianne by suggesting another reason she may have destroyed the mattress You know why? No, it's not? Yeah, no.

We were trying to see if we could get her to confess to the homicide of Larry Hughes. We give her every opportunity to tell us a story and she just wouldn't. And I'm about three times a year old, because I did not kill my husband. Oh, I'm a friend. And I'm about three times the yellow, because I did not kill my husband. Oh, I'm sorry. And I'm done.

That's the best. Am I three? Okay. Walk out that door. Time you walk. Just know that you turn your back when you're at it. She said whatever, and went on out to door. Investigators know they are closing in on their prime suspect.

They just need stronger evidence to make an arrest. And on January 29, 2015, they obtain a search warrant for the couple's former home, hoping to find it. They told us they were reopened in the case. One don't think it could come down, look around the property. And I told Officer Shane Hunter, I asked him, I said, what type of evidence

you look for? He said, really, anything. I said, what about blood? He said, I just got the biggest half a dollar. Homeowner Richard Pierce tells investigators he and his wife, Kathleen, had bought the house in the late 90s. We had heard that there's a possibility

he had been murdered there. Richard says he never thought much of the rumors until he decided to put hardwood floors in the main bedroom in 2006. So when I pulled the carpet, take the press with up, I found a big old circle of blood in the bedroom. As soon as I'd seen it, I'd holler with my wife. I told her, I just found out where Larry got killed at.

I go, what? And he said, yeah. It was just rumors at the time, but now I see it wasn't a rumor. It actually happened here. Investigators ask where the stained flooring is now, and Richard says he disposed of it long ago. They asked me that when I didn't call them. And my exact words to the state was,

I figured you know all the bests getting you were going to do. With Richard and Kathleen's permission, investigators tear up the bedroom floor, hoping for a miracle. They talked to the TBI or somebody and told them that if it was much blows, I said it would go through the press wood into the plywood subfloor. That was something that really sparked some hope in us that we were going to absolutely absolutely gonna nail this case.

They finally got down to it. And they sprayed that balloon on there, and they told us it lit up like a Christmas tree. All them years later. The subfloor samples are sent to the lab for testing. As they await results, investigators try to elicit a confession out of Mary Ann's brother, Rex Bailey. I feel real confident that Mary was killed in his bedroom

from all the blood that I've seen on the floor that we've cut up. And you're the last person to tell it to him. The last man to talk to him. Three o'clock in the morning, the witness says, I'll be here for back into the driveway. Force light come on, force light go off. That wasn't you, was it, Rex? No, no.

Unfortunately in cold cases, a lot of time that's what it comes down to is the only option you have is try to get some sort of confession or admission and wrecks. Being a lot like a sister wasn't going to admit to anything. With no confession, the entire case hinges on the floor and mattress samples. Ultimately, we get a call back from the TBI that they have a male DNA marker from the blood stains that are on the mattress for mattress stuffings. To confirm the blood on the mattress is Larry's, investigators need his DNA for comparison. The family did agree to assume the body.

We were all for it. Anything that we could do to help them prove the case, or to find out what exactly happened to my father. We were willing to do. On September 1, 2016, the results come in. It profiles we got from the bedstuffins matched the body DNA taken from Larry Hughes. So then we knew the blood at the home was Larry Hughes. And General Cooper seek the indictments from Larry

and Hughes' arrest. Coming up, a devastating setback threatens the pursuit of justice. That's when the code case comes to haunt you. It's the same life. Somebody is going to pay for what was done to my uncle and... ...aim. Just like hitting a brick wall. In October of 2016, after 26 years, the suspected killer of Larry Hughes is almost in investigators' clutches.

We spent several hours in the grand jury and were successful in getting an indictment for Mary Ann Hughes' arrest. We went and served her in her house, brought her in. I think the motive was money. Playing something, all about money. After evading arrest for years, Maryanne Hughes, now 69, could spend the rest of her life in prison if convicted. I was in shock. I mean, I knew the whole time that she was looked at as the main suspect always had been, but I couldn't believe it had finally happened. I was thankful that something had finally been done. That finally, we was going to get some kind of justice.

With Marianne in custody, prosecutors work to strengthen their case. The theory was that Mary Hughes wanted Larry Day. And we didn't have any smoking gun proof of why. We did have the life insurance policy. If she did think Larry was running around on her, that's also a motive to kill Larry. Gathering all the evidence, prosecutors piece together how they believe Larry spent his final moments.

At some point between 10-30 and 12 o'clock, Larry was shot with his own revolver in his bedroom, in his bed. It could have been an argument that night. He could have simply been asleep, and she says, you know, enough's enough, and pulls the trigger twice. Two gunshot wounds, two they hit. There would have been a lot of bleeding, which would have caused blood to soak into the mattress

and possibly even leave a large puddle on the floor. She contacted her brother. He comes over 3 o'clock in the morning, and then they take Larry and the gun and drive him out to those dumps. Rex Bailey was never charged with his role in this case, even though we believe he was involved. We never had the proof we needed.

Though the state feels confident in its argument we believe he was involved. We never had the proof we needed. Though the state feels confident in its argument against Mary Ann, taking a case to trial with a 25-year lapse in the investigation and missing ballistic evidence proves risky. We knew there's a decent opportunity we would walk out with an acquittal if we go to trial and That's the last thing you want with a murder case As they weigh the odds the state asks Larry's family how they want closure It's an ultimate decision that that we came to with the family was that we wanted for history to record through these court records

that Mary Ann Hughes was responsible for the death of Larry Hughes. And that was more important than the satisfaction of trying to go for first degree murder and a life sentence. And the only way to guarantee that was to come up with a plea offer that Mary Ann would agree to. The plea deal was brought forward. I was ready to go to trial,

but I let my uncle make that decision because it has run his life. And we all agreed to set the plea deal. agreed to set the plea deal. In August of 2019, after 29 years of denial, Marianne Hughes pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for time served and 10 years probation. She spent a little bit of time in jail while they were waiting to bail her out.

And then, once they bailed her out, she was out. It seemed like somebody is going to pay for what was done to my uncle and bam. Just like getting a brick wall. It's not fair that she got so little time for what she done. Not as well say she got a wayward murder. I mean, my uncle, my dad's brother, but my father is gone. He's not in our life anymore.

She still has her three sons and her freedom. And to me, that is not justice. She didn't get what she deserved. That's for sure. But she had to admit she killed Larry. And, you know, that gave me satisfaction. I feel like we all get what we deserve in life somehow, some way. We pay for our bad deeds. I feel like we all get what we deserve in life somehow,

some way. We pay for our bad deeds. God takes care of it. While Mary Ann may have admitted to killing Larry, she'll likely take her reason to the grave. We'll never know what the motivation was. We'll never know, you know, the reason behind it, what actually happened that made her snap.

Evil, plain evil. What else could it be? Can't be nothing else but evil. They do a person like that. Rex Bailey died in July of 2020, less than a year after Mary Ann pled guilty. Mary Ann's probation ends in 2029.