Snapped: Women Who Murder - Pandora Zan

Episode Date: November 8, 2020

After a home invasion in Ohio leaves a corrections officer dead, investigators use controlled calls and an undercover sting at a motel to solve the case and expose a cruel plot with a bloody ending.Season 25, Episode 1Originally aired: March 10, 2019See 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. She was a single mom, and he was a retired Marine when their love blossomed online. I felt really lucky that he wanted to be with me. It was like instant family.

He had a good life. He was a good man. Just wanted to be with the family. They were like really active going out and doing stuff with us kids. But beneath the surface, dark secrets lurk. He was acting really nervous at home. I knew that there was something wrong. Then one night, everything explodes. She said she couldn't see him because it was too dark. It was a horrific scene.

50-some stab wounds all over the body. In the wake of a brutal slaying, investigators must decide a horrific scene. 50-some stab wounds all over the body. Oh, no! In the wake of a brutal slaying, investigators must decipher lie upon lie. It really came down to the oldest story in the book. Sometimes you just gotta do something you don't wanna do. And discover a twisted plan that warped everyone involved. If we feel passionate about another person,

we could become somebody we're not. October 17, 2009, Miami's Berg, Ohio, a small town 10 miles south of Dayton. At 6.13 a.m., police receive a frantic 911 call from a studio apartment on Springsboro Pike. She said somebody had done essentially done a home invasion and had stabbed her husband. They knocked me to the ground and they kind of blacked down when I woke up. He was the way he was there. This is blood everywhere. So, can we get Maddie come out, OK? The operator orders EMTs and patrol units to the scene. So you didn't switch where they went or what kind of vehicle they came in?

No. You didn't come to the front door? No. It was like this. Green was cut. They went out. The front door? It was at this door. It was cut. They went out. The front door.

It was at this door. Okay, what did you say on the phone? I mean, it's... It's catchy. Go look at C.P's breathing. Dispatch Asker to go check him and see if he was still alive. If he needed CPR.

Is he conscious? No, I don't think he was alive. I had to open this. Did CPR? Mail, mail, staff, mail, and play everywhere, and stab the food everywhere. dispatch, how to go outside, to wait on officers to arrive. Okay, I want you to stay on the phone with me until you can get to that officer. Okay, let me know when you see him. Within minutes, the first responding officers arrive. The individual who called in the crime was at the scene in a bathrobe. Officers spoke briefly with her. The woman identifies herself as Pandora Zan. And the victim inside is her husband, Charles Zan.

The first thing they do is try to find their way to the victim is her husband, Charles Zam. The first thing they do is try to find their way to the victim to render aid if possible, and they want to make sure the perpetrators aren't still in the area. There was blood all over the bed, all over the walls, blood everywhere. Lying on the bed drenched in blood is the body of Charles Zan.

In my 25 years, this is probably the most gruesome thing that I've ever seen. Charles Steven Zan, the second, was raised in Lorraine, Ohio, the oldest of four children. When his parents separated and his dad moved out, Charles became the man of the house. He had two younger brothers and a younger sister, and it was kind of his job to help raise them. Having developed a sense of duty and responsibility early, when Charles graduated from Lorraine High School in 1983, he immediately enlisted in the Army.

Some people do it for the money, some people do it for the prestige, some people do it just because, hey, I get to wear a uniform. A lot of men, Charles being one of them, did it for the honor. Charles was one of the ones I can truly say loved what he did. After three years in the army, he re-enlisted and spent another four years in the Marine Corps. He was stationed in California. While he was there, he met a woman and got married and they had a child. And then they came back home. They came back home. Honorably discharged, Charles moved with his wife and their son, Adrian, to Miami's

Berg Ohio, and put his military training to good use, working as a corrections officer at the nearby Warren Correctional Institute. It was a job that was made for him. He said, I go in there and I know that I'm getting a job done, and I come out of there with a great feeling of accomplishment. Unfortunately, Charles' home life was not as successful. He and his wife separated in 2001. Chuck's son, Adrian, split his time between his dad and his mom. In November of that year, when Charles was 37 years old, he met 36-year-old accounting specialist Pandora Henderson online and quickly fell in love.

I was born in Cincinnati, but I was raised in Franklin, Ohio. I was adopted. My parents had tried for a long time to have a child. It was a good childhood, both my parents and the home. A lot of love. When she was 22, Pandora married a college student from the nearby town of Butler, Ohio. They had a daughter, Misty, and then a son, Cody.

I have good memories of my mom from childhood. We had a lot of family gatherings and stuff like that. Not everything was perfect, though. And in 2001, Pandora had to make a difficult decision. I was old enough that I understood that my parents weren't happy together, and I thought it was best for everybody if they separated because they would be happier on their own. But my brother Cody, he was the classic divorce kid where he just wanted his parents to get back together.

During the separation, Pandora obtained custody of the children, and they moved to Lebanon, Ohio. I'm on an apartment and she was working for Lebanon City Schools. In November 2001, Pandora decided to try her luck finding a new love on the internet. I met Chuck online on a dating site. We started out emailing and then we started talking on the phone. Then we decided to meet.

The first time I went to his place, he was just like my nighting, starting an armor. He cooked me a romantic dinner, candlelight, music, everything that I'd never had before. I felt really lucky that he wanted to be with me. The happy couple fell hard for each other and moved fast to make it official. My divorce was final April 30th.

His divorce was final May 2nd, and then we got married June 20th, and we just went to the mayor of Miami'sburg and got married. He had a son that was a little bit younger than my son, so it was like the kids just hit it off, and it was like instant family. They were really active as far as going out and doing stuff together and going out

and doing stuff with us kids. We had game nights or outings. We used to go to the drive-in a lot. And he was a good provider. In 2002, Charles took a job at the Lebanon Correctional Institution as an inmate transfer officer and wanted to make a change at home for the kids. He talked me in to quitting my job so that I could stay home and be a mom. My mom enjoyed being a mother.

She was really family oriented. As Misty, Cody and Adrian grew into teenagers, things weren't always peaceful in the family. I'm pretty argumentative. My brother's pretty argumentative. Chuck's an Adrian can be pretty argumentative. And Chuck had really strict rules, and it was really easy to violate them. And so we tended to get into a lot of trouble.

Cody liked to just go and like, rile stuff up with his friends. You know, he just liked to do stupid stuff and didn't really think about what would happen after he did the stupid stuff. Eventually, Misty, Cody, and Adrian grew up, moved out, and pursued careers and families of their own.

I have my daughter and my son. My brother Cody has two kids. With the grandkids in his life, Charles was as happy as he'd ever been. The last few years when he was having grandchildren, like you could just see, was happy, like, being a grandpa changed his life. He was a really good grandfather.

It was the calm before a devastating storm. On the morning of October 17, 2009, a home invasion leaves Charles dead. Homicide detectives respond to the scene. I observed a man laying on a bed. It looked like he had had his throat deeply cut. Charles had stab wounds, on his head, through his eye. He had stab wounds on his stomach, his back, his arms, his legs. It was a horrific scene.

Coming up, investigators piece together a brutal assault that might have injured the killer, too. Who'd blood was it on the rubber cloth? And police learn this could be a revenge killing. He had run into an ex-inmate that had possibly made some threats to him. [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background,

[♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, [♪ Music playing in background, For the past seven years, Charles and Pandora Zan have faced life's hardships together. But on the morning of October 17, 2009,

a fatal assault separates them forever. When 45-year-old Charles is stabbed to death in his own home. There was blood everywhere. It was the most horrific and gruesome scene. Most of us have seen in our careers. It looked like somebody come in with the intention to do harm to Charles. From all the stab wounds, it seemed very personal.

As police officers, our hearts go out to that victim. We want to solve the crime and find out who did whatever it was. When questioned, Pandora tells investigators that she'd been asleep and was startled awake by a noise. When she got out of bed to check on the noise, someone attacked her. Pandora was telling officers that two people would come in,

knocked her unconscious. When she come to, somebody was ar-chest, holding her down. She said she couldn't see him because it was too dark. She believed it to be black males. That's when she heard Charles screaming for help. Pandova explains that after a loud struggle, she heard one of the attackers say, let's go. And the assault ended as quickly as it began.

They got up and ran out the door. And she got her phone and called 911. Pandora was released. She was the wife of a victim. She was a victim herself. And so she was free to go. As investigators begin to process the scene, they find no sign of forced entry at the front door,

but something else catches their attention. The front window, there had been a slit made in the screen, kind of across the top portion, and then a little slit from that one down the window. A CSI team dust the window and collects multiple latent fingerprints. On the floor near the bed, investigators find a rubber latex glove covered in blood.

Will it help identify the killer? Many times, in stabbing incidents, not only were all the victim bleed, but the suspect's hand can slip, and they'll also get their hand cut. So, who'd blood was it on the rubber glove? There was one more thing that was interesting that really stood out. There was a small nightstand next to the bed. The top drawer of that nightstand was opened up,

and there was blood inside the nightstand. Knowing that Charles was a security guard at a correctional facility, I just assumed he was probably going for his gun, but we did not find a gun at the scene at the time. Investigators also searched for the blade or blades used to murder Charles. Some of the wounds were large, like it had been a large knife and some of them were small, like a smaller knife had been used.

There were lots of knives and the residents, and it was very possible that one of those knives could have been used, the residents, and it was very possible that one of those knives could have been used, cleaned off, and put back in a drawer or a block. So we took all the knives and the residents. The corner responded, came, picked up trellis, for an autopsy.

After giving Pandora time to collect herself from the shock, detectives invite her to the Miami's Berg Police Station for more detailed questioning. They asked her to provide a timeline of events leading up to the murder, starting with what Charles did the previous day. She said he had called off work. He supposedly wasn't liking work at that point in time.

He called off work to spend the day with her. They played cards, they watched a show on TV. She made him his favor, a supper. And ultimately, before they went to bed, she said they had sex. Next thing she knew, she woke up to the assault. She confirms that Charles recently started keeping a gun in the nightstand.

The assailants must have taken it. When asked, Pandora admits that she and Charles had struggled through some marital problems. They had had some issues in the past. They had broken up in the past. She and her husband had split up for some time the year prior. And she told us Charles was dating a lady that worked at one of the women's correctional facilities. Six months later, when Pandora and Charles reconciled,

he ended this new relationship. Had a spurned lover come to exact revenge? Suspects that we don't want to leave out would be people that are close to him, angry with him, that might have an axe to grind with him. In her interview Pandora also suggests the murder might have been committed by someone connected to Charles's job. She said a week or two prior to this Charles had run into an ex-inmate that had possibly made some threats to him. He went pick up some auto parts, saw an ex-inmate, and the inmate said something along the lines of,

I'm gonna look you up. No direct threats, but that's definitely something that she remembered. Pandora said this was a black male. That would have been consistent with her saying there were two black males in her apartment. Just hours into the investigation, detectives have multiple angles to examine.

It could have been the two perpetrators that Pandora described. It could have been an ex-inmate. It could be a lover. We're just trying to figure out who would have done this. First, investigators need to question the woman Charles dated during the separation. Even though they had been broken up for some time

and it seemed amicable and Charles and Panzor were back together again, could she have been assessed back? That was one avenue we wanted to look at. Maybe she got upset because Charles and Pandora got back together. It's not uncommon for any of us if we feel passionate about another person and that relationship's not going well. There could shift who we are. We could become somebody we're not.

While detectives continue their work, the terrible news spreads through family and friends. I was at a friend of mine, so my brother showed up knocking on the door. He said that Chuck had been brutally murdered and I needed to go to my prayer and parents' house to be there for my mom. I was kind of like numb at first. I don't remember the details of anything after that. I know that I asked him some questions, and he said that he didn't know a lot

that I'd have to ask my mom. I gave my mom a hug as soon as I got there, and then I was just like, what happened? My mom was just sitting there, she looked blank. I was worried for her, and of course, questions, a bunch of questions. Coming up, police have their own questions for a young man with telling injuries.

We noticed right away scrapes and scuffs near one of his eyes. Was he involved or had it been a vengeful ex-con? The only thing I heard was about an inmate that he guarded that got out and he'd seen him. and inmates in the garden that got out each scene. This is Kate Winkler Dawson inviting you to the brand new season of my True Crime Talk Show. That's right. It's season three of Tenfold More Wicked Presents, Wicked Words. I'm a True Crime historian and author, and you might have heard my other podcasts on exactly right, Tinfold More Wicked and Barried Bones.

On each new episode of Wicked Words, I interview other journalists, podcasters, and authors about the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories from their investigations in the world of true crime, many of which have never been shared before. So join me in a new special guest each week for new episodes of Wicked Words, as we dive deep into the stories behind the stories. Wicked Words Season 3 is available now on exactly right, with new episodes every Monday. Follow 10 Fold More Wicked Presents Wicked Words Wherever You Get Your Podcasts. wicked words wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and add free on the Amazon music or one-dream app.

In Miami's Berg Ohio, police are investigating the hyper-violent stabbing death of Charles Zan. Seeking more information about their list of persons of interest, detectives track down the woman who dated Charles when he was separated from his wife Pandora. And so we had the opportunity to speak with her about that time and about her relationship with Charles. She had been intimate with him.

The woman claims she has not been romantically involved with Charles since February, eight months earlier. When Pandora and Charles got back together, the no relationship ended. She did not seem angry with Charles when we spoke. She was very straightforward. There didn't seem to be any bad blood. She was okay with the breakup. She still cared for Charles.

And she has a verifiable alibi for the night of the murder. We quickly determined that she wasn't involved in this. We didn't suspect her at that time. After giving the family time to process the news, investigators begin interviewing them, including Charles's 18-year-old son, Adrian, and 19-year-old stepson, Cody. They just happened to be at the same place,

so we talked to each of them individually. We wanted to know more about what was going on, who could potential suspects be. Adrian was pretty upset when we spoke with him. He was bracken, he's brain-trying to think who could have been involved, but he just didn't know. Adrian claims he saw his father and stepmother the previous day, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary that might be relevant to the murder. He had expressed enough concern and disbelief about what had happened. We just didn't believe he was involved, and there was nothing to say he had been there. After we interviewed Adrian, we interviewed Cody.

What was interesting about Cody is he had scrapes and scuffs near one of his eyes on his face that could indicate someone was involved in some type of an altercation. I was at the haunted trail last night and they got this tunnel thing that spins and I fell over the railing and hit my face on the tunnel thing. We found that to be a little suspicious, but that was a story. I went back to my baby's mom's house, and we ended up having to go to my friend Nick's house, because her mom got mad, because we

were making too much noise. And you and your baby's mom and Nick spent the night together. Well, we stayed up all night together. Do you know if anybody would want to hurt him? Not personally. The only thing I heard was what she was telling me today, what she told the police about an inmate that he guarded that got out and he'd seen him. Cody tells detectives he unfortunately has no more information. If anything comes up, Cody, where you get an idea of who may have done this,

I want you to give me a call because we're keeping all options open. We want to try to figure out who did this, and we want to get the right person. Okay? When we talked to Cody, he was pretty long with us. He wasn't very emotional or upset with his lack of concern and with the injuries we saw on him. We thought there had to be more to it. Detective suspicions are growing around Cody's story, but they don't have proof he's lying to them.

They need to develop more evidence and hope that evidence will come from the autopsy. The day after the deadly home invasion, the Montgomery County coroner details the terrible assault suffered by Charles Zang. A coroner described 50-some stab wounds all over the body, those slit to ease throat. A knife had been shoved into one of his eyes. There was knife wounds all over his head. His torso, his back, his arms, his hands, legs. The cut on the neck wasn't deep enough to hit the juggler.

It wasn't what would have caused the death. He died by bleeding out. It would have taken somewhere between 15 and 25 minutes, based on all the stab wounds. When a victim has been that abused, most would consider that this is someone who was close to him or knew him. This would be considered a crime of passion.

Pandora thought Charles might have been murdered by a former inmate seeking revenge for something Charles did at the jail. Investigators try to identify a suspect who fits the MO. Typically if somebody of a violent nature or a sex offender gets released, the Miami's Work Police Department, and other police departments in the area get notification. But we did not have any information of anybody

like that being in the area at the time. We went to Lebanon Correctional to talk to workers and co-workers and see if they knew what may have happened to him or if any inmates had made any direct threats to him. But we just didn't find anybody that had made any real credible threats to Charles. Less than 48 hours after the murder, investigators bring Charles's stepdaughter Misty in for questioning. She tells detectives she too remembers hearing about Charles' encounter with a former inmate. I don't know if there was an actual altercation or if it was just a vibe that Chuck got,

but my mom said that it made him nervous and that he was acting really nervous at home afterwards. Part of what had made her realize that Chuck was really worried about this is that he always knew where his gun was. He moved it closer to the bed, making sure the doors were locked on the apartment at night. So he was hyper aware of his surroundings. Detectives note Misty's relaxed manner.

When we talked to Misty, her demeanor was pretty calm and matter of fact, she didn't seem very excitable or upset about what had just happened to her stepfather. Then Misty makes a surprising claim. Chuck had been physically aggressive towards us. If Misty's allegations of abuse are true, this suggests a new possible motive for murder. We thought at that point maybe MISTI had something to do with it.

We thought maybe Cody had something to do with it, with the injuries we saw on him. And Pandora could be involved. So everybody was a suspect at that point. Coming up, Pandora suddenly has a new story and presents a new suspect. He said Mr. Charles, they in an arrest, there you have it, a conversation.

And for detectives, the threat becomes personal. He said that if the police ever come after him, he was going to have shoot out. -♪ -♪ Two days after the murder of Charles Zan, investigators want to do a recorded interview with Charles' wife, Pandora, to get her statement on record.

They wanted my mom to come back and for more questioning, and she wanted me to go with her. She said she'd feel more comfortable if I went with her, and so I relayed that to the detectives that she was only gonna come if I was to come and sit in. Monday afternoon, Pandora comes to our police

department with her daughter, Misty. We started questioning her about the timeline and the things that weren't making sense to us. At the crime scene, detectives noticed a window screen that had been cut, but only slightly. We talked to her about the fact that someone could not have made insurance through that screen without tearing it. Also, details of Pandora's 911 call

raised another red flag. What did they say? This is criminal, it's justice. The curtains were drawn almost completely shot. It was dark. She would not have been able to see a cut in the window. I really started paying attention to the way that they were asking her the questions.

They kind of just laid out all of these irregularities that they were picking out or things that seemed off to them about the scene and her story. Pandora would look at Misty, and you could tell that Misty was a little bit concerned with the veracity of her mom's story. And I was like, they think she did it. Like, they want to arrest her.

I just remember at one point, I grabbed my mom by the arm and told her that we were going to go. With no hard evidence against Pandora, detectives cannot hold her. After leaving the police station, Misty has a difficult realization. The thought crossed my mind that my mom or and or my brother might have been involved,

and then I got mad at myself for thinking like that. I thought I'd been watching too much crime, Davy. Trusting her gut, Misty summons the courage to confront her mother and presents a theory of her own. It's that let me give you a hypothetical situation, and I want you to tell me if it's possible, I'm right. The gist of it was my brother did it. My mom knew my brother did it.

And then we're trying to cover it up. And she said, you wouldn't be wrong. It's a stunning turn. Pandora is now claiming that her son Cody committed the murder. She also said that my brother told her that he was not going to get arrested. If it ever came down to it, he was going to do suicide by God. And he had Chuck's gun.

by by God. And he had Chuck's gun. That evening, Misty and Pandora returned to the police station to tell a new story. She told them that she had told my brother that she wanted out of a relationship with Chuck and that she thought the only way out was to commit suicide because he would come after her if she left. And my brother said, I'll take care of it. He said Mr. Charles, they in our area,

there we have it in conversation. Pandora tells detectives that on the morning of the murder, a noise woke her up around 5.50 a.m. The windows with open curtains with open water. And I can see that the screen was cut. And it's big to me. But then I heard Cody say mom. She then opened the door, and Cody was

standing there with the life in his hand. He told me, if you don't want to be a part of this, you need to disappear right now. And I said, what? How do you think that when telling me to get out now? And then what happened happened? It was still dark out. I heard yelling. Can you come and call me a bitch getting in here?

She said he lost one of the knives. I'm not talking to him. I'm just kind of standing there. I need you to help me find the knife now. When I walked in and saw the blood, I just clapped on the couch. I don't remember getting up or doing anything just sitting there. I was in shock and I was numb and I couldn't think. Cutting whatever the kitchen is pretty got one of the knives in there.

They turned my back. They had, I could hear it. Daven. She really painted a very dark picture of Cody. I looked at him and asked him what was I supposed to do now, and he told me I better think of something, and he left. I collapsed in the bathroom because I didn't want to be out there with Chuck. And eventually I finally called 911 and lied to him and told him

they had been a break in. During the interview, Cody, the alleged killer, makes contact. It has to be one of the things I have. Investigators ask Pandora if she'll help them try to get a confession. Would you be willing to make the troll call so we can make sure and get him talking about what happened? Say, because we've not been putting your ear that will take the whole conversation. Pandora agrees.

Hey, what are you doing? I wanted to talk to you earlier, Adrian, but I couldn't have everyone around. You know, I came in and he popped to the police this afternoon, right? They're freaking me out. I think they're in a rush for me. Just all the evidence that they have.

And how many times did you stab him, Cody? And Cody said a bunch. Then he's like, I don't want to talk on the phone. And she said, we need to meet and talk. Ultimately, they ended up agreeing to meet at a local hotel where Cody was going to meet and talk. Ultimately, they ended up agreeing to meet at a local hotel. Where Cody was going to spend the night. Police quickly set up a sting at the hotel.

A new Cody had Chuck's gun, and it already said that if the police ever come after him, he was going to have shoot out. And I knew that if he started shooting, he was going to end up dead. We parked her car in front of the hotel room, so he would believe she was there. And we're in the room waiting for Cody. [♪ Music playing in background, music playing across from where I had told him to go.

When it was happening, I wish I would have just called him and told him to run. When I seen him arrested him, I just collapsed sobbing. Thankfully, he's unarmed. When we arrested Cody, he was emotionless. He didn't seem rattled or upset. And I told him that I think you know what we need to talk about. And he just shook his head, yes. In the early morning hours of October 20, 2009, Cody Henderson confesses to killing his stepfather, Charles

San. He said that when he went in, he stood over Charles and looked at him for a second. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to do this. He was a little nervous to do it. I grabbed him by his head, and he woke up when I touched him, and pushed me away and reached for his gun. And as soon as I seen him reaching for his nice thing,

because I knew his gun was in there. I knew there was no turning back, because if I didn't do it, it was over anyway. So I grabbed by the back of his neck and tried to slit his throat. He said Charles fought hard. But Cody kept stabbing and stabbing and stabbing. What I was most surprised at is how calm Cody was when he told the story.

He didn't have any different demeanor than he would have been talking about. What he was going to eat for lunch. Detectives ask him why he did it. I was protecting my mom. I don't know if you guys understand it going that far, but sometimes you just gotta do something you don't want to do for a family member. Cody had some cuts on his hand from the bloody knife slipping as he was stabbing Charles. Cody explains that one of his gloves came off when the knife slipped.

This accounts for the latex glove recovered at the scene. Cody was charged with a variety of charges up to and including aggravated murder. He was taken to Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, Ohio. Police have a confessed killer in custody. But the investigation is far from over. Cody said he did it, but now claimed

that Charles was abusive to him, his sister, his mom, and that's why he did it. But we could never corroborate that Charles was abusive to Pandora Cody or messy. We believe that was just a story in an excuse as to why he did what he did. Coming up, investigators uncover the real motives. It really came down to the oldest story in the book.

And learn details of a heartless plan from a master manipulator. Should we shoot him? Should we tamper with the brakes on the Jeep? They come up with this idea that a knife would be a good thing to use. On October 26, 2009, Charles Zan is buried in Dayton National Cemetery. One of my old sergeants told me that you can judge someone's life by the number of people

that show up at the funeral. And on that day, he had a good life. I could tell by the number of people, friends, and family filled that funeral home. He would have been proud. Although Charles' stepson Cody admitted to the murder, detectives believe he hasn't told the entire story. They uncover evidence Charles' wife Pandora

had a lot to gain from the death. Charles did have some insurance money through the military. He had the rear four policies to equate to over half a million dollars. So that was certainly 500,000 reasons why Pandora would do this. While awaiting trial, Cody finally decides to tell them everything. Cody now implicated his mother in this crime. He said his mom essentially hired him, promised him insurance money from Charles. Cody said they talked about how they would do it.

Should we do it with a gun? Should we shoot him? Cody's like, no, that would be too loud. Well, should we tamper with the brakes on the Jeep? No, mom, you might be in the car, and you might be involved in the crash, and I want to hurt you. So they jointly come up with this idea

that a knife would be a good thing to use. According to Cody, Pandora gave him money to buy a hunting knife and set the date for the slaying. We realized that Pandora is a master manipulator. She was manipulating Cody into doing this. On the morning of October 17th, Cody arrived at the apartment as instructed. She lets her son in, knowing he's coming there

to kill her husband. All this time this is happening, Pandora is watching through an open door, directly in the line of sight of Cody murdering her husband. Here in the fight, Cody said he lost the knife, and he said he was yelling for his mom. I dropped the knife. I lost my knife.

Get me a knife. So mom went to the kitchen, got another knife, and gave it to Cody, and Cody commenced to stab him some more. Cody said that mom then said, all right, you got to take all this stuff, make it look like a robbery, and she held the bag open for him, and proceeded to let him take all the stuff

that he took that night. Investigators now face the challenge of corroborating Cody's new story. Did Pandora Zan really hire her son to murder her husband? They didn't have enough to charge her, even after my brother had told them that she offered to pay him. It was just his word against hers. That's why we wanted to do that last interview with Pandora.

When I showed up, part of me felt like it was a release because I knew that they were going to come for me eventually. Hey, Nora, warm up. Give me one more opportunity to talk to us. We've been talking to Cody. I think you know that. And you know what's about to happen? Cody's express of being able to do what he and he

have had a fine for a while. I think she was very rattled, Cody's expressed a big will that you and he have had a plane for a while. I think she was very rattled, knowing her son had told the truth. And she just couldn't keep herself from telling the truth anymore. She'd never told that. I should have never told him that I was thinking about him that I'm hurt. Well, she'd never told him that I'm killed. I'm gonna have to admit. Well, I shouldn't have never talked to him about Kyl and Jo. Right. Because I...

I mean, if I hadn't talked about in the mirror, then the conversation of Kyl and him would have never come up. She ultimately did admit that she did conspire with Cody. I don't want to make Cody look like this bad person because he would have done what he did if it weren't for me. You know what I mean? Authorities arrest Pandora and charge her with tampering with evidence, obstructing justice,

aggravated robbery, and aggravated murder. What made Pandora snap, I believe, was a thought that she was going to come into possession of $500,000 or more of his money. It really came down to the oldest story in the book, love for money, is the root of all evil. I would like to be remembered as a soldier, an excellent person, and a friend. Whenever I anywhere near the cemetery, I will walk up to his headstone, and I'll say

I'll see you next time. On March 25, 2011, Pandora was convicted on eight felony counts related to the murder. She was sentenced to life without parole, plus 25 years. On June 3, 2011, Cody Henderson pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including aggravated murder. including aggravated murder, he was sentenced to life without parole plus 15 years.