Snapped: Women Who Murder - Shirley Jo Phillips

Episode Date: May 26, 2024

An elderly woman's dismembered body is found along a rural road in Missouri, sending detectives in search of answers.Season 29 Episode 14Originally aired: July 11, 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.

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I can't have you all messing things up my entire adult life. Oh, I'm sorry. Do we embarrass you? Dinner next Friday everyone would miss for the world dinner with the parents season 1 stream free only on freebie The gruesome crime rocks a small-town community She had discovered the head of a decapitated victim. The torso was cut in half. The arms were just gone. Who does that kind of thing?

Who is that monstrous? The hunt for answers will uncover the story of a pastor's widow with a new lease on life. She kind of spread her wings. She was making friends and living her own life. But did this innocent grandma put her faith in the wrong people? It turned out he was married.

It's a story of a sweet woman that had no idea who she was taking in. And she was deceived. She was lied to. And she was deceived. She was lied to. They brought this woman in, and she looked normal. I started thinking, is this the woman who killed my mother? October 6, 1989. It's a quiet afternoon just outside of Springfield, Missouri, as school teacher Jean Walker drives

home from a long day at work. She's driving home. She just happens to notice off to the side a black bag. It was about two feet into the roadway, so she pulled over. She's curious enough to open it, and she made a horribly gruesome discovery. Inside she found a set of garden shears. Also inside was a knife and some bloody paper towels. And that obviously alarms her very much.

Jean quickly flags down a passing neighbor. She talks with her neighbor, who is the chief of police for her town. As the chief inspects the bag with the bloody items just a few feet away, Jean makes a far more horrific discovery. She noticed something that she hadn't noticed at first, wrapped up in a trash bag.

She had discovered the upper torso of a body. The torso was cut in half. The body had been decapitated, and the arms were just gone. It was a pretty graphic, horrific crime. As officers arrive on the scene and begin to search the area, the horror escalates. They discovered the head of a decapitated woman. They had found a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.

The victim appears to be an older woman, but detectives need more information to secure an ID. They did a drawing that their police sketch artists had done from the severed head trying to help identify the victim of this crime. It was posted in the news in effort to locate this person. And it didn't take long for people to start calling. Word of the chilling discovery sends shockwaves through the area, especially for the family of missing person Wilma Plaster.

My daughter called and she said, they said on the news there's a body that's been found. It was so out of the blue that this could have happened. All I knew was it was a body. I didn't know any of the other details. I was scared because I think in some ways, it was in the back of my head that this could be my mother, but I didn't want to admit it.

Born in Ozark County, Missouri in 1923, Wilma Plaster was known for her heart of gold. She really wanted us to do the right thing, to be good people, to love God, to love them, to love others. For more than four decades, Wilma's partner in life was a former naval pilot that she met at the tender age of 15. They were very young. Daddy was 18 when they married. Mom was 15. She

turned 16 two months later. They fell in love. They went to the same church. I think that's where they met. My dad volunteered to go to the South Pacific with the Navy where he flew a variety of aircraft at that time and came home and decided he was going to become a preacher. He dedicated his life to preaching the gospel and pastoring churches. Wilma reveled in the role of a pastor's wife. As a pastor's wife, she had to kind of get out in the forefront, you know, and go with dad wherever he needed to go and be with him and, you know, greet people and go see sick people and grieve with them as they're dying and all of that. And she, you know, she was compassionate. Wilma also fit effortlessly into another role, motherhood.

She, for the most part, stayed at home and took care of our our family. We were very very close. I followed her around like a puppy. Everywhere she went I went. After her four children moved out of the house and started having children of their own, Wilma was thrilled to take on the role of grandmother. My boys loved her. She was sweet to them when she was around them. But in 1984, after 45 years of marital bliss, tragedy struck. My father developed Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and ALS, and unfortunately

succumbed to the disease rather quickly. He lived five months, 15 days, from diagnosis to death. My mom tried to take care of him as best she could at home, but it was hard on her. All of a sudden, she's by by herself and I think she felt lost. After some time Wilma met a woman at church named Janice Cook whose husband had also recently passed away. Janice was a widow also and so she and Janice became good friends. It really, really helped her.

At 60 years old, Wilma and Janice started going out on the town together. The lounges or most of them were, it was like country line dancing. That's what she and Janice got into. And they enjoyed it. It was exercise. It was a way to get out and meet people. She's still a pastor's wife, a pastor's widow.

So yeah, her idea of living a wild life would not be what most of us would think of. And it looked like she was doing fine with making friends and living her own life. In time, Wilma took another big step. She had formed a romantic relationship with a man named Carl. She had met him actually at one of the country line dancing places. She liked Carl and that maybe even loved Carl. He was just amazingly sweet to her. Really treated her nice, took good care of her. Wilma seemed to be enjoying her third act in life.

But on October 3rd, 1989, her children become worried when they struggle to get a hold of her. The last time I spoke to my mom was on the Tuesday morning. And she said she'd talked to me in a couple of days. I called her a couple of times and didn't get a hold of her. And called her the next day and didn't get a hold of her. My mother always answered the phone. And she always let me know where she was going.

It registered in the back of my mind that she's missing. Where is she? that she's missing. Where is she? On Friday, October 6th, three days since she last spoke with her mother, Wilma's daughter Linda has just heard news of a body discovered in Springfield, and she and her husband begin to frantically call friends and family.

My brother-in-law, Mike Baker, called and said something that just stopped me in my tracks. And he said, they found a body outside of Springfield. I said, there's something wrong. There is something wrong. I don't know what it is, but I prayed. I'm like crazy that my mother was still alive. Wilma's worried family contacts authorities,

and detectives ask them to come to the station to look at the forensic sketch broadcast by the news that week. He said, I need you to look at this, Linda. And he asked me to look at this paper. I shoved it back to him and I said, no, it's not her. Don't make me look at it again. And he pushed it back. And I said, I can't. Of course, by this time, I've broken down into a puddle.

The family is spared from having to ID the body when dental records come in from the medical examiner on October 8. There, Jane Doe is identified as widow Wilma Plaster. Through dental records, Wilma Plaster was positively identified. It was a feeling like, I'll never forget, I felt like an orphan. Here I was, you know, I was 30 some odd years old. I was a father of two boys and I felt like an orphan. It was just so hard to believe.

She was just a mother, a grandmother. She was a pastor's wife. She was a good person. Why her? Who could have done something to such a sweet little lady? Coming up, is there more to this elderly widow's personal life than meets the eye? She cried all the way home because she was,

she thought so betrayed by him. And detectives uncover a frightful scene. The crime lab found blood residue there, a lot of blood. It was obviously the scene of butchery. and the history. October 8, 1989. Two days after a body was found dismembered along a rural roadside outside Springfield, Missouri, an autopsy has just revealed the victim is 66-year-old Wilma Plaster. She had been dumped along a rural highway, like yesterday's trash.

And it was like, who does that kind of thing? Who is that monstrous? Detectives pour over the cause of death, was the bullet wound to the head. It was a.38 caliber that was used to shoot her. Chopping the torso in half, removing the arms and legs, all of that happened after she had been dead. The investigators then found that the victim

was a young woman, a young woman, who was a young woman, a young woman, a young woman. She was a young woman. She was a young woman. that was used to shoot her. Chopping the torso in half, removing the arms and legs, all of that happened after she had been dead. The investigators speculated that the killer cut the body up into smaller pieces because then it would be easier for them to move it and dispose of it. To detectives, the gruesome disposal of the body

suggests the crime may not be the work of a stranger. It just didn't seem like it was a random crime, that someone would attack a stranger, kill them, and chop up their body like that. It was a definite crime of premeditation. That afternoon, investigators sit down once again with Wilma's children tell detectives they should speak to their mother's best friend, Janice, for more information about their mother's day-to-day activities. They were together for a long time.

They were very close. They were very close. They were very close. They were very close. they should speak to their mother's best friend, Janice, for more information about their mother's day-to-day activities. They were together, very good friends, constant friends for almost right at about six years. Wilma's family states that the two friends hadn't seen each other in a while, but kept in contact over the phone.

Janice had started to have a relationship with a gentleman and was possibly going to get married, and mom was feeling left out again. I know that my mom was deeply disappointed. She may have felt a little abandoned. Janice wasn't the only person Wilma had recently distanced herself from. Wilma's children explain that a few weeks and she was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him.

And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. And I was the only person who knew him. Arkansas, and so he didn't live local. It turned out he was married. She broke up with him, and she told me later that she cried all the way home because she was,

she thought, so betrayed by him. After concluding the interview at the station, detectives head to Wilma's home in Branson in search of answers for how this elderly woman met such a horrific end. When we entered the home, it looked pristine. It even smelled tidy. There was no evidence of any struggle

or anything of that nature. Despite the perfect facade, detectives are able to prove that two items found with Wilma's body, the garden shears and knife, appear to have originated from the home. There is a knife missing here. And it was that butcher, that butcher's knife, a wooden handled knife with a big heavy blade.

They also determined that Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta was missing. There was no car in the garage. Detectives immediately put out an APB on Wilma's vehicle and continue processing the garage, where they make a startling discovery. It was pretty obvious the garage had recently been cleaned. And so they sprayed luminol in the garage.

They found some blood in a swirling pattern, indicating that there might have been some effort to clean blood off of the floor of the garage. The crime lab found blood residue there, a lot of blood. We felt like the actual decapitation and body dismemberment occurred in the garage of Wilma's house. It was obviously the scene of a butchery. Investigators fan out to speak with neighbors, hoping they may have noticed anything unusual

in the last few days. One neighbor recalls hearing a loud pop on the night of October 3rd. There was a neighbor nearby Wilma Plaster's home that heard a loud bang like a gun. It was later in the night, and it's... Wilma Plaster's home that heard a loud bang like a gun. It was later in the night, and it frightened him to the point that he went in his own garage and was looking around

for something that might have fallen. He had no idea that it was a gunshot. He just didn't put two and two together. Another neighbor recalls seeing a silver car at Wilma's residence over the last few days. They talked with one of the neighbors, who twice could say, she had seen a silver car parked at Wilma's house. And at one point, the car had pulled into the garage.

Detectives put out another APB for the suspicious silver and he was able to get out of the car and get out of the car and get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car and get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car. And that's when he was able to get out of the car.

And that's when he was a potential suspect. When they sit down with Carl, detectives ask him point blank if he knows anything about Wilma's death. Carl was Wilma's boyfriend who lived in Arkansas. And upon being contacted and interviewed, he indicated that he was home in Arkansas at the time preceding her death. When detectives press Carl about a potential love triangle,

Carl claims his wife didn't know about Wilma. It turned out he was married. I don't think she knew about my mother. Carl's alibi is verified by his wife. In addition, detectives find no record of him owning or renting a silver car. Carl did not own a silver vehicle described as being at Wilma Plaster's residence.

That helped eliminate him as a suspect. With Carl cleared as a suspect, detectives move on to another member of Wilma's inner circle. On October 9, 1989, three days after Wilma's body was found, detectives sit down with Janice Cook, previously one of Wilma's closest friends. Janice Cook, who is Wilma Blaster's neighbor and friend, was concerned because she hadn't seen her in several days.

Janice was going a different direction, and Mom had had this constant companion for all this time. And now all of a sudden she was going to be alone. I don't think Janice was ever a serious suspect. I think that they might have had, you know, your typical friendship tips. I think they were good friends right to the very end. Detectives ask Janice if she knows of anyone else who was close with Wilma. Mom had mentioned a new friend. and she was sort of alone. And so Shirley stepped in and filled the gap.

Janice says Wilma and her daughter were very close friends. They were very close friends. They were very close friends. They were very close friends. And so they were very close friends. And so they were very close friends. And so they were very close friends.

And so they were very close friends. And so they were very close friends. And so they were very close friends. And so they were very close friends. And so they were sort of alone. And so Shirley stepped in and filled the gap. Janice says Wilma and 53-year-old Shirley Jo Phillips had become inseparable over the last few weeks. I don't think their relationship was all that long. My understanding from what Mom had said,

it was maybe three weeks to a month is all she knew her. Detectives ask Janice what kind of car Shirley Jo drives. Shirley Jo Phillips had a silver Cadillac. Coming up, detectives learn more about Wilma's new friend, who may be harboring a dark secret. She told her what she wanted to hear, and man, she was in. Mom took her in. And a witness comes forward with a terrifying realization.

She was scared out of her mind. She realized that she probably was friends with the killer. Hey listeners, it's Will Arnett. Our podcast, Smartless, has crossed a milestone that seemed unfathomable when we started nearly four years ago as we've just released our 200th episode. Join us as we welcome the dynamic duo of Hilarity, Steve Martin and Martin Short.

You've seen them on screen together in The Three Amigos, Father of the Bride 1 and 2, and most recently, and Only Murders in the Building. Both are comedic geniuses in their own right, but together they are always electric, and this episode of Smart List is no exception. I don't know if I've laughed more in a single episode than this one. We discussed their career arcs both separately and as a comedy team how they met, who is more difficult to work with, and what motivates them today. Is Steve a better banjo player than Marty is a singer? Find out on this bi-centennial episode of SmartList. Follow SmartList in the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to SmartList ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast. Plus you get to hear Sean cry. What a loser. Enhance your listening experience with Wondry Plus. Enjoy ad-free listening, exclusive content, binges, and more. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple podcasts. Detectives in Springfield, Missouri are on the hunt for the killer of 66-year-old grandmother Wilma Plaster. During an interview with Janice Cook, they learn that a new fixture in Wilma's life, 53-year-old Shirley Jo Phillips, owns a silver Cadillac, matching the one seen at Wilma's prior to her disappearance.

Obviously, that was the car seen by the neighbor of Wilma Plaster. That was a piece of evidence that turned us more towards Shirley. Shirley Jo Phillips was known for her lively spirit and zest for life. I just thought the world of her, and she just thought the world of me.

She just had the greatest laugh and smile. She was a very beautiful woman. Shirley Jo's beauty had always captivated the attention of men. She worked in an office. My aunt was dressed to the nines. She always, her makeup was perfect. She carried herself very elegantly.

She was very energetic. She had this way about her, a smile and just a personality that you were immediately attracted to. After a brief marriage and subsequent divorce during the 60s, Shirley Jo found herself a young single mother to a son, Glenn Buddy Minster. She loved her son. She took care of her son.

I don't think he really wanted for anything. Back in the 60s, you know, she had jobs in Wichita. She had jobs in Dallas. You know, you can barely have an apartment and raise a child, and you don't have a husband. You know, it's not an easy life. You basically did what you had to to get by. Faced with many hardships, Shirley Jo

found other ways to provide for herself and her son. My mother always said, your aunt's kleptomaniac. She can't come in the house without stealing something. So we always watched out for, you know, sticky fingers. Shirley Jo's mother, Leela Kyle, did not agree with her daughter's life choices and wanted better for her. It was always a combative relationship. She didn't like my aunt's lifestyle.

My grandmother blamed her for her lifestyle. It made for a very bad situation between them. She didn't like my aunt's lifestyle. My grandmother blamed her for her lifestyle. It made for a very bad situation between them. By the fall of 1984, Shirley Jo seemed to take another turn, and not for the better. She wasn't as friendly, almost depressed. There was a change in my aunt. She was cold, no pulse, no feelings. I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital.

I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital.

I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital.

I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital. She would find men, take all their stuff, go to another state, and had a huge yard sale. She usually chose men. But when men no longer availed themselves, she looked for other people.

And when she found somebody, she took them for everything she could. Now, detectives investigating the murder of Wilma Plaster wonder if she's going to be able to prove I think she could. Now, detectives investigating the murder of Wilma Plaster wonder if Shirley Jo may have taken her latest con too far. My mom was an easy target. I think she realized how lonely mom was because Shirley Phillips popped in there and she told her

what she wanted to hear. And man, she was in. Mom took her in. It isn't long before an informant contacts police on October 10. Norah Martin was a friend of Shirley Jo Phillips. She worked at a jeans factory in Harrison, Arkansas, which is about 100 miles south of Springfield. She had called the police saying, I think I have evidence.

And she was scared to death. She was scared to death. about 100 miles south of Springfield. She had called the police saying, I think I have evidence. And she was scared to death. Detectives rushed to the home of Nora Martin. She was frightened. She was shaking. And she relates to the police that Shirley had come down and actually had spent a couple of days with her.

Nora tells detectives that as soon as Shirley Jo had arrived, she started cutting the passenger side seatbelt out of her silver Cadillac. Shirley said that there was the seatbelt wasn't retracting, and it kept getting caught in the door. So she was cutting it out of the car so that that wouldn't happen anymore. Nora says after that, Shirley Jo suggested they both take

their cars to the car wash. They went to a car wash that was nearby. While the two of them were at the car wash, Shirley vacuumed her car out three separate times and washed it twice. The women then go back to Nora's, and they're watching the news. And they see a report about the murder.

Nora told police that Shirley became very nervous and upset. She said, my fingerprints are all over Wilma's house. Though Shirley Jo's behavior certainly seemed odd, Nora admits she didn't think much of it at the time. are all over Wilma's house. Though Shirley Jo's behavior certainly seemed odd, Nora admits she didn't think much of it at the time. That is, until she found some items Shirley Jo had left behind. There's a bunch of stuff stuffed under her front porch

in trash bags. Inside the trash bag, police found hundreds of checks belonging to Wilma Plaster. There were some bloody towels. There were the floor mats. There were other things from the car. They find a receipt from Walmart for cleaning supplies. This person also found the carpet

that was cut out of Shirley's trunk, which was deeply blood stained. And when it kind of dawned on her what her friend had done, she was scared out of her mind. She realized that she probably was friends with the killer. Nora hands over all the content left behind by Shirley Joe and allows detectives to search her home. and the police found a gun that was a 38 caliber revolver. Ballistics testing was later done in comparison with the bullet fragments taken from Wilma Plaster's brain. And the expert determined that those fragments

had come from that gun that was found under the porch. The police found the gun and the police found the gun and the police found the gun. The police found the gun and the police found the gun and the police found the gun. The police found the gun and the police Testing was later done in comparison with the bullet fragments taken from Wilma Plaster's brain. And the expert determined that those fragments had come from that gun that was found under the porch.

So it just kind of brought everything together, plus all the evidence of the checks, the forged check and the other checks from Wilma. The gun, however, is not registered to Shirley Joe, but to her son, Glenn Buddy Minster. Detectives quickly call him into the station for an interview, wondering if there is a darker side to Buddy. In the interview with Buddy, he was quite candid. Here's the thing.

He's a thief. He'd steal from me. But, you know, murder, what do you mean? It didn't compute. Coming up, detectives double down on finding Shirley Jo and catch a break. When the police arrived, they determined that this car was Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta.

But another discovery proves far more shocking. They had recovered nine pounds of human flesh at a roadside park. This case just exploded. It's been four days since 66-year-old Wilma Plaster's dismembered body was found alongside a roadway just outside of Springfield, Missouri. Investigators are now speaking with Buddy Minster, the son of Wilma's close friend Shirley T. The former former former Wilma Plaster's

former friend, and former Wilma Plaster's former friend, and former Wilma Plaster's just outside of Springfield, Missouri. Investigators are now speaking with Buddy Minster, the son of Wilma's close friend, Shirley Jo Phillips. In the interview with Buddy, he had alibis. He had witnesses to verify where he was. After interviewing him, it seems the murder of Wilma Plaster is far beyond his usual crimes. He'd been in jail off and on.

He'd went to prison. He'd break into a place. But violence, murder, my cousin wasn't like that. Buddy was absolved from any involvement. Now, detectives look back to Buddy's mother, and the evidence suggests that Shirley Jo Phillips had been stealing from the late widow. Police found hundreds of checks from Wilma Plaster's account.

They also were able to determine that Shirley Jo's fingerprints were on those checks. The investigators basically asked us, is it plausible that your mother would have written a $4,000 check to Shirley Phillips? and we all said, number one, it's not plausible, and number two, that's not her signature. Detectives reach out to Wilma's bank for more information. Her bank account had been totally drained. Her bank account being empty totally shocked us all. We had no idea what was going on. We had no idea what was going on.

We had no idea what was going on. We had no idea what was going on. We had no idea what was going on. and she was able to get more information. Her bank account had been totally drained. Her bank account being empty totally shocked us all. With evidence beginning to point to Shirley Jo's involvement, detectives catch a lucky break when a lead comes through on Wilma's Chevy Beretta. The staff at the hotel of the Ramada Inn in Springfield called police because they had noticed a red Chevrolet Beretta had been in their parking lot for several days

and hadn't been disturbed in any way. When the police arrived, they determined that this car was Wilma Plaster's Chevy Beretta. But there was no evidence of any struggle from the car. While detectives decide their next steps, something unexpected happens. and said, I hear you're looking for me. And sat down and started talking to him. She repeatedly would refuse to admit that she wrote the check. She would just say, she is the one who was trying to get me to come to the police station.

And she would just say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She repeatedly would refuse to admit that she wrote the check. She would just say, she, referring to Wilma, handed it to me. We said, now, tell us the truth. Shirley, just tell us the truth. Even though she was confronted in that manner at times, she held her ground. She wouldn't confess.

Shirley Jo insists that Wilma issued the checks as payment for some of her furniture, but detectives aren't biting. It was completely implausible that my mom would purchase anything from Shirley for $4,000, any furniture. She denies that she killed her friend. She denies that she chopped up the body. She's just, you know, how could you possibly think I did this? But Shirley Jo tells detectives she might know who did.

Shirley said that the two of them had gone to the hotel bar at the Ramada Inn in Springfield. She made the statement that she was leaving with a strange man. Investigators asked Shirley Jo for a handwriting sample to compare with Wilma's forged signature, and shockingly, she complies. From the handwriting samples, the calligrapher determined that the check for 4,050

was not signed by Wilma Plaster. That was not her handwriting and was confirmed as being Shirley's. It just became pretty much irrefutable in our minds that it was Shirley Phillips. Shirley Jo is detained on suspicion of check forgery. And investigators reach out to the bartender at the Ramada Inn to confirm Shirley Jo's story. No one at the hotel had seen the two women there that night.

That was just where Shirley Jo took Mom's car later and left it. And then she tried to make up some story to explain why the car was there. Detectives then issue a search warrant for Shirley Jo's car. And unlike Wilma's Chevy Beretta, this car yields some damning evidence. When Shirley came to headquarters for the interview,

she brought the car with her and provided a consent to search on her Cadillac. Police found blood in the front seat area of the car and also in the trunk. Luminol testing showed that there was blood residue in the areas of the backseat and particularly under the place where the floor mats would have been in the backseat. After the luminol search of her car, she was able to find a car have been in the backseat.

After the luminol search of her car showed evidence of a violent struggle, a search of Shirley Jo's home also reveals the same type of ammunition used in Wilma's murder. In Shirley's bedroom, police found numerous 38 caliber bullet rounds. The evidence reconfirmed and tied together some theories they were already working from.

On October 12, detectives arrest Shirley Jo Phillips for the murder of Wilma Plaster. We knew she had decided to go in and talk to the police, but she never left. It had been a hard, hard time. You're so relieved, you almost are exhausted. MUSIC Three weeks after Shirley Jo's arrest, detectives get disturbing news from the Oklahoma

Bureau of Investigation. It seems Wilma may not have been Shirley Joe's first victim. This case just exploded, mushroomed. We were contacted by Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, in reference to nine pounds of human flesh they had recovered at a roadside park. This was recovered back on about Mother's Day of that year. And what it was was four fingers of a left hand,

a part of an upper lip, a nose, an ear, and other body parts. They couldn't develop blood type or DNA at that point. You know, and the investigator brought us the body parts. We, of course, photographed them and fingerprinted them. They were able to then identify her for sure as Leela Kyle and Shirley's mom. It seems 76-year-old Lela Kyle had gone missing seven months earlier.

The story from my aunt was she ran off with some guy. Well, my grandmother, 76 years old, with no car, didn't meet a guy and run off with him. It was ironic because she had used exactly the same language when she was questioned about her mother's death, that she had saw her walk away with a strange man. They were trying to tie the cases together, but basically, you know, they couldn't

get enough evidence to do that. Plus, they had enough evidence in the Wilma Plaster case to go to trial. And they felt very confident about that. Coming up, a new theory emerges that might just let Shirley Jo walk free. She clearly had her attorney go after her own son. One of the prosecutors referred to the defense strategy as Shirley Jo offering up her own son as a sacrificial lamb.

MUSIC In February of 1992, Shirley Jo Phillips stands trial for the murder of her supposed friend, 66-year-old Wilma Plaster. She was a middle-aged woman, attractive, who seemed to be completely possessed of herself. And I started thinking about, is this the woman who killed my mother? And I thought, well, I'm going to kill her. And I started thinking about, is this the woman who

killed my mother? And I thought, well, I'm going to kill her. And I started thinking about, is this the woman who killed my mother? And I thought, well, I be completely possessed of herself. And I started thinking about, is this the woman who killed my mother? It was unbelievable. Prosecutors paint Shirley Jo as a ruthless con artist, ready and willing to do anything necessary for her next score.

A major focus of the state's case was that Shirley had killed Wilma for money, focusing on the forged check that was found and that had been made out to Shirley Joe in the amount of $4,050. It's my opinion that the homicide occurred after her source of funds had dried up. Prosecutors theorize that Shirley Joe befriended Wilma

solely to take advantage of her. Wilma Plaster would have been somebody that she, another woman of her age that was a widow that was looking for a friend. Prosecutors believe that Shirley Jo earned Wilma's trust. But on the night of October 3, 1989, Wilma likely learned the truth about her new friend. They think Wilma discovered that money

was missing from her account. And they were in the car when she confronted her. The murder was committed in the front seat of the car. Either she looked away or was getting out of the car because the gunshot wound was from the left back of her head. Shirley had taken every dime she had. She would have no money to live on. And mom had to be gotten rid of.

Prosecutors assert Shirley Jo then tried to cover her tracks. The blood all over the place suggested that the dismemberment occurred in the garage. Then they think she drives back up to Springfield, past Springfield, up into Greene County, and dumps the body off the side of the road. Then at some point, she drives down to Arkansas

and dumps the bloody floor mats, the gun, the checks at her friend's house. The defense, however, offers up a theory of their own. She clearly had her attorney go after her own son and try to blame him for killing this other woman. I don't think Buddy even knew what was going on until all of a sudden he realizes that they're trying to pin this on him.

One of the prosecutors referred to the defense strategy of attempting to blame Buddy as Shirley Jo offering up her own son as a sacrificial lamb. In the end, the jury sides with the prosecution. The jury found Shirley Jo Phillips guilty of murder in the first degree for the killing of Wilma Plaster. There was just this incredible weight

lifted off my shoulders. You know, it may have not been for my grandmother's murder, but a justification and just glad to see that this endless cycle of kleptomania, violence, murder was going to come to an end. And no other family was going to have to suffer what Wilma's family did. Surely Joe is sentenced to death.

But six years later, an appeal reduces her sentence. We were contacted by a new prosecutor in Missouri who said that some evidence had surfaced that would allow them to appeal this case. The argument that Shirley Joe's lawyers made was that there was exculpatory evidence that should have been turned over by the state to the defense. It was not presented at Shirley Joe Phillips' trial. Her sentence was commuted to life in prison without chance for parole. The fact that she couldn't kill somebody else,

well, that was the basic minimum that we felt good about. Though time has eased the pain, the impact of Shirley Jo's horrific actions still haunts those affected by the case. It's a story of a sweet woman that had no idea who she was taking in. And she was deceived, she was lied to, and ultimately she was killed by.

She lived a long and loving life prior to the last evening. And the last evening will not define her. She loved her kids. She was incredibly proud of us. She would have have reveled in all of this, to see her children succeed, to see her grandchildren grow. But she missed out on so much. So much.

Surely, Joe Phillips is currently serving her life sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Due to a lack of evidence, no one has been charged in connection to the murder of Shirley Jo's mother, Layla Kyle. Behind every successful business is a story and some of them might surprise you. Like how Chobani's first yogurt factory was discovered on a piece of junk mail, or how the founder of the multi-million dollar cosmetics brand, Drunk Elephant, was told by everyone, including her own mother, that the name sounded like a dive bar.

I'm Guy Raz, and on my show How I Built This, I talk to founders behind the world's biggest companies and brands to learn the real stories of how they built them. In each episode, you'll hear entrepreneurs share moments of doubt and failure and talk about how they were able to overcome them on their way to the top. How I Built This is like a masterclass in innovation and creativity, a how-to guide for navigating life's challenges from the people who've done it all. Follow How I Built This on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to How I Built This early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus.