Snapped: Women Who Murder - Virginia Hyatt

Episode Date: June 4, 2023

When a Texarkana square dancer is gunned down on the steps of her home, detectives follow a trail of surveillance footage leading straight to the killer.Season 28 Episode 18Originally aired: January 3, 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 Lindsay Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. She was the queen of the Texarkana dance circuit. Her husband, he was the caller. She was like the bell of the ball.

All of the men just for head over heels and love with her. I loved her today and she was fond to be around. But with someone in Texarkana looking for a new partner. We're in the Bible belt. It's not look kindly upon people having extra matter until it bears. We see that. He's getting divorced papers. He's getting observed to his wife.

When her body is discovered in a pool of blood, rumors spread through this tight knit community. This person wanted her dead and they wanted her dead bad. It was a terrible scene. You know, who would do this? She wanted to leave $10,000 to each of them. It was pretty suspicious circumstances. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. The sun has already set in Texarkana, Arkansas, when Barbara Ricketts and Phyllis neighbors arrive

at the home of their friend, 59-year-old widow, Patty Wheelington. At three o'clock, she was supposed to be taking her friend to the doctor, and she did not show up. Nobody could find Patty. We kept calling and leaving messages. She never returned anybody's call,

so around five o'clock, we get concerned about her. And we're gonna get to the bottom of it. I told Barbara to come and get me, I thought it'd be better if we go out there together. So she came and picked me up. So we went out to the house. All the lights were on. Eventually, we got out of the car and went up to the

person. It just looked like a rug at the front door. It was kind of dark. So we really realized that that was her. That even dead. She was laying right at the front door. She was so cold and swollen. I knew she had been there for a while,

and there was not going to be any reviving her. The only thing I need to do is call 911. I was in a state of shock. There's nothing we can do for her. She's passed away. Patty Ann Phillips was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 2nd, 1954. Beautiful and charismatic, Patty always

had a way with people. Oh, she was fabulous. She had shorter hair, and it was silky. It was shiny. And she had these happy hair and it was silky. It was shiny and she had these happy eyes and always smiling. Patty was just a beautiful, giving person with a personality, she could do anything.

She never met a stranger. After studying at the University of Delaware and then Texas A&M University, Patty took a job at the Department of Human Services in the city of Texarkana, Arkansas. It does have that small town feel and you pretty much don't know everybody but you know somebody who knows somebody and you know each other that way. Patty worked with senior citizens in the community, where the vivacious 35-year-old woman caught the eye of 59-year-old Korean war veteran and successful sales manager Ray Wheeling-10. I think that Ray did very well for himself in business.

He had a very nice house. Patty was a child. And a lot of times as men grow older, it kind of like the attention of younger women. And Patty, she was really sweet. She was extremely flirty. After a brief courtship, the couple married on December 29, 1989. Although a northerner by birth,

Patty embraced life as a southern lady, even taking on one of Ray's more unusual hobbies, square dancing. Everybody's like a family. That's not called smudge, and you get a free meal. And I just loved it. Once if you love it, you love it. And you will be there every week. It's what they identify with.

They are square dancers. That's what they do. That's what they are. I just remember that it was a lifestyle. Patty and Ray joined a 100 person strong square dancing club known as the Guys and Dolls. And the weekly dance quickly became the very center of the couple's social calendar. Right, he was the caller.

He got up there so she was like the bell of the ball. She would walk around and visit and talk and make sure everything was comfortable. Ray and Patty was so friendly, and their house was like open to just everybody. We would have big cookouts and their house was like open to just everybody. We would have big cookouts at their house. Ray and Patty's house was the club's de facto headquarters until tragedy struck in 2009. There was a fire and not fire, you know, ravaged that home.

When Ray and Patty decided to rebuild, they turned to one of their closest square dancing friends to oversee the project, James Hyatt. Ray and Patty knew James from the Goss and Dolls Club and they hired him to rebuild their house. They rebuilt the home. It was nice. We were pretty extravagant at home. James' friendship with the Wheelingtons just really blossomed.

Even after James finished to the last coat of paint, the Wheelingtons stayed close with James and his wife for Genoa. They were fairly tight-knit. They went out to dinner together. They went to movies, you know, a couple dates and stuff like that. We played cards two or three times a week. Virginia was very good card partner, fun to be around. They were all just together all the time.

In 2010, the Wheelington's marriage was thriving in their new home until Ray's health suddenly began to deteriorate. And in 2011, he was diagnosed with dementia at 81 years old. His health was declining. He could no longer be at the club and he did no longer do the college at the club. Patty had been working with the, with senior citizens with the Department of Human Services. But Ray got so bad at home that she worried so much about Ray that she gave that job up to stay home with him.

And he did not last very long after she quit her job. On November 10, 2012, Ray passed away, leaving Patty a widow at only 58. With her husband of 22 years gone, Patty filled her days with square dancing and volunteer work. They had no kids. You know, it was, he was her world. When Ray passed away, Patty got really close to the rest of us dancers because Patty didn't have anyone. She took people to their doctor's appointments and she helped

people with their medication and helped them get the groceries they needed. After nearly a year of mourning, Patty was ready to start the next chapter of her life. She was vivacious and bubbly, and maybe a few years younger than some of the other dancers. All of the men just for head over heels and love with her. Sadly, Patty would never get the chance to find her late in life loved. On December 3rd, 2013,

Patty's friends Barbara Ricketts and Phyllis neighbors, are beside themselves when they discover her lifeless body. They discovered Patty on the front porch, and then they called us. When officers arrive on the scene, they are met by Patty's shaken friends, who gesture towards the gruesome scene on her porch. As officers approach, their flashlights illuminate Patty Wheelington's cause of death. I went and checked on the body.

Patty Wheelington was shot five times. She was clearly deceased. Coming up, investigators pieced together a surprising list of suspects. She knew this person. Definitely. Without a doubt. She knew the person. And a shocking discovery suggests Patty wasn't the only thing this calculated killer was after.

Patty had a lot of money and no errors. When you start looking, there are some cute red flags was after, Patty had a lot of money and no airs. When you start looking, there are some huge red flags with several things. MUSIC For 59-year-old widow, Patty Wheelington, December 2013 was the time for her second act. She relied heavily on her friends, her close group of friends,

and eventually started getting out again. She was ready to make a change. But on December 3rd, 2013, investigators are standing on Patty's front porch, wondering who shot her five times. In 2013, investigators are standing on Patty's front porch wondering who shot her five times. I think we were surprised when we started looking into this case and we started seeing the age of the victim.

It was really kind of scary because you don't know why this is happening out there. It's not our typical homicide. Later in life, you don't, around here, we don't know why this is happening out there. It's not our typical homicide. Later in life, you don't, around here, we don't really have those types of crimes or murders. You know, ours are usually, unfortunately, younger people. This was an affluent person in a nice neighborhood, and that kind of sent a message out to the community that this could happen to anybody.

As detectives begin their investigation, it's clear the two women who found Patty are in no condition to interview. Both of them appeared to me to be shocked. It's like they couldn't believe what had taken place. While Patty's friends collect themselves before further questioning, a team of investigators turns its attention to the crime scene. Miss Wheelingson is laying right there at the entrance to the doorway. She was in a position where she was clutching her chest with one hand, and then her right hand was laid out

with a cigarette still in her fingers. She had a bullet wound kind of right of the spleen. She had one in the top of her right breast. She had another one towards the bottom of her right breast. She had a through and through on the right form. Then she had one in the back. It come to the back and through the side. So she was hit five times.

I know that it was relatively close range because our victim had stifling on her face. You're usually not shot that many times. It seemed as a close range. It was very determined. There was anger in it. This person that wanted her dead, wanted her dead bad.

Rick Mortars had said in, and you could tell that she'd been there pretty much all day long. This is not someone who was involved in dangerous illegal activity. This is someone who was sitting on the front porch, drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette, like she did often. From the table, you can see a blood trail. Along with the blood trail, we found bullet strikes. I had a bullet hole that was in the back of the chair.

And I traced that bullet hole through the back of the chair and into the bedroom window. I believe it was a 38. It's clear she was trying to get away and was continuously hit with bullets from every direction. Now I can tell that there were six shots fired, a minimum of six shots fired, which is kind of consistent with a revolver, a six shot revolver.

And we have no cases. That's a pretty good indication that it's a revolver. To detectives, this crime seems personal. If it was a stranger coming up your driveway and you were sitting on your porch and your bathroom, you'd probably get up really quickly and run inside and put on something a little more appropriate. It was not the type thing where it was a spur of the moment

thing and someone's emotion just got out of hand. Somebody went there with the intentions you feel hurt. As CSI worked to comb Patty's home for clues, detectives canvassed the neighborhood. Patty Willington lived in a somewhat remote area. It was still in town, but it was in a neighborhood where the house is sit on large, multi-acre lots. You're thinking there's not going to be anybody to witness this more

likely, so you're trying to run through mine. I hope we can find somebody some way to solve this one. Luckily, a few neighbors claim to have heard a commotion that morning. We had numerous individuals around the home who heard gunshots around 8 o'clock that morning, and they all described pretty much the same thing for five gunshots.

We believe it's like almost one second apart, just bam, bam, bam. They thought nothing of it, because it wasn't unusual for folks around there to fire a couple of rounds into the air to get the geese out of their garden or the deer off their lawn. Meanwhile, CSI has begun processing the inside of Patty Wheelington's home for evidence.

The one thing I remember about the house is everything was in place. It was very clean. It was nothing was ransacked. I am totally confident that once the victim was killed, nobody entered that house. We couldn't see anything had been taken. We were able to rule out a robbery very shortly. The only thing that catches detective's attention inside the home is a pile of papers on the kitchen counter. There was a receipt that was laying on the countertop

and this receipt was from a locksmith company who had just changed her locks the day before. That's something that, of course, drew our attention because most people don't just randomly change their door locks. You kind of think, why is all of a sudden she getting her locks changed on my house? She could be saying, there's someone I'm afraid of. She would definitely say, and there's somebody I don't want in my house.

The other papers on the counter are documents concerning Patty's life insurance policy, which lists a number of beneficiaries. When Ray Wilenton passed away, he left Patty a lot of money and no airs. So Patty left money in her will help local organizations. She also left money in her will to these members of the Guisen Dolls Club. Two familiar friends appear in the life insurance policy.

Barbara Ricketts and Phyllis Neighb the women who found Patti's body. The revelation forces police to consider the possibility that Patti's seemingly concerned friends are actually her killers. They had to, you know, check us all out and make sure we we weren't the ones that killed fast. Coming up, had money driven a wedge between old friends. They all got a substantial amount of money after a death. Or is there a darker motive at play? They believed that there was a fair going on. If someone is reluctant to sit down for an interview, it does raise suspicion.

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, we'll 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. Detectives in Tex-Arcana, Arkansas have just discovered the life insurance policy of Patty Wheelington listed two beneficiaries very close to the case. Lyshted two beneficiaries very close to the case. Barbara Ricketts and Phyllis neighbors, the women who claimed to have discovered Patty's body hours earlier. They all got a substantial amount of money from her after her death. She was a wealthy person and the members of the dance community were in her will.

She wanted to leave $10,000 to each of them. It was pretty suspicious circumstances. That evening, detectives separately interview both women. Barbara and Phyllis say they were contacted earlier that day by a mutual friend and fellow square dancer, 80-year-old Ken Codwell. Ken Codwell called us, it told us that he was not getting picked up by Patti to take him

to the doctor, and he got worried and that's how we got out to see about her around 5 o'clock that afternoon. Detectives ask the two women if they knew that Patty had left them money in her well. After Ray had passed away, she had a $100,000 policy. And she said, y'all are the only family I have, and I'm gonna split this up. And I said, oh yeah, that's really cool. Patty, you're younger than all of us. We're gonna be dead. So, you know, we're not gonna ever see this money, but she insisted.

be dead. So, you know, we're not going to ever see this money, but she insisted. Investigators grill both women to find out how far they would go to receive their cuts of Patty's life insurance payout. They had to interrogate us like we could have murdered her to get our $20,000. Well, that was a joke. Barbara says she was with family all afternoon and Phyllis claims that she and her friend had spent the day together. There was no one in this world that would ever hurt Pat. There's no one in this world that was angry enough to kill Patty.

No one. Her friends would tell us everyone that new Patty loved patty. She just warmed up to anybody. She talked to anybody, and she usually made good friends. Phyllis and Barbara tell police that patty hadn't settled on a new bow yet. But there were ugly rumors circulating around the square dancing club. There were rumors even before Ray died that Patty was seeing someone.

Phyllis says that James Hyatt, a contractor who was married to another square dancer Virginia Hyatt, had been close to Patty and her late husband Ray. This life insurance policy had James and Virginia and me and Parvie and Barbara. There was a lot of trust there, obviously, because both Ray and Patty named James as the executor of their wills. After Ray passed away, James was there to help Patty around the house, fix things that needed to be fixed.

Even if Patty wasn't there, he had a kid, he could go in, he could fix things. There's a lot of the women that were jealous because Patty was flirty. And, of course, they believed that there was a fair going on. The ones that were closest to Patty is the ones that did not believe it. Although they dismissed the gossip, Phyllis and Barbara admit that Patty and James' behavior had recently added fuel to the rumor mail. There was a time right before Patty was murdered.

That, herring James, went out to town. That's the same time. All of a sudden, James goes out of town, paddies out of town, and then James sends divorced papers to Virginia. Phyllis says when Virginia Hyatt received those papers just days before the murder, she immediately called her. Virginia Hyatt called me on Friday, just days before the murder, she immediately called her. Virginia High called me on Friday. He just interiors and crying and said, James had left her.

She was just distraught. He leaves Virginia and left her high and dry. Forty-one or 42 years I think they were married. No children, no family, nothing. The women say the square dancing club buzzed with the news that James and Patty had run off together. But even though James hadn't come back to town, Patty had returned alone on December 2nd.

She had been out of town. She had gone to Louisiana, but it just so happened that this was at the same time. From the outside, looking at that electric stream with suspicions. When she checked in with Virginia on December 3rd, Phyllis says that her friend had made peace with her divorce. She went from desperate and angry to calm and relaxed and, you know, happy outlook on life. Everything's gonna be good from here on out. I thought, all right.

We're on our way to recovery. Still, James' whereabouts remain a mystery. James was gone. This is highly suspicious. After striking Phyllis and Barbara from the suspect list, investigators are able to reach James Hyatt on his cell phone. He tells police that friends have already informed him about Patty's tragic death. I believe it was Phyllis neighbors who called and told him Patty had been murdered. He needed to get back there. James had gone to Florida where his sister lived

and was spending time there. Detectives questioned James about his relationship with Patty. They spent time together, they were close, they talked to each other every day and James didn't admit that. James basically denied all things about a sexual relationship back. He wasn't very cooperative really. He didn't want to talk to us, he wanted to talk to a sergeant. He didn't care to talk to a lowly detective, he wanted to talk to somebody of rank. I don't recall him really offering a whole lot of anything

that was other than what we specifically asked. James agrees to come in for a formal interview when he returns to Texarkana. While detectives wait for his return, they ping James' cell phone. We can see where he traveled, the route he took, and what time he was traveling. So we knew he was well away from the area when Patty was killed.

We thought maybe James was involved in this, and then we find out James was in Florida, and then James had left on Friday right after Thanksgiving, and so he couldn't be involved in it. And yet, James' earlier demeanor on the phone doesn't exactly dispel detective's concerns. If you're a friend of someone and your friend has been killed, you should be willing to jump through hoops or whatever

we ask you to do if it helps us get to the person who killed your friend. One of the things that we dealt with was trying to establish a motive that he would have to try to cause harm to Pat. He was in her will as the executor of her estate. We learned that he was mentioned in her life insurance policy. She has substantial estate, substantial money going to be coming to him when she passes. We don't believe in coincidence.

You know, things happen for a reason, and we see that he's getting divorce papers. He's getting him served to his wife the same day that Adi at the locks changed. With James out of town, investigators shift their focus and decide to sit down with 80-year-old Ken Codwell, the man who first raised the alarm about Patti's disappearance. Ken Codwell definitely was sweet on Patti.

He relied on Patti to get him to his doctor's appointments and help getting his medication and groceries and things of that nature. They had a special relationship. He liked her and enjoyed talking to her and talked her every morning. Ken tells police that on December 3rd, he and Patty were chatting on the phone around 8 a.m.

just like they always did. But Ken says that morning their call was interrupted. She just said, for just here again, I'll call you back. I didn't hang up for you. That was the last... anybody ever talked to Patty. I'm coming up. A killer's true colors are exposed.

She was presented as this crazy person who was jealous. She is literally just weeping, wailing, gnashing teeth. I'm going to make you mine. It's hard for me to imagine a grown man being that scared of his wife. After dissecting the rumors swirling around the Texarkana Square Dance Circuit, investigators have reason to believe there was bad blood between their victim, Patty Wheelington, and her friend Virginia Hyatt.

Virginia had assumed, and perhaps correctly, that James was leaving her for Patty Wheelington, and had discovered that her husband was falling for divorce. According to Patty's friend Ken Codwell, Virginia knew about the rumors surrounding her husband and Patty's relationship. And when she learned of her husband's intent to divorce her just days before Patty's murder. She did not take it well.

The last time that we were in, Patty's Virginia was mad and upset with her. She was just rude and ugly. She made some disparaging comments about Patty and saying that Patty was flirtatious. She was always flirting with all of the men. I think everyone was kind of dismissive of it and rolling their eyes and, you know, kind of, you know, isn't Virginia crazy. So when Patty said on their phone call that morning

that Virginia had pulled up to visit, Ken tells police he was immediately wearing. She's been talking to Ken Caldwell and as he was talking to her that morning, Virginia Hyatt came to the house and she told Ken I'll call you back later, Virginia's at my house again. And so she hung up with him. Mr. Caldwell was concerned the minute he got off the phone with her because he was already concerned about Virginia Hyatt's behavior. Just further fueled his anxiousness and worry that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

It was right around eight o'clock, eight o'clock in the morning, which is the time that we were able to get from the neighbors that the shots were fired. So that really led the detectives to suspect that they had a pretty clear identifiable suspect in Virginia, Ohio. We secured a warrant for her arrest. At 2 a.m. on December 4, nearly 24 hours after Patty Wheelington was murdered, officers arrive at Virginia's modest Texarkana home. We take her into custody, put her in handcuffs, put her in a patrol car. murdered officers arrive at Virginia's modest Texarkana home. We take her into custody, put her in handcuffs, put her in a patrol car.

You feel sorry for her. And you're like, I don't know. You start maybe guessing yourself going, could she really be the one to do this? At the station, detectives ask Virginia about her relationship with Patty Wheelington, her husband's alleged mistress. Virginia knew about the affair. She described Patty as friends. No, I believe she tried to conceal it.

She held resentment for Patty. She was upset because James left her and she couldn't believe that he would do that after all those years. But Virginia says that she's made peace with the end of her marriage. Virginia gave the appearance that she had accepted things as far as James filing for divorce. She never gave us the appearance that she was the distraught person that we believed that she was. She's telling us that she would never, never do anything to Patty.

Virginia says that 80-year-old Ken Codwell must have made a mistake when he said she was at Patty's home that morning. She told us that she had gotten up at about 8 o'clock and she went to McDonald's and she went to the nursing home and visited her mother. Can you take your mother to nursing home? What time will that? What's this? It's going slow.

It had to be slow for a kid to see. 8 o'clock in the morning. She had been at McDonald's getting food for her mother and spending time with her at the nursing home. She's there at eight o'clock. It's going to be impossible to kill patty at eight o'clock. We ended our interview with her. She was taken up to the jail where she was booked in.

And we go about starting to try to investigate her story. Detectives start by subpoenaing Patti, Virginia, and James' phone records. As we had Patti's phone analyzed, we were able to discover that there were some voice mails that were left from Virginia to Patty. Patty, please, please, give me my husband back. Please, give me my husband back.

Please, it is horrible. I'll give my husband back. You can see you in, weeping, wailing. She's just trying to talk and sob at the same time, and it's just unintelligible. You definitely supported her. And you know, you know, you're just trying to talk and sob at the same time, and it's just unintelligible.

You definitely supported her. You know, you're just trying to talk and sob at the same time and it's just unintelligible. You definitely supported the motive that we knew was there for Virginia to have killed Patty. Virginia's voicemails aren't the only big break that come from the cell phone suite. I found out that James had two cell phones.

He's too old to be a drug dealer, and he shouldn't have two phones. I was like, OK, this is highly suspicious. I was very bothered by it. When detectives retrieve the calls and messages from the phone, it turns out James had used it to contact just one person, Patty Wheelington. He didn't want Virginia to be aware that he was making phone calls to him in front.

It was obvious by the information in the phone that they were more than just friends. Virginia was presented by all the members of the guys and dollars club as this crazy person who was jealous for no reason, but it turns out she was jealous for good reason. After detectives finish combing through cell phone records, James arrives at the station for his scheduled interview. arrives at the station for his scheduled interview. We sent him down, we said, look, here's what we have. You need to be honest. It's very important for you to be honest. And so he admitted that, yes, they did have an affair. He wanted to protect Patty's reputation.

In Texas, or Canada, this is a small town. We're in the Bible belt. It's not looked kindly upon people having extra men or tool affairs. According to James, the affair began in 2009. Shortly after, he finished rebuilding the Wheelington's home. She and James struck up a romantic relationship before Ray's death. But during a period of time time when Ray didn't really know

who people were, it's not surprising that she would have sought solace and somebody really plused her. I felt dumb that I didn't know. You know, it's right in front of your face and you can't see it. According to James, his relationship with Virginia had been on the rocks for years. He said they had separate bedrooms for the past 10 years.

They were not close. After I thought about it, I don't think him and Virginia had any kind of relationship outside of Bansapartner. She's not as attractive as Patty. Her and James don't have any children. They don't have anything really holding them together anymore. James says the situation worsened when Virginia learned of the affair.

The older she got, the more possessive she got. The more jealous she got. James even said he locked his door at night for fear of Virginia. It's hard for me to imagine a grown man being that scared of his wife that he would lock the door. There was obviously something in Virginia's character that caused the people who knew her best to think she was capable of anything. something in Virginia's character that caused the people who knew her best

to think she was capable of anything. James says his fears were confirmed at Thanksgiving. When Virginia pulled James's sisters aside for a private chat. Virginia told James Hides sisters around Thanksgiving that she felt like James was going to kill his self. So they got concerned. The sisters came to Janice and they said, you know, Virginia's coming, does what she says, she's concerned that you're gonna kill yourself. They all theorize that Virginia's gonna kill you and try to make it look like you did it yourself. You need to get the hell out of dodge. James says he took his sister's advice and went to Florida.

He begged Patty to go with him to Florida and be out of town because he was afraid of what Virginia would do when she received the divorce papers. Patty said, I'm not running. I'm not running from her. I'm basically, she felt like that whatever came up, she could talk to Virginia.

Patty did have her locks changed, but refused to leave her home. When detectives ask if Virginia had access to a weapon, James says Virginia did have one gun, a 38 revolver. She had a gun just like the one who used in this smuggler. Coming up, Kent prosecutors convinced a jury that this 67-year-old woman is a cold-blooded killer. Virginia, she just looked kind of pitiful. There's no way that this decrepit old lady climbed those steps and fired five shots.

Nearly 36 hours into the investigation of who killed Patty Wheelington, detectives now believe that on the morning of December 3, 2013, Virginia Hyatt killed her husband's mistress in a jealous rage. I believe that she was lying about her alibi. Fortunately for us, she gave us the part of her alibi that was true as far as her going to McDonald's. She said she was at McDonald's at eight o'clock going through the drive-through. He obtained those videos, so after reviewing the videos, he found that she did not go through at eight o'clock, but she did go through it at 9, adjusting her time by an hour.

She had plenty of time and opportunity to drive to Patty's house, to kill Patty, and then come back and carry out through her day like she had done nothing. Later that day, investigators go to Virginia's home with a search warrant. Although they don't find the suspected murder weapon, they uncover something else. We go to the video with McDonald's and we're able to see what she's wearing. We know we need to locate her clothing that she was wearing that day in her home. In her house on her bed were some clothes that she had obviously worn and tossed on the bed. And one of those items was a shirt

that she was seeing wearing in the McDonald's video. Detectives send the shirt to the Arkansas crime lab to test for gunpowder residue. A few days later, the results come back. Lone behold, there's gunpowder residue on her clothing. Details of Virginia's arrest and patty and James' affair quickly become front page news. I just had to sit down because I had defended it.

That they didn't have an affair for so long. It was just shocking. Because Patty Willington was a very involved member in the community, people took note. I had several members of the community approached me to be sure that Virginia was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the community approach me to be sure that Virginia was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Virginia's trial gets underway on February 2, 2016. Prosecutors assert that after her husband of 40 years filed for divorce, Virginia turned on her husband's mistress, Haddie Wilenton. She wasn't going to get James back. Her life was over, but she could kill Patty. And then everything would be okay. She got that 38 caliber pistol. She went over to Patty's house on the morning

of December the 3rd. She got out of her car and started to walk up. Everyone who knew Patty said that she always felt like she could talk to anyone. And I believe that that's probably the way she approached Virginia coming up that morning was that she could talk to her. Patty probably said, hey Virginia, you know, James isn't here. And Virginia just pulled that gun out and started shooting.

Patti Panics tries to make it to the door of the house, but Virginia tracks her cross-set porch and continues shooting her up until the point that Patti fell dead. Virginia's attorneys argue that the woman sitting at the defendant's table isn't the cold calculated killer that prosecutors describe. Virginia, she just looked kind of pitiful, just looked so much older, but she can't get her hair fixed.

She would limp into the courtroom or hearing say'd have her wheeler in and a wheelchair, and she really did her best, I think, to play this little old lady role. It was a concern that the jury would look at her and say, there's no way that this decrepit old lady climbed those steps and fired five shots. On February 8th, 2016, after only an hour of deliberations, the jury returns with a verdict. They found her guilty of cattle murder. It's an automatic life sentence. I was so proud they found that Virginia guilty and that she will never get out in her

anyone else. For prosecutors, investigators, and the town of Texarkana, it is a bitter sweet end to this case of a woman scorned. Patty was so generous. It's just unreal. What a personality that we have lost. Patty should be remembered how she lived. She was happy, she was friendly, she was kind,

and she was giving, and that's how she should be remembered. Virginia Hyatt is housed at the McPherson Unit for Women in Arkansas. After Virginia's conviction, James Hyatt began a new relationship with another friend from Texarkana.