Sword and Scale Nightmares - Mom

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

Kimberly Cargill was evil personified. She abused her children for years, circumventing the system to keep them in her clutches. Finally, the state caught on and what she did to keep from trouble was worse than the abuse itself.

Did you know that more than 50% of food waste in Toronto homes is avoidable? By cutting down on food waste, you can help protect the environment and save money. Simple actions like planning your meals, storing food correctly, and using everything you purchase make a big difference. Learn how to make every bite count at toronto.ca slash food waste. It's a still evening in Smith County, Texas as a Domino's Pizza delivery driver has headed down a country road with some delicious discs of cheese and tomato sauce in the backseat. He's got the radio playing lightly as he smooths his hair in the rearview mirror and changes lanes. No one else is on the road, so he forgets to signal.

Just as he glances in the rearview mirror again, he notices something on the side of the road glowing in the taillights. It makes him pump the brakes and do a U-turn. It looks like a huge lump of trash or clothing about 50 feet off the road. But there's something strange about it. So he pulls over and walks towards the mystery pile. As he gets closer, he notices a pair of white sneakers. They are connected to a pair of human legs. The woman's shoes are pointed down in the dirt, and he realizes what this lump actually is.

A dead woman who has been burned so badly that her shirt has melted into her skin. All of her hair is gone and her face has been pushed into the clay and debris. He holds his mouth to keep from vomiting and runs to his idling car, fumbling for his cell phone to call 911. When the police arrive, they rope off the scene and start finding clues. A carpet and clothes spurned beside the body and a quick stop half and half creamer cup between the victim's legs. Amongst the other garbage at the scene, this creamer cup stands out.

It's clear, fresh, and barely crumpled. One officer preserves it. He just has a feeling. They also find tire tracks in the red clay and examine the prints. Now Now they have to find out who this dead woman was and track down the monster who burned her and threw her on the side of the road like trash. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares. True crime for bedtime. Where nightmare begins now. Sword and scale nightmares. True crime for bedtime. Where nightmare begins now. Did you know that more than 50% of food waste in Toronto homes is avoidable?

By cutting down on food waste, you can help protect the environment and save money. Simple actions like planning your meals, storing food correctly, and using everything you purchase make a big difference. Learn how to make every bite count at toronto.ca food waste. When Brian Cargill was set up on a blind date with his future wife Kimberly, he had no idea how much this night would steer his life in a new direction. Brian was a kind guy with a daughter from a previous marriage, but he was excited to

meet someone new, and Kimberly was just his type. She was charming, pretty and gave off the vibe that she had it all going on. For their first date the couple went to the movies to see So I Married an Axe Murderer. Brian felt good after their first date and when Kimberly invited him to come to a support group at her church the following week, he was excited. Kimberly was a nurse and in her spare time, she told Brian she was heavily involved in her church. Brian showed up early and walked in, nervously looking around for Kimberly,

but she hadn't arrived. Some of the other attendees in the support group invited him in, so he took a seat and waited, making small talk. Then, Kimberly showed up. Brian expected a big smile and a greeting, but she looked at him angrily, then deliberately crossed the room to take the empty seat furthest away from him. Obviously, this is very confusing for Brian. What an awkward situation. During the entire meeting he was distracted playing the scene over and over in his head like a movie. Maybe she decided she wasn't interested after

all. Kind of a weird way to let him know. After the group ended Kimberly walked out of the room in a huff and Brian caught up with her. When he asked her what was wrong, she exploded. The tender, hilarious woman he had gone to the movies with just a few days before was gone and in her place stood a raging demon. She seethed in anger, screaming about how rude it was that he didn't wait for her before going into the meeting, Brian interrupted.

It was an honest mistake, he said. I thought it would just be better to wait inside. I don't want to fight with you, so I'll just go. As he turned around to leave, she grabbed his arm. It was a desperate clutch, almost sad. He stopped. I'm sorry, Kimberly said, and her face softened. She explained that she was just stressed out. She shouldn't have exploded like that. Brian agreed to see her again despite the waving red flag. But deep down, he knew

there's something off. Over the next few months, their relationship progressed and soon Kimberly moved in with Brian. She helped him when he had his daughter and with his pain management because Brian had an old back injury that he still suffered from. Plus, Kimberly was a nurse, so she knew about all this stuff. But he noticed a few little odd things, like his Vicodin pills going missing. Kimberly had a temper. That same explosive anger he saw at the church that day. It would show up whenever the couple would have

a minor disagreement over childcare or the house or some other random thing in life. Her moods would swing like a pendulum. One minute she'd be sweet and loving and the next she'd be flying into a rage and ranting about something so intensely it was like she was on stage. Finally, Brian just couldn't take it anymore. I mean, could you? He wanted out. Life's too short to deal with someone whose emotions are so bipolar. And Kimberly was just too intense for him to handle. But when he finally got

up the nerve to actually, you know, go through with it and let her go for good, she had news for him before he could even say a word. She, of course, waited for it, announced she's pregnant. Brian was stunned. He knew that Kimberly had a son from a previous relationship, but she told Brian that she was no longer able to conceive because of complications from that pregnancy. Now, here she was, waving a pregnancy test at him happily

and calling their future child a miracle baby. Brian wanted to be in the baby's life but he didn't want to be with Kimberly. He trudged on. He said that the news was wonderful but he would rather co-parent than continue in this relationship. And that's when Kimberly turned. Her menacing anger came back like a wave. She told him that he would never see his child unless they were together. She'd make sure of that. He begged her to consider co-parenting, but she refused. The more he pushed, the more she resisted. Brian didn't

want to give up on his unborn child, so being a good guy, he said okay. They'd give it another try. So soon, the couple would be married, and before he would walk down the aisle, Brian would take a moment to himself to cry, knowing that this was 50% of food waste in Toronto homes is avoidable? By cutting down on food waste, you can help protect the environment and save money. Simple actions like planning your meals, storing food correctly, and using everything you purchase make a big difference. Learn how to make every bite count at toronto.ca. When Brian and Kimberly's son Jamie was born, there was a brief period of happiness as the new family of three.

Brian was elated to have a boy and Kimberly was tender and loving as they welcomed their newborn into the world. But as Jamie grew, Kimberly's temper and controlling ways came back, and became progressively worse and worse with every sleepless night. One evening, Brian comes home from work late. He's exhausted as he kicks off his boots and tiptoes into the bedroom. He sees Kimberly sleeping. He tries to be as quiet as possible as he gets himself undressed, but he hears her rustle awake. She rolls over and starts talking about something that needs to be fixed in the house, something broken in the kitchen. But, you know, Bryant's

tired. Now? He thinks? She wants to bring this up. Now? He tries his best to remain calm but stern telling her that he's tired and he's going to go to bed. That's when Kimberly pushes the covers back and stands up. She's now stomping around the bedroom in her bare feet, screaming at what a lazy, useless moron he is. And at this point, Brian is just fed up. He turns to leave the bedroom and she grabs him. Her nails dig into the flesh on his upper arm as he pulls away. And she's relentless. She grabs him again and continues screaming. She's spitting and shouting so loudly that he doesn't even see her grab a hammer from the top of their dresser. Brian turns to leave again and that's when he feels something fly by his face.

He stops and looks forward. Kimberly has thrown the hammer so hard that it's stuck into the wall at face height. Brian can barely breathe. Did she just throw a hammer at my head? That's it. I'm done. I mean, could you blame them? After their divorce, Brian was awarded custody of Jamie.

That's when Brian found out that Kimberly's other son didn't speak to her because of her rage. That boy's father had reported that Kimberly had tried to run him over with a car and ended up in a mental hospital where she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Despite all this, Kimberly managed to get her degree in nursing and have a successful career in the medical field.

Kind of scary, if you ask me. Brian and baby boy, Jamie, lived together happily, and Kimberly abided by the custody rules. But when Jamie was 11 years old, he and Brian got into an innocent scuffle after arguing about what to watch on TV. And Jamie fell, knocking his head on the side of the coffee table. The next day at Kimberly's house, Jamie told her what happened and she called a lawyer.

Don't you just love those? Hunching over her son's shoulder, Kimberly forced the child to write an affidavit about what happened between him and Brian, embellishing the story in her favor. Jamie was only 11 years old, so he was going to do whatever his mother told him to. He had no idea what he was doing, and of course he trusted his mother. But this kickstarted a whole new custody battle, But this kickstarted a whole new custody battle, one which Brian lost. Jamie was given to Kimberly and he moved back into her house. If you think there are injustices in the criminal justice system, you should take a look at family court. During that time, Kimberly had two more sons with two different men, and now she had custody of all three of the boys.

With no man in her life to take her rage out on, Kimberly turned her mood towards her young children. She would scream and hit the boys if they ripped their clothes, brought dirt into the house or didn't finish a meal. She installed locks on the kids' bedroom doors, but the locks were on the outside. When the boys got into trouble, she'd lock them up, refusing them food or use of the bathroom. Kimberly treated her boys like little slaves. They had to do all her laundry, they had to cook her meals, clean her house, and take

care of all of her chores. She beat them regularly and strangled the boys, using her thumbs to push into their Adam's apples. Jamie told his dad about all of this abuse. His dad saw the bruises on his son's arms and stomach. Brian was determined to get his son back. He reported all of this to the police. But without a major event,

without a serious injury that involved the police, he was told he couldn't take any legal action. Yeah, that's how it is. It's actually fucking insane. Finally, one day, Jamie can't take the abuse anymore. It's a sunny afternoon and Jamie and his little brother are playing Xbox together in the living room. His mom comes in and tells him to turn it off, screaming and ranting about, I don't know what. Kimberly walks into the room and angrily turns off the Xbox mid play.

Any kid or pretty much anyone these days will tell you that's a no-no. You don't do that. You just don't. Jamie stares at his mother. She's the reason for his misery. She never hugs him or praises him. Those days died long ago. He feels nothing but hatred from the woman who is supposed to love him the most.

And finally, he just snaps. Jamie crosses the room, picks up the Xbox, and throws it towards a window. The gaming system hits the pain just right and shatters into pieces. Kimberly screams. In a flash, she lunges down, grabs the Xbox cord with two hands, lassoes it around Jamie's neck, and tackles him to the ground. Kimberly is yelling and choking her son so hard that he can't breathe.

Jamie tries to wedge his fingers under the cord and free his airway, but she's holding on so tight that he just can't. Jamie's little brother is screaming, crying, begging his mother to stop. But Kimberly continues to wrestle her teenage son. Jamie feels his eyes close. Is this it? Then Kimberly lets go.

The light comes back into Jamie's eyes. He can hear his little brother crying again. He runs to his bedroom and calls 911. But when police arrive Kimberly puts on a star performance as she always has. She's sobbing, telling the police that her son is just an out of control teenager. A liar. She points to the shattered window and they see the Xbox on the grass outside. Clearly, this is all Jamie. Jamie protests and tries his best to explain to the police what actually happened, but the police what actually happened but they side with his mom. Now he's trapped and hopeless and there's nobody that can help him. Jamie is given a citation for assaulting Kimberly.

A citation. When the police leave she tells him that if he tries anything like that again, she'll kill him. And she means it. After the Xbox event, all the boys are living in a state of fear. Kimberly had made it perfectly clear what she was capable of and the kind of discipline that she expected from her sons. Jamie's little brothers are more malleable and even more confused. Plus Kimberly still shows them a little bit of love to keep them under control. But Jamie was determined to get the hell out of her house and save his brothers. All the fathers of Kimberly's children were beginning to catch on to what was going on inside the home and they started to catch on to what was going on inside the home

and they started to report things to CPS. But taking custody away from a mother is, how do I put this, almost fucking impossible. Especially when she's a brilliant manipulator with a good life and good career and everything seems to be rosy. Except for those darn teenagers, you know? Kimberly knew what she was doing. She was a smart cookie. She knew just how to physically abuse the boys so that the marks wouldn't show.

She knew how to cheat the system. Those that cheat the system often do. Then one day things got a little too far. Jamie is in Kimberly's bedroom looking for something when he hears the creaky door crack open. "'Why are you in my bedroom?' she hisses. Jamie is frozen.

He doesn't even remember why he went in there. As he slowly moves towards the door to leave, Kimberly grabs him by his shoulders and shoves him down to the ground. She sits on top of his stomach. Jamie can feel the weight of her crushing his pelvis. Her eyes are tiny, dark slits and she's so angry her face is turning red. Through tight lips she curses and wraps her hands around Jamie's neck. Kimberly shoves her fingers into his Adam's apple and he starts choking. She picks his head up and down, up and down like it's a coconut, and smashes it over and over into the hardwood floor.

Jamie can't breathe. The room is starting to spin. He can hear himself choking. This is it, he thinks. She's going to kill me. He kicks his legs and moans, but his energy is evaporating. Kimberly suddenly lets go. Jamie sucks up a big breath like a whale reaching the water.

He gets up, sprints at the door, and goes to the neighbor's house to call his father. That night, Brian took pictures of Jamie's injuries. The welts on his head, the strangulation marks marks on his neck the bruises all over his legs The next morning Brian called the custody judge With his mountain of new evidence This was sickening the judge was in shock Brian was finally awarded custody of his son. Finally Jamie was free. It feels like the battle is over but little did they know the war has

only begun. After After Kimberly lost custody of Jamie, Child Protective Services started looking at her household much more closely. Soon, her middle son was also returned to the care of his father, which left Kimberly alone with her youngest boy. Why would you leave the youngest and most vulnerable kid with a mother who's known to abuse her two other kids? Hmm, let's see. Oh yeah, because the whole system sucks and is run by idiots.

But you must have already known that. Kimberly was working as a nurse and during the, she had a neighbor babysit for her. But the neighbor was getting older, and Kimberly's young boy was too much for her to keep up with. So she asked a friend by the name of Cherry Walker to help. Cherry Walker was a 39-year-old woman with the mind of a nine year old. She was disabled, but she had moved out on her own and wanted to earn some extra money. So she was happy to help play with a little kid.

Cherry was kindhearted and innocent. And Kimberly's youngest son loved her so much. Kimberly was fine with having a handicapped woman watch her child. She was so easy to control. Cherry had her own caretaker, an older woman who knew her parents and would check in on her, making sure she had groceries and that she was able to handle life on her own. Cherry lived on government assistance and didn't do much except help take care of Kimberly's boy and play house in her small apartment. She had epilepsy and was on a few various medications to help with her tremors. As Cherry's relationship with Kimberly and her son grew, Cherry took on

the brunt of raising Kimberly's son. He was always at her house, and Kimberly took full advantage of Cherry's kindness and naivety. As the abuse claims started piling up against Kimberly, CPS was on her case, and she had a custody hearing coming up to determine whether her youngest son would continue to live with her. Kimberly was also facing some serious charges of child abuse and if this hearing went poorly for her, she would never

see her youngest son again. Five days before Kimberly's scheduled custody hearing, a social worker called Cherry Walker. Cherry was a little surprised when she was subpoenaed. In fact, she didn't even really know what it meant and immediately called her caretaker to tell her what happened. Her caretaker explained to Cherry that she would be arrested or fined if she didn't testify. Cherry was scared.

She didn't want to sit in a courtroom. So she called Kimberly and told her about the subpoena. Maybe Kimberly could help her understand why this happened. This, of course, is not advised. You probably shouldn't call the defendant if you're subpoenaed for court hearing against them. It's probably not gonna go over well for you. Just a little tip for the rocket scientists in the audience. You know who you are. Or maybe you don't. Kimberly told Cherry that they wanted to use her to make Kimberly look bad for the judge. Kimberly insisted that Cherry come out with her for dinner that evening.

Maybe they could just talk. Cherry was hesitant. Kimberly then offered Cherry an extra paycheck if she'd come over and clean her house. Cherry wasn't sure if she wanted to. When she got off the phone with Kimberly, she called her caretaker and told her what was going on. You don't have to go with her, the caretaker warned. Stay home. Don't answer your phone. But, as you can probably tell because you're listening to Sword and Scale, that's not what

happened. Somehow, and we'll never really know how, Kimberly managed to manipulate her way into Cherry's small apartment. Cherry is hesitant to let her in, but she does. She likes Kimberly and she does trust her, unfortunately. Kimberly is pretty and kind when she wants to be. And tonight, she's extra sweet. Cherry's apartment is meticulously clean.

She loves collecting cleaning products even more than she does the cleaning. Cherry keeps her home perfectly neat and tidy. Not a thing is out of place. Kimberly's house is a pigsty, by comparison. A complete mess. She leaves her used tampons and pads on the bathroom floor for fuck's sake. There's a week's worth of paperwork and fast food containers collecting on every surface. You should really come over and clean my place tonight," Kimberly presses again.

I'm so impressed by how spotless your place is. Can you work your magic at mine? Cherry thinks. She doesn't want to go with her and remembers what her caretaker told her. Come on, says Kimberly, smiling and extending her hand. My son would love to see you. I'll pay you whatever you want. Cherry shakes her head.

I'm sorry, Ms. Kimberly. I think I better stay home tonight. Kimberly tries one more tactic. She offers to buy Cherry a fast food dinner. Cherry loves burgers, just as much as she loves cleaning products. Don't ask. Those are her two favorite things for whatever reason, so she can't resist the offer. The fast food place is a few blocks away and Cherry is so hungry. She grabs her beloved change purse and follows Kimberly out the door. It's a warm Texas evening and the two women

slide into Kimberly's white SUV. Cherry folds her hands on her lap and thinks about what kind of burger she's gonna order. She barely notices as Kimberly drives past the restaurant. Oh, I think you missed it, Cherry says quietly. Kimberly ignores her and keeps driving. Silence hangs in the air between them. Cherry gets a tight feeling in the pit of her stomach, the kind that tells you you've

made a mistake. Kimberly slowly pulls over to the side of the road. No one is around. It's dark and misty out. I have to check my tire, Kimberly says. Hold on. Cherry stays in her seat and looks out the window. She hears Kimberly walk out the car and then open the back passenger door. That's when she strikes. Kimberly uses the leather strap of her shoulder bag as a weapon, wrapping it quickly and tightly against Cherry's neck, pinning her to the seat. The awkward chubby

girl panics against Kimberly's aggression and force. Kimberly's only 120 pounds, half of Cherry's 240. But she is strong, fierce, and psychotic. And she's using her headrest as a tool. Kimberly huffs and wraps the strap tighter, pushing her foot against the back of the seat to create as much pressure as possible. She sees Cherry's eyes bulging out in the side mirror.

She's struggling, kicking her legs and trying to grab at her neck, but she can't. Kimberly grunts and moans, die, die, die! She hisses. Her knuckles are white and she pulls the strap tighter and tighter, grunting. Cherry chokes a final time, then the body stops fighting. Her limbs fall limp. Kimberly rests back, breath breathless and smiles. After a few minutes, she collects herself, gets back in the front seat of her SUV, and puts it into drive.

She's got to find a safe place to dump Cherry. Then she'll go back and get the gasoline. It didn't take long to identify Cherry Walker. Her parents reported her missing almost immediately when they couldn't get a hold of her. Kimberly had managed to throw Cherry out the side of her SUV and cover her with trash before she doused her body with gasoline and set it on fire.

She even threw Cherry's beloved chain purse into the flames. When the police got a search warrant for Kimberly's house and car, they found the same dairy creamer half and half cups as they did at the crime scene. The tire marks matched her SUV and Cherry's black hairs were taken from the passenger seat. Kimberly's defense was that Cherry had a seizure in her car and she didn't know what to do. So she just got rid of the body.

That's never going to work in court by the way, in case you're thinking of using it. If you're that dumb, maybe you need a new profession. Maybe murder isn't up your alley. But of course, you should be smart enough to know this if you're a registered nurse. I mean, you've made it that far. And the jury knew it. Kimberly Cargill was sentenced to death for the murder of Cherry Walker. She sits on death row today, in the good state of Texas, where she probably has plenty of company. Not one of her sons ever wants anything to do with her, and rightfully so. She is evil personified. She's that 1% exception that prevents you from the ability to say that only men are violent. Kimberly Cargill was a selfish, manipulative, psychotic monster. Someone who

should be put away and never allowed back out into society. Someone who is unfixable, unredeemable. Irredeemable? I don't know what the word is, but you know what I'm saying. That word gets used a lot for people that just say mean words, and it really should be reserved for people like Kimberly. How this woman even existed, how she got along in life and was able to even get this far is beyond me. She abused her children for years, and then she killed a handicapped girl, the babysitter, to preserve control over her youngest kid. It goes without saying that Kimberly Cargill was evil and that evil actually does exist exist and it can look like anyone even a nurse and even a mom.

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