True Crime All The Time - Steven Todd Jenkins

Episode Date: February 26, 2024

Steven Todd Jenkins was convicted of murdering two bankers who seized his family’s farm after his parents filed for bankruptcy. Steven cast the blame on his father, but prosecutors argued that Steven, who was a skilled marksman and obsessed with weapons, was the shooter. Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the case of Steven Todd Jenkins. The jury had a tough decision to make about just who fired the shots that killed the two men. Complicating matters, Steven's father ended his life after the shooting. Steven maintained his innocence at trial, but was that really the truth?You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 372 of the True Crime All the Time podcast. I'm Mike Ferguson. And with me as always is my partner in True Crime, Mike Gibson. How are you? Hey, I'm doing good. How about yourself? I'm doing very, very well. Yeah.

You and I have a boatload of stuff out right now. On Saturday night, we published a brand new Patreon episode. Yeah, we did. On Christine Rouch. And, you know, this was, uh, a woman who was given up by her birth mother. Yeah. When she was very young,

extended family took her in and gave her a great life. She reconnected with her birth mother years later and then ended up killing her. Yeah. So there's a lot that went into it. It's kind of a very strange story. Definitely some troubling details. Yeah, absolutely. And then on true crime all the time on salt,

we have an episode out on Adam Emory. Emory was convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing a young man, but he and his wife fled the day he was convicted. His wife's remains were found months later, but Adam Emery is still considered a fugitive from justice. So a little strange that we're talking about the unsolved disappearance of a murderer. Doesn't happen all that often. No, no, it really doesn't.

Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Jessica Staples. Hey, Jessica. Tony Hunt. What's going on, Tony? Ray B. jumped out at our highest level. Hey, Ray.

Art Bellin. What's going on, Bellin? Nicole Shappard. Hey, there's Nicole. Jason Lundsman. Oh, I appreciate that, Lundsman. Ducky Laird. Hey, Ducky.

Cornelia Gustafson. Ah, Gustafson. Johanna Bergland jumped out of our highest level. What's going on, Barglin? And appreciate that. Lucy. Hey, Lucy. Taylor Hudson.

Well, appreciate that, Taylor. Mike Abbott. Hey, Mike. Mac Macanda. Hey, Mac, Mac. And last but not least, Beth. Hey, appreciate that, Beth. And then if we go back into the vault,

this week, we selected Jody Eubank. Well, thank you so much, Jody. Yeah, appreciate all the Patreon support. And then we had a great PayPal donation from Charlene Brewer. Hey, thanks, Charlene. You know, when you said Tony's name, I wanted to be like George that, you know, in Seinfeld and Tony. That Tony guy, remember that Tony guy?

Hey, Tony. Tony. Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony. You don't remember that guy? No. Oh, it wasn't Tony, was it? Probably not. Oh, I love your stories, man. Are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time?

I'm ready. We are talking about Stephen Todd Jenkins. Jenkins was convicted of murdering two bankers, who seized his family's farm after his parents filed for bankruptcy, Stephen cast the blame on his father. But prosecutors argued that Stephen, who was a skilled marksman and obsessed with weapons, was the shooter. From 1977 to 1980, James and Darlene Jenkins lived on a 10-acre dairy farm in Ruthen, Minnesota,

with their son, Stephen. James Jenkins grew up on farms and farming was the career he was most passionate about. He was described as a quiet loner. One local sheriff said he was a likable sort and didn't cause trouble. The sheriff noted that James paid some of his bills late, but this was not uncommon in the agricultural community because of the unstable income. Yeah, I think it was kind of a norm. Well, let's face it, it's not like the job that you have. You know for a fact that every two weeks you're going to be paid X amount.

Exactly. Now, that amount might not be as much as you would like it to be. But I know what it's going to be. It might be more than you're actually worth, but you know what it's going to be. Right. It's not the same when you're a farmer. No. You don't know what the yield's going to be.

You don't know what the price for the crop is going to be. So, I mean, there are a lot of variables. Before they purchased the farm in Ruthen, the Jenkins family moved from farm to farm. James once tried to start an earth-moving business. His friend Bernard Canuth said he purchased machinery but didn't get much business. James's father co-signed on the loan and had to mortgage his house to help his son. Well, that's a good dad. It's a good dad.

And I get trying to start a business. Now, it can be risky. If you go out and you buy some of this very expensive machinery and the, and the work doesn't come your way. It's going to go south and a hurt. Yeah, those bills are still coming in. Darlene Jenkins told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that they had to move often because James had trouble keeping a job.

One of James's former attorneys told the Star Tribune that James went through a dramatic personality change after he suffered head injuries in a car accident in his early 20s. Before, he was described as much. mild manner. But after the accident, he was prone to wild fits of temper. Does that shock you? You know, at this point, nothing shocks me all that much when it comes to talk of head injury. I mean, we're just, we hear about them so much more nowadays than we ever used to. And we know so much more. You think about some of the NFL stars who died early.

some of them have donated their brain to science, they studied those brains, other people have done it as well. There's no doubt that head injuries can, not always, but can cause dramatic changes in people. There's just no doubt about it. Yeah, and we've talked about several all of those types of cases over the years. In 1977, James and Darlene purchased a small farm in Ruthen and 45 dairy cows. They eventually ran into money problems. They didn't have enough pasture to feed the cow, so they had to buy hay and grain. They weren't making enough money and struggled to pay the bills.

The cows became malnourished, and liens were put on their machinery. Now, I didn't grow up in any type of farm environment. Yeah. Whatsoever. There were a lot of farms around where I lived because it was kind of a rural community, but we lived like in a neighborhood. So I never lived on a farm, never had much to do with the farm. I always thought that it would be a very demanding life,

but could also be very satisfying. If you think about growing something from the ground up with your own two hands. Right. Seems like that would be satisfying. But how much work, you know, goes in to getting that done? How much work is it to milk 45 cows? Well, I know you say you wouldn't mind milking some cows. Just for the practice or?

Yeah, I know you like to drink that milk right fresh out of that cow. Or I just want to pull. on a teat. Is that what you're trying to say? Maybe. The fact that you know that's what you do. Well, for your information, I have milk cows before. So I know how it's done. Not surprised. And I know it's called a teat. In the late 70s and early 80s, there was a farm credit crisis in the Midwest due to a recession. This case came to symbolize the rising tensions between farmers and lenders. In 1983, the New York Times reported with the rise in farm foreclosures, forced farm auctions and voluntary liquidations in recent months, banks and federal loan agencies have been the

target of mounting criticisms and demonstrations some violent among a wide range of farm, organized labor, environmental, and anti-nuclear groups, coalescing around the financial plight of farmers and unemployed workers across the Middle West. It was a pretty big thing too. I mean, I've seen movies, so many movies about that time frame of, you know, the bad bank coming to take the farm away from the family. Yeah, it's kind of like a movie trope, but it was a real thing. It did happen. Yeah.

But you could also see why a lot of people would have sympathies for farmers. We need farmers because we have a lot of. lot of people to feed here in the U.S. And so to have a bunch of farms go out of business can be kind of catastrophic. In 1979, James and Darlene took on a farm operating loan from the Buffalo Ridge State Bank in Ruthen. The following year, they got divorced, defaulted on their loan, and declared bankruptcy. Darlene alleged verbal abuse in her divorce filing.

James claimed that Darlene was having a. an affair with Rudolph Blank, the president of the Buffalo Ridge State Bank. Seems a little like a conflict of interest in a strange way. Yeah, but here's my thought. If you're having an affair with the president of the bank, don't you think you could get an extension on your loan or more favorable terms? You would hope. You would think so.

The Jenkins family soon abandoned the property and the title transferred back to the bank. According to a news article from Farm Farm, James illegally sold cattle that were meant to be collateral for his loan. He was forced to file for bankruptcy because he was $25,000 in debt. Yeah, you can't sell something that doesn't belong to you anymore. Yeah, that's just a good rule of thumb. After the divorce, James briefly worked a trucking job in Ohio before he hitchhiked to Texas. He was hired as a maintenance man by the school district in Brown. Brownwood. James eventually saved up enough to buy a camping trailer in an old truck so he could

bring Stephen to Texas with him. After the divorce, Stephen spent his time living with his mom or his paternal grandparents before he moved to Texas to be with his death. Like his father, Stephen was described as a quiet young man. He was also described as hardworking and well-behaved. He was known for always maintaining a military haircut wearing camouflage and his interest in weapon. There's really nothing standing out. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having interest in weapons. Well, and you're always rocking that short military haircut. You wear fatigues in here a lot. I don't understand it. Because I'm fatigued. Because you're tired. Yeah. When Stephen was a teenager, James bought him a 30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle.

A coworker who served in Vietnam taught Stephen how to use it. That's a healthy gun. Yeah, an M-1. It's kind of an iconic rifle. Yeah. Stephen tried to join the Marines in 1981, but he couldn't join because he ruptured his spleen in a bicycle accident the year before. Stephen's grandfather said that he was very upset by his

parents divorce. Around that time, his fascination with weapons became more extreme. Okay, now we're getting into maybe some concern. Well, yeah, you said there's nothing wrong with, you know, liking weapons or, or something like that. But when you start to throw around the word obsession, extreme, well, then you're envisioning in your mind, you know, a possible problem. Yeah. Stephen's grandfather later told the investigators that Stephen had hand grenades and had been making and detonating pipe bomb. I think it's concerning that you have hand grenades and that you're making pipe bombs. I think both are very concerned.

You know, if you own a pistol or a rifle or both and you like to go out and do some target shooting, is there anything wrong with that? No, not in my mind whatsoever. I don't know why anyone would really need a hand grenade. Is it even legal to own a hand grenade? I don't know. I don't think so. And what are the uses for a pipe bomb? Legitimate uses.

Well, that creek down there is, you know, damming up and we got to break that free. We got to change the water flow of this creek. But I can just imagine this kid kind of, you know, keeping these things, making them and keeping them in his room. It was said that he often did target practice with his M1 and other guns, but one of his targets was a human dummy. Oh, he didn't like have the beer can out there that you would shoot on a string. Or even a paper target.

Yeah. Which is, you know, what I'm kind of used to or a cardboard target. He used a human dummy. But, you know, basically what all this practice did was turn him into a skilled market. And that's what practice will do, right? And it's not just shooting. If you practice anything enough, you'll get good at it. Yeah, I could hit something down field 400 yards with a 15 degree wind, 60% of time all the time. The fact that none of that made any sense leads me to believe that you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Oh, no, come on. Let's not debate it.

Stephen later testified before grand jury that he used a machete to trim trees and another knife to bail hay. He kept professional handcuffs, quote, just for playing around and did target practice when he didn't have anything else to do. Stephen testified that he enjoyed hunting but never got his license. He said he took a gun with him whenever he left home. Well, look, the handcuffs? I've seen a set laying around here. I don't ask questions. I just assume, you know, what happens after I leave here is done of my business.

That's a good assumption. Now, we are in Texas. You know, I don't know how many people carry guns in Texas, but I'm thinking that by percentage, it's higher than many other states. I would agree. And you think about Texas, somebody driving a truck, they got a rifle in the back of the truck, in the hanging up there. I'm not saying everyone.

It's just kind of what you think of. Yeah, and I don't have an issue with the machete either. I mean, I use a machete a lot when I want to clear vegetation away. So it's actually a really good tool. Do you have a lot of vegetation that needs to be cleared? Not anymore. In your apartment. Stephen dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and moved to Texas to be with his dad.

Stephen's friend, Dale Van Derrstein, said he wasn't getting along with his teacher. He was having a hard time because of his attitude and the military clothes he wore. Teachers thought Stephen was weird. And to me, if that's the case, I'm assuming other kids probably did as well. Yeah, I agree with you. They had to. But despite his obsession with weapons, Stephen had no history of violence or problems with authorities.

According to the Star Tribune, Stephen said he only lost his temper once when he fired a shot into an empty family vehicle. And I thought this was a little strange because, you know, normally the people that we talk about on TCAT, more often than not, have a pretty lengthy criminal history. Run-ins with authorities.

It seems like Stephen didn't have any of that. In May 1983, when he was 18 years old, Stephen returned to Minnesota from Texas, followed by James in July. James had saved up enough to start another dairy farm. According to the Star Tribune, he rented a farm near Hardwick, Minnesota in September. James had the land, but not the cows to get the farm up and running. He sought loans from at least five banks and two cattle dealers, but was denied credit by everyone he spoke to.

This was because Rudolph Blythe, president of the Buffalo Ridge State Bank that had previously issued him a loan, informed the lenders about the bankruptcy. James was aware that Blythe was giving bad credit references. Well, that's a problem, right? If you have a president of a bank telling all the other banks, hey, this guy is not credit worthy. But was he wrong? I mean, he had defaulted on his loan. Yeah. So to me, it's not like this guy was out trying to smear him.

I think he was giving factual information to other banks. Susan Blythe, Rudolph's wife and vice president of the bank confirmed that Rudolph told prospective lenders about the bankruptcy when they asked for a credit reference. So it wasn't like he was just calling everyone in town and saying, hey, don't give this guy a loan. They obviously knew that there was. a previous loan with Buffalo Ridge State Bank. So before they would give out a loan, they're going to call the bank. And what is he going to say? He defaulted on the loan. He declared bankruptcy. It's not going to ruin his reputation by lying.

On September 28, 1983, James made a final effort to get a loan from a cattle dealer, but was rejected. James then called Rudolph Black and pretended to be a buyer named Ron Anderson, who was interested in buying the abandoned Jenkins family farm and Ruthen, which was still in the bank's possession. He arranged to meet Blythe at the old farm at 10 a.m. on September 29. On that day, Rudolph Blythe and loan officer Deems Thulein drove to the abandoned farm to meet the prospective buyer. Stephen and James were waiting to ambush them.

Stephen later testified before a grand jury that his father told him, we were going to go there and rob Blythe and scare him, scare the hell out of it. Because that's going to help you secure a loan? Well, the other thing I thought was, man, this must have been a really small bank. The president of the bank is actually going out to the farm to meet these people. Yeah, not like having an agent represent them or, you know, having this is a salesperson at the bank take care of it. Yeah, the president.

it is just going to drive out there. Stephen drove them to the farm early on September 29th. They took four guns with them, including Stevens M1 carbine rifle, which was later identified as the murder weapon, ammunition, two knives, three diffused hand grenades, and other military equipment that belonged to Stephen. That's scare the hell out of them, but bring all this with us. That's going to do it, right? I mean, wouldn't you be kind of scared?

You've seen somebody having all these guns set up around you and some hand grenades? Yeah. That you do not know that have been diffused. And other military equipment, whatever that might be. So they got to the farm around 8.30 a.m. and parked in front of the garage, James took off their truck's front license plate. Stephen put one gun on the seat and two guns within reach on the hood of the truck. while James was removing the rear license plate, they heard a car coming up the driveway. This was unexpected because they still had a while before the appointment.

They each grabbed a gun and hit. Stephen said he hid behind the garage, but he didn't see where his dad hit. Rudolf Blythe station wagon parked in front of James's truck. Blythe and Thulein got out of the car and began looking around, calling out who is here. minutes later, Susan Blight arrived at the property to switch cars with Rudolph. Rudolph told her he thought the truck belonged to the Jenkins family. And my thought is right then and there, he had to have been concerned. Sure.

You know, he thinks he's selling this Jenkins farm to a third party named Ron Anderson. But when he pulls up, he sees what he believes to be the Jenkins truck. Why are they here? And how could anything good come from? Susan stayed for a few minutes to speak to Thulin. She watched Rudolph, walk past the vehicles along the side of the garage towards a grove of trees. He didn't see anyone and returned to the vehicles. While he was looking around, Susan said she heard a metallic creaking kind of sound. This was later identified as the sound of someone stepping on old rain gutters.

that were piled in the weeds behind the chicken coop. Rudolph told Susan to go call the sheriff because there were trespassers on the property. As she drove away, she saw Rudolph in the Grove area and Dean Stoolin looking around near the station wagon. So this is the early 80s. Yeah. Susan can't just whip out a cell phone. None of them can whip out a cell phone and and call the authorities.

She's got to drive somewhere. Find a pay phone or. Yeah. most likely a pay phone. Stephen testified that he remained hidden behind the garage and didn't see his dad or the victims until after the shootings. He heard someone say something about going to get the police and saw one car leaving. And no doubt this is going to be important, right?

This case is going to come down to, you know, who did the shooting. Was it Stephen? Was it his dad? well, Stephen is saying, I was hiding behind the garage. I didn't see anyone until after the shootings. Almost immediately after Susan drove away, someone fired three shots at the station wagon. Thuleon was killed almost instantly by a shot to the throat. Blythe was shot in the back. He ran towards the front yard of the farmhouse and was pursued by the killer. He was shot four times. As he tried to get to the road,

and died within minutes. A shot to the throat. Precisely. It's rough. I think the one thing that you can say is these weren't accidental. No. You know, definitely targeted. Targeted the killers meant business they meant to kill because they shot Blythe,

but he was able to run. Someone tracked him down and shot him four more times to make sure that he died. Stephen and James fled in their truck. A witness named Paul Bartz was driving past the farm around 9 a.m. So not Paul Blart, the mall cop, this is Paul Bartz. He turned his truck around to investigate a yellow object in a ditch, which was Blythe's jacket. He then saw a white Chevy truck with a rear Texas plate, according to him, screaming down the driveway. So the sheriff's office received two calls at the same time, one from Sue Blythe and one from Paul Barton, who reported seeing a man in a ditch in front of the old Jenkins farm. The police arrived and found Rudolph's body in the ditch.

Deem Stoolin was hanging out of the car door with a gunshot wound to the throat. Not a way to start the morning. No, I can't imagine anyone at the sheriff's office thought this was going to be their day when they woke up that morning. I'm also assuming that, you know, for the most part, it was a fairly quiet area. Yeah. As far as crimes go. And I can't imagine that there were a ton of homicides. I have no idea what the homicide rate was, but you would think in a rural area like that, it would probably be pretty low. Stephen and James decided to go back to their farm in Hardwick on the way home. They encountered Rock County Deputy Sheriff Ronald McClure.

Deputy Sheriff McClure was driving to an accident scene when he received a message to look for a white truck with a Texas license plate. He saw the truck and began following it. James told Stephen to get out of the truck and shoot the officer. They turned on to a gravel road where Stephen got out with his M1 rifle and shot three times at the police car as it passed the intersection. McClure laid down in his seat and hit the gas, he was not shot. So I think some pretty quick thinking on his part. For sure, yeah. McClure radioed for air and ground support, but the truck was gone.

By the time, help or run. About 15 minutes later, James and Stephen were seen purchasing 100 rounds of 30 caliber ammo from a store in Laverne. They told the clerk they were going hunting. But the New York Times reported that these shells are illegal for hunting. They purchased 410 shotgun ammo and a flashlight in another store. James paid for both purchases with checks in his name. So they're stocking up.

Well, and people might question 100 rounds. That doesn't seem like a lot. You know, some people might say that seems like a ton. but 100 rounds of 30 Cal probably pretty expensive. I know it is today. It would have been more expensive than, let's say, pistol ammo. Yeah. For sure.

Sheriff's officers visited James' parents' home that evening and found spent 30-calibur carbine casings that matched those at the crime scene. Stephen and James drove to South Dakota, where they stole license plates for their truck. They drove through the night to avoid the police. So, you know, let's just recap here. These guys are in a world of trouble. I mean, two men are dead. They shot and tried to kill and now they're on the run. And like you said, they've stocked up. So what does that mean? That they're going to be ready for another shootout if confronted?

I think they're prepping for it. Stephen and James arrived in Paduca, Texas on October 1st. They went to an abandoned shed about five miles north of town. And they talked about what they should do because they had no money, it had no gas. On October 2nd, Stephen left his father at the abandoned farm and surrendered to the local police, telling them he was wanted in connection with murders in Minnesota. Okay. Pretty interesting and not something that we see a lot of the time.

No. But we're also not talking. about, you know, a hardened career criminal, a serial killer. We're talking about a young man who, by all accounts, really didn't have run-ins with the law. And by his own account, wasn't involved in the shootings at the farmhouse. Now, he did admit to firing three shots at the sheriff. Right. Or the deputy sheriff.

But according to him, he didn't kill those two. people. But he said that he turned himself in because he was tired of running. But James told him that he was not going to give himself up. Around 6.30 p.m. Stephen led officers back to the farm because his father had talked about ending his life. They found James's body in the middle of the dirt road leading to the shed with a shotgun beside him. He had shot himself in the head that evening. Inside James's truck, they found four guns. They found four guns. guns, a makeshift silencer, a machete, two unarmed grenades, throwing stars, and 400 rounds of ammo.

Throwing stars? Yeah. That's something you don't hear every day. You do not. But you know, throwing stars were pretty big back when I was a kid. Yeah. I always wanted some. Just to toss them around?

Yeah. I'm sure I would have thrown my eye out. Probably would have. But I never ended up getting any. Probably it's a good thing. But 400 rounds of ammo they found. That's a, that's a, it's a healthy amount. Yeah.

Especially if a lot of that is 30 caliber rifle ammo. During a search of the Jenkins farm, deputies found another rifle ammo, a formula for making nitroglycerin and books on how to make bomb. Okay. That could be pretty explosive. That could be. We've already said, you know, Stephen had made. some pipe bombs. Stephen was quickly extradited to Minnesota. On October 28th, 1983, he was indicted on two counts of first degree murder and four counts of second degree murder.

And my first thought was that, you know, Stephen's in a really bad spot here for a number of reasons. First of all, he was involved in this whole thing. Right. Now, to what degree that remains to be seen? The problem is his father's gone. Yeah, his father left him hanging. So who are they going to pin everything on? State versus Anderson specified the charges as first degree murder of Rudolph Blythe, first degree murder of Rudolph Blythe while committing or attempting to commit aggravated robbery, second degree murder of Rudolph Blythe, second degree murder of Dufth,

of deems Thulin, aiding, advising, and conspiring with another to cause the death of Rudolph Blythe and aiding, advising, or conspiring with another to cause the death of Deem's Thulean. All right. There's, there's a lot there that all revolves around the murder of two people. Some very serious charges. Yeah, very serious. What I thought was interesting was that it was first degree murder and second degree. murder as it pertained to Rudolph Blythe, but only second degree murder when it came to Deems Thule.

And I thought that was strange. Yeah, I wonder if they feel like he was more involved in Rudolph's murder than Thulins. Yeah. Stevens defense attorney was a man named Alan Swin Anderson, who was described as controversial, loud, and profane. Three things that you've been called many, many times. Just today. Anderson took the case pro bono and tried to earn money for a psychological examination by selling the story to a screenplay writer.

Stephen lived with his lawyer during the trial and was adopted by Anderson in 1984. Okay, it's a little strange. It is very strange. I get it, you know, sometimes these attorneys take cases pro bono. But I think anytime you have an attorney who is involved in. trying to sell the rights of a client's story. It doesn't ever seem to end well. Yeah, I mean, you're trying to profit off of what happened

and the potential outcome of the trial. And then he ends up adopting this guy. But why would you have to adopt somebody that's already legally an adult? Yeah, he was 18 years old when this all happened. So, you know, that seems a little strange. Anderson filed documents stating that he would show Stephen was under the psychological control of his father and feared death if he disobeyed. Anderson alleged that James was prone to fits of violent anger. So I think he's, you know, he's laying out his defense right there, right?

Stephen was there. He participated in some of it, but he did so against his will because he thought if he didn't, his father would kill him. Stephen confessed before the grand jury. He testified that he and his father were going to rob and scare Rudolph Black and did not discuss the plan on the way to their old farm. Stephen's testimony was made public in December 1983 as well as a psychiatrist report. The report stated that James threatened to kill Stephen. If he chose to live with his mother after the divorce, Stephen believed it was his mission to reunite his family, and he could only do this by spending time with both parents. The psychiatrist described Stephen as a courteous, clean,

perfectionist, moral, emotionally overcontrolled individual who had a neurotic dedication to his father. He also said, Stephen was conned, castigated, castrated emotionally, and coerced. into this very sick relationship. So sounds like his dad was good at manipulating him. Yeah. It also sounds like this psychiatrist likes to use a lot of words that start with the letter C. Yeah, I noticed that.

As we detailed earlier in the episode, Stephen testified that his father told him to take the guns out while he removed the truck's license plates. A car approached the property and James told him to hide. Stephen hid behind the garage where he couldn't see his dad. He said he heard voices. Someone asked who's there. Another car arrived about three to five minutes later and one car left the property.

Someone came near the garage and asked if anyone was there. Stephen heard gunshots about 20 seconds later. Someone yelled he's got a gun and then there were more shots. Stephen came out from behind the garage and saw a station wagon. A man was slumped out of the passenger door. James yelled at him to get in the truck and start driving. Stephen testified that James told him to shoot the police officer when they were being followed. So it sounds like he's definitely making sure that they know his dad did all the shooting up until the police officer, the deputy.

His dad did the killing. The killing for sure. And he didn't even, according to him, take a shot at the two men at the farmhouse. Now, he did admit to shooting at the deputy. He also said that as he and his father drove to Texas, James talked about robbing liquor stores and gas stations and killing Darlene's new boyfriend. Stephen testified he talked his dad out of the killings. I'm getting a real no country for old men vibe here.

You know, that guy with the air canister. Oh, yeah. Going into gas stations and flipping coins. and stuff like that. Today it could be your lucky day or not. I've been on that coin lane it, right? Yeah, I don't think that's exactly how he said it, but something like that. On January 6th, 1984, an alleged suicide note written by James Jenkins was found on

the Paduca Farm, where he ended his life. A Minneapolis handwriting expert determined the note was authentic because the signature matched a check written by James. The note was published by the Austin Daily Herald. It read, I killed Rudy Blythe, the SOB, Steve leaving,

won't listen anymore, a guy just as well be dead. So it sounds like he took responsibility for at least one of the murders and was sharing his frustration that his kid didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

Now, he doesn't mention deem Stoolin, though, at all. Darling's partner, Louis Tavirn found the note in a fuse box on the property, one local sheriff believed the note was planted. On March 14th, 1984, a judge ruled that Stevens' psychiatric report was not admissible at trial. Prosecutors wanted the report suppressed because the conclusions were based on full acceptance of Stephen's story and the psychiatrist relied on statements from Stephen, his mom, her

boyfriend and his grandparents. And that's not unusual, right? The prosecution always wants something suppressed that doesn't support their argument or their theory. And the defense is the same way. Yeah. Prosecutors also filed documents with witness statements claiming that Stephen talked about blowing someone's head off, according to the Star Tribune.

Well, it's not good to tell somebody you want to blow somebody's head off. and then after that, someone's been shot in a throat and somebody else has been shot in the back and then shot four more times. Doesn't look good. No, and the prosecution is playing that up, right? You know, here's a guy who was obsessed with guns. He talked about blowing someone's head off. He was at the scene of this double murder.

So he most likely had, you know, something to do with it. Debra Lynn Placker, Stephen's girl. girlfriend in Brownwood, Texas said, Stephen told her his mother died and two businessmen were responsible. Stephen said they destroyed his life and he was going back to Minnesota to bomb them. Okay. If true, that's a little more damning than the other statement because it's specific to two businessmen.

Now, it doesn't say bankers, but you can kind of draw the parallel. Sure. there. At the time, Deborah had taken in a girl who ran away from home. The girl's mother called the police and tried to make trouble for her. Stephen made two bombs that he planned to drop in the woman's gas tank to get revenge. So he's got a bad side to him. Yeah, would you say maybe he's got a little frog demon? Oh yeah. There. He does. Somewhere. But he had no real criminal history. So it's Is this a guy who, you know, liked guns, was full of bravado and liked to talk? Or was he really planning on doing these things?

And that's a question that, you know, a jury would have to answer. Because he didn't bomb this woman's car. We know he never blew anyone's head off. And he didn't bomb the two men in Minnesota. I mean, Stephen has definitely made statements. If you believe his girlfriend and others, he's not happy with what happened up there in Minnesota. It's impacted his life. Yeah, but who would be happy, right, about, you know, your family losing their farm?

But to me, you know, the jury's going to have it tough. They're going to have a tough decision to make because, you know, how do you view these statements that are going to come into the record, right? He made some bombs. He said something about blowing a woman's car up. He talked about bombing these two guys. He talked about blowing someone's head off. But as far as we know, he never did any of that.

Yeah, it sounds like he talks about getting revenge, but they have no proof that he ever falls through. Right. So how is the jury going to view his role in the, shooting of these two people. And I think it's going to be, you know, a real tough one for them. Stephen's trial started on April 10th, 1984. Prosecutors argued that Stephen was the shooter, not his father. Stephen was described as an excellent marksman. James Jenkins had poor eyesight because of diabetes and was unfamiliar with Stevens M1. Thulin was shot from approximately 90,

feet away and Blythe was shot from 100 feet away. According to prosecutors, James could not have fired these shots with his poor eyesight. Well, James got him the M1. James had the veteran from the Vietnam War show Stephen how to use it. So could you make the assumption that James was there and made himself familiar with a gun too? Well, I don't know how familiar you have to be with the M1. to be able to shoot it. I don't think it's a very complicated gun to operate.

Especially if you shot other guns in the past. Yes. Now, 90 feet away, 100 feet away with the rifle, it doesn't seem all that far to me. Now, I don't know what they mean by poor eyesight. Is it distance? Is it close up? Is it both?

I don't know. Was he wearing? glasses. Deputy Attorney General Tom Fable called Stephen's story implausible and said, Stephen was as close as a man and a gun could be. Okay. You could take that a couple of different ways. Yeah. I'm thinking full metal jacket in the beginning when they get their rifles. This is my gun. They have to name them. You know, that's as, as close as you can be, I guess, to a rifle. According to the San Angelo standard, times, Fable said Stephen and his father drove to the farm with the express intention to commit a

violent crime. Stephen Jenkins himself said so. And I don't know that that is untrue. I actually think that is true. The question is, who actually fired the shots? And Stephen saying wasn't me. Stephen's defense admitted he was at the crime scene, but argued he was just obeying his father. Stephen hid behind the garage during the shootings and later talked his father out of committing more murder. So, you know, very easy, not all that complicated, right? The prosecution's argument and the defense's argument. According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, forensic pathologist Brad Randall testified that the bullet holes in the bodies did not show powder burns, which meant the shots were fired from more than two feet away.

Okay. I think they've already established that. Yeah, they said 90, 100 feet. But I guess what he is saying is these were not close up shots because the powder burns would have proved that. An agent from the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension testified that seven shell casings were recovered from the farm. Three casings were found 86 feet from Thulun's body. and four casings were found 98 feet from Rudolph Blyce's body. So from that, I'm getting, that's where they got the 90, 100 feet estimation. Where the shell casings landed when they ejected from the rifle versus where the victims were shot.

James Lansing, head of the firearms division of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, testified that the bullet fragment retrieved from Blyf's body, came from Stevens M1 rifle. Additionally, a shell casing from a test firing matched shell casings found on the farm. So, you know, I think that pretty conclusively says that, you know, Blythe was killed with the M1 rifle. Right. It was Stevens rifle. It doesn't conclusively answer the question of who actually fired the rifle.

That's true. Susan Blythe testified that her husband didn't see anyone when he checked out. the property and walked behind the garage. The jury heard that just three days before the murders, Stephen asked a man named Richard Hartson, what kind of glass bank shoes and teller windows. He also asked what type of ammo would penetrate bulletproof glass. Almost making it sound like they planned on going into the bank and shooting up the bank. Or this would be later on when they were on the run, where they were going to rob bank.

But I don't know. On April 20th, witness Ted Beard, who met James and Stephen when they lived in Texas, testified that James could not see through the scope on the deer rifle. James needed a flashlight to see anything at night and walked as if he was using his feet to feel where he was going. This supported the prosecution's argument that James had poor eyesight and was unfamiliar with more complex guns. This is talking about nighttime.

this is during the day when these shootings happened that's a big difference it is i don't know you know why that that really came into play and i also don't know that this gun had a scope on now this part about you know him walking as if he was using his feet to feel where he was going i mean they're making him sound like mr magoo yeah like he can't see anything in front of him How was he driving the truck at one point? Yeah, it makes you wonder. Now, let me ask you this. If someone has this Zem 1 and they just pointing in the direction where they think the target is,

meaning they see the target and they just point the barrel at that target and pull the trigger, it's possible they're going to hit that target. Yeah, possible. But to me, not probable from 90, 100 feet away. Yeah. You know, to hit, you know, Thulin in the throat and Blythe in the back, I'm thinking you're going to need to be looking through the sights to make that happen. An ophthalmologists testified that James suffered from tunnel vision and night blindness, which is a degenerative eye disease. He examined James back in 1981.

The doctor testified that his eyesight would have been as bad or worse. by 1983. And I would say that's a given. Eyesight normally does not get better. That's true. As you and I both have experienced, in his opinion, James could have shot a running man

from 100 feet away if he had experience with firearm. The doctor estimated that James could have seen up to 450 feet away with his glasses on. So again, I go back to the glasses. If you don't see that well, As a lot of people have trouble with their vision, well, normally you get glasses.

Yeah. Well, obviously this guy had glasses. So doesn't that make a difference when you're talking about whether or not he could have looked through the sites, whether or not he could have, you know, seen these people at 90, 100 feet away? To me, glasses on versus glasses off, it does make a difference. Yeah. Now, we don't know if he was wearing them or not. No, we don't.

But I think the defense likes this testimony. Oh, absolutely. However, he testified that it is difficult for a person with glasses to see along the barrel of an M1 without a scope. The M1 used in the shootings did not have a scope. But my thought is it had sights. It had iron sights, I would assume. Couldn't you make the case that any rifle could be kind of difficult? cold if you wearing glasses because you can't get your face position the way you really want to,

depend on the frames you have on? Maybe. Yeah. It depends on your vision, right? And what kind of glasses you have, I guess. An agent from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension testified about his interview with Darlene after the murders. Darlene told the agent that James was not interested in target shooting.

However, at trial, Darlene testified that James, used to shoot at rats and their farm windmill a couple times a week. Well, if you're target shooting and hitting moving rats, you've got some skill. Yeah. But we're also getting a little bit of conflicting testimony. I don't know if she's changing her testimony. I think she's just saying he wasn't real interested in target shooting, but he did shoot rats and he shot guns and he had some experience.

She testified, I'd say he would. as good as I was and I wasn't a bad shot. She testified that herself, Stephen and James, practiced shooting together and sometimes did target practice with the M1. They claimed they shot at cans from 300 feet away. Well, now you've got testimony that saying he was familiar with the gun. And 300 feet away, shooting a can is a heck of a lot harder than shooting the broad side of a man,

90 feet away. Darlene did not recall telling the agent that James didn't hunt or target shoot and said she couldn't remember making similar statements to a grand jury. Defense witnesses testified that they saw James climb up icy steps, operate a crane, and well. So I think the defense is really trying to chip away at this notion put forth by the prosecution that James was so poor-sighted. He couldn't even hardly walk.

Right. He had to use his feet to kind of gauge where he was going. And I thought that was a little strange as well. In closing arguments, defense attorney Alan Swin Anderson said James was the killer because he blamed the bank for his troubles. He noted that three shots were fired at Thulin, but he was hit once. Five shots were fired at Blythe. and he was hit four times, which indicated an erratic pattern.

The shots were likely fired by someone who had trouble seeing. So now the defense attorney is even using that or trying to use that to his advantage. I think what he's saying is if my client was doing the shooting, he wouldn't have missed that many times. But according to you, James has these vision problems. Maybe he did. That's why I took him so many shots to hit these individuals. The jury rejected this argument. And on April 26, 1984,

Stephen Jenkins was convicted of the first-degree murder of Rudolph Blythe and the second-degree murder of Deems Thule. On May 22nd, Stephen was sentenced to two life terms plus 116 months, but he would be eligible for parole after 17 and a half years. Stephen also pleaded guilty to second degree assault for shooting at the deputy sheriff. He was sentenced to five years of probation. And remember, that was the only thing he actually confessed to do it. According to the Albert Lea Tribune, Alan Anderson spoke at the hearing and said,

Stephen was the victim of the most severe child abuse I have ever witnessed in my life. He described James as absolutely insane and said Stephen would, have been a straight-A college student if he was raised normally. Prosecutor Tom Fable didn't make any sentencing recommendations and told the court two lives were senselessly and needlessly snuffed out and their primes in cold blood and two families were destroyed. But on the other hand, we have a youthful defendant from a broken family and an unhappy childhood.

So it's kind of interesting that the prosecutor even acknowledged that. But he's right. No, he is right. Earlier that month, Alan Anderson adopted Stephen. Stephen would change his last name from Jenkins to Anderson. Anderson told the UPI, I did it because I love him like my own son. It's important that he get an education and treatment so he can do something with his life. The boy has been a victim too long. The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld Stephen's conviction. In December, 1985, Alan Anderson died of a heart of a heart of the same. attack on February 2nd, 1986.

He was only 49 years old. Young. In May of that year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Stephen's verdict and sentenced without comment. After 17 years of maintaining his story, Stephen confessed to the murders in a TV documentary that aired on September 11th, 2000. The timing was pretty convenient for him because he was up for parole the following year. But Stephen wasn't granted parole until 2013 when he was 48 years old.

He expressed remorse for the murders and told the Marshall Independent, I'm feeling very grateful for the opportunity to possibly return to society in a couple of years. But I can't forget the fact that I took two people's lives and destroyed two families. I have a debt that can never be repaid. But I do have a lot of remorse for the harm I caused. Stephen said the murders felt justified for the first few years because he believed his father. When he told him, Blythe was the reason for their troubles. Stephen continued in his interview.

Then I didn't want to think about it because I felt guilty. I murdered two men for the lies my dad told me. I had deprived four kids of their fathers and other people of their brothers, sons, and husbands. And I had not just deeply affected the families, but also. colleagues and entire community. I believe what he's saying. I believe he felt this because he didn't have to say this. No, but he could have owned up to it from the beginning.

He could have. You know, so when we talk about it being convenient because he's coming up for parole, you know, then you have to question some things. What is he saying because he believes it's better for him as it relates to the parole board versus, you know, did he lie back then, but now he's telling the truth. Right. And the jury got it right. Stephen's mother, Darlene, told the Marshall Independent that Stephen took the brunt of James's

anger towards the bank after they got behind on mortgage payments. She said, Jim tried to control everybody in his life. He was a control free. And if he couldn't control you like he couldn't control my life, then he just took it out on Steve. Steve just couldn't do anything right for him. So it does sound, and we didn't have a lot of the information, but it does sound like, you know, he had a very rough childhood. Yeah, sure, it sure sounded like it. I don't know if we're talking physical abuse, but at the very least, we're talking some pretty serious emotional abuse at the hands of his father. It was former

prosecutor Tom Fable, who led a campaign to help Stephen Gipp. parole. The two developed a friendship in 2009. Fable told the Marshall Independent, the story of Stephen Anderson, as far as I'm concerned, is an important one. It's one of redemption and retribution. He's transformed his life. And I feel good about the opportunity that Stephen is going to be given because he deserves it. Stephen Anderson was released from prison in May 2015. He will remain under supervision for the rest of his life. So as we wrap this one up, Gibbs, yeah, I didn't want to give it away too early that Stephen ultimately admitted to the murders.

I still maintain that the jury had a pretty tough job based on, you know, the evidence that was presented. I think both sides had a pretty compelling argument. You know, so much was made of his dad's eyesight. It really was. About whether or not he could have made these shots and all of that. You know, was Stephen telling the truth back then? Or did he switch and start telling the truth when he admitted to the murders? It's a little bit tough to tell because I'm sure he could have thought that there was

some benefit to him by admitting to the murders for which he was. convicted, that it would play better in the eyes of the parole board. But it could also be that he was the murderer from the very beginning. Yeah, maybe his defense attorney said, hey, listen, kid, you're probably going to be found guilty. But I think the best way to play this is, let's go this route so that when it comes time to get your sentence, it won't be as bad as it could be if you just come out and say, hey, raise my hand, I did it. Right, because there were some mitigating factors.

And again, the, the prosecutor even acknowledged them, the troubled childhood, the influence that, you know, his dad had on him. So that, you know, even if he was the shooter, as the prosecution alleged and the jury believed, even the prosecutor felt a little bit bad for him in some way. Yeah. And acknowledged that. And then years later, led the campaign to, to help. get this guy out. That tells you something.

It does. It really does. And then the other thought I had was whether or not he was the shooter, he was going to be convicted of something. Sure. Related to murder. He was there. He was a part of it.

I just think it's an interesting case when you don't really know for sure who fired the shots that killed these two individuals. it kind of comes down to whether you believe Stephen early on or you believe that he lied early on and then started to tell the truth later on like during that documentary right and then there's the argument would he have done this on his own or was he being so controlled or had he been so kind of indoctrinated by his father that the bank was bad. The bank was the reason for all of our troubles.

It's the reason why your mom and I aren't together. It's the reason why we lost the farm. You know, you plant that in somebody's mind for long enough. And does that become kind of the catalyst? No, I think his dad did influence him. I think he was scared. And you used the word influence.

Some people could even use the term brainwash. Yeah. But again, there are some unknowns in this case. And to me, that makes it even that much more, you know, interesting. Because, you know, one of the questions I have is, why did dad end his life? If the note was real, then he took credit for killing at least Blythe. He said, Stephen is leaving me. I got nothing to live for.

You know, I don't remember exactly what the note said. but and if he didn't write it, then who did? And why does his signature match? Yeah. So did Stephen lie about that? About, you know, before the parole, did he not really kill Bligh? You know? Or, I mean, you can chase another rabbit hole, right?

I mean, did his dad take his life? Or did Stephen end it? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of different things that you can look at. You can debate. Again, all we have is. is, you know, what came out at trial, what Stephen has said, because obviously his dad wasn't

around to say anything. But that's it for our episode on Stephen Todd Jenkins. We got some voicemails. You want to check those out? Let's hear him. Hey, Mike. Hi, Gibby. My name is Joseph.

I am from Anderson, South Carolina. I've been listening to your podcast for all. I want to say, about a year now, a year and a half. Found you guys when the Dahmer Netflix miniseries, I, I came out about two years ago or so. I've been a listener and a supporter since then. I am homeless. I'm not on any substances.

Never done any drugs, never drunk. I'm what you call straight edge. Sorry for the noise in the background. Children running around. Anyway, I was listening to the latest two episodes, the release of Rudd and the episode about the two oldest brothers killing their entire family. I was just, I don't know, that kind of put things into perspective for me. I'm, like I said, homeless working at Applebee's clocking at like 50 hours weekly.

Unfortunately, pay is biweekly, so I'm still struggling. I just want to say thank you guys for at least giving me a little bit. of normalcy. I listen to you guys on my daily walks to and from work, along with my many other true crime podcasts and professional wrestling podcast. I just want to say again, thank you so much. You guys are awesome. Stay safe and keep your own time ticking.

Well, thank you so much for calling in, leaving a voicemail. You know, Gibbs sounds like he's going through a rough time in his life. Sure. my thought is that he's working his ass off, he's clocking in 50 hours a week, he's going to get over that hurdle because he's working his rear end off. Yeah, he'll get there.

So we're rooting for you, but I think you're on the right track. You know, hard work doesn't solve everything, but it sure helps. It certainly does. And so we'll be thinking about you, we'll be rooting for you. You've got our support.

And glad to be on those walks with you. Hey Mike and Gibby. It's Dua for Lennox. I just wanted to let you guys know. I'm a team of both of you all. Gibby, I have such a horrible memory. I don't even remember movies. And Mike, I was born in 1973, so all your stuff you talk about from your childhood, I totally remember. And I also want to say, I'm probably your biggest fan. I've been listening to you from the very beginning.

A few years ago, I had a tragedy happen, and I went into a coma for three and a half months. I was in the hospital total eight months. But after I woke up and saw my loved ones, my very next thought was, how many Mike and Gibbies have I missed? So it's good to have you all. I love the true crime. I love the respect you give to the families and the victims and just keep it going. I wish I had a suggestion, but I do not at this time.

Love you all. Well, just the voicemail alone is amazing. And obviously she didn't say what she went through, but to be in a coma for that long. Long time. It must have been something rough. To be in the hospital for eight months, we're just so glad that it sounds like you're doing great and you're your back up to hopefully full speed yeah hoping for the best for you yeah absolutely but i did get you know a little bit of a kick out of hey obviously glad to see everybody now how

many you know right my giveies have i missed that is something else got some catching up to do yeah we had uh one thing in the mailbag tana atkinson great listener great supporter send us each each a really cool shirt. Yeah, it was really cool. Almost like a base shirt, which I can use down here in the studio because it gets cold. Somehow the warmer it is outside, the colder it is down here. Sometimes you have to come to the surface. No, I'm like a mole. Mole. You are. I like to burrow. All right, buddy. That is it for another episode of True Crime all the time. So for Mike and give me, stay safe and keep your own time ticking.