Rob: 0:00

Hey everyone, rob here, before we dive in today's episode, I wanted to give you a quick heads up. What you're about to hear is a special replay of one of our most popular cases from the early days of Wicked Wanderings. This one was originally covered by one of our former hosts, jess, and it really struck a chord with our listeners. We've gone back and reproduced the episode to bring you the best possible audio quality, while still honoring the original storytelling that made it so memorable. Whether it's your first time hearing this case or you're revisiting it, we hope you enjoy this look back of our most talked about episodes. Alright, let's get into it, okay.

Hannah: 0:52

Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm Courtney. Join us as we delve into true crime, paranormal encounters and all things spooky. Grab your flashlight and get ready to wander into the darkness with us.

Jess: 1:20

This is Wicked Wanderings. Hello Hannah, hello Jess, our case today is going to be a doozy. Just to warn you.

Hannah: 1:28

I'm so excited because I know nothing about this case. I am going in blind, which I'm really excited about.

Jess: 1:34

Awesome. So I'm going to put a trigger warning out at the top of the episode just to let people know there's obviously violence and there's some rape as well, oh geez. So just to warn you and our wanderers out there. But I want to ask you a question, hannah shoot. What do you remember about being 18 years old?

Hannah: 1:56

oh god, I was an idiot for one. Uh same starting college job. Where'd you work? I actually worked in a cardiologist office. Yeah, my aunt actually got me the gig when I was 14, I think I was the file clerk and it was the best. Yeah, most kids were working at Dunkin' Donuts McDonald's babysitting, but I was lucky enough to be making $15 an hour. Jeez, yeah, I was spoiled.

Jess: 2:24

I remember being naive and overly emotional when I was 18.

Hannah: 2:28

Mm-hmm, that too.

Jess: 2:30

Yes, but I also worked at a furniture slash electronics store, not even five miles away from where today's case happened.

Hannah: 2:39

Right, because you were not in Massachusetts.

Jess: 2:40

No, I was living the dream in Ogden, utah, utah. Yes, that is actually how I learned about today's murders. I've always been a true crime nerd. I think you know this about me. I mean, one of my degrees is in criminal justice, so I don't think I knew that. Oh, yes, Well, now it all makes sense, mind blown, but the horrific aspects of this crime intrigued me. The store where this happened is actually still open. However, it's in a different location than where it was.

Jess: 3:10

The store itself is still open. It's in a different town, not too far from where the murders took place. I actually didn't know it was a different location until I started researching it for this podcast. When you were 18 years old, can you imagine being tied up and held by gunpoint?

Hannah: 3:26

No, thank you. Thank goodness I didn't have to deal with that.

Jess: 3:29

I can't even imagine that happening now.

Hannah: 3:32

It's very scary.

Jess: 3:34

Yes, so that's exactly how today's case started. On April 22nd 1974, 18-year-old Sherry Michelle Ansley or Michelle and her 20, her 20 year old co-worker, Stanley Walker, were getting ready to close for the night at the Hi-Fi shop at 2323 Washington Boulevard in Ogden, Utah, and there were some inconsistencies between sources about when closing time was. I heard. In one source it was nine o'clock, one source it was six o'clock, but in the book that I've read it says it was seven o'clock.

Hannah: 4:06

Kind of like right down in the middle yeah.

Jess: 4:08

The Hi-Fi Shop sold expensive stereo equipment and vinyl records. They also had like a listening room that you could go in and listen to the records and remind me again what year this was, this was 1974.

Hannah: 4:20

Oh, okay, all right so records make sense.

Jess: 4:22

Yes, it was around 6.30 pm when a young man came in asking the pair if he could park in their parking lot while he went to pick up some pictures that were being developed a few doors down. So the shop was in like a strip mall type scenario and he would have had to have walked around all the stores in order to get where he was going. So this way he could just make a shortcut through the Hi-Fi shop.

Hannah: 4:44

So was there limited parking? Or he was going, so this way he could just make a shortcut through the Hi-Fi shop. So was there limited parking?

Jess: 4:47

or he was just there, was, I think there was on street parking, and then behind all the stores there was a bigger parking lot.

Hannah: 4:52

Okay.

Jess: 4:53

This young man was 16 year old, Courtney Nesbitt. He is actually the nephew of the owner of the shop. Courtney was always there and knew Stanley well, and after talking with Stanley that night, he left the shop and went on his way to get his pictures. However, he is not the perp of this story. Unfortunately, he will make a second appearance. In fact, we will be talking about Courtney a lot, and one of the main sources if not the main sources that I read for this episode is a book written by Gary Kinder called Victim the Other Side of Murder. This book was really the only source I could find about this case. There's not a lot of books, or documentaries on it.

Hannah: 5:39

Why do you think that is?

Jess: 5:40

I don't know if it was because it happened so long ago.

Hannah: 5:44

I mean, it sounds like a pretty small town too, right.

Jess: 5:46

Yeah, and this kind of stuff didn't happen very often.

Hannah: 5:50

Well, maybe we have to think about the times right now, because I don't know years specifically, but there was a lot of serial killers and murderers, I feel like in the 60s and 70s, and cult leaders, and so I feel like there was a lot going on. I mean these people needed a voice as well. Feel like there was a lot going on, I mean these people needed a voice as well.

Jess: 6:08

But there was a lot going on during those decades and I know ted bundy, ted bundy sometime in utah as well yeah, he did I don't know which we will be talking about in a future episode this book is a very powerful book in my opinion, and I may or may not have teared up a few times reading it just because it follows one of the victim's families Courtney's family throughout the whole scenario and how their family dealt with the aftermath of the murders that took place.

Hannah: 6:35

It's okay that you cried. It means you have a soul.

Jess: 6:38

Some would argue, probably my husband. So Stanley had worked at the hi-fi shop for a couple years, but Michelle had only worked there for a week. It was said that the owner liked having her there because she was pretty and friendly and the customers liked her. She was only 18, but she was already engaged and was planning on getting married that July 18? Yeah, that's how Mormons be out there, god.

Hannah: 7:08

I mean, I got married at 23 and I still feel like I rushed it, like, looking back now I'm like what the hell was I thinking?

Jess: 7:11

Yeah, Well, if you think about it, mormons don't believe in premarital sex. It's true, and they got urges, yes, and getting married young and repopulating the earth. You know that was kind of their.

Hannah: 7:25

I mean not to segue here, but you know, growing up in the religion that I did, it was also the same thing no premarital sex, and you know we all got purity rings and so I do understand that's like when you have those urges. I mean, god, do it young yeah.

Jess: 7:40

So shortly after Courtney left, two men came into the store with intention to rob it. They confronted Michelle and Stanley and held them at gunpoint. In the book at this point the story refers to one of the men as the short man and the other one as the tall man. I will do the same just to kind of make it easier to follow, because they both had different parts, okay, and one had a bigger part in this whole story. The short man took Michelle down into the basement while the tall man continued to watch Stanley with a gun pointed at him.

Jess: 8:15

I'm not sure how long this was going on, but at some point our friend Courtney came in to walk through the store to the parking lot where he had left his car. This is a decision that would change his life forever. At first Courtney only saw Stanley and he heard Stanley yell at him to stop. Courtney wasn't sure what he was talking about, so he went to grab the doorknob to the back door to the parking lot and heard don't move. And looked to his left and saw the tall man at the top of the stairs to the basement with a gun pointed at him.

Jess: 8:45

God, you're just going to get some pictures developed yeah, right, don't worry, oh, you just wait done, done the two men forced stanley and courtney down to the basement and tied them up and placed them on their stomachs on the floor by michelle. Time passes as these douche canoes are robbing the store that was a great addition.

Jess: 9:05

They're huge douche canoes. Occasionally they come down and check on their captives. Around 9 pm, two anda half hours into the ordeal, the two men hear a noise from the back door of the store and hide in the basement until they find out who or what it is. It is 43-year-old Oren Walker coming into the store to search for his son, stanley. Stanley was supposed to be home over an hour ago. Oren walked around for a little bit looking for his son, but when he reached the basement door, one of the men confronted him and forced him down to the stairs where he was tied up as well.

Hannah: 9:41

And there was no cell phones. No, no wonder dad came looking.

Jess: 9:43

Yeah, can you imagine being Orin looking for your son being forced downstairs by gunpoint to find him already tied up?

Hannah: 9:52

Yeah, I'm not a parent, but I know sometimes that I didn't even answer my cell phone in college and my mom would be so scared and freaked out because your mind goes to the worst case scenario and poor Orwin ends up in the worst case scenario.

Jess: 10:04

yeah, or even stanley looking up and seeing his father come down. I wonder if there was like a split second of him being like, oh, he's here to save the day, and then the reality of the situation came back.

Hannah: 10:17

Right, because was anyone else? I'm sorry to interrupt, but like, would anyone else even care where he was if his dad was his only hope? Mm hmm.

Jess: 10:26

Yeah, so don't worry, though it gets worse. Across town, carol Nesbitt is anxious and worried. Her son, courtney, was supposed to come home for dinner and he hadn't called. She knew he was picking up the pictures on his way home, but he should have been there by now. She shared her concerns with her husband Byron, who was an obstetrician and he was on call for the night and so he couldn't really leave the house and leave the phone.

Hannah: 10:52

Can you remind me what an obstetrician is? It's a gyno, oh yes, he delivered babies. Okay, no wonder you've got to be on call for that. That's not like a foot doctor, no, no.

Jess: 11:02

No, got it. Babies are important, yes, and they come whenever they want. Yes, they do. He had to stay by the phone and their son, gary, was there. Gary was older than Courtney. Courtney was the youngest and they had an older brother and an older sister as well. Carol was pacing back and forth, she would go in and talk to her husband and son and they gave her excuses like oh, he probably just went to his class. Oh, he's probably at the library studying. Oh, he's probably with his friends. Well, this didn't put Carol at ease and she had called Courtney's friends and none of them had seen him.

Hannah: 11:38

Moms have a gut instinct, though.

Jess: 11:40

Mothers- intuition, I mean they really do. Carol was on it. Still worried, she went into the study where her husband and son were talking, grabbed the keys to the car and walked out of the house without saying a word. Carol drove up to the college where Courtney was taking his class, drove through all the parking lots and when she reached the one that he usually parked at and didn't see his car, she literally went into the school to see if he was in the classroom. She wasn't messing around.

Hannah: 12:07

Mama took things into her own hands.

Jess: 12:09

Yeah, so gotta give her credit for that. Yeah, she drove to the library and thought about all the places he could be at and she couldn't find him. She went back home and told her son and husband that Courtney wasn't at any of these places, and Byron then said he probably stopped at the hi-fi shop to talk to Stanley and that he would probably be home any minute, which any other day probably would have been true, because it was the 1970s and pagers hadn't even become a thing yet, let alone cell phones. Byron had to stay home by the phone in case of emergencies at the hospital.

Hannah: 12:41

Now you might get to this, but are we going to get to their motive?

Jess: 12:43

Yes, okay, all right.

Hannah: 12:45

I'm skipping ahead, go ahead.

Jess: 12:46

So Byron had to stay by the phone and he just figured Courtney was being a typical teenage boy and would be home soon. But Carol knew that something was wrong with her son, so she left again in search of Courtney at the hi-fi shop.

Hannah: 12:59

Oh, God, it's like no, it's a horror movie.

Jess: 13:02

Don't go in there, exactly, don't go in the basement. Literally, carol 52, was described as having exquisite taste, high energy, charm that had drawn people to her. Her and Byron had been married for 34 years and when they were first married, carol had quit school and went to work as a secretary to help support Byron as he went through an accelerated pre-med program. Byron and Carol were described in the book as a striking couple. He was ruggedly handsome and she was petite, pretty and bubbly. She was also handy around the house and would be more likely to fix the toilet than Byron would. My kind of woman.

Hannah: 13:40

Wait, and this is the same woman that just took things into her own hands. Yes, and she's like fuck it. I like this woman, yes me too.

Jess: 13:47

She even designed two of their homes and did a lot of work herself. When she couldn't find a contractor she trusted this woman was bad.

Hannah: 13:56

She was a wonder woman yes wow, especially since I mean what you said. She's 50, so this is what? 67? What year is this? 74, 74, yes, so she was born during the 20s, right?

Jess: 14:14

words are hard for me tonight. I don't think. So okay, let me get to my don't think math is going to be any better.

Hannah: 14:18

Let me get to my point. So my point is she was really learning how to be a housewife in the 50s. I mean, wow, that's amazing.

Jess: 14:27

Yeah, so exciting. I think it was a different generation, yeah, and in my opinion, maybe a slightly stronger one. I don't know.

Hannah: 14:35

Yeah, I mean she just seems so feministic for her time. Yeah, it's amazing, I don't know. Yeah, I mean she just seems so feministic for her time.

Jess: 14:39

Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, she also was truly fearless, especially when it came to her children. When Carol burst through the back door of the hi-fi shop and gazed down the stairs, it was directly into the barrel of a revolver.

Hannah: 14:51

Oh God.

Jess: 15:02

The man behind the revolver asked her what she was doing there and she snapped back I'm checking on on my son and asked what was going on. Yes, the second man waved her down to the basement. Once they were there, the short man grabs her by the arm, pulled her to the corner by courtney and forced her down on the ground next to her son and tied her hands and feet. Now there are five people in the basement of the shop with their hands tied, laying on their stomachs. We have Michelle, Stanley who are the employees Courtney, his mom, Carol, and then Stanley's father, Oren. At this point the short man tells the tall one to go out into their van and get something. Once the tall man comes back, they pour this green liquid into a cup and tell the captives that it is vodka and a German drug that will put them to sleep while they finish robbing the store.

Hannah: 15:44

What a feeling. That's a lie.

Jess: 15:46

Probably onto something here. God Carol was the first one to receive this drink. The short man told her we're going to have a little cocktail party, ew. And when she told him that she didn't drink, he said you'll drink this. Grab the back of her head and Ew. The short man grabbed the base of his neck and the liquid started burning his lips and once he swallowed it he could feel it scorch his throat and travel down into his chest. He gagged and coughed violently and started vomiting as the man laid him back down it just it sounds like like a like fluid from a car.

Hannah: 16:34

yeah, does it ever tell you what it is? Yeah, yeah, of course it does.

Jess: 16:37

I'll get there. Okay, hint, it's not a German drug. Yeah, ta-da. Spoiler alert Stanley was the next one to swallow the drink and coughed explosively and began spitting and coughing. Then the man tiptoed over to Michelle, who responded in the same involuntary manner. Oren was lying there watching and hearing everything that was going on and knew it was not what they said it was. He allowed the short man to pour it in his mouth and then, when he was lowered back to the ground, he let it leak out of his mouth over his shoulder and onto the floor. The short man then went and refilled the cup and made Stanley take another drink. He also tried to put tape over their mouths to prevent them from spitting it out but, the liquid had spilled onto their lips and it started blistering and the tape wouldn't stick.

Hannah: 17:27

Oh my god, yeah, uh, I yeah.

Jess: 17:30

Ugh. So at this time the men went back upstairs and could be heard moving around moving stereo equipment into their van. There was a quickness to their movements this time, as they were trying to get as much merchandise out as they could, and I'm sorry but I can't.

Hannah: 17:46

I really am curious about the motive for this, because it seems like a lot of work just to rob a place I agree and I will get there. Their initial plan was to rob, and there's questions back and forth as to if that was the only plan because I'm hoping our listeners have the same feeling I do right now, where I'm like this is a lot, this is, yeah, I mean this just seems like a lot of work for just trying to rob a store yeah, I agree.

Jess: 18:11

the men came back downstairs and robbed each person of their wallet or purse but for some reason left the woman's jewelry. They took the men's watches and stuff, but the woman's jewelry. They took the men's watches and stuff, but the woman's jewelry that was worth a lot more. They didn't touch the captives. Hear the men have an argument at the top of the stairs in which the tall man said I can't do it, I can't do it. And then he left the store. The short man came back downstairs and walked to the corner where Courtney and his mother were lying. He felt around with the barrel of his revolver until he found the back of Carol's head and pulled the trigger. He then stepped over Carol's body and was standing above Courtney and he bent down, felt for Courtney's head with the barrel of the gun and pulled the trigger Like why, I don't know. Oh my god. Maybe no witnesses? Maybe maybe he's a psychopath?

Hannah: 19:02

I'm still lost on the women's jewelry thing. Yeah right, I try to think of, like you know, if they were wanting to sell it, would the watches be more valuable to them? Would they be? Would they be able to trace the women's jewelry and that's why.

Jess: 19:16

I think in the book it mentioned that one of the rings Carol had on her was custom made jade ring. Yeah, and so I don't know if that would have been easier to track or harder to track. Yeah, they left. So Courtney's body went limp and crumbled forward. The short man then walked over to Oren. He aimed at his head and pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the carpet next to his head and ricocheted off the wall. The man stepped over to Michelle, then went directly to Stan and shot him in the back of the head. The man ran upstairs. Michelle then asked Stan if he was okay. Stan was surprisingly still alive and was able to respond I've been shot.

Hannah: 19:59

Oh, my God.

Jess: 20:00

But then he became quiet. The short man then came back downstairs and I'm assuming he went up to reload get some more ammo. He said he had a revolver and those are only six shots. So he knows he missed Oren at this time and he still had Michelle and he only would have had one bullet left. So that's why I'm thinking he went upstairs this time.

Hannah: 20:22

And did you see that the tall man actually ended up leaving? He's still there but he's just not in the store.

Jess: 20:27

He's in the van that they loaded all the equipment.

Hannah: 20:29

But he said he can't do it.

Jess: 20:30

Yeah, which I'm assuming he meant he couldn't kill them.

Hannah: 20:34

Because wasn't it the short man that was trying to stuff him with the juice? Yes, so obviously he's the more sick one. I mean they're both sick, but yeah.

Jess: 20:44

So at this point he walked back to Oren and aimed his gun and shot him in the head again. The man was standing over Michelle as she was pleading for him not to kill her. He started to untie her feet and her hands and led her into a different room. Bastard, I already know what's coming. He then made her take off all of her clothes and for the next 20 minutes, while the four people he just shot in the head lay in the other room. When he was finished, he allowed her to go to the bathroom. Oh, so polite.

Rob: 21:16

Yeah right.

Jess: 21:17

What a true gentleman Then motioned for her, still completely naked, to get back down in her spot on the floor untied and this poor girl's like wedding was right around the corner 18 years old 18 years old, probably a virgin, waiting for her wedding night, mm-hmm, oh God, yeah, and her first interaction with sex is with this prick, with this guy.

Jess: 21:42

So let's talk about this part for a second. I believe this man either had his intention to rape Michelle the entire time or, somewhere in the middle of the ordeal, decided it Because look at the order of which he shot the victims Carol was first Skipped over, right yeah. And I'm not saying I would know what I would do in this situation as a woman. If I saw another woman getting raped, I would do what I could to stop.

Hannah: 22:05

Right.

Jess: 22:05

Ideally.

Hannah: 22:07

We all would hope we could do that.

Jess: 22:09

But after Carol he took out all the men. The book doesn't mention anything about this and it was never mentioned in police reports or anything, but I feel like the men would have tried to stop him too so he took them out first. Yeah, you said that he literally stepped over michelle and went to stanley and then came back and shot oran again 20 minutes though that must have been eternity for her oh, I bet or was that, you know, her payment for saying please don't kill me? I think he's just a sick individual, yep.

Hannah: 22:42

Oh yeah, I think we've all established that.

Jess: 22:43

Yeah, so he ran upstairs again. I don't know why he goes up and down, up and down, and I'm wondering why at some point people didn't try to do something while they were upstairs.

Hannah: 22:57

Maybe just out of fear. Maybe that's why they gave them the liquid. Maybe, they were probably too busy with their intestines getting blistered.

Jess: 23:03

Yeah, also true, michelle, bless her little heart. After she had been raped by this man, she asked Oren if he was okay. But Oren is dead, isn't he? Up until now Oren had been playing dead. Oh, he had been shot at a second time, but the wound ended up being superficial and just grazing off the back of his head. So he was still coherent and he was wiggling his fingers and toes to stay conscious. And he had opened one eye to look at Michelle to prove that he was still alive. But he was unsure. If she saw it the short man comes down the stairs again that he was still alive. But he was unsure. If she saw it, the short man comes down the stairs again. So Oren closes his eyes and he flashed his flashlight over Oren to see if he was still alive. He then moved over to Michelle's head and pulled the trigger Come on.

Jess: 23:54

The man then attempted to strangle Oren with a speaker wire.

Jess: 23:58

Oh, he knew. How the hell did he find out? Some sources say that he checked his pulse. I didn't read that in the book, but I read in a different source. I couldn't really remember which source it was, but the book has Oren's own testimony, so I'm kind of leaving that more. There's so many differences among sources it's kind of hard to figure some facts out.

Jess: 24:21

Oren attempted to flex his neck muscles when the man cinched the cord around his neck as he was pulling tighter and tighter. He was then lowered to the ground and Oren was able to relax his muscles and there was a small opening for him to get some air. The man again went upstairs and could be heard walking around. The man again went upstairs and could be heard walking around. A few minutes later he comes back downstairs, walks over back to Oren and Oren feels something rub against his earlobe and felt a pen being shoved into his ear. What the fuck? Yeah. The man then raised his foot and stomped down on the pen, jamming it into Oren's head. What, it was perfect, yeah. He stomped the pen one more time and went upstairs for the final time.

Hannah: 25:07

I am literally gagging right now Isn't that horrible. That is just. I have no words.

Jess: 25:14

I told you. I'm glad you did it.

Hannah: 25:16

Yeah, I'm glad you did a trigger warning. My God, it's crazy.

Jess: 25:21

So around 10 pm, oren's wife and one of their other sons comes to the hi-fi shop looking for Oren and Stanley. They found Oren still alive, despite having been shot and a pen jammed into his head and strangled, and strangled, and he was up walking around, good Lord, superman. So the police were called and they responded around 10 30. So remember, this was 1974, utah. Things like this didn't happen, right? The police officers themselves were in shock and at some point during the night Carol had rolled onto her back and Courtney had started crawling towards the stairs. So those two were both alive when police responded and were rushed to the hospital. Both Stanley and Michelle, unfortunately, had already passed away. Luckily, if you call it lucky, the pen that was stomped into Oren's ear ended up going through his throat and not his brain.

Hannah: 26:22

Oh, so it was tilting Like downward.

Jess: 26:26

Oh, the second gunshot, like I said, had only grazed the back of his skull and was a superficial wound. He was able to give the description of the two black men that were driving a light-colored van and an APB was distributed, distributed, distribute, distributed. Thank you Words they're so hard To all police officers in the area and they were already on the search. A task force was created that night and a tip line was set up before the morning. Unfortunately, carol passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. Courtney surprisingly survived his injuries, but it was no easy feat. Courtney ended up having numerous surgeries on both his head and his esophagus. He had to have part of his colon taken out to replace part of his esophagus, just to be able to keep his airway open.

Hannah: 27:22

Okay, so we have two surviving victims that can hopefully ID these guys. Yes, Right, Mm-hmm, but this short guy I mean when you're talking about going upstairs, downstairs, upstairs, downstairs, and also when you're talking about the gun and the revolver. You said it had six shots.

Rob: 27:39

Mm-hmm.

Hannah: 27:40

So why did he end up using a pen instead of just trying to?

Jess: 27:44

shoot him again. Maybe he didn't have any more rounds, I don't know.

Hannah: 27:48

Interesting. Was he going back upstairs? Because I mean, I watch too much TV and TV shows and stuff. But, like, if you're holding people hostage, right, sometimes they go upstairs to try to like rile themselves up, like, okay, I got this, like I can do this, I can do this, and so that they won't see downstairs like how they're falling apart, yeah, I personally, from what I've read, he is not that guy, okay, and I think that he wasn't expecting five people and it just happened that that's very true three more people came into the shop because in the investigation they find out that the guys cased the shop the Saturday night and this happened on a Monday night.

Jess: 28:29

How did they find that out? I think one of the guys admitted to it.

Hannah: 28:35

Oh, okay, yeah, so I don't know, do they have cameras?

Jess: 28:37

No.

Hannah: 28:38

Okay, yeah.

Jess: 28:40

The doctors were able to find out that this vodka German drug drink was actually drano, that he forced them okay, I was close I was close. What didn't burn and destroy their bodies. Going down had dripped out of their mouths and causing their lips and skin to blister and leave scars. Courtney ended up spending 261 days in the hospital. Despite the gunshot wound in his head, he was able to graduate high school with his class in 1976.

Hannah: 29:13

That'd be the last thing on my mind.

Jess: 29:15

Yeah, he did have some brain damage. It wasn't too severe, so he was able to do trigonometry.

Hannah: 29:23

I can't do trigonometry with my brain not being injured.

Jess: 29:28

He had a lot of damage that controlled the right side of his body, so it took him a long time to get the point where he could use that again and, as I stated previously, there was a task force created during the night as well as a tip line set up. The following morning. There were two tips called in to different departments. The first call came through dispatch, asking for Corporal Cecil Fisher. Oh okay, cecil Weird, I know right, I was thinking about that when I typed out his name Cecil's.

Hannah: 30:00

So there was a Cecil. You guys listened to episode one there was a Sergeant. Cecil in the missing Maura Murray case. I mean, it's not a common name, it's?

Jess: 30:10

not. That is weird, crazy. So he took a call from a man to say that he knew who did the hi-fi job. He informed Fisher that he knows two black guys that drive a light blue van and their names are Dale Pierre and William Andrews. He said that he heard them talking about robbing the Hi-Fi shop and not leaving any witnesses. He was able to provide information on Pierre Andrews and that they were both airmen at Hill Air Force Base about 20 minutes south of the Hi-Fi shop. Wait, they were military. Yep, wow. And he was able to tell them which barracks they lived in and what their room numbers were.

Jess: 30:50

Around the same time, two boys were digging through dumpsters for cans on base and they found more than they bargained for. They found two wallets, some keys, two purses with a checkbook in one of them, and guess whose name was on the checks? Michelle Ansley. The base police were called and, upon further inspection of what was found in the dumpster, called the tip line. These tips were eventually connected and the task force was ready to take action. So now let's have a little conversation about jurisdiction here. Just because police have this information, they don't have jurisdiction on a military base. It is considered federal land so it's under federal jurisdiction. I'm guessing that complicates a lot of things A little bit. The same as the military police. They don't have jurisdiction outside the military base. They can't go off base and arrest someone. They'd have to collaborate with local police.

Hannah: 31:50

Do they have to worry about extradition, even though it's the same country?

Jess: 31:54

No, no, they would just have to collaborate, gotcha. So, with all that being said, fisher had to get in contact with the base commander to get access to Pierre and Andrews. They were able to come on base and search the dumpster with a search warrant, but the base commander refused to let them on base for the arrest unless he read the warrant, which I understand. The guy's doing his job, but at the same time it's like we know who these guys are and we know what they're capable of. So they were eventually able to get a warrant and went to arrest both Pierre and Andrews without incident. In the book this is one of my favorite parts it mentioned that all the airmen who lived in the same barracks as Pierre started clapping when he was let out in handcuffs. If that can tell you anything about Pierre. Oh, my word Right. I couldn't find much about the other suspect, william Andrews, even though they were charged together, which one was the small guy.

Jess: 32:52

Okay, so yes, thank you for asking. Dale Pierre is the short man and William Andrews is the tall man.

Hannah: 32:59

Okay, yep, so Pierre was the dipshit.

Jess: 33:01

Yep. Pierre was considered the mastermind behind the murders and there is more information about him. Pierre was considered the mastermind behind the murders and there's more information about him.

Jess: 33:13

He was born on the Isle of Tobago in the Caribbean east of Venezuela and he describes his childhood, as you know, good. Nothing happened, but eventually would talk about his mom beating him, which was the case, but it was because he wasn't. It was more disciplinary from other sources than it was abuse, once again 70s. He also was reported by others as no good and worthless and his parents were hardworking and held high expectations for him to follow the rules, but he resented those restrictions and would sneak out of the house and he was suspected of a lot of thefts and there were never any charges. So his family eventually moved to the United States where he joins the Air Force when he was 19 and stationed at Hill Air Force Base, which is where he met William Andrews. Pierre was also the prime suspect in a murder of another airman and this guy was killed from being stabbed in the eye with a machete, but there was not enough evidence to charge.

Hannah: 34:13

Pierre, stabbed in the eye with a machete.

Jess: 34:17

Yeah, he was also out on bail that time for stealing two cars from a car lot. He would show up in uniform wanting to buy a car and take it for a test drive, go back that night and steal the car and then go back the next day acting like he still wanted the car and they're like well, you can't, it's stolen. Like this guy was ballsy with what he did, oh my word.

Jess: 34:42

Neither he nor Andrews would talk to anybody about what happened when they awaited trials. After searching Pierre's apartment, the police had found a receipt hidden underneath the carpet that was underneath a desk that was for a storage unit in Pierre's name. The police obtained another search warrant and in that unit they found all the stereo equipment that was stolen from the hi-fi shop. Even with all the evidence against them, they still did not speak. They were convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery on November 16, 1974. Four days later they were sentenced to death. After all appeals were denied and exhausted, pierre was executed by lethal injection on August 28, 1987, at the age of 34. Andrews was executed by lethal injection on August 28, 1987, at the age of 34. Andrews was executed by lethal injection on July 30, 1992, at the age of 37.

Hannah: 35:35

So I feel like that was pretty quick yeah.

Rob: 35:40

For execution.

Hannah: 35:41

Especially for Pierre, like it was what 10 some odd years I mean usually guys are waiting decades.

Jess: 35:49

Mm-hmm. Wow, I think you know I want to end this on a good note. Oh, hallelujah, after this horrific case. I talked briefly about Courtney's struggles after the murders and if you really want an in-depth look at this case and his story, read the Victim the Other Side of Murder. It's such a powerful and moving story about the Nisbet's experiences. After this book was written, a woman reached out to Gary Kinder and thanked him for writing the story and she had experienced trauma and it was helpful for her to know that someone else understood her pain. After reading Courtney's story, she eventually reached out to Courtney to thank him. They ended up talking and they ended up getting married. Wait what? Yes Said it in the epilogue of this book. So Courtney and and this woman her name was Kathy oh my gosh From Seattle.

Hannah: 36:43

That's so sweet, isn't it? That's adorable yeah.

Jess: 36:47

Courtney did end up passing away in 2002 from undisclosed illness. But I mean, we can only imagine, Right. But yeah, that is the story of the Hi-Fi murders.

Hannah: 36:58

Oh, that was a ride. Right, that was a lot. That was some terrible, sad, horrific douche canoes Full of douche canoes, but the douche canoes got what was coming to them.

Jess: 37:12

I agree, so that my friend is my story for the night.

Hannah: 37:16

Thank you, for sharing it with us, and if you guys have any recommendations for what kind of cases you want to hear. I mean, there's plenty. I think we have Lizzie Borden coming up, we got Manson coming up, ted Bundy, but if there's anything you guys want to hear, please let us know Any good paranormal stories. Yes, we want to hear it all. Yes, we do Anything creepy.

Rob: 37:39

Hey there, rob, here again. That brings us to the end of this chilling look back at the Hi-Fi Mur murders, one of the most disturbing cases we've ever featured on Wicked Wanderings. A big thank you to our former co-host, jess, for originally bringing this story to life. Her research and storytelling helped make this one of the most unforgettable episodes and we're grateful to be able to share it with you again. As always, thanks for listening and we'll see you next time on Wicked Wanderings.

Hannah: 38:08

Thanks for listening. Today, wicked Wanderings is hosted by me, hannah and co-hosted by me, courtney, and it's produced by Rob Fitzpatrick.

Hannah: 38:16

Music by Sasha N. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to leave a rating and review and be sure to follow on all socials. You can find the links down in the show notes. If you're looking for some really cozy t-shirts or hoodies, head over to the merch store. Thank you for being a part of the Wicked Wanderings community. We appreciate every one of you. Stay curious, keep exploring and always remember to keep on wandering. Thank you.