DeepSummary
The episode centers around a custody battle between exes Francis Kelly and Heidi Marie Littlefield over their young daughter Brinley in Carmel, Indiana. Heidi does not want Francis to have a relationship with Brinley and tries to enlist her other adult daughters to help her poison Francis. When they refuse, she asks her 22-year-old daughter Logan and Logan's boyfriend Robert Walker to obtain fentanyl to kill Francis.
They attempt to kill Francis several times, first by lacing his miso soup with fentanyl, which makes him sick but does not kill him. Later, Logan breaks into Francis' house and laces his oatmeal with fentanyl. When Francis eats the oatmeal and texts Heidi that he feels lightheaded, Heidi and Logan go to his house. Finding Francis on the floor gasping for air, Heidi strangles him with his own necktie and slams his head into the floor until he is dead.
Despite an anonymous caller warning police about the murder plot in advance, they fail to take action. After Francis' body is discovered, a lengthy investigation unfolds, resulting in Heidi being sentenced to 115 years in prison for murder and conspiracy. Logan and Walker receive shorter sentences for their roles after agreeing to testify against Heidi. The police admit their failure to properly investigate the initial anonymous tip that could have prevented Francis' death.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- A bitter custody dispute over parenting time can escalate to tragic extremes of violence and murder.
- Providing law enforcement with vague, incomplete information about a crime may not prompt adequate investigation to prevent it.
- Poor judgment and personal demons like substance abuse can lead people to conspire in horrific acts.
- The impacts of murder extend far beyond the victim to traumatizing their children and loved ones.
- The legal system aims to deliver justice through lengthy sentences for such heinous premeditated crimes.
- A toxic desire for parental approval can warp a child's morality in destructive ways.
- Police must thoroughly investigate all credible threats, even anonymous tips, to potentially save lives.
- Murder conspiracies often involve multiple failed attempts before finally succeeding through different methods.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Could we have dug a little deeper? Maybe.“ by Police
- “Because I love her and because we never really had a good relationship.“ by Logan Runyon
- “She said, quote, he's better off dead. I didn't mean to kill him last time.“ by Heidi's relative
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Episode Information
Small Town Murder
James Pietragallo, Jimmie Whisman
4/19/24
This week, in Carmel, Indiana, a custody battle between exes turns dangerous, when one starts asking around, about any hitmen that can help out. When none seem to be available, the whole thing turns into a ridiculous comedy of of errors, involving the killer's children, and other exes, before this person finally succeeds with the murder, using some of the strangest weapons that we've heard of... oatmeal, a neck tie, and fentanyl.
Along the way, we find out that Greeks use unmelting cheese, that you usually don't reheat oatmeal, and that you shouldn't try to enlist everyone you've ever met, in your murder plot!!
Hosted by James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman
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