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Harold Allen Was Allegedly Poisoned to Death by Wife and Step-Daughter · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Okay, So have you ever heard a story and thought, wait,
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  is this real life or is this like ripped from
• 0:04
  a crime show?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, you know those stories of just twist and
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  turn and you can't believe what you're hearing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, well that's what we're dealing with today, a case
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  so wild it will make you double check you're not
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  watching Dayline.
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  Speaker 2: It's a story about family, secrets, betrayal, and a whole
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  lot of suspicion. And it all starts with the death
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  That seemed pretty straightforward, but trust me, nothing about this
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  case is simple exactly.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to be diving deep into the story of
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  Ashley Jones and her mother, Marsha Allen and get this.
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  It all kicks off back in twenty nineteen with the
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  death of Ashley's first husband, Tiarson Jones.
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  Speaker 2: Now initially you might think, Okay, a husband dies, it's sad,
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  But what's so strange about that? Well, here's where the
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  red flags start popping.
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  Speaker 1: Up right away. There were things that just didn't add
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  up about Tearson's death. For one, he died shortly after
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  inheriting a pretty big chunk of change from his great grandfather, and.
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  Speaker 2: Instead of telling his family like you'd expect. Ashley waited,
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  and then she rushed to have him cremated before an
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  autopsy could be done.
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  Speaker 1: You can imagine Tearson's family was suspicious. I mean, wouldn't
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  you be. Ashley claimed Tearson died from alcohol poisoning, but his.
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  Speaker 2: Family insisted that he wasn't a heavy drinker and they
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  wanted answers. They demanded an investigation.
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  Speaker 1: But here's the catch. There's barely any public information available
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  about Tearson's death.
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  Speaker 2: So those unanswered questions they just hang there in the air.
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  And believe me, as we go through this story, it's
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  important to keep those questions about Tearson in mind.
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  Speaker 1: They might end up being more important than we realize
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  at first. Okay, so now let's fast forward to twenty
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  twenty two. Enter another death in this already messed up
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  family situation. Marsh's husband, Harold Allen, is found dead.
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  Speaker 2: Now, at first glance, the authorities didn't think anything was suspicious.
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  Speaker 1: But then hold on tight, because this is where the
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  plot thickens. A burglary at Marsh's home in twenty twenty
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  three throws a major wrench in the whole thing.
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  Speaker 2: You're not gonna believe this, but the burglars, Stephen White
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  and Nathaniel Napier, were connected.
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  Speaker 1: To Ashley, and one of them, Stephen White, he drops
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  a bombshell. He claims that Marcia murdered Harold, and not
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  just murdered poisoned.
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  Speaker 2: He even says she used effelene Leiicol. That's the stuff
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  you find in anti freeze, slipped it right into Harold's
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  root beer fan talk.
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  Speaker 1: About a twist, right, and get this. Stephen White claims
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  Marcia did it all under Ashley's direction, and that's not all.
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  Speaker 2: The police found text messages between Ashley and Marcia that
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  seem to back up what Stephen White is saying.
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  Speaker 1: It's like something straight out of a soap opera, So naturally,
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  the police get a search warrant for Marsha's house. They
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  grabbed her electronics and start digging for answers.
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  Speaker 2: But before they can get too far, another tragedy hits.
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  Marcia is found dead.
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  Speaker 1: The authorities rule it a suicide by overdose. It's a
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  sad ending for a woman who was clearly caught in
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  a web of lies.
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  Speaker 2: But the investigation doesn't stop there. Ashley is brought in
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  for questioning and she admits something shocking.
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  Speaker 1: In her police interview, Ashley says that yeah, Marcia gave
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  Harold the poison, but she claims she was just following
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  Ashley's instructions.
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  Speaker 2: It's like a confession, but with a twist actually saying
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  she was the mastermind behind it all.
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  Speaker 1: And hold on, because it gets even crazier. The police
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  find emails and text messages that show at least four
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  other times that Ashley and Marcia tried to poison Harold.
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  Speaker 2: Talk about persistent. It's clear they were determined to use
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  this through.
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  Speaker 1: So we have multiple poisoning attempts. That's a lot to unpack.
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  What did they try and what does it tell us
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  about what was going on in their minds?
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  Speaker 2: Well, for starters, they tried using foxglove seeds, highly toxic stuff,
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  and we know this because Marcia had been searching online
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  about lethal doses of foxglove.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, come on, that's not exactly subtle. But they
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  didn't stop there. Next up, they ordered pong kong seeds online.
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  Speaker 2: These seeds are native to Southeast Asia and they contain
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  a substance that can mess with your heart, seriously mess
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  with your heart.
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  Speaker 1: So what did they do with these dangerous seeds. They
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  ground them up, bake them into brownies, and fed them
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  to Harold.
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  Speaker 2: And the most disturbing part is that when Harold didn't
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  die right away, Ashley and Marsha were frustrated. They even
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  talked about wanting their plan to reach its climax in
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  their text messages.
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  Speaker 1: It's chilling to think about how detached they were from
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  the fact that they were trying to kill someone. When
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  the pong pong seeds didn't work, they moved onto water hemlock.
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  Speaker 2: If you don't know, water hemlock is one of the
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  most poisonous plants you can find in North America.
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  Speaker 1: They were so aware of how dangerous it was that
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  they even wore gloves when they were handling it.
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  Speaker 2: They tried poisoning Harold with a water hemlock multiple times,
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  putting it in chili and soda, even in a margarite.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you wonder, at what point does this go
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  from a plan to a full blown obsession.
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  Speaker 2: And finally they redorted to using effling blyt call the
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  stuff in anti freeze. They ordered it online and guess what,
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  The order was traced back to Ashley through her email addresses, and.
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  Speaker 1: That's ultimately what they used to kill Harold. It's a
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  lot to take in, right, But there's one more peeky
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  the puzzle that we need to look at. Remember those
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  texts between Ashley and Steve and the burglar.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, those are interesting.
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  Speaker 1: Ashley actually bragged him about her part in Harold's death.
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  She even talked about other plans and her motives. It's
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  almost like she wanted to get caught.
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  Speaker 2: That's a really good point. Why would you confess to
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  someone who's not even involved. Was it some kind of
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  twisted pride or did she just need to tell someone.
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  Speaker 1: It's a question that needs answering, and with Ashley's trial
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  coming up on August four, twenty twenty five, we might
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  just get those answers. But before we go, there's one
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  more thing that we can't ignore. What about those unanswered
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  questions surrounding the death of Ashley's first husband, Tison.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a big one. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department
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  is aware of the claims about Tison's death, but they're
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  being pretty tight lipped about whether there's an official investigation
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  going on.
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  Speaker 1: Could this case be even bigger than we thought? Could
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  Ashley's a legend involvement in Harold's death. Help us understand
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  what happened to Teason.
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  Speaker 2: It's a question that looms over everything we've talked about today.
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  This is a story about family, secrets, lies, and murder,
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  and it might not be over yet.
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  Speaker 1: We've uncovered a twisted tail, but this is just the beginning.
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  Stick with us as we untangle this complex and disturbing case.
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  All right, so we've laid out the basics of this
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  crazy story, but now we got to ask the big question.
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  What would drive Ashley to plan all these poisonings? I mean,
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  this wasn't just a one time thing.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. This is a carefully thought out plan that
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  went on for months. She really puts some effort into this.
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  Speaker 1: That level of planning, it just screams motive, right, It's
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  not like she just snapped one day.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely, remember those texts where Ashley was bragging to the
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  burglar about offing Harold.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, those were pretty incriminating.
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  Speaker 2: Well, those texts might hold the key to understanding why
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  she did it.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so let's dig into those texts a little more.
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  What exactly was Ashley saying?
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  Speaker 2: Well, for starters, she was saying that her own mother
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  Marsha wouldn't have succeeded without her guiding hands.
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  Speaker 1: System is basically taking all the credit totally.
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  Speaker 2: She even says she planned the whole thing. But there's more.
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  It's not just about taking credit. She's also complaining that
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  Marcia messed things.
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  Speaker 1: Up, mess things up.
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  Speaker 2: Ashley's angry that Marcia didn't even try to get a
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  whale or get her hands on Harold's money after he died.
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  She's saying Marcia made it less lucrative hold on.
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  Speaker 1: So it sounds like Ashley wasn't just trying to get
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  rid of Harold, she was after his money.
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  Speaker 2: Bingo. It's starting to look like Ashley saw Harold as
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  an obstacle standing between her and a big payday.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, it's amazing how greed can make people do such
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  horrible things, even to their own family.
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  Speaker 2: And don't forget, Ashley was impatient. She wanted to be
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  over quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember that from the text. So we've got
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  greed and impatience. Not a good combination, not at all.
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  Speaker 2: It paints a pretty disturbing picture of someone who's willing
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  to do whatever it takes to get what they want.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, but what about Marcia? What would make a mother
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  help her daughter kill her own husband. I mean, that's
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  just mind blowing.
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  Speaker 2: That's the question, isn't it. Unfortunately, with Marcia Gohan, we
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  might never know for sure what her motivation.
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  Speaker 1: Was, but we can try to figure it out, right.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, we have got to play detective here. So was
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  Marcia under Ashley's control? Was she being forced or manipulated?
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  Speaker 1: It's possible, right, Ashley seems like a pretty dominant personality.
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  Speaker 2: She definitely does come across that way in the text.
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  She's giving Marsiha instructions, telling her exactly what to do.
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  Speaker 1: And this wasn't the first time Ashley allegedly manipulated someone
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  close to her. Remember she isolated Tearson from his family
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  and rushed his cremation.
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  Speaker 2: Right, So maybe she used similar tactics on her own mother.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe Marsha was struggling financially or emotionally and that made
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  her more vulnerable to Ashley's influence.
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  Speaker 2: Could be We also have to consider that Marcia might
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  have been blinded by her.
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  Speaker 1: Love for Ashley, like a mother's love kind of thing exactly.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe she was so desperate to protect her daughter that
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  she'd do anything, even something as awful as murder.
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  Speaker 1: That's a pretty sad thought it is.
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  Speaker 2: This case really shows how complicated family relationships can be,
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  and it shows the dark side of human nature.
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  Speaker 1: It's crazy how love and loyalty can get all mixed
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  up with things like greed and violence.
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  Speaker 2: Totally. So, we've got these potential motives for Marcia, but
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  we still have those unanswered questions about Tearson's death.
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  Speaker 1: It's like we've got two mysteries run parallel to each other.
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  Do you think they could be connected?
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  Speaker 2: That's what investigators are trying to figure out. If Ashley
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  was willing to orchestrate her stepfather's murder, could she have
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  been involved in something similar with her first husband.
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  Speaker 1: The possibility is definitely there.
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  Speaker 2: And remember, Ashley's trial is still coming up. Maybe new
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  evidence will surface that could shed light on her motives
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  and maybe even connect her to Tearson's death.
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  Speaker 1: It's a wedding game for now, but we'll keep following
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  the case and we'll make sure to keep you updated
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  on anything new that comes out. In the meantime, we
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  want to hear from you. What are your theories about
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  Ashley and Marsha's motives. Do you think there's a connection
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  to Tearson's death.
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  Speaker 2: Let us know on social media. We want to hear
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  what you think exactly.
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  Speaker 1: We're in just together. Okay. So we've gone through all
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  the twists and turns, the possible motives, and now it's
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  almost time for the legal system to do its thing.
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  Speaker 2: Ashley's trial is set for August four, twenty twenty five.
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  It's going to be a big moment in this whole saga.
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  Speaker 1: It's where all the evidence we've talked about will be presented,
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  witnesses will take the stand, and a jury will decide
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  Ashley's fate.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and the charges against her are pretty serious. We're
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  talking murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and even consumer product
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  tampering resulting in death.
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  Speaker 1: Consumer product tampering resulting in death, what does that even mean?
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  Speaker 2: It basically means using a product in a way that
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  causes harmor death, which applies to the toisoning allocations in
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  this case.
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  Speaker 1: Right, makes sense. So with all these charges, what's the
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  prosecution going to focus on to convince the jury that
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  Ashley's guilty.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they're probably going to lean heavily on those text
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  messages and Marsha's internet searches. Remember all those digital breadcrumbs.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they show how much planning went into those
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  poisoning attempts exactly.
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  Speaker 2: The prosecution will argue that those digital records prove Ashley's
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  intent and show that she was the mastermind behind the
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  whole plot.
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  Speaker 1: But what about Ashley's defense team. They're not just going
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  to sit there and take it right, of course not.
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  Speaker 2: They'll have their own arguments. They might try to paint
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  a different picture of Ashley, maybe portray her as a
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  victim of her own mother's manipulation.
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  Speaker 1: Really do you think that'll work? I mean, Ashley comes
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  across as pretty manipulative herself in those texts.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a long shot, but it's a possibility. They
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  might also try to discredit Stephen want Fight, the burglar
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  whose testimony is so important for the prosecution.
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  Speaker 1: How would they do that.
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  Speaker 2: They could bring up his criminal history, try to make
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  him look unreliable, maybe suggest he has his own reasons
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  for cooperating with the police.
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  Speaker 1: Hmmm. Interesting. So it'll be a battle of the narratives. Huh.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. The jury will have to decide who they believe
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  and whether the evidence is strong enough to convict Ashley.
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  Speaker 1: It'll be interesting to see how the whole thing plays out.
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  This case really highlights how tricky it can be to
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  deal with digital evidence and family drama in a murder trial.
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  Speaker 2: And beyond the legal aspects, there are some deep psychological
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  questions here too. What kind of person comes up with
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  such a complex plan to kill a family member.
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  Speaker 1: It's a chilling thought. It suggests a lack of empathy,
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  a coldness that's hard to comprehend.
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  Speaker 2: Ashley's alleged actions show a complete disregard for human life.
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  She put her own desires above everything else, even the
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  well being of her own family.
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  Speaker 1: It's a stark reminder of the dark side of human nature, greed, manipulation, violence,
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  even within the bonds of family.
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  Speaker 2: This deep dive has taken us to some dark places,
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  but it's important to remember that cases like this are
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  thankfully not the norm. Right.
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  Speaker 1: It's easy to get caught up in the darkness, but
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  we can't forget the importance of healthy relationships, open communication
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  and support within families.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, if you feel like someone you know is struggling,
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  don't be afraid to reach out. Sometimes just listening or
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  offering a helping hand can make a huge difference.
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  Speaker 1: Well said, So, as we wrap up this exploration, We
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  leave you with some final thoughts. What does this case
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  tell us about family dynamics and impact of our choices?
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  Speaker 2: How can we work to prevent tragedies like this from happening.
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  Speaker 1: Keep the conversation going on social media. Share your thoughts,
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  your insights, your reactions to this incredible case.
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  Speaker 2: Because sometimes even the most disturbing stories can teach us
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  valuable lessons about ourselves and the world around us.
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  Speaker 1: And with that, we come to the end of our
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  deep dive into this twisted tale. We've examined the evidence, explored,
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  the motives, considered the consequences, leaving no stone unturned.
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  Speaker 2: Remember there's always more to learn, more to discuss, more
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  to ponder, Stay curious, keep those questions coming, and never
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  stop seeking the truth.
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  Speaker 1: Until next time, keep diving deep.