Tea with a Side of Poison

Happy True Crime Thursday!! So if you read my other blog (Paranormal Mindset) you might already have an idea what this weeks blog is about. Today we are taking it was back to the early 1800's, traveling to Charleston, South Carolina. This one is a little different than ones I have done in the past, due to the era and because at the end I want you to decide for yourself whether of not you feel the person convicted is truly guilty. First I will tell you what the well known story is and then I will tell you what has been proven as truth.

Today we are going to be talking about Lavinia Fisher, she is widely recognized as the first female serial killer in the United States. Not much is known about her other than she was born in 1793.

Lavinia Fisher

However we do know that she grew up to marry a man by the name of John Fisher and the two of them lived near Charleston, South Carolina. In the early 1800's they made their living operating a hotel called the Six Mile Wayfarer House. Lavinia was a very charming, beautiful young woman, which added popularity to the business and in the community. Their hotel was the perfect stop for those passing through.

Around town people were growing concerned, men who were passing through town were mysteriously disappearing without a trace. Rumors began to circulate and reports were made to the local sheriff about the disappearances and the main connection was that they all were last seen visiting the Six Mile House. They said that the couple was drugging, robbing and killing these men.  There wasn't any evidence to back up these reports and because the Fishers were such a well-liked couple, nothing came of the concerns.

One night a gentleman by the name of John Peoples or Peeples (I found different variations on the spelling) stopped at the Inn to book a room, he was in town as a fur trader. He was warmly greeted by the Fishers. Lavinia informed him that unfortunately they didn't have a room available, but he was welcome to come inside to rest and have a cup of tea. He hated tea, but didn't want to seem rude, but he ended up dumping the tea when Lavinia wasn't looking. She asked him a ton of questions in regards to who he was and his background, she discovered that they did in fact have a room available after all. He went to bed, but grew suspicious of the couple and what their intentions were based upon how they were acting.  He couldn't sleep, his mind was racing. He decided to sit in the corner that faced the door so he would be able to see if anyone snuck into his room to rob him. His gut feeling was spot on when he noticed a trapdoor swing open into the cellar where John Fisher was waiting with an ax. He was able to escape out of a window and hurried back to Charleston to tell the authorities.

Right around the same time a group of local vigilantes were going to take this matter into their own hands since the police weren't doing anything about the activity going on at Six Mile Wayfarer House. It is unknown what they did or said when they arrived at the Fishers, but it was good enough for them to feel good about heading back to Charleston. They did leave one man behind, his name was David Ross and he was to stand watch in the area. Early the next morning, he was attacked by 2 men and dragged before a group of men alongside Lavinia Fisher. He looked to her for help, but what he received instead was her choking him and smashing his head through a window. He was able to escape and went to alert the authorities.

With these 2 witnesses coming forward they arrested Lavinia and John Fisher, along with 2 men that were believed to be involved with their crimes.

The Six Mile Wayfarer House was thoroughly searched and the grounds dug up, it was filled with hidden passageways. Reportedly the Sheriff found several items that could be traced back to travelers that had gone missing, they also found a mechanism that triggered the floorboards to open beneath the bed, a tea laced with an herb that could put someone to sleep for hours, or if used in large doses could kill someone, and in the basement they found as many as a hundred sets of remains.

Their theory was that Lavinia would lure men into the hotel, invite them to have tea with her (that she had laced to either make them pass out or to kill them.) Her husband would then use the trap door to take them down to the basement where he would cut up the bodies with an ax. They would then take the persons belongings and move on to their next victim. 

The Fishers plead not guilty, but were ordered to stay in jail until their trial. In May when their trial was held the jury found them guilty of multiple murders and robberies, they were sentenced to hang. They were given time to appeal their conviction. They were housed together in what today is known as the Old Charleston Jail, it was not heavily guarded at the time and they decided they were going to make a break for it. They tossed rope made of linens out of the window and were going to climb down, John made it down, but the makeshift rope broke and Lavinia wasn't able to escape. John being the gentleman he was decided not to leave his wife he returned back to jail. After this they were kept under tight security. 

February 1820 rolls around and their appeal was rejected, their execution was scheduled for later that month. Morning of February 18th, The Fishers were taken to the gallows behind the Charleston Jail. John didn't put up a fight and even prayed with the minister, he asked the minister to read a letter for him. Before a crowd of about 2,000 people, the letter read that he insisted he was innocent and asked for mercy for those who had done him wrong. He looked out to the crowd and pleaded his case, but before he was hanged he asked for their forgiveness.

Next up was Lavinia, now she did not go so quietly. She refused to walk to the gallows, so they had to pick her up and carry her as she ranted and raved all while wearing (per her request) her wedding dress.  As the executioner was placing the noose around her neck she yelled to the crowd "if you have a message you want to send to hell, give it to me-I'll carry it." Then before they had a chance to officially hang her, she jumped off the scaffold, noose around neck, dangled right into the crowd. Onlookers stated that the look on Lavinia's face was a wicked and chilling one.

Alright, so now that you've heard the legendary story let me tell you about the facts rarely mentioned;

* There was only circumstantial evidence that Lavinia and John ever killed anyone. Only two human bodies were actually dug up on the property, a male and female skeleton, their identities were/are unknown. Because they weren't able to prove that they actually committed any murders they only charged them with what they could prove and that was robbery. Lavinia was a member of a large gang of highwaymen.

* In 1819 trade was disrupted by this gang of highwaymen when they stopped wagons on the road, stealing goods and money. Since victims were unable to identify their assailants the authorities couldn't do anything. This is said to be the true reason why the citizens took matters into their own hands.

*Lavinia did not wear her wedding dress to her execution, both her and John wore the traditional garb of the condemned, white robes.

*Lavinia and John were hanged at the same time, Lavinia did not jump off of the scaffolding. On the day of their execution at a little past 2 pm Lavinia and John embraced each other on the platform and then the sign was given, the drop fell. Lavinia died without so much as a groan while it took John a few minutes to stop struggling and expire.

*Lavinia wasn't the 1st convicted woman serial killer. It's widely acknowledged that Jane Toppan was the actually the 1st recognized serial killer in the U.S confessing to 31 murders in 1901.

Obviously some of the facts have been twisted over the years, but would you agree that behind every lie is a bit of truth? I want you to think about whether you believe Lavinia was truly just guilty of being a greedy money hungry robber, or if she was apart of something much more sinister that authorities just weren't able to prove.

Thanks for taking a read and if you are interested in where Lavinia Fisher spent her days, the conditions she lived in and where she possibly still resides today, please check out "Paranormal Mindset" and read about The Old Charleston Jail. See you guys next week!



Resources:

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/sc-laviniafisher/

https://murderpedia.org/female.F/f/fisher-lavinia.htm

Keep Portland Weird

Happy True Crime Thursday you guys!!! Hope you all are enjoying the start of your Summer. I've been researching cases for you guys like crazy. This week I went with one that is in my home state of Oregon. For those that live in Oregon as well, you are probably familiar with the saying "Keep Portland Weird," well this a weird one for you. Enjoy! 

Richard Lawrence Marquette was born December 12th, 1934 in Portland, Oregon. And that's all I got for you lol. For once I am not able to provide you with a background, not much is known about his early life so we are just going to jump right into things.

Richard was first arrested in June 1956 on a charge of attempted rape, but his alleged victim dropped the charge. In August of 1957 he was arrested again after he attempted to rob a Portland service station, using a sack full of wrenches as a weapon. He was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months, he was released at 12 months due to good behavior.

June 8th, 1961 Portland police received a phone call from a local housewife, she stated that her dog had brought home a paper bag with a human foot inside. Detectives arrived to her home to investigate and while there the dog came back with a hand this time. They conducted a search of the SE Portland neighborhood, several more body parts were found. There was no attempt made to bury them, they were fresh. An autopsy of the remains found that the veins and arteries were completely drained of blood and that it had happened shortly after death. Finger prints confirmed it was the remains of Joan Caudle, she was a 24 year old mom of 2 that was reported missing by her husband.

On June 5th, 1961 Joan Caudle left her home to go shopping for Fathers Day gifts. According to her husband she was not a habitual drinker, but she had been depressed lately because her mother was very ill and it was plausible that she may have stopped by a bar to have a drink or 2. She did not drive, so to get around she would have had to take the bus or a taxi. Police spoke with eyewitnesses that saw her at a nearby tavern, one witness in particular; a local woman who was a habitual barfly and had a string of arrests for public drunkenness and disorder said she'd been there that evening. She was talking with a gentleman by the name of "Marquette" when another woman approached and took his attention instead, she confirmed the woman was Joan Caudle. She stated that the 2 of them left the bar together.

Police were able to track down the mans identity and his residence, a tiny house resembling a shack. It was the home of Richard Marquette. No one was home when they got there. They discovered the neatly chopped up body parts of Joan wrapped in newspaper inside the refrigerator, just like a butcher would. Also found inside were bloodstained lingerie. The only significant missing piece was her head. An arrest warrant was issued and the manhunt began. Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield called the crime "the most heinous in Oregon history" he asked the FBI for help and the agency took the unusual step of expanding their most wanted list to 11 names for the first time ever. The tactic worked as Marquette was arrested in California the next day after being added to the list. He put up no resistance and it was almost like he was relieved about getting arrested.

Marquette claimed that he was in the bar when he saw Joan accompanied by another man, but she recognized him from elementary school and walked over to him. They had a few drinks, went around to several more bars, according to his account, and then came back to his house where his former classmate drank more beer with him and allegedly agreed to sex. When investigators asked what happened next, he claimed that the two had sex, then got into an argument afterward. Marquette stated it was at this point that he strangles Joan to death. Since he had no vehicle to dispose of her remains, he panicked and dragged the corpse into the shower where he dismembered it.

From everything that the investigators found out about Joan they found Marquette's story quite unbelievable, but then again he was the only living witness to the crime. The prosecution asked for him to be charged with rape as well. When Marquette was asked where Joan's head was he lead police to a river bank near Oaks Park in Portland, it was fished out of some rotting timber along the edge of the river. I find this incredibly disturbing as I had spent a ton of time right in that area as a kid/teenager. Marquette was found guilty of first degree murder, but the jury for whatever reason recommended leniency. Marquette was sentenced to life in prison, but get this.... in 1973 he received parole after serving only 11 years!!!! During his stay in prison he was described as "a model prisoner." Big mistake. 

April 1975 rolls around and in Marion County, Oregon a fisherman discovered mutilated human remains floating in a shallow swampy area. The corpse was bled dry, savagely mutilated and dismembered before being dumped with little effort to conceal it. Sound familiar? 

The remains were identified as 37 year old Betty Wilson, who had a very difficult home life. She had 11 children from the time she got married at the age of 16. They were a very poor family and at one point were lived at the edge of the city dump in an abandoned school bus, with no running water or electricity in North Carolina. Her children were put into foster care. She claimed that her husband was abusive, with her not having her children anymore she took the opportunity to escape from her husband. While stowed away in the trunk of her sisters car one day she was set to begin a new life far away from him, her and her sister lived in Salem, Oregon together. Her last known whereabouts were at a crowded nightclub. 

The first obvious suspect was of course the abusive husband she ran away from, but he was ruled out after quickly verifying a solid alibi. Due to the nature of the murder, Marquette became the prime suspect. Detectives began their stakeout of his home and soon obtained a search warrant, they searched the place inside and out. They were able to find small, but crucial pieces of physical evidence that tied Marquette to Betty's murder. Just 55 hours after her remains were found Marquette was arrested for murder. It was like Deja Vu, Marquette stated to police that he brought Betty back to his house and after they began to have sex she then refused, so he strangled and dismembered her. He knew there was no way out of this, so he confessed to her murder. While confessing to the murder of Betty he also confessed to another murder in 1974, he said he picked a woman up from a bar and lured her back to his home where he choked her to death, mutilated and dismembered her corpse. He led detectives to 2 shallow graves where he dumped the bulk of the remains, but the head was never located. There was also no evidence to determine who the victim was and to this day she remains a Jane Doe. 

He was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Criminal psychiatrists working with Marquette came to the conclusion that he was a perfectly normal, socially adjusted individual. It was only when women turned him down, the rejection set off a murderous rage within him. Yet he's completely normal. He has been incarcerated at the Oregon State Penitentiary since June 1975. 

Thanks for taking a read guys! Please feel free to share this off of the Minds of Madness Facebook Page, the more readers that I get the more I am able to do! I appreciate it. 


Resources:

https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/marquette-richard.htm

https://expo.oregonlive.com/news/g66l-2019/02/c86a2784723172/richard-marquette-case-shocked-oregonians-after-butcher-slayer-scored-parole-killed-again.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Laurence_Marquette

Mother Dearest

I'm baaccckkk!!! Thank you guys for being patient while I took a little break, but I am ready to get back to business and what really truly matters in life. True crime stories.

Now you guys I did a TON of research for this weeks story, it's a  tad bit lengthy, but is a roller coaster ride you won't regret getting on. Now buckle up, this week we are going to discuss the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard and the events leading up to her death.

First we will go to the night of June 14th, 2015, friends became worried about Dee Dee after there were posts made on Dee Dee's Facebook page that were graphic and troubling. They read "That B**** is dead," and "I f****** slashed that fat pig and raped her sweet innocent daughter...her scream was soooo f***** loud lol." When friends and family saw the status, they took it upon themselves to investigate. Dee Dee's car was still in the driveway, but no one answered the door. The police were called and soon obtained a warrant to enter the home, it was then that Dee Dee's body was found. She was lying in a pool of her own blood, face down, on the floor of her bedroom. She’d been stabbed to death and covered by a blanket. It was evident she had been there for several days. Even more troubling was there were no signs of her teenage daughter Gypsy Rose in the home. She was missing, but police were certain that she was still alive because she was the only other person to know her moms Facebook login information as they shared a page together, they thought whoever had Gypsy made her log in to the account so the posts could be made. Friends and family became frantic, Gypsy was no ordinary girl. She was wheelchair bound and had a laundry list of medical conditions and now she was gone without her wheelchair and none of her medication. 

Let me tell you a little back story about Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Dee Dee was born Clauddine Pitre in Chackbay, Louisiana in 1967 to Claude Pitre and Emma Lois Gisclair, she had 5 siblings. When she was 24 she became pregnant by Rod Blanchard who was 17 at the time. The 2 of them married, Rod felt it was the right thing to do, but stated at the time he wasn't in love with Dee Dee, but felt as though he could be at some point. Shortly before Dee Dee gave birth they ended up separating, Rod said he realized they got married for the wrong reasons. Gypsy Rose Blanchard was prematurely born in July 1991, Dee Dee and Gypsy lived with Dee Dee's family in Louisiana.

According to Rod, Dee Dee stated that their daughter started suffering from sleep apnea when she was just 3 months old. Overtime Dee Dee told him that Gypsy had developed a wide range of other health issues that she said attributed to an unspecified chromosomal disorder. Around age 7 Gypsy inherited a disease called muscular dystrophy that causes muscle weakness and loss, she was then confined to a wheelchair from that point on. She was a very sick child, besides the muscular dystrophy and sleep apnea, she also was diagnosed with leukemia, epilepsy, vision and hearing impairment, asthma, and digestive issues which required her to have a feeding tube. She went through a multitude of surgeries including eye, leg and throat surgeries, at one point she had her salivary glands removed. Dee Dee told everyone that Gypsy would only ever have the mental capacity of a 7 year old. 



If this doesn't sound tough enough the mother daughter duo lost everything when Hurricane Katrina hit. With the help of Habitat for Humanity they were given a brand new home in Springfield, Missouri customized to fit the needs of Gypsy. They captured the hearts of many and received a multitude of support through donations, vacations and several events they were invited to. The two of them had a very close bond, they were best friends.  

Going back to the night of June 14th, 2015, police were able to track down the location in which the Facebook posts originated. The address was to a home in Wisconsin. Who could possibly be in Wisconsin that would want to murder Dee Dee in cold blood and kidnap her handicapped daughter from Missouri? On the morning of June 15th a swat team surrounded the home, they did a sweep of the residence and took into custody a man by the name of Nicholas Godejohn. They found him hiding in his bedroom closet. He was 26 and he had a record. A few years earlier he was accused of watching porn at a McDonald's for nearly 9 hours. When police were called he was arrested for disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon (he had a large knife in his pocket.) Oh did I forget to mention that when they entered the home they also found Gypsy, but she was not in distress like they expected her to be.  It was discovered that Gypsy and Nick had been in a 3 year long relationship online. The police had so many questions and soon all would be revealed. 

You know the saying you never know what happens behind closed doors... well Gypsy Rose's life is the ultimate example... 

Remember all those medical conditions I listed out above that Gypsy Rose had, well she in fact had none of them. The feeding tube she had... she didn't need, she was able to swallow and digest food no problem, the medications she was taking....she didn't need and they only mimicked the symptoms of the medical conditions she "had," the wheel chair she was in... yep you guessed it she didn't need that either, she was able to walk. Also, her mental capacity was much greater than what her mother had told everyone. She told everyone that Gypsy was a teenager when in fact at the time of Dee Dee's murder Gypsy was 24.Was this a mother daughter scheme carried out for years or something much more sinister?  Has your head started spinning yet? 

Dee Dee Blanchard came across as the Wonder Woman of moms, but in reality she was a monster. She suffered from Munchausen by proxy (a mental health condition in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury to a person under their care in order to gain sympathy and attention from others.) She used her daughter for profitable gain by making it seem as though her child was so sick she would never make it to the age of 21, when she was the one that was causing harm to her own daughter. Dee Dee worked at a hospital at one point in her life as a nurse's aid, because she picked up on things working in the medical field it was easier for her to come up with aliments and know what conditions cause what symptoms and what medications can cause what side effects. When Gypsy was younger her father Rod thought it was odd that she had these medical conditions as she seemed to be healthy, but didn't question it because Dee Dee knew more about medical conditions than he did and she seemed to be a great loving mother. Was Gypsy aware that she wasn't sick?

Gypsy believed and trusted her mom for the most part about her illnesses, but as she got older she noticed things didn't quite add up. She knew she could walk, she would sneak out of bed at night while her mother was sleeping to walk around. She realized that she could eat normally and didn't need the feeding tube. When she was 19 she discovered she was older than what her mom had told her and others, she saw her date of birth on a medical card and when she asked Dee Dee she told her it was a mistake on the card. Dee Dee would pump Gypsy full of unnecessary medications through her feeding tube everyday. Was able to convince doctors that Gypsy had these conditions, if she wasn't able to they would go on to the next doctor. They took the word of a mother saying all of these things her daughter was experiencing. If the doctors asked for her prior medical records Dee Dee would tell them that everything was destroyed in Katrina. When Gypsy was "diagnosed" with muscular dystrophy this wasn't the case. Gypsy had to go through a painful procedure to test for muscular dystrophy and the results actually came back as negative, but Dee Dee went on to tell everyone it was positive. Dee Dee gave Gypsy medication that is meant for epilepsy and for those that suffer from it it's a great medication, but for those that don't it has negative effects, such as making Gypsy's teeth crumble to the point that Dee Dee took her in to have them extracted. 

Even more heartbreaking is there were doctors that caught on to what Dee Dee was doing, but nothing was ever done. Child protective services was out to their house 3 times, but nothing ever came from those visits either.

You may be asking if Gypsy was able to why didn't she stand up for herself. The truth is that she was scared of her mother and the abuse that she knew would happen if she did so.  She was too scared to tell anyone and she had to go along with the charade. At one point she was able to get a laptop and a cellphone and would hide it from her mom. She made her own Facebook profile and would chat with people including her friend/neighbor Aleah Woodmansee. Gypsy made one attempt to run away, she met up with a 35 year old man that she met at a convention with her mom. When her mom found out she tracked her down, took her home, smashed her laptop with a hammer and proceeded to drag her across the floor and violently tied her to the bed for a couple weeks and said "if you ever try that again, I'm going to smash your fingers with a hammer."  

One day while talking with Aleah the two of them discussed a Christian dating site that Aleah had been on. Gypsy was intrigued, she longed to have a boyfriend, she wanted her prince charming to come and save her. She snuck her mothers laptop at night to create her profile and chat with guys.

Enter in Nicholas Godejohn. He said all the right things to Gypsy and made her feel beautiful and loved, for awhile she told him that she was sick and confined to a wheelchair and he didn't care. But as things progressed between the two she ended up telling him everything that was going on at home with her mother. Now things got very weird between the 2 lovebirds, I mean real weird. Nicholas told Gypsy that he had multiple personalities, one of them was a 500 year old vampire named Victor who was dark and dangerous. To adapt to these personalities Gypsy came up with her own; there was Kitty who was a little girl, Candy who was the vixen and Ruby who was for Victor specifically, she was a werewolf and was evil. They would video chat while erotic role playing and talking about BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism.) Gypsy didn't realize that she was soon going to be apart of someone taking advantage of her when she was at her most desperate moment.  

They were madly in love and wanted to be together, she knew her mother would never let her go willingly or approve of them meeting online and having a relationship for 3 years behind her back. They came up with a plan, they decided Nick would take a bus from Wisconsin to Missouri and they would have a chance meeting while Gypsy was with Dee Dee out and about acting like they didn't know each other, would strike up a conversation, Gypsy and Nick would start dating shortly after with the blessing of Dee Dee and they would have their happily ever after. The day came, Nick was set to meet up at the movie theater where Gypsy and Dee Dee were seeing the remake of Cinderella, Gyspy was even dressed up as Cinderella per her moms request. Things didn't go according to plan, Nick sat down next to them and Dee Dee immediately thought it was creepy that a grown man was seeing Cinderella and even made comments to him. He left the theater, shortly after Gypsy excused herself to go to the bathroom. The 2 of them met up in the romantic handicap bathroom, the first time ever being alone and in person together. Naturally they got it on right then and there.

After the failed attempt, Gypsy grew desperate. She couldn't take it anymore, it was either going to be her life or her mothers life. She then asked "Victor" a question, "Victor, will you kill me mother." Victor accepted. Gypsy thought of different ways that they could do it, but ultimately she stole a knife from Walmart and decided stabbing her would be the easiest. Gypsy bought Nick/Victors bus ticket, booked his hotel room and got everything ready for him. Victor said I'm going to rape your mother when I'm done, Gypsy told him no I can't let you do that instead you can rape me after.

The night of June 10th, the plan was set in motion, Dee Dee went to sleep, Gypsy met "Victor" at the door, he put on his gloves and told her to go to the bathroom to wait and while in there he wanted her to shave completely and greet him naked. Gypsy went into the bathroom and covered her ears, but she could still hear her mom crying out for her as she was stabbed multiple times.

Afterwards they had sex and then cleaned up, but did a terrible job of it, they left a ton of evidence behind. They took a cab a few hours later to the hotel Nick had been staying in. The were going to take a bus back to Wisconsin to be with Nicks family the next day, but due to a shortage of seats they had to wait a couple days. In the meantime Gypsy was taking Vicodin and Xanax to calm her nerves, she says she wasn't herself. She was worried about the bus station having metal detectors so they mailed the murder weapon to Nicks house and when they got there they would get rid of it. Well as you know they made it to Wisconsin. Gyspy wanted people to know about her mom so she created those Facebook posts so she would be discovered and could have a proper burial and that they would think Gypsy was just another missing person, but as you know plans didn't go the way they had hoped.



Both of them confessed as to what happened to Dee Dee. I won't go into the trials, but you can find them online if you wish to see them. Nick has never been officially diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, but during his hearing Psychologists were brought in to testify that he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and his attorneys argued that this made it difficult for him to discern fantasy vs. reality. Regardless he was sentenced to life in prison.

Gypsy told everyone the truth about her mother, she plead guilty and was sentenced to 10 years. The prosecutor said it would have been easy to try to get life in prison, but Gyspy had "extraordinary and unusual circumstances." Gypsy says she is not happy her mother is dead, and that she loved her, but the abuse was never going to end. That she is working on forgiving her mother and forgiving herself. She is more free today inside prison than she ever was with Dee Dee Blanchard, she is a healthy 27 year old looking forward to a bright future. Her and Nick are not together. She became engaged recently to a man that was a pen pal of hers, her family has met him and approves. She says she now knows what true love really is. Maybe she will get her happily ever after all.

Hard to believe this is the same person.

  

Resource: Analysis of a murder podcast