Chapter 1: What does the crime scene reveal about Leslie Prier's last moments?
This is Debra Roberts, here with another weekly episode of our latest true crime series from ABC and ABC Audio, Blood and Water. Remember, you can get new episodes early by following Blood and Water on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you're listening right now. Here's the next episode of Blood and Water. At a crime scene, blood can tell a story.
When Lauren Prier was briefly allowed back into her parents' house on Drummond Avenue to collect some of her things while the investigation continued, the blood she saw offered a terrifying account of her mother's last moments. She was running for her life. My parents had a long hallway between the front door and our kitchen. There was blood all over the hallway.
It looked like Leslie Prier had struggled against an attacker all across the ground floor until she couldn't. I know she was killed by the front door.
Chapter 2: How did investigators use Luminol to uncover evidence?
There was like this, like her, the back of her head was smashed against the wall. And then there was like bloodstains down the wall. I think she was just trying to escape. When investigators started trying to piece together what had happened, they too followed the blood. They sprayed a chemical called Luminol all over the house.
It glows blue when it comes into contact with even the smallest amount of blood. Thanks to the Luminol, investigators now saw new clues, previously undetectable to the naked eye. Big blue swoops and smears where someone had seemingly tried to clean up even more blood. The luminol showed that Leslie was likely already dead when someone had dragged her body up the stairs and into the shower.
I had to walk through that.
Chapter 3: What was the state of Leslie and Sandy Prier's marriage?
There was still luminol all over the hallway, all the way up the stairs, through the bedroom, my parents' master bedroom. And I stopped at their bed. I couldn't do it. I couldn't go in the bathroom. I couldn't do it. I couldn't. Leslie's last moments were painfully clear to Lauren. But other parts of the story were still a mystery. Like, who was Leslie Preer trying to escape from?
And the scary part was, is that they tried to put it on my father.
Chapter 4: What led investigators to suspect Sandy Prier?
I said, no. I'm like, my dad loved my mom, loved, adored her. I said my dad would never kill my In the days after Leslie's death, investigators turned their attention to Sandy Prier. And just as the luminol had uncovered new details about the story of Leslie's death, there were more revelations to come, this time about the Prier's marriage.
Was this a routine with her to get fairly well inebriated every night? Yes.
From ABC Audio and 2020, I'm Stephanie Ramos, and this is Blood and Water. Episode 2, The Husband. At the time of her death, Leslie had been married to Sandy for 27 years. They met as students in Pensacola, Florida, and got married right out of college in 1974. Their daughter, Lauren, was born a few years later. She showed me family photos of those early days. Who's in this photo?
Well, that's me. Oh. I know. So we're talking, this must have been 1977 when I was born. And this is my Sandy. Gosh.
Chapter 5: What details emerged from Sandy's police interview?
Gosh. And then my mom. So we were a happy family, the three of us. In one of the pictures, Sandy and Leslie sit on a sofa together with baby Lauren on their laps. Leslie looks radiant. Sandy, with his big smile and thick-rimmed glasses, has his arm around her. They look happy. This is Scott. Oh my God, he's so young there. And this is Harlan.
Chapter 6: How did Sandy describe Leslie's drinking habits?
So these are the four brothers and four sisters. Leslie was one of eight siblings. So Lauren grew up with a lot of cousins and the family was close. They would go on vacation together. In-laws like Sandy were welcomed in and became part of the family too. Sandy would write long emails to Leslie's parents, littered with jokes tailored to the recipient. He was funny in a goofy way.
Lauren says her dad could be spontaneous. She showed me pictures of the two of them together. This is the Montgomery County Fair.
Chapter 7: What evidence raised doubts about Sandy's alibi?
I was home from college, and my dad and I just said, let's go to the fair. So off they went, did all the rides. In the picture, Lauren's leaning on Sandy's shoulder, both of them holding fried food and grinning. That's the kind of father my dad was. He'd, on a dime, he would say, if I said, let's go to the fair, he'd be like, let's go to the fair.
Before she worked at the advertising company, Lauren's mom had been a court reporter. Sandy worked at a consultancy firm, a suit and tie job dealing with defense contracts. The three of them moved into the house on Drummond Avenue in 1993 when Lauren was in high school. What was Lauren like back then?
Sweet, soft-spoken, outgoing, mischievous, definitely mischievous.
Chapter 8: What new DNA evidence changed the direction of the investigation?
Bryce Thomas was one of Lauren Prier's best friends back then. They're still close today. When Lauren was in high school, she and her friends would congregate at the Prier house. The whole gang got to know Leslie and Sandy Prier. The couple seemed solid. They were a rare mix, interested in their daughter's life, but cool enough to hang out with.
Mrs. Pierre was always so engaging, you know, made you feel welcome. You know, you don't think about these things too much as a kid. But now when you look back at it, you're like, yeah, she was more involved, really wanted to meet us and figure out who are these kids hanging out with my daughter, you know.
The core group that was often together included Lauren, Bryce, Lauren's best friend Lisa, and Lauren's boyfriend, Eugene, a kid from the neighborhood. The pictures Lauren showed me include awkward teen group photos, but also a lot of her and her parents. Lauren says that as a teenager, she had some rebellious moments, but her relationship with her parents was always good.
When you see photos like these, what comes to mind? That they were the best parents. We just had so much love for each other and we had so much fun together. A lot of people or friends don't have the same relationship with their parents. Do you know what I mean?
Lauren remembers her family as closer than most and their red brick house on Drummond Avenue as the setting for a lot of these happy scenes. But what had been Lauren's home was now a crime scene with new pictures taken by investigators. Instead of a smiling family inside, there were luminal smears and blood drops.
And as the investigators began to piece together the facts of the case, it became clear. Sandy and Leslie Prier were far from picture perfect.
there was only one richard simmons it's sweating time megastar adored by millions then one day he disappeared for a decade where in the world is richard simmons now his closest family and friends speak out for the first time to diane sawyer it had to be in a lot of pain it had to be in a lot of pain and what does richard This is the first time I'm talking about this. Unbelievable! Unbelievable!
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