Blood and Water: The Husband
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the crime scene reveal about Leslie Prier's last moments?
0:00–1:04
2
How did investigators use Luminol to uncover evidence?
1:04–1:56
3
What was the state of Leslie and Sandy Prier's marriage?
1:56–2:32
4
What led investigators to suspect Sandy Prier?
2:32–3:54
5
What details emerged from Sandy's police interview?
3:54–4:21
6
How did Sandy describe Leslie's drinking habits?
4:21–4:56
7
What evidence raised doubts about Sandy's alibi?
4:56–5:45
8
What new DNA evidence changed the direction of the investigation?
5:45–31:03