Chapter 1: What is the background of the Sue Markham murder case?
This show is sponsored by Killer Ken, a podcast from i-D. Family dynamics can be tricky, and sometimes even the people closest to you can become the most dangerous. Killer Ken from i-D explores real cases about how family life can fall deep into manipulation, obsession, and murder.
Unpack what happens when rivalry and desire for control lead investigators and relatives questioning what fueled some of the darkest crimes ever committed. Does evil run in the family? Listen to Killer Ken wherever you get your podcasts. Hi there, everybody. Welcome to 2020 The After Show. I'm Debra Roberts. And as always, it's great to have you with us today.
Chapter 2: How did investigators initially perceive the crime scene?
We are going to do what we always do, which is peel back on a recent 2020 episode and one that we just can't stop talking about around here, which just aired. It's called The Hunt for Mr. Right. And it centers around a beloved American University accounting professor by the name of Sue Markham. And she was known for her kindness and also just her generosity to her students.
And on October 25th, 2010, people were just absolutely shocked when Sue was found murdered in her Bethesda, Maryland home after a friend went to go check on her after not hearing from her. Later on, an autopsy would confirm that she died of a blunt force trauma to her head and she was asphyxiated.
Her house had been ransacked, her car was stolen, and police originally thought this was just maybe some kind of a horrible robbery gone wrong. They had very little to go on in trying to solve this crime. But, of course, investigators began to unravel it, and what they discovered was a web of deception, betrayal, and even a secret relationship that shocked even her closest friends.
They had no idea about this. We're going to reveal emails between Sue and her killer and talk a little bit more about how investigators were able to crack this case and put this puzzle together.
And of course, to help us take a good look at this and to break it all down is our 2020 contributor, Pat Lallama, who is with us on so many of these journeys and brings such clarity and such insight to stories like this, particularly those around women who were victimized. So, Pat, it's so great to have you back with us.
Thank you. I love being here. And I particularly feel very strongly about this episode. And I think we can help our viewers and listeners understand more about why this case happened.
Well, you were just so passionate about it. And one of the things you're always passionate about when you cover these stories with us is it's not just about the crime for you. It's about what happened around the crime and the motivation.
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Chapter 3: What relationship did Sue Markham have with Jorge Landeros?
Right. You know, there was a very big web to untangle with this particular case, but what was it about it that attracted you when you think about Sue Markham, who is this 50-something-year-old, very smart professor, a single woman, and, you know, suddenly killed? What was it that caught your eye right away?
Something very specific. You know that, Deborah, our job in telling these kinds of stories is to help people better understand the criminal justice system. But beyond the actual crime, for me personally and why I became involved in criminal justice coverage is the human condition.
What makes a person do such horrific things at the risk of losing their freedom and their livelihood and their families and their loved ones? Is it that drives us psychologically? And I looked at this case and I saw a very specific thread. And that was a woman brilliant, loving, generous, funny, adored by her students, intelligent, and fell into a trap that most people don't really understand.
Because what I heard throughout covering this case was, well, how could such a brilliant woman let herself be taken over by this one man? It's a complicated thing that happens to us, even if we are intelligent, even if we are successful. Who among us haven't fallen for someone who gave us a good line.
Chapter 4: What were the financial implications in Sue's relationship?
And we looked back later and went, oh, wow, where was I? But she went further with this. And I think we need to explore that.
Before we even get to that and what police eventually discovered, let's just talk about Sue Markham-Patt and what you discovered about her. You said she was this brilliant woman. She had a lot of friends. She was very much into yoga. What did you learn about her?
She was a woman of substance, a Renaissance woman, so to speak. She loved art. She loved music. She loved hanging with her friends. But what really struck me is hearing her students say that she made accounting fun. I think that pretty much encapsulates it, don't you think? Because it's hard to imagine that.
She made accounting fun.
Yeah. So what kind of a person can do that? Another friend said that she was zany. It's not a word we hear very often today, but I think of someone zany being comical.
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Chapter 5: What evidence led police to suspect Jorge Landeros?
I mean, this woman once did accounting for the circus.
Oh, funny.
For Barnum and Bailey.
She had a lot of light.
I think it's fair to say that she was searching for someone. And when she met Jorge Landeros, something struck her. She even said she was enamored from the get-go. And she could never get out of that after.
Well, let's talk about the crime scene. Because this woman, her friends haven't seen her. Police show up. And right away, the crime scene looks terrible. a little strange. The windows have been lifted, electronics piled up, her car has been taken. So initially, this appears to be possibly a burglary.
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Chapter 6: How did Jorge Landeros evade capture after the murder?
That's the route police were taking right away. And then they discover not.
Exactly. So that was at first glance. Remember, it's the initial observations that they're making. And we all do know it is a fact that there were several robberies in around the area over several months time. And so when they saw that her car was gone, when they saw that. Some stereo equipment was moved and other items that, okay.
Oh, and the window, that would end up becoming very important because the theory was, oh, somebody broke in. But later on, they started looking at that screen in the kitchen and realized that the screen was pushed out. Now, why would the screen go that way if you're breaking in? And that's certainly not the way you left if you were the robber. But the big thing was her car being gone.
Now, there were other clues as they started looking at the fact that she was still wearing a relatively expensive necklace. And they started putting pieces together and started looking at documents. And then they realized, not so fast. This does not look like a burglar.
Yeah, yeah. There are always those telltale clues, which we uncover so well, I think, in 2020. Absolutely.
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Chapter 7: What psychological factors contributed to Sue's situation?
What was interesting here was, too, as often happens in our stories, you know, we think things are going in one direction. Her car is stolen. There's an 18-year-old by the name of D'Andrew Hamlin. Police initially think, OK, they've got their guy. And ultimately, he's not the guy. He just happens to steal this car.
This took the case in such a different direction at the time because imagine any investigator is going to go, well, it's got to be related to this guy. I mean, of course, they're going to look into it. But your first thought is, here's this young man. They've got to be on the lookout around the area for this stolen car. And here's this young kid. And he's driving it.
And he gets into a big high-speed chase. And then he's arrested. And You can imagine that police said, we have, this is it. It's him. But then there's no DNA from him in the house.
Nothing connecting him to this case.
Nothing that was stolen from the house, like I believe an Xbox and some other items, is in his home.
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Chapter 8: What was the outcome of Jorge Landeros's trial?
And eventually they realized, is this real? This is not our person. Back to square one.
Yeah, back to square one. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, Pat will share more details about how police unraveled this case.
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Welcome back to 2020 The After Show. I am talking with our contributor, Pat LaLama. And Pat is breaking down the case of Sue Markham, a beloved university professor from Washington, D.C., who was found murdered in her basement. Police find this man, Jorge Landeros. He had been Sue's yoga instructor. He was a Spanish teacher. They had hit it off.
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