Melody Farris, the matriarch of a wealthy family spins a tale trying to pin the murder of her husband on her own son. Peter Van Sant reports. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What gruesome discovery was made on July 5th, 2018?
Chapter 2: Who were the key family members involved in the Ferris case?
What did you find as your forensic people took a look at these vehicles?
We found blood, evidence of blood on the vehicles.
Can you show me where?
I can. So on the tractor, we found blood evidence in this area.
Gary's blood. But nothing was found in the front bucket. On the RTV, Hayes says Melody's blood was found on one of the gear shifters. Nothing was found in the back. Hayes considered other scenarios.
There's also a theory that she did it under her own power, rolling him down to the burn pile. It's downhill all the way to the burn pile.
Is there any blood that was discovered going from the house to the burn pile?
Not that we found.
So this still remains a mystery, doesn't it? It does. A mystery, too, for prosecutors Megan Frankish and Jeffrey Fogus.
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Chapter 6: What were the family dynamics in the Ferris household?
She would leave for weeks at a time, and then thousands of dollars would be spent out of the account.
We found text messages where he confronted her and said, you know, your spending is done. We've got to get a handle on this.
So what you're saying is that it was Melody who was facing the potential of having her money lifeline cut off? Pretty much, yes. Was he angry at your spending?
No. I had a debit card. It had his name on it. I was free to use it however I wanted to.
While Melody and Rusty lived in different states, cell phone records show they lived their lives in constant communication. She's on the phone with him every hour of every day. including the early morning hours of July 4th, 2018, a day and a half before Gary was found. When questioned by investigators, Rusty told them that Melody had said something alarming.
So probably the last minute of the last conversation, she said, Gary is in the burn pile. No, she said, he is in the burn pile. And I said, what? Do not say another word and do not tell me anything. I do not need to know.
At that time, only the killer could have known Gary was on the burn pile. Had Melody Ferris confessed to murder, As the investigation continued, she was now the detective's number one suspect. I told them everything I knew. Scott remembered something that happened with his mother the day before Gary vanished. It now seems like foreshadowing.
She comes out of the house with a plate in her hand and she's screaming and cussing. She throws the plate up against the wall of the house and shatters it all into pieces. And she says, I can't wait till that man's dead. I can't wait till I don't have to live with him anymore.
Gary Ferris himself took out his phone and recorded this video. This is what happens when you leave a plate. Of the plate shards scattered on the ground. Three days later, he was dead. On June 18, 2019, after an almost 12-month investigation, detectives say they had gathered enough evidence to charge Melody Ferris with the murder of her husband, Gary. Why did it take a year to arrest Melody?
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Chapter 7: What were the critical pieces of evidence found at the crime scene?
Melody says she told Detective Hayes she'd seen Scott acting suspiciously the day before Gary's body was found.
I said, I saw Scott come from that burn pile.
Did she tell you that? No.
And why would she lie now? You have to look at the timing of the statement. She has nothing to lose. She's going to make all kinds of off-the-wall claims at this point that are just not provable.
Despite a sentence that will likely mean spending the rest of her life in prison, Melody remains determined to prove her innocence. One day you believe you will walk a free woman again?
I certainly hope so. I do. But I will be sitting there right behind my son in court.
And for those who believe you got exactly what you deserved, you say... I didn't do it.
I did not do it. She knows she did it. She needs to stop with the lies. Just come clean. Stop trying to ruin all of our lives because it didn't work out for you. I still haven't been able to figure out why she would do this. I don't know if I ever will.
Melody Farris will be eligible for parole in 2054. She will be 94 years old.
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