The murder of a young father soon uncovers a tangled web of deceit. A second murder is discovered and just may be linked to the first. View source material and photos for this episode at: anatomyofmurder.com/a-tangled-web-part-2/Can’t get enough AoM? Find us on social media!Instagram: @aom_podcast | @audiochuckTwitter: @AOM_podcast | @audiochuckFacebook: /listenAOMpod | /audiochuckllc
Chapter 1: What led to Kevin James' murder?
I'm Anastasia Nicolazzi, former New York City homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction.
And this is Anatomy of Murder. A quick reminder, this is a second episode in a two-part series. So if you haven't yet, go back and listen to part one.
In January of 1998, Kevin James was asleep in his bed when he was shot three times at close range. His execution-style murder left detectives in Moreno Valley, California, searching for clues of who could have wanted him dead.
There were no signs of robbery, but there was a witness, Kevin's 12-year-old son, who claimed that after hearing the gunshots, he saw a man fleeing the house and jumping into a distinctive vintage Buick, a car he knew to belong to a neighbor named George Taylor.
Our main thing was we loved our old cars. And Riviera just looked too nice.
Ever been up to his room?
up to his kid's room, never, ever.
When questioned by Detective Michelle Amicone, Taylor denied having anything to do with Kevin's murder. But inconsistencies in his alibi were raising all kinds of red flags.
He just went all over the place with where he was that night. I want to say it was like a three-hour interview, and nothing was consistent from the beginning to the end. He changed his story two, three times. I mean, nothing was consistent.
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Chapter 2: Who was George Taylor and what was his connection to the case?
Terrence was just sweating and getting really nervous. And Terrence just lays out everything for us.
Believing that he had already been incriminated by George Taylor, Bledsoe laid out his version of the events leading up to Kevin and Taylor's deaths.
He tells us that on the day of Kevin's murder, he was at Shelby's house. Lisa was at Shelby's house. George was there. Everybody was there. Joe, George, everybody. Lisa and Shelby left the house. They went to Big Five Sporting Goods and bought ammo. Came back with the ammo to the house, and he saw the ammo. He saw a gun sitting on the table. The ammunition was absolutely 40 caliber.
He then described how Lisa returned home while he, Jensen and Taylor followed Shelby's instructions to drive to the James's house.
When you went over to Kevin, I want to make sure I have this straight. You were sitting where? I was sitting in the back seat.
And Joe was in the front passenger seat and George was driving.
What Terrence ultimately says when he knows his back's up against the wall finally, and we show him this confession note, he says, okay, okay. I drove to Kevin's with George and Joe, but Joe was the driver and George is the one that got out. George ran inside the house. I heard shots fired. George ran out, got in the passenger side, boom.
He also confirmed Michelle's hunch that the cold-blooded plan was all hatched by Shelby Harris.
He confirms that Lisa and Shelby are having an affair. He confirms that Shelby is the mastermind behind all of this. Shelby told Lisa to sleep in the kids' room, told Lisa to leave the door unlocked when she went to bed. Shelby provided George with the gun.
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Chapter 3: What evidence linked George Taylor to the murder?
You're under arrest for two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder. Two counts of that. So young to be going to prison for the rest of your life.
I got you. I told you, Shelby, this day would come, did I not?
Did I not sit here and look you in the eye and say, Shelby... I'm going to find out who did this. And you said it ain't going to be me. I'm sorry. Man, I can't believe you lied to me.
Shelby Harris, Lisa James, and Joe Jensen were all charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy. They were tried together but heard by three separate juries during one simultaneous trial. And I can tell you, having done one of those myself, they are a challenge for any prosecutor. It's all about the organization.
In the trial, prosecutors painted Shelby Harris and Lisa James as the masterminds of a calculated murder plot to eliminate the one person they believed was standing in the way of their romance, Lisa's husband, Kevin James.
Once they're incarcerated, they weren't in the same cell, but they continue writing letters to each other, Lisa and Shelby now. But they write them in code. So the letters are coded. And their love letters to each other and how much they love each other and they're still going to be together. And that was the whole thing, you know, was to be together.
And so, you know, they just had to get through this trial and be found not guilty. And then their day would come kind of thing. And so it was all about being together.
But on December 18th, 1999, a jury's verdict would decide a much different future for both of them.
They were all found guilty. Lisa, her sentence was 25 years to life. She is now out on parole. And Shelby and Terrence both got life without parole, and they are both still in custody.
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