Morbid - Episode 531: Tom Bird and Lorna Anderson Eldridge

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

When Sandy Bird was found dead in her wrecked car in the Cottonwood River in the summer of 1983, everyone assumed the thirty-three-year-old Kansas mother of three had misjudged the turn on the one-lane bridge and gone over the side, her death a tragic accident. Similarly, when Martin Anderson was gunned down on the side of a Kansas state road just a few months later, the residents of Emporia, KS believed he was the victim of robbery gone wrong—the kind of random violence that investigators often struggled to solve. What no one knew at the time was that the ostensibly accidental death of Sandy Bird and the tragic murder of Martin Anderson were in fact linked by a conspiracy of Sandra’s husband, Tom Bird, and his mistress, Lorna Anderson, designed to rid themselves of their respective spouses. Unfortunately, their plot began unraveling just a few weeks after Martin’s murder and both Tom and Lorna were arrested for the murders, along with their co-conspirators, and eventually went to trial. While the murders shocked the communities in rural Kansas, the most unbelievable aspect of the case was that the killers were a Lutheran pastor and his devout secretary.Thank you to the wonderful, David White of the Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance!ReferencesClose, Dan. 1984. "Minister is accused of soliciting murder." Wichita Eagle-Beacon, March 22: 1.—. 1984. "Minister ordered to stand trial." Wichita Eagle-Beacon, June 1: 1.—. 1983. "Slaying victim's wife held." Wichita Eagle-Beacon, November 24: 1.—. 1983. "Unanswered questions plague K-177 tragedy." Wichita Eagle-Beacon, November 8: 1.Hayes, Jean. 1985. "Jury in bird trial begins deliberations." Wichita Eagle, July 23: 51.Hays, Jean. 1985. "Bird's wife described as unhappy." Wichita Eagle, July 12: 15.Kraft, Scott. 1986. "‘We Don’t Have These Type of People Out Here’ : Murderous Affair Shocks Kansas Town." Los Angeles Times, March 17.—. 2004. "Who Killed Sandy?" Los Angeles Times Magazine, May 2.State of Kansas v. Thomas Bird. 1986. 240 Kan. 288 (Supreme Court of Kansas, December 5).State of Kansas v. Thomas P. Bird. 1985. 708 P.2d 946 (Supreme Court of Kansas, October 25).United Press International. 1985. "At first no one paid uch attention ." United Press International: Domestic News, August 4.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

You're listening to AmorBid Network Podcast. After death, bad magic, add free by subscribing to Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. Hey weirdos, I'm Alina, I'm Ash, and this is Morbid. I am my guard, it's Morbid again. Oh my God, it's morbid again. Oh my God. How have you guys been? How have you been? Good.

Tell us right now. Bad? Painous? I hope not. Everybody's like, it's been a long year. It's like that meme that's like, we're three days in. We're three days in. But you know, it's not right.

It hasn't been that long of a year. It's okay. Yeah. You know, there were beautiful little whimsical flurries in the air this morning. Really? For a little bit. And I said, oh, and then they went away. I didn't see those.

Yeah. There's going to be big old flurries this weekend. Yeah. And I'm actually pretty excited. I am too. It didn't snow at all last year. Yeah. It didn't snow literally at last year. Yeah, it didn't snow literally at all and the girls love snow.

And I can't wait to see Sydney and Blanche in snow. Oh, that's gonna be cute. Because they're gonna lose their damn minds. See, the thing that I like about the snow is staying out of it, but watching it. I like being in my house like Kosia's hail. Make it- Kosia's hail. As hail.

I like to make some pancakes from scratch. If it's a snow storm and then maybe have it like a little, a little pancake party. A little pancake party. I like that. I like that. Watch a documentary or like a movie just like cozy. See with kids of a certain age.

Oh yeah, that's. You just know that your snow day is going to be spent putting on and off wet snow suits all day and having red cheeks. But also having so much fun because sledding with them is hilarious. Oh, I love sledding with them. And also with dogs now, it's going to be cleaning up all the dog like shenanigans when they run in from the snow. So it'll be pretty relaxing weekend.

Yeah, I have like a couple more years before I have to do that. And even after that, a couple more years because newborns don't go in the snow. Yeah, no, I'm not gonna take my newborns. That's a bad idea. I think they advise a good start. You're good for a little while.

Yeah, that's kind of nice. I have like six years at least. Well, no, I'm probably like, no, maybe like four or five. Yeah. I don't know. Once they hit two, you're doomed. I got like five years, hopefully anyways. Well, that's my timeline. Well, babies, that's my soul focus. But anyways, timeline holds yours. You're like, well, babies. Babies, that's my soul focus. But anyways, my soul focus for this hour is really, really tragic true crime case. Oh, what a lovely truth, soul focus.

Yeah, that's my job right now. That's my job. That's my job, that's your job. Yeah, that's our job. So yeah, I have a story about like a love rectangle. Love rectangle. A love rectangle. Correct, or square if you will. Okay.

But two of the parts of the rectangle square did not know what was going on and it's a cheating scandal. Oh no. It's awful. And it's terrible. God. It's got like preachers in there being bad.

Oh my. It's wild, okay? You, the affairs that your cases have been shedding light on. I am in a place of affair with my cases. Well, thank you for having with your cases. Of course. So I quite literally just got married and I would quite literally never have an affair and drew quite literally would never because whoo! Woo! Woo! Oh my God!

Stress! But uh, but my case is they're all up in there. Well, it's because I like a little bit of a scandalo and then also I think it's the high societies that I usually do. Oh, yeah, and they're all tuning on each other. God always has an affair. This is not high society. This is Kansas. Just a fair.

It's just a Kansas affair. And you love Kansas too. I love the, I love the, yeah. Oh shit. Kansas was in my last story. The vibes of your cases are right. You were in Kansas earlier this week. I was in Kansas. Yeah. I hate Kansas. On TM. On TM. All right. So let's start. I'd say we're not in Kansas anymore, but we are. But we are. I was like, you can't say that, because we are in Kansas. I thought it was really Kansas.

Kansas. So like I said, in Kansas. You definitely did. But we're not there. That's what she said, we're in Kansas. We're in Kansas. Here we are in Kansas. Reporting from...

Wait, some just, okay, we'll get it done eventually, but sometimes on TikTok, I get like news gone wrong clips. Do you ever get those? And it's like the girl, and she looks in the camera and she goes, I so pale. And the little lady's like, we're live. And she's like reporting live from... Then I just make reporting live from Kenzass. I'm so pale from Kenzass. Oh, God, I almost got the hiccups.

You know when you're about to get one? Oh, man. Yeah. I'm not a fish and I don't have gills. I'm glad we could be with you through that. So we can hold your hand through that. Don't touch me. Try again.

So let's start. When Tom and Sandy Bird packed up their three children and left West Memphis, Arkansas, or Kansas in 1982, everybody assumed that they were off to bigger and better opportunities. Tom had graduated with a master's degree in sacred theology in 1976, which like, that, I feel like that would be like kind of a fun degree to get. Is he the preacher? Correct. What do I have in a way? You know, it's sacred theology to me just felt like it might be something a preacher would take. But doesn't that's, I think I would take that.

It sounds very important. It sounds whimsical as fuck. Sacred theology. Yeah, I'm not saying it sounds easy. Like I don't want anybody to get that impression. It's just sound impression. Very interesting. Yeah, I feel as though I would be interested in that.

But anyways, he had graduated with that master's degree in sacred theology. Sounds like Hollywood. It does. Sacred theology. It's just like you have to say it. Yeah. But then ever since that he had been working as an associate pastor in Little Rock, like, you know, pastoring.

Yeah. His big hope though was to one day lead his own congregation and the opportunity finally came in 1982 when the Lutheran church, Missouri Synod, assigned Tom the task of establishing a new congregation in Emporia, Kansas. So while he worked to build up the new faith Lutheran church,

Sandra split her time between, listen to everything she was doing. I'm listening. Raising their three children ages two, three, and five. Damn. Which, like, just do that. Damn. Alone and like you're a hero in my eyes.

She was also teaching part-time at Emporia State University. And at the same time pursuing a graduate degree in computer mathematics. Sandra! Like, I'm sorry, what? Bop bitch alert. I'm sorry. Did you just say superwoman? I alert. Did you just say superwoman? I did.

Did you just say wonder woman? Synonymous. Yeah, do you give it all? Because that's what I heard, Sandra. Sandra, superwoman, wonder woman, doing it all. And the thing was both of them at this time were both thriving in their new roles. And by the end of the year,

the faith Lutheran church had become an established part of the community with the church elders praising Tom as one of the best spiritual leaders they ever had. Quote unquote. The church elders always sounds like it's from Middle Earth. Doesn't it? It really does.

Like I know that's a real thing. And I know like there's like town elders and shit. There's town elders. I think so in some towns. That's cool. I feel. They had them in Gilmar Girls. So maybe I'm just making that up.

I think those are just townies. No, they call them the town elders. They had to speak to for Luke to buy a certain house. You know, you guys don't care. Oh yeah, you're right. But they had to talk to the town elders about it in a sauna. Yeah. So that's where I would be if I was a town elder.

I feel like church elders and town elders. It was a Tom elders. Any kind of elders, I feel like is very Middle and Tom, it was a Tom elders. Any kind of elders, I feel like it's very Middle Earth. Yeah, I agree. Did you even just like the elderly? Just, yeah, just the elderly is very low. The elderly is a feeler and a Buffy. And Mikey just said he's the pod lab elder.

You are, you're from Middle Earth. It's true. What earth am I from then? I'm the pod lab child. I thought you were from then? I'm the pod lab child. I thought you were just gonna say you're the pod lab. I'm just the pod lab. No, but anyways, these elders of the church, they said that he was the fucking tits

except they didn't say it like that. I was wondering, no. From the outside, Tom and Sandy's marriage, of course, looked strong. That does their boat well,ode well for reality. No. It was the type of relationship that their friends and family admired and actually aspired to. But like I'm always saying, behind closed doors, things between the couple were not how they appeared to be to everybody on the outside.

Tom's work at the church was keeping him busier than he'd ever been before. And obviously, Sandy's responsibilities at work, school, and home left her really little time to pay attention at Tom. And privately, he complained to his friends about Sandy's job and the fact that she never had any time for him. And she likewise confided to friends that she was worried that he didn't love her anymore. Oh jeez. So it's like they were both just really steering away from each other at this point in time. Yeah, growing apart. Yeah, definitely. Outside of the church, Tom's greatest passion was for sports,

and he wasted no time getting involved in local athletics, which totally cool to have a hobby, but if you feel like your wife has no time for you and you're trying to make time for each other, why go out and grab a hobby? Grab a hobby, that's like a way from each other. Yeah, because he joined the Optimist Club basketball team, and then he became the first baseman

for the church softball team. So it's like, you didn't even get one hobby, you got two. But anyways, it was through sports that he met Martin Anderson and his wife, Lorna. Martin and Lorna Anderson had moved to Emporia from Hutchinson, Kansas in the mid 1970s. And just like Tom and Sandy, they also had several young children between two and eight years old. Martin Anderson managed the laboratory at Newman

Hospital, and he also had a love of sports. So that's how him and Tom kind of got along and struck up a casual friendship. They didn't know it when they first met, but the couples had a lot more in common than just sports. Like Tom and Sandy Sandy by 1982, the cracks in Martin and Lorna's marriage had started to show, unfortunately. But neither of them really seemed like they wanted to address the problem or they could address the problem. In 1982, Lorna alarmed a friend when she casually asked whether or not he knew someone who would kill her husband.

I'm sorry, that escalated so fucking quickly. Sure did. It went from like, they're pretty Instagram curated on the outside and like some shits, you know, kind of unravel a little bit on the inside to like, she was actively trying to get a hit on her husband. I think that's how the friend that she asked felt.

Like, whoa, this really escalated. I know you guys were like growing apart or whatever, but I always wonder, what kind of friend do you think you have? What kind of friendship do you have where you feel comfortable asking that person if they, first of all, confiding that you would like your husband murdered? Yep.

And then two, thinking your friend knows somebody that could get your husband murdered. And then two, thinking your friend knows somebody that could get your husband murdered. It's like there's many dynamics involved in that friendship that I myself am just not privy to in my friendships. I would call that a point in your columns. But yeah, like I love my friends. But one, I don't want to kill my husband. That's good.

But two, I don't think any of them know someone who would if I wanted to. Well, don't ask because you'll end up in a story later. It's just always kind of wild to me. I'm like, wow. Yeah. It's like when two serial killers find each other, I'm like, how'd that conversation start? It's true.

Like did one of you be like, hey, do you know what I do sometimes? And it's like the other one's like, same. Same these. Where does that happen? That's it. Lorna just feels like I'm like, hey, do you know what I do sometimes? And it's like the other one's like, same. Like, where does that happen? That's it. Lorna just feels like I'm like, that was bold. It was bold. And her friends felt that way too. Bold and reckless.

Yeah, because her friend was like, I don't actually know anybody that would kill anybody. It's specifically not your husband. Also, what? She's like weird, weird conversation. Yeah. Like this was kind of alarming. But Lorna was like, oh my god, I'm just kidding.

Jk. Just joking, girly. I'm so so jokie. But that incident obviously hinted at the problems that would later escalate way beyond measure. This show is sponsored by Care Of. And Care Of is a subscription service that ships high quality, personalized vitamins, supplements, and powders conveniently to your door every single month. New Year's is right around the corner, I can't believe it. And Care Of wants to celebrate you with a personalized experience that will help you feel like you're U-ist. Push against sameness and celebrate what makes each of us unique. All you have to do to get started

is take a short, simple online quiz about your lifestyle and health goals, and CAROV will give you doctor-backed recommendations. It's that easy, and that is exactly what I did. I absolutely love a little morning ritual, and CAROV just fit completely seamlessly into my morning ritual. I went online, I took the quiz,

I answered all the questions about myself because who knows me better than me, and I got the whole list of the vitamins and supplements that I should be taking. I said, check out, I'll take them all, and then they came to my door and like I said, I just put them right in my morning routine. I feel so good, I feel so healthy, and I feel like they really care about me because it's care of so for 50% off your first care of order Go to take care of comm and enter code morbid 50 again That's 50% off your first care of order by going to take care of comm and enter code morbid 50 This show is sponsored by better help It's a murder on the dance floor, and you better get better help. Listen guys, this New Year I watched Saltburn, evidently.

But I did other stuff too. I made New Year's resolutions, but I didn't get crazy with it because around New Year's we get obsessed with how to change ourselves. Instead of just expanding on what we're already doing right, maybe you finally organized one part of your space. I did. I did my closet, and now I want to tackle another space. Or maybe you're taking supplements every morning and now you want to actually eat breakfast too. Therapy helps you find those strengths so that you can ditch the extreme resolutions and make changes that really stick. If you're thinking of

starting therapy, I definitely recommend giving BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule, and all you have to do is fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Personally, I'm such a big proponent of therapy. I think every single person on this planet could benefit from a little one-on-one with a therapist. Celebrate the progress you've already made. Visit BetterHelp.com slash Morbid today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, dot com slash morbid. That same year, Lorna had her attorney

actually prepare divorce papers, which you know, maybe you should have gone there first. A little backwards, but later she claimed that Martin talked her out of the divorce. So, messy, messy, messy everywhere. So the man you were fully willing to have killed talked you out of divorcing him? I feel like you should be like, no,

this is better for both of us. Yeah. Very much for you. You would think. Well, in early 1983, Lorna appeared to be the quintessential Midwestern housewife. She was delicate, vulnerable, she doted on her husband and children. She was always, quote, quick to smile and quick to cry.

That's why people described her. Okay. But under the surface, however, she was deeply unhappy in her marriage, as we know, and also, as we know, desperately looking for a way out. Oh, this is upsetting. Privately, she told friends that Martin was abusive toward her and sometimes toward the children. Oh no. I don't know how true that is, personally. It was that desperation, though, that eventually led her to accept a part-time job as Tom Bird's

secretary at Faith Lutheran just a few weeks after their first meeting. It sounded at first, like maybe she was kind of trying to like beef up some personal funds and try to become more independent to prepare to get out of her marriage. That's the vibe I got at first, but then I read more about it and I was like, I don't think that you had your intentions with this. And unfortunately she wasn't solely focused on her job once she got it. Later she said, I had a real problem not feeling good about myself. Tom was very supportive, very encouraging. I bet.

I'm sure he was. I bet. So the new job got Lorna out of the house and offered new opportunities for socialization. Goodbye. Goodbye. But what she really liked most was talking to Tom. At first, the relationship was casual, it was friendly, but within a month or two, friends

and church members were noticing some things. And specifically, they were noticing kind of an intimacy between Tom and Lorna that was usually absent in friendly relationships, friendly platonic relationships. And people who are married to other people. Yeah. Tom insisted though that their closeness was quote unquote, due to the counseling he was giving his secretary and nothing more. Uh-oh. Just like, remember that other case that I did, the Don Hackney murder?

Yes. And that all had to do with counseling? Yep. Not good. That's always the excuse. Now, in no time at all, Tom became Lorna's primary confidant. He was a shoulder to cry on every time things weren't going well at home. And within a few months of starting the job, the relationship became sexual.

Looking back, she said, he told me that I was not what he needed and a wife, but that he could make me into what he needed. Sweet. Um, what? And you wanted to continue? What? I feel like that should have been his like,

how he breaks up with you. Like, the first part of this. That doesn't sound like a compliment. And I can make you into what I need. I don't like that at all. The fuck? And he's like, you're not what I need for like a life partner, but like I could, I could like mold you into what

I need right now. It's like, what about that sounds appealing. Couldn't tell you. Oh boy. Yeah, sad. But as Tom and Lorna's relationship grew, so did the suspicion and the rumors about them spreading around the church. According to journalist Scott Kraft, witnesses described an electricity between the two and

said they had pet names for each other. Oh, ew. Guys, you should try to hide this a little better. Like you're having an actual affair. But to try to avoid being found out, they started meeting in nearby towns or renting motel rooms in the country where they knew that they could be together away from the prying eyes of small town Emporia. Despite their efforts at secrecy, Lorna couldn't help but tell someone about her relationship

with Tom. This is where it begins. Uh-huh. One night in January, before her affair with Tom had actually begun though, she went out for drinks with one of her friends and actually her supervisor Jan Mead. When the conversation turned to guys, relationships, all that, Lorna stunned Jan when she told her about her crumbling marriage and admitted that she had cheated on her husband more than once in the past. And again, that was before she had even started sleeping with Tom.

Oh damn. Yeah. With that second confession, it was most likely less of a surprise when just a few months later, Lorna told Jan that she had taken the job at the church to be close to Tom. Oh, so she had like intentions going into this. It wasn't like I just want to... According to what she told Jan. That's what it sounds like. Yeah.

Now, she told Jan, Tom and I are seeing each other and this is one chance that we have to be alone and I enjoy working there. Just a few months later, she would tell Jan, I know this sounds really awful, but I just wish something would happen to Marty and Tom's wife so we could be together for the rest of our lives.

There's like such, what is the word divorce? I think it's divorce is what could happen for both of you. Yeah, and then you could be together. Just know that you want that, be final in your terms. Like you're not gonna be able to talk me out of this. I want a divorce. Hell, even say I'm cheating on you, I want a divorce. Yeah, and it's like, that's the thing.

And it's like, we don't know like, cause Lorna was claiming later that Martin was abusive. We don't know what the situation was. So there's also that to take into consideration. Cause like I immediately am like, just get a divorce. Like Tom, get a divorce from your wife. Like just divorce your partners and be together if that's where you really want.

Like you don't need to have an affair. Right. Like there's an out here. But then I'm like, if you put in there, if that is true, which we don't know, if that is true that he's abusive towards her and the children, then maybe that is the most dangerous time for somebody in an abusive relationship

is trying to get out of it. And that's important to say. So there is that, to at least hang onto there, when we're like, guys, what the fuck? Right. Still not saying it's awesome to like have an affair because it's with somebody else's husband too. And it's like also kind of your friend.

Yeah. Well, a little bit, I guess. Sort of like not really. Not really, but like you knew that he has a wife, you know? And you knew of her. Yeah, like you know of her. Yeah. So that's not cool, but like, I guess me quickly saying

like get a divorce is like me saying it without having knowledge of being in an abusive relationship that allegedly, you know, an allegedly abusive relationship. Exactly. It's important to at least consider in that situation. It is a consideration. Very good point. But Lorna wasn't the only one trying to escape a crumbling marriage, as we know. Tom and Sandy's relationship was also falling apart, which was pushing Tom closer to Lorna.

Like the other members of the church, Sandy just recognized it for what it was. And Tom won an outright admit to the affair, but he didn't exactly shy away from his unhappiness in the marriage and constantly complained like we know that Sandy's work and education left her little time for him. And it's definitely not his sports hobbies and having a full blown affair. No, no, no.

It's definitely Sandy's work and education and taking care of the children. That's the other thing I love. Like you're complaining that like, she's taking care of the kids too much. Yeah, taking care of those kids. She's working, bettering herself. What about me?

Educating herself. Here I am playing baseball. Right. A little bit basketball. Yeah. A little bit of a fair. And pursuing my own dreams. And she's the problem.

And like, that's the other thing It's like okay. She's pursuing her dreams. Yeah, you're acting like you don't have any dreams to pursue You're pursuing your dream right now You wanted to lead your own personal congregation and here you are doing it That's a thing like she do the thing that makes her happy if you had a strong relationship Then this would not be a problem and you guys could understand that it might be a little tough for a little while And you might not see each other as much But you're working towards goals and once you get there things will be different. Yeah, exactly. Kids will get older, things get a little easier,

like you see more of each other, but this obviously was not a relationship that could stand that test. No, and I think the thing was Tom had always envisioned a marriage where his wife would be content just being a pastor's wife. Yeah, that seemed like it to me. That's not Sandy. And I had to imagine that part of him knew that, getting into a marriage. You must have known that she had all these aspirations, or maybe I'm just assuming. Well, I mean, she's already doing this stuff.

Like, you know, she's a very motivated, highly, like, you know, dedicated, and just like, driven, exactly, like driven human being. And it's like, so why is this a shock to you that she's still that way? Right. And just also putting into your kids and stuff too. And I feel like that's what happens a lot in marriages that like that, like we cover when we hear this, it's like, well, I what you sought out and it's like and you should be upfront about that Yeah, exactly someone know but I I wonder if it was when he started

Having an affair with Lorna that he realized what he wanted. Yeah, I wonder if that's really what it was Yeah, and what he wanted he often complained to Lorna was, quote, considered being a pastor's wife a full-time job. Good luck. Interesting. So the more time he spent away from home, the more Sandy began to worry about the marriage. Eventually the worry started actually affecting her health and well-being. She was losing weight, she was having trouble sleeping, and like I said, this was when on more than one occasion she was telling friends, I'm afraid he doesn't love me anymore.

Aw, which is like heartbreaking. Truly gut-runching. Later, Sandy's friend, Angie Doosing, would say that Sandy, quote, was hurting a lot over her husband's relationship with his secretary. According to Angie, whenever the subject of marriage came up, quote, Sandy's voice would break and her eyes would fill with tears. Oh, I just want her to get out of there. Yeah.

Because I'm like, it's perfectly acceptable if somebody wants to consider being a pastor's wife a full-time job. Absolutely. If that's what fulfills you, then like more power to you. If that's what you want. But if that's not you, then like somebody else, bye. Yeah.

But by summertime, Sandy's attitude towards her husband's not-so-subtle infidelity had changed. Her mother Jane explained to reporters that Sandy felt like her life was good in the eyes of God and that it was up to Tom to make sure that his was. And in early June, she ended up getting a promotion at Emporia State University, so that meant she was going to begin teaching additional classes in the fall, which to her was a welcome distraction from the increasingly dysfunctional marriage.

But unfortunately, she would not live long enough to embrace or experience that career advancement. Oh, come on. Despite their spouse's best attempts to address the problems in their respective marriages, neither Tom or Lorna seemed particularly interested in the marriages anymore. Instead, they convinced themselves

that they were meant to be together, and their marriages were nothing more than a roadblock to their happy future. Okay, then leave them. And that's the thing, their problem could have been somewhat remedied by getting a divorce. Obviously, we've talked about Lorna's particular issue surrounding that. Potential issue. Potential, exactly.

Which we have no proof whether that's true or not. Exactly. So it's like, if that's the case, then yeah, that's a roadblock. That's a roadblock for sure. If not, then what are you waiting for? But the other thing was, and this is according to later witness testimony, and this is a quote, Lorna didn't want to divorce because Martin Anderson had a large insurance policy and she wanted money, not the divorce.

So that was at least a part of it according to witnesses. And divorce also wasn't a permanent solution to what they really wanted at the end of the day. Martin and Sandy completely out of their lives. Don't have children with people that you want completely out of your life because that will never be the case. Exactly.

But at the end, if they had just divorced their respective spouses, Tom and Lorna would have likely found themselves with a net deficit. He would end up paying Alamone and a lot of child support with three children, and she would be responsible for four small children with little more than Alamone to support them. So instead, together, they devised a wicked scheme

where they would kill Sandy and stage the scene to look like an accident, and then they would use the money from Sandy's life insurance policy Which was valued at three hundred thousand dollars to hire somebody to kill Martin Anderson so this is like Dibs a bollacle damn so Tom was like well will kill my way if make it look like an accident Get the money from her life insurance and with that money hire somebody to kill your husband?"

Wow. And they came up with that together, evidently. Damn. In May 1983, Lorna contacted her friend and former lover, Darrell Carter, and asked him to meet her at the church, saying that she had something important to discuss with him. He went to the church a few days later, completely unaware of what Lorna actually wanted to talk to him about, and when he arrived, Lorna introduced him to Tom, who was also there to meet Daryl Carter.

They explained that they were in love and wanted to be together, but that couldn't happen as long as they remained married to other people. Lorna explained that they had come up with this plan to murder Sandy and Martin, but they needed Daryl's help in order to pull it off. Initially, Darrell Carter was like, absolutely not. I don't want anything to do with murder. And also, why don't you just get divorced from your spouses if you want to be together?

Same question everybody's having. They're like, guys, there's an easier way. But Tom explained that he loved Lorna and was going along with the plan in order to help her get out of an abusive marriage. He told Carter, Lorna didn't want a divorce because Martin Anderson had a large insurance policy and she wanted the money. And Daryl Carter explained that he wasn't a killer and he had never engaged in anything like what they had planned,

to which Tom replied, Have neither. I'm a man of God and I'm going to kill Martin Anderson. Implying that his actions were rooted in love for Lorna. Wow. But that he was still a man of God and I'm going to kill Martin Anderson Implying that his actions were rooted in love for Lorna Wow, but that he was still a man of God Yeah, obviously isn't it like a commandment like thou shall not kill I feel like that's a pretty solid one. I think that's a yeah I think that's one that's like there's really no interpreting that any different. Yeah, I don't like word on the street Yeah, I don't know that's kind of a big one, but who knows. So it's rather unclear why Daryl Carter didn't just walk away from this conspiracy then and there, but instead of doing the rational thing, he stuck around to hear their plans. As Lorna and Tom saw it, there were two viable ways to successfully achieve their ends.

In the first plan, they would get Martin drunk or drug him and then put him in his car and take him to a remote location in the country and push the car over an embankment, making it appear like a drunk driving accident. If they went with this scenario, Daryl Carter's role would be to pick Tom up at the accident site and drive him back to the house, leaving Lorna at home all night with an alibi. The second option involves staging a robbery- uh, staging, excuse me, a robbery at the home where Martin stayed each month during his army reserve duty and shooting him to death, making it appear like a robbery gone wrong. And actually,

if they went with the second option, they wouldn't actually need Daryl's help. So Daryl was like, wow. Okay, a lot to unpack here. Oh, sure. I was just gonna say that's a lot to consider. He's like upsetting that I know you. Yeah. So he left the church completely stunned after telling both of them that he was going to need some time to think about this before getting back to them. A few days later, when they still hadn't heard from him, Tom actually ended up paying a visit to the construction site where Daryl was working and was like,

did you make up your mind, dude? But Daryl told Tom that he still needed more time to think about it. And a short time later, he called Lorna and told her that he couldn't help them with their plan and assumed that without his involvement, they would drop the whole idea. I was like, wow. Good that you didn't help them. Bad that you didn't report this. That's the thing. You could have saved two people's lives at the end of the day.

Now, on the evening of July 16th, just a few days after learning about her promotion at the university, Tom suggested that he and Sandy go out to dinner in a movie to celebrate the occasion. After the movie ended, they went home around 9.30pm and Sandy ran inside to grab a bottle of pink champagne for herself and a bottle of whiskey for Tom. And she told the babysitter that they'd be back in about an hour. According to Tom, they then went back to his office at the church where they had a couple drinks

and then parted ways when Sandy left to go to her office at the university with plans to return a short time later to pick up Tom after he had gone over his sermon for the next morning. Which like, this already sounds weird. Wow. You just went on a date, you're celebrating something, you have a couple drinks together

and now you're going your separate ways to get work done? I don't think so. Maybe, but it's just a little weird. And also, wow, to get your sermon done. Well, that's what's really struck out to me. Yeah. So Tom claims that he went out for a jog to think about his sermon and return to the church expecting to find Sandy waiting

because she was supposed to pick him up, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. After a little while longer, he got concerned and walked around town for a little while looking for Sandy before finally returning to home to relieve the babysitter without Sandy. On the morning of July 17th, Sandy Bird's body was discovered by Kansas State Trooper John Rule,

when he stopped to investigate what looked like an accident when a car went over an embankment on Rocky Ford Bridge. When Rule made his way down to where the car landed, he found Sandy's body lying face down in the river, just in front of her overturned car. Based on the scene, it looked like Sandy had missed the two 90 degree S-curves leading to the bridge, and then went through the railing and over the embankment to the river below, obviously causing fatal injuries in the process. But, while the scene appeared to be that of an accident, almost from the moment he arrived, something about it didn't feel right to the officer. He told Scott Kraft in a 1985 interview,

I started to feel hinky about the whole thing. Hinky, I like that. For one thing, there were no skid marks anywhere on the road, leading up to the point where the car went over the bridge. That would stick out. So that's strange. Yeah. And while she might have missed the original curve

sending her in the direction of the railing, surely she would have tried to stop the vehicle at some point before it went over the edge. You would think. Right? The lack of skid marks on the road was not the only problem. There was other evidence that directly contradicted what had ostensibly happened on Rocky Ford Bridge. Officer Ruhl found Sandy's watch under the bridge, far away from the car and the body, with no obvious explanation

as to how it had gotten there. And even more troubling were the spots of blood that he discovered on the bridge, on the guardrail, and on the leaves on the trees below. Oh jeez. So how did that happen? Yeah. He told Kraft, I thought something happened on that bridge. But before he could investigate any further, additional officers and emergency workers

arrived on scene and they started trampling on any evidence as they removed the car and Sandy's body. Awesome. And he's not like a homicide officer. He just happened to be the officer that stumbled upon this. Oh, jeez. So that's not even like his expertise. But he brought his concerns to the sheriff

who immediately dismissed his theory, telling him it was highly unlikely that anyone would kill a preacher's wife. What? Why is this like a weird running idea? Isn't it? That like preachers and preachers wives are like just immune to all the things. Like no one would kill a preacher's wife and it's like what? Somebody who's mad about religion maybe.

Somebody who's fucking a preacher. Yes, somebody who's fucking a preacher. Like what are like things happen like people are not good all the time. Like what I love that like that job it's like it affords you like immune it couldn't possibly and it's like, everyone could possibly. Of course. Have you not seen that time and time again? Evil is in the world.

Like it doesn't just because you have a job where you walk around saying that everybody should stop being shitheads. And I'm the extra not shithead because I'm a pastor. Right. Doesn't mean that you're not a shithead. Have you ever heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing? Exactly. I'm like, anybody like they're not above it. I'm like, anybody, like they're not above it.

No, they should be, but they're not. I can name you, there's a whole fucking show dedicated to it actually. But Ruhle later said there was a mountain of evidence down there if you had been working a homicide. I was sure she didn't die in a traffic wreck, but I didn't have the training to prove otherwise. Which must have been so frustrating. Oh man, that must have been so frustrating to feel it in your bones that like you know what you saw and what you saw wasn't right.

And to have everybody tell you, no, nobody would kill a preacher's husband or a preacher's life to prove this, but I don't know how. And he doesn't want to like fuck it up more. So he's just like stuck between a rock and a hard place. Right. And if I mean, you're reporting to the sheriff like. Yeah. And you don't want to contaminate shit

or make certain things if you did find it, be inadmissible, you know? You're not gonna get yourself into trouble. Like there's a whole laundry list of things that would make this incredibly frustrating. So the coroner essentially agreed with the sheriff that Sandra Bird's death was the result of a tragic accident and nothing more.

In his autopsy, Dr. Juan Gabriel noted that many of Sandy's injuries could have resulted in death, but the most likely cause of death was a transacted kidney, which he stated was the kind of injury people receive in motor vehicle accidents. Despite some of the evidence contradicting the coroner's findings, like Sandy only having a small trace of alcohol in her blood, no one contested the findings, and the cause of death was officially logged an accident. And it's like, just like- And you're just getting ignore all the other stuff, like no skid marks or anything? Wipe your hands of that.

No, wow. Preacher's wives don't use their brakes. No, of course not. They're immune to that. Like what? So when officer Scott Cronk delivered the news to Tom Bird that morning, he was surprised by the preacher's reaction and he started to feel a little bit like officer John Rule was feeling.

Tom responded to the officer asking, what was she doing out there? We never go out there. Where is it? What? Like, first of all, so many questions. Second of all, strange questions. Strange questions and you're really going like right off the bat being like, she's never gone there. We never go there.

I've never seen that road ever. What's a road? What is a road? Who's a car? A vehicle? What? Huh? Nope.

Talking about a pterodactyl? What? I don't know what that is. It struck Krunk as strange that Tom would immediately assert that his wife never went to the location she was discovered. Before even knowing where that location was, by the way. That's tough. Because he said, we never go there, where is it? You don't know where it is, but you also know that you've never gone there.

I just know that we have never been there. You don't even know where it is. Like what? But that wasn't the only thing that seemed off. I just know that we have never been there. You don't even know where it is. What? But that wasn't the only thing that seemed off. In Tom's version of events, when Sandy didn't arrive to pick him up, he ran around town looking for her. It seemed a bit strange, at least to this officer and a few others, that he wouldn't just call the babysitter first to find out if Sandy had just gone home and maybe forgot

to pick him up. Immediately, he assumed the worst. Obviously. Why? But like, rule suspicions, officer rule there. Officer Cronk put his own curiosities out of his head, not wanting to assume a religious leader capable of anything nefarious because you know that never happens. No, you cannot consider that ever. You just can't. So although he had acknowledged the coroner's determination that Sandy's death was accidental, Officer John Rule just couldn't shake the feeling that everyone had either gotten something wrong or was just simply ignoring the obvious. Yeah.

He recalled, I kept thinking, what was she doing out there alone after dark? And although he struggled to imagine someone wanting to kill a preacher's wife as well. Because at this point it's been put in his head, I guess, he was convinced that he had come upon the scene of a homicide that night and he wasn't ready to let it go. So he quietly continued to pursue the case on his own. Oh, John Rule. I know a teenager and I was trying to figure out credit, it was like, whoo, the blind leading the blind baby.

My friends would be like, do this. And I'd be like, I tried, but I don't have a credit score. And luckily now I do. I think most people do. But old school banking just isn't working anymore. They ding you with ridiculous fees. They play games with your money and they want you to get into debt. So stop banking old and get current, the future of better banking.

I personally got the current card, and let me tell you, it's a cute card. It's cuter than all my other cards that I have. Current is banking and credit building together. They make it easy to get paid as soon as possible, build credit safely, and save more all in one app. Managing money is hard, but current makes it easy. You can get paid up to two days faster. What what? You can qualify for fee-free overdraft up to $200 for when you spend more than you've got, which like, if that had been a thing when I was 18, my god, the fun I could have had. We've all done that before, right? Well, current's got your back, and you can build credit safely using your own money

so that you don't pile on debt. Again, if I had had this at 18, it would have been so much better for me. And possibly, guys, the best part about current, there's no annual or minimum balance fees. So what are you waiting for? Get current, the future of banking. Go to current.com slash morbid or download the app. That's

current.com, C-U-R-R-E-N-T dot com slash morbid terms apply. Current is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking service is provided by Choice Financial Group member FDIC and Cross River Bank member FDIC. For full terms and conditions, visit current.com or call 888-851-1172 for more information. Now that we are over the holidays, I've really gotta get my act together and start putting some more effort into eating and drinking a little bit healthier and better. The good news is with squeeze.com juices,

that's really not gonna be a heavy lift for me. I started ordering from them a couple weeks ago and if you listened to me previously talk about them, you heard that I was a little trepidatious about the juice of it all. I've tried juices before that were like really chalky or just taste like mushed up earthworms or something. Not that I'm going around eating earthworms, just like what I imagine they would taste

like, but not squeeze.com juices. They taste so fresh and they're conveniently delivered in a pack that lays out exactly what order to drink each one in. But the cool thing is that you can do it your own way depending on your goals. You can drink them out of order. If you don't really want to give up coffee, you can still have that. And if you're feeling full before you've finished all the juices that you've had delivered by squeeze.com,

they encourage you to listen to your body and not finish the juice. Just listen to what feels right for you. And I love that about them. I'm sleeping so much better and I'm getting so many compliments on my skin because she is glowing. So if you're feeling run down from the holidays or just kind of blah and ready to get back into self-discipline mode, then get you some squeeze.com juices. Head to squeeze.com and enter code Morbid for free same day local delivery or fastfree delivery nationwide. ["The rumors, faint rumors about him having an affair being Tom Bird. But no one wanted to tell us anything about that. So it's like, you know that this is happening, but nobody wants to talk about it.

That's even more sus. Yeah, where there's smoke, there's fire. Friends and family might not have wanted to speculate on whether Tom was having an affair, but that didn't mean that they didn't want to talk about Sandy altogether. They did. Rule spoke to those who knew her best. And what emerged from those conversations was a portrait of a woman that rule described as very,

very diligent, very intelligent, and the sort of person who ran at 100 miles an hour, 18 hours a day. Oh, Sandy. Just like we heard, she did it all. Sandy. And he also learned that among other things, she was a stickler for safety and always wore her seatbelt.

I could, you know what, that makes sense. Of course it does. Obviously none of us know Sandy, but it's like, that just like fits that vibe. Like she was doing everything she needs to do, working hard, she would be one of those. That's like, where's your seatbelt? Put your seatbelt on.

I'm just like three young kids. It just makes sense. So Sandy breaks my heart, truly. She would be one of those. That's like, where's your seatbelt? Put your seatbelt on. She's got three young kids. That's the only thing. It just makes sense. Oh, Sandy breaks my heart, truly. So the fact that Sandy always wore her seatbelt was yet another thing about the scene that didn't make sense. When Ruel initially made his way down to the crash site, he discovered Sandy's body faced down in the creek,

suggesting that she had been forcibly ejected from the car when it went over the rail. Had she been wearing her seatbelt like she supposedly always did, there was only a very small chance that that could have happened. Yeah. And then there was also the interior of the car itself. After it had been removed from the site, Ruh learned that the driver's seat had been adjusted much farther back

than would have been safe or even comfortable for Sandy, who stood at 5'1". As someone who's also 5'1", you are smashed up against that steering wheel to reach those pedals. Absolutely. And like I've seen when John drives the car before you, how far back you are. Yeah, like he can, or like when he tries to get in after I've been on it,

he can't get in without moving the seat back. Yeah. There's a very noticeable difference. So obviously that suggested that somebody much taller had been driving the car when it went off the bridge. I mean, that alone should be a massive red flag. Well, why did nobody notice that? That should be a massive red flag. It's very easy to tell when someone five one

has been driving a car. Let me tell you, because you've even driven my car before and I can't get in. As rule continued quietly investigating Sandy's death Tom and Lorna began putting the second phase of their plan into action because remember they wanted both of their Oh, yeah, we're not content with just one murder. Sandy is dead now in September Lorna placed another call to Daryl Carter who again declined to help them So Lorna Lorna reached out to Daryl brother, Danny Carter, and enlisted his help.

Why does she know so many people that she's willing to ask to kill someone for her? I gotta wonder that myself, Lorna. The thing was, Danny also wasn't a killer. But he thought he knew someone who was and agreed to act as a middleman. Okay. A few days later, Tom cashed a $5,000 check, which was a portion of the proceeds from Sandy's life insurance policy, and delivered that money to Danny,

who claimed he, quote, sent it to a man in Mississippi who was to arrange the job. Several days passed then a week, but neither the couple or Danny ever heard back from the contact in Mississippi. On the afternoon of November 4th, 1983, Lorna and Martin, along with their four children, drove out to Fort Riley to pick up a new uniform for Martin's Army Reserve position.

On the way home, Lorna was driving and claimed that she started to feel sick, so she pulled off the road and ran into an adjacent field to vomit. Their four children are in the car right now? Yes. What the fuck is about to happen? Something terrible. Oh boy. Yeah, it's very sad that their kids were in the car when this happened.

So she claimed that she felt sick. She pulled over and ran into an adjacent field to vomit. She said as she walked back to the car, she realized she had dropped her keys, so she asked Martin to come help her find them. And as they searched in the ditch near the car, a man, quote, cloaked in a black ski mask seemed to come from nowhere and demanded that Martin hand over his wallet.

Before Martin could even respond, the man shot him three times in the head, killing him. According to a statement given to the press by Tom Bird, a few days after the killing. I'm sorry, what? So Tom Bird gave the statement about Martin's murder. Which he was not present at. Uh, yes.

Allegedly. Yup. He said, the man went berserk shooting. He shot Marty a number of times. He grabbed Lorna and pulled her down, then took Marty's wallet. Then a car was coming by so he threw her in the ditch, jumped on top of her and told her not to scream. Then he got scared and ran. She didn't see where he went.

I'm sorry, but that's the most fucking ridiculous story I've ever heard in my entire life. And why are you telling me what happened when you weren't there? Well, he's her counselor, so. Oh, excuse me. Don't forget. Also, everybody, how are the kids doing?

I know. In this whole planned thing that just was done in front of your children. Yeah, that's like probably the most fucked up aspect. That's really gross. That's really gross. Unreal. And they were horrified by this. They were young.

After the attack, a passing driver stopped to help Lorna and flagged down a school bus transporting a local high school football team to a game nearby. This is like so small town. Several of the football players tried to revive Martin actually, but it was too late. I mean, he'd been shot in the head multiple times. Oh, but they threw the football players tried. Oh, yeah. In their own statement to the press, Junction City under sheriff John DePierceo told reporters they were quote interviewing witnesses trying to solve the bizarre

killing, but he said they don't have a suspect They don't have a weapon and most importantly they have no sensible motive for the murder of Anderson Except someone's got to come out of here and be like, uh, there is something weird. She is having an affair. So like Somebody look into this. Yeah, that would be my first thing I'd do like there's all these rumors about her having an affair, everybody. Exactly. Check into it at least. Don't you worry. Okay, good. So the undersheriff might not have had any suspects or motive, but authorities in and around Emporia

were starting to think that they might have some insight into who would want to kill Martin Anderson and why. After hearing the surprisingly detailed yet also suspiciously vague statement that, again, Tom Bird question mark gave reporters on Lorna's behalf. Yeah, miraculous. that also suspiciously vague statement that again, Tom Bird question mark gave reporters on Lorna's behalf. Yeah, miraculous. The editor of the Emporia Gazette, Ray Call, told another editor, if you believe that, I'd like to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

Honestly, the truest statement. No, our friend Jay Vernon Humphrey from the KBI also noted the unusual connection between Tom Bird, whose wife had also just died under mysterious circumstances. That's the other thing. I'm like, you two are reckless. I mean, you're many things, but you're reckless.

You're many things and reckless is one of them. And reckless is one of them, because it's like you have this whole plan that you're gonna run away together and just like be together after both your spouses die under suspicious circumstances. And you're just gonna raise. While everyone knows that you're having an affair already.

And you're gonna raise seven kids between the two of you after you've killed their mom and dad. Seven kids who are gonna know what happened eventually to their other parent. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

That's interesting. Interesting. Mm-hmm. Wow. But yeah, like I said, Ja. Vernon Humphrey was like, there's a weird fucking connection between the two of these quote unquote widow and widowers. So he called his colleagues in nearby,

I think it's Geary County, to let them know of the connection. The tip prompted investigators to look into both Tom and Lorna, where they learned that, not only had Tom recently received a payout from his wife's insurance and cashed a check of $5,000, but Lorna had also recently taken out a policy on her husband not long before he was murdered. Weird. Strange. So crazy. Yeah. So after just a few days of

investigation, detectives traced the $5,000 to Danny Carter. And he and Daryl were immediately arrested in connection with the shooting. Danny told police that he indeed received the money from Lorna Anderson as a payout for the murder of her husband. But he said the man to whom he sent the money had never contacted them to arrange the hit. But still, the Carter brothers were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

On November 18th, while they were being held in jail, Daryl contacted their lawyer and told him pretty much flat out that Reverend Tom Bird was absolutely involved in the deaths of both Sandy and Marty. Oh, damn. They were just like, let's spill the tea since we're already getting in trouble anyway. They were like, we're not getting put down for this. At least it alone. So realizing the very serious nature of the trouble

that he was in, Danny Carter told police about his role in the crime, specifically noting that while he did act as a go-between for Lorna and the hitman that was supposed to be hired, he never committed an act of violence. And he also explained that as far as he knew, the person to whom he sent the money had never followed through.

So if Martin Anderson was murdered, and he was, it wasn't by anybody that Danny Carter knew. Interesting. Because he was like, the guy in Mississippi never answered. So, so I don't know what happened here. So I'm not sure. The intention was there, we did not do it. Right.

Based on what Danny Carter told them, the detectives were still missing a lot of pieces to the puzzle, and actually at this point really only knew one thing for certain, Lorna Anderson had conspired with the Carter brothers in an attempt to have her husband murdered. Wow. This is brutal. It's crazy. A week later, on November 23rd, she was arrested, and on November 30th, she was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

In his statement to the press, chief investigator Al Buske, or Buske, excuse me, told reporters, Anderson conspired with Carter to have Martin Anderson done away with. $5,000 changed hands and Mr. Carter's function was to find someone to take care of Marty. That's what Mr. Carter alleges. So it's kind of like telling everybody what's going on. Lorna at this point was held without bond and continued to assert her innocence in the entire scheme. She was like, I have no idea what these people are talking about. But at the same time, she was pretty much refusing to talk to investigators, but it didn't matter because a lot of other people were willing to be way more forthcoming. Like, don't worry, we got you. Yeah. By the first

week of December, detectives had managed to track down Gregory Curry, the man to whom Danny Carter had given the money to murder Martin. So after being- Wow. Yeah, so many people to keep track of him. After being extradited from Ohio back to Kansas and now charged as a co-conspirator alongside Lorna and Danny, Gregory Curry accepted a deal from the prosecutor where he pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal solicitation in exchange for a lesser penalty.

He was not compelled to assist the prosecution in the case against Lorna, but there was an implicit understanding that he could be called as a witness for the prosecution. But he didn't shoot Martin. Wow. Okay. Okay. What's happening? He collected the money, but he never followed through. So that's why he only got the charge for criminal solicitation.

Okay. During this period, now the rumors of an affair between Tom and Lorna were going everywhere, persisting throughout Emporia. But shockingly few, if any, actually believed that Tom Bird was involved in these crimes. Honestly, that doesn't shock me. Whenever it's, It shocks me. Whenever it involves,

it just shocks me. It's shocking in my core of my being, but you're like, but on the outside I'm like, this is always what happens. Is everyone just goes, no way, no way.

It bonkers to me. Not with a job like that. And it's like, that's wild that we are just like, no. He like scalded. His occupation is too wild for that. And it's just like, what? Like, no, no, that's just his job. Like that's just his job.

Right. Like, why are we not, like, we're like, so, you know, this guy over here who's, you know, a janitor, he's more likely to do it because he's not working in a church. It doesn't make any sense. No, it's all bad. And there are plenty of honorable jobs in the world. I would say like teachers have honorable jobs.

Nurses do. That's the thing. They kill people sometimes. Janitors. Like everybody. Everybody in any job could end up, a mother's kill their children. Yeah. Like let's,

Pastors do not kill. But pastors don't kill anyone. And it's like, what? It's wild. It's wild. And we've been proven time and time again that they are real people like anyone else and they can be evil.

Pastors, they're just like us. They're just like evil people sometimes. And sometimes they're right. You know, we get the both. We get the both. We get the both. We get the get bad and what is it? The facts of life, you know? Don't you do that.

That stuck in my head. Love that. Love that choice so much. Anyway, so at first anyway, shockingly few believed, but that changed on December 1st when Daryl Carter's girlfriend, another character here. Another person coming in here. Her name was Jennifer Peterson. She got a call from Tom Bird saying that he needed

to speak with Daryl as soon as possible. Uh-oh. Fearing for his safety, Daryl informed his lawyer of Tom's request and together they went to the KBI. Jesus Christ, I didn't even move, did you see that? No, I just saw it when it landed. I didn't even move, it just, I didn't even move. I didn't even move. I didn't even move.

Sorry. So fearing for his safety, Daryl informed his lawyer of Tom's request and together they went to the KBI. And sensing an opportunity to fill in some of the missing pieces in the story, KBI agents convinced Daryl to arrange the meeting with Tom and record the conversation.

Oh. They were like, oh, you are definitely going to go see him. Oh. If he needs to talk to you this urgently, let's fucking go. Go talk to him. So Daryl was like, OK. Awesome. This is terrifying.

And on December 10, the two men met in a local parking lot where Daryl secretly recorded the conversation and where Tom Bird acknowledged the original meeting in the church wherein he, Daryl, and Lorna all spoke of killing Sandy and Martin. My goodness. The recording of the conversation went a long way to confirming what investigators had already come to suspect that Martin's murder was the result of an affair between Tom and Lorna.

Yeah. But while the tape was an important piece of the story, they still needed more evidence if they were going to arrest Tom because it wasn't like a smoking gun. No. So they spoke to the babysitter who was watching the bird children the night of Sandy's murder. Oh my goodness, that upsets me. Contrary to Tom's claims of having gone for a jog the night of the murder and returning home still in his jogging clothes, the babysitter told police, uh-uh, he came home a little after midnight and he was, quote, wearing dress slacks, a shirt, and tie. But he said that he had gone for a jog to think about a sermon and then he came back and was still wearing his jogging clothes and she's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. So they kept talking to different people. It took nearly four months, but finally, on March 21st, 1984, Tom Bird was arrested and charged with criminal solicitation to commit first degree murder. Thank goodness.

But also, who did this? The question, to be quite honest, really doesn't get answered. That's upsetting. Yeah, I think people have their own opinions and I have mine that I might not tell you. And you can have yours. And you can have yours, exactly. Okay.

I love a good parasocial relationship with a celebrity who will probably never know my name. I mean, honestly, who knows? Don't count yourself out. But my favorite part about these feuds is how they're ignited by the tiniest things. Jada, I love you. G.I.J. and 2 can't wait to see it. I accidentally laminated my brows too much.

It starts small and then it gets so big. We honest Naomi, I'm fearful of you to this day. I don't know her. We all just have to admit, we're addicted. Everybody has opinions, everyone picks sides. Leave Britney Spears alone right now. From Wondering, I'm Sydney Battle. And I'm Matt Bellassai.

And this is Dis and Tell, where we unpack why we get so invested in these feuds and whether or not our attention only makes the whole thing worse. Follow Dis and Tell wherever you get your podcasts. So, he was arrested, and at the time, Lorna, who had been free on bond, was re-arrested. And after dropping the previous charges against her, they were like, oh, let's get rid of those. It's okay, Lorna. It's not okay, though, because we're charging you with far more serious things, like, um, aiding in a betting first-degree murder, and we're going to hit you also with two counts of conspiracy to commit

first-degree murder in the shooting death of your husband. Good. So welcome back. Welcome back, Lorna. On May 31st, a preliminary hearing was held during which Darryl and Daniel Carter testified that Tom Bird had solicited both men to help kill Martin Anderson. Darryl told the jury, Tom Bird told me at the time he loved Lorna Anderson and that he was doing this to help her because he loved her. Additional evidence

at the hearing included the 45-minute recorded conversation between Daryl and Tom that happened in December of the previous year and based on the evidence presented by the prosecution, Judge William Dick ordered Tom bound over for trial and the date was set for July 1st, 1984. Let's go. So many trials are about to happen. It's better end in a way that is satisfactory. It kind of does.

Man. Man. And just so many trials are about to happen. Oh boy. So just strap in. So Tom's trial for the charge of criminal solicitation began in August of 1984, during which one witness after another testified about Tom's relationship with Lorna. They were like, we are ready to talk. They were so good at hiding it. Except not at all. The jury also heard critical testimony from Darryl and Daniel Carter and

Gregory Curry, who was the one that had been hired but never followed. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Just want to keep you updated on everybody. No, I appreciate it because I was like, who's Greg? Exactly. I'm like, I got it. So they all told of their role and the conspiracy to kill Martin Anderson.

Although authorities at the time acknowledged that the plot to kill Martin Anderson was never carried out with Greg shooting the man, Tom was still found guilty and sentenced to two and a half to seven years in prison. Two and a half to seven years? Yeah, that's it. But don't worry, I told you there were more trials.

A toddler to a second grader amount of time? Yeah. Okay. Because it's only conspiracy to, I mean, I don't mean only. But in the eyes of the law. The eyes of the law, it's only conspiracy to commit, which again, seems like that needs an overhaul a little bit.

Well, and also this guy did end up dead. Yeah, so like the conspiracy kind of went into practice here. So I don't know. And I still don't want anyone who conspired to commit murder, to get out of prison, to be my pastor, and to do it again, like you're going to serve seven years, you could come out, I mean, you could fucking conspire in prison. Yeah, you're conspiring.

I'm saying, it's what you do. It wants to conspire, it always conspires. I've always said that. Conspiracies. I've always said that. I just said, you know what? I always have said that as well. But as Tom began serving his sentence for the solicitation charge, the investigation into Sandy's death had finally gained some traction.

Oh, thank goodness. Because remember, two people were killed here. And in October of 1984, they actually had her body exhumed, and a second autopsy was performed by Dr. William Eckert, a certified forensic pathologist. Hell yeah. I know, right? Let's get in there with this forensic pathologist. I think he may have been involved in other cases that we've talked about because his name is very familiar.

He's name is very familiar. Yeah, it is. But my memory is so bad. Retweet, and we've done so many cases at this point. But in addition to injuries, the injuries noted in the previous autopsy, which were consistent with the accident, Egert noted a number of other significant blunt force injuries that could not be accounted for by an accident, by a car accident, and injuries to the wrists and arms. Oh, that's awful.

According to his final report, the latter injuries were consistent with defensive injuries, as injuries caused when a person has his arms outstretched in an effort to ward off blows in the attack. Oh, that's so awful. Of course it is. Like, that's the mother of his child, of his children. Yeah. And like it doesn't even sound like, it sounds like their marriage was not good. No, not at all.

But it's not like, you know, like it's like- He took vows at one point. Like that's just like, you just have like a shitty marriage and this is the path of day. Like wow. It's so diabolical. It's just really upsetting. And it's even sadder to think that in both of these cases,

specifically because we're talking about Sandy right now, he asked her out on a date while their marriage wasn't doing so well to celebrate an achievement that she had just made. And that must have made her feel so seen and happy. And like maybe things are gonna turn around. Maybe we got through it. Maybe we're gonna come out the other side. And then the night ends like with this.

And it's like him standing over you, presumably murdering you. Like, oh, yeah. Like that's horrific. And then on the other side of things, Martin Anderson just thought he was going for a drive with his family to pick up his uniform. Yeah.

Just happy to be out for a drive. You would assume, hopefully. Or just, you know be out for a drive, you would assume hopefully. Or just, you know, driving with your four, I think like don't go with four kids. Four kids, four kids. Yeah. Like, oh. And then you think like, oh no, my wife is sick.

And then, oh crap, like let me go help her lose the fix fund. Find the keys. The keys that she lost. And then that, boom, you're done. And you just wonder how much the kids saw. I know. And it's like, I didn't really look too much into that because like, you know, kids stuff bums also. And you said they how much the kids saw. I know. And it's like, I didn't really look too much into that

because I'm like, you know, kids stuff bummed us out. And you said they were young. So it's like, that's a whole other set of traumas that you have put on your children for your own selfish reasons. And it's like, damn. You didn't take into consideration that, you know, maybe I won't get away with this

and then my kids don't have parents. Any parents. Like then this and then my kids don't have parents. Any parents. Like then I am leaving my kids. And it's just like you could put that kind of trauma on them for your own selfish needs. Like you know what I mean? Like absolutely. That's so much trauma on kids.

And it's just me not considering them. And that's your number one job is to consider them at all times in all decisions. Oh man, it's just really upsetting. But yeah, it could have ended in so many different ways. It really could have. But back to Dr. William Eckert's findings here. So he found all these defensive wounds and similarly, he theorized that the wounds to Sandy's head and shoulders, quote, could have been caused by an instrument such as the branch of a tree, a baseball bat, a pool cue, or a tire iron. Holy shit.

These were, she was beaten intensely. Oh my god. Finally, he noted a lack of injuries one would expect of somebody who had been forcibly ejected from a vehicle. In his opinion, the injuries believed to have been caused by the accident could have just as likely been caused by a fall from a significant height. Wow. Like, these were intense injuries and they were not just different accident injuries.

Wow. That's interesting. It is. In February 1985, investigators went back to Lorna, who had ended her relationship with Tom and was now dating a new man. Oh. Wow. Wow. All for now. relationship with Tom and was now dating a new man. Oh Wow Wow

all for not Wow, yeah, isn't and isn't that always the way he goes to jail and it's like Wow, you guys you guys were so in love that you conspired to commit murder Because we're so in love that you conspired to commit murder. Wow. Okay, yeah, got it. So the police tracked her down and she gave a statement to police alleging that Tom had told her on the night of Sandy's death, and this is her statement. She alleged that on the night of Sandy's death, he had driven Sandy out to Rocky Ford Bridge

and as they walked out onto the bridge, Tom struck Sandy with a tire iron. Which is exactly what the doctor said. Exactly what he said. He's believing Sandy to be unconscious. He tried to throw her over the side, but she held onto the railing, and he kicked her until she fell. Oh my God.

So she put up a fight, which explains the defensive wounds. That's horrific. Yup, and it gets worse. After moving Sandy's body into the position it was discovered in the water, Tom drove the car, which accounts for the seat being pushed back as it was, over the edge of the embankment there

and jumped out before it went off the bridge. Once he staged the scene, he ran back to the church, ditching his clothes along the way and changed into the suit that he was wearing when he and Sandy left the house that night and that's why he did not return home and jogging clothes like the babysitter said. I am and also you beat your wife to death or excuse me you beat your wife up to the point of death she's still holding on for dear life and you kick her until she is completely dead and falls down.

And then you drive the car that you presumably, like presumably was your family car, off the side of an embankment and then you go to church. I have no words. You go back to church. No words. After all of that. Truly no words. After all of that.

And this is after you, like you said, have been like, we're gonna have a date night. Yeah, to celebrate you and what you have achieved. Wow, that like, oh, poor man, Sandy. Damn. Yeah. So based on the second autopsy and Lorna's statement of what allegedly happened, a grand jury indicted Tom yet again,

this time with the first degree murder of his wife Sandy. And the trial began in July of 1985. At trial, Lion County District Attorney Rod Simmons told the jury that Tom, quote, had murdered his wife out of love for Lorna Anderson, which was supported by the evidence and the testimony heard from the Carter Brothers, the bird's babysitter and several of Sandy's friends who testified that she had discovered his affair not long before her death. Most significant were the results of that second autopsy and the circumstances of the scene, which supported the prosecution's theory

that Sandra Bird had been killed on the bridge before being thrown into the ravine, which explained why her blood had been found on the trees leading down to the embankment. And I also believe on the guardrail. That's why I'm remembering. This all makes so much more sense now. Exactly. And shout out to Officer John Rule for immediately recognizing those signs. Shout out.

It's a good John. Another telly in a good John. Another talent John. If he didn't become like an actual homicide investigator after that, my goodness. I hope John rule like, I hope you're still ruling John rule. Right, so the defense on the other hand, of course, argued that the prosecution's case was full of inconsistency, inconsistencies and relied heavily on hearsay. Except for that whole friends like the pathologist. And you know, the blood on everything above where her body was found. Got it. But cool.

Defense attorney Robert Heck told the jury no one saw a damn thing, adding that his client had spent the night looking for his wife. Okay. Yeah, totally. Oh, okay. Also, nobody saw a damn thing, including that. No one saw him looking for his wife. Yeah, no one saw that.

So, objection hearsay. The babysitter saw him in different his wife. No one saw that, so objection hearsay. The babysitter saw him in different clothes. Yeah, so nice try. After a brief investigation, the jury returned with a guilty verdict and Tom Byrne was, Jesus Christ, Tom Byrd was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, Sandy Byrd.

And he was already serving that two to seven year stint. Oh, I like life better than two to seven years. Life is much better. Much better. No, it was Lorna Anderson's statement to police that led to Tom's arrest and eventual conviction for murder, but it's unlikely that she expected at any point to find herself in the same position.

Probably not. By the fall of 1988 though, she was facing very serious charges and a strong case against her for the murder of her husband So she took a deal and she agreed to plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder in exchange for a 20-year sentence In her statement given to investigators Lorna identified Tom as the shooter in Martin's murder

I wondered if that was as possible leading toading to additional murder charges being brought against Tom. But in March of 1990, a jury acquitted Tom of the charges related to Martin's death. And that's why I say we don't know who shot Martin. Okay. He was acquitted. Yep. So, Tom ended up appealing his conviction to the state supreme court in 1986, the one where he received life for the murder of Sandy.

But the verdict and the sentence were upheld. Since then, he has said to have been a model prisoner and he got remarried in the late 80s. Oh my. He continues to assert his innocence and claims that while he and Lorna were sexually intimate on three or four occasions. I don't need to know how many my Britain, my guy. It doesn't matter to me.

They never had a relationship. Oh, oh. Sexual relations are a relationship. Also excuse me, pastor? That doesn't constitute a relationship. I thought that was like a big thing. Nope. Okay.

Nope. Exactly. And he said that he never agreed to participate in any murders. Except aren't you on like, you know, recording saying that you talked about it at least? Talked about it. You at least talked about it. Yep. That's pretty fucked up.

Which is participating and that's participating and talking about it. Yeah. So there's that. But he says of Lorna, she was emotionally attached to me and on my end there was a need to be needed. I like the idea of being needed. So I unprofessionally let it happen. It was more emotional than physical. Thank you, Tom.

Yeah. Thank you, Tom, for your time. Yeah. There are many people though, who believe that Tom was convicted on circumstantial evidence and questionable testimony from people with faulty memories. Are the people in the room with us right now?

Like who, no, who is that? He ended up being released from prison. He got parole. He was released in 2004 and his supervision period ended in 2006. Okay. And he's gone on to lead a quiet life. Wow.

But he was convicted for murdering his wife. He certainly was. But not for shooting Martin Anderson. He was acquitted of that. He was acquitted of that. I want to be very clear. Interesting. Lorna served nearly her entire sentence and was released on parole in 2007

with her supervision period officially ending in 2014. And from everything I could find also has gone on to live a quiet life, but apparently they both live in Kansas. I, I am shook by that. And wow. Didn't think it was gonna end like that. I just feel really bad for Sandy

and their fam and Martin. Yeah. And those fucking kids. I feel so bad for both sets of these kids. I know. I hope that they've gone on to me. Cause I can't imagine what they've gone through. I hope that, yeah.

Wonderful lives and. I hope they've gone on to just be happy and healthy and. Got whatever they needed to get. Yeah, cause it breaks my fucking heart to know what they all just went through. That was a lot of kids to have involved in all that shit. That's seven kids, four of which at least were there when their father was killed.

Yeah, like that's really upsetting. And then like just to think of, I mean, both those murders were horrific and brutal. Oh my God, so brutal. So brutal. Like Martin was shot in the head three times nearby his children. And I can be shot in the chest once, he ended up being shot four times.

Yeah, and it's like, and then Sandy was thrown off in an embankment. Yeah, she was beaten and thrown off in an embankment. Like that's unthinkable. Truly. It's unthinkable. Truly. And the factthinkable. Truly. And the fact that we really never will know, like the fact that we don't know concretely

who shot Martin Andersen is the biggest thing for me. Because I'm like, I gotta know who that was. Yeah. And I like, his kids deserve to know. Yeah, absolutely. His parents, his family. And I'm sure everybody has their own opinions, but none of us know for certain. Yeah, because it's like...

Which is like incredibly frustrating. Oh, it's infuriating. I can't imagine if that was my loved one having to wonder. Thank goodness for John Rule. Yeah, in the KBI. In the situation and for Dr. Eckert. Yup. Like coming in after, you know, we got, we had a coroner the first time around.

The fact that this could have gone so differently. Throwing a forensic pathologist the second time around and look what you got. Yeah. And just the fact that this could have gone so differently. Throwing a forensic pathologist the second time around and look what you get. Yeah. And just the fact that this could have gone so differently. Sandy's death could just, if John Rule hadn't had his suspicions and you know looked around at certain things and a couple other people hadn't had theirs. Stuck with it. She could, she could have never gotten justice.

She still would have been listed as dying from an accident. Yeah. When we know that that's not the case Damn. Yeah That's a horrifying case. I know in every way And I feel really bad for those people that had to deal with it because holy shit. I do too. So Treat people nicely. Yeah, and don't cheat on your spouse. Just be honest Yeah, just honesty is the best policy and

With that being said we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird. Not so weird as any of this because we'll disown you. Absolutely not. Elina and Ash. Bye. Hey Prime members, you can listen to Morvid early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen ad-free with Wondery Plus and Apple Podcasts.

Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com. Being an actual royal is never about finding your happy ending, but the worst part is, if they step out of line or fall in love with the wrong person, it changes the course of history. I'm Aresha Skidmore-Williams. And I'm Brooke Sifron. We've been telling the stories of the rich and famous on the hit Wondery Show Even the Rich, and talking about the latest celebrity news on Rich and Daily.

We're going all over the world on our new show, Even the Royals. We'll be diving headfirst into the lives of the world's kings, queens, and all the wannabes in their orbit throughout history. Think succession meets the crown meets real life. We're going to pull back the gilded curtain and show how royal status might be bright and shiny, but it comes at the expense of, well, everything else, like your freedom, your privacy, and sometimes even your head. Follow Even The Royals on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can

listen to Even The Royals early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.