Snapped: Women Who Murder - Helly Harrod

Episode Date: March 31, 2024

After a beloved father vanishes, his family and the police work tirelessly for four years to find him; a familiar witness comes forward and leads detectives to finally expose a diabolical conspiracy which may have been paid for by sexual favors.Season 25 Episode 15Originally aired: June 9, 2019 Watch full episodes of Buried in the Backyard live or OnDemand for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Listen to The Cat in the Hat cast early and ad-free on Wondry+. They were a young couple with their best years ahead of them. I've never seen such big smiles on their faces. They were pretty happy to be parents. Then, a mysterious disappearance shatters their plans for their family. The worry begins one hot July day. He went to town to get cigarettes and never came back. His main pride and joy was his kids. He wouldn't have left his kids.

But was there a secret life simmering under the surface? A lot of people thought he was a gang member. Maybe he was involved in a drug deal and somebody wanted to pay back. Investigators uncover sinister plans and twisted motives. This subject was brought up about the sexual favors. The more she talked with me, the more abuse she received. He said that what if I did the way he said that? That it hurt my kids. We are sitting almost smack in the middle of the United States, so this is about as middle

America as you can get. It's a safe place with little crime and residents enjoy easygoing summers. But on July 28th, 1997, something seems off to area resident Frank Herod when he contacts his son, 24-year-old Punky Harrod. I called him every day. I called him at night, and he said,

okay, and his voice was kind of, just sounded funny. Now, what's the matter? He wouldn't tell me. Nothing. Nothing, Dad. Nothing. There ain't nothing wrong. When Frank later connects with Punky's pregnant, 21-year-old wife, Kelly Harrod, she's also worried. Then the next morning I called, Kelly said they wasn't there.

I kept calling them back, nothing. We got suspicious because there isn't a day that goes by that Punky did not call Frank. We called his friends, and nobody had seen him, nobody had talked to him or anything. Concern grows while temperatures rise the next day, when Punky misses his first day of work at a new job at Cessna Aircraft, where Frank and Blanca both work. I got him a job at the grocery shop at Cessna. My boss the next day told me, your son never showed up.

At that point, Kelly decides to call the Butler County Sheriff's Department. The missing person report requires a deputy to respond to that location. That deputy then gets the information of the missing person. He began a timeline. He started, when's the last time he was seen? What did he do? Who did he interface with before then? Kelly explains she last saw Punky on July 29th, when he left to walk to the store

before the day got too hot. He just got up early in the morning and went to town to get cigarettes and never came back. They looked to see what items were left behind and what items were taken at the time. His keys were there, his cigarettes were there, his pager was there, and he never went nowhere without his cigarettes. His car was there and everything.

Where could he gone if his car was still there? Where could he gone if his car was still there? Born in Killeen, Texas in 1973, Franklin Harrod Jr. was always known by his nickname, Punky. He was always playing with the bigger kids. Bigger kids loved him because he would take chances. Punky was a little daredevil. He liked riding his bike and doing tricks with it. And then as he got older, he liked to race cars. He was laughing and smiling.

If I needed something I could call him, I need this done or I need that done. He'd be there for me, he'd come do it. But he was there every time. He was a good son. The family moved to Rose Hill, Kansas. And by the time Punky was in high school, he was hanging out at the local racetrack every weekend. When he was 17, something other than cars caught Punky's eye,

a charismatic 15-year-old girl named Kelly Osburn. She had friends everywhere she went. Kelly was a pretty girl, you know, long black hair. I think that's what caught his eye. They got to talking, and I guess one thing led to another. They decided to date each other. He was crazy about her, doing the world for her. After about a year and a half or two after they met, they decided they wanted to get

married. It was a pretty nice wedding. Both Punky and Kelly had a lot of fun. The couple didn't have much time to settle into married life before they received happy news. They called me at work and told me she was pregnant. And he was all tickled to death about that. That's for good. before they received happy news. They called me at work and told me she was pregnant, and he was all tickled to death about that.

That's for good, yeah. Gonna be a grandpa, I guess. The couple's first child, Corina, was born in October 1994. My mom just turned 18. I know she was excited and happy for it. Little sister Rianna followed just over a year later, in December 1995. They were pretty happy to be parents, I would say.

My kid was a real good dad. He enjoyed these kids. He played with them. He used to put them in front of the four wheeler and drive them around. And she was a good mom. She treated him real good. I know they like to be together as a family,

like to the zoo and like fireworks. Fourth of July was my dad's favorite holiday. Punky had a particularly traditional view of parenting and supporting the family. At one point, Kelly worked at Hardee's, I believe. And that's the only job she had because Punky didn't like her working. He was kind of like his dad.

He wanted to provide for his family himself. He did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Jack of all trades, I guess you might call him. Not everything was perfect in the marriage, but Punky and Kelly rode out the rough patches. I mean, I got in arguments once in a while, which everybody argues. They bickered, but not a lot, you know?

When Punkie wasn't working odd jobs, he, Kelly, and the girls spent their free time at the nearby 81 Speedway, where Punkie raced cars. He made it a family thing. And I'm not sure my mom was as much of a fan of it, but as long as we were all together, she enjoyed it. He had a Nova. He had painted my mom's name on the side of the car.

He named it after her. He loved it. At the track, Punky and Kelly met another racing couple, Tammy Crowe and Jerry Trussell. Tammy was just born here in Alabama. She lived around here most of her life. Jerry, he was a car freak. I'm talking about he worked on people's cars.

He fixed hot rods and all that for himself to race and race tracks and stuff. There was one race where two men drove. One guy drove, the other guy braked. And that's where he met Jerry. They decided to be in a team together. They got to be real good buddies, running around together and just like brothers. You didn't see one without the other.

They argued, you know, back and forth to races and stuff, like any good races and stuff. Like, any good friends and brothers and all that's gonna do. But, you know, they'd get back to know him in a day or two. When Tammy and Jerry were evicted from their home in the summer of 1997, Punky didn't hesitate to offer a helping hand. They had no place else to go.

So Punky believed him, take care of his friends. So he asked them and they all just moved in together. My dad was just a giver, anything to make you happy, whatever he had to do, he was gonna do it. Tammy's daughter also joined them. While Punky and Jerry worked, Kelly and Tammy split the responsibilities at home. Tammy and Kelly took care of the kids.

As July heated up, things were looking up for both families. Jerry and Tammy were in the market for a new place to live. Kelly discovered she was pregnant with her third child, and Punky had that new job at Cessna but then Punky vanishes Kelly and him called the police and telling me was missing The deputy asks if Punky has any reason to disappear Kelly admits that they had some troubles in their marriage, but

nothing that would make him leave. If he would have left and gone, I believe Punky would have called, but I don't think he would ever do that. His main pride and joy was his kids. He wouldn't have left his kids. Authorities can list Punky as missing, but since he's an adult and there is no real evidence of a crime, they can't do much more. The family is frustrated. I said, my son's missing and so many do something. Coming up, did the devoted father have dark secrets?

That was the story, you know, Punky got over his head with a syndicate. And a mystery caller raises the stakes. The anonymous call said, I think something bad happened. In the red hot summer of 1997, the family of Punky Herod have reported him missing after he vanished, leaving his keys, his car, and his family behind. It was very inconsistent with his personality. It just wasn't consistent that he would just walk away. Following up, detectives respond to Punky's home to get more details from Punky's wife, Kelly,

as well as Punky and Kelly's housemates, Tammy Crowe and Jerry Trussell. When authorities ask them if they have any idea where Punky could be, a dangerous new possibility emerges. Investigators were talking with Jerry and Tammy. The story became he was involved in a drug deal, and somebody wanted payback.

Tammy explains that she heard rumors that Punky might have gotten mixed up in the drug trade. That was the story, you know. Punky got in there over his head with a syndicate and owed him a lot of money or something, and he was out to get him and he took off. And that's all they knew. And anytime you get a lead that sounds true to life, of course it sparks your interest.

Investigators realize that a drug debt could explain a sudden disappearance. To follow up, authorities meet with Punky's parents, Frank and Blanca Herod, and ask about Punky's possible drug connections. Punky never had any dealings with drug I know of. A lot of people thought he was a gang member because the name Punky got a long hair. And I said, they're not affiliated with any gangs. Besides, the Herod say that Punky would never put his new job at risk.

When you hire at Cessna, you have to have drug tests. If you have any drugs in your system, you won't get hired. His parents were confident from the get-go that something had happened to him and that somebody had done something to him. Authorities follow up on the drug test lead. We were able to subpoena the aircraft manufacturer's records and he had had a physical just prior to his disappearance,

which was definitely checked for drugs and alcohol and such and none was found. Investigators also check local law enforcement databases for any sign of Punky's involvement with drugs or gangs. There was no prior history of that in the records once we did a background check. That background check also reveals a recent interaction with police on a warm summer night near the racetrack Punky frequented. As Punky was leaving the track,

he was stopped by a trooper and given a speeding ticket. That was on July 24th. It's the last official sign of Punky's whereabouts, but it doesn't help explain where he is now. Punky was put in the National Crime Database as a missing person. So, say if he got stopped somewhere for a ticket, law enforcement would see that he was a missing person

and could report that to authorities. Investigators reach out to Punky's friends and associates to see if he had problems with anyone. There was never really anybody that we located that just had it out for Punky. Most of them would have said Punky would have gave the shirt off his back to him. I don't think Punky had any enemies. Everybody he met, he friends with, he didn't meet no strangers. While sheriff's detectives continue working the case, Punky's parents, wife and friends spend humid summer days conducting their own search. Frank and Blanca, they'd gotten together with Kelly and Tammy and made these missing persons

posters and put them up all over our local communities in hopes that somebody would call and give them a hint of where Punky might have been. We were calling everybody. I mean, you know, my husband would call the Sheriff's Department every day. We were on it all the time. It was just, I mean, you know, your son is gone and you want to find him and you just about try everything. Despite their efforts, the family learns nothing more. Then, on August 15, 1997, more than two weeks after Punky vanished, Butler County 911 receives

a call from someone who saw the family's missing person poster. The 911 caller never identified himself. He just basically said that he had discovered the poster and he knew the people that were associated with Punky and he believed that they had something to do with killing of Punky. The call is the first indication that Punky might have been murdered. He said these people had come asking for a gun. The anonymous call said, you know, I think something bad happened. Unfortunately, the call comes in on a weekend, and the small department is short staffed

that day. In 1997, being a smaller community, not funded well in the way. Our dispatcher at the time was the only one working on that particular day. The dispatcher said there's nobody here to talk to. It's Sunday. If you could call back tomorrow. So they made an agreement on the phone for him to call back. On Monday, detectives received the lead. They listened to the 911 recording

and note the caller has a distinctive voice. It's high pitched with a stutter. Investigators wait for the caller to phone back, hoping he has names for them. But he never calls again. No one knew who the caller was. Unfortunately, that was a time where we weren't able to trace back numbers. Our system just wasn't equipped for that at the time.

We had no clue who he was. I played it for the family and for some friends of the family. They did not recognize this person at all. Weeks pass and the heat of summer gives way to a cool fall. Punky's family fears they will never know what happened to him. We had detectives come into the house to interview us and talk about it and stuff like that. Unfortunately, when no new leads develop,

Butler County has to assign detectives other cases as well. We had a series of about eight homicide cases in some variety or another throughout the county, which tied investigators up. The ordeal takes its toll on the family, especially Punky's children. I wasn't quite sure what happened to him or if he was okay or if he really did run off and try to start life over again. Like, I didn't know, but I just kind of felt like I had been abandoned.

I mean, it was disbelief and kind of betrayal. It's almost a year later when detectives get their next tip in the case. This time, it's not from an anonymous caller. Eventually, law enforcement had an opportunity to talk to Kelly. It's just that he needed to give you this. Coming up, detectives learn about a new predator.

Sexually, he used her to accommodate whatever his needs and desires were. If he wants to find me, it's not going to be for something physical. It's going to be to threaten me more or to kill me. Welcome to Pura, the most pristine, safe, climate stable city on earth. A haven amidst the wreckage. Here you're safe from heat domes, super storms, water bandits in the Outerlands. There's no crime in Pura.

No murder, no suicide. And best of all, there's no cost to join us. In Pura, we promise to keep you safe. They killed her! You took everything! In a world that doesn't feel so safe anymore, we're waiting for you. Here, in Pura.

The Last City is a new scripted audio drop from Wondery. Enjoy The Last City on the Wondery app, wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Last City right now at free on Wondery+. Get started with your free trial at Wondery.com slash thai. The wait is over. So far you're not losing. The only thing you're losing is my patience. Quickly, I see that.

The queen of the courtroom is back. I didn't do anything. You wouldn't know the truth if it came up and slapped you in the face. I see he's not intimidated by anything. I can fix that. New cases. She wanted to fight me. Leave anything. I can fix that. New cases. She wanted to fight me. Leave her.

A-Long. OK, so, um. This is not a so. This is a period. Classic Judy. Did you sleep with her? Yes, Your Honor. You married his cousin.

His brother. That's not him. Yes, ma'am. I would make a beeline for the door. The Emmy Award-winning series returns. How did I know that? I have crystal ball in my head. It's an all-new season.

It's streaming. It can say anything. Judy Justice, only on Freevy. In December 1997, five months after 24-year-old Punky Herod vanished, Punky's wife, 22-year-old Kelly Herod, gives birth to the couple's third child, a daughter Punky never had the chance to meet. As the summer of 1998 heats up, police still have no solid leads on Punky's whereabouts. But things start to change when Kelly Harrod comes in to the Butler County Sheriff's Department. She surprises detectives by pleading for help.

She was saying she needed protection from Jerry Trussell. Kelly explains that when Jerry and his girlfriend, Tammy Crowe, moved in before Punky went missing, Jerry quickly made himself a little too much at home. He would come on to me and I'd try to shrug off or whatever and however long I would try to move away, wasn't interested in him in any way, shape, or form. Kelly says that Punky noticed Jerry's interest in her

and didn't like it. The way Kelly talked about them, Jerry and Punky seemed to constantly be at, you know, odds with each other. Something bad was going to happen. Regarding Punky's disappearance, Kelly sticks by her original story, that on the morning of July 29th, Punky went out for cigarettes and never returned. But now, Kelly admits that she never reported one crucial detail. Kelly claims that she had omitted this when she first talked to police because Punky was

no longer there to protect her from Jerry. Kelly explains that after Punky disappeared, Jerry ruled the house with an iron fist, forcing Kelly and Tammy to obey his every whim, including sex on demand. He said that it was what I did, the way he said it, that my head hurt, my chest. Jerry was a conniving user type of individual that basically convinced people to do everything for Jerry Dressel. I think sexually he used her to accommodate him in whatever his needs and desires were.

Kelly says she had every reason to believe Jerry's threats. What did Jerry tell you he did to Punky? He just said that he took care of him. He did the punky thing. He just said that he took care of him. Kelly believes that Jerry killed Punky to have unfettered access to her. Punky had to go because Punky was between Jerry and Punky's wife, Kelly.

I thought he could kill me, and then he gave it a second if he wanted to. He made my life a living hell, and he put Tammy through hell, and I had to get away. Kelly tells detectives that even when she moved into a new home, the abuse continued. Once, when Jerry came to her place looking for sex, Kelly refused his advances advances and he attacked.

Jerry had choked her to the point where she became unconscious. She called 911 and that resulted in a domestic violence call and battery case. And Jerry was arrested for that. After Jerry was released, Kelly received an order of protection against him. But she explains she still fears for her safety. I don't trust him. He's a... If he wants to find me, it's not gonna be for something physical.

It's gonna be threatening me more or kill me. He needs to be taken off the street. If what Kelly says is true, that Jerry admitted to killing Punky, then detectives need to find Jerry fast. But tracking him down is not easy. We discovered quickly that Jerry and Tammy Trussell were the type of people that moved every 30 days. They would rent a house, move in it, and then when the rent come due, they'd move out and move into somewhere else. So it was just a horrendous effort on our part just to keep up. Before investigators can find Jerry, he hears they're looking for him and comes to them,

but he denies everything. No admission to anything. It was just kind of like, you know, he's my best friend, I don't know where he went. Then he wanted a lawyer and didn't want to talk. Authorities cannot arrest him. With no body and no evidence of any homicide, there's no evidence of crime. You can't prosecute them.

It just continued to be treated as a missing person. It just continued to be treated as a missing person. The case goes cold yet again. Three years after Punky vanished, Kelly Herod meets a man named James Bishop. They got married in the year 2000, I wanna say in August. Kelly changes Punky's daughter's last names to Bishop as well. Also in this time period, Tammy Crowe marries Jerry Trussell.

Then in 2001, the Butler County Sheriff's Department assigns cold case investigators Randy Kaufman and Glenn Hopper to the case. It was a missing person case but we believed that it was definitely a homicide. In addition to interviews with family and friends, detectives review the tape of the mysterious 1997 911 call from a man who claimed Punky had been murdered. What stuck out to me more so than anything, he had called her, had a high-pitched voice, but he had a speech impediment, kind of stuttering on certain words.

So I put that to memory. The newly assigned detectives quickly learn that Punky's family has refused to give up. Frank Sr., of course, Punkyunky's family has refused to give up. Frank Sr., of course Punky's dad, had repeatedly called and pretty much put the pressure on the Sheriff's department to continue the investigation. I said, just find my f***ing son. They got involved, they were good. I mean, they took care of s*** for us. Frank isn't the only one asking for updates. But also Tammy.

Remarkably, in this case, we thought that was odd that she would call and inquire if there was any new leads, if there was any information that we could share. The detectives note that there is one person who has not called once in the nearly four years since Punky's disappearance, Punky's wife Kelly, now remarried and going by Kelly Bishop. No phone calls to the sheriff's office, no wants or desires of what happened to him, where he at on the case, none of that.

She was a person of interest by chance because of her appearance of lack of caring. Coming up, police finally identify the mystery caller. And the stuttering and high-pitched voice. It became apparent that he was my 911 caller. And a key witness decides to talk. I heard a pop, like a firecracker. Four years after Punky Herod's 1997 disappearance, Butler County cold case detectives reach out to Punky's parents,

Frank and Blanca Herod. The Herod's explain that Punky and his wife, Kelly, had problems in their marriage beginning in 1995 when the couple briefly separated. One time he called upset Frank, he's crying, I was, what's the matter? She's gone, who's gone? Kelly's gone, Kids were gone.

My mom, for whatever reason, didn't want to be a family anymore and thought that my dad was the problem. Punky filed for divorce, but wanting full custody of the kids. That was the biggest issue with Kelly. She left, and she came back. And then Punky dropped the suit after they got back together again.

Shortly after they got back together, Tammy and Jerry moved in with them. Kelly act different. I don't think Punky trusted her anymore. The Herod say Punky never witnessed an affair between Jerry and Kelly, but he was suspicious. Kelly had told investigators that Jerry forced her into sex, but was their relationship actually consensual? When the cold case detectives canvas one of the neighborhoods where Jerry and Tammy lived

before Punky's disappearance, they make a surprising discovery. Randy Kaufman knocked on a neighbor's door and an individual by the name Jerry Wilson Jr. had come to the door. He started talking and the stuttering and a little hesitation in there and a high-pitched voice. And as we was two or three minutes into the conversation, it became apparent that he was my 911 caller. So I just quickly said, why didn't you call us back?

And he didn't hesitate, and I split second. And he said, I thought they were going to kill me if I said anything. Jerry Wilson Jr. had heard Jerry Trussell plotting against punky to kill him Jerry Wilson jr. Says that just a few weeks after overhearing Jerry Trussell's threat He saw the missing person posters that punky's parents had hung around town He called 911 once but then lost the courage to follow up His friend Jerry Trussell. He called 911 once, but then lost the courage to follow up. He was afraid Jerry Trussell, he called him crazy. The man was unpredictable and would do anything.

So he believed the fact that he took care of Bunky. As detectives prepare to track down Jerry Trussell again, they receive a surprising offer. Jerry's wife, Tammy Trussell, wants to talk. There was something there that she needed to get out. She really needed to get this off of her chest. Speaking with authorities, Tammy confirms that Kelly and Jerry had started an affair

in the spring of 1997. She claims that on July 28th, Jerry made a taunting admission to Punky, outside the home the two couples shared. According to Tammy, she and Kelly were inside. Jerry told him that he'd been having a sexual relationship with his wife and that she was pregnant with his child. relationship with his wife and that she was pregnant with his child.

Jerry started to fight with Punky outside. So he clobbered him a few times. We have my daughter there, we have the kids there, we're trying to keep them inside, away from the fussing and the arguing. I heard a pop, like a firecracker. Then Tammy realized it was a gunshot. She claims that she and Kelly were still inside when Jerry entered alone. He came back in there, and just looked at Kelly

and kind of just nodded. Tammy says the nod seemed to indicate Kelly and Jerry had previously talked about shooting Punky. Tammy tells detectives that Jerry ordered her to help him. And when she approached his pickup truck, something was in the bed under a blue roofing tarp. Did he roll him in the tarp in the truck? I never saw the body.

He saw the tarp in his tennis shoe stick now. Is that true? Yes. Tammy says Jerry made her come with him to dump the body. They drove down to Butler County in our rural area, dumped him along the river in a shallow grave. Another investigator, myself, loaded Tammy up, had her walk out there and place little survey flags

in the areas that she was told Punky was at. But Tammy had told me that Jerry had told her he was going to come back and move Punky to a different location. So we thought there was a slim chance to not have find any kind of bones, any kind of remains left, but we brought in cadaver dogs, we brought in search teams, we did everything we could digging, searching, but with no results. As the search team efforts kind of just fizzled out, but with no results, I took a Sunday just on my own.

Fairly nice weather. Broadened the search. On the west side of the river, as I appeared over there, I could see a blue tarp sticking out of the ground. And as I moved and removed some of the soil away from it, it was discovered that it had the eyelets and the rope still in the tarp. The color was right.

The partially buried tarp matches the description of the one Tammy claimed Jerry used to transport Punky's body. I alerted my captain at the time, the sheriff. We called the neighboring forensic team, and they took it over to the forensic center. Detectives hauled Jerry Trussell in for an interview, which doesn't last long.

I popped the question. I said, what happened to Punky? And at that point in time, he asked if he could leave. He wanted a lawyer. And once that happens, you can't re-approach people. He was very close-lipped. Still lacking hard evidence, investigators

are forced to release Jerry. Next, they reach out to Kelly Bishop. She wasn't helpful. Basically, her story was, I didn't see it, I didn't hear it. At one point in the interview, she just stopped me and said, if you're asking me if I care what happened to Punky or where he's at, I do not. I can care less, as long as he's out of my life. When lab examiners send their results to detectives, those results reveal that the blue tarp did

yield surprising clues. They removed debris and everything they could, and that's when they discovered some human hairs. The tarp and the hairs were sent off for DNA. Of course, they were old and weather-stricken. We could never say those hairs were from Punky because there was no DNA in the hairs. But they were able to tell us they were human hairs and one of the hairs they believed was from a Hispanic male. Punky Harrod was Hispanic. We had a correlation with the TARP,

but it was circumstantial evidence. Our prosecuting attorney at the time felt that that's not enough to warrant an arrest based just on that. The frustrated investigators desperately need something that will finally crack the case. In May 2004, detectives risk everything on a calculated ruse that might bring Punky's killer

or killers to justice. We knew that this was a last ditch opportunity to be able to get any of them to say anything against each other. The challenge was on. Detectives believe Punky Harrod's wife, Kelly, his friend, Jerry, and Jerry's wife, Tammy, were involved in his death. But human hairs, they have discovered,

are too degraded for DNA matching. So investigators decide to use the hairs in another way. I use the hair as a tool, telling them we're going to be drawing blood from each one of you. We're going to match it to that hair. And when we match it to that hair, somebody's going down for it. But what the suspects don't know is the DNA warrants are a ruse.

It was the first time they'd been together, sat them across from each other so they could see each other. And the nurse began drawing blood from them. And when they got the Tammy, Tammy confessed. But this admission is different from her last story, when she said Jerry shot Punky. I think Tammy was just worn down to the point where she knew it was time.

She had to say it, so she did. She just opened up and said, I shot him. Jerry and Kelly remain in custody while Tammy is led to an interview room. Tammy tells authorities that she believes it all began when Kelly decided she wanted out of the marriage, and wanted to do so by getting rid of Punky. Their comment was something about she was going to fall off the face of the earth. Tammy explains that she told Jerry about Kelly's dark wish. Tammy said, Kelly wants to get rid of Punky.

Kelly just doesn't want to be with Punky anymore. That was all he needed, you know, to take over from there. According to Tammy, Kelly had an unsettling plan for paying Jerry to take care of Punky for her. Kelly had no money, had no job. So the payments for Jerry Trussell for doing the dastardly deed was having a sexual relationship with Punky's wife, Kelly. Tammy says that on the warm summer evening of July 28, 1997,

Jerry decided to carry out Kelly's wishes. She then explains that she watched as Jerry picked the fatal fight with Punky. But in her new story, she says she didn't just hear a gunshot. Punky had Jerry down, and I don't know how I knew the gun was in the truck, but I knew it was there. So I went out there and I got it and Jerry is the one that means shoot him, shoot him.

I didn't know what to do. And then Jerry said, shoot him or it's you. And I just shot. We're focusing on Jerry thinking that he's the one that took care of Punky. Come to find out, Tammy ended up being the one that pulled the trigger. Prosecutors place Tammy Trussell, Jerry Trussell, and Kelly Bishop under arrest on charges related to the killing of Punky Herod. They were all conspirators, co-conspirators.

Kelly is the one who initiated it, telling Tammy, we really need to get rid of Punky. And Jerry was the one that said when, how, what. I was definitely shocked. It was a lot of anger, you know, mistrust with her. Everything finally clicked for me. Every single lie that she's ever told me my entire life. I feel like my mom has spit out so many lies.

It just makes absolute no sense. The family just wanted everybody convicted, and understandably so. You want to convict all of them of first-degree murder and send them all away for life. With Punky's body still missing, prosecutors realize they don't have that option. It required the testimony from Tammy and from Kelly, and that would mean that I would have to make some agreements.

Kelly agreed to testify against Tammy and Jerry, and Tammy agreed to testify against Kelly and Jerry. Tammy is allowed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and manslaughter in exchange for 136 months in jail. Kelly adamantly denies any wrongdoing and knows authorities have no body or direct evidence tying her to the crime,

so she and her defense team work to strike a remarkable deal. Kelly agrees to plead guilty to solicitation of murder in exchange for a mere 32 months in prison. It's frustrating for Punky's loved ones. I believe my mom was the mastermind behind the whole thing. If she would never open her mouth, he'd still be here.

Kelly, she's the one that wanted it done. She should have gotten life. He's the one that wanted it done. She should have gotten life. In 2007, Jerry Trussell fights the charges. But a jury finds him guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. A judge sentences Jerry Trussell to 25 years to life. Jerry Trussell may know where Punky's body is. Jerry refuses to tell.

And the family has no body to bury. My only closure is when I see my son being laid to rest and find his body. That's when I'll have closure. Other than that, no. I honestly don't know how she could take somebody's son, father, potential grandfather away. I still feel like she just doesn't quite grasp is it. It was selfish

of her. I'm done with her. Tammy Trussell served her full sentence and was released from prison on March 14th, 2017. As of 2023, Jerry Trussell has served more than 15 years of his sentence. He is eligible for parole in 2032. Kelly Bishop was released from prison on February 19, 2011. Her two eldest daughters have cut ties with her. Boca Estel Toro, Panama.

A secluded seaside hideaway, Scott Makata has no idea that his tropical haven is about to become his personal hell. He literally said, I have the power of Satan. A serial killer pretending to be a therapist. Holbert rents a room, and that's where he set up his business as a fake shrink. Accusations of a gringo mafia. Gun running, drugs.

A slaughtered family. And then he goes back and he plants another bullet. A killer on tape. Hey man, I'm guilty. Everybody knows I'm a monster. The law of the jungle is simple. Survive. From Treefort Media and Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, this is Natural Selection Scott vs. Wild Bill. I'm your host, Candace DeLong. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts.