Snapped: Women Who Murder - Nanette Litherland

Episode Date: August 4, 2024

When a household is targeted by gunfire twice in a short amount of time, investigators in rural Missouri sift through a community in search of a family’s enemies which leads them to a mastermind pulling strings.Season 25 Episode 19Originally aired: July 7, 2019Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee 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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Uninterrupted's Top Class Tennis. Premiering on Freebie and Prime Video July 18th. She was a small town girl determined to build a better life for her family. She was a single mom. It's hard. She wanted the stability. She seemed to have found it in a hard-working man. They had everything they needed right there on that farm. Their little slice of paradise. Until their blissful farm life is shattered by a brutal act of violence.

He dropped right there in the doorway. She was almost out of her mind, worked up. This was the second shooting at this location in the past few months. This family was being targeted. Your mind just going wild going, who's trying to kill these people? The quest to find answers unearths some deadly secrets. She was being abused physically, emotionally, maybe even sexually. Someone's lying and someone's telling the truth.

He pops out of the truck and takes off just running. There might be some type of conspiracy. He was blowing his story right out of the water, right off the bat. We all started to realize that there's more to this than just one person committing a murder. Sunday night, November 8, 2009, Missouri State investigator Scott Ashby is wrapping up a quiet weekend at his home in suburban St. Louis. They were getting ready to go to bed, you know, and all of a sudden, the phone rings. When a house phone rings, it's bad news. So I answer it, and I'm getting called out for a homicide investigation in Washington

County. I contacted Sergeant Smith to let him know, say, hey, we got a murder, we got to go. He was requesting assistance with the investigation, so I responded down to the scene that night. Sergeant David Bower of the Missouri State Highway Patrol is also en route to the scene. Their destination? A farmhouse in the sparsely populated community of Cadet, Missouri. The residence sits quite a distance up off the roadway. There's not many neighbors around. Upon arrival at the scene that night, there were several family members that were standing around and the Washington County Sheriff's Department was also on the scene. The officers learn from sheriff's deputies that their victim is 48-year-old Jerry Litherland,

the owner of the farm and a local truck driver. The 911 call had come in at approximately 8 p.m. that evening. The sheriff's officer was dispatched, and upon the arrival of the deputy, the deputy had located a white male, deceased, lying just inside of a doorway at the residence. His body was preventing the door from opening any further than a foot. Careful not to disturb the crime scene,

investigators look for another way in. Basically, walked up to the side door of this house. It looked like it had been broken into. So we're wondering, well, this isn't a burglary that went bad or something like that? Though it's much too early to zero in on a motive, one thing is certain. Jerry Litherland died an extremely violent death.

When you first looked at him, it looked like he got stabbed, because the bullet holes were elongated. And then we started seeing the shell casings. That's when we realized he was shot. The shell casings were from a high-powered rifle. A lot of thoughts go through your mind, but you want to start a process of elimination,

determine what didn't happen, and work back from there. We just got to view the scene and get a perspective of what we were dealing with, what type of homicide we had. Jerry Litherland was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1961. My dad had 16, there were 16 siblings altogether. Eight boys and eight girls. It was a huge family. Even in such a big family, Jerry's generous soul made him stand out.

He was always helping people. As far back as I can remember, somebody stranded alongside the highway. No, we're stopping. He would be there to help anybody. He was very hardworking. Electricity, plumbing. Just whatever he could do, he would learn how to do it.

Jerry's work ethic helped him build a career as a cement truck driver. And in 1977, Jerry and his high school sweetheart, Cheryl, tied the knot. Soon after, they started a family of their own. Jerry was pretty happy to be a dad. He'd take them fishing. He changed diapers, and he'd feed the kids. My dad was fun to be around. He always made sure to let me know that I was his little girl.

Life was good until Jerry and Cheryl's youngest daughter, Deanna, was diagnosed with cancer at age nine. The disease would ultimately claim young Deanna's life, and in the process, took an immense toll on Jerry and Cheryl's relationship. In 1991, after 14 years of marriage, Jerry and Cheryl divorced. After a while, you just say, enough's enough.

I never hated him. It was just, it was sad. Jerry became a little distant. He was just, it was sad. Jerry became a little distant. He was still Jerry, but there was something missing. As fate would have it, a childhood friend of Cheryl's helped lift Jerry out of his fob. Her name was Nanette Pellete. We grew up in the same small town. She just lived like a mile and a half from me. So we rode the same school bus.

She was the type of person that when she entered a room, everyone would turn and look at her. There was just some sort of a charisma that exuded from her. Despite her charm, Nanette was no stranger to heartbreak. By the time she met Jerry Litherland, she had already endured a broken marriage that left her supporting two young sons. Being a struggling single mom, it's hard.

And you dream of something different. Nanette wanted the stability. It was with hardworking Jerry Litherland that Nanette finally found that stability. Nanette very much loved Jerry. They were soulmates. Jerry and Nanette married in 1998 and soon welcomed a daughter of their own named Mary. She doted on her daughter. Nanette lived for her kids. Jerry and Nanette settled near Cadet, Missouri.

Over the years, their children from previous marriages moved out and had families of their own. Then, around the time their daughter Mary started high school, Nanette and Jerry decided to buy over 100 acres in the Missouri countryside. They loved it. They loved the wildlife. They loved the seclusion.

It was their little slice of paradise. When Jerry wasn't hauling cement or working on his land, he was building his and Nanette's dream home, all by himself. Designed every bit of it. He poured the concrete, laid the bricks, designed the fireplace, all of it. It was beautiful.

He had built the garage. It was a huge garage with a loft. It was kind of like an apartment for them while he was living on the property and building the house. But as their home took shape, the Litherland's marriage started to show cracks. They were struggling financially. They were putting a lot of money into the house.

They took out a big loan. And then in 2009, Jerry's unemployed, and she's on disability. During that time, Jerry's elderly father, James, also moved in with them. As if caring for Jerry's father wasn't enough, Nanette and Jerry also argued frequently over how to deal with their now teenage daughter, Mary. There were times in which he had disciplined Mary in a way in which perhaps was unfair.

And because of that, you know, Nanette took her daughter and left the residence. you know, Nanette took her daughter and left the residence. In September 2009, Nanette and Mary moved into a trailer in nearby Potosi, six miles from the family home. But even after their split, Nanette couldn't bring herself to cut off contact with Jerry completely. They saw each other every day. I think that she felt that they would be back together, that reconciliation was very possible.

But sadly, that reconciliation would never happen. Just two months after Nanette moved out, their once happy farmhouse is now awash in the flashing glow of police lights. I'm trying to gather information, as much information I can, Happy Farmhouse is now awash in the flashing glow of police lights. I'm trying to gather information, as much information I can, at that point in time to find out who may be responsible. Missouri state investigators learn from deputies that Jerry's body was first discovered by his 83-year-old father, James Litherland.

He doesn't have a phone, but he does have a vehicle. So James goes straight to Nanette's house. And Nanette's there, her daughter's there, and he immediately tells them that Jerry's hurt, and he needs them to call for him. Having found signs of a possible break-in, state investigators have to consider that Jerry may have died in a home invasion gone awry. Well, at first you're starting to think, was this a burglary?

Did something go wrong at this burglary? Did he interrupt the burglary? Even if the perpetrators' motive was robbery, not murder, it's clear they didn't waste a single second pulling the trigger. It looks like as soon as he walked through the door, and I was shutting the door, he got shot. Coming up, a frightening twist surfaces. His father, he was targeted about two months earlier. And then you're going, OK, does somebody have

something out on these people? And detectives are forced to re-examine their initial theory. Someone was lying in wait for this gentleman. And the question became, well, then who? Hours after 48-year-old Jerry Litherland was gunned down inside his own home, Missouri State investigators are scouring the crime scene for evidence. There were a couple shell casings that were found at the scene, but the weapon that would have fired those bullets was not.

Given the position of his body, investigators can conclude that Jerry Litherland died moments after returning home. The question now is, where did those shots come from? When you enter the residence, there's a staircase that led up to bedrooms, and there's a large opening in the wall at the top of those stairs from a bedroom, which would give one vantage point over that larger area. It appeared that the shooter was shooting from upstairs, shooting down towards where the victim was.

and towards where the victim was. Outside the home, Sergeant David Bauer speaks to local authorities. What deputies tell him adds a frightening new twist to this investigation. They informed me that there was another shooting at this address. And this was the second shooting at this location in the past few months.

According to local deputies, the initial shooting took place on the night of September 22nd, 2009 and Jerry's 83-year-old father James had been injured in the incident. in the incident. James was out on his front porch smoking his cigar, looking towards Highway E. He didn't hear anything prior to a loud pop. He remembers falling and he woke up a short time later in pain, obvious pain, and that's as when his son arrived back there. He had over 60 pellets lodged in him. He had one that went in behind his ear and was stuck in the side of his tongue. He had lead pellets all throughout his whole body.

It was shotgun pellets, which may have been the difference in this, had he been shot in the back of the head with a pistol or any other weapon, besides what he was shot with, he may have not survived. James can't identify anybody. You've got no leads, no apparent motive. The Sheriff's Office had developed two persons of interest only because of previous arguments that James had had with them over money. But both of those suspects were cleared. and they were located, questioned, and cleared of any wrongdoing. At that point, it absolutely had turned cold. There was no leads at all. [♪ dramatic music playing over radio transmission sound effects and radio transmission sound effects, music fades out, music ends, and the sound of a door opens, music starts again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends, and the sound of a door closes again, music ends door wasn't the clue they initially suspected it to be. The door did have damage, but one of the family members

had kicked the door open when they arrived. So other than that damage that was explained, there was no other evidence of any type of force entry. To investigators, this crime scene looks increasingly less like a botched robbery and more like a targeted attack. Someone was lying in wait for this gentleman. The question became, well then who? You're looking for a connection. Why would somebody want to see both of them dead? His father was shot about two months earlier. And then you're going, okay, does somebody have something out on these people?

Or is there a land dispute or drugs? Looking for answers to those questions, police turned to the people who knew Jerry Best, his family. I knew the one that was present when we tried to interview, just to start a timeline and try to find if we had any suspects or possible suspects in mind. According to James Litherland, he found his son's body when he returned home that evening, shortly after 8 p.m.

He was obviously emotional because of what he had just seen. I did ask if he knew of who would want to do this. James was befuddled who would want to kill him or his son. Detectives asked James if anyone unusual had been on the property in the past few days. We found out about this gentleman who was there to cut wood with Jerry. His name is William Fair.

As James passes along Fair's contact information, investigator Scott Ashby speaks with Jerry's stepson, Thomas Bueller, and his wife, Gwen. Thomas said that they'd been at their house all night until they got the phone call from Manette that something had happened to Jerry. They had no information of who possibly could have done this or why they would have done it.

Police then speak to Nanette Litherland, Jerry's wife of 11 years, who'd raced to the scene the moment her father-in-law told her what had happened. Nanette, she was upset, you know, she had just lost her husband. At the time this happened, they were estranged. She was living in Potosi and Jerry was staying out at the farm. Nanette tells investigators that she had last seen Jerry around 7 p.m. that evening, outside Tom and Gwen's home. She gave him a pip pack on his cheek. She told him she loved him.

And he asked if she was still his and she told him she was. According to Nanette, she spent the rest of the evening at home with her 17-year-old daughter Mary, a story that Mary readily confirms. She had a pretty solid alibi as far as law enforcement was concerned. We tried to find out who she thought may have been responsible for this. She had mentioned some neighbors nearby having problems with them and fearing that they had stolen his welder. I've seen people shoot their neighbors because of an argument or just something as simple

as a person feeling like they got ripped off. When day breaks the following morning, police begin running down the leads provided by Jerry's loved ones. They start with William Fair, who was at the Litherland home with Jerry the day of the murder. He told us that it's one of those things where he would go visit with Jerry, he would cut firewood. It sounded like a friendship, so it wasn't like the guy came out, bought wood and left.

That was the first time that he had actually heard that Jerry was killed. He was very shocked and surprised. William Fair tells police he left the property late Sunday afternoon. It was a very short time period between when he left Jerry's house with the wood and when the murder happened. But William Fair claims to have a rock-solid alibi. He tells police at the time of the murder

he was hanging out with several friends, all of whom corroborate William's statement. Investigators ask William if he knows anyone else who's recently been to Jerry's farm. That's when he mentioned that Jerry had this young man living there named Jake. All I had was a first name that kind of got my attention because as far as I knew,

none of the other family members said anything about that. I guess he was hoping Mr. Littleton do some farm work and cut wood for him for room and board. William said Jake was residing with Mr. Glendlin, apparently up to that weekend. He knows the layout, knows the house, and knows Jerry. And so that's something you gotta look into. William Fair also tells police that a group

of suspicious-looking men came by to visit Jake last week. Soon after that, Jake told Jerry he was moving out. The timing of Jake's sudden departure raises questions for investigators. Why is he not here? And why did he leave just the day before this homicide? We need to find him. Coming up, stories begin shifting. Someone's lying and someone's telling the truth. And motives start piling up. We all started to realize that there's more to this than just one person committing a

murder. There might be some type of conspiracy. Hey podcast listeners, have you heard you can listen to your favorite podcasts ad free? That's good news. With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad free top podcasts included with your Prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to amazon.com slash ad free podcasts. That's amazon.com slash ad free podcasts to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads.

Scammers are best known for living the high life until they're forced to trade it all in for handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit once they're finally caught. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagge. And we're the host of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of some of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims and what's left once the facade falls away. We've covered stories like a Shark Tank certified entrepreneur who left the show with an investment but soon faced mounting

bills, an active lawsuit filed by Larry King, and no real product to push. He then began to prey on vulnerable women instead, selling the idea of a future together while stealing from them behind their backs. To the infamous scams of Real Housewives stars like Teresa Giudice, what should have proven to be a major downfall only seemed to solidify her place in the Real Housewives Hall of Fame. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wendree app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scamfluencers early and ad free right now on Wendree Plus.

Less than a day after Jerry Litherland's murder, Missouri investigators are looking for a man known to police only as Jake. Jake was doing odds and ends around the house for Jerry and was living there, just helping out at the farm. They're looking for somebody who knew the layout of the property, somebody who might have had a reason to do this. We had to do some digging to find out who Jake was, but we were able to come up with the last name, Feldman.

20-year-old Jake Feldman is a local resident who police learn attended high school with the victim's daughter, Mary Litherland. Jacob Feldman was reported to be dating, have a relationship with Mary at some point in time. For investigators, it's a startling piece of information. I interviewed Mary. Mary never even brought nothing up about Jake. State police bring Mary Litherland in for additional questioning.

When they ask her about her relationship with Jake Feldman, Mary's response surprises them. Mary, she denied that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. She said he was just staying with her father, and they had no relationship at all. Detectives ask Mary if she has any idea where Jake Feldman could be now. She tells us the names of Jake's good friends,

and we track all three of them individuals down. We found that Jacob was staying with a friend in Fredericktown, Missouri. That friend's name is Tony K. We went to his house, and Jake was outside. I began talking to him about Mr. Litherman. I said, have you heard what happened to him? And he said, no.

What's going on? I said, well, Jerry got killed. And he was become all upset. I kept talking to him and talking to him and going, hey, where were you this over this last weekend? And he kept saying he was down here in Fredericktown, staying with Tony. But when investigators speak with Tony Kay, he tells them a far different story. Tony said Monday night, the day after the homicide, Jake showed up around 7 o'clock in the evening.

He was blowing his story right out of the water, right off the bat. Investigators asked Jake to sit down with them and answer more questions. He agreed to come back to Potosi with us so that we could speak with him. At the station, Jake confirms he's been staying at the Litherlands farm for a few months, helping Jerry take care of the property. I moved in in January. All throughout the summer was great.

It was enjoyable. My log took care of the farm pretty much, worked with the horses, kept up on everything. It seemed Jake was also infatuated with Mary, so I think that kept him around for quite a while as well. Jake tells police that he and Mary briefly dated in high school and they stayed friends even after Jake started using drugs and his family cut him off.

My family itself was pretty upset with me with some of the past decisions I made, getting into some of the drugs and stuff like that. So they kicked me out of the house. Well, Mary, she's got a big heart. So she ended up talking to her parents and me moving out there. My dad was always wanting to help people. That was his nature. Like, I can give you food and a roof over your head.

Anybody that needed help, he would help. Jake says the Litherlins became like a second family to him, but his interview strikes investigators as odd. Not one time you ever asked how, how Jerry got killed. He never asked that. And when police question Jake's alibi, he changes his story, now claiming that at the time of the murder, he was babysitting for Jerry's stepson, Thomas Bueller, and his wife,

Gwen. Investigators reach out to the Buellerlers to try and verify Jake's story. Quinn Buhler did say that, yes, he was at their house, you know, at the time this incident took place. And that once they got notified of the homicide, Jake was still there at the house, so she asked him to babysit her children. As Jake Feldman's interview continues, he insinuates that he has inside information about the murder. He's tossing them some tidbits, some names of people maybe they should talk to. He brought up Tony Kaye. He was implying that he thought that he

was involved with the murder. I asked him if Tony was ever at Mr. Littler's house. He said, yeah, yeah. He worked on his vehicles. And yeah, he knows where he lives. Jake said Tony was just out of the property a day or two before the homicide with his girlfriend and with Jake. Police aren't sure if they can trust Jake, but they have to follow every lead. They conduct a background check on Tony K.

And learn that he was recently released from prison after serving more than 16 years. That got our attention, obviously. It led us to believe we definitely needed to speak with Tony at length. I said, well, how about after our interview's over with, if you can contact Tony to come pick you up, we'd like to talk to him and see what his involvement was.

So he agreed. Jake said he could lure Tony to the residence of Jerry Litherland's daughter and son-in-law. As darkness falls, police head to Thomas and Gwen Bueller's house, where they lie in wait for Tony K. Myself and two of my partners were instructed to conduct surveillance on that residence. And the signal that the suspect was coming to the residence

was Mr. Feldman would walk out on the front porch and light a cigarette and smoke the cigarette. During that surveillance process, task force officer in the rear of the residence had observed Mr. Feldman and a female on the porch smoking cigarettes and conversing. A short time later, Mr. Feldman was seen walking down the steps around the residence out of the view

of the task force officer. And then all of a sudden the vehicle leaves. Police follow the pickup as it leaves the Bueller home. We traveled east on Highway 8, approximately two and a half miles from the city limits. The vehicle abruptly pulls to the right shoulder and stops. Jake Feldman pops out of the truck and takes off just running into the field. By the time I had seen my vehicle, he had returned to the vehicle. I asked him what he was doing. This wasn't the plan. Why are you doing this? At this point, he went

from being very cooperative to now being very argumentative and combative. While the sheriff attempts to calm Jake down, officers approach the truck. They're stunned to see who's in the driver's seat. She's got her hands on the steering wheel and she isn't saying a thing. Coming up, police identify the woman in the driver's seat and questions start flying. Why is she trying to keep a potential witness away from us? And a possible motive is revealed.

He had an appointment with an attorney to change all the beneficiaries. It's roughly 48 hours since Jerry Litherland's murder, and Missouri police have just caught their prime witness, Jake Feldman, making a run for it with an unknown female. When investigators approach the vehicle, they're shocked by who they find in the driver's seat, the victim's wife, Nanette Litherland.

Nanette is sitting there. She's got her hands on the steering wheel and she isn't saying a thing. She realized apparently that she was being followed by officers and just pulled over the side of the road. And then Jake jumped out of the truck and ran down an embankment. Police confront Jake Feldman, who is in a highly agitated state. I asked him why he ran.

He said that he was stretching his legs. They both acting suspicious. It just doesn't look good. Why is Nanette trying to hustle him out of town when he's supposed to be working with law enforcement on hooking them up with Tony Kay? Nanette claims she didn't know Jake Feldman was under surveillance and that she'd offered him a ride because he was acting erratically. She said it was clear that he was under the influence of some sort of narcotic.

Nanette did what most parents would do, which was try to get this dangerous person away from her family. And she did. But investigators suspect Nanette knows more than she's letting on. We believe something more to the situation. However, at this point, we did not have enough to arrest him or her. So the decision was made to let them both leave, and we would catch them at a later time. The next morning, investigators questioned Tony Kaye,

who Jake Feldman had implied was involved in Jerry's murder. There was nothing to indicate that Tony would have a motive for killing Jerry financially or otherwise. Investigators also tracked down the neighbors who Nanette alleged had clashed with Jerry in the days leading up to her husband's murder. She was claiming that these individuals stole a welder and that they may have been involved in this murder too.

But we found out that they met with Jake and they bought the welder from him and that was all their involvement. With this new information contradicting Nanette's original statement, investigators know they need to question her further. We were trying to get Nanette to come in for an interview and Nanette had continued to drag her feet, make different excuses. With Nanette refusing to cooperate, investigators focus their attention on Jake Feldman. We start interviewing some other individuals that was friends of his.

When they speak with Jake's friend, Justin Messick's, investigators catch the break they've been waiting for. He said Jake had been talking about having shot James and was talking about Nanette paying him thousands of dollars to murder Jerry. For the first time, we have a direct connection with Jake Feldman to the homicide and enough to get a probable cause statement and get him arrested. On November 13, 2009, police arrest Jake Feldman and confront him with the statement from his friend Justin Messick. Jake Feldman confesses to murdering Jerry right away. And Jake is also telling about shooting James.

But Jake doesn't stop there. He directs investigators to a country road where they recover a semi-automatic rifle. It's sent to Ballistics. Man, he took us back to the scene and reenacted the shooting with us. He describes going in the back door of the house and going to Jerry's bedroom

to get Jerry's rifle. After explaining how the shooting went down, Jake lays out his motive. Felden believed Mary was being abused by James and Jerry, both physically, emotionally, and maybe even sexually. I was kind of devoted to just ending the situation. He is trying to paint this as, I acted solo, I did these shootings for no other reason

than to protect Mary from being abused. After speaking with Jake Feldman, investigators bring Mary Litherland back to the station for another round of questioning. What she tells police directly contradicts Jake's allegations of abuse. I interviewed Mary at length. She adamantly denied ever being sexually abused in any way, shape, or form by Jerry or James. He lied to us before. What's going to stop him from lying now? With more questions than answers, investigators step up their inquiry into Nanette Litherland.

We start subpoenaed bank documents. We found out that she had actually applied for benefits from his death four days after he was killed and had received over $200,000 in life insurance payouts. In total, Nanette stood to inherit more than $400,000 from insurance policies in Jerry's name. A week before he died, he told me that they were getting a divorce, and he told me that Monday morning on the 9th, he had an appointment with an attorney to change all the beneficiaries. As police continue their investigation into Nanette, Jake Feldman remains in the Washington County jail.

He was charged with first degree murder and the prosecutor was gonna go for the death penalty. He does cut a deal. They take death penalty off the table. Jake agrees to cooperate with investigators in order to avoid the death penalty. And on March 5th, 2010, nearly four months

after Jerry Litherland's murder, Jake Feldman finally comes clean. Jake told him that Nanette was going to ask her mom behind all this. How much did she offer? A hundred thousand. The money would have been nice, but Mary was my concern. It's becoming clear to investigators

how Nanette convinced Jake Feldman to shoot Jerry. Nanette had that perception that you're doing the world a favor. My husband is doing bad things to Mary. She says, Jake has got to be done. She's just that simple. She says, it's getting too bad. I can't deal with it. Nanette told him that she needed him to kill Jerry before Monday.

According to Jake, Nanette drove him to the farm on September 22, the night he shot Jerry's elderly father, James. at the same time. So Nanette took you and dropped me off on cocaine lane. I walked down and up through woods. And that's when I got up there, James was the only one there. Jerry just left. Jake Feldman shot James and fled. Nanette, she was very upset that one,

her father-in-law wasn't dead, and two, her husband, he didn't even try. Jake says a month later, Nanette convinced him to try again. Only this time, she enlisted the help of her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Gwen Bueller. Gwen was supposed to provide the alibi, and that Thomas dropped him off there. According to Jake, while he was preparing to ambush Jerry, Nanette waited at Thomas and Gwen's home.

Jerry Lutheran met her there and talked to her outside on the street. When Jerry left, Thomas received a phone call from Nanette that Jerry's on his way. OK, and then what happened? He comes to the door, and that's when they shot. He leaves the residence, and then he meets up with Thomas, who then drives him

to dispose of the murder weapon. On April 24, 2010, Missouri police arrest Thomas Bueller, Gwen Bueller, and Nanette Litherland. Nanette was actually at the bank collecting some money. She had no emotion at all. It didn't seem like it was that big of a surprise for her. In January 2011, Jake Feldman pleads guilty to first-degree murder.

But as prosecutors prepare for the trials of Nanette, Thomas, and Gwen, there's a shocking development. Jake said, wait a second. I've been this whole time making this story up in no way, shape, or form. Did Nanette, Gwen, Thomas have anything to do with this? It was just a huge moment. Coming up, Jake Feldman's about face provides an opening for Nanette's defense team. We felt very positively that we had an innocent client on our hands. But will it be enough to convince the jury? Everyone was crying.

I mean, there wasn and a half after Missouri authorities arrested Nanette Litherland for the murder of her husband Jerry, the state's star witness Jake Feldman does a stunning 180. He recanted that story and admitted that he was lying. He said that he was trying to shift the blame for this murder off of himself and onto Winnentom Bueller, as well as Nanette, because he was trying to avoid the death penalty.

Though the case against Nanette and the Buellers has suffered a serious setback, prosecutors decide to move forward without Jake's testimony. And on June 10th, 2013, Nanette Litherland's trial begins. The trial was for two crimes, the murder of Jerry and the attempted murder of James, Jerry's father. We had to prove that Nanette aided or encouraged Feldman to cause her husband and her father-in-law to die. Prosecutors tell jurors Nanette's motive boiled down to one thing, greed. Nanette knew that her relationship with my dad was going to end in divorce. I think she wanted it to end in a way where she has the money.

She would have the farm, she would have all the life insurance policies, and she would be rid of her husband and his father. Nanette wanted no ties to the property except to her. Prosecutors say Nanette dangled allegations of abuse along with the promise of a cash payout to secure the help of her son Thomas, daughter-in-law Gwen, and Jake Feldman. This was a cold-blooded, premeditated homicide orchestrated by these individuals. I was shocked that somebody would go to that length to kill him.

One crucial witness for the state is Nanette's daughter-in-law, Gwen Bueller. Gwen was willing to cooperate and took a deal as well. That was for hindering prosecution. She got probation. The defense counters by pointing out that Gwen Bueller only confessed in exchange for a reduced sentence. I believe Gwen took advantage of the state of Missouri in that, you know, they really wanted to get Nanette and they used her for her testimony.

As far as Nanette's defense team is concerned, there was no conspiracy. Jake Feldman murdered Jerry Litherland on his own. On June 11th, they called Jake Feldman to the stand. Jake tells the court that he and he alone was responsible for the murder of Jerry Litherland, as well as the attempted murder of Jerry's father, James. Jake claims he acted out of concern for the safety of Jerry's daughter, Mary.

Jacob Feldman believed that they were inappropriately touching her in some manner, some form, some way. Jacob had a couple different stories. The one at trial, he told, was Jerry is violent and dangerous and he has threatened Mary and Jake Jake has found out about this. And so he goes over to the house to confront Jerry. My intentions wasn't to kill him. My intentions was to eliminate the threat. He said, Jake, I made that girl and I'll do what I want with her. That's when I made the decision.

It's a mistake that I made. Jake's testimony is powerful. But on cross-examination, prosecutors waste no time poking holes in it. You have Jake Feldman saying that I acted alone and nobody else knew anything about it. It begs the question, well, if nobody knew anything about it, why would they be providing you with false alibis?

The only evidence of abuse that ever existed was from the fantasy mind of Nanette. Mary did a deposition and she denied that there had ever been any sexual abuse. Nanette was the one Jake Feldman said gave the final go. If it hadn't been for her, this would have never happened. After both sides rest their case, the jury doesn't take long to render their verdict. Jury was back in about 45 minutes with a guilty on all counts. Everyone was crying.

I mean, there wasn't a dry eye. Jerry's family was there. They were crying. Nanette's family was there. They were crying. Nanette Litherland received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. I was relieved when she was put in prison. Hopefully she just sits there and rots.

She manipulated Jake. I don't hold a grudge against Jake at all because he was a kid. He was their puppet and the whole thing. She ruined this kid's life for the rest of his life. It was all over money and greed. She couldn't have enough. There wasn't enough out there to give her to make her happy. Nanette Litherland is currently serving her life sentence

at the Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe, Missouri. Jake Feldman pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2013, Nanette's son, Thomas, pleaded guilty to his role in the murder. He was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to 8 years in prison, but was released in May 2014 on parole.

Hey, I'm Mike Corey, the host of Wondery's podcast Against the Odds. In each episode, we share thrilling true stories of survival, putting you in the shoes of the people who live to tell the tale. In our next season, it's July 6th, 1988, and workers are settling into the night shift aboard Piper Alpha, the world's largest offshore oil rig. Home to 226 men, the rig is stationed in the stormy North Sea off the coast of Scotland. At around 10pm, workers accidentally trigger a gas leak that leads to an explosion and a fire.

As they wait to be rescued, the workers soon realize that Piper Alpha has transformed into a death trap. Follow Against the Odds wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music or the Wondery app.