Sword and Scale - Episode 247

Episode Date: August 28, 2023

On the day before Halloween, sisters Ashlee and Lisa Rucker were shot in the head inside their Florida condominium. There were four witnesses in the apartment, but only one truly knew what happened. Soon the world would find out who was responsible for this heinous killing and the years of tension that built up to that final day.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5895676/advertisement

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Oh my god. Hello and welcome to season 10 episode 247 of sword and scale A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real If you like the show, there's only one place you can go to get a whole lot more of it, and that is swordandscale.com slash plus. We have over 150 plus episodes that are exclusive. You can't hear them anywhere else. Plus a beautiful and pristine 320 kilobyte feed. If you've never heard the audio like that,

it's mind blowing. Plus, you know, there's no ants. That's why it's called plus. There's so many pluses. Check it out. 1.5-2-3-4-3-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4- I'm going to be a little bit more careful. In December of 2022, a former landscaper named Chad T. Absher sat in the floor to courtroom in a gray suit and a bright blue shirt. Chad wasn't a type to dress up like that, but this was a special occasion. He was taking the stand at his former girlfriend's murder trial. 37-year-old Chad Absher sat on the stand and prepared to discuss the night

Dan then prepared to discuss the night that his former girlfriend Ashley Rucker had been killed. It was October 30th, 2017. The evening was like any other. After work, the couple connected it Ashley's apartment and decided to order pizza for dinner. They're a little credit going. That's a little eating it. Of course the kids, and then whoever else got a piece. Though Chad stayed at Ashley's apartment most of the time, he didn't actually live there. Ashley's sister and best friend, Lisa, was her roommate. The two women were single mothers with young boys. Everyone was home that night.

Ashley, Lisa, their two boys, Chad, and Lisa's new boyfriend, Lyle Scheidemann. Chad said that after eating pizza in the living room, he, Ashley and her son, Joseph, retired to the bedroom. Where did you lie at home? In Ashley's room. Oh, babe. Okay, and Ashley's room? On the bed.

OK. And Ashley's left in the bed too, right? Of course, she's slipping in. Yeah, where did it go? It was in the cave hell. What's the cave? You like the faux pillows up, getting in the corner right there, and getting them all spodder, you know?

In the same bed, you got? Of course. So after you went to sleep, what do you remember happening next? I got more blood being being in my sleep. Who was beating you? That was on top of me. How?

Lying. What was he doing? Being in my face. After falling asleep, Chad said he was awakened by the feeling of Lyle's fist on his face. Lisa's boyfriend was attacking him. So at this point, you're staying out telling us that Lyle is eating you. What did you do next at that point? I got to cut the situation. Lisa was right here. eating you. What did you do next at that point? I got to cut the situation.

Lisa was right here. Well, I was only an accident. It was this time. I came up out this situation. I got a bone on feet. Okay. Now where'd you go? When I was living. Did the fight ends at that point? There was never a fight. Well, the Lyle eating the L one's a bad chance at that point. Yes, ma'am. So once you got up out of the room, I watched how the living room was usually passed. I was getting my stomach up, it was just a lean. But Chad said he couldn't get out that easily.

Lyle had taken charge. What was actually at least that Lyle doing at that point? The boys ran out of the whole place. And when he said that, were you me, Lyle? Yes, my mother did. Lisa was sent about to bar. And Ashley was the following me around. Because my face was just dripping blood and it's coming

to get messed up. She was wiping under blood. Chad said Lisa stood angrily at the bar while Ashley followed Chad trying to clean up the blood he was dripping all over the floor. Were you gathering up clothes? I'm sure you're checking. Please, it was all the phones all here. What were you getting ready to do?

I was just gonna be, uh, okay. Were you aware that at least that had caught 911 on that point? No. No, no, no, no. Okay, what's going on? No, no, no, no. You're not supposed to be caught. 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, 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, But Lisa was wrong. There were weapons in the house. Chad had a pocket knife. There was a bat in the bedroom, and there was a rifle hidden in the couch. As the chaos escalated, Chad said that Ashley went and grabbed the rifle. Do you hear the vague one word responses like it can't be bothered to elaborate? You know anybody who talks like that? Are they an honest person? Hmm. Chad said that Ashley blasted the rifle across the room at him, but the bullet missed and shot her sister in the jaw. Lisa fell to the ground, screaming. Chad told the court that a struggle ensued as he tried to get the gun out of Ashley's grasp, and it went off into her head. So what happened after a second round of the fire?

Any action? What did you do? Did you realize you were shot? Yes, ma'am. What did you do? I left. Why did you leave? Because I was a cover.

Chad had been in trouble with the law before. He didn't want the police to find him in an apartment with two children. Chad was a cover. Chad had been in trouble with the law before. He didn't want the police to find him in an apartment with two dead women and they're crying children. It's usually not a good look. He was scared and didn't know what to do, so he ran. And so Iran. Ashley and her sister Lisa had both been shot in the face at their apartment in Florida.

The sisters had been home with their boyfriends Lyle and Chad when a fight broke out, which escalated into gun violence. Chad claimed that Ashley had shot her sister, then accidentally shot herself in the head. He fled the scene leaving the sisters to bleed out as their young children cried in the other room. Ashley was flat on her back and her head was cradled in a slick pool of blood. She had been shot just behind the ear. The bullet blew through her brain killing her instantly.

But by some miracle, Lisa was still breathing. Her boyfriend Lyle hovered over her, begging Lisa to stay awake as he called 911. Hello? Oh my god, they've been murdered. They've been murdered. Yes, they've been murdered. Oh my god. They've been murdered. They've been murdered. Oh my god. What's that? I don't know. Come on. Give me. Wait. Why? What's the two kids? Two. Two. Three. You're kidding. You're kidding. You're kidding. You're kidding. The address is on.

Let's check it. Lyle didn't know the address because he and Lisa had only been danning for a little while. As Lisa and Ashley's sons wailed in the background, Lyle scrambled to get help Let's see your apartment number. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Lyle had figured out the apartment number but he still didn't know the address. He left the boys inside and Lisa bleeding on the floor as he ran out into the hallway

to find a little bit more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more

more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more

more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you.

I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you.

I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you.

I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. I'm gonna get you. Laos said Chad was the killer, not Ashley. Chad had shot the sisters. Now he was gone on foot. Laos ran back to Lisa and cradled her bloody head, trying to keep her alert until help arrived. In the next clip, you can hear Lisa murmuring and trying to stay alive. Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, At the Rutgers apartment, they quickly removed the two young boys from the scene, and Lisa was taken to the hospital.

Lyle went outside with the police. He was sweating and out of breath. His blue pants were covered in blood. He looked at the officer and said, get ready. I want you to write down exactly what happened and who did it. It was Chad Absher. The police ran Chad's name through the computer system and started pulling up pictures. As soon as Chad's face appeared on the screen, Lyle yelled,

that's the motherfucker. That's the one who did it. I know it. The police put out a bolo for Chad and made Lyle sit in the back of a patrol car. But that's when Lyle became irate. He refused to tell the officers his full name and started screaming, I just saw my girlfriend get shot. Why am I here? Fuck you. I will not answer any questions. Tonight, police are searching for the man wanted in connection with the murder of a woman and the shooting of her sister. Family members tell us that he is the ex-boyfriend of Ashley Rocker. Police will leave 32-year-old Chad Abshur is armed and dangerous.

When police processed the crime scene, they could not find the rifle. Shell casings lay all over the floor. A closet had been destroyed and the shelves were smashed to the ground. A struggle had clearly taken place before the murder, but still, no one knew exactly what had happened in that apartment. None of the neighbors had witnessed anything except for a liel running outside for help. They all heard the gunshots. This was a big apartment building with many residents. And would it surprise you to know in 2023

that only one neighbor called 911. the location of the emergency. I don't know anything. I was going to run around and sleep, but my cousin just woke me up and said, it's me just her two sons. The whole state of Florida was looking for Chad Absher. His face was shared on every news station, every hour. Lisa was in the hospital and expected to make a full recovery and goodness, despite being shot through the jaw and neck. She was unable to speak, of course, but she could write. Just like Lyle, she used her pen and paper to tell the cops that Chad was the one who shot her

and her sister. It took less than 48 hours, but police caught Chad. A short time ago, police responded to an individual that called police saying that they thought Chad absur- absur was inside a residence in the 5400 block of a hundred and eighteen street. When police responded to the scene, we also believed the same information. And SWOT was called out to the scene and we are glad to say after some talk and after some discussion he has come out of the house and he is now in police custody.

After running for days Chad finally showed up at his buddy's house. As soon as we put it out to the media yesterday we were actually overwhelmed with tips. I mean people were calling in. Some of that may have looked like him, and then we were getting specific tips from people that knew him. They may hang out here, hey, he may be here. We were following him all up, and we're just glad that the community came forward. They really stepped up with this and called in those steps, and the reason he's off the street right now.

You were searching this area yesterday, and it was 18th street, and I guess no one was here. Did you believe there was a girlfriend, a friend somewhere he was holding off? The house is someone who's an acquaintance of him. That person who was in the house told us that when he woke up this morning, he was inside his house. He has known him from the past.

He's known to him. So it wasn't like he just broke into a stranger's house is somewhere he has gone before and has been. So that's how he ended up there. So where he was from the time the shooting happened until this morning, but then that was how that he was in his house, we don't know. According to the police report,

the SWAT team used a robot to get into the house where Chad was. The robot had a camera and speaker inside. So once the police were able to see Chad in the house, pacing around with a rifle in his hands, detectives spoke to Chad through the robot's speaker. Gotta say, this is a pretty weird world we're all living in now. Can you imagine being arrested by a robot?

The robot told Chad to put the gun down and come out with his hands up. Probably not in the cool way that Robocop used to do, but you know, we'll get what we get. He kept insisting that he didn't kill Lisa and Ashley, but after some protesting, he placed the gun down on the bed and walked outside as he was told. Well, we're glad it's a horrific incident that happened. I'm shooting these two women and killing one, and now another one has to deal with that tragedy of her sister being killed. But we're glad he's off the street.

He can't victimize anybody else. Chad was in rough shape when he sat down for his police interview. His forehead was banged up and scratched. He had marks on his back. He was wearing dirty pants. He looked pretty much like dog shit. Hey, yes sir. We went and grabbed some burgers.

Got a walker here, you want it? Yeah, yeah. Oh my God, I don't work out me. I appreciate the hell out there. No problem. I think I should use my soda with it out me. I appreciate that. No problem. I like washing my hands honestly. You got some kind of... Let me see what I can do on that.

I'm going to set and bring some hand gel or something real quick. You go with that and then that's your other towel. Okay, you stand up and stand. You want something to start the water to drink, Chad? If you guys, yeah, if you get a soda or something. All right, just take that. After getting Chad his soda and hand sanitizer, they got down to business, digging into who Chad is.

You're doing right. I don't know. Yes, it's been a little bit of my, I can't hold a good shit. Yeah. How do you hear school just complete? It's first school or? Think of that, yeah, eight, three. Chad didn't have an education. He could barely read or write, but he still managed to run his own landscaping business.

But things weren't going so well. Chad took Xanax to sleep every night and add her all and percussed to keep him alert every day. He drank quite a bit. He had a son from a previous relationship, but he didn't see him much in the last two years. We've got some information for us. I want to tell us some things about what's going on and what happening. Kind of your side of things to help us understand what happened. Could you kind of just go through the last week where I was really? You kind of tell me what happened and what's going on.

And this thing can get me up a little bit. I don't know where you all are at. Really? You know this? All right, one, for two. What kind of help you understand what you want? What can I start to get to that point. I mean, ultimately, we're here talking about a situation

which happened in the department. They're over there, I'll say I want to. I mean, ultimately, that's what this is about. Ultimately, something happened over there. And I've got some pieces of a story. But there's a lot of it, different parts of it. And I'm trying to figure it out. So they started at the top.

Who are you dating now? It was these your girlfriend after they grew up together, maybe? Christina. Christina? They call Ashley, right? Right. How long have you been herbing together?

Yeah, they've been. So you all got off and off for a while there, is that kind of what it was? Or what? I mean, not at first. You know, at hell, at first. I never had a woman take me on a cruise. I never been on a cruise. Look at you, dude. So never had a woman take me on a cruise. I never been on a cruise.

Look at you, Jews. We get together, we go on a cruise. I don't even play. Hell yeah. Oh my, shit. It wasn't hell. Right. It was hell.

It was hell. It was hell. It was hell. It was her, someone who worked. Okay, you sure it was. You sure it was. Yeah, shit, man. Yeah.

Yeah, it was all just a bait line and sinker. Chad was painting himself in a strange light and creating a picture that made Ashley up to be a rich lady with deep pockets. And he was just an innocent sugar baby. Ashley had a good job as a medical assistant, but she wasn't wealthy by any means. She worked hard to provide for her son and saved money by living with her sister. Yeah, wasn't it? Well, jealousy issues and shit, you know?

Between the two sisters? Yeah, I don't really know what they were. So like, conscience with each other kind of thing or like, jealous of time you were spending with her? Yeah, so she was, it was about, it was about, man, it was like it was a fucking mile, mind ride, like constantly, so cashing. But Chad said that most of the bickering between himself and Ashley had to do with the fact that he had a son from a previous relationship. other stuff. Well how hard she went at me about that or deal you know it kind of made me kind of wonder like well. What the hell you got going on. You know what I said in the

beginning or was this more than a recent. Chad said that the son's mother was the one that had warned him about Ashley. I don't know what it is. Is it your newer or no? Yeah, they used to be girlfriends back then. I had a little, I had a little much. I had an actual two-ton-ton-ton-ton-ton-ton-ton-ton-ton. The plot is taking. I get the part where it's hard. I mean, you got, you got mixed families with kids. You got things going on.

There's all kind of craziness. You got the relationships that's harder to get with. At the end of the day, you can be. Been a living. I mean, we're not the same. The cops were really hamming it up to make Chad think they were on his side. They really do put on quite the show. To me, I think it's a world.

Because I control them. Right. They got the other one. They got the power. I mean, at the end of the day, they control things. But it drives us the same. At the same time, we can't live of the day they control things. But it drives us the same. At the same time we can't live without. For guys we get it.

Chad admitted that his relationship with Ashley was far from perfect. But he skirted any blame and swept it over to someone else. He was just the innocent party in this whole situation. Lisa was a pesky jealous sister. Ashley had issues with his ex, so he barely saw his son. Then out of nowhere, Chad said he slept with Lisa, which kind of complicated the situation. This is when detectives gave Chad a much needed dose of reality. Yeah What up look at it? Probably I mean I probably can't help I'm having that test review The real thing is hell I mean I don't It's you know a man that goes with it does that to her what the hell I'm going to hear to the hospital I see here when you pour right I'm sitting in the mud working I realize the cow won't down like

Wait a minute or the same look thing is seeming right here. You know, I mean like, because I could tell the bottle language and how it's like, you know what, officer kinda looked at all of the way. And he was like, oh, you playing. Oh, you playing. So she was playing games with that part?

Yeah, yeah, man. But you didn't do it. No, it was, it hard to get you up. This is where things started to fall apart for Chad. Prior to his arrest, the Rucker family had shared pictures of Ashley with the media. Mainly photos, Ashley herself had documented of beatings Chad had given her.

There was one infamous photograph of her in the hospital. She had two black eyes as well as a bandaged nose and lips. Chad is snuggling beside her in the photograph. Knowing that Chad was the one who did this to her, Ashley's family called the police. this to her Ashley's family called the police. When they showed up at the hospital, Chad played innocent and Ashley did not press charges. That's what he's mumbling about in the clip we just played you. There seemed to be a pattern. Chad would hit Ashley, she would confide in someone,

but when the police became involved, she wouldn't file a charge. Sadly, this is a pretty common thing. And Chad always had an excuse for her injuries. I was talking to people up there at the damn hospital. She tripped over the dog and fell hit a mother. One of my mother's on the engine stand. Okay. But I went to kick her bag that she was packing my leave in and she was leaning over. And that's actually what happened to her eyes. I never put my hands on her.

Chad had an excuse for every bruise, but there were many witnesses to corroborate otherwise. Ashley's older sister Jennifer said this. He wasn't just snacking my sister around a little bit. He was beating her like he was eating a mate. Ashley and Lisa's father and stepmother said they too knew about the abuse chat inflicted on Ashley. She tried to get away from him, and like most abusers, he always weaseled his way back in through a combination of fear and manipulation. They were trying to get away from him.

He was climbing up balcony's tearing screen doors down on slide glass doors, putting guns to her heads. It's horrible. He's a very sick man. Another time in 2015, Chad called Lisa saying that Ashley had gone crazy and stabbed herself in the stomach. Chad then called the police saying his girlfriend

had tried to kill herself. While Chad was distracted with 911, Ashley managed to get in her car and rushed herself to the hospital where surgeons sewed up her wounds. Concerned, the doctor asked Ashley how this happened noting, it's almost physically impossible for you to stab yourself through your abdomen wall. The incident was reported as a suicide attempt, and Ashley did an argue. During one beating in 2017, Ashley called 911.

Chad grabbed his gun and threatened to kill himself, so Ashley barricaded herself in the bedroom and escaped at the window, where cops were waiting to get her to safety. The cops reasoned with Chad and because he had calmed down and stopped making threats, they left. Even Lisa spoke out about Chad's control over her sister. He killed someone that loved him. My sister really loved him. Because if she didn't, she would have sent Jill a long time ago.

But Ashley wasn't the first woman, Chad abused. In 2006, he was arrested and served three years for domestic violence and stalking after he threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend. After she broke things off with Chad, he began to follow her to her job, her home, and her school, telling her he still loved her. He even used the stereotypical stalker line, if I can't have you, no one will. How completely original. This guy is a real Chad, if you know what I mean. Chad would call her constantly and even cut off the head of a teddy bear she gave him,

leaving the head on her driveway and the body near her car at work. What a sociopath. Chad's ex-girlfriend filed police reports and got a restraining order, but that didn't stop Chad. He kept harassing her until one night it all came to a head. After he shut up at her house, shooting his gun. Four bullets pierced the home. For bullets pierced the home, he was arrested and then charged. The police knew all of this. Chad was a felon with a record a mile long including a felony charge for hitting a man with his business truck, which said Tee's landscaping on the side. The name of Chad's company.

That's how brazen this motherfucker is. The arrest report stated that Chad drove into the pedestrian so hard his mirror fell off. Then yelled, that's what you get for being in the road. It was later arrested when police found his banged up work truck and his friend's driveway only a few miles away. So this is Chad Absher in a nutshell, convicted felon, abusive stalker, world-class dumbass. This is who the police had been bullshitting with for almost four hours. Now it was time to cut the crap and get down to what happened on the night that Lisa and Ashley were shot.

Remember at the top of the episode Chad told the court that the night started with a simple pizza dinner at home. So we'll begin there Sometimes it don't really do nothing. Yeah. It just depends on whatever I guess and the food I'm in. After the pizza Chad took his usual Xanax bar and chased it down with a little fireball. You know what that is. And then he got ready to go to bed with Ashley and her son Joseph. Ah, the joys of cramped apartment living. You know, I'm just going to sleep and they say, I know Justin jumped so it runs out and hear Lisa and the dude is on me and they don't know who and I always got what.

I know there was a to do be in the new whiffer yeah okay this time Chad said that Lisa and Lyle jumped him out of nowhere a struggle developed and somehow the rifle hidden in the couch was pulled out and fired no details though so actually had the gun you said right and you went to grab it from her which it went off and I grabbed that gun and turn like this and she just See all right, you know It goes off a second though Right, so actually pulls it through the first time as far as you know you didn't know hell

After first shot you grab Yeah, well't know the first shot you grabbed it yeah now you're not you're just you grabbed it before when you know we're somewhat tussling over it when it went out the first time no these are the first time what off she shot it the first time right right a second time oh good just what off you grab it from her now right and. And start fighting over the gun. Well, you know, you know, you're gonna get shot by this gun. He'll lose. You grab it to start getting away from her, right?

And as this happens, she gets shot. Right. Chad said it was all just a big accident. Ashley shot Lisa. Then when he tried to get the gun away, Ashley shot herself. But this wasn't a handgun or a pistol. This was a large nine millimeter high point carbine rifle. This is a serious weapon.

It kind of makes you a little scared if you weren't familiar with the firearms. So why on earth was that hidden in the couch of an apartment that housed two young children? I guess my question to this is, why do you keep that around? Is it, how do you understand that part of it, why, why you feel me to have a gun with you? Not a wrong, right answer either. I'm just, again, trying to understand why. Does that make sense when I'm asking? I mean, why am I asking it?

And then you constantly getting pulled in all different, don't know your trust, I mean, you're the clienteia, who's really, I mean, you never really. Part of my job is to investigate. And like I told you, I said, now, I'm not a judge, and I don't come here to make a decision. I'm just right or wrong. I go and I look at what happens. I'll talk to witnesses and look at evidence. I get the facts.

I get the supporting evidence. I need to look at the case and I try to go from there. In this case, I've been able to be there. And a lot of what you're telling me is right on, but there's some bits and pieces that are quite right. It was more than just bits and pieces. The story Chad spun seemed completely implausible. Because here's the ultimate thing. You can see here, a run thing, you run, they're all like a hoose together against you. But as they said,

we were in route trolls in route to y'all's place anyways. They get there. One of the first things we do when we get there is we separate everybody involved. So they're not going to have time to cooperate with their stories. Okay. And at the end of the day, I mean, even the kids, we separate the kids from the parents. Which is the hardest part. Which is the last part which is the hardest part that's like a four-year-old kid that just watches mom Get shots pull him away from everything in the world of you loves and everything he cares about and just watch some And it you know two three clock in the morning these kids are half asleep and They're gonna they give the exact same story as Lyle Lisa the two boys

Same story I'll take this you said that as Lyle, Lisa, and the two boys, same story. I'll tell you this. You said that Ashley's a manipulator that, you know, leases or cestures, she's probably half full shit. Sometimes I get that Lyle, we don't know if he had from anybody else. You know what, maybe they're lying. But what doesn't happen?

We don't bring four year olds or non year olds out here and ask them what happens to my, and they don't come in here alive, because they don't have that nature in it. They're not, they're innocent kids. They're innocent kids that don't know who you better, then they're so brutally honest about everything that it's nothing but a letter that comes out of their mouth.

That's right. The two boys watched everything happen. The innocent, blameless children of Ashley and Lisa saw the whole thing. What were they doing? They're in a house and they're watching things go crazy. That's the worst part of this thing. If anything that happened, this was that,

it could send me off where anything else is in these kids had to watch this happen. Both of them went to the fact that their watch their moms bleed out in the middle of the litter room. They're covering their blood. They're walking around with nothing on, but what they have on them. All Joseph had almost peer-blendomers. That's how I run him. I think it's the way I do them.

I mean, he wasn't running anything. I mean, it's, when I get there and I see these kids, it burns my heart. You got to help me out with this thing, man. You got to tell me the whole story, man. You got to, you got to lay this out for me and let me understand where we're at because I don't want these kids have to tell the story again. But tugging on Chad's heartstrings don't work. Either the strings had been frayed and snapped decades ago or he didn't have any to begin

with. So that was it. Chad was going to make Ashley's son tell the story of what really happened His son tell the story of what really happened the night he watched his mother die. This time, the entire nation would be watching. This time Chad would not have a hamburger to snack on while two cops pretended to take his side. He'd be on the witness stand with nothing but his lies to comfort him. Sister's Lisa and Ashley Rucker had been shot in the head in their apartment after a fight broke out between the girls and Ashley's boyfriend, Chad Abshur. Chad had fled the apartment after the shooting, leaving Ashley dead and Lisa clinging to life. Chad had been arrested and charged with the murder, but he was sticking to his story. Ashley shot Lisa, then accidentally

shot herself. He was completely innocent. There were four witnesses in the home that night. Ashley's son Joseph, Lisa's son Colton, Lisa herself, and Lisa's boyfriend, Lyle. But all three of the boys weren't in the living room when the gun was fired. Lyle was testy with police on the night of the murder, but after Chad was arrested he opened up to the media about what he saw that night. Laos said that both couples were in their bedrooms. Then he heard a knock on Lisa's bedroom door. Her son came banging on the door and saying, Lael, he's choking my mom. He's choking my mom.

Lisa and Lael ran into Ashley's room. Chad was on top of Ashley. His meaty hands were wrapped so tightly around her neck her face was turning purple. Lisa screamed, she was going to call the cops and Chad jumped off Ashley and lunged at Lisa. I rushed him and I knocked him out, knocked him into the closet. He was out cold. I'm telling everyone we need to go. Lisa literally is guiding me down the stairs when we get down to the bottom of the stairs. Lisa's like my sister's still upstairs.

My sister's still upstairs. Don't leave, loud, please don't leave. Please don't leave me. I said, look, Lisa, I'm not going nowhere. I'm not going anywhere at all. Get them, we'll get a hotel, whatever we have to do. Lisa goes back upstairs and not even 20 seconds later I hear the first gunshot and I hear a scream

and then I hear another gunshot. Soon Lisa was well enough to speak to the media too. She had a tracheotomy and spoke by placing her finger to cover a hole in her throat. I thought I was going to die. I did. I saw him with the gun. He shot me and then I heard her scream.

When I heard her scream, everything was black. That's all a light. It looked like it was like blue and light in the corner of my eye. And it felt like I was falling and drowning at the same time. That point after I had the gunshots, I went to the stairwell next to me and I crashed on and I'm looking up at the stairwell and I see Chad accidently stairwell and put a gun in his waist and zip his jacket up. But I saw my sister laying on the ground,

and the boys were running back and forth. And her and I are saying, please don't die. I dropped my knees, and I'm holding Ashley's head in my hand, and I'm holding, and I'm holding Lisa's hand, and I'm telling Lisa, you need to fight. I need you to be strong, and like I'm hysterically crying. I'm kissing Ashley on the head. I know she's already dead.

I had heard him say before that he was gonna kill us all, but he also would say things like no one's ever gonna touch y'all. You know, he would act like he would protect us. So, you know, I never thought that he would actually shoot us. Ashley was only 30 years old when Chad killed her. Lisa was 28. It took five years for the case to go to trial. Lisa had made great strides in her recovery

and looked like a completely different woman when she entered the courtroom to face her sister's killer. The case had made waves in the public, and though everyone believed Chad was guilty, there was still the question of why? Why on this night did things escalate to murder? Soon the public would have answers. Chad's strategy in court was similar to a large Egyptian river.

Denial. He didn't do anything. Ashley was the shooter and Lyle started the fight out of nowhere. Just like the cops feared, Ashley's son took the stand to testify about what he saw that night. Joseph was 14 now and he'd been living in New Jersey with his father since Ashley was murdered. Do you have a memory of what happens to your own? Yes. Where do you think you'll sleep through the night on October 31st, 27th?

No. And when are you? Because of what happened? Just like Lyle had told the media, Joseph recalled how Chad started choking Ashley on the bed so he ran to get help from Lisa. And did you go get help? Yes. Is that because the friend went to London with her mom?

Yes. And could you go get help from Lisa? The fight between adults migrated into the living room, while Colton and Joseph hid in Lisa's room. Did you hear anything when we were on the outside of the bedroom? Yes, what did you hear? I don't know. Do you have who forces you were hearing? Lisa's been wrong, Chen.

Did you hear while I was all of that, son? I don't think so. Did you hear something else just like the status of, yes, when you came? Now, sharks. What happened after that, you could have done sharks. And I'll do one. When you came to see the sharks.

Then, why, you were here? When you say that, when you say that, when you're talking about me, so my mom, Next Lisa got up on the stand. The jagged scar on her jaw was an obvious battle wound from the night she lost her sister. Lisa said that she, Lyle and Colton returned to the condo around 8 p.m. Everyone ate pizza, but it was clear that Chad and Ashley had been arguing. Yes, ma'am. And General Stephen did what they were worried about. Her heart keeps. What's the move the car and the sister has at the time? A black machine. Your sister want to partake that? Yes.

And then have about these. Yes. And did your sister eventually get her heart keeps up? Yes, ma'am. Ashley and Chad had been fighting for the past few years. And then what happened? Yes, ma'am. And then what happened?

Yes, ma'am. And then what happened? Yes, ma'am. And then what happened? Yes, ma'am. And then what happened? Yes, ma'am. And then what happened? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes. And did your sister eventually hurt your piece up?

Yes, ma'am. Ashley and Chad had been fighting over her car. He wanted the keys and she refused. After he finally gave them back, she hid them on her person when he wasn't looking. When the police processed her dead body later that evening, they found the keys nestled in her bra. Lisa's story was consistent with Joseph's. She was the most credible living witness.

She had known Chad for years. She was sober on the night of the murder, unlike Chad who had been taking his usual nightcap of Fireball Whiskey and Xanax. After Joseph screamed for help, Lisa and Lyle went into Ashley's room. was out. My sister is laying on bed, Chad is kind of sitting on the edge of the bed, next to her. And do you say anything? I believe my wife said, so you're working to handle a woman, said, so you're working your hands on the woman and Jack got out of my sister jumped out of the bed ran over the room. I got into me chatting with him while and grabbed my nephew's cell phone that was at the end of my sister's bed and looked and look to each other and tell him I was calling 911.

And this is the tenant push, yes, out of the way. Yes, the loudspeaker. No, as soon as he pushed me, I was starting to hit him. Did you all know that more? I did. No, no, no, no, no. Okay, what's going on? 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. Okay, what's going on? No, no, no, no.

You're not supposed to be talking to me. What's going on? No, no, no. You're not supposed to be talking to me. What's going on? No, no, no, no. Then the authentication and asking someone to be there will not get out of my apartment. No, Miss Robert, I'm just getting in your call.

You're purely saying no, no, no. Why? Both my auntie, the time you hang up with them. We're really saying no, no, no. Why? Both my auntie were telling me to hang up the phone. They also asked about Rose, an alcohol, about drinking. Why would you say no to that? I thought just the phone call would be a Japanese. But I didn't do it.

No. Did you ask the feds multiple times? Did your sister ask the feds for the full time? At this time was the defendants, the money by a person. Yes, ma'am? Chad wasn't supposed to be at the Rucker House that night. He and Ashley were broken up. He had weaseled his way back, trying to use

her car, like a typical deadbeat boyfriend. I had a walk away because there was a gun that needed to hang up the phone. So I walked back into my sister's bedroom and while I'm chatting with her, yelling at each other, I told each other that I called the police and the police were on the way, that he needed to leave. That's when he pushed me and the fight started. When we say fight started between me and the fight started. Let me say five started between two, Lionel and Chad.

And the fight starts from thinking about the diagram, say seven, ten. What's in any area between your sister's bedroom and that whole way? Yes, and it's right in her, your way, basically. And then I'll talk to her, we can still the diagram or living closet. Yes, and that's quite in her your way basically. And then I'll have two or three to the dire learning closet. Yes, and that's where the fighting with child was basically

he was beat down into the learning closet. Now, how did the fight between the defendant and the lives of his? My sister came to the edge of the hallway from the main room and told me to stop the fight because Chad had a gun. Did you tell the loud bat? Yes. And did the loud bat fight in Chad? Yes. Ashley was the only one who knew about the rifle chatted hidden in the couch I didn't actually use a K and he told me to go back and check on my sister. I went back upstairs and that's when I saw Chad walking in a circle around the condo. Basically, I thought it was pacing because he had just been in a fight, you know, blowing off scene.

That's what I thought. Lisa went back upstairs to check on everyone. The boys were still in her bedroom after all, and that's when things got worse. I thought that the police were coming, and they were here in the minute. The boys were eventually need to come out of the bedroom. So I scrapped some cleaning stuff from underneath the kitchen

cabinet and started cleaning the well before. And it was just a straw for cleaning. Yes, man. We separated the bed closet. What have we done? What did we have? What did we have? There was a fish me off the wood. No. Well, I followed my peripheral vision. I was watching Chad and he walked towards my bedroom door and I thought he was going to go into my bedroom. So I looked at him and he had a pass my bedroom to the foreign and foreign computer room to grab his rifle

from behind my chair cushion. Are you still wondering if these might be not the world? Yes, I'm looking. I'm going to put it on. We've gone from my chair cushion, I look straight at him. He's going to be the guy at me and he says, so that's how it is Lisa. I don't remember. Did your sister say, I believe she said, don't look at her. That's what I remember.

You've went to bed, I didn't think he was going to shoot me, so I turned my head down, and as soon as I went to go turn, everything went black, my eyes went black. You're starting to remember, I'm going to go to bed, I turned my head down. And as soon as I went to go turn, everything went black,

my hours went out. You're starting to remember all I could hear was the ringing. I couldn't see anything. I was in and out of consciousness, but now is the one about my hearing issue. So that was it. A fight over car keys escalated to one woman dead and her sister critically injured. Chatted the audacity to take the stand. He relayed the same story he did for the police. Perhaps thinking he was going to trick them and manipulate them like he had this former

girlfriend. The prosecutor was having none of it. Karen and love Joseph, right? Like your own son, right? However you left his mother for dead. And you left Lisa for dead and she. You thought Lisa was dead too, didn't you? In fact, you thought you were going to leave no witnesses, didn't you?

And you thought they were both dead, didn't you? You led out that conversation, or after the 31st, didn't you? Yes, ma'am. Therefore, leaving no witnesses to what you did, correct? that conversation. Chad tried to explain to the jury how exactly Ashley shot Lisa. Then managed to turn a 19-inch long rifle on herself. He got up and did a big pantomime of all of his lies, but the holes were too? Yes, ma'am. Okay. So how did that spin around a curve,

that small little area there? It may smell from the finger, but it's not a small area. Well, that's a chart. You just answer my questions. Yes, ma'am. That's not a big area, is it? There's plenty room for that to occur.

Okay. You agree that there's no front ender to start to crack? Yes ma'am. Okay, so there is nothing around that area that shows the struggle over a gun of hurt, correct? Well, that never settles the struggle. You never settles the struggle? Oh man.

Okay, but did you say that you all were struggling over the gun? She didn't want to go. She wouldn't, we wouldn't like, just fighting each other to go. She just, like she told the gun and then we're not sure if it's about her, right? But you're me or never touch a trigger and that's what you told us, right? Yes, ma'am. So she shot herself with that rifle on the back of her head, correct?

Not intentionally, no, ma'am. with that rifle on the back of her head, correct? Right, intentionally no. She shot herself in the back of the head with their rifle, correct? Yes, ma'am. Okay. And how did that happen? How did she shoot or something back in the head with her rifle? Chad couldn't explain it because it was the dumbest lie ever told. I'm seriously surprised that his defense team went along

with it. Didn't these people graduate from law school? The prosecutor held up a yardstick for Chad and the jury demonstrating how physically impossible it would be for Ashley to shoot herself in the back of the head with a rifle in case just saying that out loud isn't obvious enough. You agree that I can't even reach it. We just hurry you again.

Okay. So go back on your head and I'm reaching. I can't even reach him. So how in the world would pass you full trigger and shoot yourself in the back of the head? I don't know if they would say that. and she herself in the back of the head. I don't know if they would say that. Because it didn't happen that way, didn't it? Yes, it's what I'm gonna do. Even though physically, it's not possible.

This isn't possible, you're using the yardstick. We're having none of them. In court, Chad was rude, defensive, and arrogant, even with his own female lawyer. He strutted off the witness stand like a proud gorilla. Was he really dumb enough to think that any one of those jurors would find reasonable doubt in the prosecution? Well, if he did, he was wrong, because they sure didn't. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. As the count to, we've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work.

We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work.

We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. We've been in a bad mood for the first three minutes of work. have done, but only come into the courtroom with lies and false intent. I simply cannot believe that he has any more worst role he has done. I am alone. I'm alone because Chad took the last person. That I can go to for advice, for help, for understanding, for love. I've spent holidays alone because Chad took the last game of me, I have left. The judge gave Chad Absher two life sentences and 15 extra years for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

After his sentence was handed out, Chad turned and blew kisses to Lisa and the jurors. Lisa spoke to the media outside the court. I'm glad that he got the maximum sentence that was allowed. Now no one will ever possibly be hurt by him again. The family stood together outside while the media watched. They read a poem, Ashley loved, then released butterflies into bad person, a true monster. I'm sure you've probably met a few people like him in your life. He thought he was above the law and that he could control any woman who entered his life. Whether he was stalking an ex-girlfriend, beating Ashley's face in, running over a pedestrian with his truck, or lying to the entire world in the court of law. It didn't matter. Chad was the kind of person who felt no

remorse for anyone. He never shed a tear at Ashley's murder trial. He just looked over at her family, the family that he destroyed, and blew them all a kiss. Ashley's family all wanted her to get away from Chad. Her father, her siblings, and even her uncles tried to tell her that the only road this relationship would lead to was death. They knew Chad was dangerous, and he had proven it time and time again, every time he beat Ashley and then posted a photo of her on Facebook. Ashley's family members called the cops on Chad many times, but charges for some reason were never pressed.

The point is that everyone in Ashley's life tried to get Chad away from her. Even Ashley herself tried to get away from him, but he was persistent. He was manipulative. He was controlling, and he always managed to get back to her, soften her up, and make her take him back in. There was no stopping him. Chad was pure evil and he didn't care about anyone else but himself. We'll never know why Chad ended up the way he did, but what we do know is that he is finally where he deserves to be, alone, in prison.

Hopefully, life behind bars is as cruel to him as he was cruel to Ashley and the rest of the women unfortunate enough to cross his path. Maybe he'll learn what remorse actually is. path. Maybe he'll learn what remorse actually is. But something tells me that he lacks the capability to harness such emotions. Because that's what a real monster is. That does it for another episode of Sword and Scale. If you are with a violent partner, do not accept the unacceptable. You are loved and there is help out there. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. And please, stay safe. Well that's going to do it. Thank you for joining us. If you want a shirt or a hat or some other kind of cool stuff, check out our store, store.sortainscale.com. Stay safe. Hi, I started listening to your podcast at the 7-1 and I currently on the episode 168.

I like what you said about not talking to the cops, but because of an incident that my son had at school, I tell parents all the time, keep your children not to talk to the school people, the principal assistant, principal teachers, shut up and call your parents. Anything a child says to a principal or school teacher can be used to report a law, even other minors.

It's a call that they say, call my parents. And then the parent says there, and the police comes, the police have to have a parent present top reminder. School does not tell your children, shut up and have them call me. Don't talk to them because just like you do 68, you're innocent. Keep your children in trouble. you