Classified for Murder?

by Michelle Feuer

I don’t usually end up in happy places without there being an unhappy story to match. Last week, my job producing for CBS 48 Hours Mystery brought me to a town that I love—Aiken, South Carolina. It’s beautiful horse country where the equestrian scene is one of the finest in the world. The horse farms blow your mind and the polo matches are inspired grace. Sadly, I was not in Aiken to enjoy polo, but to learn more about alleged Craigslist killer, Philip Markoff.

Why was I in the South when the story happened in Boston? Turns out that a young medical student named Morgan Houston was in Aiken studying for the medical boards and she gave the first interview to the Daily News about her old friend, Philip Markoff.

Markoff and Houston had attended the State University of New York together. On Thursday, when I arrived at her parents' house after a 6:00 a.m. drive from Atlanta, local reporters were swarming and the whole scene was out of character for the nice, conservative, and peaceful South Carolina town.

After a long, long day of chaos, she was ready to sit-down and chat with us for our "CRAIGSLIST: Classified for Murder?" show that aired on Saturday night. You can see excerpts of her interview with Richard Schlesinger on the 48 Hours Web site as well as photos she gave us of Markoff during his college days.

Another exclusive find by CBS was our interview with Trish Leffler, a Las Vegas masseuse who advertised her services on Craigslist. Leffler says she was bound with a plastic cord and robbed at a Boston hotel by Philip Markoff four days before Julissa Brisman’s murder. Check out the partial transcript of our interview with her here.

What blows my mind about Leffler’s story is that she says the police came and took all the evidence from the hotel room, plus her cell phone. Markoff and Leffler had communicated by cell phones prior to the robberies, and they had sent messages via computer on Craigslist. Could they have prevented Julissa Brisman’s murder at the Marriott four days later if they had simply checked the Craigslist account faster and more thoroughly? Also, Markoff was captured on security camera footage both at the Westin and at the Marriott. Did they not take the crime seriously because of the nature of Leffler’s job?

New York Magazine just came out with the article I wanted to write—the conversation with Megan McAllister, Markoff’s 25-year-old fiancée. McCallister has come out publicly already saying she believes her man and insists he was set up. I can’t wait to hear more from Megan. And I cant wait to see if police are able to find more crimes committed by Markoff.

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Just Because A Guy Is Rich Doesnt Mean He Has Class

by Michelle Feuer

Rihanna’s battered face flashed me back to a case I worked on for CBS 48 Hours Mystery.

Twenty-eight-year-old Mary Heather Spencer, simply known as Heather, had that mysterious quality that made all men fall for her, plus she was gorgeous, smart, and kind. The girl voted “Most Beautiful” by her classmates could have gotten any guy she wanted, but she chose horribly wrong. For a year-and a half, Heather dated George Bell III (both pictured left), the third generation of the prominent Jackson, Mississippi family known for their carpet and rug business.

George was thought of as charming and intelligent by many who knew him, but things started going wrong in his life. His business was failing and his frustration led him to cocaine and steroids. In June 2007, he beat Heather so badly that she needed 57 stitches in her head. She refused to press charges against him. “She wanted to see the best in him, because that's the kind of person she is. She sees the best in everyone," said her mother. "She thought with her help, she could make him a better person." He went unpunished, but family members supposedly paid for him to go to rehab. The number of police reports was lengthy.

Just three months later, Heather was murdered by George Bell III. I watched in court as he admitted to kidnapping, sexually assaulting, then beating and strangling his girlfriend to death. He was sentenced to life without parole on the murder charge, and 30 years for the kidnapping. He cried as he read his apology statement to Heather’s mother, Linda Francomb, and Heather’s brother, Xan.

Linda Francomb, for a long time, questioned the involvement of Robbie Bell, George's own mother. In October 2007, Hinds County District Attorney Faye Peterson indicted Robbie Bell as an accessory after the fact, but new DA Robert S. Smith and the attorney general’s office dropped the charges in March 2008 for lack of evidence “after an exhaustive investigation and finally, discussion with the victim’s family,” according to the attorney general’s office.
On June 2, 2008 Linda Francomb filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Robbie and George Bell III.

“During the late evening hours of September 10, 2007, and/or early morning hours of September 11, 2007, while Defendant Robbie Bell, George Bell, III, and Mary Heather Spencer were present, Defendant George Bell, III became enraged, and did violence to the person of Mary Heather Spencer,” the Francomb suit states. “Such violence inflicted severe, but survivable injuries upon the person of Mary Heather Spencer … (who) died as a result of the failure to receive treatment sustained as a result.”Spencer’s family has stated repeatedly that she did not immediately die after the attack, citing a coroner’s report that allegedly states she died six or seven hours after the attack. “Had aid or assistance been furnished to Mary Heather Spencer, Mary Heather Spencer would not have died,” the suit continues. The Bell response, however, states that Francomb has no evidence supporting the allegations that Robbie Bell was in the house when the crime occurred, or that Spencer was alive when Robbie Bell entered her home that evening. The response demands that any evidence to the contrary be produced, or Francomb’s suit should be dismissed. Because Spencer was already dead when Robbie Bell came home, the response says, Robbie Bell is not liable for Spencer’s death.

Today, Heather’s mom is trying to save other women from the same outcome. Please check out Linda Francomb’s new foundation: Heather's TREE (Training, Resources, Education and Empowerment) to combat domestic violence. "If I could help another young woman out of a relationship, make the right choices, give them opportunity to find way out…I want to help them anyway we can.”

Run, Rihanna, run.

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The Murder of Wilma Ward

by Michelle Feuer

I’m reminded this month that sometimes it’s not a bad thing to become obsessed and completely consumed with one’s work or passion. Obsession leads to progress, however uncomfortable it may be. This reminder came because of a coroner whom I met through my adventures with CBS 48 Hours Mystery.

His name is Gary Watts and he is the coroner in Richland County in Columbia, South Carolina. I should mention that he was introduced to me through 60 Minutes über producer Andy Court. You won’t believe the cold case full of twists and turns that Gary Watts and his team cracked open.

On October 17, 1983, Wilma Ward reportedly committed suicide in Cayce, South Carolina, by stabbing herself to death with a letter opener. Yes, you read that correctly, a letter opener! Back in the 1960s and 70s, Wilma, who was an office manager/bookkeeper, was allegedly having an affair with the Capital Sign Company's owner, Lloyd Blackwood—a married man. To conceal their so-called love child, Rachel (formerly Rachel Ward, now Rachel Wadford) was passed off as Wilma's younger sister. Turns out, Wilma was Rachel's mother—not her sister.

All of this would have remained a secret forever had it not been for Rachel's 2007 chance encounter with a former office worker and colleague of Wilma's. He told her about the affair and suggested that Wilma had NOT committed suicide.

Rachel accepted the fact that Wilma had taken her own life, but the circumstances had always troubled her. She never felt that she had all the answers to what really happened. Rachel was confronted with a mystery: Did someone murder her mother, and why?

Rachel called the Richland County Coroner, Gary Watts. Watts (pictured right) was able to recover the original ME's report and quickly doubted the validity of the suicide ruling. How could she have committed suicide by stabbing herself MULTIPLE TIMES? Watts immediately summoned two of Columbia's most experienced investigators, David Bell and Gene Mincey, to form a Cold Case Squad. Mincey was in retirement, but came out to help. With the case files, evidence, and photos all missing, they had to find and re-interview all of the original employees of Capital Sign Company.

In 1983, the original case investigator theorized that 5'3, 100 pound Wilma had attacked her lover (Lloyd) with a metal pipe—and then stabbed herself. Watts and the Cold Case Squad came up with an entirely new theory. Investigators believe Wilma's colleague, Jack Simpson, may have committed the murder. Simpson was a friend and longtime employee of Wilma's alleged lover and boss, Lloyd Blackwood. And the twists kept coming. Mincey and Bell learned there could have been an active IRS investigation into Capital Sign Company where Wilma was the bookkeeper/office manager for Lloyd. One theory is that Wilma was accepting under-the-table payments from Lloyd to stay quiet about their affair (company funds allegedly paid for certain household items of hers). Another theory is that Jack Simpson may have learned about the affair and had been trying to extort money from the company.

On October 20, 2008, Watts led a public Coroner’s Inquest, in front of a sworn-in jury. The jury heard testimony from key witnesses as questioned by Gary Watts. The Inquest lasted a full day, but in under an hour the jury came back with a decision. They concluded that Wilma Ward had NOT committed suicide, but was murdered. They even named the suspect as Jack Simpson who was arrested in November. This 1983 case may now go to the Grand Jury. Confusing to even the most enthusiastic crime buffs? In South Carolina during a Coroner’s Inquest, the jury can actually be asked to name a suspect. Keep in mind there was no defense whatsoever; it was all testimony as called by Gary Watts and his team. Jack Simpson was called to testify, but did not appear.

Something else worth mentioning from the national news lately . . . a couple of weeks ago marked the 20th anniversary of University of Florida student Tiffany Sessions’ disappearance. Let’s never ever forget this extraordinary young woman whose family still searches for answers. Please visit her family’s Web site or their Facebook group, The Tiffany Sessions Project, to learn more.

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