Blood and Water: Looking for Leslie

Summary

20/20 Podcast Summary: Blood and Water — “Looking for Leslie” (April 29, 2026)

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Episode Overview

The premiere episode of “Blood and Water,” a six-part original true crime series from 20/20 and ABC Audio, investigates the 2001 murder of Leslie Prear, a mother living in the D.C. suburbs. Initially, suspicion fell on her husband, Sandy, but only decades later would forensic technology reveal the true killer. Episode one, “Looking for Leslie,” sets the stage by recounting Leslie’s last day from the perspectives of her colleagues, her daughter Lauren, and those closest to the case, highlighting the shocking discovery and its immediate aftermath.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Morning Leslie Disappeared

[01:23 – 05:16]

• Linda Lyle recalls May 2, 2001:
  “It was a beautiful, beautiful May day. The sun was shining.” (Linda Lyle, 01:31)
• Leslie Prear, reliable part-time admin, is missing from work. Concerns begin to mount as she had previously been warned about tardiness.
  • “She was kind of on probation, if you will.” (Brett Reedy, 03:06)
• Brett Reedy (her boss) calls Leslie’s home and, finding no answer, finally contacts her husband, Sandy, who is unaware of any commitments Leslie might have had.
  • “…He goes, no, very quickly. And he goes, that's not good.” (Brett Reedy, 04:26)

2. Brett Reedy’s Search and the Scene at the House

[06:32 – 15:03]

• Brett drives to Leslie’s house, describing Chevy Chase as a “calm, quiet, respectable, and wealthy” area.
  • “Great neighborhood. I had about probably six friends that lived on this street from elementary school.” (Brett Reedy, 07:38)
• The once-idyllic home has since been demolished, replaced by a modern house.
• When Brett arrives at the Prear home, Sandy follows, and together they enter to find a gruesome scene: a large pool of blood in the foyer, blood smeared on stairs and walls, an overturned table, and evidence of attempted clean-up.
  • “As soon as I walk in, I look to my right and there's a large pool of blood. I mean, it's a significant amount of blood.” (Brett Reedy, 11:45)
  • “He kept going that route [insisting it was a fall].” (Brett Reedy, 15:09)
• Brett experiences a moment of terror when the basement door creaks open—only to find the family dog, not Leslie.

3. Discovery of Leslie’s Body and the Aftermath

[15:39 – 20:13]

• After 15 minutes searching, Brett calls 911 reporting “blood in the foyer.”
  • “…looks like something possibly happened.” (Brett Reedy, 16:55)
• Police arrive, enter the home, and quickly discover Leslie’s body upstairs in the shower. The news is delivered bluntly to Sandy:
  • “Sir, your wife is dead.” (Police Officer, relayed by Brett Reedy, 19:10)
• Sandy appears in shock and disbelief.
  • “Disbelief. What I don't understand. How can that be?” (Brett Reedy, 19:44)

4. Leslie’s Daughter Lauren — Family Perspectives

[22:03 – 27:23]

• Lauren Prear, age 23 in 2001, recalls the close relationship with her mother.
  • “My mom and I were best friends. Yeah, she was… everything.” (Lauren Prear, 24:20)
• Lauren is notified through a roundabout process: her mother isn't at work, she’s told to call her father, sees a police car arrive, and receives the devastating news of Leslie’s death.
  • “She’s no longer with us anymore... screamed like what you hear in horror movies.” (Lauren Prear, 25:16)
• At first, Leslie’s death is characterized as an accident, but days later the detective corrects that:
  • “The detective came to my place and said this was not an accident. It's a homicide.” (Lauren Prear, 27:23)

5. Early Theories & Investigation

[27:32 – 30:00]

• Leslie was killed in the foyer, sustained blunt force and strangulation, then dragged upstairs & placed in a scalding shower—possibly in an attempt to remove evidence.
  • “A large V shaped wound on her head matched the outline of the baseboards near the front door.” (Narrator, 27:32)
  • “The water had been so hot, it caused thermal burns.” (Narrator)
• No signs of forced entry; blood appeared to have been hastily cleaned from some surfaces.
• Initial suspicion falls on Sandy, Leslie’s husband, given the lack of forced entry and tense marital history. However, Lauren is adamant her father could not be responsible.
  • “And the scary part was, is that they tried to put it on my father. I said, no. I’m like, my dad loved my mom. Loved, adored her.” (Lauren Prear, 29:01)
• Detectives uncover signs of marital tension and frequent arguments.
  • “Just bam, bam, bam. Just keep coming at you. Just keep coming at you. And it was, it was, it wasn't fun.” (Detective, 29:23)
• The episode ends noting the case was full of unexpected revelations, dead ends, and “secrets in the prayer house.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “She had a quiet manner. She was dainty to me.”
  – Linda Lyle, on Leslie Prear (02:12)
• “That’s a hell of a fall.”
  – Brett Reedy, skeptical of Sandy's fall explanation (14:52)
• “Somebody hurt somebody and tried to clean it up.”
  – Brett Reedy, realizing the gravity of what he was seeing (15:09)
• “She always stayed with me. And that’s a scary but wonderful memory.”
  – Lauren Prear, reflecting on her mother’s devotion (23:28)
• “Your mom has been in an accident… she’s no longer with us anymore. I was like, what?”
  – Lauren Prear, on receiving the news (25:16)
• “The detective came to my place and said this was not an accident. It’s a homicide.”
  – Lauren Prear (27:23)
• “It’s guilty until proven innocent, honey… Your DNA was in the crime scene.”
  – Lauren Prear, reflecting on the suspicion on her father (29:58)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Leslie’s Absence at Work & Initial Concern: 01:23 – 05:16
• Brett Drives to Leslie’s Home, Description of Neighborhood: 06:32 – 09:03
• Discovery of Bloody Scene: 11:36 – 15:03
• 911 Call & Police Arrival: 16:12 – 19:10
• Discovery of Leslie’s Body / Notification to Family: 19:39 – 25:16
• Lauren’s Childhood Memories & Relationship: 22:16 – 24:20
• Autopsy Results & Homicide Announcement: 27:23 – 29:01
• Early Police Investigation & Marital Secrets: 29:13 – 30:00

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Tone, Language & Atmosphere

• The episode blends the mournful reminiscence of a shattered family (“Just wonderful. See, I knew I was gonna cry.” – Lauren Prear) with the analytical, methodical tone of investigative reporting.
• Interviewees speak candidly, with vulnerability and, at times, incredulity about the violent turn of events in an otherwise ordinary and privileged suburb.
• Tension is palpable throughout, punctuated by vivid descriptions of the crime scene and the slow, dawning horror of all involved.

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Episode Conclusion

“Looking for Leslie” leaves listeners with a long list of questions and an intimate view into the impact of violent crime on family and community. Decades after Leslie Prear’s murder, the truth remains elusive, foreshadowing the twists and forensic advances that will ultimately shape the rest of the series.

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Transcript

[Debra Roberts]

This is Debra Roberts. You're about to hear the first episode of the latest true crime original podcast from 2020 and ABC Audio. A shocking six part series called Blood and Water. The story of loss, loyalty and a family nearly shattered by tragedy. In 2001, Leslie Prear, a mom living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. was found murdered in the bathroom of her own home. Suspicion fell on her husband, Sandy, and investigators had him in their sights for years. But decades later, innovations in forensic technology give detectives a chance to re examine the DNA of another unknown person at the scene of the crime. Finally, after more than 20 years, these cold case detectives were able to piece together evidence that revealed the real killer and brought justice to Leslie's family. Hear what really happened to Leslie Prear. We'll be sharing weekly episodes on Wednesdays right here on the 2020 podcast feed over the next six weeks, starting right now with episode one. But if you want to get started, you can get new episodes early by following Blood and Water on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you're listening now. Now here's episode one of Blood and Water.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

May 2, 2001 was 25 years ago, but Linda Lyle still remembers what the weather was like that day.

[Linda Lyle]

It was a beautiful, beautiful May day. The sun was shining. It was. It was just a beautiful day.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Back then, Linda was working at an advertising company on the edge of Washington D.C. it was a small office and Linda knew all her colleagues by name, including a woman named Leslie Prear.

[Linda Lyle]

Leslie was a part time employee. She had been brought. We were desperate for someone to file.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Leslie helped with the administrative side of the business. She'd been with the company for four years. She was in her late 40s, but looked a lot younger. A classic Grace Kelly esque beauty with dark hair and fine features.

[Linda Lyle]

Oh, she was beautiful. She had a quiet manner. She was dainty to me.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But on this particular spring morning in 2001, Leslie was not at work as scheduled.

[Linda Lyle]

She didn't show up.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This was a problem from a business perspective. It was Leslie's job to mail invoices. If no invoices went out, no money was coming in.

[Brett Reedy]

This was 2001, where the company had a lot of still paperwork, if you will, because we weren't in quite the digital age.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett Reedy was the operations manager in the office. He was also Leslie's boss. Brett had recently had a talk with her about punctuality. Leslie lived nearby, just a few miles away, but she'd been turning up late a lot.

[Brett Reedy]

It was odd that she wasn't there only because she was kind of on probation, if you will. With me, it wasn't a handwritten probation or anything like that. It was just like, look, you gotta make it by 10.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So when 10am came and went, Brett took notice.

[Brett Reedy]

When she didn't show up at 10:15, I just assumed she had a doctor's appointment or something held her up in the bus or something like that.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett Reedy is a pretty even keeled guy. But Leslie's absence that day, it clearly got his attention. At 10:15, he asked around the office, did anyone know where Leslie was? Everyone said no. At 10:30, Brett had his secretary call Leslie's house. No answer.

[Linda Lyle]

He said, darn it, you know, where the hell is Leslie?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Linda says Brett was annoyed, but he was also concerned. He wondered if Leslie's bus had broken down.

[Brett Reedy]

I know it only takes about 20, 25 minutes for her to get to the office. So I said, something must have happened.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

By 11:15. Brett called Leslie's husband, Sandy Prear.

[Brett Reedy]

I said, well, you know, I'm calling you because Leslie's not here. And did she have a doctor's appointment I don't know about? He goes, no, very quickly. And he goes, that's not good. So I'm like, wait, okay, so this now something's. Something's really wrong.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So on that warm May morning 25 years ago, Brett made the decision to go to Leslie Preer's home and try to find out why she hadn't shown up. It was a decision that would land Brett in the middle of a gruesome scene and a bewildering mystery that would take decades to solve.

[911 Operator]

911, which emergency? There's blood in the, in the, in the foyer. And looks like something possibly happened.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

What happened was a violent secret carefully kept for years until a revolution in how crimes are investigated finally brought the truth to From ABC Audio and 20 20, I'm Stephanie Ramos, and this is Blood and Water. Episode one. Looking for Leslie. Leslie Preer and her husband Sandy lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It's a prestigious suburb of Washington, D.C. full of picturesque neighborhoods. And it's a place I know well. When I first joined ABC News 11 years ago, I worked out of the D.C. bureau just a few miles away. Chevy Chase is a place that always seemed to radiate calm, quiet respectability and wealth. Even in 2001, the average house in Chevy Chase cost three times the national average. It's in one of the most educated, high earning counties in the country. So how far are we from where you and Leslie worked at the time,

[Brett Reedy]

probably at the most, two miles, about two miles away.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Last year, I asked Leslie Prears boss Brett Brady to show me the neighborhood where the Preors lived. Now in his 60s, Brett drove me, retracing his journey from all those years ago. On that day in 2001, when Leslie didn't show up for work, Brett had driven the long way to her house, checking side streets and Leslie's bus route. If her bus had broken down, perhaps she'd been stranded by the road. Basically, this is what it looked like back then.

[Brett Reedy]

Well, absolutely.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Like many other suburbs across the country, Chevy Chase is full of lush green lawns and lots of helpful signs telling you to look out for children playing and neighborhood watch. The Preyers lived on Drummond Avenue, where a row of large houses sit behind tall trees. It's an area Brett Reedy knows like the back of his hand.

[Brett Reedy]

And this is my house where I grew up in this one right here. The next one on the right.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Oh, it's lovely.

[Brett Reedy]

But this is, yeah, great neighborhood. I had about probably six friends that lived on this street from elementary school. And right here at this intersection, I was off on a patrol for elementary school right here for this crossing.

[Lauren Prear]

I remember those days too.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

I was a patrol. I was a fifth grade patrol patrol kid, right.

[Brett Reedy]

Mine was sixth grade. You had to fold the patrol belt a certain way.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Leslie's daughter, the prayer's only child, had attended that same elementary school. Brett said the reason he went to Leslie's house that day is because he knew the neighborhood so well. Even the street they lived on was familiar. Brett drove me the length of Drummond Avenue to where the cul de sac ended.

[Brett Reedy]

This is where the house would have been. So you see, it's obviously redone.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The Prius home was knocked down a few years ago, and a different modern house now sits in its place. Crime scene pictures show that the Preirs house was a colonial style red brick home, two stories tall with white columns flanking the front door. In the photos, the house looks perfectly symmetrical, neat as a pin. Brett and I stopped right out front where the prey's house once stood.

[Brett Reedy]

And then if I get right here, this is where I would think about Leslie.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett's tour of the neighborhood had ended right where he was 25 years ago, looking up at a perfect house on a perfect street, totally unaware of what was lurking inside. We gather here tonight to bring women back to their rightful place.

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

On the morning of May 2, 2001, it was sunny, warm and approaching 11:30am When Brett Reedy pulled up at the prayer house and walked up to the front door. Brett recognized Leslie's husband when he pulled into the driveway just after him. Sandy Preer was broad shouldered with reddish hair and thick glasses. The two men weren't friends, but they'd met before. Sandy worked in an office nearby. When Brett told Sandy that Leslie hadn't shown up at work, Sandy told his boss he had a family emergency and left immediately to go to the house, arriving moments after Brett.

[Brett Reedy]

He walked up to me and he said, hey, Brett, how you doing? He opens the door and he's yelling, leslie. Leslie.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Leslie.

[Brett Reedy]

And as soon as I walk in, I look to my right and there's a large pool of blood. I mean, it's a significant amount of blood. Maybe about a 3 foot diameter of pooled blood.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett later told police that he felt he saw the blood moments before Sandy. When Sandy did notice it, he said, oh my God. The men were standing in the foyer. From there, they had a view of most of the house. The living room was on their Left. The stairs to the second floor were straight ahead, and the dining room was to the right, with a view of the kitchen toward the back of the house. In the foyer, blood was smeared around the floor as if someone had tried to wipe it up. It was also spattered on the walls. A small welcome mat stained with blood lay in a heap in the living room. A table that usually stood in the entranceway had been knocked over.

[Brett Reedy]

I noticed a lot of blood on the steps leading upstairs. Splattered blood all over the steps. Oh, God. Something. Something's happened here.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It looked bad, like the aftermath of something violent. Brett didn't want to move. He didn't want to find Leslie, he said, in some kind of compromised position. So he stayed in the foyer while Sandy walked up to the second floor, calling for his wife. Brett looked into the dining room and saw something peculiar. A pool of water on the floor. He bent down to take a closer look.

[Brett Reedy]

And I'm still kind of knelt down. And as I'm knelt down, I noticed something move down the hall.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It was the door to the basement.

[Brett Reedy]

And that door was slowly opening. I was like, oh, no. You know, the way it slowly opened again, I'm thinking, oh, it's. It's Leslie. She's probably hurt and something's happened. But it was not. It was the dog.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The prayer's elderly black lab boomer.

[Brett Reedy]

The dog had pushed its nose, opened the door, and then started walking towards me. So there was a little bit of that heart palpitation there for a second.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy went down the basement steps to check things out, but soon came back up. Still no sign of Leslie. Brett started pointing out the blood smears to Sandy. Blood on the floor, blood on the walls, blood on the stairs. Sandy had noticed them, but he kept insisting that there had been an accident, perhaps on the stairs and that Leslie had been hurt. To Brett, it felt like Sandy hadn't grasped the seriousness of the situation.

[Brett Reedy]

And he goes, she must have fallen. Well, that's, you know, my reaction probably was, that's a hell of a fall.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Where Brett found the situation shocking. He says Sandy seemed calm.

[Brett Reedy]

Sandy did not seem to react to what I was pointing out. It was a little strange. I remember saying to him, look, Sandy, they tried to clean this up. So I think intuitively I just. Somebody hurt somebody and tried to clean it up. Sandy's reaction was, she must have fallen down. He kept going that route.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy later told police he believed Leslie had injured herself at home and a neighbor had taken her to a hospital. He thought she was hurt, but Being taken care of. Sandy said that a few minutes after entering the home, he decided to call local emergency rooms to see if Leslie had been brought in. Sandy and Brett went into the kitchen where Sandy opened up the yellow pages on the counter. But they soon noticed the kitchen also showed evidence of Leslie being injured.

[Brett Reedy]

Blood everywhere, blood on the appliances, Blood on the back door, blood a little bit on the table. But what I noticed was the back door was ajar a little bit. It wasn't fully closed. So something I remembered really well. I thought it was odd.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

By this time, the men had been in the house for around 15 minutes. From the top floor to the basement, they'd found no sign of Leslie, but plenty of blood. At 11:46am Brett called 911-911- what's your emergency?

[911 Operator]

We. I work for a company and we didn't hear. Have a call from an employee. We just walked in the door, her husband and I, and there's blood in the. In the. In the foyer. And looks like something possibly happened. Okay, so you're not in the house anymore. I mean, we're in the house right now. The husband's looking around. You had her. You're with the husband? I'm with the husband, yes. Okay. Is there a lot of blood? It looks like there's possibly, you know, just struggle, a couple things knocked down. Okay. Can I ask you guys to step out of the house?

[Brett Reedy]

I said, okay.

[Sports Announcer]

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[Brett Reedy]

I said to Sandy, we have to get out.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett and Sandy waited in the front yard. It only took 10 minutes for the police to arrive, and by then, it

[Brett Reedy]

was approaching midday when they showed up. Sandy, well, he kind of greeted them again a little odd, and they pulled their guns. And Sandy goes, whoa, you guys mean business? Like, kind of in a joking way.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

The officers asked Sandy if the door was unlocked. And when he said it was, they entered.

[Brett Reedy]

I'm outside talking to Sandy. I said, you know, could there something, you know, anything else that maybe she's. You don't know about or, you know, just trying to figure this out. And I asked him directly, I said, sandy, you were upstairs awfully quick. Did you check everywhere? And as soon as I said that, puts his hand to his head and he goes, oh, I forgot to check the bathroom.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy told Brett that when he had gone upstairs, he'd briefly looked into the doorway of each of the rooms, but hadn't gone all the way in. But Brett didn't have long to dwell on that.

[Brett Reedy]

I would say within a minute, the police came back out. And when they walked out the policeman was wearing gloves and he was taking them off. And I knew right then. And he walked right up to Sandy and said, sir, your wife is dead.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Brett says that Sandy seemed completely shocked.

[Brett Reedy]

Disbelief. What I don't understand. How can that be?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Leslie Preer's body was found lying in the shower of the upstairs bathroom. Near her head was a large pool of blood. The police report from that day described it as a sudden death, undetermined. An autopsy would be needed to figure out the exact cause of death.

[Brett Reedy]

The first thing I thought of was Lauren, the daughter. This was going to be tough. The only daughter. And that's all Leslie talked about.

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren Preer was 23 years old when she got the news that her mother had died. So talk to me a little bit about your childhood. How is that for you growing up in Maryland with your mom and dad?

[Lauren Prear]

Just wonderful. See, I knew I was gonna cry.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It's okay. When I sat down with her last year to talk about her mom's death, Lauren was almost exactly the same age her mom had been when she died. In her late 40s, she says until that day in 2001, the Prius family life had been idyllic.

[Lauren Prear]

We're on Drummond Avenue. It's a beautiful neighborhood. Extremely safe. I never felt scared there. And we just would have barbecues and my friends would come over, like I said. My parents would. My dad would cook. My mom is actually not the best cook. Not to be mean, but we all

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

have our strengths, right?

[Lauren Prear]

But so we. It was just wonderful. We had a huge backyard, and my mom and I would plant tulips in the front of the house and they would grow.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So Lauren said Leslie was always there when she needed her.

[Lauren Prear]

When I was very young, I always had sleepover parties for my birthday. And I had like 8 to 10, you know, there was like a bunch of girls. We had all the sleeping bags and we sleep downstairs in the living room.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

It's like a girl's dream.

[Lauren Prear]

Yeah. But anyways, my mom, for some bizarre reason, let me rent the Exorcist. Actually, it was my dad. It wasn't my mom. And so my girls and I all watched the Exorcist. And then after that, I never slept alone. My mom slept in my trundle bed with me. So it was like the pull out thing, you know? So I had my top part and she would sleep in until I fell asleep. So she always stayed with me. And that's a scary but wonderful memory.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren said that she and her mom spent a lot of time together. Even after Lauren moved out of the house and into an apartment in nearby Silver Spring. They would take trips to D.C. to visit the museums. Lauren said her mom especially liked the National Portrait Gallery. Seems like you guys, you both had a very good relationship.

[Lauren Prear]

Oh, yeah. My mom and I were best friends. Yeah, she was. To me, everything. And I just couldn't believe it.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

On May 2, 2001 in the afternoon, Lauren tried to call Leslie.

[Lauren Prear]

My mom and I talked on the phone every single day. That was our routine. I mean, seriously, I would call her office and her friend Gail worked there. And I called the office and Gail answered the phone and I was like, hi, Gail, it's Lauren. I was like, can I talk to my mom? And she was like, oh, she's not in yet. But I was told to tell you that if you called to call your father. And then I knew something was weird.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Lauren called Sandy on his cell.

[Lauren Prear]

I said, daddy. I was like, hi. I was like, what?

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Where?

[Lauren Prear]

Mama's not at work. What's going on? I was confused. And I looked out the window and I saw a police car pull up. And I said something. I said, what's going on? And I saw my dad and a police officer get out of the car. And I said, oh, God, what the hell's happening? My dad is like, talk. He was just talking, but everything was in slow motion. He's like, lauren, your mom has been in an accident. I think seeing, like a bus accident or she got in a car. Like, you know, I wasn't thinking the word that. And then he said, she's no longer with us anymore. I was like, what? And so I ran into my bedroom, and he screamed, like, scream. Screamed like what you hear on, like, the horror movies, like, deep down in your stomach, scream. And I just waited for a few minutes, and I said, I don't understand.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Sandy told Lauren that Leslie had died in an accident. But investigators didn't actually know what happened. The scene at the prayer home was full of details that didn't make sense. No signs of forced entry. Leslie dead in an upstairs shower. Her blood downstairs. Some of it hastily cleaned up. Lauren said she and her dad were in shock, and when they went home, they weren't allowed in.

[Lauren Prear]

But I saw her the. The gurney with her body going out. I never saw her dead body. Thank God. I'd be at an institution right now.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Until investigators could find answers, they told Sandy he'd have to find somewhere else to stay. He moved into a nearby hotel while Leslie's body was moved to the county coroner's office. Three days later, on May 5, Lauren got news about her mother's autopsy.

[Lauren Prear]

The detective came to my place and said this was not an accident. It's a homicide.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Authorities would determine that Leslie Pryor was killed in the foyer of her home. She had been beaten and strangled with multiple blunt force trauma injuries. A large V shaped wound on her head matched the outline of the baseboards near the front door. After her death, investigators believed that her body had been dragged upstairs and put into a scalding shower. The water had been so hot, it caused thermal burns. Detectives believed this was an attempt to clean up the scene. Shock and fear spread throughout the neighborhood. Leslie had been murdered in her own home, and the killer could still be out there. But something else spread, too. Intense curiosity. Soon the police would be inundated with tips from Leslie prey's neighbors, co workers, and friends, all trying to help solve this murder. A murder that seemed from the outset not to make any sense at all. Detectives didn't believe that this crime, committed in one of the safest counties in the country, was random. By the time they told Lauren Preer on May 5 that her mother was the victim of a homicide, they already had a number one suspect in mind.

[Lauren Prear]

And the scary part was, is that they tried to put it on my father. I said, no. I'm like, my dad loved my mom. Loved, adored her.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

But under questioning, Sandy showed that there were secrets in the prayer house. Arguments between husband and wife that had been getting worse.

[Detective]

Just bam, bam, bam. Just keep coming at you. Just keep coming at you. And it was, it was, it wasn't fun.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

This was not an open and shut case. The investigation was riddled with unexpected revelations and dead ends that would prevent justice from coming for a very long time. It makes you paranoid in a way to think that there's somebody that could commit this brutal crime and then just be walking free in your eyes.

[Lauren Prear]

It's guilty until proven innocent, honey.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

Your DNA was in the crime scene. Blood and water is a production of abc audio in 2020, hosted by me, stephanie ramos. Produced by madeline wood, shane mckeon and kiara powell with help from emily schutz and caitlin schiffer. Edited by gianna palmer. Our supervising producer is susie lu. Music and mixing by evan viola. Scoring by kiara powell. Special thanks to katie dendos, janice johnston, sean dooley, chris donovan, camille peterson, christina corbin, gail deutsch, amanda carr, ellie joestad, ng adam and michelle margulis. Josh cohan is our director of podcast programming. Eamon mcniff is our executive producer.

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[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

What happens when the person you love the most turns out not to be who you think they are? Everything he told me was a lie.

[Lisa Vanderpump]

I was betrayed.

[Nikki Glaser]

From the number one true crime podcast, betrayal.

[Lauren Prear]

He's been living a secret double life.

[Linda Lyle]

My marriage ended with a 911 call.

[Lauren Prear]

The tape is blood curdling.

[Nikki Glaser]

Betrayal, secrets and lies.

[Narrator (Stephanie Ramos)]

So many people are living with their own betrayal.

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