Blood and Water: The Husband

Summary

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20/20 Podcast: Blood and Water – “The Husband” (May 6, 2026)

Episode Summary

Main Theme:
This episode of ABC’s "Blood and Water" dives into the murder of Leslie Preer, unraveling the events leading up to her death, the ensuing investigation, and suspicions cast upon her husband, Sandy Preer. Through in-depth interviews, police recordings, and family reflections, the story explores the complexities of marriage, memory, and the pursuit of truth in a high-profile suburban homicide.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime Scene and Early Investigation

• Blood as a Silent Witness:
  Stephanie Ramos introduces the crime scene, describing how blood evidence told a harrowing story of Leslie Preer’s last moments.
  • Quote (Lauren Preer, 01:03):
    “She was running for her life. My parents had a long hallway between the front door and our kitchen. There was blood all over the hallway.”
• Use of Luminol:
  Police employ chemical luminol to highlight cleaned-up blood, revealing a trail throughout the house, including up the stairs into the shower.
  • Quote (Lauren Preer, 02:13):
    “There was still luminol all over the hallway, all the way up the stairs, through the bedroom... I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go in the bathroom.”

2. Family Portrait: The Preers

• Happy Family Image:
  Flashbacks to Lauren’s childhood paint her parents, Leslie and Sandy, as loving and deeply connected.
  • Quote (Lauren Preer, 07:12):
    “They were the best parents. We just had so much love for each other, and we had so much fun together.”
• Community & Relationships:
  Lauren’s friends recall Leslie as warm and engaged, and Sandy as spontaneous and devoted.

3. The Marriage Beneath the Surface

• Marital Troubles:
  Revelations emerge about the couple’s increasingly strained marriage, focusing on Leslie’s struggles with alcohol and escalating arguments.
  • Quote (Sandy Preer, 12:45):
    “She would have a lot. And in all honesty, it's one of the reasons why I kind of come home late because... It was getting hard to deal with.”
• Conflicting Accounts:
  Sandy admits to arguments, including a recent physical confrontation, but denies any abuse or intentions toward violence.
  • Quote (Sandy Preer, 15:20):
    “I never... The most violent I ever got was... I'd grab her and just say, you know, you gotta snap out of it by grabbing her by her shoulder, her shoulders, you know. ... And, you know, she... hit the wall...”

4. Sandy Preer Under the Microscope

• Police Interviews:
  Detectives piece together Sandy’s timeline. He describes running errands (including to the dump and Circuit City), coming home late, and going to bed early, claiming the last conversation with Leslie was about toilet paper.
  • Quote (Sandy Preer, 19:26):
    “Officer Barnett came out and I'll never forget... he said your wife's dead and you know, of course broke up right then.”
• Detective Suspicion:
  Sandy’s demeanor and volunteered details about the marital issues heighten police suspicion, especially as the cause of death (strangulation and blunt force trauma) becomes official.
  • Stephanie Ramos (16:09):
    “You can see how Sandy's reactions... might have looked odd to investigators... Sandy was volunteering descriptions of heated arguments...”

5. Discrepancies and Evidence

• Timeline Doubts:
  The autopsy reveals undigested food, suggesting Leslie died much earlier than Sandy claimed. Questions about his Tuesday night (potential alibi-seeking) arise.
• Polygraph Woes:
  Sandy volunteers and subsequently fails a polygraph test, deepening police focus on him as their main suspect.
  • Note from Detectives:
    Sandy’s phrase “to the best of my knowledge, I didn't kill my wife” is underlined twice in their notes.
• Community Reaction:
  The murder stuns Chevy Chase, an area with almost no homicides, creating anxiety and scrutiny.

6. New Evidence and the Case Turns

• Neighbors’ Changing Testimonies:
  Details surface of Sandy acting strangely the morning Leslie’s body was discovered; neighbors recall odd behavior and lights on at hours that didn’t fit the narrative.
• Breakthrough – DNA Evidence:
  Months after the murder, police find DNA under Leslie’s fingernails, indicating another possible assailant.
  • Quote (Bryce Thomas, 29:30):
    “The police came to us in August telling us there was DNA found in Leslie's fingernails.”
  • Quote (Sandy Preer, 29:35):
    “And I'll just tell you one thing. You got the wrong guy.”

7. Personal Reflection and Doubt

• Lauren’s Loyalty Tested:
  Lauren admits having fleeting doubts about her father but ultimately believes his denial.
  • Quote (Lauren Preer, 28:33):
    “I asked him, did you kill Mom? He said, no, and I believed him.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lauren Preer (on the crime scene):
  “She was running for her life.” (01:03)

• Sandy Preer (on marital strain):
  “It was getting hard to deal with.” (12:45)

• Stephanie Ramos (on police suspicions):
  “Sandy had done little to ease the detective suspicions or eliminate himself as a suspect.” (20:02)

• John McCarthy, State's Attorney:
  “If you're a woman... More than 50% of the time, the person who's responsible for taking your life is your intimate partner.” (24:28)

• Lauren Preer (on confronting her father):
  “I asked him, did you kill Mom? He said, no, and I believed him.” (28:33)

• Sandy Preer (upon learning of DNA evidence):
  “You got the wrong guy.” (29:35)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:38-03:01 | Blood tells a story at the scene; Lauren recounts her entry | | 03:19-07:12 | The Preer family's background and relationships | | 10:02-19:26 | Police interviews with Sandy: reconstructing the timeline | | 14:17-17:59 | Escalating marital problems described by Sandy | | 22:17-24:46 | Autopsy results and shifting investigative theories | | 24:17-26:55 | State’s attorney explains statistics and community shock | | 28:33-29:41 | Lauren's doubts; revelation of new DNA evidence |

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Concluding Thoughts

This episode offers a compelling window into the unraveling of a seemingly happy marriage through forensic science, police procedure, and personal testimony. While suspicion mounted on Sandy Preer based on motive, opportunity, and circumstantial evidence, the narrative dramatically pivots with the introduction of DNA—the episode leaves listeners with a provocative question: If Sandy didn’t kill Leslie, who did? The investigation continues, leaving familial devotion, community trust, and the meaning of “evidence” all in doubt.

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Transcript

[Stephanie Ramos]

This is Debra Roberts here with another weekly episode of our latest true crime series from ABC and ABC Audio. Blood and Water. Remember, you can get new episodes early by following Blood and Water on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you're listening right now. Here's the next episode of Blood and Water. From sauce to dust to nuggets.

[Bryce Thomas]

Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets.

[Stephanie Ramos]

No, they don't come in mild.

[Bryce Thomas]

That would make like zero sense with the name new Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets only at Taco bell at participating

[Stephanie Ramos]

U.S. taco Bell locations for a limited time and while supplies last at a crime scene, blood can tell a story. When Lauren Preer was briefly allowed back into her parents house on Drummond Avenue to collect some of her things while the investigation continued, the blood she saw offered a terrifying account of her mother's last moments.

[Lauren Preer]

She was running for her life. My parents had a long hallway between the front door and our kitchen. There was blood all over the hallway.

[Stephanie Ramos]

It looked like Leslie Prier had struggled against an attacker. All across the ground floor until she couldn't.

[Lauren Preer]

They know she was killed by the front door. There was like this, like her. The back of her head was smashed against the wall and then there was like blood stains down the wall. I think she was just trying to e.

[Stephanie Ramos]

When investigators started trying to piece together what had happened, they too followed the blood. They sprayed a chemical called luminol all over the house. It glows blue when it comes into contact with even the smallest amount of blood. Thanks to the luminol, investigators now saw new clues previously undetectable to the naked eye. Big blue swoops and smears where someone had seemingly tried to clean up even more blood. The luminal showed that Leslie was likely already dead when someone had dragged her body up the stairs and into the shower.

[Lauren Preer]

I had to walk through that. There was still luminol all over the hallway, all the way up the stairs, through the bedroom. My parents master bedroom. And I stopped at their bed. I couldn't do it. I couldn't go in the bathroom. I couldn't do it. I couldn't.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Leslie's last moments were painfully clear to Lauren. But other parts of the story were still a mystery. Like who was Leslie Prear trying to escape from?

[Lauren Preer]

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. I said, my dad would never kill my mom.

[Stephanie Ramos]

In the days after Leslie's death, investigators turned their attention to Sandy Preyer. And just as the luminal had uncovered new details about the story of Leslie's death, there were more revelations to come. This time about the preior's marriage.

[Sandy Preer]

Was this a routine with her to get fairly well inebriated every night? Yes.

[Stephanie Ramos]

From ABC Audio and 2020 I'm Stephanie Ramos and this is Blood and Water. Episode 2 the husband at the time of her death, Leslie had been married to Sandy for 27 years. They met as students in Pensacola, Florida and got married right out of College in 1974. Their daughter Lauren was born a few years later. She showed me family photos of those early days. Who's in this photo?

[Lauren Preer]

Well, that's me. Oh, I know. So we're talking this might must have been 1977 when I was born. And this is my Sandy. Gosh. And then my mom. So we are a happy family, the three of us.

[Stephanie Ramos]

In one of the pictures, Sandy and Leslie sit on a sofa together with baby Lauren on their laps. Leslie looks radiant. Sandy with his big smile and thick rimmed glasses has his arm around her. They look happy.

[Lauren Preer]

This is Scott. Oh my God, he's so young there. And this is Harlan. So these are the four brothers and four sisters.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Leslie was one of eight siblings. So Lauren grew up with a lot of cousins and the family was close. They would go on vacation together in laws like Sandy were welcomed in and became part of the family too. Sandy would write long emails to Leslie's parents littered with jokes tailored to the recipient. He was funny in a goofy way. Lauren says her dad could be spontaneous. She showed me pictures of the two of them together.

[Lauren Preer]

This is the Montgomery county fair. I was home from college and my dad and I just said let's go to the fair.

[Stephanie Ramos]

So off they went. Did all the rides in the picture. Lawrence leaning on Sandy's shoulder. Both of them holding fried food and grinning.

[Lauren Preer]

That's the kind of father my dad was. He'd on a dime, he would say if I said let's go to the fair, he'd be like, let's go to the fair.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Before she worked at the advertising company, Lauren's mom had been a court reporter. Sandy worked at a consultancy firm. A suit and tie job dealing with defense contracts. The three of them moved into the house on Drummond Avenue in 1993 when Lauren was in high school. What was Lauren like back then?

[Bryce Thomas]

Sweet, soft spoken, outgoing, mischievous. Definitely mischievous.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Bryce Thomas was one of Lauren prey's best friends back then. They're still close today. When Lauren was in high school, she and her friends Would congregate at the prear house. The whole gang got to know Leslie and Sandy preer. The couple seemed solid. They were a rare mix. Interested in their daughter's life but cool enough to hang out with.

[Bryce Thomas]

Mrs. Peer was always so engaging. You know, it made you feel welcome, you know. You know, you. You don't think about these things too much as a kid, but now when you look back at it, you're like, yeah, she was more involved. Really wanted to meet us and figure out who are these kids hanging out with my daughter, you know?

[Stephanie Ramos]

The core group that was often together included Lauren Bryce, Lauren's best friend Lisa, and Lauren's boyfriend Eugene, a kid from the neighborhood. The pictures Lauren showed me include awkward teen group photos, but also a lot of her and her parents. Lauren says that as a teenager, she had some rebellious moments, but her relationship with her parents was always good. When you see photos like these, what

[Lauren Preer]

comes to mind that they were the best parents. We just had so much love for each other, and we had so much fun together. A lot of people or friends don't have the same relationship with their parents. Do you know what I mean?

[Stephanie Ramos]

Lauren remembers her family as closer than most and their rhet brick house on Drummond avenue as the setting for a lot of these happy scenes. But what had been Lauren's home was now a crime scene with new pictures taken by investigators. Instead of a smiling family, inside, there were luminal smears and blood drops. And as the investigators began to piece together the facts of the case, it became clear Sandy and Leslie Prier were far from picture perfect.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Sandy Preer]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

Now his closest family and friends speak out for the first time to Diane Sawyer.

[Sandy Preer]

He had to be in a lot of pain. He had to be in a lot of pain.

[Narrator/Announcer]

And what does Richard's live in? Housekeeper, the last person to see him alive. Now say happened behind closed doors.

[Lauren Preer]

This is the first time I'm talking about this.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

Whoa, we need some water.

[Bryce Thomas]

I need a martini.

[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Sandy Preer]

invite you on a journey through the country that I love. Italy.

[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Sandy Preer]

All right.

[Bryce Thomas]

Should we eat?

[Sandy Preer]

Tucci in Italy?

[Stephanie Ramos]

New season premieres Monday, May 11th on

[Sandy Preer]

National Geographic, streaming next day on Disney and Hulu.

[Stephanie Ramos]

From the crime scene, it seemed clear that Leslie Prier was murdered, but investigators hadn't announced it officially yet. Two days after the 911 call, the police were still grappling with what the blood was trying to tell them. They wanted to establish a timeline of the days before Leslie's death. And for that, they turn to Sandy.

[Sandy Preer]

Prayer k Today is May 4, 2001, and it is 1105am this is Jim Drury with the county police and also Michael Turner, and we're talking with.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Investigators interviewed Sandy Prior in his hotel room. Their tone in the recordings from that day is calm but not warm. They asked Sandy to tell them about what he'd been doing the day before the body was found. It was a Tuesday, and Sandy said he'd gotten up and gone to work as usual. Afterwards, he said he didn't go straight home. He had some errands to run.

[Sandy Preer]

I went to the mall, Montgomery Mall, to Circuit City Express and did I go someplace else or did I just go to mall?

[Stephanie Ramos]

At first, Sandy didn't seem to remember the evening all that clearly. But then it all came back to him.

[Sandy Preer]

Oh, wait, I, okay, I, I know what I did. I, I, I was taking some computer stuff to the, to the dump Tuesday because I remember I got to get there by 8 o', clock, got to get there by 8. And I said, okay, I need to leave here by 7 or 7:15 in order to make sure that I get out there. So we had some spare computer equipment.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Sandy told detectives in detail about needing to find camera parts and recycle electronic waste. He said he didn't get home until late, around 9pm I was really beaten.

[Sandy Preer]

I went to bed, I went to bed around 9:30 that night. It was Tuesday night. Your wife was home when you wife was home when I got there. Kiss me good night. You have dinner? No. No. Do you know she had dinner? She would she would cook. She would cook like every other day, every third day or something like that. She would always cook pasta or some chicken or something like that. But that night I didn't have dinner. I'm not sure if she cooked it and I'm not sure if she. She had it. I just can't remember. I'm just wasn't right to bed.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Sandy said that he recalled Leslie coming to bed after him and waking in the night lately. He said she'd been having trouble sleeping. The detectives asked him about another part of Leslie's daily routine. Alcohol. Sandy said she would have wine when she got home. And he said, not just one glass.

[Sandy Preer]

How many. Is this. Is this important? Absolutely. She would have a lot. She would have a lot. And in all honesty, it's one of the reasons why I kind of come home late because I, I just really. It was just kind of. It was getting hard to deal with.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Sandy told detectives that he would often come home to find Leslie had had a lot to drink. He said she would slur her words and that her personality would change. He found her difficult to be around.

[Sandy Preer]

Were these a source of arguments between. Oh, sure, sure, definitely. I think you. We talked just briefly the other day in the driveway and we were asking about the stain on the ceiling. Right. You said that was from wine. It was from wine. And what that came from was she had too much to drink that night. And there was a great glass of wine on the counter. And, you know, I just, Just flossed it, just slung it like, just slung the wine, the glass, and I didn't let go of the class, just slung the liquid. I said something along the line, you don't need any more of this. How long was that? I would say that was within two weeks. It was. It's been pretty. It was Been pretty recent.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Sandy described how these arguments were getting worse in the weeks leading up to Leslie's death. He said that her drinking had put a strain on their relationship.

[Sandy Preer]

I just didn't enjoy being with. With someone who, in that cond. Who had too much to drink. I mean, he had to make sure you, you. Whatever you said. Because she could take it any, any other way. And when she got cranked up and it was, it was shut it down. You couldn't shut it. You couldn't shut. Get away from whatever that subject she may be on. She just keep, just, just bam, bam, bam. Just keep coming at you. Just keep coming at you. And it was, it was, it wasn't fun.

[Stephanie Ramos]

It wasn't just the arguments. Sandy Described one time when he and Leslie had been in an argument and he said he turned away from her, he felt Leslie's fist hit him right in his back.

[Sandy Preer]

Did that ever. No, I didn't react to it, if that's what you could ask me. Right. No, I mean, I never. The most violent ever got was I. I'd grab her and just say, you know, you gotta snap out of it by grabbing her by her shoulder, her shoulders, you know. You know, you gotta snap out of it. But that I, I did that, you know, one time and it, you know, really. And, you know, she, you know, hit the wall. I'm nothing, you know, smashing or anything hit the wall and she's burst in tears. And I'm thinking, God, what am I doing? So. So I pretty much controlled myself to where I just, I wasn't going. I was not going to go there.

[Stephanie Ramos]

You can see how Sandy's reactions to what was happening around him might have looked odd to investigators. Remember, right after Sandy had first seen the blood in the foyer and the officers had arrived at the house to investigate, Sandy had made a joke. You mean business, he'd said. And now in a police interview about his wife's death, Sandy was volunteering descriptions of heated arguments he'd had with Leslie, some in the weeks before her death. And at this point, Leslie's death had not been formally announced as a homicide. 48 hours out. The official language was that the case was being treated as suspicious. But it's hard to believe that Sandy didn't realize how his description of his marriage must have looked to investigators.

[Sandy Preer]

Did either of you ever discuss divorce or separation? We never seriously discussed it because we loved each other dearly. There were times where I'd say, I'm screw you, I'm divorcing you. To me, that's not a discussion. It's not where we sit. Would sit down like this and talk about seriously, seriously getting a divorce. And I don't think there would be. Even though things are really starting to really start to escalate.

[Stephanie Ramos]

If detectives thought these revelations about the PR's relationship were surprising, they hid it well and kept on moving through the timeline of events. They zeroed in on the morning of Wednesday, May 2, the most important window for the investigation. Sandy said it was just like any other day.

[Sandy Preer]

Okay, so you both got up about 7am you just. Did you shower? Oh, yeah, yeah. Which shower did you use? The. I always, always use the one in the masturbate.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Sandy was just as detailed about Wednesday morning as he had been about Tuesday Evening he said that after he showered he left for work. It was around 7:35am he remembered specifically because he had a board meeting that day and wanted to be there early. He got to his office at around 7:50. At 9:00am he he said his secretary put a call from Leslie through to his office phone.

[Sandy Preer]

Did she sound distressed? Not set? Not in any way? Nope, nope, not in the least. What did she say? She wanted to know if I had taken or put up the four roll toilet paper pack that she that was on the stairways stairway going up to the room.

[Stephanie Ramos]

In Sandy's telling, this conversation about toilet paper was the last conversation of their 27 year marriage. At around 11:30 that morning Leslie's boss Brett Reedy called him to say she hadn't shown up at work. And an hour after that Sandy described standing outside the house waiting for police to finish their search.

[Sandy Preer]

And Officer Barnett came out and I'll never forget, I can't remember he said Mr. Pre or sir, he said your wife's dead and you know of course broke up right then. But. The finality of it right there wasn't expecting.

[Stephanie Ramos]

In his hour and a half interview with the detectives, Sandy broke down twice. Once when he talked about the scene inside the front door at Drummond Avenue and once about being told that his wife was dead. In those moments in the interview, Sandy's emotions seemed to match his situation. A husband who'd lost his wife just two days earlier. And yet as the interview wrapped up, it was clear that Sandy had done little to ease the detective suspicions or eliminate himself as a suspect. And evidence from the crime scene was about to make things even worse for Sandy. Prayer,

[Bryce Thomas]

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[Sandy Preer]

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[Bryce Thomas]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Sandy Preer]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Sandy Preer]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

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[Stephanie Ramos]

Shopify.com setup we know what happened right after this interview from entries in the detective's notes from that day. Just after the recording stopped, detectives received word their department would be giving a statement on the case to the press. Leslie's cause of death was officially going to be reported as strangulation and blunt force trauma, according to investigators. The autopsy had also said that it was possible that Leslie Prier was killed on Tuesday night, the night before her body was found. Leslie's body was left under hot running water in the shower after her death, likely as part of an attempt by the perpetrator to clean up the scene. The temperature of the water had sped up the decomposition process, making it hard to be sure of the exact time that Leslie died. And there was undigested food in Leslie's stomach. Pasta. It fit with Leslie being killed a short time after eating the very dinner that Sandy had just told detectives his wife often made. Sandy's recollection of his Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning was now in question. If Leslie had been killed on Tuesday night, and it was still an if, had Sandy driven around town to give himself an alibi? His entire story depended on Leslie being alive on Wednesday morning, and detectives thought that the evidence suggested otherwise. In his hotel room, detectives told Sandy what would soon be public information, Leslie was murdered. They wrote in their notes that Sandy hung his head for around a minute and then said, I think I know where this is going.

[Bryce Thomas]

Unfortunately, when it comes to homicides, domestic partner homicides are not rare.

[Stephanie Ramos]

This is State's Attorney John McCarthy. He's worked in Maryland law enforcement for 45 years. He says he understands why investigators were focused on Sandy prior.

[Bryce Thomas]

Quite candidly, if you look at the cataloging of homicides over the time that I've been in the office here, I would say that for particularly if you're a woman More than 50% of the time, if you're a homicide victim in this county, the person who's responsible for taking your life is your intimate partner.

[Stephanie Ramos]

That's been McCarthy's professional experience, and it's supported by national statistics. According to the Department of Justice, women are five times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than male murder victims. And the marriage that Sandy had described was volatile. So when Sandy insisted to investigators that Leslie had been alive when he left her on Wednesday morning, the detectives weren't convinced. In their notes, they wrote that Sandy told them, I have been honest with you. To the best of my knowledge, I didn't kill my wife. The phrase to the best of my knowledge was underlined twice. From this moment on, the focus on Sandy would be much more pointed. What they wanted from him now was a confession. Even before word spread that Sandy Preer was a suspect, Leslie's death had rocked their quiet suburban community.

[Bryce Thomas]

The town of Chevy Chase has zero homicides and that you probably could count on one hand the number of homicides maybe over a 10 or 20 year period of time in a town like Chevy Chase. So as you can imagine, when something like this does become public, it sometimes comes with a lot of panic.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Detectives had questioned the neighbors along Drummond Avenue on the day Leslie's body was found. At the time, none of them reported anything unusual, just shock at what had happened. With the increased scrutiny of Sandy, things started to change. One month after the murder, a neighbor told police that he remembered seeing all the lights on in the prayer house at 2am the day the body was found. He thought it was odd. Two months after the killing, another neighbor told investigators that she remembered Sandy leaving the house around 7:35 5:00am as he told detectives. But she thought Sandy seemed like he was making an effort to have eye contact with her, which she said seemed out of character.

[Bryce Thomas]

Was he trying to call attention? Was he trying to create some kind of that you think through these things to determine whether or not in some way does that play into someone trying to cover up, develop a timeline and things like that.

[Stephanie Ramos]

There were two more pieces of the puzzle that detectives thought looked bad for Sandy. The first, phone records back in 2001 call records were harder to verify, so investigators couldn't confirm that 9am call Sandy said Leslie had made to him about the toilet paper. And then there was the polygraph. In the days after Leslie's death, Sandy cooperated with everything the police asked of him. He gave them access to his work computer and his phone. He allowed them to take photographs of small cuts on his body. And he volunteered to take a polygraph test. Perhaps he thought it would help with the suspicions growing around him. But it didn't. Because Sandy failed. Investigators told me that failing a polygraph test by itself might not have meant much. Polygraphs are, after all, notoriously unreliable. But taken with all the other odd details from Sandy's interactions with police, his position as number one suspect was assured. It wasn't just the detectives. A lot of people were looking at Sandy and wondering what he was capable of. Even his daughter, Lauren.

[Lauren Preer]

I mean, I had my moment or I questioned, could he really go that far? Not that they ever had any major. You know, every married, long term married couple has their arguments, but they never argued in front of me. But I could hear them. Sometimes when I was upstairs in my room, I asked him, did you kill Mom? He said, no, and I believed him.

[Stephanie Ramos]

Lauren's moment of doubt passed. But to pretty much everyone else, Sandy Prear looked guilty. The story the blood told wasn't finished, though. There was one more piece of evidence, one small detail that would change the entire narrative of this case. The police came to us in August

[Bryce Thomas]

telling us there was DNA found in Leslie's fingernails.

[Sandy Preer]

And I'll just tell you one thing. You got the wrong guy.

[Stephanie Ramos]

New evidence will throw Sandy Preyear a lifeline. But if he didn't kill Leslie, who did? 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 by evan viola. Mixing and mastering by bob mallory. Scoring by kiara powell. Special thanks to katie dendoz, janis johnston, sean dooley, chris donovan, camille peterson, christina corbin, gail deutsch, amanda carr, ellie joestad, engie adam and michelle margulis. Josh cohen is our director of podcast programming. Eamon mcniff is our executive producer. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into Sign up for your $1 per month [e-mail] specialoffer Sunday nights on ABC. What happens when the person you love

[Narrator/Announcer]

the most turns out not to be

[Stephanie Ramos]

who you think they are. Everything he told me was a lie. I was betrayed.

[Narrator/Announcer]

From the number one true crime podcast, Betrayal.

[Stephanie Ramos]

He's been living a secret double life.

[Narrator/Announcer]

My marriage ended with a 911 call.

[Stephanie Ramos]

The tape is blood curdling.

[Bryce Thomas]

Give me a lunch.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Footage Betrayal, secrets and lies.

[Stephanie Ramos]

So many people are living with their own betrayal.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Sunday nights at 10, 9 Central on ABC and stream on Disney and Hulu.