Relative Danger | Blood is Thicker: The Farris Wheel

Summary

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48 Hours: Blood is Thicker – The Farris Wheel

Episode 2: Relative Danger
Date: April 1, 2026
Host: Peter Van Sant
Main Theme:
This episode delves into the suspicion, family dysfunction, and investigative challenges swirling around the murder of Gary Farris, a well-liked Georgia patriarch found dead on his rural property. As Van Sant describes, “much like an actual Ferris wheel, the blame game in this family went round and round” ([00:00]).

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Family Secrets Come Out

Public Scrutiny and Internal Suspicion

• The Ferris family’s secrets become public as the investigation unfolds.
• Melody Ferris, Gary’s widow, is notably distraught at this exposure:

  “This is horrible to have to put all the secrets out on the table.” – Melody Ferris ([01:11])

• Melody undergoes a grueling eight-hour interview with detectives, during which she points fingers at her own children, especially her eldest son Chris, expressing distrust and sharing disparaging details about all her children ([01:17], [02:19], [02:44]).
• She voices her deepest fear:

  “Could one of my children have done it? Which is the worst nightmare… That’s my worst nightmare.” – Melody Ferris ([03:15])

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The Crime Scene and Early Clues ([03:52]–[10:23])

On the Ground with Detectives

• Detective Daniel Hayes revisits the crime scene, walking through the property with Van Sant ([03:52]).
• Key evidence:
  • Blood found both upstairs (kitchen) and downstairs (basement).
  • Gary was believed to be shot first in the kitchen, then again in the basement ([04:12]–[05:06]).
  • A bullet with Gary’s DNA found in the basement ([04:57]).
  • Despite expectations, not as much blood as typically seen in such crimes, puzzling detectives ([05:10]–[05:21]).
• Unraveling the sequence of events is complicated by lack of homicides in Cherokee County and Hayes’ limited experience—this is his second homicide case and first with significant digital forensics ([05:54]–[06:04]).

Unusual Forensic Breakthroughs

• Gary’s CPAP (breathing device) records help pinpoint the likely window of his death—he had not gone to bed or used the CPAP the night he was killed ([06:32]–[07:02]).

Lingering Mysteries

• Murder weapon never found ([07:21]).
• Unclear how Gary’s large body was transported over 50 yards from the house to the burn pile; no definitive drag marks or vehicle tracks, but his blood was found on family vehicles (tractor, RTV) ([07:30]–[08:46]).

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Motive: Family Money, Resentments, and Pressure ([09:00]–[10:23])

Financial Cauldron

• The Ferris family was embroiled in disputes over money, inheritance, and jealousy.
• The potential inheritance: $4.5–5 million ([09:11]–[09:14]).
• Melody claims her children depend heavily on Gary’s money.

  “Evidence shows it made Melody turn against her children because the children were spending money.” – Det. Hayes ([09:42])

• Gary was planning to significantly curtail his financial support, which could have sparked deadly resentment ([10:04]).

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Investigative Focus: Who Was Where? ([11:12]–[16:13])

Looking Outside and In

• Detectives consider, then mostly rule out, outside suspects:

  “He had no enemies. I mean, I’m sure the detectives ... we couldn’t find a single person that hated your dad.” – Scott Ferris ([11:53])

• Det. Hayes eventually zeros in on family members present at the farm on July 3rd: Melody (wife), Scott (son), and Chris (son). Eldest daughter Emily and youngest Amanda were out-of-state or elsewhere, with clear alibis ([12:25]–[13:03]).

Chris Ferris

• Seen as emotionally distant following the discovery of Gary’s remains ([13:51]).
• History of temper and alcohol abuse. Once threatened Melody after an argument over his attempt to drive drunk with his daughters, but this outburst occurred a year before the murder ([14:31]–[15:11]).
• Evidence of financial problems, “float[ing] checks” and conflict with Gary over stolen money ([16:05]).
• However, digital evidence firmly places Chris 40 miles away in Atlanta the night of the murder ([16:13]).

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Spotlight on Scott Ferris ([17:49]–[24:38])

Lifestyle and Tensions

• Scott, a military veteran, managed the farm for room, board, and a family debit card rather than a paycheck ([19:15]–[20:24]).

  “He didn’t cut me a paycheck. He basically ... gave me a credit card or he gave me a debit card.” – Scott Ferris ([20:01])

• Det. Hayes describes Scott as seemingly “unhumiliated” by dependence:

  “He didn’t seem humiliated. He very much seemed like he enjoyed the lifestyle of being there and taking care of the farm.” – Det. Hayes ([21:29])

• Melody and Gary planned to cut Scott off financially, which Scott knew ([21:41]–[21:50]).

Suspicious Actions

• On the day Gary was found, Scott deleted images from his trail camera “out of habit.” Investigators recovered the images but found nothing incriminating ([22:22]–[22:43]).
• A family .38 snub-nose revolver went missing—the same caliber as bullets found at the scene ([22:46]).
• Detectives found .38 bullets in Scott’s dresser, but not the same type as those used in the crime ([23:38], [24:38]).

Profiles & Motive Analysis

• As a physically strong, military-trained adult male, Scott is highlighted as the only one on the property capable of moving Gary’s 300-pound body alone ([23:46]–[24:13]).
• Detectives and the host directly question him:

  “Did you murder your father? ... Did you shoot him and put his body on a burn pile?”
  “No. There’s no real reason why I would. He was the backbone of our family. Why would I kill the man that I’m trying to be?” – Scott Ferris ([24:13]–[24:24])

• Ballistics reveal the bullets in Scott’s drawer do not match those from the scene ([24:38]).

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The Blame Game Continues

Family Fractures

• Scott pushes the suspicion back onto Melody:

  “The only person who hated him was Melody. The only person who was having affairs and, you know, spending all his money was Melody.” – Scott Ferris ([24:58])

• No one—neither investigators nor family—can pinpoint clear proof of guilt. The blame wheel keeps turning.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the family’s dysfunction:

  “I had nothing, nothing to gain by him dying. I had everything to lose, everything to lose.” – Melody Ferris ([01:59])

• On motive and money:

  “A lot of bickering, a lot of fights over money, a lot of jealousy.” – Det. Hayes ([09:08])

• On suspicions of Scott:

  “Which member of the Ferris family at the farm is most familiar with firearms?... That would be Scott. ... Which family member has the physical strength to lift a 300-pound man into that fire pile?... It would be Scott.” – Det. Hayes/Host ([23:43]–[24:07])

• Scott’s denial:

  “No. There’s no real reason why I would. ... Why would I kill the man that I’m trying to be?” – Scott Ferris ([24:24])

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:11] – Melody expresses pain over secrets becoming public
• [03:15] – Melody fears one of her children may be involved
• [04:12]–[05:21] – Detailed walkthrough of the crime scene with Detective Hayes
• [06:32]–[07:02] – Forensic data from Gary’s CPAP reveals time-of-death clues
• [09:11]–[09:14] – Motive explained: The $5 million inheritance
• [12:25]–[13:03] – Establishing alibis: Only Melody, Scott, and Chris present on July 3
• [14:31]–[16:13] – Chris’s alcohol problems and financial troubles; digital evidence clears him
• [17:49]–[21:29] – Scott’s dependency and relationships with Gary
• [22:22]–[23:43] – Trail camera and gun mystery; .38 bullets found
• [24:13]–[24:24] – Host confronts Scott; his denial

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Tone and Style

The episode is reported with 48 Hours’ signature balance of compassion, meticulous fact-finding, and suspense. Peter Van Sant’s voice guides listeners through the murky motives and personal torments of each suspect, with direct quotations from emotional interviews mixing with investigators’ matter-of-fact analysis.

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Bottom Line for Newcomers:
This episode gives an engrossing, layered look at how violent tragedy can corrode family bonds and leave only suspicion behind. Despite tantalizing clues, financial motives, and familial friction, the truth behind Gary Farris’s murder remains shrouded in uncertainty—with each Ferris family member both suspect and victim in a cycle of blame.

Transcript

[Peter Van Sant]

Hello, listeners, it's 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant. Today I have a special episode to share with you from my new podcast, Blood is Thicker. The Ferris Wheel. It's the story of a family caught up in a blame game when their beloved patriarch is murdered. Gary Ferris went missing and was later discovered dead on his 10 acre Georgia property. Who would want to kill him? Much like an actual Ferris wheel, the blame game in this family went round and round. Here's the episode.

[Scott Ferris]

You know it's still under criminal investigation, right?

[Peter Van Sant]

The Georgia Guidestones may be America's answer to Stonehenge.

[Melody Ferris]

County administrator says there were conspiracy theories.

[Peter Van Sant]

Let's not forget that a crime was committed here and somebody got away with it.

[Tyler McBrien]

I'm Tyler McBrien. Join me as we take a wild ride through granite quarries, graveyards, cults, small town southern lore, and a lot of explosives in the new AJC original podcast, who blew up the Guidestones? Follow us wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Melody Ferris]

This is horrible to have to put all the secrets out on the table.

[Peter Van Sant]

Melody Ferris was upset that her family's private lives were now public record. She was talking to detectives Daniel Hayes and Trent Kuykendall in Cherokee County, Georgia.

[Scott Ferris]

And just so you know, I am

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

sincerely sorry for you and your family's loss.

[Melody Ferris]

I don't even know what to think.

[Peter Van Sant]

It was on the morning of July 6, 2018, the day after Gary Farris remains were found. Melody was at the local sheriff's office. Unlike her earlier conversations with the detectives, this one would go on for nearly eight hours as Melody spun stories of intrigue and suspicion.

[Melody Ferris]

I had nothing, nothing to gain by him dying. I had everything to lose, everything to lose.

[Peter Van Sant]

Almost as soon as they started recording, Melody didn't hesitate to point fingers.

[Melody Ferris]

The only thing I found odd was that he wanted to leave immediately.

[Peter Van Sant]

Melody was talking about her oldest son, Chris. He had left the farm not long after investigators arrived. Melody said she didn't trust him.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

And he left and came back.

[Melody Ferris]

He came back after Emily got there. I forbid him for being in my house without me being there.

[Peter Van Sant]

The two had been feuding for at least a year. Melody would go on to share disparaging details about more of her children that day.

[Melody Ferris]

The worst part of it is I raised him.

[Peter Van Sant]

Tensions were high. Midway through her marathon interview with detectives, Melody casually alluded to a parent's worst fear.

[Melody Ferris]

I'm sitting there thinking last night, you know, could one of my children have done it? Which is the worst nightmare is the thinking that one of them could have done it. That's My worst nightmare. Van.

[Peter Van Sant]

I'm Peter van Sant from 48 Hours. This is Blood is Thicker. The ferris wheel Episode 2 Relative danger.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Okay, Peter, we're pulling up now. This is the Ferris property here on the right.

[Peter Van Sant]

Right here it is. That big house off in the distance there.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Y.

[Peter Van Sant]

This is beautiful. When I pulled up to the Ferris property with Detective Daniel Hayes, it was hard to believe it had been a crime scene just a few years earlier.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

We believe Gary was shot and killed based on the evidence, and we know he was burned. What we don't know is exactly when those two things occurred.

[Peter Van Sant]

Based on a few drops of blood in the house, this is what Detective Hayes believed happened to Gary Farris. First, he was shot in the kitchen, wounded. Hayes said Gary then ran downstairs where he was likely shot a second time. He believed Gary didn't try to fight with his attacker.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

He was trying to take the path of least resistance to get out of that house, which at the time was down the stairs and out those side doors that led to the backyard.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators found blood both upstairs and downstairs.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

And.

[Peter Van Sant]

And they discovered Gary's DNA on a bullet they found in the basement.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Which told you what then about what may have happened in that room.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

That told me that that bullet went through some portion of Gary Farris body.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

And if he was shot in both that kitchen area and also in the basement, there would have been, I would think, an enormous amount of blood loss.

[Peter Van Sant]

That's part of the mystery to me.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Is it to you?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Yes. Again, we get a lot of our. A lot of people get their information from Hollywood, you know, watching the movies. And of course you want a lot of blood coming out. But the same, on the same token as the bullet being in the floor, not being lodged in something, not every scene that you expect to be that way is that way. Gary was a large guy. We know at least one bullet didn't come out of him because we found it in his ribs.

[Peter Van Sant]

So investigators believed they knew where Gary was shot. But what about the. When? Sorting out all the evidence was a daunting task for Detective Hayes.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

We don't have a lot of homicides and murders in Cherokee county, so this was my second one being named lead detective.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

This is your case, just your second murder investigation.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Second one ever. And this is the first case I've been involved with, with so much electronic forensic data. You know, the cell phones, the computers, cell phone tower dumps, all these, you know, big words that I've had to research to figure out even what they were and how to utilize this data that we got to our analyst.

[Peter Van Sant]

Interestingly, one of the most critical bits of information came from the breathing device Gary kept on his bedside.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Another detective with different experience than me overheard us talking about Gary sleeping with a CPAP every night. He actually brought up, he's like, you know those record data, Right. I actually wrote another search warrant and went back to the house, took the cpap, learned, you know, technology's updated. It's just got an SD card in there. So we were able to take the SD card and get the data off of it that we were looking for.

[Peter Van Sant]

Hayes was interested in the data from the evening of July 3rd, the last day anyone saw Gary alive.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

That's when we determined that Gary always went to bed around midnight. And he hadn't gone to bed that night. He had never put on the cpap. We know he was killed that night,

[Peter Van Sant]

but who pulled the trigger? And where was the gun?

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Was a murder weapon found?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

No.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

And you guys looked, right?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

We did.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

What do you think happened to that gun?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

That's the million dollar question.

[Peter Van Sant]

Another million dollar question. How did Gary's body get from the house where he was presumably shot onto the burn pile more than 50 yards away?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

We don't have any evidence directly stating when he was put on that fire. So it's possible he laid in the backyard or wherever he expired for quite some time while someone made the decision to put him on the fire and dispose of the body.

[Peter Van Sant]

Gary weighed nearly 300 pounds and was 6 foot 4. How exactly can someone move a man of that size such a distance? Is there any blood that was discovered

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

going from that house to the burn pile? Not that we found any drag marks,

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

none that we saw.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Any vehicle tracks whatsoever?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

There were tracks in the area. You could tell they were well traveled paths. Usually that people often would drive the RTV or the tractor or something, but nothing that was definitive. It went from that area of the basement straight to the burn pile.

[Peter Van Sant]

Detective Hayes figured there was a chance one of the vehicles was used.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

This family has utilized both of those machines to move dead horses, pull stumps out of the ground. So anyone who's been on the property that saw knew the capabilities of these machines.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators found drops of Gary's blood on both the family's tractor and rtv, the rough terrain vehicle. But who had a motive to kill him? And in the weeks and months leading

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

up to Gary's death, is it. Is it accurate to say that there

[Peter Van Sant]

was a lot of bickering, a lot

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

of fights over money in that family,

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

A lot of bickering, a Lot of fights over money, a lot of jealousy.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Do you have any idea what he was totally worth?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

I believe at some point we added it up to around four and a half. $5 million is what someone would stand to inherit.

[Peter Van Sant]

That would be Gary's personal investments, including life insurance and the value of the property. Melody claimed ignorance when it came to the family's finances. But she asserted that her children, Chris, Scott and Emily relied heavily on their father's money.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Evidence shows it made Melody turn against her children because the children were spending money.

[Peter Van Sant]

Melody strongly felt her children needed to grow up and be financially independent. She told investigators that Gary was about to make a big change in their lives that would largely turn off the money spigot.

[Melody Ferris]

I mean, my world is literally falling apart in the last 24 hours. Literally. I mean, I've got four kids. Yeah. Kristen's got to have their demons. They do. Emily's got hers.

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[Peter Van Sant]

We've spent a lot of time talking about suspicions within the Ferris family. But what outside? It's something I asked Detective Hayes about.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Are you wondering, did someone come in from the outside? Perhaps someone he competes with in business or a financial problem that he's had, that he may have an enemies who came onto property and killed him?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Sure. You know, when you get to a homicide, it starts, everyone in the world's a suspect. And you narrow that down. Right. You had to keep an open mind.

[Peter Van Sant]

But according to Gary's family, he didn't have any enemies. Here's Scott.

[Scott Ferris]

He had no enemies. I mean, I'm sure the detectives will say, probably say, we couldn't find a single person that hated your dad.

[Peter Van Sant]

And Scott's right. The data investigators collected backed that up. So Detective Hayes focused on each family member, not just what they were telling him in interviews, but the actual evidence, what were they all doing on July 3rd? Let's start with eldest daughter Emily.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

From what I knew about her, she had moved away from Georgia. She lived in Franklin, Tennessee, which is up near Nashville in a home with her husband.

[Peter Van Sant]

Emily was 30 then.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Gary gave her money, helped fund part of her lifestyle in Tennessee, helped them get the house.

[Peter Van Sant]

Hayes said around the time of Gary's murder and on the day when the remains were discovered, Emily had an alibi.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

She arrived after I did. I recall her arriving and trying to speak to her and she just basically said, I don't know anything. I live in Tennessee. I'm here because my family called me and told me what was going on.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

No way she could have been involved.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

No way she could have been involved.

[Peter Van Sant]

As for the youngest 29 year old Amanda, detectives were certain she wasn't at the farm that day. The people who were at the farm on the third were her mother, Scott and Chris. As we know, Chris stopped by the farm with one of his daughters late that afternoon and talked to Gary as he was preparing the burn pile. In 2018, Chris was 38 and had moved back to Georgia after living in Maine with his first wife. They had two daughters before getting a divorce. When his mother Melody was talking to detectives on the second day of the investigation, she alleged that Chris wasn't showing very much emotion for someone whose father's remains had just been discovered.

[Melody Ferris]

You know, and Amanda said, you know, I found it very odd that he did not seem upset. It was just like, you know what, nothing had really happened.

[Peter Van Sant]

Detective Hayes also noticed that Chris kept his distance.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

He was kind of hands off in the beginning of the investigation. He didn't know much. Some people had some suspicions about him early in the investigation because he didn't want to stick around. He didn't want to be involved with it.

[Peter Van Sant]

Melody told detectives that Chris struggled with both his temper and his alcohol. Could that dangerous combination have led to Gary's death?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

I believe there are some threats made by Chris when he was intoxicated.

[Peter Van Sant]

Detective Hayes was talking about a time back in the summer of 2017 when Chris, who had been drinking, was ready to drive his daughters home. Melody said she confronted Chris about being drunk, telling him he wasn't going to drive off the property with the girls. That's when Melody said Chris flew off the handle.

[Melody Ferris]

He's standing in my driveway, you know, I will beat you beyond recognition. And the next time I see you, missile, they put you in the grave in a box.

[Peter Van Sant]

Chris later Testified that there was indeed a confrontation because Melody wasn't giving his children back to him. But he said that he didn't know why Melody would say it was over his drinking. During the confrontation, Melody said that she threatened to call the police. Instead, she called Gary.

[Melody Ferris]

I know that Chris absolutely despises me because I'm the one who preaches to him all the time that he could find.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

His mother believed that he was stealing money from his father. His father believed that, you know, Chris was using him for the money, but he wasn't stopping it, and he was allowing him to do so.

[Peter Van Sant]

Chris had his own painting company.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

There were some indications that he was not as successful as I'm sure any businessman would want to be.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators discovered that Chris did have money troubles.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Chris was having to borrow money and float checks is what I would call it. Write people checks and tell them not to cash it until later or whatever.

[Peter Van Sant]

In a text message on June 12, 2018, three weeks before the murder, and Gary wrote to Chris, your stealing money is out of control. I will change my accounts tomorrow. But while there was evidence Gary was upset about Chris spending, there was no evidence detectives concluded that Chris killed his father. According to digital records, the night that Gary was shot, Chris was 40 miles away at his Atlanta home. This meant there were likely only two family members left to investigate. Melody and her son Scott. Law enforcement had thoroughly searched the property's main house that Melody shared with her husband. They'd also searched the barn, including Scott's apartment on the top floor. That's where investigators made an intriguing discovery.

[Campus Files Host]

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[Detective Daniel Hayes]

And now Campus Files is back for another season. There was a guy screaming into his phone. He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk

[Peter Van Sant]

get assassinated right in front of me.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Every week is a new episode and a new story. It was so chaotic.

[Peter Van Sant]

It's almost like a university under siege.

[Campus Files Host]

Listen to and follow Campus Files available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Scott Ferris]

I wake up and work, feed all the animals, start doing, you know, my daily chores around the farm.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott Farris had been working on the family farm for nearly five years before his dad was killed. But his own mother saw Scott as a failure. I talked to Scott in 2024.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

You've been characterized as a mooch, as a leech, as somebody who could never hold down a job, and that your father was incredibly disappointed in you.

[Scott Ferris]

No.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Is that true?

[Scott Ferris]

No, it's not true. Because I served in the military. I served in the army. I got released back in 2012, 2013 time frame, and it was a reduction in force. So that's why I got released from the military.

[Peter Van Sant]

This gunfire is from a Facebook post Scott made in 2009. In the video, he's got on his army combat uniform and sunglasses, standing and shooting at targets. The post reads, having Fun with my M249. Saw his original plan once he was out of the military was to enter law enforcement. But that didn't quite work out.

[Scott Ferris]

I came back into an economy that nobody was really hiring at the time. So, yeah, I went back into selling cars, and at the time, nobody had money, and I wasn't making a lot of money doing that. And whatever jobs I was able to find were, you know, eight to ten dollars an hour. And, you know, when you're in your 30s, it's kind of hard to, you know, live on your own. Off of that.

[Peter Van Sant]

Gary threw his son a financial lifeline.

[Scott Ferris]

We had a. We sat down and talked, and we arranged for me to manage the property and take care of the farm.

[Peter Van Sant]

Part of the arrangement was free room and board in that apartment above the barn.

[Scott Ferris]

He didn't cut me a paycheck. He basically. He gave me a credit card or he gave me a debit card. So I used the card to buy horse feed and goat feed and, you know, the hay and fertilizer for the pastures. And then, you know, I would use the same card to, you know, go get lunch and go. To go get dinner.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott told Detective Hayes that his father kept a close eye on his spending.

[Scott Ferris]

He kept control of all the banking. I mean, he watched everything.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott said sometimes he'd be out with friends, look down at his phone, and there would be a text from his dad.

[Scott Ferris]

I could get a text message from him saying, okay, you spent enough money at this, you know, for the night or something like that. I'm like, really? It's like, I work for you 24 7. You know, I don't take a day off. I don't ask for much. Just go out every once in a while.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott relied on his father for just about everything. Here, again is Detective Hayes.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

When he needed something or wanted something or wanted to go out, he had to go to Gary and ask, hey, can I have some cash to spend? Or can I. Can you put some money on this card? Or can you unlock the credit card, whatever it was?

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

And he's an adult, right? He's a war veteran. He'd served in the Middle east, and he's talking to his dad like he's getting his allowance all the time, like

[Scott Ferris]

he's 12 years old.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

That must have been humiliating for him at the time.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

He didn't seem humiliated. He very much seemed like he enjoyed the lifestyle of being there and taking care of the farm.

[Peter Van Sant]

But Melody told me that Scott's leisurely lifestyle was about to end.

[Melody Ferris]

Gary had made it very well known that Scott needed to get a job. Things were fixing to change on that property.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott knew the end was coming.

[Scott Ferris]

He was just letting me know, hey, things are gonna change around here. You need to probably pursue another job.

[Peter Van Sant]

Could this sudden change have been a motive for murder? There were certain things that happened the day Gary Farris remains were found that raised suspicion. When family members first began their search for Gary, Melody asked Scott, an avid hunter, to go check his trail camera. It's used for tracking deer.

[Scott Ferris]

I was looking at that trail camera to see if there was any clues to where my dad could have gone. But just out of habit that I've done hundreds and thousands of times before, I checked it and just hit clear. All because I didn't see my dad on there.

[Peter Van Sant]

He just hit clear, claims there's nothing

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

on it, and deletes the memory card.

[Peter Van Sant]

It seemed fishy. But then the sheriff's office was eventually able to recover some of the images from that memory card. There was no picture of Gary. Then there was the question of the gun. Scott Farris had flagged that there was a.38 snub nose revolver that had gone missing in the basement. And detectives had found a bullet of the same caliber on the basement floor, as well as the bullet pulled from Gary's rib.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Some people thought, wow, Scott found a gun and now there's one missing. And other people think immediately, why is he telling us this? He may be responsible.

[Peter Van Sant]

Investigators then checked Scott's apartment above the barn, where they opened his dresser drawer.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

Scott had some.38 caliber rounds in his in one of his dresser drawers.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Which member of the Ferris family at the farm is most familiar with firearms?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

That would be Scott.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

That would be Scott. Which family member has been trained by the United States army to kill Scott? Which family member at the farm has the physical strength to lift a 300 pound man into that fire pile?

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

It would be Scott. Would be the most likely. I'm not sure if he's strong enough to do that or not.

[Peter Van Sant]

Scott defended himself when we spoke. In 2024, did you murder your father?

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Did you shoot him and put his body on a burn pile?

[Scott Ferris]

No. There's no real reason why I would. There's not an absolute reason why I would want to murder my father. He was the backbone of our family. Why would I kill the man that I'm trying to be?

[Peter Van Sant]

Detectives determined that while the bullets found in Scott's drawer were.38s, they were a different version than the recovered bullets that had Gary's DNA on them. Technically, they were not a match. That left only one other person for investigators.

[Scott Ferris]

The only person who hated him was Melody. The only person who was having affairs and, you know, spending all his money was Melody.

[Peter Van Sant]

From 48 hours. This is Blood is Thicker, the Ferris wheel, produced by Sony Music Entertainment. I'm your host, Peter Van Sant. Judy Tygard is the executive producer of 48 Hours. Original reporting by 48 Hours producers Betsy Schuller, Ryan Smith and Hannah Vehr. Jamie Benson is the senior producer for CBS News podcasts, and Mara Waltz is the senior story editor. Recording assistance from Alan Peng and Alana Meyers. Special thanks to CBS News podcast vice president Megan Marcus. Blood is Thicker was written and produced by Alex Schuman. Stephanie Serrano is our editor. Our executive producer is is Shira Morris. Our associate producer is Zoe Culkin. Theme and original music composed by Hans Dale Shee. Cedric Wilson is our sound designer and mix the episodes. We also use music from Epidemic Sounds. Fendel Fulton is our fact checker. Our production manager is Tamika Walter. Balance Kolasny. If you're enjoying the show, be sure to rate and review. It helps more people find it and hear our reporting. Thanks for listening.

[Throughline Host]

What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? Throughline is a podcast that takes you back in time to to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed.

[Scott Ferris]

It effectively turned day into night and

[Throughline Host]

how it shaped the world. Now time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from npr.

[Campus Files Host]

I'm back. I'm really back.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

School Spirits returned.

[Campus Files Host]

Why am I here? Not dead, right?

[Scott Ferris]

Disruption on this campus will not be all right. It

[Campus Files Host]

I look crazy, it's because that's how I feel. I don't know how to live in two worlds.

[Interviewer/Podcast Host]

Secrets lurk. There are others beneath the surface.

[Detective Daniel Hayes]

They're not like us. We need to get out of here now.

[Scott Ferris]

School Spirits new season now streaming only on Paramount plus.