The Case Against Sandra Garner

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “48 Hours” – The Case Against Sandra Garner

Date: March 26, 2026
Host: CBS News / “48 Hours” Team
Episode Theme:
This episode explores the murder of John Garner, the subsequent investigation, and the trial of his wife, Sandra Garner—accused, but ultimately acquitted of his killing. Through interviews, recorded police footage, and courtroom analysis, the episode probes themes of grief, suspicion, flawed investigations, and the destructive ripple effects of a violent crime within a close-knit Texas community.

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Main Themes & Purpose

• Unraveling Uncertainty: Was Sandra Garner guilty of murdering her husband, or was she wrongfully accused amid a flawed investigation?
• Investigative Hurdles: The episode highlights the complexity of piecing together truth, the impact of investigative errors, and the emotional fallout for all involved.
• Family Fracture: The murder, and trial, leave a family divided, with suspicions and bitterness lingering even after the verdict.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The Crime & Immediate Response

• Murder Discovery ([01:57]-[05:54]):
  • On January 2, 2018, Sandra Garner calls 911 to report her husband John has been shot by an intruder.
  • Sandra, emotional and panicked, details to police a masked white male intruder who demanded money and referenced past grievances with John.
  • Main eyewitness: Sandra herself.
  • Notable Quote:

    “He said, what I came here to do is done. I didn’t come here to shoot you.”
    — Sandra Garner, [07:05]

• Initial Police Action:
  • Maypearl Police Chief Boyd Norton arrives, secures the scene, and collects evidence.
  • Sandra is taken to the sheriff’s office for questioning, swabbed for gunshot residue, and describes the night’s events.

2. The Garner Family Background

• Marriage & Illness ([09:12]-[11:12]):

  • Sandra and John’s relationship described as loving and supportive, especially during Sandra's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis.

  • John is characterized as a tough manager, with possible workplace enemies.

  • The family, after moving to Maypearl, remains close-knit but not without interpersonal tensions.

  • Notable Quote:

    “We had an awesome relationship. We loved each other so much. We were partners.”
    — Sandra Garner, [09:56]

3. Early Suspicions & Evidence Gathering

• Police Focus on Sandra ([14:09]-[16:39]):

  • Attention turns to Sandra after her son, Wes, expresses early suspicions about her involvement.

  • Investigators find troubling internet searches on Sandra’s device: “how to kill somebody in their sleep,” “16 ways to kill somebody and not get caught.”

  • The arresting officers note there was little security beyond John’s many guns—one of which is missing and later found hidden in Sandra’s locked Mustang.

  • Notable Quote:

    “A few days before the murder, she’s searching how to kill somebody in their sleep … 16 ways to kill somebody and not get caught.”
    — Lt. Shane Thompson, [16:30]-[16:41]

4. The Investigation on Trial

• Crime Scene & Evidence Mishaps ([24:04]-[28:33]):

  • Chief Boyd Norton acknowledges his inexperience; admits key missteps, including not promptly securing Sandra’s hands for gunshot residue and losing crucial crime scene photos.

  • The Mustang where the murder weapon is found is not properly processed for prints, opening the door for plausible claims of evidence tampering or mishandling.

  • Defense attorney Tom Pappas systematically undermines the thoroughness and reliability of the investigation.

  • Notable Quote:

    “The investigation was messed up.”
    — Tom Pappas, [26:45]

5. The Question of Motive & Alternate Suspects

• Wes, the Son ([29:58]-[34:44]):

  • The defense strongly suggests Wes should have been treated as a suspect; the prosecution and Sandra herself increasingly entertain the theory Wes was responsible due to financial motives.

  • Questionable alibi: Records once thought to confirm Wes was home at the time of the murder turn out to be in the wrong time zone—so he lacks an alibi.

  • Prosecution persists in their belief in Sandra’s guilt, citing emotional incapacity and physical inability of Wes to commit the crime.

  • Notable Quote:

    “Wes should have been a suspect.”
    — Tom Pappas, [29:58]

  • Notable Quote:

    “Once you meet Wes, it’s over. … He’s just not smart enough, honestly.”
    — Prosecutor, [35:13]-[35:19]

6. The Trial & Verdict

• Courtroom Drama ([36:23]-[40:19]):

  • Sandra takes the stand, a rare move for murder defendants, but struggles under cross-examination regarding suspicious web searches.

  • The jury deliberates for just three hours and returns a verdict: NOT GUILTY.

  • Sandra is released after nearly two years in jail, her family in emotional disarray, and John’s relatives left unconvinced and embittered.

  • Notable Moments:

    • “Not guilty. And just like that, Sandra Garner was a free woman after 21 months in jail.”
      — Narrator/Host, [39:44]-[39:57]

    • “I get to go home.”
      — Sandra Garner, [40:02]

7. Aftermath & Lingering Questions

• Divided Family ([41:36]-[43:29]):

  • Sandra returns home, determined to stay near John’s memory, but shunned by his relatives who still believe in her guilt.

  • Wes is wholly estranged; Sandra and her daughter Andrea no longer speak to him, believing he betrayed the family.

  • Sandra, emotionally battered, maintains her innocence, reiterating John was the love of her life.

  • Notable Quotes:

    “He does not deserve to be part of my mother’s life anymore. … I don’t have a brother anymore.”
    — Andrea (Sandra’s daughter), [43:01]

    “Did you kill your husband?”
    “No. Man was the love of my life. … No, I didn’t kill my husband.”
    — Narrator/Host & Sandra Garner, [44:00]

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Detailed Timeline of Key Segments (Timestamps in MM:SS)

| Timestamp | Segment / Content | |-----------|-------------------| | 01:57–06:03 | 911 call, Sandra’s account, initial police arrival and processing | | 09:12–11:12 | Garner family background, John and Sandra’s relationship | | 14:09–16:39 | Wes’s early suspicions, suspicious Google searches | | 17:03–19:33 | Guns in the house, discovery of the murder weapon | | 19:45–22:26 | Sandra’s second interrogation, arrest, and family reactions | | 24:04–28:33 | Police mistakes: missing photos, mishandled scene, lack of fingerprints | | 29:58–34:44 | Spotlight on Wes as alternate suspect, questionable alibi | | 36:23–40:19 | Sandra’s testimony, jury deliberation, not guilty verdict | | 41:36–44:00 | Aftermath: divided family, Sandra’s emotional return, ongoing trauma |

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Memorable Quotes

• “He came in here, he came in the house?”
  — [03:00] Police questioning Sandra’s account.

• “I was really hoping that the guy would come back … so I could kill him.”
  — Sandra Garner, [15:54]-[16:03]

• “We had an awesome relationship. We loved each other so much. We were partners.”
  — Sandra Garner, [09:56]

• “The investigation was messed up.”
  — Tom Pappas, [26:45]

• “Do you still love your son?”
  “Not like I used to. … He did me really wrong.”
  — Narrator/Host & Sandra Garner, [43:07]-[43:20]

• “Did you kill your husband?”
  “No. Man was the love of my life.”
  — Narrator/Host & Sandra Garner, [44:00]

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Tone and Atmosphere

The episode is emotionally charged, raw, and unflinching. Listeners are drawn deeply into personal heartbreak, suspicion, and the fraught pursuit of justice. Family voices remain passionate, sometimes bitter, while law enforcement and legal figures alternate between regretful and resolute. The narration maintains a tone of somber curiosity, always circling the question: What is truth, and how do we find it amid human error and grief?

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Conclusion

“The Case Against Sandra Garner” embodies the type of intricate, emotionally resonant, and impactful reporting “48 Hours” is known for. More than a simple whodunnit, it raises profound questions about the fallibility of investigations, the cost of plausible doubt, and the permanent ruptures that follow a family's darkest hour. In the end, Sandra is legally innocent—but the fractured family and community remain haunted by unresolved grief and doubt.

Transcript

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[Sandra Garner]

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[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

91 1. Why is your emergency?

[Sandra Garner]

I need the police.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I listen to John.

[Sandra Garner]

Hurry, please. I think you still loud and making noises. Oh, John, baby, wake up.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Got a telephone call from the Ellis County Sheriff's office saying, hey, we've had a shooting and you're.

[Narrator/Host]

Her husband's been shot by an unknown

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

male, I believe that had broken into the house.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Police.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

When I got there, I met a deputy from Ellis County. Where you at? Bedroom. And we see the body on the floor.

[Sandra Garner]

His name is John.

[Narrator/Host]

John what? Garner. Excuse me, man. Back up for me.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

He's still warm.

[Sandra Garner]

See you off.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

No, ma'. Am.

[Narrator/Host]

Come on, sweetie. Come on.

[Sandra Garner]

Y' all gotta get him. Y' all gotta get him. Please.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you see who did this man?

[Sandra Garner]

Yes.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Who?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't know who. He came in here. He came in the house?

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Are we sure he's not here anymore, Chief? Yeah, he may still Be here, huh? Don't know yet.

[Sandra Garner]

Did you find it?

[Narrator/Host]

No, ma', am, nobody's here.

[Sandra Garner]

They have me sitting on the couch in the living room.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Ma'.

[Sandra Garner]

Am.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

How you doing? I'm Sergeant Carr. I'm with Mayborough Police Department.

[Sandra Garner]

I've never dealt with police at all, so I didn't know they even had video cameras on them.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Let me get your name.

[Sandra Garner]

Sandra.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Were you able to see him?

[Sandra Garner]

I kept going over and over and over everything I saw about him, trying to remember everything. He was white.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

He was a white male.

[Sandra Garner]

Everything he had on. He had blue jeans on, blue hoodie and a mask. Just still trying to keep that memory going. And I looked at his face once, but I was afraid if I looked again, he was going to kill me.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Could I get you standing right there? I have to pull my phone out, get a real close up here, if you don't mind. And I started snapping pictures. I'm gonna get some pictures back here.

[Narrator/Host]

Robert, crime scene.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Starting around these trees, we started going ahead and securing the scene. Most small cities like Maypearl, if they have a major crime.

[Narrator/Host]

I'm gonna call Shane and let him know.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

They will call in.

[Narrator/Host]

Sorry to wake you up.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

A resource like Ellis County Sheriff's office.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

It was a little after 2am when I drive.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Hey, good morning. How you doing, sir?

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

After I was briefed immediately, I knew that Sandra needed to be talked to. She was the last one to see him alive.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

You can get out right there, ma'.

[Sandra Garner]

Am.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

We decided to take Sandra to the sheriff's office. She was very key, our only witness.

[Sandra Garner]

It made me think that I was going to help him find the person that did this.

[Narrator/Host]

You can bet this could be the last place Sandra Garner expected to find herself. Yet here she was early in the morning of January 2, 2018, at the Ellis County Sheriff's Office in Waxahachie, Texas, not far from her home in Maypearl. Just hours earlier, she and her husband John had celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. And now, after a night of unimaginable violence, she was answering questions about his murder.

[Sandra Garner]

I didn't mind doing it at all because I wanted to help him as much as I could.

[Narrator/Host]

Maypearl's chief of police at the time, Boyd Norton, was in charge, assisted by Lt. Shane Thompson of the sheriff's office. It was all routine. Sandra's hands were swabbed for gunshot residue. Her clothes were collected. And then the questioning began.

[Sandra Garner]

And I knew I had to stay kind of calm to be able to tell him everything that happened.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Did you wake up any before the incident happened?

[Sandra Garner]

Because I felt like if I just let my emotions go, that I would lose it all. And I couldn't lose it. I woke up, and I heard a gunshot.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

You heard a gunshot?

[Sandra Garner]

Heard two gunshots, and then somehow ended up in the floor beside the bed.

[Narrator/Host]

She says she saw a man holding a flashlight and a gun.

[Sandra Garner]

I was starting screaming, you know, hoping somebody would hear me. He said, shut up. I said, please don't kill me. And he says, what I came here to do is done. I didn't come here to shoot you.

[Narrator/Host]

You were having this conversation with a guy who just shot your husband.

[Sandra Garner]

Well, I said that, and he said it back to me. Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

She says he seemed to know both her and John, who he blamed for destroying his life years earlier.

[Sandra Garner]

I worked my ass off, and then he fired me. He says, I lost my house. I lost my wife. I lost my kid.

[Narrator/Host]

He apparently didn't come just to kill John. He also wanted money.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

He said your husband had always talked about how he keeps money in the house. And I need that money. I think I earned that money. She went into the closet, and she got the lockbox.

[Narrator/Host]

That closet has a light that comes on when the door opens. And Sandra says that's how she got a glimpse of the killer.

[Sandra Garner]

He had a mask on. All I could see was eyes.

[Narrator/Host]

Was he tall? Was he short?

[Sandra Garner]

He was taller than me.

[Narrator/Host]

You recognize the voice?

[Sandra Garner]

No.

[Narrator/Host]

She handed him a pile of cash. Exactly how much remains a mystery.

[Sandra Garner]

I think it was $18,000. That's how much was in there the last time I counted it.

[Narrator/Host]

$18,000.

[Sandra Garner]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra says when he left, the killer gave her instructions that were frightening and a little peculiar.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

He told her to sit down and count to 100. If he heard sirens, he was going to come back and kill her.

[Sandra Garner]

So I counted with 100 is faster than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 90.

[Narrator/Host]

That's how fast you're counting to 100.

[Sandra Garner]

Yes.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

9, 1, 1.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

What is your emergency?

[Narrator/Host]

Then she made that call to 911.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

There was a man in here.

[Narrator/Host]

I'd help me. Investigators now had Sandra's story about John's death, but they needed to learn the story of the couple's life together. Sandra was a twice divorced mother of two when she met John. They worked as managers at the same packaging company in Paris, Texas. She was 13 years older than he was.

[Sandra Garner]

He was just a very sweet man,

[Narrator/Host]

but he was known as a tough boss.

[Sandra Garner]

He loved firing people because if they weren't doing their job, Right. They didn't need to be working for him.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

The fact that he had fired a lot of people. We knew that there were going to be people out there who didn't care for John. John was kind of a wild, crazy guy. He was prescribed antidepressants. He took those frequently, drank heavily, very outgoing, very blunt. I mean, he's out there.

[Narrator/Host]

None of that mattered to Sandra. Two years after they met, they got married on New year's Eve in Las Vegas.

[Sandra Garner]

We had an awesome relationship. We loved each other so much. We were partners. We just did everything together.

[Narrator/Host]

John became a second father to Sandra's son, Wes. But her daughter Andrea was not very fond of him until 2014, when Sandra was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

I saw how much he loved her. That's all that mattered. He took care of her. He was her rock.

[Sandra Garner]

The medicine made me sick a lot.

[Narrator/Host]

It also made her depressed. She says she thought about suicide and googled how to do it.

[Sandra Garner]

How do I kill myself in my sleep? How do I take pills to kill myself? Or something like that?

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra says she didn't want to become a burden to John.

[Sandra Garner]

Well, I told John one day, you know, I'm just, you don't deserve this. I'm just gonna kill myself. And he said, well, if you do that, I'm gonna kill myself, too. That's when I knew I couldn't do it.

[Narrator/Host]

As Sandra got sicker, John became the sole breadwinner and caretaker. How reliant on him were you?

[Sandra Garner]

I was very reliant on him. He was all I had. It was just me and him.

[Narrator/Host]

In 2016, they moved to Maypearl, population just about 1,000, to be closer to their families. John's father and stepmother bought the house across the street, and John and Sandra's backyard became the gathering place.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

We were over there all the time. I mean, our family is just. You don't knock on the door. You walk in.

[Narrator/Host]

Jessica Garner married John's cousin, and she became close to Sandra.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I loved her. She was family. That was John's wife. I mean, you love him. They were super happy.

[Narrator/Host]

So the news that John had been killed came out of the blue, and

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I just started screaming. I'm like, no, no, he's not. It was a nightmare. It was just a nightmare.

[Narrator/Host]

Several hours after she arrived, Sandra left the the sheriff's office to be with the extended Garner family, which had gathered to comfort her. Police body cams captured the scene.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I'm like, what happened? What's going on? And she told us the story.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you believe her?

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I did.

[Narrator/Host]

Did everybody in the room believe her?

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

No.

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[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

If you want to come with me, I'll let you back.

[Narrator/Host]

To put it mildly, Sandra Garner had had a bad night by the time she left the Ellis County Sheriff's Office. And things were about to get worse. Her son Wes showed up at the sheriff's office looking for her.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Wes is somebody that we wanted to speak with because he was the last person John spoke to besides Sandra.

[Narrator/Host]

He agreed to talk to Lieutenant Shane Thompson.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

So you were with John last night, July 7th.

[Narrator/Host]

That was just hours before the shooting. West says he went home and didn't know anything was wrong until John's family, including Jessica Garner, showed up at his apartment to give him the news.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

John's been killed. And he was like, what happened? We're like, we don't know. And he was like, how's my mom? Where's my mom?

[Narrator/Host]

Wes hadn't seen his mother, but what he had to say about her sure caught Lieutenant Thompson's attention.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Wes very early on had suspicions about his mother being involved.

[Narrator/Host]

He seemed to be wondering if his own mother could be a killer.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

She did something like that. I don't understand why.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

What's your thoughts?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't want to say.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

I asked my mom, man.

[Narrator/Host]

Meanwhile, at the crime scene, investigators were busy collecting evidence and taking photos.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

We searched the entire house. We searched all the cars and all of the outbuildings. Sandra's Mustang was parked inside of a detached garage. There was nothing there.

[Narrator/Host]

It took hours, but the police finally left. And when they did, Sandra went home to live in the house sheriff's office where less than 24 hours earlier,

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

her

[Narrator/Host]

husband had been shot to death.

[Sandra Garner]

It was a little weird, yes. But I knew I needed to be there.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

Why?

[Sandra Garner]

I just felt like that's where John would want me to be. And I was really hoping that the guy would come back.

[Narrator/Host]

You were.

[Sandra Garner]

So I could kill him.

[Narrator/Host]

Investigators already had one killing on their hands and they were going through all the evidence they took out of the Garner's home. They were particularly interested in the Garners electronics.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

You can learn a lot about a person from their electronics.

[Narrator/Host]

And what they learned from Sandra's iPad and cell phone seemed especially interesting.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

A few days before the murder. She's searching how to kill somebody in their sleep. She had clicked on a link 16 Ways to Kill somebody and not get caught.

[Narrator/Host]

What was your reaction?

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Our reaction that Sandra just became more and more of a suspect.

[Narrator/Host]

You have a gift for understatement. But it would be hard to understate how well the Garner house was protected. John had guns, lots of guns, even for Texas.

[Sandra Garner]

49 pistols.

[Narrator/Host]

I'm sorry, how many?

[Sandra Garner]

49. And there was probably 12 rifles.

[Narrator/Host]

He had them stashed everywhere because he

[Sandra Garner]

wanted there be a gun if he needed it.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

We were able to account for all the weapons except for one.

[Narrator/Host]

What kind of gun was that?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

A.38.

[Narrator/Host]

John was killed with a.38. And what's more, Norton says the missing pistol belonged to Sandra.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

John had given it to Sandra.

[Narrator/Host]

But investigators couldn't find the gun. On January 5, three days after John was murdered, investigators returned to the Garner house to search again. They wanted that gun and they looked everywhere.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

We searched all the vehicles again and

[Narrator/Host]

they wanted to look inside Sandra's Mustang. But this time they couldn't.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

The Mustang was still inside of the detached garage, but it was locked.

[Narrator/Host]

What did you make of that?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Well, we wanted to know why it was locked.

[Narrator/Host]

Wes went across the street where the family was gathered to get Sandra's keys.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

Wes walked in and said, hey mom, they want the keys to your Mustang. She threw down the fork that was in her hand and said, no, you can tell him to off. And I just remember looking at her

[Sandra Garner]

like I was pissed because I knew they were looking at me for it.

[Narrator/Host]

She says she learned police were looking at her as a suspect just that morning. From Wes.

[Sandra Garner]

I told him no. He said, yes, they.

[Narrator/Host]

Are you scared?

[Sandra Garner]

No, because I didn't do it.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

She was not going to let us in that Mustang when she knew that we were getting in that vehicle one way or another. Can you step back out there for me, please?

[Narrator/Host]

I got a good spot.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

She ended up producing the key.

[Narrator/Host]

When police opened the car, they found a plastic bag under the front seat. And inside, wrapped in wet towels, was A rusty gun. A.38 caliber pistol with no fingerprints or DNA. It is awfully odd that it wasn't there one day and then three days later there it was.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Very odd, yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Got any ideas how that happened?

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Sandra put it there.

[Narrator/Host]

Jessica remembers Wes coming back across the street.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

He said, they found the gun in her car. I just looked at him and, I mean, like, I'm getting goosebumps now. You just. You're like, what.

[Narrator/Host]

What did that mean to you at that point?

[Sandra Garner]

Just.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

Everything changes at that point. She killed John. How could she kill John? Why did she kill John?

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra was brought back to the Ellis County Sheriff's office, and this time, Thompson was assisted by Texas Ranger Adam Sweeney. Sandra, I need you to be honest.

[Sandra Garner]

I tried. I swear. I'm trying to be honest with you. I don't. You don't think I'm being honest?

[Narrator/Host]

And this was not a friendly conversation.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

It was more confrontational when something happened.

[Narrator/Host]

What happened?

[Sandra Garner]

I did not kill my husband. That's when they started saying, we know you did this. We know you did this. No, I didn't. Yeah, we know you did.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

We want you to tell us.

[Sandra Garner]

That's what we're here for. To tell you what you want me to say that I did it when I didn't?

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

We want you to tell us the truth.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

That's it.

[Sandra Garner]

I told you the truth.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

You're not telling us the truth.

[Narrator/Host]

And they questioned her about her gun. When did you put that gun in your car?

[Sandra Garner]

There's not a gun in my car. Are you serious? I didn't put a gun in my car, y'. All. I swear. Where was there a gun in my car?

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

She stuck to her story. She claimed she had no idea how the gun got there.

[Narrator/Host]

No.

[Sandra Garner]

You're trying to get me to admit something I didn't do. Yes. Yes. And I'm done talking to you. I was upset. Cause they didn't believe what I was telling them. They, you know, why would they not believe it?

[Narrator/Host]

That might be because five days later, when the ballistics test came back, they showed the gun in the Mustang was the one used to kill John. And with that, just a few hours later, when Sandra pulled into her driveway, police were waiting.

[Sandra Garner]

I just got out of the car and I said, we're arresting you. It was horrible.

[Narrator/Host]

The Garner family was watching from across the street as the woman who had been so close to all of them.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Okay, let's get her out of here.

[Narrator/Host]

Was hauled off in handcuffs.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I'll be completely honest. We cheered.

[Narrator/Host]

You cheered?

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

We cheered. And I know that's horrible to say, but it was just a little piece of justice at that moment for John.

[Narrator/Host]

After police arrested Sandra Garner, her bond was set at $2 million. There was no way she could pay that.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

They made her sit in jail for a year and a half, and that should have never happened.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra's attorney, Tom Pappas, she's not the

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

kind of person that would do that to John.

[Narrator/Host]

In September of 2019, Sandra Garner, aged by prison, got to tell her story to a new audience.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Good morning, everyone.

[Narrator/Host]

In front of a jury when she went on trial in Waxahachie, Texas.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Are the attorneys ready for the jury

[Narrator/Host]

to come in for murdering her husband John? Were you prepared for what that was going to be like?

[Sandra Garner]

No, I didn't know what all was going to be said. I was hopeful. They didn't have anything to prove absolutely that I did it, so I was confident.

[Narrator/Host]

But prosecutors Lindy Beatty and Ricky Sipes believed they had a strong case against her. The murder weapon was Sandra Garner's gun.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Anybody you tell this story to says who comes to commit a murder and doesn't bring their own weapon?

[Narrator/Host]

Beatty ridiculed Sandra's story about a killer coming in, but using Sandra's gun.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Damn it, I forgot the gun.

[Narrator/Host]

At times, she acted out the role of the killer.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I wore my trusty mask so no one would know who I was. But I'm gonna have a 10 minute conversation with Sandra about who I am and why I'm doing this.

[Narrator/Host]

And there were those ghoulish searches on Sandra's iPad about killing someone and not getting caught.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Big deal. And we did make a big deal about these.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutors could well have considered this case a slam dunk.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Sounds good for us, right? Sometimes we don't get that much.

[Narrator/Host]

But this was a hard case.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

We knew we had a mountain of hurdles to overcome in this trial.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Fact number stage mistake. She didn't shoot John.

[Narrator/Host]

The prosecution's biggest hurdles may have been the result of poor police work. Sheriff's office, especially Maypearl Police Chief Boyd Norton's lack of experience leading an investigation.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Obviously, I had been to many murder scenes, but as far as being the investigator on the scene, this was my first.

[Narrator/Host]

He had enough experience to know he had to look into all those people John had fired over the years.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

We interviewed probably a couple of dozen people who had been terminated, and we were not coming up with any suspects.

[Narrator/Host]

But Norton is more open and more honest than most people would be about the mistakes he made at various stages of the investigation. Was the crime scene secured, in your view, quickly enough to preserve all the evidence?

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

No.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

I probably should have taken her out of the house and put her in a car. I probably should have bagged her hands, and I should have done some other things.

[Narrator/Host]

Police might have made a huge mistake by not bagging Sandra's hands. Gunshot residue was discovered on her, but it was only a tiny amount that could have an innocent explanation, Says the defense.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Sandra was lying right next to John when he was shot. She pulled the body off the bed, and she did chest compressions. The fact that there are only three specs on her left arm wasn't consistent with her firing the weapon.

[Narrator/Host]

Investigators believe if Sandra's hands had been bagged, they might have found a lot more gunshot residue. Enough to prove she did fire that gun. He's in the bedroom right there. Police might also have failed to preserve the crime scene well enough. First responders came in and out a

[Sandra Garner]

lot, ran in the bedroom when I was still there, which I thought was strange because that's where it happened. So why run and mess up everything that could be evidence?

[Narrator/Host]

And important evidence was lost by the police themselves. Body cam footage shows Chief Norton taking photos of the scene right when he arrived, a lot of them, and they all inexplicably disappeared from his cell phone. How did you feel when you realized that these photos were missing?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Well, I felt bad. I had evidence that should have been with the case, and it wasn't there. So, yeah, I was embarrassed.

[Narrator/Host]

Problem for the case?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Host]

Instead, the prosecution had to use photos taken by the Ellis county sheriff's clerk crime scene investigator. Eight hours after the murder.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

The investigation was messed up.

[Narrator/Host]

Mishap with the photos seemed like a gift to defense attorney Tom Pappas. What did you think when you heard that these photos had been lost?

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I think we're gonna win.

[Narrator/Host]

Do you regret not handing this whole thing over to Ellis county right Away.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

I do. I do.

[Narrator/Host]

When did you realize that that was a mistake?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Probably about a week into it.

[Narrator/Host]

Law enforcement poured their heart and their soul into this investigation. It may not have been perfect. And prosecutors knew the chief's inexperience would not play well in front of the jury. Did Chief Boyd Norton fill you with confidence?

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

No.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

No.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutors found themselves having to explain, among other things, why the police didn't fingerprint the door handle of the Mustang where the gun was found. Pappas says police might well have found a fingerprint that belonged to another suspect.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

As prosecutors, we want them to do everything possible that they could do. I believe that it should have been done. You know, I told you up front that we'd made some mistakes in this case. Should we have taken the car and impounded and processed it? Maybe, but we didn't.

[Narrator/Host]

Pappas attacked every phase of the investigation.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Police searched that house, and they screwed a lot of stuff up.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Where you got the bedroom?

[Narrator/Host]

He wanted to know why it took police so long to get to the crime scene in the first place.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

You get a 911 call from a lady who's hysterical that says, there was an intruder, and my husband's been shot, and it takes them 30, 40 minutes to get to the scene.

[Narrator/Host]

Well, Chief Norton says that he was there in 15 minutes.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Even 15 minutes is crazy.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutors had one other huge problem proving a motive. Why would Sandra want to kill her husband, who was her caretaker?

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

We did not have one set motive. Here is the motive. This is the reason why she killed him.

[Narrator/Host]

In Texas. Prosecutors don't have to prove, but as

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

a human being, everybody wants to know why.

[Narrator/Host]

But Pappas says there was one person who was close to John and may well have had a motive to kill him. And what's more, at every turn in the case, he was there. Sandra's son, Wes.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

We knew Wes was going to be a problem from the get go.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

What I say to you, are you

[Narrator/Host]

going to play it back to my mama? I'm.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Wes does look bad.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

And now Campus Files is back for another season.

[Narrator/Host]

There's a guy screaming into his phone. He's like, I just saw Charlie Kirk get assassinated right in front of me.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Every week is a new episode and a new story.

[Narrator/Host]

It was so chaotic.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

It's almost like a university under siege.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Wes should have been A suspect.

[Narrator/Host]

Defense attorney Tom Pappas says the police made one of their biggest mistakes when they ruled out one suspect. So let's talk about Wes, Sandra's own son, Wes.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

His conduct, when you really look at it objectively and look at Sandra objectively, is more suspicious than hers.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Everything Wes did was kind of suspicious.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutor Lindy Beatty.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I did have a lot of heartburn over it when we were going through case preparation and we knew Wes was going to be an absolute train wreck. And he was.

[Narrator/Host]

Wes was involved in this case early on. Just hours after John was killed. Wes was the one who pointed the finger at his mother.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

What's your thoughts?

[Narrator/Host]

And he kept at it, questioning details of her story. Dog, big dog. The dogs.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

What in the door.

[Narrator/Host]

How the so and so knew how

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

to get him after somebody to sneak

[Sandra Garner]

up on him like that.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

One of the hardest things about the case was the magnitude of Wes's disloyalty to her and the things he was doing to try to get her blamed for this.

[Narrator/Host]

She has never acted like this before.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Just jumped out at you.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra now says she has come to believe the worst thing a mother could believe about her child. Who do you think killed John?

[Sandra Garner]

I think it was Wesley.

[Narrator/Host]

Pappas says those chilling Google searches on Sandra's iPad and iPhone could have been done by Wes. He says Wes had access to the devices that did not require a password.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

If there's one thing everybody said about Santa and John, it's they went to bed at 9:30.

[Narrator/Host]

Those web searches were done between 11 and midnight, just four days before the murder. And Pappas says on that same night, Wes was at their house.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

He's the one that did the website, not her.

[Narrator/Host]

Went searching for 16 ways.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

16 ways to kill.

[Narrator/Host]

You don't know that for sure because he's.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Well, we. I don't know who else it could have been. I don't think it was John.

[Narrator/Host]

Wes wouldn't answer our questions, but he always seemed willing to answer investigators questions, especially about his mother and her gun.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

She used to keep it in her purse, but I don't stand underneath her

[Sandra Garner]

seat in her car.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

That's the last time she kept it.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

He's being a little bit too helpful with the police saying, hey, you know, look here.

[Narrator/Host]

After the police searched and failed to find the gun, Lieutenant Shane Thompson talked to Wes again.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Somebody has said that your mom owned a.38 revolver. She does have a revolver, but I thought it was in her Mustang.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

And she said she never put it in her Mustang. And if she did, it'll be underneath the seat.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Underneath the seat.

[Narrator/Host]

The next day, police searched for the gun one more time.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Where do they find it? They find it under the sea. Those things really did cause some concern. Wes does look bad.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

It began to look like someone was setting her up. And I don't know that Wes did that, but it sure looks suspicious. And his conduct was just unexplainable.

[Narrator/Host]

Pappas believes Wes might have more of a motive to kill John than Sandra did. He says Wes needed money and mistakenly believed he was in John's will. Was he ever a suspect in this?

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

No. He wasn't my suspect after all.

[Narrator/Host]

Wes told Chief Boyd Norton he had an alibi for the time John was murdered. I went back home, six pack of beer and watched Netflix and Netflix and phone records seemed to help corroborate his story, at least for a while.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

There was a record that had been on Netflix up until about 12, 12:30. There was some phone calls that were made.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Oh, my God, it's perfect. Like he's got an alibi. This is fantastic. Until we look at the records and we're like, no, no, that's not the right time.

[Narrator/Host]

Prosecutors discovered investigators had made a mistake. The times on those records weren't recorded in central standard time, the local time. Which means there was actually no evidence that Wes was watching Netflix or. Or on the phone at the time John was killed. Didn't look good that the cops didn't know which time zone they were dealing with.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

No, it did not.

[Narrator/Host]

I would imagine it did not help your case.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

No, they didn't look at Wes. They didn't understand that he didn't have an alibi. And that's an example of where they just gloss over stuff.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

They thought they had a rock solid alibi for Wes, but in fact, that was not the case.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I was floored at that.

[Narrator/Host]

The prosecutors insist, even though they say Wes looks suspicious at times and he has no alibi, they are confident he is not the killer.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Once you meet Wes, it's over. If you just talk to him for any length of time, you know that he is just not capable of committing this type of crime. He's just not smart enough, honestly.

[Narrator/Host]

And she says his stomach isn't strong enough.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

There's no way that guy can go put a bullet in some guy's head that he loves, see some blood, and there not be a vomit trail, you know, all the way back home.

[Narrator/Host]

And if Wes did break into the house that night and have a conversation with Sandra, Beatty wonders, how could Sandra not recognize him?

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

My God. People. If it was Wes Miller, she would know her own son. There's no, no way. She doesn't know if it's him. There's no way.

[Narrator/Host]

Wouldn't recognize his voice.

[Sandra Garner]

I think I would recognize his voice. But after hearing shot just all the drama, I can see why I didn't recognize it.

[Narrator/Host]

Your own son?

[Sandra Garner]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

Pardon me for saying this, but it's hard to believe.

[Sandra Garner]

I don't know, I just. I didn't recognize it.

[Narrator/Host]

There are a lot of questions for Sandra. And unlike most defendants in murder cases, she decided to take the stand. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom for her testimony.

[Sandra Garner]

I felt like if it went wrong for me if I didn't testify, what if I could have saved it?

[Narrator/Host]

Are you comfortable putting her up?

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

No, of course not. You're never comfortable when your client takes a witness stand.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra had trouble on the stand. She struggled to answer some of the questions during a lengthy cross examination.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I think there were some questions about the website searches and the searches surrounding that that were. That were difficult and she simply didn't remember stuff. And they were able to make some points.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I thought that we were able to show that she was a liar.

[Narrator/Host]

As the case goes to the jury, Sandra should know soon if taking the stand was the smart move.

[Sandra Garner]

Whatever happened, I had to deal with it.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

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[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

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[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

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[Narrator/Host]

It took one month, 27 witnesses and more than 400 pieces of evidence for the case against Sandra Garner to finally go to the jury. And when it did, neither side was very confident.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I think I was probably 50, 50 at the end of it, I felt like we ended well. So I was hopeful.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I was extremely confident one minute and just distraught the next next.

[Narrator/Host]

The jurors, however, seemed very clear about their views. They came back with a verdict in just three hours.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

God, I was nervous because it all comes down to this. You're thinking, God, please have done the right thing. Please found justice for this family.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra's daughter Andrea was holding her breath.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

The longest three hours of my life.

[Sandra Garner]

Laugh.

[Narrator/Host]

What did the quick verdict mean? It was anyone's guess.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I did not think it was good for Us.

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

Yes.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I didn't feel that they had gone through all of the evidence again.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Oh, my heart must have stopped. This is bad. It's not good at all. Trying to say that so Sandra wouldn't hear.

[Sandra Garner]

Please be seated.

[Narrator/Host]

In front of a packed courtroom.

[Sandra Garner]

Let's get on the record.

[Narrator/Host]

The judge read the decision.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

It's the defendant.

[Sandra Garner]

Please stand.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

The last thing I remember is the juror handing the paper to the bailiff. And I looked down. I could not look. I wasn't ready for a guilty verdict.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

We, the jury, find a defendant. Sandra Louise Garner.

[Narrator/Host]

Not guilty. Not guilty. And just like that, Sandra Garner was a free woman after 21 months in jail.

[Sandra Garner]

I felt wonderful. I turned to Tom and was saying, yay.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Yay.

[Sandra Garner]

And we hugged each other. I get to go home.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

I think those are the sweetest words I've ever heard in my life. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders that had been carrying for nearly two years.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I gave her the biggest hug I could. I was so happy for her. I tear up just thinking about it. I mean, she's got a chance to try to get some of her life back.

[Narrator/Host]

Of course, like every verdict, this one was not universally popular.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

I just remember thinking, they got that wrong. What? There's no way. There's no way. I don't want to watch this. There's no happy ending to this. This isn't happy at all.

[Narrator/Host]

Unless, of course, you are Sandra Garner. We caught up with her the moment she was released from jail.

[Sandra Garner]

Feels wonderful. Feels wonderful. I was just praying to God, my husband and my daddy just to help him say not guilty, please.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra was eager to get back home to the same house where her husband was murdered.

[Sandra Garner]

I love my house, and I know it's hard, and I know people think I'm crazy for wanting to be here, but I just want to be as close to him as I can.

[Narrator/Host]

Living here will mean living across the street from John's parents, who still are convinced Sandra is a murderess who killed their son and whose family is still grieving.

[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

John should still be alive. We should still be a family that was taken from us. There should be justice for his killer. There's not. There never will be. None of us have talked to her. None of us want to talk to her.

[Narrator/Host]

Andrea Miller is worried about her mother.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

One of the most important pieces of her life is in here, and she has to live with that on a daily basis.

[Sandra Garner]

Sissy, come here.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

I'm scared that something's gonna happen to her.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

I'll give you a Copy.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra's attorney, Tom Pappas, is also worried about her safety.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

There's a murderer that hasn't been arrested that's still out there. Part of Sandra's. I'm tearing up now. Part of Sandra's.

[Narrator/Host]

Let me ask Emmy. Why are you tearing up? Tell me about her.

[Tom Pappas (Defense Attorney)]

Because I care about her. I care what happens to her. I care what happens to the people around her.

[Narrator/Host]

Whatever happens to Sandra, it likely will happen without her son, Wes. Prosecutors and police believe they tried the right person and don't consider Wes a suspect. But Sandra and Andrea are no longer speaking to him.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

He does not deserve to be part of my mother's life anymore. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother anymore.

[Narrator/Host]

This is a tough question. Do you still love your son?

[Sandra Garner]

Not like I used to. Now I have not spoke to him at all. He did me really wrong.

[Narrator/Host]

And what toll has that taken on you?

[Sandra Garner]

It's very hurtful, but he chose that. I didn't.

[Narrator/Host]

Sandra Garner is now free to spend time with what remains of her family. She knows others still see her as a killer who got away with it. In the eyes of the law, she is not guilty. And the case against her is forever closed under the law. You cannot be charged with this crime again, even if you. You say you did it. So let me ask you, did you kill your husband?

[Sandra Garner]

No. Man was the love of my life. I told you, he was all I had. He was gonna take care of me for the rest of my life. Without him, I have nobody. No, I didn't kill my husband.

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

I'm back.

[Sandra Garner]

I'm really back.

[Narrator/Host]

School spirits returns.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

Why am I here?

[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

Not dead, right? Disruption on this campus will not be tolerated.

[Sandra Garner]

I look crazy.

[Narrator/Host]

It's because that's how I feel.

[Sandra Garner]

I don't know how to live in two worlds.

[Narrator/Host]

Secrets lurk.

[Lieutenant Shane Thompson]

There are others beneath the surface.

[Narrator/Host]

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

[Boyd Norton (Maypearl Police Chief)]

School Spirits, new season, now streaming only on Paramount.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

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[Advertiser/Voiceover]

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[Jessica Garner (Family Member)]

This is the mindset.

[Family Member (possibly Andrea or another relative)]

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[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

This is the mantra. Free. This is

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Prosecutor (Lindy Beatty or Ricky Sipes)]

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