S1: E20 – Louisiana Love Triangle, Part 1

Summary

American Homicide: Louisiana Love Triangle, Part 1 – Detailed Summary

Episode Release Date: March 6, 2025
Host: Sloan Glass
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

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Introduction to the Case

In the gripping episode titled "Louisiana Love Triangle, Part 1" of American Homicide, host Sloan Glass delves into a perplexing and emotionally charged murder case that unfolded in Covington, Louisiana. This episode sets the stage for a deep exploration of motives, relationships, and the intricate dynamics that led to a tragic loss.

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The Crime Scene

Date: December 11, 2004
Location: Covington, Louisiana – a quiet suburb known for its tight-knit community.

On a seemingly ordinary morning, Heather Jenkins, a dispatcher with the Covington Police Department, received multiple distressing 911 calls. The initial report detailed a loud horn honk followed by gunshots in a typically low-crime neighborhood.

Detective Doug Arrowood describes the initial response:

"We were getting off at 6 in the morning and right at shift change, 911 phone rang. The report was that someone honked a horn and that this gentleman came outside and there were gunshots." ([00:59])

As emergency services arrived, they found Thomas Talley lying in his driveway, bloodied and wounded, wearing only pajamas. His wife, Kendra Talley, was seen cradling him, visibly distressed.

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Victims and Suspects

Thomas Talley:

• Role: Husband, father, and family provider.
• Occupation: Courier, often juggling multiple jobs to support his family.
• Background: A responsible and sweet individual, consistently on the honor roll during his school years.

Kendra Talley:

• Role: Wife of Thomas, mother to their two-year-old son.
• Background: Described as bubbly and energetic, Kendra met Thomas while working at a local Pizza Hut where both were employed.

Tommy Rowell:

• Role: Best friend of the Talley family.
• Background: Lived 30 miles north in Bugaloosa, with three children. Known to frequent gatherings with the Talleys, their children often played together.

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The Day of the Crime

The night before the tragedy, Kendra and Tommy were out partying on Bourbon Street. Meanwhile, Thomas remained home recovering from oral surgery.

Kendra Talley recounts the events leading up to the shooting:

"There was a lot of alcohol that went on that night and we believe probably drugs as well. And because of the drugs, I believe that's what led to the rage which led to the shooting death of her husband, Thomas Talley." ([09:25])

As the night progressed, tensions escalated, culminating in Tommy Rowell driving to the Talley residence with two loaded guns. Upon arriving, Tommy opened fire on Thomas, resulting in his immediate death.

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Investigation Unfolds

Detective Doug Arrowood and his team faced a seemingly straightforward case:

"He did say that her husband forced her into having sex with her." ([02:18])

However, inconsistencies in witness statements and evidence began to surface, complicating the investigation.

Mark Talley, Thomas's younger brother, provides personal insight:

"I still remember the vivid pictures of the camera crew when they arrested him, putting him in the patrol car." ([21:31])

As police delved deeper, startling revelations came to light, challenging the initial assumptions about the case.

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Key Developments and Revelations

Autopsy Report Findings:
Thomas Talley was shot six times in various locations—chest, hip, head, and groin. Crucially, the bullets originated from two different firearms:

• Four bullets from a Ruger 9mm
• Two bullets from a Llama .45

This discovery raised questions about the number of assailants involved.

Kendra Talley's Testimony:
Kendra initially positioned Tommy Rowell as the sole shooter. However, discrepancies in her account, such as her ability to be bound securely in a moving vehicle, cast doubt on her reliability as a witness.

"We had multiple gunshot wounds and two calibers. When you have two calibers, you know you have two guns." ([28:05])

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Suspicion Shifts Towards Kendra Talley

As evidence mounted, attention turned towards Kendra Talley herself. The police discovered conflicting details in her story, particularly regarding the second gunshot and her actions during the crime.

Kendra Talley admits to abuse in her marriage:

"I didn't think there was a lot of love lost in this marriage. Maybe there wasn't a lot of love at all in this marriage." ([29:30])

These revelations hinted at deeper issues within the Talley household, suggesting possible motives beyond the initial narrative.

---

Conclusion of Part 1

The episode concludes with escalating tensions as Kendra Talley is arrested and charged as the principal in her husband's murder. The case, initially seeming uncomplicated, unravels into a complex web of relationships, motives, and hidden truths.

Sloan Glass sets the stage for the continuation of the story:

"Was Kendra the other shooter or was someone else involved? The police were about to hear a whole different side to this story." ([33:05])

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Teaser for Part 2

Listeners are left anticipating the next installment, where the tangled relationships and hidden motives will be further explored, unraveling the full extent of the Louisiana Love Triangle.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Detective Doug Arrowood on the initial reports:

  "We were getting off at 6 in the morning and right at shift change, 911 phone rang. The report was that someone honked a horn and that this gentleman came outside and there were gunshots." ([00:59])

• Kendra Talley on the night of the murder:

  "There was a lot of alcohol that went on that night and we believe probably drugs as well. And because of the drugs, I believe that's what led to the rage which led to the shooting death of her husband, Thomas Talley." ([09:25])

• Mark Talley reflecting on the arrest:

  "I still remember the vivid pictures of the camera crew when they arrested him, putting him in the patrol car." ([21:31])

• Kendra Talley on her marriage:

  "I didn't think there was a lot of love lost in this marriage. Maybe there wasn't a lot of love at all in this marriage." ([29:30])

---

Conclusion

"Louisiana Love Triangle, Part 1" masterfully sets up a narrative filled with emotional depth, investigative intrigue, and the complexities of human relationships. As the story unfolds, listeners are invited to piece together the puzzle alongside Detective Arrowood, uncovering the layers of truth beneath the surface of this tragic event.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where the investigation's twists and turns will be further revealed, offering deeper insights into the motives and actions that led to the untimely death of Thomas Talley.

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For more episodes and true crime stories, follow American Homicide on Apple Podcasts and rate and review to support the show.

Transcript

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[Sloan Glass]

After a night of partying in New Orleans, an angry friend lost control after what he heard.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

She did say that her husband forced her into having sex with her.

[Sloan Glass]

When it was all over, one man was dead and another was in custody.

[Kendra Talley]

There was a lot of alcohol that went on that night and we believe probably drugs as well. I believe that's what led to the rage which led to the shooting death of her husband.

[Sloan Glass]

But when witness statements didn't match up with the evidence, investigators scrambled to understand what was true and what was not.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

And I just thought this is not how I feel like this went down.

[Sloan Glass]

And the investigation exposed More than just murder.

[Mark Talley]

How they pulled this off is the one thing that amazes me today.

[Sloan Glass]

We're just outside of New Orleans for part one of the Louisiana Love Triangle. I'm Sloan Glass and this is American Homicide. Just a note that this episode contains some graphic content. Please take care while listening. On the other side of Lake Pontchartrain is the charming and quiet suburb of Covington, Louisiana.

[Kendra Talley]

Covington's a nice bedroom community. It's close to New Orleans, so you've got the convenience of the city if you need it, with everything that goes with that.

[Sloan Glass]

Doug Arrowood is a former detective with the Covington Police Department. You'll notice an accent. Doug Detective Arrowwood was born in the uk but moved to the States and lived here on and off throughout his life. It's a unique background for a local detective.

[Kendra Talley]

It's a city where you have almost mansions that you see in magazines and see on TV and they make your jaw drop. But you also have very poor areas of town where people live in little shacks that you wouldn't think chickens would want to live in. So it's got everything from A to Z.

[Sloan Glass]

As people grow up and out of the party atmosphere of New Orleans, nearby Covington is a great place to start and raise a family.

[Kendra Talley]

If you want a quieter atmosphere, a slower pace of life, very friendly folks hereabouts, it's a great place to live. You can spend any amount of time here. When you bump into somebody that you've not met before, within five or ten minutes, you've already got ties with them.

[Sloan Glass]

That sort of camaraderie gives the city of Covington a small town feel.

[Kendra Talley]

That's what makes it so interesting, especially as a police officer. You've got that nature of everybody knows everybody. So there's a pretty good chance that when something happens, you know who did that. That's old so and so and you know which way to start looking, which is helpful.

[Sloan Glass]

On the morning of December 11, 2004, Covington Police Dispatcher Heather Jenkins was wrapping up after working the overnight shift.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

We were getting off at 6 in the morning and right at shift change, 911 phone rang. The report was that someone honked a horn and that this gentleman came outside and there were gunshots.

[Sloan Glass]

The call came from a worried resident.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

We did not have a lot of crime in that subdivision. When we did, it would be things like a mailbox got smashed or, you know, loud noise complaints, that type of crime.

[Sloan Glass]

Within a minute another call came in and then another.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

We had seven regular lines and two nine one one lines. And more calls started coming in that there were gunshots and that someone actually was down and had been shot.

[Sloan Glass]

With each phone call, more details emerged about the shooting.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

This neighbor could see that someone had been shot and was laying in the driveway.

[Sloan Glass]

That's someone was Thomas Talley, who lived on Gratitude Drive with his wife Kendra and their two year old son.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

There were other people calling to say that Kendra Talley was outside yelling for help.

[Sloan Glass]

And neighbors reported seeing a gold colored Chevy truck flee the scene as Kendra cradled Thomas on the driveway. He was bloodied and wounded, wearing only his pajamas.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

Kendra Talley was just basically there kind of freaking out.

[Sloan Glass]

Anyone would freak out. Imagine how difficult it was for Kendra to hold her dying husband in her arms. And that happened just as Covington police and emergency responders arrived at the Talley's home.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

The ambulance service did arrive and try to save him, but they were not able. Mr. Talley was deceased there in the driveway.

[Sloan Glass]

The only good news for the investigation was that Thomas's wife Kendra witnessed the whole ordeal.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

This poor woman has just watched her husband be gunned down. You know, how can we work this situation to get this resolved?

[Sloan Glass]

Here's Detective Doug Arrowood describing the scene.

[Kendra Talley]

At that point in time, I believe there were four of us as detectives and once you got a case of that magnitude, all hands on deck, everybody's coming out, so we're all called out. And there had been a body just.

[Sloan Glass]

Laid out on the driveway next to Thomas. Body detectives found shards of glass, some spent shell casings, and of course, a devastated Kendra.

[Kendra Talley]

I recall her being obviously very upset, hugging her husband, saying, keep breathing, stay with me, stay with me. And words to that effect.

[Sloan Glass]

Kendra Talley was 24 years old at the time. She was short and petite with dark reddish hair.

[Kendra Talley]

She was obviously a mess. She looked like she'd been out for a couple of nights, which you could probably say that somebody's been through something as traumatic as that, they're probably going to fall to pieces pretty quickly.

[Sloan Glass]

The one good thing about Kendra Talley witnessing her husband being shot was that she could tell the detectives what happened. Kendra said the shooter was no stranger, but rather a good friend of her and her husband, a man named Tommy Rao. Now, it gets a little confusing here because both the husband and the shooter have similar names. So keep in mind that Kendra's husband was Thomas Talley and the shooter was Tommy Rowell.

[Kendra Talley]

Tommy Rowell. He'd been a friend of the family. They'd known each other for quite some time.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy rowell lived about 30 miles north of Covington in rural Bugaloosa. He had three children and was very close with Kendra and Thomas. They spent a lot of time together, and they had known Tommy Rau for years. Even their children all played together.

[Kendra Talley]

Tommy Rao had left the scene and gone to his house.

[Sloan Glass]

As the police searched for Tommy Rowell, detectives questioned Kendra. She said that she, Tommy Rowell, and some other friends had been out on Bourbon street while her husband stayed home.

[Kendra Talley]

Her husband that day had had oral surgery. He's at home recovering. He's just had both wisdom teeth out on the bottom. For those that have had the wisdom teeth out, they know it takes a couple of days to recover from that. And he was in some discomfort. He was under medication.

[Sloan Glass]

So what happened on Bourbon street that caused Tommy Rowell to go to his friend's house and gun him down?

[Kendra Talley]

There was a lot of alcohol that went on that night and we believe probably drugs as well. And because of the drugs, I believe that's what led to the rage which led to the shooting death of her husband, Thomas Talley.

[Sloan Glass]

So here's what a devastated Kendra told detectives. Just after the bars closed. Tommy Rao went into a murderous rage and took it out on her husband.

[Kendra Talley]

He was going to take care of business is what Kendra said.

[Sloan Glass]

The Covington PD turned their attention to finding the shooter. It was a pretty simple case, but Tommy Rao was long gone by then.

[Kendra Talley]

He got on his truck and he left. So once we kind of established that we had the victim's wife here and we had that locked down, we then went to try and find the perpetrator.

[Sloan Glass]

The police believe Tommy Rao was hiding out at his home in a wooded area of Bugaloosa about half an hour away.

[Kendra Talley]

He was armed, probably dangerous after what we were discovered. So we wanted to take all precautions. We got the sheriff's office involved. We got the SWAT team involved.

[Sloan Glass]

With Kendra's help, more than a dozen law enforcement officers spent that early Saturday morning on a manhunt for an out of control killer.

[Kendra Talley]

If you're not careful, you can be led in that wrong direction. You need to take it one step at a time and make sure that you're going in the right direction. You know what's happening. That I felt was going to be the most pivotal moment of the case.

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[Sloan Glass]

As the sun rose in Covington, Tommy Rao showed up at his best friend's house and opened fire on him.

[Mark Talley]

This happened two weeks exactly to the day before Christmas Day.

[Sloan Glass]

Mark Talley woke up to learn his Younger brother Thomas was gone. Here's Mark.

[Mark Talley]

Kendra's sister in law, started calling me about six in the morning and she said Thomas had been shot. He was shot in the driveway. She said, I think he's dead. I'm pretty sure he's dead. I think he's dead. And if you just imagine him barefooted in pajamas, laying on his concrete driveway with blood around him, yeah, that does a number on you. And so I just shut everything off. I shut my phone off, I shut the tv, the radio off. I just needed to be alone at that time.

[Sloan Glass]

As you can imagine, it was an awful day for Mark.

[Mark Talley]

He was my younger brother by a little over five years.

[Sloan Glass]

When they were kids, Mark said Thomas was the typical younger brother who always followed him around.

[Mark Talley]

Me and Thomas had a lot of similar interests. We tinkered a lot with stuff. We weren't into the whole hunting, fishing thing. We did like to trek through the woods and just goof off and play around. Thomas. He was on honor roll in school for several years. Very sweet kid. Same with Kendra.

[Sloan Glass]

Kendra and Thomas met a few years earlier while working at the local Pizza Hut.

[Mark Talley]

He was a delivery person. She worked inside and sparks happened and it went from there. He called me one time, said, remember the girl? Kendra said, now she wants to go out with me. So I was happy for him because I knew the kind of person she was very bubbly and energetic and happy, and she was very pleasant to be around. And I think that's what Thomas liked in her.

[Sloan Glass]

The two eventually got married and had a baby boy.

[Mark Talley]

And then everything after that fell into place.

[Sloan Glass]

Most recently, Thomas worked as a courier.

[Mark Talley]

Thomas was working two jobs, sometimes another job after that to support his family.

[Sloan Glass]

And becoming a husband, father and provider were roles that Thomas embraced.

[Mark Talley]

He'd always wanted that. He was kind of like me, settle down type.

[Sloan Glass]

Although Thomas was six years older than Kendra, it didn't make a difference at first.

[Mark Talley]

I didn't think she was motherhood material, but she was very good.

[Sloan Glass]

It's understandable given that Kendra went from a girl barely out of her teens to mother and wife.

[Mark Talley]

She still had that in her, the party girl type. But that did not hurt her from being a great mother.

[Sloan Glass]

Mark had last seen Kendra and his brother a couple weeks earlier at Thanksgiving dinner.

[Mark Talley]

We all were together and she cooked a mean Thanksgiving dinner. We all had a great time. Kendra was happy, Thomas was happy. But three weeks later, boom, Thomas had been shot. It sends shock waves.

[Sloan Glass]

Even more shocking was that Thomas's best friend, Tommy Rowell, had pulled the Trigger.

[Mark Talley]

That was one thing I struggled with. You're sad, then you're this, then you're angry. I went through all that all day. It was terrible.

[Sloan Glass]

Law enforcement was on the lookout for an armed and dangerous Tommy Rao.

[Mark Talley]

I basically barricaded myself in my house.

[Sloan Glass]

Think about it. This was somebody they were all friends with. Mark was scared. He didn't know what Tommy would do next or where he was.

[Mark Talley]

And they went to go look for him. They had the whole SWAT team.

[Sloan Glass]

Heather Jenkins was a local 911 dispatcher.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

When Kendra Talley told the investigator who the shooter was, we notified the sheriff's department and they activated their SWAT team because she had told the investigator that he was kind of a conspiracy theorist and had cameras outside of his home and blackout curtains and lots of guns and just very kind of a scary guy.

[Sloan Glass]

The police found the gold colored Chevy truck that Tommy Rao was driving parked outside of his home in Bugaloosa. Covington, where the crime took place, has a low crime rate compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Bugaloosa has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

He was at home and had evidently barricaded himself in the home. I was afraid that it was going to turn into, you know, a big standoff with this guy, and they were out there for, you know, a while.

[Sloan Glass]

At the time, Tommy was 36 years old and on probation after being charged with cocaine possession.

[Detective Doug Arrowood]

There was a real concern that he was not going to give up.

[Jack Hofstadt]

His sister apparently called him up and said, the cops are coming up to kill you and you have to take care of yourself.

[Sloan Glass]

Jack Hofstadt worked for the district attorney's office.

[Jack Hofstadt]

According to him, he put all his guns in the bed, loaded them up, and that he was going to shoot it out with them because he didn't want to die.

[Sloan Glass]

You'd think if he didn't want to die, he would surrender. But Tommy wasn't your typical character. He was an avid outdoorsman who liked to hunt and fish. He owned numerous weapons, and the police weren't taking any chances. The tense standoff with Tommy Rau went on for nearly four hours until one of the officers made a breakthrough.

[Jack Hofstadt]

His job is to get somebody out of the house without having to kill him. And he finally gets Tommy on the telephone, and Tommy tells him immediately, without being asked, that he had killed somebody.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy Rao's guilty conscience got the best of him. He confessed to killing his friend Thomas Talley. When the officer on the other end heard this, he purposefully denied that Thomas Talley was dead.

[Jack Hofstadt]

He says no, no, you didn't kill anybody. He just wounded.

[Sloan Glass]

The officer hoped that by saying Thomas Talley was wounded and not dead that Tommy would peacefully surrender.

[Jack Hofstadt]

We didn't tell him anything he could to get him out the house without somebody else getting hurt.

[Sloan Glass]

And thankfully it worked.

[Jack Hofstadt]

He eventually came out and then they arrested him.

[Sloan Glass]

With Tommy Rall in custody, detectives searched his house for evidence and the inside looked like a junkyard.

[Jack Hofstadt]

They went up and got the guns and Kendra's cell phone, which had numerous phone calls from her husband trying to find out where she was and when she was coming home. And his notebook with a suicide note in it.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy really was planning on killing himself. He had penned a suicide note. In it he speaks to his relationship with Kendra. Here's one part of it. I also want my mother to know that I love her with all my heart and Kendra just as much or more. I just hope Kendra can forgive me for what I have done. I also hope Kendra will always know how much I love her and what she means to me. I just can't sit around and watch her being hurt all the time. Love always, Tommy. Tommy Rowell confessed to two things. Being in love with his best friend's wife and killing him. The Covington police charged him with murder.

[Mark Talley]

I still remember the vivid pictures of the camera crew when they arrested him, putting him in the patrol car.

[Sloan Glass]

It was all so shocking for Thomas brother Mark.

[Mark Talley]

It's so rare to have a shooting murder, especially the way it was done here on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Stuff like that's not supposed to happen here. And that's what made unfortunately the biggest news. Not my brother dying, but that because no one gets killed here.

[Sloan Glass]

As the police searched Tommy Rao's home, they uncovered evidence which to them pointed to his long running obsession with Kendra. There was that strange suicide love note along with pictures, including a family photo. But here's the strange part. The photo was of Tommy with Kendra and Kendra's son.

[Mark Talley]

That seems to be a little off to me.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy Rao often hung out with Thomas and Kendra. He was a regular at many of the tallies, parties and barbecues. And his three children often played with the Talley's son.

[Mark Talley]

All I know is he worked with Thomas installing car stereos, car alarms back, you know, in the day. I think he worked at Pizza Hut. I think that's where him and Kendra met.

[Sloan Glass]

In Mark's mind, Tommy Rao was just one of the many friends the couple had.

[Mark Talley]

He comes off as a pleasant person, but he only will talk to you if you ask him a question, I'm not going to be judgmental, but it just seemed a little odd.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy's deadly obsession with Kendra appeared to be a slam dunk for prosecutors. They had a confession, an eyewitness, and plenty of incriminating physical evidence.

[Mark Talley]

He still cared about her, and almost in an overwhelming way, my gut feeling was saying something's not right. I still think he had a thing for Kendra after Thomas got married to her, and I think that always stuck.

[Sloan Glass]

But the results of Thomas Talley's autopsy would throw a wrench in everything.

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[Sloan Glass]

Just before sunrise on December 11, 2004, Thomas Talley was gunned down in his driveway in Covington, Louisiana. A few hours later, his killer, Tommy Rao, who had been his best friend, was in custody. Jack Hofstadt worked for the District Attorney's office.

[Jack Hofstadt]

We have very few murders. Most murders that we have are what I call business disputes. One drug dealer killing another, or somebody's robbing a drug dealer because they've got the money. And every once in a while, we have something like the Raoul Talley case, which really doesn't fit in with the norm.

[Sloan Glass]

In addition to murder, Tommy also faced a drug possession charge. Police had found crystal meth inside his truck. His case appeared to be open and shut until the results of Thomas Talley's autopsy came back.

[Jack Hofstadt]

The pathologist, the medical examiner, is the one that decides exactly what. What killed him.

[Sloan Glass]

That report stated that Thomas Talley was shot in the chest, hip, head and groin area a total of six times. But the detective's job got a whole lot harder when the report listed the origin of those six bullets.

[Jack Hofstadt]

Two different pistols. One was a Ruger 9 millimeter, the other was a Llama.45.

[Sloan Glass]

Okay, the fact that the victim took bullets from two different guns, well, that changed the entire investigation.

[Jack Hofstadt]

He was shot four times with the 9 millimeter and two with the.45. The first shots, the 9 millimeter shots, were shot in a downward pattern, but they weren't close shots. They were at least 36 inches apart. The last two shots were directly standing over him. The ones with the.45.

[Sloan Glass]

Okay, so here's what that means. Four bullets were fired from inside Tommy's truck, and two bullets from a different gun were fired outside the truck.

[Kendra Talley]

We had multiple gunshot wounds and two calibers. When you have two calibers, you know you have two guns.

[Sloan Glass]

It was up to detectives to figure out who fired the second gun. Was it someone else, or did Tommy fire both guns? Here's Detective Doug Arrowood.

[Kendra Talley]

In reality, that's usually not the case unless you've got the old wild west. One gun in each hand. People are not at all comfortable with shooting on an everyday basis. Very, very few people are.

[Sloan Glass]

The only other person law enforcement knew of who had been at the crime scene was Kendra. She had already talked to the detectives right after witnessing her husband being shot. To death in the driveway of their home.

[Kendra Talley]

She was definitely worse for wear, so to speak. But given the circumstances, you got to say that's understandable in a very traumatic time. Maybe there was something that she missed. Maybe there's something she could tell us that would either say, yes, I did it or no, I didn't and here's why. And we'd say, you know what, you have a point. You're good to go. So she agreed to come in with an attorney. I agree to talk to us.

[Sloan Glass]

Kendra held the key to what happened and had been so helpful to the investigation. So the detective had Kendra walk him through what happened that night one more time.

[Kendra Talley]

She was telling me about how she was abused by her husband at the time.

[Sloan Glass]

Kendra told the detective that her husband Thomas had sexually assaulted her a few weeks earlier. On tape, Kendra said he forced himself on her and did some things he had never done before.

[Kendra Talley]

I didn't think there was a lot of love lost in this marriage. Maybe there wasn't a lot of love at all in this marriage.

[Sloan Glass]

Kendra explained that in the hours leading up to Thomas murder, Kendra and Tommy Rao grabbed breakfast after their night on Bourbon Street.

[Kendra Talley]

They went to local all night establishment, Waffle House. And they were sitting there eating and she claimed that he pressed her saying something's wrong, what is it? What is it?

[Sloan Glass]

And that's when Kendra first shared her secret about how her husband had sexually assaulted her.

[Kendra Talley]

She said, okay, well this is what happened but you know, please forgive him. It's not that big a deal.

[Sloan Glass]

But it was a big deal for Tommy. He loved Kendra and he was furious.

[Kendra Talley]

And he went into a rage and says that's it. He loved her so much he didn't want to see anything happening to her. So that was it. He was going to go and take care of business.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy Rao stormed out of the restaurant. Kendra followed and found him in his truck. And she said she tried to calm him down because she feared he was going to hurt her husband.

[Kendra Talley]

She talked him out of it and she thought everything was ok. Kendra and.

[Sloan Glass]

Tommy drove to his house where she says he seemed to cool off.

[Kendra Talley]

But when they got to his house, he got into more of a rage. Then he locked her in the truck.

[Sloan Glass]

She said Tommy grabbed her cell phone, ran into his house and returned with two guns. Now armed and dangerous, Tommy drove them back to Covington. Kendra said she had never seen Tommy like that and feared the worst.

[Kendra Talley]

She said she was kicking him and resisting to the fullest extent, begging him not to do what he was going to do.

[Sloan Glass]

When the two arrived at Kendra's house, her husband heard the sound of Tommy's horn and walked outside. Kendra said she screamed for him to go back inside. And that's when Tommy Rao grabbed a gun and opened fire on him from inside the truck. Kendra then exited the vehicle and ran to get help. But Tommy wasn't finished.

[Kendra Talley]

He got out, went around the truck, and he put a couple in him just to finish him off, just to make sure. But the more you look at this, the more you say things aren't adding up.

[Sloan Glass]

That's probably what you're thinking, too. A few key details of Kendra's story stuck out.

[Kendra Talley]

She was telling me during the interview about how he, with one hand drove along curvy, windy roads in the middle of the night and with the other hand tied her up and then tied her to the steering wheel. Can you imagine tying somebody to the steering wheel of a vehicle? Every time you turn a corner, they're going to be in your lap and then they're going to be off to the side again.

[Sloan Glass]

And speaking of the truck, remember how Kendra said Tommy locked her in his truck?

[Kendra Talley]

Sure. I've known plenty of people be locked out of a vehicle. I've helped them get into their vehicle when their keys have been sitting in there. I've never known somebody who'd been locked in a vehicle unless they were an infant in a cradle and couldn't get out or unless it was a dog.

[Sloan Glass]

Her husband, Thomas. Funeral was scheduled for December 15, 2004. But that morning, Kendra was a no show at the service.

[Jack Hofstadt]

She was arrested and she was charged. She was charged with the principles of the murder.

[Sloan Glass]

Just before her husband's funeral, the police arrested Kendra Talley and charged her with being the principal to his murder.

[Kendra Talley]

We had a pretty good idea of the evidence that we found at the scene that she was involved in this and not just a victim.

[Sloan Glass]

Was Kendra the other shooter or was someone else involved? The police were about to hear a whole different side to this story.

[Jack Hofstadt]

We had two people telling two different stories. We're trying to figure out which story.

[Sloan Glass]

Is true in part two of the Louisiana Love triangle, just as Thomas Talley was laid to rest, we'll learn how two lovers turned on each other other to save themselves. I'm Sloan Glass. That's next time on American Homicide. You can contact the American Homicide team by emailing [e-mail] that's AmericanHomicidePod@gmail com. American Homicide is hosted and written by me, Sloan Glass, and is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass and Todd Ganz. The series is also written and produced by Todd Ganz with additional writing by Ben Fetterman and Andrea Gunning. Our Associate producer is Kristin Melchuri. Our I Heart team is Ally Perry and Jessica Krynczak. Audio editing, mixing and mastering by Nico Aruka. American Homicide's theme song was composed by Oliver Baines of Noiser Music Library, provided by My Music. Follow American Homicide on Apple Podcasts and Please rate and review American Homicide. Your five star review goes a long way towards helping others find this show. For more podcasts from iHeartrading, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We've all heard the success stories of weight loss with GLP1 injections, but let's be real, they can be very expensive and hard to access. That's where Henry Meds comes in. No insurance, no problem. You can save over $1,000 a month. Compared to brand name options, Henry Meds has no hidden fees, just affordable trans pricing and a team of caring healthcare providers and compounded GLP1 options with both injections and oral medications. Start your weight loss management [e-mail] today. Results may vary. Not all patients are eligible. Compounded medications are not FDA approved. Consult a healthcare provider to determine if treatment is right for you.

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