Woman Charged With Killing Both Ex Husbands On Same Day!

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Episode: Woman Charged With Killing Both Ex Husbands On Same Day!
Release Date: January 8, 2026
Hosts: Amy Robach and TJ Holmes

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Overview

This episode delves into the shocking case of Susan Erica Avalon, a 51-year-old Florida woman accused of fatally shooting both her ex-husbands within hours on the same day. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes break down the events, discuss the investigation, and reflect on the tragic impact—especially on the children left behind. The hosts also examine the rarity of such a crime, possible motives, and the chilling details of Avalon's actions before and after the murders.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

[00:21] Unprecedented Nature of the Crime

• Both hosts are struck by the rarity and brazenness of the case:
  • "I've never seen one like this... but to kill two people in one day and have them both be your ex-husbands, never seen that before." – Amy Robach [00:46]
  • "I hadn't quite seen one like this." – TJ Holmes [00:21]
• Women are less likely to be spree killers, making the case even more unique.

[01:09] How the Killings Unfolded

• The attacks happened hours apart on December 17, in two Florida locations.
• Police responded to the first shooting around 3pm, where the victim (her first ex-husband) survived long enough to communicate with investigators.
  • "Before he died, he was able to point investigators towards his ex wife. He wasn't even totally sure..." – Amy Robach [02:11]
• The victim thought the shooter was disguised as a food delivery driver—a disguise confirmed by surveillance footage provided by Avalon's own daughter.
  • Avalon was seen at a Panera Bread stealing someone else’s order to use as a prop. – Amy Robach [02:58]

[04:06] The Investigation and a Self-Incriminating Remark

• Police tracked Avalon's car to her home, where they found her cleaning the interior with bleach and rags in broad daylight.
  • "She just happened to be doing some car cleaning... with bleach and rags in her hands." – TJ Holmes [03:57], Amy Robach [04:06]
• When approached, Avalon responded infamously:
  • "We want to speak to you about your ex-husband."
    "Her response: 'Which one?'" – Amy Robach [04:40]
• This set off alarms for investigators, who then performed a welfare check on her second ex-husband and discovered him dead as well.

[05:00] Timeline & Estrangement

• The second ex-husband was killed first; Avalon then drove to kill her first ex-husband.
• The first ex-husband and Avalon had been divorced for 11 years, with a history of custody disputes.
  • Highlights the passage of time and the sudden escalation to lethal violence.

[06:44] Motive: Passion and Money

• Police and the sheriff cite ongoing child custody battles and unpaid child support as central motives.
  • "She had owed child support to at least one. And this is what the sheriff said that really stuck with me... 'Now five children are facing life without their fathers, and it seems as though they didn’t really have their mother in their life to begin with.'" – Amy Robach [07:43]
• Discussion about how divorce and custody disputes can be a pressure cooker, amplifying anger and desperation.

[09:32] Impact on the Children

• The horror of the situation is compounded by the fact that Avalon's 15-year-old daughter witnessed (“heard the gunfire”) and provided key details to the police.
  • "To imagine that her 15 year old daughter was upstairs when she was posing as that food delivery driver..." – Amy Robach [09:32]
• Touches on potential estrangement: Daughter didn't recognize her mother's car, and neither did the ex-husband, hinting at broken family ties.

[12:14] The Boyfriend’s Perspective and More Motives

• Avalon's live-in boyfriend recounted a chilling exchange:
  • "The day before... she made a very uncharacteristic remark... she said, 'I love you in case something happens to me.'" – Amy Robach [13:12]
  • "[If you said that to me] What are you about to go do and who are you going to see?" – TJ Holmes [13:19]
• After committing the crimes, Avalon returned home and showered with her clothes (the same gray hoodie seen in surveillance footage) still on.
  • "Why are you getting into the shower with your clothes on?" – Amy Robach [16:25]

[14:15] Child Support Debt – The "Straw"

• Avalon owed approximately $4,000 in unpaid child support with a $200 deadline looming, threatening her with loss of her driver's license.
  • Hosts debate whether such a sum could truly justify or trigger such violence.
  • "A story about a double murder can get sadder, but to think it was over possibly $200 is tough to stomach." – TJ Holmes [14:15]

[14:34] Legal Consequences

• Five children are now essentially orphaned.
• Avalon has only been charged with second-degree homicide for the first murder so far, but charges are expected to be upgraded to first-degree and to include the second murder as well.
  • "She is going to be facing one, probably two first degree murder charges. And we know how Florida rolls. It is very likely she would then be facing the death penalty." – Amy Robach [15:15]
• The sheriff emphasized the calculated, premeditated nature of the crimes:
  • "We believe this was premeditated. She knew exactly what she was doing. She came here solely to kill her ex-husbands, period. End of story." – (Sheriff, quoted by Amy Robach [15:52])

[17:25] Final Reflections and Unanswered Questions

• The boyfriend told police that Avalon never told him exactly what happened, though he suspected something was wrong.
  • "He said she didn't explicitly tell me what happened." – TJ Holmes [17:34]
• The hosts conclude this is one of the most bizarre and tragic cases they've covered, promising to follow ongoing developments.

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Notable Quotes

• On the uniqueness of the case:
  “But to kill two people in one day and have them both be your ex-husbands, never seen that before.”
  — Amy Robach [00:46]

• On the daughter's involvement:
  “Her own 15 year old daughter… gave police the description of what the shooter was wearing and the car she was driving.”
  — Amy Robach [02:58]

• Avalon's self-incriminating remark:
  "Her response: 'Which one?'"
  — Amy Robach [04:40]

• On motive and tragedy:
  “And now five children are facing life without their fathers and it seems as though they didn’t really have their mother in their life to begin with.”
  — Amy Robach quoting the sheriff [07:43]

• On what the boyfriend remembered:
  "She said, 'I love you in case something happens to me.'"
  — Amy Robach [13:12]

• On the legal outlook:
  "She is going to be facing one, probably two first degree murder charges. And we know how Florida rolls. It is very likely she would then be facing the death penalty."
  — Amy Robach [15:15]

• Sheriff's statement:
  "We believe this was premeditated. She knew exactly what she was doing. She came here solely to kill her ex-husbands, period. End of story."
  — Amy Robach quoting sheriff [15:52]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:21 – Introduction to the case
• 00:46 – 01:09 – Shock at case's rarity; timeline of killings
• 02:58 – Avalon’s food delivery disguise revealed
• 04:06 – 04:40 – Police encounter Avalon cleaning car; "Which one?" moment
• 07:43 – Motive: custody, passion, unpaid child support
• 09:32 – Daughter's role; family estrangement signs
• 13:12 – Boyfriend shares ominous warning before homicide
• 14:15 – Discussion of child support sums and possible triggers
• 14:34 – 16:03 – Legal repercussions; charges and likely death penalty
• 15:52 – Sheriff's definitive statement on premeditation
• 17:25 – 18:09 – Boyfriend’s observations, hosts' closing thoughts

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Tone and Style

• The hosts keep a conversational, reflective, and at times incredulous tone, balanced by empathy for the victims—especially the children.
• They focus on facts, law enforcement statements, personal reactions, and tie the crime's elements to broader themes in family law and criminal justice.

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This summary covers all vital content, notable quotes, and major segments, as discussed candidly by Amy and TJ. It is designed for listeners looking to grasp the key facts and emotional gravity of the episode without having to listen in full.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. As we speak, a woman is sitting in jail in Florida accused of killing not one, but, but two ex husbands on the same day. And with that, welcome to this episode, Amy and TJ presents Rogue. You brought this case to my attention. And look, we follow a lot of true crime. I hadn't quite seen one like this.

[Amy Robach]

I've never seen one like this. I've. We've seen women. I mean women killers are rarer, so to speak, but going on a killing spree is, is one thing and we've seen that. But to kill two people in one day and have them both be your ex husbands, Never seen that before.

[TJ Holmes]

What was it? How many hours between?

[Amy Robach]

It was hours between. And when you hear how police. Well, they didn't even piece it together. She basically thought they already knew and squealed on herself. It's kind of crazy how this all went down.

[TJ Holmes]

That moment was crazy. If that moment had been in a movie, you would laugh. That's a moment that you would actually laugh at what that scene and how it played out that we're going to get into. But the woman's name is Susan Erica Avalanche, 51 years old and robes. Has happened in December that police got the call to one shooting and ended up finding somebody else. So she goes to. Well, she's accused of, I should say this first and foremost. She's accused of going and shooting one ex husband. And this is the ex husband who then kind of gives them a heads up when they ask, hey, you know anybody who would do this to you? He said, possibly my ex.

[Amy Robach]

It was his. Were his dying words.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes, because he made it to the hospital and was alive and was hanging on for a little while.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, he was shot in the stomach. That is incredibly painful. I believe he was shot twice in the stomach. But before he died, he was able to point investigators towards his ex wife. He wasn't even totally sure and we'll tell you why. So the Investigation began around 3pm on December 17. And this was in Florida. Police responded to calls of shots fired. That's when they found the 54 year old man who later died at the hospital. Before he was pronounced dead, he told investigators he opened his front door and someone just shot him. And he said it was possibly my ex wife.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. And he didn't know because apparently what kind of delivery person was she supposed to be disguised?

[Amy Robach]

She was disguised as a food delivery driver. And they were actually through surveillance video, able to go back based on the description of the clothes she was wearing and the car she was driving. Driving given to police by her own daughter. Her own 15 year old daughter. But they found her stealing someone else's order from a Panera Bread. So she went into a Panera Bread, went up to the counter, took someone else's order, got into her car and posed as a food delivery driver. So when he maybe looks out the front window or whatever, sees someone, he sees she's disguised with a gray hoodie. I don't know what else she had on to disguise her face, but it looked like somebody was delivering food. So he opens the door and boom, she just fires shots, according to police.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay. So police get called to this scene and they're talking to this guy and wondering who could possibly have done this. So they are now because of that directed towards her.

[Amy Robach]

Yes.

[TJ Holmes]

And they go find her robes. Didn't take them long. And she just happened to be doing some, some car cleaning when they showed up.

[Amy Robach]

Some spring cleaning. Yeah. So investigators tracked her down through the car. So they had the car description, possibly my ex wife. They put it all together and they arrive at Avalon's home the day. So this is December 18th. They walk up on her, literally with bleach and rags in her hands. They said it was brazen. This was a busy neighborhood, people are out and she's got bleach and rags wiping down the interior of her car. When deputies come up and approach her, they say to her, we want to speak to you about your ex husband.

[TJ Holmes]

And this is where it gets ridiculous.

[Amy Robach]

Her response, which one?

[TJ Holmes]

So their, their antennas go up. So what do they do? They go figure out and track down where her other ex husband is and essentially have police there do a welfare check.

[Amy Robach]

Correct. So they find out her second ex husband, actually. Yes. Lives in the Tampa area. So they, you know, they just say, hey, yeah, let's just check on them. It's chronic crazy, she said, which one made us a little concerned. Tampa police go to the home of her other ex husband and find him shot dead. Avalon, they say, killed her second ex husband first in Tampa. So he was the first one to go. And that's when, after that, she drove directly to kill her first ex husband. And so what would drive someone to do this in one day after all these years, by the way, I'm not sure how long she had Been divorced from her second ex husband who she killed first. But her first ex husband, we know this, she had been divorced from him for 11 years. So yes, there had been child custody fights and yes, there had been issues and all of that that usually had happens with divorces. But to have that much time go by and then to suddenly snap and kill not one but both of your ex husbands and not think you aren't going to be directly implicated is surprising. But police say this was planned, this was premeditated and she did it with intent.

[TJ Holmes]

It wasn't carefully planned. I mean, you. I mean actually Robes, there's no. You can't usually not going to get away with killing once. But you're the first person that's going to be the suspect. Right? Two dead. I mean, I. What was going on, There was a break of some kind because she didn't do this expecting to get away with it.

[Amy Robach]

You can't think that she was. And yet she was cleaning her car. So she was trying to get rid of evidence. She was trying to cover up her crime. So I would say by those actions she was hoping that she'd get away with it. She wasn't thinking it through. Because yes, the first person you're going to look at isn't ex or a scorned lover or someone who had a romantic relationship. We know this is either about money or it's about passion. And this looks like it might have been about both.

[TJ Holmes]

That's usually the two things they tell you, right? But this one, look, when you. When it comes to divorces, when it comes to kids, when it comes to money, there is a lot of people will tell you, as hot and emotional as they've ever been in their lives and as close as they've gotten to hating someone in their lives is having to go through a divorce. And so she's got two. And Rose, this is a situation where she don't have. Right. Is owing them money.

[Amy Robach]

Correct. So this is what the sheriff said in terms of motive because we. Anytime you cover especially a bizarre case like this, everyone wants to know why. And so here's what the sheriff had to say. He said Avalon had been in child custody, fights with both ex husbands. Aha. Right there. That's the passion. Because look, you can hate your ex or you can have an. A very difficult divorce, but usually when kids are involved, you can. It's tenfold. I mean, money is one thing, but kids are a whole other thing. That's part of you, that's a piece of you. So if you're fighting for custody with your ex. Yeah, emotions are running high. So she had been in child custody fights with both ex husbands. She had owed child support to at least one. And this is what the sheriff said that really stuck with me. He said, and now five children are facing life without their fathers and it seems as though they didn't really have their mother in their life to begin with. So they lost the one steady parental figure they had. And she did it because she was angry. She did it perhaps because police say she owed one of them money. But for whatever reason, police say she literally snapped and drove from one ex husband to the other ex husband and just shot them in cold blood.

[TJ Holmes]

It's all relative. But this we're not talking about. And you said money and passion. It seemed the emotion had to be the stronger thing. We're not talking about again, it's all relative. The type of money that you kill for, it's not the type of money you kill over. So it had to be, who knows? And we're going to find out so much more. But it's such a bizarre story, Robes that I will, I will forever. There's no way you could think you would get away with murdering two people on the same day that you used.

[Amy Robach]

To be married to. Right. And I also keep thinking about, look, you can't get into the state of mind of somebody who's willing and capable of doing what police say she was. But to imagine that her 15 year old daughter was upstairs when she was posing as that food delivery driver. Now her 15 year old daughter then had to be interviewed by police. She didn't see the shooting but she heard the gunfire and she looked out the window and she is the one who gave police the description of what the shooter was wearing and the car she was driving. And it's interesting because you would think a child would know their mother's own vehicle, but that wasn't the initial. She didn't necessarily say that. Which speaks to perhaps their relationship or how close they were. Not if she didn't know that that was her mother's car. You would know your mom's car if it was pulling up and you would think the ex husband would know the ex wife's car if it was pulling up. So clearly there was an estrangement there where she could have posed as a food delivery driver and they didn't necessarily know. In fact he was even telling police, I think it was my ex wife, he didn't even know for sure. So that's really fascinating. But you pointed out the amount of money. When we come back, we're going to talk about just how much child support that Avalon owed her ex husband and we're going to get into what her current boyfriend told police and the official charges she is now facing.

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[Amy Robach]

Welcome back to Amy and TJ Presents. We are presenting one of the more bizarre murder cases that we have ever seen in our journalism careers. I can't remember a story where a woman chose, planned and executed her plan to kill both of her ex husbands in the same day, but that is exactly what 51 year old Susan Erica Avalon is accused of doing. And she had moved on. She had a boyfriend, a live in boyfriend who then had to obviously speak to police when she once she was arrested and he told detectives that the day before this all happened. So she, according to police committed these crimes on December 17th. So December 16th he said she made a very uncharacteristic remark that he remembered that stayed with him and he didn't quite know what she meant but she said I love you in case something happens to me.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah, that's not what you want to hear from your significant other on the way out the door.

[Amy Robach]

If I came up and said that to you before I was leaving, what would you think?

[TJ Holmes]

Where are you going, what's up and.

[Amy Robach]

What are you about to go do and who are you going to see?

[TJ Holmes]

Don't usually wear all black like that.

[Amy Robach]

Actually it was a gray hoodie, but yes, no, but who knows but that. So he remembered that he told police that and this is the other really shocking part of it and I know that there's no amount of money that would justify what she did. But when you think about the fact that this woman was divorced from, from her first ex husband for 11 years, she owed, according to police, $4,000 in unpaid child support and she was facing a deadline in the coming days to pay $200 of that 4,000 or she was going to lose her driver's license. That was what they were threatening. So $200, that can't be the reason why she did this. Yes, but maybe it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[TJ Holmes]

Maybe that maybe she'd been on edge for a long time. And the back and forth like you said, continues. Look, not that you can. A story about a double murder can get sadder, but to think it was over possibly $200 is tough to stomach. This is a bizarre one. And you got what now? Five kids.

[Amy Robach]

Five kids, according to the sheriff, between these two marriages. And they are now. I don't know the ages. I only know the age of the 15 year old.

[TJ Holmes]

But I have right. All five are her kids.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And now it's unclear where they are. But I'm imagining if it was her first marriage and she had a 15 year old, her second marriage, who this man who she also killed, I'm imagining those kids are obviously younger. If you do the math, I would think they are younger kids. So that is incredibly tragic. And that's what the sheriff was speaking to. That was the real tragedy here, that these kids are now literally orphans for all intent and purposes. So she right now has only technically been charged with second degree homicide for the murder of her first husband. But they say that will almost certainly be upgraded to a first degree murder charge after prosecutors convene a grand jury, which is supposed to be happening shortly. And they are saying that they will likely seek the death penalty in that. And then for the Tampa murder, they are about to bring those charges as well. So she still has a lot more legal hoops to jump through. But it looks like at the end of the day she is going to be facing one, probably two first degree murder charges. And we know how Florida rolls. It is very likely that she would then be facing the death penalty because the sheriff also made this statement. We believe this was premeditated. She knew exactly what she was doing. She came here solely to kill her ex husbands, Period. End of story.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. And I was waiting and that was my, it was going to be my question to you about second degree. They're going to be up. Upgraded. Yes, the premeditation. There's a. There was a maliciousness to this crime that. Yeah, that was my question to you. Have you seen anything? Did they give anybody a reason for why they're going after the death penalty?

[Amy Robach]

Just the fact that it was premeditated. And I think the fact that she thought about this and did what she did and essentially orphaned her children, I think all of that is taken into consideration. By the way I mentioned what the boyfriend had told police about what she said to him the day before. Another interesting. So he talked about what she did before these alleged crimes, and then he also told police what she did after the alleged crime. So before she got seen or got caught, I should say, bringing out bleach and rags, trying to wipe down her car, the boyfriend said that when she came back home after this road trip that he didn't know what she was doing. He said she got into the shower while she was wearing the same gray sweatshirt that her daughter described that was seen in the surveillance video at the Panera Bread, and he thought that was bizarre. I'm wondering why this boyfriend wasn't asking more questions. Babe, why are you getting into the shower with your clothes on? But he made that point to police, too. So, sweetheart, yeah, Obviously you would say.

[TJ Holmes]

To your significant other, what in the world are you doing? Maybe he knew something was up. Okay, there you go.

[Amy Robach]

He said she didn't explicitly tell me what happened.

[TJ Holmes]

Explicitly. Okay, he suspected. We'll see what happens. That's. This is just an. It's an awful one. It's an intriguing one. It's a fascinating one. And we wait to possibly get some answers for exactly what. Why. Why she did this. But, yeah, just one we wanted to hop on and tell you about here. We will continue to follow it here on Amy and TJ Presents. We always appreciate you spending some time with us, but for now, and for my dear Amy robot, I'm TJ Holmes. We will talk to you all soon.

[Amy Robach]

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