A Deadly Cocktail - Part 2 (David Castor)

Summary

Anatomy of Murder – A Deadly Cocktail - Part 2 (David Castor)
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Hosts: Anna-Sigga Nicolazi and Scott Weinberger

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Introduction

In the gripping second part of the two-part series, Anatomy of Murder delves deeper into the chilling case of Stacy Castor, whose calculated actions not only claimed the lives of two men but also endangered her own daughter. Hosts Anna-Sigga Nicolazi, a former NYC homicide prosecutor, and Scott Weinberger, an investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff, unravel the layers of deceit and manipulation that define this tragic story.

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The Initial Death of David Castor

On August 22, 2005, 37-year-old David Castor was declared dead after ingesting a lethal dose of ethylene glycol, commonly known as antifreeze. Initially ruled as a suicide by the medical examiner, this determination raised eyebrows among investigators.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [02:34]:
"Antifreeze ethylene glycol. It's a horrible way to die. You don't die instantly by any stretch of the imagination."

District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick and his team in Onondaga County, New York, grew suspicious of the suicide ruling. The prolonged and agonizing nature of ethylene glycol poisoning didn't align with what they knew of David's character and circumstances.

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Reopening the Investigation: Mike Wallace's Death

The investigation took a shocking turn when authorities exhumed Stacy Castor's first husband, Mike Wallace, revealing that he too had succumbed to antifreeze poisoning. This discovery marked a pivotal shift from interpreting David's death as a suicide to considering it a homicide.

Scott Weinberger [04:09]:
"But investigators... were unconvinced that David would have intentionally subjected himself to the long and painful death caused by antifreeze poisoning. He was murdered."

Anna-Sigga emphasized the stark similarity between the two deaths, underscoring the improbability of coincidence.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [21:33]:
"Two husbands dying under very unusual circumstances of antifreeze poisoning... it's not a coincidence."

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The Suspicious 911 Call and the Suicide Note

In September 2007, as scrutiny intensified, Stacy made a 911 call claiming that her 20-year-old daughter, Ashley, had overdosed on a dangerous mix of alcohol and prescription pills. Accompanying this call was a detailed suicide note where Ashley allegedly confessed to murdering both her father, Mike Wallace, and her stepfather, David Castor.

Scott Weinberger [06:03]:
"According to Stacy Castor's 911 call, her 20-year-old daughter had lost consciousness as a result of what she claimed was a cocktail of alcohol and prescription pills."

Upon waking, Ashley vehemently denied writing the note and accused her mother of framing her.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [07:45]:
"She said, 'I have no idea what you're talking about. There's no way in the world I'm trying to kill myself.'"

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Stacy’s Orchestrated Poisoning of Ashley

Investigators suspected Stacy Castor of drugging Ashley to fabricate a suicide attempt, thereby shifting suspicion onto her daughter. Toxicology reports confirmed that Ashley had consumed a significant amount of potent drugs without her voluntary intake.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [10:26]:
"When we saw Ashley's drug screen... it looked like something out of a doctor's office. Every drug imaginable."

Stacy's calculated moves included inviting Ashley over under the guise of celebration and persistently offering her poisoned drinks, one even with instructions to drink via a straw directly to her throat.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [09:22]:
"I remember, I was at her house, and she kept offering me drinks... I didn't know what she was talking about, that she wasn't gonna be around for a while."

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Unmasking the Forged Suicide Note

A turning point in the investigation was the forensic analysis of the suicide note. Experts discovered a defect in the printer used to type the note, linking its creation directly to Stacy Castor's residence. Moreover, a wiretap revealed Stacy composing the note during a call with a friend, exposing her deceit.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [18:33]:
"You could hear... the clicking of a keyboard as she's talking to her friend. But clearly it was Stacy cold-bloodedly drafting the note."

Details within the note, such as the use of rat poison alongside antifreeze, further implicated Stacy, as only the murderer would possess such specific knowledge.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [11:33]:
"In addition to antifreeze, the author of the note also points out that he was given rat poison. So, you know, we look around at each other and say rat poison first."

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The Trial: Building a Case Against Stacy Castor

District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick faced the formidable task of proving Stacy's guilt primarily through circumstantial evidence. The prosecution highlighted Stacy's pattern of using antifreeze as a murder weapon, the forged suicide note, and her calculated attempts to frame Ashley.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [21:05]:
"Starting with the scene itself. The unlikelihood of him using antifreeze as a methodology... the turkey baster with David's DNA."

The defense proposed an alternative theory, suggesting that Ashley was the true perpetrator, motivated by jealousy over familial attention.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [35:00]:
"The defense argued that in regards to Michael Wallace's murder, that Ashley... was likely motivated by jealousy of her younger sister."

However, the prosecution adeptly dismantled these claims by presenting alibi evidence and demonstrating the implausibility of a 12-year-old committing such sophisticated crimes.

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Conviction and Sentencing

After a high-profile trial marked by intense media scrutiny and courtroom drama, the jury deliberated for just one day before reaching a unanimous verdict. Stacy Castor was found guilty of the murders of David Castor and the attempted murder of Ashley.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [39:04]:
"They found her guilty of everything. The murder of David, the attempted murder of Ashley, and the forging the will."

Stacy received a combined sentence of over 51 years to life in prison. She remained unrepentant, maintaining her innocence until her death in 2016.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [40:35]:
"This is the first time a mother had ever tried to frame a child for a murder that she committed."

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Aftermath: Lives Forever Changed

The repercussions of Stacy Castor's actions left indelible scars on her daughters, Ashley and Bree. Despite the trauma, both women have grown into successful individuals, finding strength and support through the judicial system and their community.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [41:10]:
"They're doing great. I'm proud of both of them."

Reflecting on the concept of closure, both host and guest acknowledge that while justice was served, the emotional wounds persist.

Anna-Sigga Nicolazi [42:13]:
"We don't bring closure, but we bring that sense of justice."

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Reflections and Conclusions

Ashley Castor poignantly questions the motivations behind her mother's heinous acts, grappling with the loss and betrayal inflicted upon her.

Ashley Flowers [43:05]:
"The biggest question I ask is why? Why did she do these things?"

This case exemplifies the dark complexities of human behavior, where a trusted family member orchestrates elaborate schemes to conceal their crimes. Anatomy of Murder not only recounts the factual timeline but also explores the emotional and psychological aftermath for the victims, emphasizing the relentless pursuit of justice in the face of unimaginable betrayal.

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Key Takeaways

• Evidence and Forensics: The meticulous forensic analysis played a crucial role in dismantling the forged suicide note and establishing Stacy's link to the murders.

• Circumstantial to Conviction: Despite lacking direct evidence, the cumulative circumstantial evidence effectively proved Stacy's guilt.

• Impact on Victims: The enduring trauma experienced by Ashley and Bree highlights the profound personal costs of such crimes.

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For those seeking a deeper understanding of this harrowing case, listening to the full episode of Anatomy of Murder provides a comprehensive exploration of the events, evidence, and human stories intertwined within.

Transcript

[Ashley Flowers]

Some cases fade from headlines, some never made it there to begin with. I'm Ashley Flowers and on my podcast the Deck, I tell you the stories of cold cases featured on playing cards distributed in prisons designed to spark new leads and bring long overdue justice. Because these stories deserve to be heard and the loved ones of these victims still deserve answers, are you ready to be dealt in? Listen to the Deck now. Wherever you get your podcasts, prepare for the crime and investigation event of the summer with a brand new season of AE's hit series Homicide Squad New Orleans. Every week, join the squad on the streets of the Big Easy as they relentlessly search for justice for victims and their families. Alone, these detectives are determined, but together, they are unstoppable. Homicide Squad New Orleans New episode Thursdays at 9, 8 Central. A crime and investigation event only on A and E. Watch next day on the AE app.

[Scott Weinberger]

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[Ashley Flowers]

Previously on Anatomy of Murder.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Antifreeze ethylene glycol. It's a horrible way to die. You don't die instantly by any stretch of the imagination. You die, you know, almost cell by cell. Not something that, you know, you would think of as using as a methodology of suicide. I need an ambulance of 3127 Wetzel Road. I just had to know. I had to know, you know, concretely and for certain what the guy died from and what's the problem.

[Ashley Flowers]

My daughter, I believe, has taken some pills.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Whoever wrote that note killed Mike Wallace and David Caster. It couldn't be anybody else.

[Scott Weinberger]

I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff.

[Ashley Flowers]

I'M Anasiga Nicolasi, former New York City homicide prosecutor and host of Investigation Discovery's True Conviction.

[Scott Weinberger]

And this is Anatomy of Murder. Now a quick reminder. This is the second episode in a two part series. So if you haven't yet, go back and listen to part one.

[Ashley Flowers]

On August 22, 2005, 37 year old Stacy Castor called 911 to report her husband's possible death by suicide. A medical examiner would later confirm David Castor had died from ingesting a lethal dose of ethylene glycol, better known as antifreeze.

[Scott Weinberger]

But investigators from Onondago County, New York including the D.A. bill Fitzpatrick, were unconvinced that David would have intentionally subjected himself to the long and painful death caused by antifreeze poisoning. There seemed to be a much more logical explanation. He was murdered.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

There was a camp in the sheriff's department that believed her. I think the guy killed himself. And then there was the camp that, you know, said no, it's not adding up, it doesn't make sense. Let's treat it as a homicide until we are convinced otherwise.

[Ashley Flowers]

Then with the discovery of Stacy's fingerprints on the glass of antifreeze by his bed, not to mention a turkey baster containing David's DNA on the tip, the ME was ready to change his initial ruling on the manner of death.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The guy readily admitted. Yeah, absolutely, I ruled it a suicide. It doesn't change my opinion about the cause of death. But now confronted with this new evidence that you have uncovered, I am changing the death certificate manner of death to homicide.

[Scott Weinberger]

Which meant of course that David's wife Stacy was now the prime suspect. And even more shocking was that in their efforts to dig up more truth about the mysterious death of Stacy's first husband David, investigators discovered that he too was the victim of antifreeze poisoning.

[Ashley Flowers]

Which brings us to September of 2007. Aware that her ex husband's remains had been exhumed and that the walls of justice were closing in around her, she invited her 20 year old daughter Ashley over to the house.

[Scott Weinberger]

A well timed police wiretap inside Stacy Castor's home gave a window and into what happened next.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I need an ambulance of 4127 Whistle Road is the nearest corner across street Glenwood. And what's the problem?

[Ashley Flowers]

My daughter, I believe has taken some pills. According to Stacy Castor's 911 call, her 20 year old daughter had lost consciousness as a result of what she claimed was a cocktail of alcohol and prescription pills. And apparently she had also left a Detailed suicide note explaining why when she.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Called the police, she couldn't have been more insistent. You know, like, here, don't forget this. I found this on Ashley's bed. Now, Ashley's comatose, is being taken out in an ambulance, and she's like, here, here, you know, don't forget the note. You got to check the note out.

[Scott Weinberger]

And in that type note, Ashley claimed responsibility for not one, but two murders, shockingly taking the blame for poisoning her stepfather, David Castor, and her own father, Michael Wallace, eight years before.

[Ashley Flowers]

According to the note, Ashley could no longer bear the guilt of her actions, so she had decided to take her own life. It was a stunning admission that, if true, could turn the investigations into both homicides upside down.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, the coincidence of events here is just astounding. Not only were paramedics again being called to the Castor home in what Stacy Castor claimed was an attempted suicide, but also the fact that investigators were listening into this 911 call on that wiretap as it was being made.

[Ashley Flowers]

Ashley was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. In fact, doctors would later say that she was just minutes away from dying from the dangerous combination of pills and alcohol that she had in her system. But incredibly, she survived. And what she would have to say would shock both doctors and the detectives that had raced to her bedside when she woke up.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And she said, look, I have no idea what you're talking about. There's no way in the world I'm trying to kill myself. I'm in college. I have career goals. I have a boyfriend. I don't know what you're talking about. Please stop accusing me of trying to kill myself.

[Scott Weinberger]

Detectives confronted her with the typed suicide note and her confession to two murders.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The detective that questioned her, you know, really was very upfront with her. And in his mind, for a reason. You know, he was confronting her with, why did you try to kill yourself? And, you know, there's this poor young woman there. She's confused. She doesn't know what the hell is going on. And I've got this strange cop telling me, I tried to kill myself. So she spent most of her initial waking moments trying to convince this guy that she didn't know what he was talking about.

[Ashley Flowers]

Ashley vehemently denied that she had attempted to take her own life or that she had poisoned her stepfather. Or she also said, absolutely not, had she written that note.

[Scott Weinberger]

But if she was telling the truth, then the only other possibility was the unthinkable that her own mother had tried to kill her and set her up to take the fall for both murders.

[Ashley Flowers]

Ashley recounted for police what she remembered from the previous 24 hours. After going to her mom's home, she.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Was telling Ashley, look, I want to celebrate with you. Mom might not be around for a while. And, you know, Ashley at that point, was just about to turn 21.

[Scott Weinberger]

According to Ashley, her mother was mixing the drinks and being pretty insistent on the refills.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

So she was all excited, you know, and she remembered, and later testified her trial, that the drink itself tasted terrible. But which begs the question, why would you keep drinking it? And she's a kid and she says, look, I was excited. My mom wanted to have a drink with me and celebrate whatever it was she wanted to celebrate. I didn't know what she was talking about, that she wasn't gonna be around for a while. So, yeah, I drank with it, and it put her almost right out.

[Ashley Flowers]

At one point, Stacy even offered her daughter a cocktail with a straw and instructed her daughter to push the straw to the back of her throat and she just drink it.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And her recollection was she said, I remember, you know, drinking Thursday with my mom and waking up on the gurney on Friday with you guys.

[Scott Weinberger]

Here's the first big turn. A toxicology screen would reveal the terrifying truth that Ashley had also consumed a large amount of powerful drugs, none of which she remembered ever taking voluntarily.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

When we saw Ashley's drug screen from the toxicology report, it looked like something out of a doctor's office. Every drug imaginable.

[Ashley Flowers]

The detective suspicion that Stacy had surreptitiously been dosing her own daughter's drinks with drugs, and that she had attempted to stage her murder as a suicide and blame her own daughter for the murder of Stacy's two husbands, Mike Wallace and David Castor.

[Scott Weinberger]

Or the confession was true and Ashley was solely responsible, as the suicide note had indicated. But at the very least, detectives knew that the killer came from inside the house.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Whoever wrote that note killed Mike Wallace and David Castor. It couldn't be anybody else. Okay, I've got two people. That's it. It's either Stacy Castor or Ashley Wallace that committed this crime.

[Ashley Flowers]

Either way, investigators knew the proof was likely hidden somewhere in this so called confession and suicide note. And this comes straight out of something you'd see on TV's CSI.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The beauty of it is it was examined by the secret service. And the secret service agent found a defect in the printer at Stacy Castor's house. So we were able to prove forensically that the suicide note was had been typed right there at the house. Okay, but Ashley certainly had access to that. She lived there. But what was it about the note that was so convincing to me? Well, a couple of things. For example, regarding the death of Michael Wallace, the first husband, the author of the note purporting to be Ashley, the daughter is describing in detail how the antifreeze was administered to Mike Wallace. But an interesting thing pops up. In addition to antifreeze, the author of the note also points out that he was given rat poison. So, you know, we look around at each other and say rat poison first. Anybody's heard of that never come up in conversation before. And I immediately called the ME and I said, you, work's not done on Mike Wallace. Need to know if there's the presence of rat poison in the system. And sure enough, there was.

[Scott Weinberger]

It was a detail only the killer would know. Was it proof that the confession was legit? Or a fatal slip in Stacy's elaborate cover.

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Anasiga Nicolasi]

She couldn't pin it on a neighbor, a jilted lover, a friend, a random stranger. She's calculating this in her mind. She knows we've exhumed her deceased, earlier husband. She knows we're going to find out what he died from. What's the common denominators? And the common denominators, plural are me, Stacy Castor, and my two daughters. Okay, well, Bri was eight. That's kind of a stretch to say that an eight year old did this to her father. And Ashley was 12. That was the only choice she had, was to try to pin it on Ashley.

[Scott Weinberger]

Investigators suspected that Stacy drugged her daughter Ashley and then forged a suicide note in an attempt to frame the 20 year old for the murders of her father, Mike Wallace, and her stepfather, David Castor.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

According to the doctors that treated her and that I spoke to, she was probably 15 minutes away from death. If Stacy had, ironically enough, you know, waited 10 more minutes for the phone call, her daughter would have been dead, and I would not have had a living witness to explain that the, you know, suicide note was false.

[Ashley Flowers]

Most horrifying of all was that not only did Stacey Castor plan to frame her own daughter for murder, Bill believed she was willing to take her daughter's life Also in the process.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

You've heard the expression that there are monsters amongst us, and there just are. And we get so carried away sometimes with the why, and I think we lose sight of the fact that there really is evil in the world. And Stacy Castor, whatever else you want to define her, she's an evil, evil person. This was so diabolical, so evil, it's hard to put into words.

[Scott Weinberger]

But still, what about the possibility that what was in the letter was true? If detectives were going to prove that Stacy was who they thought she was, they had to also prove that Ashley was innocent.

[Ashley Flowers]

Absolutely true. So Bill set out to demonstrate that not only was Ashley incapable of the murder, but that there was demonstrative proof that she hadn't done it and that she was not planning to take her own life.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

During the day that she's supposedly planning to kill herself, Ashley is texting with her boyfriend about plans that they have to meet later that night and the following day and plans that they had for that weekend. You know, not 100% conclusive, but certainly inconsistent with a woman that's so depressed that she's going to end her own life. The very last thing that she texted before she succumbed to the cocktail from her mother was, I love you too, honey. See you tonight. Does that in any way, shape, manner or form suggest a woman that's about to kill herself?

[Scott Weinberger]

And as for the confession and the suicide note itself, Bill leaned on his wiretap and a dose of good luck to prove that it was not Ashley that wrote it, but her mother, Stacy.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

We were able to recover a first draft of the note, and the forensic examiner put the time that it was done between noon and 12:30 on Wednesday afternoon, 12 noon to 12:30 in the afternoon. And just for the heck of it, I said, you know, I can't listen to 160 hours of tape from the wiretapper, but I'm going to listen 12 to 12:30, see if she was, by some miracle, on the phone. As it turns out, fortuitously, she was. She was talking to one of her friends. And I remember playing the tape later for the cops. I go, remember, you guys told me there wasn't anything of any evidentiary value on the tapes, right? Yeah, that's right. That's right. Da. I go, well, listen to that. Tell me what you hear. And you could hear very distinctly, but softly but distinctly, you could hear the clicking of a keyboard as she's talking to her friend. But clearly it was Stacy cold bloodedly drafting the note with the intention of killing her daughter. In just a day.

[Ashley Flowers]

On September 14, 2007, Stacey Stacy Castor was detained at the hospital where Ashley was recovering and then transported to the police station to get a statement regarding her daughter's near death poisoning.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

She was then placed under arrest, and she was charged with the murder of David Castor. And she was also charged with the attempted murder of Ashley.

[Scott Weinberger]

And there was an additional charge as well that hinted, at least in part, of the motive Stacy may have had for killing her husband, David Castor, the forgery of his will.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The people that witnessed the will of David Castor, leaving everything to Stacy, eventually came forward and said, you know, look, we didn't really witness David's signature. We lied we perjured ourselves. And we got a call from Stacy after David died. And she was crying and saying, you know, he left me with nothing. There's no will. But I've drawn one up. It's consistent with what he wanted. Could you do me a favor? Could you sign it for me? And foolishly, they did.

[Ashley Flowers]

But even with what appeared to be a ton of compelling evidence, the trial would also have some significant challenges. Without direct evidence, meaning a confession or an eyewitness testimony, the case was largely circumstantial.

[Scott Weinberger]

But Bill was confident in the totality of the narrative that he believed explained her guilt.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Starting with the scene itself. The unlikelihood of him using antifreeze as a methodology. The turkey baster with David's DNA on the tip. Why would this adult male resort to a turkey baster when he's got a glass of antifreeze on the side of his bed? Why are Stacy Castor's fingerprints on that glass and none from David Castor, on that glass?

[Ashley Flowers]

Or Ashley's fingerprints, for that matter.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The lies that she told regarding his depression, his failing business. And then, of course, we go to the exhumation of husband number one and find out that, not surprisingly, he died of the exact same methodology. You know, I have an expression. I'm sure you've heard it before. You know, this many coincidences take a lot of planning. It became obvious that it's not a coincidence that two guys just happened to kill themselves with antifreeze.

[Scott Weinberger]

Nor was it a coincidence that Stacy happened to invite her daughter over for a night of drinking immediately after learning that her ex husband's body had been exhumed.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And then with the attempted murder of Ashley and the suicide note, it quickly evolved into what you and I call proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In my mind, proof beyond virtually any doubt whatsoever.

[Ashley Flowers]

But there was one part of the narrative that seemed to be missing. A motive.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

There was nobody that said in the instance of Michael or David, that, yeah, Stacy did it. You know, they hated each other. She told me she was going to kill him. None of that type of evidence. No domestic violence instances where she had been, you know, like beaten or abused, psychologically, financially or physically, and was getting back at him.

[Scott Weinberger]

But what about the money? I mean, surely her attempt to forge David's will suggested that she was after the money, right? Well, maybe not.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And although there was a financial renumeration for her, in both instances, it wasn't anything where, like, she rushed out a week before the murder and got a million dollar life insurance policy. It was just, you know, regular life insurance policies and in some cases, you know, small pittance of savings or material goods. So it wasn't a motive based case that stood out at you.

[Ashley Flowers]

Both Michael Wallace and David Castor were working class, salt of the earth type of guys with little to no savings. And so to Bill, the fact that this financial motive seemed so minor was exactly what made her actions so cold and terrifying.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I believe that clinically she was a sociopath and that she just grew tired of Michael and then grew tired of David. And as opposed to what a normal person would do, you know, file for divorce or anything along those lines, she just smelled, you know, I got a better way to get rid of him. More efficient and more financially beneficial to me.

[Scott Weinberger]

But there was another large issue leading up to the trial for the murder of David Castor, and that was whether or not the prosecution would be able to include evidence from the suspicious death of Stacy's first husband, Mike Wallace.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I don't have any jurisdiction over the Michael Wallace case, and it's a great piece of evidence, but am I going to get a judge that's going to let me get that evidence in front of a jury? So I've got to prepare almost two different cases. If I get the. If I get the Mike Wall Wallace evidence in, I feel very good. If I don't get the Mike Wallace evidence in, I still feel good that I'll prove it. But there's no such thing as too much evidence in a murder case.

[Ashley Flowers]

The fact was that Mike's murder was pretty damning evidence of Stacy's pattern of criminal behavior. But they also had to consider that it could unfairly prejudice the jury against her. And I can tell you all that normally this would not come in. You can't have evidence of other crimes while someone's on trial for something else specific. But here. And again, here's your legal lesson for the day. It's something called Molyneux that we prosecutors love. It's a hearing. We have to say, hey, there is a reason, Judge, that you should let this in in this case. Modus operandi, something so unique in a signature or that something in the other crime helps prove the identity of the defendant in this case? And just think about it like, and what would be more probative of her guilt of killing someone by antifreeze that's somewhat circumstantial than to show that her other husband was killed the same way? That's absolutely what they were trying to do here, and fortunately they were successful.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

There are some instances where the modus operandi, the methodology of death. The things are so intrinsically related and they're so unique and that this clearly falls into that situation. Two husbands dying under very unusual circumstances of antifreeze poisoning, one being misdiagnosed as a heart attack, the other almost being misdiagnosed as a suicide, both being the husbands of this one particular woman. So I don't think it was a really challenging call for the judge. And he made the right call and said, yeah, you can get an evidence of Mike Wallace's death here in this trial.

[Scott Weinberger]

And so the trial did begin with all the anticipation and media attention you might imagine for a case this shocking.

[Ashley Flowers]

Stacy Castor continued to stand by her story and entered a plea of not guilty. Her eerily calm demeanor was at odds with the horrific crimes she was accused of.

[Scott Weinberger]

So here was the challenge. Would prosecutors be able to prove that Stacy Castor was the monster they believed her to be? Or would this twice married, twice widowed mother of two weave a new chapter in her ongoing scheme to get away with murder?

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Anasiga Nicolasi]

It was a high profile case. Cameras in the courtroom, a lot of media attention and juries sometimes can freeze up when all that happens. I wanted to make sure that everybody on the jury got it, from the simplest person to the college educated, you know, smartest person on the jury. That was my mindset going in to Bill Fitzpatrick.

[Scott Weinberger]

The argument was pretty simple. You either believe what was written in Ashley's so called suicide note or you believe Stacy had forged the note to frame her daughter.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I wanted to make the jury 100% certain that Stacy did it or Ashley did it. There's no third choice. There's no boogeyman here. Nobody is suggesting that was a jilted lover or a burglar or a disgruntled client or anything like that. It's this woman or that woman and they happen to be mother and daughter.

[Ashley Flowers]

With the suspect pool narrowed to just two, Bill's goal was to carefully pick apart any possibility that Ashley could have poisoned David Castor.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And when you're convinced as to who wrote the note, circumstantially just chock full of evidence that Stacy wrote it. And when you consider her story, her lies, you know, seeing him on the weekend when by her own admission, Ashley was nowhere near the house, she was at a friend's house. She was alibi all weekend when the suicide note was typed. We know for a fact from documentary evidence that Ashley was at school. And when you consider all of these things together, it's her.

[Scott Weinberger]

And as the trial started, he took a bold approach, confronting Stacy's lies head on.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I said to myself, you know what huge part of my case is going to be Ashley, Because I'm certain I could convince the jury that only two people could have committed the crime. So I put Ashley on the stand first. She was the very first witness and she was fantastic.

[Ashley Flowers]

The defense was unprepared for Ashley's bombshell Testimony on the first day of the trial, the kind of powerful presence that is so often saved for a trials finale.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

She was just an innocent young woman thrust into a situation in a bizarre way, still loving her mother, but also still recognizing that she tried to kill her. That was, I think, a good way to start the trial. And as it turns out, turned out to be the right decision.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ashley recounted her mother's efforts to ply her with alcoholic drinks that toxic screens had proved were laced with drugs. There was even a recorded phone call between Stacy and a friend in which Stacy callously described just how dangerously intoxicated her daughter was.

[Ashley Flowers]

Ashley's still drooling on herself.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

That poor kid was exhausted.

[Ashley Flowers]

She didn't look very good this morning, though.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

No. Wow. Jesus. What do you expect? She freaking got hammered.

[Scott Weinberger]

You know, Anestiga, this is so horrific on so many different levels. I mean, this is a mother allegedly drugging her daughter with. With the hopes that it may end her life.

[Ashley Flowers]

And just think about it. She is making this phone call, kind of talking somewhat lightheartedly when she just poisoned her. Right? She is watching her daughter die in front of her. Like, it's one of those things, like, I cannot fathom it, and it is so sickening to me when I hear it. It's just, you know, you always think you've seen it all, but there's always something, unfortunately worse. And this, to me, is it.

[Scott Weinberger]

I agree. I mean, this is in the backdrop of her ex husband being exhumed from his grave to be tested. I mean, she knew that was going on. So if that was not the driving force to get her out of this situation and really put two murders on her own daughter when she was actually maybe committing another one right here. I mean, Stacey Castor in my books is completely evil.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The holy grail of the whole case was the 750 word typewritten suicide note, wherein, if you believe it at face value, Ashley confessed to killing both her biological father and her stepfather, the latter being done when she was 12 years.

[Ashley Flowers]

Old, the first of which she would have been only 12 years old. But beyond some of the other things we've discussed, that a wiretap recorded Stacy typing at the exact time investigators believed the letter was drafted and that it was likely written when Ashley was still in school. Bill always thought there was something strange and suspicious about the wording of the letter itself.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

In the note, there's a reference to a declaration of guilt, like, I did it. Only the author doesn't say, I did it. The author says, it did it. And it makes no sense. It's just a tick that it did it. Interesting. So I read that early on, way before trial, and I filed it away.

[Scott Weinberger]

And during the trial, Bill saw his chance to prove that the author behind this strange tick was Stacy herself.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Really, the Perry Mason moment was I brought out that I had gotten from an acquaintance of her handwritten notes that she had sent from the jail. And in one of the notes where she's proclaiming her innocence, it's like a gift from God. She handwrites. They're gonna take me to trial. I don't know. They're gonna offer a plea bargain. It doesn't matter, because it didn't do it.

[Ashley Flowers]

Bill was convinced that in the midst of fabricating her elaborate denials and false alibis, Stacy hadn't realized her fateful mistake.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

It was like Bruno Hauptman when he wrote the ransom letters in a limber case. He had this tick of always adding an E to the ends of words that didn't need an E. And it was one of the things that helped convict him. And this is certainly one of the things that helped convict her.

[Scott Weinberger]

As for forensic evidence, the prosecution presented Stacy's fingerprints found on the glass of antifreeze by David's bedside. And on the turkey baster containing David's DNA.

[Ashley Flowers]

The proof that her father, first husband Michael Wallace, died from ethylene glycol poisoning spoke to a unique pattern of disturbing criminal behavior. Bill was even able to provide a chilling detail about where Stacey Castor may have gotten the idea.

[Scott Weinberger]

There was evidence that Stacy had seen a news segment about a killer named Lynn Turner, whose weapon of choice was none other than antifreeze.

[Ashley Flowers]

The defense, they argued that in regards to Michael Wallace's murder, that Ashley, his own daughter, was likely motivated by jealousy of her younger sister.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

The essence of the defense theory was that Ashley had murdered both Michael. And David attempted to point out that Brie, the younger daughter, was called Princess by Michael. Okay, well, that happens all the time. You know, fathers have nicknames for their kids. And the suggestion was that Ashley was somehow jealous about this new sibling that she had and her father's attention, Mike Wallace, being divided between the two of them. And this, this led to a homicidal rage. Now, do 12 year olds killed? Yes, they can commit horrific crimes. But to suggest that this particular 12 year old, now or at the time of trial, 21 year old, where's the evidence of that? What 12 year old child would diabolically think of poisoning him not only with antifreeze, but as it turns out, with rat poison as well. That's a bit of a stretch.

[Scott Weinberger]

Now, the defense argued that the evidence against Stacy was entirely circumstantial, and they were willing to put her on the witness stand to convince the jury she was innocent.

[Ashley Flowers]

Now, it's definitely not the most common tactic at a homicide trial, but of course, defendants do testify. Stacy Castor's testimony was like nothing Bill had ever encountered.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Before she got up there, she was totally devoid of emotion, which, I mean, even when she's on direct describing the death of husband one, the husband, the husband two, and she's describing implausible things as totally normal. For example, when I'm cross examining her and I said, now, your daughter, she takes this celebratory glass of vodka that you admit that you. We have you on tape. We see you buying the bottle of vodka with her at the store moments before she started consuming this. You don't have any argument about that. And then she went into her room, and for 16 hours, she never came out. Until you called 911. You never checked on her during the night. You never made sure that she was fed or hydrated or needed anything.

[Scott Weinberger]

To observers, the lack of compassion and basic maternal care demonstrated by Stacy Castor when her daughter was severely intoxicated and in fact, dying from a deadly cocktail of alcohol and pills was further proof that Stacy Castor was not just indifferent to her daughter's condition, she was behind it.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

And then, periodically, throughout the rest of the afternoon, the evening, and the night, Stacy would diabolically go back in and spoon feed her more alcohol and more barbiturates, hoping to kill her.

[Ashley Flowers]

The jury deliberated for two days, which I can tell you is excruciatingly stressful for a prosecutor and the families. Of course, it should take a jury however long they need. But the longer a deliberation goes on, the more worried we get that something isn't clicking for them. Did we not make some element clear? But all we can do at that point is wait.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

They were out a couple of days. But you know what? As I talked to them afterwards, they only took one.

[Scott Weinberger]

And with that vote, they decided Stacy Castor's fate.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Well, they found her guilty of everything. The murder of David, the attempted murder of Ashley, and the forging the will. So I congratulated my co counsel, I thanked the jury, and then immediately turned to Ashley and Bree, and both of them were bawling. And we had a nice moment. We went back up to the office and talked. And it was. It's good, you know, that feeling. It's good.

[Ashley Flowers]

And while she was never charged with Michael Wallace's murder, in convincing the jury that Castor had killed David, Bill had effectively convinced them that she had killed her first husband as well.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

In essence proved two murders and one attempted murder. But for jurisdictional purposes, she was only convicted of murdering David and attempting to murder her daughter.

[Scott Weinberger]

And the prosecutor in the neighboring county had to weigh the pros and cons to. To bringing their own murder charges.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

He gave some thought after my trial to prosecuting her, and I said, why don't you, let's see how the appeals work out. And if everything stands on appeal, you know, a 50 year sentence is the max you can get in New York anyway, so what's the point of putting the girls through it again? And that's eventually the decision that he reached.

[Ashley Flowers]

Stacey Castor was sentenced to a combined total of over 51 years to life in prison. During sentencing, the judge said she was in a class all by herself, particularly for attempting to kill her own daughter and frame her for the murders.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

I've seen lots of murder cases, and I've seen people try to frame other people. I've seen police try to frame people. Sadly, this case is unique in that regard to me that this is the first time a mother had ever tried to frame a child for a murder that she committed.

[Ashley Flowers]

Stacy Castor died in prison on June 11, 2016, at the age of 48. The cause of death was later ruled to be a heart attack. In the eight years she spent in prison, she never confessed to her crimes.

[Scott Weinberger]

As for her daughters, they have both grown up to be successful women.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

They're doing great. I'm proud of both of them. I don't know how they can be so good and successful at what they do, knowing what they've been through. It's amazing.

[Ashley Flowers]

In the years since their mother's conviction, Bill has been a steady shoulder and even somewhat a surrogate father to both young women. Ashley has even asked Bill that when the time comes, she would like him to walk her down the aisle.

[Scott Weinberger]

Like Bill, I think we both have mixed feelings about the word closure. Some survivors find that the end of a trial, a verdict, and the sentencing of a perpetrator brings relief and marks the end of a long and painful period. But it does not close the door on the pain. And as Bill says, there is always an empty seat at the dinner table.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

We don't bring closure, but we bring that sense of justice. Okay, my life matters. My loved one's life mattered. The system isn't perfect, but I had a champion in court and the assistant DA got justice for for me, there's no better feeling in the world.

[Scott Weinberger]

It's hard to fathom how someone can choose murder over divorce, the option society gives us to walk away, however painful, from a failing marriage. Yet these are rare, twisted cases. The perpetrator sees homicide as the ultimate escape hatch, trading the legal end of a relationship for a permanent, irreversible solution. We have to ask ourselves what pressures the loose delusions or entitlement drive someone to cross that line? And how often gardened expectations about marriage and control play a role in pushing intimate partners towards violence instead of separation? Today's case leaves behind so many open wounds. Just listen to the words of Ashley, herself, one time suspect in her father's death and forever a victim. She expressed these thoughts and at her mother's sentencing hearing.

[Ashley Flowers]

The biggest question I ask is why? Why did she do these things? I know that's probably never going to be answered. There are so many things that she has ruined. She'll never be able to see Brie graduate. My father will never take me down the aisle. She'll never get to see her grandchildren. All those things she took away from me. She killed two people and tried to kill me and blame it on me for and blame me for the other deaths. That bothers me so much. I had to pretend for a year that everything was okay, that nothing was bothering me. Even though I was worried about the trial and worried whether the jury would believe me, seeing the pain that's left in homicide's wake and hopefully bringing a bit of relief by accountability in the courtroom was always motivating and some of the greatest satisfaction I always felt about being of a part prosecutor. This case absolutely boggles the mind. Two husbands, two men she promised to love. Instead, she fed them poison until they died. And if anything could be worse, it was when this killer tried to murder her own daughter and frame her for the other crimes. Fortunately, that daughter survived, but I am horrified by the mental pain that both daughters are were left with once they knew what their mother had done. They lost their father, their stepfather forever, and then lost their mother to prison. Bill says the girls are both doing well and he is very proud to watch the women they have become. It makes me smile to hear that they are both thriving and moving forward in their lives even in the wake of such absolute devastation. Tune in next week for another new episode of Anatomy of Murder.

[Scott Weinberger]

Anatomy of Murder is an Audio Chuck.

[Ashley Flowers]

Original produced and created by Weinberger Media and Frasetti Media.

[Scott Weinberger]

Ashley Flowers is executive producer.

[Ashley Flowers]

This episode was written and produced by Walker Lamont, researched by Kate Cooper, edited by Ali Sierra and Phil Jean Grande. I think Chuck would approve. It's Wednesday.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Adams, I see you're trying to distract.

[Ashley Flowers]

Yourself from your own banal thoughts. Let me help. Here's a recording thing made of my latest root canal Wednesday. Season two begins August 6th, only on Netflix. Did you know that parents rank financial.

[Anasiga Nicolasi]

Literacy as the number one most difficult.

[Ashley Flowers]

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