Dead West: Mystery in Cuero

Summary

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Cold Case Files: "Dead West: Mystery in Cuero"

Podcast: Cold Case Files (A&E / PodcastOne)
Host: Paula Barros
Date: October 7, 2025

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of Cold Case Files revisits the tragic and complex case of Pamela Shelley, whose death in 2001 in Cuero, Texas was initially ruled a suicide. Through firsthand accounts from detectives, family members, and legal experts, listeners are taken through the twists, setbacks, and ultimate resolution of a case that haunted a sheriff’s department and devastated a family. The story unfolds over more than a decade, highlighting the emotional toll on Pamela's children, the dogged determination of law enforcement, and the eventual breakthrough that brought justice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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Pamela Shelley’s Move to Texas & Early Suspicions

• [00:31-01:15] Personal recollections by Kayla Suggs (Pamela’s daughter) and Carl Bowen (investigator) immediately set a somber tone.
• Kayla describes a rural childhood and love for horses, but this promising new start in Cuero quickly turns tragic.
• Pamela’s family and home life are recounted, painting her as a "real country girl" and a loving mother—contrary to later claims of depression and instability.
• Pamela's last moments are described in harrowing detail as Kayla attempts CPR:

  "Her eyelids are purple and her lips are purple and blood is everywhere."
  — Kayla Suggs [00:50]

• Investigators respond to a 911 call reporting a shooting and an attempted suicide [03:23].

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Contrasting Narratives: Suicide or Something More?

• Immediate reports by Ronnie Hendrick, Pamela’s boyfriend, and his family suggest Pamela was distressed and suicidal.
• Investigators notice inconsistencies — why were Pamela’s personal belongings packed for a move if she was suicidal?

  “Why would you kill yourself 15 minutes prior to leaving?”
  — Carl Bowen [11:31]

• Pamela is described by her family and best friend as resilient, loving, and not the type to leave her children [13:12].

  “She didn’t leave us here.”
  — Kayla Suggs [09:45]

• Despite doubts from some investigators, the official cause of death is initially recorded as suicide [09:01].

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Red Flags & A Case Grows Cold

• Suspicion grows around Ronnie Hendrick due to his refusal to cooperate and avoidance of polygraph tests [13:52, 17:13–17:55]:

  “He’s not cooperating with the investigation any longer. And when that happens, that’s a huge red flag for law enforcement.”
  — Jody Zaveski, former Sheriff [17:36]

• With Ronnie leaving Texas and no further evidence, the case goes cold [18:27].

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The Investigation Reopens Years Later

• [19:13] In 2005, with a new sheriff in charge, Carl Bowen requests to reopen Pamela’s case.
• Systematic re-interviewing of witnesses and re-examination of evidence commences; Bowen notes the significance of this renewed effort:

  "It became important to go back and test the recollection of witnesses, potential suspects, and anyone that had any contact with Pamela at that time."
  — Carl Bowen [19:55]

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Breakthroughs & New Evidence

• [20:47] Seven years after Pamela’s death, Ronnie resurfaces when arrested for domestic violence.

• Ronnie finally submits to an interview and fails a polygraph test [23:17], but then invokes his right to counsel.

• Kayla’s testimony gives powerful new information about violent abuse Pamela suffered days before her death [24:52]:

  “Ronnie punched my mom. She took her by her hair and was banging her head up against his knee…she had a seizure.”
  — Kayla Suggs [24:52]

• Medical records dispute prior claims of mental illness:

  “These antidepressants were not for a mental health case. They were for the prevention of seizures. This theory that she was suicidal, she had a history of suicide attempts, was all debunked. It wasn’t true.”
  — Carl Bowen [27:12]

• Advances in forensic science allow testing for touch DNA on the firearm — but shockingly, no DNA from anyone is found, indicating the gun was wiped down [28:32–29:08]:

  “The only reason anyone would have to wipe down a gun after a shooting and before law enforcement arrives is a guilty conscience.”
  — Michael Shepherd, District Attorney [29:08]

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A Phone Call, a Threat, and a Confession

• A conversation with Pamela's ex-husband, Jesse Suggs, provides the crucial missing link [30:39–31:08]:

  “He told Carl Bowen that the day that Pam Shelley was shot, he had spoken to her on the phone and she was excited about returning to Arkansas and returning to him.”
  — Michael Shepherd [30:56]

• Jesse relays that Ronnie threatened Pamela directly after overhearing her on the phone:

  “If you want this bitch back, you will get her in a pine box.”
  — Carl Bowen, quoting Jesse Suggs [31:08]

• This revelation, confirmed by polygraph [34:40], closes the investigative circle on Ronnie Hendrick as the prime suspect.

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Justice, Closure, and Reflection

• Ronnie Hendrick is indicted and, facing damning evidence and community publicity, pleads guilty to the murder of Pamela Shelley, receiving a 22-year sentence [36:18].

• Kayla expresses conflicting feelings about the outcome:

  “When Ronnie accepted his 22 years, I didn’t think that was good enough. But I don’t think there’s an amount of years that they could have given him that would have made me okay.”
  — Kayla Suggs [36:28]

• Carl Bowen reflects on the long-lasting trauma suffered by Pamela’s children and the perseverance required to pursue justice [36:39].

• The episode closes on a poignant note at Pamela's gravesite on what would have been her 54th birthday:

  “Here I just wanted to come and be at the last place that she was at alive and just to tell her I’m okay…Happy birthday Mama. We love you.”
  — Kayla Suggs [37:15]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

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• Trauma of Discovery:

  “Her eyelids are purple and her lips are purple and blood is everywhere.”
  — Kayla Suggs [00:50]

• Investigator’s Doubt:

  “Why put on makeup and then shoot yourself in the very place that you put the makeup?”
  — Carl Bowen [09:17]

• Family’s Dissent:

  “I never believed that my mama didn’t leave me here.”
  — Kayla Suggs [09:45]

• Investigation Frustration:

  “He’s not cooperating with the investigation any longer. And when that happens, that’s a huge red flag.”
  — Jody Zaveski [17:36]

• Tipping Point:

  “Ronnie failed it miserably.” (referring to the polygraph)
  — Carl Bowen [23:17]

• Critical Threat:

  “If you want this bitch back, you will get her in a pine box.”
  — Ronnie Hendrick, as quoted by Carl Bowen [31:08]

• Resolution:

  “You could have dropped a pin in the room. I could not believe what I was hearing.”
  — Carl Bowen [30:11]

• Enduring Pain and Courage:

  “Spent my whole life trying to cover up pain and hide it and it’s just I have to accept it and move forward…Happy birthday Mama. We love you.”
  — Kayla Suggs [37:15]

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Major Timestamps

• Early details & trauma: [00:31–03:19]
• Crime scene, initial investigation: [03:23–05:08]
• Background on Pamela & her relationships: [05:08–08:10]
• Discovery of the death, conflicting narratives: [09:01–10:46]
• Ronnie’s suspicious behavior: [13:12–17:55]
• Case goes cold: [18:27]
• Case reopens, renewed investigation: [19:13–20:36]
• Ronnie reappears, new evidence emerges: [20:47–23:17]
• Revelation of domestic abuse: [24:52]
• Medical records contradict suicide story: [27:12]
• No DNA on firearm: [28:32–29:16]
• Jesse Suggs’ revelatory conversation: [30:39–31:08]
• Polygraph confirms Jesse’s account: [34:40]
• Indictment and plea: [35:07–36:18]
• Kayla’s memorial message: [37:15]

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Tone & Style

Throughout the episode, the tone is earnest and intimate—reflecting the pain, frustration, and hope of family members and investigators alike. The firsthand accounts lend an authentic atmosphere, occasionally punctuated by moments of emotional intensity and relief. Listeners are drawn deeply into both the facts of the case and the emotional worlds of those forever changed by Pamela Shelley's tragic death.

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Transcript

[Marissa Pinson]

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson, and if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of Cold Case Files, as well as the A and E classic podcasts, I Survived, American justice and City Confidential, are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Kayla Suggs]

My mom, she grew up on a farm. She was the real country girl.

[Carl Bowen]

When I received the call, I did not know I would be facing the longest investigation of my career. What we heard was gunshots. Bam. Bam. It's like, what the hell's going on?

[Kayla Suggs]

Her eyelids are purple and her lips are purple and blood is everywhere.

[Carl Bowen]

I was speechless. I could not believe what I was hearing.

[Kayla Suggs]

I was just a kid and I felt like nobody was listening to me.

[Carl Bowen]

He said, if you want this bitch back, you will get her in a pine box.

[Kayla Suggs]

I wanted the truth shared with the rest of the world because I knew the truth.

[Marissa Pinson]

There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. Carl Bowen is the sheriff of Dewitt County.

[Carl Bowen]

Cuero, Texas was my hometown. I grew up here. I went to school here. Cuaro is more of a small town community type of area. In the early days, it was known for its large turkey farms. There's primarily cattle. Today. Folks are very involved in the religious aspect here. There are church councils and the community comes out and all has a meal together. Any crime of violence, like a homicide, immediately draws attention from the entire community.

[Marissa Pinson]

In the dry heat of October 2000, 12 year old Kayla Suggs leaves Arkansas and heads to Texas with her mother, Pamela Shelley, and nine year old brother Dustin. Pamela pulls up stakes with the family to start a new chapter in Cuero.

[Kayla Suggs]

We all would ride horses all the time. I get to get on a horse and I could ride for as long as I wanted to. And that was fun to me. That was amazing. When she came to Texas, I truly feel like she thought it was gonna all be different. She just didn't have the chance to make it different. We were in the living room watching Spongebob and I just heard this horrific scream. It only took us a couple seconds to get from the living room to the bedroom. When I first see my mom, she's laying on the bathroom floor with her eyes closed and her eyelids are Purple. And so I get on top of her and I straddle her and I try to do cpr, but nothing was happening.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jody Zaveski is the former sheriff of DeWitt County.

[Jody Zaveski]

Our 911 operator received a call that there was a shooting out on Jackson road in rural DeWitt County. The information we got from the caller was that it was attempted suicide. Shortly Thereafter at about 6:37, Yorktown EMS arrived on the scene and found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound in the head.

[Marissa Pinson]

While the children wait anxiously outside the trailer inside, Pamela's boyfriend Ronnie does his best to it together.

[Carl Bowen]

They described Ronnie as borderline hysterical and concerned about her well being.

[Jody Zaveski]

She was still alive, conscious of breathing. So they began their rescue efforts. One of the EMTs had Ronnie actually move the weapon away from so they could continue to rescue efforts on it. They knew right away that they were going to need some additional help, so they made a call to have Pamela medevaced to San Antonio for additional attention.

[Carl Bowen]

When I received the call. I am a single father assigned to the patrol division of the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office. I didn't have anyone to take care of my son, who was 12 at the time. So I took him to the scene with me. As I'm pulling up the driveway, there's other police cars here. And I notice that Kayla and Dustin are standing over here by this tree. They're surrounded by Ronnie's family. Kayla was 12 years old. My son was 12 years old at the time. It affected me on a personal level. It became real personal.

[Kayla Suggs]

My mom was born in Ashdown, Arkansas to Carl and Jean Curley. She grew up on a farm. She milked cows, got eggs from chickens. She was the real country girl.

[Marissa Pinson]

Debbie Gibson is Pamela's best friend.

[Debbie Gibson]

I met Pam back in 79. Pam was about 9. She had them big blue eyes. She always wanted to be up under the adults. She grew up really fast.

[Marissa Pinson]

When Pamela is 14, she sets her eyes on 17 year old Jessie Suggs.

[Kayla Suggs]

I can't really say what my mom and my dad liked in each other. My dad was the bad boy and my mom was a good girl and I guess that attracts and she was head over heels and so was he. Then they got married. I think when she was like 16.

[Debbie Gibson]

Pam never would leave the house without makeup. Me and Pam used to love to go dance. She was country western dancer. She loved to boot scoot boogie. Pam was always a giddy up cowboy cowgirl.

[Marissa Pinson]

Before long, Pamela and Jesse begin running into trouble.

[Jody Zaveski]

Jesse didn't quite steer right of the line sometimes and had some interaction with law enforcement over the years.

[Kayla Suggs]

So when I was born In March of 1988, my mom and my dad were already divorced.

[Debbie Gibson]

And then she met Gary, and they had Dustin. She wanted her children to be dressed nice when they went to school. She always had them dressed up in country and western.

[Marissa Pinson]

But Pamela and her ex Jessie, are like moths to a flame, Flying in and out of each other's lives year after year.

[Kayla Suggs]

It was a love and hate relationship because it was definitely not a healthy relationship, but they loved like it was unreal.

[Marissa Pinson]

In 2000, during one of Jesse and Pamela's breakups, Pamela falls hard for Ronnie Hendrick. Months later, Pamela and the kids follow Ronnie west to Cuero. She would never see Arkansas again. It's January 6, 2001. Two hours after finding Pamela, Pamela and.

[Carl Bowen]

Ronnie left in an ambulance to the hospital. But Ronnie's brothers were there. Ronnie's mother and stepfather were there.

[Marissa Pinson]

Ronnie's family tells authorities that there had been trouble recently.

[Carl Bowen]

They said that Kayla was a difficult child, that Pamela was unable to control her.

[Jody Zaveski]

Pamela had packed all of her belongings into a flatbed trailer and was going to go back to Arkansas. They had the idea that Pamela was very depressed, Despondent about having to leave Texas.

[Debbie Gibson]

Pam had a big heart. She had highs, she had lows. She's gone down a couple dark roads.

[Marissa Pinson]

Nearly 500 miles away in Arkansas, Pamela's parents get the news about her grave injury.

[Kayla Suggs]

Finally, when my grandparents get called, they took a personal flight from Arkansas up here, and they brought us to the hospital in San Antonio. My grandma told me that the bullet had shattered in her brain, and so she was completely brain dead, and there was nothing that we could do to help her. And they turned her ventilator off, and then she just stopped.

[Jody Zaveski]

The ME Examines everything, and at that point in time, law enforcement provided information that this was a suicide. So coupled with what he sees, the ME Put her cause of death as a suicide.

[Carl Bowen]

I respectfully disagreed with the results. There were aspects of this case that were nagging at me, Things that just didn't seem right. In the master bathroom, there's a vanity there, and on this vanity is a broken hairbrush, some makeup, and a revolver. Why put on makeup and then shoot yourself in the very place that you put the makeup?

[Kayla Suggs]

When we got her autopsy, it simply said suicide. I never believed that my mama didn't leave me here. She didn't leave us here.

[Carl Bowen]

The medical examiner's office rules the manner of death as a suicide. There were still steps that Needed to be completed. One of those was the interview of Ronnie Hendrick.

[Marissa Pinson]

Like Pamela, 30 year old Ronnie Jo Hendrick is new to Cuero.

[Carl Bowen]

Ronnie's family was originally from Arkansas. So while they lived in the Cuero community, Ronnie's family is not well known but is familiar in certain aspects of the community. Pamela had met Ronnie Hendrick in Ashdown. Their relationship grew and Pamela moved to dewitt county, Texas, where Ronnie's family was living.

[Jody Zaveski]

Pamela's closest neighbor was Ronnie's parents who lived about a quarter of a mile from Pamela and Ronnie's residence.

[Marissa Pinson]

Cuero police speak with Ronnie again 24 hours after Pamela's death.

[Carl Bowen]

Ronnie stated that he was sitting out on the back porch when he heard a gunshot. He goes into the bathroom and finds Pamela lying on the floor bleeding from the head. Ronnie says that he attempted to stop the bleeding, told Kayla to go to Ronnie's mother's house and called 911. He did not have any service at his house.

[Jody Zaveski]

He said that Pamela had actually been very depressed during this time.

[Carl Bowen]

Pamela was distraught because she was being forced to move back to Arkansas and that Pamela did not want to do that. Ronnie said that Pamela was suicidal and on antidepressant for mental disorder. We have a gunshot wound that is consistent with suicide. But there were still things about the crime scene that were nagging at me. One of the first things I saw was this trailer full of personal belongings. It didn't seem to make a lot of reasonable sense. Why would you kill yourself 15 minutes prior to leaving? I was concerned that this was a criminal act, that this was a homicide. But I was not the lead investigator of the case. So I felt very limited as far as how far I could pursue this case.

[Marissa Pinson]

Pamela's body is returned to Arkansas days after losing her. Kayla and Dustin say goodbye to their mother.

[Kayla Suggs]

My mom's funeral was my first funeral I ever went to. I had never been to a funeral. But all I remember is not wanting to look at my mom because I didn't want to tell her by and my grandma making me cuz she said it's the last time you're going to see her. You have to look at her. And I just threw my flower and I walked away.

[Marissa Pinson]

Deputy Bowen's nagging feeling gets worse when police speak with Pamela's family and get a much different picture of the young mother.

[Jody Zaveski]

Pamela Shelley was described as a very loving mother. She may have had some rough roads that she had traveled at times, but she would always want to make sure that the kids had what they needed and she supported them. The statements that we had taken from family members, it just the two didn't seem to to connect. We saw two different stories and so we had to figure out which one was the right one. We often will use polygraph as a means of gaining another, maybe small piece of evidence. And so it was thought that it would be a good idea we get Ronnie to submit to a polygraph examination.

[Carl Bowen]

Ronnie agreed to do a polygraph. So the deputy sets up the polygraph date. On the date that he was supposed to have the polygraph, Ronnie doesn't show.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Carl Bowen]

Thank you.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Jody Zaveski]

I'd have to ask, why wouldn't Ronnie show up if he's not involved in in any way? He has no reason not to show up.

[Carl Bowen]

Ronnie is Pamela's boyfriend. The deputy reaches out, makes contact with Ronnie again. Ronnie says, I'm sorry, I forgot they reset the polygraph date. That date comes. Ronnie doesn't show.

[Jody Zaveski]

He's not cooperating with the investigation any longer. And when that happens, that's a huge red flag for law enforcement.

[Carl Bowen]

The deputy again tries to reach out to Ronnie to find out why he missed his second polygraph exam. What he learns is that Ronnie is no longer in Texas.

[Jody Zaveski]

I mean, it certainly made us think that he may be tied to this.

[Carl Bowen]

The person submitting to a polygraph does not have to take it. It is not something that you can get a warrant and force them to do. The medical examiner rules the cause of death as a suicide. The investigator of the case felt that he would close the case out as a suicide. There just wasn't anything else for the investigating deputy to do.

[Marissa Pinson]

With Ronnie gone, leads dry up and the case goes cold.

[Kayla Suggs]

From the time my mom got killed in 2001, I never gave up. Like, I would always call, you know, and ask questions. I just wanted the police to listen to me, but they just said she killed herself.

[Debbie Gibson]

At the time, the police didn't really have a lot to go on, but it really felt like somebody killed Pam and got away with it.

[Carl Bowen]

I continue to work on my caseload, continue solving crimes, but mind you, I put her picture in a frame and sat it on my desk. I'm looking at it every day. It has never left my mind.

[Marissa Pinson]

In January of 2005, four years after Pamela's death, Deputy Bowen jumps at the chance to reignite the case when Jody Zaveski becomes the new sheriff.

[Carl Bowen]

I met with the sheriff and relayed my concerns about the Pamela Shelly case. I asked, if I am able to catch up on my caseload, would I be able to reopen the Pamela Shelly case and give it a definitive look?

[Jody Zaveski]

That was first and foremost on his list. He says, I want to look at it. And we talked about it and told him to run with it. I knew it was going to be.

[Carl Bowen]

A lot of work.

[Jody Zaveski]

Obviously, because the years had passed, it.

[Carl Bowen]

Became important to go back and test the recollection of witnesses, potential suspects, and anyone that had any contact with Pamela at that time.

[Jody Zaveski]

During the interviews, Ronnie's family pretty much had the same story, that Pamela had actually been very depressed during this time.

[Carl Bowen]

The social circle of Pamela and Cuero was for the most part non existent. So it was going to take having to get to Ronnie, find out what really happened to Pamela.

[Marissa Pinson]

With the case closed for so long, there's no trace of Ronnie Hendrick. Then, seven years after Pamela's death, the department gets a call that could get things started again.

[Jody Zaveski]

I'm sitting in my office, the chief walks in and says, sheriff, you're not going to believe this.

[Carl Bowen]

A person had been arrested for aggravated domestic violence. And I was shocked to learn that that person was Ronnie Hendrick. I finally have him here. It is time to get the polygraph. It's time to get the interview. It's time to close this case.

[Jody Zaveski]

I can remember thinking, are you kidding me? We've been looking for this guy and he ends up back in our jail.

[Marissa Pinson]

It's now May 28, 2008, seven years after Pamela Shelley's death. Michael shepherd is the former district attorney for Dewitt County.

[Michael Shepherd]

As district attorney, you don't get involved in cases until law enforcement works them up and brings them to you. Carl Bowen came and filled me in with all the details. Ronnie Hendrick had been arrested for abusing a girlfriend.

[Jody Zaveski]

It really was an eye opening moment because now we have somebody who has been assaulted by Ronnie, another female.

[Carl Bowen]

I contacted the jail and set up an interview with Ronnie Hendrick for May 27th. Ronnie agreed to the interview. He was advised of his legal right, and he voluntarily said that he wanted to give a statement in this case. You were on the back porch.

[Jody Zaveski]

Mm.

[Carl Bowen]

Okay. I heard pow. He says he gets up, he rushes immediately to the bathroom, and there is Pamela on the floor with a gun. It was more of a fact finding interview. I also had the intent to get that polygraph that he has missed twice now. He agrees to the polygraph, and I set it up for him to go. When Ronnie agreed to take the polygraph, I had already scheduled to go to Ashdown and conduct more interviews. And of course, I want to visit with Pamela's children.

[Kayla Suggs]

I got a call from my job telling me that a detective was looking for me. And I just remember, like, running to my grandma's apartment next door and just an experience of, like, hope and finally, and we're gonna get somewhere and do something. It's just great.

[Carl Bowen]

While I'm on my way to Arkansas, I'm wondering what's going on with Ronnie right now. And it was shortly after I had that thought that I got a phone call from my co worker that took Ronnie to the polygraph, and she said he failed it miserably.

[Michael Shepherd]

Ronnie Hendrick smartened up and invoked his right to counsel and quit talking. Once Ronnie Hendrick failed the polygraph and lawyered up and would not make any further statements, Carl had to go to work and find other evidence to slowly piece this big puzzle together.

[Carl Bowen]

Okay. My name is Carl Bowen. I'm an investigator with the DeWitt County Sheriff's Office.

[Kayla Suggs]

Detective Bowen just asked me to give my side of the story, which was the first time somebody had ever truly just listened to my whole side of the story.

[Carl Bowen]

During case Kayla's interview, I learned some very significant points. First point is that Kayla didn't like Ronnie, and Ronnie didn't like Kayla.

[Kayla Suggs]

He drank a lot. He, you know, was very rude. He did not like me. He was mean to me.

[Carl Bowen]

To me, this was a conflict because a person that was about to commit suicide is now not only leaving her children without father and without resource, but is leaving her children with someone who doesn't like them.

[Marissa Pinson]

Kayla goes on to reveal a violent attack that happened just two days before Pamela's death.

[Kayla Suggs]

Ronnie punched my mom. She took her by her hair and was banging her Head up against his.

[Carl Bowen]

Knee.

[Kayla Suggs]

He was hitting her. And then in the process of this, she had a seizure. But he told us we had to leave. We had no cell phone, we had no house phone. And he wouldn't give us the keys to the car either.

[Carl Bowen]

Did Ronnie know that she had seizures?

[Kayla Suggs]

Yes.

[Michael Shepherd]

This was very significant evidence because it completely undermines the story that Ronnie Hendricks family was telling, which is that Pamela wanted to stay and was happy with Ronnie. But you need evidence sufficient to persuade a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Ronnie Hendrick knowingly and intentionally took the life of Pam Shelley.

[Carl Bowen]

I promised Kayla that I would never quit. I promised her that as long as I had something to work with, I would not quit.

[Marissa Pinson]

Ronnie is ultimately released on the 2008 assault charge. Deputy Bowen turns to advancements in technology. Since the time of Pamela's death, the.

[Michael Shepherd]

Use of DNA evidence, which is just a game changing device in the prosecution of crimes, has improved. Since 2001.

[Carl Bowen]

The importance of the touch DNA was to determine who had the gun. The identity of DNA on the firearm may very well hold the key to who fired the weapon.

[Michael Shepherd]

So at the scene of the shooting, the first responders made the decision to ask Ronnie Hendrick to move the gun.

[Marissa Pinson]

Detective Bowen sends the gun found next to Pamela's body for DNA testing.

[Jody Zaveski]

Obviously it should have had Ronnie's DNA on it because the medic is telling us we had Ronnie move the firearm. And if Pamela had shot herself, she obviously would have had left something on it.

[Marissa Pinson]

While he waits for the results, Detective Bowen and his team re examine other facts of the case. Detective Bowen digs deeper into Pamela's alleged use of antidepressants.

[Michael Shepherd]

Carl spoke to the doctors of Pamela Shelley.

[Carl Bowen]

She did take antidepressants. However, these antidepressants were not for a mental health case. They were for the prevention of seizures. This theory that she was suicidal, she had a history of suicide attempts, was all debunked. It wasn't true, so why lie about that? I see Ronnie around town. He's walking free this whole time. And I just will not let that rest.

[Marissa Pinson]

Carl Bowen contacts the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office with his new findings.

[Carl Bowen]

So I'm relaying to the medical examiner, you didn't get the proper information from Ronnie's family. This is what really happened.

[Jody Zaveski]

He looked at our evidence that we were able to give him and it was enough to change his mind.

[Carl Bowen]

June 5, 2012. The medical examiner changes the death certificate of Pamela Shelley from manner of death as suicide to manner of death as.

[Michael Shepherd]

Undetermined and in my mind, it now meant that murder was on the table.

[Marissa Pinson]

The results from the touch DNA test on the gun come in. They are not what anyone expects.

[Carl Bowen]

The results were surprising. The surprise was, is that no one's DNA was on the gun. And when I say no one, I mean neither Pamela Shelley nor was. It was Ronnie's DNA on the gun and his DNA should have been there because it was his gun.

[Jody Zaveski]

There's no way he could have picked it up without transferring at least touch DNA if not leaving full fingerprints on any of the smooth side of it. So Chelsea investigated that somebody's wiped that down at one point in time.

[Michael Shepherd]

And the only reason anyone would have to wipe down a gun after a shooting and before law enforcement arrives is a guilty conscience.

[Carl Bowen]

I asked my sheriff if I could go make one final trip to Arkansas just one more time and just see if there was anybody at all that I missed that may help push this case over.

[Marissa Pinson]

It's now July 25, 2012. Eleven and a half years after Pamela's.

[Carl Bowen]

Death, I met with Shirley Suggs. This is Jesse's mother. Jessie is Pamela's ex husband. And I remember asking her, is there anything I'm missing? What am I missing here? And she goes, I don't think you missed anything. It's just a shame for those kids. And I thought she was talking about Kayla and Dustin. She goes, no, no, no, no.

[Marissa Pinson]

Jess told me that he had talked to Pam and Pam was coming home, that they was going to get a.

[Carl Bowen]

House together and they was going to.

[Kayla Suggs]

Get their family put back together and.

[Marissa Pinson]

They were going to straighten their lives.

[Carl Bowen]

Up and be great and you could have dropped a pin in the room. I could not believe what I was hearing. Pamela and, and Jesse, they were getting back together. Shirley, where exactly is Jesse now? And she said, well, but he's in Texas in prison.

[Marissa Pinson]

Deputy Bowen immediately heads to Rusk, Texas, to talk with Jesse Suggs.

[Carl Bowen]

Okay, Jesse, were y' all planning on getting an apartment or something? Yeah, we're getting an out there. He said that he have been talking with Pamela at least once a week, but usually every day that he goes, yeah, I talked to her on the day she died.

[Michael Shepherd]

He told Carl Bowen that the day that Pam Shelley was shot, he had spoken to her on the phone and she was excited about returning to Arkansas and returning to him.

[Carl Bowen]

Jesse said Ronnie walked into the room and heard Pamela talking to him on the phone. Jesse said there was a brief struggle and what Jesse would tell me would literally blow my mind. And he took the phone away from her and told me that if he'd send her back to me in a fine box, that's the only way I'd get her back.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Carl Bowen]

Told me, I sent her to you in a pine box. Click on the phone up. The information that Jesse Suggs provided was literally the smoking gun that was needed to resolve this case. I was speechless. I remember sitting there looking at him, going, well, Jesse, this would have been some handy information 12 years ago. And Jesse said, well, no one ever asked me.

[Michael Shepherd]

As I'm hearing this statement from Jesse Suggs. Now we have the circle closed on Ronnie Hendrick. We have a threat to kill her the day she died, and we have motive.

[Marissa Pinson]

Deputy Bowen arranges for Jesse to take a polygraph.

[Carl Bowen]

Jesse goes in for the polygraph, and I wait outside. Side. It's almost like being in the waiting room waiting for a baby to be born. About an hour later, the polygrapher comes out, said, that guy's telling the truth.

[Michael Shepherd]

I was confident that we could prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt and that we could get a conviction from a DeWitt county jury. I had every confidence that we could do it.

[Carl Bowen]

On October 3, 2012, I received an indictment charging Ronnie Hendrick with the murder of Pamela Shelley. I personally served the indictment on Ronnie Hendrick while he was incarcerated at the DeWitt County Jail. He just took the indictment, hung his head, and went back to his cell.

[Kayla Suggs]

Detective Bowen, I can't even explain my gratitude to that man. He's an amazing human being. After the arrest, I was warned of how hard a trial is on everybody. But I was ready. I was ready.

[Marissa Pinson]

However, publicity of the story in this small town complicates Michael Sheppard's case.

[Michael Shepherd]

In the course of this case being prepared to be presented to a jury, one branch of the media had made a television show about it. It was horrible timing because everybody in town watched it. I was concerned that that publicity prior to the trial could have resulted in Ronnie Hendricks never being held accountable for what he'd done. And that got me to thinking that this case might be best resolved by getting him to agree to go to the penitentiary.

[Marissa Pinson]

In a plea bargain with the prosecution, Ronnie Hendrick agrees to confess to the murder of Pamela Shelley. He is sentenced to 22 years in.

[Kayla Suggs]

When Ronnick accepted his 22 years, I didn't think that was good enough. But I don't think there's an amount of years that they could have given him that would have made me okay.

[Carl Bowen]

The victims that will carry these scars forever are in the faces of her children. After her death, they faced unimaginable hardships. And for them to come out on the other side is a true testament as to the basic groundwork that Pamela Shelley instilled upon them in the few short years that she had with her children.

[Marissa Pinson]

It's July 25, 2023 in Cuero, Texas, what would have been Pamela Shelley's 54th birthday.

[Kayla Suggs]

I really chose to do this today because for one, it's my mom's birthday. She's done more birthdays there in heaven than she has here with us. And that's sad. Here I just wanted to come and be at the last place that she was at alive and just to tell her I'm okay. Spent my whole life trying to cover up pain and hide it and it's just I have to accept it and move forward from comment Happy birthday Mama. We love you.

[Michael Shepherd]

This October fear is free on Pluto TV with horror movie collections from Paranormal Activity, the Ring.

[Kayla Suggs]

You will die in seven days Scream.

[Michael Shepherd]

And from dusk till dawn.

[Debbie Gibson]

This is my kind of place.

[Michael Shepherd]

And don't miss the man made night nightmares in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or the World Ending Chaos in 28 Days Later. Something in the blood all the scares all for free. Pluto TV stream now pay never.