S4|E29: Catching Felix Vail | Part 2

Summary

Gone South: S4|E29 - "Catching Felix Vail | Part 2"

Released: May 7, 2025 | Host: Jed Lipinski

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Introduction

In the gripping second part of the "Catching Felix Vail" series, Gone South delves deeper into the enigmatic and sinister life of Felix Vail, a man suspected of multiple disappearances and murders in the Southern United States. Host Jed Lipinski, alongside key figures like Mary Rose and Bill Vail, unravels the complex web surrounding Felix’s actions, the relentless pursuit of justice by his family, and the investigative efforts spearheaded by journalist Jerry Mitchell.

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Felix Vail: A Charismatic Enigma

Felix Vail emerged in the early 1980s as a charismatic figure, charming many women with his "preacher-like" demeanor and apparent wisdom. According to Bill Vail (Felix’s son), Felix believed himself "really above other people," showcasing traits of narcissism and emotional detachment. This facade of charm masked a darker reality, as Felix's interactions often led to tragic outcomes for those close to him.

“He always considered himself, I think, just really above other people. Very kind of narcissistic, I think, really for sure.”
— Bill Vail [05:43]

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Mary Rose Vail's Quest for Truth

Mary Rose, the mother of Annette Craver Vail—Felix’s second wife—and the mother-in-law of Bill Vail, became the cornerstone of the investigation against Felix. After Annette’s mysterious disappearance in 1984, Felix claimed she had left him for Mexico. Unconvinced by this explanation, Mary Rose filed a missing persons report and spent years seeking answers about her daughter’s fate.

Mary Rose's determination was unwavering, even as years passed without significant progress. Her commitment caught the attention of Jerry Mitchell, a renowned investigative reporter, leading to a pivotal collaboration that would reignite the investigation into Felix Vail's past.

“I didn't believe him, so I filed a missing persons report.”
— Bill Vail [02:34]

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The Mysterious Disappearances

Felix Vail's history is marred by a series of suspicious disappearances and deaths:

1. Mary Horton Vail (Felix’s First Wife):
   Mary Horton, a former homecoming queen, drowned under circumstances initially deemed accidental. However, Jerry Mitchell uncovered an autopsy report indicating bruises on her head and a scarf lodged in her throat, suggesting foul play.
   “It sounded more like a homicide.”
   — Jerry Mitchell [03:55]

2. Sharon Hensley:
   Sharon, Felix's girlfriend, allegedly died after Felix strangled her during a drunken argument. Her brother corroborated the incident, adding credibility to Bill’s claims.
   “Felix Vale came in and started strangling her. And she screamed.”
   — Sharon’s Ex-Wife [31:04]

3. Annette Craver Vail:
   Annette’s disappearance remains unresolved, with suspicions that Felix orchestrated her vanishing to conceal his escalating pattern of violence.

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Bill Vail’s Turbulent Childhood

Bill Vail’s upbringing was fraught with instability and trauma. At just eight years old, he overheard Felix confess to murdering his mother, Mary Horton Vail. This revelation not only shattered his perception of his father but also planted seeds of fear and mistrust that would linger throughout his life.

“No, you don't understand, I really did kill her. And from that point on, I don't remember what else they said.”
— Mary Rose [16:37]

Bill's childhood was further complicated by Felix's erratic behavior, substance abuse, and manipulative tendencies, which included exposing Bill to drugs like marijuana and LSD. Despite these challenges, Bill eventually built a stable life, excelling academically and professionally as a mechanical engineer, and raising his own family.

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Jerry Mitchell: The Relentless Investigator

Jerry Mitchell's involvement was a turning point in the investigation. After hearing Mary Rose’s heartfelt plea on the radio, Jerry was compelled to delve into Felix Vail’s past. Despite numerous obstacles, including missing records and Felix’s evasive behavior, Jerry meticulously pieced together the puzzle of Felix’s life.

“I really believed that if he was acquitted and I was returned to my father that he would kill me.”
— Mary Rose [19:43]

Mitchell's dedication culminated in a comprehensive article titled "gone," published in The Clarion Ledger in November 2012. This exposé not only shed light on Felix’s questionable activities but also ignited public interest, leading to a flood of tips and new information about Felix’s whereabouts and possible additional crimes.

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The Legal Hurdles and the Quest for Justice

Despite mounting evidence and public sentiment, prosecuting Felix Vail posed significant challenges:

• Lack of Physical Evidence:
  With the bodies of several victims never found, proving homicide beyond reasonable doubt was difficult. Jerry highlighted, “Prosecutors typically call those no body cases, but they're very difficult to prove.” [28:31]

• Cold Case Complications:
  Felix's crimes spanned decades, with the original investigations lacking thoroughness. Missing records and outdated forensic methods further hampered efforts to secure a conviction.

• Felix’s Evasive Tactics:
  Felix's ability to disappear and avoid contact with law enforcement made it nearly impossible to gather actionable evidence.

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Public Response and Ongoing Investigations

The publication of Jerry Mitchell’s article sparked a wave of public engagement. Tips poured in from individuals who had encountered Felix, including a startling account from a woman who had been assaulted by him in Texas. This influx of information reinforced suspicions of Felix’s involvement in multiple unsolved cases.

“Where did he go? I don't know.”
— Bill Vail [32:43]

Despite these developments, Felix Vail remained elusive. Efforts to locate him intensified, but his ability to vanish without a trace continued to frustrate investigators and those seeking closure for the victims’ families.

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Current Status and Reflections

As of the episode’s release, Felix Vail remains at large, his true whereabouts unknown. Mary Rose continues her pursuit of justice, maintaining a delicate balance between her hope for Felix’s redemption and the necessity of protecting her family from further harm.

“I guess I'm in a prayer relationship for him, hoping that God will open his eyes and help him to see the truth.”
— Mary Rose [25:51]

Bill Vail reflects on the enduring impact of his father’s actions, emphasizing the emotional scars and the ongoing struggle to reconcile his past with his present.

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Conclusion

In "Catching Felix Vail | Part 2," Gone South masterfully intertwines personal narratives with investigative journalism, painting a comprehensive picture of a man whose charm hid a potentially lethal nature. Through the unwavering determination of Mary Rose and the incisive reporting of Jerry Mitchell, the podcast not only seeks to uncover the truth behind the disappearances but also explores the profound effects of crime on familial bonds and human nature.

Notable Quotes:

• “He was raised as a Christian, and he has elements of the truth in him, but at the same time, he's got this other stuff, and I can't reconcile those two things.”
  — Mary Rose [25:51]

• “The problem with Bill's podcast from an evidentiary standpoint is the fact that none of what he's saying is admissible in court.”
  — Bill Vail [27:42]

• “We had nothing when nothing. So what do you do with a case that's 50 years old and you have no investigation, nothing in the sheriff's files?”
  — Jerry Mitchell [29:19]

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For More Information:

If you have information, story tips, or feedback regarding Felix Vail or other cases discussed in Gone South, please contact the team at gonesouthpodcastmail.com. Follow Gone South on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram at @gonesouthpodcast, and subscribe to the newsletter on Substack for bonus content.

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Gone South with Jed Lipinski is an Audacy original podcast, exploring Southern crimes with depth and nuance.

Transcript

[Jake Brennan]

Do you know what went down at the Viper Room the night River Phoenix died? Or how about the mysterious death of Brittany Murphy? Are you aware of how Steve McQueen escaped murder at the hands of the Manson family? The obsessive killing of Dorothy Stratton? The real life murder that inspired David Lynch's Twin Peaks? The three conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death. These stories and more are told in the Hollywoodland podcast where true crime and Tinseltown collide. Hollywoodland is hosted by me, Jake Brennan, creator of the award winning true crime podcast Disgraceland. Follow and listen to Hollywoodland wherever you get your podcasts. As warmer weather arrives, it's easy to see and smell that spring is in the air. But even when it smells like flowers outside, inside can be a whole other story. Especially if you have cats and a Stinky kitty Litter Box We've all had the experience of walking into a house and being hit by a wall of kitty litter smell, but that may soon be a thing of the past because Pretty Litter is here to the rescue. Pretty Litter obliterates odors so you no longer have to hide your litter box. Its non clumping formula traps odor and moisture, keeping them in the litter box where they belong. It's ultra absorbent and lightweight with a low dust output and 16 pound bag works for up to a month. Pretty Litter also gives me peace of mind. It changes color to indicate early signs of potential illness in my two cats, like urinary tract infections, kidney issues and more. Plus, Pretty Litter ships right to my door so I never run out and I don't have 40 pound kitty litter bags sitting around. My family's been using Pretty Litter with our cats for the past few weeks and my daughter has already noticed a big difference.

[Bill Vail]

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[Jake Brennan]

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[Bill Vail]

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[Jake Brennan]

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[Bill Vail]

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[Jake Brennan]

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[Bill Vail]

He fancied himself as a very charismatic guy that women loved and he was kind of a hippie Type.

[Jake Brennan]

In the early 80s, Felix formed a relationship with a much younger woman named Annette Craver. The two got married and settled in Oklahoma. But in 1984, Annette disappeared. Felix told her mother, Mary Rose, that she'd left him and boarded a bus to Mexico.

[Bill Vail]

I didn't believe him, so I filed.

[Mary Rose]

A missing persons report.

[Bill Vail]

And I kept waiting by the phone.

[Jake Brennan]

Birthdays, holidays, Mother's Day, you name it. Mary Rose spent years trying to bring Felix Vale to justice and to understand what happened to her only child. She also learned that he may have been behind the deaths of at least two other women. But by 2012, with law enforcement unable to make headway, Mary Rose had all but given up. That's when she heard a radio interview with a well known investigative reporter named Jerry Mitchell.

[Bill Vail]

And then, of course, I said, would you be interested in a case where there's a man living in Mississippi that I think is a serial killer and he's living as a free man? Would you be interested? And he said, you bet I would.

[Jake Brennan]

Jerry Mitchell was impressed by Mary Rose's commitment to catching Felix Vale. Within hours of meeting her for the first time, she'd broken into the potential serial killer's trailer in rural Mississippi. She spent the next few days walking Jerry through her decades long investigation into Felix, a man whose wives had a habit of dying or vanishing under suspicious circumstances. Of course, Mary Rose wasn't a trained investigator. She'd followed her instincts and kept meticulous notes. But there were limits to what she could do. Jerry picked up where she left off. He began tracking down relatives, old friends, and anyone who still remembered Felix Vale. With each call, a clearer picture of Felix took shape. Felix Vail grew up on a dairy farm in Montpelier, Mississippi, on the same land where he now appeared to be living. His sister Kay told Jerry that he was wired differently than his siblings. He was highly intelligent, but seemed emotionally detached and was occasionally violent. Once, when his mom told him he couldn't keep their family cat's new kittens, Felix gathered them up and shot them. As a teenager, he took an interest in psychology and the occult.

[Bill Vail]

Felix, you know, was this kind of quote unquote preacher when he was in his teen years and claimed that he had had this religious kind of experience where he saw a bright light and he could see into people's souls and he knew what all they had done.

[Jake Brennan]

Felix did a semester OR 2 at McNeese State College in Lake Charles, Louisiana, before dropping out. His uncle got him a job at a nearby chemical plant, but he kept hanging around McNeese where all the college girls were.

[Bill Vail]

He always considered himself, I think, just really above other people. Very kind of narcissistic, I think, really for sure. He was very attractive, you know, young man and lots of women came around. As someone said to me, what? He looked like he'd been kissed by heaven.

[Jake Brennan]

It was at McNeese that he met Mary Horton. Mary was a blonde, former homecoming queen from Eunice, Louisiana, a small town in Cajun country. They were married in 1961. Exactly one year later. They had a son, Bill. But Mary's friends didn't like Felix. One of her sorority sisters told Jerry, I remember him being so controlling. He seemed to have a thumb on her all the time. Mary got pregnant again soon after and according to another friend, Felix wasn't happy about it. He started disappearing for days. Mary Horton told her mom she was contemplating divorce. Then a few months later, she'd supposedly drowned while fishing with Felix in the Calcasieu River. As we said in the last episode, the coroner ruled it an accidental drowning. But then Jerry saw the autopsy report. It noted that Mary Horton Vale had bruises on the back of her head and that a scarf was lodged in her throat. To Jerry, it sounded more like a homicide. In the summer of 2012, Jerry made the five hour drive from his home in Jackson, Mississippi to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The trip would confirm what Jerry had only started to believe, that Mary Horton Vale's death wasn't an isolated incident. It was part of a pattern. I'm Jed Lipinski, this is Gone South. As an investigative reporter, the first thing Jerry Mitchell does when tackling a new story is is to get as many documents as possible. But when he spoke with the sheriff's office in Lake Charles, they told him all the records related to Mary Horton Vale's death were gone.

[Bill Vail]

The sheriff's office had zip. There was nothing. There was no paper trail, nothing.

[Jake Brennan]

When I began, this wasn't exactly unusual. The case was 50 years old and Felix had not been tried for the crime. All the sheriff's office had left was a set of Felix's fingerprints. In the absence of any records, Jerry read all the news reports he could find. He also talked to people who remembered the drowning, including Mary Horton Vale's younger brother. According to the news articles, Felix claimed that he and his first wife were out fishing in the early evening when they swerved to avoid a stump and fell into the water. And despite Felix's best efforts to save her, she drowned. But Felix's neighbor, an avid fisherman, told Jerry that Felix never fished. More importantly, his Wife had a phobia of deep water. The idea that she would go fishing with Felix at night without a life jacket made no sense. Then there was the amount of time it took Felix to report her body missing.

[Bill Vail]

What was really weird about it is after he supposedly couldn't recover her, he took his boat six miles downstream to Shell beach, and that's where he reported to authorities, which was the weirdest thing to me, because it's like, wouldn't you stop and try to get help from somebody along the way? You really. You go six miles and there was, I think, an ice house always open there and, you know, different people lived along the river.

[Jake Brennan]

Authorities found her body two days later. Mary Horton, Vale's younger brother, said he was devastated. Felix, on the other hand, betrayed almost no emotion.

[Bill Vail]

He told me that Felix didn't act like it was anything like. He didn't act upset, he didn't cry. And he also. There was no emotional aspect to it, which he found, even though he was young, found very strange. And found out, too, that Felix didn't even pay for his own wife's funeral. He skipped out without paying it.

[Jake Brennan]

Not long after the funeral, Felix left, like Charles, and he rarely returned. He spent the next decade roaming the country, occasionally with his young son Bill in tow. Unfortunately, Jerry couldn't talk with Bill. He died of cancer a few years earlier, in his late 40s. But he left something interesting behind that Jerry wanted to get his hands on.

[Bill Vail]

Felix Vale's sister Kay, told me that at the funeral of Bill Vail, the son of Felix Vail played a recording. And in this recording, he told the whole story of his father and what his father had done, what he knew about, what his father had admitted. And so, obviously, I was desperate to get my hands on that recording.

[Jake Brennan]

You're listening to the Grace Church Microcast, a midweek feature of the weekly podcast of Grace Church in oberlin Park. On August 20th of 2008, less than four months before his death, Bill's pastor invited him to appear on his church's podcast to talk about his unusual life story.

[Mary Rose]

I want to thank you, first of all, for being with us this afternoon.

[Jake Brennan]

And maybe, let's just start out, Bill, if you could share a little bit about your childhood.

[Mary Rose]

Okay. Started off fairly normal, I guess. Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1962. And when I was four months old, my mother drowned in Lake Charles and ended up living with my grandparents until I was about three or four years old. And then started bouncing back between my grandparents who lived on a. They were a nice Baptist family lived on a farm in Mississippi, and my father had taken up residence in San Diego, California. So I kind of bounced back and forth between Mississippi and California.

[Jake Brennan]

In the late 60s, Bill said his father rejected his Baptist upbringing and immersed himself in the hippie movement. In 1969, when Bill was seven, he hitchhiked with his dad to San Francisco, where they lived a nomadic existence.

[Mary Rose]

We lived anywhere from a nice apartment on Nob Hill, which anybody knows, San Francisco, it's kind of an affluent area, to living in soup kitchens and communes and living out in the vineyards, sleeping out in the Baja desert. We went down there and we're just hitchhiking all over the place. You literally were like living in a vineyard and your entire diet consisted of. Yeah, it consisted of whatever type of orchard we were living in at the time. Cashews, if we were in a cashew orchard, grapes if we were in a vineyard, and that's all we ate. We basically stayed out of sight of the owners and we slept in the vineyards and maybe some trees along the side or somewhere out of sight, and we just ate the fruit of the land. My only possessions, I guess at that time were a sleeping bag and a pair of shorts. I had no shirt, no shoes, nothing else.

[Jake Brennan]

In his podcast interview, Bill said he bounced in and out of school for much of second grade. Felix left him with a group known as the Holy Order of Mans, which according to the Cult Education Institute, believed it was their mission to, quote, unite all faiths. Around 1970, Felix began seeing a 21 year old woman named Sharon Hensley. Sharon was a former model from North Dakota and a fellow sport spiritual seeker. She joined Felix and his son Bill on their wanderings through California. It was through this new girlfriend that Bill would finally learn what really happened to his mother. A discovery that would change the course of his life. If you're an experienced pet owner, you.

[Mary Rose]

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[Mary Rose]

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[Jake Brennan]

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[Mary Rose]

The story my father had told me was that he and my mother were out fishing when I was 4 months old in Lake Charles and had left me with a babysitter and that a boat had come by and caused a big wave and knocked my mother out of the boat and she didn't know how to swim, had on no flotation and had immediately sank and drowned and that my father had almost died trying to rescue her. Well, that's the story that he had.

[Jake Brennan]

Told me when he was eight years old. However, he heard a different version of the story.

[Mary Rose]

My father thought I was outside playing.

[Jake Brennan]

In fact, Bill was within earshot of a conversation between his father and his new girlfriend, Sharon.

[Mary Rose]

I overheard him talking to her and he didn't know I was even in the house and overheard him just sobbing, which caught my attention, and he told her that he had murdered my mother and I heard the girlfriend saying, I know you must just feel responsible for it. And he confessed to her that he had actually murdered her. He said, no, you don't understand, I really did kill her. And from that point on, I don't remember what else they said. I just was in shock. That was too much for an 8 year old. I was angry, I wanted to hit him, I wanted to run, I wanted to cry, I wanted to go back to my grandparents. I just, you know, I didn't know what I wanted to do or what to do with this information. It just was overwhelmed.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill's shock and confusion was made worse by the fact that Felix was also giving him marijuana and LSD during this time, in an effort to, quote, expand his mind. Not long after overhearing his father's murder confession, Bill befriended a 13 year old migrant worker in one of the vineyards they were camping out in.

[Mary Rose]

And he was very curious about my life and, you know, living there in the vineyard with no shirt, no shoes and just living off land and we kind of got to be friends. And the more he heard of my story, he just one day said offhand, well, why don't you turn him into the police? And it was like, ding, the light came on. Yeah, why didn't I think of that? And I started walking right then, walked two miles to the police station along the interstate and basically camped out on the front steps of the police station and told them something like, my father murdered my mother and he does drugs. At first they didn't believe me and just kind of shooed me out, said, yeah, yeah kid, go away. But I was committed, you know, there was no turning back. I was not going to take no for an answer. I just camped out on the, on the front steps until a detective finally listened to my story, brought me inside, questioned me enough and satisfied themselves that there really was something to my story.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill's story generated enough interest that a multi agency task force surrounded the vineyard where Felix and Sharon were staying. They booked them with possession of LSD and child neglect. Bill was temporarily placed in a foster home while Felix and Sharon awaited trial. In the meantime, the press latched onto the story of the nomadic 8 year old who'd accused his hippie dad of killing his mom.

[Mary Rose]

NBC, cbs. It was in thousands of newspapers across the country and in other countries because we got letters from England, Canada, Mexico.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill was the state's key witness. At a pretrial hearing, he took the stand and testified against his father. It was a moment he'd never forget.

[Mary Rose]

That was terrible. That was traumatic. Beyond any description. And I truly believed that if he was acquitted and I was returned to my father that he would kill me. So I really felt like my life was riding on the outcome of this trial.

[Jake Brennan]

But the trial never happened. Perhaps because the state's case hinged on the testimony of an 8 year old boy, the DA's office declined to pursue murder charges. Felix pleaded to the drug possession charge and got six months in jail, plus three years probation. Bill was ultimately placed back with his grandparents in Mississippi. After years of roughing it on the west coast, the return to small town life in the country was a relief.

[Mary Rose]

Unfortunately, that only lasted about two years. And I came home from school one day and there's my father and the same girlfriend standing in the driveway. And I really thought that he was going to kill me. And I got off the bus and just remembered, you know, this deer in the headlights feeling where do I run? You know, I just stood there frozen, trying to think of where I could run. But I'm out in the middle of the country. There's really nowhere to go.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill hadn't spoken with his father since he testified against him at the court hearing in California. Bill thought he'd never forgive him for his betrayal. He'd been dreading their next encounter. And yet, to Bill's surprise, his father said he didn't blame him for what happened.

[Mary Rose]

He actually blamed the girlfriend, which was strange because she had nothing to do with it. And maybe I'm jumping ahead, but later used that, I think, as an excuse to murder her.

[Jake Brennan]

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. How much do you make? Who paid for that fancy dinner? What did your house actually cost? On every episode of what We Spend, a different guest opens up their wallets, opens up their lives, really, and tells us all about their finances. For one week, they tell us everything they spend their money on. My son slammed like $6 worth of blueberries in five minutes. This is a podcast about all the ways money comes into our lives and then leaves again, which, of course, we all have a lot of feelings about. I really want these things. I want to own a house, I want to have a child. But this morning I really wanted a coffee. Because whatever you are buying or not buying or saving or spending, at the end of the day, money is always about more than your balance. I'm Courtney Harrell and this is what we spend, listen to and follow what we Spend. An Odyssey original podcast available now. Wherever you get your podcasts this season, let your shoes do the talking. Designer shoe warehouse is packed with fresh styles that speak to your whole vibe without saying a word. From cool sneakers that look good with everything to with the easy sandals you'll want to wear on repeat, DSW has you covered. Find a shoe for everywho from the brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas, New Balance and more. Head to your DSW store or visit dsw.com today. With Felix out of prison, Bill Vail stayed on his grandparents farm in Mississippi. For the next few years, Felix would periodically return from California with Sharon. To Bill, Sharon looked more depleted each time, as if traveling with Felix was draining the life out of her. Then in the fall of 1975, Felix showed up alone. When Bill's grandmother asked where Sharon was, Felix explained that they'd been in Key west and Sharon had decided to leave with a couple who planned to sail around the world. He would later tell the same story to Sharon's mother.

[Mary Rose]

And not too long after that we were in the backyard just doing something and he just confided in me that she would never bother anyone ever again. And I knew what that meant. I knew at that point that he had murdered her. And there was nothing I could do with his information.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill was 13 by this point. He hadn't forgotten what happened the last time his dad admitted to killing someone. He figured no one would believe him and he didn't want to go through the trauma of testifying against his father again.

[Mary Rose]

I just remember being so angry again that he had told me this and there was not a soul I could.

[Jake Brennan]

Tell about it this time. Bill told no one what his father said about Sharon. He lived with the secret through his teens and twenties. And yet, despite what he'd gone through as a kid, he built a stable life for himself. He'd become an Eagle Scout, graduated at the top of his class from Mississippi State and found a good job as a mechanical engineer. He'd also gotten married and had three kids. Sometime in the 90s, Bill got a phone call from Mary Rose, the mother of Felix's wife, Annette. She explained that Annette had been missing for years and she was now trying to build a case against Felix.

[Mary Rose]

And there was an investigation in progress. FBI, several state agencies were involved and they were trying to get enough information to bring it to trial. They asked did I believe that he may have murdered her? And I said yes, I believe it. Based on past experience, it's entirely possible. And I was again faced with the prospect of going to court and testifying against my father. And it was at that time that the Post Traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders, all kinds of physical stuff really hit me hard.

[Jake Brennan]

Bill told Mary Rose that unfortunately, he was unable to participate in the investigation. Toward the end of the interview, Bill's pastor asked what his relationship with his father was like.

[Mary Rose]

Now, relationship is kind of unusual, I guess, in that, you know, part of me loves him. He was my father, and he was a good father. I know that's hard to believe, having heard what he's done, but, you know, he was raised as a Christian, and he has elements of the truth in him, but at the same time, he's got this other stuff, and I can't reconcile those two things, and I don't believe he can either. I guess I'm in a prayer relationship for him, hoping that God will open his eyes and help him to see the truth. But I have to keep, I guess, a distance from him because of the things I know he's capable of doing. For my family's sake, I don't maintain a close relationship at all with him.

[Jake Brennan]

When Jerry Mitchell reached the end of Bill Vail's podcast interview, he was close to tears.

[Bill Vail]

I have to tell you how moving listening to that podcast was this idea of this kid that all of a sudden hears his father confess to killing his own mother, and so just incredible drama that's unveiled. So I knew this would be incredibly valuable material from a standpoint of telling this narratively. I knew I wasn't going to be able to say in a headline, this guy's a serial killer. You're not going to do that. What I began to realize there's a way I could tell the story is just narratively and let the reader draw his or her own conclusion.

[Jake Brennan]

In the podcast, Bill revealed that his father had not only confessed to killing his first wife, Mary Horton Vail, he'd also strongly implied that he'd killed Sharon Hensley as well. But from a legal perspective, none of that mattered.

[Bill Vail]

I mean, the problem with Bill's podcast from an evidentiary standpoint is the fact that none of what he's saying is admissible in court.

[Jake Brennan]

And why wasn't it admissible?

[Bill Vail]

It's not admissible because you have to. A, it has to be sworn testimony, and then B, there has to be cross examination. So you have to have both those elements.

[Jake Brennan]

As an investigative reporter covering cold cases, Jerry wasn't just trying to tell a good story. He was also collecting facts that might be valuable to a lawyer in the event of a prosecution. It was one thing for Mary Rose and Bill Vail to say they thought Felix was a serial killer. It was another thing to prove it in court, especially since the bodies of Sharon and Annette had never been found.

[Bill Vail]

That's really important from a homicide standpoint in terms of proving that a homicide took place. You've got to have a body. Cases have been brought. Prosecutors typically call those no body cases, but they're very difficult to prove because it's very easy for, you know, defense lawyer to get up and say, we don't have a body. We can't prove this.

[Jake Brennan]

Of course, Mary Horton Vale's body had been found, and Jerry had the autopsy report, which a forensic pathologist had labeled a homicide, not an accidental drowning. But with the exception of Felix's fingerprints, the autopsy report was all he had. In other major cold cases, Jerry had worked previous investigations and trials, had laid the groundwork for new prosecutions.

[Bill Vail]

But in this case, we had nothing when nothing. So what do you do with a case that's 50 years old and you have no investigation, nothing in the sheriff's files? So you're facing an incredible series of hurdles. It's not just one hurdle. It's a whole series of hurdles just to be able to even seriously consider this case for possible prosecution, much less to convince a jury.

[Jake Brennan]

Still, after months of reporting, Jerry felt he had more than enough to write a story. He hoped publishing it would draw out people who might help build a case. Since his first visit to Felix's home with Mary Rose, Jerry had made multiple attempts to interview Felix, both in person and over the phone. But Felix was never home, and he never responded to Jerry's calls. The Clarion Ledger published Jerry's story in November of 2012. The title was a single word, gone. It came in at 9,000 words and captured the full scope of Felix's life. At no point did Jerry call Felix a serial killer, but he made it clear that Felix was the last person to have seen Mary Horton Vale, Sharon Hensley, and Annette Craver Vail alive. The response to the story was big and immediate. Comments and tips poured in. At one point, Jerry picked up the phone to hear a woman screaming on the other line.

[Bill Vail]

She's just hysterical. There are no words coming out at this point. And so, I mean, I thought this was just somebody crazy. And I'm literally getting ready to hang up the phone, and the woman says, I used to be married to Felix Vale.

[Jake Brennan]

The woman said she'd been married to Felix for a few months years ago in California. Not long into the marriage, they'd gotten in a drunken argument, and the woman had left to take a shower while.

[Bill Vail]

She'S taking a shower, she said, Felix Vale came in and started strangling her. And she screamed. And fortunately her brother could hear her. And so he dashed in, pulled Felix off of her, and that was kind of the end of the relationship.

[Jake Brennan]

Soon after, Jerry got a call from someone in Texas. The caller told Jerry that Felix was living in a small town in the Texas hill country called Canyon Lake. Based on these and other tips, Jerry published a series of news stories about Felix Vale, hoping someone in law enforcement might take an interest. But the first person he heard from wasn't a cop. He was a private investigator. She lived close to Canyon Lake, she said, and she offered to go knock on Felix's door. Next time on Gone South. And I had my recorder down in my bra. It's a comfortable place to have it. And I just said, hey, I was just in the neighborhood. I just thought I'd stop by and say hey.

[Mary Rose]

And he was thrilled.

[Jake Brennan]

He was thrilled.

[Bill Vail]

As I'm writing about Felix and I'm talking to members of his family, other people that knew him, felixstale disappears. Just disappears. Where did he go? I don't know.

[Jake Brennan]

If you have information, story tips or feedback you'd like to share with the Gone south team, please email [e-mail] that's gone southpodcastmail.com and for bonus content, you can follow us on Facebook, TikTok and and Instagram onsouthpodcast. You can also sign up for our newsletter on substack. Gone south with Jed Lipinski. Gone south is an Odyssey original podcast. It's created, written and narrated by me, Jed Lipinski. Our executive producers are Jenna Weiss Berman, Maddy Sprung Keyser, Tom Lipinski, Lloyd Lockridge, and me. Our story editors are Tom Lipinski, Maddy Sprung Keyser, and Joel Lovell. Gone south is edited by Chris Basel and Perry Crowell. It's mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. Production support from Ian Mont and Sean Cherry. Special thanks to J.D. crowley, Leah Rees, Dennis, Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney and Hilary Schuff. In 2009, three days before Halloween, a.

[Mary Rose]

Grisly crime stunned the seaport town of Anacortes, Washington.

[Jake Brennan]

I can only describe it as evil, something horrible, something terrible. The scene was at the house of a popular dog trainer named mark stover from 48 hours.

[Mary Rose]

This is trained to kill the dog.

[Jake Brennan]

Trainer, the heiress and the bodyguard.

[Mary Rose]

A love triangle between Mark Stover.

[Bill Vail]

He couldn't control his obsession, you know, he chronicled his obsession, an heiress who.

[Jake Brennan]

Wanted a new life and her new lover. It's a beautiful love. In my opinion. It's legendary.

[Mary Rose]

Throughout this case, detectives wondered who was.

[Jake Brennan]

The hunter and who was the hunted. Follow and listen to Train to Kill, the Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. If you're alignment in charge of keeping the lights on, Grainger understands that you go to great lengths and sometimes heights to ensure the power is always flowing. Which is why you can count on Grainger for professional grade products and next day delivery. So you have everything you need to get the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.