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- [00:00]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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- [00:23]
Monday.com Announcer
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- [00:54]
Peyton Moreland
an ONO Media Podcast. Hey everyone and welcome back to the into the Dark podcast. I'm your host Peyton Moreland. I'm so glad you are here listening. If you didn't know. We start off each episode with something called my 10 seconds, which is basically just something lighter before we get into the darkness that is this podcast. I think I talked about it on here, but for Christmas, Garrett kind of redid my vanity space and built in this huge, huge built in this vanity that is just so beautiful. It has lighting, it holds all of my makeup. I genuinely love it so much and I've just kind of been getting situated, getting you know, all my makeup and hair stuff moved over there and I just love having a place to just be so girl. If you know what I mean. Like I think ever since I was little I dreamed about just sitting and doing my makeup and so thank you Garrett for giving me a place to do that. Let's get into today's episode. This episode includes discussions of disordered eating, domestic violence and self harm, including suicide. Please listen with care. Let's be honest. Lots of people dream of being rich, famous and powerful and there's nothing wrong with that if you use your power and influence responsibly. It's perfectly fine to enjoy the perks of expensive things, attention and admiration. But some people are not responsible with their influence and wealth. And even worse, there are folks who become famous for the wrong reasons, say a scandal that makes them a public embarrassment, or they do something silly or thoughtless and they look stupid or incompetent to the entire world. Worst of all, some people only appear in newspapers and on TV when bad things happen to them. They become known as victims rather than as people who accomplished great things or worked hard to achieve their goals. And that's the case in today's episode. It's the story of a very famous missing person's case that was huge in 1996. It was all anyone could talk about. Making front page headlines and filling the airwaves. Today I am telling you about Ann Marie Fahey. One thing you need to know is that Anne had a very difficult childhood. Her mother died of lung cancer when Anne Marie was just nine years old. Her father was an alcoholic who became violent when he was drinking, which meant Anne Marie didn't get any support or stability from her parents. She had to grow up pretty quickly. So while she was in school, Anne Marie worked hard to get good grades. In fact, she kind of became a perfectionist, a people pleaser. Anne Marie was also obsessed with being organized and clean until all of her friends honestly knew her as an eat freak. And that's actually how she described herself. It's not my term. She also developed early on an eating disorder. Anne Marie felt like she had to control every bite of food that went into her mouth. She would spiral if she gained weight and it wasn't a healthy situation for her, but this was just how she coped. It wasn't great for her long term well being, but it's understandable why she felt the way she did. When Ann Marie was a teenager, her father's drinking became bad enough that he couldn't pay the mortgage anymore and the family briefly became unhoused. Anne Marie had to get a job to support herself. And then miraculously, she saved enough to go to college and get a degree. Now, once she was an adult, Anne Marie focused on becoming successful and respected. Her need to be perfect, to be the best and succeed all of the time. Paid off when she got into politics, which is a very competitive field. But Ann Marie was willing to do whatever it took to get ahead. And eventually she moved to a town called Wilmington, Delaware. Now, this city's motto is, quote, a place to be someone, which tells you about the culture there. It wasn't just a place where people could be themselves. They had to be somebody important or influential. So Anne Marie fit right in. She networked, she built up a reputation for herself. And in 1992, when she was only in her mid-20s, she landed a job that was a great stepping stone for her. She was working as an assistant for a congressman who was also running to become the governor of Delaware. Sure enough, he won the governor's seat. And of course, when you're working for a former congressman and a current governor, you tend to Meet a lot of other rich and powerful people. Which in the 90s was perfect for Anne Marie, who was always networking and trying to make the right connections. She was ambitious and it seemed like finally all of her goals were within her reach. But on Saturday, June 29, 1996, the now 30 year old Ann Marie did something a little odd and out of character. See, she had been dating the same man for a while by this point. His name was Mike Scanlon. Now, they didn't live together, but aside from that, they were pretty serious. Anne Marie had told her friends and her siblings that she hoped to marry Mike one day and she was just waiting for him to ask. And that evening she was supposed to have dinner with Mike, her brother Robert, and Robert's wife Susan. Except dinner comes and she never showed up. She didn't call to say she was running late or ask to reschedule. It was like she completely just forgotten about these plans, which was out of character for her because like, you know, Amerie was extremely organized. She didn't just forget important events or flake on people. So her brother, her sister in law and Mike are all at this dinner and Robert, her brother and Mike start talking about how weird this is. And that's when Mike tells her brother, well, I actually haven't heard from her all day Friday either. At the time, it hadn't seemed unusual. He had figured Anne Marie was maybe working late or running errands. Since this was before most people had cell phones and they didn't live together. He had no way to reach her if she wasn't at home near her landline. So at the time he was like, maybe I just missed her. Shrugged everything off. But now that Anne Marie was missing the dinner they had planned the next time they were going to see each other, he was really starting to worry. And that's when Robert suggested they should call Ann Marie's sister Kathleen to see if she had heard from her. But Kathleen also admitted that she and Ann Marie also hadn't spoken since before Friday. Everyone made a few more calls to Ann Marie's friends and co workers and the story was the same across the board. We have her family, her siblings and her boyfriend all looking and talking. And Anne Marie hadn't spoken to anyone on the phone or met anybody in person since Thursday night. She had had the day off of work on Friday, so she obviously didn't go into the office. Now, once everyone realized Anne Marie hadn't been heard from in two days, they were panicking. So right away her sister Kathleen called the Police and reported her missing. Now, to be clear, she had no evidence that Anne Marie was actually in trouble, but it seemed obvious to them that something had happened. This just wasn't their sister. Now, while they waited for the police to respond, Kathleen and Robert went to Anne Marie's apartment to check on her. There, they met up with some of Anne Marie's friends, who were also worried. And then they all convinced her landlady to unlock her unit and just let them in. Now, the moment the door swung open, everyone, all of Anne Marie's friends and family are hit with this smell of decomposition. It was like something inside of that house was rotting. Now, a neat freak like Ann Marie would never have let her apartment get to this state. And she also never left clutter out. But Kathleen and Robert saw some of her shoes were scattered on the closet floor instead of being, like, neatly lined up, A T shirt and a dress were lying on top of the bedroom furniture. And some food was actually sitting out on the counter, Almost like Anne Marie had gone grocery shopping Thursday night, but then had left it out instead of putting it away in anyone else's house. Maybe these little things wouldn't have been a big deal. I mean, it didn't look too messy. But everyone who knew Anne Marie also knew she would have found this setup unacceptable. She absolutely would not have left food on the counter, clothes on the bed or shoes on the floor. And most alarming of all, her purse was actually still sitting on the kitchen counter, and it had her wallet inside of it with her id, Credit cards, cash. I mean, why would she leave home without this? But there was no sign of her anywhere inside the apartment. Now, this is all incredibly suspicious. So once the police get involved, they took Anne Marie's disappearance very seriously. It was clear to them that she had gone missing due to foul play. And it didn't take long to identify a suspect. See, when the investigators go to the house and they read Anne Marie's diary, they talk to her friends. They heard and saw a lot of references to an ex boyfriend. All right, you guys, I'm getting into an ad. And let's be honest. Shopping is not as easy or as fun as it sounds. I've spent hours scrolling, zooming in, reading reviews, only to end up with a cart full of things that don't really feel right. And then you have a bunch of returns to make. And that is is where Stitch Fix makes it so much easier. If you don't know, Stitch Fix gives you a personal stylist that sends you pieces that match your Style, your size, everything in your budget. No guesswork, no stress. That's because you take a quiz. You let them know kind of what is up your alley. This personal shopper then shops for you. 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So you feel like this might be the thing to kind of get you going on your fashion journey. Go check it out again. Stitch fix.com into the Dark a Mochi
- [12:11]
Mayra Amit
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- [12:27]
Peyton Moreland
You're the best.
- [12:28]
Mayra Amit
Thanks, Mark. I'm Mayra Amit, founder of Mochi Health. To find your mochi moment, visit joinmochi.com
- [12:36]
Nordstrom Rack Announcer
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- [12:40]
Peyton Moreland
So before she had begun dating her current boyfriend, Mike, who was involved with all of this, trying to figure out where she was, Ann Marie had been involved with a particular man for three years. Through her job, she had met an aide named Tom Capano. Now, when you hear the word aid, you might picture someone who's entry level, maybe young, not very connected. But the truth was, Tom was powerful, rich and prominent. He already had a very successful career as a lawyer. He was now trying to get into politics. So in no time at all, Tom and Anne Marie fell for one another. They began to date. Except their relationship had to be a secret because Tom was actually married and he had Four children. Now, when he and Anne Marie began their affair, Tom promised her he definitely planned to eventually leave his wife for her. He said Anne Marie was just that special and important to him. He wanted to be with her. And at first, Anne Marie believed what Tom said. However, as time went on, it became clear that he wasn't as devoted as he had pretended to be. We may have a love bomber on our hands because, for one thing, Tom had a lot of other girlfriends. Tom had been cheating on his wife for almost his entire marriage. Decades. And he had told all of these women the same lie, that he loved them, he was going to leave his wife for them, and they'd be together for real. But he didn't actually really care about any of these girls. He only loved being able to control and manipulate them. One of his mistresses tried to leave him at one point, and Tom stalked her and threatened her. She actually never went to the police because she was embarrassed to admit that she'd been involved with a prominent married man. Now, in Anne Marie's case, Tom preyed on her vulnerabilities to keep her under his thumb. She'd opened up to him about her difficult childhood, struggling with her eating disorder. So whenever Anne Marie upset him or made him angry, he called her stupid, ugly, all sorts of nasty things. He tried to force Anne Marie to eat more, even though he knew it made her uncomfortable. He claimed it was because he was worried. But the truth was, his constant nagging and pushiness just made her feel even more insecure. Obviously, her symptoms become worse because this is the root of the problem. He also tried to make her feel ashamed about the way she'd grown up. Tom mocked Anne Marie and her family for being poor. He actually regularly referred to her as trash. And then whenever Anne Marie did things that made him happy, he showered her with praise and compliments. He said she was a princess who deserved to be adored and worshiped because of how wonderful she was. Tom also gave Anne Marie expensive gifts, except they obviously always came with strings attached. He would tell Anne Marie she had to return the favors or do nice things for him, and if she tried to just refuse the presence, he would push them on her even harder. So, in other words, he alternated between love bombing and verbal abuse to try and control Anne Marie, just one of his many mistresses. And this worked for a while. But by October of 1995, according to Anne Marie's diary, she was starting to see through the lines. In one entry, she called Tom a quote, controlling, manipulative, insecure, jealous, maniac, now, like I said, she and Tom had been together for about three years by this point. She realized he was not good enough for her and he wasn't someone she should probably stay with. And it had helped that she had recently met Mike, the man she would eventually go on to seriously date. And unlike Tom, Mike treated her with respect. He cared about her thoughts, opinions and goals, and also gave her the freedom to live her life without trying to control her. All of this to say, Ann Marie, at this point in her life, was realizing that it was possible to have a happy, healthy relationship with someone who treated her well. And she also recognized that wasn't ever going to happen while she stayed with Tom. So she tried to end things. Except, like his earlier mistresses, Tom did not take this rejection well. It probably didn't help that at this time, his life was actually basically falling apart. His wife had finally left, so Tom was going through a divorce and he was trying harder than ever to keep his remaining girlfriends under his control. Cuz he needed those second options, the validation to calm his insecurities. So as far as Anne Marie was concerned, he had basically ignored the fact that she'd broken up with him. He acted like he was still her boyfriend, calling her all the time, sending her emails, trying to make plans. And if she didn't reply fast enough, you'd call again and again. Sometimes she came home from work to find 15 to 20 messages on her answering machine, all from Tom. And when she continued to ignore him after that, he became angry. He'd send emails and leave messages where he lectured her on how rude it is to not call him back. He called her names, and then hours later, pleaded with her to let him make things right. He's crashing out. Okay. And when this didn't work and she still didn't want him back, he escalated to stalking her. Anne Marie actually told her friends that one time she came home to find Tom inside of her apartment. Keep in mind, she hadn't invited him over and he did not have a key. He shouldn't have been able to get in. This is when Anne Marie realized he'd climbed the fire escape to break in. So all of this to say Tom was acting very possessive and controlling in the months before she disappeared. And it gets even worse. As I mentioned before, Tom was emailing Anne Marie begging her to see him again. And eventually he wore her down. It seems like she agreed to have dinner with him on the night of June 27, 1996. And when the police looked at Tom's credit card records, they confirmed that he had bought an expensive meal for two that evening. So they contacted the waiters and employees at the restaurant, who confirmed it was Tom and Anne Marie that had been out together. Now, everyone agrees that the vibes that evening were weird. Tom and Anne Marie barely spoke to each other. It was pretty obvious she didn't want to be there. And the wildest thing is that the dinner is actually the last time Anne Marie was ever seen. So now that she's missing, seems pretty obvious to the police what had happened. They figured Anne Marie tried to go to this dinner to help talk Tom off the ledge, get him out of her life for good. And Tom had decided that if he couldn't have Anne Marie, nobody could. So he kidnapped or killed her. Now, the problem was that the investigators didn't have any evidence to back up those suspicions. They definitely needed more. So when they pulled Tom into an interrogation, he insisted he had had nothing to do with Anne Marie's disappearance, despite being the last person to see her alive. Instead, he admitted that, yeah, he had cheated on his wife with her. But according to him, after the two of them broke up, they basically decided to remain friends. So he's like, yeah, I did call her. I emailed her regularly because I wanted to meet up. We were friends. However, it wasn't because he was trying to control or scare her. He's just being a good buddy. Tom also said that in late June, right before the disappearance, Anne Marie had been acting a bit down and gloomy. So to cheer her up, he offered to take her out to dinner on that night, Thursday, June 27, the last night she was heard from. And he took her out to a restaurant that he knew she liked. And then, he says, he gave Annemarie a surprise. He knew she didn't make much money and couldn't always afford to buy things for herself. So he'd gone to the grocery store and stocked up on rice, fruit, vegetables, canned soup. It was nothing fancy, but he figured she would probably appreciate any help he could give her. So according to him, after dinner, Tom and Ann Marie went back to his place to pick up the groceries. And then when he dropped her off at home, he put all of the food out on the counter because he wasn't sure where she wanted it. But by that point, it was late. It was almost 10pm he said Anne Marie wanted to go to bed, and Tom knew he needed to head home. So he left. And according to him, that was the end of the night. He never heard from her again, and now she was missing. Now, immediately the police do not believe Tom's story. They knew about his history of control and abuse, stalking. They knew those were huge red flags, huge motive. But they still had no proof, which meant they had to consider other possibilities, chase alternative leads just to cover their bases. Which is why the police searched all of Anne Marie's neighbors houses. They were open to the possibility that maybe she may have been crossing, crashing with a friend for a few days just to get away. Maybe she'd run away. Tracking dogs scoured nearby parks and sidewalks in case she'd been walked out of her apartment, maybe was in an accident. And Anne Marie's friends and siblings hung missing persons posters all over town. They spoke to reporters on the news. They begged everyone to call a tip line. They saw Anne Marie or knew where she'd gone. And thanks to these efforts, before anyone knew it, Anne Marie was basically famous. Her disappearance had spread throughout the United States in 96. It was covered all over across the United States. Everybody knew who she was, that she'd gone missing, but no one seemed to know what actually happened to her. There was no sign she was at a friend's house or that she'd gone for a walk in the park or she was in an accident. No one called with tips. The investigation went nowhere. But all the while, the police never forgot their initial suspicions and they kept their eyes on ex boyfriend Tom, which I will say was a good thing because they'd eventually find the evidence they'd been looking for. But it did take a long time. So let's fast forward to early 1998, just after New Year's Day. This is about a year and a half since Anne Marie had gone missing. And still nobody knew what had happened to her. A year and a half later. And this whole time, ex boyfriend Tom had been living as a free man. And he had been openly dating one of his former mistresses. I mean, now that his wife left and he was officially divorced. Her name was Deborah McIntyre. She had been with Tom for almost 17 years, a 17 year long affair. And now they can finally be together for real. In fact, they'd been seeing one another almost the entire time he was married. Well, at the start of that year, the police learned that a month and a half before Ann Marie's disappearance, Deborah, this long term mistress, had bought a gun. And when the officers decide to ask her about it, she explained that it wasn't hers. Tom had asked her to buy it for him. And as soon as she had the firearm and the ammunition, he took it home and she Never saw it again. Now, the really creepy thing about all of this was the timing. Like I said, Debra purchased the gun 45 days before Anne Marie's disappearance. And the police knew from reading Tom's emails that he had spent all 45 of those days begging Ann Marie to meet up with him. He tried to convince her to meet him for coffee, for dinner, for picnics in the park. He'd seemed almost desperate to see her, and she'd rejected all of those offers until she finally agreed to have dinner with him on June 27, the last time she was ever seen. So basically, he got a gun from his long term mistress. He kept asking Anne Marie, his ex girlfriend or mistress, to go out, and as soon as she said yes, she vanished. This is pretty suspicious. Except all of this still doesn't prove that Tom had done anything. The police didn't even know if Anne Marie had actually been hurt or killed, let alone if she had been shot. But the information from Debra was enough for them to finally get a warrant to search Tom's house. And they also looked at his brother's homes as well, because the investigators figured there was a chance that his family may have helped him cover up the crime if he'd committed it. Tom actually had a younger brother named Gerald. He went by Jerry. And when the police searched Jerry's house, they still didn't find anything related to Annemarie's disappearance. But they did discover something that was almost as helpful. Jerry's home was full of drugs. So in this investigation, the officers arrested Jerry and charged him with possession, which could have landed him in prison for up to three years. And he's probably just like, oh, my, my dumb brother. Now my house is getting searched and they found my drugs. But police told him, hey, we are willing to make a deal. Quince is all about elevated essentials that feel effortless. Designed for layering and mixing, each piece helps build a timeless wardrobe made to last. You've listened to this podcast at all. You know, I love Quince. I love my silk skirts. I wear them all the time. I've had them for years. I've purchased more because I'm tired of washing and rewearing. I need. I need a thousand. I need a thousand Quinn silk skirts in all the lengths. I also got a makeup bag, like a travel bag from Quince that I love. My favorite thing about Quince is that it is high quality, like you can trust. Anything you're getting from there is going to feel good. It's going to look good. 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- [27:39]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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- [27:41]
Nordstrom Rack Announcer
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- [27:50]
Progressive Insurance Announcer
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- [27:52]
Peyton Moreland
Cause there's always something new.
- [27:54]
Nordstrom Rack Announcer
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- [28:08]
Peyton Moreland
If Jerry had any information about Anne Marie and if he shared it, they could go easy on him. Sure enough, that is when Jerry said, yeah, I know Anne Marie is dead. He said he had helped his brother Tom actually dispose of her body along with their other brother, Louie. Now when the police questioned Louis, he verified Jerry's testimony. They both told a story that was entirely consistent. Both his brothers turn on him and tell the same story. According to Jerry and Louis, they had never even suspected that Tom was a murderer. Instead, Tom had told his brothers that Anne Marie had actually taken her own life. His story was that after they had dinner on Thursday night, he and Anne Marie went back to his place. And while she was there, she took her own life in front of him while she was sitting on his couch. Tom said that he didn't want to call the police and explain what had happened because then he would have to tell everyone about the affair. His career and politics would be ruined. So he called Louis and Jerry to find a way to make Ann Marie's remains disappear. First they needed to carry her body out of Tom's home without anyone seeing. And luckily for them, Tom owned a giant cooler that he had used for fishing trips. It was really big. It could hold 40 and a half gallons of liquid. So Tom, Louis and Jerry come up with this idea to shove Ann Marie's body to into this cooler. It was hard to make her fit. I will say she was 5 foot 10. Do what you want with that. But eventually they managed to close the Lid of the cooler. And Jerry and Tom then drove all the way to New Jersey. They rented a boat and went out into the harbor. And that's when they pushed the cooler with Anne Marie inside into the water. Their hope was that everything would sink and the evidence would never be seen again. But according to them, the cooler doesn't sink. It floated and it bobbed on the waves. So Jerry tried shooting it with a gun. He figured if the cooler was full of holes, water would rush in, make it heavier. It would eventually sink, but it still doesn't work. So finally, the brothers gave up on their original plan. They fish the cooler back out of the water, open it, and tied weights around the body. They then shoved it back into the water and watched the body sink out of sight. They then left the cooler in the harbor as it was still floating. But they figured it didn't matter, because nobody would ever suspect that it had at once held the dead body in it. There was no longer a body in there. Except now Louis and Jerry's confession was all over the news. And sure enough, just one single day after the story broke, Fisherman came forward to the police. He said almost a year ago, he and a friend had been out in their boat when they'd seen a cooler floating in the water. At the time, it hadn't even occurred to them that it may have had anything to do with a disappearance. Instead, they thought that they were incredibly lucky. They figured some other fishermen must have lost their very expensive, high quality cooler, and now it was theirs to keep. So those men had fished it out of the water is so gross. They saw it had holes in it, but then figured it must have just gotten damaged while it was floating around the water. The holes were small enough that they were able to patch and repair them pretty easily. They did notice the cooler had a reddish pink stain on the bottom, but the fisherman assumed it was blood from fish that had been stored there. So all of this to say they didn't actually suspect anything. They kept it and they used it. That was until they saw the news story about Anne Marie's body being dumped in a cool originally. And then they were like and turned it over to the police right away. And when the detectives looked at the repaired holes, they determined they were the right size and shape to be from bullets. The color and model of the cooler matched Tom's brother's story. Even more importantly, the cooler actually had a barcode on the side. And when the officers scanned it, they learned exactly when and where the cooler had been purchased. And they compared that Information to the receipt from when Tom had bought his cooler. And it was a perfect match. Now remember, the brother's story is that Anne Marie killed herself and they were just helping their brother. Let's just say the officers don't believe this. They thought Tom destroyed her body after taking her life. So he was charged with first degree murder. Right away, he hired an attorney. But the problem was Tom had worked as a lawyer before he became a politician. And now that he was facing serious charges, he tried to tell his attorneys how to do their jobs. He's basically butting heads with them. The advice he gave was bad. Tom just kept insisting he knew better. He knew better. He used to be a lawyer. I already discussed how arrogant and controlling he had been when he was dating Anne Marie. Now his behavior was just as bad. It was like he always needed to be in charge and in control, even when his own life and freedom were on the line. Some of his lawyers actually quit because they were fed up with his attitude. Others left his team when they realized they didn't believe he was innocent and weren't willing to help him get away with murder. Each time someone resigned, he just hired someone new. And he was constantly cycling through attorneys from the time of his arrest until his trial began. Now, it probably won't surprise you to hear that this meant Tom's legal strategy just wasn't very strong. The judge and jury saw him as arrogant and selfish. When the prosecutors read the emails that he had sent to Anne Marie, it became pretty clear he had been manipulative and very verbally abusive too. But his biggest mistake came when Tom decided to take the stand and testify on his own behalf. Because when he gets up there at trial, Tom changes his story again. He now claimed that Anne Marie had been killed by his other girlfriend, Deborah, the long term mistress who bought the gun. According to Tom, he and Anne Marie had gone out to dinner that night and then they had come back to the apartment. So far, he was consistent with this part, except now he said that once they got home, they sat on the couch and watched TV together. And then around 11 o' clock, when their show was ending, Deborah walked in. Tom claims he didn't even know she was at his place because she actually just walked into the room. But he had given her a key. So he was like, maybe she was here the whole time in a bedroom. The point is, he wasn't asking any questions because he claims when she walked in, she had a gun in her hands. Tom testified that Deborah was furious and jealous. She couldn't Believe she'd come in to find him with another woman. And as the other woman totally vibes like, why would you think he would have another woman? That was sarcasm, by the way. Her behavior was so erratic that Tom only had one thought in his head. He needed to get that gun out of her hands. He was afraid Deborah might hurt Anne Marie or herself. So Tom on stand claims he ran toward her and tried to take the firearm. But Deborah didn't let go. And soon they were wrestling over it. That's when it went off by accident. The bullet finally hit Anne Marie. And according to Tom, this is when he panicked. Not because he was worried about his own reputation, but because he claims he was afraid for Deborah. He feared that if the police learned she had brought the gun to his house and killed Anne Marie, they would never believe it was an accident. Even though he knows and she knows it was, he says she would go to prison for the rest of her life. Which is why he now admitted he'd been lying the whole time. To the police, to his brothers, to his own family. He's like, it wasn't to protect me. It was to protect Debra, my 17 year long girlfriend. And this whole case was the result of a horrible but definitely preventable accident. I'm not guilty of first degree murder. I'm just guilty of protecting people. Now, let's just say nobody believed this story. And Tom wasn't doing himself any favors when he was telling obvious lies and contradicting himself. Plus, no one thought he would ever actually take the fall to protect Debra or anyone. He was just too self absorbed. I mean, at one point, the police found evidence that he had tried to take out a hit on one of the prosecuting attorneys. And the fact that this wasn't even the biggest twist in this case tells you something. The trial was not going well for Tom at all. Now, during jury deliberations, the jurors all agreed that he had done it. The only problem was they couldn't agree on whether the crime was premeditated, which could determine whether Tom would be found guilty of first degree murder or something less serious. So during the trial, the prosecutors had pointed out that Tom bought the gun 45 days in advance or Deborah did. But for him, he had purchased the fishing cooler even though he didn't fish or own a boat. They are like, listen, he was planning something. But in spite of that, some jurors weren't convinced. They thought he may have shot Anne Marie in just a heat of a moment argument back at his house. Now, it took a Lot of deliberation to go over the details and get nearly everyone into agreement. Ultimately, 11 of 12 jurors ruled that Tom was guilty of first degree murder. And when they shared their verdict, they also sentenced him to death. Except in the state of Delaware, it is illegal to give the death penalty if a jury isn't unanimous. Not in guilt, but in the varying degree. And since one juror said they didn't believe Tom had premeditated the murder, he was able to get the sentence overturned. The courts decided he should just spend life in prison instead. And that's exactly what happened. Tom remained behind bars until he died. On September 19, 2011. He was found in his cell. He had passed away due to cardiac arrests. Tom was 61 years old. And just like the disappearance, his death was pretty big news. All across the country, reporters and journalists ran his obituary and reflected on the murder case. Like I said before, this was an enormous story. When it happened, it seemed like everyone was kind of fascinated with Anne Marie because her case involved wealth, power, affairs, politics, domestic violence, murder. The list goes on. There are even still unsolved mysteries surrounding her because to this day, Anne Marie hasn't been found. The sad thing is that Anne Marie moved to Wilmington, Delaware to become somebody. Remember, if I can paraphrase the town motto, and instead, she lost her life and never got to achieve the things she'd wanted to. She's no longer known for her ambition, for what she'd worked so hard for, but rather for what was done to her, which is also just another violation and another tragedy to add on to this entire case. That is the story of Ann Marie Fahey. And I will see you next time as we go further into the dark together. Goodbye.
- [39:58]
Heidi Wong
I'm Heidi Wong, an artist, poet and creator. And if you've seen my TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, you'll know I'm obsessed with horror movies. And every Monday on my new podcast from crime house Twisted Tales, I'll take you deep into the real life events that inspired the world's most terrifying terrifying blockbusters and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Twisted Tales is a crime house original podcast powered by Pave Studios. Watch Every Monday on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.