267. The Deadly Friend - The Murder of Lori Ann Slesinski

Summary

Murder With My Husband: Episode 267 – The Deadly Friend: The Murder of Lori Ann Slesinski

Host/Authors: Peyton Moreland and Garrett Moreland
Release Date: May 5, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Case

In Episode 267 of Murder With My Husband, hosts Peyton and Garrett Moreland delve into the mysterious disappearance and subsequent murder of Lori Ann Slesinski. This true crime episode meticulously unpacks the timeline, suspects, and eventual resolution of a case that spanned over a decade.

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2. Lori's Background and Disappearance

Lori Ann Slesinski, a 24-year-old psychology and criminology graduate, was known for her friendly and outgoing nature. Born on September 21, 1981, Lori moved from New York to a rural Alabama farm at age 13, where she thrived academically and socially. By 2006, Lori was working at the East Alabama Mental Health Center and leading a fulfilling life enriched with hobbies like bike riding and recreational sports.

On June 10, 2006, Lori had plans for a Girls Night out with friends at Lindsay Braun’s home. At approximately 6:30 PM ([05:00] in the transcript), Lori informed Lindsay that she would stop by a store to pick up drink mixes before joining the gathering. However, Lori never arrived. Shortly after, Lindsay noticed Lori's car was missing, and the trailer home was left unlocked, raising immediate concerns.

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3. Initial Investigation and Suspicion on Rick Ennis

As days passed without any sign of Lori, her friend Lindsay and her mother Arlene grew increasingly worried. During their investigation, Lindsay discovered that Lori had a friend named Rick Ennis, the last person known to have seen Lori alive. Initially, Rick was cooperative, but his claims soon raised red flags. He stated, “[06:30] 'We were actually growing marijuana together,'” a statement that seemed out of character for Lori, who had no known history with drugs.

Despite these suspicions, Detective Garrett expressed skepticism: “[05:20] Garrett Moreland: Honestly. This is why you don't trust anyone except yourself.” The lack of physical evidence and conflicting statements made it difficult for the police to build a strong case against Rick at the time.

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4. Cold Case and New Evidence

Years passed without resolution, and the case went cold. In 2016, the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations’ cold case unit, led by Special Agent Mark Whitaker, reopened Lori’s case. Delving into old evidence, Whitaker discovered an unopened report from 2007 indicating that Rick’s DNA was found on Lori’s bed sheets and the blood on her front door.

Additionally, a critical piece of evidence emerged when Rick’s former roommate revealed that Rick had left behind three rugs previously removed from Lori’s home. DNA analysis later showed Rick’s blood on one of these rugs, further implicating him in Lori’s disappearance.

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5. Rick Ennis's Arrest and Trial

The breakthrough came on August 6, 2018, when Rick Ennis was arrested in Virginia. Over the years, Rick's criminal history unraveled, revealing a troubling past that included the murder of his parents at the age of 12. This history, combined with the new DNA evidence, solidified the case against him.

During the trial, Rick maintained his innocence, claiming that any interactions with Lori were consensual. However, the overwhelming evidence, including DNA ties and circumstantial links to Lori’s disappearance, led to his conviction. The jury found Rick guilty of two counts of capital murder, burglary, and kidnapping after deliberating for two days.

One poignant moment in the episode captures Peyton's reflection on closure:

“[40:49] Peyton Moreland: So on August 6, 2018, Rick is celebrating his 37th birthday in his new home in rural Virginia. ... the Slacinski family had a piece of it.”

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6. Conclusions and Reflections

Despite Rick Ennis’s conviction, Lori’s body has never been found, leaving lingering questions about the final hours of her life. Her mother, Arlene, chose not to pursue the death penalty to avoid prolonged legal battles, instead accepting a life sentence for Rick. The episode concludes with the hosts emphasizing the emotional toll on Lori’s family and the enduring mystery surrounding her disappearance.

Garrett encapsulates the sense of incomplete justice:

“[41:08] Garrett Moreland: It’s sad when the parents can't have...you never even get full closure…”

Peyton echoes this sentiment, highlighting the ongoing quest for Lori’s final resting place and the hope that Rick may one day reveal the truth behind her disappearance.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Peyton Moreland ([05:20]): “Today we are going to dial the clock back to 2006. We are traveling to Auburn, Alabama to meet the 24-year-old Lori Ann Slesinski.”

• Garrett Moreland ([05:20]): “Honestly. This is why you don't trust anyone except yourself.”

• Peyton Moreland ([19:24]): “He was a demon. Needs to go back to where he came from.”

• Peyton Moreland ([40:30]): “The only thing anyone really wants to hear from Rick is, where is Lori's body?”

• Garrett Moreland ([41:08]): “It’s sad when the parents can't have... you never even get full closure.”

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Final Thoughts

Episode 267 of Murder With My Husband offers a compelling exploration of Lori Ann Slesinski’s tragic story, illustrating the complexities of a cold case and the pursuit of justice over an extended period. Through detailed narration and insightful commentary, Peyton and Garrett Moreland shed light on the challenges faced by investigators and the enduring impact on the families involved.

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Transcript

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Unknown]

Dear old work platform. It's not you, it's us. Actually, it is you. Endless onboarding, constant IT bottlenecks. We've had enough. We need a platform that just gets us. And to be honest, we've met someone new. They're called Monday.com and love at first onboarding. Their beautiful dashboards, their customizable workflows got us floating on a digital cloud. 9. So no hard feelings, but we're moving on. Monday.com, the first work platform you'll love to use.

[Peyton Moreland]

You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland.

[Garrett Moreland]

And I am Garrett Moreland.

[Peyton Moreland]

And he's the husband.

[Garrett Moreland]

I'm the husband. Happy Monday. Happy May. Happy life. Yeah, I don't know. What's the date? What's the date? This Monday, May 5th. Nothing really going on in the 5th.

[Peyton Moreland]

Not after the 4th.

[Garrett Moreland]

That's what I'm saying. May the 4th be with you. You know what I'm saying?

[Peyton Moreland]

I hate that.

[Garrett Moreland]

Hope everyone's doing good. My hair is. My hair's coming in. You guys might be sick of me hearing that, but I'm gonna say it. I played pickleball this morning and I am tired. It's sunny outside. It's getting warm. Peyton and I are probably. This is my 10 seconds, by the way. Peyton and I are probably going to go on a date night tonight. Don't know where we're going. We could end up at Texas Roadhouse. You know, or we could end up at, I don't know, somewhere else nicer restaurant. But Texas Roadhouse does hit sometimes.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah, I like the rolls.

[Garrett Moreland]

Hope you guys are all doing good. We love you. Thank you for buying our merch. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for listening. Thank you for downloading, reviewing, commenting, liking everything. We seriously appreciate it so much. We love that we can do this and be here with you guys every Monday.

[Peyton Moreland]

That's sweet.

[Garrett Moreland]

Thanks. That's what I got to my 10.

[Peyton Moreland]

Seconds is all right you guys, we are going to get into the sources for this week. Lawncrime.com CBS News.com Charlieproject.org Basement Fort Productions.com Sandhills Express.com WTVM.com WHNT.com WRBL.com Moncova.com TheSun.com FindAGrave.com WSFA.com and WJTV.com FindAGrave.com can you.

[Garrett Moreland]

Just find anyone's grave in the world.

[Peyton Moreland]

If it's uploaded on there? So no, you can't find just anyone's interesting.

[Garrett Moreland]

I didn't know that.

[Peyton Moreland]

So most of us have friends from all different chapters in our life, right? We have our childhood friends, our college. Then there's the newer adulthood friends, work colleagues, other parents, neighbors. And the whole point of establishing a new friendship is getting to know someone on a more personal level. What interests do they have? What are their personalities like? What happened to them in the past? But there's no way to know it all. And even with those friends that you've had for decades, how can you be so sure that you ever know their full truth?

[Garrett Moreland]

That's why I don't have friends.

[Peyton Moreland]

Exactly. Because while a friendship is built on honesty, trust and loyalty, it doesn't mean that someone has to reveal all of their secrets to you. So today I want you to ask yourself, how well do you really know the friends in your life? Even the closest ones? Do you know what their parents do for a living? Do you know what happened in their home when they were young? And how shocked would you be if you found out that this long term friend had an entire chapter of their life that they never shared with you? One that ultimately could save your life if you only knew the truth.

[Garrett Moreland]

Honestly. This is why you don't trust anyone except yourself. I know some people might disagree with that, but I love my wife. I love her very much. Do I trust her 100%? 99. That extra 1%? You just never know. You don't. You're not Them, you never know.

[Peyton Moreland]

I don't trust Daisy. She woke me up three times last night. Okay, so today we are going to dial the clock back to 2006. We are traveling to Auburn, Alabama to meet the 24 year old Lori Ann Slicinski. Now, Lori, who was born on September 21, 1981, isn't an Alabama native. She, her older brother Paul and her parents, Arlene and Casey are all originally from New York. Though by 1994 when Lori was 13, the family moved down south to to a rural Alabama farm to start a slower life than the one they lived in New York, which was amazing for Laurie because she loved animals. So Lori was more than thrilled to have an entire hoard of new pets she could take care of. And that happiness Lori felt in this move to Alabama also shined through in other areas of her life. Friends said she was always incredibly friendly, outgoing, warm and nurturing. She excelled in school even though she moved at 13. So much so that she was the valedictorian of her high school class when she graduated. Which was why when Lori got accepted to Auburn University around 2001, her parents offered to get her something special. They bought her her own little mobile home to live in, right outside of campus. Now, I'm not sure how far away Lori's parents were living at the time, but I know it was far enough for them to wor about Lori quite a bit. Lori's mom Arlene would call and check on her every day just to see how college life was going. But Lori was thriving there just as much as she was back home. She was getting a degree in psychology and criminology. And after graduating in 2005, she actually had plans to go on and pursue a master's degree. Now around that time, Lori also adopted a little dog that she named Peanut was the love of her life after probably missing all of her pets back home. And she got a job at the East Alabama Mental Health Center. Now for Lori, this was just a stepping stone. Until she completed her masters. She thought the job was okay. It was a lot of work for the low salary she was being paid. But it still left time for her other hobbies. Bike riding, recreational sports, video games, and of course, plenty of time to just be a young 20 something enjoying her day with her friends. Which was exactly what Lori was up to on the Saturday afternoon of June 10, 2006. Now that day, Laurie was hanging out with her friend, 25 year old Rick Ennis. But that evening she had plans to meet up with a few friends for a Girls Night. Just some drinks and a movie. It was nothing wild. So around 6:30pm that night, Laurie calls her friend Lindsay Braun, who was going to be hosting this girl's night. And she tells Lindsay, hey, I'm just going to swing by the store in a few minutes, pick up some drink mixes and then I'll head over to your house. Lindsay's like, great, yeah, we'll see you at girls night soon. 7pm rolls around and Lori's a little late. But not by much, though. That's when Lindsay gets another call from her. It rings once, so Lindsay doesn't even get to the phone in time to answer it. But she does, see it was Laurie who called, so she calls her back. Only there's no answer now. In fact, it goes straight to voicemail. And then an hour goes by. Lori never shows up. Another hour, another hour. Lori does not come to Girls Night at all, despite calling and saying, I'm picking up drinks now and on the way. So the whole thing is weird and definitely out of character for Laurie, which is why the following day, June 11, Lindsay, her friend, starts calling her and leaving her a bunch of voicemails on her home answering machine. Now, the day after that, Monday, June 12, Lori doesn't make it to work for her shift at the mental health center. She's a no call, no show. Same thing the following afternoon, Tuesday, June 13th. Now, from what I can tell, Lindsay also used to work at this mental health center with Lori. So when she hears from one of her former co workers that, hey, Lori literally just like, didn't show up to work and didn't even call, Lindsay's like, oh my gosh, she never came to my house. She's not answering my phone. She knows something is up, something is not right. So Lindsay drives over to Lori's trailer home that day, and when she gets there, she finds that her friend Lori's car is gone. So she doesn't expect her to be home. But her door to her trailer is unlocked, so Lindsay lets herself in. She walks around hesitantly, not knowing what she's gonna find. Feels a little weird. And while she doesn't see Laurie in the trailer home, she does find Lori's dog, Peanut there. He's locked away in his crate, but he's wagging his tail. He seems to have been fed. His crate isn't soiled, which to her says someone has been letting him out and taking care of him. Maybe that's a good sign. Like maybe Lori actually has been around. But there's a few other things that Definitely make Lindsay question the situation. For example, Laurie usually has three little rugs on the floor of her kitchen because Peanut would slip on the tile, so she put it down to make it easier. But now they're gone, as was Laurie's trash bin outside her home. And a bin Lindsay knew Lori kept all of her gardening tools in. And then, even stranger, Lindsay had left Lori a lot of messages that weekend. Like, first, she just skips girls night, never says why she's not answering the phone. But when she goes to the answering machine, Lindsay notices that the machine has been unplugged. So none of her messages have been saved. So as Lindsay is doing her own little investigation in Lori's trailer, Lori's mother Arlene is also getting a call from Lori's boss at work saying, hey, we're a bit worried. We haven't seen or heard from your daughter in two days. So Arlene hops in her car and races to Auburn, to Lori's house. And when she gets there and finds Lindsay there, Arlene also finds something else that's a bit unsettling. The phone in her bedroom. And Lori's bedroom is missing its cord. So this is definitely scary enough for Arlene to call the police that day after learning everything Lindsay knows as well.

[Garrett Moreland]

You know, it's kind of funny. I bet there's people, I mean, I don't know, maybe not that are younger, that are listening, that probably have no idea.

[Peyton Moreland]

Like, why is it a big deal to. What's that?

[Garrett Moreland]

A phone even had a cord.

[Peyton Moreland]

They're like the charging.

[Garrett Moreland]

Like, what?

[Peyton Moreland]

And that, like, that is a big deal that the cord's unplugged and the answering machines unplugged.

[Garrett Moreland]

Home phones. It's kind of crazy that that's not a thing anymore. I know.

[Peyton Moreland]

Bring it back.

[Garrett Moreland]

I know.

[Peyton Moreland]

It was so fun. I loved just going in my dad's office, picking that phone up, calling my bestie. Can you play? So Arlene calls the police, her mother. And when they arrive at the scene, the police notice a few other other things that Lindsay and Arlene had actually missed. For one, they point out that Laurie's front door looks a little splintered and broken. And they find a small amount of blood on Lori's front door as well. So police bag a bunch of other evidence while they're there, including Laurie's bed sheets. And in the meantime, they learn from Lindsay that Laurie was actually with someone before she failed to come over that night. A few nights ago on Girls Night, remember, it was her old friend Rick Ennis. Now Lindsay knew Rick was the last person to see Laurie that night. But to her, that wasn't at all alarming when Laurie went missing, because Laurie and Rick had a good friendship. They met back when she was still a student at Auburn University, but not through school. Lori actually went to the bowling alley where Rick worked and the two got to know each other that way and became friends. Now, the friendship was always just platonic between the two of them, though. Even in December of 2005, when Lori asked her mother, hey, can I invite my friend Rick over for Christmas dinner? He doesn't have any family. And Arlene told her, yeah, of course. So even her mother had met Rick. Arlene said Rick was polite and friendly, that she also had no reason to question him or his intentions. But when Rick is called in by police for questioning, he tells police about another side of his missing friend Lori, one that seemingly her mother and her best friend Lindsay were not aware of. Rick tells police, yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand what you're saying. Lori's missing and we were actually growing marijuana together. And that on the night of June 10, Lori left him to go to Lindsay's. But first she had to make a drop, and it was to a few shady characters that definitely might have had something to do with her disappearance.

[Garrett Moreland]

Now that's crazy. I don't.

[Peyton Moreland]

Police like Garrett are a little hesitant to believe the story, but only because they find zero evidence that Lori's been growing or dealing weed out of her trailer. But before they can even fully look into Rick's claim, there is a major break in the case the following afternoon on Wednesday, June 14th.

[Garrett Moreland]

Okay.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now that day, around 4:41 in the morning, police get a call that a car has just exploded in a cul de sac outside of a construction site. And when they ask about, okay, what's the make in the model? They HEAR It's a 2005 Mazda tribute. Now, police know Lori, who's missing, drives a 2005 Mazda tribute. So they rush over to the scene, terrified of what they're going to find inside of the vehicle. And they are somewhat relieved to discover that Laurie is not inside of it, but it is 100% her car. So now the question is, who would do this? Did Lori blow up her own vehicle and flee the scene? Likely not. But police find a few clues near the car as well. First, they find a hand rolled cigarette, which they collect as evidence. And second, an empty gas tank in the woods close by. Now remember, just a few hours before this explosion, police were questioning her good friend Rick ennis now, all of a sudden, they are standing in front of Lori's torched car. To them, they're like, we pull them in, we put on the pressure, and now her car comes up burnt. They don't feel like it's a coincidence, you guys. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Garrett and I have used Rocket Money for years, to be honest, and it genuinely is so, so good, you guys. I would recommend it to anyone who is wanting to just be more in control of their finances. So you can actually see all of your subscriptions in one place, know exactly where your money's going and the ones you don't want anymore. Rocket Money can actually help you cancel those. You can also easily create a personalized budget with custom categories to help keep spending on track. You can see your monthly spending trends in each category to know exactly where your money is going. Rocket Money will even try to negotiate lower bills for you. They automatically scan your bills to find opportunities to save, and then you can ask them to negotiate for you. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when they use all of the app's premium features again.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Unknown]

Ugh. Endless onboarding. It bottlenecks admin requests. But what if things were different?

[Garrett Moreland]

We found love in an open.

[Unknown]

Monday.com is different. No lengthy onboarding, beautiful reports in minutes, custom workflows you can build on your own, easy to use prompt, free AI. Huh. Turns out you can love a work management platform. Monday.com, the first work platform you'll love to use.

[Peyton Moreland]

Which is why that day, they actually decide to get Rick back in for another interrogation. Especially because Lori's parents tell police when they report back to them what Rick had said. There's no way their daughter was growing and selling weed. She's never even been into drugs. She was valedictorian. She's going on to get her masters to them. Rick's gotta be lying. And police are starting to suspect that, too, because this time they noticed something they didn't before. Rick has some Scratches on his arms and hands. And when they ask him about him, like, hey, what happened? He doesn't really give them an answer. He also changes some of his stories from what he had told the police the day before.

[Garrett Moreland]

I think that if he is lying, telling the police that they grow marijuana together is pretty far fetched.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah, it's kind of crazy.

[Garrett Moreland]

It's not a great lie.

[Peyton Moreland]

But if you're trying to make it seem like she was around dangerous people, you would have to tell a lie.

[Garrett Moreland]

That she grew marijuana instead of being like, oh, like, we deal it, we deal it. Or I don't know, we smoke a lot. I don't know. You know what I'm saying?

[Peyton Moreland]

I think he, if it's fake in his mind, he just needed to get her around shady people.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it.

[Peyton Moreland]

So at this point, police are like, we're not sure about this Rick guy. We're gonna get a warrant to search his car. And this is where things in the case really take a turn. Inside of Rick Ennis's car, the last person that they know of to see Lori alive, they find a knife, a pair of fuzzy handcuffs, tiki torches, flare bottles, air fresheners, a scrub brush, and a giant box of cleaning supplies. Now, when Rick is asked about some of this stuff in his car, he says, I can't explain the brush and cleaning supplies because his dog has her period once a month since she isn't fixed. So, you know, he's like, she's always in my car, I gotta clean it up.

[Garrett Moreland]

If anyone knows animals, dogs do not have their periods once a month.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah. They go into heat twice a year.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

So police are like, bro, this is definitely a lie. That does not add up. But the more Rick talks, the more he just keeps digging himself into a hole. And the more police begin to talk to other people who know Rick, the worse he he looks. So remember that empty gas can police found close to the burnt car?

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

Well, they speak to a friend and co worker of Rick's who also worked at the bowling alley named Jeremy. And Jeremy tells police this. On June 9, the day before Lori went missing, Rick called Jeremy at his house to ask him for a favor. He says, hey, my car ran out of gas. Could you possibly run some over to me? I am parked at a local church in Auburn. So Jeremy, being a good friend is like, yeah, sure. He grabs an empty gas can he sees lying around behind the bowling alley, gets it filled, brings it to Rick. Rick says, hey, can I keep the empty gas can? And Jeremy Tells him no. He's like, I borrowed it from the bowling alley. I don't. It doesn't belong to me. But that's not even the strangest part. Jeremy watches Rick start his car with zero troubles after this. And Jeremy knows cars, so he knows that when they completely run out of gas and then get a boost like this, it kind of usually takes a few revs of the engine to get it back going again. Jeremy doesn't really think too much of it. He brings the can back to where it goes about his day. But a day or two later, he realizes, oh, that gas can that he had dropped off to Jeremy and brought back is now missing. Which makes him really suspicious of Rick when he hears about missing Lori's car exploding on June 14th. Especially because he knew something about Rick that not a lot of other people knew. And what was it?

[Garrett Moreland]

I don't know.

[Peyton Moreland]

Rick was in love with Lori, okay? He'd written her a letter and had given it to her just a few days before Lori vanished. And when Jeremy asked Rick, hey, how did it go? He didn't offer up much, but Jeremy could tell didn't seem to go the way Rick wanted. It seemed like Rick had finally confessed the secret love to his friend, and Laurie didn't return his affections. This is a statement which was also validated by Lindsay Braun. Remember Lori's best friend. She said Laurie had told her about the letter, but wasn't at all interested in being romantic with Rick, that she really just wanted to keep it platonic. And seemingly Rick had accepted that since the two were still hanging out on the night she vanished. Or maybe Rick wasn't accepting it. Here's what's interesting, though. If you recall, Lori told Lindsay she was going to pick up some mixers and then head over to Lindsay's house right before she went missing. And Lori is found on security camera footage at Walmart shopping shortly after making that call to her friend. And even more interesting, she appears to be alone. So she was with Rick when she made that call, but then she's alone in the Walmart after telling her friend, she'll be right over. Almost like, yeah, I said goodbye to one friend, went to Walmart. But then she disappears. So police have to consider the possibility that maybe Rick wasn't with her when she vanished. And while Rick does appear to have a motive and definitely some shady circumstantial evidence. The scratches, the things in his car, the gas can story, police think they just don't have enough to build a case against him for trial. So what happens? Rick is not arrested. Instead, Rick begins trying to sell off a bunch of his things, his motorcycle. And then less than a week after Lori's car is found, he moves, he moves out of Auburn, Alabama.

[Garrett Moreland]

That's so annoying.

[Peyton Moreland]

To South Carolina.

[Garrett Moreland]

Come on, guys.

[Peyton Moreland]

But the following year. So the case has grown cold. They think they know who did it. They have no evidence. Rick's former roommate from Auburn decides to randomly go into the police station one day. I don't know what took him so long, but he has some pretty interesting evidence. He says, hey, like this whole thing happened a year ago, all this drama. Rick gets up and leaves, sells everything. But he left behind three rugs when he moved out. And I think they might be of interest to you. Lo and behold, those three rugs were the ones Lindsay and Arlene noticed was missing from Lori's kitchen floor at her house. The ones she had so Peanut could walk on the tile floor.

[Garrett Moreland]

Why would he leave them behind? That's insane.

[Peyton Moreland]

Well, the former roommate says Rick told him they were a gift from Lori. But this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Rick Ennis. Because the more police keep digging, the more they realize Lori clearly had no idea who she was friends with. So I'm going to jump back into Rick's past now. It's 1993 in Montgomery, Alabama. On March 5th, a police dispatcher gets a call from a random driver saying a car appears to have driven off the highway. It struck a fence, so they should send someone out to make sure everyone's okay. And then a state trooper named John Clark is sent to this scene. And as he gets there, his headlights shine on what appears to be a boy, like not much more than 12 years old. So the state trooper Clark gets out and asks the 12 year old if he's okay. And the boy says he's fine, but then tells the state trooper, I've actually stolen my parents car. So Clark searches the kid's backpack, which the kid is cooperative about. And that's when Clark finds a kitchen knife and some loose ammunition in the kid's backpack. Now Clark's like, all right kid, you're gonna have to come down to the station with me so we can call your parents like you drove the car off the highway. That's when the 12 year old looks Clark dead in the eyes and says, you can't call my parents. I killed them both. And something about the way this kid, this young kid says it, like something about the way he says it tells Clark that he's not joking. He's not messing around. So they immediately send police over to the boy's home address and sure enough, they find the dead bodies of his mother, Dolly Flowers, who had been shot and beaten to death with a baseball bat.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, my gosh.

[Peyton Moreland]

As well as the body of the boy's stepfather, Happening Eddie Flowers, who had also been shot.

[Garrett Moreland]

And he's not in prison for the rest of his life.

[Peyton Moreland]

Well, apparently the bodies at the house had been dead for at least two days by that point, which according to witnesses, didn't stop that little boy from going to school in the meantime. So he shot and killed his parents, kept going to school, and then two days later stole the car and ended up driving it off the highway. Who's this little boy?

[Garrett Moreland]

Rick.

[Peyton Moreland]

12 year old Rick Ennis. Rick told police he did it because his parents had been wanting to move and he didn't want to switch schools. But the police find something else chilling inside of this house. It's a hit list. And on it were the names of Rick's three stepsisters as well, who luckily Rick did not get to in time to kill. Now, under Alabama law, Rick was only sentenced to nine years in a juvenile detention center for this crime.

[Garrett Moreland]

That is absolutely insane.

[Peyton Moreland]

This actually happens a bit.

[Garrett Moreland]

I don't understand. I know some people might disagree and their children and yeah, that child's a demon. Needs to go back to where he came from.

[Peyton Moreland]

So When Rick turns 21, that's insane. 2002, he is released. It was around this time that he moved to Auburn with this huge secret that he had served a prison sentence for murdering his parents.

[Garrett Moreland]

I just, I'm sorry, I just don't understand how the system thinks that this 12 year old boy brutally killed two.

[Peyton Moreland]

People and had a hit list for more.

[Garrett Moreland]

Okay, if we put him in prison for nine years and we let him out, he probably won't do it anymore. Right? Like we're. I think we'll be okay. Blows my mind. Blows my mind.

[Peyton Moreland]

He moves to Auburn. He starts a new life. He gets a job at a bowling alley and happens to meet Lori and.

[Garrett Moreland]

Oh, what a nightmare.

[Peyton Moreland]

So here's what's wild though. As police are investigating Lori's case, they know this about Rick and they still don't think they have enough evidence to prosecute him. And a big part of that is the fact that they don't even know if they have a murder case. There is no body. Lori's body is still missing. And I hate this so much, but this department is really operating On a no body, no crime mentality here. This is despite the fact that the tips against Rick Ennis keep coming into the Auburn Police Department, including one from a new co worker Rick made living in South Carolina. The witness actually called the police and says, they asked Rick, oh, what made you move out of Auburn? And Rick flat out told them, I got into trouble there. I needed to get the heck out of Dodge. But there's more. Rick also told this co worker that he'd been talking to a woman in Auburn, but she only wanted to be friends, so he strangled her.

[Garrett Moreland]

He told someone this.

[Peyton Moreland]

He tells his co worker this. He described this woman as a piece of, quote, trailer park trash, which, might I add, her parents had bought her that home to live in while she goes to college. And also just rude. Now, once this witness does this research, they see there's a missing girl in Auburn and an open investigation into her death, which is why they called the Auburn police with this information. This girl lived in a trailer park. And the co worker's like, this guy's weird. He just, like, confessed to murdering someone. I don't know if he's true, Looks into it, and is like, oh, my gosh, I have to tell the police. And still it goes nowhere. Ten years after Lori's disappearance, the case is in the same spot as it was before. It's not until 2016, when the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations creates their cold case unit, that Lori's disappearance gets the attention it deserves. Special Agent Mark Whitaker is the one to take the lead on Lori's case in 2016. And immediately he's baffled by how much evidence there is against Rick Ennis. He's like, we don't even have. Like, we have the guy. And he's still out here living life like nothing happened. He and a partner are spending their days digging through old files, trying to build a case against Rick, when one night around one in the morning, Mark's partner calls him, says, hey, I just found an old box of evidence and files. It's literally collecting dust. And inside was an envelope that had never even been opened or read by the authorities. It was in regards to the evidence that had been collected from Lori's trailer. And this unopened report said that Rick's DNA was found. His semen was found on Lori's bed sheets and in the blood on the front door of her mobile home.

[Garrett Moreland]

Got it.

[Peyton Moreland]

Which means if Lori wasn't interested in Rick romantically, like she told her friend, Rick had likely assaulted Lori and had clearly gotten into a violent Scuffle with her inside her house for the blood to be on the door. This was a report from 2007, nine years earlier. And because someone didn't open it, nobody knew that Rick Ennis had DNA at her house. You guys, I am so excited to talk to you about Spot and Tango. You guys know we love Daisy. We would do anything for her. And that is why we switched to Spot and Tango. Daisy's been having itchy skin and I really do feel like Spot and Tango's Unkibble has helped. It's been a total upgrade and Daisy eats it up. It's her favorite thing in the world. Spot and Tango's Unkibble is everything regular Kibble isn't. It's made with real human grade ingredients and personalized to what your dog actually needs. It's dry food you can feel good about. And it's pantry friendly too.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

I think you know, it's come out recently how important our dog's food is for their health. But yeah, I mean, this frozen food, this fresh food is expensive. And that's why you should use Spot and Tango un kibble.

[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

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[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

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[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

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[Garrett Moreland]

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[Peyton Moreland]

By the way, Mark also finds the three rugs that Rick's roommate handed over to police when he moved. And once he sends those through DNA analysis, they find Rick's blood on one of those as well. But it doesn't stop there. Lori's car was too destroyed in the blaze to gather any evidence off of it. But remember that there was some stuff collected near the explosion. One of them was a rolled cigarette butt. This was something they never sent out for DNA testing back at the time, but now Mark and his team made sure to get it analyzed. Rick's DNA is all over that cigarette butt that is found near her burnt car, which means he's now also tied to blowing up Lori's cart.

[Garrett Moreland]

Holy crap.

[Peyton Moreland]

He's tied via blood and semen to her house and the last person to see her live. And now tied to a completely different location where her car is blown up.

[Garrett Moreland]

I mean, duh.

[Peyton Moreland]

So on August 6, 2018, Rick is celebrating his 37th birthday in his new home in rural Virginia. He's there getting ready to cut a cake with his new fiance, the local school librarian.

[Garrett Moreland]

Does he have a fiance now?

[Peyton Moreland]

When their house is surrounded by SWAT teams? That day, Rick Ennis is finally arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder, burglary and kidnapping. 12 years after Lori disappeared, Gladys caught.

[Garrett Moreland]

12 years later. Absolutely unacceptable. But I mean, better than never. Question. You found out, like, now, like right now, all of a sudden, that I had killed my parents.

[Peyton Moreland]

I would leave. Yeah, I. Listen, I'm not one to give up on marriage. I'm really, really not. To me, murder is a whole new level. And, like, you might murder me. You're already a danger to me.

[Garrett Moreland]

What?

[Peyton Moreland]

I'm saying, you're already to me. And if I found out that you had murdered someone in your family before, I Don't know how I could live with you and not have one eye open all the time.

[Garrett Moreland]

No, I agree. I think that's.

[Peyton Moreland]

You know what I mean?

[Garrett Moreland]

I think it's crazy. I think if you kill someone, okay, like first degree murder, second degree murder. I'm not going to count. Like manslaughter, like the DUIs. I'm going to leave those out. First degree, second degree murder. I don't know. I don't. I don't know.

[Peyton Moreland]

I guess maybe it's just something we don't know until we're in that situation.

[Garrett Moreland]

I hope I'm never in that situation.

[Peyton Moreland]

But I'm. I mean, like, I don't even know if I can speak on it.

[Garrett Moreland]

Like, I don't think I could be friends with someone that killed someone. I don't know, like first degree murder.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yeah, but what if you didn't know? That's why I started out this case being like, you actually even know people.

[Garrett Moreland]

I wouldn't talk to them because what if they kill me?

[Peyton Moreland]

It's just scary.

[Garrett Moreland]

Can't trust nobody.

[Peyton Moreland]

Now, obviously, it's a Covid case. Trial was delayed for years until 2022.

[Garrett Moreland]

It shouldn't have been a covet case.

[Peyton Moreland]

But on April 1st of that year, Rick Ennis was paraded into the courtroom. And shockingly, they let him testify in his own defense. And the entire time, he swears he didn't kill Lori. In fact, he says, no, no, no, we just had consensual sex in her house the night she went missing, despite the fact that all of Lori's friends were like, no. She literally told us she wasn't interested in him. He said, oh, the scratches on my arm came from my dog. And he maintained his story. He told, sixteen years ago, we sold marijuana. She went out to meet with someone and never came home. What's even more outlandish, Rick claimed someone deliberately planted his DNA at the scene of the blown up car to pin the crime on him, which doesn't really make sense because they never even tested that DNA. So if back then officers or investigators planted his DNA, they then just took it and never even tested it, which defeats the purpose of planting DNA.

[Garrett Moreland]

Dude, this guy's insane.

[Peyton Moreland]

And, you know, obviously because he testifies, he's confronted with like, well, you told a co worker you strangled a girl, you killed your parents. Unfortunately, he didn't have an answer at all. And he doesn't say what he did with Lori's body. But the jury was not going to make the same mistake the police did for them. No body, no crime was not an option. After deliberating for two days, the jury found Rick Ennis guilty of all charges. So finally, after 16 years without justice, the Slacinski family had a piece of it. After the verdict was announced, one of Rick's stepsisters, who was on his hit list, came forward and released her own public statement. Because Rick's previous convictions could not be included in the court hearing of Lori's case, she wanted the world to know, guys, this guy that just got convicted also murdered my father and stepmother.

[Garrett Moreland]

Yeah.

[Peyton Moreland]

Initially, the prosecution was hoping to pursue the death penalty, but Lori's mother, Arlene, actually said, can you not? The reason being that it would cost them years of appeals, more legal hurdles, like, he's just going to appeal. We're going to have to come to more things and we just don't want to. So Arlene agreed, we'll just go on life in prison. Yeah, give him life in prison. And that's exactly what Rick got when he was sentenced. The man who had killed her daughter was finally going to be put behind bars. A man who's been in her house, by the way. However, Rick continues to maintain his innocence, and because of that, he is trying to appeal his conviction.

[Garrett Moreland]

Rick, you, Rick, you're a loser.

[Peyton Moreland]

But the only thing anyone really wants to hear from Rick is, where is Lori's body? To this day, what happened in the final hours of Lori's life from the time she called her friend and was heading to Girls Night and then went missing is still a mystery.

[Garrett Moreland]

That's horrible.

[Peyton Moreland]

As is her final resting place. All we can hope for is that one day Rick Ennis has a change of heart, an ounce of morality, and finally shares what he did to the woman that he calls his friend. And that is the story of Lori and Slicinski.

[Garrett Moreland]

It's sad when the parents can't have. Because you have closure. Right. But I think, I mean, I'm not the parents. I've never been in this situation. I would assume having closure from the person who did it, saying, okay, yeah, I did do it. It's just a different, I don't know, feeling.

[Peyton Moreland]

It's like you never even get full closure. But you can get levels of closure and they really only have, like, the bottom tier.

[Garrett Moreland]

At least know you're not being lied to.

[Peyton Moreland]

Yes. It's like someone being convicted, someone saying, I did it. Someone telling the details, letting you know what happened. Where is the body? Like, it just. You can keep adding. And honestly, he's given the bare minimum what a loser. All right, you guys, that was our case this week and we will see you next time with another one. I love it.

[Garrett Moreland]

I hate it.

[Peyton Moreland]

Goodbye.

[Unknown]

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