#546 - Stairway To Heaven - Newfane, Vermont

Summary

Small Town Murder Episode #546: "Stairway To Heaven - Newfane, Vermont"

Release Date: November 23, 2024
Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman

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1. Introduction to Newfane, Vermont

[05:06] James Pietragallo: "This is Newfane, Vermont. I think that's how you pronounce it. N, E, W, F, A, N, E."

Newfane, a small town nestled in southern central Vermont, serves as the backdrop for this chilling episode. With a population of just 1,807, Newfane exudes a quintessential small-town charm characterized by tight-knit communities, picturesque landscapes, and an old-timey feel.

Key Facts:

• Chartered: 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth, initially named Fain after John Fain, the seventh Earl of Westmoreland. In 1761, it was renamed Newfane to comply with charter requirements.
• Population: 1,807
• Median Household Income: $59,792
• Median Home Cost: $319,400
• Industries (1859): Leather, linseed oil, flour mills, lumber mills, and a carriage factory.
• Community Reviews: Highly rated for its quiet, retirement-friendly environment, artistic flair, and strong community bonds, though some note limited opportunities and activities.

2. The Night of the Murder: May 30, 1992

[13:09] James Pietragallo: "This is one wild ass fucking night going on."

The tranquility of Newfane was shattered on May 30, 1992, during a Memorial Day party hosted by Glenn Michelson and his roommate, Steven Zargo, at Michelson's residence on Baker Brook Road in Williamsville, a smaller town within Newfane.

Key Individuals:

• Glenn A. Michaelson (34-36): Divorced father of two, known for his musical talents and sociable nature. Recently laid off from Northeast Cooperatives.
• Robert Plant (22): An alcoholic with a troubled past, on probation in New Hampshire for a Florida grand theft conviction. Known for causing disturbances and making unwanted advances.
• Steven Zargo: Glenn's roommate and co-host of the party.
• Danielle Parent: Glenn's ex-wife, mother of his two children.
• Salzman Family: Neighbors who become unwitting witnesses to the ensuing chaos.

3. Escalation at the Party

Robert Plant's behavior at the party was erratic and aggressive. Despite attempts by Glenn to mediate, Plant's intoxicated state led him to:

• [16:16] James Pietragallo: "He just... tried to steal Glenn's car."
• [25:44] James Pietragallo: "He's a total dick."

Plant repeatedly violated his probation by attempting to steal Glenn's Oldsmobile Tornado, engaging in physical confrontations, and making unwanted advances toward women at the party. His aggressive actions included:

• Confrontations: Challenging guests to fights, including a stroke victim.
• Theft Attempts: Trying to steal the Tornado and a keg of beer.

Despite Plant's disruptive behavior, Glenn and Zargo tried to maintain order, with Glenn intervening each time Plant's actions threatened to derail the evening.

4. The Murder Unfolds

As the night progressed, tensions reached a boiling point. At approximately midnight, tensions culminated in violence.

Key Events:

• Plant Attempts to Steal the Car: Despite Glenn's calm intervention, Plant forcefully tried to take the Tornado multiple times.
• Interaction with the Salzman Family: After crashing the Tornado into a ditch near their farmhouse, Plant approached the Salzmans' home, leading to a physical altercation.

[36:40] James Pietragallo: "He said, 'I don't fucking care.' You shouldn't have crashed your tornado into a ditch, you fucking idiot."

When Plant continued to harass the Salzmans, Robert Salzman intervened, brutally assaulting Plant by repeatedly punching him and using his house as a weapon. Plant sustained severe injuries but managed to escape into the woods.

[37:17] James Pietragallo: "He used his house as a weapon. This man beat a guy half to death."

5. Discovery of the Crime Scene

At 12:15 AM, the Salzmans called 911 upon discovering Plant severely injured outside their home. Simultaneously, another 911 call was made when friends Zargo, Lapin, and Dorton returned from the bar to find Glenn Michelson dead inside the house, impaled with a ski pole and covered in blood.

Evidence Collected:

• Murder Weapon: Ski pole with Plant's palm print.
• Additional Weapons: Several knives, including a meat cleaver with Glenn's blood.
• Clothing: Plant was found wearing Michelson's clothes, including white high-top sneakers near the body.
• Blood Evidence: Glenn's blood was found on Plant's clothing, boots, and various murder weapons.

6. Investigation and Arrest

Police swiftly moved to apprehend Robert Plant after matching his fingerprints and blood evidence at the scene. Plant was found wandering in the woods, heavily intoxicated and covered in blood.

[44:44] James Pietragallo: "He had his clothes on him too."

Key Points:

• Physical Evidence: Plant's fingerprints on the ski pole and clothing, blood type matching Glenn's unique markers.
• Behavior: Plant's erratic behavior and possession of Michelson's belongings implicated him further.
• Chemical Complications: The state chemist, Glenn E. Walker, involved in the blood analysis, was later found to be a convicted drug user, casting doubts on the integrity of the evidence.

7. The Trial

Robert Plant faced charges of first-degree murder, assaulting Robert Salzman, and other related offenses. The trial was marred by procedural issues due to the compromised integrity of the state chemist's evidence.

Key Points:

• Defense Strategy: Attempted to shift suspicion to Steven Zargo, alleging inconsistencies in witness testimonies and questioning the validity of the blood evidence due to the chemist's compromised state.
• State's Case: Relied heavily on physical evidence linking Plant to the crime scene and the murdered individual.
• Judge's Decisions: Limited the defense's ability to question the state chemist about his drug use and its impact on the reliability of the blood tests.
• Verdict: Plant was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 52 years to life in prison.

Notable Quotes:

• Plant Defending Himself:
  [45:10] James Pietragallo: "But I didn't do it," he loudly proclaimed.
  [75:27] Jimmie Whisman: "I will be truly sorry. It's a tragedy."

8. Aftermath and Appeals

Despite the conviction, Robert Plant sought a new trial in 1998, citing ineffective assistance of counsel and the tainted evidence from the state chemist.

Key Points:

• Appeals: Plant argued that his defense was inadequate, particularly regarding the inability to utilize a diminished capacity defense based on his alcoholism.
• Supreme Court Ruling: The Vermont Supreme Court did not grant Plant a new trial, maintaining his original conviction and lengthy sentence.
• Family Impact: Glenn Michelson's ex-wife, Danielle Parent, highlighted the devastating effects on their two young children, who struggled to comprehend their father's death and the subsequent loss of their home possessions.

[74:29] James Pietragallo: "He is guilty of first degree murder. They were like, what are we doing."

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Conclusion

This episode of Small Town Murder delves deep into the tragic events that unfolded in Newfane, Vermont, painting a vivid picture of a small community shaken by violent loss and intricate legal battles. Through meticulous research and the hosts' engaging storytelling, listeners gain insight into not only the brutal nature of the crime but also the challenges faced during the investigation and trial processes.

[73:02] Jimmie Whisman: "They could have done 20 is what we're saying. So they say..."

The episode underscores the fragility of small-town dynamics and the profound impact of crime on close-knit communities, leaving listeners with a poignant reminder of the human stories behind headline-grabbing cases.

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Notable Quotes:

• James Pietragallo:
  [16:16] "I just tried to steal Glenn's car without his permission. Asshole."
  [37:17] "He used his house as a weapon. This man beat a guy half to death."
  [44:54] "He had his clothes on him too. Like you can't get any more."

• Jimmie Whisman:
  [38:24] "I'm gonna kick your ass for that."
  [38:32] "I'm going to pummel you, child."

These quotes capture the intense emotions and severe actions that defined the night of the murder, providing listeners with a raw and unfiltered glimpse into the unfolding tragedy.

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Additional Resources

For listeners interested in further details or updates on similar cases, Small Town Murder offers additional episodes exploring other intriguing small-town mysteries, combining in-depth research with the hosts' unique comedic perspective.

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This summary aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Episode #546, ensuring that readers unfamiliar with the podcast can grasp the critical elements of the case and the show's narrative flow.

Transcript

[James Petrigallo]

Hey, everybody. Just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you about one of my favorite things in the world. Audible.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, audible.com or the app.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, I give that app a workout. Let me tell you something. Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar. You can listen to anything. There's so many genres on there. There's more to imagine when you listen. And let me tell you something that makes my imagination soar in a terrible way. I've been listening to Secrets in the Cellar.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petrigallo]

Which is by John Glatt, and it's about Joseph Fritzl and locking his daughter in the basement for decades. And as you want to talk about imagination of who's the devil in a human skin? That's the guy. So check that out. Or a whole bunch of them. As an Audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. Audible's the best. Let's be honest here. New members can try audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com smalltownmurder or text small town murder to 500. 500. That's audible.com small town murder. Or text small town murder to 500. Five hundred.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

Hey, everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show to tell you a little bit more about Shutterfly. Reconnecting with the people in your life is so important, and sending a holiday card is a meaningful way to do that. But it could be hard to know where to start. Who knows? Shutterfly makes it easy to share custom cards that are perfectly you. I already know what I'm doing here. Yeah, yeah. Why not? We'll put the puppies on the cards this year. That's what we're doing with Shutterfly. Sen. Everybody likes pictures of the dogs.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Sure do.

[James Petrigallo]

Find the perfect holiday card for [e-mail] and start customizing today. Enjoy. 40% off your Shutterfly order with the promo code Small town. And send something meaningful this year. Get free shipping on qualified orders. See site for details.

[Jimmy Wissman]

And now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Roof repair, done well.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Kitchen sink install, done well.

[James Petrigallo]

Deck upgrades, done well. Electrical upgrade, done well. Angie's been connecting homeowners with skilled pros for nearly 30 years. So we know the difference between done and done well. Hire high quality Certified [e-mail] hello, everybody, and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yay.

[James Petrigallo]

And choo Choo oh, goodness. Yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petrigallo. I'm here with my co host.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm Jimmy Wissman.

[James Petrigallo]

Thank you folks so much for joining us today. All aboard the murder train pulling away from the station. We have a crazy episode for you today. Just man, even the, even the state chemist can't be trusted. It's wild. Just a trashy episode. Can't wait to get to it. Before we do that, quickly shut up and give me murder.com is the site. Get all your merchandise, all your tickets for live shows. We are going to be in New York and Boston in December. Those are the only ones with tickets left. Tarrytown in Boston. Few tickets left for those. So if you want to go get them immediately.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, let's go.

[James Petrigallo]

They're going fast. So there's that. And then you want patreon.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Patreon.com Crime in sports is where you get all the bonus material and there is tons of it. Anybody $5 a month or above, a cup of coffee's worth of money. You get hundreds of back episodes of bonus stuff you've never heard heard. And then new ones every other week. One crime in sports, one small town murder. This week, what we got for crime and sports we're going to talk about Marge shot one of the worst owners in the history of sports. She owned the Reds and she was just a horrible, horrible woman. And there's a lot of stories that are just hilarious about how bad she is. Then for small town murder, we're going to switch up a little bit. We're going to do one thing, but we're going to delay that for a while and instead we're going to talk about the sour Sarah Boone murder case, the court case, the trial, because I watched the entire thing and I can't wait to talk about it. That's the Suitcase Killer. And now she is convicted so we can say she is officially the Suitcase killer. So there's that. That'll be for that. That's patreon.com crime and sports. And you get a shout out at the end of the regular show as well. We'll mispronounce your name to show you respect. That's how we do it. So that said, I think it's time to get right into this here. I think it's time everybody to sit back. What do you say? Let's all clear the lungs, people, and let's all shout. Shut up and give, give me my murder. Let's do this, everybody.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay.

[James Petrigallo]

Let's go on a trip, shall we? I think we shall. We're going to Vermont. Okay. Okay. No one has. They're like syrup. Okay. That's all you can think of? Sure. Super troopers. What else?

[Jimmy Wissman]

It's gorgeous.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, it's beautiful. Trees and lakes and mountains. It's gorgeous. This is New Thane, Vermont. I think that's how you pronounce it. N, E, W, F, A, N, E. New phony. I mean, it could be New Fanny or new whatever, but I think it's New Fane. This is in southern central Vermont. It's about an hour and 50 minutes to Albany, New York. That's the closest major town. Then about three hours to Boston. The other direction. Yeah. And then about two hours and 20 minutes to Richmond, Vermont. Our last Vermont episode. It's been a long time. Episode 463 was our last Vermont. A psychosexually disturbed pig man was that one. So that was a crazy word. Definitely words, yeah. This is Wyndham county, area code 802. Population here, 1807. Oh, that's the whole town. And then this takes place in, like, a smaller town that's inside of this town, essentially. That we'll talk about population, that and the household income here. Median household income, $59,792. Median home cost, 30 $319,400. So pretty average on both of those. History of this town? A little bit. It was chartered in 1753, so 30 years before we were even a country, by Governor Benning Wentworth, who named it Fain, after John Fain, the seventh Earl of Westmoreland.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Seventh Earl. Are there six more before him? Before he's in power?

[James Petrigallo]

He's the seventh. Or maybe there's. Maybe all seven are in power. Currently, you need seven earls to run anything correctly, you know?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Is there a whole board of earls?

[James Petrigallo]

No. Shit. The first town meeting was not held within the required five years, so the charter was deemed null and void. So then they issued a new charter in 1761 and named it New Fane. Yeah, we're fain, but new. It's like New Coke, but not as bad.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So everything here, we do that a lot.

[James Petrigallo]

That's what happens all the time. A village was built. First it was New Fane. Two words. Now it's one word. A village was built atop New Fane, including the county buildings, but because of winter travel difficulties, they couldn't get up the fucking hill in the winter because it snows feet there. So they relocated the whole town to the flatlands in 1820. 5. This used to be Fayetteville and they just took it over and called it New Fane now. Not Fayetteville anymore. All right, so that's interesting. But in 1859, industries included leather, linseed oil, two flour mills, two lumber mills and a large carriage factory. Sure, that. Reviews of this town. Not a lot of reviews of this town because it's small. They'll be quick reviews. 5 stars. Very small rural town. Old timey feel. Get to know the locals. Tight knit neighborhoods, very quiet, nice place to retire. Artsy and hip. And these are all written in a list form down.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So it's either that or it's a haiku. I'm not sure. But if.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, I mean it feels like a lot of Vermont towns. A lot of Vermont towns are like that.

[James Petrigallo]

And there. Here's five stars. You have to love the outdoors to live here. Nothing else going on.

[Jimmy Wissman]

It's Vermont, man.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, five stars. Community is great here. We take care of each other.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay.

[James Petrigallo]

All right. Five stars. We moved to New South. New Fein, Vermont. Oh, the south side's rough. You don't want to go there. Along Rock River. Along the Rock river. Ten years ago from the California Bay area and have never looked back. All four seasons are beautiful. Our favorites are spring, when things come alive and fall for the colors. That's everyone in the Northeast. That's what we all love. People asked us why we moved to Newfane and we say the people and the water. The people are so friendly and helpful. They make. There are so many different kinds of folks there.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Whatever that means.

[James Petrigallo]

They also say they're an hour and 15 minutes to the MGM Casino in Springfield, Massachusetts.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Big deal.

[James Petrigallo]

So you have that. That's great. And enjoy there.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Three hours from the encore over there in Boston, three hours.

[James Petrigallo]

Three hours to Burlington, five hours to Montreal. If you want to eat poutine over and over, that's great. And then one star. There aren't many opportunities here. Not a lot. You have to already have done something, I feel like to move there.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

It's not.

[Jimmy Wissman]

All right.

[James Petrigallo]

Things to do. The new thing, Heritage Festival. 53 years they've been doing this. Locals and visitors have enjoyed this.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So much heritage.

[James Petrigallo]

So much.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Fucking 73.

[James Petrigallo]

No shit. I think they're trying to make it old timey is the whole thing. Yeah. Old Timey Vermont, which showcases a juried selection of artists and craftspeople as well as delicious food and a super raffle. I don't know what the difference between that and a regular raffle is. And live entertainment of course. Obviously here the heritage of fucking 1971. Colorful fall foliage on the village streets and surrounding hillsides, and the smell of homemade apple pie. And crisp. And crisp. Apple crisp. I guess.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Apple crisp.

[James Petrigallo]

Greet the several thousand visitors who attend the signature southeastern Vermont event. Newfain Heritage Festival is entirely volunteer run and is deeply rooted in the Newfane Congregational Church and local community. We hope you'll come explore this beautiful part of New England during the peak of fall foliage season. Then it says in all caps, no dogs.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Please get them the fuck out of here.

[James Petrigallo]

Dogs have become an increasing problem at the festival. For the comfort and safety of your fellow visitors, please do not bring your dog in bald letters.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I don't know if you know, James, but Vermont dogs are a different breed, man. They just know machine gun shit everywhere.

[James Petrigallo]

They have no chill whatsoever. No chill. Visit the outdoor tent and enjoy delicious breakfast, lunch, and snack offerings. An apple pie by the slice or take home a whole pie. The super raffle will be held inside the union hall and features about 175 items including quilts, art pieces, homemade crafts, and gift certificates to look certificates to local establishments. That is not a super raffle. No, that's a garbage raffle. Oh. You get this old lady that lives down the street made a quilt, and that's what I got. Thanks.

[Jimmy Wissman]

We're raffling off a bunch of grandma's old shit.

[James Petrigallo]

Homemade bullshit. I'd rather have a pie. Just give me a pie.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Get a gift certificate to a store where they sell grandma's old shit.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of, like. There's a lot of, like, trinkets, plaid tablecloths going on and shit like that. Like that's what you're getting here. A lot of that shit.

[Jimmy Wissman]

A lot of quilts made out of jeans.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, man. That's fucking amazing. The sound of Music will fill the air on both days, and the morris dancers will perform on Sunday afternoon.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, no.

[James Petrigallo]

Well, the morris dancers will be. How could it be bad if the dancers are in town? Can't be bad. So that's no dog, but you have pie. That sounds pretty boring.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Watch some girls with the last name of morris dance.

[James Petrigallo]

That sounds like you have to be 68 years old at least to enjoy that day.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Enjoy this day.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. And very much into being from Vermont. So that said, let's get into some murder that we need to discuss here.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Did we already talk about that? They put cheddar cheese on pie up there.

[James Petrigallo]

Some people do. We have. I think we've talked about we have. It's.

[Jimmy Wissman]

It's odd because it's Vermont cheddar. They'll put it on that apple pie again.

[James Petrigallo]

I want Wisconsin. They do that. You were talking, do they? Yeah, that was the thing. In Wisconsin, Vermont makes.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay, but Vermont makes cheddar too.

[James Petrigallo]

They do too.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Fucking pie.

[James Petrigallo]

I don't want cheese on my pie and I love cheese and I don't want it on.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Both things just separate.

[James Petrigallo]

I'll eat a piece of pie, then give me a handful of cheese and I'll eat that later. But I don't want that on top of each other. So let's talk about some murder here. Okay. This is one wild ass fucking night going on. All right, 1992, we have to go back to.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So right away. It's a wild night here. We're finding out that Milli Vanilli isn't who we thought they were.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Heritage foundation is only 21 years old.

[James Petrigallo]

James. The Heritage Festival.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Festival, yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

It's only 21 years old. Yeah, we got all of this shit. Yes, it's working out. Well, we're finding it. The Menendez brothers are trying. Trying to get to trial at this point. Let's talk about Glenn A. Michaelson. Okay. Glenn's 34. There's different reports. He's 34 through 36. So he's 34, 35 or 36, not sure which. Okay. He's a divorced father of two. In 1992, he was married to a woman named Danielle Parent and they had two little girls together and then they got divorced. But they're still friends because when he has a party, she still comes to it. So it must be. Must be pretty amicable. Those Glenn's are easy going guys. Glenn, yeah. Yeah.

[Jimmy Wissman]

You can't ever nail them down.

[James Petrigallo]

No. Glenn's originally from California. His ex wife Danielle said he's very devoted to music and children. She said Glenn's into his music and his two kids. Glenn's the type of person who loves people and would give anything to anybody, and he does. Glenn has a big party and he's just there to facilitate everybody and make everything better. Like really like Puff Daddy, but not illegal. Okay.

[Jimmy Wissman]

You know, he's just a great host.

[James Petrigallo]

Just a good host. He likes people and he likes people that like him. She said that Glenn always seemed to pick roommates who couldn't pay their share of the rent, but he would let them keep staying anyway, making do with whatever the fuck he had collected. He's just a good guy. Yep. Yeah, he's just a nice guy. She said that he had just been laid off here in 1992 from his job at Northeast Cooperatives. And before that he worked at Stowe Mills for a while.

[Jimmy Wissman]

The fuck is. Oh, it's a co op.

[James Petrigallo]

Co op, yeah, yeah. So she said he played guitar. Played a variety, all types of music and everything like that. So. May 30, 1992. Okay. Michael Jackson's hanging out with Robert Plant.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Is that right?

[James Petrigallo]

And not that Michael Jackson or Robert Plant that you would be imagining here. This is some guy from Vermont in a flannel shirt named Michael Jackson hanging out with some other guy from Vermont in a flannel shirt named Robert Plant.

[Jimmy Wissman]

That is an interesting couple.

[James Petrigallo]

Cashmere's hanging out with Billie Jean. And there they are. Let's do it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

When the levee breaks, man.

[James Petrigallo]

And the levy breaks.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Look at the man in the mirror.

[James Petrigallo]

That's it. And then you're buying a stairway to heaven. What are you going to do at that point? Right? You don't know if you're black or white. Then what are you supposed to. How do you deal with that? Remember the time and then how do you feel, Jimmy? You feel bad? That's how you feel. That's how you feel.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Like they don't even care about.

[James Petrigallo]

Like they. Like it's off the wall completely.

[Jimmy Wissman]

But I'll be there.

[James Petrigallo]

Like you're at Misty Mountain Hop right now. That's what's going on. Like there's a black dog just bothering you.

[Jimmy Wissman]

You betcha.

[James Petrigallo]

So if you don't know Led Zeppelin things and Michael Jackson songs, you have no idea what the hell we're talking about.

[Jimmy Wissman]

We just sound like complete assholes. But that was a real conversation.

[James Petrigallo]

If you're like 11 years old. Michael Jackson was the most famous singer on the face of the planet. And he would have loved to stare right at your butthole if you're an 11 year old boy. Robert Plant is still alive actually.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Michael Jackson's dad, Robert Plant, you know, because he probably did more drugs than everything Michael Jackson did at bedtime put together every night.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Robert Plant is the singer of Led Zeppelin. This is Plant with an E at the end though.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Is that right?

[James Petrigallo]

This Robert Plant, now Robert Plant, the Led Zeppelin singer. There's no E. Maybe he did originally and he dropped it because it sounds cooler. But Led Zeppelin is a, you know, one of the biggest bands that's ever been in the 70s. I'm sure you've heard at least Stairway to Heaven or something of that nature.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Stairway to Heaven in a lot of guitar Stores.

[James Petrigallo]

Now, again, if you're 11 years old, that's from a movie called Wayne's World. So Godzilla. That's it. I meant that you're not allowed to play Stairways from Wayne's World. That's no Stairway. So Michael Jackson is hanging out with Robert plant on May 30, 1992. Which. Those two in real. The real Robert Plant and the real Michael Jackson hung out in 1992. That shit would have been bonkers. But this. Oh, that would have been less.

[Jimmy Wissman]

That would have been MTV News, man.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, shit.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Loder would have broken it to us.

[James Petrigallo]

So Robert Plant is 22. He's a young guy. He's from Florida. He's been an alcoholic since he was 10. Doing great.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Wow.

[James Petrigallo]

Doing great.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So basically, he is named after Robert.

[James Petrigallo]

Plant because he was born. And I thought that too. He was born in 1970, so his parents were like, oh, God, yeah.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Your last name is Plant. I know what I'm naming my giant.

[James Petrigallo]

The song remains the Same motherfucker. And it's Robert Plant every time.

[Jimmy Wissman]

God damn it. I hope it's a boy.

[James Petrigallo]

If they had another boy, it would have been John Bonham Planted, I'm sure after that. So he was. Didn't like school as a kid, was often truant. Most of the time is because he was off getting drunk or he was still sleeping off a drunk from the night before, as you do when you're 13. He was treated in a crisis program at the Cheshire medical center at 14 years old.

[Jimmy Wissman]

For alcoholism.

[James Petrigallo]

For alcoholism. Dropped out of high school, then got in a halfway house where he earned his ged but always struggled to give up drinking. And we'll find out he is very unsuccessful in giving up drinking, as we'll find out from this night.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Man.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, he's a mess. While he's a teenager, he participated in another alcohol treatment program in Dover, New Hampshire, which he completed. He tried several times to give up alcohol, but he continued to turn back to it. And whenever he did, he gets in trouble. He's the. Just turns to the bottle, the classic hacky. Every time I drink, a breakout in handcuffs. He's that guy. And that's probably his line that he says to everybody. You know what I. I mean?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So can't stop getting in trouble. He has several convictions, both in New Hampshire and Florida, for crimes ranging from unlawful trespassing to assault on a police officer to grand theft auto, you know, drunk crime. Just. I was gonna say whatever his drunk mind leads him to, that's all it is. There's no. Like, there's no pointed direction of his crime. He's not a robber, he's not this or that. Just whatever his drunk ass fucking happens to fall into.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Wow.

[James Petrigallo]

Now, as of May 1992, he is on probation in New Hampshire for a Florida conviction. So that's how trash. He's in Vermont, even though he's not supposed to be, because he's on probation in New Hampshire for a crime he committed in Florida.

[Jimmy Wissman]

They allowed him to be in a different state under their supervision, but only.

[James Petrigallo]

In New Hampshire, not in New Vermont.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Still not even there.

[James Petrigallo]

Can't even do that. He had just signed off on conditions two weeks earlier that he would not leave the state of New Hampshire. He would abide by a curfew and would not drink alcohol.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petrigallo]

He. None of that shit plays out, though. The only time he's allowed to leave the state of New Hampshire is to go to work at cns. Whole Gross Wholesale Grocer's Inc. That he works at. The only thing. So, yeah, he's a fucking mess. He lives at this point in Chesterfield. New Hampshire is where he's from, living there. So Michael Jackson spends the morning of May 30th with Robert Plant, just coming up with some tunes, picking a little ditty. And then Michaelson, Glenn, our buddy Glenn, picked them both up for his party. He's even.

[Jimmy Wissman]

His last name was Danzig.

[James Petrigallo]

That would be amazing, right? Or Miller or something. Give me something. Give me some famous musician. I don't care who he is. There's only a few. Glenn's Campbell. Who else?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, Campbell anymore. That's the drum.

[James Petrigallo]

That's it. That's three, right? Oh, yeah, perfect. He was running into shit all the time. He's Billy Joel of the West. I call him Glenn Campbell. So Western Billy. So this is how nice Glenn is. He's picking people up for his party. You don't even need to get a ride there. I'll get you. Don't worry about it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'll shuttle you to my house.

[James Petrigallo]

Holy shit. Now, Michelson, Jackson and Michaelson knew each other, and Plant is hanging out with Jackson. But Plant and Michaelson have never met before, don't know each other at all. But now plants in Glenn's car and so. And Glenn, always a sociable guy, is fine with him. Hey, come on in. Robert Plant, I'm sure he sang him some Zeppelin lyrics and they moved on down the road. Now, Jackson, Michael Jackson is the boyfriend of Plant's stepsister. Oh, okay. Yeah. This is all very. This is all very Convicted in Florida, probated in New Hampshire. Behavior here. This is all of that shit. And she said that Plant gets real loud and when he drinks alcohol, but usually doesn't get violent. I think the state of Florida would disagree with you. Probably some cop with a black eye down there would disagree with you. Probably. I think he does. As a matter of fact, a cop.

[Jimmy Wissman]

That got punched is not thrilled with that assessment.

[James Petrigallo]

No. So Plant, on this day, starts drinking beer, quote, early in the morning.

[Jimmy Wissman]

How early?

[James Petrigallo]

As early as it gets for him.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay.

[James Petrigallo]

I mean, who knows when he gets up, but when he gets up, he's immediately popping a drink to.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay.

[James Petrigallo]

To wash down the morning, so.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Or to stop the shakes, bro.

[James Petrigallo]

To stop the shakes. Oh, he's a hardcore alcoholic. So he starts drinking beer, and then he goes and hangs out with Michael Jackson and then ends up in Glenn's car headed to Vermont to this party, violating every condition of his parole. So. Yeah, good job.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Now, the party consists of. It's at Michelson's house. There's about 30 people there. So it's a nice. That's. That's not. That's a manageable amount of people. People can mingle, and it's not too many where it's overwhelming, not too few where it gets boring and weird. It's 30 people's a good amount. So it's a lot of people. But if you're gonna have a party. Party. It's not just like a gathering, it's a party. Yeah. So this is. And then Glenn is co hosting this party with a guy named Steven Zargo, who I believe is his roommate there. Zargo with a Z Here. This is a Memorial Day party, and it's at the. It's a house on Baker Brook Road, which is in Williamsville, Vermont, which is inside of Newfane. Williamsville is in its own town. Technically, they don't really have anything.

[Jimmy Wissman]

This is like a. It's like a first party of the year. Really?

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. Memorial Day. Oh, it's just getting warm. You can barbecue out here. This is people drinking beer in the lawn and hanging. It's good stuff.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Still gotta use the off, but all right.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. There's gonna be mosquitoes.

[Jimmy Wissman]

The bugs are out.

[James Petrigallo]

They're thick. Now, Plant is a problem in this entire party. Robert Plant, he's an issue. He is bragging to whoever will listen to him that he's wanted for murder in Florida because he, quote, killed a woman down there. He's not wanted for murder in Florida. He might have killed a woman down there. But he's not wanted for anything because we know that because he's on New Hampshire probation from Florida. So I assume they would know if he was wanted for murder also.

[Jimmy Wissman]

And. And he's about to ruin this party because this is not a thing you just say aloud.

[James Petrigallo]

That's the. That's the nicest thing he says so far.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. Then he starts getting confrontational with people. He just walks up to people, he's like, what fuck are you looking at? Like. And they're like, huh? I don't even. What are you talking about? I don't know you. He's like, you fucking pussy. And want to fight me. He starts trying to fight everybody also. In addition to that, he's making unwanted advances toward every woman. There got women who have their arms around a man. He'll come up and be like, what's happening, baby? What's up, sweetheart? And the guy's like, I will knock my teeth out. Yeah, you want to fuck Robert Plant? Here he is, buddy. Want to get tag teamed by Michael Jackson and Robert Plant? I wonder if they ever tried that line. Although nobody would want that, I don't think. No, the people who would want one wouldn't want the other. I don't think so. It would be a very, very limited, small Venn diagram crossover between people who want to be fucking Eiffel Towered by Michael Jackson or Robert Plant. So he starts doing all this shit. He then ridicules a. Ridicules and challenges to a fight. A stroke victim. Some droopy fuck is sitting there with beer leaking out of one side of his mouth and he's like, what's up, pussy? You want to fight? Why don't you pick that fucking arm up that's dragging on the ground and swing it at me?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Pick the rest of your lip up and tell me what's what.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, he was making fun of him and challenging him to a fight because this poor person had an inability to use one of his arms.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[James Petrigallo]

He's a stroke victim.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Half of my body doesn't work, you fucking jerk.

[James Petrigallo]

He wanted to fight him because of that.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Wow.

[James Petrigallo]

Now and then another time he tried to take. He just tried to steal Glenn's car. He just tried to take it? Yeah, His Oldsmobile Tornado. Don't take my Tornado.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm obviously not doing great.

[James Petrigallo]

I have a tornado in 1992. They haven't made those in 15 fucking years. I'm still rocking a tornado. Yeah, they haven't made those in 15 years.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Gross.

[James Petrigallo]

They stopped making the tornados and the El Caminos at the same time, I think.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, no. El Caminos.

[James Petrigallo]

They make them into the 80s. Okay, okay. Cordova. They stopped making the Cordova and the Tornado at the same time. Done.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I think the Cordova was Chrysler.

[James Petrigallo]

I think it was Chrysler Cordova. Yeah, I just said that because it's a ween song.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, because it's a. And it's an ugly call.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, that's it. The Tornado Cordova. Fucking El Camino. It's a song called El Camino by wean. El Camino's a fun.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I want to find one so bad.

[James Petrigallo]

Like a. Yeah, they're coming back into fashion. Yeah. Because now they're expensive.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah. Well, yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

When we were kids, they were just trash that nobody wanted that somebody, you know, took off a trash heap in someone's backyard and fixed up enough to drive. Nobody wanted that an immigrant from Mexico.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Would buy one because they couldn't afford a pickup truck and they'd use that.

[James Petrigallo]

As their landscaping vehicle. Yeah, exactly.

[Jimmy Wissman]

They're dragging a trailer with an.

[James Petrigallo]

And then upgrade to an Isuzu ombre, which is not much of an upgrade. So that tells you a lot.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Or a Suzuki Salmon.

[James Petrigallo]

Or a Suzuki. Oh, those are the little. Those are little, like SUV deals.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Nothing can flip over in a second.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, God. I knew a chick who had one of those in high school, and she goes, want to go for a ride? And I got in her car. I've never been more terrified. Except for that Uber we took to Stefanos. That time is the only time I've been more terrified. I was like, never again.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Those are bad cars. They flip over.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, they flip over a lot. So he tries to take Glenn's car without Glenn's permission. Asshole. Tries to steal Glenn's leather jacket at one point.

[Jimmy Wissman]

What is his deal?

[James Petrigallo]

He's a total dick. Also tries to steal a keg of beer from the party. Like no one would notice that's missing.

[Jimmy Wissman]

A drunk stumbling.

[James Petrigallo]

Someone would walk up and just hold the tap and go, why? It's not connected to anything. I don't get it Now, Michaelson. Glenn intervened in all of these instances and broke it up, calmed him down and never kicked him out and then walked away. Hey, man, chill out. Come on, let's just have a good time. These are good people. You should get to know them. They'll like you, you'll like him. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Wow. And this is the parent, Danielle Parent. This is Glenn's ex wife. Said plant picked arguments all day with several. And Glenn Kept breaking it up. That Plant kid had only been in town a month. This Plant kid seemed to argue with everybody at the party. That's what this plant kid, she's 35 too. This is like some 22 year old kid. Now Stephen Zargo, okay. He's the also the co host here. After most of the people left the party, Zargo suggested that the group remaining go to Rick's Tavern for a beer. Do you have kegs at home? First of all, let's go to the bar. Let's go to the bar for more beer. Even though we have kegs of beer here. How? There's definitely no designated driver involved here. This is very shit faced people. Driving through a rural area by the.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Seat of our pants and closing one eye.

[James Petrigallo]

Well this is like my, my cousins and Scranton driving you to the home from the bar through the woods. That's what I feel like they would do. Exactly. That's why he did it. We did it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

We had like 14 kamikazes apiece. So it was time. Now neither Glenn nor Robert Plant said they were up for the drive. They didn't want to do it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So. But Zargo said he did and he and two other friends decided to go. So at 11 o'clock this is before they leave, the only people there are Glenn Michelson, Zargo, guy named Christopher Lapin, William Dorton and a guy named Bart Stacy who was upstairs asleep. Old Bart. Oh, you can always depend on an old Bart there. At about 11:30pm Zargo lap and Dorton, they went to the pub and then also obviously Plant is there too. All right everybody. Today we're talking about Dr. Squatch. Now you might know this brand from their natural cold processed bar soaps which are all great. They're amazing. If you haven't done it, check those out. But. But now they've got the same real soap formula available in body wash form. And it is good. I'm telling you right now. They're made with natural ingredients derived from coconuts and plants to provide all day skin hydration. Available in four unique and manly scents. Coconut Castaway, Pine Tar, Wood Barrel Bourbon and Fresh Falls. Dermatologists tested and clinically proven to provide 24 hour moisturization so you can still smell tough while taking care of your. Maybe your soft side, you know what I mean? Dr. Squatch products are made for men. But we're telling you these soaps, no matter what and in what form are loved by all. So you really can't go wrong here everybody. My favorite by the way is The Fresh Falls. I tried that and I dig it. So what are you waiting for? Go pick one up at your favorite store [e-mail] today. DrSquatch Body Wash for men who prefer natural. I would like to tell you guys a story here that's gonna save you some money. You know what I mean? This. I'm telling you. I had been paying for a subscription for approximately four and a half years, which is way too long to pay for something I forgot I even had and did not want or need anymore. My fault. Me, I didn't pay attention and I didn't know what to do about it because I didn't even know it was there. Then I got Rocket Money. Oh, oh. All fixed. I'm telling you right now. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions. They did that for me. They monitor your spending and helps you lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. They'll even try to negotiate lower bills for you by up to 20%, which is no one wants to wait on hold and argue with a customer service representative over your bill. All you have to do is submit a picture of your bill. Rocket Money, they'll deal with all that for you.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Take care of it.

[James Petrigallo]

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[Jimmy Wissman]

Murder now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

Now, they told Plant, said he didn't want to go. Then he changed his mind, said he did want to go. And then they said, do you have money? And he said, nah, I ain't got no money. And they said, well, you can't come. You're not going to come up buying you beer, so you have to stay here if you have no money. So at this point, Plant gets mad and tries to steal Glenn's car again. He gets in, the Tornado tries to take off. Apparently Glenn ran over, took the keys away from him and went back in the house calmly. Didn't like, beat the shit out of him or throw him off the property.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Trying to take my Tornado.

[James Petrigallo]

He just took the keys out of the ignition and went inside and left them out there. So then at that point, fucking Plant starts walking down the Driveway like, well just walk out of here then and just. He's going to go. So he, Zargo, when they go to leave for the bar, he said he saw Glenn trying to start. He saw Plant trying to start Glenn's car and said, Glenn trying to steal your car again? It was like the third time tonight. Glen ran out of the house, stopped Plant for making off in the car. By the way, he had a keg of beer in the car with him too. He had stole the keg again, put it in the car. He tried to take off with it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Holy shit.

[James Petrigallo]

That's when Plant then took off, running down Baker Brook Road, according to Zargo. So Zargo said, we thought that was the end of it. He said that's that. He went, he took off. And so Zargo said he and his brother, who also live on Baker Brook Road, Brook Road, about a mile away from the residence there, you know, they went and took off. So there you go. Now after Plant disappeared into the night, Zargo said he and his two friends headed to the bar at about midnight, leaving Glenn home with his housemate who's asleep upstairs. And Robert Plant took off, ran down the street. So a neighbor of Glenn's watches three people depart from the home at 11:30. That's the going to the bar contingency there. Shortly thereafter, he heard loud and argumentative voices coming from the house. This is after the you tried to steal my tornado number three incident here. A few moments later, this neighbor saw Glenn's car speeding down Baker Brook Road and another neighbor heard and saw the same thing. So two different neighbors. This is Plant driving away in the tornado. He must have this tornado.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He got it.

[James Petrigallo]

Glenn should just tell him, give me 75 bucks and you can have it. It's a fucking tornado. What? 150 bucks. I don't know.

[Jimmy Wissman]

If you buy donuts, that starter cylinder just spins and you just got to push it in. You don't even need a key.

[James Petrigallo]

Don't even. Probably not. You're probably right. So here comes. Enter the Salzman family. These poor fucking people. Okay, they call 911 at 12:15am the first time, for the first time here. Robert Salzman's a 43 year old two way radio salesman that probably didn't last very long. He said that he was watching television in his living room with his one and a half year old son John in his lap when he heard a loud bang. Oh, he and Kathleen, his wife here, heard the sound of a car crashing down the riverbank outside their two story farmhouse up the road from Glenn's residence here. So his wife called the state police barracks in West Brattleboro and reported an accident. That accident. Robert said. Then they heard someone knocking on their screen door. They looked outside. They saw a man about 6ft tall, dressed in a black T shirt and black leather jacket.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Okay. And they said the guy appeared to be under the influence of something.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, he's wobbling.

[James Petrigallo]

He said he told the man he'll make a telephone call for him, but you're not coming to my house with my baby in here.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Good call.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. So minutes later, he heard shouting from outside from the man. This is after they called 911.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Do we know what he's saying?

[James Petrigallo]

He said, this is Salzman. He said, quote, I see you in there through those lace curtains, let me into the house. He's huffing and puffing. He's about to blow this bitch down. He said, it's dark out here and I'm afraid of animals.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I don't give a shit.

[James Petrigallo]

I don't fucking care. You shouldn't have crashed your tornado into a ditch, you fucking idiot.

[Jimmy Wissman]

You shouldn't be out there then, man.

[James Petrigallo]

Dummy. And the guy said. And the next thing I hear. Because he told them, which is funny, the guy said, what are you looking at? And he said. I said, it's my window. I can look out of it whenever I want. Yeah, because the wife was looking at him out the window. So then Salzman says, the next thing I hear is the sound of breaking glass. And my wife screaming. Plant started shouting at her. That's when she said, that's my window and I can look out of it when I want to. Plant responded by punching his fist through the window with his fucking hand.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, my God.

[James Petrigallo]

He didn't even put through a rock or anything. She said, I just stood there saying, oh, my God. And the glass was flying around me.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Wow. At this point, this is fucking amazing. Robert Salzman has had enough of this shit.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

He runs outside, grabs Plant, and as he put it, quote, I quite frankly beat the shit out of him. That's how Salzman would be quoted later on to a police officer saying, he said, I felt my family was in danger and I had to take charge.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

He went out, punched him, knocked him down, then grabbed Plant and bashed his head into the side of his house. He said about 15 to 20 times, tried to kill him till he stopped moving. Basically, just imagine bashing him into your house. He used his house as a weapon. This man beat a guy half to death. With his own house. Awesome job, Salzman.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm. I'm shocked that he just did it with. He must be big as shit, right?

[James Petrigallo]

I think so. He. He punched him.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm coming out there with the bat or you know, I mean a shotgun, anything. He's gonna get it.

[James Petrigallo]

I think too. Cause this guy's like 22 and kind of skinny and looks like a teenager. I think Salzman said, I will beat you up with my adult muscles. I have had it with this bullshit.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm going to pummel you, child.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, 43 is different than skinny 21. I'll kick Salzman. Salzman's 43. A 43 year old man with a one year old kid and a wife and a mortgage. He will beat your fucking ass.

[Jimmy Wissman]

A wife, a mortgage, and now a broken window.

[James Petrigallo]

And a broken window that the. Now the fucking cold's going to come in at night and I got to deal with this bullshit now.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, I will kick your ass out of my house.

[James Petrigallo]

Everywhere. The stink, bogs, everything. It's over with, man. Raccoons are gonna be in here before I know.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I'm gonna kick your ass for that.

[James Petrigallo]

So as the two men are quote, fighting, and really as Zalzman's beating the shit out of Robert Plant outside, Kathleen called the cops again.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Then she dialed a neighbor who she knows has a gun and asked him for help. Hey, can you bring your gun over here real quick? But by the time the police and the neighbor arrived, a half conscious fucking tuna shit beaten out of Robert Plant had jumped off up and stumbled off into the woods and ran away. By then, thought he was scared of. I was going to say, now he's like a stunned deer. He's just going to wander into the woods and hide in a berm. So she said. We told the police we thought he'd come from the party up the road and they should probably check that out. Yeah, party up the road. Shit faced kid seems right. Probably so. That is so funny. Yeah. The second 911 call is someone's trying to break into my home and my husband is currently beating him to death. You should probably get here before you have to scrape him up with a shovel. Robert gets a little upset about Robert Salzman not playing.

[Jimmy Wissman]

My husband is making him less of a person right now.

[James Petrigallo]

No shit. So while the police are on their way to the Salzman home to deal with this, this is a small town in Vermont. Not a lot of 911 calls in the middle of the night. They've already gotten two. They're dealing with this. They get another 911 call. Oh, and this one is far from Zargo. Here. 1245 here. By the way, the Salzmans apparently were alarmed at the behavior of Plant, who they said appeared to be high or drunk and was acting erratically. And that's why, by the way, the tornado is in a ditch across the road from their house, which is about a mile away from Glenn's house. Right, okay, interesting. Now, at some point, by the way, I guess Glenn went to the Salzman house at some point, and then he ends up back at his house because this is fucking crazy. By 12:45, the friends Zargo and Lapin and Dorton return from the bar to the house. They must have went for one drink, for Christ's sake. And as they're doing, by the way, the police are searching for Robert Plant in the woods. At this point, while this is happening, they get a 911 call from Michelson's house, which is Zargo walks in, and they find Michelson lying in the hallway, blood everywhere, with a ski pole impaled in his neck. Sticking out a ski pole. That's the most Vermont crime that's ever fucking happened.

[Jimmy Wissman]

That's a crazy weapon, a ski pole.

[James Petrigallo]

Sticking out actively from his neck. Impaled in his neck. And then multiple other wounds of all different kinds.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So they obviously freak out. They call police. They went upstairs to see if Bart had also been butchered here. And Bart was sleeping in bed. Didn't know shit about shit. So they show up here, 12:45, like we said. I mean, the cops are right down the street. So here he is. He said, this is Zargo. Said when he found his friend. His friend was stripped of his shirt, shoes and ring and was only wearing pants. He wore a black onyx ring on his index finger, which is a sign of douche. An index ring finger ring. But he's Glenn. Seems like a good guy.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Or a fucking rock star, I was gonna say.

[James Petrigallo]

Or a guitar player.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So. But he's only wearing pants. He had cowboy boots, a black shirt, a black leather jacket on before.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

And now he's got nothing but his pants on and his ring. Zargo said, I knew right off that he was dead. What was it? The ski pole fucking protruding from his neck?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Get this out of his neck.

[James Petrigallo]

At first I thought he was just practicing for the slopes tomorrow, but then I realized, fuck, this guy's dead.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He's really, really dedicated to those black diamonds.

[James Petrigallo]

Jesus. He said there was blood on the floors. Blood on the walls. Blood fucking everywhere, as you can imagine. So he starts. Like I said, he called the police. Police arrive, they discover Glenn in the hallway in a pool of blood. Next to him is a pair of white high top shoes. White high top sneakers that Robert Plant was wearing earlier in the evening.

[Jimmy Wissman]

This motherfucker for the cowboy boots?

[James Petrigallo]

Yep. They also found two knives in the kitchen sink, a meat cleaver in one of the closets, and a knife stuck in the wall. All of these knives are also used on Glenn.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Really?

[James Petrigallo]

Cleaver, three other knives and a ski pole.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Ski pole.

[James Petrigallo]

This is fucking crazy. So at 2:28am, while they're wrapping up this, while they're processing that crime scene, they're still looking for Robert Plant in the woods. They're checking a wooded area. 2:28am near the Salzman's house with a police tracking dog. So they find Robert Plant sleeping in the woods.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He passed out.

[James Petrigallo]

He passed out in the woods. He has blood all over his clothes and face and body and shoes and everything else.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Some's his, some's not.

[James Petrigallo]

Say bruises all over him. Looks like he's been really lumped up good. His hands are all cut up too. Salzman's identified him as the man who had come to their house. And then. Yep, I beat the shit out of that guy. That's right. While they find him, by the way, he is wearing cowboy boots, a black T shirt, a black leather jacket, and a black onyx index finger ring. Wow, interesting. So they arrest Robert Plant, obviously for multiple things. He's wearing the guys all of his clothes. He took his shoes off and left them next to the dead guy.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, I mean, you just hand those to the pups, let them sniff them and off they go.

[James Petrigallo]

One of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life. Literally taking the shoes off his feet and leaving yours behind.

[Jimmy Wissman]

How fucking drunk was this, man? Oh, what the fuck is this over?

[James Petrigallo]

You know, extremely drunk. He probably said, where's my tornado? And he said, I fucking put it in a ditch. And he said, why'd you do that? And he's like, I'm gonna fucking grope your girlfriend who knows where.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I mean the, the, the. What did the. Where did he think he was gonna go?

[James Petrigallo]

That's in the woods. Sleep it off. I don't know. That's. This is crazy. He's that much of an alcoholic.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Wow.

[James Petrigallo]

So the police, yeah, they find him there, he's apprehended with all the evidence in the world. Not only the man's blood all over him, but his clothes on him too. Like you can't get any more. Any more I killed that man than this guy. His injuries include at least four stab wounds from the ski pole, by the way.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh my God.

[James Petrigallo]

They said Michelson was stabbed twice behind his left ear with the ski pole and twice in the back. And one of the ones in the behind in the neck was. That's where it was sticking at him. One of the puncture wounds behind the ear presented a or penetrated about two and a half inches into his brain. Another ski pole wound in his right back punctured his lung. And that alone could have killed him after a while. But the fatal injury was a knife cut to his throat. His throat was cut as well? Yep. They said he bled to death probably in a matter of minutes. He had 20 different blows to the head from different objects and different things. It just brutalized this poor guy. They said the two slashes on the throat would have caused his death quickly. A couple of the other injuries might have eventually killed him if left unattended. Also, Glenn had numerous slashes to the skull, cheeks, nose, hand and foot. He was hit with such force in the chest that it fractured several ribs as well. So I think maybe he was stomping him afterwards. So police detectives here say that they found several knives from Glenn's home as well as a ski pole which was left impaled behind his left ear. They said they tested what appeared to be blood stains on plants hands. One knife with a broken blade was covered with blood and left in the kitchen sink. Another light knife, a small meat cleaver was found sliced into the box into a box containing a children's game. He just threw it down and it went into like a fucking Candyland.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Unbelievable.

[James Petrigallo]

According to the cops here, the search of the crime scene revealed that the match to the ski pole that was alleged that was the murder weapon was found in a bedroom closet. The other part of the ski set. And a bloody heel print was found in front of the closet with the same heel design as the boots that Plant was wearing when he was arrested. Glenn's boots.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So he walked through the blood in the boot?

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah, he's stabbing him, beating him up. Then went looked around and was like a ski pole. That'll be fun to use. Wow. A pair of white high top sneakers were found next to his head. Plant there figured out that they're Plants. I guess when he was arrested he told them that he was. The boots weren't his for some reason. A friend of Glenn's came to the state police barracks identified the boots, the jacket and the ring as belonging to Glenn. So there's a 30 minute tape recording made by Vermont state police officer here. State trooper William Harkness, who drove Plant from the murder scene to the state police barracks on the night of the murder. He's arrested obviously for. They told him that he's arrested for operating Glenn's car without his consent. Which is interesting because he's obviously arrested for murder as well. Now the tape contains obscene language from Plant, whose attorneys say was very drunk from the beer party. His words are slurred on the tape. Plant is constantly berating the cop for driving too fast on the narrow dirt roads.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Slow down, they're gonna kill us all.

[James Petrigallo]

And we're in a Suzuki Samurai. It's dangerous.

[Jimmy Wissman]

This thing's gonna roll.

[James Petrigallo]

And repeatedly asked Harkness what he was being charged with and what his bail was, which he doesn't know that yet. They haven't been to court. Both detectives say that while they smelled alcohol on Plant's breath, he didn't appear to be drunk. Give me a fucking break.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Are you kidding me?

[James Petrigallo]

Come on. Well that way any statements he made aren't relevant to be. Not admissible if he's drunk. So cops have to say, no, no, no, he's drunk. To me, he fucking crashed a tornado, passed out in the woods. He's drunk.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Vermont sober.

[James Petrigallo]

I guess it is, man. It's Wisconsin sober. This isn't Vermont. Jesus, this isn't Wisconsin. His attorneys later on though will, they're gonna leave to have some fun with that. So he's taken to jail barefoot and wearing blood stained hospital pajamas because they had to take him to be treated for his wounds. His face was swollen and looked like a 43 year old man. And worked him over for interrupting his family's quiet evening. And so he's going to be charged with the death as well as assaulting Robert Salzman as well, even though he got the worst of it. So the next morning they tell plant at 7:30am at the barracks that he is charged with murder. Plant loudly proclaimed his innocence. Yeah, he said, you are not char. You're not going to charge me with murder, buddy. Listen here, buddy. Listen here, fella. Buddy. So they also heard from a good Buddy especially, you're not going to charge me with murder, buddy. That's a perfect place for a buddy. They also said that they conducted a record check as they'd heard a bunch of people saying that he said he's wanted for murder in Florida. Yeah, he said at the party. And they said they uncovered a conversation. They had not uncovered anything like that. So nothing like that. Now, physical evidence. Holy shit. There's a lot of it. Okay. Robert Plant's right palm print was found on the grip of the ski pole that was impaled in the dude's head. That's not good. Robert Plant's bloody left thumbprint was also found on the door jamb casing immediately above Michelson's body. Like, just make sure to put that fingerprint there. Just so you know, I was here in.

[Jimmy Wissman]

In blood.

[James Petrigallo]

In blood. Let me do that here. They said they couldn't find usable fingerprints on any of the other major pieces of evidence. You really don't need to.

[Jimmy Wissman]

No, you've got him.

[James Petrigallo]

There's a thing. He's at the scene and you know, he's holding the murder weapon. So I'd say at the scene holding the murder weapon.

[Jimmy Wissman]

And blood is present.

[James Petrigallo]

And he's wearing the dead man's clothes. I'd say he had something to do with this.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Pretty well done. Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

So. Yeah. The other knives, though, they didn't. They couldn't find anything on that. They said that he said he couldn't lift fingerprints from the other murder weapons. The meat cleaver, the kitchen knife, any of that. One of the blades broke off during the attack.

[Jimmy Wissman]

God damn.

[James Petrigallo]

But the blood test revealed that it was definitely Glenn's blood on everything, which is relatively rare type of blood. That's how they know it's in. This is, you know, Pre. Very easy DNA 92. So I guess they found this blood on the cowboy boots, plants, clothes, the socks that plant was wearing inside the boot, the boots, plants T shirt, white and blue stripe, long sleeve shirt and his black pants. Glenn's blood was also found on the ski pole, a meat cleaver, and the kitchen knife. So this is type O blood, but it's got some weird marker in it. They said the blood matching plants O blood was the blood on that of two other men who plants. Attorneys have tried to push attention toward. Okay, that's what they're saying. Wasn't found on anything. According to the testimony here, the sample of the blood that police took literally from plants hands wasn't enough to run the test. So they're saying. But plant's blood isn't there, so. Okay, you know, it's. It's fine.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Just, Just because he didn't bleed doesn't.

[James Petrigallo]

I mean, his fingerprints are there. That seems to be a big important thing there. Yeah. So they said that two men, Zargo And Bart Stacy had the same basic blood type, ab. Glenn had an unus genetic marker in the typos that you could tell very easily. The state police laboratory conducted blood typing analysis on blood samples taken from the scene and from plants, clothing, and from Glenn, Zargo and everybody else. So they reported that the type of blood in each sample and screened for all the shit, phosphate, acid, all that kind of shit. EAP testing showed genetic fingerprints in blood and provides greater accuracy than simple typing alone. That's like light DNA, basically. So these tests were performed between June 92 and October 92. That's important to know, by the way. 10-12-92, that's very important for a reason that you can't even fucking imagine. So the results of these tests indicated that the blood found on clothing worn by the defendant matched the victim. Okay. Zargo answers questions. They say he's very cooperative. He permitted the police to cut a swatch from his jeans to test for blood or anything. He even offered to give them the whole. You could just have the whole pair of jeans. I don't care. Just do whatever you want. I didn't do anything. I was at the bar. Hey, everybody, just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you a little bit more about the most safe sponsor there is. SimpliSafe.

[Jimmy Wissman]

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[James Petrigallo]

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[Jimmy Wissman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

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[Jimmy Wissman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

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[Jimmy Wissman]

Thank goodness I have this sweater.

[James Petrigallo]

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[Jimmy Wissman]

Now back to the show.

[James Petrigallo]

So, and that's other people were with Zargo the whole time. He left when Michaelson was still alive. End of story.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Right?

[James Petrigallo]

Right.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

They're saying maybe he came home and killed him. So they want. Plant wants bail.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Really?

[James Petrigallo]

And they said you can't give him bail. He's got. The charges are crazy. He has no strong ties to the community and he.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He's on probation.

[James Petrigallo]

He works at the grocery store for a month. It's not like he's so much invested he can't leave his 401k behind. So give me a break. Plus he's on probation for a grand theft conviction. At the time he's living in the San and Snow Motel. S A N N S N O. San and Snow Motel in Westchesterfield, New Hampshire, where he registered under the alias of Sam Smith.

[Jimmy Wissman]

What?

[James Petrigallo]

Upstanding people always register in the place they're going to live under an alias. Right?

[Jimmy Wissman]

And another musical.

[James Petrigallo]

Jesus fucking good God. So they said that while in Florida, Plant used three different Social Security numbers. So he's also an identity thief.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Really?

[James Petrigallo]

They argued that plant has $20 to his name and does not have family resources to come up with $100,000 bail. So you got to set it lower. And the judge said, no, I don't. That's perfect.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Not my problem.

[James Petrigallo]

He can't get out. I think that's what I'm going for.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So it feels like his issue off.

[James Petrigallo]

So Danielle, Glenn's ex wife talked about the impact that the death is having on their two small children and the rest of the family. She said it's very tough. The kids are not taking it very well. They have an 8 year old boy and a 5 year old girl who don't believe their father's dead. They think the mother's lying to him. They lived with their father and because their house is the scene of the murder investigation. They weren't allowed to collect any of their possessions, including toys and clothes for weeks after the murder. So these kids are not only displaced, they don't even have their stuff with them. It's like their house burned down. That's horrible. Okay, trial comes up. Holy balls. All right, what is he gonna say by the way? He comes into court wearing white high top sneakers, leg chains, white stone washed jeans, and a purple pullover jersey. Not the best court attire. You couldn't have got a kid a fucking tie. Nice lawyer.

[Jimmy Wissman]

What? Purple jersey.

[James Petrigallo]

That's what I mean, what is he wearing? A fucking Vikings jersey? He's got a sweet Wade Wilson or something back then.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I don't know what it's a wagers. What are you doing?

[James Petrigallo]

What are you wearing here? So that's what's going on here. The lawyers say that his lawyer says that she believes that the chances of acquittal are pretty damn good. And she told Plant that if he gets offered multiple plea deals here in the beginning.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Multiple.

[James Petrigallo]

Multiple. Different ones. Yeah. Choose. Choose your own adventure plea deal.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Fascinating.

[James Petrigallo]

The lawyer told him though that she felt that if she was in his place, she wouldn't take the offers. She would go for trial.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Okay, that's fucking crazy.

[James Petrigallo]

It's so obvious. He did this like, give me a break. Yeah, that's a terror. That's terrible advice. They offered a plea agreement for four months, different plea agreements for four months before the trial that included a 25 to year to life sentence. And even made the offer lower on the minimum sentence in another deal right before trial. And they said, nope, no thanks.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Unbelievable.

[James Petrigallo]

He could have done 20 is what we're saying. So they say. His lawyer said the state's evidence has. Hasn't definitely pinned down the time of death. So we have a timing issue because Plant may have been getting his head bashed in down the road when Michaelson was killed. Then how did he get his clothes? That's. What are you talking about? At some point he went from getting. Okay, so she said after taking depositions from the state police investigators and the medical examiner, there was a question about whether Michaelson, quote, was still alive at the time. The defendant was engaged with Mr. Sal's Salzman. That's because you can say that that's only because the medical examiner says, here's a three hour window. That's the best I can do. So she took it as that in that window is the time he was getting beat up. So he could have been down there. They show the autopsy Pics which are brutal. Brutal, mutilated. I mean, he just chopping him in the face.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He's got a fucking ski pole hanging out of his neck.

[James Petrigallo]

It's horrifying. This was shown, I guess, the bunch of people left the courtroom when that shit came on. Most of the jurors put their hands over their mouths and closed their eyes half the time. Several looked away as the intensity of the pictures got worse and worse and worse. They said, yeah, it was bad. Plant, also uncomfortable with this. Held his eyes down for Most of the 20 minutes of showing them. Really didn't want to see what he did. So the state's attorney, Dan M. Davis, left most of the questioning of Adams to. Of Adams to. To the turn to his attorney here, I guess. They led the coroner through slides detailing the 20 different injuries to the head and establishing the cause of death. The defense attorney asked the questions about the impact of each wound and whether it was potentially lethal. So she went through slowly, each and every wound to make sure that the jury was extra horrified about what her client did. Is she working for the state, this lady? What the fuck is happening right now?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Who are you in cahoots with?

[James Petrigallo]

Then it comes out the State chemist. This is the big fucking twist here, okay? Oh, my God. This is amazing. The State Chemist, Glenn E. Walker. Another Glenn Glenn?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

He was fired in January for stealing narcotics from work.

[Jimmy Wissman]

What?

[James Petrigallo]

And he was the guy who performed the blood tests in connection with this case.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Jesus.

[James Petrigallo]

Okay. This guy who performed the blood analysis was dismissed from his job and has been convicted of possessing a regulated drug. He received a deferred sentence after accepting a plea deal from the State. Welker admitted using drugs stolen from the crime Crime lab evidence locker between June 92 and December 92. An analysis of hair samples taken from Welker indicated chronic use of the drug fentanyl. This is 92, mind you. He knew. He's a chemist. He knew what was early, which he said. He is a regulated painkiller, I would say.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

He said the drug heroin was also missing from the crime lab evidence. Holy gay. Is fucking Smackhead answering questions here? They said Welker indicated he only used drugs on the weekend and not while working. I'm a weekend junkie. I shoot up on the weekends.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Monday and Tuesday are a real bear to get.

[James Petrigallo]

It's. I mean, it's. By Wednesday, though, I cook right through it. The sweats are gone. I'm feeling okay. Yeah.

[Jimmy Wissman]

By Friday, I'm ready to get after it again.

[James Petrigallo]

Oh, boy. Oh, my God.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Jesus Christ.

[James Petrigallo]

Brendan McMahon, a former Vermont State Police crime laboratory chemist who, like Welker, was also convicted of possessing these drugs from the crime lab, shared an office with Welker. These two in the same office were like, what if we just stole shit and did it? Okay.

[Jimmy Wissman]

They're trying it on the clock for sure. Oh, for fuck.

[James Petrigallo]

One's looking out the door as looking out back and forth. Go, go. There's fucking snorting it. Are you kidding me?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Hilarious.

[James Petrigallo]

McMahon was accepted into the diversion program, and his conviction will be stricken from the record if he completes probation. Defense attorney Joanne Balz tried to ask him if he observed anything unusual about Welker at the end of October, but the judge upheld an objection to the question. That should just be like, I don't know. I was fucked up on heroin. I wouldn't have noticed if he was fucked up, too. That's trash.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Heroin been, poof.

[James Petrigallo]

I was really on a lot then. Davis said that Welker's final analysis in the Plant case was completed on October 12, and that any evidence about Welker after that date was not relevant. That's what the judge ruled as, and they're not going to let in. Most of the day is spent about on testimony about blood samples and whether Glenn Walker was under the influence of illegal drugs when he conducted the blood tests.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Awesome.

[James Petrigallo]

His lab supervisor testified that Welker violated lab protocol by either eliminating several tests or failing to record the results in his working papers. You know, like a junkie, right?

[Jimmy Wissman]

Like an unreliable drug addict.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. Oh, shit. So the state's attorney had to call Welker's boss, Dr. Eric Buhle, to the stand, the senior chemist at the crime lab, to say he had evaluated Welker's tests and found they violated lab protocol in several significant areas. Welker denied he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs while performing the blood tests. He's obviously recently convicted of possession of lots of shit and stealing it. But when questioned by the defense attorney, one of Plant's attorneys here, whether he was smoking or snorting heroin during the months he was working on the case, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination and smiled.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I don't want you to know how.

[James Petrigallo]

I don't have to tell you. Oh, my God. Now the defense attorney said, well, you can say that all you want. You told a Vermont State police investigator that you were smoking heroin between June and October, shortly before you were caught. Welker was adamant that he wasn't under the influence at work, but his boss's evaluation of his work raised questions. Yeah, yeah. He said. His boss said, I reviewed the evidence last week because I had concerns in his notes. I can't find the supporting documentation. But he said that they were not critical tests or mistakes. The violation, it just happened. They said also the samples have been destroyed before the defense could analyze them. So the prosecution took the. Took the samples, had a junkie analyze them, and then destroyed them.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Damn it.

[James Petrigallo]

That's not great. So they said such an analysis could have supported and diminished capacity defense here or something, Indicating that maybe Plant was drunk at the time because they lost his blood too. They fucked that up too. So that's a lot. So that's all going on now. The defense wants to say that Zargo did it. That's their thing.

[Jimmy Wissman]

That's their theory.

[James Petrigallo]

That's their theory. Zargo killed Plant and put his clothes on, or not kill Plant. Zargo killed Michelson and then said, hey, dude, I know you like this leather jacket and his boots. You want them? So Plant's attorneys presented their first witness, A doctor who's a retired Vermont chief medical examiner, who said she believed it was possible there was more than one attacker. Because there's all different types of wounds from different type of weapons, she believed it's possible. Believed and possible are those two words. Yeah, are the important words. She noted that at least one of the murder weapons appeared to be missing a. Missing a sharp, thin knife or a blunt instrument. Because Michaelson had wounds that didn't quite match up with the three identified weapons. She also said she didn't believe one of the ski pole wounds in Michael Michaelson's head wound would have been fatal, contradicting the state's testimony.

[Jimmy Wissman]

The fuck does she know?

[James Petrigallo]

They bring in Deborah Labarge. She says she met Steven Zargar, who was Michaelson's best friend and the person that the defense is trying to implicate. She said a friend introduced them and they spent the day together with two others at the west river in Brattleboro. She said Zargo made advances. Advances to her and laughed about being a suspect. And Michael.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, my God.

[James Petrigallo]

He was trying to sound dangerous and cool to some new trim. That's the. That's his. Some new. Some new wool over here. I'm trying to sound kind of cool here.

[Jimmy Wissman]

I might be a murderer. You don't know.

[James Petrigallo]

I might be an outlaw. You like bad boys? Because there are chicks who would find that attractive for some reason. So that's bizarre.

[Jimmy Wissman]

But, yeah, they exist.

[James Petrigallo]

Zargo told Labarge that he had a scar on his leg and wanted to show her that it resulted from a fight as opposed to the horseplay he described during his testimony. Well, he's trying to. He's showing off scars to a girl, saying, I was in a big pack. Yeah. So this witness here that's been testifying, they decide that the judge decides to not let the lawyer ask her about how Zargo showed her a buck knife that he kept in his boot. Because they said that the defense argued that the deputy medical examiner, you know, said that it could be a weapon similar to that. So they said maybe. They said it's relevant because he showed her the knife while he was talking about the murder. And then the prosecution said, so what? I'm sure that everyone who went to the party has since then, since then held a knife in their hands, whether it be a steak knife or some other kind of knife. This is irrelevant. It's months fucking later. What are we talking about? So they ruled that they could not ask the question of labarge about the knife or about the gun he allegedly told the barge he was carrying. He's trying to sound like a dangerous character because he thinks he found a chick who likes bad boys. That's all it is. So they also was not allowed. They weren't allowed to ask about Zargo's demeanor when he told her about being a murder suspect either. Now, Lorraine Hamilton, a friend of Michaelson who attended the party, said that Zargo told her that Glenn was sleeping in a chair when he and the two others left the party to go to a bar. In this person's testimony, Zargo said Glenn had been standing on the porch when he left. That's what. What Zargo said in court. But I guess to a month, two months earlier, he told this person that he was sleeping.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Right.

[James Petrigallo]

So there's some, you know, inconsistencies. So this witness also said that Zargo told her about his relationship with Danielle Parent, Glenn's ex, and that Zargo had a poor reputation for the truth. That's what I think it is. I think this guy's just a talker and a bragger.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah, he exaggerates.

[James Petrigallo]

Yeah. Now. Now Michelson's ex wife, though, this parent, you know, Danielle Parent, said that she did not have a sexual relationship with Zargo. She. The defense tried to show in its cross examination that Zargo had motive to kill Michaelson because he had a sexual relationship with his ex and he had fought with Michelson during the party, which nobody saw.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Not true. Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Michelle Parent, Michelson's ex, sister in law, Said that after Michaels Michaelson's funeral, Christopher Lapin, one of the people who went to the bar that night, who testified to that as well, said he wanted to tell her what really happened in Michaelson slaying, but never ended up talking to her about it. I'll tell you what really happened now. Some other time though, but not now, not at the funeral. It's gauche, you know what I mean? So closing arguments. The state's case against. Against Plant is pretty strong and thorough physical evidence, except for the. The blood has got to be tainted by heroin guy there. But still, they discovered him lying in the woods near the scene of the crime after driving the murder victim's car into a ditch wearing the dead man's clothes. I think that's pretty fucking cut and dry right there.

[Jimmy Wissman]

With his handprint in blood back in.

[James Petrigallo]

The house right over his corpse. And his finger, his palm print on the handle of the murder weapon sticking.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Out of his neck.

[James Petrigallo]

It's pretty good.

[Jimmy Wissman]

It's really easy.

[James Petrigallo]

And that's what they say. They go, he was wearing his boots, his jacket. They found his own shoes that he left at the murder scene in a pool of the guy's blood next to the body. His hands, boots and clothing all had blood on them that matched the victims. The police identified his palm print on the ball. I mean, we could go on and on and on. They said the only person to whom the defendant is pointed as an alternative murderer left the scene with two other people before a neighbor heard an argument. They watched. Remember the neighbor said they watched the car drive away with those three, then heard loud arguing coming from inside. So Glenn was alive at that point to argue. Yeah, so we know that. And also the conduct at plants, conduct the Salzman residence, was not consistent with his claim that he just happened upon the victim's body by accident and took his clothes because he liked them. So the jury instructions here, that's a big. That's important here. During the afternoon, the attorneys for both sides reviewed the instructions. They said that they were. He was. The prosecutor said he's not opposed to adding second degree murder as a lesser included offense in the case if the jury is unable to find him guilty of felony murder. So under the felony murder statute, the jury must find that a murder was committed while a felony. In this case, the robbery of all of his shit took place. So they give a big jury instruction on that. I won't go into it completely. Verdict comes in, he is guilty of first degree murder. They were like, what are we doing.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Here doing this Is easy.

[James Petrigallo]

So they said afterwards. The ex wife there said that it's been hard raising the kids. Little Raylene and little Glenn Jr. Are having a hard time and he was devoted to them. And he would dress up as the Easter Bunny in Santa Claus for the holidays. And he loved them.

[Jimmy Wissman]

What a party that guy was.

[James Petrigallo]

Sound like a fun guy, Glenn. So sentencing comes around and Plant testifies in his own defense and sentencing about his life. They said he appeared to be sincere and honest and earnest here, but, you know, obviously.

[Jimmy Wissman]

So what?

[James Petrigallo]

So what? He's sober now. He said that he does not remember the murder and is not convinced he committed it.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, my.

[James Petrigallo]

He said he remembered drinking a lot of beer at the party and remembered falling asleep while a band was playing in the next room. The next thing he remembered, he was getting out of a police cruiser at the barracks.

[Jimmy Wissman]

He doesn't remember crashing a tornado?

[James Petrigallo]

Nope. Doesn't even remember. Doesn't remember getting the shit beaten out of him. None of that stuff.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Remember when that man beat the fuck out of it?

[James Petrigallo]

Pummeled you half to death? He said, although he doesn't recall the murder or any of the events surrounding it. If one day the memories come back, if I did this, I would be truly sorry. It's a tragedy. The judge said, you're right, it is. You, sir, may fuck off. 52 years. To life.

[Jimmy Wissman]

To life. Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

52. To life. That's a lot. So that's.

[Jimmy Wissman]

You're doing a lot of time.

[James Petrigallo]

You're doing a lot of time. You probably should have took that deal.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Get comfortable with Vermont because you're not leaving for a while.

[James Petrigallo]

No. Unless Florida wants you back for something. But he could have had a deal and didn't do it. So that said, by 1998, he wants a new trial saying that he had, you know, ineffective assistance of counsel because he was discouraged. Yeah, he was discouraged from taking a plea deal that would have made it second degree murder and 20 years minimum sentence. Plant's attorneys also contend that the defense attorneys failed to fully utilize a diminished capacity defense based on their client's apparent drunkenness and at the time of his crime and his history of alcoholism.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Plant took the stand in this hearing and testified that he relied on the advice of his attorneys in rejecting the plea agreement. He said his other convictions, including one for grand larceny, were the result of plea agreements. So that's why he didn't do it. If his appeal successful, he is entitled to a new trial. So interesting here they said that they definitely the family here, Michelle Parent and all these people said that they, they would like the, you know, this guy to stay in prison. They said we would shout for life imprisonment and pray no plea bargain offer would be put on the table. They wanted that for sure. So then they talk about prisoners rights. Office argued in a 24 page filing in 1999 that Plant should have been convicted of second degree murder because he didn't have the necessary intent to steal Michelson's car. Even though he did, he did it. Yeah.

[Jimmy Wissman]

And he stole a keg.

[James Petrigallo]

And he stole a keg in his clothes and everything else. And a rape. They blamed the attorneys. They said that petitioner has high hurdles to overcome in demonstrating that he's entitled to relief based on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. That's what the judge said. And a forensic psychologist named Philip Kinsler of New Hampshire said Plant's an alcoholic and said despite six years behind bars, Plant still displayed alcoholic attitudes.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Is that right?

[James Petrigallo]

He said, I was blown away, to tell you the honest truth. Here's a man, alcohol destroyed him and he was still bragging about great parties. It was frightening. I partied so hard, I partied so mask crashed a tornado right into a ditch, buddy. You don't even fucking know. So he has found. Fuck you. Stay there. Denied all of his appeals there. In 2018, there's a bunch of murderers seeking reduced sentences because of a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court and some weird sentencing fucking, you know, technicality here. But it doesn't matter. He's still in prison anyway. So Robert Plant, Michael Jackson, Glenn Dan, Zig Michelson, they're all here. Everybody's gathered around. It's been a wild story. Holy shit. If you like. That's a crazy Vermont. Even the chemist is smoking heroin and fentanyl. Even the state lab guy.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Yeah.

[James Petrigallo]

Jesus Christ. So anyway, there you are. If you like that show, tell the world about it, get on whatever app you're on, give us five stars because it really fucking helps. Tell all your friends. Post on social media, Listen to our other two shows, Crime in Sports and your stupid opinions as well. That helps us out a ton if you do that. Also shut up and give me murder.com tickets for live shows. Boston and New York still have some tickets left and they're going fast. So if you want to go get them right now, let's go. Patreon.com Crime in sports is where you get all the bonus material.

[Jimmy Wissman]

Oh, and it's deep.

[James Petrigallo]

It's deep. You $5 or above, you get hundreds of episodes of back bonus shit. You've never heard immediately new ones every other week. One Crime in Sports One Small Town Murder this week Crime in Sports. One of the worst owners in sports history. Marge Schott, a lunatic. We'll talk about her. Then for Small Town Murder, another lunatic. We're going to talk about the Sarah Boone Suitcase Killer murder trial that I watched every minute of. So we'll check all that out and more. Keep coming back here patreon.com crime and sports and you get a shout out at the end of the regular show. You want to find us? Head over to shut up and give me murder.com social media tags are all there. Get on us. Keep following us. Keep coming back until next week and hanging out with us. And until next week everybody, it's been our pleasure. If you like Small town Murder, you can listen early and ad free now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen early and ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey.

[C]

Did you know that after World War II the US government quietly brought former Nazi scientists to America in a covert operation to advance military technology? Or that in the 1950s the US army conducted a secret experiment by releasing bacteria over San Francisco to test how a biological attack might spread without alerting the public? These might sound like conspiracy theories, but they're not. They're well documented government operations that have been hidden away in classified files for decades. I'm Luke Lamanna, a Marine Corps recon vet and I've always had a thing for digging into the unknown. It's what led me to start my new podcast, Declassified Mysteries. In it I explore hidden truths and reveal some eye opening events like covert experiments and secret operations that those in power tried to keep buried. Follow redacted Declassified mysteries with me, Luke lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts to listen ad free. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery App.