#554 - Murky Murder Motives - Fort Pierce, Florida

Summary

Summary of Small Town Murder Episode #554 - "Murky Murder Motives - Fort Pierce, Florida"

Release Date: December 21, 2024
Hosts: James Petregallo and Jimmy Whisman

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Introduction

In episode #554 of Small Town Murder, hosts James Petregallo and Jimmy Whisman delve into the intricate and dark case surrounding the murder of Ashley Paulo in Fort Pierce, Florida. Combining thorough research with their trademark comedic flair, the duo unpacks the events leading up to the crime, the ensuing investigation, and the subsequent legal battles that unfolded in this seemingly tranquil small town.

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Fort Pierce, Florida: A Town with Hidden Struggles

The episode begins with an exploration of Fort Pierce, a city with a population of approximately 46,409. While some reviews paint Fort Pierce as a "hidden gem" with affordable housing and a small-town feel, the hosts highlight a contrasting reality plagued by crime, particularly gun-related incidents. James notes, “[...] the city is the definition of crime, drugs, and gangs” (08:43), underscoring the tumultuous environment in which the central murder took place.

---

Ashley Paulo: Profile of a Complex Individual

Ashley Paulo, whose full name appears variously as Ronald Ashley or Ashley Ronald, is introduced as a successful tax attorney admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980. Despite his professional achievements, Ashley's personal life was marred by violent behavior and mental health struggles. His daughter described him as a "workaholic" who was "very doting" yet conflicted, stating, "He was something of a workaholic" (14:48). Court records from 1999 reveal a violent past, including restraining orders and psychological evaluations, contrasting sharply with his non-violent public persona.

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The Murder at 2J's Gourmet Deli

On August 2, 1999, Ashley Paulo assaulted Julius Melnick at 2J's Gourmet Deli, leading to Melnick sustaining a broken hip from which he later died due to complications. Initially charged with aggravated battery, the case took a dramatic turn when the medical examiner ruled Melnick's death a homicide, resulting in a third-degree murder charge for Paulo. James sarcastically comments, "They don't let old people write the elderly law, and it makes no sense with the rest of the laws" (20:04), highlighting a perceived flaw in the legal statutes.

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Investigation and Legal Proceedings

Despite numerous accusations and a troubling history, Paulo maintained his innocence, attributing his actions to accidental motives. After a prolonged period without further incidents, Paulo resurfaced in 2010, leading to renewed suspicions and investigations. The turning point came when Michelle Lockridge, an employee with a criminal background, implicated her boyfriend Thomas Barnard in Paulo's murder. Through meticulous police work involving surveillance footage and forensic evidence, including acid burns on Paulo's body, the prosecution built a strong case against Barnard.

During the trial, Michelle's credibility was undermined by her extensive criminal history and conflicting testimonies. James mocks the defense's shaky narrative, stating, "You have to refute her story" (64:11). The jury ultimately found Thomas Barnard guilty, sentencing him to life without parole. Ashley's family expressed their relief and sorrow, with his sister proclaiming, "That's a cold-blooded murderer" (68:40).

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Related Crimes and Persons of Interest

The episode also touches upon the tragic case of Frederick Matthew Lockridge, a 15-year-old who was convicted for the murder of his 10-year-old sister, Isabella, in 2016. Frederick's multiple confessions reveal a deeply troubled individual, further painting a grim picture of Fort Pierce's societal issues.

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Conclusion

Small Town Murder Episode #554 provides a comprehensive and gripping account of Ashley Paulo's murder, set against the backdrop of a city grappling with crime and corruption. Through detailed storytelling and candid commentary, James and Jimmy shed light on the complexities of small-town intrigue, the failings of legal systems, and the profound impact of personal demons on community safety.

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Notable Quotes:

• James Petregallo on Fort Pierce's Crime:
  “The city is the definition of crime, drugs and gangs.” (08:43)

• Jimmy Whisman on Legal Flaws:
  “They let old people write the elderly law, and it makes no sense with the rest of the laws.” (20:07)

• James Petregallo on the Murder Trial:
  “You have to refute her story.” (64:11)

• Ashley Paulo's Sister on Verdict:
  “That's a cold blooded murderer who robbed them of a kind and gentle man.” (68:54)

---

This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, providing listeners with an in-depth understanding of the discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn by the hosts without requiring prior knowledge of the podcast.

Transcript

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[James Petregallo]

Hello everybody and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah and Choo Choo.

[James Petregallo]

Oh yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petregallo. I'm here with my co host.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm Jimmy Whisman.

[James Petregallo]

He is on it today. Look at that. Thank you folks so much for joining us. Oh my goodness. All aboard the Murder Train. There it goes, pulling away from the station. We got a wild episode for you as usual on Express. You know, we will stuff a three hour murder story into an hour and it's gonna be wild stuff. So check that out. Definitely. But before that, shutupandgivemerder.com is the website. Get your tickets for 2025, announce it. The announce date when all the cities and dates will come out is December 17th. There's like a pre sale on the 18th. They go on sale totally publicly on December twent. So get in there, get your tickets, get them early because they tend to go fast. As people found out this year we are so excited coming to some places that we have not been in a couple of years and some brand new ones and a couple of brand new places we've never been before. We're gonna try them out. We're gonna take a ferry everybody. There's a hint for you for one of them but hopefully shut upandgivemerder.com is where you get all that. Definitely. Also listen to our other two shows Crime and Sports and your stupid opinions. Listen to people's dumb reviews from all around the Internet. It's amazing stuff. And then also should get Patreon. Patreon.comCrimeInSports is where you get all of the bonus material. It's a lot too. Anybody $5 a month or above, you get a giant back catalog. Hundreds of episodes you've never heard before and no one has unless they subscribe to Patreon. New ones every other week. One Crime in Sports, One Small Town Murder and you my friends, get it all. That's right. This week, what you're going to get for Crime and Sports, we're going to do another episode of Bad Sports Songs which is going to be so fun. We're going to hear athletes trying to rap and sing and we're going at their best, trying as hard as they can. And we'll play them and laugh at them and rewind it. Listen again. Remember Gaza's Fog on the Tyne? It's that for an hour you can't beat it so bad. Then for Small Town Murder we're going to talk about remote viewing, which is when the CIA thought that if you concentrate hard enough you can see into a cave 5,000 miles away. And guess what? Didn't really work very well. But we'll talk all about that and more. Patreon.com Crime and sports and you get a shout out at the end of the show as well then to the regular show anyway, so that said, I think it's time everybody. What do you say? I think it's time to clear the lungs. Let's all arms to the sky. Let's all shout. Shut up and give me murder. Let's do this, everybody. Let's go on A trip, John.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

All right. We are going to Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Hell yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Yes. Which it is freezing right now, so doesn't sound too. Too terrible. We're going to Fort Pierce, Florida. That is on the south. It's southeast. It's north of Palm beach, opposite of Fort Myers. I don't know. I'm not good with my Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fort Myers is just south of Tampa. On the west side.

[James Petregallo]

On the west side, this is on the east side. Yeah, it's about. Yeah, it's over it probably, I would say. Yeah. It's about 2 hours and 45 minutes to Miami. I bet it drives straight down. Yeah, it's a little out of place.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Directly across from Florida.

[James Petregallo]

It's about a quarter to a third of the way up the Florida line.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right.

[James Petregallo]

About an hour 45 to Cholota, Florida, which was our last Florida episode. That was the webcam model madness. That was the crazy guy with the upset. Yeah, that was a weird one, man. This town population here, 46,409. Median household income here normally, the rest of the country, it's almost $70,000 here. 40,000, 3, 23.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What in the fuck is going on there?

[James Petregallo]

I don't know what's happen happening down here. Maybe it's just super cheap. Maybe all the. All the prices, everything, it's just stuck in the 90s. Everything. It's 1995.

[Jimmy Whisman]

When you go over there, you don't need money.

[James Petregallo]

No, no. They still have like Dell computer stores over there. Gateway shops with the big cow spots. Yeah, that took a minute to remember.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That was it. Compact person.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, yeah. Oh boy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Like aerodynamic. Like they were going to be going down the freeway. You needed.

[James Petregallo]

Like you were going to use them in a truck bed as you went down the freeway at 85 miles. Didn't want to you get much drag.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Why would they make it look like that?

[James Petregallo]

No idea. Median home price here, $274,000. So not that high compared to the rest of the country. But high. If you make 40 grand.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Sure is. Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Not too great there. Little bit of history of this town. The first permanent settlement of the current city was in the 1860s. It was incorporated into a municipality in 1901. It was the largest city on Florida's Atlantic coast between Daytona beach and West Palm beach until 1970 when Melbourne was bigger. So it had some population here. There's a neighborhood of Lincoln park, not Chicago, this one. The area north of Moore's Creek originated as Edgartown. And so that was there. And a couple reviews of this town here. There's Some fun ones from this town. I mean you had to really. It's hard to go through them and pick them out. Here is five stars. Fort Pierce is a hidden gem, by the way. Every sentence has three exclamation points after it. So they're very excited. There is so much to do. Wow. Okay. More than any other town on the Treasure coast still has a small town feel. And more people are realizing what a beautiful place it is. Housing is so much more affordable too. Brand new homes in the mid to high two hundreds.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's pretty good.

[James Petregallo]

That's not bad. Yeah. So there you go. Four stars. Great place to live. Besides gunshots. Sometimes.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Sometimes.

[James Petregallo]

You know, besides the deadly projectiles flying through the air, it's great. And then this is the best too. But that's most places.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Is it?

[James Petregallo]

No, it's not. It's really not.

[Jimmy Whisman]

From time to time you're dodging bullets.

[James Petregallo]

What are you talking about? Everybody out there. Is there constant gunshots around you? There's areas, I can tell you that have constant gunshots. Mostly downtown areas, not everywhere. It's really not. Rent used to be really cheap until recently.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. So people are finding out that it's cheap there.

[James Petregallo]

I think that's why. Yeah. And it's expensive. Other places.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Go find somewhere cheap and won't and it's going to go up before you know it will people find it.

[James Petregallo]

Here is one star. Fort Pierce has to be one of the worst cities in Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. There's gun shows everywhere.

[James Petregallo]

The city is the definition of crime, drugs and gangs. There's 40,000 people here. How many gangs can there be really? If I had the chance to move, I would. If I could give it zero stars, I would. It is quite honestly a hell on earth. Oh, Jesus Christ. Fires, burning and poked in the ass with a trident. That's rough. That's a rough one.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You're here for eternity.

[James Petregallo]

Can't get out. I do not feel safe out on my own. Even in my neighborhood, which is one of the quote, nicer ones is terrible safety and numbers. The way they said it. Go out with a friend, go out with well and. Well, there's still gunshots flying around all over the place. My neighbor is constantly being arrested on drug charges. That's a real personal thing.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That sounds like just him probably doing a lot of drugs.

[James Petregallo]

When he's home from jail, he's always selling or doing drugs and always goes on rampages outside. I think this is just. Maybe if you move to a different house, you might be better off here. Imagine living next to that. It's terrifying. The entire city of Fort Pierce is terrifying.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, Jesus. Sure sounds like it.

[James Petregallo]

They are scared of everything. Things to do here. Okay. The Fort Pierce Oyster and Sea Fest. Yeah, I'm all about this shit. This sounds great. It's along the waterfront in downtown Fort Pierce two day festival celebrating Fort Pierce waterfront and all of its bounty. With delicious oysters, tasty seafood dishes, Land Lubber Foods, Land Lubber, live entertainment, and a bevy of arts and craft and merchandise vendors. It's free to come in.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Good.

[James Petregallo]

That's nice. We love pets, but we ask that you please do not bring them with you. Oh, that's better than no fucking dogs ever. Like some of them say we respect.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The shit out of them, but keep them somewhere else.

[James Petregallo]

You got raw oysters, steamed oysters, Rockefeller Italiano, char grilled oysters, fried oysters, oyster shooters with vodka or beer. But the entertainment schedule, that's what we're all about when you're drunk with a belly full of oysters. By the way, I've done before, not recommended, not too drunk.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That feels real gross.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. If you've ever seen Mad Men, there's a time when Don Draper sets Roger Sterling up to get sick by pretending the elevator's out after giving him lots of vodka and oysters. And then he walked up a bunch of stairs and threw up and threw up everywhere.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Go exercise.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. I did that in Vegas one time and it was like 110 outside and that shit was fighting in there. I was like, oh, God, I gotta go sit down in the air conditioning. This isn't good.

[Jimmy Whisman]

These oysters are boxing.

[James Petregallo]

They are boxing the vodka. And the vodka's winning, I think. So 2024 schedule. Here was Scott Benge. Or Benge B, E, N, G, E. I don't know. He's playing the coveted 10am slot, which is what all musicians really strive for, is to get on at 10am I'm done by lunch, babe. That's great.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Belly full of oysters.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, man. Sweet justice.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Bamboo is playing at 4:00. Keith Anthony Panman. I don't know. That sounds country, right?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Anything. Keith.

[James Petregallo]

Keith. Yeah, Keith is. Yeah. Johnny. Dept. Pre stage.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Johnny Depp.

[James Petregallo]

Johnny Depp, Pre stage.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, that prestage is part of the name.

[James Petregallo]

That's part of the name.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Johnny Depp.

[James Petregallo]

Debt. Johnny is in debt.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The opposite of Johnny Paycheck, but also the opposite of Johnny Depp.

[James Petregallo]

Like, if you lost the case with Amber Heard, he'd be there. Amber Heard won. He'd be Johnny Depp. And then they're gonna play more Johnny Depp. Jupiter Trailer trash will be there at 2:00.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'll bet that's a good thing.

[James Petregallo]

That's fun.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Does seem funny.

[James Petregallo]

And then Bobby G. And then finally bamboo will close it out there. Yeah, it's Bobby G. He plays a different horn.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He plays a trombone.

[James Petregallo]

It's a real boring. Plays an oboe. And people are, like, real annoying. It's not really a solo instrument. You know what I mean? So that said, let's talk about some murder, shall we? Let's do this here. Bobby Bassoon G, he comes out with a big bassoon and he's like, come on. Like, this is not romantic.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You're just playing the bass.

[James Petregallo]

This is not the alto sax at all. Just playing the bass line to Ranchero songs over and over again. So let's talk about a murder. Let's talk about a man first. Now, his name, he goes by Ashley. Okay? But I don't know if his name is Ronald Ashley or Ashley Ronald, because in multiple places it's different. So I'm not positive, but he goes by Ashley. Either way, you can forget Ronald ever existed.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Ronald or Ashley.

[James Petregallo]

Maybe his last name, maybe his middle name. Oh, God. One of them is his middle name. One of them is his first. But he goes by Ashley either way, so who gives a shit? Basically, Ashley Paulo is his last name. P, O, L, L, O, W, like pillow with an O. He's born in 1952. He graduated from Castle Heights Military School in Lebanon, Tennessee in 1970 and went to the University of Memphis and the University of Memphis Law School as well.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's a successful Southern man.

[James Petregallo]

He's very successful, yes. He's. Well, not in all things. We'll talk about this. But yeah, he's a tax attorney. That's what he does. He's admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980. He's gonna get married. We'll talk all about that in more detail in a little bit later. And have four children as well. And then get divorced also.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, damn it.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, he's interesting. One of his daughters said, well, I guess he met his wife at University of Memphis and moved with her to Florida. There they got married and had kids. So he started his law practice down there. They later divorced. His daughter told people that he was a very doting parent, but he was something of a workaholic.

[Jimmy Whisman]

So I know how that goes.

[James Petregallo]

And I guess if you're starting out a law practice too, you kind of probably panicked.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You got five mouths at home.

[James Petregallo]

You gotta feed yeah. And also student loan debts, probably. Who knows what else. So anyway, yeah, his daughter said he did struggle with depression. He had breakdown. He had a breakdown, moved to Fort Pierce and gave himself a fresh start. So I guess after college and law school and all that, he kind of.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I bet a lot of lawyers do that at the beginning just to melt down. How the fuck am I gonna make it now?

[James Petregallo]

From what I hear, like law school, medical school, any kind of like specialized graduate school is very stressful from what I understand. I guess it would be because you put everything into this. You're at the tip of the arrow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

At the end of it, there's a crescendo of like either a dissertation or you've got to take the bar exam. Yeah. That is not easy.

[James Petregallo]

A lot. Yeah, it's a lot of stress, I guess. And your whole life depending on it and hinging on it. You've got yourself in all this debt. A lot of you gotta get out of it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The nice part about the bar is a lot of very famous lawyers have failed it several times. Oh, tons still passed.

[James Petregallo]

Tons.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's crazy. You can fail it a million times and come right back.

[James Petregallo]

Come right back. It's like. It's like a road test.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Now he's got it.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. I know people who failed their road test four or five times. And it's like they let you just drive.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Let's just keep going.

[James Petregallo]

If you fail more than three times, they should put like a special placard like you're a Domino's Pizza delivery person on top of your car. Watch for him. Took him a while to get there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, he knows now, but he didn't for a long time.

[James Petregallo]

He knows just the minimum. So his sister, Ashley's sister Jackie described him as nice and kind. She said he's a very non violent person. His disposition is very laid back.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's a lawyer.

[James Petregallo]

Yes. So just keep that in mind. Very nonviolent disposition, very laid back. Cut to 1999. There is an article that is headlined, Lawyer has violent past, records show.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, violent past.

[James Petregallo]

That's nice. Yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Multiple.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, yeah, yeah. He's got some stuff here. This article goes on to say that Ashley Paulo's parents, ex wife and girlfriend had warned for years that his erratic and violent behavior would someday endanger his life or the lives of others.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

According to court records. Wow. So nonviolent. Very laid back.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Apparently to somebody.

[James Petregallo]

There were psychological evaluations, restraining orders, threats and bizarre behavior. Records show.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What is going on?

[James Petregallo]

How many tax attorneys are.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Why is he so Mad like, even.

[James Petregallo]

Like I can see a criminal lawyer, you know, because they get the bombastic. Showmanship is part of it. A tax lawyer is supposed to be pretty fucking buttoned up, right?

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's like the least worrisome of all the crime.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Yeah. You wouldn't. It's crazy.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I mean, I guess you're. I don't. And it depends on which side he's on. Is he fixing things for people or ruining people?

[James Petregallo]

Well, he's. He's a lawyer, not for the irs, so I.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's helping people get out of tax problems.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. But one incident that could send the Boca Raton tax attorney to prison for life was a simple shove at a Boca Raton restaurant this summer.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Uh.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, that's because Paolo, 47 at the time, in 99, shoved Julius Melnick, 75.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, Ashley.

[James Petregallo]

At the doorway of 2J's Gourmet Deli. Beating up old men at a deli. What the.

[Jimmy Whisman]

How hangry were you doing?

[James Petregallo]

What an asshole. On August 2, Melnick fell against a wall and broke his hip as Paulo stood over him and yelled, what's your problem?

[Jimmy Whisman]

I've got a broken hip.

[James Petregallo]

My broken hip is broken. My pelvis is shattered at the.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I might die now. That's why.

[James Petregallo]

Well, let's see here. As a result, Paula was charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 years or older, which in Florida, that's a lot of the population, so those laws are strong.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're strict as fuck.

[James Petregallo]

That carries a penalty of 30 years to life in prison.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You don't fuck with old people.

[James Petregallo]

I guess not. Not in Florida. You don't fuck. There's so many of them. They're like, let's put them away forever. If they touch us. All right, we can do whatever we want. We'll drive our golf carts. Shit faced in front of them.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Incredibly slow.

[James Petregallo]

Anybody gets angry about it, 30 to life. We own this place. Holy shit.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I worked my life away in Jersey for this.

[James Petregallo]

I did it. Connecticut, this. You know, the taxes I paid outside.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Of Greenwich to drive this Easy go.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, my God. So Melnick then died on October 5th?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, my God, he did.

[James Petregallo]

He died from pneumonia in a hospital due to complications.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Complications from the hip. God damn it.

[James Petregallo]

The medical examiner said were related to the incident.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He killed him.

[James Petregallo]

He killed him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

That's not the murder, by the way. That's not the small town murder here, because it's a bonus murder over some capital. Holy shit. Over an Italian fucking combo. What's happening?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

Because of the medical examiner's Ruling that the death was a homicide, Boca Raton police last week added a charge of third degree murder.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They put homicide on the ticket because they did.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. That murder charge, however, is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison because of what the state's attorney's law office called an inherent flaw in the statute. Yes. You let old people write the elderly law, and it makes no sense with the rest of the laws.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're trying to protect themselves from ever getting shoved over a salami.

[James Petregallo]

Good God. Mike Edmondson, spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said he'll lobby to have the laws changed. So third degree murder charges carries a harsher penalty than aggravated battery. That seems logical, yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Murder battery.

[James Petregallo]

Holy shit. Now, they say that Ashley has one prior arrest in February of that year, 1999, for battery and violating a restraining order. He's a problem.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He really has a short temper.

[James Petregallo]

I guess so. Despite the allegations of abuse against him, Paulo has never been disciplined by the Florida bar since being admitted to the bar in 1980. In 1998, court related or court ordered psychiatric examination, Paolo denied having the urge to hurt anyone and said he was under stress at work because he was trying to find more profitable cases. Well, people in tax trouble usually aren't. They don't have the most money to pay.

[Jimmy Whisman]

If they had money, they'd pay their fucking tax bill.

[James Petregallo]

Now, drug dealers, that's who you should defend. They have a lot of money. They pay in cash. It's great. Paolo began exhibiting violent behavior shortly after meeting his wife in a psychiatric facility in Tarpon Springs more than two decades ago. They met while they were both in the psych ward.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

Him and his wife.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

And then they said, let's have four kids.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Let's figure out life together.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. According to restraining orders and other Palm beach county court orders, Gene Dwayne Paulo and Ashley Paulo.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. His wife's name is Jean Dwayne. Gene Dwayne, that's his wife, and his name is Ronald Ashley. Very confusing. They met in 1973 at Ancloat Manor, which is not a ski resort in Vail, where they were both being treated for behavioral disorders, quote, unquote. They fell in love, left Anclote without medical authorization and got married. Which, when you go into a facility like that, they say, try to find someone and fall in love with them and run away and get married. That's the best course of action for you. Really. The best treatment you can have.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Any rehab center will tell you.

[James Petregallo]

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Drug addicts, behavioral Disorders. According to the final divorce ruling there in 1997.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It didn't work out.

[James Petregallo]

Didn't work out. The lengthy and bitter divorce is peppered with dozens of allegations of abuse, including an account of being of a beating that's alleged to have occurred within one week of their marriage.

[Jimmy Whisman]

God damn.

[James Petregallo]

This guy I met at the mental institution isn't the guy. I thought he was weird, right? Strange. Jean Paulo said the beatings continued through their marriage, averaging two to three times per month. Jesus Christ. In 1990. Poor woman. That's fucked. In 1995, she filed a restraining order against Ashley Paulo, saying she and the children needed protection against his malicious, brutal and violent temper.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I would say so.

[James Petregallo]

Who? They wrote that Ashley had trouble with his temper, ego and lack of maturity. And at times he exhibited exhibits erratic behavior. That's from the evaluation. Paula was also accused of abuse by a girlfriend, of course, who filed a restraining order against him in January, calling him a psychotic alcoholic in court records. Very nice. Shirley Powell, 40, said in court that she feared for her life when Paulo Powell and Paulo got together. Came home. Let's just rearrange those letters and make you mine. What do you say? Came home one day in a rage and began kicking and hitting her like a maniac and foaming at the mouth.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Whoa.

[James Petregallo]

He has rabies now, too.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What's his deal?

[James Petregallo]

I don't know. He's got a lot. The taxes will make you angry, I guess.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're frustrating.

[James Petregallo]

They can be very. Those long forms. Frustrating.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They change laws every fucking year.

[James Petregallo]

Who knows what's happening? In June 1998, Paolo asked a judge to commit his son after he said Ashley Paolo destroyed everything in his house. That's David. Paolo asked that please commit my father because he wrecked the whole house.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's losing it.

[James Petregallo]

He just destroyed the whole house. It said his son in court record went on to say he will not talk to anyone, has not been to his office in a week. And has left his law practice unattended and has been drinking in excess.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

Complete meltdown is what that is. One of his employees, Donald Murray, said in court records that Paulo's home was littered with food and beer bottles and that he was acting incoherent, as if he was hallucinating. He goes, I'm just trying to acclimate myself to Fort Pierce, Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, just getting comfy.

[James Petregallo]

I'm getting comfy and no one will know. Will think I'm local if I act like this.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm gonna do this and wear this Tommy Bahama shirt.

[James Petregallo]

Where's my oysters.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I want shooters.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. A general. I want shooters. A general. Master. A court officer who researches and mediates issues for judges recommended that Ashley Paulo be evaluated at Fair Oaks Hospital in Boca Raton. Report show. And it said, quote, this is from the report. General Masters report. The patient's behavior and history indicate mental illness. Patient has recently demonstrated an active danger to others through violence and threats of harm, as well as danger to himself exhibited by repeated auto accidents.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's crashing cars, too.

[James Petregallo]

He's a dude out of.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's. He can't do anything safely.

[James Petregallo]

Fucking control. Yeah, out of control. So that's 99. Then in 2000, they dropped the murder charge against him. Yeah, I don't know why. He maintained that he accidentally bumped into the guy. That's what he says. And a teenage cashier who witnessed the incident now says he doesn't think Paulo meant to harm him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, so he thinks he was.

[James Petregallo]

At first he said he pushed him down and he said, I don't know, maybe he didn't mean to harm him. So who knows?

[Jimmy Whisman]

That would explain why he said, what are you doing?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, what's your problem? He said. So the guy who died, he died from pneumonia and a blood infection, which were complications from a broken bone.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Septic, man. Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

That's fucking brutal.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fuck.

[James Petregallo]

So then Ashley is pretty quiet for about 10 years.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Figured it out.

[James Petregallo]

At least. Figured out how to not be in court documents constantly. Keep it quiet. Yeah, keep it on the down low here. So January 2010, he resurfaces with the police and is arrested on charges including organized dealing in stolen property and second degree grand theft following allegations he traded another person's Bobcat construction equipment to pay a debt. He stole a bobcat and traded it. Cause he gave it to someone he owed money to. Here you go. This is.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Those are incredibly traceable.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, God. Yeah. They have VINs, don't they? Yeah, of course they do. Fucking I don't know. He was like, here you go. Got this heavy equipment and guess what? Arrested for it. Stupid. I would like to know who that debt was to.

[Jimmy Whisman]

But he said what the original charge.

[James Petregallo]

Was, like organized dealing and. Organized.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, that makes it sound like racketeering. He just stole one dude's bobcat. Unless there was a lot more.

[James Petregallo]

No, no, that was the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, I think that was. There was more.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's like racketeering, conspiracy to, like, steal shit and sell it.

[James Petregallo]

Steal shit? Yeah, I think maybe that wasn't the first bobcat he's fencing. He's Drove off on. He's like, they leave the keys in these fucking things. May 17, 2010. John Wilson. Let's talk about him here. His girlfriend worked for Ashley, and Wilson was convinced the two were having an affair. He thought they were having an affair, by the way. They weren't having an affair.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh. John's just.

[James Petregallo]

John is a little paranoid. Yeah, a little. A little jealous. So Wilson, because he's so enraged over this alleged affair, insecure. He attacks his mother.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

She has nothing. Yeah. Not what you expected me to say, right? Attacks his mother. It's a mad lib. And stabbed her in the neck.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

Stabbed his mother in the neck.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Florida's not crazy at all.

[James Petregallo]

No, no. This is very normal behavior. This is totally. Wait till you hear how this all ends. It's even crazier. Then he went over to Ashley Pollo's house to kill him, too. He's. I'll kill this motherfucker. Well, if I already stabbed my mom, fuck this guy in jail. Anyway, later on, Wilson said, quote, I completely lost my goddamn mind. Clearly, there's no way of getting around it. No, at least he said it, though.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He said, it appears as though I've made a big mistake.

[James Petregallo]

I completely lost my goddamn mind. Is he said that with this? With a shrug, like. I don't even. I have no idea. Hands up. Whatever. You want to judge me on it? I don't know.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I guess guilty. I mean, I lost my goddamn mind.

[James Petregallo]

Wilson's assault on Paula was interrupted after a neighbor witnessed the fight and tried to intervene. And then the cops came and, you know, it was a melee. And they took this guy to jail. And later on he said he completely lost his goddamn life. So, Ashley, at least for once, he's a victim and not a victim of violent crime. Yeah, yeah. No, nothing happened here. So then Thanksgiving, 2010 comes around. Ashley, during Thanksgiving, he talks to some people. He talks to his dad, talks to a friend of his.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Gotta catch up. And tell him about his goings, his dealings.

[James Petregallo]

Pretty much, yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I was attacked a couple weeks ago.

[James Petregallo]

Guy tried to stab me. Haven't been arrested recently. That's good. So you're in the mental hospital? Nope, at home.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That guy carved up feeling better?

[James Petregallo]

He did. He cut her. Cut her up good.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Christmas is coming up, James. Did you know that?

[James Petregallo]

It is coming up. That's very important. You know what people should do around Christmas? Oh, you need shopping, money. And the thing is, sometimes you're gonna find money in places you never thought. Like where. Like subscriptions, that you're Paying for that you don't need to pay for. Cause you don't even know you're paying for them, but yet they're coming out of your account every month.

[Jimmy Whisman]

How can you fix that?

[James Petregallo]

Rocket Money is what helped me out. That's the thing. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so that you can grow that savings. Rocket Money will they negotiate lower bills for you. They can do that by up to 20%. All you have to do, submit a picture of your bill. Rocket Money, they take care of the rest. They'll deal with customer service. You don't need to be on hold for two hours. Rocket Money will take care of it. It's wonderful. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all the app's features. Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to Rocketmoney.com Smalltown Murder that's Rocketmoney.com Smalltown Murder Rocketmoney.com Smalltown Murder now back to the.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Show with Credit Karma.

[James Petregallo]

Finding the right credit card for you is easy. Our app analyzes user profiles to suggest personalized recommendations. Visit CreditKarma.com today to explore cards tailored to your needs. Credit Karma Simplifying your financial choices. So it's like a turkey on Thanksgiving. So he talks to people on Thanksgiving, and then kind of after the 28th of November, he kind of just disappears. Kind of. But that's not that unusual for him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, the man's been in the psych ward.

[James Petregallo]

He's a little flaky when it comes to work stuff. Sometimes he'll stay home and drink and.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That sort of thing is working on.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, so he's not the type. If he doesn't show up Monday morning, they don't immediately send the fire department. They wait till Thursday afternoon to start calling him and knocking on his door and shit. So December 7th, one of his employees, a young woman, contacted police to request a welfare check on Ashley Paulo, saying he hadn't been to the office in days and he had like, an appointment for the last couple days. He usually doesn't miss that kind of thing. So it's like this is aberrant behavior even for him. So she said, well, once I left his workplace, I was still friends with some of the other people who worked there. I tried to call Ashley and it just went straight to voicemail she at the time didn't even work for him. She just knew all the other employees because she used to work for him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What does he usually do when he disappears?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, so she said, I'll call him. And it went straight to voicemail. So that's what she did. So that's why she called for a welfare check. So when investigators arrive, they notice right away there's several packages on the doorstep. So it's 2010, everybody's got packages. So right away you notice. Okay, well, he probably hasn't been here in a few days, but who knows?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Maybe, I mean he's not using this door.

[James Petregallo]

No. People could leave. They can go plays in a door.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I go in and out my garage all day long. If somebody leaves something on my door, I might not see it for a minute.

[James Petregallo]

We might not see it for a minute. Who knows? And maybe, and also, you know, he's a little, he drinks a little bit and he might be. Yeah, exactly. So I mean, whatever. So they said there's no damage to the door or any kind. It doesn't look like anybody was breaking in or anything like that. So they said that from what they heard that his home is normally in disarray. So it's going to be a mess. Everybody told him it's going to be a mess in there. There's going to be beer bottles.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's going to be hard to decipher if there's been a crime.

[James Petregallo]

Half eaten beef and cheddars and shit. It's going to be bad. It's going to be hard. You're going to have to move some stuff to figure it out. And they said they could tell it looked messy inside. One of the cops said one of the back doors was open. The deputy freely walked in to check on his welfare. And that's what we hear is normal here. The house is usually open. So he leaves his back door open all the time here. So they go in, they don't see him. He's not in there. You expect me to go. And there he was, dead in the thick. No, he's, he's gone. Okay, he's not here. Nothing appears to be missing. TV's in place, any. All valuables are all there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

All the big stuff, it's still there.

[James Petregallo]

Including his vehicle is on in the driveway and his keys are on the counter.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Where the hell would he go?

[James Petregallo]

So that's strange. So they talk to his family. The cops get a hold of his family out of state and they ask them, when's the last time you talked to him. Maybe he's at home with his family or something. They said, no, we haven't talked to him since Thanksgiving. It's the last time he called. So his family was very concerned, too. His sister said his car was there. His keys were there. I watched too much oxygen to know that when somebody goes missing, it's not great. She's just sitting there going, my husband's gonna kill me. My husband's gonna kill me.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Just sitting there watching.

[James Petregallo]

Snapped all day, just fucking knife at her chest, peering over at her husband, waiting for him to make a wrong move. I will stab you up. Don't you even worry about it. So then they further. They're like, okay, well, he's not in the house. His car's here. No one's seen him. He's not at work. All the places he would go, he's not at and hasn't been.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

So they are like, all right, well, let's search the rest of the property for clues, basically. So they search all in the backyard, and in the backyard, they find a custom hurricane shelter.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Cool.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. So they're like, okay, well, we'd like to take a look in there. And there's a lock on it, though. It's locked, so they had to break it open there. They break it open. When they walk in, they immediately notice that there is Ashley. They found him. He is laying inside, dead as can be, wrapped in a rug with a bag over his head.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He didn't do that.

[James Petregallo]

That's not a suicide. No. His body was decomposing. Padlocked in. Yeah, padlocked in, body decomposing. Because, I mean, it's December, but it's still Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right.

[James Petregallo]

But it appeared his clothing had been burned, but not by fire.

[Jimmy Whisman]

By what?

[James Petregallo]

That's the weird part. Here I'll read from the police report. It says, was called out to the scene for the suspicious death. Upon arrival, I was directed to the fallout hurricane shelter located on the northwest part of the property. The shelter contained a white male lying face up. The head was facing south and the left facing north, and the feet facing north. The body appeared to be decomposing.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Say again?

[James Petregallo]

Body appeared to be what?

[Jimmy Whisman]

The head facing what?

[James Petregallo]

The head facing south, the feet facing north.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wow.

[James Petregallo]

What?

[Jimmy Whisman]

That means his head is on backwards.

[James Petregallo]

What?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Head facing south.

[James Petregallo]

Whichever way you're. If you're laying down, whichever way your head is facing, your feet are facing the opposite way.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Are they? Wait, what? Aren't you. Aren't my feet face. Hold on.

[James Petregallo]

If you lay down on the ground, your head no Matter what direction it is, your feet are the fucking opposite direction, pointing, because you're pointing in two separate directions.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm confused because I'm sitting here. My feet are facing north, my head's facing north.

[James Petregallo]

Because you're sitting up, looking in the same direction. If you were laying flat on the ground.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, it's on the ground.

[James Petregallo]

It's not which way his eyes are looking.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, he's laying.

[James Petregallo]

We think he's standing there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I thought it was like wrapped in a rug, standing in the corner, propped up on the.

[James Petregallo]

They said he's laying and lying on his face up.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'm like, wait, his head sound backwards?

[James Petregallo]

Am I confused? No, it's you. The body also had long pants pulled. Long pants pulled down and was on what appeared to be a piece of carpet. The body appeared to have been placed in that location. The body was removed and transported to the medical examiner's office. When the body was removed and it was determined the body had also been burnt.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Huh.

[James Petregallo]

Due to the condition of the body, there was no immediate signs of trauma. So, yes, they figured out later on that it was. He's been burned with acid.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

He's had acid poured all over him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Burned his chemical burn.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Burned his clothes. Burned his body.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Shit.

[James Petregallo]

So that's fucking up the decomposition, too, Making it happen faster.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Sure. Accelerating.

[James Petregallo]

So the autopsy here. The medical examiner performed the autopsy. They say the identity was verified, and due to fingerprints, they say that Ashley died due to manual strangulation. The neck showed signs of bruising on the left side of the neck under the skin. It also showed hemorrhaging in the same area. It was discovered that the bone in the voice box and the hyoid bone on the left side were broken. Homicide. The. The body appeared to be burnt by radiant heat, not flame. A state fire marshal investigator looked at the photos of Ashley's body and advised it appeared to have been burnt by indirect heat, not of an open flame. The detective conducted a search of a three county area for recent structure fires, but was not able to find any fires which matched the time frame of the homicide. So, like, maybe he was in a fire and they took him out and put him over here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

But no, he poured acid on him.

[James Petregallo]

And, yeah, that didn't work. So, by the way, that employee that reported him missing, they go back to her because they're like, you seem to know shit about him. So what do you know? They spoke with her. She said, fuck, I didn't fucking do it. They were like, you're the one that called us she had a totally rock solid alibi, so definitely wasn't her that killed him. She did, though, offer a potential lead. She goes, I know a guy who tried to kill him six months ago, John Wilson. Maybe go see that guy. So they go, all right, well, let's go find John Wilson.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's not in prison.

[James Petregallo]

He's 29 years old. Turns out he's in jail for killing his mother. For fatally stabbing his 56 year old mother. Yeah, mom's dead. He's definitely not. They said, definitely not him. He's got the best alibi ever. Yeah, they got him in prison.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

He said at first, look, there's no connection with that crime. Back in May with this one, the police said so. So the investigation, they asked whether Ashley had any known enemies. And they found out, quote, there's a lot of frust. A lot of people that did vent for some frustration with the advice that he gave and the taxes that he completed for them that we are aware of. I guess he gave the wrong advice to a lot of people in their affairs, really. So they went around talking to people to see if. Who, you know, if anybody's mad at him. Clients says, and the clients were like, oh, good, fuck that guy. Literally, they were like, I wish I would have fucking done it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Told me I could write off my summer home that day.

[James Petregallo]

God damn it. Yeah, I don't do any business out of it. He should have known that. The cop said, we know that Mr. Paulo was around for Thanksgiving. We know there was some interaction with him on Thanksgiving Day. We just want anybody that saw him who might have been with who he might have been with on Thanksgiving and the days following Thanksgiving. That's what we need help establishing when he disappeared. Exactly. They say that he lived alone, worked out of his house a lot, which was messy. He said, we know Mr. Paulo did taxes for people. He did engage in legal advice to people. He interacted with a lot of people in our community, both on the side of law and against the law. So there's a lot of people that could kill this guy. Basically, the suspect pool is huge. So his family, his mother offers a reward. His mother was 81 at the time.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Pearl Paulo here, she's got reward money, huh?

[James Petregallo]

81 year old named Pearl and his father David, who's 86 at the time, they put up a $50,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They want this shit solved.

[James Petregallo]

They want. Yeah, that's. That's big time. David Dadd said he sounded like he was fine. When he talked to him day before Thanksgiving, he said he cracked a joke or two. So they're looking around, these sheriff's officials. They're looking into everything, finances, anything that could be. I mean they're just. They have no clues. So then they learned that back on December 3, one of his employees tried to cash a $1250 check at a SunTrust Bank. But the bank wouldn't cash it because the signature wasn't consistent with Ashley Paulo's signature card. So they said they did a search of his records. It was found that checks were cashed by a Michelle Lockridge. Michelle Lockridge, an employee of Ashley Pollock. On 12310 Lockridge attempted to cash the 12 $50 check, they said. Interviewed bank teller Gerba Amiel at SunTrust bank here. Gerba Emil told me that honor about December 3rd, Michelle Lockridge attempted to cash a check in the amount or on the account of Ashley Paulo for the amount of 12$50. Gerba Amiel told detective that she had has had many dealings with Ashley Paulo's accounts and stated the signature on the check did not look correct, checked and appeared to be forged. She told the detective that she compared the signature on the check against his signature card and said the signatures did not match. They also said that she called the clerk or the. Whatever the fuck. The teller called Ashley's cell phone, but there was no answer. Which she said was very odd for Ashley not to answer the phone for the bank. If she calls him, he answers. So Michelle Lockridge. Who the fuck is that?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Wanna know?

[James Petregallo]

Michelle Lee Lockridge is her name. She's 40 years old, she works for him. And so does her boyfriend live in boyfriend, Thomas Barnard, who is 34. So these two both work for him. Barnard does handyman type work and Lockridge does clerical shit for his law shit. Now they're in a. They live together, romantically involved. They said they last saw Paulo on Saturday, December 27, dropping off his car because he had gotten too drunk the night before at a dinner to drive himself home. Which doesn't sound like him. Sounds like he'd give it a whirl.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He'd give that a shot.

[James Petregallo]

I think I can get there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

I'll be all right.

[James Petregallo]

So Barnard said the two went to work on Monday, Nov. 29, him and his girlfriend. But Ashley Paula wasn't there. But then Lockridge claimed she said that he was there, but it was just locked in his room. So their stories together don't match up with each other, which is weird. So that's strange. Then they look into them A little bit more. Barnard and Lockridge both have a pretty extensive criminal history. Lockridge a really good history.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

Michelle, oh, yeah. She recently served 10 years in prison.

[Jimmy Whisman]

God damn.

[James Petregallo]

Stemming from charges of fraud and was currently on probation.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Now it's serious.

[James Petregallo]

This is a lot.

[Jimmy Whisman]

And she's got some fraud going on.

[James Petregallo]

She's got all sorts of shit. Dude, she is fucked right now. So now they're really looking at her pretty hard. So they sit him down. They say, let's do some interviews. Because that was just casual. They showed up at their house. Hey, have you talked to him? They got conflicting stories. So now they sit him down. They interview Michelle first. She said she went to work 1129, but didn't see Ashley. She said she thought he was at a court hearing for the day. Now, the first time they talked to her, she said he was locked in his room. She said that when she left that day, she locked up the house. She said she went to work on 11:30 the next day, but the doors were locked and Ashley Powell wasn't home. So Michelle told the police that she tried to call Ashley's cell phone several times, but he wouldn't answer. Lockridge was asked how she was paid. She said it was once a week. She was then asked how she was paid on 12,3 if she stopped working for him on 11:30. If you haven't seen him to that, how'd you get paid on 12, 3? She said she was paid in advance on 11 26. On November 26. Asked if the check was for the amount of $1,250, she said yes. So then they asked Michelle if she went to Ashley's house to ask him why the check wouldn't cash. She said no, she just went home. Okay. Now at that point, they began to point out some inconsistencies in her story. And she became angered and wanted to leave.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You're not believing me. I want to go home.

[James Petregallo]

I'm done with this. So then they go, let's bring Thomas in, since these two don't coordinate shit. So they interview him. He said he spent Friday night, 11:26 with Ashley Paulo. And he said that he went out, they went out to eat and have drinks. Barnard said Ashley Paula was too impaired to drive home. So he drove Ashley's car, dropped it off at his house and drove home.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Everybody's just driving places and getting shit faced and being like, now what?

[James Petregallo]

Now what do we do? Drop this off. I'll go over there.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You don't do some fucking planning before you go Out.

[James Petregallo]

No, fuck no. This is Florida. Drinking. We just drink. Barnard said that on November 27, the next day he returned the car around noon. He said he hung out and smoked some weed and had some drinks with Ashley, leaving at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. So from noon to 3 he was drinking and smoking. Crossfade. A fucking 2pm Crossfade. That is some shit. He said that Barnard said he was called on 1128, so November 28, by Ashley. So he said, Ashley called me on the 28th. Thomas Barnard said Ashley was wanting him to purchase some crack cocaine for him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, Ashley gets after him after.

[James Petregallo]

Ashley likes the party, man. Barnard said he would usually get it for him, but he was working on his relationship with his girlfriend Michelle and did not want to leave the house. They're having a little pow wow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Team building.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, we're doing some stuff. We're doing a fucking. A joint therapy session over the phone here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Figuring out our love languages. I'll be over with the crack later.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, maybe a little later. Barnard said he went to work on Monday, 11 29, and Ashley Paulo wasn't home. Thomas Barnard said that Ashley Paulo's bed, bedroom door was dead bolted, as if he left the house. Barnard said they worked the rest of the day, locked up the house and left. He said they returned on November 30, but the house was still locked up and Ashley wouldn't answer the phone. Barnard said he already had a job lined up and he was upset with Ashley Paulo because he's done similar things in the past. So he's like, I don't even care. I got another job lined up.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fuck that guy and I'm not going to deal with it.

[James Petregallo]

So because of the inconsistencies with Michelle's story, they go, let's bring her back. Let's bring her back a second time, see if we can get her to, you know, say anything.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Let's get her pissed.

[James Petregallo]

Let's get her. Well, let's see if maybe she thinks about it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Let's get her good in math, see.

[James Petregallo]

If maybe this will spit something out at us here. So she said that again. She said that she and Thomas went to his home, Ashley's home, on November 28th, in the morning. Or she said she went there by herself and got a call from Thomas and he told her that, quote, something bad happened to Paulo.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, there's a crack.

[James Petregallo]

That's something. Something bad. She said that Thomas returned to their Vero beach home, but because Thomas wouldn't tell her what happened, she just went To Ashley's house. Okay. So they said that apparently this. By the way, Michelle initiated this. She called them and said, I'd like to talk to you about this.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Okay.

[James Petregallo]

She then said that Michelle said that Thomas admitted to killing Ashley on Sunday, November 28th.

[Jimmy Whisman]

She knew this the last time that she talked to the guy.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, fuck. Yeah, absolutely.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What has changed that she now wants to see?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, well, she's got other charges and everything else. She just did 10 years. She's doing more fraudulent shit.

[Jimmy Whisman]

She's never getting out.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. So I guess Thomas had told her that he choked Ashley Paulo in the front office, which is located inside the residence of his home at 6405 Oleander Avenue. Michelle told the police that Thomas took Ashley's cell phone and kept the phone in his vehicle until a search warrant was served on their residence. At which time he disposed of the phone.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Okay.

[James Petregallo]

So basically his phone. And that's perfect for the cops because now you can have Thomas's phone and this guy's phone in the same place.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Watch him move.

[James Petregallo]

Pinging every tower. So you know he had the phone, which is interesting. Cell site locations on both of Ashley phones confirmed they were transmitting at the same tower. And Indian river and St. Lucie counties at separate times. So one of his phones was with him and one of his phones wasn't. This fact indicates simultaneous movement of both cell phones in proximity to the particular cell towers. Not bad. Interesting. Michelle then told us that she went to Ashley Paulo's home on Monday, November 29 and saw what she believed to be Ashley's body rolled up in a blank. It. She told us that her daughter saw Thomas Barnard hide something at the base of a tree on the property of the child's babysitter. He hid something to do with this murder under their babysitter's tree.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Weird.

[James Petregallo]

That's weird. Well, no one will look there, I guess. Michelle Lockridge then told the cops that she believed Thomas was hiding drugs and searched the area described by her daughter. Michelle told us she found two master keys and a key to a deadbone.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Huh.

[James Petregallo]

She took the. Took the cops to the location where the keys were recovered. Were there. And two master lock keys and a deadbolt key wrapped in cellophane. The item were found. The items were taken to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office where the master keys were matched with the master padlock found on the hurricane shelf.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's not good.

[James Petregallo]

Not good at all. Michelle. Although she knows where all this stuff is, right? That's the thing. Michelle also told the cops that she returned to Ashley Paulo's residence on the 30th. There and Ashley Paulo's office was in disarray as if a struggle occurred in it. Michelle said that the desk chair was on its side and Ashley's vitamins were scattered about. Michelle said there was a dried, thick red substance on the carpet next to Ashley Paulo's desk. She then described the substance as looking like dried makeup. She cleaned up the red substance with OxiClean. That's a good commercial. That's a good commercial for Oxiclean. It'll get dried blood up.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Billy Mays.

[James Petregallo]

Billy Mays who's dead as fuck. She said that she found Ashley's body wrapped in a blanket with a plastic bag covering his face in a bedroom closet. She said she was very upset and sat crying next to the body. Why would you do that? You would run away and go cry in another room. You wouldn't sit next to him. It's not your mother.

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[James Petregallo]

Behind the bright lights and adrenaline of pro sports is an equally exciting world of negotiations and deal making. That's what we cover each week on our podcast the Deal. I'm Alex Rodriguez, former baseball player turned business executive. And I'm Jason Kelly, Chief correspondent for Bloomberg Originals. Over the next couple months, we'll hear from all stars like Jay Williams. I want to be an owner one day.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Billie Jean King. Learn the business and so many more.

[James Petregallo]

Listen to the Deal wherever you get your podcast. So she said it's your boss. She said she tried to lift his body but couldn't. She said she called Thomas and said they needed to Call rescue or tell somebody. I'm sure. She was so distraught. But Thomas told her no. Thomas, she said, told her that she would be blamed for his death and that somebody else did this. Somebody else just wild. Who someone else? They, you know, they. They are always doing shit.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The vaguest of answers. Anybody else?

[James Petregallo]

Anybody? So after Michelle returned to her house, Thomas reportedly agreed to go back to Ashley's home. When they went back, they argued over calling for assistance. So then they went back to their house in Vero Beach. The next day, they returned to Ashley's house, where she said Thomas moved his body to the storm shelter. She told Thomas to be careful, but didn't help carry the body. She said. She said she pushed Paulo down the steps or. She said Thomas pushed Paulo down the steps into the shelter and poured Liquid Lightning drain cleaner on him.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Whoa.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

That's what he burned them with.

[James Petregallo]

That's what he burned them with. Liquid lightning drain cleaner. Which is. I mean, it'll fucking eat hair. Imagine what it does.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It eats all kinds of scum. It'll eat whatever's in that pipe.

[James Petregallo]

That is something right there. To pour on someone. She said that Thomas told her he was protecting her by pouring the drain cleaner on the body so she didn't get in trouble. She said that Thomas said authorities would blame her for the death because she had a criminal record and she knows all about it. You're a criminal, stupid. So they go to Ashley's house, the family give permission, and the police go in and they do a search again with black lights and luminol and all that kind of shit. And on the carpet by the desk, they find a stain consistent with the one that Michelle described. Carpet removed, and there's a stain all the way down to the concrete floor, and that tests positive for blood.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Uh.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, so that's a problem.

[Jimmy Whisman]

So much for Maybelline, Michelle.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, it's. It's. Maybe it's Maybelline, maybe not. Don't think so.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Maybe it's fucking viscera.

[James Petregallo]

Oh. So on the next day, they interview a guy named Christopher Higgins. He's a co worker of Thomas and has known him professionally for two years. It's weird to say Thomas does professional things professionally. He's his work friend.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Who gets crack?

[James Petregallo]

Who gets crack for his boss? Christopher Higgins told the detectives that he and Thomas had worked together from August 2008 to June 16, 2008. Christopher Higgins said he spoke to Thomas Barnard sometime before Thanksgiving, and Thomas was inquiring about a job. Thomas called Christopher Higgins on the Monday after Thanksgiving and said he needed to make some money to feed his family. Okay. Christopher Higgins assisted Thomas J. Barnard in gaining employment at JL Tax Group in Vero Beach. Christopher Higgins told detectives that on either Tuesday, January 18, 2011, or Thursday, January 20, 2010, both he, meaning Higgins, and Thomas, went to lunch together at Chili's in Vero Beach. It's very Florida. Oh, yeah. The conversation during lunch and after lunch on the drive back to their office included a discussion about O.J. simpson and his book, if I Did it, which I've read and it's stupid.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Did it come out then?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, it's dumb.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, it has just come out.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, it was a big deal at that point. That's the one where he puts a hypothetical description of the murders.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, talk about that over a plate of fucking Southwest egg roll.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, my God, those are gross, by the way. Yeah, those coloring in your egg roll. Nice. Those for your fucking spicy buffalo chicken fingers. So Thomas told Christopher Higgins he had to get something off his chest and proceeded to give a detailed account of how he killed his former employer, Ashley Paulo.

[Jimmy Whisman]

O.J. simpson precipitated this.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. They said, let me tell. I got an if I did it too. Let me tell you this. Thomas told Christopher that he and his girlfriend Michelle had been planning to kill Ashley Paulo and take over Paolo's clients for some time. Are you lawyers? How? What the fuck are you talking about? What, you're a fucking sprinkler repair guy. How the fuck does that work?

[Jimmy Whisman]

You installed the ceiling for clerical work.

[James Petregallo]

She's not even a paralegal, never mind a fucking lawyer. Thomas told Christopher that he and Michelle had joked about how Ashley had nobody and they could kill him and continue his business without anyone knowing how. Tom told Thomas told to Christopher Higgins that he killed Ashley Paulo. On Saturday, November 27, Paulo had accused Michelle of using his credit cards and stealing from him. Thomas told Christopher Higgins that he told Michelle about Ashley's accusations, and Michelle told Thomas to kill him. He is accusing us of this. And she said kill him, meaning Ashley.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Are they on drugs?

[James Petregallo]

Yes, Everyone here is on drugs.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What the fuck are they talking about?

[James Petregallo]

I think everyone's on drugs. Have to be. Except maybe Higgins. I'm not sure.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're so fucked up they don't know what reality is.

[James Petregallo]

That is. Yeah, that's what I mean. Go ahead and kill him. So Thomas told Christopher Higgins he first attacked Ashley Pollo by striking him in the face, hence the blood, because you don't usually bleed from being strangled. He then grabbed him from behind In a chokehold. Thomas told Christopher he then finished him off by strangling Ashley Paulo from the front with his hands around Ashley Paulo's neck while Paolo's body was on the floor. Thomas told Christopher Higgins it took eight minutes to choke him to death. Jesus Christ. That's cold blooded, man. Thomas told Christopher Higgins there was some blood. And Thomas wrapped him in a plastic. Wrapped a plastic bag around his head to help contain the blood. Thomas also told Higgins that he and Lockridge returned to Ashley's residence on Sunday, November 28, to dispose of the body. And he had purchased four bags of acid from a Publix located somewhere between Vero beach and Fort Pierce. First of all, acid comes in a bag.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

What? Four plastic bags of acid he purchased like a Ziploc bag in the parking lot. Was this in the store or like.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Is it in like a box?

[James Petregallo]

Did a guy open a trench coat and sell that to you? Like, what happened there?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Is it packaged like fucking Franzia wine?

[James Petregallo]

Like Canadian milk? I'm not sure how this works. I don't know. Maybe it comes in a nice box. Thomas told Christopher Higgins he put Ashley's body in the storm cellar, poured the acid over his face, hands and neck to erase any evidence of the attack. The acid was already starting to burn the body and created a large amount of smoke.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

Smoke? That's how nasty this liquid lightning is. That's a good ad for liquid lightning if you want to clear your drain out. When Thomas closed the door to the storm cellar, he traveled to the Publix on oslo Road and 43rd Avenue and found only one item on the shelves that fit the description of the acid that he had. So this cop went there to check it out. The item was called Liquid Lightning Drain Cleaner, Manufactured by High Tech Laboratories. Liquid lightning is contained in a plastic bottle within a clear plastic bag. So that's how it works. Okay. Product information on the liquid Lightning bottle says it contains virgin sulfuric acid, which is very corrosive and will cause severe burns to the skin.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It needs double fucking plastic, you know what I mean?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Barriers to contain it.

[James Petregallo]

Fuck. Then they two of them. Then they ended up finding that they purchased where he purchased it. His cell phone records matched up with being on that store at the same time the purchases took place.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Cleared out. They only got one left.

[James Petregallo]

Yep, that's it right there. And also video surveillance from a Walgreens parking lot located south of there. The video showed a vehicle matching Thomas's vehicle exiting the Walgreens parking lot, driving toward the Prima Vista Crossings Plaza, where the public store is located, at the same time shit was purchased. Yes. The water found in the storm cellar was examined at the crime scene and had a zero pH factor, indicating a strong presence of acid in the water. Wow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Fuck.

[James Petregallo]

That is wild. They also got video from a home depot in St. Lucie here. Where? St. Lucie west, where they find Thomas buying a chain and padlock to secure the body in the storm's bunker. Yep. Earlier in the day, they, you know, they'd watched the video. They're like, well, there he is. They even show him receiving his change, leaving the store, checking his receipt, making sure he was charged correctly, making sure he wasn't screwed over here. So they arrest Michelle for bank fraud.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. Because she definitely stole that money.

[James Petregallo]

Yep. She. She does that. She did everything. There. There she's in jail. And she, I guess, at one point had told Thomas she would take the fall for him if he would take care of her kids. But she needed to know exactly how he did it. This is how she got him to admit the whole fall.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, wow.

[James Petregallo]

She said, listen, I'll take the fall. You take care of my kids, I'll take the fall. You just have to tell me exactly how you did it on this phone call. So my confession matches up with that. So that she said Thomas told her, and then she went to police and said, this is exactly what happened. Okay, now they. Yeah, that's interesting. Now the charges. She faces a charge of accessory after the fact, and we don't know. Yeah. They said the reason Thomas Barnard gave for killing Ashley Paula was that Ashley Paula was going to report Michelle Lockridge to the authorities for stealing from him. Thomas Barnard also stated he and his girlfriend wanted. Wanted to take over the business and that would be a great way to do it. Then they said they were suspects from the first week of the investigation, which they were. So at trial for him, they present nine witnesses against him, including a pathologist, Dr. Roger Mittleman, who told the jurors that Paulo died from asphyxiation and all that kind of thing. They also saw a series of horribly gruesome autopsy photos, as you can imagine. They said red dots found in his eyes indicated he'd been deprived of air. This is a case of asphyxia. Yep. Petechia. Exactly. And they said it's consistent with manual strangulation. Okay, now will he testify?

[Jimmy Whisman]

He has to.

[James Petregallo]

He said, quote, I will not testify. What? Not gonna testify? Dude, you have talk. You have to refute her story.

[Jimmy Whisman]

She said this and this happened. What the fuck? You're Just gonna say, well, she's the.

[James Petregallo]

Only one that knows all you're gonna hear from me. And he must be a real idiot. Where the judges, the lawyers are like, don't send him up there. That's gonna be bad.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah. If you do testify, that gives them the opportunity to talk to you.

[James Petregallo]

That's when character shit can come up. Hey, so 1998, this is somebody. Yeah.

[Jimmy Whisman]

So you know how to get crack?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Where do you get crack? Can you get me some crack? They said, is that your decision? He said, yes, sir. Not gonna testify. There's a bit of a little fight over whether a cellmate will be able to testify. See, they. I guess, apparently the. This is. The defense attorneys tried to get a cellmate of Michelle's to testify and the cellmate said they had a story, but the judge would not let the cellmate testify. The cellmate was going to tell the jury that while incarcerated together, Michelle confessed that she had been having an affair with Ashley and accidentally choked him to death during rough sex. That's some rough ass sex to choke. It took eight minutes for a grown man to choke another grown man to death.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He couldn't come in eight minutes.

[James Petregallo]

That's what I mean, until he died. If you die before you come, that is a problem. So they said. The judge said that the potential witness was a six time felon and ruled that her testimony was not trustworthy enough to allow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Nor is that story physically impossible.

[James Petregallo]

The whole thing is. It didn't happen, silly.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's physically impossible.

[James Petregallo]

So during closing arguments, the assistant attorney general here told the jurors that Ashley was known to be an erratic but brilliant tax lawyer. I didn't hear brilliant anywhere.

[Jimmy Whisman]

No, I heard a lot of people are mad.

[James Petregallo]

Mad that he gave them bad advice. That's what the cop said. Book could be erratic and unstable and difficult to work for. So the prosecutor said. So what was his fate? This guy who was hard to work for? Well, he was brutally murdered and stuffed down into a storm shelter on his own property by someone who worked for him and the defense lawyer. What do you even say here? He told jurors that the prosecutors were pinning the murder on the wrong person. He said Michelle committed the murder during an angry rage, not sexual. Now. Now it's angry. She said that Thomas is only guilty of helping him helping his girlfriend dispose of the body and clean up the ceiling. The lawyer admitted to the jury that, yes, it was my client. In that video you saw from the Home Depot buying the.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's doing what his girlfriend says.

[James Petregallo]

Chain and Padlock. That's all it is. He said that Barnard also. Yes, sure, he did buy the sulfuric acid that burned his body. But he said that Barnard's only crime was helping his distraught girlfriend destroy evidence and hide the corpse and barn and once in a while buying crack. But that's a different. He's not on trial for that, ladies and gentlemen. He said there's no evidence that Tom committed murder. That's all on Michelle Lockridge. Okay, now the rebuttal from the prosecutor at the closing. They said that it's a great theory until you evaluate the evidence.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right.

[James Petregallo]

The defendant is guilty as he was indicted on a charge of first degree murder. There you go. The verdict comes in six hours. It took them.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, it's over for you.

[James Petregallo]

Six hours. They find him guilty as shit. Yeah, super, super guilty here. This is Ashley's sister, the one who said he was non violent. Said she was very pleased with the verdict. She said it was tough, but in a way, it wasn't tough. I wanted to see justice. I was here to see justice. And it was worth it. But it was painful to get through. Yeah, you got to see autopsy photos and all that. So during sentencing here, his sister wrote a letter on behalf of the family, including his children, parents and all that called Thomas a cold blooded murderer who robbed them of a kind and gentle man. He said this brutal murderer took our beloved Ashley from our midst without a care or concern. His premeditated acts are those of an animal. For the rest of the days of our lives, we'll remember and honor our beloved Ashley. And as we do, we'll remember the pain that we continue to suffer as a result of his untimely death at the hands of this killer monster.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

So the judge says, you, son, may fuck off. Life without parole.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, it's over for you.

[James Petregallo]

Goodbye. 35. Holy dunzo.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Right through the whole thing away.

[James Petregallo]

All of it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

For what?

[James Petregallo]

Liquid lightning, babe.

[Jimmy Whisman]

For what?

[James Petregallo]

For what? That's. I mean, you didn't even get anything.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You were gonna get nothing anyway.

[James Petregallo]

$1,250. Was that the. Was that they think that, like, Ashley wouldn't be around and they just keep continuing to cash checks and clients would pay.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Where's money going to come from if he's not doing services?

[James Petregallo]

That's what I mean. Well, they were going to do it. My guy. Like, what was the can. What was the plan here? This is a crack plan is what they.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, yeah. That is a very cracky plan.

[James Petregallo]

So Michelle takes a plea deal.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Has to.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. For the because this was part of her testimony and all that. So they tell her, you, ma'am, may fuck off. 30 years in prison for her as well, because it's also, she's fraud and she's on probation. You can't participate in a murder when you're on probation. I'm sorry, can't do it. So the prosecutor afterwards said the jury, the five women and seven men made the right call. He said, I'm very pleased for the family of Ashley Paulo. Some have traveled a long way for the trial. I think the evidence was overwhelming that the defendant committed this murder. And indeed the jury saw it our way. They took a while to do it. And it was a case with over 100 pieces of evidence. So I don't blame them. Them for taking their time sorting through it. Yeah, that's not that long at all. Go in there and sign it.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Yeah, people work longer shifts at gas stations.

[James Petregallo]

Fucking part time is longer. So his attorney, though, Thomas's attorney, said that he plans to appeal. And he says he's obviously very hopeful of the appeal but accepting of his situation. So Thomas at this particular moment is at the Tomoka Correctional Institute, Tamaka Correctional Institute down there in Florida. He doesn't look like he's doing too great. He's going to be there forever. And Michelle is at the Homestead Correctional Institute. And she. Her current release date shows as 8 26, 2039.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Whoa. They gave her the whole thing.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. By the way, she has like 20 aliases under her. Aliases.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Really?

[James Petregallo]

So many fucking aliases. Yeah, it's a lot. This is all rolled into her crime. Her grand theft too, because her probation, that got tacked on.

[Jimmy Whisman]

She's a bad person.

[James Petregallo]

She's not a good person. We'll talk about her family too, because it's what it's. Yeah, I got about two minutes to talk about this. Ronald is buried here at the Baron Hirsch Cemetery in Memphis. I assume his family. He was 58 years old. 2016. Michelle's in prison. Her son Frederick Matthew Lockridge is 15 years old. He is ordered to be held on $500,000 bond.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

After being waved up to adult court in connection with the death of his 10 year old sister.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

Her body was found Sunday afternoon in a white dress behind their fountain home where investigators said Lockridge placed her shortly after shooting her twice with a rifle.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, boy.

[James Petregallo]

Her whole family is destroyed. Yeah. Because of her. Shit rolls downhill. And her father. I'm sure their father's not a great guy. If Thomas is a guy she goes out with the father's probably similar. Lockridge pleaded not guilty to second degree murder despite allegedly confessing to three different accounts of how his sister died. He was arrested Sunday after search crews found Isabella's lifeless body covered in towels in an abandoned bus behind their home. They reported she'd been cleaned and dressed in a white sundress after being shot twice. And they believe Lockridge sexually battered his sister.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What?

[James Petregallo]

Dude.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Gross.

[James Petregallo]

Not a scruple to be found.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Is that Florida too?

[James Petregallo]

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Are you kidding me? When questioned, Lockridge confessed to killing Isabella at about 3am claiming he mistook her for a deer in the house. In the house. There's a deer in the house and it's a 10 year old girl. Oh, there's a deer in the house. I better shoot it and rape it. Yeah, that's what I do when there's a deer in my house. I rape it. What the fuck?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Good Christ.

[James Petregallo]

The teen later told police he mistakenly shot Isabella because he saw someone attacking her. He was shaming at somebody else. Then in his third statement, he said he accidentally shot her in the chest while showing her how to use a.22 caliber rifle. Which is where he should have started, right?

[Jimmy Whisman]

Those are.

[James Petregallo]

That's the most believable one.

[Jimmy Whisman]

They're all still bad stories.

[James Petregallo]

Ugh. They're terrible.

[Jimmy Whisman]

You don't show somebody how to use a gun by putting it in their chest.

[James Petregallo]

Here, let me. Here you go. They said she started making gurgling noises. That's what he said. I did not know. I did not know exactly how to deal with it. So I shot her again.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh my God.

[James Petregallo]

I didn't call 91 1. I shot her again.

[Jimmy Whisman]

The other story is real. The deer one's unbelievable. But I shot her because somebody was raping her and putting my jizz in her.

[James Petregallo]

That's a crazy. Accidentally hit her. I'm not a great shot. Never said I was.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Pretty amazing.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. After the incident, he allegedly stashed the firearm in an abandoned home where the authorities later found it. The siblings were two of four children living in the house. Isabella and Lockridge had different fathers, but were related through their stupid shit mother who's currently serving 30 years in prison. Holy shit. He'll be prosecuted as an adult, by the way. And he was. And then he ends up in January of 2017. He pleads no contest to first degree murder in the shooting death of his sister. He is sentenced to. At 15 years old. You young man may fuck off. 50 years in prison.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Best of luck.

[James Petregallo]

Plus 10 years of probation.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Oh, that's a. That's gonna be a great kid when we release him.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, he's gonna be great. He's gonna be doing fat.

[Jimmy Whisman]

He's going right.

[James Petregallo]

He won't have SS tattoos on his face or anything. I'm sure to survive in Florida prison, he's gonna do terrific down there. So that everybody is Fort Pierce, Florida.

[Jimmy Whisman]

What a terrible place.

[James Petregallo]

Wow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

There's not a redeeming person in.

[James Petregallo]

Ten pounds of murder in a two pound bag is a lot to say here.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Like a folded up tent.

[James Petregallo]

Wow.

[Jimmy Whisman]

It's just everywhere.

[James Petregallo]

So much spread out. So if you like that story or any of the stories, please tell the world about it. It helps us out so much. Get on whatever app you're listening on and give us five stars and say something nice. It's very, very helpful. Shutupandgivemerder.com is the website. Get your tickets for live shows. They're on sale next week. Everybody you bet announced date of all the tour days is gonna be on December 17th. December 18th is a pre sale deal. We got that going on. Check the website. There's a pre sale code and we'll give it to you. Social media too. You can do that. Small town murder on Instagram, small town pot on Facebook. So get in there and do that. They'll be on sale publicly with no code on December 20th. We're going to cities we haven't been to in a couple years. So get in there, shut up and givememurder.com, and social media do that. Patreon.com crimeandsports $5 or above a month is all you need to enjoy hundreds of back episodes of bonus stuff you've never heard and new ones every other week. One crime and sports, one small town murder. You get them all this week. Crime and sports, bad sports, songs, athletes who can't sing or rap. Trying to sing or rap. It's hilarious. We're going to make fun of them the whole time.

[Jimmy Whisman]

Why do they all want to sing?

[James Petregallo]

They all want to sing and all the singers want to be athletes. Don't understand. And they all for some reason think they can do stand up comedy, which they can't. Even worse than the kids just want.

[Jimmy Whisman]

To play the drums and that's all.

[James Petregallo]

There is to it. It's very sad. So do that. Small town murder, remote viewing. We're going to talk about what the CIA thought was like an ultra psychic who can see currently what was happening thousands of miles away. Crazy shit. We'll talk all about that. Patreon.com CrimeAndSports. If you want to follow us on social media, head over to the website. Drop down menus give you everything. Keep coming back and seeing us each and every week. God damn it. Thank you so much. 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 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.

[Narrator]

Dracula, the ancient Vampire who Terrorizes Victorian London Blood and garlic, bats and crucifixes Even if you haven't read the book, you think you know the story.

[Jimmy Whisman]

One of the incredible things about Dracula is that not only is it this wonderful snapshot of the 19th century, but it also has so much resonance today. The vampire doesn't cast a reflection in a mirror, so when we look in the mirror, the only thing we see is our own monstrous abilities.

[Narrator]

From the host and producer of American Historytellers and History Daily comes the new podcast, the Real History of Dracula. We'll reveal how author Bram Stoker raided ancient folklore, exploited Victoria and fears around sex, science and religion, and how even today, we remain enthralled to his strange creatures of the night. You can binge all episodes of the Real History of Dracula exclusively with Wondery Plus. Join Wondery plus and the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.