Cathie Grigsby

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Snapped: Women Who Murder

Episode: Cathie Grigsby
Host: Oxygen
Date: September 14, 2025

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of Snapped: Women Who Murder delves into the murder of Jack Grigsby, a beloved retiree from rural Texas, and the unraveling investigation that centered on his estranged wife, Kathy Grigsby. The episode traces the shocking plot, the mystery surrounding Jack’s death, and the ultimately failed “perfect crime.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Murder & Immediate Investigation

• Setting: Sargent, Texas, a close-knit Gulf Coast community (03:05)
• Discovery: On May 17, 2009, Kathy Grigsby calls 911, claiming to have found 72-year-old Jack dead in their home.
  • “The caller, 59 year old Kathy Grigsby, says she just found her husband, 72 year old Jack Grigsby, unresponsive.” (04:02)
• Crime Scene: Jack is found lying on the floor, blood pooled around his head; initial possibilities include suicide or homicide (05:19).
• No Weapon Found: Absence of a weapon at the scene points to homicide (13:30).

2. The Grigsbys’ Background and Marital Strain

• Jack’s Life: Hardworking, family-oriented, retired to embrace fishing and a quieter lifestyle (06:41–09:25).
• Kathy’s Background: Twice-divorced bookkeeper, active in sorority, not ready for rural retirement (07:49–09:34).
• Growing Apart: Kathy unhappy with isolation; escalation of arguments and eventual separation (10:08–11:18).
• Financial Tension: Kathy depended on Jack for financial support even after moving out (10:28).

3. Initial Suspects & Timeline

• Alibi: Kathy provides receipts and confirms she was at a Dallas sorority convention with friends during the murder (15:53–16:02).
• Handyman Royce Cootie: Investigators consider him due to recent work at Jack’s house, but his alibi (fishing with a friend) is confirmed (20:12–21:37).

4. Forensic Breakthroughs

• Shell Casing: 9mm casing at the scene; Kathy owned a 9mm Ruger, allegedly bought for protection (17:00–17:17).
• Missing Weapon: Kathy claims her gun was stolen; no sign of forced entry at her apartment (17:54–18:09).

5. Witness Reports & Break in the Case

• Eyewitness Joe Zamora: Reports seeing a suspicious man in a Ford Taurus circling Jack's home on the day of the murder (22:03).
  • “He kept driving around, just, you know, I was like, what the hell?” (22:16)
  • Man described as “scrunchy looking, kind of looked like a biker” (23:13).
• Composite Sketch & Surveillance: Sketch and Texaco station security footage help identify the suspect (27:11; 29:39).

6. Uncovering the Conspiracy

• Tracing the Card: Purchases at the Texaco traced to a Lone Star card registered to Suzanne Matz, connected to suspect Daniel Ray Harrison (30:20–31:02).
• Daniel’s Background: Criminal record with a history of drugs and prison (31:13).
• Suzanne’s Link: Suzanne Matz and Kathy were friends; Kathy also did Suzanne’s taxes (32:16–32:50).
• Murder for Hire Plot: As far back as 2003, Kathy allegedly inquired about having Jack killed (33:07).

7. Confession and Motive

• Daniel’s Confession: After police pressure, Harrison outlines the murder-for-hire plan, implicates Kathy, and explains how she provided the weapon and a key (36:46–39:57).
  • “She started to poison him... She tried to rabbit do it.” (35:22; 36:57; 45:53—on failed poisoning attempt)
  • “She had a receipt for the key being made at Walmart, which ultimately we knew was the key that she gave to Daniel Harrison to gain access to get the gun to commit the murder.” (42:17)
• Deadline: Kathy wanted Jack killed before their divorce finalized, after which she'd lose her status as insurance beneficiary (34:33; 38:37).
• Jack’s Insurance: Kathy stood to inherit $100,000 if Jack died before their divorce was final (37:59–38:10).
• Bitter Irony: Unbeknownst to Kathy, Jack had already changed the policy—she’d get nothing (45:23; 45:37–45:46).

8. Legal Outcomes

• Daniel’s Deal: Pleads to murder, sentenced to 40 years in exchange for testimony (43:58).
• Kathy’s Trial & Conviction:
  • Convicted of capital murder after a swift jury decision (46:30).
  • “She’ll die in prison. Most people who think they’re really smart and that they’re going to commit the perfect homicide, they don’t.” — Detective (46:37)
• Aftermath:
  • Kathy sentenced to life in prison (47:13).
  • Daniel eligible for parole in 2029.
  • Suzanne Matz not charged.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Community Suspicion:
  “Sargent is a little bedroom community. If you walk in there, people want to know who are you and what are you doing here?” (03:22)
• On Kathy’s Reaction:
  “She did, you know, break down. She seemed truly, truly traumatized.” (05:41)
• On a Failed Perfect Crime:
  “Most people who think they're really smart and that they're going to commit the perfect homicide, they don't.” (46:37)
• On Motive & Irony:
  “The irony of the whole thing is that she wouldn’t have got a dime.” (45:37)
• On Evidence & Planning:
  “She had a receipt for the key being made at Walmart, which ultimately we knew was the key that she gave to Daniel Harrison…” (42:17)
• On Desperation:
  “She was not going to be able to survive.” (44:42)
• Chilling Callousness:
  When Daniel calls Kathy post-murder, she only asks: “How was my dog? Pretty cold.” (41:12)

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Timeline & Timestamps for Key Segments

• Murder & Discovery: 04:02 – 05:19
• Victim and Perpetrator Background: 06:03 – 09:34
• Separation & Divorce Motive: 10:08 – 11:18
• Initial Alibi & Investigation: 12:10 – 16:02
• Gun Evidence Unfolds: 17:00 – 18:09
• Eyewitness Account: 22:03 – 23:13
• Suspect Identified via Surveillance: 29:39 – 31:02
• Murder for Hire Plot Revealed: 33:07 – 34:33
• Daniel’s Confession & Plot Details: 36:46 – 42:17
• Legal Resolution & Sentencing: 43:58 – 47:13

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Conclusion

Through interviews, personal accounts, and investigative details, the episode methodically unravels how Kathy Grigsby’s calculated desperation to maintain financial security led her to orchestrate her husband’s murder. Yet, her intricate scheme failed at almost every level: evidence, alibi, and ultimately motive, as she was written out of the will. The justice system delivers a resolute end—demonstrating once again that “perfect crimes” are all but impossible.

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Transcript

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[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

A beloved retiree is living the dream.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He just moved down here where he could fish every day and just a real laid back lifestyle until a frantic.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

911 call sparks local police to action.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Is he breathing?

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators zero in on a lone stranger.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

They get with a forensic artist and develop a sketch.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

It was a eureka moment and a.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Closer look at motive leads to unexpected revelations.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She knew the relationship was rocky, that it was not a good relationship.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

It was starting to come to a head. She was not going to be able to survive.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She was getting desperate and knew he had an insurance policy.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

The desk at the motel she's staying.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

At Most people who think they're really smart and that they're going to commit the perfect homicide, they don't.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Sargent, Texas, in Matagorda county, sits on the Gulf of Mexico, about 70 miles southwest of Galveston.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Matagorda county is rural. It also is coastal. So we have a lot of hunters, fishermen, retired folks who live here.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Sargent is a little bedroom community. If you walk in there, people want to know who are you and what are you doing here? They know each other.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

May 17, 2009, 8:56pm an otherwise quiet Sunday evening in Sargent is shattered by an urgent 911 call. 911, Anita, please.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

But there's a ambulance. Okay, what's going on? I just walked in. Somebody's husband and somebody. What, ma'? Am?

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The caller, 59 year old Kathy Grigsby, says she just found her husband, 72 year old Jack Grigsby, unresponsive.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Where's your husband right now? He's in the right spider. Turn over the floor. Is he breathing? I just think he found himself. Does it look like he may have possibly hurt himself? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Do you think somebody hurt him? I don't know.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Moments later, first responders arrive at the home on Old Caney Road and meet Kathy.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

It was a two story house. She was crying or going on quite a bit with some hysteria. She kept saying, Jack is dead. Jack's dead.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

When they walked in, Mr. Grigsby was lying on the floor. Blood pooled around his head. The recliner that he had been sitting in was overturned.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

There was no sign of life or no possible chance to resuscitate him or anything. He has a spot of blood on his chest and then pool of blood underneath his head. Rather obvious, some sort of head wound.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

And that's when we discovered that he had a gunshot wound to his head. At that time then we knew that we either had a suicide or a homicide.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Back outside, Kathy Grigsby is inconsolable.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She was screaming that he was dead quite loudly.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She did, you know, break down. She seemed truly, truly traumatized. Investigators begin to try to find out who he is, what his background is. Jack was kind of loved by all the folks who knew him and didn't seem to have anyone that would have had any ill will towards him.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Jack Bransom Grigsby Jr. Was born in Houston, Texas in 1936.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He was the first son and he had an older sister, two years older than he was and younger brother. And I came in at the very last. He had Plans to join the seminary when he got out of high school, but he went into the service instead.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

After honorably serving in the army, Jack rejoined civilian life and began a new career in Dallas.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Jack was a very, very hard worker. He worked as a salesman for several years for a paper company and then he eventually got so good at it that he opened his own paper company. Jack loved people and he entertained his customers whenever they would come to town.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Jack got married in 1961 and he and his wife had two boys.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He wanted to be there for his boys. He took them on camping trips and stuff like that.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

But after more than 20 years together, Jack and his wife ended their relationship in 1982.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

They divorced eventually and went their separate ways.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

In 1991, Jack crossed paths with Kathy Harris.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

They met at a party at a friend's apartment and found they had some things in common.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy was born in 1949 in Bristol, Tennessee, but eventually moved to New Mexico, then Texas.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Kathy had been kind of a nomad. She'd spent a lot of time in West Texas, became a bookkeeper and ended up in the Dallas, Fort Worth area working at a Walmart mail center.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy's first two marriages didn't work out, but they did produce a son and daughter.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Kathy had more or less supported her family and, you know, supported her children.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The other great passion in Kathy's life was her service sorority, Epsilon Sigma Alpha.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She was the chapter president of our group. We would just have fundraisers, you know, it started out like bike sales, garage sales. We would support and give to St. Jude's that was our charity.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

It was after Kathy's kids were grown up and on their own that she met Jack Grigsby. Though he was 13 years her senior, Kathy was drawn to Jack's laid back nature.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He was a quiet, peaceful person. He never made waves, he was never angry. He was just a quiet, gentle man.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

After six years together, they tied the knot in 1996 and then Jack retired in 2001. The couple sought a more peaceful life, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of Dallas for the quiet calm of Sargent, less than five hours away.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He just moved down here to retire on the water to where he could fish every day and just a real laid back lifestyle.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

52 year old Kathy wasn't quite ready for the life of a retiree, so she got a job as a bookkeeper at the Salvation Army.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

That's where we originally met. Everybody was just crazy about her. She was very cheerful, happy, always looking on the right side of things. No matter what.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy stayed Active in her sorority and kept busy with work. But she missed the energy of the city.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

I don't think she was happy when Jack moved her from Dallas. She went from a popular place to a nowhere place. They argued a lot.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

After 10 years together, it was clear the age difference between 65 year old Jack and 52 year old Kathy had become a problem.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She lived a different life than him. She was always wanting to be on the go. She had a lot of sorority sisters that she would go to Dallas to meet. She wanted more from him than what he was giving her. She said they were really struggling and not getting along. And she said, I really think that it's time that we just separate. She had moved out and into an apartment that Jack was paying for and a car note that Jack was paying for. She knew the divorce was imminent.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

By 2009, Jack was in his 70s and his health began to decline, making the split even harder.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He'd had a stroke, so one side of him was arm and his leg kind of drug. Jack was ill. She felt really sad. I think she struggled with, you know, their breakup.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

June is when the divorce proceedings are supposed to take place. The divorce would be final at that point.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Despite the impending divorce, Kathy often checked in on Jack when he felt ill.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

By 2009, they were back in divorce court, but they were still on friendly terms.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The couple seemed to be adjusting to this new chapter of life until the devastating night when Kathie discovers Jack dead inside the home they once shared.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Kathy said she had just returned from Dallas and dropped her friends off and then come back to the house.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She had called him earlier in the week to see if he would watch her dog while she went out of town to a sorority convention.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Of course he loved animals and he wasn't going to say no and he kept the dog.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

After four days in Dallas, Kathy stopped by the house to pick up her dog.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

When she got there, she said the door was unlocked and the lights were off and she discovered him on the floor.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy says that lately Jack had been depressed.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

There was some suggestion that he was in some poor health, didn't leave his house much any longer. And so there was certainly some possibility that it was a suicide.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

A deputy escorts Kathy to the sheriff's department for a formal interview while authorities begin to process the scene for evidence.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Typically, if somebody were to shoot themselves, the gun falls very close proximity. We'd remove the body to make sure the gun hadn't fallen inside the chair.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We didn't find a weapon at that time. That's when we knew we were working a homicide.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Coming up, a theory takes shape.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

They found some evidence in Mr. Grigsby's journals.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

And investigators seek a mysterious suspect.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

This car kept circling, would pull up into Mr. Grigsby's driveway and leave.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

It just seems. I don't know, you know, somebody just ain't right.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The homicide investigation for the death of Jack Grigsby is underway after his wife Kathy found him dead inside his home from a gunshot wound. Whoever did it left something behind.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

There was a shell casing found. It was a 9 millimeter casing.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

A spent shell casing can give you lots of other leads. It can be used to match a particular gun.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We didn't see nothing damaged on the door where it was either forced open, kicked in, and none of the windows broke. His wallet was in there. It had quite a bit of cash in.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Did not appear to anyone that it had been a robbery or burglary.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Either Jack let someone into his home, or the front door was unlocked. Maybe it was someone he knew because he appeared to be sitting in his chair when he was shot, so he was comfortable.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

We have some knowledge of a timeline and a timeframe of death based on the state of rigor mortis. Now we had a narrower window of a couple hours that we were looking at.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators look to his distressed wife, Kathy, for answers, and she pulls herself together to assist.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

When I first seen Kathy, she was a little hysterical. She became very quiet, low key. When we interviewed her, she says they.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Had the friendly relationship even though they're getting divorced.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy says she dropped her dog off with Jack on Wednesday before driving to Dallas with two of her sorority sisters.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Dallas is about five hour drive from Sargent, Texas, and she was there for a number of days, including Sunday.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She did provide officers with receipts that supported her alibi.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators asked Kathy who else had access to the home.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She did bring up a individual's name of Royce Cootie, who had been doing some work or helping Jack remodel his house. She just said that she didn't know a whole lot about him. And then Jack had just previously met him. She was just giving us an idea that there is somebody else out there that would have access to the house.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

There was some indication that he had been to the house a number of times. He certainly would have been someone that would have been welcome into the house. So the police certainly weren't going to ignore that as a. As a possibility.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators then ask if Kathy owns a gun.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She said that she had a 9 millimeter, a ruger that she had bought from her boss, where she works.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Her boss happened to have an extra handgun. Kathy claimed to need the gun for personal protection.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

There was a shell casing that was recovered at the scene, and the shell casing was a 9 millimeter.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators tell Kathy they will need her to turn over the weapon. She agrees.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She signed a consent to search, and she told him, you know where the gun was located? In an apartment on a stand next to her bed.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Deputies accompany Kathy to her apartment.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

When they went into her house and did the search, the weapon was not where it was kept.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She last seen her gun, I believe she said, on Thursday before she left to go out of town. They began searching the other areas of the apartment just to make sure it wasn't misplaced.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

And then she claimed that the weapon had been stolen.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

There's no forced entry to her apartment. She told them that nobody else had a key. So then the only person who might otherwise have a key to her apartment obviously would then be the apartment manager's or, of course, the maintenance man.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

With no sign of a break in, investigators believe it's plausible that someone with access to Kathy's home may have taken the gun. Before investigators wrap up with Kathy, she also gives them Royce's number, but when they call, it goes to voicemail.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

So they don't discount the possibility that it's the maintenance man or Mr. Cootie butt by that point. The fact that now this gun is not there that she has said was there again places her under more suspicion.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Despite their doubts, authorities continue trying to find Royce and ID the apartment maintenance man. Meanwhile, they get the autopsy results.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

The autopsy revealed a gunshot wound to the head caused death. We were also able to identify a.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Probable time of death between the time he was killed and the time he was found, probably four or five hours. So the murder took place on Sunday after 12:30.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The finding bolsters Kathy's alibi.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She and the ladies were in the process of driving home during the timeframe in which Jack would have been killed.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

I think it would have been hard for her to leave from there without her friends and come down here and commit that crime and then go back before they would miss her.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators head back to Jack's house, where crime technicians have been processing the home through the night. And they've made an important find. Jack's journal. The final entry details a visit from handyman Royce Cootie.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

They found some evidence in Mr. Grigsby's journals that indicated that Mr. Cootie had been there the day before Saturday.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators learn that someone they've been wanting to talk to is asking to speak to them. When they step outside the home, they find Royce Cootie himself.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

Royce came down and he wanted to know what happened.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Mr. Cootie said that the last time he'd seen Mr. Grigsby was the Friday before his death. He'd done some repair work, and he'd gone over to Mr. Grigsby's house to clean some fish. The police confronted him with that discrepancy. You know, hey, we've caught you in a lie. Now tell us the truth. Royce referred to some memory issues. He said he was there on Friday for a different purpose and just forgot he'd been there on Saturday. That's his story.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Officials ask Royce where he was during the time frame the murder took place.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

His story was on Sunday that he had got up with a friend and went fishing.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Investigators allow Royce to leave with the understanding that they'll be following up on his alibi.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

His alibi was he was fishing with a friend. Well, they talked to the friend. The friend confirmed that.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Turns out he was not physically in the area. He had an alibi witness that basically ruled him out.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

A few hours later, just as officials are wrapping up, yet another man asks to speak with them.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

They are approached by a man, Joe Zamora, who says, I think that I saw something that might be important.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Mr. Zamora had related to them that he'd been fishing there the day before on Sunday, and in the later part of the morning, early part of the afternoon, that he had seen a fellow driving a car that kept showing up in that area.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He wasn't fishing. He kept driving around, just, you know, I was like, what the hell?

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

There's almost no traffic out there. So it was very unusual on a Sunday to see this car driving by the same location time and time again.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

This car would pull up into Mr. Griggs driveway and leave. What kind of car with you is a Ford Taurus?

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Joe says that afternoon, the car pulled into the driveway one last time.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

The man driving the car got out and went up to the door of Jack's to knock on the door.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Shortly after, the same car pulled up next to Joe.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

He stopped and asked me how the fish it was, and I told him, it ain't no good. When he talked to him, I don't know, man. He just seemed he knew somebody. Just ain't. Kind of made me nervous.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

This individual would not look him in the eye when he was talking to him. He was 5, 10, kind of scrunchy looking, kind of looked like a biker.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We thought that was definitely a good hit. We were getting a little closer. We were closing in.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Coming up, a hunch and a sketch turn up a suspect.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

He bragged to people about being in a biker gang, that he could be somebody who could get things done.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

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[Prosecutor / Investigator]

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[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Two days into the investigation of Jack Grigsby's murder, a witness named Joe Zamora tells authorities he saw a mysterious man at Jack's home around the time of the killing.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Joe described the man as a white male, 40ish to 50s, and heavy, thick.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Mustache, kind of average height, average build, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Finding the man in the Ford Taurus becomes top priority.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

This is a huge tip for us. It was a big break for us to have this witness. The activity that this person was doing did not seem to fit anything other than being involved in this homicide. He was willing to get with a forensic artist and develop a sketch based upon his memory of what the individual looked like.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We did put out the information to the surrounding areas. Be on the lookout for anything with this guy's possible description and the Ford Taurus.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Although Jack's wife Kathy has an airtight alibi, there is a lingering loose end from her interview still nagging at investigators.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She had owned a weapon of the same caliber that was used to kill Jack Grigsby, her estranged husband. Kathy told police that she had purchased a handgun from her boss at the Salvation Army.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Authorities questioned Kathy's boss about the gun.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

He said, yeah, in fact, he did sell a nine millimeter to Kathy. He even showed us a bill of sale that was dated in March 2009.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

He had not only sold the gun to Kathy, he loaded it with 10 rounds of ammunition. He had a box that he kept with the remaining 40 shells.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We compared it, and it was the same manufacturer, 9 millimeter that was found at the scene.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

That was a little shocking. By that point, the police realized she could not have been the shooter, but they certainly believe that she's being deceptive.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Kathy's alibi is she was there at that sorority convention in Dallas. This is not something that can be disputed.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

With suspicions surrounding Kathy's involvement growing, detectives reach out to her for another interview, but they are surprised by her reaction.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

They're trying to get her Back down the sheriff's office and she attorneys up, attorney calls, says, I'm representing her, don't talk to her.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

After nine days of circulating the mystery man's face around Sargent, investigators haven't turned up a single lead. So they try a new tack.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

I remember thinking, what are the odds that somebody would stop and get gas?

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Sargent is a very small community. There was a Texaco. Anybody that's interested in getting gas, they're going to go to that convenience store. That one happens to have surveillance cameras.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Authorities review surveillance video from the day of Jack's murder.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

What they found was a vehicle that had in just around in the noon hour and sometime after that had made two stops at the Texaco station.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

There was a Ford Taurus. And then they saw the individual came out. He fit the general description from the schedule.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

It was a eureka moment. He called me. He was a very sighted captain. Captain, I got it.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

The first time he came to the store, he bought sandwiches and then he came back again and bought beer.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

He uses a debit card which is described as a Lone Star card. It's a card that is given out by local government for welfare and food stamps. That card is traced to a lady by the name of Suzanne Matz, and she's in the Dallas area.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

They were also able to get some information from the application for the Lone Star card. That application included the name not only of Ms. Motts, but also included the person that was living with her and she was in a relationship with Daniel Ray Harrison. And they were able to pulled driver's license photos of Ms. Motts and Mr. Harrison.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Daniel's photo seems to match the man in the video and the sketch.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

Who is Daniel Harrison. We started doing a criminal history background on him to see what type of individual we're dealing with and what he may be capable of. He had been in prison before and he had been out on parole, mostly drug history.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

There's no reason to believe that Daniel Harrison actually knew Jack Grigsby, which led detectives to ask, did he have a history with Kathy?

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

On June 4, 2009, two and a half weeks after the murder, investigators make the 400 plus mile drive north to Denison, Texas to pay a visit to Suzanne Matz and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We went to interview them. They didn't even know we were coming.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

There was a car sitting out front that appeared to be the same car as what they had seen on the Texco video.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

So we got there. Daniel Ray Harrison was not there. Susan Matz was there.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

We told Suzanne that We were investigating a death. Jack Grisby. That's when we found out that there was a connection. She had known Kathy for several years.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Suzanne says she met Cathy eight years earlier, in 2001, when they worked together at a Walmart mail order center.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

She claimed that her relationship with Kathy was that they'd been friends. Kathy did her taxes for her every year, that they kept in touch.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy often confided in her about her problems with Jack.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She knew that the relationship was rocky, that it was not a good relationship.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

In fact, six years earlier, Kathy made a comment that stunned Suzanne.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

In 2003, Kathy was looking to get Jack killed.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She asked Ms. Motts, do you know of anybody that would kill Mr. Grigsby? And I think Susan Mott's response to that was, well, no, I don't.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy pressed, wanting to know if maybe Suzanne's boyfriend Daniel might be able to help her.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Kathy had met him, and she thought he was kind of a bad boy because they had a history of being in and out of prison.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

He bragged to people about being in a biker gang, about having connections to violence, that he could be somebody who could get things done.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Kathy thought he may know somebody to actually kill Jack Farr. Suzanne played it off as, I didn't think she was serious. Like, I didn't think she really meant it type of deal.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

She's pretty adamant that she doesn't know anything about the murder. When we confronted her with the fact that her car had been used as sergeant, she admitted that she had let Daniel take her car and drive it that day.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

To her knowledge, Mr. Harrison had used her vehicle for work purposes. On that Sunday.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

As investigators wrap up with Suzanne, Daniel Harrison returns home. He agrees to go to a nearby sheriff station for questioning.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

I started talking to Daniel. I said, did you know about Jack being murdered? He said, no, I didn't know anything about him. I showed him a copy of the otter sketch, and I could tell that it kind of shocked him. And I said, well, Daniel, he looks a whole lot like you to me. I said, now, just help me understand this. You say that you were not involved in this, but how do you think we found you? Nobody knows you down there. You're 450 miles away. How did I find you?

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Coming up, Daniel tells a harrowing tale.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

You know, she started to poison him. She tried to rabbit do it.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

And a potential motive emerges.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Each of them would have received 50% of the proceeds upon his death.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Texas investigators are preparing to transport suspect Daniel Ray Harrison for questioning in the murder of Jack Grigsby.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Under the law, we can lie to a suspect to get him to talk. We can't fabricate evidence. So when I was talking to Daniel Ray Harrison in my vehicle, I led him to believe that Kathy Grigsby had been the one who led us to him.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

By the time they reach the station, Daniel is feeling the heat.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Can I go to sleep? Just wake up and get an all bad dream.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

I wish that was the case, but.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

It'S just not gonna be the case.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

I said, well, we have an eyewitness that saw you there. And I showed him a copy of the otter sketch. Again, that don't look like me. That's crazy. Oh, he picked you out. Your part of the bargain is to fully cooperate.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

So if I don't cooperate in now, sister wasn't mine.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Well, but you have to tell me the whole story. So what do you want to do?

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

He thought that Kathy had already spilled the beans on him, and he was just ready to give it up and move on.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She wanted to do this a long time ago. You know, she started to poison him to the tons, right?

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Daniel says Kathy had actually tried to poison him with antifreeze in his coffee or something. And it did caused some real failures. He got sick from it.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Though there is no way to prove it, the alleged poisoning might explain Jack's decline in health. Daniel says when it didn't kill him, that's when Kathy looked for help.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Daniel Ray Harrison and Kathy Grigsby first met and talked about killing Jackson Grigsby in 2003. If he turned it down and didn't pursue it any further.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

He says he had no contact with Kathy until March of 2009, when Suzanne hired Kathy to do their taxes. At that time, Daniel claims, Kathy once again brought up killing her husband.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She tried to bite me. Prize one was ten grand.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

Mr. Grigsby had a life insurance policy of $200,000. She and Jack Grigsby's son were 50% beneficiaries.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

That's how she would pay, letting him know that if I get the 100,000, I'll give you $10,000 for killing Jack.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

He says, the first times you approached me, I was not interested. But Suzanne and I are on hard time and we needed money. So when she approached me again, I said yes, that I would do it.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy allegedly explained they were under a deadline.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

June is when the divorce proceedings are supposed to take place. She would no longer be a beneficiary of the insurance policy. So she would have wanted this to take place before that divorce proceeding took Place.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Daniel says two weeks later he met Kathy in person to discuss the details. He claims Kathy proposed he kill Jack while she was at an upcoming sorority convention in Dallas.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She's going to be in Dallas at the convention. Where he lives is a little bit north of Dallas. He was to go to the hotel where she was staying.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

She told Daniel Ray Harrison that I have a gun. It's a nine millimeter.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She told me the gun wasn't mentioning her name yet and there wasn't no problem with it.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

She had the weapon at her house. She had it loaded. She was prepared. She went to a local Walmart and had a copy of a key to her apartment made.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She came to Keita apartment, did a desk at the motel she's staying at.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

He picked it up around 3:30 Sunday morning. Okay, Danny, so you picked up the gun on the way out there to the house. And when you got out the house, was he there?

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Nope.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

How many times did you go by the house before he got there?

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Too many.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

That's obvious. What time did he actually get there?

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

9 o'.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Clock.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

12:30.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Posing as a stranger looking for a good fishing spot, Daniel approached Jack's home.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

I'm not going to go anytime. I don't want to talk.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

What'd you talk about?

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Fishing.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

So after you talked a little bit, what happened?

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

Daniel asked him could he go inside and use the restroom. So they wound up going inside.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

He went to the restroom and then when he came back he had the 9 miller pistol. Jack was sitting in his lounge chair with his back to him.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

I cold cocked him on the back.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

Of the head with a pistol.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

Turned around the barrels of hanger.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

And.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Then he proceeded to shoot him directly in the head. Headshot. Execution.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

St.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Daniel left the house and spoke with Joe Zamora to feel out if he had heard the shot. Then he called Kathy.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Right. So what did you tell her?

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

Done and done done. And her response was? How was my dog? Pretty cold.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

You got rid of the gun? Tell me about the gun.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

I rid of the barrel.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

I rid of the pistol. At Lake Texoma you said?

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Yeah.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

He went back home to Suzanne, who was none the wiser.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

You swear to me that Suzanne had nothing to do with. After I got a signed confession from Daniel Ray Harrison on the murder, they got a probable cause affidavit and arrest warrant for Kathy Grisby.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

They went to the Salvation army and arrested her there on site, in front of everyone. I was really shocked.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy refuses to give a statement. But when authorities search her purse, her habit of keeping receipts comes back to haunt her.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

She had a receipt for the key being made at Walmart, which ultimately we knew was the key that she gave to Daniel Harrison to gain access to get the gun to commit the murder.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

So everything started coming together at that point. She planned this and he carried it out.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Coming up, a hard truth comes out at trial.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

The irony of the whole thing is that she wouldn't have got a dime.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

19 days after Jack Grigsby was found shot dead in his home, investigators work with prosecutors to build their case against his wife, Kathy Grigsby. They request surveillance video from the Dallas hotel where Kathy stayed during the convention.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

The videos pretty clearly show that she left the key at the front lobby, at the front desk, instructed them who to give it to.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

And that Harrison at 3:30 in the morning came and picked it up and showed his id. After we got the confession, Daniel Ray Harrison and video from the hotel, I felt very confident that we were making a very strong case against Kathy Grigsby. For the murder of Jack Grisby.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Authorities want to offer Daniel Harrison a deal, a murder charge and 40 years in prison if he cooperates.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Daniel accepted a plea deal and agreed to to testify against Kathy.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy Grigsby's murder trial begins on October 25, 2010. Prosecutors argue that Kathy was motivated by one thing and one thing only. Money.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

What I think finally made Kathy snap was the fact that the divorce was starting to come to a head and that Jack was cutting her off financially.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

The credit cards had been run up. He'd finally cut her off the credit cards.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

He also planned to stop paying for her apartment and car loan.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

She was not going to be able to survive without his help, knowing she.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Was going to be cut off soon. Prosecutors believe Kathy became desperate to change her fate.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

At trial, Daniel Harrison said that Kathy had told him that she tried herself to kill Jack through poisoning him. We were never able to really confirm that that had happened and it lined up with what his health issues were.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

She was getting desperate and she knew that Jack had an insurance policy.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

In a surprise twist, prosecutors reveal that Jack, Jack had already taken action to make sure Kathy wouldn't get that money.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

Jack had changed the beneficiary on his life insurance policy. Kathy was no longer beneficiary.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

She wasn't in the will. She wasn't going to get the house, she wasn't going to get the money.

[Forensic Expert / Medical Examiner]

The irony of the whole thing is that she wouldn't have got a dime.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

Kathy's confessed co conspirator, Daniel Harrison, testifies against her. But Kathy's defense attempts to turn the prosecution's star witness into a liability.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

Daniel Harrison is a criminal who confessed to being the person who shot Jack Grigsby. Kathy's never been in trouble. You know, she's a churchgoer. She's not somebody who would ever commit this kind of crime.

[Prosecutor / Investigator]

They basically attempted to show Mr. Harrison was a liar.

[Narrator / Lead Investigator]

The jury deliberates for just over an hour before returning a verdict.

[Witness / Friend of Victim]

The jury does find her guilty of capital murder. And capital murder is an automatic life sentence in Texas.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

I think the system works. She'll die in prison. Most people who think they're really smart and that they're going to commit the perfect homicide, they don't.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

I feel bad for Jack. I feel bad for his family. I'm sure he wanted to live one more day to say I love you to his kids. My brother is up there in heaven with my other brother, and they've gone to the big fishing hole in the sky having a ball.

[Stephanie Gomolka]

Kathy Grigsby is serving a life sentence. Daniel Harrison was sentenced to 40 years. He will be eligible for parole in June 2029. Suzanne Matz was never charged.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

On Boxing Day 2018, 20 year old.

[Stephanie Gomolka]

Joy Morgan was last seen at her.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Church, Israel United in Christ, or iuic. I just went on my Snapchat and I just see her face plastered everywhere. This is the missing sister, the true story of a woman betrayed by those she trusted most. IUIC is my family and like, the best family that I've ever had. But IUIC isn't like most churches.

[Detective / Law Enforcement Officer]

This is a devilish cult.

[Police Officer / Interviewer]

You know when you get that feeling like you just, I don't want to be. I want to get out. It's like that feeling of like, I.

[Family Member / Close Acquaintance]

Want to go hang out. I'm Charlie Brinkcoast Cuff. And after years of investigating Joy's case, I need to know what really happened to Joy. Binge all episodes of the Missing Sister exclusively and ad free right now on Wondery. Start your free trial of Wondery on Spotify, Apple podcasts or in the Wondery app.