Sharon Hurt

Summary

Snapped: Women Who Murder

Episode: "Sharon Hurt"

Podcast by Oxygen | Released: February 8, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of "Snapped: Women Who Murder" explores the case of Sharon Hurt, who, along with her sister and brother-in-law, was convicted of orchestrating the murder of her husband, Don Hurt, in rural Tennessee in 1991. Through interviews, detective insights, and legal proceedings, the narrative unravels a complex scheme involving financial desperation, adultery, and a tragic betrayal. The case is a chilling study of greed, deception, and familial fallout in the pursuit of money.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime and Initial Investigation

• Discovery of Don Hurt’s Body
  • On December 20, 1991, Don Hurt is found shot twice in the head inside his car outside Goodlettsville, TN ([02:33]).
  • Detective Hackett: “He had been literally executed and left in the passenger seat of a vehicle.” ([00:44])
• Nature of the Crime
  • No signs of robbery; Don’s wallet and valuables were untouched ([03:34]).
  • Shock in the community—murders are rare in Goodlettsville ([03:59]).

2. Don and Sharon’s Backgrounds

• Don Hurt’s Life
  • Born and raised in Nashville; described as hardworking, family-oriented, and jolly ([05:32]-[06:27]).
• Sharon Wylie Hurt’s Story
  • One of eight children from Kentucky, dreamed of a singing career, and had two previous marriages ([07:08]-[09:46]).
  • Family Friend: “She made an album. She worked hard at it, but it never went anywhere.” ([10:53])

3. Marriage Dynamics and Motive

• Don and Sharon’s Marriage
  • Met when Don made deliveries to Sharon’s workplace; Don was "head over heels" in love ([11:11]).
  • Sharon’s ambitions and financial strains put pressure on the marriage.
  • Family Friend: "She was hunting, and Don made a really good living." ([19:49])
• Affair and Financial Instability
  • Sharon began an affair with her employer, Joe Rowe, who supported her materially ([21:22]).
  • Joe gifted Sharon a pink Cadillac and involved her in questionable financial dealings ([22:08]).

4. Previous Attempt on Don’s Life

• Prior Shooting Incident
  • Six months before his murder, Don survived a shotgun attack by a red Firebird ([16:49]-[17:31]).
  • Investigation lapsed after Don refused to pursue charges despite family suspicions ([17:47]).
  • Don Hurt’s Child: “...he thought he had a blowout, and then he started seeing his blood everywhere.” ([16:49])

5. Escalation: Life Insurance and Family Suspicion

• Insurance Policy Increases

  • Don’s life insurance sharply increased shortly before the first shooting ([22:59]).
  • After Don’s death, Sharon aggressively pursued the $250,000 payout ([25:23]).
  • Family member: “I think she got dollar signs in her eyes. And to hell with everything else.” ([41:07])

• Don's Children Take Legal Action

  • They file a lawsuit to block Sharon from collecting on the insurance, suspecting her involvement ([28:31]).

6. Breakthroughs in the Investigation

• Physical and Circumstantial Evidence
  • A witness sees Sharon’s pink Cadillac at the crime scene on the night of the murder ([26:08]).
  • Toxicology reveals Don was incapacitated with a “very large amount of Benadryl” ([30:15]).
  • Police assert only someone close could have administered the drug—namely, Sharon ([30:24]).
• Affair Partner’s Role
  • Joe Rowe is identified as both a participant and a source of key evidence; he provided the murder weapon ([34:36]).

7. Arrest, Confessions, and the Murder’s Unraveling

• Arrests and Charges
  • Sharon, her sister Marcy, and Marcy’s husband James Murray are charged after significant surveillance and a two-month pursuit ([32:53]-[38:02]).
• Joe Rowe Turns State’s Witness
  • Testifies about the murder plot: Benadryl was used to sedate Don, whom the Murrays and Sharon then shot ([34:36]-[36:05])
  • Lead Investigator: “The plan was to get the $250,000.” ([35:31])
  • Joe’s recorded calls with co-conspirators help affirm their involvement ([35:53]-[36:31]).

8. Trial and Verdict

• Prosecution’s Argument
  • Sharon’s motive: financial gain and support for her fading singing career ([38:57]).
  • The Murrays' motive: money due to their ongoing financial troubles ([39:16]).
• Defense Counterpoint
  • Argued Joe Rowe fabricated the story; denied all involvement ([40:23]).
• Guilty Verdict
  • Jury returns convictions for first-degree murder and conspiracy in two hours ([40:52]).
  • Sentences: Sharon (life + 24 years), James Murray (life + 22), Marcy Murray (life + 20) ([41:17]).

9. Aftermath and Reflections

• Consequences
  • Joe Rowe pleads guilty to conspiracy after testifying and receives 18 years ([42:30]).
  • Don’s family reflects on the tragedy and loss of a decent man for money ([43:05]).
  • Don Hurt’s Child: “Nobody deserves what he got. Nobody. All for just the love of money. All I got to say is world one less of a good man.” ([43:05])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "He had two gunshot wounds, one through the ear canal and one in the back of his ear." —Lead Investigator ([00:38])
• "I think she got dollar signs in her eyes. And to hell with everything else." —Family Friend or Relative ([41:07])
• "If a killer gets that close to someone, that indicates that he knew who killed him." —Detective Hackett ([15:34])
• "The amount of Benadryl in Don Hurt's system could really have only been placed in a drink by someone close to him. That would have been Sharon Hurt." —Detective Hackett ([30:24])
• "[Joe] knows they gave Don a drink laced with Benadryl and that they took him... Sharon, Marcy and Jimmy took Don out... and that Jimmy Murray at one point told him that he and Marcy had both shot Don with the same gun so that each of them would be equally responsible." —Detective Hackett ([34:36])
• "Justice was served in this case. Absolutely." —Detective Hackett ([41:33])
• "Nobody deserves what he got. Nobody. All for just the love of money. All I got to say is world one less of a good man." —Don Hurt's Child ([43:05])

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Timeline: Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:38 – Lead Investigator describes murder scene
• 11:11 – Don and Sharon’s courtship and marriage
• 16:49 – Don Hurt’s child describes previous shooting
• 19:49 – Motives behind Sharon’s relationship with Don
• 21:22 – Sharon’s affair with employer, Joe Rowe, comes to light
• 22:59 – Life insurance motives revealed
• 26:08 – Witness sees pink Cadillac at crime scene
• 30:15 – Discovery of Benadryl in Don’s system
• 34:36 – Joe Rowe describes the murder plot
• 38:02 – Arrests of Marcy and James Murray
• 40:52 – Jury convicts all three defendants
• 41:33 – Detectives and family reflect on the verdict

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Closing Thoughts

This detailed examination of Sharon Hurt's case reveals a compelling and tragic criminal conspiracy rooted in deception, betrayal, and the lure of easy money. The podcast methodically lays out the facts, family perspectives, and detective work, giving listeners an engaging portrait not just of a murder, but of the devastating ripple effects it brought to a working-class Tennessee community. Despite convictions and justice served, the episode closes with a somber reminder of a life lost and the corrosive nature of greed.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Day or night, VRBoCare is here 24. 7 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the.

[Detective Hackett]

Moment you head home.

[Narrator]

We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And, hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. In the suburbs of Nashville, a singer's husband is brutally murdered.

[Lead Investigator]

He had two gunshot wounds, one through the ear canal and one in the back of his ear.

[Detective Hackett]

He had been literally executed and left in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

[Narrator]

Police learned this isn't the first attempt to take his life.

[Don Hurt's Child]

He thought he had a blowout, and then he started seeing his blood everywhere.

[Lead Investigator]

There was a small red car that had pulled up beside him and shot him with a shotgun.

[Narrator]

The investigation uncovers an adulterous affair.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She took a job as secretary for him.

[Lead Investigator]

I think it was pretty obvious to everybody that she was sleeping with him.

[Narrator]

But a sting reveals motives. But more complicated than a love triangle turned deadly.

[Don Hurt's Child]

He's listening to every damn thing you and I are saying right now.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

I just needed to talk to you.

[Narrator]

About that damn gun.

[Detective Hackett]

I need you to help me. The life insurance policies increased to 250,000.

[Family Friend or Relative]

I think she got dollar signs in her eyes. And to hell with everything else.

[Narrator]

How can they do this to get away with this? I'm not guil. It's a crisp winter morning in the rural town of Goodlettsville, located 15 miles north of Nashville, Tennessee.

[Lead Investigator]

Goodlettsville is a small town. It's been there since probably the 1850s. It was kind of a railroad stop. The people are working class, churchgoing type of folk.

[Narrator]

On the morning of December 20, 1991, a commuter spots a man slumped inside a vehicle by the side of the road and immediately goes home to notify police.

[Lead Investigator]

My sergeant and another detective responded to the scene, which is on kind of a rural road north of Gouletsville.

[Narrator]

Detectives approach the vehicle with caution and quickly realize they have a crime scene on their hands.

[Lead Investigator]

It's fairly easy to see that there's a dead guy in a car.

[Detective Hackett]

The body was left in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

[Lead Investigator]

He had two gunshot wounds, one through the ear canal and one in the back of his ear on the left side.

[Detective Hackett]

If someone is shot twice, obviously he did not commit suicide. He had not been there very long.

[Lead Investigator]

There was very little evidence inside the car or very little evidence on him. There was nothing that would suggest that he had been robbed. The Victim had a wallet on him and had driver's license in that wallet, and he gave his address in Goodlandsville.

[Narrator]

The man's license identifies him as 52 year old Charles Donald Hurt.

[Detective Hackett]

Obviously someone had been in the car. There was no indication that his body had moved or been jostled. And that led officers to believe that he was shot in the car at that location. We knew that from the location of the gun and the position of the body that Don Hurt had not had a chance to move, defend himself. Homicides and Goodlettsville were quite rare, and particularly one where someone has apparently been literally executed. So this was from the very start, all hands on deck.

[Narrator]

After Nashville police collect what evidence they can, detectives travel to Don's home to speak with his wife, Sharon Hurt.

[Family Friend or Relative]

They, of course, had contacted her by phone and let her know that he had been found. When she called me and told me that dawn had been killed, I immediately went to her house. She was stunned. You know, accidents happen, car wrecks happen. Murder's intentional. I don't know what would motivate somebody to want to do that to Don. Something did not feel right.

[Narrator]

Don Hurt, as he was known to friends, was born in Nashville on July 20, 1939.

[Don Hurt's Child]

My daddy was born here. I think everybody in my family was born right here. He was a mama boy. He always kept everything clean for his mama because his mama had five boys and he was kind of the one that took care of stuff in the house.

[Narrator]

Don's love of family never went away, and in his mid-20s, he got the chance to start one of his own.

[Don Hurt's Child]

My mama was Nancy Kirby. I'm not sure when they really got married, but I think my mama was young. I had my sister and then she had me. We had just about anything you wanted, you know. My daddy always made sure we had something on the table to eat, and most time he was cooking it.

[Narrator]

Donald was a happy man, he was jolly. He was always carrying on and cutting.

[Detective Hackett]

Up, and I think he was just happy with life.

[Narrator]

Unfortunately, the marriage only lasted little more than a decade, but the ending was amicable. Even though they had divorced, they had remained friends and talked With a good job and a kind heart. Don didn't stay single for long.

[Don Hurt's Child]

I was, I don't know, 11, 12 when I got a divorce, my daddy met Sharon. I reckon they went together for about a month or two or three, and then they got married. My dad was, I think it was head over heels.

[Narrator]

4. Sharon Wylie was born on March 30, 1953, in Frankfort. Kentucky. One of eight children, raised on a family farm.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

Mom actually grew up out on Georgetown Road out there at the old family house.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She has half siblings from her mom, and she has half siblings from her father. He had five children besides her and Marcie.

[Narrator]

Sharon and Marcie were just a year apart in their age, and they were besties, you know. Marcy was very studious, very intellectual, very driven to succeed. Sharon was intelligent, but in a whole different way. She was people oriented. As Sharon entered into adulthood, her larger than life personality made her a natural performer. And she loved to sing, especially gospel music. She loved to put little groups together, little ensembles, and do different harmonies.

[Family Friend or Relative]

I remember before she got into church, she would sing in the dance halls. Kind of a Grand Ole Opry type of feeling. Her focus was on gospel music, but she always wanted to make it.

[Narrator]

While pursuing music came naturally to Sharon, matters of the heart did not.

[Family Friend or Relative]

My father was between tours in Vietnam when they got together. He went back for his second tour. And then a little later, I was born. My younger brother, my half brother, was from a marriage that she had to a man named Ron Derringer. They got together right after I was born.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

Mom and dad met. She was a waitress, and she caught Dad's eyes. All I know, and it went from there. I would say in between 72 and 73. Somewhere in there is when they actually got married. Chucky is three years older than me. I was born in 73.

[Narrator]

Ron and Sharon set out together to make her dreams come true. Music was her dream, but it was also her comfort. Late 80s, they decided they were going to buy a bus and kind of hit the road.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

My mother talked him into quitting and moving to Tennessee. She's going to be a star.

[Narrator]

But the realities of pursuing a music career put a strain on the marriage.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

We were living on the bus and, you know, you can't have a kid and a mom and dad living on a bus. It was rough, you know. And then dad, he just come and ask me one night, you know, do you want to stay or do you want to go with me? I'm going with you. Going back to Kentucky. So we left. I was still young. I was only 14, 15 years old. My other brother stayed down with her. Chucky.

[Family Friend or Relative]

The bus and the tension over all the money, that was the beginning of the end. There was a point where it was, okay, I'm done. I had had enough, and so I went into the Army.

[Narrator]

Eventually we heard that her and Ronnie had split. After recording one gospel album, Sharon's dream began to Fade.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She made an album. She worked hard at it, but it never went anywhere.

[Narrator]

By her late 30s, Sharon's goals still seemed impossible to grasp. But she would get another chance at love.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She was working as a cashier at a grocery store in Nashville. Don was a truck driver, and he made deliveries to that grocery store. And that's how they met. Don was head over heels in love with my mother. Everything I saw out of that man was complete devotion to her.

[Narrator]

He seemed like a great guy, really nice guy. He treated her well. Three years into their marriage, in 1991, their happily ever after comes to an abrupt end as Sharon learns of her husband's violent death.

[Family Friend or Relative]

There was a detective or maybe two that came to her house and I told them that she was not in any shape to talk to them. And so they were like, okay, can we come back tomorrow? And I was like, yeah, let her calm down, let her absorb this and then come back.

[Narrator]

The next day. Sharon agrees to sit down with detectives and tell them what she knows. She says the last time she saw don was around 7pm on the 19th. The night before his body was found.

[Detective Hackett]

Sharon Hurt told the police that her husband had met up with someone at a flea market to purchase a handgun.

[Narrator]

Sharon says Don never came home that evening, prompting her to report him missing the following morning.

[Detective Hackett]

When he did not come back at the appointed time, she became worried over his absence.

[Narrator]

Police had just started processing the missing persons report when Don's body was discovered. Sharon gives detectives one more piece of information that piques their interest.

[Detective Hackett]

When the police were interviewing Sharon Hurt, one of the key things the police learned is that he had been shot before and apparently she had no details whatsoever about the shooting and what might have caused someone to try to kill him.

[Narrator]

Sharon says they were just trying to move on from the incident. But detectives plan to dig into these claims further. At the same time, an officer is sent to the flea market to gather intel, but comes up empty.

[Detective Hackett]

It was such an unusual situation from the start. From there, the police focused on who had a motive to want Don Hurt dead.

[Narrator]

Coming up, detectives learn more about the previous attempt on Don's life.

[Don Hurt's Child]

He knew if he didn't make it to the rest area up on top of the hill, he'd probably be dead.

[Narrator]

And his family suspects someone close to home.

[Don Hurt's Child]

We was trying to tell him, daddy, look, wake up, smell the roses. None of this adds up right.

[Narrator]

Nearly 48 hours after 52 year old Don Hurt's body was discovered, Nashville police learn there was a previous attempt on his life. While police Dive into their files for more details on the incident. They line up interviews with Don's loved ones, and the autopsy becomes available.

[Detective Hackett]

Based upon the autopsy report, the time frame that his time of death would have been fairly narrow.

[Narrator]

The medical examiner estimates the time of death to be between 7:30 and 8pm on the 19th.

[Lead Investigator]

There was still one bullet inside of it and then one partial bullet found inside the car, both of which proved to be a.38 Special. Probably killed him instantly.

[Narrator]

According to Sharon, Don left the house alone, leaving police to speak, speculate how he ended up in the passenger seat.

[Detective Hackett]

The shots had come from different angles. It was as if the person had moved and or possibly could have handed the gun to someone else who fired a second shot. One of the wounds was a contact wound, which means that it was placed literally against the skin. The other was a near contact, which literally means it was very, very close. If a killer gets that close to someone, that indicates that he knew who killed him. So who did Don Hurt know? Did Don Hurt have enemies? Did he have debts? Did he have anything that would have cost him his?

[Narrator]

The medical examiner's autopsy report confirms part of Sharon's story.

[Detective Hackett]

She did tell the police that he had been shot previously.

[Narrator]

As investigators track down the police records related to the shooting six months earlier, they speak with Don's family for their accounts.

[Don Hurt's Child]

My daddy was born across Tennessee River. He all of a sudden he thought he had a blowout. And he said he started seeing this blood everywhere. So he pulled over. This is like 4 o' clock in the morning. He knew if he didn't make it to the rest area up on top of the hill, he'd probably be dead. He even drove with one hand shifting gears and steering. He lived through that. They finally called us, said my daddy was at the hospital.

[Narrator]

When police spoke to Don at the time, he reported catching a glimpse of a vehicle just before he heard the shot. A red Firebird.

[Lead Investigator]

There was a small red car that had pulled up beside him and shot him with a shotgun. It nipped the top of his shoulder and it went between his jawbone. This certainly gave us rise to try to find that red car and find out who it was.

[Detective Hackett]

The police had investigated that matter and had determined that it was a targeted shooting. The blast was from what was determined to be a sabot, a projectile fired from a shotgun as opposed to shotgun pellets. At the time, the police pursued family interviews and an investigation into what was going on in Don Hurt's life. But Don Hurt said that he did not want to carry on with the investigation. And that effectively ended the case. The wounds that Don hurt suffered put him in the hospital for several days and caused him to be unable to work for quite a while. So that did place a financial strain on the hurt family. There was a bankruptcy filing that had occurred shortly before his killing.

[Narrator]

From their visit to the hurt residence, Investigators find it hard to believe they had any money problems.

[Detective Hackett]

She seemed to really not have been lacking for anything. She had a new car. She had jewelry. She had essentially anything that she would want.

[Narrator]

Don's family members also shed light on his relationship with Sharon.

[Detective Hackett]

The road began with finding out what was her marriage like, what was their life like together.

[Narrator]

According to his loved ones, Don was completely smitten by Sharon's beauty and talent. But her attraction to him seemed motivated by something else.

[Family Friend or Relative]

This is gonna sound as bad as anything I'm gonna ever say about my mother, I guess. But I think that when she started the process of leaving Ron derringer, she was hunting, and Don made a really good living.

[Lead Investigator]

I think that she was using Don as a means to an end, to support her music career.

[Narrator]

Don's family tells investigators that their life together hadn't lived up to Sharon's expectations.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

I don't think she wanted to come back home a failure. She tried to be a star, and she didn't make it. But she did find a rich man to marry, is the way I take it.

[Narrator]

Don's loved ones reveal to investigators that Sharon apparently found a new admirer. Over a year before Don's death, Sharon.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Worked for Lowe's, and that's how she met Joe Rose. He came in there to buy a lawnmower, and he had a better job for her, being a bookkeeper.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She took a job as secretary for Joe. He owned an electric company there in nashville.

[Narrator]

The family tells detectives their relationship was not as professional as Sharon led on.

[Lead Investigator]

I think it was pretty obvious to everybody that was close to him, Even Don's children, that she was sleeping with Joe Rogan.

[Don Hurt's Child]

There are times, sometimes she wouldn't even come home for two or three days in a row. You don't stay all day long and all night long at work Unless you're doing something. You know, it's crazy. Right in front of my father, right in front of everybody. It was like a big bell rang in my head.

[Narrator]

During interviews with the family of shooting victim Don hurt, detectives learn the relationship between his wife, Sharon and her employer, Joe rowe had crossed a line.

[Detective Hackett]

The investigators learned he provided her with funds to buy a pink Cadillac and had really Been a part of her financial life in paying her cash under the table.

[Narrator]

Though investigators are hesitant to approach Joe until they know more.

[Lead Investigator]

We've been getting the information from Don's family, But if you thought somebody was involved in something, you, have to be a little careful, question him, because you could step over that boundary. So you really have to have your investigation put together.

[Narrator]

When detectives take a closer look at the hurts finances, they discover Sharon made another questionable decision shortly before Don's first shooting.

[Detective Hackett]

The life insurance policies. The amounts initially began when don and Sharon were married or shortly thereafter. The initial policy was $100,000 for Don and 50,000 for Sharon. Before the shooting in west tennessee, the policy was increased to 250,000 for Don.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Well, after my father got shot, he canceled it. And what I was told, Sharon went back, reopened his insurance or got it back going. And my father didn't know nothing about that.

[Narrator]

Now that don has been shot and killed, the family is convinced Sharon was involved in the first attempt on Don's life, Confirming their suspicions from six months earlier.

[Don Hurt's Child]

My daddy was at the hospital. It took me about 45 minutes to an hour to get down to where he was at at the hospital. And lo and behold, Sharon's sister Marcy and her husband was there. They was about three hours away from where I lived. They lived in sevierville. And ain't no way in gone grease and earth that they can get there before we could get there. I think they're the one who pulled the shotgun on him and sh.

[Detective Hackett]

Don hurt's mother had what I would call the mother's instinct that they were not there because they cared about his well being. She felt there may have been an attempt to kill him at that time to finish the job.

[Don Hurt's Child]

You got this thing for morphine. They kept on pushing the button. Morphine, morphine, morphine. That's when my grandmother started harlequin and Sharon, Marcy and her husband was asked to leave. He said that he's not for sure who shot him. And we was trying to tell him, daddy, look, wake up, smell the roses. I said, you know, none of this adds up, right?

[Narrator]

With don downplaying the incident, the investigation into the first attempt on his life was never solved. And after reviewing the facts, detectives on Don's murder case suspect Sharon, Marcy and James may have returned to finish the job, but have nothing directly connecting them to Don's murder. However, a few days into the investigation, they receive a new lead from someone who had driven past the crime scene before. Before it was discovered.

[Lead Investigator]

She contacted us through crime stoppers and told us that she had what she had seen.

[Detective Hackett]

She recalled that when she had passed by earlier, there were two cars at the scene. It struck her odd as it was not a usual place where people would pull off and park. But the most striking thing was the car that was in front was in her recoll a pink Cadillac.

[Narrator]

The witness says that when she passed by the spot again at 8:45pm the scene had changed.

[Detective Hackett]

When she came back, she noticed the pink Cadillac was gone, but that the other car was still there.

[Narrator]

Investigators ask the woman if she could identify the vehicle.

[Lead Investigator]

I put together a photo like of Cadillacs, One of which was Sharon Hurt's car. I subsequently showed that to witnesses and she did pick out Sharon hurts car.

[Narrator]

Armed with this new information, detectives spend the next two months bolstering their evidence against Sharon and her potential co conspirators.

[Detective Hackett]

This investigation took approximately 18 months. Because of the thoroughness of the police department.

[Lead Investigator]

It's circumstantial case. It's like building a brick wall. It's just one small piece of the entire puzzle that you have to look at in totality to end up getting an indictment and hopefully subsequently a conviction.

[Narrator]

Investigators put a tap on Sharon's phone line, but it only proves Sharon's anger at the situation.

[Lead Investigator]

I think either 11 or 12 calls on tele which we recorded. It's perfectly legal in Tennessee.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Ed Moran, he listened to every damn thing you and I are saying right now. He ain't got a goddamn thing on me. I didn't kill my husband.

[Narrator]

And he. He just can't. He's. He's sorry.

[Detective Hackett]

Now they trying to take what insurance we had left.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Ain't getting it. I'll see. I'll fight them through hell in that first.

[Narrator]

While investigators keep a close eye and ear on Sharon, Don's children take matters into their own hands and file a lawsuit against her.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Me and my sister, we took it on ourselves to get a lawyer and try to prevent her from receiving the insurance money.

[Narrator]

Coming up, investigators take a closer look at Sharon and her suspected lover.

[Lead Investigator]

He had filed for bankruptcy and wasn't reporting all his income.

[Narrator]

And the details of a murder plot begin to unfold. This is ridiculous.

[Detective Hackett]

I know it is.

[Narrator]

How can they do this and get away with this? After Don Hurt's murder, detectives are heavily investigating his wife Sharon for her possible involvement. And Don's children have just filed a civil suit.

[Detective Hackett]

The civil suit filed against Sharon Hurt was ongoing at the time and also was consistent with current Tennessee law that provides that a person may not profit from their criminal actions.

[Narrator]

Given the circumstances surrounding Sharon's potential involvement. The life insurance payout is put on hold as investigators take another look at their evidence. Among their lingering questions is why Don was in the passenger seat of his own car. A more extensive toxicology report becomes available and provides a possible answer.

[Lead Investigator]

Once they did a more detailed examination, they found out that he had Benadryl in his system. A very large amount of Benadryl.

[Detective Hackett]

The level was such that he could have and would have been incapacitated. As far as being able to essentially defend himself or be able to be in control, he would likely have been able to move with assistance. The amount of Benadryl in Don Hurt's system could really have only been placed in a drink by someone close to him. That would have been Sharon Hurt.

[Narrator]

As suspicions surrounding Sharon continue to grow, detectives look further into Sharon's lover and employer, Joe Rowe. It seems that in December 1991, he too was in financial trouble.

[Lead Investigator]

I got a call from the lady who was a bookkeeper over in Old Hickory, Tennessee, and she told me that she was suspicious of Joe laundering money. He had filed for bankruptcy and wasn't reporting his company income. We obtained a search warrant for his business, and FBI agents went out and raided his business and determined he was in fact hiding assets from the bankruptcy court. Joe's in bankruptcy, so he's strapped for cash. So money would have helped him.

[Narrator]

After concluding Joe Rowe had potential motive, police try to question him, but discover he's fled the state and he's taken Sharon with him.

[Family Friend or Relative]

She was running. There's no other way to put it.

[Lead Investigator]

She was running at that point. Circumstantial is beyond reasonable doubt. The DA and myself both thought that these were the only people that had the opportunity and the motive to commit this crime. So therefore they were indicted basically on circumstantial evidence. We got an arrest warrant.

[Narrator]

Fortunately, the civil case against Sharon provides detectives with an opportunity to apprehend the pair.

[Lead Investigator]

They had come back to Nashville for a court hearing on the insurance money. One of the other detectives saw their car. They stopped them out there.

[Detective Hackett]

All right, let me have your attention for a minute. Okay? I'm Lieutenant Hackett, Homicide Div. Yeah, the place supposed to be under arrest for first degree murder.

[Narrator]

First degree murder? That's ludicrous, Joe. This is ridiculous.

[Detective Hackett]

I know it is.

[Narrator]

How can they do this and get away with this?

[Detective Hackett]

Just hush.

[Narrator]

I'm not guilty.

[Lead Investigator]

I don't think they were surprised. I didn't get any amazement. I think they kind of knew what was coming.

[Narrator]

On September 12, 1993, Joe and Sharon are both charged with killing Don Hurt and held on $300,000 bail.

[Lead Investigator]

His attorney, which was a public defender, approached me and District Attorney Thurman about Joe getting out of jail because he had been sick twice in there and was about to kill him. We said, well, that's all well and good, but what are we getting out of?

[Narrator]

In exchange for a lower bail amount, Joe agrees to come clean. Joe claims he has an airtight alibi for the night of Don's murder, but admits he provided the weapon used in the shooting.

[Detective Hackett]

Joe Rogan testifies that they Sharon and her sister Marcy Murray and brother in law Jimmy Murray plotted to kill Don. They get a handgun from him. He knows they gave Don a drink laced with Benadryl and that they took him. They being Sharon, Marcy and Jimmy took Don out, walked him out to the car, got him in, drove him out and came back. And that Jimmy Murray at one point told him that he and Marcy had both shot Don with the same gun so that each of them would be equally responsible.

[Lead Investigator]

Joe was a willing participant, of course. The plum was to get the $250,000.

[Narrator]

Joe also agrees to record phone calls with the Murrays that can be used against them in court.

[Don Hurt's Child]

God damn, man.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

You doing all right?

[Detective Hackett]

Yeah, pretty good.

[Don Hurt's Child]

I just needed to talk to you about that damn gun and goddammit, I.

[Detective Hackett]

Need you to help me.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Well, just time to gun disappear.

[Lead Investigator]

Part of the information Joe was able to get on the phone by talking to Jim was the fact that Marcy had purchased the Benadryl. Of course, being a nurse, she had knowledge that Benadryl would have incapacitated Don, that she had bought it at a Pacific drugstore in Hendersonville. Later on we were able to contact that drug store and establish that she had actually been in there and had purchased Benadryl. It's a big deal.

[Detective Hackett]

Joe Rowe's cooperation was important. It told the behind the scenes view that the jury needed to hear, but.

[Lead Investigator]

We didn't know what was fixing to happen.

[Narrator]

In the months following Joe Roe's confession, prosecutors strengthened their case against his alleged co conspirators. Sharon hurt her sister, Marcy and Marcy's husband, James Murray. According to Joe, the Murray's were also involved in the first attempt on Don's life.

[Detective Hackett]

The first shooting had been from someone firing a shotgun blast from a red Firebird.

[Narrator]

Sure enough, the couple have a red Firebird registered to James. And that's not all that connects them to the first Shooting.

[Detective Hackett]

With the assistance of the Sevier county law enforcement officials, they assisted in serving search warrants on the Murray property, obtaining the car and the shotgun. It was able to be matched as the gun used in the West Tennessee shooting.

[Narrator]

On August 28, 1994, Marcy and James Murray are arrested in Franklin, Kentucky and charged with murder. The following year, in July 1995, they stand trial alongside Sharon Hurt.

[Family Friend or Relative]

They did not have any physical evidence at all linking my mom to the crime. What they had was circumstantial. And Joe Row, that was it.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

I think I thought the trial was a lot of him telling what he thought, a lot of what went on down through there. It just didn't seem like mom and I really don't believe she was there for most of it.

[Narrator]

The prosecution argues Sharon had every reason to want Don out of the picture for good.

[Lead Investigator]

Sharon's motive was to use the proceeds from this insurance to help with her singing music career and gospel music. Marcy and Jim, I think they were broke most of the time, didn't have any money. Anything that they could have got would have been beneficial to them.

[Detective Hackett]

Of course, Marcie Murray, I really believe her motivation was that she loved her sister and if Sharon Hurt asked her to do something, she would do it. I believe Sharon Hurt told the police that Don had met some stranger at a flea market to buy a gun because she would have known they were going to find out that he had been shot several months before. And my speculation is that she was setting up essentially an alibi that he was trying to get a. A weapon for protection against this unknown person who was trying to kill him. The fact that Sharon Hurd had called to say that her husband was missing was one of those interesting things that the police weighed in on her appearing to be at times a grieving widow, but at the same time making sure that her insurance agent knew that she wanted to collect on life insurance policy policy.

[Narrator]

The defense, however, maintains all three of the accused are innocent and believe Joe Rowe made up his story.

[Lead Investigator]

They tried to point fingers at other people, anybody but them. Of course, they weren't admitting anything. So basically their defense was we didn't do it, somebody else did.

[Narrator]

After just two hours of deliberation, the jury returns with a verdict.

[Detective Hackett]

The trial resulted in all three defendants being convicted of first degree murder and all three defendants being convicted of conspiracy to commit first degree murder. For their actions that included the Benton county shooting, Sharon received a sentence of.

[Lead Investigator]

Life plus 24, Jim received a sentence of life plus 22 and Marcy received a sentence of life plus 20. And all three are still incarcerated.

[Detective Hackett]

I think justice was served in this case. Absolutely. Don Hurt was by all accounts a decent, hardworking family man who had done nothing to deserve being killed.

[Lead Investigator]

The whole bunch were attainted to some degree and greedy.

[Don Hurt's Child]

The most guilty person be Sharon, because I mean, she could always say, no, I'll just divorce it.

[Family Friend or Relative]

I think she got dollar signs in her eyes. And to hell with everything else.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

It's amazing how all that turned around over money. But it did.

[Detective Hackett]

And.

[Sharon Hurt's Child]

She'S paying for it. She's sitting down there paying for it. Right.

[Narrator]

After his co conspirators trial, Joe Roe pleads guilty to conspiracy and is sentenced to 18 years in prison. But for Don Hurt's loved ones, it's a hollow victory. I think he'd be very proud of his grandkids. It's very unfortunate that he missed out on those things. He was a good man and a bright, happy person. And something we could use a lot.

[Lead Investigator]

More of in the world.

[Don Hurt's Child]

Nobody deserves what he got. Nobody. All for just the love of money. All I got to say is world one less of a good man.

[Family Friend or Relative]

Sa.