00:00:00
Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences.
00:00:06
Listener discretion is advised. I said, Mom, Randy, something's wrong with Randy.
00:00:18
I said he's bleeding and he's not responding. He's not breathing. I need you guys to go to the office now.
00:00:30
Hello and welcome to Season 10, Episode 240 of Sword and Scale. A show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.
00:01:00
If you love the show and want to support it and want to get a whole bunch of additional content you won't find on the regular feed from an independent podcast in a sea of corporatized garbage.
00:01:19
Well, the place to do it is at swordandscale.com slash plus. Join and get 135 episodes at least of exclusive content along with bonus episodes, all kinds of extra stuff like store discounts.
00:01:39
Just go on over there and check it out. See if you like it. Starts at just $10 a month and your support keeps us here.
00:01:49
We'll see you over there at swordandscale.com slash plus. Take care. It was the early 2000s.
00:02:34
Tuscan-style decor was in vogue. You know, the beige wallpaper cracked to look like aged stone,
00:02:41
with a few clusters of grapes here and there. The 2008 financial crisis had just toppled most people's plans for the future.
00:02:51
But in the years following, Teresa Stone and her husband Randy came up with their own plan.
00:02:58
They worked in insurance. But Randy didn't want to answer to anyone anymore. He wanted to be in charge of his own job security.
00:03:08
So branching out and opening up their own firm was the obvious solution. Randy, being the guy that he is, ex-Marine, now he's into his own business, his own drive on his own.
00:03:20
financially you guys are doing okay yeah I mean we're starting to struggle because of well we were really struggling I guess but it's tough when
00:03:31
you have a kid in a Christian college and you have another one in a Christian school right you know and and you're starting a new business on your own and
00:03:39
all that and our business with farmers we pay out everything we pay for everything yeah we have our home stuff but we weren't really struggling but we
00:03:48
We were just trying to be very careful. And we were basically starting over, so it was going to be very tough and very tight.
00:03:56
I understand. But that's something that we were willing to do. This was a town they knew, after all.
00:04:03
Randy and Teresa had lived in Missouri their whole lives. They knew each other as children before Randy left for the Marines.
00:04:12
When he came back, they got married and settled in independence. quickly establishing themselves as inseparable pillars of their small community.
00:04:23
No, we hardly ever fight. We hardly ever fight. And if we do for like maybe five minutes.
00:04:33
Yeah. And we're... Just nothing but a little steam off. Yeah. We used to argue a lot when we were younger, when we first got married.
00:04:41
Of course, it's hard when you, you know, when you're separated for a whole year of your first marriage.
00:04:46
Yeah. Then your son is born the day after he gets back from the military. A lot of cashed up to death.
00:04:53
Randy and Teresa did everything together. According to Teresa, neither she nor Randy really had any friends of their own.
00:05:02
They were perfectly happy with their little family, their insurance business, and their church community.
00:05:09
I was deeply in love with my husband and I just don't understand why someone would have taken out of my life.
00:05:19
I just don't understand it. Randy and Teresa weren't involved in any seedy activities.
00:05:25
And they certainly didn't associate with anyone who was. This couple, nearing their 40s, attended church every single Sunday and Wednesday night.
00:05:35
Randy drove the church vehicles for events. he was a Sunday school teacher and he was close friends with the pastor brother
00:05:43
love with whom he shared administrative advice for the church and I listened to Randy Randy gave a sermon one time and I listened to that because I want to try to get to know Randy because I just feel like I need to know you he not just a name on a piece of paper He was a wonderful man He sounded like he was a very very nice guy and everybody loved him
00:06:08
Yep, he was always right there beside me. We always did everything together. And if we didn't do it together, we'd find a way to do it together.
00:06:18
Always. Teresa sang in the choir and helped with food preparation at all church events.
00:06:25
She had been attending New Hope Baptist for 30 years since she was a child. Everyone who knew Randy was at a loss when Teresa discovered her husband's lifeless body in their own insurance office on March 31st, 2010.
00:06:45
I'm pretty sure I got to the office right about 10 till maybe 10 till 5. Yes. Maybe a little bit before, maybe a minute or two before, but it was right pretty close to Tintel.
00:06:58
Okay. You get to the office. Only car out there is Randy's? Yes. And you park up next to his car?
00:07:05
Always. Always. But when I pulled up in the driveway, I noticed the blinds were closed.
00:07:13
And that is not normal at all. Teresa got her keys out to unlock the door. and noticed that it opened after just unlocking the deadbolt.
00:07:25
This was also out of the ordinary. If they locked the door for any reason, they locked both the deadbolt and the handle lock.
00:07:35
You go inside. Open the door, go inside. What do you see? All the lights are off.
00:07:42
Gosh, I'm so sorry. I yell. I say, Honey, where are you? And I walk into his office and I turn the light on and, you know, the computer's up, everything looks fine.
00:07:58
I walk into the back room back there and turn the light on and he's not back there.
00:08:03
Which room is that? The storage? The storage room, yeah. Yeah. Okay. Then I walk around the corner.
00:08:13
To your office? What do you say? So you could see him lying on the floor then and the light was off?
00:08:21
What did you do? This is kind of important. What did you do once you saw him there?
00:08:29
I couldn't really find him to wake up. Did you shake him? I told you. Okay. What did you...
00:08:35
I apologize. I don't mean to... We just have to be a little detailed at this because it's important.
00:08:42
Did you see any... I mean, he was obviously on the ground. I saw blood coming out of his ear.
00:08:49
Okay, blood coming out of his ear. And his eye was really puffy. And his skin was really discolored.
00:09:02
And I noticed he wasn't breathing, but I didn't want to touch him. I was scared.
00:09:10
So what did you do to help out? What did you do from there? I went over, I stepped over him.
00:09:17
and Now one of those heaters was on a turbine too is it already standing up or did you knock it over again to the
00:09:24
No, it was already laying down when I got there When I walked in the room it was laying down
00:09:30
At first I thought he hit his head on it but I then when I saw the blood go out of his ear I was
00:09:36
That's fine Teresa didn't know what had happened thinking her husband may have fallen
00:09:44
and hit his head on the space heater in the office. Who did you get a hold of when you called?
00:09:49
My mom. Okay. And what did you tell your mom? I just told her. I told her, I said,
00:09:54
I said, Mom, Randy, something's wrong with Randy. I said, he's bleeding, and he's not responding.
00:10:00
He's not breathing. I need you guys to go to the office now. And I was saying it so fast,
00:10:04
I had to repeat it several times. Okay. And then I hung up and dialed 911. From the office phone?
00:10:14
Yes. And did you stay in the office where he's at doing this, or did you go outside?
00:10:17
No, when I got on the phone with the operator, she told me to get out of the office.
00:10:21
Okay, the dispatchers? Yes. So I grabbed my purse. Did you stay over here? Yes, I did.
00:10:27
Okay. I stood over him and I walked out. Randy hadn't fallen, though. He had been shot.
00:10:34
We talked before about this, but you said you're, we asked you about weapons. Uh-huh.
00:10:38
Okay. What guns do you know that he had here at the office or anywhere? The only one that I know of that he has was a little bitty thing.
00:10:50
Black gun? Yes. That's what you said earlier. Little bitty thing. It's little. And where do you keep that?
00:10:55
And I don't even like touching it. Where do you keep that? He kept it in his office.
00:11:00
Okay. Do you know where I'm at in this office that he particularly kept it? You're going to ask me that.
00:11:06
Like I said, if you don't know, that's fine. I am pretty positive he kept it in the drawer at the back of his credenza.
00:11:15
Police had already located that weapon. It was not the one that had killed Randy Stone.
00:11:22
Okay, I want to ask you something again, like we asked you before. You go in and find him like you did and everything.
00:11:28
And here's the thing, and please don't take this wrong. I told you before we had to ask questions.
00:11:33
No, I understand. We understand how people think and what goes on sometimes with people.
00:11:38
When you went into the office and you located him laying there on the floor and you checked him and yelled at him and everything,
00:11:45
we found a cartridge by his feet. You found a what? A cartridge. A shell casing.
00:11:50
A shell casing. Did you, that's what we're asking you, if there was a gun laying by him or anything and you moved it I didn see anything I swear I did not see anything That why I didn know where the blood was coming from I saw blood under his head and coming from his ear and I saw his eye was swollen and his skin was discolored
00:12:08
So I didn't see anything. I could not figure it out. That's why I thought maybe he hit his head or something.
00:12:14
Okay. I have no idea. That's what we're saying here because talking to Joe and talking to some other people,
00:12:20
When I brought you up here, somebody asked me to hold me, too. They said your husband does have the .40 caliber handgun.
00:12:27
He does? Yes. That's what we're saying. And you being his wife, you should have seen or known about it.
00:12:32
The only one that I have ever seen is that little bitty one. Now, like I said, I don't go down in the safe downstairs.
00:12:39
Right. So all I know what he has downstairs in the safe is his shotguns. He carried this one in his briefcase.
00:12:46
He did? Yeah. So that's the information we're getting. that's what we're getting told and that's somebody somebody that knows him real well so
00:12:52
so this is complete surprise okay someone took my hood his life away from me yeah we're going it's what we're trying to work on
00:13:11
here that's why we're talking to you first teresa stone was giving the impression that she had just
00:13:17
learned something about her husband that shifted the way she saw him why would he have this secret
00:13:24
pistol and why would he keep it hidden in his briefcase taking it to and from work with him
00:13:33
i asked him this morning to bring an avon book for me and i assumed he put it in his briefcase
00:13:38
so i opened his briefcase and it wasn't in there but i didn't see a gun in there
00:13:44
I didn't see anything in there because I opened it up I don't touch guns he knows I don't like them
00:13:52
and I don't touch them at all what could he have gotten involved in that led to this assassination
00:13:59
these were the questions everyone was asking including Randy's church family Brother Love
00:14:08
Randy's best friend and pastor of New Hope Baptist gave a touching sermon at Randy's funeral, hoping to quell the unsettled spirits of those who had just lost someone
00:14:20
they may never have known at all. This is what he said. Randy Stone's name was on the sign over his office at the insurance agency.
00:14:34
And how many here really know that Teresa was an agent of that place? She was the cement and the glue, wasn't she?
00:14:43
We come to the Word of God to try to reconcile the difference between man's point of view
00:14:49
and that death seems so permanent, and God's point of view, that death is precious.
00:14:57
The Bible says in Psalm 116.15, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
00:15:07
We sit here today and we weep, not just because of the separation from our loved one,
00:15:13
but because of all the questions that death brings. Questions like, why? Why him?
00:15:22
Why now? Without answers, death seems so cold. Death seems so distant. It seems so long.
00:15:34
Death seems so permanent. How can this death be completely turned to victory? Nothing here looks like victory to me.
00:15:46
The church knew one side of Randy, a God-fearing ex-Marine and family man. But maybe the entire congregation, Randy's family, and those who worked with him
00:16:01
were simply kept in the dark about another side of Randy's life. Only time and a murder investigation would tell.
00:16:37
On March 31, 2010, the body of 42-year-old Randy Stone was discovered on the floor of his insurance office in Independence, Missouri.
00:16:52
The father of two had been shot dead, a shell casing left next to him. This was a confusing scenario, given Randy's good reputation and high regard within the church.
00:17:04
But the crime scene soon revealed more clues. A case with several leads is better than one with none at all.
00:17:15
Teresa and her co-worker Peggy were first asked about any odd occurrences at the office.
00:17:21
Had anyone strange come in? Were there any resentful former customers wanting revenge?
00:17:28
I asked just before, too, there's been no problems with anybody whatsoever. What's that?
00:17:33
No strange people come in lately acting kind of odd and will threaten to kill anybody?
00:17:37
Well, not trying to kill anybody, but there was one guy that came in probably, and Peggy can vouch for this too because she was there when he walked in.
00:17:50
In fact, he came in. He came in once when all three of us were there and then my husband said he came back once when he was there by himself You know who this guy is No we have never seen him before How long was this
00:18:11
In February. Okay. This is in February. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Jerry. Who's Peggy?
00:18:17
She is another lady that works in our office one day a week. She works every Friday. So she's like
00:18:22
a customer service person also. Yeah, she writes business. She's more clerical. Well, she's licensed too.
00:18:29
She writes business for us too. Here's what's really weird in this, and this is just coming to me,
00:18:37
because I had laid a $20 bill, which is probably stupid of me. I probably shouldn't have done this,
00:18:42
but I made a $20 bill on her computer screen because we were giving her some money
00:18:48
for writing a policy course. So I made $20 on her thing. Well, it came up missing the day after that guy walked in our office.
00:18:57
They described the man as average height, white, and probably not homeless, but appearing very unkempt.
00:19:06
I just remember, I think he asked Peggy for money. He wanted to buy a bus ticket or something.
00:19:14
Like I said, I wasn't in there, so I really didn't hear the conversation. Take him into more if you talk to her.
00:19:19
Yeah, she would probably know more about that. And your husband said he showed up once before?
00:19:24
Yeah, because he called me on the phone and told me that this same guy walked in.
00:19:29
Then, there was the former family friend that tried to kiss Teresa at an event. They all agreed to put the incident behind them, but it was awkward, and the friendship ended.
00:19:42
His name is Matt Bruner? Yeah, he's a client of ours, and he kind of forced himself on me.
00:19:48
and so it kind of came out in a conversation and Randy was not happy when he found out about it.
00:19:56
Okay, he forced stuff on you, okay, at the office? No, this was at his house. We were all at his house for a birthday party.
00:20:03
Oh. So he's like a friend of the family then? He's a client. And he is a good friend
00:20:11
and he called and apologized for what he did and everything's been fine. This was probably a year and a half, two years ago.
00:20:19
That's what you said. Yeah. So everything's been fine since then. I was wondering why Randy kept the apology letters you wrote for that long.
00:20:28
He keeps every card, every letter I write for him. Yeah, there's a card too. Yeah.
00:20:34
He keeps everything. I keep everything. Was there anything between you and Matt?
00:20:38
No, absolutely not. Just he tried to make moves on you. Yes. Did he do anything specific?
00:20:44
What anger? I mean, you said he tried to force himself on you. I mean, was he trying to physically touch you in a mirror or kiss you?
00:20:52
Yeah, he was trying to kiss me. Okay. We were at their house looking at the stuff they had done in their basement,
00:20:58
and I just went into the bathroom to look at all the stuff they did, and he came in and kind of pushed me up against the wall, and I said,
00:21:05
get away from me. And that was about all that happened. Okay. That was about it.
00:21:10
Is it a bad guy? He's married, I guess? Yes, he's married and has two children. Nice.
00:21:15
Well, that's a little odd. Randy held on to the apology letters this guy sent Teresa.
00:21:23
At first, Teresa made it seem like things were fine between the couples, even to that very day.
00:21:30
But she then went on to give a very different impression. He lives far enough away.
00:21:39
Okay. That he can stay there. I don't start trouble for anybody. Right. So that's, you know, so.
00:21:48
Oh my goodness. Police searched every part of that crime scene. There was money on the desk that the assailant had completely looked over.
00:21:58
And Randy still had his wallet and keys on him. There was the .40 caliber shell casing on the floor next to Randy's body.
00:22:07
And there was a trash can holding some helpful garbage. Back to the letters of the yellow ballot.
00:22:12
But in your trash can, they had a letter that's made written for about happy birthday and all that.
00:22:17
It's about this big. It was all tore up. And it says something about, you know, something like you're the most beautiful person or some kind of thing like that.
00:22:28
It's all these big ramblings of good stuff about, you know, it's about that long, that big.
00:22:33
It's a white letter and it's black writing and it's all tore up now. Teresa gave the officer a confused look, furrowing her brow and apparently trying to remember what this ripped up note was all about.
00:22:47
There's a bottle of trash can in your office. Oh. It said happy birthday. At the top of it, and then at the bottom.
00:22:56
Then it had all these initials on the bottom, like there were initials meaning something.
00:23:02
Well, think about it. I'm going to go see a lab. I'll take a picture and I'll see if I can show it to her and see it.
00:23:06
Give me a refresher. Hang on just a second. We'll be right back. Okay. I heard it.
00:23:17
Now listen carefully to Teresa in the interrogation room by herself. I forgot about that.
00:23:27
Did you hear it? We had to amp up the volume to the max to hear what she had to say,
00:23:32
but Teresa whispers very quietly, great. I forgot about that. On that, they didn't take a picture, but they collected it
00:23:41
so we didn't see it because it's on property. But it's a note about it. Yeah, I remember.
00:23:46
And I've had it for a very long time because I kind of had a secret admirer. It was left on my car door.
00:23:55
Today? Oh, no, no, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Happy birthday, love. You are very precious to my heart.
00:24:04
You possess the most tender spot in my heart. I care for you more than anyone on earth,
00:24:10
and I desire to be with you every moment of every day. Your birthday is my favorite day.
00:24:16
I remember nine years ago telling you I had something for you in my office. That was me.
00:24:22
I wanted to give you me. That kiss you took, and then you gave me one back. I felt like it was my birthday.
00:24:33
Now your birthday has become a sort of anniversary for me. I love this day so much, and it is all about you.
00:24:42
The most amazing woman in all the world. I love you so much. I woke up way before my alarm, and all I could think about was you having a super birthday.
00:24:55
I'm not in control of things yet, but when we are fully together, your birthday will always be exciting.
00:25:04
Where was your car at at the office? It's not even the car that I have now. Oh, okay.
00:25:08
I believe it was. It's been, that's been several years ago. And I just found that the other day I was looking for my, what do you call it, dental card.
00:25:21
And I found it in there. What was that? No, no, no. It was in my purse. I have a little thingy that I keep all my credit cards in.
00:25:30
Yeah. And it was in there. It was a secret mark. I don't know who he is. Wow. I've never gotten another note from him ever.
00:25:36
No calls. No calls and nothing. Have you guys been getting calls at all lately with somebody hanging up or anything?
00:25:42
Yes. Let me think. Was it today or yesterday? But the calls still look private, so I have no idea.
00:25:53
Okay. because my husband answered the phone a couple of times. And, well, no, it's probably been more than that.
00:26:01
And he said, well, I don't know who they are. They keep hanging up. They're in a similar sort of word to you, a guy or girl?
00:26:08
I never answered it. He did. And he never told me. So I don't know if there's any breathing.
00:26:13
I don't know if he didn't say. Teresa's got a lot of admirers, doesn't she? What kind of stranger leaves a note this specific?
00:26:22
If it was really a stranger, this is the kind of letter you go to the police about.
00:26:28
This is some, I'm going to skin you and dance around wearing a skin suit kind of shit.
00:26:34
Would there be any problem if we look at your phone, look at some of the text messages on it?
00:26:40
Just confirm, well, I think this is a call. I can rank in call logs and stuff like that.
00:26:45
Help yourself. Okay. Oh, AT&T too. Great. These are always fun. Oh, gonna... Unlock it.
00:26:50
these detectives were getting suspicious. I'm not one to not what am I looking for?
00:27:00
Cooperate. And I was sitting here thinking when you watched it, I was thinking would he
00:27:07
is it something that I would have to have my lawyer present with? And I don't know why I would.
00:27:13
I want you to just be real honest. I think you've been there. On the secret admirer.
00:27:18
do you know who this person is? I don't. I'm sorry. I have no idea. I'm going to what
00:27:25
Detective Stewart had said. He had said something about happy birthday on him. I mean, so did this person
00:27:31
know you and know when your birthday was? Evidently they know me. I don't know who
00:27:37
they are. I couldn't tell you left from right who the heck he is. I assume he is a guy. Okay. Sorry.
00:27:45
I didn't mean to. That would be funny. But I don't seriously, I have no idea who he is.
00:27:50
And it's been several years. Like I said, I just found it. I wasn't looking for it.
00:27:55
I just ran across it and couldn't believe I still had it. So I thought I better get rid of it because I surely didn't want my husband to find it.
00:28:06
And if he did, I mean, I would just explain to him that it was just up to my car window,
00:28:11
just like I'm telling you guys, I'm being honest with you. And I have no idea who he is.
00:28:16
I don't know. It's been several years ago, so I honestly don't know. I have never gotten any more letters, nothing.
00:28:24
I've never gotten phone calls, no mysterious phone calls, no nothing. So, I don't know.
00:28:32
No affairs on the side or anything like that? No. He hasn't had an affair with someone?
00:28:39
And just be honest with you. Several years ago, he did. Okay. But that was right after we got married.
00:28:44
Okay. That was a long time ago. Okay. But nothing recently? No. You guys haven't been separated or anything?
00:28:51
No, no, no. Or had issues with them? I mean, he had, he, and I hate to say this, but I feel like you need to know.
00:28:58
Be honest with me. You need to know. Because, you know, I mean, anything can help us.
00:29:03
He had trouble with pornography, so. He had trouble with pornography? Yeah. But we got through all that.
00:29:15
Okay, when you say he had trouble with pornography, was he watching it on TV or on a computer?
00:29:22
No, he would pull it up on the computer. Okay. But that was, it's been several months, probably a year or so.
00:29:29
Okay, so, but within the past year, when you say he's having trouble with pornography, what do you mean by that?
00:29:34
Well, he would just go on websites and just look at them. Oh, so he liked porn like every other normal adult in the world.
00:29:43
And I approached him about it. So... Okay. We got that out of the way. And when you say you got it out of the way, what do you mean by that?
00:29:51
Well, he... that's why his computer is the way it is now. He switched his computer so I could see everything Cucked Because it used to be like this so I couldn see anything So he turned it like this
00:30:05
So whenever I did walk into his office or walk past his office, I could see everything he was working on.
00:30:10
Because he wanted to be honest with me. He didn't go to any counseling for a while.
00:30:13
No, no, it wasn't that easy. And it didn't cause any friction that you guys were wanting to get separated?
00:30:20
No, no. Never had to leave the residence or anything? No one left the residence or anything?
00:30:24
No. Never. Absolutely not. Ever. Never, never, never, never, never. It never got that bad.
00:30:35
Anything else you can think of that would be helpful to us? I can't think of anything. I hope this is making sense, guys. I'm sorry, but not.
00:30:49
No, you're fine. You're great. You're great. We're just trying to put together, like I told you, your knowledge of what we don't know, okay?
00:30:57
The small gun Teresa told police Randy kept in the office with him was located. But the gun that killed him, presumably the Glock he kept in his briefcase, was nowhere to be found.
00:31:10
Police searched the house to no avail. That gun was gone. Someone wanted Randy dead not for his money or his assets.
00:31:20
and now it was looking less like Randy was the party involved in suspicious activity.
00:31:27
To police, it seemed like Teresa might know more than she was letting on. She continued to maintain her stance.
00:31:37
She had been on her way to the office after running errands, which she detailed to police with timestamps,
00:31:44
and she arrived at the office to find her husband dead. She claimed she had no idea who on earth would want Randy Stone dead.
00:32:17
You had a beautiful life, didn't you? You've been married for almost 20 years, haven't you?
00:32:22
You've got two great kids. You had a good business. I'm sure you probably have a beautiful home.
00:32:29
All I can say is that God has just blessed us tremendously through all of our lives,
00:32:36
through getting married and our children and our church family and our business.
00:32:42
I mean it's all because of what God has done for us it's not because of what we've done
00:32:49
it's because of what God has done we've just tried to be faithful to him and I guess that's
00:32:55
why I feel like that I just tried to leave everything in his hands because I know he's in control of everything
00:33:05
even though I tell my pastor my youth pastor I know I'm not supposed to question
00:33:11
him, but it's so hard not to. Well, you just have to, every morning when you wake up, you just have to remember that
00:33:18
you have family and friends that love you and support you, and the Lord's going to look
00:33:22
after you. I know. I go on a run every morning. I try to. Yeah. And I just, I talk to God, and I talk to my baby.
00:33:33
Yeah. Even though it sounds corny. It's not corny at all. We're going to keep doing what we're doing.
00:33:40
We're going to find out who did this. I guarantee you. We look to this casket and the body here
00:33:47
and all the flowers and all the things gathered around and we say, but we anticipated that he would grow old.
00:33:55
We anticipated that we would do more things together. What with the word anticipation and death
00:34:02
being swallowed up in victory? How could this be good at all? but Isaiah 25 anticipates something about God
00:34:14
but anything that defies God anything built up that defies God he is saying here in Isaiah 25
00:34:25
in these first three verses that you can anticipate if something is built up to defy God
00:34:31
God will judge that you can anticipate that God will judge this. A couple of weeks passed.
00:34:43
Randy and Teresa's life insurance agent noted that not 24 hours after Randy's death,
00:34:50
Teresa was calling him asking about the life insurance payout and when it would hit.
00:34:57
She believed she'd be getting $725,000 richer. police continued to gather evidence trying to match up the handwriting on the mysterious note
00:35:09
with someone on their radar they pulled teresa stone in for questioning again on april 20th
00:35:16
three weeks after randy's murder this time she had a little bit of explaining to do
00:35:23
Come on in, John. This is John Howe. He's been working with me on a lot of this, okay?
00:35:34
I guess they've got David. Here's the deal, Teresa. They've got David. Here's the deal.
00:35:42
Detective Rose Warren has done, I mean, he's been 100% honest with you. David's in custody and he's talking.
00:35:49
Okay? Right now is your chance and you probably have about 10 minutes to tell us everything that going on with this Because a lot of the things you saying doesn make sense okay it like detective rose Warren said to you is the first person that comes in
00:36:12
and is being 100 truthful is the one that's the winner right okay yes when did david get the gun
00:36:22
That's the most important thing right now. I don't know. All he told me is that he had a way to get it.
00:36:31
The detective keeps mentioning the name David. They had just arrested someone for the murder of Randy Stone.
00:36:39
And his name was David Love. A few weeks after Randy Stone, a father of two, was shot dead in his insurance office on March 31, 2010,
00:37:14
police in Independence, Missouri, had finally made an arrest. We begin with breaking news from South Carolina tonight.
00:37:23
Well, that's where police arrested former Independence pastor David Love. He's charged with fugitive of justice.
00:37:29
Lisa Benson's in the newsroom with all the details. Now, Lisa. Well, we have new information on the murder of a Metro man.
00:37:35
Love is the person of interest in the murder of Randy Stone, who was killed back in March at his farmer's insurance office.
00:37:41
Now, according to relatives, Stone's wife admitted to having an affair with David Love.
00:37:46
Stone was also an active member of the New Hope Baptist Church, where Love was the pastor.
00:37:52
At one point in the investigation, officers raided the church, but never revealed what they found.
00:37:58
Love resigned as pastor after the church was raided. That's right, everyone. The loving, doting, and devoted wife, Teresa Stone, was having an affair with her own church pastor, her husband's best friend.
00:38:15
Tell me again, this time be truthful. Tell me what was the nature of your relationship with David.
00:38:22
Truly, if you can't do that much, I can't help you, Teresa. If you can't even be honest about that, I cannot help you.
00:38:33
Well, obviously he was in love. And I guess I was at one point. How long ago? Just recently
00:38:44
Probably a couple weeks ago No, well Probably About a month ago About a month ago you felt like you were in love?
00:38:57
No, no, no, no A month ago I wanted it to end I wanted to start my life fresh with Randy
00:39:06
Let's back up I need to know nine years ago. Well, I need to know what kind of things
00:39:14
have been going on between you and him before you decided that you wanted to put an end to this thing.
00:39:21
David Love, by the way, was also married with a family. Though police made it seem to Teresa
00:39:28
like David was in custody telling them everything, this was far from the truth. Brother Love
00:39:36
seemed to know how to deal with police. Amen. I'm fine. Sorry you have to be here this time of night.
00:39:45
Let's go and see. It's been a long night for everybody. Okay. It's been a long night for Teresa.
00:39:57
She's been up here for a while. I guess you know why you're up here. Probably no secret why we need to talk to you.
00:40:05
Yeah, she's gone. I've been wanting to talk. Yeah. Well, she's been up here for about eight hours now.
00:40:15
Okay. We've learned quite a bit. I'm going to tell you right now that this is not easy because I know that you are.
00:40:27
I've spent your life, you know, working for the Lord and that you are the leader of a church.
00:40:33
but what I know now I mean this is hard it's not going to be easy okay you just need to
00:40:43
probably find it in your heart to have the courage you know to be truthful and you know like I said
00:40:52
put it in the Lord's hands but you need to be truthful with me in this room because if you're not
00:40:58
you know if you're not then it's probably not going to go real well for you. Having been in the form of your rights, do you wish to talk to me?
00:41:13
Well, I'd definitely rather have a lawyer present. It's up to you. I think that would be here in the middle of the night.
00:41:23
And I'd just rather have a lawyer present. I don't have one. Okay. I'll probably get one for you.
00:41:33
We have to do that. I don't know who to call. David Love may have kept his lips tightly sealed in the interrogation room,
00:41:40
but similar to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Teresa thought David had already perished.
00:41:47
So, she committed metaphorical suicide by confessing. Only later would she learn that she alone exposed the two of them for what they were selfish teenagers masquerading around as valuable members of society
00:42:07
I'm telling you, this is the motive. This is the reason that your husband is dead.
00:42:12
It's up to you to tell us exactly what happened, exactly what was going on. Now, I've got about 20 detectives out here.
00:42:30
I'm going to be honest with you. I've got about 20 detectives out here that want to take this to a grand jury today, tomorrow.
00:42:38
They think there's enough evidence against you to have you charged because they think you're involved in this.
00:42:45
Not that you killed him, but that you have something to do with this. Do you know why?
00:42:51
Because of this? Because your statement that you gave the other night to Detective Stewart is full of inconsistencies and some truths?
00:43:02
What? I'm telling you, they have torn that statement apart. We have a page and a half of things that's not jiving.
00:43:11
Like what? I have told you everything that happened on that day. Well, I'm telling you that...
00:43:18
I have the seeds to show you. My daughter was with me. Are you kidding me? That's what I'm telling you.
00:43:26
That there's trouble here, Teresa. There's trouble here. You have got to tell us what happened that day.
00:43:34
And if you don't tell us, then I'm telling you, I've been doing this for 24 years.
00:43:39
I'm telling you, I can see the direction that this is going. And if you're not truthful with me and tell me everything that's going on and what you know,
00:43:46
you're going to be a soul out on a plank all by yourself. My investigators believe that you are involved in this either in the cover-up.
00:44:01
There's no way. I'm telling you. I would not. I would never do anything to hurt my husband.
00:44:08
After quite a bit of prying, Teresa finally spilled the beans. She knew about the whole plan, and this affair wasn't just a one-time thing either.
00:44:21
Teresa and Pastor David Love had been having an ongoing intimate relationship for, get this, 10 years.
00:44:31
Teresa, he doesn't. Our bosses are out there, and they're not very nice. I understand.
00:44:37
And when you sit here and you're saying, I have to think about this, I have to think,
00:44:43
You know what the conversation is, and I understand you're scared. All he told me was, all he said was, I have a way to get the gun.
00:44:54
I have a way to get the gun. I can make it happen. Okay. And did you say, how do you have a way?
00:45:02
I said, no. I kept telling him to leave it in God's hands. If he wants us to be together, God will put us together.
00:45:14
Okay. Just leave it alone. I just kept telling him that. I kept telling him that all the time.
00:45:20
Just leave it alone. Let God take care of it. If he wants us to be together, we will be together.
00:45:26
Okay. He told me, he just kept telling me that love will make you do crazy things.
00:45:34
He said, I will kill for you is what he told me. And I said, no, you won't. Leave it alone.
00:45:41
Did you know he was talking about Randy when he was saying this? I was hoping not.
00:45:48
Come on now. Who else would he even be talking about? This whole thing went much deeper than anyone realized.
00:45:56
Police soon uncovered a history that included a miscarriage between Teresa and David.
00:46:03
Burner phones, secret meetings, wedding plans, and plans to murder David's wife also.
00:46:09
This was something they often talked about, how they'd like their wedding to be.
00:46:17
They discussed flowers and colors, all from their burner phones that they purchased to communicate only with each other.
00:46:25
That certainly explains why Teresa was so willing to hand her personal cell phone right over to police early on in the investigation.
00:46:33
By February of 2010, just a month before Randy's murder, David Love had purchased an engagement ring for Teresa.
00:46:44
On March 16th, Randy sent David Love an email letting him know that he was resigning from his duties at New Hope Baptist Church.
00:46:54
unbeknownst to Teresa who thought that after Randy's death she would receive all the life
00:47:01
insurance payouts Randy had changed the beneficiaries of his policies to his children
00:47:07
back in 2005 it's almost as if Randy knew what was coming we know that Randy was killed with his own luck
00:47:17
went out to your house or your parents house and got shell cases from when he used to
00:47:23
target shoot Okay. And, you know, we already told you, they told you that night that they found a shell case.
00:47:29
Yeah. Well, the ballistics, all that was checked out. They were the same weapon fire, those shell cases.
00:47:37
All right? Okay. I want to know how anybody could get into that office, get that Glock, and shoot your husband.
00:47:47
because we're talking about the former war guy, the Marine, the guy who knows karate, the guy who was on his game,
00:47:58
the guy who was always located, and looking around for you, how would anybody get that gun away from you?
00:48:05
I don't know. I have no idea. I keep asking myself that all the time. I don't understand it.
00:48:15
We know that whoever went in there, one, knew the gun was in there and how to find it.
00:48:22
And I didn't even know he had it in the office. or two, somebody gave the gun to them and they walked in there with his gun.
00:48:33
And that makes more sense. Because Randy's not going to let just anybody go into his office and go through dresser drawers.
00:48:44
I'll be honest with you right now. I mean, we've talked to all kinds of people. You've been married to this man for 20 years and he's laying there the way he's laying.
00:48:53
with all that trauma. And to see that, that would send most people flying out the door.
00:49:01
Flying out the door screaming for help. If nothing else, people, they want to get away from that.
00:49:10
They want to get away from that. What did Teresa do? You actually walked over the top of him.
00:49:18
I was trying not to panic. But you had a cell phone. But your reactions are just so abnormal.
00:49:27
Listen to me. I'm telling you all these little things that people see. People see these things and they say,
00:49:35
that doesn't sound like somebody that just walked in and found her spouse dead. That looks like somebody who maybe expected to see that when they came in.
00:49:46
I did not expect to see that. for hours Teresa tearfully exclaimed that she had nothing to do with the planning of Randy's murder
00:49:56
but the evidence suggested otherwise the evidence was telling detectives that Teresa was involved
00:50:04
and that she was lying it could be it could be that influence that David has over you
00:50:10
you just you yourself might not even be able to identify Teresa you understand that
00:50:15
You may not know the power he has over you I'm telling you everything I know I am being honest with you
00:50:29
I am Teresa, God knows your heart I know he does And I am telling you He knows what you did
00:50:37
That is true Does he know what you did? He knows what I did I did not do anything
00:50:42
He knows that I had a relationship with David He knows what we had talked about And he knows my heart
00:50:49
And he knows what I tried to do And what did you try to do? I tried to tell him to leave it alone
00:50:58
No, you wouldn't What do you think should happen to David? What do you think should happen to David Love?
00:51:06
I don't know What do you want to happen to him? I'm already put away for life. He took my husband's life.
00:51:17
What do you want to happen to you? I just I want to come back to my family The only person that can do that is you What else Teresa I am telling you the truth
00:51:31
You're not telling all of the truth. I am too. Teresa. I don't understand what you want from me.
00:51:38
What else? I know I'm not missing anything. Please help me if I am. I want to know if I'm forgetting something, but I know I'm not.
00:51:57
I never told him to do anything like this. I never told him to go into my house and get a gun and kill my husband.
00:52:07
I never said anything like that. I told him no. After Teresa allowed David Love to murder her husband, she then allowed him to preside over Randy's funeral.
00:52:21
Doesn't get much more evil than this. I came to this city 11 years ago, and in March of 1999, I met Randy Stone.
00:52:32
Randy Stone was still in the reserves in the army, and he was active in the military.
00:52:38
and he would tell me things about his military service. Y2K. Anybody can relate to Y2K?
00:52:47
Raise your hand. Y2K. Now, Randy was capital Y2K. I met Randy, he said, Hey, I'm putting MREs in my basement.
00:53:00
I've got water, he said. Now, one thing about Randy's stone, I loved it when I was around him,
00:53:06
but I usually wanted my wife to be between Randy and me, because if you would ever sit by him, he would bruise your arm.
00:53:15
Now, wouldn't he? He said every airplane is going to fall out of the sky at the moment of Y2K.
00:53:23
All the money in the bank. You better get your money out of the bank. He was just big on that.
00:53:30
You know what he was anticipating? A storm. and he was making his refuge. That's what he knew to do.
00:53:40
That was Randy. Preparation. The final word is preparation. You see, there is nothing more that we can do for Randy Stone.
00:53:52
There is nothing more that we can do for him. He'll never have another thought in this body
00:53:58
or another emotion, another hunger pain. He'll never be able to sign another policy or kiss his wife on this side of glory.
00:54:10
The preparation now is all about what he did before last Wednesday, to be precious in the sight of the Lord.
00:54:19
At death, you've got to make a preparation. He prepared himself to meet Jesus, and only Jesus can take his soul to heaven.
00:54:32
Clara, I'm glad you didn't have any more Randys, but boy did you have one. Randy's death is not in vain.
00:54:44
The truth is really the exact opposite of the sacrilegious eulogy given by David Love.
00:55:13
Randy's death was in vain, and he had not prepared to meet Jesus. David knew all this, and yet he still stood behind a pulpit,
00:55:26
the one that had served him well over ten years, and told lies over the dead body of his best friend.
00:55:35
Randy's mother, Clara, sat and listened to the speech at her son's funeral, having no idea that both the pastor and her own daughter-in-law were responsible for the entire thing.
00:55:49
We always had to have asparagus because he loved asparagus. And we only buy green giant, you know, just silly things like that.
00:55:57
But I, a nice couple of Christmases, I eat asparagus and I'll take a bite. And I'll take it and I'll say, son, this is for you.
00:56:05
I was proud of my son. I thought he was a good father and husband, but maybe he wasn't a good husband.
00:56:14
I don't know. I would have rather she'd filed for divorce, even though I don't believe in divorce.
00:56:21
But I'd rather do that. If you're that unhappy, divorce him. Don't kill him. When David Love was arrested in November of 2010, he had already moved to South Carolina
00:56:32
and had begun a new job as a truck driver. I wonder if it's because he started to feel a little uncomfortable in the church.
00:56:43
Maybe a little hot under the collar, if you know what I mean. He pled guilty to second-degree murder a year later and was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
00:57:00
He will be eligible in 2036. As for Teresa Stone, she pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received an eight-year prison sentence.
00:57:14
Eight years for murdering your husband. I got nothing. She has since been released and is living a happy life with a new man.
00:57:29
Her new name is Teresa Greenewalt. And she lives in Kansas City, by the way. Just a side note.
00:57:38
I think Teresa needs help. That's what hurts bad, is I love Teresa. But I just wanted her to at least get enough time to sit there and think, was it worth it?
00:57:53
You know, why not just get a divorce? At least I'd have my son. And the kids would have their father.
00:58:01
Teresa Stone and David Love, together in many instances of selfishness and stupidity,
00:58:08
ruin so many lives in pursuit of their immature romance How could these people holier than thou raised to know God how could they have come to the conclusion that murder was the best solution
00:58:23
here? How are human beings so literally goddamn hypocritical? If they really believed the things
00:58:33
that they preached, how could Teresa and David have been stupid enough to think that
00:58:41
the God they believed in would just let them get away with it? All right, that's going to do it for another one.
00:59:14
Thank you for joining us once again. We'll see you next time. Stay safe. Thank you.
01:00:03
I'm going to go. soon. It's my first time calling in. I have to say the stories you select and the production value
01:00:40
is just impeccable. It's so good. But I just wish you would stop fucking talking. Like
01:00:45
your commentary makes me stupider every time I listen to it. Like you are the most misogynistic,
01:00:56
ridiculous human being. And like the show would be better if you would just leave your opinion
01:01:02
out of it. Like, just stop talking. Just stop talking. Just stop talking. Just see this Christ.
01:01:32
.