Unearthing Some Secrets

Eunice, New Mexico, sits in the far south-eastern corner of the state, close to the Texas Panhandle, in Lea County. James introduces it as a small oil town of about 3,065 people, 2.9 square miles, zip code 88231, whose motto is that you can smell Texas. It is flat, barren and dominated by the oil industry, and the episode notes that most people there work in oil or an oil-adjacent job.

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it They had three children, two girls and a boy, and lived in several towns in south-eastern New Mexico, including Alamogordo. this part of the story is covered for now Otherwise the marriage seemed unremarkable: no police calls to the house, no open domestic violence and no sign of trouble to the outside world.

In March 1993, after 32 years, Stella filed for divorce. The divorce went through that year, and Stella kept ownership of the house in Eunice. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

About two weeks before the killing, Sue Ann, another daughter, was at the house while the couple were arguing over how to divide their property. this part of the story is covered for now The trench had been open for about two weeks.

Stella had dental appointments in Juarez, Mexico, booked for the day after she arrived. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Around midnight, according to the medical examiner's later reconstruction, Stella was incapacitated at the house with starting fluid sprayed into a plastic bag that was held over her head. details of the account remain covered until revealed He sounded breathless and distraught and said her mother had left with a lady trucker and was on her way to Arizona.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it At about 5 a.m. he went back to the house. His father said Stella had called from a truck stop in Arizona and was eating two eggs over easy with hash browns and sausage. The car that had been in the street the night before was now in the backyard. this part of the story is covered for now Later that morning he saw him using a backhoe to fill in the trench that had been open for about two weeks. details of the account remain covered until revealed

Stella did not call her daughters that day, which was unusual. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it They dug about eight feet down and found their mother's body, then called the police.

The body lay about eight feet down with a plastic rubbish bag over the head and her purse beside her. The purse held her driving licence, social security card, a cigarette case with cigarettes and other personal papers. A can of Polar Brand starting fluid lay next to her. There was no other rubbish in the hole. An autopsy found significant amounts of an ether-like compound in her breathing passages and traces of ether on the plastic bag, and the starting fluid contained the same chemical kind of ether. The cause of death was a combination of chemical and mechanical asphyxiation. There were no signs of a struggle or binding, and the only other injuries were post-mortem damage caused by the backhoe. this part of the story is covered for now She had been dead for about 12 to 24 hours when she was found. It was the first murder in Eunice in 15 years; the previous one had been in 1978.

Stella's funeral was held on the Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Eunice, where she had been a member of the choir. About 75 people attended. The Reverend Keeney Dickinson gave the eulogy and told the mourners and the press that people were numb, and that you would expect this to happen in Albuquerque, not Eunice.

details of the account remain covered until revealed He told family he was going to Level Land, Texas, and Alamogordo. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed

The prosecution case was circumstantial. There were no fingerprints, no blood on his clothes and no financial motive. The motive they gave was anger at the divorce and at Stella leaving, and a desire to get even. Sue Ann testified about the remark at the trench two weeks earlier. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed It noted the remark about the hole, the instruction to his son to stay away, the starting fluid in the truck, the false story about the lady trucker, the false claim that Stella had her purse with her, and the fact that she was buried alive. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now The episode ends by noting that he had gained nothing from the killing: he already had the house, and the fight had been over furniture and possessions.