The Pastor's Dark Secrets

Emporia, Kansas, in Lyon County, is an eastern Kansas college town about an hour from Topeka. In the early 1980s it was the setting for two deaths that became known as the Bird case.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Sandy, born on 5 June 1950 in Dallas and raised mostly in Arkansas, was a high-school valedictorian who went to Rice University before transferring to the University of Arkansas. this part of the story is covered for now They married in Little Rock on 21 August 1971. details of the account remain covered until revealed They had three children.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Sandy taught mathematics at Emporia State University and worked on her doctorate. 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 She had married Martin Kenneth Anderson in 1973 and they had four daughters, the youngest two twins. Marty was born on 8 December 1948 in Wellington, Kansas, and worked as chief medical technologist at Newman Memorial Hospital. this part of the story is covered for now By the early 1980s the Andersons' marriage was unhappy and their finances were stretched.

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 A babysitter, Esther Aldridge, overheard her saying she could not wait for Marty to die so she could spend his money.

On 15 July 1983 Sandy learned she had been promoted at Emporia State. 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 Sandy, he said, drove to her office at Emporia State and was due back within an hour. He said he went jogging between 11.15 and 11.45pm. When she had not returned by midnight he called the police, then called the babysitter an hour later.

details of the account remain covered until revealed Sandy's body was face down in the shallows in front of the car. The canoeist Brian Fletcher went to the trailer of his friend Mark Gibbons and they called the police.

Highway patrolman John Ruhl, who had investigated more than 700 accidents, thought the scene was not an accident. The gravel showed no skid marks or signs of a driver fighting for control. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The driver's door was torn off and lay seven feet from the car, yet Sandy's body was in front of it. The driver's seat was pushed far back, too far for the five-foot-one Sandy to reach the pedals. Dried blood led up the embankment to a tree branch five feet above the ground, and there was blood on the bridge railing above it. A smashed lady's watch was found west of the car. Sandy, who always wore a seat belt, was not wearing one. The autopsy by Dr Juan Gabriel found five broken left ribs, a broken left wrist, cuts and bruises, and a ruptured kidney; she had bled to death. There was no water in her lungs, so she was dead before she entered the river. The doctor nevertheless ruled the death an accident, caused by the car leaving the road, and estimated she died within three hours of her last meal, around 10pm.

The death remained classified as a traffic accident from late July into October 1983. this part of the story is covered for now Sandy's parents in Little Rock, Jane and Jerry Grismer, accepted the accident account at first, though Jane had doubts.

details of the account remain covered until revealed On Highway 177 in Geary County she said she felt ill and pulled over. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Marty got out to help her look. A masked man appeared, demanded Marty's wallet, and shot him repeatedly with a .22, including a shot to the head. The children were in the van nearby. this part of the story is covered for now

details of the account remain covered until revealed The agent was so unsettled that he called the Geary County Sheriff's Department. 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 the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

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Sandy's body was exhumed in October 1984. A second autopsy by the forensic pathologist Dr William Eckert found a laceration to the top of her head capable of knocking her unconscious, a fractured left shoulder blade, and defensive wounds on her arms. None of the injuries matched ejection from a car. The death was now a homicide. this part of the story is covered for now He then put her body in the car and sent it down the embankment. 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 the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now The defence expert Dr Bridgens argued that the injuries were consistent with being thrown from the car at 15 to 20 miles an hour. 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 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 The Rocky Ford Bridge, known locally as Bird Bridge, became a destination for ghost hunters and teenagers, and a 13-mile cycling route was named for the case.