WTBL - Walking the Blue Line

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (00:00)
Hey, welcome to WTBL Walking the Blue Line. I'm Lyle. I'm Yvonne. We're the Johnstons and we are bringing you another episode of Murder and Mayhem this week. To this week's story we want to talk about the murder of Miriam. But speaking of murder, Yvonne, have you ever met a murderer? Well, unlike you, yes, I've met one. I know you've met probably many. I have.

met a few in my time, So, but well, let's tell the story about how you met a murderer. Okay. Okay. So how does this all begin? It started in 1991 when Miriam met her husband, Richard, and their last name is Ellis, and they got married. And they got married. They were both in the medical field. Yes, they were. And they were living in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which is known for a

little fact, right? The Little League capital of the world, Little League World Series happens there each year. No pun intended. No pun intended. Yes. But anyway, so they're living in Williamsport, which is actually a fairly nice community. they have a child named Richie, right? Well, after they get married and they've been married for a few years, they have a son named Richie.

And they were actually working together at the hospital. Richard was a prominent heart doctor. he was a surgeon and she was his assistant and she took care of the anesthesia while people are under. Okay. So, ⁓ she's got kind of an important job then as well, but once Richie comes into her life, I think.

Doesn't she want to be a stay at home mom? Yeah, she does. She decides she wants to stay home and she's pretty laid back down to earth person. Richard is making like a million dollars a year and she shops at the dollar store. She's, you know, teaches Sunday school, the church. And so she decides that now she wants to, retire from her career and take care of her son. Yeah. And that's a noble thing to do.

But she also didn't want to leave Richard hanging out there without someone to help him. No, she didn't. So she ⁓ hires an assistant named Katie for him. And Katie is her replacement, basically takes over the day to day operations, working with the doctor. I believe she does the anesthesia as well. Right. So that means they're kind of working close together. we know how things like that can go.

Yeah, so Richard kind of changes his personality. Well, I don't know if he changes his personality, but he becomes a lot more controlling of his wife. And Miriam starts to have some suspicions that more than just a working relationship is going on. Exactly. So she hires an attorney and the attorney confirms that yes, he's having an affair with his assistant that she hired, Katie. I think she decides that she's not going to put up with this.

Yeah, she's not very happy about it. She he he's been treating her pretty poorly and talking badly about her at work And she still loves him. She would you know thought about Reconciling, but he didn't want that so she ends up moving out And getting her own place. Yeah, and just for timeline, so they got married in 91 and this is about 1998 Richie's five years old when she files

For divorce. For divorce. Yeah. And when she files for divorce, the court actually awards her like $13,000 a month for child support. Right. But I mean, he's still a dad and in the picture, so he gets visitation and those kinds of things. She's got her own house. He's got his. Yes. Okay. But in the divorce proceedings, she went through the house with a video camera and videoed everything they had so that when it came to dividing stuff up, you know, they had

of what they had and she also went through his shop. Right and he's got a lot of tools. yeah all kinds of tools not only is he a surgeon but he is ⁓ he likes to make things he's an avid hunter he's a great shot and so he has all these tools to make things. So he isn't just necessarily the nerdy doctor but he's actually kind of skilled in the workshop.

he's like, he's kind of a control freak though. He wants to be control of everything, which spurned a little bit of their divorce. he wanted dinner on the table as soon as he walked in the door. He wanted the house perfect. He wanted his child perfect, her perfect. So yes. Okay.

About January 15th of 1999 is a Friday afternoon and I believe it is Richard's weekend to take Richie? Yeah, it is. And he usually picks him up around 8 p.m. in the evening, but that evening in particular, he ends up picking him up around 9 p.m., which is an hour later. And he said he's going out of town to see his sisters. His sisters live about three hours away? Yes, they do. Okay.

And I believe there was some mention to the fact that the roads are kind of bad or there had been a storm the day before. So there's a little bit of snow out there. Right. And I think he used that as part of his excuse for being an hour late to pick up. He does. Okay. So he picks up Richie and takes off. Yeah, he takes off and um,

He is on the road, he says he stops at McDonald's and he calls his sister and he says, hey, the roads are bad, I don't think I'm gonna make it tonight, so I'm gonna get a hotel and I'll see you in the morning. Okay, and what's Miriam doing? Well, she's at home and she's talking to one of her friends from Montana on the telephone. All right, and so I believe her friend though says their phone call gets interrupted. Yeah, at 1037 the phone just goes dead.

and no one can now get a hold of Miriam? Now people tried for two days. They tried Saturday and they tried all day Sunday. No one could get a hold of her. Well, on Sunday though, she's supposed to teach Sunday school. Yeah, and she's never really missed.

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (05:57)
So when her friends couldn't get a hold of her, they decided to walk over to her house and see if they can see anything. When they get over there, they're walking around, they find one window with the drapes up and there's a bullet hole through the window. they're able to see Miriam though on the floor inside the house. Right, she's laying on the floor with the phone. So they decided...

They need to call the police and the police show up and they can't get in so they break down the door and They find that Miriam's deceased right right one shot right through the heart and they can tell that it came through the window right so they go outside and they start looking for some evidence But in the meantime Richard's at his sister's house. Yeah about three hours away, right right and

They the sisters when questioned later say that there was kind of a strange visit that he showed up He didn't have any extra clothes with him and the the visit just seemed very rushed so On Sunday though. He has to take Richie back to Miriam's house and leaves his sisters, right?

So he shows up at her house and the police are still there and his account says that he asked them what happened. Is there a burglary? And the police said, no, she's been shot. And instead of having some kind of reaction that would be almost emotional or something, he says, according to the police, something to the effect of, what evidence was found? Right. So in his account that he tells,

He acts like he is concerned, is there a burglary? But the police say, no, that's not what he did. He asked if there was evidence found. Which seems like a very weird question to ask immediately. evidence? Exactly. And they did find some evidence. Besides the bullet hole through the window, they kind of traced that path back. It looks like to them that someone had parked across the street. There was a big culvert that you could walk through that takes you through to her house.

They seemingly walked through that because they could see footprints in the snow. They go up to a great vantage point of her house where they can actually see right through that window that the curtains were up on. And they found other evidence. They did. there was a cigarette butt There was also a silencer that they could tell was a homemade one that was close by. And the footprints in the snow were kind of unique as well.

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (08:22)
So after they find all the evidence, they start questioning people. And they find out that Richard and Miriam are in the middle of a divorce. And as part of the divorce for Miriam, she ended up taking a videotape of everything at their house so that he couldn't hide property. And also in his shop. Which had a bunch of tools and everything in it. Right.

I think those tools actually got the eye of the investigators. Yeah, they noticed that there was everything there that you could make the silencer that they found from. So they get a search warrant and they go over to Richard's house and they photograph all of the tools that he's got. Right. They search the shop and they find a bunch of materials that are consistent with what they found.

the silencer to have been made of. Right, there was some wire there that was ⁓ exactly like the wire that was used in the silencer and some spray foam and PVC pipe, everything that he had in his shop. And then they went in the house and found some items of interest as well. Yeah, they did. When they were going through his bedroom on the nightstand, there was a book there by the FBI.

It was called, they write their own sentences and it was analysis of handwriting. Kind of seems like a strange book for a doctor to have. It does sound like that. So when they find this book, then a couple days later, a strange letter shows up at the police station. Yeah, it does. It is...

Written like it was from someone who actually said they murdered Miriam and they blamed Richard for it and it was like because she was a Racist and it was just a very strange letter and the thing that really caught their eye was that it was in pencil and it was block lettering Which is what the book said you needed to do to make it very hard to be traced So they got whoever wrote this got Tips from the FBI on how to write it

Basically from that book or a book like that

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (10:23)
But that wasn't the only letter that they received that seemed kind of strange. No, they received a second letter and this letter was written exactly the same way. But this time it seemed like it alluded to it was his partner in the medical office that was responsible for the murder. And I believe that the police then actually talked to the partner and he had like a rock solid alibi. They knew he wasn't responsible. Yeah, knew he didn't do it.

So for a little while there isn't anything going on in new information until a hiker discovers a rifle. Right. He is going down hiking and he finds this gun and the important part of this is where the gun was found by the river. It was off of route, 15, which was actually the route that you take to get to his sister's house. Right. And they...

take and have the rifle, examined forensically and Right. It is determined to be the murder weapon and it's different kind of rifle, one that's not overly popular and it had been altered. It had the barrel cut off and also the shoulder rest cut off. Exactly. So it's been kind of fashioned and the silencer will actually click right onto the end of it. Right. And what was the kind of gun that it was?

Savage 23D bolt-action 22 caliber rifle. Right. And they hadn't been manufactured since about 1949. So this is an old gun. Very old. So after the firearm is found, the police then also do a number of other follow-up things, such as they get his cell phone records and they're able to determine where Richard was.

during that time that he was supposed to be driving to his sister's house. Yes, he says that he stops at McDonald's and he goes to this hotel and then he shows up at his sister's house later, but the timeframes that he's given don't match the telephone data. Well, not only that, but they don't match the story that he had told earlier because this entire trip should have only taken about two hours, but.

he's missing for about three and a half hours. Yeah, so there's an hour and a half that's in question of where was he and the people at McDonald's also did not place him there when he said he was there. Right. So things just aren't adding up. No.

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (12:41)
they go back and talk to Richard about his story. Yeah, and they question him about the time frame then he changes his story. As well, they question him about the silencer. That's true. Because they were saying that you have all the stuff in your shop to make the silencer. And he kind of gets a little bit arrogant. And he is like, well, if I was going to do it, I would have made a much better one.

I think that he knew quite a bit about firearms so that he could have made this silencer. He's an avid hunter. His whole family was avid hunters. He was an excellent shot. He's a really good shot, right? but.

Richard's kinda getting tired of this. think he's starting to see that he can't really have a normal life in Williamsport anymore. So he and Katie moved to Laredo, Texas. Yeah, and shortly after that, around six months after Miriam was dead, they get married. So he jumps head over heels into this serious relationship within a short amount of time.

Not all is good in Laredo. No, everywhere he goes, it seems like this thing follows him. If he applies for a job at a place, a box will arrive at that place. It has newspaper clippings and a letter and it's all anonymous saying, you know, this guy, this is what's going on. And so when these people get that, they pass on him as far as hiring him. So he doesn't get employment in Laredo like he anticipated. Right. And he moves again. Right. He shows up in Spokane.

He's applying for a job here in Spokane as well right at the heart center and once again this box shows up with all the newspaper clippings and they were actually going to hire him they Liked what they saw but when they got this box with all the newspaper clippings and the letter telling them what's going on They were like, no, we think we're gonna pass. So what's he gonna do for money?

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (14:29)
With him not being able to get a job in Spokane, he decides to open up his own practice. it's not heart surgery anymore. But he's moved on. And then meanwhile, back in Williamsport, the investigation continues. And just a short distance from where the rifle was found, they find a set of shoes. Yep. Size 14 tennis shoes. And they match those to the footwear impressions that were found at the original crime scene. Exactly right.

And then, so the detectives continue on by interviewing various people and they go down and pay a visit to Richard's sisters a few hours away. Yeah, and while they're there, his sisters just happen to be going through some old pictures and one of the detectives is looking at these pictures and he finds this guy holding a gun that is exactly like the murder weapon.

They recognize this because it is kind of an older unusual weapon and they ask, you know, who is this guy? Well, it's a guy by the name of Joe Kowalski. Yeah. And they said that it was his godfather. And then they also said that Richard called him his uncle. But in reality, it's his biological father. Right. And his father had passed away and left Richard this gun. So this gun that's made back.

before 1949 is somewhat untraceable but shows up in this photograph and although there's no serial number

WTBL Walking The Blue Line (15:52)
looks like this could be the murder weapon. As well, some DNA analysis has come in. And so they're looking at this evidence as well. Right. There was the cigarette butt and then there were some hairs they found in the silencer. And there was also some hair that they found in those two weird letters.

All of those DNA analysis actually come back pointing to five different people. Right. So now the detectives are starting to think, wait a minute, there's something too weird about this. They think they're being lead astray. Yeah. I mean, have that much evidence pointing in different directions definitely seems like it's planted. Like all of this is staged. Right. For them to come across it and now not know which direction to go. Right.

So what it really does is points them back to Richard. This is a brilliant doctor. He's come up with a good plan, you know? So he thinks. So he thinks. Yes. So now that they feel this way, they know that Richard is out in Spokane. Right. And they contact the Spokane County Sheriff's Office and ask them to start keeping tabs on him. Yeah. So they figure out where he lives.

which way he goes to work, which way he comes home, kind of his daily pattern. They're preparing to arrest him. So the detectives from Pennsylvania fly out and meet up with the detectives from Spokane County. And you know those guys, right? I do. I used to work with Detective Henderson and Detective Marske So the day comes that they decide they're going to try to nab him. They're watching him and he leaves work. So then they start following him.

But he doesn't take his normal route, No, I'm not sure if he knew they were following him or what. But so he starts and he goes towards downtown Spokane. And he leads him on a little bit of a ⁓ chase. It's not really a full pursuit. Yeah, but he's zipping in and out of streets and turning and he finally stops his car and he gets out.

Richard's like he tries to play it cool. Like, hey, what's going on? Why? What's this all about? Yeah. And Detective Marske tells him, I think, you know what this is about? There's some guys from Pennsylvania that would like to talk to you. Right. So they arrest him. But once they got him under arrest, looking for any conceivable evidence, they now do a search warrant at his current home in Spokane.

and they confiscate his computer and on his computer is a major piece of evidence. A manuscript? A manuscript. And guess what the name of it is? What is the name of it? Heart Shot, Murder of the Doctor's Wife. And it's like details everything that's happened. Every single thing that happened. The names are the same, everything. He didn't change anything. It was like his written confession. It is kind of crazy that you would write all of that down if you're trying to hide

Yeah, he says he's trying to give the true story, but no one believes that. Exactly. He says it's the perspective that the police aren't putting out there. Right. And no one believes him. But it still becomes a key piece of evidence at his trial, which happens back in Pennsylvania. I think it's kind of the nail that, you know, drives the coffin closed. So the trial takes about five weeks. at the conclusion of that. Yeah, they deliberated about two and a half days. And of course, they found him guilty.

First-degree murder. Yes. So then he is off to prison Yeah, it turns a little dark after that right after they arrest him and put him in jail He tries to commit suicide, but he doesn't attempt he doesn't you know, he's not successful exactly and now he's He has filed all of the appeals that he can yeah, he's exhausted all of those He is trying to get a new trial saying that he didn't get a fair trial and such. Yeah, I don't think

He'll have much success for who knows. Yeah, but we didn't cover. So how do you meet this murder? Yeah. So I was actually a patient of his a long time ago. Did a little consulting with him. Did you? Yeah. I was a little, mean, I was aware that there was some questioning about, know, what was going on in his life. But at the point, at that point, nothing had been proven. It was suspicious. So, you know, like you say, innocent until proven.

guilty. So right now knowing it's a little creepy. Yeah. would imagine that kind of makes you a little creepy to find out that your doctor was a murderer. You're kind of like, how many more people in your life of murderers? You never know. That's the weird thing. You never know who's walking around out there. Well, you know, you guys are probably into that a lot more.

a lot of the people you arrest or know found guilty of that stuff. Right. Working in major crimes, a significant portion of our caseload is actually working with murderers. Right. So not that unusual from that perspective, but when you go to a doctor who's supposed to be, know, saving lives instead of taking instead of taking them. That's a little creepy. Yes. Well, we hope that you enjoyed our story today on the murder.

Miriam and we hope that you'll tune in next time when we bring you another podcast. Until that time, thanks for coming along. Like and subscribe if you're enjoying this. and hopefully we will see you next time on Walking the Blue Line. Bye!