Blood is Thicker: The Farris Wheel
When the charred remains of prominent commercial real estate attorney Gary Farris were discovered on a burn pile with a bullet lodged in a rib bone, detectives knew they were facing a homicide investigation. The crime scene was a sprawling 10-acre property in Cherokee County, Georgia, where Gary Farris lived with his wife, Melody, and their son, Scott. Gary Farris seemed to be a loving husband and father, affectionately called “Big Daddy”. Yet, all signs seemed to suggest that one of Gary Farris’ own family members was responsible for his murder. It turns out this family had a lot of secrets – involving money and infidelity. Much like an actual Ferris wheel, the blame game went round and round. Join 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant for “Blood is Thicker: The Farris Wheel,” a six-episode podcast that unravels a tangled family saga.
Episodes
Pamela Hargan was a successful businesswoman and a devoted mother to three adult daughters. The Hargans were a typical suburban family until one day, Pamela was gunned down in her own home and her youngest daughter, Helen, was found dead upstairs. 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant unpacks the web of evidence from the complex case of the Hargan killings, revealing treacherous motives of jealousy and a family fortune.
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Pamela Hargan lived in a wealthy Virginia suburb, surrounded by family: her daughters Megan and Helen and her granddaughter all lived with her in her million-dollar home. From the outside, the Hargan women had it all. But when Pamela and Helen were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, detectives had to ask: what was going on inside the Hargan household?
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On the day that Helen Hargan and her mother Pamela were found dead, Helen's boyfriend Carlos spent hours convincing 911 dispatchers to send help to the Hargan house. By the time police arrived, it was too late. But Carlos' story would blow a hole in the theory that the Hargan killings were a murder-suicide.
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When detectives started investigating the deaths of Helen and Pamela Hargan, they came to a much different conclusion than the first responders on the scene. This was not a murder-suicide; it was a double homicide. But who could have killed the mother and daughter? Police began to zoom in on a single, shocking suspect.
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Investigators think they know who killed the Hargan women, but can't seem to get a confession. Then, a representative from Capital One bank sent them recordings of some strange phone calls made the day before the shootings. Someone pretending to be Pamela Hargan called the bank wanting a wire transfer for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those recordings would expose a motive.
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Detectives finally arrest a suspect in the Hargan family murders. But at trial, defense attorneys argue a new theory for how the killings might have happened. And that theory might cast enough doubt to throw the entire trial into question.
Get ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you get your podcas...
How to make sense of this incomprehensible tragedy? Detective Brian Byerson has been in touch with Ashley Hargan weekly since her mother and sister were killed. She not only testified at trial; she made some dramatic moves after she discovered the truth.
Get ad-free access to episodes of Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you ...
When celebrity dog trainer Mark Stover disappeared from his home in Washington State, leaving behind a scene covered in blood, no one knew if Mark was the victim or the perpetrator. As detectives unraveled the clues, they discovered a twisted story fueled by a love triangle between Mark, his heiress ex-wife, and her new boyfriend. Was Mark the hunter, or the hunted?
Mark Stover trained the dogs of the rich and famous. When Linda Opdycke, the daughter of a multi-millionaire, hired him to train her new attack dog, they started combining business and pleasure. Their partnership lasted for more than a decade before disputes between the two ripped their lives apart.
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Linda Opdycke fled her family’s property and lived on the run, determined to separate from her husband Mark Stover. In her efforts to defend herself against what she called his relentless stalking and harassment, Linda met a former security expert who thought he could help her deal with her ex.
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After police got an anonymous tip that Mark Stover was transporting drugs, he became paranoid that Linda Opdycke was out to get him. In a battle between exes, each side claimed the other was escalating the situation to a deadly point of no return. That’s when Linda’s new boyfriend Michiel Oakes said Mark found a new target.
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Michiel Oakes said he tried to negotiate with Mark Stover to end the vicious back and forth. But the way he told the story, everything went wrong during their final meeting, on October 28th, 2009. The day Mark disappeared and the day Michiel was pulled over by police.
Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The ser...
Detectives compare how the evidence found at Mark Stover’s house measures up to Michiel Oakes’ version of events. They discovered cell phone records, witnesses, and surveillance video that painted a more premeditated picture.
Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you...
Mark Stover’s body was still missing when the trial over his death began. Michiel Oakes said the body would prove his innocence, and that he would reveal everything when he took the stand.
Get ad-free access to episodes of Trained to Kill: The Dog Trainer, the Heiress and the Bodyguard by subscribing to 48 Hours Plus on Apple Podcasts. The series is widely available everywhere else you get your podcasts.
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When the remains of the patriarch of a wealthy Georgia family were discovered on his Georgia farm, investigators asked who would want to kill Gary Farris, and why? What they discovered is a dysfunctional family fueled by jealousy, betrayal, and money-related tensions. Soon, allegations start flying round and round like a sinister Ferris wheel ... and a mother and son face off over who could be responsible for destroying their famil...
Gary and Melody Farris raised four children together and settled on a picturesque property outside of Atlanta. But when Gary goes missing, and his remains are found on the grounds of the family farm, investigators quickly determine that what looks like a tragic accident was actually a murder. Every member of the Farris family is under suspicion. Who would want the family patriarch dead?
As detectives begin investigating the murder of Gary Farris, his wife Melody makes a disturbing statement: she fears one of their children may be responsible. Investigators uncover a family powered by resentment, mistrust, and financial disputes. Melody says Gary was planning changes to the way money was handled before he was killed. Was that enough to give someone a motive for murder?
While Melody Farris points suspicion at her children, some of them point their fingers right back at her. They said she had been having affairs for years, even showing up with one lover at a family wedding, causing drama. Behind closed doors, Gary and Melody’s marriage had been unraveling for years, with the couple living separate lives under the same roof.
Melody Farris's longtime lover, Rusty Barton, becomes a key focus of the investigation when he admits something incriminating that Melody told him on the phone. And as the investigation drags on with no arrests, life on the farm grows increasingly tense as Melody and her son Scott are forced to coexist under the weight of suspicion.
After Melody Farris is arrested, Rusty Barton changes his story about what she told him the night Gary was killed. But even without Rusty's cooperation, detectives gather key evidence that builds the case against Melody.
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