March 6th, 2025 - Mental Health Day

In Georgia, a man was arrested in connection to a shooting spree in a subdivision that left his father dead and another man injured.
In Washington, an off-duty state trooper was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide.
In Massachusetts, a young man was arrested and charged with murder after his mother was found dead in the family home.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome back to Sword and Scale Daily, a
daily show covering all things true crime, five days a week.
It's Thursday, March sixth I'm your host, Ryan Williams. In Georgia,
a man was arrested in connection to a shooting spree
in a subdivision that left his father dead and a

(00:21):
neighbor injured. In Washington, an off duty state trooper was
arrested and charged with a vehicular homicide. And in Massachusetts,
a young man was arrested and charged with murder after
his mother was found dead in the family home. All
of this coming at you right now here on Sword
and Scaled Daily. On Saturday, March first, at around eleven

(00:49):
fifty pm, deputies with the Pauldine County Sheriff's Office in
Georgia responded to the Fox Ridge subdivision in Dallas after
receiving reports that multiple people had been shot. When both
Sheriff's deputies and paramedics arrived in the subdivision, they made
their way to the two homes that were the target
of this alleged shooting. Fortunately, deputies soon learned that one

(01:10):
of the residents of the homes was able to subdue
the shooter until they had arrived unscene after making their
way into that particular home. The alleged shooter was taken
into custody and later identified as fifty two year old
Jody Wales. Once Jody was detained, medical personnel were cleared
to enter the scene, where they found two victims suffering
from gunshot injuries. One man was taken to a local

(01:32):
area hospital for emergency treatment and remains in critical condition
at the time of this writing. The other victim was
pronounced dead at the scene. That victim was later identified
as seventy three year old Larry Whales, the suspect's father.
It's not currently known what led to this horrible tragedy,
but what we do know is that Jody Wales has
been charged with the following one count of felony murder,

(01:54):
one count of malice murder, five counts of aggravated assault,
one count of aggravated battery, two accounts of burglary, two
counts of first degree criminal damaged to property, and one
count of possession of a firearm during the commission of
a felony. Jody Wells was booked into the Paulding County Jail,
where he was ordered to remain in custody without bond.

(02:14):
This case is still under investigation, and when more details
running the case are revealed, including a potential motive, will
be sure to bring you an update. On Saturday, March first,
at around seven forty pm, officers with the Richland Police
Department in Washington State responded to a reported car crash

(02:38):
on State Road two forty near Horn Rapids. As the
crash took place on a state road, troopers with the
Washington State Police also responded to the scene. When officers
and troopers arrived at the scene, they found a woman
performing CPR on a man in the roadway. Not far away,
they observed a motorcycle on its side under the right
passenger side of a car. RS immediately took over the

(03:01):
life saving efforts of the man on the ground. Shortly thereafter,
paramedics arrived and were able to transport the man to
CADLEAC Regional Medical Center for emergency treatment. Tragically, however, the
man died shortly after arrival. He was later identified as
twenty year old Yozer Sanchez. Troopers then spoke with the
woman who was observed performing CPR on the victim when

(03:22):
they first arrived. The woman later identified as thirty five
year old Sarah Clausen told troopers that she was the
driver of the car that had collided with a motorcycle.
She also explained that she too was a Washington State
Police trooper who was based out of the Yakima Field
Office and was off duty when this tragedy occurred. When
troopers learned this information, the case was immediately hinted off

(03:42):
to the riginal And Police Department to conduct the investigation,
and once that decision was made, an officer went and
spoke with Sarah. She told the officer that she had
just stopped at Domino's to grab a pizza and that
she was on her way home when this collision occurred.
According to Sarah, she had attempted to make a left
hand turn into an intersection when the victim crashed into
the front right side of her car. She also told

(04:04):
the officer that she believed the victim was traveling faster
than the posted speed limit when this collision occurred. But
as officers started analyzing the scene, they started to realize
that there was a pretty clear view of oncoming traffic
from where Sarah claimed she was coming from. Furthermore, they
concluded that if Sarah's story was correct, she should have
had ample time to wait for the victim to pass

(04:24):
by before making her turn into the intersection. One officer
who had spoken as Sarah later wrote in his report
that he had smelled alcohol, noted that she was slurring
her words, and found that her eyes were a bit glossy.
The officer then asked Sarah if she'd be willing to
do a breathalyser test, to which she denied. Sarah allegedly stated, quote,

(04:45):
I know how this works. The officer also wrote the
following quote, I responded at this time by asking her
if she had a glass of wine earlier. Sarah told
me that she was not going to answer that question.
At that time, Sarah was placed under arrest and booked
into the Bitten County Jail on a seventy two hour
hold for vehicular homicide. By Monday afternoon, Sarah had been

(05:05):
released from jail. During her first court appearance, the judge
stated they didn't have any concerns about her fleeing based
on her close ties to the community through her work.
The judge also ordered that she not operate a vehicle
without an ignition interlock device installed, which is basically a
breathalyzer to get the car started, and because of her
close ties to law enforcement, the Benton County Prosecutor's office

(05:28):
stated that they are requesting a special prosecutor to take
over the case to ensure the investigation is handled with
quote unquote complete impartiality. As it stands, Sarah Clawson has
been charged with vehicular homicide and has been placed on
administrative leave. We're going to continue keeping our eye on
the story and we'll bring you an update if new
developments have been made. On the afternoon of Tuesday, March fourth,

(06:01):
police in Avon, Massachusetts, received a phone call from a
man who claimed that he had returned home and found
his wife dead on the floor. When responding officers arrived
at the scene on Nichols Avenue, they established contact with
the reporting party, who was crying inconsolably outside of the home.
He directed them inside, where officers found a woman lying
in a pool of blood, well beyond any help. A

(06:23):
bloody carving knife was also found on the ground next
to the woman's body. The victim was later identified as
fifty three year old Astrid Joseph. After the crime scene
tape had been put up around the home and homicide
investigators arrived on the scene. They spoke with the reporting party,
who identified himself as the victim's husband. He explained that
his son, twenty two year old Thaddius Joseph, had recently

(06:46):
moved back into the home after graduating from UMAs Lowell.
But shortly after Thadius returned to the family home, his
mother and father started to notice some drastic changes in
his behavior. He was more withdrawn and seemed to be
suffering from both depression and anxiety. Just a few days prior,
on Saturday, things seemed to be at their worst point.

(07:08):
Thaddeus had come to his parents and informed them that
he was really going through it, dealing with severe anxiety
and had thoughts of harming himself, though he didn't explicitly
state how he wanted to do it. Fortunately, he had
a loving family who was there to support him and
get him through those bad thoughts. And then on that
Tuesday morning, Thaddeus informed his parents that he was going
to take the day off from work for mental health day.

(07:31):
No harm in that right well. At some point during
the early afternoon, Astrid called her husband while he was
at work, and during the phone call he heard an
argument taking place between Astrid and Thaddius. He heard that
heus say quote I have your phone, to which Astrod replied,
quote I am your mother, Give me the phone. After that,

(07:52):
the line went dead. That's when Astred's husband started to
become concerned and then made the decision to drive home
to make sure that everyone was okay. Unfortunately, by the
time he arrived home, he found Astrad dead in a
pull over, blood and Thaddeus was seemingly nowhere to be found,
and the family car was missing. Just a few hours later,

(08:12):
investigators got word that Thedius had been located at the
South Shore Plaza in Braintree, where he was subsequently taken
into custody. When Thatius was brought back to Avon and
being processed and booked it at a jail, he allegedly
made the following admission quote, this is so funny. All
I had to do was kill my mom and then
this is it. Ultimately, Thadius Joseph was charged with murder.

(08:35):
It's not known at the time of this writing of
more charges to follow, as the investigation is still underway.
After the arrest, a family friend of the Joseph's had
the following to say quote, very very peaceful, quiet family.
It's tough, very tough to hear this, and the family
is going through some things and you know, they're just
trying to come to grips with it. It's a family

(08:55):
and it's a tragedy and they're just dealing with it.
We'll continue keeping our on this case as it continues
to develop. When more details are publicly released, we'll be
sure to bring you an update. Thanks so much for
tuning in for today's episode of Sword and Scale Daily.
I'm your host, Brian Williams, and we'll see you back
here tomorrow