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on November 29th, two thousand and five, town, west virginia respiratory therapy. Name- is all wrapped up his. overnight shift at ruby memorial hospital all who was a firefighter left, the hospital home to shower before heading over to the star city fire department. To start his shift. Just after eight a m all parked his truck in his driveway on killarney drive about a mile from the hospital and got out of his truck.

the fighter. He immediately recognized the smell of a house fire Is it really noticed nothing wrong with his own home or as neighbours houses so he went inside, showered came back out at twenty. Eight, the smell was still there puzzled. He shrugged it off. They started his truck. We drove to the four way, stop sign at killarney and eastern avenue and stopped he saw, his neighbour from four houses down Shelly Michael and her silver ford expedition with its six pack vanity plates Shelly backed out of her own driveway and she drove to the intersection, stopping at the sign directly across from old alt new Kelly's husband Jimmy MIKE. Very well.

me. Attended respiratory therapy school together and shelly was a pediatric nurse practitioner in the same hospital that all worked out, but on stay Shelly did not acknowledge also raised hand wave on that morning, michelle michael ignore It all and quickly sped off through the intersection, and that was that but sean's, citing of Shelly speeding away, would soon change everything, because this is a case of planned a premeditated murder. Someone thought they could commit the perfect crime and get away with it This is true crime garage- and this is the case. Michel Shelly, Michael

the around ten twenty on the morning of tuesday november. Twenty ninth two thousand and five in the pouring rain too. It's already. Workers, Monti and rodney were driving along coloni drive and more town west virginia when mom. He told ronnie to stop the vehicle. He noticed what looked like a house fire at number. Five hundred and forty five observing smoke pouring from an upstairs window. They call dispatcher and told her to call nine. When one monti ran to the house and banged on the door, he could hear the smoke alarms and looking through a window. He could see that one of the ground level ceiling.

Had partially collapsed around this time and off duty fireman. Keith summers ran up he to notice that his neighbors, Home was on fire, Keith called when one and try to see if anyone was inside the home as he prepared to break a set of french doors at the rear of the ass. An explosion shattered the upstairs window Flames shot out. There was a flash over. The time was ten. Twenty seven I am one. Luckily, the fire truck was only about a mile away. At this point, yeah more and tat. Fire department has happened to be very close. They were in the area when that call came in captain, so ten firefox is arrived at five. Four five killarney drive by ten thirty, two, a m: that's a five minute response time. They kicked in the front door and they observed that the flames were all on the upstairs level, so nothing. On the first floor. The first floor was perfect, except for the room with the

lab ceiling, while the clap ceiling is coming from the master bedroom. On the second floor, that's correct master bedroom was in such bad shape with the fire that the firefighters could not enter the room. All they could do was stand at the doorway and spray the hose in and hope that the fire would die down right. The entire room was burned to a crisp blackened every piece of furniture charred and destroyed firefighters, stuck with it, though, training the hose on the bedroom and inspecting the rest of the house. At the same time, one relief to everyone on the scene was There was no immediate sign that anyone was in the house. While this is going on a man Bobby teats drove up to the home by If he and his wife Kelly were best friends with the residents of five four five. The colliding drive, Jimmy and Shelly Michael Bobby

Jimmy work together at Jimmy's new company. This is mountain your home medical supply and they also coached their sons, football team, together, Shelley and Kelly were also close, both coaching their daughters, cheer team Bobby drove over to the Michael's house that morning, because no one could figure out where me Michael, was and why he had not shown up at work He was always at work by seven hundred and thirty, a dot m he's the kind of guy you can set your watch to his schedule, his work schedule and, in fact, on that morning, captain We had an important installation appointment that morning and he missed it. So this is something he certainly would not miss as a successful businessmen and was not answering his cell phone as well Bobby told the deputy fire I shall also seen this is lieutenant tenant that he thought Jimmy. My be inside the home now they

in the garage and sure enough. Jimmy's vehicle was inside right and the other problem is the hottest spot where the most damage spot is a master bedroom and who sleep in that the husband and wife yes the lieutenant radioed to stop the firefighters inside from wrecking the scene and told them to start looking for a body. Now crawling on the burned out floor and the pitch black room filled with smoke and steam, the vice fighters made their way to what little was left of the actual bad. By this point, it's just going to be that the springs left of this mattress and the frame and they're on top of the bed was a very badly burned body, so badly burned. That it had no hands. The lower legs were gone and the skin was gone as well all that

recognizable as actually human was teeth. Presumably Jimmy Michael this is his body seems like there was some kind of accelerant used, room. So now this went from being a house fire call to a death investigation at this same I Jimmy's wife Shelly Michael arrived on the scene. Let's give a little background information on some of these characters that we've already introduced. Michelle goose was born to Michael and kathy on January 29th, one thousand nine hundred and seventy two in clarksburg west virginia. She was a go getter from the beginning straight. A student, a competitive cheerleader at just one hundred pounds,

He was a tiny bombshell running track, play basketball and swimming on the swim teen. She was the president of the nest. Honor society chapter at her school serving on the year, but committee suit and council key club, spanish club and manager of the school store. She did all the stuff that you and I failed to do. What The figure yourself you are, the manager of the school store. I never. I don't even think I went into the school store four years of high, so All of this activity is easy to see that she was miss popularity and voted most likely to succeed a shelly who she would later become known. As at sir nickname Michel goose became Shelly. Michael. She went on to cheer at west virginia university where she found herself pregnant by her boyfriend. While she still a student and the boyfriend was a fellow student as well

name bruce atkins, even though she and bruce broke up Shelly had the baby, a boy named alec and continue to enrolled at the w v. U nursing program, she then met rob angus. and they married in nineteen. Ninety five so rob adopted Alec her son and Shelly became pregnant again at eight and a half months pregnant. She was caught shoplifting, a baby pumpkin halloween costume, and it was the second time that she had been caught stealing from a store. I guess first time was a like a minor infraction back when she was a juvenile after having the new baby Shelly landed a coveted job as a nurse in the pd afric intensive care unit, ruby memorial hospital, her marriage to rob was rocky. and Shelly soon got a reputation for flirting

the men at work. She was notorious for doing backflips in the hospital hallways, always very professional. When you see that she well desperate to yes, she enjoyed showing off an she by everyone's accounts, loved the attention The beautiful women out there. You don't have to do backflips to get a good car hurt. I would be if I tried to do a backflip with her supervisor Stephanie Michael recalled that Shelly was all about flirting at the hospital and staff Would soon learn that shelly wasn't just flirting in fact, Shelly set her sights on Stephanie's husband. This was Jimmy Michael, a respiratory therapist gray. Stephanie, and Jimmy were already having marital difficulties, but when he met Shelly it was all over they shared shifts at the hospital and Shelly

Jimmy who was a big guy over two hundred and twenty pounds, how to throw her up in the air and catch her cheerleader style, so you can picture what's going on in behind the scenes at this hospital it maybe the these people need to spend more time trying to say People's lives than do gymnast tricks practice on fine that vein, rather than back flips the hallway so they're doing basically, these two behaving like cheerleaders behind the scenes at this hospital be aggressive, passive agree so Jimmy and Shelly progressed to a full blown affair very quickly, Jim became infatuated with Shelly. Both marriages, no surprise here, disintegrated, soon, af this and Shelley, and Jimmy moved in together, so Stephanie, and they still have to work with this you have to work with everybody, but its. It gets even more interesting stephanie who continue to work. shelly at the hospital.

Dating Shelly's ex husband rob angus. Yes, like a like a wife swap in this cup in this situation may be a husband swap double dipper, nipple liquor, something Shelley and Jimmy quickly married, shelly, Shelley band, jimmy from any contact with his ex stephanie alright, because the most jealous people are the ones that cheat Well, this is going to be difficult to because, as you said, captain they all still work together. All vacation between the two of them all under their there of wine, or away from does all having sex with each other well accords to what I could find all communication between the two of them. This is Jimmy and his ex Stephanie they have children together right all reunification between the two of them had to go through Shelly. This is one is Shelly rules now Shelly had to say

it's a boy and a girl and Jimmy had a boy and a girl as well all about the same age. But that's also. The other problem is If he was cheating on his wife when he met you, then for the rest of the time, while he's with you you're going to be thinking, he has the ability. Cheat on me correct, but I mean obviously everybody's doing this kind of behaviour for the major right. So shall you folks on integrating the two families. You know kind of like a modern day, Brady bunch because of the respective custody arrangements. This is several days a week. The Michael household Jimmy and Shelly consisted of a blended family of six people, the two of them

in the four kids two from each previous marriage and Shelly wanted to project a certain image for their family. She pushed jimmy to buy a large house that she wanted she dressed children and herself and designer labels. She violent in all of the kids stuff, always taking charge the family church every sunday addressed to the nines. According to Jimmy's father, Danny quote. She meaning shelly, wanted everybody to think they were the perfect family, and quote Shelly arranged for Jimmy to pay for her to get her master's degree in nursing, even though it meant he had to take on more work to have better income. I wonder if she was shocked when she got to church and they said, thou shall not the neighbor's wife well shelly, ended up getting her master's degree and was offered a

time job at ruby memorial in the pediatric unit is and it was everything that she had ever wanted. did his own respiratory therapy company and it was doing well, but then Shelly balked at the concept of working full time. She expected Jimmy's new business to start making lots of money very quickly. She was discipline by her job at the hospital a number of times, and this was for tee in unauthorized vacations. I call that a no call, no show unauthorized vacation Shelly started to look for different work, something that she could do while staying at home. She wanted to work from home and be with the by the way. Next week I have an unauthorized vacation at least you're telling me about him,

We've already introduced the Michael's, close friends, remember Bobby and Kelly teeth. I never forget. Its shelley and Jimmy's axes, stephanie and rob dated for a while, but they split up and both married other people. So this is. This is a little bit confusing to follow here because it feels like this hospital is almost. You emphasise of of the bachelor right shelly also had a best friend, name renee, who lived in another state and both Shelley and Jimmy, had parents who were very clear. With them and active in their lives. Jimmy's parents were passed Danny and mom ruth Michael Shelley's parents were for whom we've already introduced kathy and Michael Gutes, who divorced when Shelley was in college. So now we have the background of everybody back to the scene of the house, fire

you might have the background, but I'm give the important things to make mental no of here is this a hydra. Hide your husband, the two hooked up device. First their axes, and they are trying to have this blended family each brought to children with them to the family. That, therefore, close friends are Bobby and Kelly. Teats, who both Jimmy and shelly, are very close with at the fire seen captain we have Bobby teats good friend showed up to his buddies house and alerted firefighters to the fact that Jimmy was missing while they started to search for Jimmy Bobby, try to call allie. Who was on duty at her job at the pediatric department at ruby memorial? He could not reach her oh, he called his own wife kelly and ask her to try. While he himself checked in with Robin

daphne to make sure there were no kids in the house right and thank god there were not law for kids actually spent the previous night out of the house, they were with their there. parents, so Kelly called the hospital and had her friend Shelly page when she got her on the phone kelly said, your house is on fire and no one can find Jimmy Shelly said: oh, my god hung up and told the clerk her boss, I have to go. My house is on ere. The clerks name is nancy. She later said that Shelly seemed emotional is, as she stayed this very matter of factly ellie called her husband hold on in defence. How would you react? I mean

who knows how you'd be hacked so called means had houses on fires, like others nothing I can do about it, even if I run out here with a foreigner extinguisher. I'm not going to be able put put the fire out well. there are going to be a set of circumstances that going to require us to reflect on all of these little right. I think I'd have information, while I think, as apparent. The first thing is: where are the kids all? I know the kids are safe. Okay, things can be replaced. Some just saying I just don't think that's the most damning of evidence so before she left. She attempts to call her husband, Jimmy cell phone and left a message. The message was jimmy. Where are you? I just heard that our house is on fire. Where are you call me back

so Shelly leaves work. She arrived at home and found her ex husband, rob and her friends Bobby and kelly teats waiting there to comfort her Jimmy's ex stephanie and their friends and family soon arrived. It was chaos, as any one would expect Shelly seemed despondent according to saying over and over again find Jimmy and tell god to give Jimmy back. But weird thing was, although she was described as visit in shock, no one call Shelly Michael shed any actual tears any real tears. The detective arrived on the scene at one thousand, one hundred and eighteen, a dot m, and he met with the loot from the fire department to review the fire damage and see the body they d.

Covered on the remains of the bed. Now the lieutenant told the detective that there were some very interesting and strange things about the fire. There were red flags, fur only the bedroom, only the master bedroom was burned. The rest of the house was unscathed. Second, the body they found which at this point you're presuming it to be that jimmy it was prone on the bed as if he slept through of the smoke alarms the smell the blaze, the heat, the whole thing, pray that doesn't make a lot of sense, no, not at all and Jimmy's parents, denny and Ruth were called by kelly teats arriving at their sons home after noon. On that day, after being told that Jim,

he was dead, his father danny, demanded to see his son's body and actually charged the front door when he was denied this request. and he was so infuriated that he punched a police officer in the eye and had to be restrained. He and his wife Ruth went to find Shelly their daughter in law to commiserate over there. The clause and danny found shelly being comforted at a neighbours home by her sister jennifer denny, hugged her and thanked her for loving his son, to which Shelly responded quote. I wish I would have loved him more one of jimmy's, best friends from childhood, arrived on the scene and he's trying to comfort Shelly I bet he is when he went to express

or his condolences. She looked at him and said something to the effect of. Did you get that outfit at b moss? So this person's very taken aback? It seemed like a very weird question: I'm guessing Good clothing store, yeah I've, I've not heard of it, but I mean it. I mean picture. This is supposed to be a horrible, tragic day again. No one knows who? How any of us would react right, but it seemed to be very bizarre that she would be asking about someone's outfit and Neighbor ass Shelly if she could get her anything Shelley's response was a new husband. So I don t know who knows: Jesus just bizarre behavior behavior

isabel body on the bed at the club, Any drive home was definitively identified by dental records at four o five p m that day and, of course, adler. It was that of Michael. and now a word from our sponsor better help. It's my favorite spot it's the one I use most often it's what has changed my life so dramatically mental is so important and something that we need to be discussing every day you invest time into yourself and taking care of yourself.

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at slash garage. I love better help you're going to love better help. I know you will check out better help dot com flash garage. Today, The alright we're back the welcome. Another episode of wife swap of the bachelor. The bachelor get your roses, that being the colonel are going to be handing out roses to all the lady. It can people out of the house left and right. So the detective on the scene captain was able to do like a quick initial interview who, with Shelly. This is ass. She sitting at the neighbor's house. Oh, here's what

only told the detective happen in the hours leading up to the fire. The detective wants to know and start putting together a timeline on everything right she said that Jimmy spent the Monday night. This would be november 28th hunting in pennsylvania with his father, and then he coached his son's basketball practice that night, until nine p dot m. His co coach for the suns team was his ex wife's stephanie's new husband, Dan Dan and Stephanie had the kids that night and dan and Jimmy made arrangements for handing off the kids on Wednesday. Jimmy then went home after coaching the basketball team. It was pretty late and he was very tired. Shelly says when she got home. She jimmy lying on the couch watching monday night football. They joked a little bit.

about him, shooting he. He only shot a doe and not a buck on the trip. Jimmy then went to bed and Shelly stayed up watching a cheer competition dvd. Both sets of kids again were with their other parents on that night. At five fifteen am on tuesday Shelly got up, she kisses her sleeping husband, jimmy on the forehead and she gets ready for work. She noted that the iron was on the ironing board in the bedroom. Shelly that work at six hundred and thirty a dot m, this is half an hour early. She tended to patients spoke with several co workers and called Jimmy's cell phone and left a message at seven, a dot m. This is one of our very first closes. Something is not

not right here, in my opinion, as seven twenty four am. She leaves the following message: she's asking Jimmy to pack the kids, a lunch, keep in mind. It is even though they were not staying at their home are at their house that morning yeah, but I could see it. We in maybe gets eyes, some weird thing where the parents forgot, the other parents forgot, so somebody needs a pack them launch your brain m lunch money or something, but still that's real strange. So she says, then she tried calling the house phone after leaving

message. She gets a busy signal, so then she goes to her vehicle to retrieve her pager. This is sometime around eight hundred and twenty a dot m. She told her supervisor that morning that she forgot her pager left it in the car. I got to go retrieve it. She needs us for work. Then she got the call from kelly teets telling her that the house was on fire and no one could find or locate Jimmy. This was around okay. So the detective noted some strange things as he spoke to Shelly. He found the

worrying about Shelley. While talking with her and observing her in these were from his notes and his observations. He says the Shelley wanted to be the center of attention. She was more concerned about herself than her dead husband. She wasn't asking the right questions and she had not cried not even for a second while in the presence of the detective course this. This lady wants attention. She's done, back flips at work. Well, now that it's established that Jimmy was deceased, the detective is going to sit down with everybody in that circle, that cast of characters that we introduced. You to an interview them one by one, and here is what he learned from those interviews that the marriage seemed to be in quite some trouble. Shelly had stopped sleeping with Jimmy and Jimmy was vocally, not happy.

about this, he's telling other people that the marriage is on the rocks, and then he relays this story. Someone mailed one of Shelly sweaters to Jimmy, and I had a no attached to it that red keep you If wife away from my husband so she's cheating again, or at least someone's, accusing her of such yeah. Well, why? Why would she have her sweater? I don't know Jimmy talked to several of his friends about this. He asked for advice from his pastor and he was actively collect ding and gathering some names of divorce attorneys. While the difficulty in this is not that, many years after he left his wife for Shelly These new business was doing very well, but not well enough. That Shelly could stop working and Shelly did not want to work. This is according to her circle of friends of family. She wanted to be a stay at home mom. She wanted to

You know shop, get her nails done well, you know I want to be asked for not ok, but not everything is possible. well, and then we have to compound that with we know, she's in trouble at work she's already You know she's had trouble with her with her boss, she's been taking these unauthorized vacations orange is product trend, sleep with all of our co workers. Husbands well, the day that Jimmy died on that tuesday was Shelley's first day back at work. This is, after three weeks off for a quota quote knee injury after falling down the front porch steps and taking three weeks sick leave from work. Now during that time, then she's off of work to nurse her knee injury plots like why go to work. If you can do backflips, she managed to

take her daughter out of state to a cheer competition to multiple cheer competitions. During this time I get it, you can drive and you can still be apparent while injured. Maybe you can't go to work, but I think what the implication it is here is that she may have needed time off from work from her shifts, so she could take her child to these competitions and sounds she wanted to be a cheer mom, and so possibly she faked this injury to get a few weeks off of of work now. Shelly was mean to Jimmy's son drew. This is by the accounts of others in their circle and said that he picked on him incessantly to the point that others took obvious notice of this. As I call the other thing that the detective learned was that Jimmy did not drink alcohol or do drugs. The couple purchased a fight hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy on Jimmy just six months earlier. Shelly

about the policy and, in fact, was the sole beneficiary of this policy. Jimmy cell phone was found on the counter in the kitchen of the home on the day He died and every one. The detective interviewed told him that Jimmy the specially being a business owner was never without his cell phone, even while sleeping he kept the phone on a nice day next, the bet Jimmy was a very light sleeper according to others, and would never have slept through a fire. So the detective also spoke with sean ought now remember. We talked about sean or in the trailer for today he's the neighbor who told the detective. that he saw shelly driving away from their home from MIKE from the Michael house, around eight hundred and twenty five, a dot m and here's the kicker. The detective heard rumors from several witnesses that bobby teats Jimmy's, close friend,

was having an affair with Shelley, Michael, ah, the two not teats any way, but teats wait. So, but I got a question shouldn't she already be at work at this point. So rick saw I feel like she had to have some kind of ruse to her bosses or coworkers to get away from to leave work at some point. While you are. you, you would be a very good Sherlock holmes, their captain now by Bobby and shelly. They were some kind of trying to start up some kind of small, this together in their free time. They went on a business trip to Chicago a week earlier and what the detective wolf and here is the two were visibly

on video at the hotel, kissing on surveillance. Footage and many people, including shelley's, pastor and others notice that Shelly was constantly being comforted by and at times even holding hands are lying on a bed with Bobby, while his wife and Shelly's friend kelly dealt with the funeral arrangements for jimmy mrs teats yeah, so they're, not very shelly and Bobby are not very discreet about their affection on another pda, fire inspectors looked at everything in the house. You try to determine the cause of the fire. They eat gonna, look at all the normal things: water, heater, wiring, the furnace all were in good condition and it was relatively a new house. So right where, like

like we already know, though, the majority of the heat is coming from the master bedroom so even though you're going to check out those those items like I said, there's there's some kind of seller, rent or something used in that area, unless they adios, unlike gas, heater or possibly like a a gas fireplace or something in their bedroom yeah, the short of their investigation, will be that the bed in the master bedroom was the epicenter of the fire. This meant that it was impossible that jimmy heads been asleep, so he didn't, he isn't like overcome by smoke from a fire and then passed out. No was the fire he yes, yes, the fire was hammer. in and around him immediately around him. You know that they couldn't explain away why he would just be lying there on the bed. Now Jimmy basically

put it as simple as possible was incinerated and, according to a book on the case called playing with fire quote the body was so badly burned that the experienced fire investigator found it difficult to visibly separate it from the charred remains of the box spring chris one leg, was completely missing and other parts of the limbs had burned away there as a large hole on the left side of the chest near the rib cage. Where tremendous heat had caused a blow out and quote this to the investigators made no sense again so that only that hold to be lagoon, shot gun wound were gunshot, wound no, and the other thing too is lucky if the firestone

it in the bedroom with Jimmy and everything was normal. All he had to do is get up and get out of the room and then get out of the house. But of course we know that didn't happen. He justly was lying there right. Investigators could also did they couldn't determine any accidental cause for the fire, so You know Jimmy didn't smoke and there was nothing wrong with the home's wiring or the systems. They couldn't pinpoint abe a problem that would cause this. This fire They also examined the iron because remember shelly, I told them that it was faulty, did the automatic, shut off, didn't always work and remember. She said I think the iron was on that day. I look. I think people should dislike somebody. When they got a king. I remembered what do you remember? Shelly, oh yeah, in the was in the bedroom

Yeah there was was iron earned therein, damned thing by the iron. It has kind of a short there's gonna, something wrong with it anytime. Somebody is like trying to take that bread and lead it down that trail to slacken. Well, what they're going to do is the lieutenant lieutenant will bring in a state fire marshal with they canine unit name, Brady train to hit on accelerants, and they walked through the michael's home and, of course, the dog hate on ten different spots for in the pile of debris that fell to the living room. Remember that's the ceiling from the master right right and hit on six spots in the master bedroom near the bed. So no doubt it's the floor of the master bedroom, the fire, was deliberate now do we know what kind of accelerant you not do not, and we will not spoil earlier that the problem here, though, captain fraud, the fire investigators, is that this fee,

air behaved in an unusual manner it for a long period of time, but never expanded beyond the master bedroom until the collapse of the floor and the flash over some time around ten thirty a m right. They could tell this because the upstairs. Rooms only displayed a little just up a tiny bit of smoke damage and really nothing else. What's so crazy how much fire can destroy evidence in the same way, water can destroy evidence again according to the book playing with fire. They state that the fire. How to have progressed over a long period of time in a ventilation, limited manner by the way plan, with fires written by John glad and by this time, captain we know that some of the people involved in this investigation no

that Shelly had been seen, leaving the house at eight twenty eight, the fire did not a robbed from the room until two hours later, so they to wander. The investigators fire vessel was it possible for a fire to smoulder for two hours incinerating. Just one room before finally flashing over that's the unusual behavior of this fire in life. Jimmy was six foot tall, two hundred and twenty pounds after the fire damage his corpse weighed only one hundred and fifty one pounds, by some miracle. Many of Jimmy's internal organs were intact and available for testing by the medical examiner. Now the good doctor was how to determine immediately that there was no carbon monoxide in the victim's system. This is incredibly important and knows. In his airway, meaning Jimmy was breathing during the fire

So he ways in he's dead before the fire. You are dead before the fire started and, according to the odd topsy, his death did not appear to be the result of any natural causes, his heart was perfectly normal and there was no sign of any kind of physical event that would have killed him so then doctors going to certify the cause of death, as quote in undetermined homicidal act yeah, because we we wouldn't know because there's no skin, we don't know if there puncture wounds. We don't know. If there was blood on the bed, because that was all burnt up yeah. So now we're going to have the detective who wants to figure out? We have the wife telling us she was at work all day, but yet we have other. We have an eyewitness who says.

He saw her leaving their home at eight twenty, so he's going to oh to Ruby, memorial hospital he's interview everybody there and he's going to start pulling surveillance footage, always in the lobby of that hospital. Where Shelly worked here, he ends up finding out. He sees Shelly Michael, you know doing her hospital duties doing her job. Well, she goes out the front doors of the hospital at eight eleven, a m. She then walked through the rain to an employee, parking lot started her car and on the wipers and turned left out of the law. This is onto elmer, prince drive and then her and her vehicle are now out of sight from the surveillance cameras. Then he

see her again on any of the camera footage. Until about eight hundred and twenty five a dot m, when he can see her silver expedition coming back into the parking lot circling around and looking for a park spot. She part and walked under an umbrella back into the hospital entering the lobby at eight twenty a m there were seventeen minutes we're Shelly Michael, was unaccounted for a sean all had seen her pulling out of her driveway during that seventeen minute window. He says his clock said eight twenty. When he saw Shelly. Investigators set out to determine whether shelly could have made it home, set the fire and the return to the hospital in seventeen minutes, so they from ruby memorial hospital to the home. Remember it's less than one mile.

So every time they're conducting this test, the back and forth the back and forth their trip to get from the hospital to the house is always about four to five minutes right, even if Shelly spent ten total minutes driving back and forth. If you go to the the the latter part of that she would have had up to seven minutes inside the house, this to poor and accelerator in the master, bedroom and light it investigators were able to replicate the drive within that window. time, over and over and over again now, several people who knew shelly found her actions to be very suspicious

and of course we want to know why Jimmy didn't escaped the fire. While I said I don't like the comment about the iron and inside the the master bedroom defiling dont, like the comment that she made saying well now I need a new us been correct, yet know nobody wants to hear that at all one thing I find to be interesting hearing and is some of the people on their inner circle found shelly to be so strange on that The Jimmy died that, even before it was ruled and homicidal act, they started, providing information to the detectives. That's not going to put shelly in the greatest of light. They basically several of her friends or the couples friends put together a list

send it over to the detective. This is a list of drugs that Shelly and other hospital workers had access to at ruby memorial. The other thing too then is the professionals seem to think that it was possible that Jimmy was poisoned with some kind of paralytic, and these are people that work ruby memorial. They said in named a drug recruiting am, I think, is how you say that procure reprogram somewhere out there there's a medical professional laughing at me. this drug, this particular drug, is a paralytic and it was readily available at the hospital where Shelly worked rain, but we she had the autopsy performed. Now no narcotics were found in jimmy system and an explanation we're a paralytic required special testing, so samples of Jimmy's, intact, liver

were sent to the national medical services organization in pennsylvania, so they could do the tests. We need to know here too, some suspicious finding a syringe was found in the sink in Shelley and Jimmy's house right this rynch contain a large amount of ibuprofen, and also in an identifiable pink liquid now the detective delay, We did not tell Shelley and Bobby that they are now considered suspects in the murder of Jimmy Michael. He as both of them come in for interviews and he speaks with them separately. Shelly had no idea that authorities believe jimmy to have been killed by this point she and Bobby

not know that the detective knew about their affair either right. That's what you want to do as a detective, you're gonna stacked the deck against these individuals, interview them separately and see if they are answering you in an honor manner Bobby broke down immediately confessing to the affair. So much so he said that he even slept with Shelly in her own bedroom, while their two kids, their kids, were friends. had a sleep over in the next room right, a great guy. This is while Jimmy was away. I'm guessing may be on a hunting trip or something great guy, great friend, great teats. Three days before Jimmy die Bobby said, it was just a fling, and that he did not love Shelley and he felt terrible about it. In fact, he was going to reveal everything to his wife with an attempt to save his own marriage. I don't think we need to get into the whole interview with Shelly. This was video

it was six hours long by the way so far, To say she lied her face off to the detectives and according to prosecutors, prosecutors would later tell a jury that they she lied over one hundred times during the course of this videotaped interview? She lied about the affair. She lied about the chicago trip. And her activities on the morning that Jimmy die no that they knew about her, leaving the hospital and being seen by sean alt. During the course of this interview, cautious, then she told that, active that she had a theory of her own and you economy to piece this together that the iron must have caused the fire? She was worried that it was left on. May all over and started. The fire and She did not bat an eye when the detective informed her that the fire was now deemed an arson and that testing was being

done to determine what killed Jimmy. She just asked what he knew and now? He knew it when she left me, interview, she expressed indignation that she was even being asked. These types of since that there was any suspicion on her at all. How dare you, how she was so mad about it, that she called the detective later and asked to come. and for a lie detector test there. That's that's, never never smart. and then the lie. Detector cup and blew up and then shoot maybe that's how the fire started so at her own request, a polygraph was set up for shelly my gun in the pre. as because I do like a little pre test interview before they hook you up to the machine and in the pre test. She lied one hundred times in response to question about what type of person she was you know describe yourself, she said quote:

I value honesty, a lot. I've always tried to be very honest. Honesty comes first and quote what up it's: a beautiful human being and they confronted her with the information about her vehicle, leaving the hospital lot and returning seventeen minutes later she was Adam that she didn't leave the hospital until she said well remembered that because was raining. She decided, while I'm out there to reach I my pager, I should move my vehicle to a covered parking area. Hoped hope this would explain away why they could see her vehicle, leaving the lot on surveillance footage. She said that she definitely did not leave the hospital parking lot. She

breast concern that the polygraph would make her out to be lying when she in fact was not so. She decided, you know she's, the one says: hey I'll come in for a polygraph essay like ok, cool, come right in and then in the past. test interview. She then says you know what this polygraph test is going: make look like I'm lying, even though I'm not I'm not going to talk with you any more I'm not going to answer any more of your questions. Here's my attorney's phone number, so she lawyers up in and did she say by the way, I'm sleeping with him too sleeping with everybody four lawyering up. She again tries to explain away see. This is what we get and we see this. In time again, in these cases, don't we captain, where a detective will start to break down a witness or break down a suspect

and where they might have been lying before now they start you other lies to cover up like I'll give him a little bit of information are meant to this or that. But I'm going to use another lie to explain it away. So when pressed you know saying We know you left the parking lot, there's no getting around that. We have proof of that of you, watch it interrogation, tapes. Yes, I've watched portions of them. It's it was six hours over the course of two days. I built I would I like bang on the desk. Listen here, you boner smoker tell me the truth. Well, she she came up with some story that she had to leave, because there was something going on at her son school like she had a drop off some paperwork or something stories a little confusing to me, but the basic of it is she had to leave for some reason that just popped up and she lied about it and stuck to her story because,

She was already in trouble at work and in one come to find out that she had brain in unauthorized leave for just a couple of minutes now bobby the boyfriend. The of this teats to do in the affair was cleared by police during their investigation of any involvement. This is after he passed a polygraph test and more. Ordinary Bobby had an alibi for the day of the murder, his sleepiness, the hill, says wife sober. Wayne. His confirmed alibi and him being honest with the detectives. Finally, you know he said he broke down pretty cool clean and passing the polygraph. They believe that his innocence were sealed in the mind of the detectives, but think about this a little bit as far as I get the whole true crime spectrum. Somebody like Chris watts works,

Poor mean that guy he lied for a while, but he didn't keep it up that long, an ally these cases where the females suspected of murder they almost can take the lie to the grave. But you see this like with katy anthony, they are. I work here. Okay, show us your office, they she goes all the way to the office like like. What does she think like magically like an office is just going to up of appear. You know same way with This case yeah there was a. There was a, I saw, the iron and it had some faulty Wiring, maybe maybe that's it- it's almost like the character of a saturday night live from way back in the day where they go. Oh yeah, that's the ticket

right the well. I will refer you to christopher rocks studies on the difference between men and women lying, and I think that will explain away everything for you, january. Ninth Shelly filed a personal loss, claim amounting to one in ninety four thousand dollars with jake from state farm insurance. You know that you said jake from allstate. I I have all state and I can refuse the witch I I think I called you a dumb dumb during that, but I never caught you. So I guess I was the dumb dumb as well, they only have ten thousand commercials of each day and on how many, but I am sure, there's a j get all state. She ended up collecting a hundred and four thousand dollars. This is, after she paid wells fargo who owned the mortgage on the home and now she's, going to be waiting for the half men

in dollar life insurance policy and she thought she got away with fire vested gators pouring over the bar and seen on their hands and knees on january. Twenty third found something they had miss before about three feet. Under the and of the remains of the bed. This buried under other burned debris was a distinctive orange plastic item. They had been protected from the fire simply because it was buried. This was a syringe cap, Shelly denied ever taking any drugs from the hospital. There was no known reason for a syringe to be in the bedroom, then infect spring of two thousand and six. The final tox report came back. from the national medical services in Jimmy's heart blood was and with large amounts of that reprogram recur of chromium

never going to be able to say that I can say it. Oh, you turn on this microphone right. That's how this goes down. The key cause of death was amended to homicide by being intentionally injected by a lethal dose of this drug by another person, No one believed that Jimmy could have done this to himself. A warrant was issued for on charges of first degree, murder and first degree. Arson art. She was indicted for both and entered pleas of not guilty. as if this was not enough captain her parents posted her for in fifty thousand dollar bond for her, and she was required, to remain on home confinement while she waited for her trial. So they put her on. You know the the beautiful ankle monitoring bracelet. That's not that far fetched to think that possibly Jimmy would be suicidal because his marriages goin bad

But his business was cornwell, but this is also kind of a also a very strange way for somebody like him to take his life and then that doesn't explain how the fire got started right it. It doesn't add up, it makes zero sense. For that to logically play out here, cause one thing I do know is a dead body can't start a fire correct We know that if you listen to the Billy joel song, he never once mentions a dead body started in the fire so During this time, where she's supposed to be on home confinement with the monitoring bracelet it was. look. We learn that she violated her home confinement requirements time and time again sneaking off several times. People reported lee saw her all over morgantown regularly by the time of her

trial, is determined that she had broken off the ankle bracelets six times at least six times and taped it back together. So at some point, the judge revoked her home confinement and shelly found herself back in jail. This was one month before the trial. I mean in all fairness, it's hard to do back, flips with that His ankle monitors on so the thing here, though too is we still have to explain away why the fire behave in an unusual manner because you're going have to take this thing to trial present. Your theory to the judge and jury rank convince them You know what you're talking about, and this is how you know that she killed her husband, so there were painstaking since to this fire investigation, the investigators took samples of the carpet would tile pain.

flooring windows batting an mattress from the master bedroom. They constructed six exact replicas of the bedroom down to each item of furniture. Even the wall paint identical in the back from tile. This is just so. They could burn them to determine exactly how the fire went down and why was behaving in this manner. This was all funds by the atf, to the tune of one billion dollars. It was done in a giant hangar and took months. The agency view this as opportunity to study the nature of smoldering fires, because a theory Does that Shelly set the fire at eight twenty, a m remember when she was seen leaving the home and it did not destroy

the home, or even become noticeable until two hours later it had to have smouldered but not gone out, but also not Iraq did into a full fledged fire for quite some time. The test involved various conditions and x lawrence and three irons, identical to Shelley's were used even with the magic shut off disabled. They never got the you're never got hot enough to cause a fire. So Iron theory is ruled out. It was determined that the headboard must have eventually caught fire burned in color through the floor, underneath it, the investor it has tried different cycles for the heating

ventilation systems to try to replicate exactly how the fire had smoldered for two hours before combusting again from the book quote. These tests all demonstrated that the fires progress was directly related to the heating system going on and off. If the furnace, had not been working at the Michael's house. The fire would have soon gone out and if it had been turned up too high, it would have raged out of control within thirty minutes, they finally found. The correct combination with the home h, vs ie system to set a cycle at ten minutes on fifteen minutes off. They set the bed alight closed the door. That's important. The door had to be closed for the fire.

To behave this way and allowed the air handler to cycle on and then off. In that pattern. Ten minutes on fifteen minutes off the fire, smouldered small flame, glowed and then two hours in ten minutes into the burn, the headboard collapsed and burned right through the full floor. They got the fire to act. The exact way that had acted that day conditions were plausible their house, not only so much so it was also one hundred percent plausible that Shelly Michael, could set the fire eight, wanting? A m in the flash over didn't occur until ten, twenty, two and twenty seven a crime to now we're at the trial, the trial commenced. on July, ninth, two thousand and seven, and would take more than two weeks with thirty seven witnesses for the prosecution alone. To sum up, here is the evidence presented against Shelly at her trial. They said Jimmy was killed

with were chromium a paralytic that Shelly had access to an administered to patients. In the past, the fire in the Michael home was deliberately set in the master bedroom with aid of an accelerant after Jimmy was already deceased. Shelly, left the hospital and was unaccounted for for seventeen minutes on the morning that Jimmy died, in which time she could have got home and back and set the fire Kelly. Was the sole beneficiary of a five hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy on Jimmy? And if the house had been consumed by the fire, she would have got another half a million dollars, She was having an affair with Bobby teats. She liked to police over and over again. So it is still a circumstantial case The prosecution showed the jury, hours and hours of videotaped interviews with Shelly, where she,

caught lying to detectives. They called medical expert to the stand, who dramatically plunged a syringe into a grapefruit to show how quickly the drug could be injected. It took less than one second for him to depress the plunger and here is what the testimony was, that what happened to jimmy per the medical examiner a stated that, within one minute. Jimmy would start to feel muscular weakness within three minutes. He would be unable to stand for minutes he would lose the ability to breathe his lungs and respiratory muscles froze up. He would have been fully conscious and aware of what was happening essentially suffocating. As his blood oxygen was used up, basically being tortured from the

side, how he would then lose consciousness and die the total time for all of this to take place in jimmy unable to do anything about it. Thirteen minutes, while the prosecutor the jury that their theory was. This shelly had injected Jimmy with the paralympic, while he slept and then turned on the iron and left it where it would catch fire to the batter some clothes or or the floor. What have you then goes to work. Thirty minutes early, that's a red flag! In itself. This woman doesn't to go to work, and on this day she shown up early now I'll the evidence she need. She gets and now she's, she's, very visible eve loud and vocal, so people take notice that she is there. She lay, Jimmy a voicemail about the lunches for the kids, who were not even at the house at that time, but by eight ten, a m. The prosecution says

shelly started to get nervous that no phone call came in about this house being on fire, so she's already injected this guy she's got to cover up her murder, so she has to drive home set a fire more carefully using some type of accelerant. One thing that is interesting about the trial, though, and in her defense, we stated earlier captain the prosecution. At no time do they ever present what the believed accelerant they could have been used. Was I found that to be a little a little problematic here, burglary. Then she with the you know flick of a lighter or what have you the prosecution demonstrated this and because she closed

the bedroom door behind her. She wouldn't have known to do this, but because she did the fire failed to ignite and burn out of control and destroy all of the evidence that she was hoping would be destroyed so that the syringe the syringe cap and she was probably looking to collect the insurance money on the house as well. The defense tried to to cast blame on others. They showed that anyone at the hospital could have had access to the drug, including Jimmy's ex wife, Stephanie, including Jimmy himself, who they tried to suggest, possibly killed himself using this drug. They pointed out that all of the evidence against Shelly was simply circumstantial. They called only five witnesses if the defense and they did call Shelley to the stand. How many times did she lie on the stand? Well, oh, let's get into that because

once on the stand, she's going to tell an entirely new version of the events of the day of the fire, one in which she actually stopped at her house and put some paper work in the mailbox. Before heading back to work, so now she's got to explain away why Shawn alt, while her pulling out of the driveway and that's the excuse or lie that she comes up with She did say on the stand that she did not believe that Jimmy would have killed himself but again, she's unaccounted for seventeen minutes, she lied over one hundred times to the detectives and then you know she's a nurse. So she some expertise in this area run the state they're going to ask her to describe what someone's slow death from this drug would be, and she says quote, it would be horrible and quote but again, no

years no emotion after five hours on the stand, Shelley's attorney later said this she was, absolutely completely convinced she had one well. She was wrong it, took the jury more than one day of deliberations. They unanimously found shelly guilty of both murder and arson. Shelly very nearly got away with murder, I mean think of if she had not closed the door to the bedroom and, if Sean all had. Seen her leaving her house. Things might have gone entirely different for her, shocking in her case to me is the arrogance she displayed throughout the whole process and she really did not think for a minute that she

all right what an interesting case. If you to leave your thoughts on this case. Go to our website. True crime garage dot, com, click on the blog leave, you thoughts and while you're there check out our recommended reading page colonel! Do we have a recommended reading this week? This week's recommended reading comes to from longtime friend of the show jess who helps us with research and such and she really helped us out a lot this week. On this case. For this pursued. We relied heavily on the book playing with fire. The true story of a nurse, her husband in a marriage turned fatal by john glad and its available in paper back kindle and on audible. So if you want to

I deeper into this case- make sure you check out and read playing with fire by John glatt check out that great title and many many others at true crime garage, image, dot, com and until tomorrow be good, because and the.