In our second episode, we delve into a puzzling tale of two missing people and three murders that surrounded one family in a rural town in the foothills of North Carolina.
Zilphia Lowery and Jeremiah Pittman were cousins and best friends. They were only a few years apart in age when they vanished. First 18-year-old Jeremiah. Then a few months later 24-year-old Zilphia.
For years their family was left wondering- and speculating- as to what happened. That is until an eyewitness stepped forward. That decision would unravel not one, but two shocking mysteries, but it would not help to solve Zilphia's case.
That would take ten years and a new detective. You likely won't believe how the cold case investigator connected the dots in her murder and was able to get the justice her family had been waiting for.
Listen to the Zilphia Lowery and Jeremiah Pittman case anywhere you get your podcasts.
Sources:
https://thecinemaholic.com/zilpha-lowerys-murder-where-is-robert-dean-taylor-now/
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/02/12/NC-man-may-face-third-murder-charge/7386824101200/
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/convicted-killer-paroled-living-in-mcdowell/222991636/
State v. Taylor, 200 N.C. App. 618 | Casetext Search + Citator
The Ashville Times
https://www.newspapers.com/image/283875713/?terms=garland%20edward%20pittman&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/197802232/?terms=garland%20edward%20pittman&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/200192555/?terms=garland%20edward%20pittman&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/945162003/?terms=Wally%20wise&match=1
Nightmare Next Door: One Deadly Night- Season 2, Episode 13
Cold Case Files: A Family Cursed
Secrets of the Morgue: A Murder on the Mountain- Season 2 Episode 12
Katie KaplanHost00:00 Hey there, fellow sleuths, we are your True Crime hosts. I'm Katie Kaplan, an investigative journalist. EmHost00:06 And I'm Em, a former special agent, and you're listening to Two Sleuths. Speaker 3Host00:31 Warning this podcast contains graphic content that may not be suitable for all listeners. All suspects or persons of interest discussed on this podcast are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Listener discretion advised. Katie KaplanHost00:46 Buckle up sleuths. Today's story is one that's full of twists and turns, especially one that even investigators shouldn't see coming. We have spent hours researching and digging through all the old newspaper clippings and crime show coverage that we could find to tell you about the murders of Zilphia Lowry and Jeremiah Pittman, and the ending we didn't see coming. Okay, let's start back at the beginning, in a small town in western North Carolina called Marion. It's nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains and it has this charming historic downtown with the backdrop of these majestic rolling hills. The town motto is actually where Main Street meets the mountains, and when you google the town, that's exactly what it looks like. EmHost01:29 In living in Colorado myself, this sounds like the kind of town that I dream about small and neighborly, with vast mountains as your backyard landscape. Katie KaplanHost01:38 Right, and while quaint and quiet, it still has a lot going for it. It's only about 30 miles east of Asheville, or about an hour and a half drive from Charlotte, and it serves as the seat of government for McDowell County. There's also been a couple of well-known movies, like the Last of the Mohicans and the Hunt for Red October, that were filmed at this big reservoir nearby called Lake James. All around it sounds like a nice place to raise a family- but also leaves people plenty of places to bury a body. EmHost02:09 Marion was such a small town. According to the U.S. Census, there were only about 3,000 residents living there around 1969, which is the year Zilfia Lowry was born. The day before the 4th of July to a very large family, Zilfia was the youngest child with several older siblings. Pictures of Zulfia as a child showed that she was just adorable, and her sister, reba, who was a decade older, affectionately referred to Zilfia as her very own living baby doll. She said Zilfia's childhood was filled with love and joy as she passed in the carefree nature of her upbringing. Zilfia grew up loving poetry and was known to collect as many unicorns as she could get her hands on. Due to the significant age difference between her and most of her siblings, zulfia found herself surrounded by numerous nieces and nephews who were all close in age to her. She was amazing with children and talked about how she looked forward to having her own someday, embracing her role as an aunt, Zilfia adored the opportunity to be a role model and close friend to her nieces and nephews, particularly her nephew, Jeremiah Pittman. Katie KaplanHost03:14 Zulfia and Jeremiah were only a few years apart, so they kind of grew up together and were said to be really close even as they became young adults. According to the family, Jeremiah had a tough life, mainly because his father is alleged to have been neglectful, but the family says that his normally quiet and reserved demeanor completely changed when he was around Zulfia, who was described as outgoing and full of energy. They say that she was really one of the only ones who could bring him out of his shell. But overall Jeremiah was a sweet kid. One of his other aunts says whenever he earned a few dollars he would take his younger cousin out to the movies or to go swimming. Now Jeremiah's parents ended up divorcing when he was young and he moved with his mom out of state for a while, but then, as a teenager, moved back to Mary and near his dad, garland Edward Pittman, who went by Eddie. At this time Eddie was dating a woman named Rosemary Ghering who owned a local shop. EmHost04:12 One night in late 1992, when Jeremiah was 18 and aand was 23, they were hanging out and they pulled into the driveway of Rosemary's house. They sat there just chatting when, out of nowhere, Eddie stormed out of the house, demanding that they leave immediately. And so they did. But right after they left, Rosemary's house went up in flames. Zulfia told some of her siblings about what had happened that night, as well as her suspicions about the cause of the fire. Despite the rumors that Eddie started the fire so Rosemary could collect the insurance money, neither Zulfia, her siblings or Jeremiah went to the police. 04:48 Now I tried to find any details about this fire or the investigation into the origin and cause, but I came up short. What we do know is that shortly after that night, Jeremiah went missing. It was September 1992, when one of Jeremiah's aunts was driving into town and they spotted Jeremiah's truck along the interstate. It looked abandoned and at the time Jeremiah was living with friends and he wasn't necessarily in contact with his family every day. Upon seeing his car in this unusual location, however, his aunt called Jeremiah's mother to see if maybe Jeremiah's car had broken down. His mom hadn't spoken to Jeremiah recently, and after learning this she went to go check with his roommates, who told her that they also hadn't seen Jeremiah in a few days. Katie KaplanHost05:30 They eventually went to the McDowell County Sheriff's Office and reported him as missing. However, he was 18 at the time, so there wasn't a lot of urgency. They eventually went to the McDowell County Sheriff's Office and reported him as missing. However, he was 18 at the time, so there wasn't a lot of urgency. Of course, once you're an adult, you have a right not to be found if you don't want to be. Plus, there was no evidence that a crime had been committed. 05:56 So it's a small town and, as tends to happen, the rumors started swirling. Even Eddie allegedly started telling people that Jeremiah had hitched a ride to Texas with a truck driver and was possibly even going to continue south past the border into Mexico. However, people that really knew Jeremiah weren't buying it, especially Zulfia. She just knew there was no way that he would leave the town without telling her, especially without saying goodbye, and for some reason Zulfia had a feeling that Eddie was involved and she told her family that she believed it had something to do with the fire at the house. That night, zulfia apparently even had a dream where Eddie killed Jeremiah, buried him in a deep hole and covered it with quick lime. She was so convinced he had something to do with his disappearance. She reportedly confronted him about it. Now, unfortunately, we don't know how that all unfolded, and it obviously didn't lead anywhere. So the months ticked by, turning into years, without any word from Jeremiah. EmHost06:58 So around this time Zulfia was working as a waitress at the Nebo Truck Stop, a popular local spot in town. People remembered how beloved Zulfia was by her customers. With her sunny disposition she was described as being the kind of person that customers came to the restaurant just so they could be served by her. During this time she had moved out of her family's house and was living with 71-year-old Nora Harris, and Zulfia's new place was close enough to her job so she was able to walk back and forth. That is when she wasn't able to catch a ride with someone. Nora was like a second mother to Zulfia and the two really enjoyed each other as housemates. If Zulfia was going to be coming home late or staying over at a boyfriend's house, she made sure to update Nora on her plans, just so that she didn't worry. 07:42 Then one day, about eight months after Jeremiah disappeared, zilpheya didn't come home from work. Nora hadn't heard from her, which we know was not like Zilpheya. So Nora called one of Zilpheya's sisters, only to learn that they also hadn't seen or heard from her. They went on to check with Zilpheya's boss, who told them that the last shift she'd worked was a double on July 27th 1993, and she had been in no call, no show ever since. Once again, the family went to the sheriff's office, but this time to report Zilpheya as a missing person. Of course, they were met with the same standard lines there was no sign of a crime. Zilpheya was an adult, free to come and go as she pleased. Her big sister, reba, went to the sheriff's office time and time again asking for help and eventually they told her if she was so concerned she should conduct her own investigation. Katie KaplanHost08:32 That must have been so defeating and frustrating and is definitely not what you want to hear from law enforcement in a moment like that. EmHost08:39 No, it's not. I'm sure we'd all hope that our loved ones' disappearances would be taken seriously, but Reba was determined and so she began her own investigation. She went to the truck stop restaurant frequently, asking patrons and employees if they had any information regarding Zilpheya's disappearance. Reba would later say that no one wanted to talk to her and she didn't learn anything helpful, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Katie KaplanHost09:02 So here's one family with two missing people, first 18-year-old Jeremiah, and about 10 months later his 24-year-old Aunt Zilpheya. It would take about six months for the family to get their first clue. On February 5, 1994, two hikers stumbled across an eerie discovery. Off a dirt road in a wooded area near Lake James they found a decomposed body. The sheriff's office and state bureau of investigation responded to the scene and found even more evidence. Buried there there was clothing, a sheet and a towel. 09:38 The remains were said to be almost completely skeletonized, meaning there was very little tissue left. And unfortunately the medical examiner says the skull was in pieces. So one of the first things he needed to do was to try and reconstruct it. That way he might be able to determine what kind of tool or object was used, maybe if it left some sort of mark or specific wound. However, some of the pieces were so small and some even missing. He couldn't tell exactly what the murder weapon was, only that the cause of death was some sort of blunt force trauma to the back of the head. And the medical examiner ran into another problem Zilpheya apparently had never had any sort of dental work done, so he could not identify her through those types of records. But and this is really interesting he was able to confirm the remains belonged to her by comparing features in her nasal cavity to a record of a CT scan that she had once had. EmHost10:39 With the identity of the remains confirmed to be Zilpheya, mcdowell County Sheriff's Office shifted from investigating a missing person to classifying Zilpheya's death as a homicide. And only now does the investigation into what happened to Zilpheya Lowry really begin. Law enforcement first looks into Zilpheya's ex-husband, johnny Ray Godfrey, because, as we know, statistically the husband did it. Zilpheya and Johnny had had a turbulent relationship, always off and on. When Zilpheya became pregnant, she and Johnny got married. Zilpheya gave birth to Joshua Dale Godfrey, but I cannot find any details about Joshua beyond the fact that he died when he was an infant. Now, this relationship, which was already rocky to begin with, had now experienced the loss of a child, and that's a lot to endure. Then you add the fact that Johnny found himself in prison, and that's a surefire way to end a relationship. So while he was there, zilpheya filed for separation and eventually divorced. Investigators learned, however, that when Zilpheya went missing, johnny was already out of prison, so they knew that he was at least capable of being involved. 11:46 During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Zilpheya had many romantic interests. She was young and carefree, and in her short time as an adult she'd already faced so much hardship a rocky relationship, the loss of her only child, a divorce and now her closest friend and relative, jeremiah, was missing. She definitely deserved to date around and try and find some happiness, but investigators wondered if maybe this was a potential motive for Johnny Zilpheya moving on from him. While he was in prison, johnny was interviewed but told investigators he had nothing to do with her disappearance or murder. Detective Green classified Johnny as one of those guys who just lies for no reason and since they couldn't pin down the exact moment Zilpheya had met with foul play, they weren't able to get a solid alibi for Johnny. They didn't have any evidence directly pointing at him, so for the time being they had to move on and continue their investigation. But they kept Johnny on the suspect list. 12:42 Investigators then moved on to long time on, again off again, boyfriend Todd Stockley. According to Zilpheya's family, she and Todd really did love each other, but they had a lot of issues that tended to come up between them and those issues would lead them to break up. Detectives learned that only two months before Zilpheya disappeared, she asked Todd if she could borrow his car, telling him she would return it the next day. What she didn't tell him was why she needed the car, but he ended up agreeing to loan it to her anyway. Zilpheya ended up taking that car out of town for a job interview. However, while she was there, she decided to extend her trip for a few days. So when she didn't return the following day, todd flew off the handle and decided to report the car stolen. He also pressed charges against Zilpheya, and then, when Zilpheya did return, she had no idea how mad Todd was. Eventually, after he calmed down, she explained what happened and he ended up dropping the charges against her. Katie KaplanHost13:37 Apparently, when Zilpheya first went missing, some of her friends had mentioned his name to law enforcement and they told deputies that there was just something off about his behavior. They felt he was pretending to be worried and they also said he allegedly made some statements about how she wouldn't be coming back, as if he knew she was dead. So, according to reports, investigators began to wonder if maybe Todd hadn't forgiven Zilpheya over the car issue or maybe he was still upset over their breakup. Investigators reportedly ran his name and found he had been charged with breaking and entering but that there was no record of any violence in his criminal history. They brought him in for a formal interview and he was apparently very cooperative. So at that point they didn't have anything definitively pointing to him as their main person of interest and they continued on with their investigation, looking at other leads. EmHost14:32 Investigators found Zilpheya's diaries and they turned out to be very comprehensive. In them they found another possible lead. Zilpheya's old boyfriend, marcus Longwell, had come back into the picture right before she went missing. In her diary she explained how they had begun dating again and when Marcus was called in to talk to investigators, his story completely contradicted Zilpheya's diary. He said not only had he not seen Zilpheya in a long time, but he was currently in a serious relationship, and he went on to explain that he would never cheat on her with Zilpheya. 15:02 Because investigators had read her diary entries, they knew Marcus was lying, so they gave him a polygraph. And because he continued to lie about Zilpheya, he failed miserably. Now, as I'm sure all of you sleuths know, a failed polygraph test is not admissible evidence, but it can be extremely useful as an investigative tool during interrogations. However, that didn't really work in this case because Marcus never changed his story. He continued to deny contact, romantic or otherwise with Zilpheya. They had no choice but to continue down the suspect list, but their suspicions about Marcus kept him towards the top of that list. Katie KaplanHost15:36 While the Sheriff's Office continued to follow up on the romantic partners in Zilfia's life, her family was suspicious of someone else. Zilfia's sister, Rebo, actually went to investigators and told them they needed to look at Eddie Jeremiah's dad. The entire family had reportedly come to the agreement that Eddie was overall an evil man and they told deputies about that odd fire at Rosemary's house and a possible fraudulent insurance collection, and how Zilfia and Jeremiah were both now missing. Were the only witnesses who saw Eddie there shortly before it sparked? EmHost16:11 Law enforcement agreed Eddie was worth questioning, but not much is reported in regards to Eddie's first official sit-down with law enforcement, aside from the fact that he denied he was involved in either Zilfia's murder or Jeremiah's disappearance. And again, they didn't have anything substantial to tie Eddie to Zilfia's murder other than a lot of suspicious family members. The only lead they had developed during their entire investigation was from a single witness at a truck stop who said that on the day Zilfia disappeared they saw her get into a car with a man they didn't know. Neither a description of this man or their car are known, and if investigators received that information they didn't make it public. And then that was it. Zilfia's case stalled. Investigators tried working new leads but they were getting nowhere. And it was the same thing with Jeremiah's case. He was still just listed as a missing person to the McDowell County Sheriff's Office, and the discovery of Zilfia's remains hadn't helped advance his case much. Weeks turned into months, turned into years of no new information on either case. Katie KaplanHost17:12 It was almost exactly two years after Zilfia's remains were found, on February 5, 1996, that Eddie's longtime girlfriend, rosemary Garing, walked into the Sheriff's Office and asked to speak with a detective. The detective was a man named Deadly Green, who eventually would go on to become sheriff and then a state representative. Now he says he can still remember the look on her face that day. That Rosemary looked stressed and when he asked what was going on she said she was worried that Eddie was going to kill her because of what she knew. Now it turns out that Detective Green had actually interviewed Rosemary years earlier in regards to 18-year-old Jeremiah's disappearance, and back then she reportedly told him she didn't know anything and she didn't care For some reason and some might speculate it was for her own well-being, she was ready to cooperate and she sang like a canary. 18:06 According to Rosemary, jeremiah had come over one night and allegedly began arguing with his dad about a forged signature on a deed. She says the fight turned physical and then at one point Eddie started hitting Jeremiah, his own son, over the head with a hammer. Rosemary says she was there and witnessed the moment Jeremiah passed away and she knew this because he had stopped moving. So, eddie being the stellar man that he is, tells Rosemary she had to help with burying the body. So together, eddie and Rosemary drove him out to a piece of old mining property that Eddie used for business, dug a deep grave and buried him. EmHost18:47 They asked Rosemary if she could direct them to the spot that Jeremiah was buried. She said yes and agreed to drive with the detectives out to the location. Once at the property, she directed them without any hesitation to a specific piece of land in the woods. They began digging, they dug and dug and they hit six feet, but they still hadn't found anything. They started to doubt either Rosemary's story or her recollection of where Jeremiah might have been buried, but she told them no, just keep digging. 19:14 It was reported that between 10 and 15 feet down and underneath a deposit of quick lime, the body of Jeremiah was found. It was just like Zilphea's dream. After an examination of Jeremiah's remains, it was determined that he died from blunt force trauma to the head, which fit with Rosemary's description of Eddie hitting Jeremiah in the head with a hammer. And, if you recall, this was identical to Zilphea's cause of death blunt force trauma to the head. After the discovery, rosemary was arrested for accessory after the fact and a warrant was then written up for Eddie. Law enforcement arrived at his property to place him under arrest for murder and Detective Green recalled Eddie's response was who's murder? That statement led Detective Green to believe that Eddie was responsible for at least one other murder. So Eddie was interrogated about the discovery of Jeremiah and of course he denied having any responsibility. When they brought up Zilphea again, he had nothing to do with it. But Rosemary wasn't done talking. Katie KaplanHost20:10 She tells investigators about that other murder but it's not Zilphea, she says. Back in 1991, she and Eddie met a man. Wally Wise was a 78 year old real estate broker who collected antiques as a hobby. The local newspaper actually interviewed him at one of the auctions nearby where small trinkets went for a few bucks a piece no-transcript, and Wally talked about just how much he enjoyed bidding on items. Sadly, what he loved ended up leading to his death. A newspaper article detailing his murder says he spent every Monday night bowling and then every Friday and Saturday night at antique auctions. And it was at one of these auctions that his path crossed with Rosemary and Eddie. Rosemary tells police that as an antique stealer they just assumed Wally had a lot of money. So together she and Eddie hatched a plan to steal some of his collection. So on a Tuesday night at the end of April in 1991, they drove to Wally's two-story home in Asheville and broke in. Eddie apparently found Wally upstairs in his bedroom and violently attacked him, stabbing the 78-year-old at least six times. His autopsy also showed he had blunt force trauma to the head. After the attack Eddie stole an antique jewelry box, some jewels and cash. 21:33 Wally's body was found later that night by a friend. His death was the seventh murder in the city of Asheville that year and it was only April, and that was the number of murders the entire year prior. So the community was worried and investigators obviously had their hands full. After his death, wally was described as the most generous, kind friend a man could have. His obituary says he was a native New Yorker who left behind a daughter, two sons and seven grandchildren. There's a picture of him in the paper and it is exactly what you might imagine a grandpa looks like Tweed suit, slicked back hair with a little bit of a receding hairline, his aged skin speckled with sunspots and a big, sweet smile across his face. I actually found an ad in the newspaper that his children took out in the wake of his death, thanking the community for their support during the most difficult time of their lives. Now I'm glad they got some closure, but it is so sad that they had to wait half a decade to get any answers. EmHost22:33 So with this new information for Rosemary, wally's case was reexamined and, as it turned out, rosemary was a little bit more involved in Wally's murder than she had initially led investigators to believe. An initial witness statement in the case file reported a blue compact car seen parked in Wally's driveway on the day he was murdered, and investigators noted that Rosemary drove a blue compact car. Additionally, that jewelry box Katie just mentioned well, it turned out to be a rare antique, a 17th century Flemish carriage box. An informant came forward with this highly identifiable box and investigators were able to trace the box from this informant to Rosemary. It was ultimately determined that Rosemary not only played a role in robbing Wally but also in his murder. 23:18 Eddie went on to plead guilty to the murder of Jeremiah and he only received a six year prison sentence Six years for the violent murder of his son. This really feels like a disservice. Eddie also pled guilty to the murder of Wally and for Wally's murder he was sentenced to two consecutive 40 year prison sentences. Now we don't see consecutive sentences that often. They usually run concurrently, but Eddie was given 40 years back to back. That should mean that he'd be spending the rest of his life in prison. However, that wasn't the case. Eddie was released with time serve on August 2nd 2010, and he was only given a four year parole term, set until 2014. 23:58 That was one thing I always found with state sentences, at least in the states I've worked in. Most inmates only serve around 40% of their state sentence, sometimes less. It was frustrating when I worked on joint state cases Federal sentences, however. They're much more satisfying. An inmate is required to serve no less than 85% of their sentence. So while Rosemary had been convicted in Jeremiah's murder for being an accessory, after the fact to involuntary manslaughter, she received a sentence of three years. Then, in 1998, when she was facing charges for the murder of Wally, rosemary entered an Alfred plea, which is when somebody pleads guilty but maintains their innocence. Rosemary went on to be convicted of second degree murder for Wally Wise, as well as common law robbery. She received two life sentences, one for each count. However, just like Eddie, she was released on parole in June 2011. Neither Rosemary or Eddie ever confessed to Zilpia's murder and, honestly, they didn't have any physical evidence to tie either of them to her case. Katie KaplanHost25:00 As the number of years since Zilpia's murder tallied up, the number of leads started to drop down until eventually there were no new ones and the case grew cold. Now it wasn't for a lack of case file. Detectives had plenty of potential suspects. There was a long list of names and each person had been explored, but unfortunately, with a lack of physical evidence, there wasn't a clear direction for investigators to move toward. One of the longtime detectants that worked the case, dan Schuch, says that sometimes he would actually have to step away from working it, just so that he could come back with a fresh set of eyes in hopes that something new would jump out at him. While that didn't exactly happen for him, he would later have a moment of genius that would help to crack Zilpia's case. 2003 marked the 10-year anniversary of Zilpia's murder and, in an effort to stir up some new information, deputies connected with the local news outlets on coverage. Now, this is a pretty common tactic used by law enforcement agencies to generate new leads when a trail goes cold. The idea is that you will get the community talking about the case. Maybe you offer a new incentive, like a reward, and something will shake loose. And this time it worked. 26:12 Investigators caught wind that there was a man in prison who had something to share. His name was Ronald and he was currently serving two years for speeding and running from police. Now, since his charges had nothing to do with Zilpia, investigators took him seriously and they met with him to hear what he had to say. Ronald told detectives about a night in 1993 when he was at a friend's house. This friend lived in a trailer in Marion on a property that had several other trailers on it and one of those other trailers was playing music so loudly, he says he walked over and asked the men inside to turn it down. 26:49 Now Ronald says there were two guys inside and they were acting really weird. So after he went back to the trailer he was staying in, he peeked out the window and then he watched as the guys carried out what looked like something large rolled up in a rug. The men loaded it into their truck and then took off. Now Ronald says he remembered this was around the time that Zilpia disappeared and it raised even more of a red flag when he heard that both of the guys moved out of town after that night. He didn't know a whole lot about those guys, but he remembered enough to give investigators something to go on. Ronald could remember their names were Robin and Bobby and that neither one was actually from Marion originally and that they both moved out of state one to Virginia and the other to Maryland right after that night. EmHost27:37 After 10 years of not knowing what happened to Zilpheya, this was just what the case needed a new lead. But jailhouse informants are less than reliable, so investigators needed some way to cooperate his version of events. They poured through the case files and buried on a page with a list of names they found the name Robin Whited, and when they looked up Robin's past addresses they tried to keep their excitement at bay when they saw that he had in fact resided in a trailer at the west end of Marion during the time that Zilpheya disappeared. The informant had described the exact trailer Robin was living in, and so investigators made their way over there to check it out. When they laid eyes on the trailer, it was immediately apparent that it had long since been abandoned. The trailer was completely dilapidated and, according to the source material, it was filthy and riddled with drug paraphernalia, used condoms and even snake skins. Large parts of the floor were missing, leaving investigators worried that any step could lead the entire trailer to collapsing. 28:37 They cautiously walked through and performed a cursory search of the trailer. In the bedroom they found a large area of dark stains on the floor and wall. Investigators noted that those stains showed signs of having been cleaned up at some point and, according to an episode of Secrets at the Morgue crime scene, technicians used Bluestar similar to Luminal to test these stains for the presence of blood. And sure enough, once it was hit with the Bluestar, they knew definitively that there was an individual who lost a significant amount of blood in that spot. 29:09 But the question was who. Samples were sent off to the lab. However, due to degradation, most likely from the chemicals used to try to clean up the blood, a full profile could not be obtained. Some likely died in that trailer, but there was no way of proving who it was. So it was now 2005, and without anything else to go on, they decided it was time to try and track Robin down. They found Robin's ex-wife, who was a Marian resident, and she told them that the last she heard Robin had moved to Richmond, Virginia. Now, this was good news. Just yet another tick to cooperate. This informant's information. Katie KaplanHost29:48 A British from the McDowell County Sheriff's Office made the 330-mile trip from Marian to Richmond and found Robin working at a car dealership Almost as soon as they started questioning him, he said he remembered a blonde woman with an unusual name that came to his trailer to party. However, he couldn't remember what that name was, so detectives showed him a picture of Zulfia and he confirmed that she was in fact the girl he remembered. Robin told investigators that they had had consensual sex that night but that Zulfia had left before he woke up the next morning. He acted shocked when the detectives informed him that she had been murdered and he denied knowing anything about it. EmHost30:29 Investigators were elated. If Robin had told him that he didn't know Zulfia, they might have hit another dead end. But instead he confirmed that not only did he know her but that she had been inside his trailer. This was the final piece of the cooperation that they needed to lead in credence to the informant story and it renewed the investigators' determination to find out what really happened to Zulfia. They returned to Marian ready to tear through the trailer piece by piece to find anything that could prove that the large blood loss they found in the trailer was indeed from Zulfia. 31:02 On the scene that day was Detective Shook, who recalled that they had swapped every inch of the trailer, testing on site by using phenothaline to see if any of the swabs showed presence of blood. He said they had taken approximately 150 swabs of the trailer in total that day, but unfortunately each one came back negative. Then, in a brilliant move, detective Shook thought back on his training and experience and he thought of how flies are attracted to blood and how flies are consistently regurgitating and excreting what they consume. So while he was in the trailer's bathroom he looked up and saw a bunch of dead flies caught up in the ceiling light fixture, and surrounding those flies he observed a bunch of tiny brown dots. He recognized this as fly excrement and, in a last-ditch effort, decided to take a swab. He tested the swab and, sure enough, the sample turned pink. They had found blood, and blood that hadn't been subjected to the chemicals used to clean up the crime scene. Katie KaplanHost31:55 Of course, before they could get too excited, they had to find out just whose blood it actually was. Unfortunately, back in 1993, when Zulfia was murdered, DNA testing wasn't as widely used as it is now, so there wasn't a sample of hers on file. This meant that they needed to exhume her remains to get a comparison, With the permission of her family. They did just that and wouldn't you know, her DNA was matched to the DNA found in the feces of the fly. With this information, investigators were able to confirm that Zulfia had not only been in Robin's trailer but at the very least had sustained an injury that caused her to bleed. They were probably on to something much bigger, but they still didn't know much about that second man who was there that night. Who was he, and did he have any involvement with her murder? So they made another visit to Robin up north in Richmond, Virginia, this time with questions about Bobby. It was late April in 2006 when detectives actually sat down with him, again armed with the DNA evidence found inside his trailer, and Robin was ready to talk. He told investigators that back in 1993, he had split from his wife and had moved into the trailer. He invited his childhood friend to move in with him. 33:13 Bobby Taylor was still living in Virginia where they had grown up, but he eventually made his way down to the trailer in Marian. Now, one night Robin said he came home from work and Bobby told him about a girl that he wanted to invite over to party. So they called that girl, who worked at a truck stop, and she said she was down to come over if they could pick her up after her shift. Now this detail matches the eyewitness account of the person who says they saw Zulfia get into a car with someone that they didn't know. Robin says he and Bobby brought Zulfia back to their trailer where they partied, listening to music and dancing, drinking, and they even took some Xanax. Robin told investigators that he and Zulfia really hit it off. The details later came out in court records but according to Robin he looked over at Bobby at one point, kind of for permission to hook up with Zulfia, and Bobby said, yeah, go ahead, it's fine. So Robin and Zulfia then went into Robin's bedroom in the trailer and had sex. EmHost34:13 Robin told investigators that afterwards Bobby came into the room and demanded that it was his turn, at which point he grabbed Zulfia. She fought back and yelled at him to stop. During the struggle, bobby punched Robin in the head and Robin explained that he started bleeding. So he got up and went to the bathroom to clean up the blood. While he was in the bathroom, he said he started hearing thumping noises coming from the bedroom. When he ran back to see what the noise was, he saw Bobby on his knees, leaning over Zulfia, who was lying naked on the floor with the sheet and towel wrapped around her bloody head. According to Robin, he told Bobby they needed to call for help, but Bobby threatened him and his family if Robin called. Anybody or ever told him about what had just happened. Bobby then loaded Zulfia in the truck and forced Robin to get in the car with him. They drove somewhere out into the woods, at which point Bobby got out of the car taking Zulfia with him. Robin said Bobby returned to the car in less than an hour. Katie KaplanHost35:09 The next day Robin went to work and when he came home he found that Bobby had cleaned up just about everything in the trailer that showed any evidence a murder had happened there, except for Zulfia's purse. And Robin says he was scared and decided to take that purse to a convenience store where he left it in plain sight, hoping someone would find it. Now this is a detail that was confirmed during the trial when two employees from that store testified they had found the purse hanging on a door. They say they also received two phone calls from a man who wanted to make sure that the purse had been given to the police. According to Robin, bobby threatened to harm his family if he told anyone about what happened that night. While detectives seem to believe this, robin was still culpable of being an accessory after the fact. So the district attorney ultimately decided that Robin would be offered consideration in regards to the charges against him if he testified against Bobby for Zulfia's murder. EmHost36:08 So now we know Eddie obviously wasn't responsible for Zulfia's murder. But how interesting is it that in both of these cases you have a second party who is being forced by the actual murderer to take part in it, being an accessory after the fact? So now investigators turn their attention to Bobby Taylor, who they learn is in federal prison on weapons charges. Investigators sit down with Bobby, but he's pretty tight-lipped. He only offers up that he vaguely remembered partying with the blonde woman in Robin's trailer. They press him with the evidence that they found, but Bobby shut down and he lawyer it up. The case against Bobby, including Robin's statements and the evidence found in the trailer, were enough for the DA and Bobby was indicted for the murder of Zulfia Lowry. Katie KaplanHost36:52 During his trial, two of his cellmates are brought in as witnesses. 36:57 One testifies that Bobby told him he had gotten into a fight with Zulfia that night because he had spent a lot of money on drugs and alcohol for them all to party, but Zulfia wouldn't sleep with him like he expected her to. So he got angry and he hid her repeatedly and then drove her out to a remote road where he left her. The other cellmate tells the jury that Bobby said he got mad after Zulfia slept with his roommate Robin and that Bobby told him, and that Bobby told him that he had only pushed Zulfia and then he passed out. So there's those two accounts. And then, surprisingly, bobby decides to testify at his own trial and in his version he admits that he and Robin and Zulfia had been partying together and that she had consensual sex with him but then wanted to sleep with Robin afterwards. So he says he walked Zulfia to Robin's room and then he went back to sleep on the sofa in the living room. Now Bobby claims that was the last time that he saw Zulfia. EmHost37:53 The trial came to an end and the jury began its deliberation. It didn't take long to find Bobby Taylor guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Robin, having held up his end of the bargain and testifying at Bobby's trial, received a three-year suspended sentence for being an accessory. Katie KaplanHost38:10 after the fact Remind us again what does a suspended sentence mean? EmHost38:14 So in this case, Robin was convicted, but his sentence didn't include any prison time. Likely, his sentence came with a set of conditions that were ordered by the court that kind of similar to a probation and if those conditions are met then his sentence is considered fulfilled. However, that conviction is obviously going to stay on his record. Now if, let's say, he didn't meet those conditions, then he would be facing additional charges and a new sentence in which he'd likely have to serve some time. At this point it was over. The two men responsible had been held accountable, and it was 14 years after Zulfia was murdered that her family finally got to see some justice served. It's never what you want to hear, but this case was almost never solved. Katie KaplanHost38:55 And really it was so close to not coming together. If Robin had denied knowing Zulfia, or if Detective Schuch didn't have the experience to consider fly experiment as a source of a victim's DNA, then her family would probably still be asking questions and likely thinking that Eddie was responsible. EmHost39:13 And Jeremiah, who was unfortunate enough to have a monster for her father. He likely never would have been found if Rosemary hadn't come forward. Just a reminder that someone out there always knows something. Katie KaplanHost39:25 No family should ever have to suffer the loss of a loved one, and to go through the pain twice in such a short time frame is just unimaginable. EmHost39:34 Zulfia Lowry, Jeremiah Pittman and Wally Wise didn't deserve to die, but they all deserve to be remembered. Thank you for listening to this episode. Please consider supporting us by leaving a review in your podcast player. It's free, only takes about a second, and it's really one of the most impactful ways that you guys can help us grow and that way we can reach a wider audience with our unsolved cases. Katie KaplanHost39:58 And if you haven't already, please hit the follow button in your podcast player so that you don't miss an episode. Stay vigilant and stay curious, fellow sleuths. Thank you.