0:06

This is Crime House. In a

0:08

time of crisis, it's normal

0:10

for people to turn

0:12

to faith. Whether it's living

0:15

through a natural disaster, becoming

0:17

a victim of a crime,

0:20

or losing a loved one,

0:22

sometimes we need to believe

0:24

in a higher power. To

0:27

know that there's a light

0:29

at the end of the

0:31

tunnel, and our suffering hasn't

0:34

been in vain. But

0:36

what about when the

0:38

person seeking refuge is

0:40

the one who committed

0:42

the crime? In the

0:45

mid-1980s, 24-year-old Carla Faye

0:47

Tucker was facing the

0:49

death penalty for brutally

0:51

murdering 27-year-old Jerry Lindeine

0:53

and 32-year-old Deborah Ruth

0:56

Thornton. While she was

0:58

behind bars, Carla suddenly

1:00

converted to Christianity. She

1:02

argued that her newfound

1:05

faith meant she should

1:07

be spared from death.

1:09

Eventually, she even became

1:11

a star among anti-death

1:13

penalty activists. But while

1:15

many people supported her,

1:17

others weren't convinced. To

1:19

them, not even her

1:22

spiritual awakening could erase

1:24

what she'd done. And

1:26

they'd make sure the

1:28

state of Texas made

1:30

Carla pay for her

1:32

crimes. People's

1:41

lives are like a story.

1:43

There's a beginning, a middle,

1:45

and an end, but you

1:47

don't always know which part

1:50

you're on. Sometimes the final

1:52

chapter arrives far too soon,

1:54

and we don't always get

1:56

to know the real ending.

1:58

I'm Carter Roy, and this

2:00

is... murder. True crime stories,

2:02

a crime house original. Every

2:04

Tuesday, I'll explore the story

2:06

of a notorious murder or

2:08

murders. And for more, true crime

2:11

stories that all happened this

2:13

week in history, check out

2:15

Crime House the show. Each

2:17

episode covers multiple cases unified

2:20

by the same theme. So

2:22

every week you get something

2:24

a little different. At Crime

2:26

House, we want to express

2:28

our gratitude to you, our

2:31

community, for making this possible.

2:33

Please support us by rating,

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2:37

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crime stories, plus exciting Crime

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House bonus content, subscribe to

2:52

Crime House Plus on Apple

2:54

podcasts. This is the second

2:56

of two episodes on the

2:58

murders of 27-year-old Jerry Lynn

3:00

Dean and 32-year-old Deborah Thornton,

3:02

who were killed in 1983

3:04

after a one-night stand. Last

3:06

week, I introduced you to

3:09

Jerry and Deborah and told

3:11

you a bit about their

3:13

history and backgrounds. I also

3:15

explained how they crossed paths

3:17

at a summer pool party

3:19

and decided to go home

3:21

together. In the morning, They

3:23

were found dead, with a

3:25

pickaxe lodged in Deborah's heart.

3:28

Today, I'll keep following the

3:30

investigation into their murders and

3:33

discuss how detectives honed in

3:35

on a suspect with a

3:38

bitter grudge against Jerry, Carla

3:40

Faye Tucker. But once she

3:43

was behind bars, a new

3:45

question emerged. Was the

3:47

death penalty warranted? All

3:49

that more coming up.

4:01

On Monday, June 13th, 1983,

4:04

27-year-old Jerry Lindean and

4:06

32-year-old Deborah Ruth Thornton

4:08

were found brutally murdered

4:10

in Jerry's apartment in

4:13

Houston, Texas. At first,

4:15

investigators thought it was a

4:18

robbery gone wrong. Both Jerry and

4:20

Deborah's wallets were missing,

4:22

in addition to Jerry's

4:24

car and Harley Davidson

4:26

motorcycle. While this offered detectives

4:29

some insight into what went

4:31

on, including that there was

4:34

probably more than one killer,

4:36

it still didn't answer all

4:38

of their questions, especially

4:40

because investigators just

4:42

couldn't get past how vicious

4:45

the murders were. Based on the

4:47

level of overkill, both

4:49

Jerry and Deborah experienced,

4:51

the authorities adjusted their

4:53

theory. Whoever had done

4:55

this had known the victims

4:58

and wanted them to suffer.

5:00

In the weeks that followed,

5:02

detective search for

5:05

a suspect, or suspects,

5:07

with a personal connection

5:09

to Jerry and Deborah. It

5:11

didn't take long for them

5:14

to land on one

5:16

of Jerry's enemies, 23-year-old

5:18

Carla Faye Tucker. After

5:20

asking around, investigators learned

5:23

that Carla and Jerry

5:25

had hated each other. Carla

5:27

was best friends with Jerry's

5:30

wife, Sean, and although

5:32

he and Sean had recently

5:34

split, Carla still resented him.

5:37

Now it was up to the

5:39

authorities to figure out just how

5:41

deep her feelings ran, and if

5:43

they were strong enough to lead

5:46

Carla to murder. So that June,

5:48

detectives took a deeper look

5:50

into her history. Like

5:53

Jerry, Carla was a

5:55

Houston native. Born in 1959,

5:57

her parents had enough money.

5:59

to own a house in

6:02

a middle-class neighborhood, take the

6:04

kids on family vacations, everything

6:06

that should lead to a

6:09

stable and charming upbringing.

6:11

But when Carla was ten,

6:13

her parents divorced. Then

6:15

remarried, and divorced again.

6:18

This would become a pattern

6:20

between them. But during this

6:22

first round of marital

6:24

trouble, Carla learned a shocking

6:27

secret. Her dad... wasn't her

6:29

real dad. It turned out her

6:31

mom had an affair and decided

6:33

to keep her birth father's

6:36

identity a secret. The

6:38

discovery plunged the Tucker

6:40

family further into chaos

6:43

and Carla looked to

6:45

her older sisters for

6:47

guidance. Unfortunately, they didn't

6:50

set the best example.

6:52

Carla's sisters were involved

6:54

in the Houston biker

6:56

scene. especially the infamous

6:59

Bandido's motorcycle club, which

7:01

was more of a

7:03

gang. Soon Carla was going

7:05

to biker parties with the

7:08

other girls and was exposed

7:10

to a wild new world.

7:12

There were no rules. Drugs

7:14

and alcohol were everywhere and

7:16

no one seemed to care

7:18

there was a minor around.

7:21

In an effort to keep up

7:23

with the older crowd. Carla

7:25

was smoking marijuana by

7:27

10 years old and using

7:30

heroin at 11. She was

7:32

heading down a dangerous path.

7:34

And Carla's sisters weren't the

7:37

only ones who showed her

7:39

the dark side of

7:41

Houston. After Carla's parents

7:44

divorced for the last

7:46

time, somewhere around the

7:49

early 1970s, her mother became

7:51

a sex worker. In 1973...

7:53

She brought 14-year-old Carla

7:55

into the business. And

7:58

that wasn't the only thing... the

8:00

mother-daughter duo

8:02

had in common. They also

8:04

both loved rock music and

8:06

going to concerts. They

8:08

spent time as groupies

8:10

following their favorite bands

8:12

like the Allman Brothers around

8:15

the country. Life was one

8:17

big party. Things slowed down

8:19

slightly in 1975 when Carla

8:22

was 16. That year, she met

8:24

and married a mechanic

8:26

in Houston. But she was young

8:28

and the marriage was doomed from

8:30

the start. All the couple did

8:33

was drink, do drugs, and fist

8:35

fight. We don't know exactly when,

8:37

but it didn't take long for

8:40

them to divorce. By 1979,

8:42

20-year-old Carla was single

8:44

and back to her old

8:46

haunts hanging around the Houston

8:48

biker scene. Somewhere along the

8:50

way, she met Sean Jackson who

8:53

was involved in the biker group.

8:55

Again, we don't know Sean's

8:57

age or much about her

8:59

story. Either way, it didn't

9:01

take long for her and

9:04

Carla to become thickest thieves.

9:06

Soon they moved in together,

9:08

and while they loved hanging

9:11

out with one another, they

9:13

also wanted to find guys

9:15

to date. Luckily for Carla,

9:17

Sean knew just the one

9:19

for her. In 1981...

9:22

She introduced 22-year-old Carla

9:24

to 35-year-old Vietnam vet

9:26

Danny Garrett. Despite their

9:28

age gap, Carla seemed genuinely

9:31

happy with Danny, and

9:33

she wanted to return

9:35

the favor. But Sean wasn't

9:37

interested in the guys

9:39

Carla proposed to her. That's

9:42

because she met and quickly

9:44

fell in love with 25-year-old

9:47

Jerry Dean. Carla despised Jerry

9:49

from the moment they met.

9:51

Their feud continued for the

9:53

next couple years, until Sean

9:56

ended things with Jerry in

9:58

early June 1983. About a

10:00

week later, he and Deborah

10:03

Ruth Thornton were found dead.

10:05

After learning everything they

10:07

could about Carla and

10:09

her relationship with Jerry,

10:11

detectives were ready to

10:13

bring her in for

10:15

questioning in late June.

10:17

Sitting across from investigators,

10:20

Carla admitted she and

10:22

Jerry hadn't been on

10:24

good terms, to say

10:26

the least. But... She insisted she

10:29

had nothing to do with the

10:31

murders. And if the police

10:33

wanted, she would be more than

10:35

happy to take a polygraph

10:37

test. Investigators scheduled

10:40

the polygraph, but before

10:42

they could proceed, Carla notified

10:45

them she'd changed her

10:47

mind. Apparently, she had told

10:49

Danny about her plans,

10:51

and he said she should back out.

10:54

The reversal only made

10:56

detectives even more suspicious

10:59

of Carla and now Danny

11:01

too. And although they wouldn't

11:03

get the lie detector test,

11:05

they did have Carla's fingerprints

11:08

from when she'd come

11:10

down to the station.

11:12

So investigators ran them

11:14

against Prince found at

11:16

the crime scene. Unfortunately,

11:19

they didn't yield any

11:21

results. It was disappointing,

11:24

but the authorities were

11:26

sure that Carla had

11:28

done it. They just had to

11:30

find a way to prove it.

11:32

Lucky for the Houston

11:34

PD, someone in Carla's

11:37

orbit was about to

11:39

come forward and give

11:41

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12:50

After 27-year-old Jerry Lindeine

12:52

and 32-year-old Deborah Ruth

12:54

Thornton were found in

12:56

Pailed with a pickaxe

12:58

on June 13, 1983,

13:01

detectives honed in

13:03

on a suspect. 23-year-old

13:05

Carla Faye Tucker. Although Carla

13:07

certainly had a grudge

13:10

against Jerry, detectives struggled

13:12

to find any evidence to

13:15

directly connect her to the

13:17

crime. But they were certain

13:19

she was the culprit. Throughout

13:21

June and early July of

13:24

1983, the authorities kept an

13:26

eye on Carla and

13:28

her boyfriend, 37-year-old Danny

13:30

Garrett. They even visited

13:32

them at home a few

13:34

times in the hopes that

13:36

Carla or Danny would slip

13:39

up and reveal their involvement.

13:41

But no matter what the police

13:43

said or did... Carla and

13:45

Danny kept their lips sealed.

13:47

It seemed like the investigators

13:50

would have to play the

13:52

long game and wait until

13:54

more evidence came to light.

13:56

But thanks to one

13:58

curious detective... their investigation

14:01

suddenly shot into

14:03

overdrive. J.C. Moser was a

14:05

homicide detective for the Houston

14:08

Police Department. Although he wasn't

14:10

assigned to Deborah and Jerry's

14:13

case, like most people in

14:15

the city, he had been

14:18

keeping tabs on the investigation.

14:20

In mid-July, Moser heard his

14:23

colleagues were looking into

14:25

Carla's boyfriend, Danny Garrett.

14:27

When he heard Danny's name,

14:29

Moser's ears perked up. He

14:32

knew Danny and his brother

14:34

Douglas. In fact, he'd

14:36

grown up with the boys

14:38

and was even friends

14:40

with Danny's ex-wife. We

14:43

don't know the ex-wife's

14:45

name, but Moser decided

14:47

to give her a call. He

14:49

wanted to know if she'd heard

14:51

anything about Danny being

14:54

involved in the murders.

14:56

She said she hadn't, but promised

14:58

to let him know if

15:01

that changed. It's not clear

15:03

if she ever contacted

15:05

Mosher again, but it seems

15:07

like she did ask around,

15:09

because soon word got out that

15:12

Moser had taken an

15:14

interest in the double

15:16

homicide. And there was someone

15:18

very close to the case

15:21

who wanted to talk to him.

15:25

On July 18th 1983, over

15:27

a month after the

15:29

murders, Moser got a call

15:32

from Douglas Garrett,

15:34

Danny's brother. Douglas

15:36

told Moser point blank.

15:39

Danny and Carla had

15:41

killed Jerry and Deborah.

15:44

And another man, James

15:46

Labrant, had helped them

15:48

do it by serving

15:50

as a lookout. Moser was

15:53

floored. It was a big accusation

15:55

to make. He told Douglas

15:57

he'd need more information. and

16:00

boy did Douglas have

16:02

it. Douglas explained that

16:04

Danny and Carla had been

16:06

bragging about committing the murder

16:09

for weeks, especially Carla. Every

16:11

time she talked about it,

16:14

she seemed to get more

16:16

and more worked up. She

16:18

even told Douglas she'd

16:20

gotten sexual pleasure from

16:23

killing Jerry. It was a

16:25

gold mine of circumstantial

16:28

evidence. and it didn't stop

16:30

there. It turned out Carla's

16:32

sister Kerry also knew about

16:34

the murders. Like Douglas,

16:36

she'd heard Carla and Danny

16:39

bragging about them and had

16:41

grown concerned. Together with

16:44

Douglas, they decided to reach

16:46

out to Mosher. In fact, she

16:48

was sitting beside Douglas at

16:51

that very moment. She got

16:53

on the phone and told

16:55

the detective... Everything Douglas

16:57

had said was true.

17:00

Later that day, Douglas

17:02

and Kerry came down

17:04

to the station and

17:06

met with Mosher. They

17:08

reiterated what they'd said

17:11

over the phone, but

17:13

also provided some new

17:15

details. According to Douglas,

17:17

Carla and Danny came

17:20

over to his house

17:22

at around 6.30 a. The

17:24

same day Jerry and Deborah's

17:26

bodies were discovered. Douglas said

17:28

Carla and Danny were driving

17:31

a blue Chevy El Camino

17:33

with Harley Davidson parts in

17:36

the back. Presumably, both belonged

17:38

to Jerry. As soon as

17:40

they came inside, Carla

17:42

ran up to Douglas and

17:45

excitedly told him, quote, we

17:47

offed Jerry Dean last night.

17:49

According to Douglas, his initial

17:52

instinct... was to help

17:54

his brother. Together, they

17:56

burned Jerry and Deborah's

17:59

wallets. and stored the

18:01

Harley parts around Douglas' house

18:03

until they were ready to

18:06

get rid of them. Douglas

18:08

said he thought that was

18:11

the end of it. But

18:13

in the weeks that followed,

18:15

he and Kerry noticed Carlin

18:18

Danny wouldn't stop talking about

18:20

the murders. Then when Carlin

18:23

Danny heard the authorities were

18:25

looking for the killers, they

18:27

started saying they needed to

18:30

tie up loose ends. including

18:32

killing James Lebrant, the friend

18:35

who'd acted as their lookout.

18:37

Hearing that, Douglas and Kerry

18:39

started to worry they would

18:42

be next. When Douglas and

18:44

Kerry learned Moser was looking

18:47

into the case, they decided

18:49

it was time to come

18:51

clean and put a stop

18:54

to the bloodlust. Moser listened

18:56

to Kerry and Douglas for

18:59

two hours. He told them

19:01

they needed to get Danny

19:03

and Carla to confess on

19:06

tape, which meant one of

19:08

them had to wear a

19:11

wire. Two days later, on

19:13

July 20th 1983, detectives attached

19:15

a transmitter to Douglas' chest

19:18

and stashed a recording device

19:20

in his boot. They coached

19:23

him on how to act,

19:25

and reminded him that they

19:27

wanted Carla and Danny to

19:30

do all the talking. Then

19:32

they sent Douglas off to

19:35

Carla and Danny's apartment, just

19:37

down the block. Moser and

19:39

other officers sat in a

19:42

van and listened. They could

19:44

hear Douglas breathing heavily. He

19:47

sounded nervous. That's because when

19:49

he walked in, he realized

19:51

Carla and Danny weren't alone.

19:54

They had several friends over,

19:56

including James Lebrant. They were

19:59

all doing drugs and drinking

20:01

booze. Douglas reminded himself. They

20:03

didn't suspect anything. He took

20:06

a deep breath and turned

20:08

to Danny and Carla. He

20:11

wanted to know exactly what

20:13

happened on June 13th, just

20:15

like Moser had suspected they

20:18

didn't shy away from the

20:20

question. Carla reminded them that

20:23

on the weekend of June

20:25

12th, she hosted a three-day

20:27

alcohol and drug-fueled birthday party

20:30

for Kerry. From sun-up to

20:32

sun down, Carla and her

20:35

friends parted and got rowdy.

20:37

Everything seemed to be going

20:39

well. But then on June

20:42

12th, Sean showed up, still

20:44

bruised from her last fight

20:47

with Jerry. Carla became enraged

20:49

at the thought of him

20:51

hurting her best friend. Again.

20:54

By the following day, Carla

20:56

was hell-bent on teaching Jerry

20:59

a lesson. If he liked

21:01

hitting women, Then maybe he

21:03

should get a taste of

21:06

his own medicine. Carla decided

21:08

she wanted to go find

21:11

him and beat him up.

21:13

Danny and his buddy James

21:15

offered to help. Danny even

21:18

pitched the idea of stealing

21:20

Jerry's motorcycle. He knew that

21:23

would make him really angry.

21:25

The trio arrived at Jerry's

21:27

building in the early morning

21:30

hours. Danny ordered James to

21:32

stay behind and act as

21:35

a lookout. Meanwhile, he and

21:37

Carla quietly made their way

21:39

into Jerry's apartment. Carla and

21:42

Danny crept inside and immediately

21:44

saw Harley Davidson parts scattered

21:47

throughout the living room. They

21:49

prepared to gather up the

21:51

parts when a light suddenly

21:54

turned on in the back

21:56

bedroom. Then they heard Jerry

21:59

yell, what's going on? Carla

22:01

froze. But Danny reacted instantly.

22:03

He found a ham- in

22:06

Jerry's toolbox and rushed over

22:08

to him. Carla followed. Once

22:11

inside the bedroom, Danny whacked

22:13

Jerry across the head with

22:16

the hammer. Danny hit Jerry

22:18

again and again and again

22:20

while Carla stood there and

22:23

thralled. But then she heard

22:25

the gurgling sound Jerry was

22:28

making. She said she couldn't

22:30

bear to listen to it

22:32

any longer. That's when she

22:35

saw a pickaxe from Jerry's

22:37

job resting up against the

22:40

wall. Carla raised the pickaxe

22:42

over her head and stabbed

22:44

Jerry several times with it.

22:47

Then Danny delivered the final

22:49

blow. With Jerry dead, they

22:52

started to back out of

22:54

the bedroom. But then something

22:56

caught Carla's eye. There was

22:59

someone else in the bed.

23:01

Deborah Ruth Thornton. She had

23:04

seen everything and was shaking

23:06

uncontrollably. Carla didn't hesitate. She

23:08

lunged at Deborah, stabbing her

23:11

repeatedly before Danny lodged the

23:13

pickaxe into her heart. Once

23:16

Deborah was dead, Carla and

23:18

Danny ran back to the

23:20

living room and collected the

23:23

motorcycle parts and the bike

23:25

itself. On their way out

23:28

the door, Jerry's car keys.

23:30

Then they hopped into his

23:32

El Camino and sped over

23:35

to Douglas' place. Unbeknownst to

23:37

them, James had ditched them

23:40

after seeing what happened to

23:42

Jerry. He thought they were

23:44

there to intimidate the guy,

23:47

not kill him. With such

23:49

a detailed confession on tape,

23:52

Douglas had everything he needed,

23:54

which was relief. By 6

23:56

p.m. he was itching to

23:59

leave. Luckily he had the

24:01

perfect excuse, Danny said he

24:04

had to get ready for

24:06

work. On his way out,

24:08

Carless stopped, Douglas. She told

24:11

him not to worry. The

24:13

police didn't have anything on

24:16

her or Danny. She had

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no idea just how wrong

24:20

she was. Now, it was

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just a matter of time,

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until she and Danny faced

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the music. Ryan

24:37

Reynolds here for Mint Mobile.

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