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advancing justice. Become part

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of advocacy con. Sometimes

1:03

you can have a murder case

1:05

that lands a conviction and put

1:07

someone in prison, but it still

1:09

leaves you with an unsettling feeling

1:11

and a big question. Was this case

1:13

really solved? Information put

1:15

out by the media and official sources

1:18

might lead you to a very different

1:20

conclusion, or you might just get stuck

1:22

wondering if the person taking the fall

1:24

was just the low man on the

1:27

totem pole, while the real masterminds get

1:29

away unscathed. This is one of

1:31

those cases. A case convoluted by

1:33

an uncooperative family, little physical

1:35

evidence, a giant drama splashed

1:38

across the name and boardrooms

1:40

of one of America's most

1:42

recognizable companies, and a first-time

1:44

homicide investigator working with a

1:47

budget of only $500. All

1:49

these factors not only threatened

1:51

this murder investigation, they nearly

1:53

completely derailed it. And while the

1:55

courts might consider this a closed matter,

1:58

I will leave the question to you. Do

2:00

you believe this seriously

2:02

mysterious murder is actually

2:04

solved? Or is it as some

2:06

call it partially unsolved? I'm John

2:09

Lordin and this is the case

2:11

of Eva Shone. In 1990, Eva

2:13

Berg Shone lived in Tell

2:15

You Ride, Colorado with her

2:18

husband, Sam Shone, and their

2:20

two children, 10-year-old daughter Benta,

2:23

and 7-year-old son, Espin. Eva,

2:25

who was a native of Norway, had

2:27

moved with her family to Telluride

2:29

just two years before from Phoenix,

2:31

Arizona. Her husband's relatives had

2:33

been in litigation over the family

2:35

company for many years, and all the

2:38

infighting with family members had proved

2:40

to be too much for Sam. He

2:42

and Eva decided to move away from

2:44

all of the stress to hopefully make

2:46

a better life for themselves and their

2:48

children. Telluride was their choice. A former

2:50

silver mining camp on the San

2:53

Miguel River in the western San

2:55

Juan Mountains, sitting in a box

2:57

canyon, steep, forested mountains, and cliffs

2:59

surround Telluride, with the beautiful bridal

3:01

veil falls situated at the canyon's

3:03

head. Numerous weathered ruins of

3:05

old mining operations dot the hillsides.

3:08

Telluride is especially known for its

3:10

ski resorts during the winter and

3:12

summer events that include an extensive

3:15

festival schedule, including the hot air

3:17

balloon festival. The population was

3:19

around 1,300 people in the 1990s,

3:21

but this count went up considerably

3:23

during the winter when the ski

3:26

resorts opened. Eva loved animals,

3:28

especially dogs. She not only worked

3:30

for the veterinarian in town, she

3:32

also trained dogs and kept six

3:35

purebred dogs at home. She loved her

3:37

family, and even though she was

3:39

shy, she volunteered in her community

3:41

and was athletic. someone that was

3:43

making the most out of her new

3:46

community and enjoying her life in what

3:48

many considered to be the safest place

3:50

in the world. Telluride had nearly no

3:52

crime. The residents would frequently

3:54

leave their doors unlocked and somewhat

3:56

even leave their keys in their

3:58

cars. On August 5th... Sam left town

4:01

abruptly to attend to family business

4:03

back in Phoenix. It was a

4:05

last-minute decision that only Eva and

4:07

a select few other people knew

4:09

of. Eva was going to stay

4:11

at home and take care of

4:13

the children and the dogs. A

4:15

friend of the children was also

4:17

allowed to stay over that night.

4:20

At bedtime, the children slept on

4:22

the first floor of the large

4:24

wooden cabin-inspired home. Usually the dogs

4:26

would sleep outside during this temperate

4:28

time of the year, but they

4:30

had been restless that evening and

4:32

were barking at something near the

4:34

property near the property. The ruckus

4:37

they caused was bothering everyone, so

4:39

Eva decided to bring them in

4:41

the house to keep the noise

4:43

down. She placed the dogs in

4:45

the basement in their dog room

4:47

and went up to the second

4:49

floor to go to sleep. The

4:51

next morning, on the 6th, at

4:53

about 7am, San Miguel County Sheriff's

4:56

office took a call that no

4:58

one could have expected. Ten-year-old Benta

5:00

was hysterical, weeping into the phone.

5:02

She told the dispatcher, My mom,

5:04

I woke up, she's dead, she's

5:06

dead, on the staircase. On the

5:08

staircase. She's sick? The dispatcher replied.

5:10

Benta continued. She's dead on the

5:12

staircase. There's blood, okay? When asked

5:15

for her name, she responded. Benta

5:17

Shone. I live in the ski

5:19

ranches in a big log house.

5:21

There was blood on the bed.

5:23

Please send somebody. Sheriff Bill Master's

5:25

arrived to find Eva laying face

5:27

down upstairs. She had been shot

5:29

in the back, though some publications

5:31

vary on specifically where. There was

5:34

no blood found on anything except

5:36

Eva and her bed. The room

5:38

itself was disheveled as though a

5:40

struggle had taken place. The bed

5:42

did contain a spot of blood,

5:44

but part of the top sheet

5:46

had been cut away. Although Sheriff

5:48

Masters had never investigated a murder

5:51

before, this struck him as odd.

5:53

If you take the sheet because

5:55

it contains DNA evidence, why not

5:57

cut away the chunk of soaked

5:59

mattress underneath the sheet as well?

6:01

There were no other signs of

6:03

a struggle and nothing had been

6:05

taken from the home from the

6:07

home. There were numerous pieces of

6:10

jewelry and other expensive items. that

6:12

would have likely been the target

6:14

of a burglar, but it seemed

6:16

like nothing else had been touched.

6:18

All the fingerprints that were found

6:20

belonged to the family. Eva's autopsy

6:22

would show that no sexual assault

6:24

had been committed. The Arizona Republic

6:26

reported on July 22, 1993 that

6:29

the bullet that killed her, entered

6:31

her back, perforating a lung and

6:33

her heart. Investigators were able to

6:35

determine that the gun the perpetrator

6:37

had used, was a 25 caliber

6:39

handgun. Despite their efforts, that gun

6:41

was not found. There were also

6:43

two shallow needlemark injection sites on

6:46

either side of her chest. These

6:48

were believed to have been made

6:50

shortly before her death. It appeared

6:52

to the coroner that someone had

6:54

tried to inject evil with something,

6:56

perhaps to subdue her, but the

6:58

liquid was never actually injected, possibly

7:00

because she was fighting off her

7:02

attacker. In cases like these, suspicion

7:05

always immediately falls upon the husband,

7:07

especially considering that he had left

7:09

town abruptly on business. He was

7:11

the first person Detective Kim Pound

7:13

and Sheriff Master's question that day.

7:15

They found Sam at the home

7:17

of a neighbor consoling his children.

7:19

When Sam was questioned, he verified

7:21

that he had left town suddenly

7:24

on business, driving Eva's car, and

7:26

leaving his in the driveway. His

7:28

alibi was quickly confirmed, and he

7:30

was removed as a suspect almost

7:32

immediately. He stated that he had

7:34

no idea who would want to

7:36

hurt his wife. She had no

7:38

enemies that he knew of. He

7:40

did say, however, that he believed

7:43

some of his family's business problems

7:45

might have boiled over and caused

7:47

Eva's death. A business that you

7:49

are almost certainly familiar with. and

7:51

they stated that they heard no

7:53

gunshot the night before. As a

7:55

matter of fact, the only thing

7:57

that anyone heard took place. around

8:00

2am, one of the children heard

8:02

a thud and another shortly after.

8:04

This is believed to be the

8:06

same time Eva was fighting off

8:08

her attacker, and it suggested that

8:10

a silencer might have been used

8:12

during the killing. Sam would wind

8:14

up taking the children to another

8:16

location, not only was this home

8:19

the site of where their mother

8:21

had been killed, there was now

8:23

a question about how safe was

8:25

this home, and could someone be

8:27

after other members of his family?

8:29

He would wind up offering a

8:31

$250,000 reward to help find his

8:33

wife's killer. Sam and his children

8:35

never spent another night in their

8:38

house until you ride. They permanently

8:40

moved out several months later. Investigators

8:42

began looking into the family problems

8:44

mentioned by Sam, and this is

8:46

where the case goes haywire. Sam

8:48

was currently in litigation regarding his

8:50

family's business, the U-Haul Company. Sam

8:52

wasn't just the non-practicing doctor. He

8:55

was the oldest son of Leonard

8:57

Sam, or LS, shown, the creator

8:59

of U-Haul. After World War II,

9:01

LS came up with the idea

9:03

of renting trailers to families who

9:05

were heading out west, with built-in

9:07

advertising on every trailer and working

9:09

out deals with gas stations to

9:11

be the pickup and drop-off location

9:14

of his rentals. He soon had

9:16

a thriving business. The business started

9:18

in Washington State. but once it

9:20

grew to be a billion-dollar company,

9:22

the new headquarters was located in

9:24

Phoenix. Also thriving was his family.

9:26

LS Shone had 12 children, and

9:28

with the birth of each, they

9:30

were granted shares in the company.

9:33

When they came of age, some

9:35

of the children started to fight

9:37

over the business. There were two

9:39

primary factions, one who believed LS

9:41

should retain control of the business,

9:43

and the other who believed the

9:45

children should now take over. Sam

9:47

sat firmly in his father's camp,

9:49

along with a few other family

9:52

members. The opposing members claimed that

9:54

LS was ruining the business with

9:56

his outdated practices, and he needed

9:58

to be relieved of his duties

10:00

before U-Haul was driven into the

10:02

ground. LS lamented the fact that

10:04

that he had given his children's

10:06

shares of the company, he was

10:09

no longer the primary shareholder and

10:11

he couldn't shut down the litigation.

10:13

At that time, LS's sons, Joe

10:15

and Mark, were effectively running the

10:17

company. This started a huge and

10:19

long-lasting feud within the family. Sheriff

10:21

Masters began to suspect that someone

10:23

knew about Sam's business trip and

10:25

had killed Eva to take him

10:28

out of the litigation. Sam, however,

10:30

had different feelings. Knowing that so

10:32

few people knew about his trip,

10:34

Sam believed that this was the

10:36

work of a hitman and the

10:38

hit was intended for him. Almost

10:40

immediately, Sheriff Masters began to lose

10:42

control of the case. This was

10:44

the first murder he had ever

10:47

investigated, and when you have a

10:49

force, like the well-funded Shone family,

10:51

looking over your shoulder, things became

10:53

even harder to accomplish. Telluride had

10:55

a very small annual budget for

10:57

investigations, largely due to how little

10:59

crime occurred there. The investigation budget

11:01

was about $500. However, LS had

11:04

been particularly upset to hear about

11:06

his daughter-in-law's death and wanted to

11:08

make sure that the perpetrator was

11:10

found. He offered the department $50,000

11:12

to help with the investigation. Sheriff

11:14

Masters initially objected and refused the

11:16

money, not wanting it to seem

11:18

like the department was working for

11:20

the family and possibly opening the

11:23

department up to criticism over a

11:25

conflict of interest. However, County officials

11:27

stated that the offer came with

11:29

no strings attached and accepted the

11:31

funds. Brother Mark also seemingly wanted

11:33

to help the investigation hiring a

11:35

private investigator and sending them with

11:37

the family attorney to offer their

11:39

help. Sheriff Masters was fighting off

11:42

rumor and innuendo as the PI

11:44

brought him information. Essentially, it just

11:46

seemed to muddy the waters even

11:48

more. Masters was beyond frustrated. Everything

11:50

was just pulling attention away from

11:52

the two people who should have

11:54

been the focus, Eva and the

11:56

perpetrator. Investigators had had two unusual

11:58

things to go on. One was

12:01

a pair of sunglasses that were

12:03

clearly not from any members of

12:05

the show and home. A deputy

12:07

had come upon a distinctive pair

12:09

of sunglasses with a net cord

12:11

attached. It was found lying on

12:13

the ground. They were bought from

12:15

Pacific Eyes and Teas and only

12:18

sold specifically in their stores. At

12:20

the time, there were 27 stores,

12:22

but they were all in California

12:24

and Arizona. Despite the exclusiveness, investigators

12:26

just couldn't identify the specific owner.

12:28

or even proved that the glasses

12:30

belonged to the killer. The other

12:32

lead was a sighting. On a

12:34

back road that led to the

12:37

show and home, a white Jeep

12:39

Cherokee was spotted. The Jeep and

12:41

its occupants were unfamiliar. Detective Pound

12:43

and Sheriff Masters both agreed that

12:45

the location of the show and

12:47

home sat in what they called

12:49

a fish bowl. It allowed someone

12:51

to easily spy on the home.

12:53

He believed the dogs heard the

12:56

perpetrator that night on the edge

12:58

of the edge of the property.

13:00

Then... The killer or killers waited

13:02

until the family was asleep to

13:04

strike, gaining entry through an unlocked

13:06

doorway. Unfortunately, the vehicle or anyone

13:08

that was in it were not

13:10

able to be identified. Investigators wanted

13:12

to speak to Mark and Joe,

13:15

the CEOs of U Hall's parent

13:17

company at the time. This turned

13:19

out to be very difficult, but

13:21

when Joe was questioned, he was

13:23

very hostile towards the investigators. Almost

13:25

no useful information was gathered from

13:27

either man. By this time,

13:30

nearly two years had passed. In

13:32

a bid to generate some fresh

13:34

leads, an episode of Unsolved Mysteries

13:36

was produced. It originally aired on

13:38

December 2nd, 1992, and played as

13:40

a rerun later on. During the

13:42

second airing, a woman named Kelly

13:44

Lemons called in and said she

13:46

knew who Eva's killer was. It

13:48

was her 38-year-old brother-in-law, Frank Marquis.

13:50

Marquis was no stranger to law

13:52

enforcement. In the 1980s, Marquis had

13:54

served many years for several burglaries.

13:56

and sexual assaults. And at the

13:58

time of Eva's murder, he was

14:00

out on parole. He worked as

14:02

a car mechanic in Santa Fe,

14:04

New Mexico, but had been to

14:06

Telluride for a jazz festival on

14:08

that very same weekend. He bragged

14:10

that he had shot Eva when

14:12

she discovered him trying to burglarize

14:14

her house. One of Marquis associates

14:16

was questioned and he verified that

14:18

the two had been in Telluride

14:20

on August 5th. The night of

14:22

the murder, Marquis was out all

14:24

night. He also stated that Marquis

14:26

had borrowed a gun from a

14:28

friend of theirs to take on

14:30

the trip, and it was a

14:32

25 caliber handgun. When Marquis returned

14:34

the gun, he claimed to have

14:36

only shot at once at a

14:38

dog. Somehow, the barrel of a

14:40

gun had been damaged to such

14:42

a degree that ballistics could not

14:44

match it as a murder weapon.

14:46

Finally, on July 20th, 1993, Marquis

14:48

was arrested for the attempted burglary

14:50

and first degree murder of Evashone.

14:52

As he was extradited to Colorado,

14:54

The witness that attended the Jazz

14:56

Festival with Marquis remembered another pertinent

14:58

piece of information. On the drive

15:00

back to Santa Fe, Marquis was

15:02

acting strangely and at one point

15:04

in the trip, threw a bundle

15:06

of clothes out of the car

15:08

window. Investigators were able to find

15:10

that bundle and one of the

15:12

hairs on the clothing was confirmed

15:14

to be Evas. Marquis was denying

15:16

everything, but as the evidence continued

15:18

growing and mounting against him, he

15:20

finally caved in. and confessed to

15:22

investigators. In October of 1994, Marquis

15:24

stated that he came to the

15:26

telluride area to burglarize rich people's

15:28

homes. He didn't expect anyone to

15:30

be at the show and household

15:32

since it was summertime. When Eva

15:34

found him in the house, she

15:36

demanded that he leave. A struggle

15:38

happened. The 25 caliber gun went

15:40

off, and Eva was killed. He

15:42

said that he had no idea

15:44

why she had injection marks on

15:46

the side of her chest. Investigators

15:48

believe that he actually planned to

15:50

sexually assault Eva that night. Marquis

15:52

claimed that he cut part of

15:54

the sheet from the mattress because

15:56

he had bled on it, but

15:58

he later retracted that statement. As

16:00

a trial date drew near, the

16:03

U-Haul family and their feud yet

16:05

again took center stage. Businesswire reported

16:07

that the lawsuit LS and his

16:09

faction took out against Joe and

16:11

Mark for what they considered to

16:13

be a hostile takeover of the

16:15

company was awarded a $1.47 billion

16:17

verdict returned in favor of LS.

16:19

It also included $70 million in

16:21

punitive damages against Joe. for hateful

16:23

and malicious behavior. Sam and his

16:25

dad won back the company, but

16:27

this decision, as justifiable as it

16:29

was, would certainly not help heal

16:31

this fracturing family. In November of

16:33

that year, both the prosecution and

16:35

defense had worked out a plea

16:37

deal arrangement which saw Marquis plead

16:39

guilty to manslaughter and second-degree burglary.

16:41

He was sentenced to 24 years

16:43

in prison. He served 17 years

16:45

before he was paroled after release.

16:47

He faded into obscurity in New

16:49

Mexico. Sam is unconvinced that Markey

16:51

was acting alone in the killing

16:53

of Eva Shone and still thinks

16:55

his family was involved. While investigators

16:57

may have considered it solved, the

16:59

judge on the case and two

17:01

other members of the panel that

17:03

oversaw the plea deal believed that

17:05

the investigation didn't settle legitimate public

17:07

concerns about whether the murder remained

17:09

partially unsolved. L.S. Shown lived in

17:11

Las Vegas until his death on

17:13

October 5th, 1999. The 83-year-old was

17:15

driving down the highway when he

17:17

suddenly struck a utility pole. Evidence

17:19

shows that there were no other

17:21

cars present at the time of

17:23

the accident. It's thought that L.S.

17:25

might have driven the car into

17:27

the pole on purpose. He was

17:29

survived by five wives, 13 children

17:31

in total, and many grandchildren. Do

17:33

you have any insights or even

17:35

a case you'd like to suggest?

17:37

feel free to send it to

17:39

me. You'll find a comment form

17:41

and case submission link at lordin

17:43

arts.com. Thank you, crime library.org, unsolved

17:45

mysteries. Thank you to our audience

17:47

here for the live recording session

17:49

hosted on the l.a. Times case

17:51

text.com Dominic Dunn's power privilege and

17:53

justice and Wikipedia for information contributing

17:55

to today's story This episode was

17:57

written by Christy Arnhart edited by

17:59

John Lorden and produced by Lord

18:01

nerds Thank you to our

18:03

you to our

18:05

audience here for

18:07

the live recording

18:09

session hosted on

18:11

the YouTube Lord Narts Studio

18:13

2 special thanks thanks

18:15

to seriously mysterious

18:17

financial supporters Mike W.

18:19

Robert Martin, Mel Steffen,

18:21

and Debbie. and Most of

18:23

Most of all,

18:25

you thank you

18:27

for listening. I'm John

18:29

I'm John Please Please

18:31

join us again

18:33

next week for

18:35

another case I

18:37

know you'll find

18:39

seriously mysterious.