0:00

Sword and Scale contains

0:02

adult themes and violence

0:04

and is not intended

0:06

for all audiences. Listener

0:08

discretion is advised. As we got

0:11

up in here and he kind

0:13

of rushed up on me a

0:15

little bit and that's when I

0:17

just pushed him boom boom!

0:19

Boom! And he started going

0:22

out toward the shed. I don't

0:24

know how many times I shot him.

0:28

Hello and welcome.

0:30

This is season

0:32

12, episode 281

0:35

of Sword and

0:37

Scale. A show that

0:39

reveals that the worst

0:42

monsters are real. We've

1:56

all had that one friend,

1:58

right? the one that

2:01

dives headfirst into messy, toxic

2:03

relationships, or forms of friendship

2:05

with people that are clearly

2:08

a bad influence. Brushing aside

2:10

every warning sign, brushing aside

2:12

every thing we try to

2:14

say to help them get

2:17

off this track. It's like

2:19

they're stuck there in a

2:21

perpetual loop of disappointment. From

2:24

our vantage point, it's clear

2:26

that cutting ties with this

2:28

person is the only solution

2:30

for our complaining friend. But

2:33

it never seems to happen

2:35

for some reason. Hearing story

2:37

after story becomes frustrating. It's

2:40

like watching them drive their

2:42

car straight into a brick

2:44

wall and you can't do

2:46

anything about it. It's like

2:49

they can't see it. And

2:51

only they have the power.

2:53

to hit the brakes. Centennial

3:26

Hills emerged in the early

3:29

2000s as a suburban paradise

3:31

in the sprawling landscape of

3:33

Las Vegas. Driving 25 minutes

3:36

outside the city brings you

3:38

to a place where the

3:40

vibrant energy of the strip

3:43

fades into quieter outskirts. Modern

3:45

family homes lie in the

3:48

streets and on top of

3:50

being one of the newer

3:52

suburbs, Centennial Hills is one

3:55

of the safest places to

3:57

live. if you want to

4:00

be only a short drive

4:02

from the strip, which everybody

4:04

knows. is littered with crime.

4:07

In fact, I don't even

4:09

know why anyone would go

4:12

to Vegas these days. But

4:14

let's get back to the

4:16

story. On May 8th, 2008,

4:19

crimes in the city were

4:21

already beginning to intensify in

4:24

preparation for the weekend. It

4:26

was only Thursday, but the

4:28

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

4:31

expected an influx of calls

4:33

as usual. By the evening

4:35

cops had been going in

4:38

and out for hours mostly

4:40

focusing on crimes happening closer

4:43

to the city center Certainly

4:45

not places like Centennial Hills

4:47

as the clock approached 844

4:50

p.m. Dispatch received a call

4:52

from the peaceful suburban oasis

4:55

It was there three thousand

4:57

one hundred and thirty first

4:59

call of the day We

5:02

received information there had been

5:04

a shooting at the house

5:07

on Santa Fe Drive I

5:09

think or wherever. Rachel Santa

5:11

Fe. Yes, and that the

5:14

homeowner had shot, that his

5:16

wife had been shot by

5:18

a suspect, and that the

5:21

homeowner had shot the suspect.

5:23

This caller was an older

5:26

gentleman and in case he

5:28

didn't hear him, you know.

5:30

was trying to rip him

5:33

off in some way. The

5:35

caller knew the intruder, but

5:38

not well enough to give

5:40

his last name. I don't

5:42

know, 40. Okay, let's focus

5:45

on your wife. Who's not

5:47

your wife? You did? He

5:50

did. Okay, put her flat

5:52

on her back. I don't

5:54

fuck her splutter everywhere. All

5:57

right. I'm gonna help you,

5:59

but I need to listen

6:02

to her. I'm trying to

6:04

help her. Sure? Oh God.

6:06

Karen, oh boy. When the

6:09

caller tried to turn his

6:11

wife over, he didn't try

6:13

to... When the caller tried

6:16

to turn his wife over,

6:18

he saw her bloodied, distorted

6:21

face. 911 dispatchers walked him

6:23

through the CPR process, while

6:25

police officers made their way

6:28

to Rancho. Santa Fe Drive.

6:30

As I remember, somebody had,

6:33

I didn't speak to the

6:35

person reporting there. Somebody had

6:37

gotten some basic information about

6:40

what happened, and then I

6:42

put together either a three

6:45

or four man team to

6:47

go in and check on

6:49

the house and check on

6:52

the person that had been

6:54

shot inside. The first few

6:56

officers on the scene walked

6:59

in through the front door,

7:01

walked through the home, and

7:04

came upon 57-year-old Sharon Randolph.

7:06

When I got inside, there

7:08

didn't appear to be any

7:11

ransacking in the living room

7:13

area. We walked back into

7:16

the hallway, which runs north

7:18

and south between the garage

7:20

and then the master bedroom,

7:23

which was on the south

7:25

side of the house. And

7:28

I noticed lying in the

7:30

hallway in a supine or

7:32

face-up position was a white

7:35

female victim who was bleeding.

7:37

Her head was closest to

7:39

the entryway to the master

7:42

bedroom. And she was lying

7:44

on the child floor between

7:47

what would later be identified

7:49

as a music room and

7:51

then the bathroom, and then

7:54

as I walked out toward

7:56

the garage on the north

7:59

side of that hallway, there

8:01

was an African-American male who

8:03

was lying on his right

8:06

side against a refrigerator in

8:08

that garage area. One officer

8:11

looked at the other and

8:13

confirmed that Sharon was beyond

8:15

help. Any attempt at resuscitation

8:18

had been unsuccessful. The dead

8:20

man in the garage was

8:23

Michael Miller. Someone Sharon and

8:25

her husband had met a

8:27

few months prior. They had

8:30

befriended him and hired him

8:32

to do handyman work around

8:34

their home. Sound familiar? Seems

8:37

like we repeat the same

8:39

story over and over again.

8:42

It's called Human Behavior, and

8:44

it happens all around you.

8:46

By midnight the house was

8:49

secured, and Sharon's husband 53-year-old.

8:51

Thomas Randolph was taken to

8:54

the police station to give

8:56

an official witness statement. in

8:58

case you couldn't understand the

9:01

detective asked Thomas who knew

9:03

he and his wife would

9:06

be away that evening and

9:08

Thomas listed quite a few

9:10

people one of them was

9:13

Mike Miller Mike was a

9:15

guy in his late 30s

9:17

trying to get his life

9:20

together in December of the

9:22

previous year he'd moved from

9:25

Rockville Maryland to Las Vegas

9:27

to stay with his aunt

9:29

uncle. and cousin. He had

9:32

no job, no car, and

9:34

no money. He did a

9:37

few odd jobs here and

9:39

there, like helping his cousin

9:41

detail cars or janitorial work

9:44

for his aunt and uncle's

9:46

business. But a few weeks

9:49

after moving to Vegas, Mike

9:51

met Thomas Randolph. Tom not

9:53

only gave him handyman work

9:56

around his own house, he

9:58

saw Mike as a friend.

10:01

Took him under his wing

10:03

and vowed to help him

10:05

find more work. Mike even

10:08

ended up doing some projects

10:10

at Sharon's daughter's house. Just

10:12

before his death, Mike got

10:15

a girlfriend. But he still

10:17

had no steady job, no

10:20

car, and of course, no

10:22

money. Here's Mike's on. Yeah,

10:24

he told me that he

10:27

had met a young lady,

10:29

and they were going to

10:32

move away together, and he

10:34

was getting some money. He

10:36

was coming into some money.

10:39

Thomas' witness interview went into

10:41

the wee hours of the

10:44

morning. Police wanted to learn

10:46

everything they possibly could about

10:48

Mike Miller. The next day,

10:51

police conducted a walk-through of

10:53

the crime scene with Thomas.

10:55

My name is Tom Randolph.

10:58

My date of birth is

11:00

2.255 Social Security number. And

11:03

that's my understanding. We're doing

11:05

a walk-through of the house,

11:07

kind of a reenactment of

11:10

what happened last Thursday. And

11:12

it's your desire to come

11:15

out here and do this

11:17

for us, right? So that

11:19

we can get an understanding

11:22

of what was going on?

11:24

It's my desire, not my

11:27

desire, but I'm cooperating with

11:29

you. Okay. And you came

11:31

out here on your own

11:34

free will? Correct. Okay. Thomas

11:36

then gets into his car

11:39

and reenacts the night from

11:41

the moment he and Sharon

11:43

pulled into the driveway. About

11:46

there, we start opening the

11:48

door up. I

11:51

will stop because there's not enough

11:53

room for both cars to get

11:56

in there. You can't get both

11:58

cars in and get both people

12:00

out. I stopped the car, Sharon

12:02

gets out, she had the staking

12:05

lobster from charcoal grill

12:07

or something. Thomas and Sharon

12:09

had spent the night out

12:11

on the town for an

12:13

early Mother's Day celebration.

12:16

One of Sharon's favorite

12:18

date night activities was

12:21

going to the movie theater,

12:23

so the couple went to

12:25

dinner and a movie. Before

12:27

returning home. around

12:29

half past eight.

12:32

So she gets

12:34

out, closes the

12:36

door, she goes

12:38

on in, starts

12:40

walking in, I

12:42

give her a

12:45

little bit of

12:47

head start, get

12:49

to the door, I

12:52

start pulling in,

12:54

as I start

12:56

getting out. And

12:59

so what are you doing

13:01

now? This is it. Just

13:03

coming on in the house.

13:05

Now this door was close.

13:07

I opened it up. I

13:09

get right here and Sharon's

13:12

laying in the floor, face

13:14

down. Her head's just

13:16

barely, I mean, barely

13:18

in the bedroom with

13:20

that. And I stopped right

13:23

about here. I had the door.

13:25

Said Sharon. Sharon.

13:27

And I seen the bag from

13:30

charcoal steak or whatever

13:32

and it's really a bright

13:34

red and this hall light

13:36

This hall light wasn't

13:38

on at the time So it's

13:41

just about like this and

13:43

I turned to light on

13:45

myself as we got in

13:47

and about about right here when

13:49

I was like this I was

13:51

trying to kind of get a

13:54

view I thought I just

13:56

seemed like a shadow

13:58

or something. over this

14:00

way. And I remembered that there's a,

14:02

the nine mill a murder right up

14:05

here because earlier I'd take it on

14:07

my guns, put him in a suitcase,

14:09

was gonna take him to Utah and

14:11

switch the guns around. I reached right

14:14

up here, got the gun, and as

14:16

I got the gun, there's also an

14:18

extra clip. There's a few up there,

14:21

but I got the gun in the

14:23

clip. And I'd already started to run,

14:25

and then I just reached up just

14:27

like that. Just right up, I mean,

14:30

we actually touched right about here. Thomas

14:32

is describing to police how Michael accosted

14:34

him in the same hallway where Sharon's

14:36

body was lying. And he's short, he's

14:39

short. And when he, I don't know

14:41

if he gave me an elbow, but

14:43

as we came around like that, I

14:45

was kind of coming out, I was

14:48

actually going to try to be slow,

14:50

you know, and look out, but it

14:52

just happened too quickly, we came up

14:55

and he kind of banged into me.

14:57

about right here. And then he went

14:59

over to about right here and somewhere

15:01

along here I bit my mouth or

15:04

something trying to say something like what

15:06

the fuck or something. And he looked

15:08

kind of like I don't know if

15:10

he was looking here to see if

15:13

there was somebody else or what and

15:15

there was a he had on a

15:17

sweatshirt and I don't remember if I

15:20

seen the handle in the sweatshirt, if

15:22

I seen the handle down his pants.

15:24

But he was doing something, going for

15:26

something, down in here. And as we

15:29

got up in here, and he kind

15:31

of rushed up on me a little

15:33

bit, and that's when I just pushed

15:35

him, boom, boom, boom! And he started

15:38

going out toward the shed. I don't

15:40

know how many times I shot him,

15:42

but I just kept right on going.

15:44

Boom, boom, boom. And he just lay

15:47

in there. Just lay in there. And

15:49

I look back, because then I'm trying

15:51

to make sure everything's cool. Kind

15:54

of stepping back like that and

15:57

about that time I heard the

15:59

really really loud noise And what

16:01

had happened is I guess he

16:03

had hit the refrigerator and the...

16:05

Help me hear the... Fire extinguisher.

16:07

The fire extinguisher fell down. I

16:10

didn't know what it was, but

16:12

it made a loud clunk and

16:14

I was kind of like I

16:16

said, I was kind of looking

16:18

back because I don't hear well

16:20

and I can't tell depth perception

16:22

anything. And when I heard the

16:25

noise, I was kind of like

16:27

I said backing up and... Kind

16:29

of trying to make sure there's

16:31

nothing else going on and when

16:33

I heard that noise it really

16:35

did scare me and I Except

16:38

the door except the door to

16:40

it come down. It stayed just

16:42

like it was open I had

16:44

And I mean I actually got

16:46

close boom boom And I don't

16:48

know if I shot him once

16:51

I shot him twice and then

16:53

started coming back down this way

16:55

He wasn't moving he some noise

16:57

come back down this way Going

17:01

to be real, just, you

17:04

know, Sharon, Sharon, Sharon, Sharon.

17:06

She's not, but she was

17:08

laying here and by then

17:11

I could tell she was

17:13

hurt really, really bad. I

17:16

mean, the blood was just,

17:18

then you could see thick

17:21

blood and it came back

17:23

over and it keeps falling

17:26

off of me. I come

17:28

back through here and... Just

17:32

kind of you know, just didn't

17:35

know what to do and just

17:37

kind of looking around And I

17:39

dial 911 and the phone didn't

17:41

work I remember saying fuck what

17:43

a time for a Vonage to

17:45

go out I stuck the phone

17:47

in my pocket And I thought

17:50

about shells sharing cell phone and

17:52

I looked around because sometimes she

17:54

sits it on the purse. I

17:56

mean on the table, so I

17:58

don't know how long she'd been

18:00

because I was for a minute

18:02

letting the door come down and

18:04

listening to this song looked on

18:07

the table came back out come

18:09

through here it tried actually about

18:11

right here I take it back

18:13

about right here I tried 911

18:15

again and it was busy when

18:17

I called 911 it was busy

18:19

so I said good it's not

18:22

Vonage and I got back over

18:24

here where I could kind of

18:26

see everything I called 911 again

18:28

and that's when whoever said 911

18:30

and said 911 and said breathing

18:32

too hard, slow down, whatever. And

18:34

what's the emergency? And I don't

18:37

remember for sure what I told

18:39

him. Something about my wife been

18:41

shot. This guy's tried to rip

18:43

me off. I shot him. I

18:45

think she said, did you shoot

18:47

your wife? I don't remember what

18:49

all of us said. You guys

18:51

will have to get the tape

18:54

of that. I don't remember. But

18:56

just said that she had been

18:58

shot really bad. We needed paramedics

19:00

out here. Detectives took the information

19:02

they had gathered at the crime

19:04

scene from the victim's bodies and

19:06

Thomas' interview and walk through. And

19:09

they got to work putting together

19:11

the pieces of this puzzle. May

19:43

8th 2008 was the evening

19:45

of Thomas Randolph's final date

19:47

with his wife Sharon. They

19:49

had only been married for

19:52

two years and their relationship

19:54

was a whirlwind. Sharon was

19:56

born in New York and

19:59

moved to Las Vegas. her

20:01

late 20s. By the time

20:03

Thomas met her, she had

20:05

a lot of baggage. She'd

20:08

been married twice before. Her

20:10

first marriage ended in divorce

20:12

and her second husband passed

20:15

away from cancer after more

20:17

than 20 years together. Soon

20:19

after her second husband's death,

20:21

Sharon's family became increasingly concerned

20:24

about her behavior and spending

20:26

habits. This is Sharon's son-in-in-law.

20:28

She likes to gamble. She

20:30

likes to buy things she's

20:33

shopped quite often. It's been

20:35

a lot of time gambling

20:37

as well. She spent on

20:40

many things, but gambling is

20:42

part of it. What better

20:44

place for an avid gambler

20:46

to live than just 25

20:49

minutes from the Las Vegas

20:51

strip? On top of all

20:53

of this, Sharon began dating

20:56

again very quickly, after her

20:58

husband's death, which bothered her

21:00

daughter and... further damaged their

21:02

already fragile relationship. Within mere

21:05

months of her husband's death,

21:07

Sharon had met someone online,

21:09

someone she wanted to get

21:12

serious with. His name was

21:14

Thomas Randolph. He was a

21:16

few years younger than Sharon,

21:18

but that didn't matter. Thomas,

21:21

as she called him, was

21:23

cool. like someone's grandmother. But

21:25

he looked like a rock

21:28

star to Sharon, for some

21:30

reason. Bitch is blind, I

21:32

don't know. Though he was

21:34

into his mid-fifties, Thomas still

21:37

had a full head of

21:39

hair, and he made use

21:41

of it, that's for sure.

21:44

Throughout the decades, Thomas had

21:46

experimented with various hairstyles, ranging

21:48

from a mullet to pigtails.

21:50

He liked classic rock, so

21:53

I guess that's the inspiration,

21:55

but... Man that was a

21:57

long time ago, you know

22:00

As soon as Sharon connected

22:03

with Thomas online, their relationship

22:05

moved quickly. At the time,

22:08

Sharon worked on and off

22:10

as a hairdresser and forged

22:13

a few very close friendships

22:15

throughout her career. Here's her

22:18

friend, Deidro. There is a

22:20

senior living community named Las

22:23

Ventanas. As soon as it

22:25

was built, and I would

22:27

say that would be around

22:30

the year 2000. and it's

22:32

on West Charleston and Town

22:35

Center. Sharon was hired at

22:37

Las Ventanas to work in

22:40

the beauty shop as the

22:42

hairdresser. I was hired at

22:45

Las Ventanas to work as

22:47

the manicurist and that is

22:50

how I met Sharon. These

22:52

few women were the people

22:55

she shared everything with. She

22:57

may have had an unstable

23:00

relationship with her daughter. But

23:02

Sharon spoke to her salon

23:05

friends multiple times a day,

23:07

every day. One woman in

23:10

particular, Alice Wolf, knew all

23:12

the ins and outs of

23:15

Sharon's life. In fact, she

23:17

was one of the first

23:19

to meet Thomas Randolph. She

23:22

only said that she had

23:24

met him, Mr. Randolph, and

23:27

that they had gone to

23:29

a concert. She called me

23:32

and said, uh, Can you

23:34

come to the shop? And

23:37

I said, I never went

23:39

there on Sunday, but she

23:42

would go there now and

23:44

again just to do a

23:47

client that, you know, and

23:49

I guess she was going

23:52

to give him a permanent.

23:54

Okay. She had said that

23:57

she had met this man,

23:59

this guy, and that she

24:02

wanted me to meet him.

24:04

I said, oh, I can

24:07

run by. I was in

24:09

the shop sitting at my

24:11

station. and waiting for her

24:14

to come and they walked

24:16

in. And she sat him

24:19

down and then she had

24:21

already told me a few

24:24

things about him, like, you

24:26

know, who he was and

24:29

all that. And then she

24:31

went in the back to

24:34

prepare the rods or whatever

24:36

she was going to use

24:39

for his hair. And so

24:41

I got up and I

24:44

stood behind him. He's sitting

24:46

in the chair and I'm

24:49

standing behind him and I

24:51

said, looking in the mirror

24:54

and I said, looking in

24:56

the mirror and I said,

24:59

well, so Tommy, tell me,

25:01

tell me, um... Just to

25:04

get to know him, right?

25:06

I said, I understand you

25:08

like the cowboys. The football

25:11

team. And he just kept

25:13

looking down. He did not

25:16

ever look at me. Didn't

25:18

look at me, didn't look

25:21

in the mirror, nothing. I

25:23

asked him. I asked him.

25:26

He didn't actually answer. He

25:28

seemed a bit antisocial, but

25:31

Alice didn't think much of

25:33

it. What Sharon's friends didn't

25:36

know was that Tommy Randolph

25:38

was hiding a lot more

25:41

baggage than they could have

25:43

ever imagined. By the time

25:46

he started dating, Sharon, Thomas

25:48

Randolph had married five times

25:51

before. Not two, not three,

25:53

not four, five, five. There

25:56

were five Mrs. Randolph's before

25:58

her. This is Thomas's first

26:00

wife, Catherine Thomas. He had

26:03

a lot of extracurricular activities.

26:05

Namely, other women. There's no

26:08

marriage. I wouldn't really call

26:10

in a marriage first day.

26:13

There was a lot of,

26:15

um, and somebody. And she

26:18

gave birth to his only

26:20

two. children. Pretty quickly she

26:23

found out that Thomas was

26:25

not a good husband. So

26:28

she left him and remarried,

26:30

moving from the state of

26:33

Utah to Washington, to get

26:35

away from him. The very

26:38

day Thomas and Catherine's divorce

26:40

was finalized, Thomas set his

26:43

vows and tied the knot

26:45

with a new woman. Becky

26:48

Galt. She married Tom the

26:50

day that we, our divorce

26:52

was final. That she expressed...

26:55

feeling fear when things escalated

26:57

with Tom. And I counseled

27:00

her to leave anyway she

27:02

could and I would help

27:05

her if she wanted me

27:07

to. With so many failed

27:10

marriages under his belt and

27:12

something being a little off

27:15

in his personality, you know,

27:17

Sharon's friends and family were

27:20

concerned. She had that new

27:22

relationship glow. She was giddy.

27:25

They had dated for a

27:27

while. Thomas Randolph had come

27:30

on weekends to visit. Okay.

27:32

And then Sharon told me

27:35

that he was going to

27:37

move in. I told her

27:40

that I had bad feelings.

27:42

I could not explain them.

27:45

I could not explain them.

27:47

But I had very bad

27:49

feelings and that she should

27:52

not be involved. I advise

27:54

Sharon that I thought it

27:57

was a very bad idea

27:59

to have Thomas Randolph move

28:02

to Las Vegas. Sharon, of

28:04

course, didn't want her friend's

28:07

advice. And Thomas made the

28:09

move from his home in

28:12

Utah to Las Vegas. It

28:14

wasn't long before things went

28:17

visibly downhill. It was after

28:19

come. Thomas Randolph had moved

28:22

in, he would continually call.

28:24

He called multiple times during

28:27

the day to speak to

28:29

Sharon. A minimum of 15

28:32

times a day. I would

28:34

answer the phone. I started

28:37

to see Sharon become unhappy.

28:39

She wasn't giddy any longer.

28:41

She was unhappy. She was

28:44

trying to work and he

28:46

kept calling and he would

28:49

be frustrated and she just

28:51

wasn't happy. The constant calling

28:54

became so burdensome to Sharon

28:56

while she was at work

28:59

that she eventually had to

29:01

quit her salon job. worked

29:04

at Las Ventanas for a

29:06

considerable amount of time. She

29:09

had had eye surgery also,

29:11

and she said that her

29:14

eye was bothering her, but

29:16

she was under the constant

29:19

pressure of Thomas Randolph calling

29:21

her multiple times a day.

29:24

Thomas harassed Sharon. Once he

29:26

moved in, the goalpost shifted.

29:29

And he began to push

29:31

the idea of marriage, even

29:33

laying down an ultimatum. He

29:36

told her that if she

29:38

did not marry him, he

29:41

would leave her. Well, I

29:43

told her that she should

29:46

go to Mexico with Mr.

29:48

Randolph and have a mock

29:51

wedding, that it would not

29:53

be legal within the United

29:56

States. That is the advice

29:58

I gave her. Did Sharon

30:01

take this advice? Of course

30:03

not. She and Thomas flew

30:06

to Cancun in 2006 to

30:08

have a wedding ceremony, but

30:11

they also made it legal

30:13

in the States. Pretty quickly,

30:16

things got even worse. If

30:18

it seems to you like

30:21

Thomas had a little bit

30:23

of an addiction to women,

30:26

well, you'd be right. Things

30:28

got tense, she was upset

30:30

a lot, she would come

30:33

to our house, upset crying

30:35

about... being left, you know,

30:38

that Tom would take off

30:40

and supposedly go stay with

30:43

his girlfriend, do whatever he

30:45

would leave. He would be

30:48

upset, including, including over Christmas,

30:50

around the holidays. It was

30:53

a very strange thing that

30:55

he took off. She was

30:58

upset. They were at odds.

31:00

He supposedly went and hung

31:03

out with his girlfriend. Her

31:05

name was, uh, now you're

31:08

going to ask me that,

31:10

Lizzy. Yeah. He would mention

31:13

it in passing many times

31:15

in conversations around even at

31:18

Sharon's house. And I always

31:20

thought it was very odd

31:22

to talk about a girlfriend

31:25

at your wife's house. Okay.

31:27

And it came up many

31:30

times. I used to hear

31:32

her name a lot. It

31:35

seems that Thomas' romantic relationships

31:37

were strung together with quite

31:40

a bit of overlap. He

31:42

made no effort to keep

31:45

his girlfriend Lizzy a secret

31:47

from Sharon or her family.

31:50

In fact, he was sort

31:52

of flippant. about his repeated

31:55

and ongoing infidelity. Yeah, there

31:57

was a point where... He

32:00

actually was he was talking about

32:02

Sharon about it one day and

32:05

he said Man, I loved her,

32:07

but nobody tells me who I

32:09

can be with and it was

32:12

Was a lot more? Colorful gross

32:14

and colorful than that Okay, but

32:16

it was it was very manic

32:19

the way it was said with

32:21

a good deal of anger Apparently

32:24

Lizzy was a girlfriend Thomas had

32:26

lived with in Utah They had

32:28

an on-again off again off again

32:31

relationship. And during one of their

32:33

breaks, Thomas met Sharon online, began

32:35

dating her, and eventually married her.

32:38

Through all of this, he continued

32:40

having regular phone calls and visits

32:42

with Lizzy. He called her 30

32:45

to 40 times a week, sent

32:47

greeting cards one after another, and

32:49

drove out to her house at

32:52

least once a month, including all

32:54

the important holidays. Every time he

32:56

arrived at Lizzy's, He told her

32:59

he was in the process of

33:01

leaving Sharon. I'm very tired of

33:03

it and told him that's not

33:06

going to work anymore for me.

33:08

He needs to make a decision.

33:10

I think the run Valentine day

33:13

was it? In 2008? Yes. Okay,

33:15

so a couple of months before

33:17

Sharon passes away. Yes. When you

33:20

gave him that ultimatum of, look,

33:22

you really just need to decide.

33:24

What was his response to you?

33:29

He said he was going to

33:31

go out and Jill was sharing

33:33

so he could be together. This

33:36

guy's life was a certified shit

33:38

show. Wouldn't it be interesting to

33:41

get every single wife's take on

33:43

what it was like being married

33:45

to Thomas Randolph? Yeah, I know,

33:48

right? Shit, we should do that.

33:50

Oh wait, we already tried, but

33:53

there's only one problem, you know?

33:55

Four out of the six wives

33:57

are dead. It's kind of hard

34:00

to interview. in a cemetery. Not

34:02

sure our mics are good enough.

34:04

Thomas's first wife Catherine even offered

34:07

to help his second wife Becky

34:09

escape her marriage to Thomas. Catherine

34:12

was genuinely scared for her and

34:14

then Becky died. It was in

34:16

1986 that Becky Galt ended up

34:19

with a bullet in her head.

34:21

But I think that picture gives

34:24

me strength to express what I

34:26

need to express for me and

34:28

for her. It was in 1986

34:31

that Becky Galt ended up with

34:33

a bullet in her head. A

34:36

presumed suicide. Supposedly Becky had a

34:38

cocaine addiction and she'd attempted suicide

34:40

before. At least, that's what Thomas'

34:43

defense attorneys argued when he was

34:45

prosecuted for her murder. That's right.

34:47

Thomas went through a full-blown murder

34:50

trial two years after Becky's death

34:52

was ruled a suicide. That's why

34:55

it's important to look up anybody

34:57

you're potentially thinking about dating. On,

34:59

insert add here. I don't know,

35:02

why haven't we gotten one of

35:04

those background check companies as a

35:07

sponsor yet? Seems like a no-brainer.

35:09

Although Thomas was a killer, he

35:11

was also a bit of a

35:14

pussy. He had a hitman. And

35:16

13 days after Becky's death, Thomas'

35:19

prospective hitman came forward and told

35:21

police Thomas had offered him $10,000

35:23

to kill Becky and make it

35:26

look like an accident. And he

35:28

felt pressured by Thomas to carry

35:30

it out. Thomas collected $250,000 in

35:33

life and payouts, by the way.

35:35

Once this guy came forward, Thomas

35:38

found himself sitting in a jail

35:40

cell. During his time incarcerated and

35:42

awaiting trial, he was caught trying

35:45

to put a hit out on

35:47

a guy who ratted on him

35:50

to the police so that he

35:52

couldn't testify. Well, the guy did

35:54

end up testifying, but the jury

35:57

wasn't allowed to hear information about

35:59

the attempted hit on the hitman.

36:02

Despite this... The prosecutors laid out

36:04

a solid case. At one point,

36:06

they played a song for the

36:09

jury. It was Rod Stewart's foolish

36:11

behavior. A witness took the stand

36:13

and testified that Thomas had been

36:16

playing air guitar and singing along

36:18

to the song while he plotted

36:21

his wife's demise. In case you're

36:23

unfamiliar with the lyrics, here's an

36:25

excerpt. I am a man of

36:28

Pinash and Wealth. Sound in mind,

36:30

body, soul, and health. Why I

36:33

want to kill my wife? I

36:35

have this urge to take her

36:37

life. Been planning for years to

36:40

get rid of her. No divorce.

36:42

I really do mean to kill

36:45

her. She's so full of useless

36:47

information and trivia. Should I string

36:49

her up or strangle her in

36:52

bed? Sufficate that little venomous head.

36:54

Or perhaps I'll just whip her

36:56

to death. Do it for mankind.

36:59

Take her life. Or should I

37:01

act quite cold and deliberate? Or

37:04

maybe blow out her brains with

37:06

a bullet. They'll think suicide. They

37:08

won't know who done it. I'm

37:11

going to kill my wife. I'm

37:13

really going to take her life.

37:16

Yeah, that's Rod Stewart's tune. I

37:18

hear he's a really nice guy.

37:20

Even with all the evidence stacked

37:23

against him, Thomas was ultimately acquitted.

37:25

The jury had to choose between

37:28

the death penalty and... a not

37:30

guilty verdict. Based on the evidence.

37:32

presented to them, they decided they

37:35

could not convict him beyond a

37:37

reasonable doubt. So, Thomas then went

37:39

on to marry wife number three.

37:42

Gayna Allman. She recalled when Thomas

37:44

was cleaning his gun one night,

37:47

it accidentally went off. She thinks

37:49

he was actually trying to kill

37:51

her. You were at one time

37:54

married to somebody by the name

37:56

of Thomas Randolph, is that correct?

37:59

Correct. After you're married, just tell

38:01

us about the marriage and any

38:03

unusual events that occurred. I came

38:06

home from work one day and

38:08

I smelled an unbelievable smell in

38:11

the bathroom. couldn't figure out what

38:13

it was and I found out

38:15

that it was guns cleaning solvent.

38:18

Was he in the bathroom with

38:20

the gun cleaning? He was acting

38:22

strange and was falling over the

38:25

place and fell into the bathtub

38:27

and the smell was just unbelievable.

38:30

And then shortly thereafter was when

38:32

he was cleaning a gun and

38:34

it had gone off. All right,

38:37

so. Can you tell me about

38:39

that? How'd that happen? He was

38:42

a dining room table and was

38:44

cleaning the gun and I wasn't

38:46

very far away from him at

38:49

all and it went off and

38:51

it was just you know it

38:54

was a foot away for me

38:56

and it was a hole in

38:58

the floor. He said that he

39:01

didn't realize it was loaded and

39:03

it went off. What did you

39:05

do? Well I mean of course

39:08

I started yelling and I was

39:10

scared and then I got on

39:13

the phone and I was talking

39:15

and then I think I don't

39:17

remember what actually left actually left.

39:20

I just don't really recall, I

39:22

know as I was extremely scared

39:25

and it wasn't too long after

39:27

that, that he went to work

39:29

and I packed up my stuff

39:32

and I was gone. Do you

39:34

have any other contact with Tom

39:37

Randolph after you packed up everything?

39:39

He caught me on 31 one

39:41

day and tried to get me

39:44

to pull over and kept following

39:46

me. And I wasn't going to

39:48

pull over. And I know the

39:51

road's a lot further than him

39:53

and I ended up losing him.

39:56

All right. Any other incidents that

39:58

he was following? you was calling

40:00

you calling you? No, because I

40:03

went, I mean, I went into

40:05

hiding basically and I went and

40:08

stayed at Prince House. So after

40:10

you packed up everything, you just,

40:12

you were hiding from him? I

40:15

mean, I was scared. I was

40:17

literally scared. With what I was

40:20

told at the, with the Edinburgh

40:22

Police Department, what they told me

40:24

and everything that had gone together,

40:27

I was just scared and I

40:29

wanted to make sure everything was

40:31

done and the divorce was finalized.

40:34

One of them was a woman

40:36

named Francis Randolph. She passed away

40:39

suddenly after a successful heart operation.

40:41

It was much later that a

40:43

witness came forward claiming that Thomas

40:46

had recruited him to kill Francis

40:48

and injure Thomas to make it

40:51

appear like a robbery. The guy

40:53

said he declined because he had

40:55

a feeling Thomas was going to

40:58

kill him after he carried out

41:00

the hit. When that plan didn't

41:02

work, Thomas made sure he was

41:05

the last one to see Francis

41:07

after her heart surgery. He told

41:10

Francis's daughter that he wanted to

41:12

be alone with his wife and

41:14

when he came out of the

41:17

hospital room he announced that her

41:19

mother was dead. The other wife

41:22

was named Leona Stapleton. We don't

41:24

know much about her other than

41:26

Thomas telling people she had passed

41:29

away from cancer. What are the

41:31

odds that that wasn't the case?

41:34

This brings us to Thomas's sixth

41:36

and hopefully his last wife, but

41:38

who knows because you ladies like

41:41

to date dangerous, you know? I

41:43

would say it was probably... Well,

41:45

it was after she had married

41:48

Thomas Randolph. I noticed her body

41:50

language. She was moving very slowly

41:53

and... Soar, he was sore. Hey,

41:55

did you see any bruises on

41:57

her body? Yes, I did. She

42:00

said it was a boating accident.

42:02

Okay, who was on the boat?

42:05

Her and Tommy Randolph. She said

42:07

that Tommy was driving the boat very

42:09

fast across Lake Meade, and he made

42:11

a sudden sharp U-turn, and she was

42:14

standing in the boat, and she was

42:16

standing in the boat, and she fell

42:18

in the boat, and she fell. And

42:20

she fell in the boat, and she

42:23

fell in the boat, and she fell.

42:25

And she fell in the boat, and

42:27

she fell. And she fell I

42:30

was alarmed. I said,

42:32

Sharon, I think he's

42:35

trying to kill you.

42:37

I said, whatever you

42:40

do, do not accept

42:42

any beverages or food

42:45

from him. She looked

42:47

at me. And she

42:49

seemed a little surprised.

42:51

She said, do you

42:54

really think he's trying

42:56

to kill me? I

42:58

said, yes. When

43:31

53-year-old Thomas Randolph and

43:33

his wife 57-year-old Sharon

43:36

arrived back at their Las Vegas

43:38

home after a date night on May

43:40

8th 2008 The couple's friends

43:42

and handyman Mike Miller was

43:44

already in the house waiting

43:46

for them When Thomas entered

43:49

the house several minutes after

43:51

his wife had gone inside He

43:53

found her lying face down in a

43:55

pool of blood Mike had shot Sharon

43:58

in the head so Thomas shot Mike.

44:00

Makes sense? That's what

44:02

I thought. After police

44:04

did a detailed walkthrough

44:06

of the crime scene

44:08

with Thomas Randolph, they

44:10

took time to pour

44:12

over the information and

44:15

realize that many of

44:17

the details Thomas gave

44:19

them didn't quite add

44:21

up. During the walkthrough,

44:23

Thomas stated that he

44:25

had to turn the

44:27

light on in the

44:29

house when he came

44:31

inside. Does that mean

44:33

that Sharon entered the

44:35

house in the house

44:38

in the dark? See

44:40

how that doesn't make

44:42

sense already? Thomas also

44:44

told police that he

44:46

shot and killed Mike

44:48

Miller and the same

44:50

hallway Sharon was in.

44:52

But there was no

44:54

blood evidence supporting that

44:56

story. And Mike was

44:59

found in the garage.

45:01

To top it all

45:03

off, Thomas did not

45:05

attempt to resuscitate his

45:07

wife during the 911

45:09

call. We didn't play

45:11

the whole call for

45:13

you earlier, but the

45:15

last half features dispatchers

45:17

essentially begging. Thomas to

45:19

get back to the

45:22

phone and resume CPR.

45:27

You

45:31

gotta

45:35

count

45:39

as

45:43

you're

45:48

doing

45:52

it.

45:59

I didn't It's almost as

46:01

though he hoped his wife

46:04

would die. Like many of

46:06

the other wives, Sharon's death

46:08

killed two birds with one

46:10

stone for Thomas. On the

46:12

one hand, he had a

46:15

hefty life insurance payout. On

46:17

the other, he was freed

46:19

up for his girlfriend Lizzy.

46:21

This wasn't Thomas' first rodeo,

46:23

though. He learned after his

46:26

wife Becky's suspicious death that

46:28

he had to make it

46:30

a lot less suspicious if

46:32

he wanted to avoid the

46:34

courtroom. In the months leading

46:37

up to Sharon's murder, Thomas

46:39

and Michael Miller exchanged more

46:41

than 300 phone calls. Thomas

46:43

was trying to forge a

46:45

relationship with Michael, who was

46:48

down on his luck. The

46:50

two would have private conversations

46:52

lasting hours on end, ultimately

46:54

giving Michael the impression that

46:56

he was coming into some

46:59

money. Remember him telling his

47:01

aunt that he had met

47:03

a girl was going to

47:05

happen into some money and

47:07

plan to move away? Thomas

47:10

had found himself another hitman.

47:12

But this time, he wouldn't

47:14

let him live long enough

47:16

to snitch on him. In

47:18

Thomas's mind, this would be

47:21

the perfect crime. A week

47:23

before Sharon's murder, she called

47:25

her friend Deidra. She was...shaken.

47:28

She sounded scared and she

47:30

sounded afraid. She told me

47:33

she needed to get a

47:35

divorce. I happened to be

47:38

the vice president on the

47:40

board of the mediators of

47:43

Southern Nevada. I said, okay,

47:45

Sharon. I said, I'll help

47:48

you get a divorce. I

47:50

had told Sharon, I says,

47:53

well, it wouldn't be difficult

47:55

to get divorced because you

47:58

never... married Tommy. And then

48:00

she says, well, and she

48:03

said, yes, I did. Deidra

48:05

talked to me into getting

48:08

married. She had told me

48:10

she had no money, that

48:13

her money was gone, that

48:15

they had gone through all

48:18

of her money. And I

48:20

said, OK. I said, that

48:23

won't be a problem. I

48:25

said, I do know attorneys.

48:28

I know paralegals, or I

48:30

will be glad to go

48:32

down to the self-help center

48:35

with you at legal aid,

48:37

and we will draw up

48:40

divorce papers. I said, what

48:42

else are you involved with

48:45

as far as Tommy is

48:47

concerned? And she said, he

48:50

does have a life insurance

48:52

policy on me. I told

48:55

Sharon. I said Sharon. This

48:58

is a red flag to

49:00

me. I said, now I'm

49:03

worried for you. I asked

49:05

her to come and stay

49:07

with me. I told her

49:10

that I was worried for

49:12

her and that I wanted

49:14

her to come and stay

49:17

with me because I wanted

49:19

her to be safe. She

49:21

said, I know Deidra, and

49:24

she sounded worried, but she

49:26

said... I want to be

49:28

in my home. I said,

49:31

I can't force you to

49:33

come and stay with me.

49:35

I said, however, I would

49:38

like you to. I said,

49:40

but please, whatever you do,

49:42

do not accept any beverages,

49:45

food, or turn your back

49:47

on Tommy. I don't trust

49:49

him. I'm worried for you.

49:52

Sharon had no idea that

49:54

it wouldn't even be Tommy.

49:56

Their new friend Michael Miller

49:58

was now doing Tommy's bidding

50:01

and Sharon was none the

50:03

wiser. The night of the

50:05

murders, Thomas pulled into the

50:07

driveway and allowed Sharon to

50:10

go ahead of him with

50:12

enough time to encounter Michael

50:14

Miller. Though Thomas claimed he

50:16

couldn't hear the shot due

50:19

to hearing loss, he likely

50:21

waited for the sound before

50:23

going inside to kill Michael.

50:25

After giving statements to police,

50:28

Thomas sat back, waited for

50:30

his life insurance pay out

50:32

and... Hoped Sharon's daughter wouldn't

50:34

give him too much trouble.

50:37

Friday morning a friend of

50:39

mine named Tony called me

50:41

and said she was watching

50:43

the news and there was

50:46

a shooting on Rancho Santa

50:48

Fe and she knew that

50:50

was my mother's street. I

50:52

tried to call my mom

50:55

again. I've been trying to

50:57

call her all morning. Did

50:59

you return? No. I think

51:01

I called Randolph next. Said,

51:04

what did you do to

51:06

my mother? He said, Michael

51:08

shot and killed your mother.

51:10

And then he just hung

51:13

up on me. A few

51:15

days after this conversation, Sharon's

51:17

closest friend Alice, the one

51:19

who offered to take her

51:22

in, while she got a

51:24

divorce, stopped by Sharon's daughter's

51:26

house and dropped off an

51:28

envelope. This envelope contained a

51:31

secret that threw a wrench

51:33

into Thomas' plans. Inside that

51:35

envelope was Sharon's most recent

51:37

updated will. In the meantime,

51:40

Thomas was completely unaware of

51:42

this second will and made

51:44

phone calls to Sharon's family

51:46

to save face. I would

51:49

say this was within a

51:51

month to 40 days of

51:53

her demise. He seemed upset

51:55

at her. for her spending

51:58

even after she was gone.

52:00

Just she spent... a ton

52:02

of money and now you

52:04

know I got to get

52:07

money and I've got to

52:09

find you know ways to

52:11

make money. He seemed preoccupied

52:13

with money. After Sharon is

52:16

killed do you start to

52:18

receive phone calls from the

52:20

defendant? Yes. What does he

52:22

start talking to you about?

52:25

He was mentioning that he

52:27

was going to Coming

52:29

in some money from the

52:31

estate he was going to

52:33

spend money on us. He

52:35

was going to Invest in

52:37

a studio with me. He

52:39

would he kept kind of

52:42

pushing that I mean, which

52:44

is something I had never

52:46

asked about How did you

52:48

find that whole conversation? Extremely

52:50

odd At the time had

52:52

the will been settled yet?

52:54

I don't know what you

52:56

mean by settled well. There

52:58

was more than one right

53:00

These two wills were kind

53:02

of floating out in existence.

53:04

Is that right? Do conversations

53:06

like that happen before the

53:08

defendant becomes aware there's a

53:10

second will? No. Once he

53:12

found there was a second

53:14

will, that never happened again.

53:16

Those conversations never happened again?

53:18

At first, Thomas hoped to

53:20

charm Sharon's family with promises

53:22

of money from her estate.

53:24

He thought he had control

53:26

of everything, but... That wasn't

53:28

the case. Sharon's second will

53:30

was written up at the

53:32

help of her friend Alice.

53:34

Alice said in a confessional,

53:37

she writes it out. I'm

53:39

watching her do it. And

53:41

we go to the notary

53:43

and have it notarized. And

53:45

she gives it to me

53:47

and she says, if anything

53:49

happens to me, Alice, please

53:51

give this to my daughter

53:53

Colleen. She had left the

53:55

house to Colleen. Once he

53:57

became aware of this, other

53:59

will, other will. Thomas began

54:01

leaving numerous. nasty voicemails for

54:03

Colleen and her husband, saying

54:05

things like, no wonder your

54:07

mother didn't like you. Thomas'

54:09

true colors emerged when his

54:11

control over the situation started

54:13

to disintegrate. Soon police were

54:15

taking a much closer look

54:17

at Thomas. In addition to

54:19

all the inconsistencies in his

54:21

story and the conflicting evidence

54:23

set the crime scene, they

54:25

looked into Thomas' past and

54:27

discovered... that he'd been married

54:30

a total of six times.

54:32

Then they saw that only

54:34

two of those wives were

54:36

still alive. That is some

54:38

stellar police work right there.

54:40

Imagine if they had done

54:42

that previously. In January of

54:44

2009, police tracked Thomas down

54:46

at his parents' house in

54:48

Clearfield, Utah. Clearfield police... as

54:50

well as members of the

54:52

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

54:54

knocked on the front door.

54:56

And Thomas answered. When they

54:58

showed him the warrant and

55:00

tried to make an arrest,

55:02

Thomas resisted and had to

55:04

be tasered. Are you surprised?

55:06

I'm not. When they finally

55:08

got him into custody, he

55:10

was officially charged with conspiracy

55:12

to commit murder and two

55:14

counts of murder in the

55:16

first degree. for the deaths

55:18

of Sharon Randolph and Michael

55:20

Miller. He pleaded not guilty

55:22

and took it to trial.

55:25

The jury on the case

55:27

spent very little time deliberating

55:29

before reaching a verdict in

55:31

June of 2017. Prime is

55:33

four person, would you give

55:35

the verdict to the marshal

55:37

please? We the jury in

55:39

the above entitled case find

55:41

the defendant Thomas William Randolph

55:43

guilty of first degree murder.

55:45

You get in, everyone says

55:47

guilty. And we probably could

55:49

have gotten it down within

55:51

10 minutes, but we were

55:53

so afraid of making the

55:55

wrong decision. We wanted to

55:57

be so careful because it

55:59

is some of these lives

56:01

on the line. Was it

56:03

even a close call for

56:05

any of you? No. We

56:07

all felt the same, but

56:09

we still have to go

56:11

through the evidence and everything

56:13

else to make sure we're

56:15

doing the right thing. Yeah,

56:17

the defense didn't really have

56:20

a lot to work with.

56:22

They did. I mean, they

56:24

did the best they could

56:26

with what they had, but

56:28

they just didn't have a

56:30

lot. The state had everything

56:32

on their side. During your

56:34

friendship with Mr. Randolph, did

56:36

the defendant... ask you questions

56:38

that you thought ought or

56:40

made you feel uncomfortable? Yes.

56:42

He told me that he

56:44

wanted me to kill his

56:46

wife. Didn't Becky's death play

56:48

a role in this case

56:50

or no? Not for me.

56:52

Not for me. Not for

56:54

me. Because if they had

56:56

to mention the Utah case

56:58

at all, we still would

57:00

have felt the same. Yes.

57:02

The evidence of this case

57:04

alone. Was a shocking guilt.

57:06

Absolutely. What did you make

57:08

in fact when you heard

57:10

he was acquitted the first?

57:12

I wasn't going to judge

57:15

12 other people. I don't

57:17

know what they heard, what

57:19

they didn't hear. They're finding

57:21

him not guilty. They found

57:23

him not guilty. I accept

57:25

that. They could have saved

57:27

some lies. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Three

57:29

lies, two lies were been

57:31

saved. Sure. Had they known?

57:33

I'm going to, I have

57:35

to guess they didn't know

57:37

what they needed to know.

57:39

in the room and have

57:41

to deliberate, okay, are we

57:43

really going to put him

57:45

to death? Is it really

57:47

worthy of that? It's so

57:49

daunting. Tell me about the

57:51

different testimony from different people.

57:53

His side, his mom, his

57:55

daughter, his son, does that

57:57

have any of that? Not

57:59

a lot. The mother would

58:01

be the only one from

58:03

his side that gave me

58:05

any sort of emotional connection.

58:07

This is when... I should

58:10

be as a mother today

58:12

to support my son. Just

58:14

at the end of the

58:16

day, it's just like... were

58:18

taken for greed and it's

58:20

sad and I feel for

58:22

calling a whole bunch too

58:24

and all the other families.

58:26

I feel like we all

58:28

absolutely made the right decision.

58:30

I think we're all very

58:32

confident in it and it

58:34

is a really good belief.

58:36

The verdict was a relief

58:38

for everyone except Thomas and

58:40

his defense team. Though the

58:42

first jury decided they didn't

58:44

think he murdered his second

58:46

wife Becky Galt. The second

58:48

jury finally got it right.

58:50

Next came sentencing for the

58:52

man now known across the

58:54

country as the black widower.

58:56

This was a death penalty

58:58

case like his first trial

59:00

and the stakes were high.

59:02

But you will learn that

59:05

it isn't just about May

59:07

8th of 2008. In those

59:09

doors this afternoon and tomorrow

59:11

morning. will walk several people

59:13

to talk to you about

59:15

35 or more years of

59:17

pain in English that have

59:19

all been caused by the

59:21

defendant. You will learn that

59:23

it isn't simply just about

59:25

sharing rental and it isn't

59:27

just about affecting rent. What

59:29

you will learn is that

59:31

the defendant has been married

59:33

six times. You will also

59:35

hear that. out of six

59:37

of those wives, he either

59:39

attempted to kill, hired someone

59:41

to kill, or killed five

59:43

of those women. The jury

59:45

unanimously voted on a sentence

59:47

of death. Thomas destroyed so

59:49

many kind-hearted women, ruining or

59:51

taking their lives entirely, but

59:53

his era of evil is

59:55

over. There will

59:58

be no more girlfriends

1:00:00

fiancee. or wives. At

1:00:02

least, that's what everyone

1:00:04

thought at the time.

1:00:31

Fast forward to December of

1:00:33

2020. In a bizarre turn

1:00:35

of events, the Nevada Supreme

1:00:37

Court reversed Thomas's conviction on

1:00:39

the basis that any mention

1:00:42

to this jury of his

1:00:44

first trial and acquittal, or

1:00:46

any other prior bad acts,

1:00:48

were violations of his right

1:00:50

to a fair trial. I

1:00:52

love it when they use

1:00:54

your own rules against you,

1:00:56

don't you? Of course. The

1:00:58

Clark County DA's office immediately

1:01:01

sought to retry him. Thomas

1:01:03

Randolph's third trial, at taxpayer's

1:01:05

expense I might add, took

1:01:07

place in the summer of

1:01:09

2023. This time prosecutors weren't

1:01:11

allowed to talk about either

1:01:13

one of the trials or

1:01:15

really provide any negative character

1:01:17

or witnesses. Weird, right? The

1:01:20

jury wasn't allowed to hear

1:01:22

about... his five other wives,

1:01:24

or that three of them

1:01:26

were dead. The raw evidence

1:01:28

against Thomas was stacked against

1:01:30

him, though. Prosecutors built a

1:01:32

strong case that Thomas had

1:01:34

befriended Michael Miller just months

1:01:36

before Sharon's murder and had

1:01:39

hired him to kill her,

1:01:41

so that he could collect

1:01:43

the life insurance money and

1:01:45

be with his ex-lizzy, again.

1:01:47

On August 24, 2023, a

1:01:49

verdict. was reached. Is that

1:01:51

you, Mr. Dyer? Mr. Dyer

1:01:53

has the jury reached a

1:01:56

verdict? Yes, ma'am. If you

1:01:58

can please pass the verdict

1:02:00

form to the March. The

1:02:02

clerk will now read the

1:02:04

verdict. District Court, Clark County,

1:02:06

Nevada, State of Nevada versus

1:02:08

Thomas William Randolph defendant. Case

1:02:10

number 009C, 250, 966, Department

1:02:12

10, verdict. We the jury

1:02:15

in the above entitled case,

1:02:17

find the defendant Thomas William

1:02:19

Randolph as follows. Count one,

1:02:21

conspiracy to commit murder. Guilty,

1:02:23

a conspiracy to commit murder.

1:02:25

Count two, murder with use

1:02:27

of a deadly weapon. Guilty,

1:02:29

a first degree murder, with

1:02:31

use of a deadly weapon.

1:02:34

Count three, murder with use

1:02:36

of a deadly weapon. Count

1:02:38

three, murder with use of

1:02:40

a deadly weapon, Michael Miller.

1:02:42

Guilty, a first degree murder

1:02:44

with use of a deadly

1:02:46

weapon, dated this 24th day

1:02:48

of August 2023, cited David

1:02:50

Dyer. Ladies and gentlemen of

1:02:53

the jury. Are these. Thomas

1:02:55

Randolph stared ahead with a

1:02:57

blank expression, as his final

1:03:00

verdict was read. Sentencing was

1:03:02

to take place just a

1:03:04

few months later, but Thomas

1:03:06

now very elderly was still

1:03:08

pulling out all the stops

1:03:10

to weasel himself out of

1:03:13

prison. A judge delayed the

1:03:15

sentence for the convicted murderer

1:03:17

known as the black widower.

1:03:19

Thomas Randolph and his lawyer

1:03:21

submitted a motion to dismiss

1:03:23

at the end of the

1:03:25

day yesterday on the eve

1:03:28

of his sentencing. Some 700

1:03:30

pages of exhibits, many of

1:03:32

them handwritten were turned in.

1:03:34

The judge says the charges

1:03:36

against Randolph are so serious,

1:03:38

she's giving prosecutors a month

1:03:41

to reply. Randolph spoke in

1:03:43

court for the first time

1:03:45

since his conviction, offering to

1:03:47

explain his reasoning for the

1:03:49

motion. It would take 90

1:03:51

minutes to put it on

1:03:54

the record and you don't

1:03:56

have to read it off.

1:03:58

He should hang it at

1:04:00

the hands, but I'm still

1:04:02

willing to do that at

1:04:04

90 minutes. these are just

1:04:07

tactics to say those which

1:04:09

are going to say ahead

1:04:11

of time because they have

1:04:13

to have an opportunity. That's

1:04:15

what I'm saying. I couldn't

1:04:17

say it. These are just

1:04:20

tactics to delay sentencing. This

1:04:22

seemingly never-ending case finally came

1:04:24

though. In April of 2024,

1:04:26

despite a 15-minute monologue in

1:04:28

a proclamation of his innocence,

1:04:30

the judge sentenced old Tommy

1:04:33

to 60 years to life.

1:04:35

in prison. Some may say

1:04:37

he got let off easy

1:04:39

compared to his prior death

1:04:41

sentence, but he'll live out

1:04:43

his few remaining years trying

1:04:45

to appeal this conviction also.

1:04:48

He won't live in peace.

1:04:50

He won't live in comfort.

1:04:52

But he'll be alive, unlike

1:04:54

all those poor women that

1:04:56

had the misfortune to meet

1:04:58

him. There's a lot of

1:05:01

collective evidence that Thomas Randolph

1:05:03

is not a good guy.

1:05:05

Even when Sharon first met

1:05:07

him, everyone told her the

1:05:09

same thing. This is not

1:05:11

a good idea. What are

1:05:14

you doing, girl? Get out

1:05:16

of this shit. When Michael

1:05:18

Miller met Thomas and befriended

1:05:20

him, Michael's family members told

1:05:22

him he'd be better off

1:05:24

staying away from Thomas. Sometimes

1:05:27

we should probably stop and...

1:05:29

Listen to the advice of

1:05:31

others, especially our loved ones,

1:05:33

especially when every single one

1:05:35

of them is saying the

1:05:37

same thing. So

1:06:05

at

1:06:07

the

1:06:09

end

1:06:11

of

1:06:14

22

1:06:16

early

1:06:18

23

1:06:20

we

1:06:25

So at the end of

1:06:27

22, early 23, we started

1:06:29

on a venture, a brand new

1:06:31

project that would take up

1:06:33

all of our time and

1:06:35

energy. It's called sword and scale There's

1:06:38

10 episodes available of it

1:06:40

right now. It's the visual

1:06:42

component visual podcast. All new

1:06:44

stories, you can see

1:06:46

it at You.com. and scale.com