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Mountain State Mysteries contains adult content that may not be suitable for all audiences.

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Listener discretion is advised.

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I'm your host Mark and this is Mountain State Mysteries.

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The case I have for you today is about a husband and his wife that went to Babcock State Park

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to enjoy a romantic getaway. That is until intruders broke into the cabin and killed his wife. Or

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is that really what happened? This is the case of Cheryl Flippo, better known as the murder

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at Cabin 13. April 30th 1996 seemed like it was going to be an easy shift for Sergeant Charles Bryant

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of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. He said there wasn't a lot of traffic out so at 2

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20 a.m. he decided to grab some dinner. As soon as he walked into the restaurant he got the radio

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call. A man called 911 to tell them about how several people had broken into his cabin at

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Babcock State Park. He said they attacked him and his wife. So he left the restaurant and headed

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to Babcock State Park. When he arrived he pulled up to the park's headquarters and he saw a man

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there in nothing but his underwear. Detective Bryant noticed that his legs were scratched.

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When Bryant approached him he said that he was hysterical. He told him to calm down that he

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was a police officer and that he was there to help him not hurt him. He asked him if he knew who

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he was and he told Detective Bryant that he was Michael Flippo. After that he told Bryant that

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his wife Cheryl was still at the cabin. So he asked Michael which cabin he was at and he said

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cabin 13. So Bryant told him to come with him and he placed him in the police cruiser. While in the

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police cruiser Bryant asked Michael what happened. He told him that several people broke into the

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cabin and attacked him and his wife. So the distance between Park Headquarters and cabin 13

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is about seven tenths of a mile down a very small one lane road. When you leave the headquarters

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parking lot you turn right and go over a bridge then you turn right again and go past the grist meal

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then you just stay straight until you're at the end of the road. There's a small area to park on

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the left then you walk across the road down some steps to even get to the cabin. Cabin 13 is very

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secluded but not like you think. There's other cabins around but they aren't as close as they are

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to other ones. In 2024 it still looks the same as it did in 1996 which to me is kind of creepy

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but if you stay there you're honestly there to disconnect from the world. There's little to no

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cell service and you're miles away from any restaurants or anything else. When officer Bryant

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and Michael arrived to the cabin there was a Camaro sitting on the left side of the road across

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from the cabin. Officer Bryant said that it looked like there was a white t-shirt or something hanging

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off the side view mirror. Detective Bryant asked Michael if that was the car they arrived in. Michael

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said no I don't know who owns that car so Detective Bryant asked Michael if he remembered how he got

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to Babcock State Park. Michael told him all the details but he said he drove a green Cadillac.

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From the park headquarters to the cabin there was no green Cadillac anywhere. Detective Bryant

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told Michael to stay in the cruiser while he went to check the cabin. He made his way down the steps

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and opened the door to the cabin. He saw a rocking chair turned over him ice cream that was left out.

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When he looked at the bed he saw a large bloodstained then he looked down to the floor

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and he saw the feet of Cheryl Flippo. She was laying between the bed and the wall. Detective

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Bryant walked out of the cabin and went back to his cruiser and radioed for other assistants

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and an ambulance. In the show Cabin in the Woods on investigation discovery officer Bryant said

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that he was trying to keep Michael as calm as he could while he was trying to get medical attention

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for him. Once the ambulance got there an attendant took care of Michael. Detective Bryant and another

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attendant went to check on Cheryl. They knew she was dead when they were checking on her. Cheryl's

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sister Anita said quote you never think anything like that would happen. She was a beautiful person

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and she brought joy to many people and to us end quote. Cheryl grew up in Gary West Virginia

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which is a small coal mining town. She grew up with six brothers and sisters. Her family went to

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church almost every Sunday. Terry one of Cheryl's brothers said that as far back as he can remember

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Cheryl was always very devoutly religious. When Cheryl met Michael he was in college to become

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a minister. Cheryl was very interested in him because she felt like the Lord worked in wonderful

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way. When the two got married Cheryl was 19. After Cheryl and Michael got married the two moved to

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Nitro West Virginia. Michael was a pastor of the Church of God in Nitro. They say he was a typical

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church of God minister. He spoke in tongues and he did his altar calls. Cheryl took her role as a

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pastor's wife seriously. She was always doing things for the church for the people of the church.

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She was part of the women's group. She was a youth leader and a Sunday school teacher. Cheryl

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loved doing all of those things. The two would always be busy either going to church, going to

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hospitals, and going to people's houses. Michael said that they were just riding around one day

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and decided spur of the moment that they would like to stay the night at Babcock State Park

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so they could have a romantic evening. The police had to tell him that his wife was dead.

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It's said that he was very sad and grieving but police still had to ask him questions while they

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move forward with the investigation. Police said that Michael was confused and incoherent at times.

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Michael said that the two was having a pleasant evening eating ice cream and other snacks. They

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decided to call it a night and go to bed. He said that the intruder broke into the cabin while him

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and Cheryl were sleeping and started to attack them both. Michael told police that the intruder

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just hit him in the middle of the night. While he was knocked down on the floor, the intruder got

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on his legs to hold him down, facing him, and took a knife and started to cut his legs. Michael

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ended up being unconscious for a little bit. When he came back, he crawled to check on Cheryl.

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He said that he put his head down on his wife's chest and he could hear her heartbeat. He told

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Detective Bryant that he couldn't find a cell phone so he ran out the door and ran to the

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pay phone at the park's headquarters. Detective Bryant said that it was obvious what happened

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to her. What wasn't obvious was who did it. On the morning of April 30th, the entire park was

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searched. Babcock State Park is huge. It's mostly woods to be honest. It wouldn't be easy to get out

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of there without being seen. So police started to look to see if they could find any possible clue

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of this intruder. An officer was placed at the beginning of the road. So if anyone left the

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area, they'd know about it. Officers went to every camp, which until a few months ago, I had no idea

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there were so many there. They went to every cabin, talked to every single person who was in the park,

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asking them if they heard anything. They told them to stay in their cabin until someone said it was

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okay to come out. Anyone who was near cabin 13, which would be very few, said they didn't hear

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or see anything. Officers was trying to collect evidence as quickly as it could. They had the

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license plate ran on the Camaro parked across the road from cabin 13. They also had the registration

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checked. After this, they started to process the crime scene. There was a table with Cheryl's purse

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on it, along with a briefcase. There was a bloody fingerprint that was discovered in the bathroom

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on a roll of duct tape. There appeared to be a real struggle in the cabin. Blood was splattered on

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the wall. Items in the cabin were turned over. The bedding was actually pulled down to the foot

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of the bed. While the scene was being processed, officers found a piece of wood that they believed

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to be the murder weapon. Cheryl's brother, Ricky, said that he drove to his mother's house on the

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morning of April 30th because his kids were staying there. He said he opened the door and heard Pamela

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screaming. Cheryl's son called and told them Cheryl was dead, that she was murdered. Michael

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was being treated at a local hospital. There was a small wound on his forehead and he got

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struck in the back of the head and he had some cuts on his leg. Everything was very minor,

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so it was released from the hospital. He was taken to the sheriff's department, where a more

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in-depth interview took place. When Michael was questioned about who could have done this to him

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and his wife, he appeared to be scared. He said that someone had been sending him threats. He said

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someone was stalking him, that the stalker was in and out of their lives. In 1988, eight years

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before Cheryl's murder, Michael made several reports about his alleged stalker. Cheryl actually

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called her family and said that they thought someone was following Michael and that they threatened him.

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His alleged stalker was even entering their house and leaving notes taped to different things around

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the house. Like the typical generic stalker, the notes were made from cutting letters from magazines

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and gluing them on paper. The notes were brief saying things like, I'm watching you or you're

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next, but they indicated that someone was going to try to hurt them. The idea of the stalker being

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able to come into their house and leave a note, the idea of the stalker being able just to come

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in their house and leave a note and just disappear, was actually terrifying to Cheryl. Cheryl told a

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friend that she believed someone was going to try to kill her. Police ended up finding out about an

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incident that happened at the church in Nitro. Michael was in the church and right after he left,

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the church caught on fire. Everyone thought that the stalker was in there and whoever it was

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started the fire. The Nitro police took the alleged stalker very seriously. They were at the home and

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church on multiple occasions. In March of 1996, one month before Cheryl was murdered, Michael began

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to tell his church family, Cheryl and the Nitro police that his stalker came back. He reported it

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to the police that one of the many things that would indicate that the stalker was there was a

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note that said, quote, April showers bring May flowers to your grave, end quote. Most of everyone

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in the church had a plan to protect Michael and Cheryl. Men would come in and stay with Michael

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and Cheryl to make sure nothing happened to him. Michael said that the stalker left a voicemail

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that said, quote, I tried to kill you eight years ago and failed, but I won't this time, end quote.

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On April 30th, police had been at the cabin all day. Sheriff Burke said that the crime scene

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took a long time to process. Police wanted to preserve and collect as much evidence as they

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could. Back to the briefcase that was on the table. You probably remember me talking about this last

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year when I covered the case briefly in a state haunts episode. When police opened it, there was

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some papers in it that had Michael's name and address on it. There was an envelope that had

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photos in it. There was a man in the photos who appeared to be undressing. The man was standing

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by a car taking his pants off. At the time, police had no idea who this man was. So police went to

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Nitro, West Virginia to talk to members of the church. The members were actually leery to talk

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to the police, which to me seems really odd. You would think that they would want to talk to

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and try to get the person who killed a member of their church put behind bars. Police actually

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rented a hotel room in Nitro to interview the ones who would talk to them, but they would only come

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super early in the morning, like when it's still dark outside, so they just wouldn't be seen.

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During the interviews, they determined that the person in the photos was a man named Joel. Joel

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was a very close friend of Michael's. At the time, he was 25 years old. It's said that Michael was

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trying to counsel him and provide spiritual guidance. The two started to hang out all the time

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to the point where Michael was trying to work out a land deal with Joel and they were going to start

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some type of business, which Cheryl was very anxious about. She had her own opinion on it,

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and people think that she never really trusted Joel. One couple from the church told police that

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the relationship between Michael and Joel had developed. They said strange things were happening

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in church. Joel started to sit in the seat that was reserved for Cheryl, which made Cheryl very

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uncomfortable. Michael was gone a lot and she was nervous about why he was gone. During the

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investigation, police learned that Michael and Joel had went to a ski resort together. They were

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there for a weekend and spent the night together in the same room. Everyone thinks that this made

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Cheryl nervous and that her gut was telling her something wasn't right. Cheryl told a friend

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that the alleged stalker situation got so bad that Joel started to stay in their house.

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While investigating, police actually found Michael's diary on a computer at church. In an

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entry from April 21st of 1995, he said, quote, I do not understand those feelings. I did not allow

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them to control me or use me. I asked him to go with me to DC because of the feelings I had. I

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think it's because I see so much of me at 19 in him. God forgive me for those feelings, but God

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is great and his spirit overpowered those feelings to give me the victory. In another entry, he said,

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quote, I love my new friend Joel. In quote, he also says, quote, I'm not gay or anything like that.

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I have sometimes wanted a man to just sit down and hold me. In quote, in another entry, he said,

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quote, I am so thankful that God gave me a friend like Joel. In quote, all of the entries made

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everyone think that Michael was living a double life. Police wanted to get as much information as

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they could about their marriage. Inside Cheryl's Bible, which was actually at the cabin, there was

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a letter written to Michael. In the letter, you could tell that Cheryl was expressing frustration.

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In one part of it, she said that she was so tired of going to bed punished. She also said,

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I do love you, but I hate having this competition that you created. It's clear from her letter

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that she wanted to be put before Joel. After police found this, the results from the registration

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check came back. The car parked across from the cabin belonged to no one other than Joel.

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Police called Joel to the sheriff's department so that they could speak with him. Joel denied that

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he was ever involved with Cheryl's murder. He said that it was his car, but he wasn't there.

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He said that Michael was threatened by a stalker and wanted to just get away. So he volunteered

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to let them drive his Camaro. Joel did tell police that on April 27th, just a few days before the

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murder, him and Michael actually visited Babcock State Park. The two just drove around. Joel was

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actually the one who told Michael about cabin 13. Joel grew up going to Babcock State Park.

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He always wanted to be baptized in the park, so they found a spot where they could pull over

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and do the baptism. Joel said that the pictures found in the briefcase recorded the time after

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the baptism, changing from wet to dry clothes and that Michael took the pictures to capture a happy

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moment. He said that him and Michael were just friends and when he was asked about the marriage,

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he said he thought that Cheryl and Michael had a good marriage. When Michael was questioned again,

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he said that he did borrow Joel's car to be in somewhat of a disguise so that the stalker

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couldn't find them. Anytime he was asked who he thought the murderer could have been, he would

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just say that he thought it was his stalker. Police went back and looked over the crime scene

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photos to see if there was anything that they could have missed with the naked eye. At first,

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it looked like the attack happened in the bed, but when police looked at the pool of blood on the

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floor, they could see that something was dragged through the blood. Turns out it was a pillow

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from the bed that was placed in the blood, then on the bed to let it soak through the sheets and it

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made it look like the attack started in the bed. It made it look like Cheryl died in the bed and

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not on the floor. When they looked at the overturned rocking chair, it gave the impression of a struggle.

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However, there was folded clothing under it. Then it was noticed how the footprints were very evident

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at the cabin. It rained that night, so you would have gotten mud on your feet. You could see Detective

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Bryant's footprints in the footprints of the medic that was going in the cabin. So police started

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to wonder where the intruder's footprints could be. Police came to the conclusion that Michael

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couldn't describe the stalker because there wasn't one. They believed that they were dealing with a

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staged crime scene and that Michael was no longer a victim, but the main suspect. When Detective Burke

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looked further into the church fire, he learned that the fire chief suspected it was Arson from

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the beginning. Police found out that Michael took out a life insurance policy on Cheryl,

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making himself the sole beneficiary. If Cheryl would die, he would end up getting $100,000.

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On March 1st, the life insurance policy was taken out and it was put into effect on April 1st.

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Police got a search warrant to have Michael's body examined. The medical examiner checked the

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wounds and the way the cuts were made on his leg. They were self-inflicted. The blood that was found

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on the duct tape also came back matching Michael's blood type. By that point, police believe they had

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the reason Michael killed Cheryl. On April 27th, when Joe and Michael visited Babcock,

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Michael actually reserved Cabin 13. He chose Cabin 13 because it was so secluded. I mean,

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he did murder his own wife and no one heard or saw anything. What police think occurred is that

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Michael and Cheryl had laid down in what was her mind to go to sleep and Michael started to strike her

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with a piece of firewood. After he murdered his wife, he made the scene look like the stalker came

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in and had attacked them. He fled the scene and made his cover story that removed him from the

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crime scene. The day before Cheryl's funeral, police went to Nitro and arrested Michael.

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On October 23rd, 1997, Michael Flippo was charged with first-degree murder of his wife,

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Cheryl Flippo. He was sentenced to life in prison. Cheryl Lynn Jewel Flippo is buried at the Taylor

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Mountain Memorial Gardens in Cross Lane, West Virginia. We will be back next week with a new

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episode. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, all at Mountain State Mysteries.

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For the show notes, check out our blog, MountainStateMysteriesPodcast.com.