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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.

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And I'm Courtney.

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And this is Mountain State Mysteries.

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Today, we want to tell you the story of a Huntington matriarch who was murdered in her

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sprawling mansion along Huntington's elite millionaire's row.

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This is the story of Juliet Buffington Insula.

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She was born on March 9, 1873 in Huntington, West Virginia.

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She was the daughter of Peter Clemm Buffington, who had the distinction of being the first

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mayor of Huntington, and Louisa I. Garland Buffington.

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She was the granddaughter of William Buffington, who was Cabell County's first surveyor.

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Her great grandfather, William Buffington, was one of the earliest settlers of the region,

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so her roots grew deep in the area.

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Her first husband was Charles Baldwin.

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Their child was Charles Baldwin Jr., who was born January 7, 1895 in Athens, Georgia.

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After the death of Juliet's first husband, she married Frank Enslow, a lawyer who was

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known as one of the most influential men in West Virginia.

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He kept busy in Huntington's business and civic affairs and served as president of

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the Huntington National Bank.

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Frank also owned extensive properties in Huntington and was involved in the development of oil

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and gas throughout West Virginia.

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In 1890, he built one of the area's most elegant homes, boasting 27 rooms, marble fireplaces,

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and Tiffany chandeliers.

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Located at 1307 Third Avenue, it was the scene of many lavish parties and of meeting places

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of Huntington's society.

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They lived in their home together with their daughter Dorothy, who was born on October 22,

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1902.

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Frank's sons, Frank Enslow Jr., and Juliet's son, Charles.

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Frank passed away on February 7, 1917 in Charleston, West Virginia.

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As time went on, Juliet stayed in her and Frank's home with two servants and her son,

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Charles.

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That was last seen alive at 10.30 p.m. on October 16, 1936.

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That night, her son Charles had three visitors who were playing bridge in the parlor.

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Also in the home was the housekeeper and companion of Juliet Elizabeth Bricker, who went by Lizzie,

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so we will call her Lizzie from here on out, as well as staff of servants.

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You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries.

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The morning of October 17, 1936 started as a typical morning at the home of Juliet Buffington

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Enslow.

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Her staff started to arrive to her mansion around 8.30 a.m.

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Juliet's chauffeur, Judge Johnson, was sweeping the sidewalk around the house when he noticed

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Juliet's wallet lying in the driveway.

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He brought it inside to the housekeeper, Lizzie Bricker.

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She rushed into Juliet's room where she found Juliet on the floor, beaten and bloody with

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a towel wrapped around her neck.

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They found five stab marks in her head, believed to have been made with an ice pick, as well

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as defensive wounds on her hands.

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They noticed that blood covered the sheets and pillows on Juliet's bed.

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They both noticed that the ring's Juliet wore to bed had been torn from her fingers.

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Her wristwatch was missing, an address or drawer was open as if valuables had been snatched

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from it.

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The servants rushed to awaken Charles, who was asleep in his suite, located in another

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section of the house.

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Charles, dressed in his pajamas, rushed into his mother's room and took her side.

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Investigators were called to the scene and they suspected that Juliet had been awakened

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and struggled with her salient.

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Although the towel indicated that strangulation was the leading cause of her death, they also

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noticed the abrasions on her face and forehead that they also said would have been made with

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an ice pick.

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It appeared that Juliet had risen from bed after her attacker fled and pulled a signal

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cord connected to the kitchen before subcoming to her injuries and falling to the floor.

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The cook, Nellie Bias, told police that Juliet customarily pulled the signal cord in the

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morning to signal for her breakfast.

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Bias noticed that the cord had been pulled when she arrived for work that morning so

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she immediately began to prepare breakfast.

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After the authorities arrived, they located the two rings in the yard near where Johnson

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had found the wallet.

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Authorities began to wonder why if it rained all night how the wallet was found outside

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dry, leading to speculation that it had been planted.

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There were no fingerprints found in the room and no sign of forced entry, leading police

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to believe that it was an inside job.

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They theorized that the burglar had entered through the guest window and after the serval

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had exited the home through the window of the dressing room.

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Juliet's funeral was held in her beautiful mansion and she was laid to rest in Spring

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Hill Cemetery.

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You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries.

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Just four days after the murder, the citizens of Huntington were shocked when they read

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the newspaper headline, 41-year-old Charles Baldwin had been charged with the murder of

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his mother.

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His trial was scheduled for March 25, 1937.

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The witness list read like a social register for the Ohio River town.

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As the trial started, Charles appeared to be soft-spoken as he maintained his innocence

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and his plea of not guilty.

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The former Army Captain impressed the public when he entered the courtroom supported by

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a cane due to the loss of his leg in an accident several years before.

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The prosecutors called Dr. Walter E. Vest to the stand.

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Dr. Vest testified that he had registered Baldwin as a drug addict in 1935.

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Under the conditions of the registration, Baldwin was allowed 5 grams of the drug each

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day.

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To protect the addict, the drug was overseen by Ms. Enslobe who gave him his prescription

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amount who gave him his prescribed amount on a strictly regulated time schedule.

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The prosecution maintained that Baldwin had killed his mother to get more of the drug.

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As evidence, they submitted a can opener from Baldwin's room which they believe to have

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been the murder weapon.

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They maintained that Baldwin had taken the can opener to his mother's room where he

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had planned to use it to break the lock protecting the drugs.

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They also submitted Baldwin's pajamas which were stained with what was believed to be

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his own mother's blood.

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The prosecution maintained that Baldwin was desperate because his mother was trying to

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break him of his drug habit by limiting his supply.

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The state hoped to show that the blood on his pajamas was the result of the struggle

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with his mother during the murder.

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The state maintained that it had found two bloody handkerchiefs and a bloody key to the

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bathroom of Juliet's in the basement hidden by Baldwin.

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The handicapped army captain proved to be an impressive witness.

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As a former attorney, he was comfortable and convincing on the stand.

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Baldwin stated that the blood stain on his pajamas was his mother's but he got it when

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he embraced his mother after finding her body.

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He also maintained that drug theory was simply ridiculous.

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Baldwin also stated that he obtained more than 400 grams of the narcotic during a recent

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trip to Canada and that he had far more in his possession than the five grams his mother

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guarded.

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The defense maintained that the murder had been committed by a robber who was surprised

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by Ms. Enslow.

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They produced witnesses who claimed to have seen a prowler around the sprawling Enslow

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mansion that night.

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The witnesses also testified that they heard screams and later saw a car leaving the house.

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A list of character witnesses from some of Huntington's most prominent families took

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the stand in defense of Baldwin.

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Among them was his half sister by a later marriage who testified that there was nothing

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but love, affection, and understanding between him and his mother.

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You're listening to Mountain State Mysteries.

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The trial lasted nine days before the jury was released to deliberate.

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After two hours, the jury returned with a verdict of not guilty for Charles Baldwin.

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With his characteristic charm and grace, Baldwin immediately stepped forward to shake hands

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with the members of the jury.

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Following the verdict, Huntington police returned to search for the murderer of Juliette Buffington

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Enslow but to no avail.

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Huntington police returned to search and on February 27, 1940, one of Juliette's diamond

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rings was found in a catch basin behind the Enslow mansion.

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It is described as a large diamond solitaire set in platinum with a black onyx mounting.

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Huntington's were skeptical that such a large ring could sit there for almost four years

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and survive the 1937 flood.

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However, the case was not reopened.

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So you might ask yourself, who killed Juliette Buffington Enslow?

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Was it her son?

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At the time of the murder, he was not practicing law and was living with his mother.

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Could he have been short on money?

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Could he have been mad with her having control over his drugs?

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Could Lizzie have been an accomplice?

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Was she more than just a housekeeper to Charles?

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Maybe Charles guest murdered her?

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Unfortunately, these are the questions that we have that will never be answered.

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Another sad fate to go with the story is the Enslow mansion.

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It ended up being sold and was a steel funeral home for many years until it tragically burned

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to the ground in a fire.

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We believe that someone knew the truth, someone with access to the stolen rings.

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Sadly, we will never know.

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If you have any information on the case of Juliette Buffington Enslow, email us at

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mountainstatemysteries304 at gmail.com.

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Courtney, do you have any final thoughts on this case?

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Well, you kind of wonder, like, in the bridge game, like, was all Charles, like, hopped up

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on something, you know?

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I mean, he said he had, like, 400 grams of whatever narcotic he'd done, so maybe he

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was really just messed up on whatever he took, and maybe he murdered his mother and

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didn't even realize it.

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I mean, I don't know.

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I mean, there's just so many different things.

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Could, you know, could one of the guests have done it, or, you know, surely to goodness,

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I mean, while this was going on, somebody would have heard her, you know?

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I mean, you would have heard noises coming from the bedroom as she was being murdered

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and her being strangled, you know, strangulated.

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Is that right?

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Strangled.

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You would have heard noises while she was being strangled.

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I mean.

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I won't get a shirt made for you that says strangulated.

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It's a new word.

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Webster, if you're listening to this, strangulated, new word.

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But, I mean, it does make you wonder, like, if there was people still there or anything,

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you know, there's no time of this murder when that happened that was mentioned.

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So, it just makes you wonder if it was of the early evening, later at the night, early

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morning, things of that nature.

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Just makes you wonder, could it have been a guest, could it have been a servant, could

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somebody had heard all of this going down?

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And if someone was there, why didn't they rush to her side to see what was going on?

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Just makes you wonder.

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So, Mark, do you have any final thoughts?

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She was strangulated and stabbed.

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Those were my final thoughts.

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I kind of have the same thoughts as you.

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You know, just coming across this case randomly like we did, and then just really doing a

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deep dive into it.

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I've always believed it was her son that did it.

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I've always believed that it was over the drugs and possibly money because, you know,

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the rings were missing.

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Her wallet was missing.

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Who's this Aiden?

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Try to sneak in and go get his mom's wallet to buy some more drugs on the corner or something.

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I mean, you never know.

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Do I think Lizzie had something to do with it?

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I'm not sure.

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I do think people would hear unless she was on the totally opposite side of the house.

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And people were downstairs and it was just a very quiet house at night.

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I'm not sure, but I definitely do believe Charles committed the murder.

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Next time on Mountain State Mysteries, join us as we tell you the story of a woman who

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was abducted at an Amacost service station in Beaver, West Virginia in 1977.

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If you find yourself enjoying Mountain State Mysteries, take a second to follow, download,

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share, and rate it on your favorite podcasting service.

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All at Mountain State Mysteries.

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For the show notes, check out our website, MountStateMysteriesPodcast.com.