Transcript
Today's episode is a story that begins with a man, a patriarch named ward Francis weaver junior. In 1984, he was convicted of first degree murder in California. I'm going to refer to him by his nickname Pete Throughout the rest of this episode, The couple Pete killed was just starting out 18 year old Robert. Radford had met his fiancee, 23 year old Barbara LaVoy when he was assigned to basic training in Colorado. According to court records, robert finished his training in the young couple planned on settling down in las Vegas, where robert was scheduled to begin his first tour of duty at the nellis air force base. But first robert took Barbara on a tour out west so she could meet his family. They traveled to Washington state and Barbara was introduced to robert's parents. Their road trip continued the next stop meeting roberts grandma in Fresno California On February 5, 1981, Robert and Barbara spent several hours visiting Robert's grandmother and departed her home around seven p.m. to continue on to Las Vegas. Along the way, tragedy struck cruelly and randomly, Their car broke down on Highway 58 in the desert. One man who testified later as a witness in court said he drove past them at about 11 p.m. that night, the witness's name was James Powell and he remembered seeing their car on the side of the road. Emergency lights flashing, He noticed Barbara inside the car while robert was outside James offered robert a ride back into the city a mile away, but robert said no because they were going the opposite way onward to Vegas. So James went on and kept driving. Then someone else stopped seemingly to help the couple. It was a long haul truck driver named Ward Pete weaver Junior. According to an opinion later delivered by the Supreme Court of California quote, Our knowledge of what happened next derives from the defendant's admissions to a cell mate. The defendant's tape recorded interviews with police and defendant's testimony at trial. Initially, Pete had been traveling in the opposite direction, but when he saw Barbara and robert at the side of the road, he pulled his truck back around and stopped. He offered to help, he would get them at least as far as mojave. He promised the couple said yes and climbed into the truck unknown to them. By this time, Pete had a long history of violence, delusions and disturbing behavior as a child. Pete had been physically and sexually abused by his parents. According to court records, he acted out turning to violence himself at a young age targeting his own sister. According to the records, Pete cut off his sister's finger with a hatchet when she was six, he later tied her to a tree and said he was going to hang her. He once locked her in a tool shed and set it on fire, causing a forest fire And when she was 12, he raped her. Pete joined the army and went to Vietnam. He reportedly saw people he knew die and other atrocities. According to the Bakersfield, Californian, Pete came home even more troubled. He heard voices in his head. Mental health experts said he was greatly affected by PTSD from serving in wartime and had been even more at risk for PTSD because of his childhood. Again, according to court records, Pete got a job driving trucks fueled by drugs. He sometimes went 20 hours or more without sleep on long days on the road. Five miles into the journey. After picking up robert and Barbara, Pete asked robert to help shift the load in the flatbed of his truck, he pulled over Barbara stayed inside the truck while the two men got out, According to court documents. While Robert was bent over with his back turned, Pete struck him on the back of the head with a cheater pipe. A later autopsy revealed 11 separate lacerations to Robert's head. Pete left robert lying on the side of the road. He went back to the truck and flashed a knife at Barbara. He forced her to sit with her head between her legs and her hands behind her. A technique he had learned when transporting prisoners during his military service in Vietnam, Pete then reversed direction and drove to Bakersfield near Kettleman city. He stopped and raped Barbara. He then drove towards san Francisco pulled off the highway once more and again raped her. A passerby saw robert heavily bleeding, but still alive on the side of the road. Police were notified and responded to the scene, but it was too late, Robert died on the way to the hospital, investigators had robert's wallet which contained vital clues. The first one, his Washington state driver's license connected him to the broken car several miles away. Inside robert's car was Barbara's purse and their luggage signs that robert had not been alone. Barbara's license was also found in robert's car. Now they had a name Barbara LaVoy, they issued a missing persons report and a search effort began. Today's episode involves court cases that span not only decades, but generations. This is Jillian and in partnership with law and crime. You are listening to court junkie episode 2 29. Imagine you're at the crowded supermarket and you're cruising the wine aisle. If you're anything like me, whenever I would do that, I'd feel really intimidated and I would just default to always buying the same thing. So back to you cruising the wine aisle, you want to explore and try something new, but you have no clue where to begin. Well, you need first leave as America's most personalized wine company. First leave takes the guesswork out of wine selection and it couldn't be easier. You just take their short quiz and then rate the first few wines they send you, Then firstly we'll use your responses to curate. 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R S T L E A F.com/ court to get your first six bottles for 39 95 plus free shipping. Try first leaf.com/ court. A family is frustrated with the outcome of a law enforcement investigation into their loved ones. Staff, a man who was wrongfully and publicly accused of a heinous crime. He didn't commit wants compensation for his traumatic months of being locked up. These are some of the stories covered on court junkies, new podcast civil when justice can't be acquired through the criminal court system. Many people in the US go through the civil courts, researched by Nicole gus moratti. Written by matt stroud and edited and narrated by me Gillian Jalali civil explores some of the most fascinating civil trials. Each episode covers a single case from Alex jones to O. J. Simpson two cases the listeners have likely never heard before like a principal who hypnotized his students and then three of those students died tragic deaths in a three month period or a teenager who is suspended all because of a post on Snapchat. New episodes are released by weekly subscribe on apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts ward weaver Jr also known as Pete had finished his truck driving job and dropped off his cargo in san Francisco. He then headed home to Oroville, a small city in California. According to court documents. At a secluded spot outside that town, he stopped and asked Barbara to get out of the truck. He tied her hands and feet with electrician's tape. But when he attempted to gag her, Barbara struggled and bit Pete severely on the thumb. He then strangled her. He dug a grave and buried her body there before driving into town to meet up with his wife who was working a late shift at a local restaurant sometime later, Pete returned to Barbara's grave. He dug up her body and then hid her remains in the trunk of his car and then returned home. Pete then asked his 10 year old son to dig a hole, claiming he wanted to fix a broken sewer line. That's where Pete later hid Barbara's body. Although this was only a temporary spot again, he then moved her remains a third time to a deeper hole in his backyard. He buried her under a concrete slab. Pete later said he had built the slab so his wife could stand on it and hang laundry without getting her feet wet in the gra*s. The mystery of robert's murder and Barbara's disappearance went unsolved for nearly a year and a half without any significant leads or arrests. Until one day a big break came. By that point, Pete was in prison for other crimes. A fellow inmate was an informant and later told authorities that Pete had confessed to killing robert and raping and killing Barbara investigators searched Pete's home where they took apart that concrete slab and discovered Barbara's remains. They used dental records to confirm her identity and the clothes she was still wearing from the day she disappeared. An autopsy was conducted but no cause of death could be determined. Her body was too badly decomposed. There was one clue though, electricians tape was stuck on the collar of her shirt. Investigators interviewed Pete in prison. He admitted what he had done and even drew a map of the rural area where he had buried Barbara's body the first time following the map, police found an indentation in the ground where he said he had dug the first grave. They also found some black electricians tape on the ground nearby. In 1980 for Pete stood trial and took the stand in his own defense. His testimony gave some insight into the question on everyone's mind in the courtroom, why would a truck driver kill two strangers at random. He testified that he was in bad mental health and heard voices that encouraged him to kill. He was also using mind altering drugs. According to court documents, Pete claimed he heard the voice of a female named Ladell in his head since he was 17 years old. He first heard a competing unnamed male voice when he served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. He trusted the male voice because it had warned him of danger in Vietnam and saved his life. Pete explained that he often used amphetamines to stay awake while driving his truck. Had taken amphetamines the day of the crimes and at the time he killed robert, had not slept in a week and a half. Even though he testified to hearing voices, he was found competent to stand trial by the court. Pete testified that when he saw the couple, he noticed how beautiful Barbara was, which had aroused him. He claimed the voices in his head began talking to him. The male voice started saying he should have sex with Barbara Ladell. The female voice told him to leave Barbara alone. The male voice assured him he would not get in trouble if he raped her, Pete testified that he couldn't go against the male voice in his head. I just couldn't go against him, I just couldn't help. It had to go along with what sounded like the most logical thing to do. He told the court, Pete claimed he hadn't wanted to kill robert or Barbara. He testified that he assumed he had knocked robert out and that he didn't know he was fatally wounded. He also didn't stop to check on him after he hit him, but if he had wanted to kill robert, he testified he would have used the knife he stored in his truck. Pete also claimed he hadn't intended on killing Barbara either. He testified that he wanted to release her in a deserted area but didn't, the sun was up and it was becoming daylight so he said he kept driving with her in the truck. As he drove to san Francisco, he dropped off his shipment Barbara still in his truck, sitting on the floorboard hiding as he had instructed. He then drove to Oakland and picked up another delivery, a California Highway patrol officer actually pulled him over at one point apparently for traffic violations without noticing anything suspicious by then it was dark out, Pete testified that he told Barbara he was going to let her out under a bridge and promised to return the next day to let her go in. Los Angeles. He said he tied her up with electrician tape and then gagged her with fabric diapers and that Barbara fought back. She bit him on his thumb and wouldn't let go. He testified that he hit her twice and then claimed he blacked out and then jerked the diaper around her neck. He said he stopped when he realized she was no longer biting him. She slumped over. He at first thought she was unconscious but then determined she was dead. He said, he cried and asserted that he had never intended to kill her, even when she bit him. The male voice told him to get rid of the evidence according to witness testimony, biting was triggering for Pete stemming back from his childhood. Pete's ex wife, Patricia also testified at his trial. She said she once bit Pete on his hand as they wrestled in the car and he was so furious he started choking her another time it happened again, they were wrestling on the floor and she bit his hand and then his expression changed. He looked glass side and dazed and then he grabbed her neck. Patricia explained why Pete hated being bitten. She said Pete had told her that his mother bit him for discipline when he was a boy, she said she spoke with Pete's mother and yes, she confirmed it was true. She would bite him until he bled. Pete's mother even recommended that Patricia should bite her Children as a form of punishment. At the end of his trial, Pete was convicted and sentenced to death. He was also suspected in the deaths of at least 26 Hitchhikers crimes authorities said he committed while driving his truck out west. He never faced charges for them. However, Pete had reportedly wanted to make a deal with prosecutors to offer information on those murders if the state didn't pursue the death penalty against him, but prosecutors declined his offer. Sitting in the courtroom during Pete's trial was his son who shared his name. Pete had essentially abandoned his son, Ward Weaver the third when Ward was four and Peten Ward's mom split up and Pete left for Vietnam Ward, who the Associated Press described as barely 20 at the time, had moved to Bakersfield to sit through Pete's six month long trial during the trial were likely learned much about his father's crimes and his life. Even though Pete hadn't been there. As Ward grew up, Warden, Pete shared many of the same troubled upbringings. Both had grown up in violent homes and had been abused as Children and Pete and Ward had another terrible similarity. One reporters who had noticed Ward sitting there, a trial would not fully realize until years later in Oregon city Oregon. The first middle school girl disappeared on january 9th 2002, Ashley Pond who was 12 years old, left her apartment at eight a.m. To catch the bus for school and by the end of the day, she hadn't attended her after school dance class or returned back home. Her mother was worried it wasn't like Ashley to disappear like this. Lori Pond told the Oregon city Police department, she had called Ashley's friends who confirmed they hadn't seen her at school that day. Ashley sounded like a typical teenager. Her bed wasn't made and dirty clothes were piling up. She was into lotions and lip gloss. Even in early 2002, she liked to be on the Internet. She could be online for hours at a time. She loved dance and was always wanting to show off the latest moves she learned to her family. She was excited about an upcoming family vacation to Disneyland. And in other ways Ashley was not your typical teenager. She had gone through tremendous trauma in her short life. She had been molested by her biological father and reportedly had an unstable home life with her mother. Her father was charged with molesting her and pleaded guilty. Laurie told authorities that he was now on probation with a no contact order that forbade him from seeing Ashley, Laurie's boyfriend. James said that although Ashley didn't really talk about her dad, she did express sadness over the loss of her dad when he molested her James described himself to police as a devoted stepfather figure and told investigators that Ashley had also undergone other abuse before she disappeared. Ashley accused her best friend's dad of molesting her too. The father of Ashley's best friend was none other than Ward Weaver. The third, the son of convicted murderer, Ward Pete Weaver Junior. The sexual abuse accusations against Ward actually emerged out of the court proceedings against Ashley's dad. According to police records, quote, James said that Ashley told him Ward Weaver had kissed her, got on top of her and touched her. James said Ashley never gave him all the details about the alleged incident. James said that later on the dates and Ashley's story changed, so he wasn't sure what really happened. James said that he wondered why Ashley continued to go up to Ward Weaver's house, if he had done these things to her. If something had happened to Ashley. Laurie shared her short list of possible suspects with police number one. Ashley's biological father. Number two. Ward Weaver, the third Oregon City Police Detective Greg fraid interviewed Ashley's biological father Wesley, who said he hadn't seen his daughter in a long time and didn't know where she was. He agreed to take a polygraph. Wesley also had an alibi that matched up on january 9th the day Ashley went missing. Wesley said he had gone out to breakfast with his dad and then on the way home, his truck broke down. He worked on his truck until a friend needed a ride to court and he spent the rest of the afternoon with his friend. The detective confirmed with Wesley's father that the two had gone to breakfast together that morning During the summer of 2001. Before Ashley disappeared. She was hardly ever at home. She would spend the night with her best friend Mallory Weaver at Ward's House six or 7 nights a week. Laurie had no reason not to trust Ward. Weaver, Laurie's boyfriend. James told police during a second interview, but James harbored concerns. He said he thought Ward seemed to be trying to act like he was Ashley's stepfather. He thought it was very strange that Ward told him that Ashley was equal to his daughter Mallory. According to what James told police. Ward was spending too much time with Ashley and was too touchy feely. He was already hugging Ashley a little too much and showering her with gifts like a new bike clothes and even alcohol and things only got weirder one time. James said Ward sent his girlfriend and his daughter Mallory, who was Ashley's best friend away for the weekend. And Ward still wanted Ashley to come over and spend the night at the house. Ashley later raised the alarm that she had been sexually assaulted and told James she didn't want him to tell Laurie. James said, he told Ashley that he wouldn't tell Laurie, but that she would have to instead. He said she agreed and then told Laurie what had happened. James said Laurie felt violated about this because Ward knew what Ashley had gone through with her father. On one occasion, Ward had even gone to a court appearance with Ashley. James told police that after Ashley's accusations, she and Mallory were no longer friends, and Laurie wouldn't allow Ashley to go back to the weaver house. James said Ashley didn't have any friends at school. The few friends she had had turned against her when she accused Ward of molesting her. The longer Ashley was missing, the more publicity her disappearance got. For two weeks, she was profiled on America's most wanted and regularly appeared in the local Oregon media. But the attention didn't help Ashley alive or dead didn't reappear. Two months after Ashley pond vanished, a second school girl in Oregon City went missing. Her name was Miranda Gaddis. She was 13. There were plenty of connections between Miranda and Ashley who had in fact been friends at one point and shared plenty of things in common. They lived in the same apartment complex. They were the same age. They were on the same dance team. They both had been friends with Mallory weaver and had been to Ward's house and they both had last been seen getting ready to go to school, just like Ashley. Miranda hadn't shown any signs she was seriously going to run away and had never done so before she left behind her treasured makeup, which her mother said she would never do. Miranda was in her apartment at 7:30 a.m. On March 8th 2002. When her mother left for work, Miranda was supposed to catch the bus at the top of the hill by the apartment complex around eight a.m. But she never made it to school that day. Miranda had been in a bad mood the night before because she had broken up with her boyfriend. She had also been upset that Ashley was missing, but Miranda was an outgoing kid and made friends easily. She was also excited about her dance competition that day, so she clearly had something to look forward to. Miranda's mom told police she couldn't find Miranda's blue and purple backpack. Investigators believed Miranda must have taken the backpack and all her books with her when she left for school, there were no signs of forced entry at the apartment, no signs of a struggle. Miranda's mom had in fact stopped back home midday to pick something up and hadn't seen her daughter at home or noticed anything suspicious. Hours later when Miranda didn't come home from school, her mom became concerned. Her mom also listed all of Miranda's friends to help police in their investigation. One of the names Miranda's mom put down was Mallory, Weaver. Mallory lived in a house that was right at the bus stop. That Miranda used to get to the school. Detective Greg fraid knocked on the door of the weaver's home and Ward answered he insisted he hadn't seen Miranda. He said she hadn't been over at the house and he allowed police to search inside his home. There wasn't anything out of place or anything that signaled Miranda had been there or that anything violent happened there by now it was dark. The detective walked to a building that was in Ward's backyard but he didn't go inside. There was a second covered area. Ward led him to but again the detective didn't go inside to investigate further. The detective left Ward his business card and Ward promised to call if he heard anything about Miranda. Ward remained a person of interest in both Miranda's and Ashley's disappearances because of his criminal history. The fact that he knew Miranda and allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with Ashley and he lived near both girls. According to court records, investigators interviewed Maria Ward's ex wife who remembered seeing Miranda at Mallory's birthday party and one incident in particular stood out at the party. Miranda warned another girl not to spend the night because Ward had molested Ashley and that other girl might get molested to Miranda. Said Mallory had heard the comment and re told it to her father which made him angry. Maria recalled meanwhile word wasn't afraid to tell his side of the story. He spoke with Jamie Floyd. A reporter from Portland based tv station K. A. T. U. News. Ward said he believed he was the FBI's prime suspect but claimed he had done nothing wrong and had an alibi. No and during that time no I wasn't at work. I was here um getting up at eight you know my daughter wake me up at eight and watched her catch the bus which comes at 8 20. Get in the shower and you know it's a 12 minute drive from so it didn't from here to if I don't have any traffic down here at this light. Um So no I was here but time frame doesn't make anything feasible. Ward let cameras into his house and into his backyard to film after all according to him he had nothing to hide. I know Ashley ran away you know and the fact that the FBI are throwing both of these cases you know into someone took them both. It's like okay fine you know I don't see it that way and I would really not like to think that someone took Miranda. Um Either girl actually but I know you know well I don't have anything to do with what's going on. But my gut instinct is Ashley's off somewhere where she would rather be than home casually ward led Floyd on a walk over newly poured concrete in his backyard. Later she would say in a special report. I had no idea. We were walking over one of their graves after Miranda vanished. The ward family was holding a garage sale and that's when Mallory found Miranda's school binder discarded in Mallory's toy box. The binder contained pictures in Miranda's homework. Mallory recognized it immediately as the binder Miranda used at school. She took the binder and went to show her dad just put it away. Ward said according to police records, court junkie is brought to you by progressive insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking while you're listening to me talk. You're probably also driving cleaning, exercising, maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from progressive insurance. It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone, Drivers who saved by switching to progressives save nearly $700 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy for being a homeowner and more. So just like your favorite podcast, progressive will be with you 24 7, 365 days a year. 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Ward weaver the third had a history of violence that spanned years and involved multiple women from his wives, his girlfriends and women who happened to be in his social circle, which was documented in a police report. Ward was arrested for assaulting his first wife Maria who was five months pregnant at the time and he had hit his second wife Christy in the head with a cast iron skillet while she was sleeping. You're lucky you didn't piss me off even more. Ward reportedly told her I was going to kill you with a butcher knife. Ward also served time in prison for assaulting two sisters in 1984 in California. He attempted to rape one of them And on August 13, 2002 months after Ashley and Miranda's disappearances had been in the national spotlight. 911 fielded a call reporting a rape. The emergency call for help was made by the girlfriend of Ward's son. Francis, Francis is 19 year old girlfriend had gone towards job so she could drive him to a court appearance for his suspended driver's license in Oregon City on the road. The girlfriend in ward passed by his home and he wanted to stop and pick up some items. They stopped once inside. That's when the rape happened. According to what Francis girlfriend told authorities. She called 911 at 5:11 pm at 5:25 p.m. That same day when Francis learned his father had raped his girlfriend. He also called 911. He told the dispatcher that his father had confessed to killing Ashley pond and Miranda Gaddis. That evening, Francis found himself being interviewed in person by the FBI and the Oregon city Police department. He said his father had confessed to murdering the two girls. Ward said he had killed Ashley because she deserved it and he didn't say why he had killed Miranda Francis said he didn't know the details of how the murders were carried out, but he assumed their bodies were buried under the newly poured concrete in Ward's backyard. Ward made this confession according to Francis earlier that day, at a Portland's apartment, but investigators were able to poke holes in Francis's account, they verified it was impossible for Ward to have been at the Portland apartment that day Francis was lying about when his dad allegedly confessed, Francis walked back his timeline and changed his story, although he insisted his father had indeed confessed to killing the girls. Now he said the confession actually happened five days earlier, he had changed the date, he said because he didn't want to get in trouble for not reporting it to police sooner, He said he also didn't want people to judge him for keeping it a secret for almost a week. Francis also told investigators that he didn't entirely think that Ward could really kill the two girls. He wondered if his dad was testing him, seeing if his own son would rat on him. Breaking an informal family honor code, investigators also spoke with Ward's other son Alex Alex admitted to authorities that his dad made what sounded like a partial confession to him too. Ward had told Alex that he had done bad things and would be going away for a while, Alex didn't ask him any follow up questions, Alex seemed to think he knew what his dad was alluding to Ashley's and Miranda's disappearances. Investigators had already viewed Ward with suspicion regarding the missing girls after the reported rape, they moved into action, he was arrested and they found probable cause to get a search warrant and search his home. What they found was concerning evidence in plain sight in the backyard was that newly made concrete slab On August 23, 2002. The Oregon City Police Department and the FBI obtained another search warrant for his home. They found what they had suspected might be there. The bodies of the two missing girls, Miranda's remains were located first in a cardboard box in the wooden shed. She was identified by her dental records. Then Oregon city public works workers used an industrial saw and broke. The cement slab were underneath were three metal barrels buried in gravel. Ward had gotten the barrels from his job under the guise of stabilizing a foundation for a hot tub, they began digging out the barrels to examine them. One of the barrels had another barrel placed underneath it. Inside was a skull. They had found Ashley's remains. The girls families were notified that the search was over and Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis were officially taken off the missing persons list. Sitting in his jail cell ward listened as a detective read him the arrest warrant out loud. He had initially been arrested for the rape of Francis's girlfriend and was now facing murder charges for the girls deaths. Ward was not questioned, nor did he speak one word. After hearing the charges the detective wrote in the report. Ward weaver the third nodded his head up and down and then we left. There was a cascade of evidence against Ward. In addition to the two bodies that were found in his backyard. Law enforcement pulled his bank records on March 12th, four days after Miranda disappeared, he had bought two shower curtains and 10 £60 bags of concrete mix from a store in Oregon city. He had also purchased cleaning supplies on March 15 and £660 bags of mortar mix and finishing trial from the store from jail. Ward gave another interview to Jamie Floyd at K. A. T. U. News where he denied killing Ashley and Miranda. So if you didn't kill Ashley and Miranda, then how did they wind up in your backyard? More public property? Who knows that place has been public access since those apartments and condos have been built. People kick out the back fence and walk up to my backyard. So you have no idea how Ashley's Bonnie got onto the concrete slab that you poured. Do you know how deep my understanding is? You know how deep she was. We went all the way down to the water lines. Um but how she got underneath there, Who knows? I mean, it was, it was open for access for a while. Um practically two months. Ward's crime seemed to echo the crimes of his father who had also hidden one of his victims in a similar fashion dr marina. Saw Roginsky. A professor at ST john's University explained her theories in an interview with court junkie. There's quite a bit in to unpack there probably in terms of the father son relationship and and how that really could impact not just the fact that he committed the murder, but also the fact that that he decided to to do it in a similar way. But my name is Marina Ski. I am a professor of criminal justice at ST john's University. I'm a forensic psychologist. However, by training. So, um, I teach and do research on applied aspects of investigative and forensic psychology. So particularly looking at violent behavioral patterns and how, how offenders commit their crimes, as well as profiling. According to Doctor Sara Kinski. During a stressful situation, people tend to resort to their habitual ways and what they know. So if they knew about what the father did, it's likely that they would just do the same. Not because necessarily they would want to kind of replicate it, but because they think, well, that's the, that's kind of the way to, to behave, to do when you have a dead body, you need to hide it somewhere. And automatically something comes up in mind that from the past, it's it's possible that in replicating the way that his father did the murder committed the murder, he would be, he's, you know, trying to connect with him and kind of expressing his need for the attachment and kind of needs to be close to or similar to the father because a lot of for boys, especially, you know, they're looking up to their father. Even if they abandoned them, they still feel like they're aspiring to to their father and want to be like them. Ward's son Francis was interviewed by the FBI and the Oregon Police Department. On September 2, 2002, he opened up about his family's scars and secrets. 19 year old Frances had lived with his dad for a year before they got into a big argument and Francis moved out. What started the blow up was Francis accusing Ward of not being a good father. Ward beat his Children like animals, Francis told police he remembered first meeting Ashley Pond a year and a half ago and meeting Miranda Gaddis. Sometime after that Ashley seemed to live at the weaver home 24 7, he said she slept in the living room and Ward sometimes joined her Francis told police that how Ward acted around Ashley was weird and sick when asked what he meant by that Francis said Ward was touching Ashley in a fatherly way, except for the fact that it wasn't his daughter. He said. Ashley responded happily and loving to this. On the fourth of july Francis said he caught Ashley kissing Ward's cheek, and then Ward grabbing her by the hips. He said, Ward was dishing out the dough for Ashley when he couldn't even get his kids things according to Francis. Ward also served alcoholic drinks to his daughter and her friends who were all in middle school Francis then explained the fallout after Ashley had accused ward of sexual abuse. Ward seemed to handle it pretty well on the outside, but Francis believed Ward was seething on the inside. At one point, Ward called Ashley a little bit and a liar. After that Ashley wasn't allowed to stay at the house, Francis said unusual things happened after Ashley vanished. For one ward asked Francis and his brother Alex for help putting in a hot tub in the backyard. He offered them money gifts and free use of the hot tub if they helped him, Alex helped. Although Francis noted Ward never paid up, Francis told police he had doubts in his mind about Ward's innocence and that in fact, he was becoming convinced that his dad had something to do with the two missing girls. Ward weaver, the third had been in high school when his father Pete murdered the two stranded motorists in California in 1981. Pete had mostly been out of Ward's life since Ward's parents had broken up Ward's mother, Patricia filled out a questionnaire to answer questions about her son's life. Now that he was under scrutiny and also accused of murder, It's clear ward had experienced trauma of some kind growing up, according to the partially redacted document, he went to stay with a stepfather who was Macho carried a gun. Ward was 12 and spent the summer with his stepfather in sacramento California. His mother believed the stepfather molested ward after that summer together. Ward was never the same. He became violent and abused. His sister Ward's hobby, was football in high school, but he didn't make the team. He partied, he joined the US Navy after high school but got kicked out for selling drugs. Ward's violent temper apparently became worse when he drank. He also had no close connections to his parents since Pete was on death row and he stopped talking to his mother for years. I turned him into child services for child abuse. Patricia wrote in the questionnaire, I haven't seen him since ward was beating his wife and kids. That was approximately 1990. I think his problem is that he doesn't have much of anything. Patricia wrote in the questionnaire hearing that Ward was accused of murdering two girls. As you can imagine, was heartbreaking for Patricia to learn. Especially because of the history involving Ward's father. When Patricia heard her son had been digging up his backyard and pouring cement for a sauna. Her thought process was that he buried the girls in the yard under the cement, a police report said, But she wouldn't have to see her son go to trial. Instead. Ward took a plea deal in 2004 and pleaded guilty to the girls killings and other crimes. His guilty plea saved his life. He escaped the death penalty and was sentenced to two life sentences without parole. Dr Sahr Oshinsky explained the complexity behind the different factors and understanding of family of criminals and why multiple generations of the same family can have a criminal background. Family member is passing on their biology as well as the upbringing and bringing on the, you know, the environment and the and the kind of the learning of the criminal lifestyle. It's very difficult to disentangle what actually makes that impact the most is that the biology or is it the environment and the teaching kind of the learning that is passed on from the surrounding, Right? Because if the child sees the criminal lifestyle as kind of as the norm to them, they don't know any better, she said, Although someone can have a biological disposition towards violence and aggression, she warned, there is no such thing as a criminal gene that's passed from generation to generation. There is no criminal gene, right? There is no gene that makes people automatically kind of causes people to become violent criminals. However, there is a genetic predisposition towards aggression. You know, temperamental predisposition very often and and generally aggression is, you know, it has a genetic component, but that genetic component usually is combined with the environmental, the adverse environmental influences to then increase the person's likelihood of committing crimes? Those genetic factors often fit in with something else. The environmental factor was a person raised in a home that was violent. Did a child see others use force to get what they want and exert control or even use violence to act on their emotions. Sometimes a child witnesses those behaviors. So, violence is simply a normal part of life in a child's eyes. Doctor So Roginsky said. But she also warned against making assumptions just because a parent is a criminal doesn't mean the child will automatically grow up to be one either. And just because someone experiences childhood trauma doesn't mean they will grow up to commit crimes. A very large proportion of violent offenders had had violence in their past. Have parents who are crime uh, you know, violent or have been exposed to violence or have had uh, you know, physical sexual or emotional abuse in their childhood. That however doesn't mean that all people who have had that experience will become violent offenders. Majority of people who lived through child abuse don't become violent offenders. Where would someone like Frances, ward son fall Frances seemed to explore the meaning behind his father's crimes. When he spoke with CNN's Connie Chung during an August 2002 interview, I'm sure that you see the eerie similarities between the crime that your grandfather committed and the one that your father is accused of chang said yes, Francis replied, almost as though it's like a copycat, you know, like he was trying to prove to his father something like he could do it and get away with it, you know, or just, or even, I don't know what he was thinking. I don't know why he would do that, why he did it the way he did it. But as I said, in the very beginning of this episode. This story spans decades generations. Even years later, Ward's son, Francis would make news for his own legal troubles after his grandfather and father had been in the spotlight for their grisly crimes. Back in 2002, Francis had appeared on good morning America to talk about turning his dad in the whole thing just disgusts me. He had said, I'd hate to even think that I was brought to this world from a man like that Francis would also learn something about himself and his family that would undoubtedly bring up complicated emotions. He discovered that Ward wasn't his biological father after all through D. N. A. Testing. It's a revelation that would have presumably stunned both men since media reports said both Ward and Francis had believed that they were in fact biological father and son. Moving forward, media coverage began to refer to Francis as Ward's stepson As a juvenile. And now as an adult Francis had a lengthy criminal record himself. That spanned years. He had a history of violence and served time in a juvenile detention facility. But the most serious accusations he faced stemmed from a drug-related incident in 2014 Francis was 31 years old Oregon's can be Police Department responded to the scene of a car crash at 5:40 a.m. On february 16th. A small blue suv had crashed into parked cars. The driver of the suv. Edward kelly spangler had been shot, he was dead. The name Francis Weaver was soon brought up during the investigation. According to the police report, Edward Spangler had been in the small city of can be 30 minutes outside Portland to collect from Francis. The local police department knew Francis had ties to drugs. Officers had used a confidential informant to buy meth from both Francis and his mother. According to can be police records when they interviewed him, Francis admitted to knowing Edward but he blamed Edward's murder on another person. Michael oren, Michael had shot Edward twice, Francis said Michael oren was arrested for criminal homicide and robbery. He denied being involved at first and then he admitted to law enforcement that he had shot Edward. Court documents reveal the details Francis, Michael and two others concocted a plan to Rob Edward. They lured him into the town of can be under the pretense that they wanted to buy a large amount of marijuana from him. In reality they planned to steal the drugs. In the process of the robbery. Edward had been killed. One other conspirator claimed Francis had given Michael a handgun in case anything went wrong. Now all four people involved Francis and Michael included. We're going to be charged in the robbery turned homicide, but two of the other defendants took a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to first degree robbery. Michael oren also made a deal with the state under his plea deal. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and first degree robbery Francis. The lone defendant left without a plea deal was set to go to trial. But Michael's agreement with the prosecution unfairly hurt Francis's trial, according to the Oregon Supreme Court ruling, which called Michael's deal strict. The agreement said that if he was called as a witness by Francis's defense, he had to refuse to testify invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege against self discrimination. So essentially, Michael was getting a plea deal not to talk if he refused to testify for the defense. The state promised to seek a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years otherwise he could face a death sentence or life in prison with no possibility of parole. So Michael had plenty of incentive not to want to help out Francis whose defense team had listed Michael as the first witness to call on at trial. Meanwhile, the state sought to keep Francis's defense from calling Michael as a witness or mentioning the existence of his plea deal designed to keep him off the stand and away from the jury Francis argued he wasn't getting a fair trial at Francis's trial. He took the stand and revealed a twist. Edward. The murder victim had been in on the robbery plot the entire time. He said Edward was willing to give up the drugs and what was going to be a staged robbery where the only person who lost out was Edward's supplier, only Francis hadn't shared Edwards role with Michael or the others that night. Francis also denied giving Michael a handgun. He testified he didn't know Michael was armed for everything to go right. Edward was supposed to get out of his car and Michael was to come in and smash and grab the drugs. But their plan fell apart and it ended with Edward's death. According to Francis's testimony. In closing arguments, the prosecutors challenged jurors not to believe Francis's account, since there weren't other witnesses to back him up in court. A witness perhaps like Michael, the only person who tells you about that second statement or story Francis, paul weaver, the prosecutor said in closing arguments, That's the only source of that information. If you believe him, doesn't make sense. So the question is, will you believe it? Because this whole choreographed dope rip comes from one source Frances weaver, you have to believe him. Deep down in your gut, deep down in your heart. Do you believe him? Or do you believe the evidence? The prosecutor's words must have resonated with the jury Francis was found guilty on all charges and was sentenced to life in prison in 2016. The same sentence. His father had received all those years prior Francis cried in court and expressed his sorrow for Edward's death at his sentencing. I know he was a good man, a very good man and a good son Francis said according to Portland's based news station, KGW eight, that was never supposed to happen. I pray for you guys every day. I pray for his Children every day, Francis appealed and his case went all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court. Maybe Michael would not freely have testified for Francis's defense, but Michael wasn't given the opportunity to make that decision for himself because of the overly strict plea agreement, the state Supreme Court said In its 2020 ruling, the state wields substantial power in the plea bargaining process and never more than when it can credibly threaten a sentence of death. In this case, the state used that power to forbid a key defense witness from testifying on behalf of the defendant. It also prevented the jury from even learning that the witness had entered into a plea bargain where in exchange for the state agreeing not to pursue the death penalty. The witness was precluded from testifying for defendant or cooperating with him in any way. The ruling said Francis's constitutional rights had been violated. He was getting a break. His murder conviction was overturned In 2021. He pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter, first degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to a 220 month sentence or about 18 years, a significantly shorter sentence compared to life in prison. And Francis wasn't the only member of the weaver family whose case ended up taking a surprising turn. Ward Pete weaver junior, the grandfather and the family tree was also going to get his sentence reexamined. Although he had been sentenced to death, Pete still hasn't been executed nearly four decades after his 1984 conviction, There appears to be a chance he could get moved off death row as part of a reform in California that started when voters supported making changes and passed a 2,016 ballot proposal. Part of the efforts to dismantle death row started under a 2020 pilot program called condemned inmate program, prisoners waiting to die on death row were instead moved into high-security general prisons where they would get more access to rehabilitation and work opportunities to pay restitution to their victims. Here's California. Governor Gavin Newsom talking at a 2019 press conference about why he feels it's important to end capital punishment. There was a National Academy of Science report that came out that estimates one out of every 25 people on death row as innocent. If that's the case, That means if we move forward executing 737 people in California, we will have executed roughly 30 people that are innocent. I don't know about you. I can't sign my name to them. I can't be party to that. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. There are innocent people on death row. There are guilty people on death row and those people are not going to be let out by this act. They will be held to account. The state of California recently announced that the pilot program is becoming permanent and all death row inmates, 650 men and 21 women will get moved to other prisons according to NPR. The reform has angered many of the victim's loved ones, including the brother of Barbara LaVoy, the young woman whose life was cut short by Pete. I saw the story about California's death row inmates and I'm piste off. This guy is supposed to be dead by now, Bob LaVoy told the Bakersfield California newspaper in 2020, she never got the opportunity to have Children or anything. Pete doesn't deserve a transfer. He needs to stay in that cell for the rest of his life and think about what he's done. Pote doesn't appear to have been transferred at least not yet at the writing of this episode in early February 2023. He is now 78 years old and is currently housed at the San Quentin State Prison, which is still considered death row for male inmates according to public records and that's all for this episode. As always, I'd love to know what you think about this case. Let me know by joining the conversation on instagram at court junkie by tweeting me at court junk Ipod or by emailing me at podcast at court junkie dot com. This episode was researched and written by Gabrielle Roussin. To hear these episodes. Without the ads here. Additional court junkie bonus episodes and receive our weekly court cases newsletter. Check out our Patreon options at court junkie.com/ support. Thanks again for listening until next time.
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