UTSKRIFT 🔗
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At just after eight pm on November
eighth, nineteen ninety four, Darren and
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Laura Holsher heard a gunshot in their
neighborhood. When they looked outside, they
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saw their neighbor far Afrauda scream and
fall to the ground in her garage.
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Then they watched as an unmasked man
approached her and shot her point blank in
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the head. They called nine one
one, but despite a quick response from
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police, the gunman was gone by
the time they arrived. Investigators had no
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clue who would have wanted far A
dead, but it wouldn't take long for
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people to start making suggestions, and
they were all suggesting the same person.
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This is monsters. Moving to another
country was not easy for far Abacker.
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She'd lived most of her childhood in
the same neighborhood and had known all of
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her friends and even her fiance since
she was young. The thought of leaving
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them behind was daunting, but the
idea of her entire family leaving her was
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more worrisome. At nineteen, she
had the option to stay in London with
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her grandmother, but her father talked
her into giving the United States a try.
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Her father, Lex, was a
businessman who wanted to move to America
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to see if it was easier to
run his business there than in London,
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which was becoming less affordable with each
passing year. Lex had family in Ohio,
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but his wife, Betty, said
Ohio was too cold. Lex loved
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old Western movies and horses, so
he decided to move to Texas. He
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liked the idea of living out the
American dream and wanted his family to try
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the experience as well. The family
settled a bit outside of Houston, in
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a town called Humble, and Farrest
started looking for jobs. She wanted to
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be a travel agent and managed to
find a job that could put her on
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the path to that career. She
started working as a ticket agent at the
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Houston Airport, and once she got
used to the fast paced environment, she
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liked it quite a bit. She
also found some one that she liked quite
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a bit, another ticket agent named
Robert Frauda, showed her the ropes at
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work, and the two became friendly
right away. Before leaving London, or
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perhaps during the very sparse visits that
Fara and her fiance had during this time,
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it's likely that they discussed the possibility
that long distance would not work out
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for them. When Fara became serious
with Robert Frauda and started dating him.
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She sent a letter to her fiance
to let him know, and he responded
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back that he was already seeing someone
else as well. She mailed back her
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ring, and the two left it
open ended that perhaps fate would bring them
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back together someday, but being an
ocean apart was not working for them in
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the present. Robert Frauda was known
for being a charmer and even a bit
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of a ladies man around the airport
where the two worked. He was handsome
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and obsessive about bodybuilding, and he'd
had flings with a few other women who
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worked at the airport, but he
seemed ready to settle down with Fara.
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Some of the other girls who dated
him tried to hint to Fara that he
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might not be right for her,
but she thought they were just jealous.
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Over the next two years, their
romance blossomed and Fara adjusted to life in
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America. When Robert decided he wanted
to pop the question, he let Fara
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know first, then said he would
need to formally ask Lex for his blessing,
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as he knew her father was old
fashioned. Robert arranged a formal meeting
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with Lex to ask for Fara's hand, and Alex let him know, quote,
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you know, she's my only girl, and she's very precious to me.
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She's my baby. She's grown up, but she's still my baby to
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me. Robert assured him that they
were deeply in love and that he wanted
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nothing but the best for her.
They got married in May of nineteen eighty
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three at a Catholic church in Humble, and the wedding was uneventful in the
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best way. Everything went according to
plan and everyone seemed enthusiastic about their future.
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The fraudas hit ups and downs in
those first few years of marriage.
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Like any couple, Robert struggled to
find a new job after accepting a layoff
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payout from the airline. He tried
to go into business with Lex, but
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didn't have the motivation to work for
himself. Eventually, he found his calling
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in
Load full transcript
public safety, working first as
a firefighter, then moving into police work
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in nearby Missouri City, Texas.
The couple had their first son, Bradley,
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in December of nineteen eighty six.
Two years later, another boy,
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Daniel, was born in the summer
of nineteen eighty eight. To the outside
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world, their marriage seemed happy but
Ferris's family noticed that during her pregnancies,
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she would often become depressed and withdrawn. Her parents tried to probe a bit
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to find out if something was wrong, but Farah never wanted to talk about
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it. A few months after Daniel
was born, Farah broke the news to
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her family that she and Robert were
separating, but she would not talk about
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why. That only lasted a month, though, and the two got back
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to together, and soon after Farah
revealed to her family that she was pregnant
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once again. Lex tried to talk
to her about whether another baby was really
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what she and Robert needed, but
Fara did not want to discuss the problems
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they were having. After a bit
of prying, though, she did confess
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that she thought having another baby might
have been a mistake. Lex tried talking
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to Robert, who insisted that Fara
was the one causing all the problems.
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He said she was unhappy without any
reason to be. In May of nineteen
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ninety, Amber Nicole was born,
the Frauda's third child. They were living
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together again, and Farrest seemed determined
to try and make things work. For
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the next two years, they all
lived together as the children learned to walk
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and talk, and little Bradley even
started school. It was clear to Forrest's
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parents that she was having emotional ups
and downs, but she seemed determined to
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keep the family together. By early
nineteen ninety two, Fara and Robert were
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fighting so often that they were once
again talking about divorce. Robert moved out
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and got an apartment closer to his
work. Once again, Lex pressed Robert
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to tell him what was wrong,
and Robert said nothing was wrong on his
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end, It was all Fara.
Lex confronted his daughter and she said,
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quote, I cannot live with this
man. I don't want to discuss all
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the wise,
but I simply cannot
live with this man. I must get
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away from him. There's so much
you don't know, and I cannot talk
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about it with you, but I
cannot live with him. Fara filed for
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divorce on March twelfth, nineteen ninety
two. She got emergency custody of the
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kids and told her attorney that she
was filing for divorce on the grounds of
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extreme cruelty. When Robert was served
the divorce papers, he threw them on
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the ground and said, quote,
she will be dead before she can never
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get a divorce. By that time. Robert's co workers and friends all knew
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what had been the cause of their
marital problems, but Fara's family was in
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the dark, with only a few
very close friends knowing what was going on.
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Eventually, she told her lawyer as
she needed to provide evidence that Robert
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had been exceptional cruel to her,
so she finally began to detail on the
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record what had gone so terribly wrong
in their marriage. There were many things
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wrong. Robert would forget to feed
the children if Fara wasn't around. He
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insisted on keeping a pet Boa Constrictor
in the house, even after it had
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bitten Bradley. He used steroids as
a regular part of his workout routine,
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which gave him terrible mood swings where
he would yell at the children for no
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reason. But the biggest problem they
had was with their sex life. Apparently,
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the reason Fara had been so hesitant
to discuss their marital problems was because
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Robert's sexual demands were so bizarre and
embarrassing. He wanted to have an open
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marriage and tried to talk Fara into
sleeping with another woman. He wanted Fara
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to hit him while he masturbated.
Most disturbingly, of all, he frequently
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brought up his fantasy of having Fara
urinate on his face and defecate in his
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mouth. Unsurprisingly, Fara wanted no
part of any of that, but Robert
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made it clear that if she wouldn't
give into his sexual demands, she was
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failing him as a wife. I
mean, if those were the requirements,
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I would gladly accept the failure,
but that's just me. After filing formally,
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the prospect of raising the children in
separate homes started to worry Fara to
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the point that she wondered if she
should find a way to work things out.
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Fara and Robert both made lists of
what they would need to stay together.
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Robert's list was almost entirely sexual and
involved Fara getting plastic surgery to become
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more attractive to him. Fara's list
involved Robert being better with the kids and
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being a more active father. Fara
was hoping that if she gave into Robert's
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plastic surgery demands, she might be
able to talk him into counseling to deal
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with his obsessive sexual fetishes. In
August of nineteen ninety two, Fara got
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breast in plants and a rhinoplasty,
After she had mostly recovered, she let
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Robert move back in with her and
the kids. Just two weeks later,
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he was out again, even though
she was still recovering from surgery. He
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made it clear he was going to
back down from his sexual demands. He
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initially put the surgery costs on one
of his credit cards, but after Fara
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kicked him out, he said the
bill should be her responsibility as they were
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no longer together. He said he
was not going to pay for somebody else
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to play with what he had paid
for. Depositions and arguments followed and escalated
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as the fraudus prepared to formally face
each other in court. Fara admitted all
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of her grievances during that time,
even the most personal ones about Robert's strange
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fetishes and his occasional sexual abuse coercing
her into acts she was not comfortable with.
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She talked about the day to day
as well, and Robert's general neglect
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of the children. Robert gave a
deposition in return, where he made up
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excuses and said Fara had twisted his
words. He said he'd only ever taken
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steroids for medical reasons and that he
was actually the more responsible parent because Fara
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wanted to destroy their marriage and have
the kids grow up in a broken home.
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He said he'd consider at an open
marriage, but only to see if
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that could appease far as desire to
be somewhat separated while still raising the children
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together. But he adamantly denied he'd
ever asked Fara to perform any of the
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lewd sexual acts she'd described. He
wanted nothing but to raise his children in
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a good Christian household right. There
were numerous delays with the custody battle.
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Fara went through a few lawyers,
the judge who was meant to preside over
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the case passed away, and general
bureaucracy kept delaying things. Both of the
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Fraudas were very fond of the Jim
they'd worked out together at called the President
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and the First Lady Jim, so
they both kept going, but Fara would
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often picked times when she knew Robert
wouldn't be there. During that time,
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both of them were making new friends
and acquaintances there with very different goals in
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mind. Shortly after Robert moved out
and Fara accepted that divorce was imminent,
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one of her friends at the gym
introduced her to another regular named David Dietz.
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Fara was still recovering physically from her
surgery and emotional recovery from her marriage
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would likely not even begin until the
divorce was over, but David interested her
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right away. The two began a
very slow romance when Fara felt safe introducing
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her children to David. They immediately
liked him, and he was fond of
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them as well. David understood that
Fara had a lot going on in her
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life, so the two went on
dates sparingly when she could find the time
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between meeting with lawyers and spending time
with the kids. Occasionally they would all
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go on outings together, out to
dinner or bringing the kids to the zoo.
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Fara was able to get a small
glimpse into what life might be like
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after the divorce, when she was
able to fully pursue romance and even marriage
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with someone who loved her. The
weeks turned into months, which turned into
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years as the custody battle dragged on
until nineteen ninety four. But while Fara
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was pursuing a life beyond the divorce, Robert was spending his time stewing on
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the fact that he might lose custody
of the children and have to pay child
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support. Since at least the late
eighties, Robert had been cheating on FARA
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with numerous sexual partners. One woman
named Minny Lawrence had met Robert over a
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phone dating service in nineteen eighty nine. They would occasionally have sex over the
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phone, which escalated to an in
person
affair. Minnie was also sexually adventurous
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and would participate in some of Robert's
fantasies. The two would engage in scat
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play and BDSM, but Minnie drew
the line at anything involving Robert's wife.
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She knew he was married, and
he would occasionally proposition her for a threesome,
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but to Many, it sounded like
Robert's wife didn't really want to be
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involved, and it was unclear if
she even knew about her husband's various affairs.
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The two kept up their affair for
years before Many started to distance herself
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despite the fact that he was having
an affair with her. Many had always
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thought Roberts sounded like a decent husband
and father to his family, and she
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liked that about him. She thought
he was just someone who to look outside
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of his marriage for his sexual fantasies, and Robert had occasionally implied that his
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wife even knew that he and Many
were seeing each other, But in nineteen
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ninety four, Robert started to refer
to his wife as a bitch and talk
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about her in increasingly disturbing ways.
One day, after a flood in Houston,
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Many called Robert to see if he
and his family were okay, and
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he asked her out of the blue, if she knew anyone who would kill
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his wife. Specifically, he asked
her if she knew any black people who
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would do it. Minnie thought he
was telling a bad joke and brushed him
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off, but the encounter had left
her worried. Manny was not the only
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woman Robert had been having an affair
with. He kept a detailed address book
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filled with various women's numbers, several
of them he met at the President and
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First Lady Jim, apparently blatantly scouting
out of fair partners, even though Farah
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also worked out there. In his
address book, he wrote notes on their
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physical characteristics, what color their eyes
and hair were, if they worked out,
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and he even made a note that
one of the women had called another
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woman pretty no doubt. Searching for
the threesome he wanted so badly, he
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wrote down ages as well, many
of which were younger than him. One
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of the girls, Penny Adams,
was just twenty years old. She was
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in
a bit of a rebellious phase
and had flirted with Robert, but his
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aggressive advances scared her and her friends. When he asked her, a woman
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he barely knew, if she knew
anyone who would kill his wife, she
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stopped speaking to him. Over the
next several months, Robert asked almost everyone
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he knew if they would kill Fara. There were over a dozen people who
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he'd discussed the matter with, and
almost all of them wrote it off as
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joking or just blowing off steam due
to the stressful divorce battle. Like his
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request with many, many of his
attempts at hiring a hitman had racist undertones.
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He told one friend, quote some
Italian you are, when the friends
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said he didn't know any assassins.
Another friend asked Robert why on earth he
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would ask him if he knew any
hitman, and Robert responded, because you're
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Mexican, John, I thought you
might know some of your people who would
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do something like that. He told
one friend that he carried a gun with
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him at all times so that if
he ran into far around town, he
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could kill her and make it look
like a carjacking. One acquaintance made the
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mistake of complaining to Robert about his
wife, so Robert proposed to him that
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they could kill each other's wives all
a strangers on a train. He got
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to the point where he told so
many people he was going to kill her
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that he started telling people he was
doing it intentionally so there would be too
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many leads for police to follow if
she died, except that what he was
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doing would only leave them with one
lead him. One of Robert's friends,
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James Podorski, realized Robert was serious
when he started telling him the exact amount
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of money he was offering and that
it would come from an offshore account.
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James said he believed Robert was seriously
looking into killing Farah, but that he
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didn't go to the police because he
thought no one would take him up on
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his offer. An interview of Robert's
co workers revealed largely stayed away from asking
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his fellow police officers if they would
kill his wife, though one co worker
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did remark that Robert tells everybody about
wanting to have a woman shit on him.
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Though he controlled himself more at work, he did still tell two of
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his co workers that he'd thought about
killing Fara and that surely, as a
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police officer he wouldn't get more than
five years. Neither of these men did
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anything about Robert's threats and thought he
was joking. Robert would eventually talk someone
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into scaring Fara for him. One
of his friends from the gym, a
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man named Joe priced Ash, had
experience with breaking and entering and had a
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history of violence on his rap sheet
as well. He'd once been charged with
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attempting to kill his brother in law, but the charges were dropped. He
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was the early morning hours of June
twenty eighth, nineteen ninety four, when
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the plan was carried out. Sometime
between three and four am, Farah woke
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up to find Joe wearing a ski
mask walking into her bedroom. Daniel was
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asleep in the bed with her and
woke up alongside her when she screamed.
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Joe told her that he'd come to
talk to her about Bob Bradley and Amber
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Nicole heard the commotion and ran into
the room, and Fara told the masked
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man, quote, whatever you were
going to do, don't do it in
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front of my children. Please,
Joe shut the children out of the bedroom.
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He was drunk and had brought a
flask of something with him as well
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as a stun gun. He tortured
Fara with a stun gun, shocking her,
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but didn't say anything else aside from
that he was there on Robert's behalf.
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He then left and took her cell
phone so she couldn't call nine one
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one. Fara had another phone in
the house, and police got to the
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scene quickly. They found that the
intruder had broken in by drilling a hole
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in a window and unlocking the back
door. Fara had her own suspicions,
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as she thought she'd recognized the voice
of the man who attacked her. Joe
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00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.400
had been Robert's friend for several years
by that point, and Fara had met
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him several times, but he'd been
in disguise, so she couldn't be sure.
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After that, the investigation stalled.
Fara took the kids, moved back
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in with her parents while they installed
a new security system, and she took
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some time to recover from the attack. Robert was later questioned about the incident.
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What happened, Well, I never
really got the straight story of court
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to my children. Somebody came in
the house bypassing the alarm system. Everything
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00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:30.599
else did nothing but and I mean, according to Fara, what she told
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00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.880
detectives was that he said that he
was there to quote. This is what
255
00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:41.839
they said to me. Get have
my ass in the slang. Yeah,
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00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.519
I'm listening to the phone book.
You know. I mean, I'm easy
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00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.920
to get too, So I don't
know, I say, yeah. I
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00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:51.519
never didn't understand that. Why I
thought that was the stunt that she was
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pulling. He claimed that someone must
have done it just to mess with them.
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Of course, Fara's attacked and Robert
makes himself the victim. The at
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00:19:00.359 --> 00:19:04.079
he hearing was slowly moving along with
delays and preparation, and finally a trial
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day was set for November twenty eighth, nineteen ninety four. As the hearing
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approached, Robert thought he might have
finally found the right person for the job
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in Joe. Joe was friends with
a man named Howard Guidry, who had
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a less extensive criminal background than Joe, but made it clear he was looking
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to expand his criminal skills. He
hardly knew Joe, but he had made
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sure to drop hints that he would
do anything for money. He wanted to
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get a nest egg saved up so
he could start dealing cocaine. Together,
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the two men began to discuss working
together to kill Farah. Robert didn't speak
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to Howard directly, but gave Joe
extensive notes on Fara's schedule and day to
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day activities. Joe and Howard would
later tell different stories about what their planning
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process was for the murder. According
to Howard, Joe and Robert considered having
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00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:56.359
Joe rape Fara before killing her to
make it look like the motive had been
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a sexual assault. Joe had no
qualms about the assault, and old Howard
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he found Fara attractive and would gladly
raper, But evidently he decided he didn't
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00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:07.039
want to be the one to kill
her in case things went wrong and the
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plan was abandoned. Joe, of
course denied that. Later, Howard claimed
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he was only supposed to be the
getaway driver and that the other men changed
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00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:19.720
the plan on him last minute.
Nevertheless, he eventually agreed to be the
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one to do the killing. Eventually, Robert decided the easiest way to kill
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Farah would be while the children were
at Sunday School on nights. When they
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00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:33.319
went to Sunday School Robert was allowed
to keep them past eight o'clock, which
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was normally the scheduled handoff time,
but Fara always made sure she was home
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by eight anyway in case the kids
had to leave church early. The men
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set the date for November eighth.
Then Robert gave Joe a gun, ironically
286
00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.759
one he'd bought ten years prior to
keep around the house to protect his family
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00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:53.119
in case of a home invasion.
In addition to Howard, Joe's girlfriend also
288
00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:57.319
knew about the plot to kill Farah. Mary Gipp had only been dating Joe
289
00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:00.640
for a matter of months, but
she thought she was in love with him.
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Joe was struggling financially, so she'd
bought him a pager and he stayed
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00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:10.759
at her place frequently. Like anyone
who knew Robert Frauda casually, Mary knew
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00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:14.200
he'd been asking around town to try
to find someone to kill his wife,
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and they kept her updated as the
plan escalated. Joe didn't try to hide
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the fact that he and Howard were
going to kill Fara together because they needed
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00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:26.599
her help. The plan involved using
the pager Mary had gotten for Joe,
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00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:30.440
and Mary being Joe's alibi. Mary
was upset about the whole thing, but
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00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:34.599
didn't call the police. On the
day the murder was scheduled to take place,
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00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:38.759
she left work early and sat at
home. She thought about calling Fara,
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00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:44.079
but couldn't remember what her last name
was. Howard came to the apartment
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and Joe joined him, and as
the two drove off, she felt guilty
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but still did nothing. Normally,
Robert would just drop off the children and
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leave them at Sunday school, but
he stayed the whole service on that occasion.
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Robert's pager was going off frequently,
and he used the church phone at
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00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:03.680
least five times that night. He
meant to give himself a reliable alibi,
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but all he managed to do was
draw suspicion. Is That was one of
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00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:11.799
the only times he'd ever stayed for
a church service, and he kept getting
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00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.400
up to use the phone. While
Robert was at church, Joe drove Howard
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close to the Frauda family home.
He gave him the gun and pager and
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00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.400
posted up at a pay phone outside
a nearby grocery store. There was a
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large playhouse in the backyard, and
Howard hopped the fence and went to hide
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inside until Fara got home at approximately
eight pm. Fara arrived home as per
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usual, their neighbors across the street, Darren and Laura Holscher, would become
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the unfortunate witnesses to what was about
to unfold. They heard a gunshot and
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00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:45.680
looked out the window in time to
see Fara scream and fold to the ground
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00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:51.279
inside her garage. Howard wasn't sure
he'd killed her, so he stepped closer
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and shot her once again in the
head. The family across the street had
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yet to draw their blinds and realized
that the gunmen might have seen them watching,
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00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.519
so they killed the lights in their
house and called nine one one.
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00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:06.599
The hole shirts saw Howard get into
a silver car with one headlight and were
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able to later identify him as he
hadn't worn a mask. After the car
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00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:15.160
fled, Darren ran to Fara to
see if he could help. Farah was
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00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:18.960
still breathing but had already lost a
considerable amount of blood. He knew Farah
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was religious, and he made the
sign of the Cross to give her her
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last rites. The EMTs arrived quickly
and initially thought there might be hope after
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they stabilized her, because they only
saw one gunshot wound that had grazed her
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skull. She was airlifted to the
hospital, but pronounced dead shortly after as
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there was a second, much deeper
wound that the EMTs had missed as it
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00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:44.960
was concealed by blood and hair.
Robert arrived with the kid shortly after,
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and everyone told him what had happened. He called the hospital and the worker
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who took his call was immediately shocked
at Robert's lack of surprise or emotion.
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They later said that he sounded annoyed
at the whole thing and impatient. He
332
00:23:56.440 --> 00:24:00.359
didn't seem worried at all. He
just wanted to get an ant are as
333
00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:03.640
quickly as possible about if Farah was
dead. Yet, after he arrived at
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00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:07.039
the scene, Robert tried to leave, saying he wanted the kids to be
335
00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:11.599
able to say their goodbyes to Farah
in the hospital. Police also noted his
336
00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:17.000
lack of surprise or concern and wouldn't
let him leave. They searched his car,
337
00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:19.839
where they found just over one thousand
dollars in cash and a gun that
338
00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.759
was the other gun that he'd purchased
to carry around with him in Casey decided
339
00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:27.880
to kill Fara and make it look
like a carjacking. Lex and Betty got
340
00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:32.799
to the scene soon after Robert and
the kids. David had been trying to
341
00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:36.880
call Farah because he knew she usually
got home right at eight pm. He
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00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:41.160
was calling every few minutes to see
what was going on. After the backers
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00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:45.880
arrived, Lex finally picked up Fara's
phone and tearfully told him Farah was being
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00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:49.039
taken to the hospital. They all
went to visit her and found out she'd
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00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:53.039
passed. When David heard the news, he blamed Robert right away. He
346
00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:57.599
said, I'll kill him myself,
and the backers had to restrain him from
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00:24:57.640 --> 00:25:02.480
trying to find Robert to in front
him. On the night of the murder,
348
00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:06.599
police held Robert for fourteen hours and
questioned him. He had a well
349
00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.720
rehearsed recounting of his alibi that night, and not once did he seem upset
350
00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:14.960
that Farah was dead. He mentioned
several times that he was also a police
351
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.759
officer, and in general he was
unemotional and smug about the whole thing.
352
00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:22.759
He actually spent a lot of time
planting the seeds that someone was actually trying
353
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:26.119
to set him up. What reason
was Sony has come in your house like
354
00:25:26.160 --> 00:25:30.480
that? You know, either first
of I've got nothing to steal. But
355
00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.440
like I said, the only things
I'm missing, all right, the bottle
356
00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:36.880
of line the one time when somebody
came in on it, but it was
357
00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:42.599
there, the tapes, My diary
was. My diary was strictly four divorce.
358
00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:47.359
It was strictly divorced diary. I
don't keep diaries. And the check,
359
00:25:47.480 --> 00:25:48.960
I said, that was just a
random check. But you're made out
360
00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.839
to me, so I have no
idea. You know, no TV's taken,
361
00:25:52.839 --> 00:25:57.440
no VCR was taken. Check over
cash now he was a bad chick,
362
00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:00.799
chick a follower for it. No. I just found all this sound
363
00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:04.640
relatively recently, and that's why I
told my attorney and to me, I
364
00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:07.319
didn't know how is it approved this
because at first I just thought I misplaced
365
00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:12.839
everything. And it wasn't until last
week that I happened to notice my garage
366
00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:17.680
or I still don't understand why somebody
would come in your house. You both,
367
00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:21.559
That's what I'm saying. I don't
know soon that they had that much
368
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:26.960
accessity. They just tell me,
you're right, yeah, And that's what
369
00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:30.119
I'm saying to my friends too.
It's like somebody's fucking with me, but
370
00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.079
not trying to kill me, and
that's why I would radle. They call
371
00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:38.720
me a center. When he was
released, one of the officers who was
372
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:42.599
upset about the ordeal through Robert's car
keys at him when it was time to
373
00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:48.079
return them, and the keys scratched
his cheek, drawing blood. When Robert
374
00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:51.759
saw the mob of reporters waiting for
him, he decided to make the most
375
00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:55.319
of the limelight. He said he
wanted to find out who killed his wife
376
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.759
and couldn't believe the police kept him
from his children. It's such a dire
377
00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:03.400
time. He smiled and laughed quite
a bit, joking around with the reporters.
378
00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:07.359
Joe and Mary watched the press conference
from their house, and Joe said
379
00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:11.200
that Robert better keep his mouth shut
and stopped smiling so much. Surprisingly,
380
00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:15.000
when Joe had gotten back the previous
night and it hit Mary that they'd really
381
00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:19.559
gone and killed an innocent woman,
she finally decided to act. She had
382
00:27:19.640 --> 00:27:23.640
heard him unloading his gun into the
trash when he got home. After he
383
00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:27.240
went to sleep, she wrote down
the serial number of the gun and saved
384
00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:32.640
the shells. She hid them in
various places around the apartment, but did
385
00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.960
not take them to the police.
In those first few days, Robert made
386
00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.200
virtually no attempts to hide his lack
of concern about his wife being killed.
387
00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:45.960
Fara had over two hundred and thirty
five thousand dollars in life insurance money and
388
00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.279
in overseas account and Robert was only
able to make himself wait a few days
389
00:27:49.319 --> 00:27:53.160
before he called and demanded the money. When he was informed that he wouldn't
390
00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:59.160
get the payout until the murder investigation
was
solved, he was furious. Police
391
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:03.480
were quipped in a Robert as a
suspect in the media shortly after the investigation
392
00:28:03.559 --> 00:28:07.799
began. He was suspended from his
job, but still didn't make any attempt
393
00:28:07.880 --> 00:28:11.839
to publicly display any concern. The
night of Forrest's funeral, Robert visited a
394
00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:18.079
strip club. The backers were granted
emergency custody of the children because Robert was
395
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:22.640
a suspect. The trial for custody
was delayed until mid December, but with
396
00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:26.160
police no closer to solving the case, the presiding judge decided to make a
397
00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:32.799
ruling. In cases concerning the immediate
welfare of children, the principle that one
398
00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:37.519
is innocent until proven guilty is not
always able to be followed. In the
399
00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:41.000
US, if a judge feels children
might be in immediate danger, they're allowed
400
00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:45.359
to operate with an abundance of caution. If only that was the case with
401
00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:51.640
Shirley Turner. During the custody hearing, five people said that Robert had either
402
00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:55.960
offered them money to kill Farah or
asked them if they knew anyone who would
403
00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:59.720
kill someone for the right amount of
money. The people who spoke up were
404
00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:03.920
all workout buddies or casual acquaintances who
didn't even know Robert very well. One
405
00:29:04.039 --> 00:29:08.000
testified that he had assured him nothing
would go wrong because he was a cop,
406
00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:11.920
and implied the other police would side
with him and help him cover up
407
00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:17.279
the murder. The backers told the
courtroom that the children were all very young
408
00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:19.880
and didn't know what was going on. They said they'd told them that their
409
00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:25.400
father wasn't with them because he was
out catching bad guys. As the children,
410
00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:29.079
Bradley especially, all looked up to
him. They didn't want to sour
411
00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:33.839
the children's relationship with their father on
the slim chance he was innocent, and
412
00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:37.720
if he wasn't, they were all
too young to quite grasp the concept of
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00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:42.200
murder anyway. On December fifteenth,
nineteen ninety five, the Backers were awarded
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00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:47.799
custody of the children. The judge
ruled in favor of barring Robert from seeing
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00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.880
the children until the investigation concluded.
He said that his ruling was based solely
416
00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:56.680
on the fact that Robert was the
prime suspect and far As murder, but
417
00:29:56.759 --> 00:30:00.039
he did also say that in regards
to Robert's sexual behavior, he had never
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00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:04.200
heard something so bizarre in all of
his years working in the justice system.
419
00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:08.599
With the children out of immediate danger, Lex and Betty needed to start worrying
420
00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:14.319
about their safety. Apparently, Robert
had been making a point to tell mutual
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00:30:14.359 --> 00:30:18.680
acquaintances that whoever had killed Farah might
come after her parents as well. One
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00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:22.720
day, at the auto shop where
Lex worked, a tall man wearing gloves
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00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:26.880
stormed in and demanded to see him. When his secretary told the man that
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00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:30.359
Lex was out on business, he
called her a liar and kicked opened the
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00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:34.759
door to Lex's office. When he
saw Lex really was gone, he smashed
426
00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:38.880
a flower pot against the wall and
yelled at the secretary to quote tell Lex,
427
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:42.839
I'll be back. Police started watching
the Backer's house after that, and
428
00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:48.519
thankfully the man did not reappear.
That was all happening right around Christmas and
429
00:30:48.599 --> 00:30:52.440
disrupted the small amount of normalcy that
Lex and Betty tried to bring to the
430
00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.839
holiday for their grandchildren. Shortly after
that, things took another strange turn when
431
00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:02.039
someone called Lex and told him they
knew who killed Fara. Lex wanted to
432
00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:04.640
know more details about who was calling, but the caller said he wanted to
433
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:10.359
only be known as Bill. Nervous
after the recent events, Lex told the
434
00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:14.880
caller they couldn't talk right then and
arranged to meet later. Lex then called
435
00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:18.000
the police and told them what was
going on. Police had Lex call the
436
00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:22.119
man back and set up a meeting
at a diner where they felt there were
437
00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:26.319
enough windows they could keep an eye
on everything. Police went into the diner
438
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:30.880
undercover and watched from unmarked vehicles in
the lot as Lex walked in. They
439
00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:33.440
gave him a cell phone that was
bugged to record everything and told him that
440
00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:38.039
if anyone started shooting, he should
zigzag. When Lex walked in, a
441
00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:41.559
large man in a baseball cap sought
him out and the two sat down to
442
00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.400
talk. The man told Lex that
he was actually a police officer, but
443
00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:49.079
that he also worked as a hitman. He explained that he had come from
444
00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:53.440
Dallas, where there was an intricate
network of lawyers and police officers who
worked
445
00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:57.480
together to meet out vigilante justice.
He said that he would be more than
446
00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:02.279
willing to take out Robert Rada,
who was clearly responsible for killing Fara,
447
00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:07.680
but he seemed hesitant to talk specifics
at the meeting. They set up another
448
00:32:07.720 --> 00:32:12.400
meeting shortly after at a restaurant in
Humble. This time Bill told Lex that
449
00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:15.480
he would charge only ten thousand dollars
and that he could kill Robert that night.
450
00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:19.960
He said Lex could take his time, paying him whenever he could get
451
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.400
a hold of the money. Lex
agreed, and Bill told him that he
452
00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:27.920
was going to kill Robert by blowing
him up with dynamite. Police stormed his
453
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.839
car when he walked out of the
restaurant and found that he had both a
454
00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:35.519
gun and dynamite in his vehicle.
His real name was William Edward Planter,
455
00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:37.920
and he went to jail for attempt
and murder. He was in fact a
456
00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:43.599
retired police chief, but any connection
to some elaborate network of hitman was never
457
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:47.720
uncovered. When Robert's lawyers were informed
about the scandal, they were shocked that
458
00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:52.119
police knew there was a hitman gunning
for Robert, but they didn't warn him.
459
00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:57.759
As far as Robert's accomplices go,
police suspected Joe price Dash of being
460
00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:01.319
involved right away. They knew had
suspected he'd been the man to break into
461
00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:05.920
her house, and he matched the
description of the getaway driver at the scene
462
00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:09.079
of her murder, but investigators hit
a wall in questioning him. He simply
463
00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:14.480
would not budge. They decided to
focus on Mary, as the phone calls
464
00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:16.839
that Robert made to Joe that night, We're going to the pager that was
465
00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:22.400
technically under her name. Apparently,
after Mary hid the shells, she would
466
00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:25.559
get paranoid and move the evidence around, hiding it at a potted plant or
467
00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:30.079
in various drawers. Eventually, she
decided to keep the shells on her person.
468
00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:34.440
One day, while she and Joe
were in the mall together, she
469
00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:37.000
realized she had the shells on her
and she panicked and dumped them in the
470
00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:42.799
trash. She kept the serial number. Though. Mary began to slowly talk
471
00:33:42.839 --> 00:33:45.799
to the police, only revealing a
bit of information at a time and trying
472
00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:50.279
to find out what a deal would
be like for being a cooperating witness.
473
00:33:50.880 --> 00:33:54.319
March first saw another interesting development when
Howard Gidry tried to rob a bank.
474
00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:59.960
He and a few accomplices succeeded,
using the same gun he'd killed far away.
475
00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:04.240
Apparently, he and Joe had shuffled
the gun back and forth between them,
476
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:06.920
urging the other to get rid of
it, but they never did.
477
00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:10.599
Howard and his accomplices didn't get far
from the bank before they were arrested.
478
00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:15.199
Days later, Mary Gibb confessed fully
to what she knew about the murder,
479
00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:20.199
and that Howard had been the trigger
man. Howard initially tried to claim he'd
480
00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:23.199
only been the getaway driver, but
shortly after confessed his true role in the
481
00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:29.199
murder. With Howard and custody and
Mary ready to testify, police were able
482
00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:32.840
to put more pressure on Joe.
Joe first arranged to speak to an investigator
483
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:37.159
while out on a walk to ask
him hypothetically, what would happen if he
484
00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:42.440
confessed. The officer told him that
nothing could be guaranteed. Joe knew that
485
00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:45.320
with Mary and Howard already being in
jail, he was likely done for and
486
00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:51.119
decided to cooperate. Shortly after,
Howard and Joe both blamed the other one
487
00:34:51.159 --> 00:34:54.719
for escalating things. Howard claimed he
only agreed to be the getaway driver and
488
00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:59.400
they made him the gunman at the
last minute. Joe claimed that Howard was
489
00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:02.119
willing to hill far right away and
that quote, he needed to make some
490
00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.559
money and he didn't care what he
did. Both men claimed to be very
491
00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:10.960
broken up about the whole thing.
Sure, Robert was arrested on April twenty
492
00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:15.800
first, nineteen ninety five. Police
had to wrestle him to the ground as
493
00:35:15.800 --> 00:35:17.679
his mother was home, and he
said he didn't want to be handcuffed in
494
00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:22.000
front of her. The media had
gotten wind of his arrest, and as
495
00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:24.679
they brought him into the station,
he told reporters quote, I didn't do
496
00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:30.800
it. I'm praying for justice.
The trial was swift and straightforward. Robert
497
00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:34.039
was to be tried first, as
his guilt would be needed to build cases
498
00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:38.400
for his accomplices. The public listened
in horror as numerous witnesses all confessed they'd
499
00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:43.519
heard of Robert's plan to kill his
wife for months before the actual slaying.
500
00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:49.559
Minnie Lawrence testified first hand about Robert's
sexual perversions. She had been the first
501
00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:52.800
person to call the police and implicate
Robert when she saw the news about Vara.
502
00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:59.320
The jury easily found him guilty.
On April twenty third, nineteen ninety
503
00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:04.039
six, Robert Frado was sentenced to
death. Robert did not show any emotion
504
00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:07.239
when his death sentence was read out
loud. Lex told the press after the
505
00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:10.760
sentence was handed down that it was
what he was hoping for. He said,
506
00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.199
there can be no punishment in this
world severe enough that can justify the
507
00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:20.719
everlasting grief, pain, and suffering
he has brought upon his three minor children.
508
00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:24.119
Howard and Joe were both sentenced to
death and their subsequent trials, though
509
00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:29.679
their sentence has yet to be carried
out as of twenty twenty three. Robert's
510
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:34.519
lawyers tried numerous appeals over the years
to reduce his sentence. They argue that
511
00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:38.000
the execution drugs were expired, and
that argument was thrown out. They argue
512
00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:44.400
that the prosecution hypnotized a witness and
made her statement unreliable. They argued that
513
00:36:44.360 --> 00:36:50.000
the ballistics weren't accurate or that the
jury was not impartial. Robert's conviction was
514
00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:53.960
actually later overturned because a judge said
that the way his co conspirator stories had
515
00:36:53.960 --> 00:37:00.400
been admitted into evidence did not follow
the proper legal procedures. That same judge
516
00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:06.639
also wrote that Robert was quote egotistical, misogynistic, and vile. A retrial
517
00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:10.119
in two thousand nine saw the death
sentence upheld. However, Lex and Betty
518
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:15.079
put their lives on hold to raise
their grandchildren. Immediately following the trial,
519
00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:21.079
Bradley was told enough to learn in
simple terms that his father had been responsible
520
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:23.199
for the death of his mother,
and the others would learn the truth as
521
00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:28.800
they grew up. Lex and Betty
once again went to parent teacher conferences and
522
00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:32.079
soccer games. They went to banned
concerts and read report cards, and did
523
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:37.320
all of those things they'd once done
for Farah. They became parents again,
524
00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:40.000
and though they hadn't expected to do
so at their age, they raised the
525
00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:45.320
children in a loving home. When
Amber turned eighteen and all of the children
526
00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:49.000
were of age, they went to
visit their father in prison. Just once.
527
00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:52.760
They asked him why he killed their
mother. He refused to answer them,
528
00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:57.679
and they never went to see him
again. On January tenth, twenty
529
00:37:57.960 --> 00:38:02.159
twenty three, Robert Frado was executed. He was pronounced dead at seven forty
530
00:38:02.199 --> 00:38:07.760
nine pm, nearly three decades after
he'd had Farafrauda killed. He lived as
531
00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:13.280
a monster, and he died as
a monster. If you're the victim of
532
00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:15.880
domestic abuse, please reach out to
someone for help. Please talk to your
533
00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:21.639
local shelter or call the National Domestic
Abuse Hotline at one eight hundred seven nine
534
00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:25.519
nine safe that's one eight hundred seven
nine nine seven two three three, or
535
00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:30.239
you can go to the hotline dot
org to chat with someone online. This
536
00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:32.960
website is set up so that at
any time, hitting the escape key twice
537
00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:37.440
will take you to a Google search
page. That way, if your abuser
538
00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:40.199
is nearby, you won't get caught
seeking help. If you're having feelings of
539
00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:44.400
harming yourself or someone else, or
even just need someone to talk to,
540
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:47.559
please contact your local mental health facility
call nine one one, or call the
541
00:38:47.639 --> 00:38:52.159
National Suicide Prevention Hotline by simply dialing
nine to eight eight in the United States.
542
00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:55.440
They're available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and
543
00:38:55.440 --> 00:39:00.159
we'll talk to you about any mental
health issue you may be facing. If
544
00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:05.119
you were a member of the LGBTQ
plus community and suffering from discrimination, depression,
545
00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:08.599
or are in need of any support, please contact the lgbt National Hotline
546
00:39:08.639 --> 00:39:13.639
at one eight eight eight eight four
three four five six four, or go
547
00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:17.159
to LGBT Hotline dot org. Thanks
so much for letting me tell you this
548
00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:22.159
story. If you enjoyed it,
subscribe on whatever platform you're on it like,
549
00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:23.920
rate us, or leave us a
comment. You can check out our
550
00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:28.920
other show, Somewhere Sinister on YouTube
or anywhere you listen to podcasts. If
551
00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:31.320
you'd like to support the show,
check out our merchandise at this is monsters
552
00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:35.599
dot com. The link is in
the description. Thanks again, and be safe