The Road

every true crime story has one thing in common nothing is as it seems and no podcast knows that better than chameleon I'm Josh Dean And my podcast, Chameleon, explores hidden identities concealed by con artists and scams so mind-blowing it'll have you questioning everything you know. If you're ready to uncover the biggest lies in history,

Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Progressive, where drivers who save by switching save nearly $750 on average. Plus, auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Quote now at Progressive.com to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary.

A.I. agents are everywhere, automating tasks and making decisions at machine speed. But agents make mistakes. Just one rogue agent can do big damage before you even notice. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that helps you monitor agents, set guardrails, and rewind mistakes. So you can unleash agents. not risk. Accelerate your AI transformation at rubrik.com. That's R-U-B-R-I-K dot com. Ever spend $200 on a fragrance only to realize you hate it? Micro Perfumes fixes that.

Now you can try luxury scents without the luxury price. Pick from real designer fragrances like Gucci, Chanel and Versace. It's the real deal. Authentic scents starting at just a few bucks. They come in sleek travel sprays, ship fast and there's no subscription required.

Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra. And the case I'm going to tell you about today takes place in Bienville National Forest in Mississippi. This recreation space is located in the central part of the state and is more than 178,000 acres in size. It's about an hour due east of the city of Jackson, Mississippi, and can be easily accessed via Interstate 20, which runs east to west across the upper portion of the forest. Historically, according to livingnewdeal.org,

Bienville National Forest has been known for logging. Back in the early 1930s, when the U.S. government was eyeing large tracts of land in the southeast to purchase for the Forest Service, Bienville was selected as a desired property. The main stakeholders who controlled the woods at that time were lumber companies, so naturally there were a number of logging trails etched into the landscape as a result of that industry's foothold in the region.

In March of 1982, something horrific happened on one of those paths that would rock central Mississippi for decades. Two women out for a night of fun found out in the worst way just how monstrous a young man from their area. This is Park Predators. On Friday night, March 5th, 1982, family members of 52-year-old Velma Odell Knoblin and 45-year-old Katie Bell Moore were growing very concerned.

The two friends had gone out earlier that evening to a local bar known as Robert's Drop-In, but it was getting late and they still hadn't returned. According to coverage by the Scott County Times, Katie was a mother of four who worked at a chicken plant. and also took jobs babysitting in her spare time. And Velma had six kids of her own, plus four stepchildren and 14 grandchildren. So both of them being gone for an extended period of time with all that responsibility waiting for them at home,

was very out of character. Robert's drop-in, the nightclub they'd visited, was located in the city of Forest, Mississippi, which doesn't appear from the source material to have been very far from where either woman lived.

So as the hours ticked by and Friday night turned into Saturday morning with no sign of the women, their loved ones knew something was off and notified local authorities that they were missing. That report seemed to immediately concern law enforcement. Because a few hours earlier, a Forest police officer named Henry Williams Jr. had pulled over a young man in the city of Forest for speeding and reckless driving. And at the time, he'd been operating a brown 1978 Datsun.

which came back as belonging to Velma Noblin. According to the coverage, this traffic stop occurred around 1.40 in the morning on Saturday, so several hours before the women's missing persons reports were filed. But even without knowing that as background, there were a few things that stood out as kind of odd to Officer Williams, who pulled the young man over. First, there were two women's purses sitting on the passenger seat of the car, and a black bra on the back seat.

And second, the driver was covered in blood, to the point where some of the source material describes the state of his clothing as soaked in blood. However, when Officer Williams asked the driver how he'd gotten so bloody, The young man responded that he'd cut one of his thumbs with a sharp knife while cleaning a possum, and claimed that the reason he was driving so poorly was because he was trying to get to a local hospital.

Court records and articles by the Scott County Times explain that the driver asked Officer Williams to follow him to the hospital as a sort of escort. When the pair arrived around 2 a.m., staff in the emergency room quickly noted... that the young man's injury was superficial at best and wasn't going to require medical attention. After that, Officer Williams called in another Forrest police officer to assist him in interviewing the driver.

who is identified as 19-year-old Bobby Glenn Wilcher. It's not stated specifically in the source material what Officer Williams' reason was for probing Bobby's story further, but I have to assume a glaring red flag... might have been the fact that Bobby had so much blood on him. And yet, hospital staff had made it very clear that the injury to his thumb was minor. So it likely just didn't make sense to Officer Williams where all the blood on Bobby's clothing had come from.

At the hospital, Bobby showed Officer Williams and his colleagues a lock blade knife he owned that had blood on it. But the officers seemingly didn't confiscate that weapon or take any photos of it. Instead, they left it with a hospital security guard for safekeeping because...

According to one of the sources I mentioned a second ago, Officer Williams and his co-workers got called to another incident around that time, and so they had to leave the hospital to attend to that. Not long after they departed, Bobby left the hospital as well. But that wasn't the only time authorities had contact with him that day. Within hours of Bobby getting discharged from the hospital, a Scott County judge issued an arrest warrant for him, but not for the reckless driving incident.

The arrest warrant was in relation to him being suspected of previously stealing a Colt brand handgun. Bobby wasn't picked up for that offense, though, until around 3 p.m. on that Saturday. Specific details about the circumstances related to that crime were hard to come by, but what I can tell you is that around the same time Bobby was taken into custody for that charge,

The sheriff's office got word that there had been a gruesome discovery made in a remote part of the county within the boundary of Bienville National Forest. Around 3 p.m., three teens who'd ventured down a dead-end Forest Service road, located a few miles from a main road along the east side of the National Forest, came into the sheriff's office to report that they'd stumbled upon two women's bodies.

Both victims had been stabbed multiple times, and there was no hope of saving them. That information seemed to kick law enforcement's investigation into high gear because it was quickly determined that the victims were none other than Velma and Katie. At the crime scene, Katie's body was discovered face up, fully clothed, and laying at the end of the dead-end road. Her hands bore injuries consistent with defensive wounds. About 120 yards away from the nearest roadway, in a ditch,

was Velma's body. She was found without her shoes on in a state of partial undress. She also showed signs of having tried to fight off her attacker. In the hours before their bodies were found, a full-scale search for the missing women had gotten underway. And during that time, authorities gathered a lot of information that proved helpful to their investigation.

First, Velma's car, which was the vehicle she and Katie had driven together to go to Robert's drop-in, and was the same vehicle Bobby Wiltshire had been seen driving it, was located abandoned at an apartment complex that neither he nor the women lived at. Investigators also found witnesses from the bar who said they remembered both women hanging out with Bobby. The three of them had been drinking and dancing together all the way up until closing time, which was around midnight.

There was even one witness who claimed to have seen Bobby leave the bar riding in the front seat of Velma's vehicle, sitting between the two women. Other interviews revealed that Bobby's family and Katie's family knew one another because... Katie had babysat him as a child, and Mildred, Bobby's mother, had babysat Katie's children. And to top it all off, a Scott County deputy who'd been working during the early morning hours on Saturday had clocked Bobby driving Velma's vehicle.

But he hadn't initiated a traffic stop because, at the time, Bobby apparently wasn't breaking any laws, and the deputy, who was somewhat familiar with Bobby, had seen him driving other people's cars in the past. So him being behind the wheel of a random vehicle wasn't all that unusual. However, all things considered, it was safe to say that authorities felt pretty confident by Saturday evening that they knew who their prime suspect was for the double homicide.

Court documents state that shortly after 7 p.m., Scott County deputies transported Bobby from the jail to the sheriff's office. They read him his Miranda rights and indicated they wanted to ask him a few questions. But right away, Bobby clammed up and refused to talk. He told authorities that he wanted to go home and speak with his parents, Mildred and Eugene Wilcher, which, surprisingly, investigators let him do.

Court records state that deputies took him to his mom and dad's house and allowed him to talk with them for a little bit before eventually transporting Bobby back to the station. About two hours later, investigators read him his rights a second time. And that's when Bobby reportedly confessed to the crime. In a verbal statement, he claimed he was the person responsible for murdering Velma and Katie. At some point during that time frame, Scott County Sheriff phoned Velma and Katie's loved ones.

and broke the news. By that point, people from both women's families had all gathered together at one of their residences. Coverage by the Scott County Times explained that the initial information loved ones received was that the victims' bodies had simply been found.

They were not explicitly told that Velma and Katie had been murdered. That confirmation came a little bit later, when, as Sam Hall reported for the Scott County Times, Katie's nephew, a man named Joe Rigby, formally identified them. At the time, Joe was Scott County's acting coroner, and as soon as Katie and Velma's bodies were brought to his office, he quickly realized they were his aunt and her best friend.

Because the women's suspected killer was already technically in custody for suspected larceny of a firearm in an unrelated crime, it made it a lot easier for Scott County investigators to place him under arrest for the double homicide. At his arraignment, Bobby pleaded not guilty, and a judge ordered he be held without bond. On March 8th, the Monday after the crime, authorities got a phone call from Bobby's dad, Eugene.

who told them there were some items of value at his house that he felt law enforcement might want to know about. That information resulted in the sheriff's office executing a search warrant at Eugene and Mildred's place, where they found some jewelry in Bobby's room. which included two rings, a watch, and a necklace that were later identified as belonging to Velma. That same day, Velma's family held her funeral, and the next day, Katie's loved ones held her funeral.

The impact of the murders on their families and the community was immense. Like I mentioned earlier, Katie was a mother of four, and Velma had ten kids, plus more than a dozen grandchildren. Coverage about them explains that they were from large families and had several brothers and sisters who all seemed quite close. Two days after Katie's funeral, authorities who were trying relentlessly to get Bobby to cooperate continued to press him for more information.

And eventually, he agreed to take sheriff's deputies to a rural road in Scott County where he'd tossed the victim's two purses and bra. In a ditch at that spot, the sheriff found the missing handbags and black bra and seized those items as evidence. Court records state that when Bobby and the group of investigators returned from that trip, Bobby provided another statement, which further detailed his involvement in the murders.

According to that confession, he claimed he'd lured Velma and Katie to the rural forest road where they were eventually found because he said it was where his parents lived. But when they arrived, he stole their belongings and stabbed them.

The judge presiding over Bobby's case appeared to take all the necessary steps to fast track his prosecution. A few days after his arrest, the court called a special session of circuit court to discuss the case. which I think sort of acted like an expedited preliminary hearing. And that resulted in Bobby's trial date for Velma's murder, kidnapping, and robbery getting scheduled first for late July 1982, which was just four months after the crime.

His defense attorney requested a change of venue twice before that date because he felt Bobby wouldn't be able to receive a fair trial in Scott County. But the judge denied those requests. When the four-day trial got underway on July 27th, jurors heard from investigators like forced police officer Henry Williams Jr., who'd interacted with Bobby shortly after the crime.

They also heard from witnesses who'd seen the two victims and Bobby together leaving Robert's drop-in, and the emergency room staff who'd assessed Bobby's thumb injury and determined it was minor. It was revealed in court that on the night of the crime, Bobby had asked Velma and Katie for a ride home, and Velma had agreed. It seems that since there was familiarity between Katie and Bobby and Bobby's mother, that the two women trusted him.

Prosecutors argued that Bobby's intention from the outset was to rob the women of their belongings and then kill them so he wouldn't be caught. The state explained to jurors how Bobby had confessed to authorities about luring his victims to the remote spot in the woods.

under the notion that the forest road led to his parents' house. But by the time trial came around, that was no longer Bobby's position on the issue. In fact, he and his attorney argued that his entire confession had been coerced. To prove that point, Bobby took the stand in his own defense. He testified that throughout his interactions with officers and the sheriff, he'd asked numerous times to speak with an attorney, but those requests were ignored.

He also claimed that officers had threatened him and made false promises of leniency if he confessed. In court, his defense attorney argued that because of that, his confession should be thrown out. But the court denied that request. and ruled that those items of evidence, as well as Bobby's confession, would be presented to the jury. During Bobby's time on the witness stand, he told jurors that he was not the person who murdered Velma and Katie.

He claimed that another man named Gene Milton had been in the car with him and the women after they left Robert's drop-in, and it was that guy who'd carried out the attack. Bobby said after consuming a lot of alcohol and other substances at the bar, He'd passed out in the backseat of Velma's car and remained there in that state until shortly after the stabbings began. He said at some point he'd come to and saw the man he knew as Gene stabbing Katie.

After that, he said Gene took off to catch up to Velma, who'd managed to flee. But by the time he caught up to Gene, he'd already killed Velma. Immediately following the murders, Bobby claimed he took the murder weapon from Gene and then dropped him off at a local gas station. When prosecutors asked Bobby why he'd not gone straight to the police to report the incident, he said he'd thought about doing that.

but was too afraid of Gene Milton. In the end, neither the prosecution nor the jury bought Bobby's story. And on July 30th, it took them just under two hours or so to deliberate and find him guilty of capital murder, kidnapping.

and robbery. All these charges together, especially the capital murder charge, qualified Bobby for capital punishment. And just one day after the trial concluded, jurors voted to go that route. They sentenced Bobby to Mississippi's death row, where the method of execution at the time was the gas chamber. Less than two months later, a jury in Harrison County, Mississippi, which was almost three hours south of Scott County,

tried Bobby for Katie Moore's murder and found him guilty. Just like in his first trial, he was sentenced to death. He appealed his convictions in 1984 and 1985, arguing, among many things, that he should have been allowed a change of venue, his confession should have been ruled inadmissible, and that law enforcement's actions while retrieving the victim's jewelry from his room at his parents' house violated search and seizure laws.

But those appeals were ultimately denied. Sid Salter reported for the Scott County Times that Bobby's execution date was originally scheduled for April 11, 1984. But that date was anything but firm. You know that one family member who is really hard to shop for? The trouble is over. Check out StoryWorth memoirs for your loved ones this holiday season. It's a gift they won't see coming, something that makes them feel truly special.

Each week, StoryWorth emails a loved one a thoughtful question to capture their life stories. Responses can be written or recorded over the phone. No apps or tech skills needed. After one year, StoryWorth compiles the stories and photos into a beautifully printed, full-color hardcover book to preserve family memories. With new personalized questions and easy magic editor and fresh book designs, StoryWorth continues to innovate.

Every week, I get an email asking me a question to put into my StoryWorth book, and I know that in a couple of years when me and my young son look back, we're going to be laughing and giggling and maybe even crying a little bit when we look at some of the responses. Give your loved ones a unique keepsake you'll all cherish for years. StoryWorth Memoirs. Right now, save $10 or more during their holiday sale when you go to storyworth.com slash parkpredators.

That's storyworth.com slash parkpredators to save $10 or more on your order. If you could stop somebody from breaking in before they got inside, why wouldn't you? Most old school systems go off after someone's already in your place. That's too late. SimpliSafe is different. It's proactive with a double layer of defense that stops crimes before they start.

First, AI-powered cameras spot potential threats outside. Then, live agents step in, talking to the person through the camera, letting them know they're on video and police will be dispatched if they don't leave. They can even trigger a loud siren or spotlight. There are no long-term contracts or hidden fees. We've had SimpliSafe in our home for a few years and it's been a huge comfort because we travel pretty regularly for my work. And so being able to pop in...

Seeing our cameras and just know that other people are monitoring our home for us when we're away is a huge relief. This month only, take 50% off any new system. This is one of the best prices you will ever see for SimpliSafe. Don't miss it. Hit simplisafe.com slash parks. Again, that's simplisafe.com slash parks. And lock in your discount. There's no safe like SimpliSafe.

By November 1985, Bobby Wilcher's execution date had been delayed several times due to him filing additional motions for post-conviction relief. He was running out of options quickly, and so... he decided to grant an interview to Scott County Times editor Sid Salter. Salter visited Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman's Maximum Security Unit, where death row inmates were housed, and sat down with Bobby.

By then, Bobby was 22 years old and claimed that he'd recently become a Christian while incarcerated. He told Salter that he believed God had forgiven him for what he'd done, but... He wasn't sure other people, including the victim's families, would ever be able to. He remained adamant that his rights had been violated during the police investigation and trial, but admitted that he was getting the punishment he deserved.

He said that neither Velma or Katie deserved to die the way they did, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He remarked that he often thought about their families and would never be able to justify what he'd done. He claimed that he wasn't afraid of dying in the gas chamber, but did express that he felt capital punishment was, at its base level, inhumane. When Salter asked Bobby point blank why he'd stabbed Velma and Katie so many times,

He stated, let me answer your question with a question. Have you ever seen a charging bull? Salter responded, yes. Then Bobby asked, does he stop when his prey is down? To which Salter replied, No. And then Bobby immediately followed up with, that's my answer. You know how you flash a piece of red in a bull's eyes and he goes mad? That's my answer.

Which to me is a response that seems to imply that Bobby knew there was something violent about himself that could not be controlled. I mean, he compared himself to a charging bull who doesn't stop when their prey is down. I don't know why anyone would describe themselves or their actions in that way unless they knew that there was something deep within themselves that was animalistic.

He admitted in the interview that the story he told during his trial about a fourth person, that guy Gene Milton, being with him and Katie and Velma during the murders, was a lie. He told Salter that he did know a man named Gene, but... he wasn't present for the crime. According to Bobby, Gene was just some guy he'd been involved in other criminal activity with prior to the murders, and he'd lied on the witness stand about him in an attempt to avoid being convicted.

Bobby was initially reluctant to tell Sid Salter exactly what happened between him and the women that fateful night in March of 1982, but eventually he came around to describing what he remembered of the attack. He said that after the trio left Robert's drop-in, he directed them to the National Forest and explained that the rural road they were going down was where his parents lived. He claimed he couldn't remember everything that happened once they arrived at the dead end of the path, but...

According to him, Velma walked a few feet away from the car and either said or did something that caused Bobby to go off. After that, Bobby said he'd killed Katie and then chased Velma, who had managed to make it back to where the forest road met another road. Bobby explained that when Velma turned around to see if he was still following her, he was standing right behind her. It was at that location he murdered her, despite Velma's best efforts to fight him off and scream for help.

He said afterwards he stole Velma's jewelry and went to head home but was stopped by a forest police officer. It was at that point he made up the story about getting cut while skinning a possum.

He claimed that the morning after the killings, he woke up at his parents' house and thought that the entire thing could have been a dream. Over the course of the next five years or so, Bobby continued to wage a post-conviction legal fight to get his death sentences overturned. In mid-June 1990, another appeal he'd filed, this time at the federal level, was dismissed.

But that didn't stop him from taking his case to an even higher appellate court. At that point, Mississippi had stopped using the gas chamber as a form of capital punishment and replaced its method of execution with lethal injection. And there were also some other major changes for death row inmates in the early 90s. According to coverage by the Clarion Ledger and Scott County Times, in October of 1993, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

decided to vacate the sentences of 17 people on death row in Mississippi, including Bobby. This landmark ruling came after the high court realized poor wording and jury instructions issued by judges in those cases. had technically violated inmates' constitutional rights. Now, don't worry, it's not like Bobby was set free or anything after that. Not by a long shot.

He remained behind bars while the state attorney general's office asked the Supreme Court of Mississippi for a rehearing on his case to void a previous court's decision to give Bobby a shot at being resentenced. However, in March of 1994, that request was denied. So a few months later, in June and July, Bobby was back in court again in two different counties for resentencing hearings for both murders.

It took the jury weighing Velma's case less than three hours to unanimously convict Bobby for the crime, and a verdict also came swiftly in Katie's case. Once again, both juries sentenced him to death. In response to that outcome, one of Velma's daughters told the Scott County Times, quote, Thank God for 12 good people. We've suffered for 12 years, and I hope this finally puts these appeals to rest. End quote.

But unfortunately, that's not what happened. The way it worked was, as soon as you got convicted and sentenced to death, your case was automatically appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court. I know it probably seems like that wouldn't have been an option for Bobby since he'd already been down that road, but technically, when he was convicted for the second time in June and July of 1994, that basically reset the appeals process all over again.

In March of 1997, though, I imagine much to the relief of Velma and Katie's loved ones, the state's Supreme Court denied his appeal once again. He took his case to the United States Supreme Court a few months later, but in January of 1998, the federal justices refused to hear his case. It had been almost 16 years since the crime, and still, Bobby had not been executed.

Scott County Times editor Sid Salter penned a lengthy opinion piece about the case in 1998, which pointedly criticized Mississippi's enforcement of the death penalty. The closing words of his article were, quote, Four chances to argue for his life. 16 years of appeals. That's one hell of a lot more chances than Wilcher afforded Ms. Noblin and Ms. Moore. End quote. I think the implication with those words was...

Enough was enough. And it appears the Mississippi Supreme Court felt the same way, because in early October 2003, the justices ruled that Bobby had no further grounds to file additional post-conviction appeals. Period. By then, Velma and Katie's surviving children and siblings were worn out by the seemingly never-ending saga of events. Joe Rigby, Katie's nephew, who was Scott County's coroner back in 1982, told editor Sam Hall that...

Even though it seemed Bobby had exhausted all his legal options to fight his execution, Joe doubted his aunt's killer would ever be executed for the murders. One of Katie's daughters, Jody, and Velma's daughter, Nell, told the newspaper, but it was somewhat relieving to hope that this would finally be the end to their nightmare, but they still had reservations.

In June 2006, Bobby expressed to a federal judge that he no longer wanted to pursue further legal avenues in his case, and he said he wanted to move forward with his execution. His defense attorneys, on the other hand, didn't want to go that route. They kept filing legal motions on his behalf, which only further delayed his execution. A few weeks later, on July 11, 2006, it appeared that the true end had come. Well, sort of.

Don't let overpriced phone bills suck the joy out of the holidays this year. Right now, all of Mint Mobile's unlimited plans are 50% off. You can get 3, 6, or 12 months of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month. I use Mint Mobile's wireless service for my work cell phone, and I have to tell you guys, with Mint Mobile, I save a ton of money every month, and I never have to compromise on coverage.

Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint. Shop Mint Unlimited plans at mintmobile.com slash parkpredators. That's mintmobile.com slash parkpredators. Limited time offer. Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for 12-month plan required.

$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra, initial plan term only. Over 35 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Capable device required, availability speed and coverage varies. See MintMobile.com. Ever dreamed of starting your own business? Maybe it's a bakery that ships your famous oatmeal cookies nationwide or even your own podcast. To make that business dream a reality, you need support. That's where the commerce platform Shopify comes in.

Millions of businesses around the world, including 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S., depend on Shopify. It's the platform behind familiar brands like Mattel and Gymshark. and those just getting started. Think of Shopify as your trusty sidekick with tools to help you build your business. From ready-to-go templates to match your brand styles to easy-to-run email and social media campaigns.

Plus, get help with everyday tasks like enhancing product images, writing product descriptions, or generating discount codes with Shopify's AI tools created for commerce. And Shopify's award-winning 24-7 customer support has answers along the way. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash Park Predators. Go to Shopify.com slash Park Predators. Shopify.com slash Park Predators.

to the coverage in this case, less than 30 minutes before Bobby was scheduled to be executed via lethal injection on July 11th, the United States Supreme Court ordered his execution be postponed. Bobby had fully resigned himself at that point to dying, and prison officials had even remarked to the press that he'd stated he wanted to die. But attorneys against capital punishment and those opposed to the death penalty...

had managed to successfully file an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments on Bobby's competency. As you can imagine, this was extremely upsetting to Velma and Katie's loved ones because... They were literally on their way to the prison about to walk into the viewing room to watch what they felt like was justice being served, when at the last minute, that reality was not fulfilled. However, it was just a few months later...

in mid-October 2006 that the case finally ended. At 6.31 p.m. on October 18th, the state of Mississippi executed Bobby via lethal injection, and he was declared deceased at 6.42 p.m. Sid Salter reported that some of Velma and Katie's surviving siblings, children, and extended family members attended the viewing. In his final moments, Bobby never looked at them or provided any departing words of apology or remorse.

After he was pronounced dead, one of Katie's sons told the press, quote, My emotions are better now because it's finally over. We don't have to focus on it all the time. But it just looks to me like he died too peaceful a death.

After Bobby's execution, it became publicly known that he'd developed a friendship with a former female juror who served at one of his 1994 trials. That woman's name was Lindy Wells, and according to a PBS documentary titled Lindy Liu, Juror Number Two, she'd spent several years after the crime corresponding with Bobby and re-interviewing fellow jurors about whether they felt they'd made the right decision.

to sentence him to death. According to the documentary, Lindy had initially felt sure that Bobby deserved to die for his crimes, but then during the sentencing phase and over the years, her position had changed on the issue of capital punishment.

The documentary explores her journey reconciling with the case and includes interviews with other jurors, many of whom believe they'd made the right decision. There were, however, at least a few people, though, who weren't sure how they felt about the death penalty. For a brief time in the program, Bobby's background and history were delved into, and one of his former friends told the producers that what he remembered of Bobby growing up was that he'd been violent towards animals and...

Many of his buddies believed Bobby would likely end up incarcerated. This friend who spoke with the documentary crew also revealed that where Bobby had killed Velma and Katie wasn't very far away from the home he'd been raised in. And that detail kind of answered a lingering question I found myself asking a lot while researching this story, which was, why did Bobby pick the deserted Forest Service road in Bienville National Forest that he did when he killed Velma and Katie?

Based on what his former friend told the documentary, it would appear that it was a place Bobby might have known about. A place maybe he'd been to before since it was so close to his childhood home. Whatever his rationale was for selecting that specific spot, if he had any rationale at all, is probably something only Bobby knew. A former forensic psychologist who'd evaluated him in prison determined he had, quote,

elements of psychopathic personality, end quote, and was of average intelligence. But exactly why he did what he did could never be firmly pinned down. At the time of the crime, he was a recent transplant from Louisiana who'd moved into a room at his parents' place in Mississippi about a week and a half before the murders. Court records explain that he was recently separated and had a nine-month-old daughter at the time of the crime.

Several articles by Sid Salter chronicled Bobby's life as a young man and explained that he was one of four siblings. He had two brothers, one of whom died as an infant and a younger sister. He'd only attended grade school through the eighth grade before he began to get into serious trouble, which resulted in him being admitted to a reform school.

A few years before Velma and Katie's murders, he'd been convicted for grand larceny and served less than two years in prison before he was back on the streets. His mother, Mildred, who later went on to have criminal convictions of her own related to drug offenses, had previously testified in court that Bobby was for the most part a normal child when he was young. However, when he turned 12 years old, she said he suddenly changed and became what she described as bad.

When he was convicted and sentenced to death the second time around in 1994, Mildred actually fainted in court after the verdict was read. Sid Salter reported that the first two people to run to Mildred's side and assist her... were actually Katie Moore's sisters. One of those women later told Scott County Times editor Sid Salter that despite what Bobby had done to Katie and Velma, they didn't blame his family for the crime or wish anything bad against them.

It was Bobby who the victim's families seemed to view as the bad seed, so to speak. And Bobby himself basically confirmed that in a second sit-down prison interview he gave to the Scott County Times in 1988. When asked if he was responsible for viciously killing Velma and Katie, Bobby responded that he was. When asked why he committed the murders, he stated because, quote, it felt good. It felt good.

End quote. And perhaps most chillingly, when Bobby was asked if he would kill again if he were to ever be let out of prison, Bobby responded in part, quote, I hate to say it, but I think I would. End quote. Park Predators is an audio check production. You can view a list of all the source material for this episode on our website, parkpredators.com. And you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram, at parkpredators. I think Chuck would approve.

I'm Sarah Gibson Tuttle, and I started Olive in June because let's be real. We all deserve to have gorgeous nails, but who wants to spend a fortune? That's why I created the Gel Mani System, so you can have that salon-quality gel manicure right at home. And guess what? The best part? Each mani only costs $2. And here's a little something extra. Head over to oliveandjune.com and get 20% off your first gel mani system with code HELLOGEL20. That's code...

HelloGel20 for 20% off your first Manny system at oliveandjune.com slash HelloGel20. KFC presents a tale in the obsessive pursuit of flavor. Colonel Sanders spent decades perfecting his spicy wings and his fluffy potato wedges, but as soon as all of America fell in love with him, we took them off the menu. Yeah, it doesn't make much sense to us either.

The Colonel lived so we could chicken. Backed by obsessive demand, the bold flavor of KFC's spicy wings and fluffy potato wedges. Come and get them. Prices and participation may vary. Only available while supplies last.