Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Voters know that bad weather, like storms, lightning, and wind, can turn a fun day on the water into a challenge.
But what if you had satellite-delivered weather data giving you the full picture of what's around you, even when you're offshore and out of cell range? With SiriusXM Marine, get up-to-date weather directly on your boat's display. Features include radar, lightning, marine warnings, wind and wave info, and much more. And for offshore anglers, imagine having a guide that tells you where it might be best to cast your line. Fish mapping does just that. It's 8
fishing-focused features, including fishing recommendations, weed line info, plankton info, and sea surface temperature information can help you find fish faster. Plus, you can add SiriusXM Entertainment and listen to ad-free music, plus sports, talk, comedy, news, and more while you're on the water. Visit SiriusXM.com slash marine to learn more.
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, discounts not available in all states and situations.
A more colorful life starts at an Ashley store. From earth tones to vibrant colors, Ashley stores have an array of eye-catching furniture for every room in fun and trending hues that will leave a lasting impression. So it's easier than ever to express your personal style and design a vibrant home that feels just like you. Your more colorful life starts at an Ashley store. Shop in-store or online at ashley.com.
This is Episode 12: Guilty Face. On April 8, 2008, two years after Jeff Pelley was convicted for murdering his family, an Indiana appeals court overturned his conviction. But in February 2009, the case was transferred to the Indiana Supreme Court, and justices there denied a rehearing of the case and reinstated the original verdict. Jeff wasn't going anywhere.
He bounced between a few prisons in Indiana and eventually landed at Indiana State Maximum Security Prison in Michigan City, Indiana. That's where he's incarcerated today. From this point forward in the show, I want you to know up front, as a journalist, I don't know nor do I personally have a vested interest in whether Jeff Pelley is guilty or innocent.
Throughout my investigation, I've requested interviews with Jeff and his wife Kim multiple times, but neither of them will agree to speak with me. What my goal is with this case is to investigate the Pelley family murders and follow the evidence to find the truth.
In the first 11 episodes of the season, I've gone counterclockwise in time, recapping a comprehensive history of the 1989 murders and what occurred afterwards. Moving forward, I'll be presenting a detailed investigation I've conducted solely based on case evidence, new interviews, and additional information I've uncovered about the crime. So buckle up, because this is going to be a wild next few episodes. ♪
The one person that's been most haunted over the years by Jeff's conviction, besides his family, is Alan Baum. When I first spoke with Alan on the phone last year, three words into our conversation, he paused and told me it's the one criminal defense case he'll talk to anyone about. It's the great failure of his legal career, he says. I've been in practice over 50 years, and I've tried about 35 murder cases and won most of them.
Allen has never been able to understand why the jury didn't find Lois Stansbury's testimony powerful, or why they weren't impacted by Allen's dissection of Rick Hoover's failures at the crime scene.
Lastly, Allen says, at a minimum, jurors should have considered the washcloth expert testimony as grounds for reasonable doubt. Allen's lamenting aside, there's nothing he can do now.
The lawyer who represents Jeff currently is Francis Watson, a clinical professor of law for Indiana University McKinney School of Law's Wrongful Conviction Clinic. The Indiana University McKinney Wrongful Conviction Clinic has taken the case, and they're promising new evidence that would argue for Jeff Pelley's innocence.
While producing this show, I visited her office in Indianapolis several times and spent hours inside of her war room. Hi! Hello! I was calling your number and I was like, maybe she's on the phone. Or maybe something came up with court. This is my life, guys. Oh my goodness. There's papers everywhere. So we can sit in here.
The rows of boxes and filing cabinets in her conference room are a clear indication she specializes in large, complicated post-conviction cases. This is all Jeff. These are the old files of his lawyers. Since taking on Jeff's case over a decade ago, Frances has filed three different versions of what's called a Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, also known as a PCR.
A PCR is the legal brief required to try and get Jeff a new evidentiary hearing in front of a judge. In a post-conviction proceeding in Indiana, there's no jury that hears the case. You go to the judge and you present your facts and you argue that you've proven your right to a new trial. So we're going to be asking the court to vacate the four convictions for murder
And if that were to occur, then Mr. Pelley would still face the charges. It would be up to the state to determine whether or not to proceed to trial anew or dismiss. Fran, as I've come to know her, is gathering evidence to prove four things occurred that violated Jeff's rights and could prove he's innocent. Ineffective assistance, prosecutorial misconduct, speedy trial, and newly discovered evidence.
Those are a lot of legal terms, so I'll break them down for you. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, or IAC, is a nice way of saying Alan Baum wasn't a competent attorney at trial. A charge Alan takes no offense to, especially after spending years agonizing over failing Jeff. I would be shocked if the appellate lawyers didn't argue IAC. Offended, not insulted, make the best arguments they can on appeal.
Next, Fran believes the prosecution telling jurors during trial that Jeff's blue jeans came out of the washing machine, knowing the state had no evidence or testimony to prove they'd been washed, was an outright lie and grounds for prosecutorial misconduct.
If you look at the evidence about the washing machine, that's all made up. She has the same questions about police officers' seizure of the blue jeans that I had when I interviewed Craig Whitfield. So are you telling me that at a quadruple murder scene, they took a pair of blue jeans out of a washing machine wet? Wet. They would have had them in wet and somehow packaged them in an Annis grocery store bag with a receipt dated the date of the prom in the bottom of it?
That's not how you package evidence in an Anna's Grocery Store bag with a receipt in the bottom. That would contaminate the evidence. Like, who else? Something else had been in that bag, right? So what do you know? You don't use a used bag to package evidence.
The jury was told that the blue jeans had been taken from the washing machine having been washed. The jury believed, from the way the evidence was presented, that he'd washed his clothes after he murdered these people. He left, didn't go straight up the stairs, turned and went into the laundry room, went this way, took off his pants, socks, shirt, put them in the washer and started it.
Bum never did what I call dig it out and pin it down. I asked him, who ever said they took them out of the washing machine? And he said, well, somebody looked in and saw them. I go, but looking in and saw them isn't the same as taking them out and drying them. Like one of the depositions I asked the guy, well, wouldn't you have had to dry them? Oh, absolutely. You would have had to dry them before you put them in a bag. And I go, so do you remember anybody drying them?
But when they wrote to the FBI on May 9th, whatever date that letter is, they never said any pants were in the washer. None of it is true. It's all machinations. And it's so hard to believe.
Fran is convinced, without any doubt, that when Craig took boxes of evidence out of storage in 2001, he wrongfully assumed the blue jeans in the grocery store bag were what was said to have come from the washer. Whitfield puts it together long before the prosecutor gets it. He puts it together as this cold case, and he starts with, oh, I took a new look at the same evidence, and I got it figured out. He washed his clothes.
And then he makes it up. I mean, it's just that. And then he starts by going, what did he wash? He washed these blue jeans. When they boxed it all up in 89 and they put it away, they didn't have it organized very well and marked very well. And the reason is the investigation they did was all focused on Jeff. And when none of it pointed to Jeff, they boxed it all up and they stopped investigating. The blue jeans were what he wore out of the house. Numerous witnesses.
The guy at the gas station, Mrs. Greer, what did he have on when he got here? What did he have on at the gas station? Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans. That's what they all said. Fran and I definitely feel the same, at least about the blue jeans. I'm not out here to legally fight Jeff's post-conviction battle, but the facts seem pretty clear based on the evidence that Jeff's blue jeans were not washed and did not come from the washing machine in the Pelly basement.
In our discussion, Fran and I also agreed that the readable receipt and coins said to have been found in the pocket of the blue jeans were further proof that they hadn't been washed. A few years ago, Fran and her law students went to handle the evidence in person.
I went and looked. We drive up there, students and I, we drive up there, take the camera, get the court to allow us to go in. Because all we're trying to figure out is what are you talking about these 34 coins? What 34 coins? What receipt? When you get to the trial, they like gloss over it, bring it up at all. How could you wash your jeans and 34 coins stay in the pocket if it's not some super special load, right? I don't think anything was wet.
Because if it had been wet, they would have documented it. And they didn't. The fact that in 89, if they'd have opened that washer and there had been a load of laundry belonging to that young man wet, he'd have been taken into custody. They'd have written the documents up. They're not there. And then when they reopen it in 2002, it's this bulls**t.
Fran accuses Frank Schaefer and his office staff of purposefully packaging the blue jeans in such a way before they were presented to the jury to keep members of the panel from asking the questions she and I have. She faults Allen, Jeff's defense attorney, for not catching this slick move. Out of the presence of the jury, the prosecutor says, "Well, I can take it all back to my office tonight and package it so they can view it." And Baum says, "Okay."
Now, here, without any doubt, I'm not making this up, is what the jury saw. They saw no coins. It was packaged so that the Anna's Grocery Store bag is turned inside out. You can't take it out of the exterior bag and turn it over and see the actual coins.
The jury never knew because of the way in which it was packaged and the way in which it was distributed during this that it was an Anna's Grocery Store bag. I've alleged it's a Brady violation, that they knew or should have known they were presenting it in such a way that it was false evidence. Fran believes wholeheartedly that the blue jean evidence was fabricated.
She doesn't deny the killer would have been covered in blood and likely would have needed to clean up. She just doesn't think the evidence proves that killer was Jeff. You're in the belief that there would have been brain matter and blood on the suspect, no doubt. Yeah, everybody agrees with that. I'll show you the pictures. There's brain matter on the table. Good gracious. I mean...
The brains of these women have been dislodged from their skulls. And it's over the walls, the floors. Mr. Pally, it's all over the walls. So it clearly sprayed. Jeff not having a trace of biological material on him when he showed up to pick up Darla for prom, Fran says proves that he's innocent. That's crazy to think he could have gotten out of that house without that stuff.
being all down in that. He had like a mullet. In the beginning, I looked at this and thought, did he just get mad and go off? But it's methodical. It's not get mad and go off because then you've got to compose yourself to get all back together, get your hair done, get your clothes. He wore a Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans out of the house. He thought he was a styler.
He had a mullet, picture it, a mullet and a Hawaiian shirt and those blue jeans. He thought he, you know, do you see? He was some 17-year-old kid on the way to the prom, not having just murdered these people. Back in 1989, the initial detective on the case, John Bowditch, and a state trooper, Mark Senter, had their own defense for that argument. So did the prosecutors at trial.
Their argument pointed to the fact that evidence from the Pelley's upstairs shower proved Jeff washed up after the murders. That evidence being the wet washcloths and a drop of water in the tub basin. What's interesting is that last year, when I interviewed John Bowditch in person, he said that he didn't think Jeff would have had any debris or blood on him after committing the crime.
He said he didn't think Jeff would have been close enough to the victims to be able to get bodily fluids all over him. Now, that's a complete contradiction to what John wrote in his police reports in 1989. I had to figure out why after 32 years, the former lead detective on this case was now contradicting himself.
Do you want to set your child up for success? IXL Learning is an online learning program for kids covering math, language arts, science, and social studies. IXL is designed to help them really understand and master topics in a fun way. Powered by advanced algorithms, IXL gives the right help to each kid no matter the age or personality. IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S.
There's one site for all the kids in your home, pre-K to 12th grade. Kids can even access IXL on the go through the app or on your phone or tablet. No more trying to figure out how to explain math equations or grammar rules yourself. IXL has built-in explanation videos.
And look, my son is only two and a half right now, but I can already tell by the time he is in school, he is going to appreciate having someone explain why something is the way it is. He doesn't like just to be told. So those explanation videos are going to be super helpful. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. And CounterClock listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com slash clock.
Visit iXL.com slash clock to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.
This message is sponsored by Greenlight. A new school year is starting soon, and if you're a parent, you want to make this school year an opportunity for your kids to learn important life skills and continue building independence. For that, there's Greenlight. Greenlight is a debit card and money app for families where kids learn how to save, invest, and spend wisely, and parents can keep an eye on kids' new money habits.
There's even Greenlight's Infinity Plan, which includes the same access to financial literacy education that makes Greenlight a valuable resource for millions of parents and kids. Plus, built-in safety to give you peace of mind. My son is only two and a half, but already he knows what a card is and what it does. He actually took it up to a vending machine the other day, swiped it, and, well, let's just say he's going to be a spender when he's older.
And so Greenlight is the perfect thing for him. There's even a chores feature that lets you reward your kids for honoring their responsibilities around the house. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Greenlight today and get your first month free when you go to greenlight.com slash counterclock. That's greenlight.com slash counterclock to try Greenlight for free. greenlight.com slash counterclock.
In 1989, law enforcement in St. Joseph County believed that small water droplets and damp washcloths found in the upstairs bathroom of the Pelly Parsonage on April 30th meant Jeff washed up after shooting his family. Jeff taking a quick shower and composing himself was a big part of the crux of John Bowditch's case that Jeff was guilty.
But when I interviewed John with Mark Center last year, John didn't claim that at all anymore. They were shot with a shotgun. You don't have to be real close
You know, would you have much matter come blow back on you? Probably not. You know, the force in a shotgun is all going that way, especially with a deerslug. I mean, that wall was covered, the ceiling was covered, but there wasn't much back this way from where, you know, if he just come around the corner and they were right there by those windows, he's not going to have a lot on him because the whole force is going that way, not this way.
Former cold case investigator Craig Whitfield believes Jeff would have had to clean up after committing the murders. That's why Craig won't waver in his belief that the blue jeans were washed.
I've been to a number of shotgun death investigations, and each one has a common denominator, and that's very, very messy. I don't see any way that somebody couldn't have had some biological material on them—blood, brains, something. The third legal violation claim Fran alleges is that Jeff's right to a speedy trial was violated.
That's one of the reasons on direct appeal back in 2008, the initial verdict was overturned.
Speedy trial violation claims are pretty common in PCRs. The fourth and final legal argument Fran plans to make on Jeff's behalf is that she has newly discovered evidence that proves a third party outside of the Pelley family had motive, means, and opportunity to kill Bob, Dawn, Janelle, and Jolene in 1989.
Fran alleges in her legal filing that Bob Pelley's former job at Landmark Bank and his close relationship with Phil Hawley from Fort Myers are the reasons the family was massacred. The truth is more incredible than anything you could imagine, that it's a pretty incredible story.
set of facts and that it started in Florida with Mr. Pelley's behaviors and choices of friends and associates and acts he did at a bank.
There was a whole lot of bad going on at that bank that never came to the light of day. Why do I feel so certain? Tony Beeler. He wasn't a minister. He had a previous life. There were people, he didn't say who, but people were looking for him. And if they found him, they would kill him, his wife, his children, and a cat and a dog. They would wipe them out.
on the next episode of Counter Clock. Hear from people who have waited 32 years to speak about this information on the record. Bob came to me and told me that he had discovered this improper handling of funds. Do you think that he was scared? Yes, I know he was. It involved people he knew or that I knew or we knew. I think...
I assumed, rightly so, that it was church people. He knew these people or this person. Listen to episode 13. Check the bank right now. Voters know that bad weather, like storms, lightning, and wind, can turn a fun day on the water into a challenge.
But what if you had satellite-delivered weather data giving you the full picture of what's around you, even when you're offshore and out of cell range? With SiriusXM Marine, get up-to-date weather directly on your boat's display. Features include radar, lightning, marine warnings, wind and wave info, and much more. And for offshore anglers, imagine having a guide that tells you where it might be best to cast your line. Fish mapping does just that. It's 8.5x.
fishing-focused features, including fishing recommendations, weed line info, plankton info, and sea surface temperature information can help you find fish faster. Plus, you can add SiriusXM Entertainment and listen to ad-free music, plus sports, talk, comedy, news, and more while you're on the water. Visit SiriusXM.com slash marine to learn more.
A more colorful life starts at an Ashley store. From earth tones to vibrant colors, Ashley stores have an array of eye-catching furniture for every room in fun and trending hues that will leave a lasting impression. So it's easier than ever to express your personal style and design a vibrant home that feels just like you. Your more colorful life starts at an Ashley store. Shop in-store or online at ashley.com.