0:00

I'm Dr. Doug Newton, Chief Medical Officer

0:02

at Sondermein, an in-person and virtual

0:04

provider of mental health care. At Sondermein,

0:07

we connect you with the clinician that's right

0:09

for you. Visit Sondermein.com and

0:11

schedule a session in less than 10 minutes. Therapy

0:14

works. Welcome to

0:16

BreezeLine, where you'll say, ta-ta,

0:18

T-Mobile, because we have 99.9% network reliability,

0:22

and they don't. That's right, time,

0:25

weather, or even streaming in a basement won't

0:27

affect our superior service. That's because

0:29

we have real internet, backed by our fiber-powered

0:32

network. And T-Mobile, well, they just have

0:34

a 5G cellular network. So for a limited

0:36

time, find your perfect speed with prices starting

0:38

at $19.99 a month for 24 months. Terms

0:41

and conditions apply. Go to BreezeLine.com

0:44

to learn more. In

0:46

May of 1998, in the small town of Romeo, Michigan, a

0:50

crew of detectives found themselves

0:52

knee-deep in a hoarder's nest.

0:54

The whole house was littered with trash. Greasy

0:58

paper bags and half-empty

1:00

cups of soda were collected

1:02

on every surface. The

1:06

house was a mess. The house was a mess. The

1:09

house was a mess. Greasy paper bags and

1:11

half-empty cups of soda were

1:15

collected on every surface. Pest strips hung from the ceiling

1:18

collecting flies.

1:20

The floor was so cluttered

1:22

with garbage, you

1:25

couldn't see the carpet that was once creamy

1:28

and

1:29

pristine. Splattered

1:31

on top of all the clutter and trash were

1:35

ketchup drippings. With

1:38

each step into the layers of trash

1:40

on the floor, the detectives wondered

1:43

what mysterious noise

1:45

would pop under their feet. The

1:48

squish of an old hamburger?

1:51

A cat? A

1:53

small dog, perhaps? After

1:56

all, the people who lived in the house were

1:59

the ones who had the most fun.

1:59

People living here shared this mess

2:03

with their seven pets. The

2:05

Macomb County detectives trudged

2:07

through the sea of clothes, feces,

2:10

trash, and children's toys.

2:14

The smell was overwhelming,

2:17

like animal urine and expired

2:20

milk, all mixed up

2:22

into a tasty concoction.

2:25

How were they expected to find anything in

2:28

this mess?

2:30

Suddenly one of the detectives

2:32

called out from the backyard. He'd

2:35

found something in the shed, shining

2:38

his flashlight into the darkness of

2:41

the mess he pointed

2:43

to his discovery.

2:45

A thick bag filled

2:48

with bloody clothes and

2:50

chunks of blonde

2:53

hair.

3:13

Welcome to Sword and Scale

3:15

Nightmares, true crime for

3:18

bedtime, where nightmare

3:21

begins now.

3:33

In 1997, 28-year-old Lisa Putman was a social worker,

3:35

employed by Child Protective Services in

3:46

Macomb County,

3:47

Michigan. She was

3:49

recently engaged to a man she adored.

3:53

Lisa was the least threatening

3:56

CPS worker. She

3:58

exuded warmth with her

3:59

kind eyes and welcoming smile.

4:03

Beyond her physical appearance and unlike

4:06

some of the other CPS workers we've heard

4:08

about here on Sortenscale, Lisa

4:10

was a really tender person who

4:13

cared deeply for the children and families

4:15

she was employed to protect. She

4:18

took her job very seriously and

4:21

wanted to help these parents and children

4:23

mend whatever was going wrong.

4:27

After all, Lisa loved kids.

4:30

She longed to be a mother herself one

4:32

day. Then

4:35

in May of 1997, Child Protective

4:37

Services received an anonymous call

4:39

about two

4:40

sisters living in Romeo

4:43

in deplorable conditions. The

4:46

mother and head of house was a

4:48

27-year-old woman named Josephine

4:51

Verlyn. Jo

4:53

had two kids, an

4:55

8-year-old and a 7-year-old. Her

4:58

21-year-old sister Jackie also

5:01

lived in the house.

5:03

When Lisa Putman first showed up at Jo's

5:05

place that sunny afternoon in

5:07

spring, she felt a ping

5:09

of sadness when she saw that the woman

5:12

answering the door was a mirror

5:14

image of herself. Lisa

5:18

and Jo were the

5:19

same age, but Jo

5:21

looked tired, overwhelmed,

5:24

and stressed. She had

5:26

no sparkle in her eye.

5:29

It was as if though life had drained

5:32

her

5:33

of all that she had

5:35

to offer. Jo's

5:37

house was a mess. As

5:40

Lisa made her way around the small home,

5:43

she held her breath and

5:45

stepped into piles of clothes,

5:47

trash, and toys. The

5:50

place looked like a bomb had gone off, but

5:53

Lisa could tell that underneath

5:55

this disaster,

5:58

a somewhat pretty home.

6:00

Once existed.

6:02

Jo was embarrassed.

6:05

She insisted that she was just about to clean

6:07

up, but things had been a little hectic.

6:11

She was overwhelmed with the kids and her job

6:14

at their school.

6:16

Her younger sister lived with them now that

6:18

the kid's father had left. Things

6:21

were just crazy. Jo

6:24

started to cry. She

6:26

told Lisa that it had been rough for

6:28

her.

6:29

She was depressed.

6:31

Just then, Jo's kids came

6:34

running into the room. Lisa

6:36

expected them to be a reflection of the

6:38

dirty house they lived in, but they

6:41

were clean and happy.

6:43

Their hair was brushed. Their clothes

6:46

were tidy.

6:47

They looked perfectly normal.

6:50

Lisa felt sorry for Jo.

6:52

She saw a single mother who was struggling

6:55

and had let herself and her house go.

6:58

So she told her she would help her out.

7:01

Lisa said that she would give Jo time

7:04

to get the house back in working

7:06

order. Lisa got a temporary

7:09

order from the court and told

7:11

Jo she had one week

7:13

to clean up the mess.

7:16

As planned, Lisa returned

7:18

the following week. She

7:21

knocked on the door, but no one

7:23

answered. Lisa noticed

7:25

that the front porch was piled

7:27

up with trash. Maybe

7:30

Jo was taking the stuff to

7:32

the dump. She had high hopes,

7:35

but as she made her way over

7:37

to peek in through the window,

7:39

Lisa noticed that nothing

7:42

in the house had changed. The

7:44

floors were still littered with refuse

7:47

and toys. Every

7:49

surface in the house was cluttered with

7:52

junk. The kitchen sink

7:54

was now filled with goopy, grey

7:57

liquid, and gnats buzzed.

7:59

around the room. It

8:02

wasn't as though Joe was hoarding.

8:05

This house wasn't a trophy case of weird

8:07

collectibles or Martha Stewart

8:09

magazines. It was

8:12

simply filled with garbage. When

8:15

Joe returned home, Lisa confronted

8:17

her about the mess.

8:19

She told her that she had no choice

8:21

but to remove the children.

8:25

They could go and stay with Joe and Jackie's

8:27

parents. Joe

8:30

pleaded. She didn't want her

8:32

parents to be involved at all. They

8:35

could not know about the

8:37

mess. But Lisa told her

8:39

that this was the only

8:41

option. Well that or

8:44

foster care. Joe

8:46

reluctantly agreed and gave Lisa

8:49

her parents

8:49

address. When

8:51

Lisa met Joe's parents, John

8:54

and Simone Verilyn, they were

8:56

shocked to find out about

8:58

the putrid conditions that her daughters

9:01

and grandchildren were living in.

9:04

They happily welcomed Lisa and the

9:06

kids into their spotless home.

9:09

John and Simone Verilyn promised Lisa

9:11

that Joe's house would be cleaned.

9:15

The problem would be taken care

9:17

of. As Lisa

9:19

appeared around the pristine, tidy

9:21

home of John and Simone, she

9:24

wondered how Joe had ended up the

9:27

way she did.

9:29

Lisa at that moment had no

9:31

idea of the spider's

9:34

web that she would soon be caught

9:37

in.

9:53

Joe

9:53

was the eldest daughter, born

9:55

to John and Simone Verilyn. John

9:59

was in the

9:59

U.S. Army in the sixties

10:02

and married Simone while stationed in Saigon.

10:06

The Varelands stayed in Vietnam for

10:08

a few years with baby Jo, but

10:11

soon they moved to Romeo, Michigan

10:14

for a fresh start in America.

10:17

John worked as an electrician

10:19

with Ford, and Simone

10:21

opened two businesses, a jewelry

10:24

store and a nail salon. Soon

10:27

they welcomed a boy to the family,

10:29

Jason,

10:31

and another girl, Jackie.

10:34

Jo and Jackie were seven years

10:36

apart, but they were very close. Simone

10:39

worked all the time and could care

10:41

less about mothering her kids.

10:44

At the ripe age of eight, Jo

10:46

took on the role of mom and

10:49

raised her siblings.

10:51

Simone was a self-obsessed

10:54

workaholic mother

10:55

whose primary concern was keeping her businesses

10:58

prosperous and her house spotless.

11:02

The kids all referred to Simone

11:04

as

11:05

Dragon Lady. She

11:07

made the children handle all the housework

11:10

and they were punished if they disobeyed.

11:13

She would beat them, scream if

11:15

they spilled food on the floor, or

11:17

pinch them if they didn't do what she

11:20

wanted. Simone

11:23

was a tyrant. The kids

11:25

were all terrified of her, but

11:27

Jo

11:29

took it the hardest.

11:31

In the early 80s, Simone decided

11:33

to foster two more kids to add some

11:35

extra income to the family.

11:38

Jo was now tasked with raising four

11:40

siblings instead of two. That

11:44

same year, 20-year-old Jo found

11:46

out that she was pregnant. Simone

11:49

was furious at the idea of her daughter

11:52

being an unwed mother,

11:54

but still allowed Jo to

11:56

stay in the house.

11:58

Meanwhile Simone got busy. busy, employing

12:00

the two new foster kids to take

12:03

over the domestic chores like little

12:05

Cinderella's.

12:07

But all of that came crashing

12:10

down on Simone, when

12:12

CPS showed up at the Varelin house

12:15

responding to allegations

12:17

of abuse. One of the

12:19

foster kids had told someone at school

12:21

that Simone pushed his face into

12:24

a bowl of food

12:25

and beat him for eating too slowly.

12:29

When CPS showed up at the house, Jo

12:32

denied everything on behalf of her mother.

12:35

She was pregnant and terrified of being

12:37

kicked out. Who knows

12:40

what Simone would do if Jo

12:42

told the truth. But

12:44

a few days later, when Simone's rage

12:47

started again,

12:48

Jo called CPS on

12:51

her own mother.

12:52

The foster kids were removed and Simone

12:55

was humiliated. So

12:57

Jo called CPS in secret.

13:01

Simone had a suspicion that it was her and

13:04

held an even angrier grudge against

13:06

her pregnant daughter.

13:08

Tensions between Simone and Jo

13:11

rose.

13:13

Simone resented her daughter and pushed

13:15

her away.

13:17

That same year, Simone and John bought

13:20

a secondary house and decided to

13:22

move.

13:24

They told Jo that she could keep the family

13:26

home for her, her boyfriend,

13:29

and their new baby. Maybe Simone

13:32

just couldn't stand the idea of being

13:34

under the same roof as her daughter anymore.

13:37

Who knows.

13:38

Jackie decided to stay with her sister rather

13:40

than go with her parents to the new house.

13:44

Jo was more of a mother to her

13:46

anyway. Plus, she

13:48

wanted to finish high school with her classmates.

13:52

Jo and her new boyfriend soon had another

13:54

child and the family grew

13:57

happily. Jo was a soft,

13:59

kind, and mother who was determined

14:02

to be nothing like Simone.

14:05

She gave her kids everything and loved

14:07

them unconditionally. She

14:10

never hit them or even raised her

14:12

voice.

14:14

She even volunteered at their school

14:16

where

14:16

she was beloved by the staff

14:19

and students. But

14:21

as the years went by, something just

14:23

started to slip with Joe.

14:26

Maybe it was the years of being beaten

14:29

and forced to clean her mother's house, but Joe

14:33

very slowly

14:34

let her house go. She

14:36

just couldn't be bothered anymore

14:39

to keep things in order. It

14:42

was the last thing on her mind, even

14:44

as her house slowly became a hoarder's

14:46

nest. Joe's boyfriend

14:49

finally had enough and in the fall of 1994, he left Joe

14:51

and the kids.

14:52

He

14:55

couldn't handle it anymore.

14:57

Ironically, Jackie had started

14:59

working as a cleaning lady

15:01

at a low budget motel nearby.

15:05

But still, the two sisters could

15:08

not keep their own house clean.

15:11

The mess grew and grew.

15:13

That's when Lisa Putman

15:16

entered the picture and knocked

15:18

on Joe's door in the spring of 1997.

15:23

CPS was here, just

15:26

like they had shown up when her mother was

15:28

bad and now Joe

15:30

was the one in trouble for

15:32

the way she was raising her kids.

15:36

She didn't want to be like

15:38

Simone, she didn't want to fail.

15:41

But

15:41

her depression and the

15:43

mess were like two

15:46

insatiable animals eating away

15:48

at her.

15:49

After Lisa removed Joe's kids and

15:51

took them to Simone's house, it

15:54

felt like the ultimate defeat.

15:57

Joe could no longer hide her depression

15:59

behind. on piles of trash and dirty

16:02

clothes. Everyone

16:04

knew what was going on. More

16:07

importantly, her mother

16:09

knew,

16:11

and now was involved.

16:14

Lisa Putman really felt

16:17

awful for Jo. During

16:19

the first few visits, she went the extra mile.

16:23

She bought containers and trash

16:25

bags. She hung out with Jo

16:27

and helped her organize the house while

16:29

the two talked about what was going on

16:31

in Jo's life. Jo

16:33

confided in Lisa and told her about

16:36

her depression and how much she

16:38

missed the father of her kids.

16:41

The two women bonded like

16:43

a therapist and a patient, but

16:46

when Lisa came back to check up

16:49

on the progress, the house

16:51

was still a disaster. It

16:54

had somehow gotten worse.

16:57

Jo had

16:59

fallen into a spiral

17:01

of shame.

17:03

Simone had Jo's kids

17:05

and she knew what was going on, so she

17:07

sent her husband and son to

17:10

go and take care of the mess that

17:12

her daughters made. It

17:14

took two days to remove all

17:16

the junk, garbage,

17:19

and filth.

17:20

But finally, the house

17:23

resembled a home again.

17:25

Lisa came back to the house and was

17:27

satisfied.

17:29

She wrote a positive report for CPS

17:31

and Jo was reunited with

17:33

her kids.

17:35

But that's not where the story

17:37

ends, and you know it, don't you? This

17:40

case was not closed at this point,

17:43

and that is why you're listening.

17:46

Lisa told Jo that she would be checking

17:49

up on her and the kids periodically.

17:52

She wondered that this was just a

17:55

trial period. Jo

17:57

had to keep the house clean,

17:59

or else

17:59

the kids would go back to

18:02

Simone's. As

18:04

you've probably guessed by now,

18:07

over the next few months, Jo

18:09

slipped back into her old ways. The

18:13

house became unlivable yet

18:15

again. Lisa Putman

18:18

would come back and take the kids

18:20

to Simone's house and tell Jo

18:22

and Jackie to clean up. Every

18:25

time her grandkids ended up back at

18:27

her house, Simone would send

18:29

her husband

18:29

and son over to help Jo and

18:32

Jackie. This went on

18:34

and on until finally, the

18:36

family was sick and tired of

18:38

helping out. They'd

18:40

had enough. Jo and Jackie

18:42

were left to deal with the disaster they had

18:44

created all by themselves.

18:48

Like adults. Lisa

18:51

Putman warned the sisters that if the

18:53

mess was still there

18:55

on her next checkup, the

18:57

kids would not

18:59

be staying with Simone.

19:01

It would be placed in foster care

19:03

permanently.

19:05

Jo and Jackie became entrenched

19:08

in the depths of their own filth,

19:11

with the news that she would not be getting

19:13

her kids back right away. And

19:16

perhaps, maybe never again.

19:20

Jo looked around the house and just saw

19:22

an impossible hole she

19:24

could never climb out of. So

19:28

she gave up and her baby sister

19:31

followed suit. The

19:34

house became so cluttered

19:36

with trash,

19:37

you couldn't even walk through it. The

19:40

plumbing broke and the

19:42

girls just stopped using the showers

19:44

and sinks.

19:46

They set up buckets around the house

19:49

to go to the bathroom in.

19:51

It was absolute squalor.

19:54

The Varellan sisters had completely lost

19:57

their minds and were trapped

19:59

in a city. septic tank of their

20:01

own filth. On May

20:04

20th of 1998, Lisa

20:06

Putman made her last visit to the

20:08

Verrillon home. Jackie

20:12

answered the door. Lisa

20:15

was hit in the face with the same

20:17

putrid smell of

20:20

old food and rotting animal

20:22

feces.

20:23

But as Lisa talked with Jackie

20:26

at the front door,

20:28

Joe was hiding in the

20:30

hallway

20:31

clutching a hammer,

20:33

listening quietly and

20:36

waiting. Lisa

20:38

told Jackie that her supervisors

20:40

had decided to remove the kids permanently.

20:45

That's when Joe sprung out

20:47

from her hiding place. She

20:50

barrelled into the hallway and smashed

20:53

the hammer into the back

20:56

of Lisa's skull, pounding

20:59

down on her blonde head

21:02

over and over and

21:05

over again in a maniacal

21:07

rage. Jackie

21:10

stumbled back in horror. She

21:12

screamed as she watched her sister

21:14

bash Lisa to the ground. What

21:17

was Joe doing? Jackie

21:19

couldn't believe what was happening. Her

21:22

stomach lurched and she felt sick. That's

21:25

when Joe yelled at Jackie, Hold

21:28

her down now. Jackie

21:31

was crying and covered in

21:33

blood spatter.

21:34

Terrified she did, as

21:36

she was told. She

21:39

got down on the ground and wrapped

21:41

her arms around Lisa's arms and chest

21:43

so she couldn't escape the blows.

21:47

She sobbed as Joe continued to

21:49

swing

21:50

the hammer, crushing Lisa's

21:52

skull. Lisa's blood

21:56

sprayed all over Jackie's face,

21:58

chest, and mouth.

21:59

mouth as she sat

22:02

there and wept, hanging

22:04

on to Lisa's body as

22:06

she kicked and fought for her

22:08

life.

22:10

Jo didn't stop.

22:14

She never stopped until Lisa

22:17

was still.

22:19

Breathing heavily, Jo

22:21

dropped the hammer and

22:24

told her sister to stay there. Jackie

22:28

sat frozen with her arms around Lisa's

22:30

limp body, letting

22:33

out desperate sobs.

22:36

Jo came back into the room

22:38

with a roll of tape. She

22:40

wrapped Lisa's wrists together,

22:42

then placed a plastic

22:45

bag over her bloody head and

22:48

taped

22:48

the neck off. Lisa

22:51

winced through the pain and

22:54

she wiggled. She jumped.

22:57

Lisa was still alive. Jo

23:01

commanded her sister to grab Lisa and

23:03

together they dragged her body through

23:06

the rubble into their filthy, mold-filled

23:10

bathtub. They hoisted

23:12

her into the basin with

23:15

a thud. Then they left

23:17

Lisa there to

23:19

slowly die, surrounded

23:22

by buckets of old feces

23:25

and trash. After

23:29

the job was done, the

23:31

sisters got in the car. Jo

23:34

drove while Jackie wiped away her tears.

23:38

They went to pick Jo's kids

23:40

up from school and

23:42

take them over to Simone's house. The

23:45

next morning, Lisa would be reported

23:48

missing by her fiancé. The

23:51

police would find her car abandoned

23:53

in a parking lot nearby.

23:56

And the Varelin sisters would

23:59

be home. home, when police

24:01

came knocking on

24:03

their door.

24:41

When Joe and Jackie got home to their

24:43

filthy house the day they murdered

24:46

Lisa Putman,

24:47

they had to decide what to do with

24:50

the body. Lisa had

24:52

been chucked into their bathtub and had

24:54

suffocated to death under the plastic bag.

24:58

She didn't die from the hammer. Lisa

25:01

died in that disgusting

25:03

bathroom, alone,

25:06

cold and choking on the smell

25:08

of plastic and dog shit. It

25:11

was unthinkably cruel.

25:14

Lisa was just

25:15

doing her job,

25:17

protecting children. She'd

25:19

been so kind to Joe,

25:22

giving her chance after chance to

25:24

turn her life around.

25:26

Once they knew Lisa was dead,

25:29

Joe ripped off the plastic bag and

25:32

the tape from Lisa's head,

25:34

her blonde hair clinging to the sticky

25:37

plastic.

25:38

Joe stuffed that along

25:40

with her and Jackie's bloody

25:43

murder clothes into a

25:45

black trash bag,

25:47

and she hid them in a shed in

25:49

the backyard. Then

25:52

the sisters stuffed Lisa's limp, bloody

25:55

body into a trash bag and

25:57

waited until nightfall

25:59

to load her up. her up into their truck. They

26:02

drove out as far as they could into the rural

26:05

brush of Michigan.

26:07

They found a two-track road overgrown

26:10

with trees and bushes. They

26:13

went as far as the truck would allow, and

26:15

then they hoisted Lisa's body

26:17

out

26:18

and into the wilderness.

26:21

After Lisa had been reported missing, the police

26:23

were able to easily track her last-known

26:25

location with her CPS

26:28

schedule.

26:29

When they came to the Varelin house, Joe

26:31

admitted that Lisa had come for her scheduled

26:34

visit,

26:35

but that she'd left

26:37

on foot. Obviously,

26:39

the police weren't buying

26:41

it. Lisa's car had been abandoned

26:44

a few miles away, and the contents

26:46

of her purse were thrown all over

26:48

the back seat. That

26:50

evening, the police got a search warrant for

26:53

the Varelin home. When

26:55

they arrived, the house was dark

26:58

and quiet. Jackie

27:01

was at work, and Joe was nowhere

27:04

to be found. The Macomb

27:06

County sheriffs made their

27:08

way into the home and began trudging

27:11

through the unbelievable mess, looking

27:14

for any signs of Lisa. They

27:18

were

27:18

disgusted by what they saw.

27:22

How could two young women live

27:24

like this? Feces

27:26

and buckets. Thick

27:29

black goop in the sink that

27:32

had been idle for months. It

27:35

was impossible to look for evidence in

27:37

the Varelin sister's trash heap

27:39

of a house.

27:41

How could you even see blood spatter

27:43

in the hoarder's nest

27:45

that had ketchup everywhere?

27:47

After hours of searching, one

27:50

officer screamed from

27:52

the back shed.

27:54

He'd found the plastic bag,

27:57

with the bloody clothes and tape

27:59

still contained.

27:59

containing chunks of Lisa's hair.

28:02

The sisters were located, arrested,

28:05

and taken into custody.

28:09

Becky cracked

28:11

almost immediately.

28:13

Still in her work uniform from

28:15

the hotel,

28:17

she sobbed with heavy shoulders

28:19

as she flicked her cigarette

28:21

into a styrofoam cup on the interrogation

28:24

room table.

28:26

I had to help her,

28:27

she whispered. She's my

28:29

sister.

28:31

Jackie insisted that there was no

28:33

plan to kill Lisa. Joe

28:36

had made a passing comment

28:38

that morning about getting rid of the problem,

28:41

but she didn't take it to heart.

28:43

She thought it was a joke. Then

28:46

Lisa arrived at the house and Joe came

28:48

after her with a hammer.

28:50

It all happened so fast.

28:54

Jackie wept relentlessly as

28:56

she described having to hold Lisa down

29:00

as her sister smashed the hammer

29:02

into her head. She

29:05

cried as she remembered Lisa's

29:07

blood all

29:08

over her body.

29:10

Jackie told the cops that she thought

29:13

her sister would only hit

29:15

Lisa six times, but the

29:17

medical examiner determined that

29:20

Joe had given Lisa 22

29:22

devastating

29:24

blows to her skull.

29:28

When Joe was brought in, she sat with her

29:30

knees crunched up to her chest and

29:33

rubbed her eyes.

29:35

She didn't cry like her sister had,

29:37

but

29:38

she spoke softly.

29:40

She was supposed to help me,

29:43

she said about Lisa. This

29:45

wasn't supposed to happen. Joe

29:49

had shut down. She

29:51

was emotionless and exhausted.

29:54

Joe knew it was over. They

29:58

were caught. So she

30:00

agreed to show police where the body

30:02

was. Joe rode in the back

30:05

of the police car and took

30:07

cops to the wooded area where

30:09

they had disposed of Lisa Putman.

30:13

Sticking out of the clearing and

30:15

the dense brush was

30:17

a pair of legs and blue jeans

30:21

and a shirtless blonde woman carelessly

30:24

covered in trash bags.

30:28

In October of 1998, Joe

30:31

and Jackie Verrillan were brought

30:33

into the Macomb County Court together.

30:37

Side by side, the sisters stood.

30:40

Jackie cried as their sentences were

30:42

handed down.

30:44

Joe remained stoic, but

30:47

her long hair hung over

30:49

her eyes. I'm sorry,

30:52

she told the judge. I didn't

30:54

mean for this to happen.

30:57

Joe was sentenced to 70

31:00

years in prison

31:02

while Jackie got 25 years.

31:06

The sisters cried and clutched one

31:08

another tightly before officers pulled

31:10

them apart and sent them to

31:12

their prison cells. It

31:15

was the last time they'd ever

31:18

be together. Lisa's

31:20

death was senseless and

31:23

cruel. She was left

31:25

to rot in a disgusting house

31:28

that she tried so hard to

31:30

help maintain.

31:32

Maybe Lisa could have been

31:34

saved if she had some kind of help

31:36

that day. In 2001,

31:40

Lisa's law was passed in Michigan,

31:42

which made it a crime

31:44

to physically threaten or harm

31:47

a Michigan Department of Health

31:49

and Human Services worker.

31:51

It also offers CPS workers

31:54

extra protection

31:55

when going into dangerous home visits.

31:58

As for Joe's case.

31:59

kids, we don't know where

32:02

they are today or who raised them

32:04

after Joe went to jail.

32:07

All we do know

32:09

is that they are now grown adults

32:12

and hopefully, they

32:14

have been able to work through this unbelievable

32:17

tragedy that

32:18

they were forced into.

32:20

As of April 4, 2022, Jackie has been

32:22

released. She

32:27

served 24 years for

32:30

her part in Lisa's murder.

32:32

Her sister, Joe,

32:34

remains behind bars in a cold,

32:37

empty cell with no trash

32:40

to hide behind and no

32:42

family to save her. Joe

32:45

lost everything in her life

32:48

because she refused to

32:50

clean. Imagine

32:53

killing someone because

32:55

you don't want to clean. Don't

32:58

you realize that is actually

33:00

a requirement after murder?

33:03

If you don't want to get caught, that

33:06

is. Now she

33:08

will spend eternity wishing

33:11

she had done the motherly

33:14

thing and taken out the

33:16

trash.

33:19

If you enjoyed the show, please

33:21

consider joining Plus at

33:24

swordandscale.com slash

33:27

plus. But if you can't,

33:29

consider leaving us a positive review on

33:32

your preferred listening platform.

33:35

Sweet dreams

33:37

and good night.

33:43

The new Chevy Silverado

33:46

HD puts you in command. In

33:49

strength with its enhanced available

33:51

Duramax 6.6 liter turbo

33:53

diesel V8. Own the lake

33:55

with its available advanced towing technology

33:58

and own technology.

33:59

with an available 13.4 inch diagonal

34:02

touchscreen. The new Chevy Silverado

34:05

HD. Own work, own play,

34:07

own life. Learn more at

34:09

chevy.com. Find new roads,

34:12

Chevrolet.

34:14

Leftovers,

34:17

or ♪ Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chumba ♪ The

34:19

DMV. Number 97. Or

34:22

♪ Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Chumba ♪ House cleaning.

34:27

Or

34:29

Chumba Casino always brings the fun.

34:32

Play over a hundred different games online for

34:34

free from anywhere. You could redeem some

34:36

serious prizes. ChumbaCasino.com.

34:40

Live the Chumba life. No purchase necessary.

34:42

Would work prohibited by law. In D plus terms

34:43

and conditions apply. See website for details.