Amber Burch

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With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn. In the suburbs of North Carolina, residents talk of a house of horrors. They got a report of a body buried in the backyard. It was absolutely crazy. An investigation leads to a self-proclaimed Satanist and his most devoted follower. He publicly announced that he was a devil worshiper. They would drink one another's blood. She was his queen. He was her king. A series of terrifying discoveries proves the truth can be even stranger than fiction. He had started following a religion that were part animal sacrifice. People had informed deputies that he had killed several people. Every one of the Framboises had killed several people. I talked to. They all said they were scared to death. In this Southern Gothic story, demons are very, very real. Devil didn't go to Georgia. He came to North Carolina. February 15, 2010. It's a chilly Monday in Mocksville, North Carolina, when an anxious young woman shows up at the Davie County Sheriff's Office. It appears her ex-fiancé, 32-year-old Joshua Wetzler, has been missing for over six months. Stacy Carter came to my office. When she filed a missing persons report, she said she has totally lost contact with him. When I stopped hearing from him and he stopped showing up, it was not like Josh to not contact our son. Stacy explains that Josh was always a free spirit, but after months of radio silence, a missed milestone is the final straw. At first, I just made the assignment. I made the assumption that Josh is fine. He's just went off the radar. He chose to disappear. It was sporadic as to when I'd hear from him. So there was no, like, you know, rhyme or reason to when he would call or come by. And when his mom's birthday came and went and she hadn't heard from him, that sent off some alarm bells because that was not like him at all. And he always called, you know, for big things like that, and he didn't call. Josh Wetzler was born in Naples, Italy, in 1977. His parents were both in the U.S. military, so they never stayed in one place for long. Josh was born about a year before we came back. My husband went to a school in California, and after he finished that schooling, we went to New Orleans. After New Orleans, we went to Chesapeake, Virginia. Josh was a good kid. He had a good personality. In high school, Josh developed a passion for music. Josh and I went to see The Grateful Dead. Several of us continued for the summer of 95 following The Grateful Dead around the country. Josh continued to follow the band as they toured, and in 1999, he met his future fiancée, Stacey Carter. Josh ended up out in Washington, D.C., and he was a big fan of the band. Josh ended up out in Washington State. I was traveling cross-country, and I met some folks who told me about this great party that was happening, and that was where Josh was living at the time, and we hit it off. It was, you know, love at first sight. we definitely had chemistry we also had so much in common he loved horses and we both loved music and going to concerts two years into dating stacy and josh began a new adventure together in north carolina josh and i bought 11 acres of land in davy county shortly after that he started Horseshoe in school. So we had visions of operating a business out on our property. The couple got engaged, and in 2004, the family grew with the birth of their son. grew with the birth of their son. But a year later, with a new business and a new baby, financial troubles began to take a toll. Josh wasn't making as much money. I wasn't making a lot of money, so it was really hard to try to get our bills paid. Josh and I were fighting a lot, and I think that's ultimately what caused me to leave. Stacey called and told. She told me that her and Josh had separated. I think I was more upset than she was. Despite the breakup, Josh remained a devoted father. We had shared custody of our son, and we had a schedule, and he would go back and forth and stay with us. Josh was an amazing dad. He loved his son more than anything. Josh chose to stay on our property, and I told him, okay, well, that's fine. You know, you can stay there as long as you pay the mortgage. Then I found out that he had stopped making the mortgage payments and that our property was going into foreclosure. I think that's when his mental health, you know, was really starting to decline or had been declining for some time. But in May 2008, a brush with the law would cost Josh everything. Josh was a man of his word. He was a man of his word. He was arrested for having mushrooms delivered to his home through the mail. It was probably found by a dog at the post office, and so they arrested him. When the police came to his house, he had his son with him, and so then he was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child. So at that point, he was a felon, and he lost all custody of our son, and so then he was also charged with endangering the welfare of our son, and so then he was arrested. and so then he was also charged with endangering the welfare of our son, and so then he was also accused of endangering the welfare of our son, and so then he was also charged with a family of four. was really the downward spiral for him. He didn't work very much, you know, he didn't either show up for a job, or sometimes he would miss going to work for somebody, and things like that. Eventually, he kind of drifted away, not just from me, but from our circle of friends. He started hanging out with other people that I didn't know. The last time we saw him was in July. We were cooking out, and Josh, he made pizzas. His sporadic visits dropped off, and by early 2010, Josh hadn't spoken to his family in several months. Finally, I said, there's something wrong because he would have called me. I just made the assumption that Josh is fine. He just went off the radar. It wasn't until I heard otherwise that it occurred to me that something could have happened. Stacey explains to authorities that what she heard is frightening. The first person to tell me what had happened to Josh was our friend who called me and just blurted it out. Josh was buried in Pazuzu's backyard. And I was like, what? I had never heard of Pazuzu. I had no idea who he was. So I went to the police and reported him missing. Those were my words. You're going to think I'm crazy, but my son's father is buried in, you know, this guy's backyard. When Stacey mentioned Pazuzu. to me. I was like, who and what's Pazuzu? And she said, that's his name. Investigators search social media sites and find a profile for someone who goes by Pazuzu Algarad. When I saw Pazuzu's MySpace account, the first thing that sort of drawed in my mind was the Manson family. In the photos, this guy was trying to live that lifestyle. You could tell by the graffiti on the walls, the filth, claiming to do animal sacrifices in the dark moon. He had tattoos on his face and his teeth were sharpened. His hair was in dreads. In the photos, Pazuzu was doing satanic worshiping. He believed in bloodletting. He made general statements he wanted to be a demon, so therefore everybody should bow down to him and respect him and be fearful of him. I'd never seen anything exactly like this. Pazuzu sort of reminded me of something you'd watch on TV, a horror flick. But here it was in North Carolina. Coming up, the search for Josh Wetzler leads to the door of a suburban devil worshiper. When you roll out and pull in the driveway, it looks like a normal cookie cutter Clemens house. And investigators descend into a den of evil. Unless you've been into a death house. There's no way to mentally prepare yourself for something like this. Jesus Christ, look at that. After receiving a tip about 31-year-old Pazuzu Algarod, Davie County investigators learn everything they can from social media before talking to friends of their missing person, Josh Wetzler. I have no idea what Josh. His relationship to Pazuzu was. But I feel like that it was the time where Josh was feeling like an outcast. I think it kind of pushed him to the edges of society and, you know, he was drawn to other people who were also on that edge. Every one of the friends I talked to, they all said they were scared to death of Pazuzu. And rumors out that he killed somebody in his basement, presumably Joshua Wetzler. The biggest hurdle for me and my agency was he was supposedly killed and buried in another jurisdiction. Joshua is a resident of Davie County, North Carolina. But Pazuzu's in pursuit. Forsyth County. I contacted Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and advised him of a missing persons report that I was initiating. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office is quite familiar with the name Pazuzu. Either anonymously or by name, multiple people had informed him that he had killed several people and buried them. Due to those allegations, Forsyth County already has a profile on the alleged murderer from previous interviews with him and those who know him. When I first met him, he actually didn't seem that messed up. I mean, no more than the rest of us just drinking and partying and having a good time. He presented himself as this non-theistic, maybe atheist, Satanist. He had, you know, a weird connection. He had a kind of macabre charm. He was very good at drawing people going against the grain, the black sheep, the rejects, the outcast. Pazuzu Altgrad lived with his mother. It's a residential neighborhood. He lived in a single-story brick ranch-type house. Pazuzu's house was the land of do what thou wilt. It was like never, never. Neverland. The place to go to be whoever, whatever you wanted to be. It was his kingdom. But I think it was also an opportunity to control and manipulate people. Pazuzu had a girlfriend, Amber. Apparently, the girlfriend was willing to participate in the whole thing. Amber Birch grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Her friends described her as a normal girl growing up. At some point, she met Pazuzu, and her friends described a change in her. As she got more and more involved with Pazuzu, she became almost just a female extension of Pazuzu himself. She got very heavily involved in the rituals that he did. Everything Paz did, Amber did. She was his queen, he was her king kind of thing, you know? From the description of Josh Wetzler's emotional state before he disappeared, it seems possible he'd been pulled in. Pazuzu's mother, Amber Birch, was the first woman to be born into Pazuzu's orbit. Still, an alternative lifestyle isn't proof a crime has been committed. I might not agree with it, but you've got a right to practice your own religion. Davie County detectives learn that Forsyth County deputies received ominous allegations about Pazuzu six months before Josh was reported missing. Tarina Billings, on August 3rd, 2009, went to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, and she told them that a couple weeks before, her father had gone to Pazuzu's house. And then after her father, Alan Billings, came back, he told her this fantastical tale, that when he went over to the house, he saw a dead body. Covered in a tarp, Pazuzu had told him that he had shot this person ten times for being a snitch. And Alan had helped Pazuzu chop up the body and bury it in the backyard. Mr. Billings told his daughter he was afraid that because now he was an accessory to the crime, that he would be fired. Facing life in prison. But when deputies questioned Billings, he told a different tale. Alan Billings denies ever seeing a dead body, so there's some discrepancy there. But what he did tell them was that Pazuzu had told him that he did shoot someone ten times, and it was buried in the backyard. The statement that Mr. Billings gave, more or less, gave suspicion but not probable cause. Nothing that detectives could get a search warrant for. When questioned, Pazuzu told deputies Alan Billings' story was made up. Ultimately, authorities dropped the investigation due to lack of evidence. But now, the new allegations about Josh Wetzler's connection to Pazuzu inspire Forsyth County to check the home. On February 23, 2010, they return with a search warrant and cadaver dogs. When you roll up, pull in the driveway, it looks like a normal cookie-cutter Clemens' house. Immediately going into the house, the inspectors are overwhelmed by the smell. They said it stinks. Jesus Christ. It's almost hard for them to. Continue. Watch your step, there's a lot of broken glass. Okay. There is a lot of graffiti on the walls. Weird posters. Weird signs. Look at that. The kitchen was probably the cleanest, most normal-looking room in the house. No drainage. And his mother, Cynthia's room. She only ever came out of her room to grab something from the kitchen real quick or to leave for work. The rest of the house is just crazy. Filthy, nasty, unkept, spiderwebs everywhere. everywhere, dirt all over the floors, supposedly animal carcasses laying around. Unless you've been into a death house, there's no way to mentally prepare yourself for something like this. It was like an air of evil resonating from the basement area where all of this was supposedly taking place. Despite the horrific state of the house, they find no evidence of foul play. There were four canine cadaver dogs used, but unfortunately, none of them hit. There's always factors that can play in. It's not always 100%. We weren't able to visually cue in on any locations in the backyard where a recent burial was made or anything. So I'm just waiting in anticipation, you know, for them to tell me that they had found Josh. When I heard back from the police that they didn't find anything, it was really devastating because now, you know, we had no answers after the unproductive search of Pazuzu Algarod's home, Forsyth County deputies find themselves at a dead end. As the weeks pass, it seems increasingly unlikely they will ever find Josh Wetzler. But four months into the investigation, detectives get a new lead. On June 7, 2010, Yadkin County Sheriff's Office got a 911 phone call of a body found at the Yadkin River Park area. It was a male subject who had been apparently shot in the head. As you go down the road, as you go down towards the water, that's where we found the victim lying on his back. He had $148 in his pocket. He still had his wallet. There didn't seem to be any type of defensive wounds or any evidence of a struggle at the scene. The victim is identified as 30-year-old Joseph Chandler. His mother reported him missing earlier that morning. Joseph Chandler was a young man in his early 20s. However, he can still see enough to walk to places that he knew as long as he didn't have to cross too much traffic. It would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for him to get there on his own. So we thought he probably met with somebody and got a ride up there. Joseph would go to a convenience store on Louisville Clemens Road to purchase beer. Other than that, there wasn't very many places that he would travel. We interviewed the clerk, who did recognize him as coming in the night before and leaving with a local person known as Pazuzu Algrat. With another potential victim linked to Pazuzu, detectives question him again. When he came to the door, we told him who we were and why we were there. And we were able to go inside and speak to him. He said that there was a get-together at his house that night, that he met Joseph Chandler at the convenience store and invited him back to drink some beer with them. Joseph was there for a short period of time and then left with an unknown Hispanic male named Pete. At that point, our first goal was to identify as many people as we could that were in the house the night that Joseph Chandler was there so we could conduct interviews. One of the party-goers was 20-year-old Nicholas Rizzi. They got Mr. Rizzi's cell phone number, and while doing an investigation on his cell phone number, they found that it had, in fact, pinged at the Yakin River that night near the location where the body was found. Authorities confront Rizzi about the phone records. At that point, he admitted that he and Pazuzu were there that night. He broke down and confessed. According to Rizzi, Joseph's death was an accident. They had been drinking all day, and at the end of the night, Pazuzu wanted to go shooting. They got to the park. Nicholas had a.22-caliber pistol that he had described as in poor state of repair. Rizzi pulled the slide back, a round ejected from the pistol, And when the slide went forward, the pistol discharged, and Joseph fell to the ground. At that point, they panicked. They didn't know what to do. Joseph wasn't breathing. They got in the car. They left the park. He threw the pistol out of the window of the vehicle, and they returned back to Vazuzu's house. Rizzi's statement is enough to place both men under arrest. On October 4th, 2010, Rizzi is charged with involuntary manslaughter. I think the charges were correct at the time with the evidence that we had. There just wasn't enough evidence to support a murder charge at that time. Rizzi pleads guilty and is sentenced to 13 months in prison. Pazuzu claims he was too drunk to remember what happened. But he is charged as an accessory, and the court orders the 31-year-old to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Pazuzu Algarret was evaluated because of concerns of whether or not he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. Fazuzu's real name was John Lawson. He grew up in California. His parents moved to North Carolina at some point. They split up. His father left the family. His mother was left to raise him by herself. Mr. Algarod had a history of significant anxiety, agoraphobia, and other types of mental health concerns from a relatively early age. He only finished ninth grade and eventually dropped out. He had started following a Sumerian kind of religion that required animal sacrifice. At some point, he changed his name. Pazuzu was the name of the demon in the movie The Exorcist. I think that the beliefs in Satanism and these other religions were more a means of him gaining power over others. Pazuzu's persona, it was about shock and awe. You know, just taking pleasure in people's averse reaction to seeing or hearing or experiencing something different and uncomfortable. After a thorough assessment, Pazuzu is deemed fit to stand trial. However, the case never makes it to court. Instead, Pazuzu enters into a plea agreement. Pazuzu Allred received, I believe it was five years of probation. So at the time, the facts, the statements, the confession from Nicholas Rizzi, all the evidence at the scene wouldn't support a second-degree murder charge. But as one case closes, another remains unsolved. I felt in my gut that Josh was buried in Pazinza's backyard. And every day I hope maybe this will be the day I'll get that information that'll break this case. You don't give up. You never give up. Coming up, another local man goes missing. The door was unlocked. We could hear the music from a area, but Tommy wasn't there. And a member of Pazuzu's inner circle finally breaks his silence. He never thought his friend would go that far. Satanist Pazuzu Algarad has been put on probation for his role in one man's death, but detectives still suspect he's also responsible for the disappearance of Josh Wetzler. So far, Forsyth County sheriffs have been unable to prove it, but nearly two years into the investigation, they get a surprise phone call. In November 2011, Pazuzu's mom, Cynthia, reported in 2009 that a boy named Tommy was over at their house. And she heard a gunshot. She went down to the basement, in which time she witnessed a male subject slumped over and who appeared to have been shot. But according to Cynthia James, the killer was not her son. It was Amber Birch, Pazuzu's girlfriend of three years. She said that she saw. Amber, with a rifle in her hand, points it at Tommy. Kizuzu told his mama to get upstairs, back to her room, which she did. Investigators search police records and discover that around the same time, a local man named Tommy Welch had been reported missing by his sister-in-law, Carrie Welch. Tommy lived in Clemens, North Carolina. I was engaged to his brother, Rusty Welch. On October 3rd, 2009, I had a shift at work and didn't have nobody to watch my children, so I asked Tommy and his mother if they would mind watching them. They were going to do a movie night. When he walked in the door, right, I was so excited. Me and Leah was, was like, He got me to watching scary movies. He always was a big fan of Halloween. When I came home, his mom was there with the children, and she was frantic. I didn't understand what was going on. She said she had sent Tommy to their apartment, and Clemens, but he'd been gone longer than he should have. Tommy could leave our apartment and be at his apartment walking, probably take him about 15, 20 minutes, and she just felt something was wrong. Not wanting to alarm her children, Carrie took them to Tommy's apartment to look for him. She just basically made up stuff, because we were just so little. She told us that he's possibly playing hide-and-seek with us, like, keeping the positivity for us. When we arrived at Tommy and his mother's apartment, we knew he had been there. We could hear the music from a stereo, but Tommy wasn't there. The next day, Tommy's family filed a missing person, and police obtained a haunting clue. Surveillance cameras catch him at a nearby gas station, walking toward it. And at some point, he goes behind the gas station out of the camera's view. And that's the last time anyone publicly sees Tommy alive. It's like he walked off the face there. Without any direct evidence, sheriff's deputies can't obtain another search warrant for Pazuzu's home. With all the information that's coming in, you're still stuck. It's like banging your head up against a wall. Nobody will go on record. Nobody wants to be involved. Your hands are tied. Three more years pass, and any leads in the murders of Josh Wetzler and Tommy and Tommy Welch hit a dead end. But in 2014, one of Pazuzu's inner circle finally stands up to him. September 26, 2014, Matthew Fiers comes into the picture. Matthew was an Army veteran stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and had returned home from Iraq. Matthew Fiers was an Army veteran stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and had returned home from Iraq. Matt Flowers had known Pazuzu for about eight years, had partied with him. He had kept in contact with Pazuzu over the years. And Pazuzu would tell Matthew that he'd kill people. Matthew thought he was just boasting. But when he returned to the States after his deployment, Matthew was still in the military. Matthew found out the truth when his ex-girlfriend Dixie told him a harrowing story. Dixie told Matt that she was contacted by Amber, that she needed help at Pazuzu's house where Amber resided. Dixie said she went to the residence and she saw Tommy Welch deceased on the ground. He'd been shot. And Amber said, "I got my first just like Paz does. Paz being Pazuzu." Amber and Pazuzu told Dixie, "We need your help to bury him. If you say anything, you'll join us." And Dixie rightfully so, at that point, believed the threat. Dixie told Matthew that her and Amber spent a day together. And Dixie told Matthew that her and Amber spent a day together. digging the grave outside. And when they tried to put Tommy's body in the ground, well, the hole was too small. So they used the shovels to break Tommy's legs because his legs were sticking up out of the hole. Matthew tells investigators he reported the incident anonymously back in 2009, but nothing came of it. This time, he decided to go on the record, and Dixie agreed to back him up. Matthew was worried about her getting in trouble and also didn't want Pazuzu going after her. Dixie gives a 13-page statement detailing where the body was located. And luckily, Dixie had evidence to show cooperation to her statement. She had pictures. she took pictures of the body. And this provides enough information for the sheriff's office to again apply for a search warrant. And this time they have actual locations for where the bodies might be buried. You know, I was ready for these answers. On October 5th, 2014, four years after the first disturbing search, Forsyth County sheriffs have enough for a warrant to search the home of Pazuzu Algarod again. When they executed the search warrant in 2014, they found the remains of two bodies. Because the bodies were interred in the ground so long, it was just skeletal remains that were left. The bodies were collected and transported to Wake Forest Medical Facility for identification purposes using DNA and also dental records. The bodies were positively identified as Tommy Welch and Joshua Whistler. For the families of the victims, the news comes as a strange relief. It was really difficult to try to explain to my son why his dad wasn't around. He was not even three years old when Josh disappeared. But the truth was, I was euphoric. Like, I was just so happy. We finally had some closure, and we, you know, were able to have a funeral for him. I had a lot of emotions going through because I was I was angry for one that they took a really good person out of the world it was sad because then i had to tell the kids how do i explain to them that bad people got a hold of their uncle tommy and they just killed him how do you tell that to your kids Pazuzu Algarad and Amber Birch are immediately arrested Pazuzu is charged with Josh's murder Amber is charged with Tommy's murder And both are charged with one count of accessory after the fact It's not something I can really wrap my head around I didn't realize the monstrous things he was capable of I think this is an individual who became increasingly antisocial, psychopathic in nature Those traits were reinforced over time I believe Amber Birch was brought into the influence or circle orb of Mr. Algarad And she was willing to engage in whatever Behaviors he encouraged her to do Devil didn't go to Georgia, he came to North Carolina A date is set for Pazuzu's trial But he never makes it to court Pazuzu Algarad was found in a cell early the morning of October 28th, 2015 He had committed suicide According to the autopsy report He used some kind of object to cut into his wrist And he bled out He took the coward's way out And killed himself Let's hope he burned in hell When Amber's day in court finally arrives She pleads guilty to multiple charges Including second degree murder for the death of her husband And the death of Tommy Welch She receives a sentence of 30 to 40 years Amber took it upon herself On the night that they took him To shoot him and kill him Because Pazuzu already took care of Josh She wanted to be part of it Let me do it this time That's cold-blooded Pazuzu Algarad Today, nothing remains of the den of evil Pazuzu created with Amber Burch But the memories of their victims live on The house was ordered to be demolished Raised to the ground Neighbors set up long chairs To personally watch this nightmare Finally come to an end This whole incident was nothing more Than a nightmare to them Just the evil of the place I mean, could never be washed out of it Josh and I went through some really hard times And our lives kind of diverged But I can't help but wonder Would they have come back together again? I'll never know And that hurts, you know It's hard to have to live with that We cry a lot We cry about it But we don't constantly grieve about it We gotta keep the good stuff going Not the evil The good times is what's gonna make Tommy stay alive Pazuzu's mother, Cynthia, was never charged Amber Burch is scheduled to be released April 29th, 2048 Thank you.