Her Brand New Home Held a Deadly Secret | The Sue Weaver Case

She had done everything right. She built her career, she chased her dreams, and she finally landed exactly where she wanted to be. A beautiful new home in sunny Florida, a fresh start, a brand new chapter. It was the life she'd always picture for herself. And then one August night, her neighbors saw the smoke. And by the time the fire was put out, and investigators walked through what was left of Sue's dream home, they realized something horrific. What they found inside that house told them that whatever happened to Sue Weaver that night, someone had gone through a lot of trouble to hide it. The question was, who and why? (soft music) - Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel. My name is Kimberlya. And if you've never been here before, nice to finally meet you. This story takes place in the year 2001, but it starts with a couple from a small town in Missouri, way back on September 8th, 1944. Millie and JR Weaver were in love, and they got married. Six years later, in 1950, JR took over his father's business, and it was a very well-known and respected garage door, installation, and repair company, called Weaver Overhead Door Company. It was located in St. Joseph, Missouri. The company was founded back in 1937 by JR's dad, George Weaver. And this company remains a business till this day. It's actually one of the oldest known, family-owned garage door companies in the United States. Millie and JR were proud of the work that they were doing, helping people in their community. Things were going well for them. They'd accomplished a lot with inheriting the company and learning to run it successfully, but it was time for them to begin a new journey as parents. So the Weaver's ended up having three children, Robert, Lucia, and Kathy Sue, who everyone called Sue. The three children were very close to siblings, but also as best friends. And because Lucia and Sue looked so similar, they would tell everyone they were twins, they were just born eight years and eight months apart, and that was super cute. I remember being silly and saying that me and my cousins or me and my friends were twins, but Sue and Lucia looked really, really similar. People actually believe they were twins. You can see just how similar they look in this picture, even with the eight-year age difference. They were very close. They were the type of brother and sisters that would do anything for one another. As the only son, Robert Weaver was set to take over his father's company when J.R. Weaver passed away, and inevitably that happened in 1976. But being around and entrepreneur her whole life, Sue Weaver wanted to go into business as well, but not the family business. Instead, after high school, Sue attended the University of Missouri, eventually graduating with a degree in interior design. She was a very creative person, but she knew if she really wanted to be successful, she needed to understand business as well. So she went on to earn a masters in business administration and MBA from the University of Kansas. Sue was a straight-e student. She was very competitive, driven, and intelligent. After obtaining her master's degree, Sue relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where she landed a full-time job as a loan officer at First Union Bank. Even after Sue moved, she and her sister, Lucia, talked every single day. It was part of their normal routine, since they were born, basically. So not a single day went by, that they didn't talk to one another, sharing about everything happening big and small. Sue would also mentor her younger sister, Lucia, and give her tips on opening her own business. That was just a part of who Sue was. She really enjoyed helping others. She was compassionate and loving, and that never changed as she got older. There was, however, something missing from Sue's life. Her goal in life was to be a wife and a mother, and to pretty much emulate the family that she grown up in, Sue was surrounded by love and support as a child when she was in her family, especially since they had such a close relationship with her mom and her siblings. And without children of her own, she did vicariously live through her sister, Lucia. Lucia's children called Sue their second mother, and Sue's nieces and nephews were her pride and joy. They knew they could get whatever they wanted from their aunt, Susie, and they knew how to get spoiled by her, and she spoiled them. Aunt Sue was the best gift giver during the holidays, especially Christmas. By 1994, Sue had a long, successful career in the banking industry for over 22 years, but she hadn't settled down yet and gotten married and had children. She really felt like she regretted that. Even though she was very proud of all that she had accomplished, but Sue decided it was time to move on. She was around 45 years old at the time, and she was ready to do something new with her life. She had kind of played it safe, but she wanted to do something that she was passionate about, something artistic. The first thing that she decided to do was get more serious with the guy that she'd been dating. His name was Mike Chandler, and at the time, Mike was living in Florida, and Sue would frequently fly to visit him. And on one of those trips from North Carolina to Florida, Sue noticed an advertisement in an airline magazine during her flight. The ad was for a machine, an embroidery machine, and that really piqued her interest. It was like a light bulb went off, and in the moment she knew she wanted to start her own embroidery business. It was that aha moment where she decided, I'm gonna pivot my entire life. I just did the same thing in December of 2021, right before the New Year in 2022. I was about to turn 40 in June, and I looked at my life, and I thought, I truly want to follow my heart, and I had to make some huge decisions just like Sue. And that is what drew me into this case, and also because it was in Florida. But in that moment, Sue decides she's gonna quit her corporate job, pick up her entire life, all of her belongings, and move to Florida with her boyfriend, Mike. And then, she was gonna start her very own business, and doing what set her heart on fire. She was all in, not only in business, but in her relationship with Mike. This move to the Sunshine State wasn't only about switching careers, it was about love, because Sue truly hoped that moving to Florida and being closer to Mike would make their relationship stronger. She wasn't getting any younger. She was really hoping that this would be her last relationship, and that Mike would marry her. But at the time, the most important thing was to begin her own business. So that year in 1994, Sue founded embroidery concept incorporated. This is a custom embroidery digitizing company, and this process is converting artwork in a digital file, putting it into this embroidery machine, and it maps out where the needles will go to make the design kind of like a cricket cutter in a way. However, this does not do it by itself. It's only as good as the artist, and Sue was a natural. She was very talented, and it showed. It wasn't long before she was getting clients on a frequent and regular basis. Her business was becoming very popular, making Sue able to afford a lot more luxuries like an airplane. Yep, Mike had his pilot's license, so Sue decided to take lessons to get hers. Because she thought, if I'm going to be in the air with Mike, I want to know how to control the aircraft, just in case something were to happen. And their ultimate dream was to build their own plane. So they invested money into having one custom build for them. Now, this was a small aircraft. It's known as a long, easy, here's one on the screen. And honestly, this thing looks dangerous to me. I'm afraid of flying as it is, so this would be a hard no. But my dad was a pilot, and I know how thrilling it is for people that like this kind of thing. And those people were Sue and Mike. They could not wait for their little two-seater tandem plane to be built. Sue invested a lot into this plane, and into the relationship with Mike. But there still wasn't a marriage proposal. For now, it was still exciting, especially with their new project underway. Most long, easy planes have very limited storage space. They're small, two-seaters, they're made of fiberglass so that they can go fast and be high performance while using a very energy efficient engine. It was more of a thrill than it was about taking long trips. Even though some of them can go up to 2,000 miles, and you know what else was going strong? Mike and Sue's relationship, but was it a good thing? They had been together for almost a decade. And there still was no marriage proposal, no engagement, no kids, which definitely were not in their future. Because Sue was at the age where that didn't really seem like a possibility anymore. Their relationship was not stable. Sue felt that she really deserved more out of Mike. She wasn't sure what was stopping him from truly committing, but she would soon find out. Can you take a while, guess? You probably know, and you're probably right. Sue suspected something was off with Mike, so she looked at their phone bell, and sure enough, she saw an unknown number that he would constantly be calling and texting. And when she looked at who the number was, she finds out it's another woman's number. Of course, she's devastated. She didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Maybe it was innocent, so she needed to test her theory. She needed proof. So the very next time Mike said he was leaving for a business trip, she did something that was out of character. She called his hotel room and sure enough, a woman answered the question. phone and that was it. She was a big girl. Their relationship was falling apart. Sheeding is really one of the worst things that someone can do to a person that they say that they love and that truly loves that. Almost a decade of dating, no marriage, and now no boyfriend either. But it was probably for the best. It's just too bad that Sue couldn't have found out sooner. Sue knew at this point. She needed to move on and move out of the home that she shared with Mike. Even though her relationship with Mike was crumbling, Sue's business embroidery concept was thriving. Her talent at making these designs come to life through thread made her highly sought after by high-profile clients. A few of Sue's most recognized clients for Disney Universal and Warner Brothers in addition, she embroidered state seals on leather chairs in state capital buildings and designed wildlife patterns for a belt manufacturing company. She was not afraid for this new journey on her own. As sad as it was, it was as equally exciting, starting over on her own, her way. First thing on the list, a new house, Sue wanted something with a nice amount of land. She didn't want it to be in the cities surrounded by people and noise. She wanted something a little more private and she found the most amazing spot. Sue bought a home in southwest Orlando in a suburb called Dr. Phillips on Palm Lake Circle. I had never heard of this even being a native of Florida, but once I saw it, I could understand why Sue liked it so much. The suburb offers a variety of things to do and see while remaining somewhat removed from all of the business of Orlando. And if you've never been to Orlando, Florida before, it's basically the capital of tourism for the states. It's the home to Disney World and Universal Studios and so much more. It was truly an ideal area in this house sat on two acres of land and Sue loved gardening, so this was perfect for her. When I typed in Dr. Phillips suburb in Florida, which was weird, by the way, for a place instead of a person's name, the first thing I saw was the heading Dr. Phillips Orlando, a popular relocation destination as the headline of one of the websites and that's exactly what Sue was doing. She was relocating and this area had a lot to offer. It was named after Dr. Phillips, yes, a double name. He was one of the very first millionaires in the city. He founded this community. Dr. Phillips had a medical degree from Columbia University and then he became the owner of Citrus Groves in the 1940s and 50s. He came up with several important innovations in the packing and processing of orange juice and he was the one that made Florida synonymous with orange juice. That's a pretty big deal. Until Dr. Phillips invention, orange juice was preserved in cans and let's just say it wasn't very tasty, but his flash pasteurization process enhanced the taste of the orange juice and his business stretched to over 50,000 acres of Citrus Groves all around Orlando. Eventually, the area where the doctor had all of these groves became known as Dr. Phillips. It's located just 10 minutes from Orlando and all the theme parks and 50 minutes from downtown. It's an ideal location but it's also upskilled and an affluent neighborhood. Not just anyone can afford to live there. Sue Weaver had worked hard to be able to get her dream home. If you've been here before, you might know the one of my favorite things is to find out where someone lived and look at this neighborhood. A lot of these homes are huge. Now Sue lived in a specific area of Dr. Phillips called Palm Lake Circle. It's a smaller area, more off the beaten path. It's a circle right here with this dead end road on one side. A lot of the homes have these really long driveways with lots of land and the homes are kind of hidden. You can't really see them from the road. This is Sue's home right here. 5495 Palm Lake Circle. It was four bedrooms and two bathrooms with a pole was very gorgeous. Look at all of that land out in the back. Designing this home took all of Sue's time. Remember, she's a degree in interior design. She would spend hours creating the interior and the exterior doing gardening and landscaping. And she also loved being outdoors. One Sue had settled in. She was happier than ever. Her sister's kids could not wait to come visit because on Sue, she was the one that already gave them the best Christmas gifts. Well, now her gift was taking them to Disney World. Here's a home video of Sue and her niece. With a beautiful home, a thriving business. Sue was living her best life. That is until Monday, August 27th, 2001. Around 1230 in the afternoon, a FedEx driver parked to truck outside Sue's home, ready to make a routine delivery, except something didn't seem right. The first thing he noticed was a noise. It kept repeating. And as he got closer, he could hear it more clearly. It was the sound of a smoke alarm going off. And where there's smoke, there's usually a fire. So the FedEx driver was on high alert right away, looking around, trying to figure out what was going on. The incessant beeping would not stop. As he approached Sue's door, that's when he could smell smoke. His job was to deliver mail. So normally, he would drop the package off, ring the doorbell and leave, unless someone needed to sign for something. But he could not leave without knowing whether or not this house was on fire. Or worse, if there was someone inside in danger. So he knocks on the door, and no one was answering. He decided to attempt to open the door, and surprisingly it was unlocked. So he opened it just a little bit, and he yelled inside, and he shouted, but there was no response. As he peaked his head inside, that's when his worst fears became a reality. He saw flames and smoke in Sue's living room. Her house was on fire. He immediately runs back to his truck. He calls 911, and I am terrified of fires. A father of a close friend of mine in childhood was burned in a house fire. Over 80% of his body, it was absolutely devastating. The Orange County Fire Department arrived at Sue's within minutes, and they began to extinguish the flames. After successfully putting out the fire, the firefighters walked through the home room by room. They wanted to ensure that no one was inside, and that the fire was completely extinguished. They also do this walkthrough to document what they believe the cause of the fire was, where it started, and why. As well as the document damage for insurance purposes, there wasn't a lot of damage to the main portions of the home, but as they get closer to the master bedroom, they see more of the damage. It was in that specific area, especially at the door to Sue's room. I have pictures of this that I will share. It's astounding just how much damage a fire can do to a brand new home. Everything before the fire was in perfect condition, but look at the entrance to Sue's room after the fire destroyed it. You can still see portions of a hallway in the kitchen, which you look untouched, but then there's this sharp contrast between those rooms and this master bedroom. The dark walls, the burned wallpaper, soot covering the dresser, it's night and day, and it's just devastating. All that hard work that Sue was putting in was destroyed in an instant. Now, this sounds odd, but the fire marshal said that in terms of fire scenes, it was relatively clean, and because I'm a curious person, and I have talked about fires in other cases on this channel, and I know it won't be the last time. I wanted to understand this terminology because nothing seemed clean to me, and I knew that this was an industry term in the course of fire investigations. I also like when you can learn something while I'm researching, and I found this awesome document that I will link in my sources below. It's definitely one that I will keep from my record. So a clean burn refers to a fire pattern. This is when there are burns to non-combustible surfaces where the soot and the smoke deposits are burned away by direct flame contact or intense radiant heat, leaving a clean area bordered by sooty stains. And I can see this right here. If you look at this picture, you see that some of the items, how they're burned, and some are partially, and then there's this demarcation between those items and the other surfaces that have more soot and are burned. This is evidence, and it can help investigators determine how the fire spread and where the point of origin may be. As you can see here, the carpet wasn't burned throughout the room, but there's this pattern of burned debris and it's scattered. You can even see some insulation that's laying near this chair and other items that are just strewn around the room. What they think is that some of these items were set on fire with the hopes that the whole room would catch on fire. The door in particular sustained more damage and it looked as though the fire began low to the ground in this area. As they went deeper into the bedroom, they saw more and more damage, especially as they got closer to the bed and the surrounding area. The bed was almost entirely burned. It was charred black on the top portion, but it looked as though the fire had not reached the bottom half since you can still see this white bed skirt underneath. As the firefighters got closer, they lifted the comforter and that's when they were shocked. They found a victim lying across the burned bed. There was a naked body on the bed underneath a comforter, completely charred, but there was a small portion of the skin on the legs and feet that were not completely burned. They determined the victim was a white female and that's all they knew in this moment and that is just heartbreaking. What happened? So many fires can start with something as simple as a candle that's kept burning as someone sleeps. And they can't escape. They don't have time because they're inhaling the smoke in that room. So the investigators look around and they're looking for clues. They want to know who this person is and they discover a wallet on the dresser and inside they find a license. And on the license was the name Cathy Sue Weaver with the current address listed. She was the only person found in the home. So they believed that this was the identity of the victim. They cannot remove anything. Not even the body at this point. They have to examine more closely. That's when they realized that this fire was not an accident. Or at the least Sue probably did not start it. That's because her hands were tied behind her back. And her feet and her legs were tied together. They looked at these restraints and they thought that they looked like a cut-up t-shirt. When they look around they locate a shirt with tatter marks in it. In the bathroom above the shower I shown in this picture. But it gets more upsetting. Because as they examine the rest of the body they notice that she was gagged and her face was covered with a towel. I cannot imagine having to uncover all of this. Through realize this isn't just a fire it's not an accident. Someone had tried to cover up what they did to poor Sue. And the first thing that stood out to them was this towel. It was covering her head and when someone covers a victim's head this is usually an indication that the perpetrator knew the victim. In some cases it may signify an emotional attachment to the victim. It's connected to a feeling of disgust at what they have just done. Sue was murdered. Was it someone that she was close to? At this point Sue's body was transported to the coroner's office while investigators continued to search her home. Back at the crime scene and investigator find something that he thinks may be a very crucial clue. It's a nine-volt battery. Not the most common type. It's those rectangular ones. While it was found in the kitchen on the counter and it's significant because as most of us know these are the type of batteries that are found in smoke detectors. We all know that when they start going off making noise it's because these batteries die. While investigators look around and on the wall and on the roof inside the house they notice there are smoke alarms missing batteries. One of them close by had the slot still open and the battery was removed. They figure the chances that Sue had taken these batteries out herself were slim to none. Instead they think that this was a way that the perpetrator was attempting to let a lot of time pass before anyone noticed this fire. The homes that I showed you they're set back from the road and they're not very close to one another. The noise however could travel especially since these alarms make so much noise repetitively. Someone would have been bound to notice if they were all going off and thankfully the FedEx driver got close enough to hear at least one of those alarms that still had the battery inside. There were other smoke detectors that were ripped entirely out of the wall. I can show you one right here. The investigators believe that this fire was deliberately set to conceal evidence of Sue's murder. Now it's time for the homicide detectives to join in on this investigation. Meanwhile, the officers have gotten word on the official identification of the body from the morgue. They're now tasked with notifying Sue's family of her death. Even though Sue's sister Lucia lived in Texas, I told you that they never went a day without talking to one another. Lucia and her husband Mike were actually planning to retire and move close to Sue. They were even planning to open up an embroidery shop to get there. Like Sue, Lucia had her own embroidery shop in Texas and they agreed that as sisters they would work on these projects together and do things they were passionate about playing golf, enjoying the sunshine and their spare time, and just two weeks after Sue and Lucia had made that promise, Lucia was learning that her sister had been murdered. Lucia got the call when she was at work and she just broke down. Her world became a blur. She could barely speak and her employee, she knew something was going on. She knew something wasn't right so she dialed. Lucia's husband Mike immediately and told him, "Get here as fast as you possibly can." She didn't want to believe this was true and she felt this deep sense of guilt. She was the one that convinced Sue to buy the home on Palm Lake Circle and Dr. Phillips. It actually terrified Lucia that the house that Sue bought to fulfill her dreams had ended in a nightmare. It was the longest day of Sue's brother Robert's life. He did not understand how anyone can do this. It was so senseless and so brutal. No one expects to hear that their loved one has died but he said that it would have been better if something tragic had happened like a car accident because it would make more sense but in this case he was so confused about who would do this. Authorities want to understand how this fire was started and usually when it comes to someone setting a fire on purpose they use an accelerant so the fire will start very quickly and spread even quicker than it would naturally. The fire investigation team brings in dogs and they have a special ability to recognize the scent of accelerants and these dogs can pinpoint where the flammable or combustible liquids were used. So when the dog finds this area they sit down. I have some footage of the dogs doing this at the scene of Sue's murder so I want to show you them right here. The dog senses the presence of a liquid and he sits. He did this a number of times all around Sue's bed. Finding this is just one of the first signs of pre-meditation. It means that someone brought an accelerant to the scene. That means they had an intent to set a fire. They planned this. Even more so in the case of a murder because they planned to cover up their crime before they even committed it. Investigators want more. The more evidence they have that this murder was planned the better chance they have and not only finding the killer but putting them behind bars. They don't want to leave any doubts. So they begin to look for signs around the home this time on the exterior. They're looking for signs of four centuries such as a broken lock shattered windows and they find none. Again, like the towel this can indicate that the killer knew the victim or at the very least they were familiar or comfortable enough to be allowed inside Sue's home. They know that robbery doesn't seem to be the motive because the valuables were left behind and Sue's purse it was covered with soot was found on her dresser in the master bedroom. It still had her wallet inside. The investigators find something else and it's another even more telling piece of evidence that peaked their interest. While they're investigating the outside of the house they come to the front door area and they see a large envelope containing tax documents that's sitting propped up right outside the door. The envelope was from a man named Jeff prior and the thing is it looked as though it was hand-delivered because there was no postage on it. Investigators take this document and they mark it as evidence knowing that this Jeff prior man was someone that they definitely wanted to speak with regarding Sue's murder. Everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise. Everything is a clue. Investigators surveyed Sue Weaver's neighborhood and they asked the neighbors if anything seemed to miss on August 27, 2001. Sue's neighbors said they did not notice anything unusual that day but a young boy that lived just a couple houses down said he saw Sue. When the boy was waiting for the school bus he saw her taking out the trash and she was in workout clothes around 7 a.m. They started a timeline of Sue's final hours after that sighting at 7 o'clock in the morning. According to Sue's friends she typically went to yoga every day in the morning. When investigators visited the yoga studio and spoke to the staff they discovered that Sue attended the class and left around 8.30 a.m. Since the studio was only like 10 minutes away from Sue's home the investigators determined she probably arrived before 9 a.m. The autopsy was complete and I want to tell you what they found. The autopsy determined that Sue died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head. The damage to Sue's skull was shocking because it was completely shattered. The medical examiner also found that there was evidence that the killer had forced himself on her before her murder and he left behind Seaman with his DNA. Investigators theorized that someone was stalking Sue waiting for her to come home from her morning yoga class. People in the neighborhood didn't always lock their doors and they don't think Sue locked her as that morning. Either the perpetrator was already inside or he crept in while Sue was in the shower. They think that she shabbard because she had just gotten done with yoga class and there were a couple towels that were found nearby and she was also completely nude and the clothes that the boy described her wearing that morning were just outside the shower. This is absolutely terrifying. This is such a vulnerable moment in time when you're relaxed, you're enjoying the hot water, the steam, you're so comfortable and calm. So think that someone is about two pounds is just horrifying to me. They can't be sure whether Sue came out of the shower or if she was still inside when the killer decided to make his move. Either way, Sue was overpowered, bound, taken advantage of, and then her life was ended and a fire was started to try to get rid of all of the evidence. There are no real positives to anything in this case but investigators do point out that Sue was not alive during the fire. and it was not her cause of death, because there was no indication that Sue ever inhaled any smoke. Therefore, the family could at least rest assured that she did not suffer through the agony of being burned. Not that the way that she suffered was any better. It's absolutely heartbreaking. The DNA that they found was sent off to the St. Lab in an attempt to find and match encodus. But if you're familiar with this process, especially if they don't have any known suspects to compare the DNA to, this can be a lengthy process. There's backlogs, there's limited DNA technology. And this meant investigators would probably have to wait months before they ever got to match if they ever did. Meanwhile, Sue Weaver's funeral was held in a memorial park cemetery in the small Midwestern town of St. Joseph, Missouri, where the Weaver children grew up. At her older sister's funeral, Lucia felt like her heart had broken into pieces. She said the pain was deeper than she could have ever imagined. And she asked God why she felt like she would not be able to live without Sue. And in that moment, Lucia decided that she would persevere. In honor of Sue, Lucia promised to find her killer whatever it would take. And she would never let Sue's murder be in vain because she would make a difference in her memory somehow, someway. That is what kept Lucia strong. The very first thing the investigators want to do is track down anyone close to Sue, who may have known her daily routine. Someone who knew where she went every day, when she would be home. And when investigators questioned those closest to Sue, one name kept coming up. Mike Chandler, Sue's ex-boyfriend. When they asked family and friends these questions, they usually start out by being pretty blunt and saying who do you think did this? So Mike definitely needed to be looked into. A woman named Anne, who was one of Sue's friends, told the investigators, quote, "The impression that I was left with is that it had been, I won't say a bitter breakup, but it was definitely a significant one. She felt betrayed. But I also got the impression that he was not welcome in her house." End quote. This was indeed significant to investigators, especially because it was a recent breakup with a long-time boyfriend, someone that was very close to Sue, someone who knew her schedule, someone she may let into her home, or at least recognize and possibly talk to. The investigators found it even more troubling when Anne told them that she would bet money that Mike murdered Sue. She said that it wasn't right for her to assume something so horrific, but as far as she was concerned, random people don't burn down houses after they commit a crime. She just felt like whoever did this had something to cover up. After Sue and Mike broke up, Anne said that she got the impression that Sue was scared of Mike. Other friends of Sue said that there were also financial issues between Mike and Sue. Lucia told investigators that she was the one to really encourage her sister to break it off with Mike, to move on and to move out permanently. When Sue showed her a picture of that house on Palm Lake Circle, Lucia said "Yes, that's sick. Go for it. Buy it because you deserve better than someone like Mike." After all, this is a man that's strung her along for close to a decade. Years and years of promises only to find out he's talking to another woman and continuing to drag his feet. Could there be a reason that he didn't want to lose Sue altogether, even though he didn't want to fully commit, while they want to find out. While waiting for the DNA comparison results to come back from Cotus, the investigators interviewed Mike Chandler himself. And Mike confirmed he had indeed been dating Sue for several years. And during the interview, the investigators go on to explain that they know that Sue moved out. And they kind of say it in a way where they want to get Mike to tell them why. The investigators say so. Sue left. She moved out kind of abruptly. And Mike's like, "Yes, sir." Then they go on to ask if Sue had any animosity after the breakup. And according to Mike, Sue got very upset when she caught him having these phone conversations with another woman. But he explained that Sue had the wrong impression of the woman that he was talking to. She was just a friend. And then he tries to qualify this by saying that this other woman was married and had stepchildren. But what does that matter? Mike just completely denies that he ever had an affair. It was all just a misunderstanding. Wow. So Sue would just react this drastically over a misunderstanding. She would just break it off, move out, buy a new home. But he goes on to explain that they had only been living together for a little over four years. Even though they were together for close to a decade. And yes, Sue was upset with him, but their breakup wasn't nasty. He said there wasn't any fussing and fighting. And I want to show you some of the videos of the happier times with Sue and Mike together. Here they are in their kitchen smiling. They look like a normal couple. But we all know that things can be very different behind closed doors. Investigators asked Mike where he was on August 27th. And he told him that he woke up around 5am. He took a shower. He was just messing around around the house. And then he left for work around 815, 830. They asked him, "Do you have a secretary or someone that can corroborate these details?" And he said, "You know, I don't. But the office has an open door. Anyone can see me as they pass by. So someone must have saw me there." Because there's no concrete evidence to hold Mike. Investigators will let him go while they're trying to verify his alibi. Meanwhile, they go back to that list and they pull the name that was on that envelope. Remember the envelope that was left right outside the door to Sue's home? It had some tax documents inside. Well, the name on the envelope was Jeff Prior. So they bring Jeff in for an interview. And they asked him, "How do you know Sue?" And Jeff replied that they had a business relationship. When Sue was looking for homes in Orlando, she contacted him. He became her real estate agent and he arranged the appointments to show her the houses including the one that she ended up purchasing. As Jeff Prior guided Sue through this home buying process, the two of them became pretty close friends. Having helped Sue purchase the home, Jeff says he has been in her place a number of times. But what the investigators want to know is does he have a key? Does he come and go as he pleases? How close is close when you say you have a close relationship? And were you there on August 27th? According to Jeff, Sue contacted him a week or so prior asking him if he could put together some documents in regard to property taxes for the house. So he prepared those documents for her and on that Monday morning, he drove over there to drop them off. He said that he arrived at Sue's house somewhere around 8.45 in the morning on August 27th. But because it was early, he didn't want to wake Sue by knocking or ring in the doorbell because it just wasn't necessary. So he just leaned the envelope right on the front door area and left. Investigators want to know, did you smell any smoke at her house? And he said no, he did not. And Jeff was acting really, really nervous. It was so obvious and investigators just kept asking what happened next. And he told them nothing. I just drove to work after that. I just dropped off the papers and I left. That was it. So investigators conduct a follow up investigation to see if they can verify Jeff's alibi. When they were interviewing Jeff's wife, she said she was shocked to learn that something so tragic had happened to Sue. And she told her husband, you know they're going to think you did it right? She also tells the investigators that he was very scared because he didn't want to take the blame for something that he did not do. All he did was drop those papers off in the morning. That's it. Later, Jeff's colleagues confirmed that he was indeed at work that morning. So this eliminated him as a suspect at this time. However, going back to Mike Chandler, well, his co-workers told a different story. They could not tell investigators when they saw him. Some said, yeah, I remember him being at work on August 27th, but I'm not sure when he arrived or when he left. And the days following Sue's murder, the media began running stories about what happened. There were news stations that were doing entire segments about this brutal act that was committed upon Sue. Something like this in a town like Sue's was big news. The fact that this was a single independent successful woman who had this beautiful new home and this upscale neighborhood that she could be murdered like this. In the comfort of her own home, that really struck fear in this community and beyond. Your home is supposed to be your safe place to think that it could happen in a place like that. It just really put things in a perspective that this could really happen to anyone. And because of all this media attention, there were tons of tips that were piling in. And they didn't amount much. Time was going by and Sue's family was getting desperate. They started to think that this murder is never going to be solved, but a profile was starting to be put together. This had to be a person that wasn't stable. Someone deranged. Someone without remorse. They must be angry and full of rage. They had to be to commit such a gruesome crime. But they didn't have any suspects. However, there was one lead that kept Sue's ex Mike Chandler on the investigators radar. Sue's friend actually called in the tip herself. And it was about Mike being a part owner of Sue's business and embroidery concept incorporated. Was this what they meant by financial issues between them? was this the reason the might stuck around. Even though he was talking to another woman behind Sue's back, could this have been the reason Sue was murdered? And that's not all. This friend tells the investigators that Sue and Mike own a plane together. Remember the plane? Well this was concerning. The friend says Sue did not know what Mike was capable of since he was gonna lose so much in their breakup. They bring Mike Chandler right back in, right to the police station, questioning him once again, and here's how that conversation went when they asked him about the plane. He said it wasn't really an ownership or a partnership or anything like that, even though Sue invested in the project by paying for standing and finishing of a couple wings and she threw a couple radios in it. That was it. So was Sue and her family just confused? Investigators didn't think so, but there was no solid evidence to arrest Mike. They needed to figure out who else Sue was connected to and while sorting through all of her business paperwork, they found a very interesting document. One of Sue's clients had written her a bad check, a check that bounced due to insufficient funds, and it was for about $400. This person was a long-time client named Darryl Etheridge, but it didn't matter. It was still a financial issue that had a negative effect on her business. As far as Sue's friends were concerned, there was bad blood between her and Darryl because he never paid back those funds. So investigators interviewed him, and according to Darryl, he had been a client for seven years, and yes, of course, okay fine. He owed Sue $472, but he said he had a plan to pay her back. He said that he told Sue it was on his company's list of things that they know they need to get taken care of. But because of how long he was taking Darryl to pay off his debt, investigators asked him, was there friction between you and Sue? But Darryl insisted no. There were no hard feelings between us. Once again, investigators had no solid evidence to hold Darryl so they had to let him go. They were without options until the DNA results came back, which hopefully would be soon. No lead in these cases are too small or too far-fetched investigators pursue every single one. So they asked Sue's friends and family whether they could tell them what was going on in Sue's life in the week leading up to her murder. And her sister says that she had just visited her the week before her murder. She remembered Sue was having problems with her air conditioning. And this may have been overlooked, but Sue's friend Barbara also mentioned something about Sue's air conditioning system she lived close by. And Barbara says, "I know that Sue was getting her air ducts to her air conditioning cleaned because I was the one who gave her a referral for a company that I previously used. But this was all the way back in February. This was not recent. It was a good six months earlier. But investigators don't care. They want all the information about this company. So Barbara provides the name of a department store. It was a floor-to-chain called Burdines. And oh my god, I remember these stores. They're no longer around. They actually turned into Macy stores. They were super popular back in the 80s, 90s, I think even into the early 2000s. Until 2005, Burdines department stores were all throughout Florida. And they were known as the Florida store. These Burdines stores were once decorated with palm trees and treble colors. And they were in business for over 100 years. They expanded rapidly from 1999 to 2001. And they opened seven new stores, including the Florida mall in Orlando. That was one of Burdines' most popular locations. However, as the years went by, things changed. And January 30, 2004, the stores changed to Burdines Macy's. And later in 2005, Burdines was dropped all together. And they rebranded them as Macy's. Let me know if you remember this department store. So investigators are sifting through all of Sue's financial records. And they find a check that she made out to Burdines for $411. So they call the store to inquire about this transaction. But the store says they do not offer air conditioning services. However, they do partner with subcontractors that would carry out that work when a customer needed it. So investigators want to know who Burdines contracted for the work done on Sue's home. They give investigators the name John Prate. He's an independent contractor and he worked with Burdines. They contact him. He says, yes, I went out to Sue's to repair her air conditioning system and to conduct the air duct cleaning at the direction of this Burdines department store. This was six months before Sue's murder. John Prate, he responded to a work call. This was at Sue's house in February 2001. While John cleaned the air ducts, he told investigators that Sue was there the entire time. He described Sue as friendly and personable and when investigators asked him, was he attractive? John responded by saying yes, very. And she was. Sue was a very beautiful woman. But he insists he had nothing to do with her murder. They asked John if he worked there by himself at Sue's house that February and he says no. And employee of his, Jeff Huffling was helping him out that day. The next step was for them to look into the contractor, Jeff Huffling. They really feel like they're on the right track when they pull up his record. Because Jeff was currently on probation for what? Well, it's the R word, the four letter R word that I can't say. And it's not because I'm immature. I can't say it because YouTube will definitely restrict this video. In 1980, when Jeff Huffling was only 17 years old, he was convicted of holding a 33 year woman hostage and forcing himself upon her. This happened January 20th, 1980. Jeff attacked this woman while she was jogging. And after forcing her into this wooded area, he overpowered her and forced himself on her. But she was able to get away. He was caught one month later when residents of this very same neighborhood called 911 to report a peeping tom. At that time, a judge sentenced Jeff to four years of detention and a juvenile detention center. This was for youth offenders because he was under the age of 18. But before all this, throughout all of his years in high school, Jeff was a star athlete and an excellent student. Before this incident in January of 1980, Jeff had never been in trouble with the law. So the judge believed this may just be a one time offense. After he was released from juvenile detention, Jeff found himself behind bars at 22 years old. On November 15th, 1985, police officers stopped Jeff's vehicle and found out that he was driving on a suspended license. He was arrested, however, because his vehicle matched to the description of a car that was seen at a burglary where another woman had said she was forced to engage in acts against her will. Officers went and searched the vehicle of the woman that Jeff had been dating at the time and they found a towel with penguins on it. This towel matched the description of a towel that that victim said was stolen from her home. Inside the towel was a gun. Jeff was charged with several crimes, including sexual battery, armed burglary, grand theft, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. I know this is a lot, but there's reasons why I tell you all this. After this circuit court judge Robert MacGregor agreed not to sentence Jeff Huffling to more than 30 years in prison, that's when Jeff said I'm gonna plead no contest to the charges. According to the state guidelines, he should have been imprisoned for 40 years to life, but clearly he got out sooner because he's been living in the Orlando area on probation. So what happened? This is a serious offense. The woman that Jeff attacked reported he broke into her home, pulled out a gun, jumped on her, forced himself on her, and then forced her into the shower and watched her as he made her clean herself off so that no evidence was left behind. And then you know what he did later? He stole her wallet and then he left. She's so lucky that nothing else happened. Add the sentencing hearing, Jeff's parents actually testified in his defense. They told the judge that they believe their son when he said he didn't remember anything. He didn't remember committing the crime, but the judge told his parents that he was hesitant to believe that. He didn't think Jeff was telling him the truth. The judge said, "I can't accept that. I believe that he's lying to me." However, Jeff was released on parole in 1998 at the age 35. He had served less than half of his prison sentence. And after this release, Jeff moves right back in with his parents in Orlando. Eventually, he does land a job as an air conditioning repair person, and he diligently been working ever since. And by all accounts, he was changing for the better. Not only was Jeff reporting to work regularly, but he was also attending his weekly therapy sessions. There were, however, some people who are not happy that Jeff was returning to their community. One resident of his parents' neighborhood passed out flyers with Jeff's picture, detailing his criminal past, and he put them on everyone's door. However, there were other neighbors that did not really appear to be very concerned. As far as they could tell, Jeff had cleaned up his act and was always so kind and so polite to everyone. Well, after researching Jeff's background, investigators on Sue's case were more interested to speak with him, and he agreed to meet with them at the police station for questioning. And during Jeff's interview, investigators show him a picture of Sue. They said that she lived over a Dr. Phillips community and they asked if he recognized her and Jeff responded No, that she didn't look familiar. The investigators were surprised by how calm Jeff was, how confident his demeanor was. It seemed like he was telling them the truth. He was just kind of acting like why am I even here? So they clarified by saying that they just wanted to know if maybe he had ever done any air conditioning work or something like that at her house but he maintained that he did not know who this woman was. He said, "I don't know. Like I said, I don't recognize the lady." Shocked by what these investigators were telling him, Jeff asked how he was all tied up in this anyway. And that's when the investigators told him that in addition to her being brutally murdered, she had been a victim of a man forcing themselves on her. And that's when he just let out this sigh, like, "Ugh. Okay, it looks like I'm going to have to console my attorney." It was almost like a sigh saying, "Ugh, because of my past, you're accusing me of this." And then he went on to say things like, "You know what? This just isn't right. This is just wrong." Almost like, you know, he's being wrongly accused of something just because he had done things in the past. After that, investigators could no longer question Jeff even though they had this feeling that he did have something to do with Sue's murder. They didn't have enough evidence to hold him, so they had to let him go and, "Ugh. This always bothers me, especially when they have something that could potentially connect to the crime scene." It's obvious that this man worked for this John Prate man who says that they were subcontracted to repair Sue's air conditioning. And John says that Jeff was in Sue's home, but Jeff's denying it, so who is lying to Jeff do something or to John? So a team of investigators conduct a background investigation into Jeff Hethling. They want to know everything about him. They drove around Orlando interviewing his friends, his family, his co-workers, and their main goal was to speak to his girlfriend, Denise Anderson. When investigators do talk to Denise, they ask for his alibi. They want to know what Jeff was doing at the time of Sue Weaver's murder and Denise responds that she can't give them an alibi. So they go on to tell Denise what they suspected Jeff may have done to Sue Weaver. All of the gory details, and that's when she decides to cooperate with them. She wants to help them gather more information. I like to ask questions to all of you, and I hope that this one doesn't offend anyone that's not my intention. But look, I'm not sure if Denise knew about Jeff's past. I mean, she had to have rights. I don't know. Let's just say she did. Have you ever been in this type of situation where you get involved with someone who has been convicted of a crime like this? His past? What do you do when you find that out? Like, let's say you already love them. You already committed. But you find out that he has been convicted, not just, not just arrested, but convicted of forcing himself on someone. I know it had been a long time, and he had changed his life around, and that he did his time and cleaned up his life. But I'm still curious. I don't know if any of you would even tell me these things, but I am curious. Denise told investigators that she would wear a wire and try to get Jeff to confess to killing Sue during a phone call. During this phone conversation between Denise and Jeff. Denise informs Jeff that the police had come to see her, and she told him that they wanted to know if she could confirm Jeff's alibi for the day of Sue's murder on August 27th. And either she's playing along or she really did think this, but she was saying, "I'm positive that I'm with you." Without a doubt in your mind, do you know that we were together that day? And Jeff assured Denise that they were together that morning. He said, "Yes." I know we were together, because he reminded Denise that they always spent Monday mornings together, but still. Denise just said she couldn't recall being with him that morning, and she said, "Why can't I remember?" He was trying to jog Denise's memory, so Jeff told her that he remembers it was a day when he had to drop her off at the hair salon, and then he had to go get an oil change. He confidently tells her that he remembers that. Then Denise asked him, "And you didn't go anywhere else?" And that's when Jeff says, "Well, I might have gone to the bar, but I'm not sure." So Denise decides to check receipts that the couple saves, and she tells him, "You're right. You were at the bar." And he asks her what time, and she says she doesn't know. I don't know if the receipt didn't say that information, I'm not sure. But on the call, Denise says to Jeff, "I don't think you would hurt me, but would you hurt someone else?" And honestly, that's a pretty brave question to ask him. I would be really afraid of his answer, but Jeff says, "Baby, I don't want to hurt nobody." And Denise flat out asked him, "Is it a sickness?" So she obviously did know about his past, and Jeff, he sounds exhausted. Like there's so many questions. I don't know what to say. I swear I have no recollection. And Denise asks him, "You realize that this person beat this woman, and they put her on fire. What is that? Why?" Almost like she knows he might have done it. Jeff says, "You know me better than that." But Denise snaps back asking, "Do I know you?" And at that point, I could hear the fear in her voice. I don't know if she really knew whether she knew her boyfriend, and what he was capable of, or not. She asks, "Jeff, if you wanted to get all the cards out on the table," basically saying, "You want to just come clean to me? Tell me if you did it. What you did." And investigators are listening closely to every word during this phone conversation. And Denise is being kind of aggressive at this point. And listening to this recording, I was not sure if Denise was referring to his past, and accusing him of doing what he did, or accusing him of doing what happened to Sue. But after a few times, I'm pretty sure she was referring to his past when she said, "How could you be with a woman, and then go force yourself on somebody? Who does that, and who gave you the right to do that?" And he had done this prior. He had a girlfriend when he was convicted all those years ago. He said, "Nobody gave me that right," and he admits, "It's a sickness, okay? Wow." I don't know, because it seems like Denise led him into using those words to describe what he had done before. And in a shaky voice, Denise asked Jeff, "If the sickness had come back," and basically, this is her saying, "Did you do it again to Sue to which he replied, 'No, the sickness hadn't come back.'" But he truly sounded exhausted to me, like he just wanted this conversation to be over with. Jeff reminded Denise that he had remorse for his past, that he doesn't want to hurt anybody, that he's empathetic towards people, and he tells her that she knows that. Denise asked him, "If he loves her, and Jeff replies with all my heart." And the last thing Denise asked Jeff is, "Are you sorry about what happened?" To which he replied, "Yes, he was." But again, this was referring to what he did in his past. It wasn't as though Jeff was confessing to anything, but they may not need a confession, because that same afternoon, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent called the investigators. According to the agent, the DNA at Sue's crime scene matched DNA in Kodis. He told the homicide investigators the results matched a convicted offender whose DNA was submitted to the database back in 1998. The DNA was collected after he was released from prison on parole, but following a brutal attack less than 15 years ago. His name, Jeff Hefling, it disturbs me because he sounded so genuine on that call. I feel like I really fell for it, and I'm so glad they had DNA because it doesn't lie. Investigators had enough to get a warrant for Jeff's arrest. They immediately contacted the felony squad, which finds these wanted criminals with active warrants, and they arrest them. They were informed that Jeff had an active warrant for his arrest for the murder of Sue Weaver. Jeff had an appointment that evening on West Colonial Drive in Orlando for a therapy appointment. Investigators informed the felony squad, and they were there waiting for him when he got out. When Jeff finished his therapy appointment, the agents apprehended him right in the parking lot. Across Florida, residents were furious when the news broke that a two-time convicted offender was responsible for this crime. And I want you to hear what happened next because there's more, but I also want to mention my frustration that I can't say the four-letter word that begins with R, but it's one that YouTube will consistently censor to the point of not allowing videos to be pushed out, and that's a shame, because this is so informative, especially for young people, but the founder of a nonprofit called Speaking Out Against The R-word. In Orlando, her name is Kelly Greene. She told the Orlando Sentinel that these type of offenders should stay in prison for life, especially repeat offenders whose crimes usually escalate. That seems to be what happened in this case. Kelly was also intrigued by Jeff's parole officer's decision to allow him to get a job at an air conditioning company that gave him access to homes, homes with women living in them. She was concerned that Jeff was a convicted offender that had a job that gave him easy access to vulnerable people. People who believe that they're safe in their own homes. What was interesting is I found a newspaper article. They interviewed some neighbors of Jeff's. At Mundo Metal and his wife, Claudina and their son Caesar, were interviewed. They lived just a few houses down from Jeff for the past 13 years. And Claudina said that they never worried about Jeff. They added that he walked his small gray little doll around the block every day, and he was always extremely polite. He drove away in his pickup truck to work every day and never caused any problems but scissors. said that given his history this arrest is not surprising at all but they had honestly believed he cleaned up his act and you know what I know I mentioned this in another video because it's on my mind but this reminds me so much of the friends that are coming forward about the arrest made in the University of Idaho case and that suspect people come forward and say you know we thought he cleaned up his act guess not that person in the Idaho case used to be a drug user I guess all of that really can be very deceiving and maybe some people overcompensate because they do have something to hide so maybe they're overly nice overly polite making sure not to make any missteps Jeff's father and mother said that they're devastated by the arrest of their son several friends of theirs gathered at their home to show them support his dad Jim said that he thought his son Jeff was redeeming himself he had a job he was going to therapy routinely and his dad said quote he has been a very good person he was always responsible we're a loving family and he just defended his son and I want to say sir I mean no disrespect but using words like always when referring to positive things your son did like being a responsible person to not belong in a sentence together I understand that this is this person's flesh and blood but he's convicted of harming other people's flesh and blood and now he's arrested for potentially murdering someone I don't care how loving their family was or is this man has already shown his true character for what he did in his past but the father went on to add that he's innocent until proving guilty isn't that the law and I agree but I'm referring to his past we know what he did to two other women regardless of this current situation and those things were not loving they were not responsible or something a good person would do period think about what Sue's family was going through the day that Jeff's DNA was linked to the crime was the same day that Sue's siblings were said to meet with Sue's friend Barbara and the detectives at Sue's house for the very first time since her murder but they get a phone call from Barbara and she says listen the detective isn't meeting with us because they know who killed your sister and Lucia just lost it she cried harder than she ever had allowed herself to this entire time Sue's brother was excited and ecstatic but he was still apprehensive because he didn't know what was gonna happen he was hoping that Jeff wouldn't walk he wanted him to be held responsible and judging things with what happened in the past there was definitely reasons to be concerned however the investigators say otherwise they believe this trial would result in a major conviction especially with the Jeff's DNA there was no explanation for why it would have been there Jeff had a girlfriend we know that Jeff had no connection to Sue he wasn't dating her because her friends and her sister would have been aware of that he lived 30 minutes away no one had ever heard about him or saw him over there with Sue the only connection was the air conditioning job that's it so his DNA being inside her meant he was the last person to engage in that act with her and the last person to see her alive and also dead in this case he thought he covered his tracks he expected the house to go up in flames but it didn't stuff heathlings probation officer actually spoke out after his arrest and they said they informed his employer of his criminal history he also said that Jeff was never prohibited from working in people's homes the officer said there was nothing in his probation that would restrict it so who dropped the ball how far do you need to go back to figure this out Florida Department of Corrections regional probation director Joe Haydom said that the state could not have kept Jeff behind bars or prevented him from accepting a job in which he would have had access to people's homes because inmates were being released by the truckload because of overcrowding when Jeff entered prison his early release was inevitable and that's so concerning because it's still happening today and according to Joe Haydom convicted felons are allowed the chance to earn a living and considering that Jeff had trade skills in air conditioning repair Joe said it was impossible to deny him that kind of work it's really scary to me and in November 2001 a grand jury and died in Jeff Huffling on charges of first degree murder but that case never went to trial because there was so much evidence Jeff pleaded guilty and therefore the prosecutor was able to remove the death penalty from consideration the plea agreements depulated that Jeff would be sentenced to life without parole for second-degree murder and Jeff is currently serving a sentence at the Marion County Correctional Institution in O'Cala Florida they had the right guy but questions still remained why did he come back to his home six months after he worked on our air conditioning why Sue he only met her once well the state has their theory these type of offenders hold on to things in their mind from the first day he saw her he was most likely thinking about her non-stop even pleasuring himself to thoughts of her and it became so overwhelming that he had to get the actual release from committing this crime the attorneys who handled Sue's estate filed a lawsuit against Burdine's department store a year after her murder despite Jeff's 12 year sentence Burdine's department store never performed background check on him the lawsuit was settled in March of 2004 Burdine's agreed to pay Susan State nine million dollars no background check was done by Burdine's or the subcontractor that hired him during Jeff's incarceration his DNA was linked to another brutal attack in 1984 this wouldn't have happened but after hearing about Jeff's arrest a detective in Winner Springs Florida decided that he wanted to investigate another unsolved case to determine whether Jeff may have been to blame the detective uncovered the unsolved 1984 incident in Winner Springs or a woman was forced into intercourse against her will and stabbed a DNA test was not available in 1984 but they preserved the DNA so when they did test it it came back to Jeff in 2004 the Orlando Sentinel reported that after Jeff's parole released back in 1998 the court ordered him into a highly restricted treatment program according to those initial records remember the circuit court judge Robert McGregor he was the one that didn't believe Jeff he recommended that he be placed in a program for mentally disordered type offenders well then ever happened because before Jeff was released that mentally disordered a fender program which did require impatient psychiatric treatment was closed down so what's supposed to happen in these cases why isn't there a plan be in place because we know that after all that time happens this can happen places do close down they go out of business they don't exist anymore one last thing I want to mention is back in March of 2004 Lucia started a campaign for background checks for companies that contract with workers and this was part of her promise to her sister Lucia announced that she was going to campaign nationwide to pass legislation that required businesses to run criminal background checks on employees before sending them on work calls a bird ions department source spokesperson said they relied on the subcontractors to perform background checks on their employees pretty much passing the blame the spokesperson said they would have never hired Jeff if they would have known about his criminal history and after the arrest they ended their relationship with that repair company that employed him Lucia began a not-for-profit group called cause it stands for consumer awareness of unsafe service employment it's too bad that this wasn't around sooner because within weeks of Jeff pleading guilty to Su's murder another terrible murder occurred and it was as a result of an offender that was hired as a contractor Douglas McLiamont embarked on a multi-state murder spree before taking his own life in North Carolina he murdered three people kidnapped two others a ten-year-old Joshua Bryant and his grandmother Lillian Martin they disappeared while he was working for Ted Roberts Electric in Lake Helen he had done electrical work on Lillian's home and then he came back and did this to them following the news that Douglas had worked as a contractor and he had a criminal record of violent behavior Lucia reminded everyone to always inquire about anyone that enters their home she said there's no guarantees even with background checks there's going to be people that slipped through the crack but it's better insurance than no background check at all the Sue Weaver cause foundation promotes comprehensive background investigations on all service workers and they do this in Su's memory they believe their efforts can make a difference and protect families at their homes and at their workplaces according to the Sue Weaver cause foundation you ask yourself these questions before hiring a contractor do you perform background checks on all your employees contractors and subcontractors when and how often are these background checks done which background screening companies do use to perform your background investigations how can I be assured that the worker you're sending into my home has had a criminal background check done this is so important and I don't think we should ever be ashamed to ask these questions before hiring someone that you're gonna bring into your home even if they come highly recommended by a friend as a precaution the foundation also recommends that you invite someone over you know like for a cobbled coffee or hang out anytime someone's performing work on your home if you can't have anyone there while the contractor works on your home then let someone know everything else. going on when the people are arriving, when they're supposed to leave, and also it's perfectly fine to be on the phone with a friend while you're having your house service. They also say be very careful about following the person around, especially if it's down in the basement or up in the attic, and always stay close to and exit. Keep your wallet, your person, everything out of reach, because if there's one moment that you turn your back, something can happen. But honestly, this happened to Sue after the fact, and by that time it was way too late. She didn't do anything wrong. Jeff was just a sick person. You can take all the precautions in this world, but if someone truly sets out to harm you, sometimes there's nothing that you can do to stop them. And that is so heartbreaking. Sue Weaver's family thinks about her every day, and they wonder what her life would have been like. Every person that knew her and loved her dearly will always remember her. She will be forever missed. Family gatherings, weddings, births, those are the hardest times for Sue's family. And as time passes and everyone gets older, it becomes more and more difficult because Sue is missing out on so many things. I'm so very sorry to Sue's family, and I want to thank all of you for taking the time to care about Sue and her story until I listen to this today. Until next time, be safe. I'll see you in my next video. Bye.