The woman did say that she spoke with Marie at some length about a week before her disappearance. Marie told her that she was divorcing her husband because of excess mental abuse and to protect her children. She said Marie also told her Dr. Azevedo had accused her of being too much like an American and not being faithful. She said she never heard nor had Marie ever tell her that Dr. Azevedo had threatened her. The next day the story hit the local newspapers. Immediately the police began to receive calls with information in reference to the homicide. One person said that he and his wife were in need of some dental work and some friends recommended Dr. Azevedo. Their appointment was in January 1980 during the divorce of the dentist and Marie. He told the police that all Dr. Azevedo talked about was the difficult divorce he was going through. He said that Dr. Azevedo was very bitter toward the wife because this type of proceeding was not acceptable in his Indian culture.

Murder in the Heartland: Book Two (Murder in the Heartland, 2

Dentist Allen Azevedo, the husband of the victim, immediately became a suspect as police probed into the homicide case. Although, they learned that the dentist had an airtight alibi. Police investigated the case for three years without any success. I went to the judge and we finally got permission to exhume the body. On April 1, 1986, almost three years after she had been buried, Sharon’s body was exhumed and taken to a local funeral home for verification that the body was that of Sharon Williams, and to insure that all legal procedures were followed. Her body was shipped to St. Charles County, Missouri, for an autopsy. After careful examination, Dr. Case determined that Sharon Williams had died as a result of blows from a blunt instrument to the skull—not from the vehicle accident. Sharon Williams had been murdered.

Tammy Slaton gets approval for weight loss surgery in the same episode 

During the course of the investigation we learned that her husband had battered her and her children for years. On several occasions she tried to leave him, but he would always find her and bring her and the children home. Then after a while the battering would start all over again. Murder is considered a crime of passion. The altercations often trivial to anyone but those involved: quarrels over money or girlfriends. Murder is swift for the victim and can happen to anyone—rich, poor, old, young. It can happen anywhere, day or night and all to often it is one spouse killing another. I sent a deputy to the home and he found the husband in bed where the woman said he would be. He had been shot with a shotgun and there was blood and brains all over the wall. The deputy roped off the crime scene and the detectives begin to process the scene.

Murder in the Heartland: Book Two: 2 (Murder in the Heartland, 2)

We learned that he had mood swings, which she learned quite well over the years. He was entering another abusive stage. She couldn’t take any more so she got a shotgun and while he was asleep she killed him. Continuing the investigation, police begin interviewing neighbors and friends of Marie and the family. Most of the neighbors did not see anything unusual on the morning of Marie’s disappearance, but they did say that she was a wonderful mother and a very nice person. No one believed that she would go anywhere and leave her children alone. Police rushed to the scene. The officers approached the vehicle. A female fully clothed was slumped over the steering wheel of the car. She appeared to have been dead for several days. Police detected that there were several bullet holes in the clothing of her upper torso. The front doors of the vehicle were standing open, and it appeared that she had been shot from both sides of the station wagon execution style.The tragedy of this case didn’t end here. During the trial one of the sons, who was now fifteen years old, listened to the evidence and realized that his father had killed his mother and got away with it. He obtained a gun and while his dad was taking a nap in his dentist office, he shot and killed him. The young man loaded the body into a car, but was caught when his car broke down before he could dispose of the body. One morning I went to the office early to catch up on some paperwork. It was about 6:30 a.m. I was reading and, although I didn’t hear anyone, I had the feeling there was someone in the room. I looked up to find a woman standing in front of my desk. Her small frame of about ninety pounds was still as she looked at me with eyes that looked like glass marbles. According to the Logansport Pharos-Tribune, a Logansport, Indiana newspaper, Shawneetown resident Ellis was arrested and charged with three counts of murder in December 1986. He was “suspected of spiking his father’s iced tea with antifreeze.” Ellis was living with 61-year-old Charles T. Ellis at the time.

Murder in the Heartland: Book Two by Harry Spiller | Goodreads

He said that Dr. Azevedo continued on saying his wife Marie had accused him of beating their children with chains, the result of which was he was compelled to psychiatric counseling by the courts. He also said that Dr. Azevedo told him that he was very fond of his children and would do anything to get custody of them. This information was enough to implicate Jim Williams, Sr., as a suspect on Sharon’s death and also gave the sheriff probable cause to get a search warrant for the cesspool behind the home belonging to Williams. The sheriff was right. The body of the missing spouse was found in a cesspool wearing clothing that fit the description given on the day he was reported missing. The evidence was enough to arrest Jim William, Sr., for the double murder of his wife and his girlfriend’s husband. He would be convicted of both murders a year later. The police entered the information into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and started patrolling the last area Marie had been seen. Through other information that the sheriff’s investigators had obtained, the sheriff had reason to believe that the missing husband had been dumped in a cesspool behind a home belonging to Jim Williams, Sr. The problem was he had no probable cause to get a search warrant. Staring at the police with cold eyes, Dr. Azevedo said, I will see to my children, but police noticed he showed little concern for the disappearance of his former wife.

Amy Slaton’s grandfather’s death report from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune

Yes! My father was always threatening my mother, and when they were fighting he was always the one who started it. I wouldn’t put anything past my father, Alberic stated. She stops for gas sometimes. She gets gas at the Martin station in Murphysboro and sometimes in Carbondale. When Chris Combs arrives “looking like their grandfather” to help Amy plant a vegetable garden, she tells cameras how the family patriarch was murdered by his son. Spiller’s 2003 book has a chapter titled “The Antifreeze Murder (Shawneetown, IL),” which details how Charles H. Ellis murdered his father in 1986. Yeah, I know. Alice is a precinct judge in my precinct. She lives just north of me and the cemetery is just south of where we live. Right after her daughter was buried, she was in the office one day and told me that Sharon’s husband had murdered her daughter. I just thought she was upset at him. Is there any other place your mother may have stopped other than school and work? detectives asked.

Murder in the Heartland (TV Series 2017– ) - Episode list - IMDb Murder in the Heartland (TV Series 2017– ) - Episode list - IMDb

Next, they interviewed her oldest son, thirteen-year-old Alberic. Alberic said the last time he saw his mother was when she left their home at 2012 Pine St. in Murphysboro to take his brother and sisters to school. He said his mother was acting normal. Police continued the questioning with eleven-year-old Andrew. He told the police the same story. Andrew stated that his mother said, with a smile, I’ll see you this evening.

At the hospital, Ellis’ condition became worse. He was transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital on Nov. 7 in Evansville, Indiana, where he died on Nov. 20. Tammy Slaton gets approval for weight loss surgery in the same episode Brian Dennehy was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Ronald Victor Garcia was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie. [1] The newspaper clipping continues: “…Ellis became ill at his home the morning of Nov. 6 after drinking some iced tea. Authorities said it was thought at first that Ellis had suffered a stroke. He was taken to Pearce Hospital in Eldorado.”