Crime Raven

Murders on Main Street Kentucky Re-release

• Mark Rein • Episode 18

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This is a re-release where we reworked some pieces and combined two episodes into one.

In November 2015, the bodies of neighbors Pam Phillips and Ed Dansereau were found in a burned-out vehicle. Later the body of Calvin Phillips was found in his cellar. Who was the target, and who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time on Main Street in Pembroke, Kentucky? 

 

Resources:

Trial footage: https://www.courttv.com/trials/ky-v-martin-2021/

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Welcome to Crime Raven; true crimes, real life stories from law enforcement and issues crime fighters face. This podcast highlights crimes researched by retired Detective Sergeant Mark Rein, using publicly available information, court records and personal recollections. Content may be graphic, disturbing, or violent. Listener discretion is advised. Suspects are considered innocent until found guilty in a court of law. One of the ways that you can support Crime Raven is to use our link to shop on Amazon. We know you already shop there. When you use our link, it doesn't cost you anything extra. It just tells Amazon to send us a few pennies of your purchase. Doesn't matter what you buy. Big or small, it all helps us cover our podcast costs. So next time you need to buy on Amazon, use our link. You can find our Amazon link in the show notes or at crimeraven.com/resources. Bookmark that Amazon link so you don't lose it and use it every time you shop at Amazon. Pembroke, Kentucky is a tiny suburb of the Clarksville, Tennessee Metropolitan Region. The area is home to Army Base Fort Campbell, which sits astride the western end of the Tennessee- Kentucky border. The base is home to the renowned 101st Airborne, whose current mission is air assault or highly mobile light infantry transported to and around the battlefield by helicopter. The population of the metro area is just over 300,000 with Pembroke claiming only 700 of that. The town is 20 minutes of gently rolling farmland northwest of Fort Campbell. It's barely a bedroom community. A wide spot split by Kentucky State Route 41, marked by a Marathon station, a Dollar General, and not much else. Pembroke's appeal is its rural sensibility. Farmland surroundings, but never too distant from the services and civilization offered in Clarksville to the south or Hopkinsville to the north. Main Street Pembroke is lined not with businesses, but with single family houses, some quite large and well over a hundred years old. It was in one of these homes, 4 43 South Main Street, on a cold and rainy November 18th 2015, that the unthinkable happened.

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The stately 4,000 square foot home loomed in the dim morning light as the man approached. The side entrance, the one everybody used was toward the rear, just off the driveway and parking area. The door itself was obscured by a lattice enclosed porch and walkway. He moved quickly nervous that his prey would be standing in the darkness behind the trellis. The man was familiar with the house and its residents. Familiar enough to know that only Calvin should be there because his wife always left early for work. He hit the threshold, the screen door, the point of no return. The back of his mind screaming that here was the moment of greatest danger. Cal like to shoot guns. He could have one readily available. But the man was banking on surprise. A Blitzkrieg attack. He swept up through the threshold, and luck was on his side. Calvin had just put on his raincoat and was stepping out onto the enclosed porch. For an instant, the two men looked at each other across the narrow room. Calvin recognized the threat, his face opening up in waves of shock and surprise that quickly turned to fear. The intruder brought the Glock pistol up and fired. Bullets punched through Calvin's chest and neck. He crumpled. Mortally wounded, but the attack had just begun. The man, consumed with anger, fueled by adrenaline surged forward. He viciously beat Calvin's head with powerful blows, shattering nose and jaw. When the attack was complete and Calvin lay on the floor enduring the last spasms of life, the man was a statue above him. The pause was not a moment of reflection. The 45 in that enclosed space had been a cannon blast, shatteringly loud for the rural Kentucky morning. He listened for sounds of alarm in the surrounding neighborhood. Hearing nothing, his mind pivoted to the plan. He picked up the 45 shell casings. He dragged Calvin out onto the porch, opened the cellar hatch and dropped the body down. He wiped blood stains from the floor with the towels and clothing that were close at hand. With the most obvious evidence gone from the first floor, he descended into the cellar. The man gathered a small pile of wood and cardboard around Calvin's body, and he lit it. As the conflagration grew and the cellar filled with smoke, the man retreated back up to the porch. He closed the hatch behind him. And trusted that the fire below would cleanse his sin. Hours after setting the fire, the man returned to inspect his handiwork. As he drove by, he was surprised to see the house on 4 43 South Main Street was still standing. In fact, he could see no change to the house. He considered what must be done to salvage the plan. Just before 5:30 PM the man returned to the Phillips house. As he approached, he was shocked to see Pamela Phillips' car already parked in its usual spot near the door. She was early. He also noted the neighbor, Ed Dansereau's car parked off to the side of the shared driveway. Ed's kitchen lights were on, and from those windows, it could be possible for Ed to observe the entire side of Calvin and Pam Phillips' house. Ed worked out of town for much of the week and had returned at a time that was inconvenient. For the second time that day, the man moved up to the house with cautious haste. From that morning's shooting, the echoes of the 45 still reverberating in its mind. The man had changed things up. He now carried a smaller and hopefully quieter 22 caliber weapon. The man paused upon reaching the threshold. He got lucky again. From behind the screen door, he could see Pam toward the middle of the house in the hallway, just beyond the kitchen. She was pacing back and forth like she was on a tether, talking into a landline, handset attached to a vintage phone. She seemed a little upset. The man looked to his right. The cellar hatch was still hidden under the dog bed. Even better, Calvin's ancient mutt was laying on it. The body remained hidden and the plan could still work. The intruder timed his entry for when Pam shifted away. He crept across the deck, increasing speed as he smoothly opened the door to the kitchen. He closed the distance in an instant. Pam turned, gasping, dropping the phone as she saw the man. He grabbed Pam by the hair as she tried to turn and flee. The first shot penetrated her chest as he brought the gun up. The next three went into her skull at almost point blank range. Pam collapsed, dead before she hit the floor. The sharp crack of the 22 was not as quiet as he would've liked. The man paused, standing over Pam's body in the dim hallway just as he had her husband 10 hours earlier. A few seconds later, he heard a man's voice toward the driveway."Pam!" There was a pause, and again, louder,"Pam!" The man moved across the kitchen. He recognized Ed Dansereau's voice. As he approached the door, the man could see Ed standing at the end of the fence line that divided the parking areas between the two houses. Ed had a phone in his hand and was craning his head from side to side, as if seeing better would allow him to decide what to do next. The intruder kicked into survival mode. The only thing to do when cornered is to attack into the ambush. He exited the kitchen door and without pausing on the porch, continued outside. As he opened the screen door, he called out to Ed, who recognized him and was confused. The man was an express train. Closing the gap, raising the gun. Ed simultaneously fumbled one hand in the pocket and his other hand brought up the phone to his head. The man fired three quick shots into Ed Dansereaux's face. The useless phone dropped from Ed's ear and he fell with it onto the grass. Ed's other hand was still gripping the pistol he had only partially cleared from his pocket. This had been three more shots, ones the man couldn't afford echoing through that neighborhood. Ed Dansereaux lay on the open ground between two houses, only a hundred feet from Main Street. They were exposed, obvious to anyone passing on foot, in a car, or anyone looking for the source of those shots. The man made an instant decision. Pure adrenaline. He grabbed Ed by the feet and dragged him 60 yards towards the back of the Phillips property, away from the road and away from prying eyes. He didn't notice the gun in Ed's hand as it slipped from its pocket where it came to rest only a few feet from where its owner lay slowly extenuating. In the dark field behind Calvin and Pam Phillip's house, the man paused for the third time that day, listening for anyone who might have raised. Hearing nothing, he cautiously returned to Pam's body and began covering his tracks. Just a few minutes into the cleanup, the man heard a car pull into the driveway. He hid as someone first knocked, then opened the door in the kitchen. A woman's voice called loudly into the house for Pam or Calvin. She repeated the calls several times, but did not venture inside. After a few minutes, the sound of the car backing out of the driveway could be heard from the man's hiding place. The close calls were taking a toll. The man decided he would have to come back later. He wrapped and hid Pam's body, locked the doors, and quietly walked away. In the evening hours of November 18th, 2015, the man who had killed three of the residents of South Main Street in Pembroke, Kentucky, contemplated his next steps. He considered a bigger fire, one that would destroy everything, including evidence he might have overlooked. But it hadn't worked before, and a fire would also serve as a giant beacon focusing all the scrutiny right there, right then. He needed to spread some evidence out, divert attention away from the crime scene. He wanted the uncertainty that elapsed time creates in a murder investigation. Fortune favors the bold, so at 1: 30 in the morning on the 19th, when there was no police activity at the Phillip's house on South Main Street, the intruder went back to work. He cleaned up the brass and the obvious blood. He loaded Pam and Ed's corpses into her car. He went into the cellar and tried to pull Calvin out, but by that time, the body was in full rigor and could not easily be carried up through the hatch. Much less compressed to fit inside the already crowded sedan. The man drove Pam's car to the far side of Pembroke across Highway 41 and two miles up Rosetown Road. He turned off onto a dirt path that bisected, a large pasture that was owned by the farmer named Homack. The field was bounded on either side by wooded strips at the property lines. The man knew if he had followed the dirt road far enough, he could disappear into the trees and there he could quietly dispose of the bodies. That was a plan until the speeding car skidded on the rain- slick mud, and was drug off onto the soft shoulder. The man's frantic attempts to reverse and rock her car from the mud were in vain. He got out to inspect and his fears were realized. The car was exposed, visible for Rosetown Road and stuck fast in the middle of the field. Feeling a combination of anger and panic, the man threw the keys into the darkness, doused the car, lit it and fled away from the road toward the sheltering trees. When the man made it back to South Main Street, he went to Ed Dansereaux's house. He came out with Ed's keys and wallet. He stole Ed's car, driving it east. He was sure to bring Pam Phillips' cell with him. He had a trick to play. A round trip of just over an hour took him to the destination and back to South Main Street. He dumped Ed Dansereaux's car in the parking lot of the elementary school. A few blocks away, the Phillips and Dansereaux houses were dark and quiet as the sun rose. To the west tendrils of smoke marred the morning air above the Homack farm.

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John Homack and Hilbert Jet were neighbors. Each living and farming on several acres of land bordering Road. On November 19th, 2015, just after 2:00 AM. Both men were separately awakened from their beds to sounds Home-ec thought they were shotgun blast and figured that there were people illegally hunting the woods at

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the Southern end of

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his property. He wasn't about to

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go out at that

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hour to confront armed men, even if they were trespassing.

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Just to the

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north. Hilbert Jet's dog was barking in

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response to those noises. Waking the entire

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house.

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Jack calm the dog and

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saw from his bathroom window, a fire burning in the field at the far side of the hedge row between the properties. The flames were in the general direction of

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Homax burn pit. Both men comfortable in their

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rationalizations. Went back

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to sleep.

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Then Hilbert

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jet left his house to run errands just before 9:00 AM on November

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19th. As he

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drove south on Rosetown road, he

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saw a burnt up

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car. And Homax field right

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about where he'd seen

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those flames seven hours earlier.

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The vehicle, a small sedan was still smoldering. Jet pulled up to the barn

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where home-ec lived and the men

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agreed they should call

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9 1 1.

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The first

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to arrive were volunteer firefighters who looked

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into the charred

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metal shell of a car and saw

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one, maybe two skulls lying

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on the floorboards.

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The firefighters were treated to Rosetown road, blocked access and called for police.

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A deputy

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from the Christian county Sheriff's office arrived a short time later. He verified

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the skulls in

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the car. Which started the chain

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of

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detective call-outs.

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The Sheriff's department also reached

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out to Kentucky state police

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who assigned

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one of their investigator. Leonard Smith

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to the case.

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As

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an aside during

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this case, Leonard

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Smith

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retired from Kentucky state police. And was

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hired as

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a detective Lieutenant

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by the Christian

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county Sheriff's office. So we'll

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refer to him as Lieutenant Smith. When investigators

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arrived at the scene, they examined the car stuck just

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off the dirt

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road. There were still standing puddles across the field from recent heavy rains.

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One of the investigators saw the car keys tossed about 40 feet away

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under a couple of inches of water. The investigators

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also matched

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the few tire imprints on the road to responders

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and John Homax Toyota

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Tundra. Lieutenant Smith

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noted that the car

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fire had been scorching. Almost

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everything was ashes

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in the

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bottom of the car. The rear window glass had popped and melted into the back dash.

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And as he looked around the wreckage, he smelled the

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distinct odor of kerosene.

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The license plate on the rear of the vehicle was burned off

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onto the ground,

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but the tag was still readable.

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The tag came back to Calvin and Pamela Phillips at 4 43 south main

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street in Pembroke.

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The vehicle was

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wrapped, put on a slide back tow truck and

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take into a storage area for further processing.

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The focus

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shifted to the Phillips residence

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On south main street. The house sits back

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off the sidewalk about

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75

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From

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the front, it looks like an

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average

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size lot for the

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size of the house, but the property extends back in a narrow corridor for

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several acres. The lot is actually

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so large that

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the house

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and the front yard sit in city

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limits.

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and the rear acreage juts out on the county

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land. The Phillips and residents on similarly situated properties,

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shoot firearms on the county land. and activity that's

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prohibited inside the city

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boundary.

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On November 19th,

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Christian

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county Sheriff's deputies arrived at the Phillip's house. Around

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noon. All that they knew was that a car registered to that address had

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been burned off Rosetown road with

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two bodies in it.

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There was no answer at

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the door. As deputy stood in the driveway, one of them noticed drops

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of what looked

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like blood on the paper. Widening their

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focus. They

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could see numerous blood spots

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and the drive

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and walkway centered

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around the house aside door.

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The deputies entered the

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house, clearing

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each room,

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ensuring that no one was hurt or hiding.

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On the initial

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sweep, deputies did not find anything alarming.

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It was a large old house

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and parts were being remodeled. there was to construction debris that had not yet been

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cleared. In addition to the debris, the house was cluttered with the kind of objects amassed

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over decades of lives being

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lived. The only resident

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found in the house was a sickly

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German shepherd dog. Lying on

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a dog bed

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inside the enclosed porch. During the wait for detectives

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deputies did what they could to prepare.

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Animal control came and

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took

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the

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dog. The deputies made note of additional indication.

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that

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something bad had happened. There were swipes of blood on

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the entry door,

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blood on a blue tarp near where the dog had been

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lying. A pool of blood at the end of a privacy fence that formed the

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border between the Phillip's backyard and ed Dan's rose. And next to that,

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a cell phone on

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the ground with a swipe of dried blood. When deputies went to the

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side door of Dan's Rose

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House, the one that faced

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the Phillips house, they found

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that door open.

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No one answered when they

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yelled inside.

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By two in the afternoon, detectives were working with a search

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warrant that allowed a detailed search of the Phillip's house and property. Detective shot a video walkthrough of the entire home.

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They

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took photos documenting

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the overall scene and

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items of specific

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interest, including a Ruger pistol on

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the kitchen table.

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Another semiautomatic

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pistol laying

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next to the house phone on

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the side table in

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the hallway. A nine millimeter pistol

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next to the bed and the

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upstairs master, there was a subpoena

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ordering Calvin Phillips to appear in a military court martial on a desk upstairs. They found more

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evidence in the grass, in the backyard. 60 yards behind the

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house.

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An old looking semi-automatic pistol lay near a second pool of blood,

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much larger than the pool

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of blood at the end of the fence.

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As

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detective search, the enclosed porch, one picked

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up a pair of sweat pants. One leg of the pants was

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trapped under what turned out

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to be a hatch. The door was flush with the

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deck surface and had gone a notice because it had been covered with a large dog

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bed.

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The detective

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slid the bed away and pulled the door up. Below him and the dim light of the seller, he could see the body

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of Calvin

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Phillips facing up Calvin was obviously dead, but investigators called for

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a paramedic to assess the body.

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Katie Rogers examined Calvin's

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body and noted that

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he was cyanotic because his nail beds were blue.

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His pupils were clouded fixed and dilated.

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Lividity, which is the gravitational pooling of blood within the body.

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That happens after death had set in. Calvin's body was stiff,

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also known

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as rigor,

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mortis. Calvin was on his back with his arms extended up and his legs

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bent. It was apparent that Calvin was not lying in his original position of

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death. He had been

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moved into this position after rigor had said. Investigators noted that Calvin had a bullet wound to

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the chest. And injuries to

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his face.

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he had dried blood on his pants and coat. Calvin was lying on a pile of burned wood, cardboard, towels, and clothing. He was wearing

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a rain coat

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with a hood cinched

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down over

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his head. One

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arm of the PVC

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jacket had melted

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off during the

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fire. when Calvin was moved. Investigators

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saw that the debris around and under the body was

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a

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Pyre that had only partially burned. On the ground at the base

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of the stairs,

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label at fragment

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and a piece of tooth. While

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the Phillip's house was

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being searched that day. Word

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spread around town and across

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the state. And people began to call

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the police with

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information. Marlene Larock who was a friend of Calvin's who lived nearby. They had bonded over their mutual love of German shepherds. On the morning of the 18th, the

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vet that they shared told Marlene, that

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Calvin's dog was sick and likely to die.

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Marlene and her adult daughter, Michelle, who was visiting from out of state, went

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to see Calvin around 2:00 PM. She said it was

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strange that the door to the house was open, but no one answered when she

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knocked and yelled inside. Marlene called Pam on her cell phone and

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left a message about

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the visit. Pam didn't call Marlene back

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until about 5:30 PM.

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Pam said that she just arrived home from work and Calvin was not

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around, but his

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wallet and cell phone were there. Pam said

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that she had just

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gotten off the phone with the neighbor ed. Pam

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had asked ed

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to check the

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back of the property

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for Calvin.

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She was worried. Maybe Calvin had hurt himself

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somewhere.

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Just then Marlene said she heard Pam

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say something like, hold on.

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I see

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something.

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Marlene heard her friend admit a startle type scream. And then heard nothing

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more. Marlene thought the line was open. So she listened and waited for several minutes, but Pam never returned. Marlene was unsettled by the situation. So she asked her daughter, Michelle to go back with her.

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Marlene

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said that Pam's car was there parked in its usual location No's

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in by the house.

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And for the second time that

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day she found the

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house doors

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open

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again. She called inside,

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but no one responded.

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Marlene said that she was

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afraid to go in the house. So after a few minutes,

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they

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left.

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When they

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arrived back at their house.

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Marlene still felt disturbed. She really wanted to know that everything was all

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right.

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So at 7:00 PM. She

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and Michelle. Returned to the Phillips house

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for the third time. That day. This time, the

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house was closed and dark. Pam's car had been moved

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now

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it was turned around and backed in near the door.

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Marlene thought the car's position was unusual. But still no answer

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at the door. When

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investigators call the

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army criminal investigations division or

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CID. About the subpoena on Calvin's desk,

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detectives

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were told that they would get a call back. Instead that afternoon,

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several CID

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officers arrived at

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the scene.

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About

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the subpoena. The CID guys literally pointed across the street to the yellow house, belonging to Christian

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Martin. They said that

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Calvin Phillips was a key prosecution witness in a court

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martial.

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Where Martin was being tried for

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domestic violence

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assault. And mishandling of confidential information. The charges were severe enough to end Martin's

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career and could send him to prison. They also said that Calvin Phillips

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was worried that Martin would retaliate. By the afternoon of

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the 19th. The Investigators still had a lot of

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uncertainty as they began to talk to people close to

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the potential

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victims. They knew that Calvin was dead in the cellar and they knew

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they had two

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skulls in Pam's car.

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Calvin and Pam's son,

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Matt lived two and a half

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hours north Matt was able to give detectives some background on his parents.

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Calvin at 59 was a retired air force and army helicopter

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pilot who had served in Somalia and

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the Gulf war.

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As Matt grew up, Pam was a stay-at-home mom. And

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then vice-president at heritage bank in Hopkinsville, about 30 minutes from

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Penbrook. The

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couple had been

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married for over 30 years. And had lived in the same

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house for most of

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that time. Matt knew the

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neighbor at Dan's row and said he was good friends with his

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parents. Matt said his parents were worried

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about the pending court. martial.

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The trial had been delayed

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several times and tensions increased with each

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continuance. Calvin and Pam

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were discouraging people from visiting until the case

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was resolved.

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Matt

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didn't know all of the

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details of the court martial, but he knew

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it involved his father

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turning over items to the FBI. That he had

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obtained from Martin's

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ex wife, Joan

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Hart. Matt explained that his parents had helped Joan Harmon

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move

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out of the Martin

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house when the marriage broke up.

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For a

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time after that split Harmon rented a property

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in Pembroke that the Philips owned. Calvin identify classified material among Martins property during

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the move.

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And Calvin took that to the FBI. That material

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and

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photographs of Martin

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stepson's injuries were the basis for the court. Marshall,

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Matt Phillips was asked to identify his father

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with a picture of Calvin's head.

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showing only from the

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nose up.

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investigators wanted to spare him the

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sight

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of his father's mangled lower face.

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Penny Casey worked

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with Pam Phillips at the Hopkinsville bank. When

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penny

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talked to investigators, she told them that as recently as Monday, November 16th,

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Pam had voiced concerns about

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the court martial situation.

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Pam told

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penny that they were keeping family away during the holiday season because

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of the tension. Pam was worried that if they left Martin would break into their home

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and might kill them when

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they returned.

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On

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the 18th of November,

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Pam left work

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at 5:00 PM, which was

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a little early. She had been angry at Calvin because they were expecting a delivery of her birthday

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present from her son.

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A new washer

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and dryer.

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Calvin knew

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this and he was going

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to be there

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to receive and set up the

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appliances. The

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delivery people called Pam before

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11 and told her no one was answering the door.

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By

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the time Pam left work that evening, she

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was worried because

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she'd been unable to reach Calvin all

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day. On

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the 18th and 19th of November, Sally Jackson

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had tried

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in vain to reach her longtime

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boyfriend at Dan's row. His house was in Pembroke,

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but he usually spent much

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of his time during the

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week with her in

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bowling green. Where he worked as a music instructor and

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as a jazz musician.

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When the detective finally called her, he had no answers, only

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questions. She told them

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that ed went to his

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pembro comb on the afternoon of the 18th after finishing

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Ed's car

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should be at his house.

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Ed was a gourmet cook

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and he made high

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quality meals even

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when he was just cooking for himself. And his plan was to make fish that night.

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The fact that he hadn't

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called her was very unusual. She said that ed was good friends with the Philips. And ed

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was generally aware that there was some kind of problem with

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Martin across the street, but ed wasn't involved in that.

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Sally was able to identify the pistol lying on the grass. 60 yards behind the Phillips house from a photo. She said the gun was

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an old German pistol that Ed's father had brought back from world war II. The

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phone smeared

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with blood found lying on the ground at the end of the fence was also ads. At Dan's

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rose car was eventually

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found at the nearby elementary school. He's

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written the ignition and

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his wallet was in the center

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By the

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evening of November 19th. Christian county Sheriff's office knew they had a big case on their

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hands,

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A body and a seller.

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two skulls

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and a burned out car.

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Two missing people

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and a potential suspect. The morning of the 20th. Was a busy

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one. Deputies had secured the Phillips and

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Dan's rose houses overnight. They'd kept an eye out for activity across the street at Martins place. Deputies added to

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their account of search warrants. One for at Dan's rose car.

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One for a Dan's

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Rose House.

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And one

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for four 80

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south main street, the Martin residence

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Dan's Rose House was

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pretty simple. The scene

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told the tale, the

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investigators expected. There appeared to be

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nothing unusual.

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The inside of the house was tidy. They could

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see signs of

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what

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Sally Jackson

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said were Ed's plans for the previous

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evening.

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Officially next to the kitchen sink. near a beer wrapped in a UK hugger sleeve. The kitchen window offered a

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perfect view

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of the Phillips parking area and back door Across

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the kitchen in the living room. Ed's recliner was unoccupied except for a leather holster with an extra

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magazine pouch that someone had dropped in the seat.

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The search warrant

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for Martin's

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house was also executed on November 20th.

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Entry

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and securing of the house

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were accomplished using the regional SWAT team.

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The only

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person home was Laura Martins, girlfriend.

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Investigators knew that Martin was at Fort Campbell and

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Laura's kids were in school. However, this was

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a triple murder investigation

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where many facts were unknown, which

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called for caution.

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And the SWAT

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team. As the search of Martin's home progressed,

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investigators seized

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several items. His pickup

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truck was impounded, where they found a box of PMC 45 rounds.

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a rifle magazine

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for a 22. A box of 22 ammunition.

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A five gallon kerosine container

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was seized from a utility room an AR style 22 rifle and handgun on a closet shelf. A handgun and a flowered person,

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a closet. a rifle in the crawl space. A handgun in a nylon case behind a computer Uh, 1911 style

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handgun in the master

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bedroom. a large century gun safe and the upstairs

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den. And Martins video security system and phone were seized. Along with

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evidence, photos were

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taken of a recently used fire pit in the backyard.

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Muck

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boots, caked with

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dried mud. And an inside view of the house, his front

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door showing a newer looking security brace.

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Not all

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evidence seized in criminal investigations

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as found immediately after the cases

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report.

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In

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major cases like this evidence of one kind or another is found, gathered, or seized. As the analysis progresses.

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For example, months later, a sample of hair was taken

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from Martin by search

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warrant, with the Assistance of the North Carolina bureau of investigations.

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And additional search warrant was required to open Martin safe. And century safe company responded with a

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passcode.

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Inside that safe was a

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Glock model, 21 pistol, which fires 45 caliber rounds. The safe

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also held a power of attorney. That Martin had granted to his girlfriend, Laura Spencer.

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It was signed

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on November 16th, 2015. Some evidence missed in the original

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crime scene

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processing was turned in by members of the Phillips family.

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The

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items had been discovered while they were in the process of cleaning out the

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house.

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One was a dog

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tag with Martin's name on it, found on a

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high shelf.

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off the kitchen.

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The tag

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was attached to a simple white cord, similar to a kite string. The original crime scene

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photos showed a string on

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a shelf still. It was high enough

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to be overlooked by investigators.

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The Phillips family also turned over other items on two separate occasions that they found while

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cleaning.

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a

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22 caliber

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bullet. Swept from

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under the kitchen stove. And a 45

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caliber casing from behind

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a pile of wooden construction debris on the enclosed porch. On December 23rd, 2015, the Kentucky

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medical examiner

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officially confirmed. That the remains from the burned

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out car

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on Rosetown road.

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Were those

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of Pam Phillips

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and ed Dan's

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row

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On December 31st, 2015,

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seemingly out of the blue, a woman identified as

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Martin's ex wife, Joan Harmon. brought

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Pam Phillip's cell phone. The one that Pam used before she was

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killed. To the at T store in

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Hopkinsville

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asking for

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it to be unlocked. The arrest for the murders of Pam and

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Calvin Phillips and ed

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Dan's row came on May 11th, 2019. By

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that time Martin was flying commuter planes for American airlines. He was

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arrested just after

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passing through

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security at the Hammad Ali international airport and

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Martin was

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charged with three counts of first degree murder. Two

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counts of. Burglary

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in the first

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degree,

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two counts of arson. And

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tampering with evidence.

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There's been extensive reporting and publicity about the crime.

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During the intervening

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years, Martins

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defense team requested a change of venue and the proceedings

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were moved to harden county, Kentucky. Trial began

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June 1st, 2021. The backstory began in

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2011 when Martin was

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married to Joan

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Harmon. They live together

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with her

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three kids at four 80 south main in

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pembro, Kentucky. The marriage

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ended after an

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argument during which they both called the

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police. When officers arrived, Martin agreed to leave the

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house for them.

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The following day, Joan Harmon

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was granted a domestic violence restraining

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order.

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Calvin and Pam Phillips had

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helped Joan Harmon

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move and allowed her

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to

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temporarily rent one of their nearby

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properties. During

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the move, Calvin Phillips had found some

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items. A disc and a

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laptop where classified military

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information was stored. In addition, Joan Harmon gave Calvin

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photos that she had taken of her son. Showing

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bruises that they said were caused by Martin.

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Calvin turned the laptop and other materials over to the FBI.

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Which became evidence in a court martial

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process.

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Calvin Phillips was a key player in the original charges against The date of the court martial

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had been repeatedly delayed for almost a year. At the time

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of the murders, the trial was scheduled to start

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in early December,

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2015. Calvin Phillips and the others were murdered on November 18th. The court martial finally proceeded

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in may of 2016. Martin was convicted of misdemeanors instead of the original felony

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charges.

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Calvin sister

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Diana

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Phillips lives on the east coast. She was aware that

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Calvin would be

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a witness against

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Martin and knew that Calvin had assisted Joan when she moved out. Diana was worried that their involvement would

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cause problems with the neighbor who

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she'd never After

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the murders, Diana returned

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to Pembroke regularly. Estimating five or six trips to help her nephew, Matt Phillips deal with Calvin

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and Pam's property.

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The house was full of

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stuff. They had to sort through

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and clean

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everything.

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She said that while they were going through this process,

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they also kept an eye out for anything that might be evidence in the case.

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On November 30th, Dianna

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found a dog tag on a white string sitting

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on

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a high shelf in

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the foyer next to the kitchen.

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The dog tag had the

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name, Christian Martin on it.

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A family friend who was helping

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clean brushed uh, 22

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from under the stove.

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Both items were bagged and handed over to a Sheriff's

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detective. On April 16th,

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2016 during another trip. Diana

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said that she and her nephew, Matt were making

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progress with the house. And most of the personal property had been removed. She

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cleaned the enclosed

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porch near

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the door to

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the house. She began to move a pile of

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construction debris left over from one of

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Calvin's renovation projects.

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Diana found a bullet casing in the debris pile.

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During the trial prosecutors play the security camera footage of Diana finding that casing. Diana and her family had installed the security cameras after the murders to monitor the

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often vacant

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home. In Pam and Calvin

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son mats testimony,

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he told how he

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Found out about his

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parents'. Murders. And the process of sorting out their property. As the holidays that approached in 2015, Matt said

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his parents were discouraging anyone from visiting them because of the

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friction with the neighbor. This was unusual because

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his parents often

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had people visit Or they would travel to

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gatherings at the grandparents' home in Michigan. That holiday

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season. They were not going to travel or

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have people over.

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Because of the upcoming trial.

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During

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cross examination. Matt said that he

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became increasingly frustrated as time passed

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and an arrest had not been made. His family talked to an

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attorney about how they could pressure

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police and prosecutors

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to move forward. They offered a reward

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of a hundred

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thousand dollars for

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information leading to

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arrest. And

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they met with attorney general of Kentucky. Andy

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BearShare. Sally

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Jackson, ed

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Dan's rose girlfriend recounted her

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last conversation with him. And what do you plan for the evening of November 18th

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after he departed bowling

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green?

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And when asked Sally said that she remembers Martin drinking a beer with ed on

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his front

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porch,

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but that

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they weren't good friends. And she

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doubted ed ever had Martin over for dinner. Marlene LA rock took the stand to talk

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about her longtime friendship with the

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Phillips.

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To other prosecution

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witnesses, Steve

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Durham and Steve

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Ballinger. were longtime friends of Calvin's. They both described separate conversations where Calvin expressed

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concern about his safety and

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thought that

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Martin might try to kill

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him. Penny Casey

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worked with Pam Phillips at the Hopkinsville

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bank. She took the stand to recount what she told investigators

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about Pam's fear of Martin. Major

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James Garrett is a us

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army JAG officer. He testified that he was the prosecutor in the court martial of Martin.

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Garrett said that Calvin Phillips was the key to the court martial of Martin because

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Calvin identified and turned in

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the disc containing classified information and

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photos of injuries of

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Martin stepson.

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Between January, 2015 and the court

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martial date set for early December, 2015.

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There were several

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continuances.

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Garrett said

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that Calvin was increasingly

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concerned that Martin

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would do something to harm him.

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Major Garrett

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said that during the buildup to the court, Marshall Martin was aggressive and complaining about how he was being treated, which included a congressional complaint, targeting the government prosecutors

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and the commanding officers at

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4k.

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These complaints were investigated and the end result

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was the

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JAG officers

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and the commanders had done nothing wrong. Major Garrett said that Martin also spread misinformation that Joan

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Harmon was

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motivated by financial assistance that she expected to

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receive from the

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government. Despite

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knowing that

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Harmon was never eligible for any financial assistance. Because of her lack of legal marital

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status.

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Garrett was clear

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that contrary to

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Martins public assertions, the defense and the court martial

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was calling. Calvin Phillips, not as a cooperator, but

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to

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discredit him. After

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the court Marshall, the jury panel issued Martin, a dismissal from service based on several counts.

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that They convicted him

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of. For officer's a dismissal effects, benefits and retirement eligibility. John home-ec and Hilbert jet testified to their home locations

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and observations

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of the burned

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vehicle on November 19th. Mr. Homax said he had CCTV surveillance that only showed north across his parking

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area. And did not Cover the Rosetown

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road or the dirt road.

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The defense showed smoke blowing from

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left to

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right or west to east

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across the parking lot at around

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11:50 PM. Home-ec said it was probably ground fog,

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which happens on the farm regularly. James Matlock was a resident of

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Pembroke who worked on John Homax farm. James was

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a reluctant witness. After the murders. James mentioned to Bubba, his employer

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and John Homax son that he saw Martin walking around on the farm.

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The Saturday before the murders. Sometime after

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that Bubba reported what James said

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to the police.

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During

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testimony. James looked at an aerial photo of the farm.

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He indicated that he saw Martin walking around in a specific location near

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the woods. The

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encounter happened as James was

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driving a three Wheeler and the distance was about 50 feet.

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James said Martin was wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans. And. May

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have been walking a dog.

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In response. To a question. James said that he knows Martin

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and doesn't

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like him. Mentioning

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that

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there had been problems with Martin on James property in the

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past.

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Lieutenant Smith described finding Calvin Phillips

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and burn debris in

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the cellar. Some of the less obvious evidence was described. There was a long

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curl of dark hair on the kitchen

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floor. There was suspected bloodstains

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collected from various places

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in the The kitchen and the enclosed porch. Samples of stains from the cellar stairs,

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the sidewalk,

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the blood patches and Phillips grass were all collected.

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Lieutenant Smith presented video

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clips that showed the comings and goings of the residents from the rear of the Martin home. The back

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was the only

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area covered by video surveillance system. Still. It clearly showed when everyone came and went by car. Lieutenant Smith also

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presented a video from

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the at and T store in

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Hopkinsville on new year's Eve.

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A woman identified as Joan Harmon accompanied by her three children. Entered the

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store and were held by staff

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at the main counter. In the video,

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Harmon is taken aside by an employee and then she

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and the children leave the store. Detective noise worthy testified that he was called to the Hopkins at

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and T store

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for Pam Phillips Joan Harmon was gone when

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he arrived, but he identified her on

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surveillance footage

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while detective Norsworthy was at the at and T store, Joan Harmon

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and William Stokes tried to call him. noise worthy, left the store

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and drove to Joan Harmon's home. 20 minutes

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away. In response

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to a pointed question. The

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detective stated that Joan Harmon is not a suspect in this murder

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case.

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The Prosecution showed detective Noyes worthy a photo

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of Martins front door

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from the inside.

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He had described that the door was

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secured by a newer looking brace bar

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that was wedged between

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the door and the floor.

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The

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most tedious

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part of the trial was the

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forensic result analysis. for the most part, the evidence results were ambiguous.

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They did not directly point. to Martin. Nor did they exclude him? Dr. Jeffrey Springer, a state pathologist

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and medical examiner did

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a painstaking

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disassembly of the contents of Pam's car. Dr. Springer

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was able to identify two clear groupings of

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bones. Both were identified. Through familial DNA as Pam Phillips in the front and ed Dan's row in

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the backseat. He

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described the bodies

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as being burned up almost as much as you

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can be burned up. The

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results had basically compressed into a heap on the floorboard.

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Still Dr. Springer was able

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to identify

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different organ tissues as strata

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in the mass.

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He found three projectile

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fragments in Pam's brain tissue. And one in her heart

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tissue. Ed Dan's row had three projectile

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fragments in his brain tissue.

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And a surgical plate and Ed's remains matched an injury. He'd. Had early

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in life.

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Dr. Randall falls

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also a state pathologist and medical

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examiner performed

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the autopsy on Calvin Phillips. Calvin suffered

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five gunshot wounds to his left

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neck collarbone

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left chest, right chest

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and lower left

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chest. Calvin was also beaten severely.

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He'd

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suffered multiple head and. Face blunt

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force injuries, including abrasions,

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lacerations, contusions,

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a broken nose, a

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broken jaw, and a lacerated

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tongue.

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The doctor determined that

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the head and

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face injuries.

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were anti mortem

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and. Peri mortem, meaning that

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Calvin was assaulted

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with a blunt object or a fist before or during death. Dr falls

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noted. that Calvin had no injuries to his hands or

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arms that might indicate defensive positioning.

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some hairs and ed Dan's rose car, where microscopic matches to the sample of Martins hair.

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Still the

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FBI could not make

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a definitive match for several reasons. The hair

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collected from the car was not

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long

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enough.

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And there wasn't enough of it. The loose clump of

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hair on the kitchen

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was not Martins based on microscopic comparison, probably it

Mark

belonged to Pam Phillips.

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There was no blood found on any of

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the items collected from Martin.

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And no DNA on the dog tag found at the murder scene. There was not enough DNA on the dog text string for analysis.

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The blood sample from the kitchen floor

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and the back

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porch were Calvins. The blue tarp

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had Calvin's blood on it. As did a white tag from the back

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porch. The bloodstains on the driveway and

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pavement were Pam.

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The

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blood taken from a carpet cutting. And the kitchen was also PAMs The blood pools in the side and backyard grass

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where at Dan's rose

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and a hair in one of the tape lifts from Ed's

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car also belonged

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To ed. The ignitable liquids

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analysis in the car

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fire was a non event. The experts testified that if. They were present. Ignitable liquids would probably be completely burned off. In the center

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of a fire that was as hot and

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complete as Pam's car was also a

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car fire is often

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fueled by the flammable

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liquid in. The

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gas The cell phone data

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continued the pattern of indefinite results.

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The location info

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was of limited

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use showing

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Martin cell phone was in the general area.

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And that included his home, the murder site and the Rosetown road scene. As far as usage during the critical two

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days, Martin cell phone had been used

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regularly,

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but there were gaps And

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downtimes. During these periods, like the morning and evening of November 18th. The prosecution asserted. He carried out the murders. There was suspicious activity on Martin's phone. Usually he had a repeating

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alarm at 6:48 AM

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with top gun

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ring

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tone. What was unusual, was it on the 18th?

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At 11:27 PM. An

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alarm was set. For 1:10 AM on the 19th. And there was no activity on the cell phone until seven thirty

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nine. On the

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ninth. No activity means no calls,

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no texts and

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no data exchanges. And analysis of Pam's

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phone showed

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that it

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had been wiped to factory

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restore. However, the experts said that this could have been intentional or the result of someone

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typing in the wrong password more than 10

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times. As far as Pam Phillip's phone location. At and T gave information

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that the location data

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is unreliable. What can you said is that the phone was hitting on three towers at once

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in the Pembroke

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and Elkton

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areas. It's worth noting that both prosecution and

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defense experts made errors in cell phone, data

Mark

analysis. That were corrected just

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before the trial. Each side pointed out the opposing sides, Mr.

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Phone records were obtained

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for Calvin

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and Pam

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Phillips. and

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ed Dan's rose

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phones, including

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the landline and cell. These

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searches allowed them to verify

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the times and lengths of

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phone calls. At

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5:20 PM. Pam

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Phillips 80 and T cell called

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ed Dan's rose landline. And they talked for. Five

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minutes.

Mark

At 5

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25, pan Phillips 18

Mark

T cell called ed Dan's row cell. The call us at three seconds,

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but they couldn't verify

Mark

it actually

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connected. At

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5:30

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PM. Pam

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Phillips

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landline calls,

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Marlene

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LA Rox Landline. And the call last one minute and four So.

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At 5:30 PM. Marlene Laura calls, Pam

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Phillips cell. And the connection

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last six seconds. And at 5:31 PM. Marlene, the rock

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calls, Pam

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Phillips landline, and the connection last seven

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minutes. Lee Collier

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is a

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firearms and tool mark expert who testified for the prosecution.

Mark

For the most part, the bullet analysis followed the trend

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of other trace analysis. The experts could not

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match evidence directly

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to Martin, nor were they able to exclude Martin. None of the 22 rounds were usable for matching to guns due to deformity. Or fragmentation. They had

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the same rifle and characteristics

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as Martins 22 weapons,

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but it's the

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most. Common rifling used in the

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The physical characteristics of spent

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bullets were consistent with the RWS brand. 22 bullets taken from

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Martins property. But that bullets shape is

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also common.

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The bullet

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found under the Phillip stove was also consistent with the RWS rounds taken.

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From Martin.

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The bullets and fragments taken from Calvin

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Phillips body

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were very

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likely fired from a Glock

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pistol based on

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that weapons,

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unique rifling. Pattern.

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The bullets were unique and challenging to match because they were designed to break apart and form eight

Marcy

distinct wound channels. The butt end of these bullets had striation marks. Sufficient to match two of

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them to a

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barrel with

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a distinct

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polygon UL. Rifling pattern

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almost exclusively used by clock. The Glock barrel design is notorious for not leaving sufficient marking

Marcy

as on bullets that were

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provide conclusive identification. The experts agreed

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on one map.

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The 45 casing found under the debris pile on the Phillips porch had ejection

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markings made by

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a Glock model 2145 caliber pistol.

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Seized from Martins

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gun safe.

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The primer of that casing also.

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Had the distinct Glock

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elliptical firing pin

Mark

impression.

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Near the end of the prosecution case. The

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court heard emotion From

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attorneys. for Joan Harmon and her son, Justin

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Harmon.

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They

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wanted to assert their Rights

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under the fifth

Mark

amendment and. not be required

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to testify in the

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Martin trial. The assertion was that both Harmons are potential suspects. And they are choosing not

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to answer any questions. They're lawyers went further and said that it is

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clear that the

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Harmons were being set up

Mark

as alternate murderers by the Martin defense camp. The

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unusual bigamy charge pushed by those same people. Evidence

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they say was planted

Marcy

by Martin And public releases

Mark

by private detective and defense team members

Marcy

indicate the Harmon's legal jeopardy. They argued that Martin's sixth

Mark

amendment, right. Does not Trump, Joan and Justin's fifth amendment, right? If Martin wanted

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to claim Joan. Harmon

Mark

was the real murderer.

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He wasn't being barred from doing so. Neither the prosecution. Nor the defense was in favor of excluding the Harmons from testifying.

Mark

The special prosecutor went further and said she had no intention of charging.

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Joan Harmon with any crime. The defense wanted the Harmons to testify because their

Mark

defense is that Joan and Justin are the real murderers that set Martin up. In the

Marcy

end. the judge

Mark

ruled that the Harmons could

Marcy

assert their rights and would not be forced to testify. The jury was not present for this hearing. The Martin defense began with testimony from Laura Spencer's children who were in high school at the time of the murders. The kids had moved into Martin's Pembroke home with their mother in late summer of 2013. They lived with him for just over two years. Laura's now adult children testified that on November 18th, 2015, they were out of the house in school and later extracurricular activities. They didn't return home until 9:00 PM. Both Spencer children gave the same account saying that when they arrived home on the night of the 18th, Martin and their mother were together in the upstairs den, watching TV. They said that the rest of their evening was spent on homework and social media in their rooms before sleeping. Laura's kids noted that the house was old and creaky, and if Martin had left the house during the night and he hadn't, they would have heard him. When Laura Spencer took the stand, she gave a similar account of time as her children. Laura said she didn't know anything about the murders when they happened. Still, Laura said she was cooperative with the police and gave them codes for phones and devices. Laura was asked to go over what she recalled from November 18th through the 20th in 2015. Some of her recollections were refreshed by statements she had given to police on December 3rd, 2015. Laura said that on November 18th, the kids went to school in the morning and were gone until 9:00 PM. Martin came home at 5:30 PM and he had flowers to celebrate their anniversary. She said that they ate dinner, watch TV, and went to sleep between 10 and 11:00 PM. She noticed nothing unusual about the evening. Laura recalled that the following day, November 19 was also typical. She thinks that she spent most of the day at home alone. Martin went to work at 9:00 AM. He probably came home in the afternoon to drive Laura's daughter to horse riding instructions at 4, about 45 minutes away in Tennessee. On November 20, Laura said she was hanging around the house cleaning and doing laundry. At around 11:00 AM, a Police, SWAT team suddenly entered the house. At first, she didn't know what was happening. Laura said she heard a breaking window and someone yelling. She said she ran out of the house, traumatized, saying she was sure that they were there to kill her. Laura was emotional as she recounted this story, shaking with her hands over her face. The defense attorney asked who she thought was there to kill her, and Laura cried out"Joan Harmon!" When questioning continued, Laura revealed that the family lived in hotels after the police search warrant for a couple of weeks. They had a rental in Hopkinsville for awhile, and they later moved to North Carolina. In one of the last questions Laura was asked, she said that it was true that Calvin Phillips was going to be a witness for Martin in the court martial Martins, adult daughter, Amanda Flag, lived with Martin in the Pembroke house, when the marriage to Joan Harmon ended. Amanda told the jury that Joan and her dad had regularly argued before the breakup. During the decisive argument in 2012, Martin told Joan that he wanted a divorce. Amanda said that Joan told Martin she would ruin him and his military. After that Amanda and her father left the house and had to stay away for three weeks. They were allowed to go back after a court hearing. They arrived at the South Main Street house to find that Joan had taken everything personal property and animals. Amanda said for a time after that, Joan had regularly harassed them. They found tire slashed and dead animals in the mailbox. Catherine Foster was fresh out of law school and a newly minted Commonwealth's Attorney in 2012, when she prosecuted Joan Harmon for bigamy. She said that Martin was the victim in her case against Harmon. Harmon had not followed the process required to obtain a legal divorce decree before marrying Martin. US Army JAG Officer Major Garrett had called Catherine Foster about the Martin court-martial. Catherine said that Major Garrett pressured her not to prosecute Joan Harmon because she was a witness in the Army's case. Foster asserted that Garrett tried to influence the bigamy case, and that was unusual and unprofessional. Still, she admitted on cross examination, the discussion of defendants and witnesses by prosecutors from different jurisdictions was common. Lisa Petrie testified that she was the manager of LNR soda bar in the tiny community of Elkton, Kentucky. She said that most of the workers at LNR were locals and she managed around 25 people, seven to eight on each shift. One of the waitresses she worked with was Joan Harmon. Lisa also knew Joan Harmon from the local school where Joan's kids attended and Lisa helped out part-time as a teacher's aid. Lisa was called to testify by the defense because of a report that she had filed with the police. In the police statement, Lisa said that after the Pembroke murders, Joan Harmon's demeanor had changed. She came to work happy and excited. Lisa thought it was strange, disturbing behavior. Ken Buckner is a home improvement and remodeling contractor who lives and works in the Pembroke area. He'd done upgrade projects on both the Martin and Phillips homes. Ken testified that he once saw Joan Harmon carrying a concealed pistol, and that he worked on the Phillips home in the weeks after the murders. Buckner complained that he had arrived to find the house open and equipment moved during the project on some mornings. He said he didn't feel safe working there, so he quit. On cross examination, the prosecutor asked the Ken about working on Martin's house. He said that he had done some work on the front of the house, which included fixing the front door. Ken Murray's trucking company, employees Williams Stokes, who was Joan Harmon's boyfriend at the time of the murders. Murray testified that based on his records on November 18th, 2015, William Stokes took a truckload of lumber from Elkton to Bowling Green. This trip generally takes two hours plus 30 minutes to unload. Stokes logged no other work that day. Murray said that he gave the Christian County Sheriff's Office the schedule documents for Stokes after they'd served him with a subpoena. Doris Stokes is the brother of William Stokes. He was a volunteer firefighter in Christian County for about seven years, and over that time went on many call-outs. On November 19 he responded to both the Rosetown Road car fire, and later to Phillip's residence. In further questioning, Doris said that he has been friends with Joan Harmon in the past. Ed Stokes testified that he is the brother of Doris and William, but that he doesn't talk to any of his brothers regularly. Ed worked for Christian County Sheriff's Office for 17 years. On April 17th, 2013, he was working in the Sheriff's Office when Martin came in with a court order to release weapons seized following the disturbance at the Martin's house. Ed Stokes had the paperwork for the transaction and item number three on the form is a Glock 21, the suspected murder weapon in 2015. Several 22 caliber weapons, and a shotgun were also returned to Martin at that time. Ed said that in 2015, he was also one of the responding officers for the Rosetown Road car fire, and also went to the Phillips residence to help with the search warrant service. While there Ed was asked by a commander to leave the Phillips house to avoid possible family conflict because his brother, William, was in a relationship with John Harmon. Katherine Demps is Martin civil attorney who represented him in the divorce. She filed for an annulment of the marriage because Joan could not produce any record of a divorce decree from her first marriage. It turned out that Harmon was not married to Martin because she'd never divorced her last husband, which ultimately ended and Joan's bigamy conviction. In 2015, Demps said that she drafted the document, allowing power of attorney to Laura Spencer on November 16th, 2015. Demps noted that she and Martin communicated regularly and exchanged emails on the morning of November 18, starting at 9:00 AM and into the evening around 9:00 PM. On November 19, they emailed each other in the morning and periodically throughout the day, starting at 9:00 AM. Demps also represented Martin for part of the court-martial. The defense recalled Lieutenant Smith from the Christian County Sheriff's Office. They showed him clips of the CCTV video for Martin's home, focusing on specific clips that he had not shown in his earlier presentation. The defense was able to clarify that the prosecution case left out some of Martin's movements on the 18th. Some of these omissions could have given the false impression that Martin returned to the house when a corresponding departure was not shown. This happened because only one channel of the multiplex system was shown to the jury during the prosecution's case. Basically the defense was showing that at best, the police portrayal in the video is incomplete and at worse, deliberately misleading. As the defense presentation came to a close Martin, took the stand. He immediately denied any participation in the murders. Martin story started with him enlisting in the Army. He served from ranks E1 to E5, and then attended college in an ROTC program. Upon graduation, Martin received a commission, the start of three years of active duty flying helicopters. He then transferred to the Army Guard. After 9-11, Martin's request to return to active duty was granted. He served three combat tours in Iraq as a Battalion Commander. In 2016, after Martin was discharged from the Army, he wanted to continue working in aviation. So he went through a fixed-wing transition course and became an airline pilot. The defense attorney asked him a series of questions centered around when he lived in Pembroke. Martin said that the remodel of the house started right away and was always in progress while he occupied it. The front door was warped and never worked correctly. So he nailed it in place, hoping eventually it would unwarp. Martin said the front door was never used. Instead, everything was done out the back door through the screen porch. The house was old and it didn't have adequate insulation. So it was cold in the winter. He used a kerosene heater as a supplemental heat source and had just purchased a new one in the fall of 2015. November 18th, 2015 was the first time he used it. And that is why he set an alarm that would wake him up in the middle of the night so he could check on the heater. Martin met Joan online. They were together for nine years and married for eight. Martin said that towards the end of the relationship, Joan began to act weird. She became controlling and he noticed that she was lying. She changed key points in stories about her life that she had told over the years. He said, Joan didn't work. She didn't want to work, which was part of the problem. As things went downhill, they tried counseling, but the problems persisted. Martin said the marriage with Joan ended in 2012. Martin described that Joan had taken everything except the heaviest furniture. He added,"which the cops eventually smashed". Joan even took all the animals. His personal dog, a German shepherd named Sarge was brought back to him from Joan's by Ken Buckner. Sarge had a broken leg and was obviously malnourished. The vet told him it was the worst case of abuse he'd ever seen. The defense attorney asked Martin questions about the neighborhood and the neighbors. He said that his relationship with Calvin Phillips was initially cordial. They socialized shooting guns in the Phillip's backyard; went to an antique car festival. Martin said Joan spent more time with Calvin than he did. He knew Pam worked long hours going to work very early and coming home late Martin reasserted the claim that Calvin would give testimony at the court martial favorable to Martin. He said that his private investigator had an interview to that effect that it had been broadcast on a local TV news channel. This testimony was meant to imply that there was a recorded interview of Calvin by the private investigator. Martin described Ed as a good guy who had a regular schedule out of town. He also knew that Ed was a musician and played piano well. The defense attorney reviewed some of the prosecution evidence, which Martin generally dismissed, saying the expert testimony showed he was not guilty. Martin said that the timing of the power of attorney was not suspicious. He wanted Laura to have it in case anything happened to him. Martin had issued power of attorney whenever he was on Army deployment. When Martin looked at the dog tag that was found in Phillip's house, he denied it was ever his. He said he'd had numerous dog tags over the years and had given some to his kids, but no one else. He pointed to the string and said he would never have one on a string. Martin talked about his arrest at the Louisville airport. He would be the pilot on a departing flight. And he was arrested just after passing through security. He was incensed, saying the seamless chaotic. Martin was angry that it happened in public where passengers could see what was happening. The cross examination of Martin began with a brief recap of Martin's time in the Army. Martin had attended Ranger School and the prosecutor asked him to give details about that training. Martin said it was a strenuous course that lasted three to four months. It mainly involved training in small unit tactics and leadership while navigating challenging terrain. Questioning turned to Martin's two marriages. Martin said that he was married to his first wife, Stacy from 1991 to 2004 and they'd had three children. Stacy asked for a divorce in March 2004, but their relationship had been good since. The prosecutor challenged Martin on this assertion, presenting a copy of a letter that he had written to the State of Tennessee Child Support Enforcement. In the letter, he complained that Stacy was calling and emailing repeatedly threatening him. Martin was asked to read the most vitriolic parts of the letter. During that part of the testimony, Martin appeared agitated. He denied remembering anything about the situation or writing the letter. Martin had met Joan Harmon through an online service around June 2004. After they separated, Martin said he didn't know where Joan moved to, but he did see her around Pembroke from time to time. He denied knowing that Joan stayed with the Phillips across the street for some time after she moved out of the house. Martin met Laura Spencer online in November within two weeks of Joan leaving. Laura Spencer had been just widowed in October 2012. When the prosecutor asked Martin about what he knew about Calvin Phillips and his role in the court-marshall, Martin was evasive denying knowing the extent of Calvin's role. He did assert that Calvin was going to testify for him, clearly meaning that Calvin would give testimony favorable to Martin's case. The prosecutor challenged him on this, but Martin was insistent and denied his defense strategy was to discredit Calvin. The prosecutor then handed Martin a copy of the defense's reasoning for calling Phillips submitted before the court-marshall. Martin was asked to read it, and it clearly stated that Calvin was being summoned to refute inconsistent statements that he had made. The defense alleged that Calvin was one of the instigators in the investigation and had a motive to fabricate evidence. In follow-up questioning Martin admitted that Calvin was subpoenaed each time the court martial was reset. He also knew that the trial was going to proceed on December 1st. On November 19th, Martin noticed police activity around the Phillip's house. He said he talked to his lawyer and his private investigator that afternoon. The private investigator asked him about his weapons. Usually, Martin kept a Glock 45, his 22 and a 38 in the back passenger area of his truck. The PI told him to move his Glock from the truck to the safe, because Joan Harmon might still have a key to the truck. Martin denied that any of his guns had been used. He further disputed that the experts had left open the possibility that one of his 22s fired the fatal bullets, but acknowledged that the casing on the porch was from his Glock. He insisted that that casing was planted evidence. At the end of the testimony in a criminal trial, each side can sum up and draw conclusions from the body of information presented. The defense goes first. In the Martin trial, the defense attorney gave a lengthy oration along a simple theme. There was no real evidence. And where evidence existed, it had been planted by Joan Harmon, or was ordinary behavior interpreted to look sinister. The defense attorneys showed John Homack's surveillance video of his parking area. The north face and cameras showed wisps of white smoke from left to right around 11:50 PM. The defense asserted that It was a smoke from the car fire that happened two hours before the prosecution presented. The defense used the example of Martin being very organized to assert that he couldn't have committed the crime because whoever did was sloppy. They went back to the scene repeatedly, moving things around. Martin wouldn't do those things. And the final point the defense made was that it didn't make sense that Martin would commit the crime because he had no motive. Calvin wasn't going to testify against him. Instead, he would flip and testify in favor of the defense Prosecution's closing was focused on why and how Martin killed three of his neighbors. Martin had the means, the opportunity, and the motive. No one else did the crime because no one else needed or wanted to. For motive, Martin faced a fast approaching court-martial that would end his military career. He had hired two private investigators to dig up dirt to trash the witnesses and stop the trial. And they'd been unsuccessful. Another motivating factor was that Martin wanted revenge. The neighbor, a fellow Army guy living just across the street had betrayed him by helping Joan move out. The disloyalty was compounded when Calvin turned over evidence to the FBI. Calvin sensed this when he told people he knew that he thought Martin would try to harm him. Martin had the means to carry out the murders, not only in terms of equipment, but also know-how. The prosecution presented the Martin defense as a made-up conspiracy. Joan Harmon and William Stokes are diversions. There was no conspiracy by the Stokes brothers, no police conspiracy, no prosecutorial conspiracy, no conspiracy by the Phillips family against Martin. The crime was all about Martin killing Calvin as revenge and to keep him from testifying. The murders of Pam and Ed were just collateral damage. The defense's assertion that there's no evidence was wrong. The prosecutor said that the defense had manufactured an answer for every question. mark is here, and we're going to discuss this case. And after all of that, what was the verdict in the murder trial?

Mark

Martin was guilty and all charges, including several aggravators.

Marcy

And the sentence?

Mark

He got life without parole on the multiple murder counts and max sentences on the other lesser counts.

Marcy

Talk about why you chose to cover this crime.

Mark

It pinged my radar for three reasons. First, the arrest coverage. Martin was an airline pilot arrested in uniform. as he was about to board a flight. I have a bunch of pilots in my family. I've been surrounded by pilots my whole life. My grandfather was an Air Force pilot who flew in Vietnam and for an airline. My dad was in the Air Force. I lived on an Air Force bases has growing up. I got a private pilot's license from my grandfather's flight school before I was 18. So initially I was like an Army officer? An airline pilot? A triple murderer? That doesn't sound right. Second. I recently bought a farm in Kentucky. So I'm interested in what law enforcement is doing here. And third, when I started reading about the case, the controversies were like a rip current that pulled me deeper and deeper in.

Marcy

Let's talk about those controversies. Martin got really bent out of shape about when and where he was arrested. And his accusation was that the police and politicians made this arrest for maximum visibility, like political grandstand.

Mark

Yeah, it might look like that, but here's why I don't think that criticism is legitimate. At the time of his arrest. He was living in North Carolina. He was arrested when he was flying out of the airport in Louisville, Kentucky. That avoided the necessity of an extradition. As far as the accusation that the arrest was meant to be public embarrassing or a public spectacle, I can tell you if I were making this arrest, I would have done it the same way. Think about it, you know where he's going to be, when he's going to be there. And he just went through a security screening. The very public arrest isn't optimum, but it never gets better than knowing when somebody's there, and that that target has been just screened in his unarmed.

Marcy

In the months after the murders, the Phillips family became increasingly concerned that there was no progress on the case. So they began contacting people they thought could help. What do you think about that kind of influence in an investigation?

Mark

Yeah, I think it's understandable. Think about it from their perspective, you know, they're going through the house, cleaning it out and they're finding multiple pieces of evidence just laying around It had to shake their confidence in the investigators, particularly as time pass and nothing was happening. So I've handled investigations that had victim pressure, you know, almost any major investigation has victim pressure, and some that had political pressure. I've also had cases that died on the vine cases where you're missing that compelling piece. The pressure is just part of the job. The real problem for an investigator is gathering enough evidence so you can sell a prosecutor on its success. That's the dying on the vine part. A good investigator- prosecutor relationship is one of mutual trust and respect. Some cases never get off the ground, but for those, where I was approaching critical mass, I would take the file to the DA's office and make the pitch. The response was often, you know, I need you to get this or go nail down that, make sure the witnesses are available. It was always a negotiation. And you could tell when the prosecutors were getting excited, the ones that got excited were the ones you loved as a investigator.

Marcy

So the prosecutors in this case couldn't have been happy about the missed evidence.

Mark

No, I'm assuming that was part of the delay, trying to sort all that out, that and the wait for an analysis of all the, evidence.

Marcy

You found the victim's family testimony very sympathetic. Uh, then the defense attorney made snide comments about them hiring a New York city attorney and talking to politicians. Do you think that was an effective ploy for the defense?

Mark

Yeah. The political controversy sounds good if you don't get into the details. Matt Phillips met with, who was then the Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, talked about the case with him. By the time of the trial, Andy Beshear became Governor. The implication for the people that believe in this controversy was that Democrat, Andy Beshear rode this case into the Governor's mansion. That sounds good. But the next Attorney General, Daniel Cameron who's a Republican, and oversaw the prosecution of this case. Well, he's definitely not a supporter of Governor Andy Beshear. He could have dismissed the case, but he didn't. The case continued on Politically, a case like this can be a double-edged sword. Was charging Martin a popular move? I don't know. If a case is a rushed piece of crap and there's an acquittal, does a politician look bad? I don't know.

Marcy

The defense put forth a theory about a grand conspiracy by the real murderers. Can you explain a little bit more about that?

Mark

The defense and supporters have run a very public campaign and the conspiracy goes like this: Joan Harmon, and her boyfriend, William Stokes, committed the murders to a) pin them on Martin in the effort to seek retribution and ruin his life, or b) silence Calvin Phillips, who is going to change his testimony in the upcoming court-martial. In this scenario, Joan Harmon needed a successful court-martial to collect government money. An essential part of this conspiracy is that to get away with the crimes, William Stokes enlisted his brothers both in the Sheriff's department and the fire department to influence their respective organizations. Conspiracy was a key element of the defense. And I'll talk more about its effects later.

Marcy

Many of the questions I initially had with this case had to do with the evidence that either wasn't found or found in a wonky way. So is the evidence a problem in this case?

Mark

Yes, it's true there were evidence problems in this investigation. Some of the things that are missing are pretty basic. So that's true. There are things that really didn't come up in the court that I was surprised about. I was surprised that they were able to get a search warrant for Martin's house on day two, seemingly without interviewing him. He was the obvious suspect, but suspicion isn't enough. There are a lot of strong suspects in cases whose homes are never searched because probable cause does not exist.

Marcy

The police didn't interview Martin before the search warrants?

Mark

I don't think so. And the day of the search warrants day two of the investigation, they had him detained on base. According to Martin, he was taken to a remote location and starved. There were some basic things that procedurally were different than the way I think most investigations would be run.

Marcy

Can you give us an example of that?

Mark

Going through a suspect's house gets their attention. It's a perfect time to sit them down and say, Hey, give us your side of the story. We might've missed. You can get a read on the subject, even if he doesn't give an interview. And if he does, you have him pinned to a basic story. There's no indication that that happened from the trial testimony and you should see questioning that indicates other basic preliminary evidence gathering if that happened.

Marcy

What else do you think was missing?

Mark

The other thing that gets a suspect's attention is a body search warrant. In a case like this you'd want to take over all photographs of the suspect's body and obtain DNA from the get go. As the detective, you're trying to say to the suspect, a judge has found probable cause that allows us to search your house and scrutinize your body. Let's talk. Keep in mind, Calvin was badly beaten. We need to know what the defendant's hands and arms look like. If you have a suspect with corresponding injuries, you gather that evidence. He's also more inclined to give you a bullshit story about how suspicious bruises happened. Bullshit's okay. Any story pins him in. If on the other hand, there are no injuries, this is a detailed to be exploited by defense. In this case, those basic photos were not used by either side in the presentation. I suspect those photos don't exist and that's a problem.

Marcy

Do you have any idea why those steps weren't taken?

Mark

I'm not certain, there was some mention of staffing and support problems early in the testimony. It could be as simple as they were overwhelmed. In a 36 hour period, a department that doesn't handle many multi-victim, multi-scene crimes found itself with three houses, three bodies, two cars to process. And I'm sure there was a sense of urgency to get to the suspect's home before the evidence was lost. The problem is with too much haste, you miss things like the dog tag, like the remaining casing, and like the bullet that was loose under the stove. I mean, those things weren't in the peripheral area of the house, they were found just where you would expect to find them. My department, with several hundred officers to support a large crime scene team would probably have taken several days to meticulously sift through everything. There may not have been those kinds of resources available here for that kind of detail.

Marcy

The defense made an issue of the prosecution's presentation of video evidence. What was the big deal there?

Mark

That was an embarrassment for the prosecution. It made it look like they were intentionally excluding details to mislead the jury, when probably it was just a technical misunderstanding. Video systems are kind of like computer programs, they can all have the same consistent way of using them, and sometimes little details can be frustratingly different. I think in the prosecution's case, Lieutenant Smith, maybe didn't have a complete understanding of the system and miss part of the recordings. In my cases I would consult with other officers who are experts in video systems. Sometimes we'd have to go outside sometimes even to the manufacturer. Over the years, I developed several civilian contacts who I'd consult in different areas. I had a jeweler, an art expert, a local video and film producer. Those are the ones that come to mind.

Marcy

So that's like an informant. Did you have to pay them?

Mark

Mostly they do it for free. The jeweler I knew like cops. He had an uncle from out of state who was a Sheriff's Deputy. They'd mainly give you an opinion on what you're looking at for free in exchange for the interesting story. And if their testimony is needed by the DA, say for court, they had a contract procedure for that

Marcy

During the closing argument, the defense said that the trial never should have happened because of the indictment was bad. So can you explain a little bit about that?

Mark

Yes. In the trial, the defense made a big deal about erroneous technical information, cell data that was presented to the grand jury. The defense's assertion was that if accurate information had been given the grand jury never would've indicted. I'm really surprised the judge allowed them to say that without a correction. In reality, a factually flawed indictment, I mean, flawed in a meaningful way, must be corrected either with a dismissal or a re indictment.

Marcy

The defense said that the shell casing, a critical piece of evidence, was planted. What do you think about that? And is it tainted?

Mark

The shellcasing, the defense is not disputing that the casing was fired from Martins Glock 21. The dispute was what that piece of evidence means. Here's some, of the problems with that casing as evidence: It could have been fired anywhere, at any time, and then planted the scene. The defense asserts that Joan Harmon could have accessed the Glock because it was unsecured in Martin's truck. The murder scene was accessible and unattended for most of the five months between the killings and the casing's recovery. In addition, several people had access to the scene: the Durham family, because they were taking care of the house, Ken Buckner, the handyman, he said that house, or the porch was not secure. Also the casing could have been thrown through the open lattice on the porch. In this case, whether evidence is dismissed or except is completely up to the jury and how they feel about it, they obviously didn't buy that the casing was planted, but that it had been there waiting to be found the whole time. That piece of evidence is a linchpin because most of the gun forensic testimony was either inconclusive or leaned positively toward the defense. Logically. If the casing was planted, it probably would have been soon after the murders.

Marcy

Why is that?

Mark

People who plan evidence want to tell a story that's different from the one they know as fact. You can't just go placing random evidence around a crime scene. Early in my career, I was the responding officer, in a murder case that involved a staged scene. The staged evidence pointed in a direction that was inconsistent with other in alterable evidence. In this case, the evidence that the defense is saying is staged is ambiguous. If the scene was staged, then why clean up the casings? Why burn the bodies?

Marcy

So do you think the dog tag was planted?

Mark

If this were a stage piece of evidence, I would think it would have been planted or placed differently under, around the body. Something more direct, a clearer statement then way up high on a shelf in the back. I suspect this was incidental. Maybe it was left behind when Joan Harmon moved across the street. The interesting thing. Is that Martin made a big deal about how he would have never wear anything on a string, but in post-conviction shots, in an orange jumpsuit, he's wearing a wooden cross and the cheap looking string. Big picture in this case, I see an attempt to cover up and divert. I don't see the kind of evidence placement you might see in a staged scene.

Marcy

So you don't think anything in this case was staged?

Mark

Oh, I do. I do think things were staged and that's the next controversy. But, let me be clear, the staging in this case was not what is billed by the defense. It's the drawing of attention away from the scene that's the staging. The killer could have killed the three victims, left them there, hidden them from view and walked away. They could have all been in the cellar. What happens instead was diversion, the delay, the attempt to distract away from the truth and the location, And that led to the next controversy.

Marcy

Ahhh! Joan Harmon!

Mark

Here's what we know. The police are satisfied that Joan Harmon is not a suspect. The prosecutor wanted to hear her testimony and said she had no intention of charging the Harmon's. What Joan Harmon knows is that her ex-husband has repeatedly and very publicly accused her of the murder and that he planted evidence to frame her.

Marcy

Yeah, much hay has been made about Joan Harmon taking Pam's phone to the AT&T store. And it was a really big question for me going into this case. So how did Joan get the phone?

Mark

And the trial, there were some mentions of the phone that are significant. We know Pam used it immediately before her death. We know that the phone came into Joan's possession within a month of the murders.

Marcy

We don't know what Joan told the police, but it can be reasonably sure that she had an alibi that satisfied them. That she's not the murderer.

Mark

Yes. And based on what the prosecutor said in her closing statement, the phone was found around Joan's property. Remember what I said about staged evidence? It is identifiable as the evidence that stands out, that deflects or contradicts what the rest of the evidence is telling you. The murderer didn't take the victim's phone to the apple store. She had an alibi. That's why they had to pull in William Stokes and his brothers to suggest they're all involved.

Marcy

Can you imagine what that experience was like for her at the store, with the phone?

Mark

Like something out of a book. Imagine this: a month ago, you suspect that your husband killed three of your neighbors. Two of them were the people that helped you move out. Horrifying. Seemingly unrelated, one of your kids found an iPhone in the backseat of the car, on your porch, whatever. You try to open the phone who see whose it might be. No luck, no one reaches out asking if you have their iPhone, if they left it at your house. So one day you're out running errands, you take that pesky unclaimed iPhone in and boom, the trap is sprung. So what happened is immediately obvious to you, your ex is the murder and he has set you up. What'd you do? Well, you do what she did. You call the police. If what Harman is saying is true, evidence was planted. The case was being made to get her charged with a triple murder. She's already been convicted of bigamy, something that's almost never charged. She doesn't want to fall further into Martin's trap. So she decides to plead the fifth.

Marcy

The prosecutor wanted their testimony. Why didn't they just set up an immunity deal?

Mark

Prosecutors are hesitant to hand out immunity. It can have the appearance to a jury under questioning of impropriety. This is one of the areas I think might be reversed on appeal. And if that's the case, the prosecutor might have to offer immunity. The Harmon's testimony won't be the boone the defense is presenting. When Joan Harmon doesn't turn out to be a fire-breathing dragon. The second jury would likely be faced with the same basic facts as the first boat, the added testimony that Martin planted the phone trap.

Marcy

So what aspects of this case do you think are the biggest problem for the defense?

Mark

There's obvious overkill in this case. I don't think the prosecution uses this as effectively as they could have. I was once a case officer for a shooting where a guy was beaten badly after he was shot. It's not common in my experience. I mean, most of the time blowing holes in somebody is enough Calvin's shot five times and then had his jaw and nose broken. So the real question is who is motivated with that much anger? Just as a side note, the prosecutor opined that Calvin's facial injuries were from pistol whipping with the butt of the Glock. I agree it was probably hit with something, but this is the kind of lack of evidence detail I mentioned earlier. A pistol whipping should leave distinct pattern injuries. There should also be DNA tissue left on the pistol. I mean, there are a lot of places that gun might retain DNA, even after a thorough cleaning. But a Glock is a bad gun to do a pistol whipping with. The lower receiver is a plastic polymer. It's very durable, but if you go hittin' a guy you're likely to have a base plate failure. I've seen it happen. When it happens, the bottom of your magazine falls off and all of your bullets are injected down into the ground. So if I were to guess what caused the facial injuries based on what happened? I'm thinking a foot. It makes sense. After being shot five times, Calvin was likely to be down, but there again, you're looking for pattern injuries and the ME didn't identify any, so who knows what caused the damage.

Marcy

Can you talk a little bit more about pattern injuries? What would, what kind of things would you expect to see?

Mark

So the case I mentioned is a good example. The boy was shot multiple times, right on the well-lit street. The gang bangers who shot him kicked him over and over again. They knew they were being watched because both sides of the street were lined with multiple level apartment buildings. So they were sending a message. They were intimidating all the witnesses. The pattern injuries you expect to see in something like that, are shoe, shoe impressions, the edge of a soul, a heel. In some circumstances you might see a logo or a shoelace pattern, based on how the victim was kicked. And if the skin was exposed. You know, in that case it was witness intimidation. But in the Martin case, I think he's probably kicked, because he's on the ground and, a beating with hands on the ground is probably gonna create injuries to your hands. It just makes sense that kind of, that extensive amount of damage is probably a foot. Unfortunately we don't know.

Marcy

Are there other aspects of the crime that are a problem for the defense?

Mark

Yeah, it was a problem for the defense that none of the forensics let Martin off the hook. But there's a reason, like the car and the bodies were burnt to a crisp. Everyone could see that looked at the photos could see why the trace evidence was lacking there. In other areas, the crime scene had been cleaned. So we don't have the evidence. The jury could see that there was a lack of evidence in a lot of respect because it had been cleaned up. At the same time, the cleanup tells you something about that killer. That he's organized, meticulous.

Marcy

What about the defense timeline? Were they effective and the assertion that he could not have done the crime?

Mark

No. One of the things that makes this case provable is the tight timeline. We know about when Calvin was killed. We know exactly when the other two were shot. The problem for the defense is that Martin was available for what the prosecution says were the critical times on November 18th. The defense timeline weirdly focuses on the 19th. I think the defense was relying on jury confusion between the 18th, 19th, and 20th. The fact is there's unallocated time at critical points. The defense counter was, he was apparently busy leading a normal life.

Marcy

So they found a power of attorney in Martin's safe. Why do you think that was significant?

Mark

I know from deploying with the Marines about, you know, you get personally prepared for the time you're away. Martin, during his testimony said it himself, he'd gotten the power of attorney in the past. When deploying. To me the power of attorney timing is telling. He was preparing for a mission. He knows he's about to commit the worst crime and he's planning for contingencies like being captured.

Marcy

Speaking of planning ahead, do you think that the murders went as Martin expected?

Mark

I think Calvin's murder went as expected, but Martin thought the house would burn down. I think the rest of their crime was literally shoot on the fly. The defense attorney said it himself. Whoever did this with sloppy, went back to the scene over and over again. Things, the car position keep changing. The people committing these crimes are going in and out moving things. He's right. The takeaway from this is that the murderer had access over a long period of time. Had time to assess and adjust. Who had that kind of time and access? It was Martin. He had a front row seat to the murder scene.

Marcy

And why do you think the bodies were moved away from the scene and why the car fire?

Mark

I think Martin attempted to move them all away, but couldn't. This is based on the description of Calvin's body upon discovery. I'm thinking why would anybody flip and move a body in full rigor? Cops aren't going to do that. Neither are medic. The original fire, and later the movement of the bodies, serve three purposes: to delay discovery, to cast suspicion away from the immediate area and to destroy evidence that would link to the killer. Both cars were moved because it had to appear no one was at the houses. Why weren't the cars dumped further away? Because the distance to the burns scene is close enough to traverse on foot in a short time.

Marcy

Which brings me to the defense video, where they showed smoke on Rosetown Road at 11:50 PM on the 18th. And they present that, that disputes the prosecution timeline. What are your thoughts?

Mark

John Homac, the farmer, had a video camera that covered his parking lot. In cross examination testimony. He said that he thought the smoke was ground fog. Actually, you can figure out the truth of this by looking at the map and the video. The camera's north facing. The smoke or fog crosses from left to right, which is west to east. The car burning scene would have been a fair distance east and a little south. So the smoke in the video was blowing toward the area of the fire. Not from it. It was ground fog, just like the farmer sai. I'm surprised the prosecution didn't address this more completely.

Marcy

What do you think was the biggest defense mistake?

Mark

Not banging on the cops. Let me tell you a story about a prosecutor I worked with. Pam was a good prosecutor from my city. I went to trial with her a few times. She was formidable, aggressive, always prepared, a little tightly wrapped, but loved by police. The kind of person that takes work home. One night, Pam calls me wanting to talk about the case. I'm like Pam, it's 3:00 AM we have a trial in the morning, go to bed. She says,"I can't sleep. I'm getting ready." That enthusiasm was what made her great to work. After a couple of years, she went to private practice, defense work. Right? Her powers for good were going to be twisted to the needs of the dark side. Not too long after that, I'm sitting in a hallway waiting to go into a courtroom. Pam comes out of one of the other rooms. She looks at me and rushes over. She says,"Mark, tell Pollock that he didn't do anything wrong. Tell him, I'm sorry. It's just my job now. And even if there's nothing wrong with the case, I have to beat on the officer." Pollock was a friend of mine and academy mate. Later, Pollock said that being in trial against Pam was like having been eaten by Old Yeller. The point is a tried and true defense is to attack the credibility of the investigation. Attack the competence of the officers. It's a defense that works. Just ask OJ Simpson.

Marcy

You think the defense should have attacked the officers more? Why do you think they didn't?

Mark

The defense had a choice between brutalizing the investigation, and there's a deep well of flaws to choose from, or using the approach the police did a fine job and missed nothing because the evidence just wasn't there to find. That it was planted after the search. They chose the latter. And I think it was a mistake. If the defense had played it right, it is possible that the crime scene officers would deny they missed anything and therefore support the idea that evidence had to be planted. You can imagine that line of questioning. Who searched the kitchen? Who's responsible for missing the bullet under the stove? What? Nobody missed the bullet under the stove? Then it must be planted!

Marcy

Is there another example of that?

Mark

Yes. The prosecution omitting pertinent video evidence was a problem that was not fully exploited by the defense. I thought at the time that this mistake could destroy the trust between prosecutors and the jury. The defense pointed this out, but it just wasn't hammered home.

Marcy

If the problems with the evidence didn't sink the prosecution, what do you think kept it afloat?

Mark

I think that this case, the verdict was determined by the witnesses. The prosecution witnesses were just better, more authentic, more believable. Take Penny Cayce, the lady who worked in the bank with Pam Phillips. Penny had a long story. She said that she knows exactly when she and Pam talked about the court martial and Martin. It was on November 16th because that was the anniversary of her father's death. She said that Pam moved her workstation into Penny's office so that Penny wouldn't have to spend the day alone. When Penny told that story, it was very credible. It also humanized the victim. Same thing for Matt Phillips and Diana Phillips. They were great witnesses. They went through their process in a very believable way. If you listen to them, you had to be thinking, yeah, what would I do? That's how it would be if my sibling was killed. How would I handle that? And how would I get the answers I needed? RIght then, the defense attorney swings in with accusations of New York attorneys and political motivations. And talk about being tone deaf. The least reliable of the prosecution witnesses was James Matlock because his observations weren't reported until just before the trial and his recollections at the time was disputed by Martin's phone records. On the other hand, he claimed to know Martin and the defense made a big deal about how Martin walked his dog all over the place and how the prosecution was making that sound sinister. You know, that assertion from the defense kind of sabotaged their own efforts to undermine Matlock's testimony.

Marcy

Can I just mention that I have really mixed feelings about Marlene Larock? On one hand, I feel like she is very lucky that she wasn't victim number four. But on the other hand, I'm having trouble understanding why she was so concerned that she went back to the house at 7:00 PM. Never made contact with anybody, but then went home and never took it any further. She never called the police. What do you think about that?

Mark

I think she just rationalized the suspicious parts away. There's a famous trainer in police and military circles named Jeff Cooper. He has a system of situational awareness based on colors. The system starts with white, which is low-level awareness of any threat and progresses is upward to yellow, orange and red. Yellow being mildly aware or monitoring a potential threat and red, being fully aware and engaged in the fight. I'd say Mrs. Laura's situational awareness never left a white that day.

Marcy

Okay, so this might be related to that. The Phillips clearly had a lot of guns in their home and not just in a safe or in a drawer, but laying out as if they expected there might be trouble. Why didn't they use one of them?

Mark

Yeah. I was amazed at how all the victims had ready access to firearms, but didn't engage with them. I think the guns lying around the tables is a clear indication of the threat that Phillips were feeling. Your question is interesting. I once went to a call of a fight involving weapons. It turned out to be a guy with a steel pipe who had beaten the crap out of a guy who pulled a gun. I interviewed the guy with the pipe. I pointed out there was pretty brave or stupid. He said"a gun does you no good if you don't have the conviction to use it." Man are those deep words. The caveat to that is he could have easily been a guy holding a pipe at a gun fight. And I'm not trying to cast aspersions on the victims here. These people did not live the lives of gunfighters. Nor should they have to. I'm saying that being prepared with the right equipment is not always enough.

Marcy

You said the prosecution witnesses were better. So are you saying that the defense witnesses were lying?

Mark

No, not at all. They just weren't as believable in their assertions or that their assertions had a vailed motivation, or they just didn't provide pertinent testimony. The Spencer children were impeached by the security camera recordings. The children said that Martin didn't leave the house all night. The video clearly shows otherwise. This damaged Martin's alibi. The same is true of mark of Laura Spencer, a professional woman who should have made a fabulous witness and did for some of her testimony. Not only was the alibi damage by the video, but her dramatic assertion that she thought Joan Harmon was there to kill her when the SWAT team was coming in was jarring. It damaged her credibility. She also testified the Calvin Phillip was going to testify on Martin's behalf. Her willingness to go along with this, obviously misleading characterization, makes her testimony suspect.

Marcy

Can you explain how people living in a house could not be aware when somebody is leaving the property?

Mark

Yeah. This might seem unthinkable if you're in an urban environment, in a smaller house, small property or apartment. In those situations, you have to know when somebody leaves, but it isn't necessarily true. The distance between Martin and Phillips, houses, isn't huge. It's like 200 feet. Martin's property was 2.5 acres. The CCTV showed he was in and out of the house regularly. I live on a farm now. The distance between my house and the barn is about the same as the distance between the houses on South Main Street. I could go to the barn or almost anywhere else on the property without anyone knowing where I was. That is in fact common. We use cell phones to find each other sometimes.

Marcy

Much has been made of Joan Harmon, being a bigamist. The defense called the Commonwealth Attorney to talk about it.

Mark

And I don't think it went well for her. The reality is this kind of bigamy is almost never charged unless it involves a scam or other illegal act. It's actually, from what I read, it's not super common, but it's not uncommon. People just don't get, the order of, divorce. In this case, there was no apparent reason for Joan Harmon to not have gotten the divorce certified by the judge. And if she had, she would have been due all the benefits from the marriage to Martin. If anyone was scammed, she did it to herself by not finalizing the divorce. The special prosecutor did a good job of pointing out that the Commonwealth Attorney had just gotten out of law school when she convicted Joan Harmon. And the assertion that the JAG Major acted unprofessionally may have just been her inexperience.

Marcy

What about Lisa Petrie? The manager of the cafe Joan Harmon worked at?

Mark

I don't know enough about the dynamic there, but one thing Petrie said rings true. Most of the people she works with are locals. Non-locals being suspect is a cultural norm.

Marcy

And Ken Buckner, the neighborhood contractor?

Mark

I think it was a big mistake for the defense to call this guy. On the cross examination for the prosecutor, Buckner testified that he worked on the front door, in direct contradiction of what Martin said. This testimony, and the photo of the lock, destroys the assertion that the front door was impassable. It was the second stake in the heart of Martin's alibi. He could and did leave the house without others knowing, and he could leave the house without it being on video. Besides the Army Ranger war hero, couldn't have gone through a front window? What Ken Buckner didn't testify about was whether Joan Harmon really almost killed Martin's beloved dog. Why was that left out? In his closing the defense attorney very dramatically said,"we know that Joan Harmon is an abuser of animals." Do we? The only one who said that was Martin.

Marcy

So then we have the three conspiracy witnesses, William Stokes' boss, and the two Stokes brothers. How do you think those went for the defense?

Mark

What Ken Murray's testimony showed was that William Stokes drove to Bowling Green on the 18th of November, 2015. The problem is nothing indicated he also murdered anybody that day. The same for the Stokes brothers. We know they both worked in public service for a time. They didn't sound or look particularly evil. The fact that Ed Stokes was conflicted off the investigation is a solid indication of a department doing the right thing. They took action to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. I just want to reiterate, the defense's murder conspiracy was based on two motives: doing Martin's desire for money. This motive was destroyed as fiction by the Army JAG officer or to frame Martin for Joan's revenge. The defense's murder conspiracy fell apart because there was absolutely no information about why or how any of the Stokes brothers would be involved in that.

Marcy

So let's talk about Martin's testimony. Why do you think he testified?

Mark

I think he testified for two reasons. He needed to testify because he needed to sell the Joan Harmon conspiracy. I also think Martin was sure he could convince a jury of his innocence by telling his life story. He overestimated his jury appeal.

Marcy

So you think it went badly for him?

Mark

Yes. When I said the defense witnesses were not as good as the prosecutions, that was true for him too. I think he sealed the verdict he got. So I've spent some time in court, but I didn't learn how to testify until I started putting cases in front of the grand jury. The grand jury is structured less rigidly than regular court. You present your case in short form and only select witnesses are called. I got, so I really felt good about going. It was like showing off your new car. For me, the most important part was when the jurors asked questions. and if they had been enpaneled for awhile, they were comfortable asking a ton of questions. The DA kept the guardrails on, so they didn't go crazy. But I got to see what they were interested in, what they wanted to see from the case. From that process, I learned about effectively presenting my cases and where the pitfalls might be. I also watched other people testify. I learned that the jury knows when your shit's weak. You have to be open and honest. You have to talk directly to them. If you don't have an answer, you say,"I don't know."

Marcy

So why do you think Martin's testimony was bad?

Mark

I don't think you have to be a great public speaker to do well in front of a jury. But for a guy who is depending on selling his honesty, he made some mistakes. He spent a lot of time looking down or at the defense attorney, almost never at the jury. He seemed arrogant, not open and honest. He dismissed evidence in the trial, making sweeping statements about how expert testimony had proven his innocence. I mean, the jury is probably thinking isn't that for us to decide? I also heard that and thought this guy is high and his own supply, like at least his PR campaign worked on him. Martin appeared agitated and evasive. When he was questioned over areas like the letter he wrote to the state of Tennessee complaining about his first wife. His memory was great for other things. He could remember anniversaries and birth dates. I think that's why the prosecutor asked him specific questions. He had sharp memory on a lot of things, but in certain critical areas, his memory fail and it made him appear to be defensive and evasive.

Marcy

Are there other times he seemed defensive?

Mark

Martin said the forensic evidence exonerates him. That wasn't true. When the prosecutor pointed to evidence, he argued about what the experts had said. It was like he was trying to speak for those witnesses, framing them in a way that was better for him. He did this with Calvin Phillips too. Martin knew that Calvin Phillips was the person who turned over the court, martial material, the laptop, and photos of bruises- gave them to the FBI. With the prosecutor, Martin denied knowing this basic information, instead of being honest and admitting that he had a reason not to like Calvin, he tried in front of a jury to play, like, everything was fine. He said, in fact, Calvin had flipped, despite what everyone who knew him said that Calvin was going to testify for Martin. Like I said, people on the jury know when your shit is weak.

Marcy

What struck me was that Calvin talked to many people about not just being afraid of what Martin might do, but about a specific fear that Martin would kill him. But let's just say that Martin was right in that Calvin was going to flip. What does that even mean?

Mark

That's a problem with the whole defense. It sounds good until you think about, examine it. What would Calvin flipped have meant that evidence wasn't evidence? It just doesn't make sense.

Marcy

The prosecutor said in her closing statement that Martin had an answer for everything. It seems like if you have a pat answer for everything, you're trying too hard.

Mark

An example of this is that he normally kept the Glock 45 and the 22 and 38 in the back passenger area of his truck. On the evening of the 19th before any of the details were publicly known, Martin said his private investigator called him out of the blue and told him to move his Glock from the truck and put it in a safe. This is because Joan Harmon might still have car keys. This was offered as a reason why only the Glock was in the safe. The PI calling out of the blue about the murder weapon and just the Glock? It's unbelievable. Notice that the PI didn't testify. There's a reason for that.

Marcy

You mentioned to me that many of Martin statements show that he feels like he's been victimized.

Mark

Yeah. Several things come to mind. In public statements he'd made, he's made himself out to be a victim of bigamy. In reality he benefits greatly from the fact Joan had didn't have a divorce decree from her first marriage. When he described that Joan took most of his belongings except for the heavy wood furniture they bought in Germany, he followed that up with the odd statement,"which the cops eventually smashed." Really? The cops smashed all your heavy wooden furniture from Germany. When he was detained at Fort Campbell, he complained bitterly that they detained him in front of the Army command building, and they sent him to a barracks in the middle of nowhere with no food. His description of arrest the Louisville airport was similar. He was angry that he was arrested in public. Whined about it being chaos. Of course, I've never been to a security checkpoint at a busy airport where it wasn't chaos. From the way he described it, I suspect Martin was angry about the arrest because it was a complete surprise and it was out of his control. It was like they waited for him to come back to Kentucky and sucker punched him.

Marcy

You think the victim mentality is key in this crime?

Mark

Yeah, I think a lot of people who commit crimes, large and small justify it in that. It was the JAG Officer Major James Garrett, who got me thinking about this. His testimony was different than some of the other investigators. He seemed angry, pissed off. Then I realized as I thought about it, why. Not many cops have had cooperating witnesses murdered. If I'd ever had an informant murdered, especially by the target, I would have been angry too. When he testified by Major Garrett called out the lies, told them Martin's PR campaign. Some of those lies didn't make it into trial. Why? Because in court you have to prove up the basis and you'll be questioned directly about what you said. In media interviews, Martin called Harmon, the bigamist or his ex-bigamist. Martin said Joan was motivated by money either a) the victim compensation from the Army, or b) keeping military benefits due to a spouse. Major Garrett was angry because he knew the truth and he knew Martin was lying. Everyone close to the court-martial knew Joan was not going to get any money from the government. Martin said publicly that Joan and Calvin were having an affair. This never made it into the trial, but the labels bigamist, slut, golddigger and murderess were broadcast widely. In reality, a real or concocted affair wasn't used by the defense at trial because it would have added to Martin's motive. Martin's PR campaign even tried to speak out of the victim's mouth. I find this the most disgusting part. Martin asserted that his private detective had a tape of Phillips saying he was going to flip on Joan Harmon. This isn't true. I watched the news story. The private eyes said he thought Phillips might flip. Martin's assertion at trial was just another manipulation. In the end, I'm thinking about the defense attorney's closing argument. He proclaimed that Martin was framed with desperately planted evidence. It sounded like projection. I prefer the prosecution closing. Martin conducted a military style execution of the man who was a witness against him. He used his expertise and training to kill Calvin Phillips and then adapt the mission as the situation evolved. He almost got away with it, but he couldn't clean up everything.

Marcy

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