# A Targeted Attack | Episode 46

An episode of [Fatal Attraction](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1655774929), 4 Nov 2025, 42 min.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/78a347aa-3282-4ac5-837c-a72300032082/43de3add-7bdf-4303-b251-af54017e6a05/d3fbad12-0d75-4e7d-8654-b38b00d83d80/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=a544b1e2-b730-4182-b088-af5500003467

A young woman is ready to embrace a new chapter in her life when an unexpected twist shatters her world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: Exciting developments are unfolding for a vibrant thirty one year.
[0:05] Speaker 2: Old from Alton, Illinois.
[0:07] Speaker 1: She has a new roommate and is embarking on an
[0:10] Speaker 1: exhilarating romance, discovering a surprising connection with someone from her
[0:15] Speaker 1: past that.
[0:16] Speaker 2: Rekindles her spirit. Just as she begins.
[0:19] Speaker 1: This new chapter in her life, a distressing incident shakes
[0:23] Speaker 1: her community to its core, sending shock waves and raising questions.
[0:29] Speaker 1: What happens when love becomes fatal? This is a fatal
[0:34] Speaker 1: Attraction podcast with a targeted attack.
[0:46] Speaker 3: November twenty one, twenty eighteen. It's early Wednesday morning in Alton, Illinois,
[0:53] Speaker 3: a close knit community across the river from Saint louis
[0:56] Speaker 3: known to many as the most haunted small town in America.
[1:01] Speaker 4: It's home to a lot of haunted history, spooky and
[1:06] Speaker 4: abandoned hotels.
[1:08] Speaker 5: Gohoes, tours, haunted and cursed. You know that seems to
[1:12] Speaker 5: be the theme of Alton. Harluck is kind of our personality.
[1:17] Speaker 3: And for one Alton resident, the city's reputation has hit
[1:21] Speaker 3: too close to home.
[1:25] Speaker 6: Around four o'clock in the morning, nine to one to
[1:27] Speaker 6: one Dispatch received a call from a young man named
[1:30] Speaker 6: Jerry Phelps.
[1:33] Speaker 7: Nine one Emergency twenty.
[1:37] Speaker 8: Oh god, I.
[1:38] Speaker 9: Don't believe that it was clear that he was in
[1:42] Speaker 9: pain on.
[1:43] Speaker 8: The person I shot here.
[1:47] Speaker 3: Oh, I don't know.
[1:48] Speaker 6: When we came inside left.
[1:52] Speaker 4: Jerry's selling police that he needs help. He's losing blood fast.
[1:57] Speaker 3: Why ready? Bigger than yes to so blieve. First responders
[2:06] Speaker 3: arrived within minutes.
[2:08] Speaker 9: All the police were coming in.
[2:10] Speaker 3: Inside, they find Jerry collapsed on the couch, covered in
[2:14] Speaker 3: blood and gasping for air.
[2:17] Speaker 10: He was shot in the chest and then a couple times,
[2:20] Speaker 10: and he's legs.
[2:22] Speaker 7: Give us in a significant amount of pain and had
[2:24] Speaker 7: difficulties communicating.
[2:27] Speaker 3: But Jerry manages to point the officers toward the back
[2:30] Speaker 3: of the home.
[2:32] Speaker 8: My friend Angel okay.
[2:34] Speaker 4: Jerry lives with a woman. He doesn't know where she is.
[2:37] Speaker 4: He doesn't know if she's okay.
[2:40] Speaker 3: Police make their way down the hallway and round the
[2:43] Speaker 3: corner into Angel's bedroom.
[2:46] Speaker 7: They found her up against the dresser with numerous gunshot
[2:50] Speaker 7: wounds about her body.
[2:53] Speaker 10: She is in a pool of blood, ma'am.
[2:56] Speaker 7: The gravity of the situation was very apparent. Angel was
[3:00] Speaker 7: in dire condition.
[3:02] Speaker 3: Triple thirty one year old Angel Siddle was always a
[3:10] Speaker 3: bright light in the lives of her loved ones.
[3:13] Speaker 10: She lived her life and she had fun. She enjoyed
[3:18] Speaker 10: every day.
[3:20] Speaker 11: Angel was that person to make you laugh and make
[3:24] Speaker 11: you have fun. She's one of those people you just
[3:26] Speaker 11: do you love her.
[3:29] Speaker 10: She didn't just touch your life, she touched your heart.
[3:35] Speaker 3: Even as a child, nothing could dampen her spirit.
[3:39] Speaker 10: When she was a baby, every time she woke up,
[3:41] Speaker 10: she didn't wake up crying. She woke up smile on
[3:44] Speaker 10: her face.
[3:45] Speaker 7: She loved her mom, and her mom loved her very
[3:47] Speaker 7: very much and took very good care of her.
[3:50] Speaker 3: As she got older, Angel excelled both academically and socially.
[3:56] Speaker 10: She was a good girl, and she was polite. She
[4:01] Speaker 10: was excellent with numbers in math.
[4:05] Speaker 9: She was popular. She had a ton of friends.
[4:12] Speaker 3: But at home, Angel was dealing with more than she
[4:15] Speaker 3: ever let on to her classmates.
[4:17] Speaker 6: Angel's parents separated when she was young, and she spent
[4:21] Speaker 6: most of her time with her mom.
[4:23] Speaker 10: Every weekend she went to her dad's house, but he
[4:27] Speaker 10: became distant and kind of walked out of her life.
[4:32] Speaker 12: When you leave a child, that is something that sticks
[4:34] Speaker 12: with them for the rest of their life. It's a
[4:36] Speaker 12: wound that never heals.
[4:40] Speaker 3: But She never let her father's choices hold her back.
[4:43] Speaker 13: Hi, how are you.
[4:45] Speaker 10: After high school, she got her job and.
[4:48] Speaker 9: She worked there ever since she was a hard worker.
[4:53] Speaker 10: She had the good time. She didn't go into work
[4:56] Speaker 10: say well, I hate this job.
[4:58] Speaker 13: She was always smiling, always happy. She made work fun.
[5:06] Speaker 3: Over the years, Angel's coworkers had become like family to her,
[5:11] Speaker 3: and she'd even moved in with one of them, Jerry Phelps.
[5:16] Speaker 13: She was like, he's a good guy, he'll pay rent.
[5:19] Speaker 7: She invited Jerry to come live with her to help
[5:22] Speaker 7: pay some of the bills around the house.
[5:25] Speaker 5: She was taking care of herself.
[5:27] Speaker 3: But while Angel's friendships thrived, she longed for something more.
[5:33] Speaker 10: She's won love from a good man, you know, that companionship,
[5:39] Speaker 10: that closeness because of her dad. She looked for as
[5:42] Speaker 10: somebody to fill that. She never really could find that.
[5:51] Speaker 3: But eventually she reconnected with someone from her childhood who
[5:55] Speaker 3: helped restore her faith in men.
[5:58] Speaker 8: Angel is that you?
[6:01] Speaker 3: Yeah?
[6:01] Speaker 4: He was a man named Ernie Sykes, who was her
[6:04] Speaker 4: best friend's father.
[6:07] Speaker 6: They hadn't seen each other in years.
[6:10] Speaker 8: Wow, it's good to see you.
[6:12] Speaker 13: It's been forever.
[6:15] Speaker 3: The pair quickly hit it off.
[6:18] Speaker 12: He was twenty years older than her, but bad a
[6:21] Speaker 12: lot of the same interests.
[6:23] Speaker 6: Ernie made her feel like she could be herself around him.
[6:27] Speaker 3: The age gap made Angel question the attraction she was feeling.
[6:31] Speaker 14: Age becomes less important as we go. The difference between
[6:35] Speaker 14: a seventeen year old and a twenty seven year old
[6:37] Speaker 14: is a lot different than a twenty seven year old
[6:38] Speaker 14: and thirty seven year old, and a thirty seven year
[6:40] Speaker 14: old and a forty.
[6:40] Speaker 8: Seven year old.
[6:42] Speaker 3: The more time she spent with Ernie, the more Angel
[6:45] Speaker 3: found to appreciate and an older man.
[6:48] Speaker 14: This person seems stable, He's got something going for him.
[6:52] Speaker 10: She was happy. You know, age don't make a difference
[6:55] Speaker 10: as so long as they treat you good. She did
[6:58] Speaker 10: like where the relationship was going.
[7:04] Speaker 3: But now Alton Police have responded to a nine to
[7:07] Speaker 3: one one call from Angel's roommate Jerry and found them
[7:11] Speaker 3: both on the brink of death.
[7:13] Speaker 15: Angel and Jerry have been a shop multiple times.
[7:18] Speaker 4: Angel is fighting for her life in a critical condition.
[7:22] Speaker 9: Jerry was gravely wounded.
[7:25] Speaker 5: Doesn't make any sense how this happened, What's going on?
[7:31] Speaker 1: Brace yourself for more of this tragic story. This is
[7:35] Speaker 1: a Fatal Traction Podcast.
[7:42] Speaker 3: Thirty one year old Angel Siddel had everything going for her.
[7:46] Speaker 3: A job she loved, friend she adored, and a new
[7:50] Speaker 3: man in her life.
[7:51] Speaker 12: Ernie Seikes was her friend's father and they are reconnected
[7:54] Speaker 12: later in life.
[7:56] Speaker 13: He was older than her, but I had like a
[7:59] Speaker 13: good first impress.
[8:00] Speaker 9: She was happy.
[8:02] Speaker 3: But instead of planning a future with her new boyfriend,
[8:07] Speaker 3: Scott Polsen, Angel and her roommate Jerry Phelps are now
[8:11] Speaker 3: both suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
[8:14] Speaker 6: Someone came into their house and shot them.
[8:21] Speaker 7: Angel was still breathing and she was fighting for her life.
[8:25] Speaker 7: The authorities did rush both Jerry and Angel to a
[8:29] Speaker 7: hospital very.
[8:30] Speaker 3: Quickly as the sun rises news of the brutal shooting.
[8:38] Speaker 3: Since Angel's loved ones reeling.
[8:41] Speaker 10: I got a home call. It was the lady and
[8:43] Speaker 10: she said, we have your daughter here and you need
[8:46] Speaker 10: to get here as fast as you can. She's in
[8:48] Speaker 10: critical condition, and I said, oh my God.
[8:54] Speaker 3: While family races to the hospital to be by Angel's side. Alton,
[8:58] Speaker 3: Illinois homicide detectives called the scene of the crime.
[9:02] Speaker 12: This was immediately treated like a homicide investigation because there
[9:06] Speaker 12: was a high likelihood that Angel and Jerry wouldn't make it,
[9:09] Speaker 12: and if they did, it was still being attempt to almside.
[9:12] Speaker 2: The first thing we find is a guy face up
[9:14] Speaker 2: on the couch.
[9:15] Speaker 8: Here, two gets to the chest.
[9:17] Speaker 12: He advised there was another victim in the back.
[9:20] Speaker 7: It was important for them to gather as much evidence
[9:23] Speaker 7: as they could as quickly as they could.
[9:26] Speaker 3: Investigators scour the home for clues to what happened that night.
[9:31] Speaker 6: Based on the blood splatter, it looked like Angel and
[9:34] Speaker 6: Jerry had each been shot in their bedrooms.
[9:38] Speaker 7: They located several shell casings in Angel's room. They located
[9:44] Speaker 7: projectiles in the wall behind Angel's bed. They located shell
[9:48] Speaker 7: casings in Jerry's room.
[9:51] Speaker 12: It looked like whoever did this caught them off dark,
[9:54] Speaker 12: maybe while they were sleeping.
[9:57] Speaker 3: Detectives identify the shell casings as thirty eight caliber ammunition,
[10:01] Speaker 3: but there's no sign of the shooter's gun.
[10:04] Speaker 7: It was clear that somebody had taken a gun out
[10:07] Speaker 7: of the home prior to their arrival, which was very quick.
[10:11] Speaker 6: The police needed to figure out who was the intended
[10:14] Speaker 6: target here, Angel or Jerry or both.
[10:20] Speaker 3: Searching the bedrooms, detectives may have found their answer.
[10:25] Speaker 7: Investigators did locate some drugs in Jerry's room.
[10:31] Speaker 4: They find empty pill capsules, marijuana met and they give.
[10:36] Speaker 4: In the back of the closet they find a semi
[10:37] Speaker 4: automatic rifle.
[10:39] Speaker 15: That's not dealing with drugs, just for recrenational purposes. But
[10:44] Speaker 15: this is a drug dealer who's looking to distribute drugs.
[10:48] Speaker 3: It's a discovery that opens a world of possibilities.
[10:53] Speaker 16: It's this a drug deal that has gone bad.
[10:57] Speaker 4: Was someone trying to get payback? Was Jerry being set up,
[11:00] Speaker 4: maybe even robbed?
[11:03] Speaker 3: Hoping for answers, officers spread out to canvas the neighborhood
[11:07] Speaker 3: for witnesses.
[11:09] Speaker 4: As police are investigating the neighborhood, they're not getting any answers.
[11:14] Speaker 12: This crime happened at four o'clock in the morning, so
[11:16] Speaker 12: everyone around had been seen.
[11:19] Speaker 7: I don't believe any neighbors heard anything. That evening.
[11:24] Speaker 3: Undeterred, detectives head to the hospital to speak with Angel
[11:28] Speaker 3: and Jerry's families.
[11:32] Speaker 17: Hi, we're detectives with Alton County. We're going to do
[11:35] Speaker 17: everything we can to find out who did this.
[11:37] Speaker 6: When they got there, Jerry was under sedation.
[11:41] Speaker 7: Jerry had been shot in locations that had they been
[11:45] Speaker 7: centimeters over, they could have proven deadly.
[11:49] Speaker 3: But Angel's condition is much worse.
[11:53] Speaker 9: She was in such a bad state.
[11:56] Speaker 16: She was shot seven times.
[12:00] Speaker 10: She was shot three times in the left part of
[12:02] Speaker 10: her breast, in her bicep, in her upper ambdomen, and
[12:08] Speaker 10: in her shoulder.
[12:10] Speaker 3: Doctors did everything they could to stabilize her, excuse me, detectives,
[12:16] Speaker 3: but in the end it wasn't enough.
[12:20] Speaker 10: The doctor came in and he said, I'm sorry, you
[12:23] Speaker 10: feel my eyes starting to water, But I don't think that.
[12:27] Speaker 10: I really wanted to believe that I had lost the
[12:31] Speaker 10: best thing that ever happened to me. I said I'd
[12:34] Speaker 10: be there for you, and I wasn't. And I couldn't
[12:37] Speaker 10: even say bye to her. They didn't ask me, do
[12:40] Speaker 10: you want to come in and say goodbye?
[12:42] Speaker 16: Now you have the worst case in narrow All.
[12:46] Speaker 7: Hands are on deck at that point. It's a murder investigation.
[12:56] Speaker 3: Excuse me, despite their best efforts in Alton, Illinois, have
[13:01] Speaker 3: just broken the terrible news that Angel has passed.
[13:06] Speaker 10: It was like, I must be still asleep. This is
[13:09] Speaker 10: not really happening. I didn't lose my angel.
[13:16] Speaker 3: Determined to get answers, Angel's mom turns to detectives who
[13:20] Speaker 3: were waiting to speak with her.
[13:22] Speaker 7: Everyone's working as quickly as possible to make sure that
[13:26] Speaker 7: this crime is solved.
[13:29] Speaker 13: She pulls it together. She talks to detectives.
[13:32] Speaker 3: But she has no idea who could have done this
[13:35] Speaker 3: to her daughter.
[13:38] Speaker 8: Was Angel on bad terms with anyone?
[13:41] Speaker 9: No, not that I know of.
[13:42] Speaker 8: How about boyfriends? Was she seeing anyone?
[13:46] Speaker 4: Gail knew her daughter had been back on the dating scene,
[13:48] Speaker 4: but she didn't know who any of the new prospects were.
[13:52] Speaker 3: As far as she was aware, nothing out of the
[13:55] Speaker 3: ordinary was going on in Angel's life.
[13:58] Speaker 7: She was planning things that were coming up for Thanksgiving
[14:02] Speaker 7: and activities with her family.
[14:05] Speaker 12: She said, everything seemed fine.
[14:07] Speaker 9: Well, actually, there was this one thing.
[14:12] Speaker 10: Before it happened. There was two nights she stayed at
[14:16] Speaker 10: my house.
[14:17] Speaker 4: Gail told detectives that Angel has spent a few nights
[14:21] Speaker 4: at her home.
[14:23] Speaker 8: Was it normal for her to stay over like that
[14:25] Speaker 8: for several days? Exactly?
[14:28] Speaker 5: She was just happy to have her daughter back.
[14:30] Speaker 4: In the back of her mind, though, she was wondering
[14:32] Speaker 4: why Angel was at her house.
[14:35] Speaker 8: Are you sure everything's okay?
[14:37] Speaker 2: Yeah?
[14:37] Speaker 8: Can I just want to spend some time with my mom.
[14:40] Speaker 9: Angel's mother had some type of feeling. I don't know,
[14:44] Speaker 9: It's like she was trying to avoid someone.
[14:47] Speaker 3: Gail says the day Angel returned home was the day
[14:51] Speaker 3: she was killed night.
[14:52] Speaker 9: It was the first night she was back home.
[14:57] Speaker 3: To find out why Angel wanted to leave her her
[15:00] Speaker 3: own home, detectives contact her close friends and quickly uncover
[15:05] Speaker 3: one potential reason.
[15:07] Speaker 6: They are hearing rumors that backed up what the police
[15:09] Speaker 6: thought at the crime scene that Jerry may have been
[15:12] Speaker 6: selling drugs.
[15:14] Speaker 15: There's one thing to have a joint there that you're smoking,
[15:18] Speaker 15: but when you have drugs all over the place and
[15:21] Speaker 15: the paraphernalia is there, and in addition to that, there's
[15:25] Speaker 15: a weapon there.
[15:29] Speaker 3: According to at least one friend, Jerry was allegedly in
[15:33] Speaker 3: the middle of a dispute with a man known in
[15:35] Speaker 3: the streets as the King.
[15:38] Speaker 4: Okay, he's been involved in a heated exchange between someone
[15:42] Speaker 4: named the King.
[15:44] Speaker 15: There was some friction because of the drugs and the
[15:48] Speaker 15: money that are involved in this situation.
[15:52] Speaker 12: It's street justice. You burn me and you're going to
[15:55] Speaker 12: pay for it, and Angel just got caught in the crossminer.
[16:00] Speaker 3: If the rumors are true, the King is now Detectives
[16:04] Speaker 3: only suspect.
[16:06] Speaker 4: Police check out their database to see if they can
[16:08] Speaker 4: find someone under the moniker of the key.
[16:12] Speaker 6: They weren't optimistic, but they actually did get a hit
[16:15] Speaker 6: that alias was associated with a known drug dealer in
[16:19] Speaker 6: the Saint Louis area.
[16:21] Speaker 3: They put a bolo on.
[16:22] Speaker 4: His vehicle and hopes that they would maybe find.
[16:25] Speaker 3: Him within hours. The detectives get lucky.
[16:31] Speaker 12: A Saint Louis police officer spotted the suspects vehicle in draft.
[16:35] Speaker 16: They brought him in.
[16:39] Speaker 3: But in the interview room, the King is less than cooperative.
[16:45] Speaker 17: Do you know someone by the name of Jerry Phillips? No, okay,
[16:51] Speaker 17: what were.
[16:52] Speaker 8: You doing last night? It doesn't seem to be any
[16:54] Speaker 8: of your business.
[16:57] Speaker 15: His position is said, Hey, listen, I don't know anything.
[17:00] Speaker 15: I'm not gonna talk to anybody.
[17:04] Speaker 3: Until detectives revealed that they're working a homicide.
[17:08] Speaker 4: They reminded him that they weren't here to talk about
[17:11] Speaker 4: any drug activity, they just wanted to investigate a murder.
[17:15] Speaker 17: Old, I didn't shoot anyone, then you've got nothing to worry.
[17:19] Speaker 3: About, at which point he finally starts to talk.
[17:23] Speaker 8: Okay, yeah, yeah, I know Jerry.
[17:26] Speaker 15: The King let his guard down a little bit and
[17:30] Speaker 15: what he said was basically, I know Jerry, Jerry, and
[17:34] Speaker 15: I we had some activities.
[17:36] Speaker 8: Are from him, some merchandise, and he didn't come through.
[17:39] Speaker 8: Did that piss you off?
[17:40] Speaker 3: Well, yeah, but according to the King, he wasn't mad
[17:45] Speaker 3: enough to do something about it.
[17:48] Speaker 15: He said, there is no way I would shoot or
[17:51] Speaker 15: kill anybody over a drug money.
[17:55] Speaker 3: He also denies knowing anyone named Angel Siddele.
[17:59] Speaker 15: He said, I've never seen her. I don't know who
[18:02] Speaker 15: this woman is. I've never been involved with her.
[18:06] Speaker 8: Then tell us where you were last night. I was
[18:08] Speaker 8: hanging out with some friends. Okay.
[18:11] Speaker 15: He explained to law enforcement that on the night and
[18:14] Speaker 15: question he was on the other side of the river.
[18:18] Speaker 4: He said he was at a friend's house in downtown
[18:20] Speaker 4: Saint Louis.
[18:23] Speaker 8: Okay, we're gonna check that out.
[18:26] Speaker 3: And when police follow up, the alibi checks out.
[18:31] Speaker 4: How many other people could corroborate his story.
[18:34] Speaker 9: The drugs that were found in the home had nothing
[18:37] Speaker 9: to do with.
[18:39] Speaker 15: This murder, and that puts law enforcement back at square one.
[18:46] Speaker 3: But thankfully they aren't stuck there for long.
[18:51] Speaker 6: One of Angel's friends, who detectives had originally reached out to,
[18:55] Speaker 6: came in to talk to them.
[18:57] Speaker 16: Tyshaw was tremendously helpful.
[19:00] Speaker 4: She tells police that she definitely knows someone who wanted
[19:04] Speaker 4: to hurt Angel, and that person is her own Day.
[19:08] Speaker 12: Screw You.
[19:13] Speaker 1: Detectives are on the hunt unraveling what occurred that day
[19:17] Speaker 1: in Alton, Illinois.
[19:25] Speaker 3: After ruling out one suspect and the double shooting of
[19:27] Speaker 3: Angel Siddel and Jerry Phelps, detectives have just received a
[19:31] Speaker 3: new lead from Angel's friend Latasha. Her own father, Ernie Sykes.
[19:38] Speaker 15: Ernie is now dating his daughter's fast friend.
[19:44] Speaker 12: Natasha and Angel had been friends since they were kids.
[19:47] Speaker 3: Understandably, Angel had been nervous to tell her friend about
[19:51] Speaker 3: the relationship.
[19:53] Speaker 11: At first, Angel was hiding it from Tasha, but then
[19:56] Speaker 11: she decided to go ahead and tell her because of
[19:59] Speaker 11: their friendship.
[20:00] Speaker 18: I mean, I thought it was weird at first, but
[20:03] Speaker 18: they're both adults, so they can do whatever they want.
[20:06] Speaker 5: They felt like we're both in the same stage of life.
[20:08] Speaker 14: We're both working and trying to do our thing, and
[20:10] Speaker 14: if we care about each other, it doesn't matter.
[20:12] Speaker 3: But Latasha says she had concerns about the relationship from
[20:16] Speaker 3: the very beginning.
[20:18] Speaker 7: There are some prior experiences with her father and her
[20:22] Speaker 7: mother's relationship that concerned her.
[20:25] Speaker 8: She didn't know my dad the way that I do.
[20:28] Speaker 15: Tasha goes on to say, my father can be abusive,
[20:33] Speaker 15: my father can be controlling, my father can be mean spirited.
[20:38] Speaker 16: Now I've seen this from a front row seat.
[20:42] Speaker 3: But Angel was too smitten with her new boyfriend to
[20:45] Speaker 3: take the warning seriously.
[20:47] Speaker 15: Angel is so much in love. She runs past all
[20:51] Speaker 15: of these rich flags.
[20:53] Speaker 3: And before long, Angel experienced Ernie's dark side firsthand.
[20:59] Speaker 18: We went out from and she had this big black eye,
[21:02] Speaker 18: and I said, what's going on.
[21:05] Speaker 4: Angel confides in her about what's happening between her.
[21:09] Speaker 8: And her father.
[21:10] Speaker 15: She's been keeping a dark secret that, yes, Ernie is
[21:15] Speaker 15: abusive to her.
[21:17] Speaker 3: Angel knew she was in a bad spot, but she
[21:20] Speaker 3: was hesitant to cut ties with Ernie.
[21:23] Speaker 6: It wasn't all bad. They had good times too. It's
[21:27] Speaker 6: not uncommon for someone in an abusive relationship to focus
[21:30] Speaker 6: on the good and brush the bad under the rug.
[21:34] Speaker 12: She was in love with her. She thought he would.
[21:36] Speaker 3: Change, But as Angel tried to wait out the storm,
[21:40] Speaker 3: the situation only got worse.
[21:43] Speaker 13: She come to work with black eyes.
[21:45] Speaker 15: She has physical signs that she's been abused, black eyes,
[21:50] Speaker 15: she have marks, and Ernie his pattern of abuse has continued.
[21:57] Speaker 18: It took her some time, but she finally did it.
[22:00] Speaker 18: She finally left him.
[22:02] Speaker 11: They had split up. She was done, She was really done.
[22:05] Speaker 11: She was not going back.
[22:07] Speaker 3: Natasha explains that closing the door and Ernie opened one
[22:12] Speaker 3: for someone new.
[22:14] Speaker 11: She started hanging out with Jerry a lot more. He
[22:18] Speaker 11: was really nice to her and treated her really good.
[22:21] Speaker 11: I don't think she had that interaction with anybody like
[22:23] Speaker 11: that before.
[22:25] Speaker 8: I thought they were really cute together.
[22:28] Speaker 10: She was happy, she was laughing, she was relaxed. She
[22:32] Speaker 10: was Angel again.
[22:34] Speaker 3: However, while Angel had moved on, Ernie was still clinging
[22:39] Speaker 3: to the past.
[22:40] Speaker 6: He couldn't accept that they had broken up. He wanted
[22:43] Speaker 6: to get back together, and when he heard that she
[22:46] Speaker 6: was seeing Jerry, he was furious.
[22:50] Speaker 3: Just a few days before the shooting, the tense situation
[22:54] Speaker 3: reached a tipping point.
[22:56] Speaker 12: Latasha told them that she and Angel were at a
[22:58] Speaker 12: bar when Ernie showed up caused a sink.
[23:02] Speaker 16: Ernie goes off the deep end.
[23:05] Speaker 13: He got into her face and was calling her names.
[23:09] Speaker 8: I know what you've been doing behind my back.
[23:11] Speaker 11: He was accusing her of messing with Jerry, and he
[23:15] Speaker 11: said stuff like I knew it the whole time.
[23:18] Speaker 3: Hey, I haven't done anything to you.
[23:21] Speaker 8: Screw you.
[23:24] Speaker 15: He physically tries to get at Angel and Tasha.
[23:29] Speaker 16: The daughter literally gets in the middle of these two.
[23:32] Speaker 3: But before they could leave, Ernie said something to Angel
[23:36] Speaker 3: that made Latasha's blood run cold.
[23:40] Speaker 7: He had stated that her mom was going to need
[23:42] Speaker 7: a black dress and he was going to send her
[23:45] Speaker 7: home to glory.
[23:47] Speaker 16: He actually spits on Angel.
[23:51] Speaker 15: I mean, that's one of the most disgusting things you
[23:54] Speaker 15: can do to our human being.
[23:56] Speaker 18: I didn't think that he was serious, but clearly I
[24:00] Speaker 18: was wrong.
[24:05] Speaker 3: Detectives immediately request the footage from the bar and confirm
[24:09] Speaker 3: Latasha's story.
[24:11] Speaker 7: Ernie could be seen on surveilis waiting for her when
[24:14] Speaker 7: she came out of the restroom.
[24:16] Speaker 6: That's him, Just like Latasha told them. He clearly started
[24:20] Speaker 6: a heated argument with Angel, so obviously detectives wanted to
[24:24] Speaker 6: speak to him as soon as possible.
[24:28] Speaker 3: But when they bring Ernie in for questioning, he acts
[24:31] Speaker 3: surprise to hear of Angel's death.
[24:34] Speaker 8: Angel's dead. You hadn't heard. No, I don't talk to
[24:38] Speaker 8: her people anymore.
[24:40] Speaker 13: He was like, oh no, I didn't know she was
[24:42] Speaker 13: even God, I am so sorry to hear that.
[24:45] Speaker 12: He came across as very disingenuous.
[24:49] Speaker 3: Ernie also blames Angel for starting the fight between them.
[24:53] Speaker 8: Look, I'm just trying to have a word with her
[24:55] Speaker 8: that she came at me.
[24:57] Speaker 3: And he firmly denies having anything to do with her murder.
[25:02] Speaker 7: He said he was not in the area or near
[25:05] Speaker 7: the house at that time. He never stepped foot in
[25:08] Speaker 7: Angel's house that night.
[25:10] Speaker 3: Unfortunately, they have no way to prove he's lying.
[25:14] Speaker 8: Okay, thanks for your tom.
[25:16] Speaker 15: They can't put him at the scene. There's no DNA,
[25:20] Speaker 15: there's no eyewitnesses.
[25:24] Speaker 3: But that's about to change.
[25:27] Speaker 8: I'm gonna say.
[25:28] Speaker 15: Law enforcement receive a call from the hospital.
[25:32] Speaker 6: Jerry Phelps was awake and ready to talk to police.
[25:36] Speaker 8: To take him to scope Jerry's awakening.
[25:43] Speaker 1: Stay tuned for more of the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[25:52] Speaker 3: When detectives questioned the ex boyfriend of Angel Siddel, he
[25:57] Speaker 3: told them he played no part in her murder.
[26:00] Speaker 7: Ernie Sykes told them that he wasn't there, that he
[26:03] Speaker 7: had nothing to do with this.
[26:06] Speaker 3: But now Angel's roommate Jerry Phelps, has recovered enough to
[26:10] Speaker 3: tell his side of the story.
[26:13] Speaker 7: Once Jerry was able to speak with authorities, he was
[26:17] Speaker 7: able to tell the story of what happened that night,
[26:20] Speaker 7: since Angel wasn't able to.
[26:23] Speaker 3: There's no doubt in Jerry's mind Ernie Sykes is the
[26:28] Speaker 3: man who shot him.
[26:30] Speaker 8: You're sure it was him.
[26:32] Speaker 10: Absolutely, he knew Ernie shot them.
[26:36] Speaker 9: Jerry knew who Ernie was.
[26:38] Speaker 7: He had seen him with Angel in the past, Ernie
[26:41] Speaker 7: had been to the residence before, and that he definitely
[26:45] Speaker 7: knew who he was.
[26:47] Speaker 3: Jerry describes the shooting as the almost inevitable ending to
[26:51] Speaker 3: an already violent love story.
[26:54] Speaker 15: Jerry's able to let law enforcement know that all of
[26:58] Speaker 15: the bad behavior and explosive behavior of Ernie, It's true.
[27:04] Speaker 8: Did you ever see him get violent with her all
[27:07] Speaker 8: the time?
[27:09] Speaker 12: Apparently Ernie would throw things, pull Angel's hair, even hit her.
[27:13] Speaker 10: If he had to hear like a thump or something
[27:16] Speaker 10: got thrown or something, then Pod would intervene.
[27:20] Speaker 3: Jerry says he couldn't have been happier when she finally
[27:23] Speaker 3: cut Ernie out of her life.
[27:26] Speaker 2: He obviously cared about her.
[27:28] Speaker 7: Jerry told authorities that they did start an intimate relationship.
[27:34] Speaker 3: But he says Ernie Sykes continued to cast a dark
[27:37] Speaker 3: shadow over their relationship.
[27:40] Speaker 10: He more or less stalked her all the time.
[27:44] Speaker 6: He knew when she got off work and would wait
[27:46] Speaker 6: for her at the bus stop.
[27:48] Speaker 10: He would follow her, he would call her. It was
[27:52] Speaker 10: like he couldn't leave her.
[27:54] Speaker 3: Jerry distinctly remembers the day Angel came home after Ernie
[27:58] Speaker 3: threatened her at the ball.
[28:01] Speaker 8: I had never seen her like that.
[28:05] Speaker 7: She was scared, so scared that she did, in fact
[28:09] Speaker 7: stay at her mother's house for several days. At some
[28:12] Speaker 7: point she felt like things had cooled down and she
[28:16] Speaker 7: went home.
[28:17] Speaker 9: Unfortunately, in this case, that wasn't long enough.
[28:21] Speaker 3: On the night of the shooting, Jerry describes how he
[28:24] Speaker 3: and Angel enjoyed a quiet evening at home.
[28:28] Speaker 7: The two of them had watched a movie in his bedroom.
[28:33] Speaker 10: She was still a little nervous to be home, so
[28:37] Speaker 10: we were just taking it easy.
[28:39] Speaker 12: Well, she was filling up to it. She left asleep
[28:41] Speaker 12: in her own room.
[28:43] Speaker 8: Thanks for letting me stay in here with you.
[28:45] Speaker 2: Of course, I'm here if you need anything, Okay.
[28:50] Speaker 3: But a few hours later, Jerry was jolted awake by
[28:53] Speaker 3: a loud noise.
[28:55] Speaker 10: He heard screaming.
[28:58] Speaker 7: He remember looking up from his and seeing the hallway
[29:01] Speaker 7: light on, and he knew that was unusual.
[29:06] Speaker 3: Cautiously Jerry went to investigate.
[29:09] Speaker 7: He hesitantly approached his bedroom door to look and see
[29:13] Speaker 7: what was happening.
[29:15] Speaker 16: And he opens the door.
[29:17] Speaker 15: To his surprise, Ernie is standing right outside of Jerry's
[29:22] Speaker 15: big room duel what are.
[29:24] Speaker 8: You doing here?
[29:25] Speaker 9: When he saw Ernie, he knew it wasn't good. He
[29:28] Speaker 9: knew he shouldn't have been there.
[29:30] Speaker 15: And then all of a sudden, Jerry feels excrucinating pain
[29:36] Speaker 15: and Jerry realizes, I've been shot.
[29:41] Speaker 16: Jerry slams the.
[29:43] Speaker 15: Door closed, but he's bleeding all over the place.
[29:48] Speaker 7: He remembers just feeling a huge amount of pain in
[29:51] Speaker 7: his leg, and Ernie fled. He then attempted to locate
[29:57] Speaker 7: his telephone and was able to call nine one one.
[30:04] Speaker 3: Through it all, Jerry had no idea what happened to
[30:08] Speaker 3: Angel is here?
[30:10] Speaker 8: Can I see her?
[30:12] Speaker 6: That was a difficult piece of news for the detectives
[30:15] Speaker 6: to share with him.
[30:17] Speaker 8: I'm so sorry she didn't make it.
[30:21] Speaker 14: I can't imagine what that's like, the regret that, just
[30:24] Speaker 14: the sadness how I've kept this from happening.
[30:29] Speaker 3: Now, armed with Jerry's eyewitness account of what happened, detectives
[30:33] Speaker 3: are ready to confront their suspect again.
[30:37] Speaker 7: They knew that they had to find Ernie. They were
[30:40] Speaker 7: able to locate him and bring him in for another interview.
[30:45] Speaker 12: At first, he had stuck to his original story that
[30:48] Speaker 12: he had nothing to do with this and he had
[30:50] Speaker 12: no idea what happened to Angel and Jerry.
[30:53] Speaker 8: Look, we know you were there. We talked to Jerry.
[30:57] Speaker 7: Once he was confronted with the evidence that authorities had
[31:00] Speaker 7: against him up to that point, his story did change.
[31:04] Speaker 3: Ernie's new account of the night of the shooting is
[31:07] Speaker 3: the last thing the detectives ever expected to hear.
[31:13] Speaker 15: He says, Okay, I will stare, but here's what happened,
[31:16] Speaker 15: for real, for real, for real.
[31:18] Speaker 6: This time he said, yes, I shot him, but it
[31:22] Speaker 6: was self defense.
[31:27] Speaker 1: Brace yourself for more of this tragic story. This is
[31:32] Speaker 1: a Fatal Attraction podcast.
[31:39] Speaker 3: After recovering from his injuries enough to speak to police,
[31:43] Speaker 3: Jerry Phelps has identified Ernie Sykes as the man who
[31:47] Speaker 3: attacked him and his roommate Angel Siddle.
[31:51] Speaker 15: Ernie has been displaying abusive behavior towards Angel.
[31:57] Speaker 7: He was able to say that Ernie sites was the person.
[32:01] Speaker 18: That shot.
[32:05] Speaker 3: But when Alton police brought Ernie in for a second
[32:08] Speaker 3: round of questioning, he quickly turned the tables.
[32:12] Speaker 7: He said he had gone to Angel's house at around
[32:17] Speaker 7: three or so in the morning in order to get
[32:20] Speaker 7: some of his property, and when he got there, he
[32:23] Speaker 7: stated that while he was in the home, Jerry just
[32:27] Speaker 7: came out of his room and started firing a gun wildly.
[32:33] Speaker 15: Ernie's story changes to the point that he said it
[32:38] Speaker 15: is self defense. I grabbed a gun from Jerry and
[32:42] Speaker 15: we start fighting and railing for the gun.
[32:47] Speaker 7: He stated that Angel came out of her room and
[32:50] Speaker 7: that Jerry used Angel as a human shield to avoid
[32:54] Speaker 7: being shot.
[32:56] Speaker 12: He said it all happened so fast, he didn't even
[32:58] Speaker 12: realize what happened.
[33:00] Speaker 16: What did I do.
[33:01] Speaker 9: After that was over. He didn't call nine one one,
[33:03] Speaker 9: He didn't go to the police station. He just left.
[33:09] Speaker 3: Investigators are certain his story is a lie.
[33:13] Speaker 15: The story that Ernie gives simply does not match with
[33:17] Speaker 15: the physical evidence.
[33:20] Speaker 10: Couldn't act like that because there was no blood in
[33:23] Speaker 10: the hallway.
[33:24] Speaker 15: Angel was shot in such a way that someone intended
[33:29] Speaker 15: to kill this young lady, and the way that Jerry
[33:33] Speaker 15: was shot three times was not an accidental shooting. The
[33:38] Speaker 15: only person at the scene who is physically not interest
[33:42] Speaker 15: as a result of the shooting is Ernie he was
[33:45] Speaker 15: the one that ran from the scene.
[33:48] Speaker 5: Fact does make logical sense stand up under arrest.
[33:53] Speaker 3: Although Ernie refuses to come clean, detectives have all the
[33:58] Speaker 3: evidence they need to make can arrest.
[34:01] Speaker 15: A George him With the death of Angel and the
[34:05] Speaker 15: shooting up jeer.
[34:10] Speaker 3: Well, Angel's mother is relieved to hear that her daughter's
[34:13] Speaker 3: killer is in custody. Ernie's arrest does little to ease
[34:17] Speaker 3: her pain.
[34:19] Speaker 10: She maybe didn't bring him around me, and she didn't
[34:22] Speaker 10: let me know that he was beating armed. If I
[34:26] Speaker 10: would have heard that, I would have made sure that
[34:27] Speaker 10: I was over there.
[34:29] Speaker 5: Sometimes, as I fear, I don't want to put my
[34:31] Speaker 5: support network in the situation.
[34:33] Speaker 10: I blame myself because I wasn't there to take them
[34:37] Speaker 10: bullets for her.
[34:39] Speaker 14: It's just terrible, terrible, terribly sad thing. The questions what
[34:43] Speaker 14: more could I've done.
[34:46] Speaker 3: When Ernie Syke's trial begins in March twenty twenty, Angel's
[34:51] Speaker 3: loved ones are there to face him.
[34:53] Speaker 7: Angel's mother was always there. It was a very emotional
[34:57] Speaker 7: time for all of her family and her friends.
[35:02] Speaker 3: In their opening statements, the prosecution paints Ernie Sykes as
[35:06] Speaker 3: an abusive ex boyfriend who was pushed over the edge
[35:10] Speaker 3: by Angel's rejection.
[35:12] Speaker 6: There was probably a power and balance from the beginning
[35:15] Speaker 6: because of their age difference and the fact that Ernie
[35:18] Speaker 6: was her best friend's father, but when she left him,
[35:21] Speaker 6: she took that power from him.
[35:24] Speaker 14: As Angel started to slip away, the desperation started increasing
[35:28] Speaker 14: and increasing.
[35:30] Speaker 3: For a while, Ernie thought he could salvage the relationship,
[35:34] Speaker 3: but after his fight with Angel at the bar, he
[35:37] Speaker 3: knew they were finished for good.
[35:39] Speaker 16: She was not going back to him.
[35:42] Speaker 10: He's if he couldn't have her, nobody else could have her.
[35:46] Speaker 3: So a few days later, Ernie showed up at Angel
[35:49] Speaker 3: and Jerry's house in the middle of the night.
[35:53] Speaker 9: It was unclear how he got into the house.
[35:56] Speaker 7: Angel had been taking precautions to make sure they locked
[35:59] Speaker 7: the doors, but he did get into the house somehow,
[36:02] Speaker 7: in some way that didn't wake anyone up.
[36:06] Speaker 3: In the darkness, he crept up on Angel while she slept.
[36:11] Speaker 7: Ernie Sykes snuck into her room late at night, where
[36:15] Speaker 7: she should have been safe.
[36:19] Speaker 10: What are you doing here?
[36:25] Speaker 9: He shot her while she was in bed, but.
[36:30] Speaker 3: She was still clinging to life.
[36:33] Speaker 7: Angel had managed to get out of bed and make
[36:35] Speaker 7: them over to the dresser. Fighting for her life.
[36:40] Speaker 3: As Ernie fled, he encountered Angel's roommate, Jerry Phelps.
[36:46] Speaker 15: Jerry pared a loud noise, and he decided to get
[36:50] Speaker 15: up and to investigate.
[36:54] Speaker 7: Ernie without warning, shot him. Also three times.
[36:58] Speaker 8: What are you doing here?
[37:04] Speaker 3: To build their case against the defendant, prosecutors call a
[37:08] Speaker 3: surprising star witness, Ernie's own daughter, Latasha Graves.
[37:15] Speaker 7: She did come into court and testified as to the
[37:18] Speaker 7: relationships that Angel had with her father and the prior
[37:22] Speaker 7: instances between them. I don't think that was a decision
[37:25] Speaker 7: that was made lightly, but she knew that something needed
[37:30] Speaker 7: to be done.
[37:33] Speaker 3: When it's the defense's turn, Ernie takes the stand and
[37:37] Speaker 3: tells the court a news story about what happened that night.
[37:41] Speaker 9: The story changed again.
[37:43] Speaker 7: He said, while he was there, someone else came in
[37:46] Speaker 7: and did the shooting.
[37:49] Speaker 15: This meth cold, magical person shows something that really did
[37:53] Speaker 15: all of this bad stuff, some.
[37:56] Speaker 7: Person who had never been disclosed prior to this.
[38:02] Speaker 13: He was trying to talk his way out of it.
[38:03] Speaker 13: I was like, man, why does he keep lying?
[38:07] Speaker 3: The jury doesn't buy it for a second.
[38:11] Speaker 10: We went to the restroom, maybe smoked a cigarette and
[38:14] Speaker 10: by that time prosecutor was out there waven us to
[38:17] Speaker 10: come back in. It was that fast.
[38:20] Speaker 7: Ernie was convicted of first degree murder for the murder
[38:25] Speaker 7: of Angel, and he was also convicted of attempted murder
[38:30] Speaker 7: of Jerry.
[38:32] Speaker 3: In line with the heinous nature of his crime, the
[38:36] Speaker 3: judge hands down an equally harsh sentence.
[38:40] Speaker 10: He named off how many years he was getting, and
[38:42] Speaker 10: it was a total of one hundred and twenty five
[38:44] Speaker 10: years with no chance for parole.
[38:47] Speaker 13: He is never going to live a life other than prison.
[38:50] Speaker 11: So that does give me some calmness.
[38:53] Speaker 3: Even though Ernie's punishment provides some measure of relief for
[38:57] Speaker 3: Angel's loved ones, it's no reply for the life he
[39:01] Speaker 3: took away forever.
[39:04] Speaker 10: I just feel empty. I just feel hollow. I can't
[39:09] Speaker 10: feel that love anymore.
[39:11] Speaker 11: The only thing I have of her now is memories,
[39:14] Speaker 11: and I wish that I could say she was right
[39:16] Speaker 11: here with me right now.
[39:18] Speaker 10: She was my life. I mean, I reap my world
[39:21] Speaker 10: around her, and I couldn't even say right to her.
[39:31] Speaker 1: Genuine love has the power to uplift us and withstand
[39:35] Speaker 1: even the most challenging circumstances. However, when love is not authentic,
[39:42] Speaker 1: it can lead to profound pain, especially when someone who
[39:46] Speaker 1: claims to love.
[39:47] Speaker 2: Us may be the source of our suffering.
[39:51] Speaker 1: The heartbreaking loss of Angel Sodol serves as a poignant
[39:55] Speaker 1: reminder of the preciousness of life. Her vibrant spirit and
[40:00] Speaker 1: passion for living will always be remembered and cherished by
[40:05] Speaker 1: all those who were fortunate enough to know her.
[40:08] Speaker 3: Abuse is never okay. If you were someone you love
[40:12] Speaker 3: is in an abusive relationship, there is help available called
[40:16] Speaker 3: the domestic Violence Hotline at one eight hundred seventy nine
[40:20] Speaker 3: to nine.
[40:21] Speaker 1: Safe Coming up on the next episode of the Fatal
[40:25] Speaker 1: Attraction podcast.
[40:33] Speaker 3: She'd been a fighter all her life.
[40:36] Speaker 4: She had a learning disability, an a chronic illness. She
[40:41] Speaker 4: loves her husband, she had children removed from her home.
[40:46] Speaker 13: I just don't know how she was able to handle it.
[40:50] Speaker 3: But just when it appeared her life was back on track, it.
[40:53] Speaker 11: Came to a violent and she had stab wounds all
[40:57] Speaker 11: over her body.
[40:59] Speaker 13: There was a blood everywhere.
[41:03] Speaker 1: In Kansas City, Missouri, a devoted mother is found in
[41:07] Speaker 1: her family's yard at just twenty seven years old. She
[41:11] Speaker 1: skillfully navigates life challenges, including her own disabilities with grace
[41:17] Speaker 1: and resilience, Her life.
[41:19] Speaker 2: Rich with purpose, revolved around the.
[41:21] Speaker 1: Responsibilities of motherhood, filled with love and dedication. But when
[41:28] Speaker 1: things seem to be improving, tragedy strikes. Tune in to
[41:33] Speaker 1: the next episode of the Fatal Attraction podcast.
[41:36] Speaker 2: We will see you in the next episode.

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