# 3 Solved True Crime Cases With Disturbing Twists | 166

An episode of [Lazy Chill True Crime](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1815534472), 20 Jan 2026, 25 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO9281144064.mp3

Hey everyone, today I'm discussing 3 chilling solved cases Episode 166 of the true crime podcast btw. 👇 Youtube links: Lazy Chill True Crime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8dVJtzeHcJgd_Z0bHrJTHQ Lazy Chill History Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillHistory Lazy Chill Zone Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LazyChillZone 👇 Support My Work: 🛍️ Merch: https://lazy-chill-zone-shop.fourthwall.com ❤️ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lazychillzone 👇Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/lazychillzone/ 👇 Podcast links: ⚡History Video Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/7km5pLWpYWEj1mrPpEfRUr?si=0FHYnZf-Qs2FY1GyLevfig ⚡True Crime Podcast on Spotify⚡: https://open.spotify.com/show/0klIz08pAr7wR4we0Ia4sk?si=68qZxCeAQkysXzMZrHE0Iw 🍏 True Crime Podcast on Apple 🍎: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lazy-chill-true-crime/id1815534472 true crime, cold cases, unsolved mysteries, missing persons, murder investigation, forensic evidence, serial killers, crime scene analysis, dark history, criminal psychology, real life horror, police investigations, DNA breakthroughs, forensic genealogy, crime documentaries, criminal profiling, mysterious disappearances, solved cases, justice system, law enforcement stories, cold case files, creepy mysteries, true crime storytelling, crime reconstruction, chilling cases, investigative reporting, modern forensics, victim advocacy, unidentified remains, crime scene forensics, disturbing cases, true crime analysis, hidden clues, infamous crimes, real crime stories

## Transcript

[0:00] Hey friends, it's Jimmy here, and as usual, I'm reminding you
[0:03] to like and subscribe and to hit that notification bell and turn
[0:07] on all notifications before we begin.
[0:10] Also remember to drop a comment saying where you're watching
[0:13] from or what you're doing while you listen.
[0:18] In the early hours of Black Friday 2014, a Fort Worth
[0:22] apartment fire LED first responders to a disturbing
[0:25] discovery. It was the lifeless body of 31
[0:28] year old Ashley Harris, bound hand and foot with duct tape and
[0:33] her throat slashed amid a deliberately set blaze.
[0:37] This horrifying scene was the start of a chilling crime
[0:39] investigation that would reveal a tale of betrayal, greed, and
[0:44] revenge. When firefighters extinguish the
[0:48] flames in Ashley's apartment, they quickly realized this
[0:51] wasn't a normal fire. Neighbors reported hearing a
[0:55] thud and screams around 7:30 AM, just moments before fire alarms
[1:00] went off in the building. Investigators found no signs of
[1:03] forced entry, and nothing of value appeared to be stolen.
[1:08] Crucially, the only thing missing was Ashley's key ring,
[1:12] including keys to her home, her car, and the safe for the retail
[1:16] store she managed at the mall. That alarming detail pointed to
[1:21] a targeted slaying rather than a random break in.
[1:25] But who would want this beloved young woman dead, and why?
[1:32] Ashley Harris wasn't someone anyone expected to be the target
[1:35] of such violence. Friends and family described her
[1:38] as an outgoing woman who made friends easily wherever she
[1:42] went. By 2014, she was thriving as an
[1:46] assistant manager at the American Eagle store in Fort
[1:49] Worth's Hulen Mall. By all accounts, Ashley had no
[1:53] known enemies, at least not until recently, which made the
[1:57] brutality of her death all the more baffling.
[2:01] She was also fiercely loyal to her employer and Co workers, a
[2:05] quality that, unbeknownst to her, would put her in harm's
[2:09] way. That changed just months before
[2:13] her death when a workplace incident suddenly turned 2 of
[2:16] her colleagues into bitter foes. Three months before the slaying
[2:22] in August 2014, the American Eagle store where Ashley worked
[2:27] was the scene of a major theft. During a busy tax free weekend,
[2:32] someone sneaked into the store after hours and stole nearly
[2:35] $18,000 in cash from the safe. Ashley pointed investigators to
[2:40] two likely culprits, her Co worker Carter Cervantes and
[2:45] Carter's boyfriend David Mallory.
[2:48] There was good reason for suspicion.
[2:50] That same night, Cervantes had been seen leaving a back door
[2:54] unlocked, facilitating the heist.
[2:57] Based on evidence from the incident, the company fired
[3:00] Cervantes and Mallory even as police continued to investigate.
[3:05] After being fired, Carter Cervantes blamed Ashley and
[3:09] never forgave her. In the couple's eyes, Ashley's
[3:13] loyalty to her employer made her a traitor, and they quietly
[3:17] began plotting revenge. In the weeks after their
[3:22] dismissal, Cervantes and Mallory devised a plan to get even and
[3:27] to get rich in the process. Investigators later uncovered
[3:31] text messages in which the pair discussed slaying Ashley to
[3:34] obtain her keys and then rating the stores safe during the Black
[3:38] Friday rush. For them, Black Friday was the
[3:41] perfect time for a heist since the safe could hold as much as
[3:45] $50,000 from that day's sales. Also, just based on my personal
[3:50] observations from Black Friday shopping this year, I doubt that
[3:54] the safe would even contain a 10th of that amount these days.
[3:58] I went down a little rabbit hole on this and in 2014 about 1/3 of
[4:04] retail purchases were made with cash.
[4:07] In 2025, on the other hand, cash was only used for one in seven
[4:12] transactions, and the cash transactions tended to be for
[4:15] smaller items. It's interesting to think that
[4:19] the financial incentive for this portion of this horrible crime
[4:23] was, in essence, wiped out completely by technology in a
[4:26] single decade. Anyway, sorry, as I said, I went
[4:33] down the rabbit hole there as I was recording, so let's get back
[4:36] on track. Their preparations underscored
[4:40] how premeditated the crime was. One week before the attack, the
[4:45] couple purchased gloves, duct tape, shovels, rope, and a tarp.
[4:51] This cold planning, essentially assembling a kit, showed that
[4:55] the crime was far from a moment of passion.
[4:58] Prosecutors later noted that the duo spent at least a month
[5:02] effectively stalking Ashley like prey as they waited for the
[5:06] right moment to strike. As Ashley headed home in the
[5:10] early morning hours of November 28th, 2014, Cervantes and
[5:16] Mallory lay in wait. They tailed her from the mall to
[5:19] her apartment, undercover of darkness.
[5:22] Once she was inside, the pair launched their brutal attack.
[5:26] They bound her wrists and ankles with duct tape and then slashed
[5:30] her throat to cover their tracks.
[5:35] The attackers lit a fire in her bedroom, a last minute move
[5:39] meant to destroy evidence after their original plan to bury her
[5:43] body fell through. Investigators believe that the
[5:47] couple was unfamiliar with the intensity of heat required to
[5:50] destroy a human body. I've said it once before and
[5:54] I'll say it again, we're lucky that criminals are so stupid.
[5:59] After finishing off this haphazard attempt to destroy the
[6:02] evidence, they then grabbed Ashley's key ring, locked the
[6:06] door behind them, and fled into the night.
[6:11] Initially, investigators had few leads, but they quickly pieced
[6:15] together a trail of clues. 1 tip proved invaluable.
[6:20] A neighbor noticed a black 2 door Infiniti parked outside the
[6:23] apartment complex around the time of the attack.
[6:27] It was quickly discovered that this was a car that none of the
[6:30] residents owned. This stood out because Ashley's
[6:33] boss recognized it as matching the vehicle driven by Carter
[6:36] Cervantes. Acting on this lead, police put
[6:40] Cervantes and Mallory under surveillance at their new
[6:43] apartment. The very next day, detectives
[6:47] observed the couple driving to Hulen Mall.
[6:49] In that same Infinity, a detective observed Carter leave
[6:54] the vehicle while Mallory continued to twiddle his thumbs
[6:57] inside. Suspecting she was about to rob
[7:00] the store, the detective rushed to American Eagle, hoping to
[7:03] arrest the wannabe criminal mastermind.
[7:06] But by the time he had arrived, Cervantes plan had already been
[7:10] foiled. Not by the cops just yet, but by
[7:14] the stores management. Sure enough, security footage
[7:19] showed Cervantes trying to enter the clothes store with Ashley's
[7:23] stolen keys. Unaware that the locks had been
[7:25] changed overnight, police moved in immediately.
[7:30] Mallory, who was waiting in the car, was promptly arrested and
[7:34] Cervantes was detained soon after.
[7:37] Subsequent searches of their apartment and vehicles turned up
[7:41] a trove of incriminating evidence.
[7:44] Detectives found the receipt for the items in their little kit,
[7:48] blood on a car floor mat that matched Ashley, and even a
[7:51] weapon stained with Ashley's blood.
[7:55] This indicated she had been pistol whipped during the
[7:57] attack, which you better believe would go on to be a factor in
[8:00] sentencing. By December 4th, within a week
[8:04] of Ashley's death, both suspects were in custody and facing
[8:08] capital charges. The high profile case went to
[8:13] trial, laying bare the cold blooded plot against Ashley.
[8:17] Both Cervantes and Mallory pleaded not guilty, but the
[8:20] evidence was overwhelming. In May 2016, a jury convicted
[8:26] Carter Cervantes and she was sentenced to life in prison
[8:30] without parole. The following year, David
[8:34] Mallory was also found guilty and received the same
[8:37] punishment, life behind bars without parole.
[8:43] Controversially, prosecutors didn't seek the ultimate penalty
[8:47] for the pair, partly due to their lack of any serious prior
[8:51] criminal history. Which I have to say is pretty
[8:55] interesting logic considering they were already pulling off
[8:57] Heist together prior to what they had done.
[9:01] For Ashley's loved ones. The outcome provided justice,
[9:04] but ultimately little comfort. Her father remarked that the
[9:07] family would have preferred the perps got a taste of their own
[9:10] medicine, though they understood why it wasn't pursued.
[9:14] In the end, these two sick puppies will have the rest of
[9:17] their long lives to rot in prison, knowing that there's no
[9:21] chance for release ever. It took five years for Michael
[9:28] Anthony Temple Junior to die from his gunshot wounds, and
[9:32] nearly another 5 for the perpetrator to be caught.
[9:35] In February 2010, a home invasion in Odenton, MD left 24
[9:41] year old Temple gravely wounded and paralyzed, and by 2015 those
[9:47] injuries proved fatal. For almost a decade, the
[9:50] identity of the attacker remained a complete mystery, but
[9:54] a drop of the attacker's blood at the scene and an innovative
[9:58] genetic sleuthing technique eventually unmasked a monster
[10:02] who was hiding in plain sight. On the night of February 2nd,
[10:08] 2010, two masked intruders broke into a house on Williamsburg
[10:12] Lane in Odenton, terrorizing the occupants and demanding money.
[10:17] One attacker pistol whipped a male resident, Donald Daniel,
[10:22] knocking him down and tying him up.
[10:24] The other assailant forced Michael and two women, Margaret
[10:28] Ridgely and Kelly Scarwicki, into the basement.
[10:32] Amid the chaos, Temple refused to be a passive victim.
[10:36] When the intruders ordered everyone to the floor, he fought
[10:39] back, tackling the intruder rather than complying.
[10:44] Temple's resistance sparked a fierce struggle with the armed
[10:47] assailant while one of the women, Margaret Ridgeley, tried
[10:51] to fight off the second intruder.
[10:53] Ridgeley was struck on the head, causing her to lose
[10:56] consciousness as the confrontation raged.
[10:59] Moments later, two shots echoed from the laundry room where
[11:03] Temple was grappling with the attack, and he collapsed gravely
[11:07] injured but alive. The panicked attackers then fled
[11:10] after snatching roughly $2000 in cash, leaving behind shell
[11:15] casings and a bloody folding knife, critical evidence of the
[11:18] night's violence. Amazingly, Michael Temple
[11:23] survived the initial shooting. He was rushed to a hospital and
[11:27] pulled through, but the damage was permanent.
[11:30] The shots had severely injured his spine, leaving him paralyzed
[11:34] from the chest down. Temple's life and his family's
[11:38] were never the same, as he spent the next five years in a
[11:40] wheelchair battling complications from his injuries.
[11:45] On June 18th, 2015, those complications claimed his life.
[11:52] Temple died at age 29 from the wounds he had suffered five
[11:56] years earlier. His death transformed the case
[11:59] from an assault and robbery into something far more serious.
[12:04] Despite determined investigation, the two masked
[12:07] assailants remained unidentified, and Arendelle
[12:11] County police had recovered one of the suspects blood, but no
[12:15] matches turned up in any database.
[12:18] Detectives periodically appealed for witnesses to come forward
[12:21] over the years, but those efforts yielded few leads.
[12:25] By late 2015, the trail had gone cold and Temple's family was
[12:31] still waiting for answers. In a bid to revive the case, Ann
[12:37] Arendelle detectives turned to emerging forensic technology.
[12:41] In December 2015, they enlisted Parabon Nanolabs to perform
[12:45] advanced phenotyping on the blood evidence.
[12:49] This technique predicts a suspect's physical traits from
[12:51] genetic material. The resulting composite profile
[12:55] suggested the shooter was a fair skinned male of Northern
[12:58] European descent with green or Hazel eyes and brown or blonde
[13:03] hair. Investigators released the DNA
[13:07] based composite sketch to the public and even offered a
[13:10] $10,000 reward for information, but no useful leads emerged.
[13:16] The real breakthrough came in 2018 with the rise of genetic
[13:20] genealogy, with this case being one of the first in the nation
[13:25] to be solved through this technique.
[13:29] By building family trees from partial matches, they soon
[13:32] pinpointed A promising name, Fred Lee Frampton Junior, a 32
[13:38] year old man from nearby Glen Burnie, MD.
[13:42] After eight years of dead ends, the cold case finally had a
[13:45] prime suspect identified through family connections.
[13:50] Once Frampton was singled out by genetic genealogy, police
[13:54] quietly set out to obtain hard evidence on October 10th, 2018,
[14:01] and Arundel County detectives tailed Frampton and watched as
[14:04] he sipped coffee and smoked, unaware he was being surveilled.
[14:09] When Frampton discarded a coffee cup in the butt, investigators
[14:13] retrieved both items. When forensic analysts extracted
[14:17] genetic material from the trash and compared it to the crime
[14:20] scene profile, it was a definitive match.
[14:24] This evidence tied Frampton unmistakably to the home
[14:27] invasion and shooting of Michael Temple.
[14:30] Armed with that proof, authorities arrested Frampton on
[14:33] November 1st, 2018, charging him with a variety of offenses
[14:38] related to the crime. Confronted with the findings,
[14:42] Frampton sung like a Canary during interrogation, confessing
[14:46] to his role in the break in and shooting and naming his
[14:49] accomplice. The second intruder was 32 year
[14:54] old Jonathan Ludwig, the man who had tied up the other victims
[14:58] that night. However, Ludwig would never face
[15:01] justice. As police prepared to arrest
[15:04] him, they discovered he had died of a overdose in March 2018.
[15:10] At long last, the two assailants were unmasked.
[15:15] One was in custody and the other was deceased.
[15:20] In a final twist, the victim's father learned that the
[15:23] attackers had been closer than anyone imagined.
[15:27] Not long after the attack, both assailants had worked alongside
[15:31] Temple Senior at his construction business,
[15:34] collecting paychecks from the man whose son they attacked.
[15:38] All that time, the grieving father had unknowingly
[15:41] interacted with the very men who caused his son's injuries and
[15:45] later, death. Temple Senior struggled to
[15:48] fathom how the perpetrator stood next to him, hiding in plain
[15:53] sight for so long. Personally, though, I have to
[15:56] speculate that they deliberately sought out a job with the
[15:59] father, perhaps to figure out how much the family knew about
[16:03] the attackers. Since there would be no trial
[16:07] here, though, that's just pure speculation on my part.
[16:13] In 2019, rather than face a jury trial, Frampton pleaded guilty
[16:18] to having committed the crime in the first degree.
[16:21] This indicates that there must have been overwhelming evidence
[16:24] to suggest that this attack was pre planned.
[16:27] A judge sentenced him to life in prison with all but 55 years
[16:31] suspended, meaning Frampton will likely spend the rest of his
[16:35] life locked up. Anne Arundel County's State's
[16:38] Attorney emphasized that Frampton was being held fully
[16:41] accountable for taking Temple's life and injuring the other
[16:45] victims during the home invasion.
[16:48] For Temple's family and friends, the conclusion of the case
[16:51] brought a measure of relief after years of anguish and
[16:53] uncertainty. A brutal crime that began on a
[16:57] winter night in 2010 had gone unsolved for years, but
[17:02] relentless detective work and groundbreaking science
[17:05] prevailed. Hey everyone, it's Jimmy here
[17:11] with a reminder to click that share button and send this video
[17:14] to your friends and family that enjoy true crime content.
[17:18] Also, don't forget that you can now check out Lazy Chill True
[17:21] Crime on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, so be sure to follow
[17:26] and drop a rating over there as well.
[17:31] On Sunday March 6th, 2016, staff at the Days Inn Motel along Oak
[17:38] St. in Conway, AR made a horrifying discovery.
[17:43] Expecting to clean a room that evening, an employee instead
[17:46] found 41 year old Susan Stubbs lying face down on the floor,
[17:51] unconscious and badly injured. Paramedics were called
[17:55] immediately, but it was too late.
[17:58] Stubbs soon succumbed to her injuries, and the coroner
[18:01] confirmed the cause was strangulation.
[18:05] A brutal slaying in a quiet college town like Conway was far
[18:08] from ordinary news, and the violent death of a local woman
[18:12] in a motel room sent shock waves through the community.
[18:16] It also marked the start of a tragic case that would
[18:19] ultimately end with the perpetrator facing the ultimate
[18:22] consequences for his actions. Susan Stubbs was a 41 year old
[18:28] Conway woman and the mother of three children who appeared to
[18:31] be living a normal life. Yet behind closed doors,
[18:36] Stubbs's relationship with her boyfriend, 57 year old Scotty
[18:40] Ray Gardner, was marred by extreme fear.
[18:45] Gardner was an ex convict who had spent over 2 decades in
[18:48] prison before meeting Stubbs, and his violent past, which I'll
[18:53] get to shortly, was beyond disturbing.
[18:57] At one point, Stubbs even sought A protective order against
[19:00] Gardner after a frightening incident where he threatened her
[19:03] life. However, she ultimately withdrew
[19:07] that request and went back to him.
[19:11] This fateful decision left her trapped in a cycle that would
[19:14] only escalate over time. In early March 2016, Stubbs and
[19:21] Gardner returned from a Sunday church service and began arguing
[19:25] in their motel room. According to his account, when
[19:30] Stubbs pushed him during the argument, he snapped, throwing
[19:33] her onto the bed and attempted to choke her.
[19:37] Also, I have to emphasize here that this is according to what
[19:40] he claims happened, and I'm not about to take this guy at his
[19:44] word. Stubbs allegedly fought back,
[19:47] which only enraged Gardner Moore.
[19:50] He grabbed a nearby curling iron, yanked out its electrical
[19:54] cord and wrapped the cord around her neck.
[19:58] He claims he didn't intend to end her life, but he continued
[20:01] to do this for several minutes, by his own account, until he
[20:05] realized she went limp. He then fled the room, leaving
[20:09] his girlfriend dying on the floor.
[20:12] It was hours later when a motel employee finally discovered
[20:15] Susan and called authorities. Instead of seeking help for
[20:21] Stubs, Gardner chose to flee and even indulged himself after the
[20:25] crime. Investigators later learned that
[20:29] after slaying Stubs, Gardner gathered up some of her
[20:32] valuables and left Conway in her car.
[20:35] That very night, he traveled to a casino in Oklahoma as if
[20:39] nothing had happened. Gardner brazenly gambled with
[20:43] money stolen from his slain girlfriend and even sold some of
[20:46] her possessions to continue his degenerate spree.
[20:50] He didn't get to enjoy his freedom for long.
[20:53] Gardner returned to Arkansas the next morning and police swiftly
[20:58] tracked him down. He was arrested within days of
[21:01] Stubbs death and originally held on a second degree charge.
[21:06] Within a few weeks, however, prosecutors upgraded the charge
[21:10] to a capital offense, indicating they would seek the harshest
[21:13] punishment. Once in custody, Gardner soon
[21:19] confessed to everything. The details he revealed were
[21:22] chilling. Also here I must once again toss
[21:26] out that criminals are generally stupid because what happened
[21:29] next would be comedic if it wasn't so tragic.
[21:33] In a recorded phone call from jail to his ex-wife, Gardner
[21:37] reminded her that he had predicted he would likely end up
[21:40] slaying Susan. In a letter to that same
[21:43] ex-wife, he wrote that his girlfriend had essentially
[21:47] gotten what he felt she deserved, showing absolutely no
[21:52] remorse for taking her life. The portrait that emerged was of
[21:56] a man with a long history of brutality who felt no guilt
[22:00] about what he had done to Stubbs.
[22:04] His chilling, brazen statements would be used against him to
[22:07] prove that the only solution was to put this Mad Dog down, taken
[22:12] out back behind the barn, Old Yeller style.
[22:16] Scotty Gardner's day in court came in August 2018 and justice
[22:21] was delivered swiftly. The capital trial lasted just
[22:25] two days, and the jury needed only 12 minutes to unanimously
[22:29] find him guilty. During the penalty phase,
[22:34] prosecutors argued that Gardner's actions were heinous
[22:37] enough to warrant the ultimate punishment.
[22:40] A Faulkner County prosecutor emphasized how Gardner had
[22:43] strangled Stubbs in cold blood for minutes using a curling iron
[22:47] cord. His rage, the prosecution
[22:50] explained, was fueled by Stubbs's attempt to seek
[22:54] protection from him, and he was furious that she had gone to
[22:58] authorities. He was on probation at the time,
[23:02] and if a court accepted that he was menacing her, he would be
[23:05] right back in the big house. To drive the point home, the
[23:09] prosecutor presented dramatic testimony from Gardner's ex-wife
[23:13] during sentencing. The ex-wife showed the jury
[23:16] bullet fragment still embedded in her hand from when Gardner
[23:20] shot her seven times in 1990 while she was six months
[23:24] pregnant. This shocking glimpse into
[23:27] Gardner's past violence underscored the threat he posed.
[23:32] In the end, the jurors agreed that Gardner deserved no mercy
[23:37] and found that it was time to end his reign of terror.
[23:41] Also, call me crazy or unsympathetic, but I think
[23:45] shooting a pregnant woman should probably be an automatic life
[23:47] sentence anyway. I seriously have to question how
[23:51] someone who had already committed this level of violence
[23:53] was ever out roaming the streets to begin with.
[23:56] This was sadly, just about the most predictable tragedy to ever
[24:00] occur. For Susan's family, the verdict
[24:04] was a welcome relief and a measure of justice.
[24:07] They had waited over 2 long years for the man responsible to
[24:11] be held accountable, and hearing the word guilty in the courtroom
[24:16] brought them some comfort. Still, no verdict could truly
[24:21] fill the void left by Susan's absence.
[24:24] Her loved ones continued to grapple with the loss of a
[24:27] mother, daughter and sister. Victoria Smith, Susan's
[24:34] daughter, has tried to turn her family's tragedy into a
[24:37] cautionary message for others. She urged anyone in a
[24:41] relationship like this to get out and seek help at the first
[24:45] sign of danger and warned against engaging in
[24:48] relationships with individuals with this sort of history.
[24:53] As for Gardner, he remains behind bars awaiting his fate
[24:56] and has failed in all his preliminary appeals.

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