EP. 54 PENNSYLVANIA - Tortured To Death: The Horrific Murder of Jennifer Daugherty
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In this podcast, we often talk about the worst people in society. People who will take advantage of anyone just to get what they want. We also talk about unthinkable crimes like violence, rape, torture, and of course, murder. And an unfortunate fact about these types of crimes is that a lot of the time, they are committed by people the victims are close to. People that they love and trust.

It's a statistical fact that most murder victims know their killer. And in today's story, we are going to tell you about one of these cases. A case that involves all of the unthinkable crimes we just mentioned. In February of 2010,

a woman named Jennifer Lee Dougherty eagerly stepped onto a bus in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Jennifer hadn't had the easiest time making friends throughout her life, but recently she had finally found a group of people that accepted her, a group that made her feel loved and welcomed.

something that everyone longs for in life. Jennifer met these friends at a community center in town, and over the past few months, they were all inseparable. And on this day, they had invited her to a sleepover in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. So with each passing mile sitting on that bus, Jennifer grew more and more excited about the night ahead with her best friends.

But something that she could have never planned for was that this group of people were not her friends. Shortly after arriving in Greensburg, Jennifer would endure 33 hours of beatings, torture, and rape from the people she cared about the most. This is the story of Jennifer Lee Dougherty and the Greensburg Six. I'm Courtney Shannon, and you're listening to Murder in America.

Jennifer Lee Dougherty was born on November 8th, 1979. According to mother Denise Murphy, she had always been a very friendly, loving, and giving person. When she was younger, Jennifer had big dreams of what she wanted to be when she grew up. And like most children, her desired occupation changed throughout the years. She wanted to be a writer, a chef, and even a mechanic. She spent one summer working with her uncle in an auto shop, and she loved it. It was said that Jennifer wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

In fact, coming home in oil and grime gave her that beaming feeling of accomplishment. Jennifer also loved singing and would often break out in a dance when she walked down the street. And as she grew, she came to love college football and scary movies. People described her as the type of person that didn't have a mean bone in her body. Her sister, Joy Burkholder, put it best when she said, "She trusted anybody. If you met her today, she was your friend for her life. And if you had a friend, they would be her friend as well."

But Jennifer's life was far from easy. Since she was little, her family knew she was different from other people her age. And that was because she had a mental disability. She never received an actual diagnosis, but she had an IQ of 71. So she spent her school years in special education classes because she wasn't as mentally developed as the other kids her age.

And although Jennifer's disability undoubtedly made her life more difficult, she always tried to make the best out of her situation. And one thing that she always longed for was friends. Because of her disability, it was hard for her to connect with people her age. And when she did try to make friends, she was often met with relentless bullying.

By 2008, when Jennifer was 28 years old, she had the mental capacity of a 14-year-old. And because of this, she still lived with her mother, Denise, and her stepfather, Bobby. But her parents could tell that Jennifer was longing for some independence. She was getting older, and she wasn't a little girl anymore. So they decided to enroll her in a community center in nearby Greensburg. And

And from what they could tell, this place was great for Jennifer. It was filled with people who were in her exact situation. People that didn't always fit in with society. The people here understood her and they made her feel less alone.

The center also had programs that helped the mentally disabled navigate the process of living independently. And this was a big step for Jennifer. She was finally growing up and becoming an adult. And it was here, in that community center, where she finally met a friend.

Her name was Angela Maranucci. Now, Angela was only 15 years old at the time, but the 13-year age difference between the friends didn't really matter because Jennifer's mental capacity was around the same age, and the two really hit it off. After spending some time together in the center, Jennifer and Angela were inseparable. Finally, for the first time in Jennifer's life, she had a friend and...

something she had always wanted. The community center where Jennifer met Angela wasn't exclusively for the mentally disabled. It was also for troubled teens, people with emotional disorders, and behavioral issues. And that's exactly how Angela ended up there. According to her mother, Angela was hit by a truck earlier that year, and ever since, her behavior had changed.

She was kicked out of school for starting fights, kicked out of the local library in town, and she just started acting out more. So her parents decided to enroll her in the community center to help with her behavior. And it seemed like her friendship with Jennifer, along with the help she was getting from the center, was really starting to help Angela.

And over the next year, she and Jennifer spent the majority of their free time together. They had sleepovers, dance parties, they gossiped about boys, and for the first time in her life, Jennifer finally got to experience what a true friendship was like. But Angela wouldn't be the only friend that Jennifer would make at the community center. Another person that came into her life was a 23-year-old man named Ricky Smearns. Ricky actually had a court order to attend the center's anger management classes after he was arrested for assault and burglary.

And Ricky was not the best character. He thought of himself as a hotshot and he loved attention from women. So he decided to befriend Angela and Jennifer. Both of the girls thought Ricky was handsome and charming. He had a way of making them both feel beautiful, something that neither of them had really experienced before. And unbeknownst to Jennifer and Angela, Ricky was playing them both. He would text Angela and tell her that he liked her and then turn around and do the same thing to Jennifer. And although he made it obvious that he was more interested in Angela,

he would continue to text and call Jennifer, leading her on. - And I'm sure Jennifer was excited to have a guy give her attention. Like we mentioned, she had a hard time making friends, so male attention was definitely something she wasn't used to. And Ricky took advantage of this. He would often hang out with Angela and Jennifer, and although he and Angela were getting more serious,

he would still flirt with Jennifer constantly, sometimes right in front of Angela just to make her jealous. And at this point, the three of them hung out all the time, mostly at Ricky's apartment.

Ricky lived there with his two roommates, 27-year-old Peggy Miller and her boyfriend, 36-year-old Robert Masters. And these two also attended the community center. They all became one big happy friend group that spent all of their time together. Each of them met at the community center because they were different from the rest of the world. They were all kind of outcasts in society who found comfort amongst each other.

and Jennifer really loved this friend group. Now, at this point, Ricky and Angela were in a full-on relationship, but this didn't stop his advances towards Jennifer. He would still call her at night and confess his love to her despite him dating her best friend. And Jennifer was smitten. She couldn't help her feelings towards Ricky, and her life was really starting to fall into place.

Not only did she have a friend group and a secret love interest, but she was also making moves to finally get a place of her own.

At the end of 2009, Jennifer spent 60 days in the Greensburg Public Center so she could qualify for lower rental rates through low-income housing programs. And although Jennifer was so excited about this, her parents were a little nervous. Sending Jennifer out into the world all on her own was difficult for them. They wanted her to have freedom, but they were also scared that she would run into trouble.

You see, anyone that knew Jennifer knew that she was overly trustworthy and a bit naive. All it took was meeting a person once, and Jennifer cared for and trusted that person completely. Because of this, her parents really struggled with balancing the support of her independence and keeping her safe.

But what could they do? Jennifer was now in her 30s, and they knew they needed to support her choice to move out. After she spent the 60 days at the center, Jennifer moved back in with her parents, a stay that was only supposed to last a few weeks,

before Jennifer got a place of her own. She and her mom spent this time going to different stores, buying everything she would need for her new apartment. And she was so excited for that day to come. And when Jennifer wasn't at home with her parents, she was at Ricky's apartment with her friend group. But it was during this time when Ricky really started to make moves on Jennifer. And in February of 2010, he invited her over and the two would end up having sex.

Now, at this point, Angela had been telling Jennifer for months to stay away from Ricky, but she was in love. And when Angela found out that they had had sex, she was angry. Like any teenager in love, Angela was possessive of Ricky, and she felt like he was slipping through her fingers.

Her anxiety got even worse when she realized that Jennifer was about to be living on her own in an apartment by herself with no supervision. So Angela started creating this idea in her mind that the only reason Jennifer was getting an apartment was so she could hang out with Ricky.

So, she started to create a plan on how to get rid of the threat. Soon after, Jennifer would receive a text message from Ricky telling her to come over for a few days because he wanted to talk to her about getting married. Jennifer was obviously so excited to receive this text from the man that she loved that she immediately called her parents to ask for their permission. Now, she didn't tell them that she would be staying with Ricky. Instead,

She told them it was a sleepover with Peggy, Ricky's roommate, and her parents were a little hesitant to let her go, but they ultimately told her that she could. After all, she was 30 years old, and they were excited that she was finally making friends, but they reminded Jennifer that she had a doctor's appointment the following day, so she had to be back home before her appointment. And with that, Jennifer excitedly grabbed a pen and paper and left her mom a note on the counter that read, Mom.

Mom, I hope you have a good day at work and I love you very much. Love, Jennifer. These would be Jennifer's last words to her mother. So my mom is a vegetarian, so is my sister, but I am not. I love meat and I love good cuts of meat. But sometimes meal prepping can be difficult and cooking meats can be really hard. But ButcherBox makes it very easy. ButcherBox is a subscription service that takes the guesswork out of finding high quality meats.

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On February 8th, 2010, Jennifer's stepfather Bobby drove her to the bus station in Mount Pleasant. Before getting out of the car, she kissed him on the cheek and told him, "I love you, Pa. Tell Mom I love her and I'll see you Tuesday afternoon." Jennifer was used to taking the bus by herself at this point. It was something she had started doing more since her parents gave her independence.

But as Bobby watched Jennifer walk out of view, he had no idea that this would be the last time he would ever see her. After this, Jennifer would get on the bus and make the ride over to Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Once she arrived, Angela, Ricky, and his two roommates, Peggy and Robert,

met her at the bus station. And unbeknownst to Jennifer, two other people were there as well: 20-year-old Amber Mettinger and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Melvin Knight. The couple was pregnant at the time and staying in a nearby hotel, so Ricky told them that they could tag along. But Amber and Melvin weren't strangers. In fact, Ricky and Melvin had actually known each other for a while now,

because they had previously met while they were both serving time in jail. And Jennifer actually knew Amber from the community center. They had met before in programs that specialized in supporting those with developmental disabilities.

Jennifer and Amber weren't close, but like we mentioned, Jennifer was overly trusting. And when she saw Amber at the bus station, she decided to confide in her. Me and Ricky are going to get married, Jennifer told Amber. But little did she know, Angela had heard every word.

Amber would later say she could immediately sense the tension between Jennifer and Angela after this. And this was very shocking to Amber, because not only was Ricky involved with both Jennifer and Angela, but he was also apparently married with two children at the time. There isn't much information regarding the status of Ricky's marriage, but it was obvious he wasn't an honest man. Now, for unknown reasons, the group kind of splits up after this. Angela decides to go back to the hotel with Amber and Melvin.

and while she's here, her anger towards Jennifer starts to reach a boiling point. She even calls Ricky, who's back at his apartment, and says, "You better not be with that bitch." And Ricky tried to calm her down a bit, saying, "Angela, I don't like Jennifer. You have nothing to worry about." After this phone call, Angela goes back home, and Amber and Melvin make their way over to Ricky's apartment. So, for now, everyone is there besides Angela.

And in Jennifer's mind, this is the perfect time to talk to Ricky. He wanted to talk about getting married. Angela isn't around. And so, according to Melvin, Jennifer starts to make advances towards Ricky. But out of nowhere, Ricky starts to become angry with her, telling her that he isn't interested. And at this point, Jennifer is confused. Why would he text me saying he wants to get married if he doesn't actually want to? But little did Jennifer know that it wasn't Ricky who sent that text to her. It was actually Angela.

on Ricky's phone. Over the last few weeks, Angela had been eavesdropping on Ricky and Jennifer's phone calls, and in her mind, this act couldn't go unpunished.

Angela's jealousy fueled by her underlying anger issues created a scenario in her head where there was only room in this world for one of them, and Jennifer had to go. Jennifer ended up staying the night at Ricky's apartment that night, and from everything we could find, things were going smoothly at first. She really had no idea that anything was wrong, other than Ricky acting a little distant. The next day, February 9th,

Jennifer was supposed to head to her doctor's appointment and then take the bus back home to Mount Pleasant. But instead, she decided to skip the appointment and stay at Ricky's. But according to the group, everyone really wanted Jennifer to go home. And the fact that she was staying was really irritating everyone there. But

It's likely that Jennifer didn't realize she was overstaying her welcome. Her mother said that Jennifer had a hard time reading social cues, and she didn't always make the best judgment calls. So thinking everything was fine, Jennifer decided to hop in the shower at Ricky's apartment.

But while she does so, Ricky calls Angela and tells her about how Jennifer tried to come on to him. And this sends Angela over the edge. And she tells Ricky, no one is having sex with my man. And she immediately dropped what she was doing and headed over to Ricky's apartment. When she arrived, she told the group, I want that bitch dead. And it was here where they came to her.

up with the torturous plan. Ricky, Angela, Melvin, Amber, Peggy, and Robert had transformed from your average group of friends into what would later be known as the Greenberg Six. They were operating like a pack of wolves and Jennifer was their prey.

Once she emerged from the shower, the group started taking things from Jennifer's purse. They stole $8 in cash, gift cards, and her cell phone, all while Jennifer stood there confused at what was happening. The group then started pouring mouthwash and toothpaste into her purse and on her spare clothes. Once they were finished, they all took turns

turns beating Jennifer with soda bottles. Hit after hit, Jennifer still couldn't figure out why her friends were doing this.

and she pleaded with them to stop. But Melvin kept going while insulting Jennifer. And she didn't really know Melvin, so during the beating, she called him an asshole and this made him angry. So much so that he knocked her into a wall and then squeezed his hands around her throat until she fell to the floor.

Jennifer was now sobbing in a panic, desperately trying to get answers. What did I do? Why are you doing this? And she continuously begged them to leave her alone and to let her go home to her family. But it soon became clear that the Greensburg Six had just gotten started on this torturous night.

Now, Angela was ready to take her revenge on Jennifer. While she was confused and crying, Angela and Amber dragged Jennifer into the bathroom and slammed her up against a metal towel rack. They then start to beat her in the head and chest while screaming at her for stealing Ricky.

and Amber even starts to chime in, accusing Jennifer of wanting her boyfriend Melvin. Throughout all of this, Jennifer is crying and begging for her friends to stop the torture, but they don't. Instead, Angela grabs Jennifer by the hair and repeatedly beats her head into the metal towel rack, splitting her scalp. All Jennifer could do was repeatedly ask them, "What did I do? I didn't do anything." She just couldn't make sense of why the people she considered friends were attacking her in this bathroom.

With Jennifer still crumpled on the floor and crying, Melvin entered the bathroom and dragged her back into the living room. And it was here when the group made a trip to the kitchen. When they returned back to Jennifer, they started attacking her again. This time by pouring water, spices, and oatmeal onto her head. Because she had a large laceration in her scalp, the spices burned and were getting into her eyes. The group was doing anything they can do to dehumanize Jennifer.

It just wasn't enough to physically torture her. They wanted to humiliate her. They started telling Jennifer how disgusting she was and teasing her for smelling bad. Ricky then forced Jennifer to take another shower. It was around this time when neighbors started to grow concerned about the screaming happening next door. So they called the police and it was only

Hi, we got a word of a disturbance coming from your apartment.

But Ricky was known for his way with words. He had dealt with cops before and he knew exactly what to say to get them to leave. And his charm ended up convincing the cops that nothing was wrong. And they left the apartment that day without ever stepping inside. If they would have, I'm sure they would have seen the carnage on the floor. And I'm sure that Jennifer sat up in the attic

praying that they would come in and save her but that would never happen instead the group pulled her down from the attic and continued their torture they started by stripping her clothes and throwing them out of the window the group then grabbed knives and scissors and began viciously cutting off all of jennifer's hair they cut it off in chunks down to the scalp cutting skin as they went

And when they were finished, they made Jennifer get down on her hands and knees while naked and clean up her own hair. And in one of the most disturbing twist, Melvin then grabs a sock, shoves it into Jennifer's mouth, and violently rapes her.

in a nearby bedroom. At this point, it's late in the day and Jennifer's torture has been going on for hours. But Angela needed to leave the apartment to go grab her medication from her house. Angela was prescribed Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication often used to treat certain mental and mood disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And Angela needed this medication.

So she, Ricky, Amber, and Melvin all left to go grab it while Peggy and Robert stayed at the apartment with Jennifer. Ricky instructed the two to keep an eye on her and to not let her leave under any circumstances. Robert would later say that he felt bad for Jennifer. He allegedly went outside to retrieve the clothes that Melvin had thrown out the window, but he didn't feel bad enough to call for help or allow Jennifer to leave. And when she did try to escape the apartment, Peggy called to alert the group.

When Ricky, Angela, Amber, and Melvin returned to the apartment, they began to savagely beat Jennifer again. They hit her with their fists and they smacked her with a vacuum hose. And when the six were satisfied with the beating, they took some of Angela's medication and forced it down Jennifer's throat, a move which made Jennifer dizzy and drowsy. They knew she was too drugged up and too weak to make an escape, so the group then left her on the living room floor and went to bed.

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The morning of February 10th picked up right where the previous night left off. Angela, Ricky, and Melvin left to cash a check while the rest of the group stayed to keep an eye on Jennifer. When they returned a short while later, Angela attacked Jennifer again. She shoved her onto the floor, straddled her, and punched her repeatedly in the face. In an attempt to defend herself, Jennifer kneed Angela in the stomach and

And this set Angela off. She got up, ran over to Ricky, and told them that Jennifer had just tried to kill their baby. But there was no baby. Amber was the only pregnant woman in the group. But Angela knew that by saying this, she could rile up the group even more. She even went as far as to say that Jennifer was also pregnant with Ricky's baby, which again was untrue.

But surprisingly, the group believed her. Angela was creating this narrative that both women were pregnant with Ricky's child and that Jennifer had just tried to kill Angela's baby by kneeing her in the stomach. Angela knew that Ricky and Jennifer had had sex and she used that knowledge against Jennifer to get the others to turn on her even more.

The group then took turns kicking Jennifer in the stomach while Ricky yelled in her face, if you want to kill my kid, why should I let you live? And this is when the first family meeting would take place.

The Greensburg Six would call four different family meetings during the 33 hours of torture. The first of these meetings would be called by Ricky. After hearing that Jennifer may have been pregnant with his child, he was having second thoughts on beating and torturing her, and he wanted the group's opinion on what he should do. He even asked them, who do you think would be a better mom, Jennifer or Angela? And this sent Angela into a total rage. She told Ricky that he needed to make a choice, her or his.

She or Jennifer. And if he chose her, then Jennifer needed to go. And with that, Ricky made his decision. But first, they held a second meeting to discuss Jennifer's punishment. Allegedly, while some of the group left that morning, Jennifer grabbed a soda out of the fridge. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in over a day, and she was thirsty. But this didn't fly with the group, and they decided that if Jennifer was going to drink anything, it was going to be a drink.

that they made her. - To Jennifer's horror, the group then brought her back into the bathroom and handed her a cup of Angela's urine. Jennifer didn't want to drink it, so they hit her in the head with a metal towel rack until she did.

The group sat around laughing as Jennifer forced down the cup of urine, but they weren't finished just yet. They then handed her another concoction. This drink contained Amber's feces, Angela's urine, kitchen spices like parsley and garlic, and Amber's Zoloft medication. Again, Jennifer is beaten with the towel rack until she drank the entire cup.

At this point, Jennifer is profusely throwing up, crying, and begging the group to just let her go home. But instead, a third drink was given to Jennifer. And this one, this one contained Clorox detergent, water, cologne, cooking oil, and cigarette ash. Still crying, Jennifer drank the contents of the cup.

And according to Melvin, Jennifer was begging Ricky to let her go, saying, quote, Ricky, I won't. I promise I won't tell anyone. But Ricky didn't show her any mercy. Instead, he allegedly asked her, do you want to die? When Jennifer responded that she didn't, he said, then why are you letting us do this to you? Heartbreakingly, the only response Jennifer could muster was, I don't know.

The violent energy in the apartment was coming to a head. The Greensburg Six had spent more than 30 hours at this point torturing and beating a woman who didn't understand why this was all happening. The pack mentality was strong and they were feeding off each other's escalation.

And they didn't feel like feeding Jennifer these horrible drinks was humiliating enough. So Melvin and Ricky grabbed some Christmas lights to wrap them around Jennifer's body. Angela wanted to plug the lights in so Jennifer would, quote, end quote.

Angela, Ricky, and Melvin then used the lights to tie Jennifer up, and then they all took turns painting Jennifer's face with Peggy's nail polish. Amber would later say in an effort to humiliate her further, the group would call Jennifer the "R-word" as they painted on her face and defiled her. And it was soon after this when the third family meeting commenced. It was in this meeting where Ricky, Angela, Melvin, Amber, Peggy, and Robert would unanimously vote to kill Jennifer.

They didn't want to tell her family what they had done, and they felt like killing her was their only way out. And just to show how stupid this group was, they decided to try and make Jennifer's death look like a suicide. As if the massive beating and nail polish all over her face, along with all of the other injuries, wouldn't raise any suspicion. And in an attempt to make Jennifer's murder look like a suicide, Ricky forced her to write a suicide note. They handed her a pen and paper and made Jennifer write, quote,

End quote.

There's some debate on whether or not the main aggressor was Ricky or Melvin. Ricky later testified that he loved Jennifer and that Melvin kept pressuring him to kill her. But Melvin disagreed and said that Ricky was scary when he was mad and he felt like he had to kill Jennifer for his own safety. But there is no debate, however, on how Jennifer's murder was committed. After the group agreed to kill Jennifer, Ricky handed Melvin a steak knife

and said, "You know what to do." Melvin and Amber then dragged Jennifer into the bathroom while still tied up and covered in nail polish. Melvin then turned off the lights, leaned over, shoved his sock in Jennifer's mouth to quiet her screams, and according to Amber, he asked Jennifer, "Are you ready to die?" Melvin then stabbed Jennifer in the chest multiple times before stabbing her in the neck.

But Jennifer was a fighter, and she kept holding on despite the multiple stab wounds. Robert later testified that the group heard Jennifer make a noise from the bathroom, to which Melvin commented, Ain't that bitch dead yet? The six of them began to panic. Why hadn't she died?

And Angela was quoted as telling them to just kill her already because she wanted her out of there. And it was here when Ricky took the knife from Melvin, walked over to Jennifer, and slashed both of her wrists. And to make sure she was dead, Melvin and Ricky grabbed onto the Christmas lights that were wrapped around her neck, and they pulled on either side. And soon it was clear that Jennifer was dead. Dead.

The fourth and final family meeting was then held to determine what to do with Jennifer's body. First, Angela proposed they burn the body in front of a church. Another idea was to leave Jennifer's body on some train tracks, and they even contemplated about leaving her in the trunk of a car. Finally, the group settled on putting Jennifer's body in a garbage can. It was here in the early hours of February 11th when they wrapped her body in a plastic bag.

while she was still tied up with Christmas lights. They then tied her ankles with a festive garland and threw her into a garbage can headfirst, with a fake suicide note still in her pocket. But they can't leave her body in the trash at their apartment. That's just too risky. So Ricky and Melvin dragged the trash can carrying Jennifer's body to the Greensburg Salem Middle School nearby. And instead of just leaving the can, the two decide to shove it as far as they can under a truck parked in the school parking lot.

This truck had been left in the lot overnight because it had been snowing on and off over the past few days. The men returned to Ricky's apartment after this, and the Greensburg Six attempt to clean up any signs of blood or evidence. And then, like nothing ever happened, all of them went back to sleep.

At around 6:30 a.m., a few hours after Ricky and Melvin left the middle school parking lot, the truck owner, Daniel Grant, went to the middle school to retrieve his vehicle, but he noticed the trash can pushed underneath. Annoyed at this inconvenience, Daniel crouches down and pulls on the can, but it's heavy, a lot heavier than your average trash can.

and he also noticed that there was a strange smell emanating from the can. He later told jurors, I knew it was a person. Daniel quickly called the police and when they arrived, they confirmed that there was in fact a body inside. Jennifer's body. Investigators were disturbed at what they found. A young

woman beaten, wrapped in Christmas lights, and discarded like trash. Her body was sent to forensic pathologist still in the trash can. They didn't want to lose any evidence. And when they took Jennifer out, she was covered with a plastic bag.

She had dried blood all over her body and she still had those Christmas lights wrapped around her body. It was a disturbing sight, but the autopsy would prove to be even more disturbing. It was revealed that Jennifer had seven cuts to the back of her head, four cuts to her neck,

and seven stab wounds to her chest. At least one of those punctured her heart and lung. They would also note multiple abrasions, contusions, and they found a mixture of several prescription drugs in her system.

The official cause of death was a stab wound to her chest. In her autopsy, it was concluded that Jennifer was conscious for all of the abuse and that it probably took her 4-6 minutes to finally bleed to death. 4-6 minutes of Jennifer wondering what she did to deserve this. 4-6 minutes of Jennifer wondering why her best friends would turn on her like this.

the last day of her life was spent in agony and confusion at the hands of the people she loved the most.

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As for Jennifer's parents, they were beginning to grow concerned as they hadn't heard from Jennifer in several days. She was supposed to come home after her doctor's appointment, but she never did. Her mom, Denise, heard the news about a body found in Greensburg and she immediately called Jennifer's phone, but it rang and rang with no answer.

And to her surprise, Jennifer's voicemail had changed. Instead of hearing her daughter's voice, the voicemail said, "You've reached Melvin, Amber, and Jules." Jules was allegedly the name of Melvin and Amber's unborn child. But as soon as Denise heard this, she knew something was terribly wrong. So she called the police and told them that her daughter hadn't come home after a sleepover in Greensburg.

And luckily, before Jennifer had left, she wrote down Peggy's address for her mom just in case of an emergency. So Denise was able to give the police the address of Jennifer's last whereabouts. Police also received a call from a woman named Rebecca Clark, who told police that she and her father had seen two men dragging a garbage can across North Main Street while her father was taking her to work earlier that morning. Something was suspicious about what we saw. Yes. Why? Um, it's just...

THE BODY WAS IN A GARBAGE CAN. IT WAS A LITTLE ODD. IT WASN'T UNTIL THEY SAW THE NEWS LATER THAT DAY ABOUT A BODY IN A GARBAGE CAN THAT A CHILL WENT UP THEIR SPINES. SHE TOLD ME ABOUT IT THAT DAY AND I CAME TO THE POLICE STATION HERE AND STARTED TELLING THE STORY. I FELT SICK. I FELT HORRIBLE.

And with all the information gathered, police now knew exactly where to go to find their perpetrators. And within just hours of the police discovering Jennifer's dead body, Angela, Ricky, Melvin, Amber, Peggy, and Robert were all arrested in connection to the murder of Jennifer Lee Dougherty.

Now, breaking news at this hour. Six people arrested in connection with the brutal torture and murder of a woman whose body was found stuffed in a garbage can at Greensburg-Salem Middle School. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Sally Wiggin. And I'm Mike Clark. We have team coverage. Team 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons looking into the suspect's backgrounds. Ashley Hardway with more on the victim. But up first, Westmoreland Bureau Chief Jennifer Mealy with some new and chilling details. Jen? Mail. Mail.

Well, that's right, Mike. We broke this story first on thepittsburghchannel.com. Right now, we're live here at Greensburg Police Headquarters, and we've just obtained a copy of a police affidavit that reveals disturbing details about what some investigators are calling a cult-like killing.

It was here along Main Street in Greensburg, in the parking lot of Greensburg-Salem Middle School, that the body of a young woman was found, wrapped in a garbage bag, stuffed in a trash can, and shoved underneath a parked truck Thursday morning. In police affidavits, investigators wrote that

calls from family members led them to identify the woman as Jennifer Dougherty of Greensburg. Her family told police they hadn't seen or heard from her since they dropped her off at a bus station in Mount Pleasant on Monday. They pointed police in the direction of a friend's apartment in the 400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg. That's when police started to collect evidence and interviews of what happened inside the apartment. I was laying on my love seat in the living room. It was right over my love seat.

And I heard all this. Usually it's jumping, you know, stomping, but this was slamming, barney slamming.

The paperwork says she may have been tortured for up to 36 hours. Her hair was cut and her face painted with nail polish. She was stabbed in the chest, side and neck, beaten with a towel rack, vacuum cleaner hose and a crutch. She was made to eat and drink vegetable oil, detergent, urine and medication and then made to write out a contrived suicide note that was dictated to her.

Police charged Melvin Knight, Ricky Smearns, Peggy Miller and Amber Mettinger with criminal homicide. They also charged Angela Maranucci and Robert Masters with criminal conspiracy. During Angela's interrogation, she admitted to police that she and Jennifer had argued over Ricky and she even admitted that she had been

admitted to hitting Jennifer that day, but she said that the two had made up and she wasn't even mad at her anymore. She told the police that the real people that were angry with Jennifer were the rest of the group.

She said that they were mad that Jennifer interfered on her relationship with Ricky and that they were responsible for tying her up and killing her. But the police didn't buy this. Angela was charged with first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

During Ricky and Melvin's interrogation, they both tried to point the finger at each other. Each claimed that they were threatened by the other to kill Jennifer and that they were scared for their own safety. Ricky told police that he loved Jennifer and he never wanted to hurt her and that he definitely wasn't the one to kill her. That was Melvin.

Ricky said that he was only responsible for the cuts to her wrist and none of the stab wounds around her chest or neck. So what did you do? Chest or wrist? Rick, come on. I swear. Tell us the truth. I did. Did you stab her in the chest also? No. Rick? I didn't. Rick? I didn't.

Amber ended up pleading guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping against her counsel's advice, and she was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison. Not only did she plead guilty, but Amber asked to testify against the rest of the group. She said she just wanted to, quote, tell the jury and the family the truth of what happened. I am sorry. Sorry for what?

She went on to describe to the jury the horrific several days that Jennifer had endured before her death and added that Jennifer was, quote, "very loving. She'd talk to anybody. She just wanted to be cared for and loved. She trusted everybody that was around her that they were her friends."

End quote. Amber testified against Angela and was able to paint a picture to the jury of how she was one of the masterminds of the murder. Another witness who testified against Angela was a woman named Casey Bird, a woman that Angela had met in prison. Casey testified that Angela told her, quote, I'm the one that wanted Jen dead. End quote.

She told the jury Angela talked of kicking Jennifer in the stomach, the fake suicide note, and about how she was involved in deciding of how to dispose of Jennifer's corpse. Casey told the court that Angela admitted that she did it all because she was jealous of Jennifer. And with that, Angela Marinucci was found guilty of first-degree murder.

The death penalty was not on the table for her as she was only 17 years old at the time of the crime. Instead, after a postponed sentencing due to a lice outbreak, Angela was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Her appeals have been unsuccessful and her sentence stands to this day. As for Ricky, he was found guilty of second-degree murder, conspiracy, and kidnapping on February 14th, 2013, and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Ricky was deemed the leader of the so-called Greensburg Six.

He appealed this decision, with his lawyers questioning whether or not his upbringing and mental state would make him ineligible for the death penalty. His counsel told the court that Ricky was born to a drug-addicted mother who was a sex worker, and his father was a gang member in Philadelphia. When he was a toddler, he suffered from continuous physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his father and uncles.

It's been reported that his mother would sell him for sex to support her drug addiction. Ricky's lawyer testified that by the age of six, he had already tried beer, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. At eight years old, he was diagnosed with PTSD and had been through 103 therapy sessions by the age of

of 10. His lawyer told the courts that Ricky had up to seven different personalities, and in total, he was diagnosed with 15 different psychiatric issues. When Ricky was 10, he was adopted by a couple who saw him on TV when a story ran about him needing a good home. They knew due to his past, he would likely have a hard time adjusting.

And he did. His adoptive mother had high hopes that all would be well later on, and she said, "I thought love could conquer all."

But maybe it doesn't. In 1997, when Ricky was 11, he burglarized the home of a neighbor. Some of the stolen items included knives, guitars, coins, bullets, and cash, causing over $12,000 worth of damage. Ricky was also accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in that same year. She went on to testify that he held a needle to her throat and threatened to kill her.

His own mother obtained a protection order against Ricky in 2009 after she went to visit him and he threatened to kill her. She didn't see him again until he was on trial for Jennifer's murder. But Ricky's sob story about his past didn't help him in this case.

and the courts deemed him mentally competent and Ricky's appeals have been unsuccessful and he is currently on death row awaiting lethal injection. The other main aggressor in this story was Melvin Knight. He was charged with first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

and Melvin pled guilty, avoiding a trial. In an attempt to save Melvin from the death penalty, his attorney claimed that Melvin suffered from psychological learning problems. He stated that Melvin's father was a drug addict who spent much of Melvin's life in prison, and without a father figure, Melvin was left without proper guidance while growing up.

At the age of five, Melvin suffered a head injury when he fell out of a moving vehicle. His attorney tried to claim that this head injury caused Melvin to develop learning and social difficulties, that he was bullied for being slow and never quite fit in. But District Attorney John Peck didn't agree with Melvin's lawyer that his unfortunate childhood should grant him leniency in sentencing.

Peck was quoted as saying, "Some murders are worse than others, and this is one of them. And some defendants are worse than others, and Melvin Knight is one of those defendants." Melvin was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Like Ricky, Melvin's appeals have been unsuccessful and he currently sits on death row.

the Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a woman named Deborah Scott concluded, quote, following our thorough review of the record in this case, we conclude that appellant's sentence of death was not the product of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor, but rather was fully supported by the evidence that Knight and his co-defendants held the intellectually disabled victim against her will for several days, during which time they continuously subjected her to myriad forms of physical and emotional torture.

eventually stabbing her in the chest, slicing her throat, and strangling her." And lastly, Peggy Miller and Robert Masters both pled guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in a deal to drop first and second-degree murder charges. Peggy was sentenced to 35 to 74 years in prison, and Robert was sentenced to 30 to 70 years. They were the last two to be sentenced,

ending a four-year-long process of trials and sentencing for the Greensburg Six. While Jennifer's family was relieved it was all over, they were asked many questions about how it felt to have closure. Bobby Murphy, Jennifer's stepfather, said, "We won't have closure. We'll have justice for Jennifer. Closure will be if Jennifer could come back to the family and be with us." Jennifer Lee Dougherty wasn't dealt the easiest hand in life.

Since she was a little girl, she had trouble fitting in due to her disabilities. And one overwhelming quality that she had was that she loved everyone. If you gave her the time of day, she wanted to be your friend for life. She trusted people that didn't deserve to be trusted. And she befriended people that took advantage of her situation.

The Greensburg Six knew that Jennifer was defenseless and vulnerable, and they used that opportunity to torture and humiliate her in the most inhumane ways possible. And when they were finished, they disposed of her like trash. Jennifer's life was starting to look up. She was finally getting that independence that she always wanted.

But all of that was taken away from her on February 11th, 2010. In just a few days, it'll be the 12th anniversary of her senseless murder. Since then, the Greensburg Six have been sitting in prison, paying for what they did. And Melvin and Ricky are anxiously awaiting for their day when they face the ultimate punishment for murdering Jennifer Lee Dougherty.

Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening to this week's Murder in America. It's pretty crazy because Courtney and I are getting married next week. So this has been an extremely busy, extremely stressful time of our lives. We are working our hardest to get these episodes out to y'all. And I want to remind everybody that we're going.

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We're going to be going dark at the end of this month for a week or two. We're not going to be releasing episodes because we have the wedding and we have our honeymoon. So, yeah, I hope you all understand. But we love you guys all the same, no matter what. And I want to give a shout out to all of our new patrons this week. We have so many new patrons. James Stockham, Heidi Clevenstein, Alyssa, Nicole Ramirez, Claire Young, Samantha Barrera.

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Donna Buehler-Starbird, Rachel Levin, Becky Beagle, Stephanie Wilford, Emily, Lance Walker, and Michelle Blake. Holy crap. That is the most patrons I think I've ever read. If you guys want to become a patron, just head to patreon.com and search Murder in America. We post every episode ad-free on there. We interact with y'all and we love it.

We cannot thank you guys enough for making our dreams come true. Courtney is asleep right now, and I know that she would love to be on here to wish you guys so well. But we'll see you next week. Our wedding's next week. There's so much going on next week. But until then, keep asking that same old question. The dead don't talk, or do they? See everybody next week. And yeah, big week.