#546 - Stairway To Heaven - Newfane, Vermont
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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Small Town Murder Express. Yay and choo-choo! Oh, goodness. Yay, indeed, Jimmy. Yay, indeed. My name is James Petrigallo. I'm here with my co-host. I'm Jimmy Wissman. Thank you folks so much for joining us today, all aboard the murder train. Here we go. Pulling away from the station, we have a crazy episode for you today. Just, man, even the state chemist can't be trusted. Yeah.

It's wild. Just a trashy episode. Can't wait to get to it. Before we do that, quickly, shut up and give me murder.com is the site. Get all your merchandise, all your tickets for live shows. We are going to be in New York and Boston in December. Those are the only ones with tickets left. Tarrytown and Boston. Few tickets left for those. So if you want to go get them immediately. Yeah, let's go. They're going fast. So there's that. And then you want Patreon. Patreon.

Oh, yeah. Patreon.com slash Crime in Sports is where you get all the bonus material. And there is tons of it. Anybody $5 a month or above, a cup of coffee's worth of money. You get hundreds of back episodes of bonus stuff you've never heard. And then new ones every other week. One Crime in Sports, one Small Town Murder. This week what we got for Crime in Sports, we're going to talk about Marge Schott.

One of the worst owners in the history of sports. She owned the Reds, and she was just a horrible, horrible woman, and there's a lot of stories that are just hilarious about how bad she is. Then for small-town murder, we're going to switch up a little bit. We're going to do one thing, but we're going to delay that for a while. And instead, we're going to talk about the Sarah Boone murder case. Yeah.

The court case, the trial, because I watched the entire thing and I can't wait to talk about it. That's the suitcase killer. And now she is convicted so we can say she is officially the suitcase killer. So there's that. That'll be for that. That's patreon.com slash crime and sports. And you get a shout out at the end of the regular show as well.

We'll mispronounce your name to show you respect. That's how we do it. So that said, I think it's time to get right into this here. I think it's time, everybody, to sit back. What do you say? Let's all clear the lungs, people, and let's all shout. Shut up and give me murder. Let's do this, everybody. Let's go on a trip, shall we? I think we shall. We're going to Vermont.

Okay. Okay. No one has any. They're like, syrup? Okay. That's all you can think of. Sure. Super Troopers? What else? It's gorgeous is what it is. Oh, it's beautiful. Trees and lakes and mountains. It's gorgeous. This is Newfane, Vermont. I think that's how you pronounce it. N-E-W-F-A-N-E. Newfany? I mean, it could be Newfanny or whatever, but I think it's Newfane. This is in southern central Vermont. Okay.

It's about an hour and 50 minutes to Albany, New York. That's the closest major town. Then about three hours to Boston, the other direction. And then about two hours and 20 minutes to Richmond, Vermont. Our last Vermont episode. It's been a long time. Episode 463 was our last Vermont episode.

A psychosexually disturbed pig man was that one. That was a crazy episode. Definitely words. Shit, yeah. This is Wyndham County, area code 802. Population here, 1,807.

Oh, that's the whole town. And then this takes place in like a smaller town that's inside of this town. Essentially, that we'll talk about population that and the household income here. Median household income, fifty nine thousand seven hundred ninety two dollars. Median home cost thirty three hundred nineteen thousand four hundred dollars. So pretty average on both of those. History of this town a little bit. It was chartered in seventeen fifty three.

So 30 years before we were even a country by Governor Benning Wentworth, who named it Fane after John Fane, the seventh Earl of Westmoreland. Seventh or seventh or six more before him before he's in power. He's the seventh or maybe maybe all seven are in power currently.

You need seven earls to run anything correctly, you know? Is there a whole board of earls? No shit. The first town meeting was not held within the required five years, so the charter was deemed null and void. So then they issued a new charter in 1761 and named it New Fane. Yeah. We're Fane, but new. It's like New Coke, but not as bad. Yeah.

Everything here. We do that a lot. That happens all the time. A village was built. First, it was New Fane, two words. Now it's one word. A village was built atop New Fane Hill, including the county buildings. But because of winter travel difficulties, they couldn't get up the fucking hill in the winter because it snows feet there. So they relocated the whole town to the flatlands in 1825. This used to be Fayetteville, and they just took it over and called it New Fane now. Not Fayetteville anymore.

All right. So that's interesting. But in 1859, industries included leather, linseed oil, two flour mills, two lumber mills, and a large carriage factory. Sure. There's that. Reviews of this town. Not a lot of reviews of this town because it's small. They'll be quick. Reviews, five stars.

Very small, rural town. Old-timey feel. Get to know the locals. Tight-knit neighborhoods. Very quiet. Nice place to retire. Artsy and hip.

And these are all written in a list form down. So it's either that or it's a haiku. I'm not sure. But either way. Yeah. I mean, it feels like a lot of Vermont towns. A lot of Vermont towns are like that. And here's five stars. You have to love the outdoors to live here. Fuck yeah. Because there's nothing else going on. It's Vermont, man. Yeah. Five stars. Community is great here. We take care of each other. Okay. All right. Five stars. We move to South New Fane, Vermont. Oh, the south side's rough. You don't want to go there. Yeah.

Along Rock River, along the Rock River 10 years ago from the California Bay Area and have never looked back. All four seasons are beautiful. Our favorites are spring when things come alive and fall for the colors. That's everyone in the Northeast. That's what we all love. People asked us why we moved to New Fane, and we say the people and the water. The people are so friendly and helpful. There are so many different kinds of folks. I love that word.

They also say they're an hour and 15 minutes to the MGM Casino in Springfield, Massachusetts. It's a big deal. So you have that. That's great. And enjoy there. Three hours from the Encore over there in Boston. Get after it. Three hours to Burlington, five hours to Montreal if you want to eat poutine over and over. That's great. And then one star. There aren't many opportunities here.

Not a lot going on. You have to already have done something, I feel like, to move there. Yeah, it's not... All right. Things to do. The New Fane Heritage Festival. 53 years they've been doing this. Locals and visitors...

have enjoyed this. So much heritage. So much. Fucking 73. Oh, shit. Well, I think they're trying to make it old-timey is the whole thing. Yeah. Old-timey Vermont, which showcases a juried selection of artists and craftspeople as well as delicious food and a super raffle. I don't know what the difference between that and a regular raffle is. And live entertainment, of course, obviously, here. Yeah.

The heritage of fucking 1971. Colorful fall foliage on the village streets and surrounding hillsides and the smell of homemade apple pie and crisp and crisp. Apple crisp, I guess. Apple crisp, yeah. Greet the several thousand visitors who attend the signature southeastern Vermont event. Newfane Heritage Festival is entirely volunteer run and is deeply rooted in the Newfane Congregational Church and local community.

We hope you'll come explore this beautiful part of New England during the peak of fall foliage season.

Then it says, in all caps, no dogs, please. Get them the fuck out of here. Dogs have become an increasing problem at the festival. For the comfort and safety of your fellow visitors, please do not bring your dog in bald letters. I don't know if you know, James, but Vermont dogs are a different breed, man. They have no... Machine gun shit everywhere. They have no chill whatsoever. No chill. No chill.

Visit the outdoor tent and enjoy delicious breakfast, lunch, and snack offerings, an apple pie by the slice, or take home a whole pie. The Super Raffle will be held inside the Union Hall and features about 175 items, including quilts, art pieces, homemade crafts, and gift certificates to local establishments. That is not a super raffle. No. That's a garbage raffle. Oh, you get this old lady that lives down the street made a quilt, and that's what I got? Yeah. Thanks.

We're raffling off a bunch of grandma's old shit. Hand-pomade bullshit? I'd rather have a pie. Just give me a pie. Or get a gift certificate to a store where they sell grandma's old shit. Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of, like,

There's a lot of like- Trinkets. Plaid tablecloths going on and shit like that. Like, that's what you're getting here. A lot of that shit. A lot of quilts made out of jeans. Oh, man. That's fucking amazing. The sound of music will fill the air on both days, and the Morris dancers will perform on Sunday afternoon. Oh, no. Well, the Morris dancers will be- How could it be bad if the dancers are in town? It's-

Can't be bad. So that's no dog, but you have pie. That sounds pretty boring. Watch some girls with the last name of Morris dance. That sounds like you have to be 68 years old at least to enjoy that day. To enjoy this day. Yeah, and very much into being from Vermont.

So that said, let's get into some murder that we need to discuss here. Did we already talk about that they put cheddar cheese on pie up there? Some people do. I think we have. I think we've talked about that before. We have. It's odd. Because it's Vermont cheddar, they'll put it on that fucking apple pie. I guarantee it. Wisconsin, they do that, you were talking about. Do they? That was the thing in Wisconsin. But Vermont makes cheddar too. They do it too. And I figured they'd probably put it on that fucking pie.

pie i don't want cheese on my pie and i love cheese and i don't want it with both things yeah just separate i'll eat a piece of pie then give me a handful of cheese and i'll eat that later i don't want that on top of each other so let's talk about some murder here okay here we go this is one wild ass fucking night going on all right 1992 we have to go back to yeah so right away it's a wild night here we're finding out that millie vanillie isn't who we thought they were

Heritage Foundation is only 21 years old, James. It's a heritage festival. Festival. Yeah. Jesus. It's only 21 years old. Yeah. We got all of this shit. Yeah. It's working out well. We're finding it. The Menendez brothers are trying to get to trial at this point. Let's talk about Glenn A. Michelson.

Okay, Glenn's 34. There's different reports that he's 34 through 36. So he's 34, 35, or 36. Not sure which. Okay. He's a divorced father of two in 1992. He was married to a woman named Danielle Parent.

And they had two little girls together and then they got divorced. But they're still friends because when he has a party, she still comes to it. So it must be must be pretty amicable. Those Glenn's are easygoing guys. Glenn. Yeah. You can't ever nail them down. No. Glenn's originally from California. His ex-wife, Danielle, said he's very devoted to music and children.

She said Glenn's into his music and his two kids. Glenn's the type of person who loves people and would give anything to anybody.

And he does. Glenn has a big party and he's just there to facilitate everybody and make everything better. Like, like, like Puff Daddy, but not illegal. Okay. You know, he's just a great host. Just a good host. He likes people and he likes people to like him. She said that Glenn always seemed to pick roommates who couldn't pay their share of the rent, but he would let them keep staying anyway, making do with whatever the fuck he had. Glenn's a collector. He's just a good guy. Yeah. He's just a nice guy.

She said that he had just been laid off here in 1992 from his job at Northeast Cooperatives. And before that, he worked at Stowe Mills for a while. Oh, it's a co-op. Co-op, yeah. So she said he played guitar, played a variety, all types of music and everything like that. So May 30th, 1992. Okay. Michael Jackson's hanging out with Robert Plant.

Is that right? And not the Michael Jackson or Robert Plant that you would be imagining here. This is some guy from Vermont in a flannel shirt named Michael Jackson hanging out with some other guy from Vermont in a flannel shirt named Robert Plant. That is an interesting couple. Cashmere's hanging out with Billie Jean, and there they are. Let's do it. When the levee breaks, man. When the levee breaks. You got to look at the man in the mirror. That's it. And then you're buying a stairway to heaven. What are you going to do at that point, right?

You don't know if you're black or white then. How do you deal with that? Remember the time? And then how do you feel, Jimmy? You feel bad. That's how you feel. You do. That's how you feel. Like they don't even care about us. Like it's off the wall completely. But I'll be there. Like you're at Misty Mountain Hop right now. That's what's going on. Like there's a black dog just bothering you. You betcha. I don't know.

So if you don't know Led Zeppelin things and Michael Jackson songs, you have no idea what the hell we're talking about. We just sound like complete assholes. But that was a real conversation. If you're like 11 years old, Michael Jackson was the most famous singer on the face of the planet. And he would have loved to stare right at your butthole if you're an 11-year-old boy.

Robert Plant is still alive, actually. Yeah, somehow. Michael Jackson's dead. Robert Plant, you know, because he probably did more drugs than everything Michael Jackson did at bedtime, put together every night. Robert Plant is the singer of Led Zeppelin. This is Plant with an E at the end, though. Is that right? This Robert Plant. Now, Robert Plant, the Led Zeppelin singer, there's no E. Maybe he did originally and he dropped it because it sounds cooler, but.

Led Zeppelin is a, you know, one of the biggest bands that's ever been from the seventies. I'm sure you've heard at least stairway to heaven or something of that nature. Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and Dan and

That's it. He fucked it up. I meant that you're not allowed to play stairways for Wayne's world. That's a set. No stairway. So Michael Jackson is hanging out with Robert plant on May 30th, 1992, which of those two in real, the real Robert plant and the real Michael Jackson hung out in 1992. That shit would have been bonkers, but this, that would have been a little less. That would have been MTV news, man. Oh shit. Loader would have broken it to us. So Robert plan is 22. He's a young guy. He's from Florida. Uh,

He's been an alcoholic since he was 10. Doing great. Wow. Doing great. So basically. And he is named after Robert Plant. I'm sure. Because he was born in, I thought that too. He was born in 1970. So his parents were like, fuck yeah. Your last name's Plant? I know what I'm naming my child. The song remains the same, motherfucker. And it's Robert Plant. Every time. God damn it. I hope it's a boy. If they had another boy, it would have been John Bonham Plant, I'm sure, after that.

So he didn't like school as a kid, was off and truant. Most of the time it was because he was off getting drunk or he was still sleeping off a drunk from the night before, as you do when you're 13. He was treated in a crisis program at the Cheshire Medical Center at 14 years old.

For alcoholism. For alcoholism. Dropped out of high school, then got in a halfway house where he earned his GED, but always struggled to give up drinking. And we'll find out he is very unsuccessful in giving up drinking, as we'll find out from this night. Man. Oh, he's a mess. While he's a teenager, he participated in another alcohol treatment program in Dover, New Hampshire, which he completed. Yeah.

Um, he tried several times to give up alcohol, but he continued to turn back to it. And whenever he did, he gets in trouble. He's the, just turns to the bottle, the classic hacky. Every time I drink a break out in handcuffs, he's that guy. And that's probably his line that he says to everybody.

You know what I mean? Yeah. So can't stop getting in trouble. He has several convictions, both in New Hampshire and Florida, for crimes ranging from unlawful trespassing to assault on a police officer to grand theft auto. You know, drunk crimes. Just as you say, whatever his drunk mind leads him to. That's all it is. There's no like there's no pointed direction of his crime. He's not a robber. He's not this or that. Just whatever his drunk ass fucking happens to fall into. Wow.

Now, as of May 1992, he is on probation in New Hampshire for a Florida conviction. So that's how trash he's in Vermont, even though he's not supposed to be because he's on probation in New Hampshire for a crime he committed in Florida. They allowed him to be in a different state under their supervision. But only in New Hampshire, not in Vermont. And he's still not even there. Can't even do that.

He had just signed off on conditions two weeks earlier that he would not leave the state of New Hampshire. He would abide by a curfew and would not drink alcohol. None of that shit plays out, though. The only time he's allowed to leave the state of New Hampshire is to go to work at CNS Wholesale Grocers, Inc. that he works at. The only thing. So, yeah, he's a fucking mess. He lives at this point in Chesterfield, New Hampshire is where he's from, living there.

So Michael Jackson spends the morning of May 30th with Robert Plant, just coming up with some tunes, picking a little ditty. And then Michelson, Glenn, our buddy Glenn, picked them both up for his party. I wish his last name was Danzig so bad. That would be amazing. Right? Or Miller or something. Give me something. Yeah.

Give me some famous musician. I don't care who he is. There's only a few Glens. Campbell. Who else? Yeah, Campbell. That's the drop. That's it. That's three, right? Oh, yeah. Perfect. He was running into shit all the time. He's Billy Joel of the West, I call him. So Western Billy. So this is how nice Glenn is. He's picking people up for his party.

You don't even need to get a ride there. I'll get you. Don't worry about it. Shuttle you to my house. Holy shit. Now, Michelson, Jackson and Michelson knew each other and plant is hanging out with Jackson, but plant and Michelson have never met before. Don't know each other at all, but now plants in Glenn's car and their head. And so, and Glenn always a sociable guy is fine with it. Hey, come on in Robert plant. I'm sure he sang him some Zeppelin lyrics and they moved on down the road.

Now, Jackson, Michael Jackson, is the boyfriend of Plant's stepsister. Oh. Okay. Yeah. This is all very convicted in Florida, probated in New Hampshire behavior here. This is all of that shit. And she said that Plant gets real loud when he drinks alcohol, but usually doesn't get violent. I think the state of Florida would disagree with you probably. Yeah. Some cop with a black eye down there would disagree with you probably. Yeah.

I think he does, as a matter of fact. A cop that got punched is not thrilled with that assessment. Oh, no. So Plant on this day starts drinking beer, quote, early in the morning.

How early? As early as it gets for him. Okay. I mean, who knows when he gets up, but when he gets up, he's immediately popping a drink to wash down the morning. Or to stop the shakes, probably. To stop the shakes. Oh, he's a hardcore alcoholic. Yeah, yeah. So he starts drinking beer, and then he goes and hangs out with Michael Jackson, and then ends up in Glenn's car headed to Vermont to this party, violating every condition of his parole. So, good job. Yeah, he's in a lot of trouble already.

Yeah. Now, the party consists of it's at Michelson's house. There's about 30 people there. So it's a nice that's that's not that's a manageable amount of people. People can mingle and it's not too many where it's overwhelming, not too few or it gets boring and weird. It's 30 people's a good amount.

It's a lot. It's a lot of people. But if you're going to have a party party, it's not just like a gathering. It's a party. Yeah. So this is – and Glenn is co-hosting this party with a guy named Steven Zargo, who I believe is his roommate there. Okay.

Zargo with a Z here. This is a Memorial Day party and it's at the house on Baker Brook Road which is in Williamsville, Vermont which is inside of Newfane. Williamsville is in its own town technically. They don't really have anything. This is like a first party of the year really. Yeah, Memorial Day. Oh, it's just getting warm. This is great. You can barbecue out here. This is people drinking beer in the lawn and hanging out. It's good stuff. Still got to use the off but

All right. Oh, yeah. There's going to be mosquitoes. The bugs are out. They're thick. Now, Plant is a problem in this entire party, Robert Plant. He's an issue. He is bragging about...

To whoever will listen to him that he's wanted for murder in Florida because he, quote, killed a woman down there. He's not wanted for murder in Florida. He might have killed a woman down there, but he's not wanted for anything because we know that because he's on New Hampshire probation from Florida. So I assume they would know if he was wanted for murder also. And he's about to ruin this party because this is not a thing you just say aloud.

And that's the nicest thing he says so far. Yeah? Yeah. Then he starts getting confrontational with people. Oh, boy. He just walks up to people and is like, what the fuck are you looking at? And they're like, huh? What are you talking about? I don't know you. He's like, you fucking pussy. You want to fight me? He starts trying to fight everybody.

Also, in addition to that, he's making unwanted advances toward every woman there. Women who have their arms around a man, he'll come up and be like, what's happening, baby? What's up, sweetheart? And the guy's like, I'm going to knock your teeth out. Yeah. You want to fuck Robert Plant? Here he is, buddy.

Want to get tag-teamed by Michael Jackson and Robert Plant? I wonder if they ever tried that line. Although nobody would want that, I don't think. No. The people who would want one wouldn't want the other, I don't think. So it would be a very, very limited small Venn diagram crossover between people who want to be fucking Eiffel Towered by Michael Jackson or Robert Plant. So he starts doing all this shit. He then ridicules and challenges to a fight a stroke victim.

Some droopy fuck is sitting there with beer leaking out of one side of his mouth and he's like, what's up, pussy? You want to fight? Why don't you pick that fucking arm up that's dragging on the ground and swing it at me?

Did you pick the rest of your lip up and tell me what's what? He was making fun of him and challenging him to a fight because this poor person had an inability to use one of his arms. Oh, Jesus Christ. He's a stroke victim. Half of my body doesn't work, you fucking jerk. He wanted to fight him because of that.

Now, and then another time he tried to take, he just tried to steal Glenn's car. He just tried to take it. Yeah. His Oldsmobile Tornado. Don't take my Tornado. I'm obviously not doing great. I have a Tornado in 1992. They haven't made those in 15 fucking years.

I'm still rocking a tornado. 76. Yeah, they haven't made those in 15 years. Gross. They stopped making the tornados and the El Caminos at the same time, I think. Oh, no. El Caminos, they made them in the 80s. Okay. Okay. Cordobas. They stopped making the Cordoba and the tornado at the same time. Done.

I think the Cordova was Chrysler. I think it was Chrysler Cordova. Yeah. I just said that because it's a weaned son. Yeah, because it's an ugly car. Yeah, that's it.

Tornado, Cordova, fucking El Camino. It's a song called El Camino by Weenie. El Camino is a great song. I want to find one so bad. They're coming back into fashion because now they're expensive. Yeah. Well, yeah. When we were kids, they were just trash that nobody wanted. That somebody took off a trash heap in someone's backyard and fixed up enough to drive. Nobody wanted that.

An immigrant from Mexico would buy one because they couldn't afford a pickup truck and they'd use that as their landscaping vehicle. Exactly. They're dragging a trailer with it. And then upgrade to an Isuzu Ombre, which is not much of an upgrade. So that tells you a lot. Or a Suzuki Sam. Or a Suzuki. Oh, those are the little SUV deals. That thing can flip over in a second. Oh, God. I knew a chick who had one of those in high school. And she goes, want to go for a ride? And I got in her car. I've never been more terrified except for...

That Uber we took to Stefano's that time is the only time I've been more terrified. I was like, never again. Those are bad cars. They flip over. Oh, they flip over a lot. So he tries to take Glenn's car without Glenn's permission. Asshole. Tries to steal Glenn's leather jacket at one point. What is his deal? He's a total dick. Also tries to steal a keg of beer from the party. Like no one would notice that's missing.

A drunk stumbling. Someone would walk up and just hold the tap and go, why? It's not connected to anything. I don't get it. Now, Michelson Glenn intervened in all of these instances and broke it up, calmed him down and never kicked him out. And then walked away. Hey, man, chill out. Come on. Let's have a good time. These are good people. Let's you should get to know them. They like they'll like you. You'll like him. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Wow. And this is the parent, Danielle Parent. This is Glenn's ex-wife said, Plant picked arguments all day with several people and Glenn kept breaking it up.

The plant kid had only been in town a month. This plant kid seemed to argue with everybody at the party. That's which this plant kid is. She's 35, too. This is like some 22 year old kid. Now, Stephen Zargo. OK, he's the also the co-host here. After most of the people left the party, Zargo suggested that the group remaining go to Rick's Tavern for a beer. Do you have kegs at home? First of all.

Let's go to the bar. Let's go to the bar for more beer, even though we have kegs of beer here. There's definitely no designated driver involved here. This is very shit-faced people driving through a rural area. By the seat of our pants and closing one eye. Well, this is like my cousins in Scranton driving you home from the bar through the woods. That's what I feel like they would do.

So the cops don't see us. Exactly. That's why we did it. We had like 14 kamikazes apiece, so it was time. Now, neither Glenn nor Robert Plant said they were up for the drive. They didn't want to do it. But Zargo said he did, and he and two other friends decided to go.

So at 11 o'clock, this is before they leave, the only people there are Glenn Michelson, Zargo, a guy named Christopher Lappin, William Dorton, and a guy named Bart Stacy who was upstairs asleep. Old Bart. Old Bart. Well, you can always depend on an old Bart there. At about 11.30 p.m., Zargo, Lappin, Dorton, they went to the pub. And then also, obviously, Plant is there too.

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Plant said he didn't want to go. Then he changed his mind and said he did want to go. And then they said, do you have money? And he said, nah, I ain't got no money. And they said, well, then you can't come. You're not going to come up buying you beer. So you have to stay here if you have no money. So at this point, Plant gets mad and tries to steal Glenn's car again.

He gets in the tornado, tries to take off. Apparently, Glenn ran over, took the keys away from him and went back in the house. Calmly. Didn't like beat the shit out of him or throw him off the property. Stop trying to take my tornado. He just took the keys out of the ignition and went inside and left him out there. So then at that point.

Plant starts walking down the driveway like, I'll just walk out of here then. And just, he's going to go. So he, Zargo, when they go to leave for the bar, he said he saw Glenn trying to start, he saw Plant trying to start Glenn's car and said, Glenn, try and steal your car again. Yeah. It was like the third time tonight. Glenn ran out of the house, stopped Plant from making off in the car. By the way, he had a keg of beer in the car with him too. He had stole the keg again, put it in the car.

He tried to take off with it. Holy shit. That's when Plant then took off running down Baker Brook Road, according to Zargo. So Zargo said, we thought that was the end of it.

He said, that's that. You know, he went, he took off. And so Zargo said he and his brother, who also live on Baker Brook Road, about a mile away from the residence there, you know, they went and took off. So there you go. Now, after Plant disappeared into the night, Zargo said he and his two friends headed to the bar at about midnight, leaving Glenn home with his housemate who's asleep upstairs. And Robert Plant took off, ran down the street.

So a neighbor of Glenn's watches three people depart from the home at 1130. That's the going to the bar contingency there. Shortly thereafter, he heard loud and argumentative voices coming from the house. This is after the you tried to steal my tornado number three incident here. A few moments later, he this neighbor saw Glenn's car speeding down Baker Brook Road.

And another neighbor heard and saw the same thing. So two different neighbors. This is plant driving away in the tornado. He must have this tornado. He got it. Glenn should just tell him, give me 75 bucks and you can have it. It's a fucking tornado. What, 150 bucks? I don't know. Name a price. That starter cylinder just spins and you just got to push it in. You don't even need a key. Don't even. Probably not. You're probably right.

So here comes enter the Salzman family. These poor fucking people. Okay. They call 911 at 1215 a.m. The first time for the first time here. Robert Salzman is a 43 year old two way radio salesman. That probably didn't last very long. He said that he was watching television in his living room with his one and a half year old son, John, in his lap when he heard a loud bang.

He and Kathleen, his wife here, heard the sound of a car crashing down the riverbank outside their two-story farmhouse up the road from Glenn's residence here. So his wife called the state police barracks in West Brattleboro and reported an accident. That accident, Robert said, then they heard someone knocking on their screen door. They looked outside. They saw a man about six feet tall dressed in a black T-shirt and black leather jacket.

Okay. And they said the guy appeared to be under the influence of something. Yeah, he's wobbling. He said he told the man he'll make a telephone call for him, but you're not coming to my house with my baby in here. Good call. Yeah. So minutes later, he heard shouting from outside from the man. This is after they called 911. Do we know what he's saying? This is Salzman. He said, quote, I see you in there through those lace curtains.

Let me into the house. He's huffing and puffing. He's about to blow this bitch down. He said, it's dark out here and I'm afraid of animals. I don't give a shit. I don't fucking care. You shouldn't have crashed your tornado into a ditch, you fucking idiot. You shouldn't be out there then, man. Dummy.

And the guy said, and the next thing I hear, because he told him, which is funny, the guy said, what are you looking at? And he said, I said, it's my window. I can look out of it whenever I want. Yeah. Because the wife was looking at him out the window. So then Salzman says, the next thing I hear is the sound of breaking glass and my wife screaming.

Plant started shouting at her. That's when she said, that's my window and I can look out of it when I want to. Plant responded by punching his fist through the window with his fucking hand. Oh, my God. He didn't even throw a rock or anything. She said, I just stood there saying, oh, my God. And the glass was flying around me.

Yeah. Wow. At this point, this is fucking amazing. Robert Salzman has had enough of this shit. Yeah. He runs outside, grabs plant. And as he put it, quote, I quite frankly beat the shit out of him. That's how Salzman would be quoted later on to a police officer. He said, I felt my family was in danger and I had to take charge.

He went out, punched him, knocked him down, then grabbed Plant and bashed his head into the side of his house. He said about 15 to 20 times. He tried to kill him. Until he stopped moving, basically. Just imagine bashing him into your house. He used his house as a weapon. This man beat a guy half to death with his own house.

Awesome job, Salzman. I'm shocked that he just did it with it. He must be big as shit, right? I think so. He punched him once. I'm coming out there with a bat. You know what I mean? A shotgun, anything. He's going to get it. I think, too, because this guy's like 22 and kind of skinny and looks like a teenager. I think Salzman said, I will beat you up with my adult muscles. I have had it with this bullshit. I'm going to pummel you, child. Yeah. 43 is different than skinny 21. Is that what he is? He's fucking...

Salzman's 43. A 43-year-old man with a one-year-old kid and a wife and a mortgage. He will beat your fucking ass.

A wife of mortgage and now a broken window? And a broken front window? Now the fucking cold's going to come in at night and I've got to deal with this bullshit now? Oh, I will kick your ass. Now the mosquitoes are on the inside of my house, you son of a bitch. Skeeters everywhere. The stink bugs, everything. It's over with, man. Raccoons are going to be in here before I know it. I'm going to kick your ass for that. So as the two men are, quote, fighting, really, as Zaltzman's beating the shit out of Robert Blant outside...

Kathleen called the cops again. Yeah. Then she dialed a neighbor who knew who she knows has a gun and asked him for help. Hey, can you bring your gun over here real quick? But by the time the police and the neighbor arrived, a half conscious fucking stew nod shit beaten out of Robert Plant had jumped off up and stumbled off into the woods and ran away by then.

I thought he was scared of woodland creatures. Now he's like a stunned deer. He's just going to wander into the woods and hide in a berm. So she said, we told the police we thought he'd come from the party up the road, and they should probably check that out. Party up the road, shit-faced kid. Seems right. Probably. So that is so funny. Yeah, the second 911 call is someone's trying to break into my home, and my husband is currently beating him to death. He should probably get here.

Before you have to scrape him up with a shovel. Robert gets a little upset about it. Robert Salzman, not Blanche. My husband is making him less of a person right now. No shit. So while the police are on their way to the Salzman home to deal with this, this is a small town in Vermont. Not a lot of 911 calls in the middle of the night. They've already gotten two. They're dealing with this. They get another 911 call. Oh. And this one is from Zargo here.

1245 here. Oh, by the way, the Salzmans apparently were alarmed at the behavior of Plant, who they said appeared to be high or drunk and was acting erratically, and that's why. By the way, the Tornado is in a ditch across the road from their house, which is about a mile away from Glenn's house. Right. Okay. Interesting. Now, at some point, by the way, I guess Glenn went to the Salzman house at some point, and then he ends up back at his house.

his house, because this is fucking crazy. By 1245,

The friends, Zargo and Lappin and Dorton, return from the bar to the house. They must have went for one drink, for Christ's sake. No kidding. And as they're doing... By the way, the police are searching for Robert Plant in the woods at this point. While this is happening, they get a 911 call from Michelson's house, which is... Zargo walks in and they find Michelson lying in the hallway, blood everywhere, covered

With a ski pole impaled in his neck, sticking out. A ski pole. A ski pole. That's the most Vermont crime that's ever fucking happened. That's a crazy weapon to shoot. A ski pole sticking out actively from his neck. Stabbed in his neck. Impaled in his neck. And then multiple other wounds of all different kinds. Yeah. So they obviously freak out. They call police. They went upstairs to see if Bart had also been butchered here. And Bart was sleeping in bed. Didn't know shit about shit.

So they show up here, 1245, like we said. The cops are right down the street. So here he is. He said, this is Zargo said when he found his friend, his friend was stripped of his shirt, shoes and ring and was only wearing pants. He wore a black onyx ring on his index finger, which is a sign of douchedom, an index ring finger ring.

But Glenn seems like a good guy. Or a fucking rock star. I was going to say, or a guitar player. Yeah. Yeah. But he's only wearing pants. He had cowboy boots, a black shirt, a black leather jacket on before. Leather jacket, yeah. And now he's got nothing but his pants on and his ring. Zargo said, I knew right off that he was dead. What was it? The ski pole fucking protruding from his neck? Get this out of his neck? Yeah.

At first, I thought he was just practicing for the slopes tomorrow, but then I realized, fuck, this guy's dead. He's really dedicated to those black diamonds. Jesus. He said there was blood on the floors, blood on the walls, blood fucking everywhere, as you can imagine. So he started, like I said, he called the police. Police arrive. They discover Glenn in the hallway in a pool of blood. Next to him is a pair of white high-top shoes, white high-top sneakers that Robert Plant was wearing earlier in the evening. Right.

This motherfucker for the cowboy boots. Yep. They also found two knives in the kitchen sink, a meat cleaver in one of the closets and a knife stuck in the wall. All of these knives are also used on Glenn. Really? Cleaver, three other knives and a ski pole. This is fucking crazy. So at 2.28 a.m. while they're wrapping up this, while they're processing that crime scene, they're still looking for Robert Plant in the woods.

They're checking a wooded area, 2.28 a.m., near the Salzman's house with a police tracking dog.

So they find Robert Plant sleeping in the woods. He passed out. He passed out in the woods. He has blood all over his clothes and face and body and shoes and everything else. Some's his, some's not. Bruises all over him. Looks like he's been really lumped up good. His hands are all cut up too. Salzman's identified him as the man who had come to their house. Yep, I beat the shit out of that guy. That's right.

While they find him, by the way, he is wearing cowboy boots, a black T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a black Onyx index finger ring. Interesting. So they arrest Robert Plant, obviously, for multiple things. He's wearing the guy's all of his clothes. He took his shoes off and left them next to the dead guy.

Yeah, I mean, you just hand those to the pups, let them sniff them, and off they go. One of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life. Literally taking the shoes off his feet and leaving yours behind. How fucking drunk was this man? Oh. And what the fuck is this over? You know what I mean? Extremely drunk. He probably said, where's my tornado? And he said, I fucking put it in a ditch. And he said, why'd you do that? And he's like, ah.

I'm going to fucking grope your girlfriend. Who knows where? I mean, the the the what did the where did he think he was going to go? That's in the woods. Sleep it off. I don't know. That's why this is crazy. He's that much of an alcoholic. So the police. Yeah, they find him there. He's apprehended with all the evidence in the world. Not only the man's blood all over him, but his clothes on him, too. Like you can't get any more anymore. I killed that man than this guy.

His injuries include at least four stab wounds from the ski pole, by the way. Oh, my God. They said Michelson was stabbed twice behind his left ear with the ski pole and twice in the back. And one of the ones in the neck, that's where it was sticking out of. One of the puncture wounds behind the ear penetrated about two and a half inches into his brain.

Another ski pole wound in his right back punctured his lung, and that alone could have killed him after a while. But the fatal injury was a knife cut to his throat. His throat was cut as well. They said he bled to death probably in a matter of minutes. He had 20 different blows to the head from different objects and different things. It just...

brutalized this poor guy. They said the two slashes on the throat would have caused his death quickly. A couple of the other injuries might have eventually killed him if left unattended. Also, Glenn had numerous slashes to the skull, cheeks, nose, hand, and foot. He was hit with such force in the chest that it fractured several ribs as well.

So they think maybe he was stomping him afterwards. So police detectives here say that they found several knives from Glenn's home as well as a ski pole, which was left impaled behind his left ear. They said they tested what appeared to be bloodstains on Plant's hands, which

One knife with a broken blade was covered with blood and left in the kitchen sink. Another knife, a small meat cleaver, was found sliced into a box containing a children's game. He just threw it down and it went into like a fucking candy land. Unbelievable. According to the cops here, the search of the crime scene revealed that the match to the ski pole that was alleged that was the murder weapon was found in a bedroom closet.

the other part of the ski set, and a bloody heel print was found in front of the closet with the same heel design as the boots that Plant was wearing when he was arrested. Glenn's boots. So he walked through the blood in the boot? Yeah, he's stabbing and beating him up. Then went and looked around and was like, a ski pole, that'll be fun to use. Yeah.

Wow. A pair of white high-top sneakers were found next to his head. They figured out that they're plants. I guess when he was arrested, he told them that the boots weren't his for some reason. A friend of Glenn's came to the state police barracks, identified the boots, the jacket, and the ring as belonging to Glenn. Sure, sure.

So there's a 30 minute tape recording made by Vermont state police officer here, a state trooper, uh, William Harkness, who drove plant from the murder scene to the state police barracks on the night of the murder. He's arrested, obviously for, they told him that he's arrested for operating Glenn's car without his consent. Uh,

which is interesting because he's obviously arrested for murder as well. Now, the tape contains obscene language from Plant, whose attorneys say was very drunk from the beer party. His words are slurred on the tape. Plant is constantly berating the cop for driving too fast on the narrow dirt roads. Slow down. You're going to kill us all. We're in a Suzuki Samurai. It's dangerous. That's right.

This thing's going to roll. And repeatedly asked Harkness what he was being charged with and what his bail was, which he doesn't know that yet. They haven't been to court. Both detectives say that while they smelled alcohol on Plant's breath, he didn't appear to be drunk. Give me a fucking break. Are you kidding me? Come on. Well, that way any statements he made aren't relevant to be not admissible if he's drunk. So cops have to say, no, no, no. He was drunk to me. He fucking crashed a tornado, passed out in the woods.

He's drunk. That's Vermont sober. I guess it is, man. That's Wisconsin sober. This isn't Vermont. This isn't Wisconsin. His attorneys later on, though, they're going to leave to have some fun with that. So he's taken to jail barefoot and wearing blood-stained hospital pajamas because they had to take him to be treated for his wounds. His face was swollen and looked like a 43-year-old man and worked him over for interrupting his family's quiet evening. Mm-hmm.

And so he's going to be charged with the death as well as assaulting Robert Salzman as well, even though he got the worst of it. So the next morning they tell Plant at 730 a.m. at the barracks that he is charged with murder. Plant loudly proclaimed his innocence. Yeah. He said, you are not chart. You're not going to charge me with murder, buddy. Listen here, buddy. Listen here, fella. Buddy. Buddy.

So they also heard from a bunch of good, especially you're not going to charge me with murder, buddy. That's a perfect place for a buddy. They also said that they conducted a record check.

They'd heard a bunch of people saying that he said he's wanted for murder in Florida. He said at the party, and they said they had not uncovered anything like that. So nothing like that. Now, physical evidence, holy shit, there's a lot of it. Okay. Robert Plant's right palm print was found on the grip of the ski pole that was impaled in the dude's head.

That's not good. Robert Plant's bloody left thumbprint was also found on the door jam casing immediately above Michelson's body. Like, just make sure to put that fingerprint there just so you know I was here in blood. Let me do that here. They said they couldn't find usable fingerprints on any of the other major pieces of evidence. You really don't need to.

No, you've got him. There's a thing. He's at the scene and you know, he's holding the murder weapon. So I'd say at the scene holding the murder weapon and blood is, is present and he's wearing the dead man's clothes. I'd say it's something to do with this. Pretty well done. Yeah. Um, so yeah, the other knives though, they didn't, they couldn't find anything on that. Um, they said that, uh,

He said he couldn't lift fingerprints from the other murder weapons, the meat cleaver, the kitchen knife, any of that. One of the blades broke off during the attack. God damn. But the blood test revealed that it was definitely Glenn's blood on everything, which is relatively rare type of blood. That's how they know it's in this, you know, pre very easy DNA. Ninety two.

So I guess they found this blood on the cowboy boots, plants, clothes, the socks that plant was wearing inside the boot, the boots, plants, T-shirt, white and blue stripe, long sleeve shirt and his black pants. Glenn's blood was also found on the ski pole, a meat cleaver and the kitchen knife. So.

This is type O blood, but it's got some weird marker in it. They said the blood matching plants. Oh, blood was the blood on that of two other men who plants attorneys have tried to push attention toward. OK, that's what they're saying. Wasn't found on anything, according to the testimony here. The sample of the blood that police took literally from plants hands wasn't enough to run the test. So they're saying, but plants blood isn't there. So, you know, it's fine.

Just because he didn't bleed doesn't mean... I mean, his fingerprints are there. That seems to be a big important thing there. That's a problem, yeah.

So they said that two men, Zargo and Bart Stacy, had the same basic blood type, AB. Glenn had an unusual genetic marker in the type O's that you could tell very easily. The state police laboratory conducted blood typing analysis on blood samples taken from the scene and from Plant's clothing and from Glenn, Zargo, and everybody else. So they reported that the type of blood in each sample and screened for blood

All the shit, phosphate, acid, all that kind of shit. EAP testing showed genetic fingerprints in blood and provides greater accuracy than simple typing alone. That's like light DNA, basically. So these tests were performed between June 92 and October 92. That's important to know, by the way. October 12, 92. That's very important for a reason that you can't even fucking imagine.

So the results of these tests indicated that the blood found on clothing worn by the defendant matched the victim. Okay. Zargo answers questions. They say he's very cooperative. He permitted the police to cut a swatch from his jeans to test for blood or anything. He even offered to give them the whole, you could just have the whole pair of jeans. I don't care. Do whatever you want. I didn't do anything. I was at the bar.

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So they want – Plant wants bail. Really? And they said, you can't give him bail. He's got – the charges are crazy. He has no strong ties to the community. He's on probation. He works at the grocery store for a month. It's not like he's so much invested he can't leave his 401K behind. Right.

So give me a break. Plus, he's on probation for a grand theft conviction. At the time, he's living in the San San San and Snow Motel, S.A.N. and S.N.O. San and Snow Motel in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, where he registered under the alias of Sam Smith. What? Upstanding people always register in the place they're going to live as an under an alias. Right.

And another music. Jesus fucking good God. So they said that while in Florida plant used three different social security numbers. So he's also an identity thief. Really? They argued that plant has $20 to his name and does not have family resources to come up with a hundred thousand dollars bail.

So you got to set it lower. And the judge said, no, I don't. That's perfect. Not my problem. He can't get out. I think that's what I'm going for. So it feels like his issue. Fuck off. So Danielle, Glenn's ex-wife, talked about the impact that the death is having on their two small children and the rest of the family.

She said,

Okay. Trial comes up. Holy balls. All right. What is he going to say?

By the way, he comes into court wearing white high-top sneakers, leg chains, white stonewashed jeans, and a purple pullover jersey. Not the best court attire. You couldn't have got a nice kid a fucking tie? Nice lawyer. What purple jersey? That's what I mean. What is he wearing? A fucking Vikings jersey? He's got a sweet Wade Wilson or something back then? I don't know. Hornets away jersey? What are you doing? What are you wearing here? So...

So that's what's going on here. The lawyers say that – his lawyer says that she believes that the chances of acquittal are pretty damn good. And she told Plant that if – because he gets offered multiple plea deals here in the beginning. Multiple? Multiple different ones, yeah. Choose your own adventure plea deal. Fascinating. The lawyer told him, though, that she felt that if she was in his place, she wouldn't take the offers. She would go for trial. Oh.

Okay, that's fucking crazy. It's so obvious he did this. Like, give me a break. Yeah. That's terrible advice. They offered a plea agreement for four months, different plea agreements for four months before the trial that included a 25-year-to-life sentence and even made the offer lower on the minimum sentence in another deal right before trial. And they said, nope, no thanks.

Unbelievable. He could have done 20 is what we're saying. So they say, his lawyer said, the state's evidence hasn't definitely pinned down the time of death. So we have a timing issue because Plant may have been getting his head bashed in down the road when Michelson was killed. Then how did he get his clothes? What are you talking about? At some point he went from getting... Okay. Okay.

So she said after taking depositions from the state police investigators and the medical examiner, there was a question about whether Michelson, quote, was still alive at the time the defendant was engaged with Mr. Salzman. That's because you can say that. That's only because the medical examiner says, here's a three-hour window. That's the best I can do. So she took it as in that window was the time he was getting beat up, so he could have been down there. They show the autopsy pics, which are brutal.

Brutal mutilate. I mean, he just chopping him in the face. He's got a fucking ski pole hanging out of his neck. It's horrifying. This was shown, I guess, the bunch of people left the courtroom when that shit came on. Most of the jurors put their hands over their mouths and closed their eyes half the time. Several looked away as the intensity of the pictures got worse and worse and worse.

They said, yeah, it was bad. Plant, also uncomfortable with this, held his eyes down for most of the 20 minutes of showing them. Really? Didn't want to see what he did. So the state's attorney, Dan M. Davis, left most of the questioning of Adams to his attorney here.

I guess they led the coroner through slides detailing the 20 different injuries to the head and establishing the cause of death. The defense attorney asked the questions about the impact of each wound and whether it was potentially lethal. So she went through slowly each and every wound to make sure that the jury was extra horrified about what her client did. Is she working for the state, this lady? What the fuck is happening right now? Who are you in cahoots with? Then it comes out the state chemist. This is the big fucking twist here. Okay.

Oh, my God. This is amazing. The state chemist, Glenn E. Walker, another Glenn. Glenn, yeah. He goes fired in January for stealing narcotics from work. What? And he was the guy who performed the blood test in connection with this case. Jesus Christ.

This guy who performed the blood analysis was dismissed from his job and has been convicted of possessing a regulated drug. He received a deferred sentence after accepting a plea deal from the state. Welker admitted using drugs stolen from the crime crime lab evidence locker between June 92 and December 92.

An analysis of hair samples taken from Welker indicated chronic use of the drug fentanyl. This is 92, mind you. Wow. He's a chemist. He knew what was a little fucking up. He was early. Which he said he is a regulated painkiller, I would say. Yeah. He said the drug heroin was also missing from the crime lab. Yeah.

evidence. Holy gay is fucking smackhead answering questions here. Uh, they said Welker indicated he only used drugs on the weekend and not while working. I'm a weekend junkie. I shoot up on the weekends.

Monday and Tuesday are a real bear to get through. I mean, it's by Wednesday, though. I cook right through it. The sweats are gone. I'm feeling okay. Yeah, by Friday, I'm ready to get after it again. Oh, boy. Oh, my God. Jesus Christ. Brendan McMahon, a former Vermont State Police crime laboratory chemist who, like Welker, was also convicted of possessing these drugs from the crime lab, shared an office with Welker. These two in the same office were like, what if we just stole shit and did it? Okay. Okay.

They're trying it on the clock, for sure. Oh, for fuck's sake. One's looking out the door as it's going fucking out back and forth. Go, go, go. They're just fucking snorting it. Are you kidding me? Hilarious. McMahon was accepted into the diversion program, and his conviction will be stricken from the record if he completes probation. Defense attorney Joanne Baltz tried to ask him if he observed anything unusual about Welker at the end of October.

But the judge held an objection to the question. That should have just been like, I don't know, I was fucked up on heroin. I wouldn't have noticed if he was fucked up, too. That was during my heroin binges. Oof, I was really on a lot then. Davis said that Welker's final analysis in the plant case was completed on October 12th and that any evidence about Welker after that date was not relevant. Okay.

That's what the judge ruled, isn't there? Not going to let in. Most of the day is spent about on testimony about blood samples and whether Glenn Walker was under the influence of illegal drugs when he conducted the blood tests. Awesome. His lab supervisor testified that Welker violated lab protocol by either eliminating several tests or failing to record the results in his working papers. You know, like a junkie. Right. Um,

Like an unreliable drug addict. Yeah. Oh, shit. So the state's attorney had to call Welker's boss, Dr. Eric Buell, to the stand, the senior chemist at the crime lab, to say he had evaluated Welker's tests and found they violated lab protocol in several significant areas.

Welker denied he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs while performing the blood tests. He's obviously recently convicted of possession of lots of shit and stealing it. But when questioned by the defense attorney, one of Plant's attorneys here, whether he was smoking or snorting heroin during the months he was working on the case, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and smiled. I don't want you to know how I don't have to tell you.

Oh, my God. Now, the defense attorney said, well, you can say that all you want. You told a Vermont state police investigator that you were smoking heroin between June and October shortly before you were caught. Welker was adamant that he wasn't under the influence at work, but his boss's evaluation of his work raised questions. Yeah, he said his boss said, I reviewed the evidence last week because I had concerns in his notes. I can't find the supporting documentation.

But he said that they were not critical tests or mistakes, the violation. It just happened. They said also the samples have been destroyed before the defense could analyze them. So the prosecution took the samples, had a junkie analyze them, and then destroyed them. Damn it. That's not great. So they said such an analysis could have supported and diminished capacity defense here or something, indicating that maybe Plant was drunk at the time.

Because they lost his blood, too. They fucked that up, too. So that's a lot. So that's all going on. Now, the defense wants to say that Zargo did it. That's their thing. That's their theory. That's their theory. Zargo killed Plant and put his clothes on this guy. Or not killed Plant. Zargo killed Michelson and then said, hey, dude, I know you like this leather jacket and his boots. You want them?

So Plants attorneys presented their first witness, a doctor who's a retired Vermont chief medical examiner who said she believed it was possible there was more than one attacker.

Because there's all different types of wounds from different type of weapons. She believed it's possible. Believed and possible are those two words. Yeah. Important word. She noted that at least one of the murder weapons appeared to be missing a missing a sharp thin knife or a blunt instrument because Michelson had wounds that didn't quite match up with the three identified weapons. She also said she didn't believe one of the ski pole wounds in Michelson's head wound would have been fatal, contradicting the state's testimony. Fuck does she know?

They bring in Deborah Labarge. She says she met Stephen Zargo, who was Michelson's best friend and the person that the defense is trying to implicate. She said a friend introduced them and they spent the day together with two others at the West River in Brattleboro. She said Zargo made advances to her and laughed about being a suspect in Michelson's slaying.

Oh, my God. He was trying to sound dangerous and cool to some new trim. That's his... Some new wool over here. I'm trying to sound kind of cool here. I might be a murderer. You don't know. I might be an outlaw. You like bad boys?

Because there are chicks who would find that attractive for some reason. That's bizarre, but yeah, they exist. Zargo told the barge that he had a scar on his leg and wanted to show her that it resulted from a fight as opposed to the horseplay he described during his testimony. Well, he's showing off scars to a girl saying I was in a big fight. Yeah. So this witness here that's been testifying, they decide that the judge decides to not let the lawyer ask her about

how Zargo showed her a buck knife that he kept in his boot. Because they said that the defense argued that the deputy medical examiner said that it could be a weapon similar to that. So they said maybe. They said it's relevant because he showed her the knife while he was talking about the murder.

And then the prosecution said, so what? I'm sure that everyone who went to the party has since then held a knife in their hands, whether it be a steak knife or some other kind of knife. This is irrelevant. It's months fucking later. What are we talking about? So they ruled that they could not ask the question of LaBarge about the knife or about the gun he allegedly told LaBarge he was carrying. He's trying to sound like a dangerous character. He thinks he found a chick who likes bad boys. That's all it is. So they also weren't allowed to ask

about Zargo's demeanor when he told her about being a murder suspect either. Now, Lorraine Hamilton, a friend of Michelson who attended the party, said that Zargo told her that Glenn was sleeping in a chair when he and the two others left the party to go to a bar. In this person's testimony, Zargo said Glenn had been standing on the porch when he left. That's what Zargo said in court. But I guess...

A month, two months earlier, he told this person that he was sleeping. Right. So there's some, you know, inconsistencies. So this witness also said that Zargo told her about his relationship with Danielle Parent, Glenn's ex, and that Zargo had a poor reputation for the truth.

That's what I think it is. I think this guy is just a talker and a bragger. Yeah, he exaggerates. Yeah. Now, Michelson's ex-wife, though, this parent, you know, Danielle parent, said that she did not have a sexual relationship with Zargo. The defense tried to show in its cross-examination that Zargo had motive to kill Michelson because he had a sexual relationship with his ex.

And he had fought with Michelson during the party, which nobody saw. Not true. Michelle Parent, Michelson's ex-sister-in-law, said that after Michelson's funeral, Christopher Lappin, one of the people who went to the bar that night, who testified to that as well, said he wanted to tell her what really happened in Michelson's slaying, but never ended up talking to her about it. I'll tell you what really happened. Some other time. Some other time, though, but not now. Not at the funeral. It's skosh. You know what I mean? It's later.

So closing arguments, the state's case against against plant is pretty strong and thorough physical evidence, except for the blood has got to be tainted by heroin guy there. But still, they discovered him lying in the woods near the scene of the crime after driving the murder victim's car and would ditch wearing the dead man's clothes. I think that's pretty fucking cut and dry right there with his handprint in blood back in the house, right over his corpse and his finger, his palm print on the handle of the murder weapon.

sticking out of his neck. It's pretty good. It's really easy. And that's what they say. They go, he was wearing his boots, his jacket. They found his own shoes that he left at the murder scene in a pool of the guy's blood next to the body. His hands, boots, and clothing all had blood on them that matched the victims. The police identified his palm print on the body. I mean, we could go on and on and on. They said the only person to whom the defendant has pointed as an alternative murderer left the scene with two other people before a neighbor heard an argument.

They watched. Remember, the neighbor said they watched the car drive away with those three, then heard loud arguing coming from inside. So Glenn was alive at that point to argue. So we know that. And also the conduct at plants conduct. The salesman residence was not consistent with his claim that he just happened upon the victim's body by accident and took his clothes because he liked them.

So the jury instructions here, that's important here. During the afternoon, the attorneys for both sides reviewed the instructions. The prosecutor said he's not opposed to adding second-degree murder as a lesser-included offense in the case if the jury is unable to find him guilty of felony murder.

So under the felony murder statute, the jury must find that a murder was committed while a felony, in this case, the robbery of all of his shit took place. So they give a big jury instruction on that. I won't go into it completely. Verdict comes in. He is guilty of first degree murder. Yeah.

They were like, what are we doing here? What are we doing? This is easy. So they said afterwards, the ex-wife there said that it's been hard raising the kids. Little Raylene and little Glenn Jr. are having a hard time. And he was devoted to them, and he would dress up as the Easter Bunny in Santa Claus for the holidays, and he loved them. What a party that guy was. Sounded like a fun guy, Glenn, man. So sentencing comes around, and Plant testifies in his own defense and sentencing about his life.

They said he appeared to be sincere and honest and earnest here. But, you know, obviously. So what? So what? He's sober now. He said that he does not remember the murder and is not convinced he committed it. Oh, my. He said he remembered drinking a lot of beer at the party and remembered falling asleep while a band was playing in the next room. The next thing he remembered, he was getting out of a police cruiser at the barracks.

He doesn't remember crashing a tornado. Nope. Doesn't even remember getting the shit beaten out of him. None of that stuff. Remember when that man beat the fuck out of you? Hummeled you half to death? He said, although he doesn't recall the murder or any of the events surrounding it, if one day the memories come back, if I did this, I would be truly sorry. It's a tragedy. Wow. And the judge said, you're right, it is. You, sir, may fuck off 52 years to life. To life, yeah. 52 to life. That's a lot. Yeah, yeah. You're doing a lot of time.

You're doing a lot of time. You probably should have took that deal. Get comfortable with Vermont because you're not leaving for a while. Unless Florida wants you back for something. But he could have had a deal and didn't do it. Idiot. So that said, by 1998, he wants a new trial saying that he had, you know, ineffective assistance of counsel because he was discouraged. Yeah, he was discouraged from taking a plea deal that would have made it second degree murder and 20 years minimum sentence.

Plante's attorneys also contend that the defense attorneys failed to fully utilize a diminished capacity defense based on their client's apparent drunkenness at the time of his crime and his history of alcoholism. Plante took the stand in this hearing and testified that he relied on the advice of his attorneys in rejecting the plea agreement. He said his other convictions, including one for grand larceny, were the result of plea agreements. That's why he didn't do it. If his appeal is successful, he is entitled to a new trial.

So interesting here. They said that they definitely the family here, Michelle parent and all these people said that they they would like the you know, this guy to stay in prison. They said we would shout for life imprisonment and pray no plea bargain offer would be put on the table. They wanted that for sure.

So then they talk about the prisoner's rights office argued in a 24 page filing in 1999 that Plant should have been convicted of second degree murder because he didn't have the necessary necessary intent to steal Michelson's car, even though he did. He did it. Yeah. And he did it. Yeah.

And he stole a keg and his clothes and everything else. They blame the attorneys. They said that Petitioner has high hurdles to overcome in demonstrating that he's entitled to relief based on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. That's what the judge said. And a forensic psychologist named Philip Kinsler of New Hampshire said Plant's an alcoholic and said despite six years behind bars, Plant still displayed alcoholic attitudes.

Is that right? He said, I was blown away to tell you the honest truth. Here's a man. Alcohol destroyed him, and he was still bragging about great parties. It was frightening. I partied so hard. I partied so hard. I crashed a tornado right into a ditch, buddy. You don't even fucking know. So he has found...

Fuck you. Stay there. Denied all of his appeals there. In 2018, there's a bunch of murderers seeking reduced sentences because of a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court and some weird sentencing fucking technicality here. But it doesn't matter. He's still in prison anyway. So Robert Plant, Michael Jackson, Glenn Danzig, Michelson, they're all here. Everybody's gathered around. It's been a wild story. Holy shit.

If you like, that's a crazy Vermont story. I can't believe it. Even the chemist is smoking heroin and fentanyl.

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