Purdie Clark

Speaker 3 Wednesday on NBC, One Chicago is back with three can't-miss hours.

Speaker 4 Let's roll! Chicago Mid, Fire, and PD. Feeling toward the danger, not away from it.

Speaker 3 With everyday heroes risking it all and unforgettable emotional moments on and off the job, you don't want to miss Chicago Wednesday. We made a vow to protect this city.

Speaker 3 One night, one family, one Chicago. Gear up, we're going in hard.
Wednesday on NBC.

Speaker 7 The doctors will see you now. Bravo's Married to Medicine is back.

Speaker 1 What's up, players?

Speaker 8 What's up, Flairs and Flames? I'm here for all of it. All of it.

Speaker 7 Friendships are the best medicine. We're that ride or die group.

Speaker 8 That's my sister.

Speaker 7 We're going to have a good time.

Speaker 7 But they've got drama down to a science.

Speaker 8 We all should be able to

Speaker 8 get ready for the drag right now if you're interested. You dogs, our whole family.

Speaker 5 Leave my kids out of your mouth.

Speaker 7 Watch the premiere of Married to Medicine November 30th on Bravo and streaming on Peacock. Doctor's orders.

Speaker 7 A widow's second chance at love ends in death.

Speaker 10 They had seen a subject come out of residence screaming, yelling.

Speaker 6 He was in severe distress and pain.

Speaker 1 It was around between 9 and 9.30 that they found him and 10.18 when he was pronounced deceased.

Speaker 7 The hunt for the truth leads investigators to an alluring seductress.

Speaker 11 She definitely used her sexuality, I would say, to woo men.

Speaker 9 I think you should let me kiss you first everywhere.

Speaker 12 You promise this is like the first time you're just gonna let me join all of it.

Speaker 14 She had him hung up and twisting.

Speaker 15 He was over the moon for.

Speaker 7 Multiple agencies worked together to expose the dangerous and twisted web the killer created.

Speaker 6 She brought almost chaos. It was like a whirlwind.

Speaker 15 There's three dead people and they're all connected to one person.

Speaker 16 I think she is evil from toes up. It was all a game with her.

Speaker 10 She just thought she was not going to be caught.

Speaker 16 She was just on a high of seeing what she could do, what she could get away with.

Speaker 7 San Angelo, Texas, a former frontier town located deep in the heart of the Lone Star State.

Speaker 10 We're three hours from Lubbock, Texas to the north. And to the south, we got San Antonio.

Speaker 1 It's a larger town, over 100,000 people, but here everybody knows everybody.

Speaker 7 On February 16th, 2009, All was quiet as usual until just before 9.30 a.m. when a call comes in to the San Angelo 911 Dispatch Center.

Speaker 7 The female caller reports that she and a friend were driving when they spotted a man in distress in the front yard of a home.

Speaker 10 They had seen a subject come out of residence screaming, yelling, and then shortly thereafter, the subject collapsed.

Speaker 1 There were two ladies.

Speaker 1 They stopped to see what they could do to help.

Speaker 7 The woman reports that her friend is attempting CPR, but despite her efforts, the man is deteriorating by the second.

Speaker 1 She realized that he had stopped breathing.

Speaker 10 At that point, we had dispatched medical personnel, fire department, to respond to the scene.

Speaker 7 Paramedics arrive and take over the life-saving efforts.

Speaker 10 He was transported by ambulance to our Trauma One hospital here in San Angelo.

Speaker 7 But doctors never get a chance to treat him.

Speaker 7 Just moments after arriving at the ER, the patient succumbs to the mysterious affliction.

Speaker 1 It was around between 9 and 9.30 that the ladies had found him. And I believe it was about 10.18, something like that in the morning when he was pronounced deceased.
So, a very short period of time.

Speaker 7 Since he wasn't seen by a physician, the patient's passing is categorized as an unattended death.

Speaker 1 In Texas, anytime there's an unattended death, not being treated by a doctor, then they will call the Justice of the Peace. It's an old office in Texas.

Speaker 1 They do the investigation into an unattended death.

Speaker 1 They believe that it was some type of heart issue that caused his death, like a heart attack.

Speaker 7 Just then, the victim's son, Michael Phillips, arrives at the emergency room.

Speaker 6 The next-door neighbor had actually called

Speaker 6 and let Mike Phillips know that his father had been transported to the hospital. So he arrived, and then a positive identification was made.

Speaker 7 Michael speaks with the Justice of the Peace, who shares the devastating news that his father, father, James Bud Phillips, is deceased.

Speaker 7 Michael is in disbelief.

Speaker 7 Born in 1948, James Bud Phillips was a native Texan.

Speaker 15 Bud grew up in San Angelo, Texas, and when he was young, he got involved with a pretty rough crowd who were selling drugs. Eventually, Bud married, and they had a son.

Speaker 15 But when Bud was 43 years old, the fast part of his life caught up with him. He got arrested and was convicted for selling drugs.

Speaker 15 He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but thanks to his appeal, he only served 14.

Speaker 7 In 2005, when Bud got out at the age of 56, he was determined to stay on the straight and narrow.

Speaker 7 Bud found one thing he learned on the inside that helped him on the outside. Discipline.

Speaker 6 He was just a very orderly, neat, organized individual, almost to the point of being compulsive.

Speaker 6 His appearance, everything from his vehicles to how he kept his house, his clothes, everything, very orderly.

Speaker 15 Bud liked working on old cars and he really had a talent for it.

Speaker 6 He was very active. He wasn't someone that just sat around all day.

Speaker 7 Bud tried to make up for lost time with his now adult son, Michael, who lived nearby.

Speaker 15 Because he was in prison, Bud missed a big chunk of his son's life, and that really weighed heavy on him. So he was determined to make up for that.

Speaker 6 Michael was very much in touch with his father. They had a very good relationship.

Speaker 7 Bud was satisfied with his quiet life, but 2007 brought some unexpected and welcomed excitement. A raven-haired beauty named Purdy Clark.

Speaker 11 She was an attractive

Speaker 11 young lady and could be very charming. She had a bubbly personality.

Speaker 7 When Bud met the mother of three, she was still grieving the loss of her first husband, 42-year-old Kim Clark, who had died just months earlier in September of 2006.

Speaker 19 I knew Kim Clark from work. We were coworkers.
Kim was in the cubicle next to me, this regular guy with a family and a good job, and he was found on the side of the road, shot twice in the head.

Speaker 19 The first things that went through my mind are that it was a wrong place, wrong time thing. What else could we possibly be?

Speaker 7 The murder was still under investigation when Purdy met Bud Phillips.

Speaker 15 Purdy just lost her husband a few months earlier, and Kim has a twin brother named Tim who filed a civil suit to get the boys away from Purdy.

Speaker 5 When she met Bud, he really filled a void in her life.

Speaker 7 Despite the almost 30-year age difference, Bud and Purdy were swept away by their romance.

Speaker 6 It was like a whirlwind. They couldn't separate from each other once they began their relationship.

Speaker 7 Just a few months later, Purdy moved into Bud's home.

Speaker 10 They lived together for a period of time. They consider themselves husband and wife, but not legally married.

Speaker 7 The couple hoped for a long and happy life with each other.

Speaker 7 But now, two and a half years after the death of her first husband, Purdy is grieving another loss.

Speaker 7 After being rushed to the ER on the morning of February 16, 2009, 60-year-old Bud Phillips is pronounced dead from what doctors believe to be a heart attack.

Speaker 10 A male subject that age, it's highly likely that that he could have had a heart attack or some other medical episode.

Speaker 7 However, Bud's loved ones insist there must be another explanation.

Speaker 6 Michael did not believe that Mr. Phillips had died of a cardiac arrest.
While he was 60, he carried himself as being much younger. He was in very good physical condition.

Speaker 7 Michael requests an autopsy on his father.

Speaker 1 He did listen to the family and to calm their suspicions, he agreed to do a blood test.

Speaker 1 It would enable him to find out if there was another reason for an autopsy.

Speaker 7 The following day, before the results of the blood test are back, San Angelo police get a call from Bud's son, Michael.

Speaker 7 Michael reports that his father's ex, Purdy Clark, is at the house, declaring the house belongs to her.

Speaker 11 The son was at the dad's house cleaning it out, and she showed up, I guess, to claim the house, essentially.

Speaker 6 So now there was a disturbance between Mr. Phillips' family members and Miss Clark, so much that the police were notified.

Speaker 5 Coming up.

Speaker 7 A detective makes a disturbing connection between Bud's death and the cold case.

Speaker 10 The next thing we know is one of the main suspects is dead.

Speaker 7 And a mysterious letter to police creates more questions than answers.

Speaker 6 It was addressed to the chief of police. He placed in the letter that he was responsible for his death.

Speaker 10 They just didn't believe that was an authentic letter admitting to the crime and then the suicide afterwards.

Speaker 7 On February 17th, 2009, Michael Phillips summoned police to the residence of his suddenly deceased father, Bud Phillips.

Speaker 7 Bud's son tells officers that his father's ex, Purdy Clark, is trying to claim his home.

Speaker 6 Ms. Clark could no longer live there, but she was trying to take possession of the house.

Speaker 7 Purdy insists to police that her long-term relationship with Bud gives her the right to ownership of his home following his death.

Speaker 10 Mr. Phillips and Purdy Clark lived together and they considered each other husband and wife, but not legally married.
They were more than a dating relationship.

Speaker 7 However, Michael points out that the couple had been on and off for the last four months and had recently separated in November.

Speaker 11 I think it was an on and off again relationship. So she had not been living there on a day-to-day basis for several months.
Even if they were common-law married, it didn't make it her house.

Speaker 11 If he owned that house prior to her moving in, which he clearly did, that would never be her house.

Speaker 6 The sergeant that responded to the scene called me because he knew that I had had previous knowledge of Miss Clark.

Speaker 6 I advised that sergeant to go ahead and allow Mr. Phillips' son and secure the residence, maintain control, and Michael was his power of attorney.

Speaker 7 purdy is instructed to leave the property

Speaker 7 back at the station detective dye makes a striking connection after pulling purdy's police file this is not the first time san angelo police have encountered purdy clark

Speaker 6 we had been investigating her for some time She had committed felony theft, forged felony amount of checks.

Speaker 6 And in 2006, we had been contacted by members of the Collin County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers about an incident that occurred in Collin County.

Speaker 6 They were investigating homicide at that time, and the victim was identified as Kim Clark.

Speaker 7 On September 14th, 2006, Kim Clark, Purdy's first husband, was reported missing.

Speaker 11 Kim Clark worked for Texas Instruments, which is in the McKinney Plano area, kind of North Dallas area.

Speaker 19 On a Sunday morning, I remember being surprised, look at my phone, and see an incoming call from my supervisor. Of course, I answer it right away, and my supervisor asked me, hey, have you seen Kim?

Speaker 19 Kim's apparently he didn't come home after work on Friday

Speaker 19 and do you know anything about where he could be?

Speaker 19 And of course, I'm shocked. I remember thinking, is this a prank Kim is pulling?

Speaker 7 When police questioned Purdy back in 2006, she claimed the last time she saw her husband was the night before he went missing.

Speaker 15 Purdy said the evening ended with an argument and that she left to go meet friends at a bar. When she got home, Kim wasn't there, and

Speaker 15 she told investigators she didn't know what happened to him or where he'd gone.

Speaker 7 Just five days later, a tractor driver made a horrific discovery.

Speaker 1 He was found about 20 feet, I believe, off the edge of the highway by someone driving a tractor.

Speaker 1 He'd been shot in the head two times.

Speaker 4 I remember getting a heads up from the sheriff's department that they found a body.

Speaker 15 There was decomposition, so he'd been there for the majority of the time he was missing.

Speaker 19 It was on a Tuesday, I think, that we learned that his body had been found. I called Purdy and she was very sad about Kim.
Nothing ever seemed off or out of the ordinary about what could be at home.

Speaker 19 I thought maybe he went out for dinner on Friday night and the place was robbed and who knows. But I would have never guessed that it's anything intentional on his side or on anyone else's side.

Speaker 7 After finding Kim's body, Collin County investigators teamed up with San Angelo Police and took a deep dive into Purdy and Kim's life.

Speaker 7 They quickly learned that the marriage was anything but traditional.

Speaker 1 Kim and Purdy Clark, they were married for 14 years, but they had an open relationship.

Speaker 1 In 2006, she met a gentleman named Robert Dwayne Murphy, met him online.

Speaker 14 Dwayne had a bad breakup the year before, and I think Dwayne was looking for love.

Speaker 14 In the beginning, Purdy told Dwayne that she was single, and then a few weeks into the relationship, it turned into something else.

Speaker 17 That she was married, but they were getting a divorce.

Speaker 14 But it was all kind of slid in under the table after they had already gotten together in a more serious relationship.

Speaker 7 Soon, Dwayne and Purdy were hot and heavy, despite Purdy's dubious marital status.

Speaker 6 It was a fast, serious relationship.

Speaker 5 She had him hung up and twisting.

Speaker 15 He was over the moon for.

Speaker 1 And he wound up moving into the house with Kim and Purdy Clark at the time.

Speaker 7 When police questioned Purdy and Dwayne, they both deny any involvement in Kim's murder.

Speaker 1 Purdy Clark and Robert Murphy soon became prime suspects in Kim Clark's death.

Speaker 7 A month later, detectives looking into Kim's murder found themselves at an impasse. But the haze of suspicion around Purdy thickened when Dwayne Murphy also turned up dead on October 16, 2006.

Speaker 10 The next thing we know is one of the main suspects is dead.

Speaker 1 Dwayne was found alone in a hotel room here in San Angelo by the cleaning lady.

Speaker 11 He had OD'd on a hot shot of heroin and cocaine, but yet there was no needle found, there was no spoon found. So somebody was there with him because somebody removed whatever happened afterwards.

Speaker 7 The news shocked those who were close to Dwayne.

Speaker 6 For him to be accused or associated with any kind of drugs was unheard of.

Speaker 7 Adding to the mystery, a few days after Dwayne's death, a letter showed up at the San Angelo Police Department, an apparent suicide note from Dwayne Murphy.

Speaker 1 There was a letter that was sent claiming that he is the one that had shot Kim Clark

Speaker 1 and that he wasn't going to go on.

Speaker 7 Investigators had strong doubts that Dwayne actually penned the confession.

Speaker 6 Could have simply just has left it. Why mail it? That's a great deal of preparation and forethought that you normally don't see in these instances.

Speaker 7 Though Duane's autopsy deemed his death as suicide, investigators couldn't shake their suspicions.

Speaker 1 You could have an autopsy.

Speaker 1 The medical examiner will rule a cause of death as suicide, but then they leave it up to investigators to determine and do all the same steps that we would for a homicide investigation.

Speaker 1 So I would say early on in this investigation, we were working in as a homicide.

Speaker 7 For two years, suspicions surrounded Purdy, but with no clear evidence tying her to Kim's murder or Dwayne's mysterious death, she has remained a free woman.

Speaker 6 Purdy Clark was and still remains to be a person of interest. She's the common link between her husband and Mr.
Murphy, who are both deceased.

Speaker 15 From the investigator's standpoint, it looked like Purdy wanted to murder Kim for his money, and she also murdered Dwayne because he knew too much about Kim's murder.

Speaker 7 Now, less than three years later, the 31-year-old is back in detective sights as they learn of Purdy's connection to Bud Phillips and her attempt to cash in on his death.

Speaker 10 Knowing her history, we need to look into this as a murder.

Speaker 15 There's three dead people and they're all connected to one person.

Speaker 15 Everything just leads back to her.

Speaker 7 Coming up, new details emerge about Purdy and Bud's romance.

Speaker 10 The relationship was there to take advantage of Bud Phillips and take advantage of his finances.

Speaker 7 And later, the the prime suspect goes missing.

Speaker 1 We had no idea where she was.

Speaker 22 She told me she was going to town to get something for supper and she'd be right back. She never came back.

Speaker 22 Monday on NBC. I'm back, baby.

Speaker 2 Where are you going?

Speaker 20 Welcome back to St. Dennis Medical.

Speaker 7 A lot has happened since you were gone. I decided to bring in a professional therapy horse.

Speaker 6 It's the Feel Better Comedy.

Speaker 20 Some people hate hospitals, but everybody loves a pony that's certified fresh.

Speaker 7 The people here are complicated, and I love them.

Speaker 10 Aw, you still have some lightness left inside you. Just give it time, it'll die out.

Speaker 3 St.

Speaker 20 Dennis Medical, Monday on NBC.

Speaker 5 It's time.

Speaker 20 Streaming now, only on Peacock. How to Train Your Dragon.

Speaker 2 Everything we know about dragons is wrong.

Speaker 20 Peacock brings the adventure of dragons home.

Speaker 8 Toothless, you ready?

Speaker 20 Experience one of the biggest movies of the year.

Speaker 10 You have something

Speaker 2 none of us have.

Speaker 7 It's you and me, bud.

Speaker 20 How to Train Your Dragon, rated PG, streaming now only on Peacock.

Speaker 7 On February 18th, 2009, Two days after Bud Phillips passed away from what appears to be a heart attack, investigators get the results of Bud's blood test back and the 60-year-old's true cause of death is revealed.

Speaker 6 There was strychnine in his blood.

Speaker 6 So we knew we were working homicide.

Speaker 7 On West Texas ranches, strychnine was often commonplace.

Speaker 1 Strychnine is a poison used in the early days by ranchers for predators, coyotes, bobcats. It's very lethal for humans.

Speaker 1 It doesn't take very much strychnine at all.

Speaker 1 You'll see the symptoms within 10 to 20 minutes after ingestion.

Speaker 6 It affects your muscular system and your respiratory system. It basically causes all your muscles and everything to just seize.

Speaker 7 If Bud died from strychnine poisoning, how did he get it into his system?

Speaker 6 Strychnine very bitter.

Speaker 5 We were looking for some type of food source, something that would overpower the bitterness.

Speaker 6 That's where we started.

Speaker 7 Two days after Bud's death, investigators go back to his house to look for a possible source. There, they find Bud's son, Michael.

Speaker 15 Investigators have to tell Michael that His suspicions were right and his father didn't die of a heart attack.

Speaker 15 Instead, he died of poisoning.

Speaker 15 And Michael was very devastated by that news.

Speaker 7 Michael tells detectives that he and his wife had done some tidying up when they came back to the house from the hospital.

Speaker 6 At his residence after we became involved, what we found was completely opposite of what had been described by his family.

Speaker 6 You know, disorder, clutter.

Speaker 6 He had found an overturned carton of ice cream in one of the bedrooms, half melted.

Speaker 6 And we inquired to where that was, and he'd already cleaned it out and taken it to the trash.

Speaker 6 A bitter poison would need something to mask it. Something very sweet that would overcome the taste.
Ice cream kind of fits that bill.

Speaker 7 Investigators head outside where they dig through Bud's trash.

Speaker 6 Inside, we found the perfect cover for that type of poison.

Speaker 6 Obviously, the first thing we sent to the lab was the ice cream.

Speaker 10 We gathered not only the ice cream, but other items within the house that could contain strychnine.

Speaker 7 Next, investigators take the opportunity to get a detailed statement from Michael.

Speaker 7 He explains that once Purdy moved in with his dad, Bud's disciplined and orderly lifestyle was upended.

Speaker 15 Purdy came into his life and just filled his house with junk. There was stuff everywhere.
This caused a lot of arguments since Bud liked keeping things organized.

Speaker 15 But even with that, Bud didn't see that as a reason to leave Purdy.

Speaker 1 She was able to woo anybody, and I think that's probably what brought those two together.

Speaker 6 In the investigation, we learned that it seems that she had some amount of allure attraction that people just drew to.

Speaker 7 Michael reports that about a year earlier, while still in a relationship with Bud, Purdy made a bold and underhanded move.

Speaker 1 Bud had some property that his mom had deeded him in Mason, Texas.

Speaker 1 Michael recently found out, Purdy reached out to a real estate agent in Mason and was trying to sell that, saying that the property was given to her by Bud.

Speaker 10 Once it got closer to the property being sold, it kind of fell through because there was really not a way for her to prove up that she was the actual owner.

Speaker 1 She never told Bud about trying to sell the property.

Speaker 7 Eventually, Bud's family got word of the attempted sale. Since then, they've questioned Purdy's intentions.

Speaker 10 What they suspected is the relationship was there only to take advantage of Bud Phillips and take advantage of his finances.

Speaker 10 She tried to sell some property that didn't belong to her. So again, what they suspect is money could have been the motive.

Speaker 7 The next day, test results provide a vital clue in the case.

Speaker 1 The chemist at the Tarran County Medical Examiner's Office told us that there was a lethal dose of strychnine in the chocolate ice cream. It was a huge break because now we knew how it got into Buck.

Speaker 7 Investigators can prove that the strychnine was in the ice cream, but now they need to prove that Purdy gave it to him.

Speaker 10 We basically have to prove that she was there at the residence prior to his death, link her to the strychnine, and link her to the ice cream.

Speaker 7 Investigators talk to Bud's neighbors.

Speaker 10 Mr. Phillips' residence was at a corner of an intersection.

Speaker 10 One elderly lady across the street told me, I happened to be looking at between 8 and 8.30,

Speaker 1 heard a horn honk, and saw Purdy Clark's mother who came by to pick her up.

Speaker 1 So we knew that Purdy Clark left shortly before 9 o'clock.

Speaker 7 Approximately 30 minutes later, Bud was spotted by witnesses stumbling out of his house in severe medical distress.

Speaker 10 We could place her at the scene of the crime within 20 to 30 minutes of the death.

Speaker 10 That was too much of a coincidence for us.

Speaker 7 Investigators theorized that Purdy delivered Bud his death sentence under the guise of bringing him a treat.

Speaker 15 They knew from Bud's son that Purdy and Bud had broken up, but they'd still see each other on and off.

Speaker 17 So it wasn't completely

Speaker 15 abnormal for Pergie to show up from time to time.

Speaker 7 The pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together.

Speaker 6 We definitely had an unnatural death of Mr. Phillips.
A lethal concentration of strychnine.

Speaker 6 We had eyewitnesses placing her at the scene. She had access to Mr.
Phillips. She had access to the contents of his house where other people didn't.

Speaker 7 With the test results in, authorities finally have the evidence they need to place Purdy Clark under arrest for Bud's murder.

Speaker 6 We were able to obtain a warrant for Ms. Clark for murder.

Speaker 6 At that time, then it was a matter of determining her location.

Speaker 7 That task quickly proves difficult. Purdy is nowhere to be found.

Speaker 1 Our investigation was still flying sort of low on the radar that I don't think there was enough for her to know that would have spooked her.

Speaker 1 But she moved around so much, we didn't know where she was at.

Speaker 7 Days pass, and there is still no sign of Purdy.

Speaker 1 We were talking to friends, family, anything to try to locate her, to get her to either turn herself in or for us to take her into custody.

Speaker 7 Coming up, a tip on Purdy's whereabouts reveals yet another lover.

Speaker 22 I thank God they showed up because I really think that she was after us to kill us.

Speaker 7 Leaving investigators questioning if he is her next target.

Speaker 6 And I believe at some point that he'd very well been the next victim.

Speaker 7 Investigators in San Angelo, Texas believe that 31-year-old Purdy Clark poisoned her ex by putting strychnine in his ice cream.

Speaker 7 But after finally gathering enough evidence to arrest her, investigators can't track her down.

Speaker 7 They reach out to their counterparts in Collin County, where Purdy is under investigation for another murder.

Speaker 1 They were still working on the death of Kim Clark.

Speaker 1 They were doing interviews on their part of their investigation and someone they were talking to had told them that she was now living on a big ranch in El Dorado with some guy named Sean and they were dating.

Speaker 7 On March 19th, investigators drive 40 miles south to the 2,000-acre livestock ranch. They are met by the ranch's owner, Linda Scroggins.

Speaker 16 They asked me if I knew Herdie and I said, yeah,

Speaker 16 you know, I said, she's living over there with my son.

Speaker 7 Linda says that Purdy has been in a romantic relationship with her son, Sean, and living on the ranch on and off for around two months. But Linda says that neither Sean nor Purdy are home.

Speaker 7 Linda contacts Sean and hands the call over to investigators.

Speaker 22 I was headed home one day from work, and that's that's when one of the detectives up here in Senangelo called me.

Speaker 22 One of the detectives was asking me this and that about her

Speaker 22 if I had any strychnine poison on the ranch, and I said, Yes, sir.

Speaker 5 You can buy it back then for predator control.

Speaker 22 By the time I got to the house, there were two Texas strangers there already,

Speaker 22 and they wanted that poison, so I took them down to my shop, showed it to them.

Speaker 1 The strychnine was in the cabinet.

Speaker 1 You open it up, everything in there is dusty.

Speaker 7 All of the bottles are coated in dust, except for one.

Speaker 5 They're little dark brown vials.

Speaker 11 The one had been moved, so it wasn't dusty anymore.

Speaker 7 Investigators collect the bottle and continue their interview with Sean.

Speaker 22 I told him I probably knew her about a year or so before she got arrested.

Speaker 21 I didn't know Bud, but I'd met him one time, but I don't think he knew what was going on with us.

Speaker 23 You told me before you found her going through things in the shops and stuff like that, right?

Speaker 24 Yeah, she was filtering around in there whenever I was working at goodbye.

Speaker 22 She didn't know exactly where I kept it.

Speaker 23 I never showed it to her.

Speaker 13 I don't believe.

Speaker 14 Don't believe.

Speaker 12 I don't know.

Speaker 24 Goodbye, it's not hard to find.

Speaker 1 We knew there was strychnine in the ice cream. We knew she was the last one to see Bud before he ingested the ice cream.

Speaker 1 Now we had another link to be able to say she had access to strychnine.

Speaker 7 Investigators press Sean for information on Purdy's alleged crimes.

Speaker 23 Did she ever tell you anything about her previous husband?

Speaker 24 No, she didn't talk about him much. Every time she started, she'd start crying and pretty upset.

Speaker 16 Sean's first wife had died several years before that.

Speaker 16 I think Purdy just came along at the right time and swept him off his feet.

Speaker 7 The next thing Sean knew, Purdy was moving onto the ranch, bringing all of her belongings with her.

Speaker 22 She wanted me to come up here to San Angelo and get a bunch of stuff out of her storage building. She told me she had all that stuff because she was collecting it.

Speaker 22 Collectors, she likes collecting stuff.

Speaker 7 Sean explains that he eventually learned that by collecting, Purdy meant stealing.

Speaker 22 I found out eight or ten different IDs, driver's license and stuff off of people that she had accumulated.

Speaker 22 Yeah, just other people's IDs, driver's license, credit cards.

Speaker 16 She was just on a high of seeing what she could do and what she could get away with.

Speaker 7 Sean says that Purdy was also involved in even more nefarious activities.

Speaker 22 I never even saw her do drugs, but I know she did them. She was gone all the time, and I never could figure out why.
She didn't want to tell me what was going on.

Speaker 22 I just figured she was going out

Speaker 22 selling drugs.

Speaker 7 But Sean tells investigators he hasn't seen Purdy since yesterday evening.

Speaker 22 She had said she was going to town to buy stuff to cook dinner for me and my mom. She'd be right back.

Speaker 22 She never came back.

Speaker 7 Investigators don't believe that Sean was involved in any of Purdy's crimes. crimes.
In fact, they think it's more likely that Purdy's promise of a home-cooked meal could have been his last.

Speaker 6 We could all see a pattern develop that we had seen previously.

Speaker 6 And I believe at some point that Mr. Taylor could have very well been the next victim.

Speaker 22 I thank God they showed up because... I really think that she was after us to kill us.
Could have stolen a bunch of stuff. Maybe to keep me quiet because she got the street nine off of me.

Speaker 22 There's no telling what was going through her head.

Speaker 7 As investigators are talking with Sean, his phone starts ringing.

Speaker 7 Purdy is on the line.

Speaker 22 She asked me what was going on.

Speaker 21 And I said, well, the cops are here looking for you and going through all your sh ⁇ .

Speaker 22 I said, I done told them naked look. And she got all mad at me.
The cops asked me if that was her. And I said, said, yeah, that was her.
I was talking to. And they said, where is she?

Speaker 22 And I said, I don't know, but I'm guessing she's in Dallas. She was going back and forth to Dallas buying drugs to sell them.

Speaker 22 She'd go to a chop shop up there in Dallas and pick all that stuff up and then bring it down here to San Angelo.

Speaker 7 Coming up, FBI surveillance spots Purdy.

Speaker 1 They were dealing methamphetamines out of this chop shop.

Speaker 7 But the hunt for Purdy takes a dramatic turn.

Speaker 1 They saw her pull up and have a marked unit trying to stop her.

Speaker 2 She fled and she crashed out and then she ran on foot.

Speaker 7 Purdy Clark has been dodging San Angelo police for more than a week since they got a warrant to place her under arrest for the death of her ex, Bud Phillips.

Speaker 7 Now, Purdy's new boyfriend shares details with police about a chop shop in Dallas where she may be picking up drugs.

Speaker 7 As it turns out, the shop is already under surveillance by the FBI.

Speaker 1 There was an active federal investigation into this chop shop, and they were dealing methamphetamines out of this chop shop.

Speaker 7 San Angelo police alert the agents to be on the lookout for Purdy.

Speaker 7 On March 23rd, one month and five days after Bud's murder, they spot her.

Speaker 1 During that time when they were watching this, they saw her pull up and have a marked unit who attempted a traffic stop.

Speaker 2 She fled in the vehicle.

Speaker 1 She crashed out, and then she took off on foot for a short distance

Speaker 1 before she was captured.

Speaker 1 And then she was arrested on this murder warrant.

Speaker 1 Inside the car she was in, she had identifications for different people.

Speaker 1 She also had a shotgun. She had several phones.

Speaker 7 Hours later, the feds in Dallas release Purdy to San Angelo police, yet Purdy appears

Speaker 1 She walked out like she was being arrested for a traffic ticket.

Speaker 1 There was nothing bothering her.

Speaker 7 Back in San Angelo, Purdy requests an attorney and refuses to make a statement.

Speaker 1 We knew that she had asked for a lawyer, so we weren't asking her any questions at all.

Speaker 7 Purdy is tight-lipped to law enforcement, but she makes the most of her her daily phone call from jail and continues to reach out to Sean.

Speaker 12 You're not a fool, Sean. I swear to God, you're not a fool.
And I swear to God, I only love you.

Speaker 24 Been feeling like one the last few days.

Speaker 17 I didn't want to believe it.

Speaker 21 I don't know.

Speaker 22 I didn't love her, that's for sure, but I felt sorry for her, I guess.

Speaker 6 Because she was still telling me that she didn't do it and she didn't do it and she didn't do it.

Speaker 12 I think you should let me kiss you first everywhere. You promised.

Speaker 13 You said, like, the first time, you're just going to let me join all of it.

Speaker 15 Even from behind bars, Purdy's still trying to work her charm on Sean.

Speaker 15 Looks like at this point that Purdy is trying to seduce Sean and get him to not testify against her.

Speaker 7 Prosecutors prepare to try Purdy for Bud's murder, where they will allege that her motive was greed.

Speaker 1 It was all tied back to what was Purdy going to get out of it.

Speaker 1 So I think greed ultimately was the reason for all this, because it all ties back to getting something for her, whether it's selling drugs, stealing property, or killing someone.

Speaker 7 As her trial nears, Purdy's attorney explains to her her that even though she is only on trial for Bud's murder, the other deaths could play into the outcome.

Speaker 11 I explained it to her clearly that jurors are only humans and they hear that at least two other people associated with you are also deceased.

Speaker 11 They're going to just throw away the key at that point.

Speaker 7 In June 2011, A month before her trial is set to begin, 34-year-old Purdy agrees to take a deal.

Speaker 1 The district attorney offered a plea agreement that if she pled guilty, she would receive 40 years.

Speaker 6 For the chaos that she committed over the span in people's lives that she disrupted,

Speaker 6 40 years, is that enough?

Speaker 6 Honestly, If you ask the families of the people,

Speaker 6 I don't know what time would be

Speaker 16 I don't think she should even have a parole.

Speaker 16 I think she is evil from toes up.

Speaker 22 I think she should have got more time for killing somebody.

Speaker 21 I mean, that's just not right.

Speaker 7 Purdy will be eligible for parole in 2029.

Speaker 7 That is, if she doesn't face additional murder charges before then.

Speaker 1 We have Kim Clark's murder still active. Dwayne Murphy's death was changed after a while by the Justice of the Peace from a suicide to a homicide.
And I know that case is still active.

Speaker 1 It's a cold case, but it's still actively being investigated.

Speaker 1 At some point, I think Purdy might be there to answer to it.

Speaker 7 Purdy is at Dr. Lane Murray Unit Prison and will be eligible for parole in 2029.
The investigations into the deaths of Kim Clark and Dwayne Murphy remain open.

Speaker 7 Purdy has not been charged in connection with either murder.

Speaker 7 It's time your hard-earned money works harder for you. With the Wealthfront Cash Account, your uninvested cash earns a 3.5% APY, which is higher than the average savings rate.

Speaker 7 No account fees, no minimums, and free instant withdrawals to eligible accounts anytime. Join over a million people who trust Wealthfront to build wealth at Wealthfront.com.

Speaker 7 Cash account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC, member FINRA SIPC, and is not a bank. APY on deposits as of November 7th, 2025 is representative, subject to change, and requires no minimum.

Speaker 7 Funds are swept to program banks where they earn the variable APY.