Angelina O'Mara

43m

In the fall of 2011, homicide detectives located in towns over 300 kilometres apart link two separate murders to one ruthless killer.


Season 24 Episode 03

Originally aired: September 9, 2018

Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app:Β https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPod

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen and follow along

Transcript

Weight loss medications are everywhere right now.

Everyone's talking about them, everyone's on them.

But let's be real.

Have you seen the price tag?

It's hard to believe they're actually accessible.

That's where HERS comes in.

HERS is transforming women's healthcare by providing access to affordable weight loss treatment plans.

They connect you with a medical provider who will work with you to determine the best treatment option for you.

So, if you've been struggling to find a solution to your weight loss journey, it's time to find the best option that works for you through HERS.

Start your free online visit today at forhers.com/slash snapped.

That's F-O-R-H-E-R-S.com/slash snapped for your personalized weight loss treatment options.

For HERS.com/slash snapped.

Weight loss by HERS is not available everywhere.

Compounded products are not approved or reviewed for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA.

Prescription required.

See website for full details, important safety information, and restrictions.

Actual price depends on product and plan purchased.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance.

You chose to hit play on this podcast today.

Smart choice.

Progressive loves to help people make smart choices.

That's why they offer a tool called AutoQuote Explorer that allows you to compare your progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies.

So you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you.

Give it a try after this episode at progressive.com.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates.

Not available in all states or situations.

Prices vary based on how you buy.

After a relationship that spanned more than a decade, a new love came calling.

I think she wanted something more and something new.

She met him online.

I think he was younger than her and decided to start a life with him.

But a gruesome discovery threatens to destroy their dreams.

He was being abusive and she needed somewhere to stay.

Someone had came in in and placed pillows over him and shot him.

If your mind could only forget what your eyes have seen.

As the investigation heats up, detectives must decode a complicated love triangle.

I had both of these guys really loving on me, and it's confusing and hard.

Rumors that they wanted to kill him.

There were some threats.

Before the pieces fall into place, investigators will realize that love can have a dark side, where the best outcome is heartbreak.

They found a body that was jammed next to the door.

She said hell's angels had burst into the hotel.

There could potentially be more victims forthcoming.

And he said, I'm going to f ⁇ ing shoot you too, bitch.

November 1st, 2011, Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.

It's just after 11 a.m.

in this scenic community situated near the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

Larry Jekyll, the caretaker of the colonial apartment complex, is checking into an unusual complaint.

I got a phone call that said something, something smelled funny.

At first, I thought it was a mouse or it was a cat or it was something, but it just got worse.

Then it was horrendous, so then we called the landlord and Larry come over.

I thought maybe somebody left for the weekend or left their garbage by their door.

There was a little odor coming from the door.

It's the door to apartment 10, the residence of 43-year-old James O'Mara.

Jim was a good renter.

As far as I know, his rent was always paid on time.

Never had any noise complaints or any problem

Larry Jekyll knocks on the door but James doesn't answer so I used the key and opened the door and I hollered

TV was on pretty loud he was laying on the couch he had a pillow over the top of his head and it's like I could smell right away something was wrong As Larry approaches, it's clear that the man on the couch is dead.

So then I backed out of the door and called the Soccer Rapids Police Department.

I told them I had a dead body in the apartment.

I didn't see any blood.

I didn't know if it was an overdose or heart attack.

Moments later, the first officers arrive at the scene.

They quickly determine the likely cause of death.

Jim O'Mara had been found in his apartment.

He had been shot in the head with a small caliber weapon.

While James Kelly O'Mara was living at the colonial apartments in Sauk Rapids, he was known as the friendly Irishman next door.

This reputation as a buoyant, happy-go-lucky guy had been with James since he was a child, growing up in Minneapolis.

My brother's name is James Kelly O'Meara.

We've called him Kelly since the day he was born because he was an Irish little

looking leprechaun with big blue eyes and had an Irish twinkle.

We had a good life.

My mom was a homemaker.

As soon as James became an adult, he was ready to start a family of his own.

He got into a serious relationship with a woman named Carrie, and they didn't get married, but they were together for a while and they had a son named Sean.

He was such a proud dad.

Unfortunately, his first attempt at love left James with a broken heart and a son living out of state.

That relationship dissolved when Sean was quite young and they moved to Iowa.

It was really hard on him not to be a full-time dad.

Despite the heartbreak, James never lost faith that one day he'd find that special someone.

And when James was 25 years old, that faith was rewarded when he met a striking young brunette named Angelina Lusso.

She was tall, pretty.

She seemed like she had a lot in common with my brother.

Angelina Lusso also grew up in Minnesota.

But unlike James, Angelina's childhood wasn't marked by the memories of a loving family.

She grew up in a broken home too.

Her parents got divorced when she was really young.

And I know she was very insecure about guys because she didn't have a good relationship with her real father.

But Angelina eventually overcame her insecurities and blossomed into a vivacious, outgoing young woman.

She was smart.

She was an extrovert.

She could easily talk to people.

It was easy for her.

Still, when it came to relationships, Angelina always resisted commitment.

She did get serious with one guy, but when he asked her to marry him and move to Alaska, Angelina recoiled.

He wanted to get married and have kids and settle down, and my mom was really young at the time, and I don't think she wanted to.

Angelina's attitude changed when she met James Kelly O'Meara.

They were attracted to each other because they were both so fun, outgoing, down-to-earth people that just wanted to have fun with each other and love each other.

James also gave Angelina a sense of security that she had never felt before.

Being raised by four older sisters, by the time he was able to date, he was the most kindest, softest loving man there was.

He put Angelina on a pedestal.

He always wanted her to be happy, no matter what.

Then in 1997, Angelina became pregnant.

She was thrilled by the news, as was James.

I know that my parents were so excited to have me.

My mom told me all the time, and my dad how much of a blessing I was, that I was like an angel from God.

By 2006, the family had moved to the town of Rice, Minnesota, where James worked as a maintenance man, and Angelina took care of daughter Juliana and tended bar on the side.

While life together felt almost perfect, James believed there was still one thing missing.

He wanted Angelina to be his bride.

Angelina and Kelly were together for quite some time before they got married, and I know he was really excited to make it official when he asked her to marry him.

Angelina said yes, and the couple married in March of 2007.

But what should have been some of their happiest years together slowly began to sour.

There was times that they got along and there was times that they would fight.

Most of the fighting occurred when they were both drinking.

So my parents, they had a drinking problem and they started drinking heavily on weekends.

My dad was a proud Irish guy, so he loved to drink, loved to be around his friends, but sometimes when he would drink, he would get a little lippy like any Irishman would.

As the drinking and the arguing escalated, Angelina slowly withdrew.

She never wanted to spend with Kelly towards the end.

She was always gone.

Seemed like she had a secret life.

And to a certain extent, Angelina did have a secret life, at least online.

She was meeting different men on the internet.

And I think she wanted something more and something new.

In 2010, Angelina met 35-year-old Michael Pies on a dating site.

She was instantly intrigued.

Mike told her all these amazing things that he had a Mustang and that he had $10,000.

Like he told her all of these things and wrapped her in.

Before long, Angelina and Michael took their relationship from the chat room to the bedroom.

At first, Angelina believed the affair was just a fling, a welcome break from the tension that filled her home life.

But that all changed one weekend in the fall of 2010.

Angelina had left that weekend and and she said she was going to be with her girlfriends and she came back on Sunday with Michael Pies in the car.

And she said she was pregnant.

My dad wanted to work out the relationship, but my mom didn't and so she kicked my dad out of the house.

James moved to a one-bedroom apartment in Sauk Rapids.

Angelina moved Michael in with her and gave birth to their daughter Gracelin in April of 2011.

Realizing Angelina had moved on, James decided the best thing for everyone was for he and Angelina to be friends.

He was trying to repair some things, and it was important for him.

It didn't surprise me, but Angelina was back in his life.

By the fall of 2011, it seemed James and Angelina had truly managed to strike a new balance as friends and co-parents.

But on November 1st, the dynamic of the Omera family is forever altered by the gruesome discovery police have made inside James's apartment.

James had been laying on the couch, pillows have been placed over James, and James had been shot.

We had reason to be concerned.

We felt that someone else could be in danger.

Coming up, a troubling clue gives way to a manhunt and fears of a killing spree.

I heard rumors that they wanted to kill him.

I was fearful for her life at that time because nobody could find her and nobody could find him.

By the fall of 2011, James and Angelina O'Mara had put their messy separation and Angelina's affair with Michael Pies behind them and managed to forge a new friendship.

My mom contacted my dad and my dad let her in because he still loved my mom.

They were both trying to make things right.

I thought she would eventually go back to him because she was starting to when he moved into the apartment and saw Kravitz go in there, staying the night.

But on November 1st, things take a tragic turn when James is found shot to death in his apartment.

Based on the level of decomposition, investigators believe that James has been dead at least two days.

They also suspect the weapon used was a small caliber gun.

It appeared as though a.22 caliber rifle had been shot through the pillow, into his head, striking him and killing him.

Near the body, police find a few fast food wrappers and beer bottles.

Aside from that, the apartment shows no signs of disarray.

As far as there being something out of place, anything like that, There was nothing really out of place at the crime scene.

It looked there been a struggle or anything like that.

In fact, it appears James had been lying down at the time he was shot, perhaps unaware that an intruder had entered his apartment.

It appeared as though he had been asleep.

The fact that James was shot while he was asleep suggests the shooting wasn't random.

The door was fine.

The locks weren't broke.

The door jam was not kicked in or broken, so the door wasn't kicked in.

Whoever killed James knew how to get into his apartment.

But who would want to murder James in such cold-blooded fashion?

According to apartment manager Larry Jekyll, James wasn't the kind of guy who made a lot of enemies.

He'd lived in the colonial apartments at least a year, if not two years, so it wasn't like he just moved in and

all this trouble followed him.

He'd been there for two years, never had any problems.

Roxanne Huston, who lives next door, tells investigators that James was a wonderful neighbor.

He's a very nice man.

I don't know anybody that didn't get along with him in the apartment building.

He was quiet.

He worked nights.

So

he kept to himself.

However, Roxanne also told police that she'd had a bizarre exchange with someone who claimed to know James on the morning of October 29th.

She had came that morning and she said that she had brought a burrito because he was going to be hung over.

The woman told Roxanne that she couldn't get James to wake up and come to the door.

And then she asked if I had a butter knife she could get in the apartment.

Roxanne loaned her the knife.

A few minutes later, the woman returned and said it didn't work.

She couldn't get in and then she left.

She just reminded me of somebody that had some problems that she just wasn't all together.

like mumbling to herself

before they can find out more about this woman investigators reach out to james's sisters to inform them that the brother they affectionately called kelly is gone and i'm crying i'm carrying i'm just talking to myself all the way to my mom's and i get there and um the cops are there

I couldn't believe it that he was dead.

Kelly was a loving, he was a a people person.

He got along good with everybody.

When you hear somebody, like when you hear that your dad is murdered, you don't know like word to start thinking or anything.

I just started screaming.

My brother was amazing.

He was, he had so much love.

He had love for God.

He had love for his mom, his children, his family.

And family was number one important to him.

Once James's sisters collect themselves, detectives ask them if there's anyone who'd want to hurt James.

From the moment I heard Kelly was dead, I always thought it was Michael Pies that murdered him.

James's sisters explain that while their brother and his ex-wife Angelina had managed to patch things up, there was still bad blood between James and Angelina's new boyfriend, Michael Pies.

Kelly was always telling my mom and me that Michael Paz was calling, threatening to kill him if he didn't stop talking to Angelina.

It was often, like every day almost, Michael Pies was threatening Kelly.

I think there were some threats maybe via text messaging or cell phone.

And so we were bothered by that.

I just thought, you know, he just didn't want my brother in the picture.

And my brother was going to be in the picture because he's the father of Juliana.

According to James's sisters, Michael Paze feared Angelina might rekindle her relationship with James, and that those fears had manifested themselves in the form of physical violence.

Michael had tried to choke her and, you know, assault her.

She had told Jim that he was being abusive and she needed somewhere to stay, and Jim let her stay at his apartment.

He brought her into his home and started taking care of my mom.

They seemed like they were happy and like they were going to get back together and that like my family was going to be back together again.

According to his sisters, James was glad to have Angelina back in his life.

I think he was looking for any hope to get back together with Angelina.

Kelly loved Angelina unconditionally.

At the end of the day, he just loved her and wanted to be with her.

But after just a few days with James, Angelina patched things up with Michael.

Armed with this new information, police are eager to speak with Angelina and Michael.

There's just one problem.

Michael Pais hadn't been heard from in a number of days, and he was last known to be with Angelina Omara.

Even more alarming is that Angelina's daughter, 12-year-old Juliana, had been left tending to the household alone.

My mom just disappeared.

Me and my sister, we had to go live with my best friend.

When I told her that I'd been living at my house in Cold Spring by myself with my baby sister, she told her family and they took me and my dad's side of the family tried calling my mom to tell her that my dad was dead and she didn't answer anybody's calls.

I really had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

I was scared.

Did Michael kill James and go on the run?

If so, has he taken Angelina with him against her will?

I was thinking at the time, oh my God, Michael Paz did something with Angelina.

Like he hurt her or something like that.

I was fearful for her life because nobody could find her her and nobody could find him.

So I was thinking that Michael Pies maybe kidnapped her.

Coming up, investigators catch wind of a potential lead.

Officers have been called because of a disturbance.

And a fresh tip leads to another horrifying discovery.

They could smell the odor, which is very distinct of a decaying body.

As much as I'd love to hold on to summer for as long as I can, I get excited for fall by thinking about my wardrobe.

Cozy sweaters, layering my scarves.

Quince nails it with luxury essentials that make your capsule closet effortless, easy, and always so stylish.

Think chic cashmere wraps or cotton sweaters.

The best part?

With Quince, everything is half the cost of similar brands.

They work directly with top artisans and cut out the middleman to give you luxury without the markup.

One classic I've been using every day since I got them is the Bally Polarized Sunglasses in Green.

They're great for road trips, pumpkin patches, or early mornings.

I don't want to risk my eyesight for style, so I'm glad Quince offers polarized frames in a cute style.

I've also been eyeing the Italian leather laptop backpack for a while.

I might just have to check out my cart right after this.

Elevate your fall wardrobe essentials with Quince.

Go to quince.com slash snapped for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns.

That's q-u-i-n-ce-e.com slash snapped to get free shipping and 365 day returns.

Quince.com slash snapped.

You know, over the years, I've had my fair share of financial stress, overdraft fees out of nowhere, forgetting a payment and getting hit with penalties, or just wishing I had a better way to stretch my money between paychecks.

That's why I love what QIIME is doing.

As a fee-free banking app, Chime understands that every dollar counts.

When you set up direct deposit through QIIME, you unlock fee-free features like free overdraft coverage, getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit, and so much more.

QIIME is banking done right.

You can open a checking account with no monthly fees and no maintenance fees.

And when you set up direct deposit, you can actually get paid up to two days early.

Imagine that.

Plus, with qualifying direct deposits, QIIME has your back with free overdraft, up to $200 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals.

No more sweating that surprise coffee charge.

In fact, QIIME has already spotted members over $30 billion to date.

And when it comes to access, you're covered with over 47,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide.

That's more than the top three national banks combined.

I use QIIME, and you should too.

Getting paid early has actually made budgeting easier for me.

It gives me a head start on rent, groceries, subscriptions, everything.

And I love getting those real-time alerts when I spend.

It keeps me way more aware of my daily habits.

And the thing I love most, QIIME's customer support agents are available 24-7.

It's been super helpful to get the support I need when it works best for me, not trying to cram in extra calls during the workday.

Work on your financial goals through QIIME today.

Open an account in two minutes at chime.com/slash snapped.

That's chime.com/slash snapped.

Chime feels like progress.

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank.

Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank Corporate Bank NA or Stripe Bank NA, members of FDIC.

Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply.

Timing depends on submission payment file.

Fees apply at out of network ATMs, bank ranking, and number of ATMs according to U.S.

News and World Record 2023.

Time checking account required.

It's been almost 24 hours since 43-year-old James O'Meara was found shot to death in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.

Police have now discovered that James's ex-wife, Angelina, had recently been staying with James after an alleged domestic incident involving Angelina's new boyfriend, Michael Pies.

Once James O'Meara was found and it was determined it was a homicide, and then getting information that Angelina had a boyfriend and that boyfriend

we found out was Michael Pais, obviously you would want to look at the boyfriend also in this case.

Detectives believe Michael may be the trigger man and that Angelina might also be in danger.

It was important for us to locate Angelina as soon as possible to make sure that she herself was not a victim.

On November 2nd, 2011, investigators put out a nationwide APB on Angelina's SUV.

When you're trying to find someone who may be in the wind anywhere in the country,

you put information to NCIC, National Crime Information Center, and that goes through all the states.

It doesn't take long for the APB to yield results.

An officer 200 miles away in Ashland, Wisconsin, enters Angelina's tag number after responding to a disturbance call at a local motel.

The Anderson Motel is a little mom-and-pop motel right on US2

on the west side of Ashland.

Very low crime, very few calls for service there.

Officers had been called because of a disturbance that was called in by the motel owner's daughter.

She said that she had a suspicious female that was there arguing with her.

She wanted to re-rent the room for the rest of the week.

and that the daughter would not re-rent the room to her.

And the daughter was explaining that she cannot.

She had to wait for her parents to get back and that she had called because the parents were gone and she kept insisting.

When the responding officer engaged the woman in the motel parking lot, she identified herself as Angelina O'Mara.

She was really agitated, really in a hurry, really pushing it.

She got in her vehicle, she was by herself, and she left.

That's when detectives back in Sauk Rapids explained to the officers in Wisconsin the reason for their inquiry.

They then informed him what was going on, why they were looking for Michael Pies.

That's when they went back and did a welfare check at the motel.

When Ashland police arrive at the motel, they speak to the owner, who informs them that Angelina checked into room 12 on October 29th.

He said when Angelina came to check in, she came in by herself with a male that we described as Michael Pies sitting in her vehicle out in the parking lot.

If Angelina arrived with Michael but left alone, where is he?

And where is Angelina

Officers asked to see room 12.

The officers responded to that particular room and knocked on the room door, did not receive any answer.

The door, however, was unlocked.

They could smell the odor, very distinct of a decaying body.

And upon trying to make entry into the room, they found a body that was jammed next to the door.

The body was covered up with some blankets and a pillow and was jammed between the bed and the front wall next to the, to the left of the door.

But we did not know who the deceased was.

We did not know if it was a male or a female.

Careful not to disturb the crime scene, investigators managed to move the body far enough away from the door to gain entry.

Upon making further entry into the room and upon examining the deceased, we were able to determine that it was Michael Potties.

It was hard to tell initially what the cause of death was.

A lot of decaying had set in, a lot of discoloration, a lot of blood stains on the bed.

After examining his body for some time we were able to figure out that he had suffered a gunshot wound to his head.

There was some garbage, food containers, things of that nature, cigarette bus.

Nothing odd, nothing broken, nothing turned over.

Didn't appear to be any struggle.

We didn't believe that this was a robbery because Michael Pae's wallet and identification were still present on the nightstand.

There's nothing in the crimes that suggests anything other than an execution.

We have Michael Pies

in a room with Angelina O'Mara.

He's shot in the head while he's sleeping with the 22.

And James O'Mara, who has ties with Angelina, is shot in the head in his residence while he's sleeping.

Very similar methods, very similar crime scenes.

That night, investigators notify Michael Pae's father of his son's death.

It's in that conversation investigators learn a disturbing new detail about Angelina and Michael's relationship.

Talking to Michael Pae's father, had said that he'd met her on the internet.

and that

since him meeting her, he'd kind of went sideways.

I just remember that Mike and my mom had two big things of boxes full of pills, and they would just take them all the time.

She didn't look healthy, and I couldn't fathom it, but I knew something, something terrible and awful was going on.

The revelation of Michael and Angelina's alleged pill addiction presents a slew of possible scenarios.

Either she had something to do with this, the death of Michael Pies, or she was also a victim as well and was now being held captive in one way or another.

So it was very important to locate her as soon as possible to number one, ensure that she was safe, or number two, find out what had actually transpired in that motel room with Michael Pais.

Investigators release another nationwide APB for Angelina and her 1996 GMC.

Within 24 hours, some 450 450 miles away in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, police receive a 911 call made by a truck driver who just had a bizarre encounter with a woman driving a 1996 GMC SUV.

Apparently, she had stopped at a truck stop, had met with a truck driver and asked him to help her load the.22 caliber rifle, which is...

Pretty odd thing to do and kind of prompt him to send her on her way and call the police.

Local police responded to the call, only to find the woman had vanished and her GMC abandoned.

When they run the license plate, they determine the vehicle is in fact registered to Angelina O'Mara.

Her vehicle broke down in Sioux Falls and she tried to hitch a ride with a trucker heading toward Washington.

According to the trucker, Angelina's mission was to track down a person from her past.

She's trying to head to Seattle and then get to Alaska to see her other ex.

For detectives, the trucker's statement strikes a chord of panic.

Maybe Angelina's not on the run from a drug dealer.

Maybe she's on a killing spree.

Our concern as investigators was she was heading there to possibly kill him also.

because the two other men in her life were deceased.

If Angelina is on a cross-country quest to take out all of her former lovers, the question is, why?

There could potentially be more victims forthcoming, so it was important that we locate Angelina as soon as possible.

Coming up, police receive a tip that adds another bizarre layer to the case.

The Hells Angels, they had burst into the motel room, kicked the door open.

They pulled the gun out and were gonna kill Angelina.

In the span of less than 48 hours, authorities in two states had discovered the bodies of Angelina O'Meara's estranged husband, James O'Meara,

and her new boyfriend, Michael Paze.

Jim O'Meara had been shot in the head.

Michael Paze, he had also been shot in the head with a very small caliber weapon.

When we realized that Angelina was a suspect in not one, but two homicides in two different states and not knowing where she was anymore, we had reason to be concerned.

After receiving a tip from a trucker that Angelina was headed to Alaska to find an ex, police fear that she might be on a killing spree.

Authorities in Sioux Falls issue a bolo for Angelina to all of their officers.

At 2 a.m.

on November 3rd, one patrol officer spots a woman fitting Angelina's description.

What's your name?

Angel?

Well, we're looking for somebody in particular, and as long as you check out to not be hers,

everything's gonna be all right.

Where's your ID at, Angel?

I don't know.

You don't have anything on you with your name on it?

No.

I'm me on

Angelina O'Mara.

I've got pull coal bottles with her name on it.

Opiates, painkillers, and, you know, muscle relaxers and stuff like that.

She had a good amount of bottles in her purse with her maiden name, her married name.

Police immediately take Angelina into custody and notify the authorities in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We had agents from the Minnesota BCA, I believe detectives from Sioux Falls PD had gone there.

And then then my supervisor from the Ashton Police Department went down to interview her.

All right, around the back of the car and towards that door.

Had investigators halted a potential killing spree?

When they ask why she was heading to Alaska, Angelina denies any intention of going there to see her other ex.

She was asked about that.

Angelina was, and

she never admitted that that was.

why she was heading that way.

Angelina is transported to the Sioux Falls Police Department.

The next morning, detectives ask Angelina to pace them through the events of the last few days.

Angelina says that it all began on a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Michael Pies.

She just wanted to get away with Michael and take a few days off, and they started driving.

There wasn't a set location that they were headed to and just chose Ashland, Wisconsin.

They end up in Ashland, they find a hotel room, and that's where they end up staying.

What Angelina says next throws investigators for a loop.

She said Hell's Angels had burst into the motel room, kicked the door open, and shot him.

But she was able to escape.

Investigators are skeptical.

Why would the Hells Angels come after Michael?

According to Angelina, they were hired.

James told him that he knew the Hell's Angels and he was going to have him killed.

Who was going to have who killed?

James was going to have

Michael.

Michael killed, because this has been going on for months.

She was explaining to me that James and Michael did not like each other.

She explained it was

James wanted Michael deceased.

That's when detectives tell Angelina it wasn't possible for James to hire the Hell's Angels to kill Michael.

Is James okay?

James, I don't think is okay.

So, in what way is James not okay?

Well, what I heard, James is dad.

My husband.

Are you right?

No,

okay.

When I told her James was deceased, she paused and

I believe teared up a little bit and

wanted a minute.

Despite Angelina's tears, investigators aren't buying the idea she had no knowledge of James's murder, nor do they believe her story that the Hell's Angels killed Michael.

There was nothing to substantiate.

She was reaching pretty hard.

I was talking with her.

She said, I'll tell the truth.

I want to lay it all out and put it out there.

It needs to come out.

This time around, Angelina states that it all started on the morning of October 29th when she visited her estranged husband, James, at his apartment in Sauk Rapids.

If James went out to have drinks or something like that, she always brought him over Burger King in the morning and checked on him.

I brought him Burger King.

He was laying on the couch.

Okay.

He drank a lot the night before

and

couldn't get in.

She went back to the apartment, asked a neighbor for a butter knife to get in because James was sleeping and wouldn't wake up.

You couldn't get in?

How did you know he was laying on the couch?

So I opened up the window and he was laying there and then I just put it on the coffee table.

At that point, when I asked her, how did he look?

And she said he looked fine.

According to Angelina, she dropped off the fast food and left the apartment.

But when she returned home home to Michael later that day, he was irate to learn where she had been.

Michael Pies was jealous of the time she was spending with Jim O'Meara, and he did not appreciate that.

She said, Michael goes over to James's at five in the morning Saturday morning and comes back and says, I blew James' head off.

Angelina tells police she didn't believe him.

She went to call anybody because she did not really believe what he was saying was true.

Thinking Thinking Michael was just trying to frighten her, Angelina suggested that the two of them make up by getting out of town for a few days.

Michael agreed.

But according to Angelina, once they arrived at the hotel in Ashland, it was clear that Michael was still upset.

Michael was drinking in the hotel and they got into an argument and Michael then pulled the gun out and said that he was gonna kill Angelina.

So what happened during that struggle?

He pulled out the gun and said was really angry about me spending time with my

ex.

Okay.

And he said I'm gonna fing shoot you too, bitch.

We were struggling with the gun

and then I took the gun from him and then it went bang off and hit him

Angelina Angelina admits to shooting Michael Paes, but claims that was an accident.

When I asked Angelina if she had bothered to check to see if Michael Paze was still alive, she said no.

I asked her if she felt for a pulse, she said no.

I asked her if she called 911, she said no.

She just laid down on the bed next to him and went to sleep.

The next day, when she was ready to leave, she tried to move the body.

At that time, he had slid off the bed and there was a small space between the wall and where the bed was.

Even though she swears she's telling the truth, investigators aren't buying Angelina's news story either.

Michael Pies, he was a very big man that I believe could have easily overpowered Angelina.

And she's telling me that she was able to wrestle this long rifle weapon away from him in that small motel room.

and there was no indication whatsoever that a struggle had even taken place.

Her stories just weren't adding up.

Coming up, investigators tried to catch Angelina in a lie.

She had basically told a few truths,

a lot of obvious lies.

And friends and family doubt if justice will ever be served.

Probably anyone's natural reaction.

I hate her.

38-year-old mother of two Angelina O'Meara is being questioned about the murders of her estranged husband, James O'Mara, and her current lover, Michael Pies.

While she has confessed to killing Michael in an act of self-defense, she still maintains that she is not responsible for James's death.

But when investigators ask Angelina to again walk them through the timeline of events, she gets tripped up in the details.

Michael had told her that he was mad at James and that he had killed James five in the morning on Saturday.

Angelina had gone over to James's apartment, however, after five in the morning with the Burger King, says he looks fine.

With everything else that she's saying, that story did not make any sense to me.

Investigators press Angelina to explain what she did with the gun after she shot Michael.

She had taken the gun, wrapped it in a blanket, drove it out, and threw it in an area which she couldn't describe.

She had to have a map to see it.

She had previously stated that, but it was false.

When we'd searched, there was nothing found in any areas.

She had basically told a few truths,

a lot of obvious lies.

She gave me enough of a confession that I believed our prosecutor would charge her with first-degree intentional homicide.

On November 3rd, Angelina is charged with the first-degree murder of Michael Pies and the second-degree murder of James O'Meara.

Word of her arrest makes its way back to Minnesota.

The detective called and said that they had apprehended her.

And it was almost a sigh of relief not knowing if she's going to kill another person.

My reaction to Angelina being charged with murder was probably anyone's natural reaction.

I hate her.

I was shocked because I was like, why are they arresting my mom?

I don't feel like my mom could have killed my dad, and that was probably the hardest thing to ever go through.

Though detectives are fairly certain Angelina killed both men, they need more evidence to ensure a conviction.

Two weeks later, that evidence lands in the lap of Ashland investigator Gerald Kachika.

I get his phone call from the jail where she's being held, and it says, Angelina O'Mara, I want to talk to you.

Angelina, it seems, has reached a breaking point.

She says, I shot him.

We'll ask him, were you alone?

Yes, I was by myself.

So she crawled through window, went in while you were sleeping, and shot him.

Angelina also admits that she shot Michael Pies in a similar fashion, not in self-defense as she'd originally claimed.

She went in detail and talked about how she had waited for him to fall asleep.

She and Michael were in the room eating food, drinking some beer, and then when he fell asleep, she executed him, shot him in the head with a.22 caliber rifle while he was sleeping.

And then I asked her, so

why did you kill Michael?

Why did you kill James?

She goes, I'm not going to tell you.

With her latest, most believable confession in hand, prosecutors in Minnesota have what they need to take Angelina's case to trial.

The trial was held in Benton County, which is in Minnesota.

They were showing videos on pictures of things that they found and the evidence that they found, and some pretty gruesome stuff came up.

In pretrial motions, Angelina's lawyers had sought to throw out her prior confession, but the judge overrules them, and Angelina's confessions are played in court.

What shocked me the most when I saw the interrogation was, first and foremost, she acted like she didn't know about it.

She was just shocked to hear my brother was dead.

And immediately went into Hell's Angels.

She blamed all kinds of people.

That was really hard to see.

You're just shocked by those answers.

Even more anticipated than Angelina's confession is the hope that her motive will finally be revealed.

But before Angelina can take the stand, her attorneys make an unexpected announcement.

Pulling all the witnesses in, we're in the waiting room waiting to get sequestered, getting her called in.

And right in the middle, she pleads guilty.

My mom still had probably a couple more days or maybe even weeks left of her trial.

And as soon as my grandmother died, her mom, she was fighting cancer.

She just pleaded guilty because that was my mom's only support system.

The evidence was overwhelming.

The stories that she had initially told,

we were able to fill full of holes.

Angelina came to the realization of what she had done.

She had pled guilty to the case in Minnesota, and that she was also going to plead guilty to the case in Wisconsin.

Angelina was sentenced to

serve life without parole.

However, as part of her plea deal, Angelina doesn't have to explain her motive for murdering either James or Michael.

What could Jim Omara and Michael Pies have done to her to drive her to actually kill both of them?

I was never able to get that answer.

To this day, I will reflect back on that case and still wonder why she did what she did.

Those who knew Angelina believe that her rapid descent into addiction certainly played a factor.

I'm sure that attributed greatly to whatever was going on in her life and the decisions that she made.

Family and friends also wonder if Angelina's addiction put the custody of her children in jeopardy as well.

She was afraid that Michael was going to go after custody for Gracie and that James is going to go after custody for Juliana.

They were going to take their kids away because it seemed like a better place for them.

I think also her depression and anxiety just all built up and I think she just went crazy one day.

She's an evil person as far as I'm concerned and she knows what she's doing.

Maybe she manipulated everything.

It's not, that's not crazy, that's cunning.

And that's why this whole story is so sad because I had the perfect family and it just doesn't make sense.

But I do believe that she deserves to be in there because she did take two innocent people's lives.

Angelina is serving her life sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, Minnesota.

The divorce between Angelina and James O'Meara was never finalized.

Hi, I'm Denise Chan, host of Scam Factory.

You might remember hearing about our investigative series that exposed what's really happening behind those suspicious texts you get.

Inside heavily guarded compounds across Asia, thousands are trapped and forced to scam others or risk torture.

One One of our most powerful stories was Jella's, a young woman who thought she'd found her dream job, only to end up imprisoned in a scam compound.

Her escape story caught the attention of criminals Phoebe Judge, and I'm honored to share more details of Jella's journey with their audience.

But Jella's story is just one piece of this investigation.

In Scam Factory, we reveal how a billion-dollar criminal empire turns job seekers into prisoners and how the only way out is to scam your way out.

Ready to uncover the full story?

Binge all episodes of Scam Factory now.

Listen to Scam Factory on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.