Princess LaCaze

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.

When a fun-loving country girl falls for a real-life Louisiana cowboy, sparks fly.

He was one of the toughest, most rugged cowboys that there ever was.

He wore spurs on his boots.

She, on the other hand, was always dressed to a T.

She had him totally captivated.

But one March evening, their picturesque life comes to a sudden end.

He was lying on his back, face up, with his hands extended over his head.

Quite a bit of blood.

It appeared as if the perpetrator was searching for something.

As investigators hunt for answers, they uncover a plot far more devious than they could imagine.

People had seen them together.

And, you know, how to use little towns, they start talking.

She was all he he thought about.

He was in love with her.

There was a bunch of bickering back and forth between the families.

The noose was tightening, so to speak.

The wagons were circling.

It became a cold and calculated murder.

She twisted his mind, and that's the truth about it.

March 1st, 1997, Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Though it's been over 60 years since John Wayne filmed his westerns in this small southern city, the town still plays host to genuine American cowboys.

It's more than just the cowboy hat and Wrangler jeans and cowboy boots.

They're the people who go out first thing in the morning at daylight and work the fences and haul the cattle.

Come in at night exhausted but feeling that they did a good hard day's work.

It's just after 7 p.m.

when a call comes in to the Natchitus Sheriff's Office.

The caller is 36 year old Princess Lacaz.

She had come home and found her husband lying on the kitchen floor.

She called out to him and he didn't answer.

She saw him only from the door, saw him lying on the floor, a lot of blood around.

So she didn't know if he was dead or what happened.

She was very emotional.

Nakatus Sheriff's deputies rushed to the home where Princess lives with her husband, 41-year-old Mike Lacaz.

Responding officers request that she stay put as they enter the home.

Mike was found on the floor by the bar in the kitchen.

He was on his back, face up, with his hands extended over his head and had no shirt on and some blue jeans.

Quite a bit of blood in the area where Mike was lying.

It appeared that he had the single gunshot wound in the shoulder area, left side.

Officers are unable to find a pulse.

I was surprised.

I knew Mike probably right out of high school.

I knew the whole family.

I started thinking about who would want to kill Mike Lacaz.

Because even though he was so rough and tough, I never knew if Mike had a real enemy or somebody who would want to hurt him.

I didn't know of anyone.

Born in 1955, Mike Lacaz grew up with his three siblings just south of Natchitish.

By high school, Mike could just as easily rope a calf as saddle a horse.

He always went out with the rest of them cowboys.

He went road bulls for a while.

Just to show people that he could do it.

Though Mike attracted plenty of attention from the opposite sex, one young woman knew her feelings for Mike were more than a crush.

When I met Mike, He was getting off a school bus and I looked at my girlfriend next to me and I said, I'm going to marry that man one day.

And I did a couple of years later.

In June of 1974, just after Mike's graduation and with Rhonda still in school, the young couple married.

I was in love.

Mike could be very funny, playful, joking.

We got married when I was 14.

Me and Mike had two children together.

My first one was Michael Jr.

in 1978, and then William Lane was born in 1981.

Eager to provide for his family, Mike turned his natural skills with livestock into a living.

Mike started working for Rayburn Smith in the 70s.

They sold cattle, sheep, horses, any kind of animals pretty much.

Mike was one of the toughest, most rugged cowboys that there ever was in this country anyway.

He worked for me for 20 plus years off and on.

I got to be really good friends with Mike.

In addition to the bruises and broken bones that came along with being a cowboy, 19-year-old Mike started experiencing symptoms that couldn't be explained by his job.

Mike was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at 19.

Mike didn't let the diagnosis slow him down.

He continued to put in long days at work and came home every night to wrangle his two sons.

My brother's three years older than I am, and he was raised up on a farm.

Rode horses, worked cows, had chickens, dogs.

Mike lived and breathed his job, and his best friend often worked alongside him.

That was Daddy's hobby.

He worked.

And Marilyn Robertson was my daddy's lifelong friend.

They was probably friends for 20 years or better.

Him and Marilyn grew up like brothers.

Where you've seen one, you've seen the other.

Marilyn probably knew him better than I did.

Though they'd built a family together, by 1990, Mike's 16-year marriage to Rhonda was falling apart.

Thought I was in love and I didn't know what love was.

So...

We just went our separate ways.

Following the split, Mike focused on his work work until a 30-year-old local woman named Princess Potmassil came into his world.

Princess was a very nice looking young white female being raised about in the country.

I would see her.

She'd be out there working with her dad.

Mike and Princess got together in 1992 whenever Mike went back there and was working pals for Joe Potmassil.

Princess's father, Joe, was well known in Natchitoches both as a farmer and a hothead.

You would have to know her father.

He's pretty dominant in that family.

He kind of ran the roost.

By the time Princess was 30, she was a divorced single mom looking for a happily ever after.

And to her surprise, she found her Prince Charming in the arms of Mike Lacaz.

Princess had three kids from a previous marriage.

They were close to my daddy, and they did a lot.

They did a lot together.

Princes and Mike, to me, was totally opposite.

Mike was a cowboy, wore blue jeans.

He wore spurs on his boots.

Princes, on the other hand, was always dressed to a T.

Despite the talk around town, it seemed their differences brought them closer together.

On July 3rd, 1993, Princess and Mike married.

They settled into Mike's modest home tucked away in the country just outside of town.

Not a big house, just a country, country home,

wood frame house.

They appeared to be real close.

In 1997, after four years of marriage, the couple was dealt some frightening news.

Mike's kidney disease and years of grueling physical labor had caught up with him.

Mike had been experiencing kidney failure, and he was scheduled to have a shunt put in to begin a kidney dialysis.

Princess vowed to be by his side and Mike took the news like a true cowboy.

They had told him that he could live five or more years.

I'm sure he worried about health issues like anybody would, but my dad was a fighter.

But all hope of the new treatment promised was soon dashed.

Just two days before his appointment, Princess calls 911 to report that Mike is lying in a pool of blood inside their home.

He was shot one time.

The cause of death was

the single gunshot wound.

The body had not been there a long period of time.

We knew we were looking at something that had happened within the last three, four, five hours.

We found at the door away coming into into the kitchen a shell case, a 30 caliber shell casing, which gave us an indication of what type of weapon was used.

He was shot through the left shoulder area on the left side, which would be pretty much impossible for someone to shoot himself,

and there was no weapon.

So we pretty much knew when we saw the body that we were looking at a homicide.

Coming up, detectives sit down with their first suspect.

Everybody is a suspect at that point.

We were trying to get her whereabouts to make sure she wasn't involved.

And a chance sighting has detectives suspecting foul play.

A citizen had seen a black suburban SUV driving down the road.

We've had some break-ins and burglaries out in that area.

On March 1st, 1997, Natchitoches County Sheriff Victor Jones stands over the body of Mike Lacaz, theorizing how someone took this rough and tumble cowboy's life.

You could see Mike lying on the floor, face up,

with his hands extended behind his head.

The television was on.

Looked like somebody walked in and took his life.

Whether he actually saw it coming or not, you know, we don't know that.

After immediately ruling out suicide, investigators search the home and begin to consider the possibility of a robbery.

A lot of papers thrown around in disarray.

Some drawers pulled out and emptied on the floor.

We've had some break-ins and burglaries out in that area.

Aside from the ransacking and Mike's body, the killer didn't leave much evidence behind.

You're looking at the crime scene, seeing if it will tell you or give you some idea what may have happened.

That's the first thing you're looking at and always refer to it.

Sometimes crime scenes have a way of talking to you.

And this particular crime scene didn't give us a whole lot.

Investigators complete their initial examination of the crime scene and escort Mike's wife, Princess, back to the station, hoping she will be able to give them more information.

Everybody's a suspect at that point.

And of course, at that time, we were trying to get some timeframes and her whereabouts to try to make sure that she wasn't involved.

Princess tells detectives she'd spent the day working and running errands.

I had to work 11 to 5, and then I went straight to Walmart.

Okay.

What time do you say you got enrollment?

It had to be about 6,

6 15.

I picked up some lights for Mike's trailer, a pair of shoes, a set of sheets.

So completion of shopping, what did you do?

I left,

headed home.

I guess it was about

maybe five after seven.

She provided those receipts to the sheriff's office as well.

Those receipts were timed

around 6.30 at night before she went to the house, discovered Mike's body, and made the 911 call.

According to Princess, when she saw Mike sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood, she panicked and ran back outside.

I walked on in and when I got to the doors and looked that away and I left.

I did not go to him.

I didn't even go step up and and go in the kitchen.

Do you know whether he was still alive or?

He didn't answer me and when I called for answering I didn't say

I just left.

Interestingly in her statement she stated that she did not go to check the body.

She saw him from across the room and immediately left and made the 911 call.

Princess insists Mike's upcoming dialysis had given them newfound hope about their future together.

It was all for it.

He was happy as he bade, ready to come.

Everything was ready for it.

Princess at that point stated that Mike was willing to undergo the treatment, that he knew what was happening, and that he was happy to have something done to improve his life quality at the time.

Princess tells detectives that after parting ways with Mike that morning, she hadn't spoken to him again.

They said their goodbyes and according to her in this statement, that was the last time she saw him alive.

She did not talk to him for the rest of the day.

She did not indicate any knowledge of how this murder could have happened, who may have done it.

Mike was just a hardworking guy and we didn't find anyone that had any grudges or he owed anyone a bunch of money or nothing like that.

There were no red flags that went up before he was murdered.

They were living their lives normal.

Mike was dealing with his health issues and trying to work.

There were no suspects and it was just a great mystery at the time.

With no leads emerging from the interview with Princess, detectives let her go.

As they plot their next move, word of Mike's death reaches his family.

We was down south in South South Louisiana on our way back from a trip and my mother wouldn't tell us nothing about it.

Then when we got back home she she told us what happened.

That was 16 years old.

It was pretty rough to get that.

Like I say just find out out the blue one day he's here and the next day he's gone.

It's that simple.

It's something that you can never

get ready for.

Back at the station, detectives continue working their theory that this hardworking father of two had been a victim of a robbery gone wrong.

Robbery was the first obvious potential motive given the crime scene, given the disheveled nature of the house,

the fact that it appeared to be rummaged through as if the perpetrator was searching for something or searching for money.

There could have been a transient person that was from out of the area that just randomly selected the house.

We contacted the crime lab to get them to come down to help us process this crime scene, check for fingerprints and see if there was anything that we may not have seen.

While crime scene techs revisit the La Caz home, officers reach out to Mike's neighbors for new leads.

A citizen had seen a black suburban SUV driving down the road suspiciously in the area in the weeks surrounding the murder.

In fact, the neighbor says she saw the SUV on the day of Mike's murder.

One of the neighbors said that the day of the murder, March 1, there was a black suburban

coming out of the driveway, turning on to Posey Road.

She did not get the license plate.

She got a good look at the driver.

White male, light complexed, dark hair.

And she reported that to the investigators who were trying to track down the possible suspect.

This case kind of took priority over a lot of the cases that we were working.

So we immediately started trying to get this suburban.

Coming up, detectives run down their first lead.

We put our bolos for this suburban and the composite drawing.

And rumors throw the investigation for a loop.

People had seen them together, and you know, how do you have the little towns, they start talking.

To me, her daddy was the most likely suspect early on, more than anyone else.

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 Chime, 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 Corporation Bank NA or Stride Bank NA, members, FDIC.

Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply.

Timing depends on submission of payment file.

Fees apply at out-of-network ATMs, bank ranking, and number of ATMs, according to US News and World Report 2023.

Chime, checking account required.

Hey, it's Stephanie Gomolco with oxygen.com.

When I'm running a marathon, I have enough to worry about.

My hydration, to my time, to how my knee is feeling.

The last thing I need to worry about is blisters.

Thanks to Bombas, that hasn't been an issue.

Don't let bad socks and blisters stop you in your tracks either.

Bombas make slides, socks, and seamless essentials to keep up with however you pace your days.

Bombas offers sweat-wicking, blister-fighting, and impact-cushioning socks.

You can also order bombas abroad.

That's right, along with the US, they now ship internationally to over 200 countries.

Head over to bombas.com and use code snapped for 20% off your first purchase.

That's bombbas.com, code snapped at checkout.

In March of 1997, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Department is tracking down their first lead in the shooting death of beloved local cowboy Mike LaCaz.

One of the neighbors indicated that March 1st, there was a black suburban in the area driving slow, looking somewhat she described as suspicious.

The person who observed the truck actually gave the sheriff's office a description of the individual driving the vehicle, which was white male with dark hair.

We later got her to come in and do a composite drawing of the driver.

We put out bolos for this suburban and the composite drawing, we put it out to law enforcement to see if we could identify this person.

While officers search for the driver, investigators ask Mike's wife, Princess, to accompany them back to the crime scene.

Before we released the crime scene back to the family, after the crime lab finished up at Monday evening, we did another walkthrough with Princess to see if she could determine if anything was missing.

And the only thing that I can recall her determining that was missing was some photographs.

Normally, on burglaries, people go in and steal like the television stereos, maybe some tools, but there was nothing at this crime scene.

Nothing to that nature was taken.

Doubting Mike was the casualty of a random robbery, two days later, investigators question Mike's friends and family to see if there is anyone who may have wanted to harm him.

One name comes up: Mike's father-in-law, Joe Potmesel.

There was a bunch of bickering back and forth between the families.

They thought that Joe, if not himself, would have gotten someone to kill Mike.

As far as I was concerned, at that time, Joe was the suspect, Prince's daddy.

To me, he was the most likely suspect early on, more than anyone else, to get Princess clear of that relationship.

On March 3rd, 1997, investigators pay a visit to Joe.

We had gone down to visit with Joe Popmicelle just to see if he had any ideas or if he could point us in a direction.

Joe is adamant that he had nothing to do with his son-in-law's death.

He also came up wanting to know through that conversation what type of weapon

was used.

I just told him a high-power rifle.

Eager to prove his innocence, Joe shows investigators his gun collection.

In his cabinet, he had a.30-30 caliber rifle, but all his guns

was in place.

Nothing was missing.

Following the interview, investigators find no way to connect Joe to the murderer.

We had several conversations during the time when we were investigating the homicide, but he had no access in the murder.

And we knew that Joe Poppins had no involvement in the killing of michael

as the weeks pass leads dwindle including the most promising tip about the suspicious suv and its driver it went on several months and i don't think we ever stopped looking for that black suv we was hoping that it would show up somewhere but everything led to a dead end we never got any anything going on

five months pass and it looks as if Mike's killer may have gotten away with murder

could have been a little bit quicker you know just from

being the son it you know it wasn't fast enough until detectives get a surprise visit from someone who claims to have new information about the case Princess Lacaz.

On September 12th, she brought in a handwritten statement, but she made indicating indicating that maybe Mike had hired someone to assist him in a suicide.

She started telling us that Mike was wanting to die.

She said Mike Lacaz, her husband, refused to go on dialysis, did not want to be hooked up to a machine, did not want to undergo a kidney transplant, and essentially had talked about ending his own life.

Investigators find Princess's sudden shift in demeanor suspicious.

Early on in investigation March 1, she was adamant that he was looking forward to getting dialysis and getting help.

There was no mention at that time about him wanting to die in that interview.

The story had changed, just trying to throw us off and throw us in a different direction.

That's what we looked at it as

a distraction just to throw us off.

When investigators sit down with Mike's family, they insist that there is no way Mike was suicidal.

Mike never said he didn't want to commit suicide

or he wanted to die or anything.

He never ever

said he wanted to commit suicide.

He was all for getting the stint put in and trying to get better.

Detectives ask Mike's family if they know of anyone else that might want to hurt him.

That's when they bring up some unsettling rumors concerning Mike's wife, Princess, and his best friend, Marilyn Robinson.

People had seen them together, and, you know, Heidi's little towns, they start talking.

They think that she had been having an affair with Marilyn Robinson, who was known to be a good friend of Mike's for about a year and a half to two years prior to Mike's death.

Detectives must now determine whether the rumors are true and if they have anything to do with Mike's death.

We start looking closely to see if Princess could have been involved in this and who possibly she could have gotten to do it.

Detectives decide to pull both Maryland and Princess's phone records.

Scouring the files, they noticed something unusual from the day of the murder.

The sheriff's office discovered that a call was made from a convenience store which would have been on the route from the La Caz home to the Walmart and Winfield where Princess La Caz was working.

The call was made to Maryland at about 8.30 the morning of the murder.

Detectives wonder, could Princess have made the call?

And if so, what was she hiding?

Princess had a cell phone and her cell phone could have easily been tracked to her, whereas a payphone obviously could have been anyone making the call.

It's clear to detectives that if Princess did make the call, she didn't want anyone to know about it.

So that father made us suspicious.

What are you trying to hide here?

What are you hiding?

Detectives dig deeper into the life Princess has been leading in the months since Mike's death.

It seems this widow has been living up to her name.

Not only did she go to the Bahamas or the Caribbean,

she also went to Hawaii.

So she was at least making some lavish trips after Mike died.

It seems Princess paid for those trips by cashing in on Mike's death.

It came out that there were four insurance policies for $25,000 each.

Then she sold the house and the property on Posey Road for some hundred and ten thousand dollars,

something that I bet.

The big payoff only heightens investigators suspicions around princess by that point i was convinced that she had participated in the murder and from my perspective the noose was tightening so to speak the wagons were circling ever so close to her

coming up A new lover emerges with a shocking confession.

She made statement about the gunners in the river.

And Princess has yet another tale to tell.

She stated that he told her that he would take care of Mike's wishes to the diet that day.

By December of 1997, detectives in Natchitoches, Louisiana are are homing in on Princess Lacaz as the primary suspect in the murder of her husband, Mike Lacaz.

In addition to cashing in on multiple life insurance policies, it's rumored around town that Princess was once involved with Mike's best friend, Marilyn Robinson.

Marilyn and Princess had taken trips to Houston and New Orleans after Mike died.

We knew there was something between them, and of course, we had already heard from people on the street and everything that there was a relationship.

Not

long after Mike's death, she picks up in another relationship while she's trying to exit the relationship with Marilyn Robinson.

Princess starts up another relationship with Simon Sarpi.

Nine months since the murder of his friend Mike Lacaz, investigators bring in Simon Sarpi, who sheds a new light on the relationship between Princess and Marilyn.

She come in the kitchen upset.

She talked about how

her life is screwed up.

I said, what are you talking about?

She said, I lied to you.

She said, I told you that me and Marilyn hadn't been seeing each other, but we've been seeing each other for two years.

She told me, don't judge.

Simon tells detectives that while Princess didn't admit to being involved in the murder, she did make a bizarre statement.

I sense that something is wrong

and I asked her what's the matter.

She said, The damn police won't leave me alone.

I said, I got that notion.

And she made the comment about the damn guns in the river.

I talked after she made her statement about the gun in the river.

Nobody said anything, and she didn't follow up with anything else.

At that point, he indicated he didn't know what she was talking about.

He did not know the location of the river, the body of water.

Simon's interview gives investigators one more reason to believe that Princess played a role in Mike's death.

Armed with information from her former lover, Simon Sarpi, police bring Princess in for questioning and once again she changes her story.

Mark that

sat down with his kidneys very bad and

he gave me a child

and I couldn't do it.

She said Mike had asked her to

end his life.

She could not do it.

When she declined, Princess claims Mike turned to his best friend, who, unbeknownst to Mike, was also Princess's lover.

She knew that Marilyn and Mike had talked.

She was putting the whole plot of the killing of Mike Lacaz on Marilyn.

She was working that angle.

She said on March 1st, early in the morning, sometimes between 8.30, 9 o'clock that morning, Princess calls Marilyn, let him know that she would be out of town, and he assured her that it would be taken care of that day meaning that that

Mike would be taken care of.

Do you have any recollection of conversation with Marilyn about Mike's condition?

Yes, we talked about it.

What did Marilyn say?

Marilyn told me that he would take care of it or something.

I'm not real sure.

Well when you when you came in the night of March the 1st and found Mike dead on the floor, was there any question in your mind who had done that?

No.

No, I've never heard of that.

Investigators believe that Princess's latest story is still missing important details.

Details that likely center around her involvement.

She never went into details and never explained to me how it happened or what happened or anything.

She continued to try to manipulate her story and manipulate the investigation to deflect from her.

And of course, at that point, she was placing the entire blame on Marilyn Robinson, who had been her lover for the last year and a half or so.

While it's unclear if Princess is being entirely truthful, her statement, along with Simon Sarpi's, are enough for investigators.

We secured warrants for Marilyn and Princess, placing both of them under arrest.

Marilyn has little to say in his own defense.

When he was arrested, I still don't think he gave us a whole lot of information.

If any, he didn't give us nothing at that time.

The news that Marilyn and Princess have been arrested for Mike's death is both a relief and a shock to his family.

It was no doubt in my mind that Princess had something to do with it.

I would have never thought Marilyn,

I would have never thought that his best friend would do that to him.

I remember saying, there ain't no way, there ain't no way Marilyn done that.

It was like, you know, what in the world?

I was very shocked when all that came out.

Marilyn and Mike, you'd have to have seen them together.

They were just

best friends,

brothers.

She twisted his mind.

And that's the truth about it.

Shortly after their arrests, the former couple bonds out of jail.

For investigators, the fact that Marilyn and Princess are temporarily free isn't necessarily bad news.

I can recall thinking to ourselves, at some point, there needs to be some type of fallout between Princess and Marilyn.

We need to monitor their actions and wait for a fallout between the two of them before we find out the real truth.

On May 14th, 1998, their hunch pays off when Princess calls 911.

Princess frantically called in and said that her daddy was holding someone at gunpoint and she was afraid that he was going to kill whoever he had out there.

When the officers arrived, it was when they found out it was Marilyn Robinson.

Coming up, Marilyn has a change of heart.

He felt like his life was in danger.

He needed to tell us what had happened.

His testimony was just striking and was probably the most powerful testimony I've heard in my career.

On May 14th, 1998, police in Natchitoches, Louisiana receive a frantic 911 call from Princess Lacaz.

She indicated that someone was in the yard trespassing and her daddy was holding him at gunpoint.

When the officers arrived is when they found out it was Marilyn Robinson.

That's when I told them to arrest him and to hold him till I could interview him.

Once in police custody, Marilyn explains that he wasn't breaking in.

Princess had invited him over.

But when he showed up, he came face to face with Joe Potmassil's gun.

Marilyn Robinson finally got it that Princess Lacaz wasn't his lover, wasn't his friend, had essentially tried to set him up.

He felt like his life was in danger.

He really felt that he was lucky to be living at this point and that he needed to tell us what had happened.

He gave Sheriff Jones a statement that he actually perpetrated the murder, that he killed Mike.

But Maryland insists he didn't kill Mike because Mike asked him to.

Marilyn Robinson in his statement indicated that Princess Lacaz planned the murder, that she actually asked him to kill Mike.

According to Marilyn, Princess wasn't happy about Mike's upcoming dialysis.

The insurance money played a part.

She knew that if he'd go on dialysis, that his health would start improving, and that means she would have to take care of him even longer, so she didn't want to wait.

He said he'd been married for several years, and Princess was fed up with her marriage and simply fed up with Mike and his medical condition, and she didn't want to go through it.

Marilyn claims that Princess told him if he agreed to kill Mike, they would be together.

Marilyn Robinson was completely enamored with Princess Lacaz.

In love might be the right term.

She had him totally captivated.

She began encouraging Marilyn Robinson to kill his best friend.

And in my opinion, it became a cold and calculated murder.

Marilyn says that on the morning of March 1st, 1997, Princess called to let him know she was out of the house and to confirm the

She did not want to walk in the home until he was dead.

And Marilyn confirmed to her that Mike would be taken care of that day.

Later that afternoon, Marilyn asked his teenage son to give him a ride to Mike's house.

His son, Rodney, did not know what was going on because it was common for them to visit the La Caz residence.

Marilyn walked in through the sliding glass doors of the home.

Mike LaCaz was sitting watching television.

He aimed and shot him through the shoulder and through the chest.

He died on the spot.

Following the confession, Marilyn leads investigators to the place where he dumped the gun.

He brought us to Old River down at Cypress where the bridge was and showed us where he had thrown the weapon.

And of course, we got divers and we searched and found part of the gun.

Marilyn Robinson pled guilty prior to the trial to manslaughter.

He was sentenced to the maximum imprisonment for manslaughter, which is 40 years.

He agreed to testify in Princess's trial.

In August 1998, Princess's trial begins.

Marilyn is the prosecution's star witness.

He admitted that he agreed to kill Mike Lacaz

because she asked him to do it and to do it for her so that the two of them could be together.

He said that she got him to kill his best friend.

He was emotional.

He cried.

His testimony was just striking.

It was probably the most powerful testimony I've heard in my career.

When Princess takes the stand, she sticks by her story.

This notion of Mike's desire to take his own life was injected into the case and kind of became the theme of Princess LaCaz's defense.

The jury disagrees.

The day of the verdict, I remember that like it was yesterday.

The jury come in the courtroom to come back guilty.

That's automatic, natural life, second degree, natural life imprisonment.

But just when investigators and Mike's loved ones believe that Princess is behind bars for good, she gets a break no one sees coming.

In September 2011, before a U.S.

Court of Appeals, Princess's attorneys allege they weren't aware of a deal prosecutors made with Maryland prior to his guilty plea.

He had a deal that if he testified against Princess Laquez in her trial, then his son Rodney, who actually drove him to the murder scene, he would not be brought up.

He did not testify and he was never charged.

They reversed the conviction

stating that the defense should have had that information.

Princess was in jail until 2011.

When she was released, an appeal resulted in another trial.

That trial did not happen until 2017, at which time they entered a plea.

The family wanted to have some closure and hear her say that she was responsible for the murder of their dad.

Part of the plea agreement was that Princess was going to have to stand up in front of everybody.

And Princess stood right there in front of the judge and us and everybody and said, I did it.

I'm guilty.

That was the first time.

In all the years that all this has been going on that I ever heard her finally say, I did it.

That was a good part of the plea.

One of the only few things that was a a good part of the plea.

She received manslaughter and was given credit for 13 and a half years time served, plus time served in the parish jail.

That only left approximately a year for her to serve.

And since she has gotten out.

For Mike's family, the news is devastating.

I mean,

it was like getting hit with a hammer.

Princes should be in jail.

If anybody should walk, it should be Marilyn.

Princes

plotted this out to a T.

I miss everything about Mike.

Most of all,

I miss his friendship.

As far as his legacy, there's no one around here that's ever going to forget.

That was the last cowboy right there.

It was Mike LaCass.

Everyone to this day still talks about him.

And I'm proud of that.

marilyn robinson is serving a 40-year sentence at avayoles correctional center he will be 72 years old before he is eligible for parole princess lacasque remains free

It's all a light-hearted nightmare on our podcast, Morbid.

We're your hosts, I'm Alina Urquhart, and I'm Ash Kelly.

And our show is part true crime, part spooky, and part comedy.

The stories we cover are well researched.

Of the 880 men who survived the attack, around 400 would eventually find their way to one another and merge into one larger group.

With a touch of humor.

Shout out to her.

Shout out to all my therapists throughout the years.

There's been like eight of them.

A dash of sarcasm and just garnished a bit with a little bit of cursing.

That motherf is not real.

And if you're a weirdo like us and love to cozy up to a creepy tale of the paranormal, or you love to hop in the Wayback Machine and dissect the details of some of history's most notorious crimes, you should tune in to our podcast.

Morbid.

Follow Morbid on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to episodes early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.