A Poisoned Passion

by Diane Fanning

  Lloyd had said that Wendi hated Marshall because he didn’t get his ass in a crack like she did. That was about to change. Marshall’s family was in turmoil and now his job was on the line.

  Back in March, Internal Affairs for Texas Parks and Wildlife had begun an investigation. They met with Major Steve Whiteaker, in the San Angelo office of their agency. Next, they interviewed Ranger Shawn Palmer, who told them that Marshall had lied to law enforcement, was refusing to cooperate with an ongoing criminal investigation and had possibly tampered with evidence. “I have enough evidence to file on Davidson for making a false report to a peace officer,” he said. Subsequent statements from San Angelo Police Department Detective Dennis McGuire and Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office Detective Ron Sanders backed Palmer’s claim. But Marshall sent a memo telling a different story and denying all the allegations.

  At the agency’s request, Palmer put his comments in writing at the end of July. On September 13, Internal Affairs Investigator Joe Carter interviewed Marshall. The contradictions between his statements and the other members of law enforcement piled up.

  One week later, Marshall received notification from Lieutenant Colonel Craig Hunter of Parks and Wildlife that he was being considered for formal corrective action, “up to and including termination.” Marshall hired attorney Rae Leifeste to file a reply to the agency.

  The lawyer prepared a lengthy response. In it, Marshall denied: that he’d ever heard his sister say she’d found the body “in the bed deceased”; that he’d attempted to mislead Palmer about Michael’s clothing; that he’d had any knowledge of his father removing items from Wendi’s car; that he’d made a false statement about the reason for his hardship transfer; that he had been dishonest about seeking custody of his sister’s children; and that he’d lied about his location on January 18, 2005. Attachments included eight letters in support of Marshall as a valuable law enforcement officer from officers with the Zapata County and Starr County Sheriff’s Offices, U.S. Border Patrol, DPS Narcotics Service and a game warden with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

  The next day, Marshall sat down on a different hot seat.

  FORTY-SIX

  On September 14, Marshall finally submitted to a deposition that Thomas Goff had requested for months in the child custody case. After Goff took him through a series of questions about the men in Wendi’s life, he asked, “Do you think that your sister was promiscuous?”

  “As in . . . ?” Marshall hedged.

  “Was that an opinion you held of her, that she was promiscuous?”

  “I guess you’d have to define ‘promiscuous.’ ”

  “Sexually promiscuous,” Goff said.

  “No . . . I don’t think she was just out and about doing her thing and trying to get pregnant or trying to create a problem. Yeah, she had had some boyfriends.”

  “She wasn’t out in bars picking up men?”

  “No,” Marshall insisted. “That’s not something she did.”

  “So do you believe that she had relationship problems? You’ve already mentioned that she kind of picked up losers, in your opinion. I don’t want to . . . put words in your mouth.”

  “Well . . . some of the people she dated, I mean—most of the people she dated, she had went to school with or worked with or, you know, whatever. But no, she wasn’t one to go out to bars and just pick up . . . guys on the street and take them home.”

  Midway through the questioning, Goff asked him how he’d learned about the mutilation of Michael’s body and if he believed Wendi was responsible for that.

  “I’m assuming, yeah, if she moved the body, then she probably would have been the one that did that.”

  “Logical,” Goff agreed. “Have you thought about the fact that she did this to her—even if he was dead—her child’s father, her husband? And this wasn’t just an animal. This was a human being that she was married to. Does that not trouble you?”

  “It does trouble me if she was able to do that, but, again, I don’t know what was taking place in her mind . . . when she discovered the body. You know, in my situation, would I do that? No. Would most people? I don’t believe so. But, you know, like I said, I don’t know what went through her mind. And yeah, it is troubling why she would, you know, do that.”

  “Do you think she was temporarily insane?” Goff asked.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t there. You know, the temporary insanity defense is used for everything. So, I mean, I don’t know this case. I don’t think she was in her right mind at the time, No. I mean, anybody that does that, freaks out that bad, you know, obviously, she’s not thinking rationally.”

  “And do you believe she could have . . . gotten him into a boat without tipping it over in the middle of the night in January, gone out to wherever it was dropped, gotten out of the boat without tipping the boat? And you’ve spent a lot of time in a boat. So professionally, do you think that’s plausible?” Goff asked.

  “It’s plausible, but I don’t know how it was done, no. You know, I’ve had an investigator also question me on the deal . . . His understanding is, yeah, she did it by herself . . . Of course, she’s not going to tell me anything of what happened.”

  “A police investigator?”

  “Yes . . . he wouldn’t tell me of what all happened, but he said, ‘Yeah, trust me, it could be done.’ So, you know, leaving it at that, I guess it could be done.”

  Later in the deposition, Goff asked Marshall, “Is it your testimony, then, that you don’t know who murdered Mike?”

  “No, I do not know.”

  “No one’s told you?”

  “No. The only person that has told me anything about this murder is my sister, and that she didn’t do it.”

  “And that somebody in the family—she suspects somebody in the family?”

  “She’s assuming, yeah,” Marshall said. “She’s assuming somebody in the family.”

  “And that the family hated Mike?”

  “Right. Not the entire family, but, yeah, there was a lot of dislike towards him.”

  “Do you know if Wendi told anyone else, at the same time, in your family on March third, fourth, fifth, what was going on? Anybody she would be close to? I guess her grandmother was too far gone at that time to talk to?”

  “Well, no . . . My grandmother . . . wasn’t up and about . . . but . . . she was able to talk to you and stuff . . . My sister didn’t talk to anybody about it until that breakdown.”

  “Okay. Not your grandmother? Not your aunt?” Goff pressed.

  “No, I mean, nobody knew anything. I mean, everybody was in shock. I’m the one that told my grandmother . . . about the deal. And, of course, that’s the last thing she needed to hear . . . at that stage in her life, you know.”

  “That was difficult, I’m sure.”

  “Right. I guarantee you it’s been real difficult since March for the most part.”

  Goff switched gears and asked, “Have you ever considered the fact that you might have to end up raising one or any of Wendi’s children?”

  “Yeah, I’ve thought about that seriously, and . . . I guess a person’s got to do what they got to do. I love them to death, both of them to death, and if that’s the case, you know . . . if something happens to my parents, Lord forbid, they die in a car accident tomorrow . . . I have no problems raising those kids.”

  “. . . Have you ever made derogatory comments in the past about your sister or your family?”

  “Derogatory as in what? I mean, me and my sister have had fights, you know.”

  “Have you called her ‘goofy’?”

  “Called her ‘goofy’?” Marshall asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, she’s goofy sometimes.”

  “So you think she’s acted goofy in the past?”

  “I mean, yeah. I mean, I guess, you know, depending on your definition of ‘goofy’ and my definition of ‘goofy.’ Yeah, I mean, she’s done goofy things before.”

  “The body disposed o
f, the mutilation, would you say that would be out of character for Wendi, a surprise, or . . .”

  Marshall interrupted. “That’s, you know, that’s what I’m saying. That’s way out of character. I mean, obviously she’s never done anything like that before, you know. She’s a vet. She takes care of animals. She doesn’t kill them, even if she finds one that should be put down, she doesn’t even kill it.

  “So, yeah, I mean, to find out she moves . . . a dead person’s body, and now if she did all the rest of that stuff, you know, then, yeah, I mean, that’s severely out of character.”

  Toward the end of the questioning, Goff asked, “What type of relationship would you like to see your family and the Severance family have?”

  “Well, I think everybody just needs, you know, to work something out. I mean, it’s not like everybody’s going to be buddies over this whole thing. I mean, obviously, you know, whether—whether my sister, you know, killed Mike or not, if she moved the body and I’m on the Severance family’s side, obviously I’m not going to be able to be friends with the family here.

  “But I think for Shane’s interest, I think everybody needs to work it out and, you know, work out a deal there instead of, you know, just—This kind of fighting and stuff is not helping anybody.”

  “Do you ever envision a time when Wendi could resume raising both of the children?”

  “I think eventually, she’ll be able to, I mean, that’s her whole deal. I mean, she loves her kids to death, you know. I–I foresee that once this all plays out, you know, if she gets her punishment or whatever, I’d like to see her resume, I mean, that’s her place. The kids love her. You know, I think that would be her place, yeah.”

  “I guess you’re in the same boat as everyone else until you know what happens with the criminal case,” Goff said. “Everyone else is depending on that, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Oh, I agree totally, I mean, you know. Everybody is kind of . . .”

  Goff interrupted. “If she’s convicted of murder, it’s going to be one . . .”

  Marshall stepped on Goff’s statement. “Well, I mean, whether she’s convicted or not, as far as—As far as I see for the kids, if she’s convicted and she does her time like everybody else, whatever punishment she gets, then I still don’t think she’s a threat to the kids.”

  “. . . If that happens and she’s convicted of murder, she’s not going to be around the kids for a length of time.”

  “Yeah, some length of time,” Marshall acknowledged.

  “Ten years, maybe, at the minimum.”

  “Right.”

  “So at that time, Tristan will be thirteen, fourteen. Shane would be ten.”

  “Right.”

  “Do you really conceive that . . . Wendi could come back and resume a life with her children and have a normal relationship with Shane after being convicted of murdering his father?” Goff asked.

  “. . . That’s the part I’m saying about the whole deal with the families getting together. If there’s always fighting . . . especially from your client’s side . . . he’s going to know all this. It’s not right and this and that, whether it’s right or not, you got to do what’s best for the kid, you know, I think even if she’s convicted.

  “But I mean, I’ve known people that haven’t known their family for most of their life, you know—and you can watch it on TV all the time—they get back with somebody, and then they . . . get back to being a successful family.”

  “If it was your sister that was murdered instead of the way it is now . . . do you think you could have a relationship with . . . his family, the husband’s family?”

  “I would put it the same way that I put it,” Marshall said. “Like, I don’t think you’re ever going to come down here and spend Christmas together, but I think that, you know, you need to work together . . . and do what’s best for this kid.”

  “If ten years from now, Shane comes to Uncle Marshall and says, ‘Tell me about my father, tell me what happened,’ what will you say to him?”

  “I mean, I guess I’d have to tell him the truth, you know. I don’t know a whole lot about his father, you know . . . Depending on how the case goes—I’m going to be honest about the case.”

  “Just assume now that there’s no murder conviction, just what you know now, how would you . . . explain that to Shane?” Goff asked.

  “Something happened to his daddy, and, you know, no matter what it is, something happened, and his mom, you know, freaked out, lost control and disposed of the body.

  “. . . Eventually, he’s going to know all the graphic details. Does he need to know all the details at, you know, nine or ten years old? I don’t think so. But, you know, eventually he’s going to know it. But I mean, I think he ought to—He’s going to know that . . . something happened here.

  “And, you know, I mean, he’s got to know that everybody still loves him, and that’s the whole key, is for the kids. I have doubts that until this took place that they had much to do with Shane himself. . . . The only time, like you said, that Leslie come down was on the wedding. It’s the only time he saw the baby. To me, that doesn’t show a real interest in taking, you know, grandparenting steps towards the baby.

  “And, you know, I mean in events that have take place since then, from what I understand, you know, it’s been more of a media battle than it has been worrying about the baby. You know, putting it all in the media is not good for the kids. Separating the two kids is not good for the kids.

  “So my concern would be that what’s good for Shane is for him—for consistency. He’s getting plenty of love here, but I agree that he [Les Severance] needs to show him love. And that’s why I’m trying to get them to work together on him, getting to see him, but I don’t think that the household that they have up there is based on a loving household for him.”

  “What do you think it is based on?” Goff asked.

  “I think it’s more of a, ‘My son,’ you know, ‘is deceased. And I want to replace him.’ And that shouldn’t be how it is. You shouldn’t just replace something, you know, with something new. I think it should have been a loving relationship before and continued on through there.”

  “Well Shane was only three [sic] months old when his father was killed, so aren’t you making a stretch to say that there was no loving relationship? . . .”

  “No, I’m saying . . .” Marshall interrupted.

  “. . . when the child was only three months old?”

  “If he only came down here when they got married, he didn’t come down here when the baby was born. Right?” Marshall snapped back.

  “The baby was born and they were married, what, a week apart?” Goff said in amazement.

  “But he didn’t come down here when the baby . . . was born, is what I’m saying. I was there when the other child was born. I couldn’t be here now, you know, being that far away, because I didn’t know what day it was going to be, if, as a grandparent, you know, he knew the baby was coming, he could have come down and been ready for the baby. You know, I was there for Tristan’s birth, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, you know, because my sister didn’t have anybody else . . . And to me, you know, he never really showed a whole lot of interest. And then you’re right, you know, whatever happened to Mike comes along, and from that point, you know, it’s been focused on, you know, getting Shane to Maine, separating the two kids, you know. That’s the best thing.

  “I don’t foresee that. I don’t see how separating two kids that love each other, you know—Tristan is old enough to where obviously he has a lot more understanding and love and everything else. And, you know, to put them together and you separate them, I don’t see how that’s good for Tristan or Shane.

  “And then to be in a family, like you’re saying that their son has been lost, so they’re going to sit up there, and, you know, tell their side of the story, you know, when he’s old enough for that to happen. I don’t think that’s the way it should be.”

  “When
you say the two sides ought to resolve this, how would you suggest—or what are you suggesting to your parents?” Goff asked.

  “I’m not suggesting just to my parents, I’m suggesting to both sides that—I mean the way the custody battle is now is—You know, the way it’s set up is, you know, my parents get him all the time, but the ways it’s set up there is, he gets him all the time.

  “. . . I don’t think so. If he would like to see the kid and everything else, I think he should be allowed to, but I—You know, the biggest problem I’ve got is, the only people winning in this whole fight is the lawyers. You’re the ones that are getting all the money. The kids are not winning this thing. The parents aren’t winning this thing.”

  A few minutes later, Marshall expressed his parents’ fear that Les “might just try to take the baby and run.”

  “You’re a law enforcement officer,” Goff said. “You know that’s not realistic.”

  “I wouldn’t think it was realistic for my sister to move a body, either, and that happened. So, I mean, you know, I guess you got to look, yeah, is it realistic? I don’t think realistic . . . he would do it, you know, for the sheer fact that he would get in so much trouble. But I don’t . . . know him and I wouldn’t put it past anybody.”

  Goff wrapped up by asking him if, given that his mother hated Shane’s father, she would be able to answer his questions about Michael’s death. He said that he thought she could and hoped she would. He didn’t want Shane to learn about it at school.

  FORTY-SEVEN

  A tip came in on the Crime Stoppers website on October 5, 2005, that Steven Johnson and Scottie Cook had possession of Mike’s racing car, suggesting that the two men may have helped Wendi, and that that was their payment for services rendered.