by Ann Rule
Jimmie Stackhouse had six children with Mary Ellen, and one with Doris. Rob was deceased when this was taken. Left to right, back row: Jimmie, Mike, Tom. Front, left to right: Lana, Brenda, and Rhonda. Their family fell apart after their mother was killed, and their father remarried twice. Rhonda Vogl
Doris and Jimmie pose with their combined family. Back row left: Amy, Tom, Jimmie, Lana, unknown. Front row left: Doris, Sue, Brenda, and Rhonda. Anyone looking in from the outside would have thought that Doris and Jimmie had a perfect family. That wasn’t exactly true. Rhonda Vogl
Rhonda Vogl researched the story of her mother’s murder in California in 1963. She and her sisters, Lana and Brenda, finally learned the truth in 1995, and they located her grave. It had been thirty-two years since her death. Rhonda carried a wreath all the way from Idaho, and Brenda kneels next to Mary Ellen’s tombstone. Rhonda Vogl
Brenna Douglas, who never remarried after she was widowed, and the children she had with Russ: Jack and Hannah. Gail O’Neal
Although the case stretched from December 27, 2003 to February 15, 2013, Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks and homicide Detective Mark Plumberg never forgot the man who was lured to his death in the lonely woods. Police file photo
Vickie Boyer and Peggy Sue Stackhouse were from the two largest families on Whidbey Island. Vickie was grateful for Peggy’s support when she came out of an abusive marriage, and felt she had a friend for life. They both moved to the Southwest; Vickie was always there for Peggy—but one day she lost faith in the woman she had admired so much. Vickie Boyer
Peggy Sue and her daughter Taylor pose for her friend Vickie’s camera just before her third wedding. Vickie Boyer
Peggy seemed thrilled when she told Vickie about a new man she’d met in Las Vegas—a limousine client. She thought he might have money—a lot of money—and she asked Vickie to do some background research on Mark Allen. He was wealthy, and it wasn’t long before he and Peggy Sue were engaged. Their ceremony was Western themed all the way. Vickie Boyer
Happy at last! Peggy Sue was beautiful as she posed just before her wedding to Mark Allen in Roswell, New Mexico, in the summer of 2008. Vickie Boyer
Vickie Boyer, now working for Mark Allen, pins a boutonniere on the father of the bride—Jimmie Stackhouse. Both he and his ex-wife, Doris, were pleased to see their daughter marrying so well. Russ Douglas had been dead almost five years, and Peggy had long since broken up with Jim Huden. Vickie Boyer
Jimmie Stackhouse proudly leads his daughter down the aisle where she will say her wedding vows for the third and hopefully last time. In his seventies, Jim had aged markedly with each disaster in his life. Vickie Boyer
Peggy Sue’s wedding to multimillionaire Mark Allen was perfect, with wildflowers, gladioli, and sparkling lights, thanks to Vickie Boyer, who handled all the details for the cowboy ceremony, just as she had for Peggy for years. Vickie Boyer
Mark Allen leans forward to kiss his bride after they were pronounced wed. It seemed that Peggy Sue finally had everything she had wished and planned for. Vickie Boyer
Allen was fascinated by the tall, beautiful redhead from almost the first time they met. He may have had some doubts, however. In this photo, Peggy Sue looks triumphant, but Mark has a “My God, what have I done?” look on his face. Vickie Boyer
Peggy Sue Stackhouse Harris Thomas Allen posed with her original, somewhat fractured family. Daughter Taylor; father Jimmy; Peggy; mother Doris Matz; half sister “Sweet Sue” Mahoney; niece; and older daughter, Mariah. Vickie Boyer
The new bride poses with (rear) Vickie Boyer, Taylor Thomas, “Sweet Sue” Mahoney, Mariah Thomas, along with flower girls. Vickie Boyer
Rhonda and Mitch Vogl visit their older sailor son on his ship, with their younger son (between them). Rhonda was baffled when she got an invitation to her half sister Peggy Sue’s wedding. “We hadn’t been in touch for a long time, and I had no idea who Mark Allen was. None of her half sisters did! We didn’t go to her wedding.” Rhonda Vogl
Peggy Sue, left, was very tall with long legs. She dances here at a reception. Vickie Boyer is on the far right, and another guest is in the middle. Vickie Boyer
Jimmie Stackhouse today—in his log home in Idaho. After a life full of tragedy and loss, he looks tranquil. But looks can be deceptive and the Stackhouse family has not seen the end of strife.
Although Jimmie Stackhouse’s marital record was spotty, he was always free with advice for his children and their spouses. At first, Mark didn’t complain. Vickie Boyer
Peggy Sue could always twist her father around her little finger. Vickie Boyer
Peggy Sue Thomas confers with her attorney in an early court appearance.
Gail O’Neal, the victim’s mother, gives her survivors’ statement and begs Peggy Sue Thomas to tell what really happened when her son was shot to death on December 26, 2003. For everyone involved, the big question was: What was the motivation to kill Russel Douglas? Peggy Sue did not respond. Leslie Rule
Peggy Sue walking into the courtroom at her sentencing. She passed Detective Mark Plumberg (center) without looking at him. She had never expected this to happen to her. Leslie Rule
Peggy Sue listens as Russ Douglas’s family begs her to give a motive for his violent death, but she said nothing. Leslie Rule
No longer free, Peggy Sue is led out of Judge Alan Hancock’s courtroom in handcuffs. Leslie Rule
On February 15, 2013, Peggy Sue Thomas talks to her attorney, Craig Platt, just before she is sentenced to prison for an extraordinarily short time in a murder case. Just behind her to the left is her daughter Mariah, and her ex-husband Kelvin Thomas. Leslie Rule
Peggy Sue Thomas stands between her attorneys as Judge Alan Hancock pronounces her sentence for criminal assistance after the murder of Russel Douglas. Leslie Rule
Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock was stern as he sentenced Peggy Sue Thomas, saying he regretted the Washington State statute that limited him to a shockingly short sentence. He urged her to tell the victim’s family the truth. Leslie Rule
Left to right: Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks, author Ann Rule, and Island County Sheriff’s Office Detective Mark Plumberg, minutes after Peggy Sue Thomas was sentenced to prison in Judge Alan Hancock’s courtroom. Leslie Rule
Author Ann Rule, left, with Mark Plumberg at his home on Whidbey Island. Plumberg spent almost a decade tracking Russel Douglas’s killer(s).
Peggy Sue Thomas in early 2013. She doesn’t know yet what her future holds for her. Like The Picture of Dorian Gray, none of her devious plots show on her pretty face.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
* * *
I MIGHT NEVER HAVE HEARD of this strange and complicated story were it not for my longtime friend Shirley Hickman. She happened to mention it over lunch a few years ago, and handed me a short newspaper clipping.
“Have you heard about this?” she asked. “My husband went to school with this man, and now his friend has been charged with murder. You might want to look into it.”
I get about four thousand suggestions every year—mostly from strangers—and the mass of them won’t work for me for one reason or another. Shirley and her husband, Lloyd Jackson, live on an island in Puget Sound, and I had been attending a trial in another part of the state. Indeed, I had never heard of the cases she mentioned. But I certainly looked into it.
So, first and foremost, I thank Shirley Hickman. She kept me apprised of what was happening on her island, and often attended hearings and trials with me.
Even though I try to do intense research for every book I write, there is no way I could unearth the stories beneath the stories without the help and cooperation of law enforcement officials, homicide detectives, prosecuting attorneys, and numerous witnesses who add to my files about what led up to astounding tragedies. This story turned out to be one of the most wide-ranging series of events that I have ever written.
Some of the officials, detectives, and acquaintances of the principals I interview
ed prefer not to be named, and others tell me it’s okay.
And there are always my friends who boost me up when I think I can’t write one more paragraph. They have no idea how much they help me.
I will begin with those citizens of Whidbey Island, Washington, who patiently answered questions and provided me with documents under the public information statute and with their own personal stories:
Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks, his paralegal and assistant, Michelle Graff, and Island County Sheriff Mark C. Brown and Detective Mark Plumberg, and numerous officers on staff there, who all helped me immeasurably. Court Reporter Karen Shipley, Judge Vickie Churchill, Judge Alan Hancock, and Deputy Bill Becker.
Although I know it was difficult for them, I appreciated the memories—spoken and written—of the victims’ family members: Jim Douglas, Gail O’Neal, Bob O’Neal, Holly Hunsicker, Victor Hunsicker, Rhonda and Mitch Vogl, and Lana Galbraith, who will soon publish her own book on her family. I truly believe that family members who have been lost to accidents, homicide, and suicide would have spoken with me—if only they could.
Lloyd Jackson and Vickie Boyer shared the history of those who were accused, information that few will know until they read this book. I also thank Angela Vosburg, Cathy and Dean Hatt, and Jennifer McCormick of Whidbey Island, and Keith and Donna Ogden of New Mexico. There are many others who prefer not to be named here. There are also individuals who refused to be interviewed for their own reasons.
As always, I thank my very first reader, Gerry Hay, and my second reader, Kate Jewell.
All of the Jolly Matron Society members, and the Semi-Boeing Union Meeting friends: Carol Lovall and Donna Anders. Kathleen and Jeff Huget, Laura, Rebecca, and Matthew Harris, Leslie and Glenn Scott, Andy Rule, Mike, Marie, Holland, and Gray Rule, and Bruce, Machel, Olivia, Tyra, and Logan Sherles. Captain Dan Jones, Cindy Wilkinson, John P. Kelly, and Barb Thompson.
The South Whidbey Record, especially reporters Janice Stensland and Ben Watanabe.
To my literary agents of forty years: Joan and Joe Foley of the Foley Agency, and my theatrical agent, Ron Bernstein, vice president of International Creative Management Partners.
I am grateful to have been associated with Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books for decades, and for the capable and intelligent team who take my manuscripts from first draft to a real, live book: my perceptive and tactful editor, Mitchell Ivers, my publisher, Louise Burke; Natasha Simons, Mitchell’s assistant, who does a yeoman’s job as she enters editorial changes and helps me create the photo sections—one of the most difficult parts of what we do! My publicist at Gallery: Jean Anne Rose, production editor Carly Sommerstein, production manager Larry Pekarek, managing editor Kevin McCahill, copy editor Faren Bachelis, art director Lisa Litwack, and book designer Lewelin Polanco.
ANN RULE is the author of thirty-three previous New York Times bestsellers, all of them still in print. A former Seattle police officer, she knows the crime scene firsthand. She is a certified instructor for police training seminars and lectures to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and forensic organizations, including the FBI and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. For more than three decades, she has been a powerful advocate for victims of violent crime. She has testified before U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittees on serial murder and victims’ rights, and was a civilian adviser to ViCAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program). A graduate of the University of Washington, she holds a Ph.D. in Humane Letters from Willamette University. She lives near Seattle and can be contacted through her Web page at www.authorannrule.com, on Facebook, or by email at [email protected].
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In the Still of the Night
Too Late to Say Goodbye
Green River, Running Red
Every Breath You Take
. . . And Never Let Her Go
Heart Full of Lies
Bitter Harvest
Dead by Sunset
Everything She Ever Wanted
If You Really Loved Me
The Stranger Beside Me
Possession
Small Sacrifices
ANN RULE’S CRIME FILES:
Vol. 16: Fatal Friends, Deadly Neighbors and Other True Cases
Vol. 15: Don’t Look Behind You and Other True Cases
Vol. 14: But I Trusted You and Other True Cases
Vol. 13: Mortal Danger and Other True Cases
Vol. 12: Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder and Other True Cases
Vol. 11: No Regrets and Other True Cases
Vol. 10: Worth More Dead and Other True Cases
Vol. 9: Kiss Me, Kill Me and Other True Cases
Vol. 8: Last Dance, Last Chance and Other True Cases
Vol. 7: Empty Promises and Other True Cases
Vol. 6: A Rage to Kill and Other True Cases
Vol. 5: The End of the Dream and Other True Cases
Vol. 4: In the Name of Love and Other True Cases
Vol. 3: A Fever in the Heart and Other True Cases
Vol. 2: You Belong to Me and Other True Cases
Vol. 1: A Rose for Her Grave and Other True Cases
Without Pity: Ann Rule’s Most Dangerous Killers
The I-5 Killer
The Want-Ad Killer
Lust Killer
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Copyright © 2013 by Ann Rule
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All names in this book that are marked with an asterisk are pseudonyms.
First Gallery Books hardcover edition October 2013
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Jacket design by John Vairo Jr.
Jacket photograph of bridge at Whidbey Island © Dennis Walton/Lonely Planet/Getty
Snow falling in forest © Polotan/Flickr/Getty
Author photograph by Leslie Rule
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rule, Ann.
Practice to deceive / Ann Rule.
pages cm
Summary: “A man is murdered on a sleepy island, and three people are accused of murdering him: an aging beauty queen, her guitar-teacher lover, and the widow”— Provided by publisher.
1. Murder—Washington (State) 2. Murder—Investigation—Washington (State) 3. Trials (Murder)—Washington (State) I. Title.
HV6533.W2R85 2013
364.152’30979775—dc23
2013021350
ISBN 978-1-4165-4462-3
ISBN 978-1-4516-8737-8 ( ebook)
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