Frank spoke to the Real Housewives of Minneapolis book club at the Book Club Restaurant in Minneapolis on Saturday. It was a fast two and a half hours of great questions about forensics, Murder Book and the I-94 Murders. Thank you Norma Wade for arranging the opportunity! Frank will be in a suburb of Houston, Texas called League City discussing the books this week. Susan Casey, age 34, was murdered by one of the men in her life. All 3 converged at her home in Glendale, Montanna, at about 5:30 a.m. on April 12, 2008. None of the men interacted with each other. Susan Casey went missing from her house, never to be seen alive again. Investigators saw marks from her door where a body appeared to have been dragged. Susan Casey was described as fun-loving and kind by her family, friends and in-laws. Susan had been divorced twice and was settling into life as a single mother of 4 children. Suspect #1: Susan had started to date Brad Holzer. On April 12, they had gone to a parking area, called the Intake, along the Yellowstone River, drank beer and made out. Susan did not put her bra back on and instead had put on Brad’s hooded sweat shirt. Brad returned her to her home at 5:19 a.m. They kissed and she walked across the street to her home as he drove away. Investigators discovered Brad was married. Brad and his wife slept in separate bedrooms. His wife indicated that Brad was home in bed when she checked in on him at 5:30 a.m. so he would not have had time to dispose of her body (after he dropped her off). Suspect #2: When investigators asked why she checked in on her husband at 5:30 a.m. they learned she had been out with another man and had just returned home at 5:30 a.m. When she peaked in on Brad, he appeared to be asleep. The investigators found that her story checked out. She further told investigators that she had received anonymous calls from a man in the months prior that Brad was having an affair with a married woman—Susan Casey. Suspect #3: Investigators found a video camera from an adjacent building that caught a van flashing by, and a truck similar to the one driven by Susan’s 2nd husband Ted Casey, going by at 5:30 a.m. Ted admitted that he had been out that night, but not around Susan. He missed her and decided to drive by her home, before going home. While the story seemed suspicious, they had no other evidence to suggest he had harmed her. Suspect #4: Susan’s daughter found Susan’s phone by the home, and after trying a variety of passwords she finally guessed right and got into her mother’s phone to check the call list. She discovered that Susan had received a call from her father, Walter “Marty” Larson Jr., early in the morning before she disappeared. Marty was Susan’s first husband, and he lived 3 hours away in Billings. Investigators found a bank close by that had a camera, and checked to see if had a better shot of the van that drove by. The van belonged to none other than Walter “Marty” Larson Jr. Marty said he was worried about Susan and had driven from Billings to make sure she and the kids were okay. When Susan didn’t answer the door or his calls, he stopped at a gas station and drove back home. Susan Casey’s body was found weeks later in the Yellowstone River. She’d been strangled to death. Susan had been married to Walter Martin “Marty” Larson Jr. back in 1993 and the pair had two children together before they divorced in 1998. Marty did not want the divorce, and refused to visit the children initially following their divorce. Marty was charged with Trespassing and stalking Susan after their divorce. Susan then married Ted Casey and they also had two kids together, though they had separated in 2007 and were getting divorced. After the 2nd failed marriage, Susan began seeing her 1st husband Marty Larson again, and Marty had high hopes of them getting back together permanently. However, he was shattered when he found out she had started to date another man, Brad Holzer. This led to him leaving numerous anonymous messages and sending aggressive emails. Susan had received a restraining order against Marty. Investigators found that Marty had stopped in at the gas station before he left as he reported. But he had stopped at 8:30 in the morning, giving him ample time to dispose of Susan’s body. A later search of Larson’s van also revealed that the interior “showed signs of harsh and vigorous cleaning,” court records state. Prosecutors said “overwhelming” evidence, including bank security video showing Larson arrive outside the apartment and leave after Casey was dropped off by her new boyfriend. Light and Dawson County Attorney Olivia Norlin-Rieger also introduced at trial records of the numerous phone calls to Casey made by Larson in the hours before and after her disappearance. They said Larson became obsessed with the prospect of reuniting with his wife 10 years after their divorce, then killed her in a jealous rage when he learned she had begun dating another man. It is believed he choked her death outside of her home, dragged her body to his van, and then dumped her body in the river before leaving the area. At his sentencing hearing, Casey’s family described the anguish they felt while searching for Casey until her body was found. Casey’s parents, three siblings and a sister-in-law all asked the judge to impose the longest sentence possible against Larson. “I do not understand how you could take the life of the mother of your children without a second thought,” said Casey’s sister, Kimberly Bradley. In 2008, Larson was found guilty and sentenced to 100 years in prison. He appealed the sentence in 2013, on the basis of investigators interviewing him before he had the chance to talk to an attorney, but the conviction was not overturned. It was determined that his statement to investigators when they arrived, “I knew this day would come,” was not an admission of guilt and subsequently didn’t significantly impact his conviction. It is simply a bizarre circumstance that the 3 men in Susan’s adult life were all by her home at 5:30 a.m., moments before her death. It’s incredibly self-centered and sad that Marty Larson took Susan from his children’s lives, simply because he couldn’t have her. Quotes: (from Stephen Wright) Half the people you know, are below average. Some friends of mine got me a sweater for my birthday. I'd have preferred a moaner or a screamer, but a sweater was okay… I worked at a planetarium and played on their softball team and we practiced inside. We knew right where to stand. The 1st baseman stood under Mercury, the 2nd baseman under earth, and the 3rd baseman under Jupiter. We tried practicing outside once, but we were just way too far apart. When I was in high school I asked my girlfriend if she’d always love me. She said, “I doubt it. I don’t love you right now.” Thanks for listening, Frank Brenda and I watched a band that used to be called "Merle Mallard and Ductones” get together and play at The Farm by St. Mathias. Preston’s band, Brother’s Tone and the Big Groove, had another outstanding live concert at Rock the Park in Little Falls for thousands of onlookers. Their next gig is at Freedom Fest in Pierz.
13 Comments
Stephanie
11/1/2020 10:25:34 pm
Where exactly do you get this information about her phone being found at home? Yeah that didn't happen.
Reply
11/2/2020 05:56:49 am
The piece about the phone was information I picked up from an investigative show on the case.
Reply
Stephanie
11/2/2020 10:29:01 am
Her phone was not found at home. Her daughter new her voicemail password. They were actually organizing search parties according to the last ping of her phone in the weeks after her disappearance. Her checkbook washed ashore before they found her body, so it is assumed the phone was in her purse when Marty threw it in the water.
Reply
11/2/2020 10:40:31 am
Stephanie,
Reply
Oll
6/2/2021 06:17:43 pm
Frank, you said you like to get information accurate, but I notice you have not corrected the text about the phone.
Reply
Paul
1/16/2022 05:56:54 am
1. You say there were three men who were suspects in the murder. You have four suspects listed. The reason is that you count Brad twice (you have two paragraphs on him).
Reply
Jodi Alamo
8/8/2023 02:35:31 am
Paul, I believe the 4th suspect was the guy Susie had went out with that night, Brad, well I think his wife may have been the 4th suspect. I could be wrong but that's my guess.
Reply
Paul
1/16/2022 06:00:44 am
(This guy again? Yes! :D )
Reply
1/16/2022 06:48:24 am
Paul,
Reply
Ivy
3/13/2024 02:44:17 am
In all these type of programmes,particularly Murder Comes to Town,they don’t say at the end what happened to the children left behind. Did the 2nd husband take on the care of the children? Would be lovely to hear they were given love and support through a horrible historic time in their lives.
Reply
3/13/2024 05:22:10 am
I appreciate this comment. Information on the children is protected so it is pretty rare information is released about them. Wishing you the very best!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
Categories |