James Addy
Appearances
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
With never-before-heard interviews and shocking revelations, Death County PA pulls back the curtain on one of America's darkest institutional secrets. You can follow Death County PA on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen to all episodes of Death County PA early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.
20/20
Bad Romance: Love You to Death
When police show up at James Addy's door to tell him that Molly, his fiancée, is dead, his wife is as surprised to see them as they are to see her.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
not really watching your husband loaded into a police car has to be hard for melanie when you think about the snapshots of her life before tell me about meeting james addy i was working at a convenience store and he was a customer he came in a lot and finally asked me out and once you two hit it off did he pop the question pretty soon very quickly maybe six months That's the wedding photo.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
As the years go on, their lives seem so normal. James clashes with his teen son, but Melanie says she felt her husband was dedicated to his family and very loyal. She never suspected that he was being unfaithful. Did you get any sense of whether he was contented and happy in the marriage? He seemed the same all the time.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
At one point, he takes a trip to Florida on his own. What was that trip about?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
As I talk to Melanie, knowing where this is going, it's hard not to be a little incredulous. But no matter what I ask, she's consistent. She did not know the truth about what was going on.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Any suspicions? Not about an affair, no. So let's go back then to April 27, 2018. Any strange behavior on his part? No, not at all.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
the police tell you yes that your husband has a dead fiance yes and he's engaged to the one and you're learning all of this in one immediately yeah and you've been married for 20 23 years what did you think i can't even tell you it was it was just mind-boggling it made no sense at all none were you Were you angry? Were you hurt? What were you feeling?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Did you look at him suddenly as a stranger, as somebody you didn't know? I looked at him as someone I didn't want back. Now investigators have got to untangle this mess. They have to have evidence. They have a t-shirt, the ammunition box, and now there's one other item they find near that dirt road. A cell phone. Molly's cell phone.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
That phone now means that prosecutors can take the case to the courtroom. There's another voice that will be heard.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
James Addy, the former prison guard, now under guard himself. At trial, lead investigator Bradley Ream takes the stand to testify about that jaw-dropping moment in the Addy home.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Glenn McSparran testifies about seeing that man at the crime scene, but in a blow to the prosecution, he can't identify James Addy as the man he saw.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
But McSparran's description of the car that man was driving, that old grandma car, police say matches Addie's car. And then they take a good look at the tires. Prosecutors say one of the tires on Addie's car, a Goodyear, is just the kind that could leave a double O impression like the one found near Molly Watson's body.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
A state crime lab expert testifies that he compared the right rear tire on Addie's car to a cast that was made at the scene of the crime next to Molly's body.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
A prosecution witness testifies that bullets found in the .22 caliber rifle found in James Addy's home are consistent with the Thunderbolt ammunition, the kind that came in that empty ammo box they found. Even so, that doesn't prove that it's the murder weapon.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
And investigators say there's a reference to that story about Addy's wife Melanie dying after a car crash. Prosecutors say Addy texted Molly that his ex-wife's funeral was happening the day before their wedding.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
why would james addy lie why tell molly that his ex-wife melanie was dead some speculate that maybe he hoped the story about the car crash would cause his fiance to postpone the wedding and the collision of his two lives but instead it may have sped up his day of reckoning molly at a certain point did try to look into this and question this according to some of the things brought up in court
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Prosecutors point out that Molly's online search happens the day before her murder and argue this theory. Molly figures out that James's wife isn't dead and confronts him. And they say that's what led him to kill her.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Emma's most damaging testimony may be about that bloody T-shirt. Remember the one that was found in the road near the crime scene?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
On his way back just 30 minutes later, a horrific scene, a body in his headlights.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Addy's defense says that's not proof that maybe Addy had just given the t-shirt to Molly.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Did you feel that your husband should have been found guilty of murder? Absolutely. Yeah. Is he a killer?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Anyone expecting regrets or remorse is in for quite a surprise.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Not James Addy. He is scheduled to spend the rest of his life in prison. But he's got plenty to say, beginning by reading a love letter to the woman he's convicted of killing.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
The idea that it never happens here, in this country corner of Missouri, is pretty much right. Police go into full investigative mode, and there's evidence to be found. In the muddy crime scene, they find tire tracks remarkably well preserved.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Police wake up the family in the middle of the night with some pretty bad news.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Police want to know what brought Molly to this dark, desolate place, and even more puzzling, who'd have a reason to kill her?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Molly Watson is 35. Her friends describe her as sweet, creative, bubbly.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Lots of artwork, costuming. She was really good at that. She has a YouTube channel. She plays with makeup and shows off her sewing.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Molly was married in her early 20s. The relationship didn't last more than a few years. During the breakup, she's pregnant and has a son.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Later, she dates a woman she'd known since they were in kindergarten together. But that relationship falls apart when Molly meets somebody new at the prison where she works as a corrections officer, a lieutenant named James Addy. He's 16 years older than she is, and Molly's brother says the couple doesn't spend much time with her family.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
At this point, James and Molly seem to be a couple, and he's quite the romantic. He writes, After seven years of having this relationship with James, well, she surprises her family.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
And then, according to Molly's brother, in the middle of planning the wedding, James gives Molly some terrible news about Melanie, the mother of his children.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
There are some last-minute changes. James and Molly cut their guest list in half, and it turns out his daughter, Emma, won't need the hair and makeup team.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Good. Two days to go till the wedding. The couple are meeting at the county recorder's office to get their marriage license. He remembers Molly well.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
You can see James there in his uniform, running late, hurrying inside.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Just hours later, that marriage certificate is found at the crime scene.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Now, in the middle of the night, there's something they've got to do right away. They head to her fiancé's house.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Hours away from becoming a bride, Molly Watson's story takes a tragic turn when a stranger makes a discovery on a country road.
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
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20/20
Bad Romance: Love You to Death
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20/20
Bad Romance: Love You to Death
This episode is sponsored by the podcast Death County PA from Wondery. When Lamont Jones learns that his young cousin died in custody just weeks after entering prison, his world shatters. The official report said natural causes— But how do bruises and missing teeth fit that explanation?
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Bad Romance: Love You to Death
Grief turns to frustration as Lamont faces an impossible choice, accept the story being told or risk everything to uncover the truth about what happened. From Wondery comes Death County, PA, a chilling true story of corruption, cover-ups, and one man's pursuit of justice. Lamont's cousin's death is just one of many in Dauphin County Prison, and powerful forces are working to keep the truth buried.