Two years after his divorce from Cassandra Smith, Bill Flint survived a murder attempt, having been beaten and shot. And then Cassandra’s second husband tried to kill Bill with a hitman. In May 2002, Bill died of an apparent heart attack, but Professor James Starrs, a forensic scientist, believed he was murdered. At his own expense, he had Bill's body exhumed. “48 Hours" Correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 8/19/2006. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What was the reason for exhuming Bill Flint's body?
There are those people who think that it's rather ghoulish or indeed sacrilegious to dig up the graves of people. I don't look at it that way as long as there is a substantial justifiable reason for doing so. It is the difference between being a grave robber and being a grave digger. I'm a grave digger.
My name is James E. Starrs and I am a professor of forensic sciences at the George Washington University. I knew nothing about Bill Flint or his death or his family until I received a phone call. It was quite clear from the records that Bill Flint was a marked man. Two different people connected to his former wife, with whom he had been in a custody dispute over their child.
We used to tell him he was like a cat with nine lives.
He was shot twice. He survived it. He was bludgeoned his head and survived that.
When that didn't work, they called a hitman.
He and his brother-in-law wanted a professional to do it. He was dead serious and very determined. I mean, he'd come to do business, and that's what he wanted done.
Bill Flint was a unique person. He was kind. He was loving.
I loved my father very much.
Loved his family very deeply, particularly his daughter.
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Chapter 2: How did Bill Flint survive multiple murder attempts?
Secrets from the grave.
You're a dead man, man. You're dead. Yeah? Yeah.
They'd already shot him. They'd already beat him with a lead pipe.
Bill Flint spent his life cheating death. Not once, not twice, but three times.
The bullet had passed through his neck and exited out near his ear.
He was beaten all over his head.
So many things happened to that guy.
I mean, who could survive all of that?
His friends say this is a story of how a lot of bad things happen to a really good person.
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Chapter 3: What circumstances led to Bill Flint's divorce?
Bill grew up, moved to Texas, and became an industrial electrician, but he always stayed in touch with his family.
When he'd greet you, he'd give you a big hug and say, I love you. You know, I love you, Uncle Tom. And that was just his way of greeting.
His simple life started to get complicated in 1988. He met Cassandra Smith at Livingstone's church. A few months later, they were married.
She probably came out to him as a loving, gentle person or something. I'm sure that's what he was looking for, someone like himself.
According to Bill's close friends, Liz and Tim Engledow, the true love of Bill's life arrived a year later, his daughter.
Oh, he loved her to death. He was a great father. Hi, Daddy.
He brought her with him to work all the time on the weekends and stuff, you know.
Took her to dance, took her to the Girl Scouts.
Bill's daughter asked us not to use her real name. We'll call her Jane.
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Chapter 4: What accusations did Cassandra Smith make against Bill Flint?
Daddy loves Mommy.
Bill and Cassandra seemed to be coming together a little.
But it just seemed that way until December of 1993 when Bill Flint learned, to his great surprise, that he and Cassandra were divorced. What was his first clue that he was divorced?
Well, when the sheriff showed up at the door to escort him off the property. That's a good clue. Yes. Very good clue.
That's right. Cassandra Flint not only pursued a divorce without telling her husband or her marriage counselor, she got one.
She did that... I don't want to say sneaky. She did that behind... I think you do want to say sneaky. Behind our backs. Neither Bill or I was aware that she was going for a divorce.
Okay, I'm coming. According to Betty Yarter, the Texas country lawyer Bill eventually had to hire, Bill never knew a divorce trial had been scheduled because the court only had an old address for him.
And this happened to be his old work address, which he no longer worked at.
Bill's absence from the courtroom cost him enormously, and set in motion a battle that would rage for the next seven years over their daughter. Cassandra claimed that Jane, when she was two years old, had told her Bill had molested her.
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Chapter 5: What happened during the murder attempt on Bill Flint?
that she says he threatened to kill her.
Cassandra didn't just say Bill tried to kill her, she pressed charges.
In state Texas, it's considered a terroristic threat. So he got arrested. That's right.
And this time, Bill faced a jury trial, but it didn't take long at all. In fact, almost as soon as the jurors went out, they were back with a verdict.
I had not completed smoking my cigarette outside the courthouse before the bailiff was tapping on the window saying, jury's back.
Sam, can you just talk about how you're feeling?
I know this is- The verdict was not guilty, but it was not over for Bill. He decided to fight for full custody of his daughter And that's when things started getting dangerous.
You're not too popular around here. That's why I'm in town, to take care of you.
Bill Flint's life was being threatened by his ex-wife's brother, Ralph Smith.
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Chapter 6: How did the investigation into Bill Flint's murder unfold?
He was hollering, Charlton Andress and Smith did this to me. I want to make sure that you know who did this to me in case I die.
The guy was in just horrible condition. He had lacerations all over his head from being beaten.
Detective Kevin Chrislip was amazed Bill Flint was still alive after being attacked and shot. A bullet had missed Flint's spinal cord by just two millimeters. The bullet had passed through his neck and exited out near his ear. When he recovered, Bill Flint told a television reporter he was sure his ex-wife was behind the shooting.
There's no doubt in my mind. Her brother and her husband came to do it, and there was somebody driving the car.
Despite his suspicions, Bill never saw Cassandra that morning. When the police went looking for her brother, Ralph Smith, he had vanished. And when they found her husband, Charlton Andrus, he denied everything. But then Detective Chrislip got a call from Charlton's own daughter saying he had confessed to her. He finally admitted to her that he had, in fact, shot Mr. Flynn.
and charlton's daughter said something else about cassandra she reluctantly signed an affidavit saying her father quote told me that cassandra had not seen anything because she was two blocks away but he also told me that she knew what he was going to do to the guy you think his wife was involved i believe everything that that we investigated pointed to the fact that she was
Still, there wasn't enough evidence to arrest Cassandra, but police did have enough to arrest her husband, Charlton Andrus, for attempted murder. And when they showed up to bring him in, Cassandra gave them more than enough reason to take her to jail too, on a different charge.
I walked up to her and she slaps my hand down. And I said, don't put your hands on me, get out of the way.
Cassandra slapped Lieutenant Susan Clifton a second time and both women fell to the ground. Clifton tried to arrest Cassandra, but it wasn't easy.
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Chapter 7: What was the outcome of the charges against Cassandra and her husband?
Even though he had never been indicted, he was still being asked if there was any truth to the abuse charges.
No. No, there's not.
And Bill was convinced Cassandra was turning his daughter against him.
Hi, Daddy.
We were having good phone conversations.
Hi, Mom.
Her mom just cut it off.
And then Jane started to leave messages, very disturbing messages.
Bye.
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Chapter 8: What role did the police play in the murder plot against Bill Flint?
While he admits his role in the attack on Bill, Ralph to this day will not implicate his sister, nor will her husband, Charlton Andrus. I'm here, and I'm telling you, she wasn't there. She wasn't there. Was she in the neighborhood? Because I was there. You were there. Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
Did Cassandra... have anything to do with that attack on Bill Flint that morning? Did she ask you to do it?
No.
Who asked you to do it?
Her husband. Do you remember what he said to you? He basically said that we need to go ahead and teach this guy a lesson and beat him up.
Cassandra was never charged with Bill's attack, but she was tried for resisting arrest. Murphy Classing prosecuted her.
Well, this was the only defendant that I ever prosecuted that I was actually concerned would retaliate at the end of the case.
Retaliate? Against you?
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