Unpacking the trial of Delbert Tallman and making the case that Tallman is NOT Heidi Martin’s likely killer.Special thank you to the following Dark Valley listeners for their dedicated support of the show: M Charles, Tara F, Debie Burton, Sandi C. W., Parker D. and Brian Denman. Join the Crime Junkie Fan Club to enjoy Dark Valley ad-free PLUS gain access to exclusive case files. More details HERE. CASE TIPS OR INFORMATION: New Hampshire State Police- Cold Case Unit at: 603-271-2663 Vermont State Police- Major Crimes Unit: 802-244-8781
Chapter 1: Who is Delbert Tallman and why is he on trial?
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You remember the person's face?
Yep.
What did his face look like? This is Delbert Tallman, a man put on trial for the murder of Heidi Martin. He called me out of the blue one day, and he says he saw the face of Heidi's killer.
Do you remember how tall he was? And how tall are you? Okay, so like 5'6", 5'7"?
Okay, gotcha. And then was he, like, fat or skinny?
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Chapter 2: What are the allegations against Delbert Tallman?
Two, then he said he heard yelling on top of the bridge and then two people running over the bridge. In both of these versions, Tallman runs into the woods and witnesses none other than his friend, Albert Sargent, pull a knife and stab Heidi Martin. Tallman said he was 10 to 15 feet away from the murder and looked directly at Sargent's face.
Number three, uncrossed by the prosecution, Tallman tells yet another story. He says he was under the bridge when he heard, quote, sneakers and cowboy boots running over the covered bridge. He said Albert always wore cowboy boots, and he got back up on the road in time to see a man with a plaid shirt, dungarees, and cowboy boots run out of sight.
Tallman said he knew it was Sargent even though he didn't see his face. Then Tallman ran into the woods and stood behind, quote, a large white birch tree. He said Sargent covered Heidi's mouth so she wouldn't scream anymore. Then he said he took off on a shortcut through the woods to the cemetery.
And this, of course, is where witness Robert Matheson said he saw Tallman stumbling out of the woods, covered in mud. Number four, he was sitting under the bridge, quote, thinking and drinking a beer when he heard screams about a half mile up the creek, quote, I said, hell, I might as well see where it's coming from. I had a funny feeling Albert was down there doing something dumb.
I know what he's like when he's drinking, end quote. Bill Boss interrupted Tallman. "'Were you gonna go down there just to say hi?' Tallman said, "'Uh-uh,' and shook his head. "'Quote, "'I don't talk to Elvert when he's drinking. "'When he's drunk, he does things that are stupid.'" As Delbert made his way down the steep ravine, he saw Sergeant and Heidi face to face.
Tallman said Sergeant's face was pointed up toward him. Sergeant raised the knife high above his head as Martin stood next to him. He saw the knife in Martin's class ring glint in the sun. Quote, I said, oh boy, I better get out of here. Oh, I'm leaving. I didn't have the guts to hang around. I saw Elbert stabbing her and I took off in high gear. Sunlight glinting? That's just plain old Hollywood.
The only consistent part of Tallman's many stories is that he started out under the covered bridge. April, Heidi's sister, and I put this to the test.
Definitely you can't hear boots. There's no way. Take a walk first. Take a walk? Okay.
And I'll just see if I can hear it or pick it up. So I'm standing below the covered bridge where Tallman likely was. And April is going to walk across the bridge and give a little yell. I'm trying to determine what can be heard and if part of Tallman's story actually checks out. It's not an entirely scientific experiment. It's December and the foliage is sparse.
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