'I was raped by all his friends and Walt just watched and laughed. In her testimony, Linda Couch swore she did not intend to shoot her husband, who she said had struck her that night. Although Linda insisted that the shooting was an accident, she was sentenced to life and has been in jail for murder ever since. And about 20 feet down the road, Boyles found the body of his daughter thrown up against a fence. Linda awoke surrounded by drunken men, one of them being her abusive husband. Miller claimed that Couch's wealthy upbringing and a lack of consequences for his actions caused him to suffer from "affluenza.". Something which could be explained away by trauma, abuse and a mental breakdown to some extent. Shes told so many lies that she believes her own lies, Roxanne Couch says. She goes into great detail of the controlling, abusive behavior she says she was subjected to by Walter Couch. Marshals and other American law enforcement agencies. Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. And finally, in the days before Walter was shot, Linda bought her first ever gun - the one used to kill her husband, who was shot in the back of the head. Then one night, Linda, a mother-of-three, told how she was woken up by all of Walter's friends in her bedroom. Both Linda Couch and Wagner spoke to Netflix about the murder for the episode, titled Trapped.. She went on a spending spree and bought new furniture. We thought it was a big family fight because there were people running around, except people were running around hollering and screaming, he told WCPO. Couch deserves every day of her life sentence, and I hope that the community will join our office in opposing her possible parole., According to prosecutors and Cincinnati police, Linda Couch, then 30, shot Walter Couch, 35, in the back of the head the night of Oct. 13, 1984, at their home in Cincinnatis Price Hill neighborhood. 27 2020, Updated 11:18 a.m. She said: "I feel like I've served my time." She even reenacted the shooting, calling it an accident, even though he was shot in the back of the head. Molina suffered a serious brain injury and can no longer speak or move. Shes never admitted to what shes done.. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. In tonight's episode of Crime+Investigation's I Am A Killer, Linda Couch, from Ohio, tells how she met her partner Walter at a wedding reception when she was 16-years-old, and just months later he proposed. Among those who want to make sure she stays behind bars is one of her children, Roxanne Wagner. Linda said: "College was going to be my escape because I would have been there and away from him. Her father was no saint," Wagner said, detailing a childhood marred by daily beatings from her father, shouting, arguing and watching her mother be physically abused. Ethan Couch and his mother Tonya Couch, 48, were arrested in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Dec. 28 after a nearly two-week long search by U.S. Dr. Stuart Bassman, a Cincinnati psychologist, told WCPO the murder likely had a scarring effect on the community around it. Her trial in 1984 heard she got her three children to help her dig a shallow grave for their father in the family's back garden. And unfortunately, her escape route or her plan -- she didnt think of the consequences of what it would do to her. Linda was convicted of aggravated murder and given the maximum sentence of life in prison. Here is a breakdown of what happened on the night of the accident and at Ethan Couch's sentencing hearing. Linda Lee Couch, 67, is serving a life sentence in the Ohio Reformatory for Women for the aggravated murder of Walter Douglas Couch. I didn't think that it would involve my wife and daughter. She alleges in the segment that her husband watched and laughed as he allowed his friends to gang-rape her on multiple occasions. It really strikes me how incredibly angry she is at her mother, but seems to be cool with her father, who heavily abused her and her mother. Her oldest daughter, Roxanne Wagner, doesnt believe her 67-year-old mother has changed at all. But she didn't believe her mother shot him in the back of the head during a fight, and neither did a Hamilton County jury. Linda wrapped her husbands body in a rug and found help to dig a ditch in the family yard. But what would it do for the three young children, to his family, even to her own family?". 920 followers. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Boyles said. Slowly but surely he was bringing me to a breakdown.". Ethan Couch and seven other teens piled into this pick-up truck before a fatal crash that left four people dead. 'I didn't kill him but I felt horrible inside,' she explained. She then buried her dead husband in the three-foot-deep trench. Lucas McConnell told "20/20" that the pastor told the two boys, "Y'all sit tight, I'll be back in just a minute.". And only a matter of a week or so before it was used to scramble the insides of Mr. Couchs skull. The house they lived in was in Walters parents names, until shortly before his death, when it was transferred exclusively to him. Linda said: "He pushed me down the stairs while I was pregnant with Roxanne and when I brought her home he made it clear that all the parenting was down to me. A Mother's Love 49m In prison for killing her husband, a woman details her past abuse and her turbulent marriage. An argument followed andLinda alleges Walter marched out of the bedroom and went to grab a gun he had recently bought. Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, Woman featured on I Am A Killer who killed husband, duped family into digging grave up for parole. Scripps Couch persuaded her three young children, a neighbor and her father-in-law to help dig a hole in the yard, telling them it was for drainage issues and to plant grass seed, Deters recounts. What seems distinctly less likely is Lindas assertion that his killing was purely accidental, for a number of reasons which the then prosecutor and now Hamilton County judge Patrick Dinkelacker pointed out during the trial back in 1985. Then it was a matter of 'OK, so where is Shelby?'" 'She had me bury my father in the cold ground. Walter and his friends came in. Ethan Couch was allowed to temporarily remain in Mexico as his deportation case was stayed. 'He pushed me down the stairs while I was pregnant with Roxanne and when I brought her home he made it clear that all the parenting was down to me,' she alleged. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of Terms and Conditions. 'He was so different when we were just dating. — -- The so-called "affluenza" case of a Texas teenager who caused a fatal car accident that killed four people and severely wounded another made national headlines in 2013 when then-16-year-old Ethan Couch's defense team used an unusual argument. On his return, she claims there was a struggle before she kicked him in the groin and grabbed hold of the weapon. 'College was going to be my escape because I would have been there and away from him,' she explained. Wagner said she spent a lot of time learning to "forgive" herself for her unwitting part in hiding her father's body. In deposition tapes obtained by ABC News, Couch's friend, Starr Teague, testified, "I was yelling at him that he needed to get over. 'It's a show that I'm passionate about': Will Mellor on 'Cops Who Kill', 'Once youve killed someone, you cant just go back to being normal'. Reagan Wynn, attorneys in Texas, released a statement Wednesday saying that because they are not licensed to practice law in Mexico, they assisted the Couch family in finding counsel for Ethan in Mexico to ensure that he is treated fairly, in accordance with Mexican law. Primarily, BWS manifests itself in feelings of weakness and a belief that any and all awful treatment is deserved. However, adding another twist in the story, her daughter Roxanne claimsshe does not believe that her mother was raped by Walter's friends. Eric Boyles said the three walked out the front door to find a wrecked Mercury Mountaineer had spun out and crashed into their neighbor's culvert. He grew up in Houston and spent most of his adult life in Austin. I couldn't stand the prosecutor. Now, I wish I'd never met him.'. Serving Time 45m Linda Lee Couch Admits to Burying Her Husband in a Vegetable Patch in 'I Am a Killer' By Leila Kozma Apr. "And I hope they deny her. During her trial, Couchs defense argued that Walter had abused Linda for years and that he struck her before he was shot. According to others, she is a domestic abuse victim whose case has been overlooked by the legal system. AETNUK All Rights Reserved. But once he had that ring on my finger, he changed into a monster. Andy Nadel, a 30-year veteran of the prosecutors office, says Couchs case stands out as gruesome and chilling for turning Walters loved ones into unwitting participants. But what would it do for the three young children, to his family, even to her own family?. I shot him.' And I said, 'It doesn't matter.' I said, 'He could still be alive. She said: "I feel like I've served my time. Wagner now lives in West Africa, thousands of miles and an ocean away from her mother. That Battered Wife Syndrome is total BS in this case. In March 1985, Linda Lee Couch was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband, Walter Douglas Couch. I really dont want her to get paroled.. She told her children, father-in-law and a neighbor that she wanted to dig a drainage ditch and plant grass seed near a shed, according to prosecutors. Since her incarceration, Linda spends her days at Ohio Reformatory for Women and has been rejected for parole seven times. According to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, Linda Couch shot her husband, Walter, in the head, wrapped his body in a rug and buried him in their Price Hill back yard. Then, she claims she stumbled backwards and the gun went off, shooting Walter in the head. All rights reserved. Walter Couch's body was then buried in a back yard hole unwittingly dug by his children, father and a neighbor. Roxanne Couch also told the Daily Mail in 2019 that her mother tells stories and she likes to get sympathy.. Main Office - 512-406-5452 Parole Status Line - 844-512-0461. But instead of contacting the police immediately, what Linda did next was truly chilling. Think about how brutally cold that is, to involve your children in the burying of their father. Thats Linda Couchs account of her marriage and the killing of her husband, anyway. Linda Lee Couch, 67, is serving a life sentence in the Ohio Reformatory for Women for the aggravated murder of Walter Douglas Couch. As for whether prisoners like Couch can re-enter society, Bassman said redemption lies in her hands. Ethan Couch was sentenced to 10 years of probation and rehab time for the crash. Its not something that I normally talk about, but over the last few years I just learned, yknow. Amy Clausing with the prosecutors office shares the sentiment. Couch, who had allegedly been living unsupervised at his parents' second home on Burleson-Retta Road, invited over a few friends and the teens spent the night playing beer pong and taking shots of the grain alcohol Everclear, according Garret Ballard, one of Couch's friends who was at the party. "The most common way of dealing with the trauma is to pretend it will just heal through time.". Trauma is a wound and unfortunately, the most common way of dealing with the trauma is to deny it, Bassman said. From inside his home, Eric Boyles heard an explosion that shook his house. Just weeks before she pulled the trigger, Linda doctored the deeds, transferring it - fraudulently - into her name. The kids very rarely ever spent the night with their grandparents. The Boyles family had just finished watching a movie when this car crashed outside of their house. ", What Happened After Ethan Couch Admitted Guilt. "I didn't know what it was. Accordingly, Couch's parole hearing is set for March 2021. In the months and weeks running up to shooting Walter in the head, Linda had taken out a number of bank loans and credit cards as part of her escape plan. ', 'She could tell you a lie and you would believe it's the gospel truth because she believes her own lies.'. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) (Google), Deters told WKRC that the crime was one of the most calculated murders weve ever dealt with in Hamilton Countys history.. Wagner said she spent a lot of time learning to forgive herself for her unwitting part in hiding her fathers body. The handgun found its way into her abusers brain, killing him instantly. Prosecutors: Couch buried husband in yard, tricked kids into digging grave With her. Linda Couch is serving life in prison for shooting her husband in the head and burying his body, Linda's daughter Roxanne now lives in Ghana. ", Where Ethan Couch Was Found After the Accident. On Oct. 9, four days before the murder, Linda Couch bought a gun. Its not something that I normally talk about, but over the last few years I just learned, yknow, it happened, its part of who I am -- good and bad -- so what happens in your past stays with you no matter how hard you try to forget it or push it away, push it to the side.". But her daughter doesnt believe Couch has changed at all. CINCINNATI (SCRIPPS) - In March 1985, Linda Lee Couch was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her husband, Walter Douglas Couch. She then enlisted the help of her three young children, Walter Couchs father and a neighbor in digging a hole in the back yard. Linda said: "He pushed me down the stairs while I was pregnant with Roxanne and when I brought her home he made it clear that all the parenting was down to me. And I hope they deny her.. In court, sometimes seen clutching a rosary, Linda said she hid Walters body because she feared no one would believe the shooting was an accident. But the judge and jury did not agree and she has been in jail for his murder ever since. He went back outside in search of his wife and daughter and was horrified at the chaotic scene unfolding in front of his house. According to news reports at the time, the forged paperwork indicated that Linda Couch had bought the house from them for $1. Couch has long denied asking her children to help dig. Linda remembers one horrifying night when she woke up to find Walter in their bedroom surrounded by his friends. After the hole was complete, she had her children help her carry the heavy, rolled-up rug up from the basement and into the back yard. Linda Couch wept and held a rosary during her trial for the murder of husband, Walter. 'It angered him and he wanted me to quit the programme and stay at home with him. Here's why. When I was a kid, I looked just like my mum and that wasn't what my father wanted. 'She tells stories and she likes to get sympathy. If the parole board is watching or something, I hope they hear this," Wagner said. Documentary Crime From a women's reformatory in Ohio, Linda Lee Couch talks about the murder of her husband, Walter, in 1984, a killing precipitated by years of abuse. She is slated for her next parole hearing on March 30,. She had other options besides murder, Wagner said. While she has remained adamant thekilling was nothing but an accident, the judge and jury disagreed and she has been behind bars for his murder ever since. The children never saw their father alive again. A fourth season was released on December 21, 2022, on Netflix. The teen bride said their early married life was bliss, but things changed as soon as she fell pregnant with the couple's first child Roxanne. ", "Put yourself in Tonya's shoes," Tonya Couch's attorney Stephanie Patten told ABC News. What is going on here?, He met Linda Couch that night, who he described as almost hysterical, shaking and crying and looking around or staring at the ground., She eventually says to me, I know hes dead. Linda was sentenced to life for aggravated murder and to date, has been refused parole seven times. The community can email the Ohio Parole Authority at the Hamilton County Prosecutors website. Ethan Couch eventually left rehab and worked at his father's business, Cleburne Sheet Metal. She has spent 37 years in the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio. She told her in-laws, who were very close to their son, that he was not home for various reasons.. Couch deserves every day of her life sentence, and I hope that the community will join our office in opposing her possible parole, Nadel said. "I felt trapped. Additionally, the Board recommends clemency matters, including pardons, to the Governor. Wagner remembers her mother made sure the kids stayed with their grandparents that weekend. It didn't feel right getting in.". She said: "He said they wanted a part of me. See the trailer for Season 2 of the series below. "She never stood up for me. Her next parole hearing is in 2020. She repeatedly lied to Walters close family about where he was. Investigators said Linda fatally shot Walter in the back of the head, rolled his body in a rug and kept him in the basement of their Price Hill home. Police soon discovered the buried rug holding Walters body. Yes, she did, and she was looking for an escape route, Wagner told WCPO. ET According to some, Linda Lee Couch is a cold-blooded murderer. The couple argued about it and Linda claims Walter stormed out of the bedroom and went to grab a newly bought gun. "That was the first time in my marriage that I said no to my husband.". See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Walter's violence is something Roxanne remembers with heartbreaking clarity. She also said on Twitter that no one in Lindas family wants anything to do with her and that she would be alone if she was ever released. Ethan Couch was sentenced to 10 years of probation and rehab time for the crash. However, rather thancontacting the police immediately, her trial heard that Linda dugup the couple's vegetable patch for a shallow grave for her husband - and made her three children help her. Couch has long denied asking her children to help dig. Rape her while their three children were in the home. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. As the party wound down, Pastor Brian Jennings, Evan's father, loaded up his white pick-up truck with the tables and folding chairs they had borrowed from the church for the party. Walter Couchs father, suspicious of his daughter-in-laws stories about his sons whereabouts and the hole he had helped to dig eventually went back more than a week later with a shovel. 2023 Cox Media Group. The children were ages 13, 10 and 8 at the time, according to news reports from 1984. But I knew immediately it wasn't good," Boyles told "20/20.". Her next parole hearing is in 2020. But her daughter doesn't. , has been overlooked by the legal system shes told so many lies that she believes her own?! Help to dig a ditch in the Ohio parole Authority at the time, according to,... Jury did not agree and she likes to get sympathy told WCPO Linda spends her at! Hear this, '' Boyles told `` 20/20. `` heal through time ``. The parole board is watching or something, I looked just like my mum and that was first... Remembers her mother trauma is a cold-blooded murderer Couch says it will just heal through time. `` account! 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