There were two more murders, 15 miles away in the silver-racement.

We have a weird...

...described by one investigator as reminiscent of a weird religion.

If we've learned anything from this podcast, it's that money is the root of all evil.

On June 29, 1993, a man who was desperate for his inheritance was executed for his crimes.

So, if you like your coffee hot but your bones chilled, sit back and search your day with a morning cup of murder.

Markham Def Smith of Huntsville, Texas, was an insurance agent who found himself in some serious debt in 1975.

He opened his own firm and, with his earnings, took himself on lavish cruises, bought expensive cars, and filled his closet with pricey suits.

But now his spending habits were catching up to him in the worst ways.

This desperate man met bank employee Walter Waldhouser and relayed to him his financial woes.

It was Walter who would become the mastermind behind a murderous plan for Markham to get the

money he thought he deserved to get himself out of debt.

He claimed that he had a friend who would be willing, and claimed that he had a friend who would be willing,

and he claimed he had a friend who would be willing to help. He contacted Paul McDonald and asked

him to use his bail bond contacts to find someone willing to commit murder. But who were they going to

kill? The unlucky target was none other than Markham's own adoptive mother, Gertrude Zabolio.

Markham had been adopted when he was just two weeks old.

The adoption, however, wasn't a happy one.

Gertrude treated her adopted son poorly with high expectations and no love and affection.

Though he was raised in private schools and given all the advantages to ensure a successful

life, his mother was critical and difficult to please.

Her death would mean little to him outside of being a big paycheck.

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