Content warning, this episode contains discussion of the murder of a woman and her two unborn children as well as domestic violence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-safe.

That's 1-800-799-7233.

We'll include more information on how to contact the hotline's experts at the end of this program.

And, as always, we're breaking down our sources for this episode in depth at the end of the show.

The tornado warning came in the middle of murder she wrote.

Edith and Rudy Roothouse, a couple living in Gerardo, Ohio, had just flicked on CBS to watch Angela Lansbury's Jessica Fletcher solve yet another mystery.

That night on the show, Fletcher found herself tasked with clearing Harry McGraw, the gruff and lovable private eye played by Jerry Orbock, of the murder of a sketchy boxing promoter.

Authorities are holding XPI turned hustler Harry McGraw, 47 of Boston, 47, what does it get 47?

The Roothouse's cozy Sunday night would soon come to an abrupt halt, though.

Outside, a storm was raging, and in certain parts of the Midwest, those angry summer squalls can be real killers.

Back when I was a kid growing up in South Central Indiana, I remember tornado warnings cutting off television

or radio programs on days with heavy rains or strong winds.

The protocol was to seek shelter, preferably in a basement.

Our neighbors didn't have one, so they'd often rush over to our house to hide in the basement.

I'd usually ignore the warning so I could keep watching Sanford and Sun or whatever else was on.

Back on the evening of August 2nd, 1987, at some point the Roothouses became aware of a tornado warning.

And they were more cautious than Kevin, understandably so.

Just two years previously, Trumble County had been ravaged by a large tornado, which killed 13 people and injured 200 others.

So the Roothouses weren't going to take any chances. They knew what to do.

In their basement closet, there was a small door. That door led to their crawl space.

They could take shelter there. The couple must have felt somewhat uneasy, descending into the dark basement.

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