S2 Ep105: TEXAS - The Murder of Cheryl Fergeson & The Wrongful Conviction of Clarence Brandley

Murder In America

Blood In The Sink Productions

True Crime

4.8 • 8.5K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2023

⏱️ 111 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It all started on August 23rd 1980, in the small town of Bellville, Texas. Sixteen year old Cheryl Dee Ferguson woke up that morning and was in a rush for the first tournament of the season. The volleyball team in which she was a part of had to ride the 60 mile bus ride to Conroe, Texas. The girls were excited – until Cheryl disappeared and the game was canceled. She was eventually found in the auditorium – naked and lifeless. Unfortunately, this is not the only tragedy that came from this story. The corrupt and racist investigators that investigated this crime had their eyes set on one person, and one person only: the African American high school janitor, Clarence Brandley. This story is not just about the murder of an innocent teenager, but also about an innocent man who sat on death row for 10 years for a crime he did not commit. This is the story of Cheryl Ferguson and the Wrongful Conviction of Clarence Brandley, and you are listening to Murder in America.
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Transcript

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0:00.0	Warning, the following podcast is not suitable for all audiences.
0:04.0	We go into great detail with every case that we cover and do our best to bring viewers
0:07.8	even deeper into the stories by utilizing disturbing audio and sound effects.
0:12.0	Trigger warnings from the stories we cover may include violence, rape, murder, and offenses against children.
0:18.0	This podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned.
0:22.0	Every city across America has a murder story that they're known for.
0:28.0	A homicide that haunts the town.
0:31.0	And today, I'm going to tell you about my hometown murder.
0:36.0	One of the wildest cases I've ever heard of that's surprisingly not that many people know about.
0:44.0	When I was a little girl, I went to church every Sunday in Conroe, Texas at a church called the Ark.
0:51.0	It was still pretty new so we didn't have our own official building yet.
0:56.0	So every week, service was held at Conroe High School.
1:01.0	On Saturdays, the church employees would go to the school, set everything up for church the following morning.
1:07.0	And then after Sunday service, they would take everything down in preparation for school the next day.
1:13.0	My dad was very involved in our church, and I remember one day, he told me that the church employees who were in charge of setting everything up.
1:23.0	Always got a weird feeling when they were alone in the auditorium.
1:28.0	Some weekends, they would hear footsteps or the sound of voices, even though they were the only people in the school.
1:37.0	Now, obviously, I was a little creeped out, but at the same time, I wanted to know everything.
1:44.0	So I asked my dad, do they think it's a ghost?
1:48.0	To which he says, probably.
1:52.0	You know what girl was murdered in that same room where the employees get a weird feeling?
1:57.0	My true crime obsession had started long before this.
	...

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