#CrimeTime with Alicia Dean
Murder Calls Season 1, Episode 1, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
May 28, 2007, Ogden, Iowa
A 911 call comes in to Boone County dispatch. The caller is a man who identifies himself as Michael Hill. The actual 911 call was played on the show. It was eerie and sad.
Hill: “I shot myself.”
Dispatcher: “Where?”
Hill: “I don’t know, I can’t move.”
Dispatcher: “How were you shot?”
Hill: ”I don’t know, I shot myself, the gun just went off. ”
He said he was going after a wild dog that was killing sheep. He worked for the farmer and was taking care of the sheep. He was trying to scare off the, but he said the gun went off and shot him. He tells them that he is at the back of the sheep farm, by a John Deere tractor. Then he says, “Please hurry, I can’t feel my legs. Oh, I gotta go. Going out.”
His friend, John Blair races to the farm. Michael, who they call Shane, had called him. John told him to call 911 then heads to the farm. When he arrives, the EMTs are working on Shane. John said he was working about 20 miles away and Shane called him. John told him to call 911, then heads over. John calls Shane’s mom, who goes by to pick up Shane’s wife, Jessica. The two women speed to the scene.
As they watch, the EMTs announce he’s gone.
He was shot in the center of his back and in the shoulder and leg. A loaded handgun was lying beside him. It’s the same type of gun that he told the dispatcher he’d shot himself with.
The next day, it was discovered that, six minutes after the first call, Shane calls 911 again. He doesn’t know it, but this time, his call was routed through Green County. He says his phone went dead and asks for the person he spoke with before, but that person is not at that location. Shane has to tell the story over again.
During that call, another shot can be heard. Shane says, “Oh F—. This thing went off again. I just blew a hole in my F—- arm. Oh my God, Oh my God.”
The investigating detective listens to that second call again, over and over, and realizes that second shot was from a rifle, not a handgun and that it came from a distance. He now knows there is more to the case than it first appeared.
The autopsy indicated that the shot came from above him. And, they pulled out a 30 ought 6 slug from Shane’s body.
They question John Blair, his friend who arrived just after police. They ask why he didn’t just call 911 himself. He said he was freaked out and just rushed over. John’s alibi checks out.
John was being interviewed during on the show, and he, along with his brothers, told what a good person Shane was, that he would give you anything you needed. Everyone also said that Shane loved his wife and children very much, that he was a doting husband and father.
The police interview with Jessica is shown on the episode. One of the detectives knows Jessica personally. He asks about Dan Blair, John’s brother. Dan was a good friend of Shane’s and a few years before, when Dan was down on his luck, Shane let him move in. Shane was working out of state, and did some work in Oklahoma for a period of time. He didn’t like leaving his family but felt they were in good hands with Dan.
Before long, Dan and Jessica begin having an affair. In the police interview, Jessica says, “Don’t every leave your best friend to take care of your wife and children, because the bond grows very, very quickly.”
Six months into the affair, Shane grew suspicious. One night, he pretended to leave for a job but parked his truck down the road and walked back. He caught them in bed together and went nuts. He kicked Dan out. He and Jessica split up
Jessica said in the interview that they were closer than brothers and she came along and screwed it up
Shane still loved Jessica and was broken hearted being away from her and the kids. They got back together. Over the next two years, they worked on their marriage. She told the police that the affair had been over with for some time and she made the right decision to go back to Shane. Shane forgave Dan and they tried being friends again.
They interview Dan. They ask if they’d ever had physical altercation with Shane and he said when I slept with his wife. Police ask about Dan’s roommate, Aron Moss. He said the day of the murder, the two of them had gone to a bar to shoot pool. The police interview Aron and he said he doesn’t know Shane and wouldn’t have any reason to hurt him.
The police were going to release the 911 calls to media and wanted Shane’s family to hear them first. His mom lost it and couldn’t keep listening. I don’t blame her, no way could I stand to listen to that.
After the murder, Jessica is staying with Shane’s mom. She’d been using the laptop. His mom got on the computer and saw a message from Dan to Jessica, which said, “You don’t have to worry about it, he’s not ever coming back.”
Shane’s mom takes the laptop to police. Several back and forth messages are found between Dan and Jessica, a lot of ‘I love you, I miss you’ etc, even though Jessica had said things were over between them.
Police call Jessica back in. When they tell her they found the messages between her and Dan, her tone changes. She admits that it wasn’t over with Dan. She said she complained to him about Shane, about him only wanting her for sex and not being grateful. She told Dan she wished he wouldn’t come home, then she wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. She said it was just one of those things you say, you don’t think anything will come of it. The police ask her if she texted Daniel that morning. She said yes, she told him when Shane left, what he was driving, where he was going. She said she didn’t ask Dan to kill Shane, she just said she wished he was no longer around. The cops said, “Did you know that he would do anything for you?” She said, “He always said he would.”
They call Dan in and tell him that they know he was involved in Shane’s shooting. He says, “How?” They say, “We don’t think this is something you saw yourself involved in, but you allowed your love for Jessica to drive you. You love her, right?” Dan says, “I’ve always loved her.”
When he realizes that they have more information, he starts to provide details. He says he couldn’t shoot Shane, because even though they had their problems, he loved him like a brother. The police say, “Then who did you have shoot him? Who was with you that day?” He finally tells them it was Aron Ross. He gives a full confession.
He and Shane were hiding in a barn, watching Shane. When Shane pulls the trigger, they do the same. Shane’s shot masks their shot. Shane thought he shot himself. They see Shane lying on the ground and that he’s still alive. They move closer and shoot him again. Aron never admitted to anything. Authorities had trouble figuring out why he did it but they assume it was because Dan was his friend and he had a problem. Aron helped him make the problem go away.
They were both charged with first degree murder. The detectives arrested Jessica at Shane’s funeral. She is charged as well.
Dan is sentenced to life, and Aron and Jessica were each sentenced to fifty years. She appeals and her charges are reduced to conspiracy and accessory after the fact. Her sentence is changed to 12 years and she was released on parole in 2012.
I feel Jessica deserved to spend much longer in prison. Without her involvement, Shane would still be alive. What do you think?
[I love true crime shows, and I watch them every night. (Since I write suspense, thriller, and mystery, it’s not a waste of time…it’s research, right? 🙂 ) I love Investigation Discovery and watch many of the various shows, although some are a little too cheesy. However, there are plenty of shows that are done well enough to feed my fascination with murder. Each week, I’ll blog about some of the recent episodes I’ve seen and I’d love to know your thoughts.]
Author Alicia Dean 