171. Smells Like 18 Years Is Too Long To Wait - The Wideman Family Murders

Melissa wraps up Season 3 of the podcast with the tale of an horrific “family annihilator” mass murder from 2002 and the mysterious 18 year delay it took to bring a suspect to justice...mysterious because, right from the very beginning, all signs pointed – with big bright shiny, glowing arrows – to Jason Michael Walker, who was finally arrested on December 2, 2020 after nearly two decades following the murders in question.  And those murders were as grotesque and incomprehensible as they come.  On March 22, 2002, at approximately 3 a.m. local time, authorities were called to a burning house in the tiny town of Rebecca, Georgia.  Inside the rubble of the decimated structure, firefighters discovered the bodies of the Wideman family - Tommy John Wideman, Tommy’s wife Deborah, the couple’s 20 year-old daughter Melissa – and the 8-1/2 month-old fetus Melissa had been carrying – which had been cut out of Melissa’s womb and placed by the family’s dead bodies.  Tommy Joe, Deborah and Melissa were all determined to have been killed prior to the ignition of the fire.  For the next 18 years the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), together with local authorities, worked to no avail to solve the grizzly multiple homicide.  Then suddenly, in late 2020 a grand jury was convened to present evidence against Jason Walker, including recent eyewitness testimony from someone who saw someone fleeing from the burning house – and the fact that Walker, who had been known to date young Melissa Wideman, had been confirmed through DNA testing to be the father of the fetus found at the scene.  The grand jury – at long last – handed down indictments on December 1, and Walker was arrested shortly thereafter.  How does a case like this go so long without being solved?  That is the troubling question asked by Melissa in this compelling episode.  THANK YOU TIP-STERS for supporting Just The Tip-Sters!  It’s amazing to realize we’ve now completed three full seasons – and we owe YOU everything!  Melissa’s taking a brief one-week break between seasons – and the podcast will return on Tuesday January 12, 2021 with a brand new season of more fascinating cases, enlightening guests and YOUR TIPS (oh and of course more cowbell)!  In the meantime, Happy New Year to one and all!  Remember, if you have a tip of any kind that can help solve a crime or any mystery whatsoever,  you can call Melissa on the TIP-STER HOTLINE at (832) TIP-STER (832-847-7837) or send an email to [email protected]   Please consider SUBSCRIBING to Just The Tip-Sters over at Apple Podcasts, then RATE and give us that five-star REVIEW! You can also listen and subscribe at Spotify, IHeartRadio, Stitcher, TuneIn, YouTube, the Radio.com app and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.