AI Summary
5 min readThe Custody Battle That Ended in Murder
On a Thursday night in August, a 19-year-old college student named Carrie drove from her father's house in North Brunswick to her mother Michelle's home in Dwight, about 145 miles away. She brought along her younger sister Charlotte, who had been living with their father and wanted nothing more than to stay there. Carrie told investigators she was just trying to spend one more night at her mom's house before heading back to school. But the family court system was already grinding through a bitter custody dispute over Charlotte, and tensions were at a breaking point.
What happened next would unravel into a murder plot that Carrie herself helped investigators piece together—one that began with a plan to kill her own mother and make it look like a suicide.
The Fractured Family Behind the Crime
The family's troubles had been building for years. Michelle and her ex-husband divorced in August 2012, and by February 2013, Michelle had moved to Dwight with full custody of the children. But the custody arrangement was never stable. Charlotte, the younger daughter, repeatedly told her mother she was miserable living with her and wanted to move in with her father. Each time she said this, according to the father's account, it "would always result in an explosion and probably a couple of calls to the police department."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Sponsor Block** - The episode opens with host Chelsea Handler and a series of podcast sponsors for Optimum internet and YouTube Premium.
- 2 (01:33) **Interrogation Begins: Custody History & Family Tensions** - The interview starts with the husband detailing the divorce and custody timeline, focusing on his daughters Charlotte and Carrie.
- 3 (03:27) **The Final Trip: Charlotte's Visit to Michelle's House** - The husband recounts the events of Thursday, when Charlotte drove from his home to Michelle's house.
- 4 (06:40) **The Morning After: Breakfast & the Explanation** - The husband describes waking up Friday morning and texting Carrie about a free breakfast, leading to a meeting where Charlotte's presence is explained.
- 5 (08:56) **Charlotte's Account of the Night: Fear and Flight** - The husband relays what Charlotte told him about the events at Michelle's house on Thursday night.
- 6 (10:42) **Charlotte's Long-Standing Wish to Live with Dad** - The husband explains that Charlotte had repeatedly expressed a desire to live with him, which always led to explosive reactions from Michelle.
- 7 (14:18) **The Custody Petition & The Missed Court Call** - The husband details the custody petition he filed and the missed phone call for the first court appearance on Friday, August 25th.
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Show Notes
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