The Lethal Library

30: Murder in the Gift Shop: The Case Against Zane Jack Fields

• The Lethal Library • Episode 30

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In this episode of The Lethal Library, hosts Dani and Stephanie uncover the haunting 1988 murder of Kay Vanderford in Boise, Idaho. What starts as a seemingly normal day at a quaint gift shop spirals into chaos as Kay is fatally stabbed. The investigation features eerie sightings, a sketchy suspect, and bizarre inmate testimonies claiming confessions from the accused, Zane Jack Fields. Listeners are taken through a maze of legal drama and questionable evidence, leaving them to ponder whether justice was truly served or if Fields was merely a convenient fall guy. Tune in for a captivating blend of dark twists and true crime intrigue.

Contact The Lethal Library at TheLethalLibrary@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!

Stephanie:

Alright. So everybody, welcome back to the Lethal Library. I'm Stephanie. I'm Danny. And today we're gonna tell you another true crime tale out of Idaho. So Danny, what do you have for us today?

Dani:

Today we're diving into the chilling tale of Kay Vanderford, whose seemingly normal day at her Boise gift shop turned into a horrifying nightmare from mysterious sightings of suspicious characters and bulky jackets to inmate and informants chatting it up like they're on the episode of Reality tv. Good. This case has all the elements of a true crime roller coaster resources used. Today are articles from the Idaho Statesmen

Stephanie:

exclusive, exclusive to the Idaho Statesmen. Sponsor. It could be you. They're like, um, yeah, not with that filthy male.

Dani:

on February 11th, 1988, 69-year-old Kay Vanderford and her husband Herbert, headed down to their daughter's gift shop, the wishing Well in Boise, Idaho.

Stephanie:

Very cutesy.

Dani:

Isn't that a very cute gift shop? Wishing well gift. I love that. Kay and Herbert opened up the shop that morning and got their day going just like any typical day. Herbert washed the front windows around 11 o'clock and left shortly after. At 1120, Kay called 9 1 1 and reported she had been stabbed A customer entered the store and also dialed 9 1 1. Police arrived within four minutes of the first call.

Stephanie:

That's a great response time.

Dani:

Great response time. Kay was transported to St. Al's where she died around 1230 for her injuries during a surgery.

Stephanie:

I just can't even imagine that, as a partner, to see your partner regular day and within basically an hour they're dead. Yeah.

Dani:

Like, because it was a very normal, normal day for them. He's, of course. and I just, let me just tell you where this is at in Boise. So, it's on Fairview between coal and Alumba. So it's by like there's a sunrise right there. Mm-hmm. There's like a little strip mall with four or five businesses in it, and that's where that was located. It's no longer there, but that's where that was. Wow. At, Kay had two grown children. Karen, who owned the gift shop, and a son Tom. Who lived in northern Idaho. Kay. Had just celebrated her 47th wedding anniversary three weeks before she was murdered. Family and friends said she enjoyed keeping up on current events, being with her family and spending time at the cabin and Cascade. They had a, a dorms. Yeah, they had a lakeside cabin up there that they would go and with all the family. Yeah.

Stephanie:

It sounds like they had a very cute, like 47 year anniversary. Almost made it to 50. That's really incredible. And

Dani:

she was still she was helping her daughter run th gift shop, which I think is so awesome. Like, it, definitely was her purpose. I mean, and she loved her grandchildren, that that was very, her grandchildren were very, very important to her. But she went down and she was the face of that store. Mm-hmm. Karen said her mother was the cornerstone of the store. Oh. Kate had been working at the gift shop for 15 years and she absolutely loved it.

Stephanie:

It sounds like that would be a great job.

Dani:

'cause they, her and her husband had like, uh, a service station, um, I think it was up by Lewiston, where they ran that and stuff and then they retired.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dani:

And then she's like, I'll come help your daughter. Those

Stephanie:

little fun hobbies. Yeah. Like job to get, get extra income and, and she

Dani:

was doing,'cause she had, obviously life experience running a business. Mm-hmm. So she was doing the books, and also helping purchase the items for the store. Yeah. What are we gonna put in the store? Yeah. I

Stephanie:

think that's a great thing for older folks if they want to, to find a really low impact job. Yeah. That still they're using their brain. Mm-hmm. They're still socializing. They're absolutely still, you know,

Dani:

and they're helping out their daughter.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Family business that's just, just like picture perfect. I think most people would want a kind of retirement like that. You know,

Dani:

I think it's healthy for, to still get out. Mm-hmm. police started their investigation beginning with the nearby businesses.

Stephanie:

Really,

Dani:

and well, this happened in the middle of the day. Yes. Literally in the middle of the day. Day and

Stephanie:

in the morning too. It was, this is like 1120 in

Dani:

the middle of the day. What, what are we doing? And I'm not sure what time the store opened. I kind of feel like it was maybe like 10 ish because they got there, open everything up, and then, you know, Herbert's out there just like, let me, you know, clean these windows. You know, I've worked retail before. A restaurant like the, the front door's always felt that you're hitting that every day. Yeah. Oh yeah. you know, make it presentable. And he is like, I'm gonna go run some errands. I'll be back. Whatever he's doing, you know, normal day, normal day, an employee from the State Farm Insurance office, located next door, said she had heard a scream, but thought it was a playful yell. And employees from another neighboring business. Manino

Stephanie:

Love man. Love Mancino.

Dani:

Love mea Manino. It's been a hot minute, but I love it.

Stephanie:

I know it's one that I always forget about. Yeah. Where you at? Manino? We need you in some ads or something. Right.

Dani:

You know where they're at here though, right?

Stephanie:

Yeah. They're just in the like, what is that road? Midland? Yeah. Yeah. They're

Dani:

Midland like lone star, I think. Get you some Mancino sponsor. the employees from Mancino said they didn't see or hear anything unusual. They were

Stephanie:

just working about their own day. Yeah. And you're not expecting that? No.

Dani:

and I've worked in those businesses like where you're like sharing a wall, a strip mall. Mm-hmm. You can hear other things, but whether, I mean, if I'm busy talking on the phone or something and I hear a loud noise, I can't, you wouldn't be decipher. Like, is is that a cry for help or was somebody laughing because I would assume somebody would be laughing or hollering not getting stabbed? Mm-hmm. on February 13th, just a few days later, police release a sketch of a suspect. He is described as a 48-year-old man, six four, and weighs about 220 pounds. The top of his head is bald with brown hair on the sides. He was last seen a blue sweatshirt with a white or gray shirt underneath and navy blue pants.

Stephanie:

Pretty good description.

Dani:

It's pretty

Stephanie:

descrip. There's a lot of things in there.

Dani:

Let me show you their sketch.

Stephanie:

Okay guys, I'm gonna describe this sketch in my first impression. It reminds me of what is the actor that does Fight Club? Not Brad Pitt, otherwise Edward

Dani:

Norton. Yeah,

Stephanie:

ed. It looks to me like Edward does that not

Dani:

Yeah, Edward Norton with But Bald, but balding.

Stephanie:

Yeah. Maybe look, look it up guys. Or maybe I'll put it on the Facebook, but yeah, imagine Edward Norton. But bald is what it looks like.

Dani:

I, but on February 18th, the authorities say they're seeking a Second Man, employees and the owners of nearby businesses in the Linda Vista Plaza. Saw a man with a large knife sticking out of his coat pocket not long after the stabbing. Oh. They described the man as 25 to 30 years old, six feet tall, about 220, 2 30 pounds. He had bushy strawberry blonde hair and was wearing an orange, bulky coat with blue jeans. He had entered several shops in the plaza between 12 and 1230 on the, on February 11th, the day that Kay was stabbed. And this isn't far, it's like a half mile.

Stephanie:

So it makes you think if someone's staking out places going in. Mm-hmm.

Dani:

Detective Sergeant Dave Smith said the clerks asked if they could help him, but all he said was, I'm just waiting. The clerk said they all felt uneasy about him being there and that they had never seen him in the area before.

Stephanie:

Right. I'm just waiting. Yeah. Well, I guess if you're outside the store, maybe I wonder if it was inside or outside, but like, say no, he,

Dani:

he went inside the stores. Like they made him uncomfortable. Like, to say that

Stephanie:

inside. Like, what? What do you mean waiting? Yeah. Like,

Dani:

but also could I show up at a, at a store? We're gonna go look at something and be like, I guess I just waiting for my friend. We're gonna go look at some, I don't know. Okay. I mean, it's a stretch, but he was,

Stephanie:

he was just bad vibes. Yeah. That was it. The vibe was off.

Dani:

the man was last seeing running East on Fairview. Why are you running, why are you running in the middle of the day in a large coat? I mean, it's February. He's not going for a jog. Right.

Stephanie:

What's going on here

Dani:

in 1989? Authorities say they are still actively pursuing leads. Ooh. So

Stephanie:

that means they haven't gotten much probably a year later if you're asking for any leads.

Dani:

Yeah. Kay's daughter keeps her store open on the one year anniversary of her mother's death. Her daughter invites the public to come down to the store and share memories of Kay.

Stephanie:

That's heart. It's good, but it's heartbreaking. Like,

Dani:

and I feel like, you know, she's had a, the family's had a year mm-hmm. To process this and to deal with it however you deal with it. But I also think it's very how heartwarming, you know, when you lose somebody close to you and people come and comfort you and tell you how Awesome. Right. Somebody, if it's good, you feel close. And I also feel like she was like, Hey. Yo. Hello. There's still a murderer on the loose.

Stephanie:

Remember that one time when someone came into my fucking store and killed my mom? Yeah. You remember that? I think that's, we're still here, just patiently waiting. So, um, yeah. So I kind of feel like it's a good, it's a good tactic.'cause we've heard many cases where someone even doing a newspaper article, or an opinion piece mm-hmm. Or some type of memorial, especially for an unsolved case. Sometimes 10 years down the line, someone's like, oh my gosh,

Dani:

somebody told me about that.

Stephanie:

Yeah. This guy got drunk in a bar

Dani:

and told me all about this and that. So I, I do think it was good. I probably, mentally and also to help kind of boost it and keep it boost. Yeah. In the headlines. On April 18th, 1989, police finally charged someone with a murder of Kay Goodness, Zane Jack Fields age 30 as charged with first degree murder. Fields is a current inmate at the Idaho Correctional Institution in Orofino.

Stephanie:

Welcome home.

Dani:

Lemme tell you a little bit about this guy.

Stephanie:

Okay.

Dani:

Fields's criminal history started in 1976 when he was convicted of grand larceny. He was paroled a year later, but quickly returned to prison on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. He has also been convicted of burglary, forgery, and delivery of a controlled substance. So Adila and Chema, he has already spent nearly 10 years in prison for those convictions. Stop doing these things. Yeah. So he's 30, so he's been in the system a

Stephanie:

a third of his life. Yeah. And then think of your adult life. You've got 12 adult years. So he's had like two years of his adult life.'cause I mean, if you're in prison, you're an adult most likely.

Dani:

Yeah. No, calm

Stephanie:

down.

Dani:

He was fucking around and found

Stephanie:

out. And finding out rep heatedly, like you're again, the people who are not good at crimes, just wanna keep doing the crime stuff. Stop or learn. Let's see some innovation. And I'm not talking about like for murdering, but like, you wanna do a little shoplifting or whatever. Let's be innovative about it. No, let's not be dumb about it. My God.

Dani:

Phil's most recent conviction came from an incident on February 22nd, 1988. So I'm gonna just do a little timeline for you. Yes. Kay was murdered on February 11th. Mm, 1988.

Stephanie:

11 days later. Yes. He is arrested for, what was it? Larceny. Burglary.

Dani:

Oh, let me tell you.

Stephanie:

Oh, I'm ready.

Dani:

Fields entered the Shopco on Fairview. In Boise around one 30 in the afternoon. He was in the store for a while and drew the attention of some employees who thought he might be shoplifting. Oh,

Stephanie:

see, you're bad at it.

Dani:

Were you wearing the big coat, bro?

Stephanie:

That fucking puffy coat.

Dani:

When Fields left the store, a security guard and the store manager approached him and they said, Hey, have you taken anything from the store? Phil's response was, he was sick of prison and he didn't wanna spend any more time there. And then he drew a gun and pointed it at the two men escalation at times a thousand. Okay. He didn't shoot it. he pointed at the two men. He just turned and walked away.

Stephanie:

Brandishing not good, bro. And you're a felon most likely, right?

Dani:

Yeah. I mean, because they're all felonies. I'm thinking 10 years probably fe Yeah. Controlled substances. And that

Stephanie:

automatic, I think it's an automatic, yeah. Okay.

Dani:

And it probably was pot back in 88. I'm just had to say that one. Isn't

Stephanie:

that so ridiculous to think about? Just dumb.

Dani:

He was arrested about 20 minutes later. They found a cassette tape and a holster on fields at the time of his arrest. So for our, everybody knows what a tape cassette? Yeah. Oh, it's not a cd.

Stephanie:

It's before. It's the step before CDs.

Dani:

It's between an eight track and a cd.

Stephanie:

Yes.

Dani:

I'm not an eight track

Stephanie:

girl.

Dani:

I'm not either. I did not know

Stephanie:

those. I've, I've never held one.

Dani:

Uh, were you, uh, tape girl? Did you have tapes? Tapes? Oh yes. Tapes.

Stephanie:

Lots of tapes. Lots of

Dani:

tapes.

Stephanie:

And then my sister got that subscription to like whatever music company sends out, like subscriptions of CDs and then I would just steal her CDs. That's beautiful. She was very cool. She had all the cool stuff.

Dani:

I love that. For you Fields was found guilty of aggravated assault and petty theft. Do you wanna know what he stole? Was it the cassette? Yeah, but you wanna know what band it was? Yes. Who CCR are? Oh my God, I feel so old right now.

Stephanie:

I might, I might know this song. What's this? Their popular song?

Dani:

Credence Claire. What? Oh,

Stephanie:

I just don't, I don't recognize, I never call them that. So yes, I know tons of their songs. Okay, now I feel embarrassed. And I thought you said zr, so I was like, oh. Led Zeppelin now like CCR. I'm sorry. I didn't understand the I love them. Okay, we're good.

Dani:

Oh my gosh. Now I feel so You thought I didn't know them well? No, I felt stupid using their little abbreviation and I was like, oh my God, I'm fucking old.

Stephanie:

I should, I don't know why I don't use the abra. I mean, sometimes I just say credence. CCR. That's how the cool kids, the superfan say it.

Dani:

Okay. I'm fucking cool now. I know. Now I feel better stuff. Thank you. Okay. Uh, during his sentencing hearing for that crime, he told Judge Schroeder, who we have seen in, we know many and others. Schroeder good old Schroders quote, prison's not where it's at. The streets are where it's at. That's where my life is. Prison's getting a little old unquote.

Stephanie:

Very effective and persuasive argument, sir. And judge, I went, did you wrap it on a beat?'cause it sounds like he wanted to. I kind of feel like that he was seeing that a little bit. Prison ain't where it's at. I, I, I live on the streets.

Dani:

Prison's getting a little old from me.

Stephanie:

The judge is like, alright, this is the worst day of my life. Should's like, but I had to see that.

Dani:

Uh, sorry you feel that way, but here's five years for you. Yeah. Thanks for sharing your feelings. Thank you, sir. So he was sentenced to five years for stealing the cassette tape and

Stephanie:

pulling the gun. Five years for the credence. Man, you must have been a big fan, willing to brandish and point a firearm over a cassette tape.

Dani:

They never did find the gun, but he had a holster. Yes. And they don't think would lie

Stephanie:

about. Being pulled

Dani:

and you know, back in the day they put like the cassettes and like the big plastic things. Mm-hmm.

Stephanie:

Mm-hmm. So those are not the optimal item to steal just like CDs because they take forever to open and you have to get it open. You can't just

Dani:

ditch

Stephanie:

it. Mm-hmm.

Dani:

You can't like unwrap all the cellophane and be like putting it in your Walkman and be like, dude, I've had this. Right. No, no. It doesn't work. Doesn't it doesn't work

Stephanie:

that way.

Dani:

We're not criminals. Well,

Stephanie:

I am. I was when I was a teenager. No. I used to shop with little things like lip gloss and stuff as like a preteen and a teen with no supervision. And then one time I went to the place where we always shoplifted from, um, with two boys that thought that they were real hot shit and they went straight for the CDs. And I was like, that's a bad idea. That's a very stupid idea. And was like. They thought, they said, no, we know what we're doing. And they were like walking through the aisles, like putting the cellophane in, like old rug, like not old rugs, but rolled up rugs and stuff, sliding the cases under the aisles and stuff. And I'm like, oh my God, this is awful. Guess who stops us on the way out? Loss prevention. They weren't called loss prevention back then. They, they had their little badge, you know, little security guard. Yes. And so, um, that's what we called back in the day anyways. Did you unfriend them? We did not go on another shopping trip again. Okay. I assure you of that. And I was like, I didn't even, I was so nervous. I didn't even take like a lip gloss or anything. I was like, I ain't getting caught with you idiots. Like, no. Anyways, I ran bye. I don't know. They, they, I think got away too. They basically just gave him a warning, which they should have just for the stupidity of the, the whole thing. But yeah, no, we were not, um, that's not

Dani:

happening

Stephanie:

nowadays. We were not shopping buddies.

Dani:

I actually think I, I should look that up. I bet you shoplift is way, way low for like stupid teenage kids.'cause there's cameras everywhere.

Stephanie:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. And they, they're so sophisticated, right? Like for the folks that think that they're getting away with it, for at Sephora or Target, even if you're putting a different label on or scanning everything as an orange, um, that you're not getting away with it. What they're doing is they're building a file on you and waiting for you to get to the felony level, and then they're gonna be like, here's 16 hours of tape of you. So just for those out there that think, oh man. And may, maybe you did it for like, you know, you got a bag of oranges and you only scan for one. They are very serious about, they're counting about it and they want anything that's affecting their bottom

Dani:

TikTok. Accountants are back there with their spreadsheets. Yes.

Stephanie:

And those cameras just. They people think, oh, I paid with cash. They're never gonna know who I am. The cameras can read your ID and your the numbers on your card. Mm-hmm. They're very good. Cameras

Dani:

don't do it. They're following you to your car. Speaking as a

Stephanie:

former teen criminal of lip gloss theft, it ain't as easy as it was. We're can't even do cocaine anymore.

Dani:

Can't even shoplift, can't even do cocaine in America. That's, uh, all of, uh, Theo v Youo v telling JD Vans can't even do cocaine in this country anymore except this country, man. In June, police are asking the public if they have any information on the knife that was used to kill Kay. They said that it was thrown into the back of a pickup truck after the attack.

Stephanie:

Oh, so someone gave up that info?

Dani:

No.

Stephanie:

No. How did they know that? Oh, I'm skipping ahead.

Dani:

I think they, yeah, they're just, listen, we're not sure. Yeah. Okay. Somebody was talking. Um, I don't think it was Fields. I like 95%. It wasn't fields. So let's get down to some nitty gritty hearing. Yeah. Let's get into it. figure out why they were asking for that and where that information came from. In August, a fellow inmate of fields testified that Fields had confessed to the crime. Harold Gilcrest said Phil confessed that quote. He stabbed the lady in the neck above the shoulder. Gilcrest said quote, we are friends. Are you though? That what? He said, we are friends. That's such a weird response, isn't it? It is.

Stephanie:

Danny, I hit someone with my car, but we are friends. Sure. Conversational like that is so like

Dani:

it's not how words work. Gilcrest said he asked fields about the murder and at first fields maintained his innocence, but then he asked Fields, quote how much money was taken from the till, and he told me he got 48 to$50. Wow. I just opened that day. You don't rob when? No, that's just bad robbery. Um, but also I want you to just, even in 1988, would$50 be a good opening till? No. No, I don't think so. Keep that in mind. Yeah. Okay. A former inmate, Keith Edson said he saw fields near the store that day. He knew fields from a stay at the Idaho State Penitentiary. He said he saw a man in an orange jacket into the store and recognized him as fields. Edson said he saw him leave the store after about 10 minutes. Hmm. Fields entered a not guilty plea. He's facing the death penalty, so all this testimony is coming up in his arraignment. Yeah, trial, all that stuff in October. Fields. Asked for a change in venue and was also asking for a new court appointed attorney. Judge Schroeder will consider the change of venue along with a handful of motions entered by the defense. No new attorney. The judge said it was worked out. Basically fields is like, I asked my attorney to bring me these papers, like gimme my formal charges and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like he wanted some information. Mm-hmm. The attorney didn't provide that to him, but in court he did. He's like, here, here's your documents. So it was all, he settled a squash. Yeah. And late November Fields defense team requested to be removed from the case. Oh. So why didn't we just, well, some stuff come about. So, uh oh. So Amil, my Shin and Gus Cahill and we've had my shin in here before, and I might be saying it wrong. It's M-Y-S-H-I-N. Michin. Michin. It sounds like it would be. Right. Uh, and Gus Cahill were granted the requests to be removed from the case because they had represented several inmates that are scheduled to testify in the case. Oh, big conflict of

Stephanie:

interest. Yeah.

Dani:

This delays the trial, which was scheduled for December 4th. So. Because the new attorneys have to have some time. Yeah. Yeah. They gotta be able to prepare. Uh, new attorneys are assigned to the case, Gar Hackney and John Lin. And from my reading, I heart me some Hackney. I think you're gonna be happy with, let's hear about it. Hackney. Yeah. In 1990, the new set of attorneys are asking to suppress Gilcrest testimony from the trial. Gilcrest admitted that detectives asked him to listen for information concerning the murder at the wishing well. The defense team said when inmates solicited the information from fields, they were acting as agents of the Boise Police Department. They argue that fields should have been provided a Miranda Rights warning prior to talking to the informants. Mm. So this got me thinking like we, we hear about Miranda Rights all the time and I was like, I don't even know where that comes from or what that means. I mean, I know what it is. Mm-hmm. So it's Education Corner on Danny at the Lethal Library. so this is from, history.com and it's says that the Miranda rights originated from a landmark 1966 US Supreme Court case, Miranda versus Arizona a March 2nd, 1963. When an 18-year-old Phoenix woman told police that she had been abducted, driven to the desert and raped detectives questioning her. The story gave her a polygraph test, but the results were inconclusive. However, tracking the license plate number of the car that resembled that of her attackers brought police to Ernesto Miranda, who had a prior record as a peeping Tom. Although the victim did not identify Miranda in a lineup, he was brought into police custody and interrogated. What happened next is disputed, but officers left the interrogation with a confession that Miranda later recanted unaware that he didn't have to say anything at all. The confession was extremely brief and differed in certain respects from the victim's account of the crime. However, Miranda's appointed defense attorney. He didn't call any witnesses at the ensuing trial, and Miranda was convicted. While Miranda was an Arizona state person. The American Civil Liberties Union took up his appeal, claiming the confession was false or coerced, and the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Miranda was retired and convicted in October, 1966, remaining in prison until 1972. Ernesto Miranda was later stabbed to death in the men's room of a bar after a poker game in January of 76. Shit. So I know that's a lot, but I just like, I was like, I'm gonna go look that up. Mm-hmm. Because we hear that all the time. Miranda Rights. Miranda Rights. They weren't read. They're Miranda rights, but it's, it's after that case where. He was coerced, but never given the advice that he had a right to an attorney.

Stephanie:

And I figured that it was, you know, I think, I think we all know that it's from a case, but especially with Miranda, I was like, maybe it's a girl. Mm-hmm. No idea.

Dani:

Yeah. So anyways, little Education Corner with Danny. In May, 1990, the trial begins. This is two years after Kay is murdered. Attorney Hackney tells the jury that Zane Fields is a scapegoat and a patsy for the investigators that failed to solve the murder of Kay. Yikes. Hackney showed the composite police release to the public stating that it looks nothing like his client. Prosecutor Joel Horton told the jury that fields confess to the murder and he will present fellow inmates that will testify to that fact. Defense attorney Hackney said, quote, the state has no forensic or scientific evidence that connects fields to the murder outside of the courthouse. This is after the first day of court. A reporter asked Fields about his feelings on the trial, and he said, quote, go eat shit and die. You bitch. Oh,

Stephanie:

I quote, not quite as eloquent of a rap verse in that one, but, oh, not the

Dani:

staying in the prison. The streets are my

Stephanie:

life. Streets are my life. That's where it's at. Chicken. Chicken. Honey, you've only been able to have two years on the streets. Regardless. The prison is your life so

Dani:

far. Prison is your life. On the second day of the trial, a prosecution witness said she saw another man, not the defendant. Enter the gift shop that day. Ooh. Betty Honecker told the jurors she was a customer in the wishing well. That day, she saw a man rapidly enter the store. Quote. I kept an eye on him because I felt he was trying to avoid me, unquote. When asked to identify the man, Betty chose a police photo of a former customer who disputed an$80 deposit with a shop's owner. She picked the wrong dude, and Hackney was like, whoa, what he was, yeah. Where's this guy? He was taken. He was totally surprised by this testimony, but the prosecution had other witnesses take the stand who said they saw fields that day with a knife acting strangely. Nancy Miller and Vicki Tippets both pointed to fields in the courtroom when asked to identify who they saw that day. Both women saw fields at the Vista Plaza. Shopping Center about a half mile from the gift shop. Both said they saw what appeared to be a wooden handle of a knife in field's, right Pocket Tippet said quote, he stared at me. He stared at the cash register. Then he stared at me again, and he looked back at the cash register and the people in the shop. So he was like, eyeballing. So let's go back into her quote. His eyes were very wild looking. Mm. He has very scary eyes to look at. They were evil. If there was an objection on that testimony, I would be surprised, right? Yeah. Yeah. What is evil? What does evil eyes look like? Then they played case nine one one call in the courtroom.

Stephanie:

Oh, I bet that was terrible.

Dani:

She was crying for help. Quote, she said quote, I've been stabbed and I'm bleeding to death. Ugh.

Stephanie:

Yeah, and just like that so quickly, something like this to happen, just like we were talking about, it's just crazy. And that for

Dani:

her to real like, I don't know. I just think like if I got stabbed, I'd be like, I'm bleeding. But like she knew it was bad. Mm-hmm. That's It's heartbreaking pathologist, Frank fao, funny name. Yeah. Frank FAO testified, Kay bled to death from a stab wound that severed a vein in her neck.

Stephanie:

It

Dani:

was

Stephanie:

the carotid or whatever. Yeah, it was jugular.

Dani:

A key prosecution witness. Keith Edson testified he walked from his residence at the Olympic Hotel to Po. Joe's on the day of the murder. Good old Po Joe's. I love Po. Joe's. He saw someone he thought looked familiar, walking to the wishing well. Edson waited for the man because he felt he knew him. After waiting 15 minutes, he saw, he said he saw Phil left the leave the store and Edson decided not to approach him. I had this gut feeling. He acted really nervous. He was looking around like something wasn't right. When asked why he didn't call authorities after hearing about the attack, Edson said he didn't call because he couldn't recall the man's name. I didn't think I had any relevant information. He waited until 12 days later to contact the authorities when he saw the news reports that Fields had been arrested for attempting to rob the Shopco. Oh, weird. If you saw the new, let me just,

Stephanie:

even if you don't know their name, their description

Dani:

at the place where somebody was murdered.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dani:

And you said he looked suspicious regardless whether you knew him or not. Mm-hmm. If you saw somebody enter the store, waited for them, they exited, and then later on the evening news, you saw somebody was stabbed in that store, you wouldn't call the cops. Yeah, you should call the cops. Yeah. Here comes Hackney. He was like, uh, Mr. Addison, shouldn't you remember Field's name? You literally spoke every day to each other for six months. What? In 1985 you had adjoining sales at the Idaho State Penitentiary. Edson was serving a three year sentence for stealing a car. Hackney also called out inconsistencies between Edmond's testimony, Edson said he saw fields wearing an orange, brown, and green camouflage jacket that day. Remember what the other witnesses said? Fields was wearing an orange coat. Mm-hmm. Just a plain, not a camouflage. Yeah. That's not hard. Anyway. You don't know him. You don't know him?

Stephanie:

Yeah. Sounds fishy. I'm not loving it.

Dani:

I'm not loving it either.

Stephanie:

Mm-hmm.

Dani:

Because he's like, Hey, for six months you guys talked to each other.

Stephanie:

Yeah. I think it would be pretty hard to forget someone's name, but just not calling in. Even if you in general don't know the name. Right. You don't have to know the name. Right.

Dani:

You don't have to. No. Just tell him what you saw. Right. Regardless if you knew this guy from somebody familiar or not. Oh no. I was watching that store and I saw mm-hmm. Somebody leave and enter that store and he looked a little off. That's all.

Stephanie:

Yeah. And you can say, they looked familiar to me, but I can't place from where.

Dani:

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie:

Like, and Hackney's like,

Dani:

oh, I think you can, sir. Yeah. I think, you know, a fingerprint examiner testified that she lifted 19 different fingerprints from the counter of the gift shop. None of them match fields. Bummer. Another inmate, Joe Hein testified that fields shouted through the jail's ventilation system that he had robbed and stabbed. Kay Hackney said that would be highly improbable due to the kind of consequences that it would bring to fields. Fields would've had to have shouted loud enough for high stand to hear it about 40 feet away. We're not whispering in vents.

Stephanie:

I'm just, this

Dani:

seems a little

Stephanie:

outlandish.

Dani:

And then high stand said there was, yes, there was about 30 other inmates in the block at the time, so he would had to have shouted loud enough for it to come through the ventilation system 40 feet away, but nobody else heard it.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dani:

Do you see.

Stephanie:

Little iffy. Yeah.

Dani:

Inmate Jeffrey Atchison testified Fields admitted stabbing kay in March of 1988 while they shared a bunk bed in the Ada County Jail. He said Fields became agitated when he watched a televised description of the murders from Crime Stoppers. Fields. Said they're trying to pin that one on me, but I took care of that. Fields told him he disposed of the evidence so the police could not link him to the crime. I think he's talking about the knife. Mm-hmm. I think this is where they got the knife in the back of the truck. Okay. Information. Hackney asked Atchison why he waited two years to tell authorities about the confession and question his motive in testifying. Okay. Sison denied any compensation for his testimony. Hackney also attacked his credibility, calling him, quote, a thief, forger and drug dealer. A three time

Stephanie:

loser. Three time loser. Man, he's reading him in this courtroom. Hackney said, Edison. How do you say that in testimony, Mr. Edison? Is it true that you are in fact a three time loser? Because they always ask questions that way,

Dani:

right? I'd be like, provide me. Isn't it true that you are, I'd be like, could you, uh, provide me a definition of a loser?

Stephanie:

That's what I would be as someone. So what if someone did that three times? So is that in fact, you, sir? Because I, as I, we can see, let the record reflect, oh my God.

Dani:

Hackney also said that, Edson was expected to benefit. By testifying against fields. Edson had wrote a letter to the Judge Schroder asking for special treatment.

Stephanie:

Oh. And you know, little special treatment. Yeah,

Dani:

he's getting it. Can I get some some extra ramen and stuff? We have one more inmate.

Stephanie:

These inmates are really just, I think they just want to go do an activity for the day. They need more trip activities. Field trip. They're like, yes. Have a little rise,

Dani:

some fresh air. One more Inmate, Scott Bianchi testified. Fields admitted to him. He killed Kay. Quote, fields told me that he killed that lady and he didn't mean to kill her, and he felt real bad for her. Hackney laid into him. He accused Bianchi of flip flopping on a story, a letter written to the prosecution in January by Bianchi stated he would quote, blow their case if he had to testify. Oh my God. Hackney said he is only testifying with the expectation of receiving leniency from the parole board. Bianchi said he was not offered anything in exchange for his testimony. He only wanted to do the right thing. The right thing. Mm-hmm. So let's do a little count. Are you ready? Yeah. How many three people testified Fields was the man who entered the store at the Linda Vista Plaza Those are like employees, business owners. Mm-hmm. High Sand Bianchi said Fields confessed to them and Edson said he saw fields go into the shop.

Stephanie:

Okay.

Dani:

The defense called only two witnesses to the stand. They only testified to the discrepancy in Edison's testimony. That's a big word for me in opening statements. An alibi witness was promised for fields. So Hackney was like, Hey, we have an alibi, but that didn't happen. Hackney said Field's roommate was going to testify that he was home that day watching the 12 o'clock news on KTVB. Good old KTVB love her. KTVB sent over the footage of the newscast several months before the trial, but sent the wrong date of the newscast. Meaning nobody looked at it, they just thought they had the right one. Okay, because you know, there's gonna be testimony, we've seen this where like tell like, uh, the Scott Peterson case where he's like, they're like, tell me, he's like, we're watching like Morning America. What was, and he is like Roth Stewart was making. Lemon. Mm-hmm. Poppy seeds, something or I can't remember. I hope that's right. Anyways. And that was proven to be true, but like, that's what they're trying to do here. Yeah. but when they went to go actually look at the newscast, it was the wrong date. So they're like, yo, send us the right dates, please. Thank you. KTVB. I'm a little disappointed. When the prosecution asked for the, the correct footage from KTVB, it was been destroyed. Uh, KTVB. What happened? Well, a lot of these, I mean, they would reuse tape. I mean, it was a lot a different technology back then.

Stephanie:

Yes. But there wouldn't be an a way to look up what was on TV that day, like on the internet. So that could be. At least a fair, I mean, you could ask someone Sure. Or but to remember a random,

Dani:

yeah. Oh yeah. I had chef, they went to her Peter on and Yeah. Yeah. And we covered this. Like they went to the animal shelter

Stephanie:

or

Dani:

whatever. This is literally over two years later, you're not gonna remember. That's like me asking you like, Hey, what did you do two years ago on this day at work?

Stephanie:

No idea.

Dani:

Right?

Stephanie:

Absolutely no idea. You're like,

Dani:

well, maybe I could dig through my emails and find something.

Stephanie:

Oh, my email's deleted after that long. So I'd be, shit, I maybe my one note I could tell you something. Right.

Dani:

So that's what I'm saying. Like that was like, oh, we have anyway, and he kind

Stephanie:

of dropped the ball there.

Dani:

fields does not testify in his defense. The testimony only lasted five days before it was turned over to the jury. Very short trial. Mm-hmm. And it took 12 hours for the jury to come back with a guilty verdict for first degree murder of Kay Vanderford. In July, the defense is asking for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence that challenges the key prosecution witnesses. Ooh, what do we got? Okay. Oh God. The defense team has their own convict find convicts with convicts. Salvador Martinez stated that Bianchi Gilcrest and High Stand told him. They fabricated their testimonies. He said one of them studied field's, preliminary hearing transcript to make sure they sounded credible. Ooh, prosecutors bring in jailers and other prison officials that state that Martinez was not behind bars, but those other inmates on those specified dates. Prosecutors said they have a taped interview with Martinez stating he contacted the defense team before the trial. And if that is true, Martinez's testimony being be disqualified because it's not new evidence.

Stephanie:

Oh, this is a really rough one.

Dani:

And then convict Gilcrest testified at this hearing quote, I've never seen this gentleman in my life. I have no idea who he is when referring to Martinez and the other inmates, Bianchi and Edson testified they didn't lie on the witness stand. Okay. Of

Stephanie:

course he would say that. I mean, I don't know if they're lying or not, but you're not going to go up there and be like, yeah, I did lie. Unless you are caught dead to rights, especially as a prisoner,'cause that's gonna hurt your

Dani:

parole

Stephanie:

chances.

Dani:

It's just not a feel gooder for me. Mm. In November, judge Schroeder denies the new trial quote. The testimony of Mr. Martinez was not believable to this court and would not be, be believable to the, to a jury. Law enforcement made serious efforts to prevent the inmates who testified from having contact with other inmates. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Martinez had the opportunity to engage in the conversations he claims

Stephanie:

they should know whether or not they were in the same space together at the same times. Like that should be an easily prov, provable thing. So when they say, what was that last line like? It is highly unlikely. Yeah. I don't wanna, highly unlikely. I wanna No, here's our records of when everyone was doing time and where they were, they wouldn't have interacted. That's what I wanna see.

Dani:

It's 88 though.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dani:

Technological. Technological, sorry. Uh, sorry. Let me have a sip. On March 8th, 1991, despite Field's claims of innocence, judge Schroeder sentenced him to death for the murder of King. Mm. So, and I was, I can't remember the case. It was, it was like, we're not gonna give him the death penalty because it's not For sure, for sure. Like the judge felt. Right. And I feel like, who was that? Oh, I wish I, I should have looked that up, but it was like, not a For sure, for sure. So we're not gonna do the death penalty. Yeah. There was

Stephanie:

some doubt or there was, you know, the evidence was just lacking, whatever. And I think they should do that. I think. If we're gonna go death penalty, it needs to be absolutely certain. Like

Dani:

there was no, this is what convicted him. Was other. Convicted,

Stephanie:

yeah.

Dani:

Felons

Stephanie:

saying that he said something,

Dani:

I don't like it.

Stephanie:

Yeah. And eye witness listen, eyewitness can be good, but it is one of the most

Dani:

highly unreliable,

Stephanie:

especially for like a circumstance where you're just going about your day and something crazy happens. It's not always the best. I'm not saying that people don't, you know, haven't had good testimony, but they've done studies on it. Yeah. Like it truly can be unreliable. So the different stories of what they look like, the sketch that doesn't look like the guy. I can't believe no one in the store would be able to like, participate and give a good idea of further sketch in the description. Like if, what if they were in the store and they saw something?'cause it sounded like that one lady, that

Dani:

lady did see somebody and she picked somebody else out of the lineup. Mm-hmm. I just look, I, I feel very, very horrible for what happened to Kay. And I think somebody should be convicted Yes. For murdering her. I just don't, I feel I, I would

Stephanie:

wanna see more evidence. Yeah. I would want something else. And lemme just

Dani:

give you another little fun fact. It's not a fun fact. Another woman was murdered in October of 87. Just, what is that, six months?

Stephanie:

Mm-hmm. Before

Dani:

at her hallmark store in the very close to location. and I am gonna do that story. so there was lots of the public wanted this to be solved.

Stephanie:

Yeah.'cause you're killing little ladies in their cute little stores.

Dani:

Exactly. Two and six months the pressure was on the police. Yeah. And in Boise. Mm-hmm. Because that's, it was definitely much, much smaller. So I just wish we had some forensic evidence, and I know 88 was, but

Stephanie:

just something else, or less, you know, contradicting

Dani:

testimony, like not shouting through the vents test. I would never, as an attorney, I would, I would never even put, I don't a prosecuting attorney putting Oh, he yelled at me through a 40 foot vent, that he killed her and he felt really bad. Him like. Very good questions anyways. I just, eh, it doesn't feel like good solid to me. Right. Um, but he was convicted, so, I just wanted more, and I'm not saying it's not him by any means. I mean,

Stephanie:

I don't, I don't know. It's one that

Dani:

feels different. And this is the one that feels, honestly,'cause I, and I, and I told Steph this before we started recording, I'm like, I know. I mean,

Stephanie:

I just, some of them are like this and it just, it doesn't feel great. And like you said, you just want more. Like, give me something that's more, that can help prove some of this doubt or get rid of some of this doubt.

Dani:

Was he carrying a baby gun through town? Yes. That's my guy. Yeah, right.

Stephanie:

Like that's what I want. If they could have gotten the fingerprints or something, then I would've been like, mm. Yeah.

Dani:

Oh, were you did, you didn't buy

Stephanie:

anything.

Dani:

Did, were you driving the car? Yeah. And we found your license plates and we tracked you down because you shot somebody at the convenience store and Yeah, that's what I want. Oh, and you had that same gun on you that killed the person. I, there's nothing, there's no murder weapon, no fingerprints. Of course, DNA wasn't available then, but like there is, this is,

Stephanie:

especially for a death penalty case. It's a little wild. That's what I'm

Dani:

saying too, like anyway, do without what you will, it just doesn't feel assault as like mm-hmm. I'd like to have more. Some of the other cases we've done in 1992, an execution data set for fields for March 12th, and then here we go, appeals, appeals, appeals. Mm-hmm. Appeals. Mm-hmm. And this is so many years later, still on death row, on March 27th, 2017, fields was found unresponsive in his maximum security cell at the Idaho State Prison. He was declared dead about an hour later. Authorities said he died of natural causes at age 58. Wow. So he was still on death row and appealing his sentences. And can I just tell you I'm very surprised that he's still appealing his sentences? Yeah. That, because he should what? We, you would

Stephanie:

think they'd be exhausted.

Dani:

Uh, I think what I, what I was anticipating. From our previous cases is that it would've presented that a judge cannot hand down the death penalty. It has to be done by a jury, and therefore they either had to retry him or work out some deal where he got life and that was not done.

Stephanie:

That is so interesting.'cause it's, it's the, it was the usable tactic because Idaho was just doing whatever the fuck it wanted it to do.

Dani:

He was, when Fields got convicted, he was like the 21st or 22nd person, uh, on death row in Idaho because, you know, they were just rampant. They were just Oh, they were

Stephanie:

handed it out. Yeah.

Dani:

Left and right. Washington's like, Hey, get this guy for me. Yeah, you Utah was like, get this guy for me. So, you know, it was just death penalty was just being handed out willy-nilly. And then we saw this shrink down to a very short list of people because of the United States Supreme Court Dec Court decision that. States, it's that juries have to hand down the death sentence. And so we saw a lot of those overturned into life sentences versus going back to trial because it was so long ago, et cetera, et cetera. We've talked about that. But that did not happen for fields. He was still on death row. And the

Stephanie:

judge did give the death penalty, not the jury. Right. Was he like And he was waiting for appeals and stuff. Yeah, he was

Dani:

still on appeals.

Stephanie:

That's wild. I know. Things grind to it. The, and I didn't go

Dani:

there. First of all, I'm gonna tell you that it was a sensational case at the beginning. Right. Some, but then they

Stephanie:

become forgotten. And then

Dani:

they become forgotten, and then they're not reported on. Yeah. So, I could have went and dug into the court system, but eh.

Stephanie:

I don't know. I just, it is what it is. I mean, sometimes it's, it ended that way. He died in jail and,

Dani:

and he was only 58. That's pretty young. so, and there you have it justice served well, appeals exhausted. I mean, he was still appealing. Mm-hmm. But, and ultimately nature stepping into close a chapter.

Stephanie:

Yeah.

Dani:

On fields. But the question is, was Fields truly the monster behind that crime? Right. Or was he a convenience scapegoat for a police department under pressure,

Stephanie:

because we have seen that happen. Or when they super focus on someone where they just have a hunch, and even when evidence is leading them elsewhere, those cases suck.

Dani:

But either way, field's bizarre behaviors, the questionable testimonies and inmate drama ensured this case was anything but ordinary. I just, I did not like that there was, there was more inmates.

Stephanie:

Yeah. That's testimony. That's the bulk of the case.

Dani:

Then there was, and there was just a couple of shopkeepers that saw a man a half mile down that I just don't think it would fly today. No, I just don't, I don't think it would fly today. And so I kind of have that skeptical, like,

Stephanie:

because it's always kind of a 50 50 with inmate testimony.'cause there's everything to gain and nothing to lose. Nothing to lose unless they can prove somehow that you're lying. And that's, and especially for

Dani:

these guys that are spending, it's a three year sentence. Mm-hmm. A four year sentence. Really nothing for them to lose. Now if you are a lifer and you go snitch, big impact there. There's you during your. Incarceration. You're gonna have people call you a snitch. Mm-hmm. And you're gonna have to be in lock. But these guys that are doing like two or three years, like I'm on my last like six months. Sure. Yeah. And I

Stephanie:

might get out right now because of doing this. Yeah. So not right now,

Dani:

but

Stephanie:

yeah, I might. Or maybe my,

Dani:

maybe my probation won't be so bad'cause I was a good dude.

Stephanie:

Exactly. I don't like it. There's lots of incentive and very little risk

Dani:

anyways, uh, stay safe and keep questioning

Stephanie:

everything for real. Alright guys, been a good episode. We are gonna have some fun stuff on TikTok and Facebook. Maybe a little mini giveaway. so keep your eyes peeled there. Once again, appreciate you for listening and emailing and commenting and we have so much fun. So thank you again and we will see you in two weeks. Ten four rubber ducky. Fuck yeah.

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