Hold My Sweet Tea
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Hold My Sweet Tea
Ep. 10-Nightmare on Main Street: The Markle Family Tragedy
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Dive into the haunting story of the Markle family tragedy, an event that shook Little Rock to its core. This episode explores the life of John Markle—a successful businessman whose world spiraled into darkness, leading to one of the most horrific family tragedies imaginable. Behind the veneer of a thriving family and a prestigious career lies a labyrinth of financial ruin, emotional turmoil, and ultimately a chilling act of violence.
Throughout our discussion, we unveil the complexities of John's life, tracing his early years shaped by a high-profile mother and the pressures that came with familial expectations. The episode unpacks the spiraling descent into despair as John's secrets are revealed, illustrating how financial strain can lead individuals to make heart-wrenching choices.
We analyze the sequence of events leading to that fateful night when a supposed family movie night turned into a tragic ending for John and his loved ones. Through diary excerpts and expert commentary, we aim to understand the warped thought processes that drove a seemingly normal man to commit such desperate acts.
As we delve into the aftermath of this tragedy, we reflect on the critical importance of mental health discussions and the resources available for individuals facing distress. This is not just a story of crime—it's a stark reminder of the need for compassion, support, and understanding in our communities.
Join us in this unsettling exploration of the Markle family case. Subscribe now to keep up with the conversation and help spread awareness around mental health issues. Don’t forget to leave us a review, share your thoughts, and engage with us on social media!
Introduction to the Markle Family Tragedy
Speaker 1Today we're going to delve into a chilling case that happened in the city of Little Rock, arkansas the Markle family tragedy. This is Hold my Sweet Tea. Thank you, hey, everybody, I'm.
Speaker 2Holly and I'm Beryl, and today I want to know what you thought you were going to be when you were little. And you were like, hey, when I grow up I want to be a.
Speaker 1Oh goodness, that's a good question. Up, I want to be a oh goodness, that's a good question. So when I was young I kind of wanted to be a scientist because science fascinated me. And then, as I got a little bit older, I wanted to be a veterinarian because I loved animals, especially cats, but I loved all animals. I would like rescue frogs and lizards and turtles and all kinds of stuff, and then my mom would make me go put them back.
Speaker 2I did that with a garden snake. I took it away from my dad's girlfriend's cat. She was attacking it and I picked it up and I brought it in the house and my dad was like don't ever pick up a snake and I was, like it's a baby.
Speaker 1it's just a baby, but you know, as I got older and in high school, um you know, you go through biology one and you have to like dissect animals and all that stuff which I.
Speaker 1I really didn't like doing to animals, but biology too. We got to take a little trip to the local funeral home and see how bodies were prepped for um burial, so the embalming, the draining of fluids, all that stuff. And while everybody was getting queasy and sick, I was like that that, right there, that's what I want to do, because I had no problem slicing a human open, but animals absolutely not.
Speaker 2So you went from I want to help animals to I want to prep dead people.
Speaker 1Yes, exactly, and that's where all of my weird and quirkiness started coming out. I was like this is what I was meant to be, but I didn't go to finish college. I didn't go through all that, and I should have.
Speaker 2Yeah, so it was like trigger yeah, activated. I know.
Speaker 1So what about you?
Speaker 2So me. We moved a ton and most of the time it was far enough that we were like driving all night. So I became super fascinated with 18 wheelers. I mean, they're pretty cool so for the longest time I would tell my dad that when I grow up, I I was going to be a truck driver A long haul trucker. You know how many people die at truck stops? You know, good thing, I changed my mind Right. I was like I'm too cute to be a truck driver Like no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2So then, for a little while, I wanted to be a ballerina.
Speaker 1See, it's the extremes. We went from a truck driver to a ballerina.
Speaker 2Yeah. And then I had a really traumatic experience. I dressed up as a ballerina for Halloween when I was like in kindergarten, and one of the teachers from another class was dressed up as a witch and she was scaring everybody and she came in the classroom and talked about how she wanted to eat a ballerina oh my gosh. So I decided I don't want to be a ballerina. Witches might eat me.
Speaker 1Wow, the tragedy Therapy Therapy. My teacher tried to eat me.
Speaker 2My teacher tried to eat me. That doesn't sound appropriate at all.
Speaker 1No On either way cannibalism or anything else.
Speaker 2But then I kind of transitioned later in life to wanting to be a forensic psychologist. I also did not do the whole. Let me go to school for that stuff. I went to school for IT programming like a goofball. I hated it I changed my major to English, and here we are I have a degree in English.
Speaker 1And an associate's degree in IT programming. But I mean, you know, you let your creative side fly and maybe write a book.
Speaker 2Yeah, you never know. Never, never know. Things could happen. That's right, I'm not dead yet.
Speaker 1There's still some life in the old lady. Yet that was a quote from Interview with the Vampire. I'm not calling Pearl an old lady. I know every word to that movie, every word.
Speaker 2We watch that a million times too many.
Speaker 1Same with the crow every word, every last word yeah, we got to actually go see the crow at the movie theater. When they did their um, it was their. What? Which anniversary was it? It was was. I can't remember, I can't even remember either. But yeah, they ran it in theaters for like a limited run, so we got to go and watch it on the big screen, which was phenomenal because I didn't get to see it the first time when it came out, and we don't watch the other Crows because no no.
Speaker 1There's only one Crow Brandon Lee.
Speaker 2Brandon Lee was it, that's it, that's it. That's it. Yeah, can't have a, b. And then let's talk about the remake.
Speaker 1I haven't watched it yet because I'm scared. Oh my gosh, just watch it.
Speaker 2Like I told you before, other than their names, it's completely. It's so different. Yeah, it shouldn't even been called that.
Speaker 1And I love Bill Skarsgård.
Speaker 2It could have been just a regular sequel to it, rather than them trying to call it a remake, because it really isn't.
Speaker 1Yeah so they went way off with it. Then, yes, all right, I will. I will watch it. I have a couple days off because this weekend is mardi gras weekend here in louisiana almost said south louisiana, because it's the only louisiana that really counts but not mobile alabama um it is. I know people in mobile are gonna be like it's the real mardi gras over here right, yeah, okay, we know, uh, but today is mardi gras eve eve, tomorrow is lundie gra, and then fat tuesday, mardi gras day. Right behind it, right behind it.
Speaker 2Yep, I'm still not going to parades, uh neither am I, because no I don't want to go to jail. And then, honestly, it ain't even about the beads. I will fight someone for elbowing me in the head, exactly. I sound so violent.
Speaker 1Sometimes you just got to be.
Speaker 2It's the cancer in me.
Speaker 1It's the cancer Pearl's a like homicidal maniac.
Speaker 2Yeah, and then I sent you that reel that said, if she doesn't wear makeup she's a psychopath, and I was like let me send this to Holly so she knows what she's working with Right.
Speaker 1And I was like, let me send this to Holly so she knows what she's working with Right. And here I am, just like you know, a laid back Taurus. But push me, I dare you, right, because then I become a homicidal maniac. Mess with the bull. You get the horns, yes. So you ready to jump into today's case? Yeah, get on with it, girl. Hey, this case it's a story of a successful businessman. Awesome, aren't? Isn't it always, isn't it? Yeah, isn't it always? That's like your clue of like dun, dun, dun, something's gonna.
Speaker 2Yeah, Don't be a successful businessman.
Speaker 1You're in trouble. You better be really really nice too.
Speaker 2Yes.
Speaker 1So he had what seemed to be the perfect life with the perfect family, until a scandal pushed him overboard. And that's also a clue those families that seem just perfect and everything is great, there's always hidden secrets down there. There's always something going on. So be a dysfunctional family, because we are it.
Speaker 2Yeah, be dysfunctional in public, You'll make it, it's fine.
Speaker 1Right. So he committed a devastating act of violence that left the community in Little Rock, arkansas, in shock, and we're going to get to that. But to understand the events that unfolded, we're first going to examine the life of John Markle and the forces that shaped him to do what he did. And I am not saying that what happened to him in any way was an excuse for what he did, because, yikes, I don't think there's any real an excuse for what he did, because, yikes, I don't think there's any real good excuse for you doing some crazy crap?
Speaker 1Not at all. John Markle was, by all accounts, a well-liked and respected figure in Little Rock. He was a successful businessman at Stevens Incorporated. He was known for his dedication and influence in the world of futures trading. So what is futures trading?
Speaker 2you ask, I would have asked.
The Rise and Fall of John Markle
Speaker 1Well, let me tell you. So a futures trader is a financial professional who buys and sells contracts. So these future contracts are agreements to buy or sell a certain asset at a predetermined price in the future. So it kind of locks it in. You're buying these contracts so for things like coffee, oil, etfs, and even today they buy and sell cryptocurrencies. He was a pretty big deal. He would do this, and this was back in the 80s. So monster computers, all this stuff. He was on the phone. He's like wheeling and dealing and going and buying all this stuff for this company that he worked for. So he was. He was a successful businessman, apparently, but he was also a very eccentric character.
Speaker 1Oh Lord he didn't fit the typical corporate image he was often seen in like rumpled clothes. He's like let me get up, throw this shirt on. It's not ironed, I don't care, I'm a futures trader and mismatched socks.
Speaker 2Does he have jars of pee all over his house? I hope not.
Speaker 1I just thought I'd ask. I really, really hope not. He was even known to take a nap on the bench outside of his office. Yet his work ethic was undeniable. Even his transportation choices were unconventional. He often commuted on a motorcycle or in an old, battered pickup truck, wildly painted in vibrant colors, a testament to his daughter's artistic flair. So he's like go nuts, paint that truck, I'll drive it, it's fine. John Markle did not come from humble beginnings, though, so you would think he's like this laid back guy. He's cool, he's kind of in touch with his family side, or whatever His po-folk side.
Speaker 2Is that what you're trying to say?
Speaker 1I was trying to say po-folk side, but he really wasn't po.
Speaker 2I get it, but I was just like.
Speaker 1But you know he didn't come from humble beginnings.
Speaker 2So he was, he's money from money. Yes, okay, yes, yes.
Speaker 1So John was the son of Oscar-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge. I had never heard of her before, looked her up and everything. She was known for her roles in All the King's Men and as the voice of the demon in the Exorcist. Oh wow, Okay, Pazuzu.
Speaker 2Hey, you know what, the other day you must have said something around my phone or so, because I saw some advertisement for searching for voiceover actors, and one of them was to be the voice of a demon.
Speaker 1Oh wow yep phone's always coincidental but yeah, she was the voice of the demon in the exorcist is crazy. I wonder if she did the uh, the upchuck sounds and all that stuff too she said some pretty messed up stuff, though she did.
Speaker 1I was like, if you look at a picture of her she's all like prim and proper and pretty and then she's like bleh, yeah, yeah. His mother, although had a string of men throughout her career A lot of actresses back in the day kind of went through that lifestyle. I think she later settled and married film and television director Fletcher Markle. But in John's life it was like oh, here's your new stepdad, oh, your new stepdad's leaving, here's your new stepdad, oh, your stepdad's leaving. So he didn't have a really consistent male figure in his life until Fletcher Markle came along and adopted John and changed his last name, which is where he got the Markle name from. John's wife, christine, was a. She was a well-known member of the community. She was heavily involved in the Quapow Quarter neighborhood.
Speaker 2Say how Quapow, quapow, quapow, yep. That's what I thought of.
Speaker 1I'm going to Quapow you with some quarters.
Speaker 2It's a Twisted Tea commercial Right Quapow.
Speaker 1Today's episode, brought to you by Twisted Tea.
Speaker 2But not really, not really. We're totally not sponsored by Twisted Tea. But you know what? By Twisted Tea. But not really, not really. We're totally not sponsored by Twisted Tea. But you know what? Twisted Tea, I'm not affiliated with you.
Speaker 1Call us so the Quapow Quarter neighborhood, which is a nine square mile area of Little Rock's oldest and most historic homes. So I'm sure it's pretty, I bet.
Speaker 2Yeah, I like the old historic home areas.
Speaker 1Same Christine was active in various community activities. She was very hands-on with her daughter's school events, extracurriculars, dedicated Girl Scout leader and all-around constant source of support for her daughters. I mean super mom. She was a stay-at-home mom, but she was doing all of this stuff, but only for the girls. Well, for the girls, for the community, she was doing all kinds of stuff, so she had her hand in all kinds.
Speaker 1She was well-known in the community. John and Christine had two daughters, amy and Suzanne. They were both bright and promising young girls. Suzanne, a fourth grader at Gibbs Magnet School, loved ballet and dance and she shared a close bond with her older sister. Amy was an eighth grader at Mann Magnet School. She was an exceptional student and a talented dancer. She had dreams of becoming a professional dancer and her plans to apply to the prestigious School of Arts in Minneapolis. Beneath the surface of this seemingly successful family, a storm was a-brewin'. Dun, dun dun. I was like storm. We should have had some lightning inserted.
Speaker 2It's percolating.
Speaker 1It's percolating. John Markle's professional life was about to take a dark and disturbing turn. Markle's career at Stevens Incorporated was marked by both success and, ultimately, a devastating descent into financial scandal. Uh-oh, I feel this happens a lot in jobs where people are in charge of large sums of money, like somebody within the network in the company decides you know what, they won't miss this little bit of money.
Speaker 2Yeah, they'll never know and they're like okay got know, how are they gonna know?
Speaker 1they're, they're not gonna know, they're gonna know. So you know, they're like I'm gonna take this little bit of money, they won't miss it. And then, like a month later they're like okay, I got with it, let me take a little bit more. And it kind of snowballs.
Speaker 2Yeah, buddy, and then it's not such a little bit of money anymore.
Speaker 1Then you're working with an avalanche. So there you go. He had started his employment at Stevens Incorporated in March of 1979, bringing with him experience from the reputable New York investment firm Solomon Brothers Incorporated. Solomon Brothers is a pretty big deal up there. His skills with futures were unmatched, which made him an asset to the company. In fact, on July 30th of 1985, he executed what is believed to be the first international trade of listed US government securities.
Speaker 2Hmm, so John had it going on. He is a pioneer, yep.
Speaker 1He was like I did this. Look how awesome I am. Let me take a little bit of money off the side.
Speaker 2I'm going to embezzle, I'm going to embezzle, I'm going to embezzle some money.
Speaker 1It's okay. His dedication and skill earned him promotions and the trust of the firm's co-owners, jack and Witt Stevens. But the fall of 1987 brought a chilling change. Fall of 1987 brought a chilling change. Stevens Incorporated received a disturbing report from Gelderman Incorporated, a Chicago securities trading firm and one of their clients. The report alleged that Markle had been manipulating a secret account, an account under his mother's name, Mercedes McCambridge Uh-oh.
Speaker 1Ruh-roh-raggy. An investigation revealed that Markle would place trades for clients but delay assigning them to specific accounts until the end of the trading day. By doing this, it allowed him to manipulate the system, funneling profits into the McCambridge account while allocating losses to the Stevens account. So he was like how fun is that? I'm not going to get caught. Nobody will ever know. Not obvious at all no, and I guess because his last name was markel and nobody knew who his famous mother was. He was like me. They'll never know and just that.
Speaker 2I'm like, if you're going to do something that stupid, wouldn't you just make sure that sometimes the prophets went into the right place, right, not just keep doing the same thing.
Speaker 1Yeah, I don't know. People dishonest, people get greedy after a while.
Speaker 2Yeah, I guess so.
Financial Ruin and Desperation
Speaker 1So on October 7th of 1987, the day after the report was delivered Markle was confronted by a Stevens representative. They were like what's going on? Why is there some dishonest trading happening, John? He was speechless and he started to panic. Stevens, Incorporated, was like okay, so due to your history of heart problems, which included a heart attack two years prior, we're going to place you on a medical leave while we investigate further. They were doing him a solid. They were like we're just going to put you on this leave, we're going to investigate. Maybe it was a mistake, Maybe it wasn't.
Speaker 2So medical leave, does that mean, he still gets paid?
Speaker 1I mean, I guess yeah he was still yeah, he was still getting paid. So that's why they were like we're not going to fire you, we're just putting you on this leave. We're just putting you on this leave, we're just going to look into this and make sure you're all good. Okay, during the week of November 9th, while John was on leave, gelderman provided further evidence of Markle's wrongdoings. On November 13th, john Markle was terminated. So they were like nope, you're done. So right? Markle became desperate, as anybody in that situation I'm sure would do, and he tried to salvage the situation. He proposed let me transfer $800,000 of his mother's assets into a Stevens account. His mother would receive the interest income for her lifetime and after that the principal would revert to Stevens. But the offer was rejected at Stevens and they demanded $1 million in restitution and threatened legal action if the amount wasn't received within 30 days.
Speaker 2So they tried to make a deal with him. Yeah, so he tried to make a deal with them, right? But they didn't like it, so they countered with their own and then said this is the only way to keep your butt out of jail, right, because otherwise you're going to prison Because you did some bad things.
Speaker 1Sweet yes. The disgrace of his termination, the looming threat of legal action it all likely contributed to the profound despair that engulfed John Markle. So this is where it's about to get heavy. Not hot and heavy, just heavy.
Speaker 2Well, it might be hot. It might be hot, not in, like the like in the temperature way, not like it's getting hot in here to take off all your clothes. Yeah, no, I mean, I guess that is still the temperature way, but I'm just saying like it ain't, it ain't hot, like cool hot. You know what I mean? Dang it cool hot what the? Hell. Okay, never mind, I'm gonna shut up.
Speaker 1Continue, please, I will continue okay, so here's where it gets heavy. The horrific events that unfolded on november 16th were not impulsive.
Speaker 2He had a plan going on in his head so did he make this plan just because he was like okay, so in case everything goes terribly south, this is what I'm going to do. Yes, okay.
Speaker 1Yes, so he on November 13th. He got canned on the 9th, so this is the 13th. John and Christine Markle went to the video store. They went to RAO Video and they rented a couple of movies because the girls had planned a Freddy party. This is in the 80s, so you know we're talking about the Kruger man and let me just say, like people now, they were like I would never let my child watch this scary movie. We were like watching Freddy Krueger slash up teenagers.
Speaker 2I watched the Exorcist.
Speaker 1I watched the Exorcist. I watched it. I watched all that. I would hide under my covers at night like scared to death, but I'm okay.
Speaker 2Yeah, let me tell you I used to have some stomach issues when I was a kid.
Speaker 2Well, I've had stomach issues my entire life, but as a child, my stomach would hurt all the time and I'd be like crying at night and I would tell my dad like my bed's too hard and I was a stomach sleeper so I couldn't sleep like that, and so my dad buys me a waterbed. Oh my, and I had watched a nightmare on elm street, and so I literally slept with rosary beads underneath my pillow for weeks because I was scared Freddie was gonna pull me into the water bed like Johnny Depp one night it was so bad.
Speaker 2I actually got down and slept on the floor and my dad came in to check on me and is like why are you on the floor? Freddie's coming for me. And he's like maybe you shouldn't watch that stuff anymore. And I'm like but no, I love it. And he's like well then, don't believe it, get in bed, it's fake.
Speaker 1To this day I will be in the bathtub relaxing and getting like just just kind of drowsy and stuff and I'm like, nope, time to get out. Yeah, me too, I'm like get out. Yep, too, I'm like, start getting sleepy, get out. Yep, freddie's gonna come through that water. But the girls had planned a freddie party. They wanted to watch it. So they went and rented a nightmare on elm street, which was later found in the vcr in the second floor play playroom. I'm like these little girls were up there watching it by themselves Like one, two Freddy's coming for you.
Speaker 2They were probably singing along too Probably. I know I did. I was like whoo-hoo.
Speaker 1Me too. I was like that's catchy. Yeah, it is. So on November 15th, a man matching John Markle's description walked into the Quapow gallery Quapow, Quapow Gallery, Quapow, Quapow I can't not say it like that anymore, Sorry and purchased what was considered then an expensive old man Halloween mask. The mask was $24 and described as dark skin with partially bald head like a large, bulbous nose, salt and pepper hair and a mustache. We're going to put a picture up with this. It is terrifying.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's creepy, I'm like no, although it looks a little bit like him. It kind of does a little bit.
Speaker 1So, I'm like your face, your actual face was creepy enough, so I'll just put a mask on to creep you up a little bit more. So you know again, this is the premeditated part. Went and bought a mask after the girls had watched A Nightmare on Elm Street a few days before Maryland.
Speaker 2Elm Street a few days before.
Speaker 1So in the pre-dawn hours of November 16th this is, the next day after purchasing the mask a violent thunderstorm raged over Little Rock, causing power outages all over the city. So Ka-pow, Ka-pow, Ka-ching, Ka-bloom, you can tell we have children that watch those movies in that era Over and, over and over again. So amidst the downpour of rain, the crashing thunder, a scene of unspeakable horror was unfolding in a beautiful Victorian home on Main Street, just a short distance from the governor's mansion. So they were in this really nice area. The house is beautiful, the pictures of it are really pretty. We'll put those up too. Around 4 am, rookie officer Steve Moore, then only 21 years old, vividly recalls the scene. That night was a grim introduction into the reality of violent crime. It was something he never expected. When he arrived at the Markle residence, Officer Moore found the front door when he got there, like a jar. There was a light on within. So he you know he called for backup. He was like something doesn't seem right here.
Speaker 2Yeah, a little bit off with the open door and the lights on.
Speaker 1Yeah, and the call came from John's attorney, because he had gotten a call from John. It was sounding a little weird. So he's like, well, let me call the police and get them over there. So he arrived a little bit later. So, as Officer Moore stepped inside, a scene of horror beyond his comprehension just like unfolded before his eyes, 45-year-old John Markle lay dead in his first floor study, two wounds to his head oh, he had to shoot himself twice.
Speaker 1He I guess he had taken the guns just crisscrossed them over and, oh, just pulled it same time he wanted to make sure that he was like done there was, yeah, no chance they were catching him alive.
Speaker 2okay, wow, yeah, I didn't realize he had two guns. Yes, oh, gunslinger style over here.
Speaker 1Yep, I'm going to tell you what kind of guns they were too Okay. On John's desk was a suicide note, dated and time-stamped 11-16 at 2.30 am. There was a diary where he had wrote some entries into it. There was also a 12-page letter to his mother, 64 $100 bills and a money order for $5,000. I'm like is this all the money he had left, or you know?
Speaker 2what's going on?
Speaker 1On the floor. Beside him were two handguns a Colt .38 caliber and a Charter Arms .38 caliber. So he pew-pewed with those Mm-hmm. Officer Moore, along with a detective, pulled their guns in low readiness, pointed to the floor and began sweeping the rooms checking for potential threats. Maybe somebody came in, maybe they, you know, caused this to happen, who knows?
Speaker 2It's always better to be safe than sorry.
Speaker 1Exactly so. This is the extremely heavy part. As they went up to the second floor, this was like a big Victoria Mansion, so it had multiple levels. As they went up to the second floor, they were met with the most horrific scene, and you remember like? Officer moore was a 21 year old rookie, so he walked up there and was like whoa. In one of the girls bedrooms with blood-soaked pink walls were the bodies of Markle's daughters Thirteen-year-old Amy I'm getting chills reading this and I've like read it 500 times and nine-year-old Suzanne lay in their bed. Each girl fatally shot twice.
Speaker 1Once in the head, once in the chest, jeez, okay. It was believed that the girls were sleeping in the same room due to this thunderstorm night that night and probably because they watched Nightmare on Elm Street a few nights before. So they were like we're just going to sleep in here together, it's fine.
Speaker 2Yeah, they felt safer that way.
Speaker 1So their father puts on this old man mask, pushes their door open and just opens fire I wonder if they woke up and saw him before he shot them.
Speaker 2I don't know, but because how tragic is that? Scare the bejesus out of them and then kill them right?
Speaker 1not kill them where they don't see, I hope.
Speaker 2I hope they were still asleep. That's the only thing I can hope for.
The Chilling Night of the Murders
Speaker 1I hope so too. So after this horrific scene they made their way up to the third floor. In the master suite lay the body of Markle's wife, 45-year-old Christine, also a victim of the same type of gunshot wounds. So he, I guess because the thunderstorm was so loud maybe she didn't realize what was happening.
Speaker 2Is he waiting for it to thunder before he's shooting? Maybe like the cullens when they play baseball yeah, gotta make sure nobody can hear it I'm not laughing at this story, just laughing at the cullens but yeah, I mean way to sneak some twilight in there, right?
Speaker 1I love twilight but I don't know, but maybe it was one of those thunderstorms where it was just like one after the other, like papaw, papaw, like going off because, we get those here and it's oh yeah scary. My poor dog like goes and hides under the bed. She don't like it at all.
Speaker 2Mine just bark. They're like oh, you think you're going to get me, I'm going to get you, you're going to get louder at me.
Speaker 1I'm going to get louder. So 14 shots in all were fired from two .38 caliber and one .44 caliber handguns and after they did all of the going through the house and everything, 18 firearms were taken as evidence from the house that night.
Speaker 2Okay, makes sense because I was about to go. Wait a minute, that's not the guns you told me were by him.
Speaker 1but okay, yep Got it Lots and lots of guns in there. So he was stockpiled up. Then a disturbing detail emerged Beside John's body, spattered with blood from unaliving his wife and children was a rolled-up Halloween mask believed to have been worn by John Markle during the killings.
Speaker 2Like he didn't want them to know it was him doing it.
Speaker 1Like. You're a piece of shit for wearing this mask to kill your wife and kids.
Speaker 2Well, he's a coward. Yeah, I mean, he's a coward for everything he's doing. Anyway, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1So, as they're investigating, the static from the living room television was like an unsettling quiet amidst the chaos. This is where the family had reportedly watched Nightmare on Elm Street in the days prior, and it was just like the most heavy scene ever. In a december 1987 news conference, little rocks police chief doc hill revealed that john markle had been planning the murders of his wife and daughter and himself for at least three weeks. So they had evidence where he had planned all this stuff, hale said. I don't think that we can ever tell you exactly why, but the evidence points to a plan, a tragic plan set in motion weeks ago.
Speaker 2With his job loss? Yes, and the findings out of his embezzling?
Speaker 1scheme and the threat of we're going to take you to court if you don't pay this and all that stuff.
Speaker 2And obviously he was like no way, I can pay this at all, so he felt like this was his only way out, I assume Apparently. So why do you have to take them with you, though?
Speaker 1And that's what everybody was asking, Like why would you kill your family if you were in this situation? Why didn't you just take yourself out and be done with it? But there's a little bit more to that like as we go down. So, while the investigation shed light on the timeline, the exact motive remains elusive. However, investigators believe that markel's impending financial ruin played a significant role. You always ask the good questions, like right before apparently because every time you say something I'm like shut up.
Speaker 1No, ask the good questions, I like it. A fear of losing everything, the shame of actions. It all likely fueled his desperation. Evidence of premeditation surfaced in Markle's inquiries into his insurance company on November 9th. So you know, this is all the premeditated stuff he's like. Let me go check with my insurance company. He wanted to confirm the details of the suicide clause in his policy which, according to associated press reports, would provide $500,000 to his mother, mercedes McCambridge. Mccambridge claimed to be unaware of her son's fraudulent activities until they were exposed in his final days.
Speaker 1I mean that's a good possibility, yeah but like this is like the crazy part. So, like a forensic psychologist, cite many reasons fathers take their families with them into death. Among them, loss of control over family circumstances like my wife and children can't survive without me. I'm the breadwinner, but by unaliving yourself you were about to get five hundred thousand dollars that you could have left to your family and they would have been okay it seems like he has very um attachment to his mom, though he does so and there's a letter to her, and it's insane.
Speaker 1In a later recorded interview, rookie officer Steve Moore said it wasn't something I really liked to talk about, like, after the fact, those little girls you know they didn't have any, I didn't have any kids at the time. How could somebody do that to their own children? Moore said that this case later on in years became the silent catalyst guiding him toward a career dedicated to seeking answers and understanding the darkest corners of human behavior. Within five years of the tragedy, moore joined the Little Rock Police Department's Homicide Division.
Speaker 2So he was like it didn't sway him, he just was like no, it fueled his Ambition.
Speaker 1Ambition, yeah, the news of what happened to the Markle family spread throughout the community. And remember, this is like a very prestigious, like nice community, victims of a meticulously planned and executed tragedy. The mask, the guns, the suicide note letter, grim reminders of the calculated nature of this horrific crime, it all left a chilling glimpse into John Markle's final descent into despair, a window into the mind of a man spiraling toward tragedy. So he had some diary entries that he had wrote a little bit earlier on. One of them was my wife, christine is the greatest woman alive, I'm like, but you killed her and my children are the very best. I am broke and they have no inheritance left. What about the money for the?
Speaker 2his suicide.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, you checked into it, hello oh, and also did like okay, this is in the 80s, there's no. Did he call? Did he pull up the policy out of a drawer and read it? Did he go to the insurance company? Because that would have red flagged me and been like this dude's asking about a suicide thing yeah I would have reported that I don't think anybody really thought about it like that though right.
Speaker 1So he's just checking some like general stuff Like what about this and what about this? Oh, it has a suicide policy. What is that about, Right?
Speaker 2Yeah, he could have very well framed it that way. Yeah, played it off. So it just seemed like he was curious rather than thinking about actually doing something, right?
Speaker 1So John said that Christine says I have put the family last and I have. There is really only one choice now. No, john, there is more than one choice.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean you're still putting them last. I mean you put them before yourself into the land of the dead, right, because you know you had to take yourself out last.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's crazy. The day before he penned another entry, I awake, depressed. Yeah, it's crazy. The day before he penned another entry, I awake, depressed. And by Tuesday this will be three weeks of unresolved chaos. Christine and my children are beginning to feel the pressure. Amy in particular does not want to move to Australia or anywhere else. So I guess they had talked about, like you know, leaving the country. Yeah, leaving the country, yeah, leaving the country. Dad lost his job, let's go move to australia, and all that stuff. And she was like look I'm, I have goals and ambitions and I want to be a dancer. I don't, yeah, I don't want to move.
Speaker 1But these entries, you know, paint a picture of a man burdened by financial ruin and family strain, his world collapsing around him In his mind. He saw no way out, no alternative to the horrific plan forming in his mind. In the handwritten suicide note it said Let it hereby be stated as true that I, john L Markle, murdered my wife and two children, amy and Suzanne, then committed suicide myself. My wife had no knowledge or part in this, I think the evidence shall so provide. That's it. Yeah, that's what he wrote. That's what he wrote. That was his official thing.
Speaker 1But he wrote a 12-page letter to his mother and it was like a scathing indictment of her and this is what a lot of the news outlets and stuff clamped onto, because his mother was an actress and all this stuff. So they were like all about this letter, right. He blamed her for his financial woes and personal failings, detailing a childhood marked by her absence and what he perceived as her neglect. He wrote you were clearly a working mother. I was conceptualized to save a bad marriage. I accept the new father. I lost the new father. I watched you try to unalive yourself twice. You have never been there for me when the chips were down.
Speaker 1It's clear to you that you have hurt every member of my family? Oh, sorry, let me start that over. Is this clear to you that you have hurt every member of my family, that you have hurt me, that I stood by you under some adverse conditions and that you have never done anything but manipulate me for your purpose? I have broken man's law. You have not. I have not broken man's law. You have not. I have not broken God's law, you have. There's nothing more to say. He ended the letter with Night Mother, a possible reference to a play by the same name which McCambridge had starred in in a Little Rock production. The play climaxed with a character's suicide, and it's called Night Mother.
Speaker 2Well, so he's basically going. I'm killing my family and myself because of you.
Speaker 1Right Because of you. So it's your fault. Okay, so he's blaming his childhood trauma instead of trying to get help or work through his stuff. But back then you know you're a man, you're not supposed to be sensitive, you're not supposed to get help, you're just supposed to swallow it down. And then this stuff happened yeah, be tough which is insane again and so was he.
Speaker 2Yeah, at that point. So absolutely I mean mommy issues seem to be the main theme. Yeah, when it comes to killers any kill.
Speaker 1Yeah well, I mean not any killer, but like a large chunk of them male killers. Most of the time, there's always something leading back to mom like every story you read, it's like in the mother and it's like, oh, here we go yeah, mommy issues, so records indicated that his mother inherited more than half of her son's estimated 890 000 estate. These um personal writings, the diary entries and the letters were a harrowing testament to the internal turmoil that drove John Markle to commit such a devastating act.
Speaker 2So the company didn't get their money back.
Speaker 1No, so there was a trial in Little Rock. She had to go and fight for this money and I didn't go into detail with it because I didn't want to put a whole deposition trial thing in here. But she ended up with that money and the company didn't Interesting. So you know this tragedy. It remains a dark and haunting chapter in Little Rock's history, a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of domestic violence, financial despair and the darkness that can consume even the most seemingly successful individuals so that perfect little family could have some sinister things brewing under the surface.
Speaker 2Absolutely. Nobody's life is perfect, no.
Speaker 1But you know what he did to his children and his wife was just horrific. Yeah that's tough. I mean, you think of these bad things are happening to me. What can I do to fix them? Oh my gosh, I'm going to be in more trouble. You know what can I do? What can I do? Never in my mind would it cross like take out my family yeah. I'm going to take them with me into the afterlife. Done Right, they don't deserve to live because I did this thing and I made this mistake.
Speaker 2Yeah, when I mean all of that could have been theirs, but I guess if they had to fight I mean it's his mom had to fight for it that's right, that's spending money they wouldn't have had, but still the life insurance by itself, yeah, just the life insurance by itself.
Speaker 1Yeah, just the life insurance and the Social Security insurance for the girls, and they would have gotten something they have family. They would have survived Somehow, some way. Like, contrary to popular belief, women and single mothers can survive. We are two testaments to that.
Speaker 2Super resourceful. Yes, where there's a will, there is a way.
Speaker 1You just got to find it. So you know, if you ever find yourself in a bad situation, like call the suicide hotline, don't you know, try to get some help or something. It is not the only choice. No it is not, and you know, try to get some help or something. Don't it is not the only choice. No, it is not, and you know, try to get some help there's. There's resources out there that will help you. And it's not the end of the world if you end up having to go to federal prison.
Speaker 2I hear it's kind of nice there I was gonna say you get fed all that fun jazz, right, right, you don't have to go to work anymore. No, just get everything, play some, play some spades and dominoes and eat some snacks stay away from the big guy in the shower. You're like don't sag your pants oh my gosh I mean, yeah, I don't know, uh, I'd have to. I'm sitting here going jail, death jail, but you don't have to kill other people.
Speaker 1No, you don't have to take everybody else out if you want to be a coward and kill yourself like don't take your family out, but also try to get some help first. Yeah, and I'm gonna make sure to put lots of pictures in the on the post and stuff that we do on our socials and, yeah, we'll have to put everything make a reel or something with the pictures so that they can see all the stuff we talked about today the mask, the man, the house the mom, the daughters
Speaker 1his mother, everything. So I've got lots and lots of pictures for this case I did I did some digging, some deep diving, but I was like this is a really good one and I wanted to get out of our little bubble over here and move out into another state.
Speaker 2So yeah, but.
Speaker 1Louisiana always draws me back, because there's so much.
Speaker 2We live here and there's a lot of it that we've already heard about, know about, so it makes it easier to find the good stuff. But not that any of this is good, right, but I just mean the stuff that has more information. I is the better way to put that. Yes, it's just really hard to report on stuff that doesn't have anything reported before.
Speaker 1Right right.
Speaker 2And you run into a ton of that when you're looking for stuff to cover, because, like we said before, we're trying to cover stuff we haven't really heard the other podcasts cover.
Speaker 1But I mean, obviously it's not going to be something no one's ever covered before, because then you can't cover it either, right, and I I'm, you know, pretty sure that this one had been covered by a few other podcasts, but I didn't go digging into their stuff. I just stuck to the facts and went through the police reports and you know all the other stuff. So so that way.
Investigation and Community Shock
Speaker 2Yeah, I don't watch the other podcasts or listen or whatever video. I just try to steer clear of that. If I haven't heard it already, I'm not going to listen to it?
Speaker 1No, not at all.
Speaker 2I don't want to be influenced at all by any of that. So hopefully you guys enjoyed this one and we appreciate you joining us on Hold my Sweet Tea. All sources used to create this episode can be found in the show notes. The music is created by Patti Salzetta. We love you, girl, love you Patti. Obviously, if you enjoyed this episode, we really, really, really, really, really, really, really want you to subscribe and leave us a review. Do what you do on whatever platform you're on I know they all are a little bit different so collect follow rate, review like it, like every episode it's. It's just everything you do on those platforms helps other people see us. Yes, so please, please, please, do it. Obviously, you can follow us on social media. We're on Facebook, instagram, tiktok. We're everywhere and you can hear us anywhere you catch your podcasts. If you have a case you would like to have covered, or a ghost story or a cool piece of southern folklore, please email us at steeped at holdmysweetteacom.
Speaker 1Yes, and we would love to hear from some of y'all. We haven't got an email yet and we are patiently waiting. So if you have a, good story, something that your grandpappy told you and it's passed down from generation to generation. Send it. Oh, because I am intrigued, I want to know Because that's like the best story, like family stories and stuff are some of the best, absolutely.
Speaker 1So, like, get on it and like, let us know, hold, my Sweet Tea is a drunken bee production and just remember to stay safe out there. And just because we're dipping doesn't mean y'all can't keep sipping. Bye, and don't murder your family. Thank you, bye.