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The Murder Book: A True Crime Podcast
Each week, The Murder Book will present unsolved cases, missing persons, notorious crimes, controversial cases, and serial killers, exploring details of the crime scenes and the murderer's childhood. Some episodes are translated into Spanish as well. The podcast is produced and hosted by Kiara Coyle.
The Murder Book: A True Crime Podcast
The Murder of Stanley Cohen Part VI
What does it take to unravel the dark secrets behind a murder that seems more complex with every clue? Join us in this gripping episode of The Murder Book as we peel back the layers of Stanley Cohen's chilling murder case. This week, we shine a spotlight on Ben Abernathy, Stan's protege, whose unsettling conversations with Stan about infamous murder cases, including the notorious Musler murder, offer a haunting foreshadowing. Detective John Spear's relentless chase for truth takes him to Nashville, where a revealing interview with country singer Tanya Tucker exposes Joyce Cohen's profound unhappiness in her marriage and her desperate desire for financial freedom.
Our investigation intensifies as we scrutinize the enigmatic Joyce Cohen, whose volatile marriage to Stan was marred by jealousy, infidelity, and wild partying. We examine the tangled web of relationships, including Stan's candid confessions to Carol Hughes about Joyce's destructive behavior. Detectives piece together inconsistencies in Joyce's story, unveiling potential motives that place her at the heart of this meticulously planned crime. Lynn Barkley's role as a person of interest adds another layer of intrigue, though he ultimately clears his name through a polygraph test.
Despite Joyce's apparent exoneration through polygraph tests and the conclusion of Detective Dixon, prosecutor David Waxman remains skeptical. This episode takes you through the conflicting testimonies and unresolved suspicions, highlighting the ongoing quest for justice. From Frank Wheatley's chilling recount of Joyce's wild partying and financial demands to Kathy Dickett's sworn statement about Joyce's lifestyle, the narrative winds through a maze of jealousy, betrayal, and persistent doubt. Tune in as we navigate this labyrinth of intrigue and uncover the intricate layers of Stanley Cohen's murder mystery.
Welcome to the Murder Book. I'm your host, kiara. It has been a few weeks but I have been a little sick, so hopefully I can record this episode for you guys. This is part six of the murder of Stanley Cohen. Let's begin. Let's begin.
Speaker 1:One of the people who work for Stan Cohen at ACC Construction Company his name, was Ben Abernathy. He was sort of his protege. He was constantly dreaming of Stan Different dreams, that somebody killed him, that he faked his own death, that he was not really dead, things like that. And one of the things that he was haunted by was a conversation that he had with Stan one time. They had gone out to look at a condominium on Grove Isle and on the way back Stan told him that the condo's owner was once a suspect in a big Miami murder case in the 1960s the Musler murder. Jack Musler was a wealthy older man who was found dead in his Key Biscayne apartment by his beautiful young wife, candace. A suspect was apprehended running across the causeway from Key Biscayne to Miami but was never charged in the case. Candace Mosler and her handsome young nephew, who was also her lover, were arrested and tried for the murder. Both were acquitted and nearly 20 years later there was still an aura of mystery that still clung to the case In, stem had told Ben that it had been a big trial, a Hollywood-type murder case, and he also talked about another famous case in Aspen, colorado, where singer Andy Williams' wife, claudine Longett, shot and killed her lover, spider Savage. And these two cases, particularly the Mosler case, fascinated Stan. He knew all the details about the murder and that day he just couldn't stop talking about it the beautiful young widow, the vicious stab wounds on the corpse, the bloody pump print found at the scene, the sensational trial. The widow got away with murder, according to Stan, and he shared that with the detectives.
Speaker 1:Within a week of Stanley Cohen's murder, detective John Spear, he decided that he needed to look for some clue that would shed more light on this case. So he knew from different conversations that he had had with different acquaintances and friends of Stanley Cohen is that Dirk Cohen's marriage had been no better roses, that Dirk Cohen's marriage had been no better roses. So he flew to Nashville, tennessee, to interview the woman that Joyce Cohen had boasted was a friend, and it was the country music singer Tanya Tucker. And Tanya Tucker at the beginning was a little reluctant to talk about Joyce. But at Detective Spears' insistence she recounted her overnight visit at Wolf Run Ranch shortly before Stan's murder. The two women drank champagne, tooted a little coke, got to know each other and that night Joyce had been in a talkative mood and plus, you know, she was fueled by cocaine and the excitement of her new celebrity friendship. So she started talking about her miserable marriage. Her husband was unfaithful. He had even gotten a girlfriend pregnant once or so, she claimed. The bottom line was that she was extremely unhappy, not just sad. It didn't seem like it was something that was going to go away. She wanted out of her marriage, but not without the money, because she liked the money and that was the only thing she liked as far as she. You know, tucker knew and that was the only thing that liked as far as she it's. You know, tucker knew um, and that was the only thing she was that was getting her along. So um detective asked um Tanya Tucker if Joyce ever mentioned anything about killing her husband and she said no. She didn't remember saying that to her.
Speaker 1:But the interview with Tanya Tucker confirmed rumors that Detective Spear had already heard, even though it didn't add any solid evidence to the case. But he still had nothing concrete to link Joyce to her husband's murder. So next he went looking for Frank Wheatley. Frank Wheatley was a former manager of Stans Colorado Construction Products. Spear had heard rumors about Joyce's frenetic partying in Steamboat Springs drugs, drunk driving, tickets, car crashes. There were stories about affairs about nude sunbathing, wet-t-shirt contests. The rumors had filtered back to the SAC construction company office while Joyce was alone in Steamboat and Whitley was there managing SAC construction projects. So he should know what had gone on. So Whitley was not anxious to be found. But Spear finally tracked him down in Atlanta and he started talking about his life in Steamboat Springs with the Coens. He said that he had moved his family out of Steamboat Springs in January 1985, that he had moved his family out of Steamboat Springs in January 1985, and he told Detective Spear that it was because he thought the cocaine and the party scene was getting out of hand.
Speaker 1:Whitley had gone to Steamboat Springs in 1981 to supervise SAC construction projects there. The social atmosphere he found was very laid back. There were lots of parties, coke was a popular party drug. At least some of the rumors about the coins were true. Whitley admitted that both Stan and Joyce snorted cocaine when they partied but that Joyce was really into it. Whitley had gotten to know Joyce better when she stayed on the steamboat and steamboat. After Stan returned to Miami they began to party together. A few drinks, a little coke, and eventually Joyce began to confide in Whitley.
Speaker 1:There were problems in her marriage. She said Stan was slowing down, didn't want to party much anymore. She said she wanted out of the marriage but she didn't want to give up the money. She had even asked Stan for a divorce and one night, over a fine line of coke, she told this to Whitley and she said that her price, she told Stan, was $1 million. But Stan just laughed at her and said you will go out of this marriage the same way. You came in with nothing. What Whitley said next makes Detective Spears' blood race. Once Joyce told him that she wished that she could find someone to cure her husband or have the nerve to do it herself. But he thought she was only joking and she probably was Soon. Afterwards she had asked him playfully did you find me someone yet? And so they laughed and the moment passed and Whitley concluded you know it was just a conversation. But now, after everything that has happened, he wasn't so sure.
Speaker 1:Other Miami detectives traveled to Steamboat Springs to interview the Coen's friends and associates. They talked to Scott Flower, who was a resident manager of Wolf Run Ranch, who was not impressed with the real-life Miami Vice investigators. He thought they threw their weight around for one thing, they looked ridiculous for another, because they arrived in the middle of mud season in their Gucci loafers and he said you couldn't miss them. They talked everybody up here and made a lot of accusations. People finally got fed up and told them to come when they had facts. Flower couldn't believe Joyce Cohen had anything to do with her husband's matter and he never would.
Speaker 1:When he returned to Miami, spear called Sharon Jonides, who agreed to come in for an interview, and she said that she had known Stan and Joyce for several years. And, yes, she was aware that Joyce had a problem with cocaine. Sharon vividly remembered the time that she had tried to talk to Joyce about it. One Saturday she ran into Joyce in the Grove. Joyce suggested lunch at Grove Isle. Sharon had not seen Joyce for a while but she had heard rumors about her using coke. She was troubled. Lunch would be a good opportunity to speak to Joyce about it.
Speaker 1:And Sharon started talking to Joyce over lunch saying I think you have a problem. And Joyce said like what he said well, maybe you're using too many drugs or maybe things are a little out of control. And Joyce was emphatic and said no, but maybe I'm drinking a little more than I should. Sharon was mystified. Joyce was never a drinker. She thought just a glass or two of wine and that would be it. And Joyce continued. She said I'm okay, but I'm worried about Stan. And so Sharon said you're worried about him? And Joyce said yes, I can hear him. Sometimes in the morning, when he gets up in the bathroom, I can hear him snorting in there. Sharon didn't believe it and she thought well, that's it. She shrugged her shoulders and told herself I have said my piece.
Speaker 1:Joyce had changed the subject and said that she was hostessing at the restaurant. And she said this guy came in and he was attractive, that he was looking at her. And finally he spoke to her and he said I think you're very attractive. I would like to meet you for lunch or dinner. And and she said well, you know, my husband owns this restaurant. And he said well, there's no problem, I would just like to meet you and have lunch with you and Sharon asked Joyce, what are you going to do? And Joyce said well, I don't know, I'm just thinking about it and smiled. But she never mentioned a name. So Sharon had no idea whom Joyce had been talking about.
Speaker 1:But Detective Spear had a hunch Lynn Barkley. He had already heard about Barkley and he would occasionally as a professional photographer, he said, and had lived off and on with different friends in the Grove and he claimed to have worked at Studio 54 in New York and said that he wants to manage a rock band. On the morning of the murder Barclay had stopped by the Cohen home to see what was going on. A police officer recalled a strange question from Barclay that morning. He said did she do it? Did she finally shoot him? Barkley denied that he ever asked those questions when Detective Spear contacted him. But he agreed to come to the homicide office for a talk and the interview lasted several hours and Barkley said I'll talk to to you, I'll tell you the truth.
Speaker 1:And detective Spears thought well, this is it, because Barkley had sort of like a smug, almost a snide way of speaking. That raised Spears' suspicions. But he seemed very hip, very cool, and he was sort of like a good-looking guy with shaggy blonde hair that probably a lot of women would be attractive to him. You know just the type Joyce Cohen might go for. If Joyce was having an affair, this might be the guy she could have killed her husband to run away with him. So Spear watched Barkley and once Barkleyley started talking he actually said very little. He admitted having a brief affair with joyce, just one sexual encounter in 1984. He claimed it was after a cozy dinner at the cohen's while stan was conveniently away. They drank some wine, they snorted a little Coke. One thing had led to another, but since that night they had just been friends. Barkley insisted that he knew Joyce had a problem with cocaine, yes, and she was unhappy in her marriage. She talked about divorce. And no, she never discussed murdering her husband, absolutely not. So Detective Speer thought well, this guy's flaky.
Speaker 1:At first Barkley acted as though he was going to give them some information and then he denied knowing anything about the murder. Speer called in Prosecutor David Waxman and they decided to ask Barkley to take a polygraph with Detective Ron Ilhard, miami Homicide Investigator, trained in polygraph administration. But Waxman was concerned that if Barkley failed the polygraph he would claim he had been coerced during the long hours of intensive interviews that day and he needed something to counter that argument. So he handed Barkley a piece of paper and on it was written 5 pm leave, get out of here. And he signed David Waxman and Waxman told Barkley now get out of here, you have. He signed David Waksman and Waksman told Barkley Now get out of here. You have been lying to us all day. And Barkley said no, no, no, I want to talk to you, I want to take the polygraph. And Waksman was satisfied and Detective Ithart began to hook Barkley up to the polygraph machine. He handed Barkley the standard Miranda rights form to sign. When Barclay saw the form he changed his mind. He said no, that's it, I'm not talking, I'm leaving. And he bolted out the door Very suspicious.
Speaker 1:The detectives thought we must be onto something. So Barclay's name had also come up during an interview with Robert Bramereau who Spear was told might have sold cocaine to Joyce Bramereau. Who denied that and Spear believed him. But he did say he knew Joyce Cohen and he didn't like her. He remembered meeting her in the fall of 1985 when Barclay was staying with him and he said that Barclay introduced you know and said meet Joyce Cohen and Bramaro saw that there was a white jaguar in his drive and he knew who Stan Cohen was and he didn't want Stan's wife in his house. So Bramaro told Spear that he saw Joyce again on March 6, 1986, just hours before her husband was murdered.
Speaker 1:At 4.30 that Thursday afternoon the door had burst open in his bedroom as he sat chatting with a friend and the intruder was Joyce Coleham and she demanded when is Lynn? And Bramara said Lynn, lynn Barkley, he's not here. Why don't you go check at the Matilda address? And that was Barkley's current address. And Joyce said well, you know where he is, he's not there. And she looked anxious and she looked upset and Bramara was aggravated and he said well, I don't, and excuse me, you're in my private bedroom here on the porch, please leave. Well, I don't, and excuse me, you're in my private bedroom here on the porch, please leave. But Joyce stood her ground and said I'm not leaving until you tell me where he is. And she insisted and Brammo grabbed Joyce by the arm and shoved her out the door with his foot and said please, you're leaving, you're out. And she started yelling at him and saying you can't treat me this way, I'm going to call the police on you. So she retreated to the White Jaguar, drove off speeding a few blocks down the street to a market with a payphone outside and Joyce parked at the curb intent on calling the police to arrest Bramereau for assault and battery.
Speaker 1:By coincidence, lynn Barkley saw Joyce and the white jaguar as he was driving by, so he honked and waved, then pulled over to meet her and she was very angry and she told him about her encounter with Bob Bramero. But when she calmed down she decided to forget the call to the police and agreed to go have a drink with Barkley at the outdoor bar at Monty's Bayside Restaurant. They dropped Barkley's car off at his new address and went to the restaurant in Joyce's Jag. A few minutes later Barkley had called Bob Brammerle and he said you know Joyce Cohen was going to pass charges against you for assault and battery, but I took her out of it. Brammerle had not seen Joyce Cohen since that day. He told the detectives that and that he knew nothing about the murder of her husband.
Speaker 1:So Bramwell's story rekindled the investigators' interest in Lynn Barkley. Why had? And Lynn Barkley, why had Joyce been so anxious to find him that afternoon? Was their meeting really coincidental. What had they talked about at the restaurant? Was there some connection between Barkley and the intruders who had murdered Stan? Was he one of them? Or maybe Barclay and Joyce had conspired to kill Stan? Confronted by these new suspicions, barclay hired an attorney, arranged to take a polygraph with examiner Warren Holmes in April, and he passed the test. Holmes concluded that Barclley was telling the truth when he denied having any knowledge whatsoever about Stanley Cohen's death. He was convinced that Barkley was not criminally involved in any way, and this was another dead end. So now, at this point, the police still have no solid evidence to connect Joyce with her husband's murder, but she remained the sole target of the investigation.
Speaker 1:It was the only scenario that made any sense. The intruders in the Coyne's house that night were not burglars. Nothing was stolen, nothing was disturbed, nor had they come just to have a chat with Stan. They had come to kill him and they knew exactly where to find him. They broke into the kitchen, made a beeline for the master bedroom upstairs, shot Stan in the head while he was lying face down in the bed, probably sound asleep, and then got the hell out. The crime had all the earmarks of a hit. The alarm system conveniently turned off. Joyce ended up conveniently in another part of the house. Spear had so far been able to find no one else who might have wanted Stan Cohen dead. It had to be Joyce.
Speaker 1:Of course, it was also possible that Joyce's story about intruders was a fabrication. There was the unexplained mystery about the apparent lapse of time between the calls from Colorado, when Joyce claimed she saw the intruders and discovered Stan's body, and her hysterical call to the police. Phone records show calls from Colorado at 5 15 and 5 20 am, but Joyce's call to 9-1-1 didn't come until 5 25. What was she doing for five full minutes before she finally called for help? She could have killed her husband with her own gun, then drop it in the underbrush in front of the house for the police to find. Either way, joyce was somehow implicated in this case and there has to be a way to prove it. Spear wasn't about to give up. He knew it was just a matter of time and he had all the time in the world.
Speaker 1:So now the Miami detectives got in touch with Joyce's friend, myra Wenning. Myra had known the Coens for 10 years. She too had heard that Joyce was using cocaine, but she had never seen her do it. The Coins argue occasionally, like most couples, but she insisted there were no serial marital problems. Myra Wenning could have said much more Early. One morning a year or two earlier, joyce had called Myra with an urgent request. She said meet me at the Burger King on 27th Avenue. When Myra arrived, joyce was agitated. Stan was in Steamboat Spring on business, she told Myra, and so was Julie Belcher.
Speaker 1:Joyce suspected that Stan was having an affair with Julie, the rich young old heiress who had invested in Stan's residential development project and seatboat. Julie and Stan were out there together, a project meeting, according to Stan, and Joyce said when he comes home I'm going to ask him. I already think something happened, I just do, and if he lies to me I will know it and I can promise you this. Whatever the outcome, I will stay with him. But I want you to know that it would only be for one reason my son Mother tried to call her friend and then a few days later she called Joyce. She said what's up? And Joyce said well, he denied it, of course. He said they had a few beers, they got a little dizzy, they talked all night, that's it. Both Stan and Julie flatly denied there was anything between them, but Joyce didn't believe them.
Speaker 1:Then there was the Abby Perlmutter episode. Joyce had always been jealous of Abby. Abby was this attractive, tall brunette who worked for a while at an SCA construction company leasing office space. Finally, she confronted Abby at a party one night, accusing her of having an affair with Stan. Abby denied it. There was an ugly scene. Joyce never found any proof of the affair, but she refused to let it drop.
Speaker 1:But the woman Joyce had most upset about in February 1986 was Carol Hughes, an art teacher and well-known growth artist. Stan had been engaged to Carol Hughes when he met Joyce back in 1974. Abruptly he broke off the engagement and married Joyce instead. But Carol was still in love with Stan and Joyce had heard that Stan was seeing her again. The detectives called Carol Hughes for an interview. She was a woman like around her 40s, obviously intelligent, pleasant-looking rather than pretty. She was thoughtful and composed as she answered the questions that detectives asked. But it was obvious she had cared deeply for Stan Cohen. She had run into Stan in the Grove one Friday evening, february 1986, according to Carol, stan had been alone and lonely. Joyce was still in Steamboat Springs partying and skiing. Stan had wandered into a favorite old hunt from his bachelor days, the Taurus restaurant. By coincidence, carol dropped by the restaurant that night after a gallery opening nearby. The former lovers greeted each other affectionately. Stan was anxious to talk to her, according to Carol. As the noise of the Taurus grew louder, they left for a quiet bar where they could talk. They stayed until 2 am. Stan was troubled, he confided, but he didn't elaborate. That night he took Carol home just to be sure she was safe, and he went home alone.
Speaker 1:The following Friday night there was a knock at Carol's front door and it was Stan. And Carol asked him what are you doing here? And he said well, I need to talk to you. I want to talk to you, and will you have dinner with me tonight? And Carol agreed. She said where are we going? He said well, I don't know, let's go to the Taurus. She said where are we going? He said well, I don't know, let's go to the Taurus. And she said the Taurus. And Carol knew that he would never take her there unless he didn't care who saw them together. So something must be wrong with his marriage, she thought. She said I don't want to go to the Taurus, I want to go to Key Biscayne. She wasn't sure what was going on with Stan but she preferred discretion.
Speaker 1:They sat at the sandbar on Key Biscayne a waterfront place from the past, until nearly 10 o'clock that night, when they move on to Horatios on the Rinkerbacker Causeway, and this was sort of a cozy, romantic place. And over dinner and a glass or two of wine Stan talked to Carol and he admitted to her that his marriage was in trouble. Joyce was abusing cocaine. He had tried to get her help but it didn't seem to be working. Now she was refusing to come back from Colorado. He was going to have to go get her, he said. He said I should have married you and he told that to her sadly. Stan talked about the future. He was thinking of retiring in a year and he wanted to live in Colorado. Would Carol be able to retire from her job? And she said yes. She had just completed the required 20 years teaching and would she mind selling her home and moving? Carol understood that Stan was asking her if she would go to Colorado with him and that night when he took her home he stayed and you know they slept together.
Speaker 1:The next time Carol saw Stan was Sunday March 2nd and that afternoon she had walked three blocks from her home in the Grove to Mountie's Bayside Restaurant where she decided to get something to eat, maybe have a drink, and she sat alone at a table on the outdoor deck, overlooking the bay and glancing along the waterfront. She recognized a familiar figure striding down the dock. It was Stan, walking alone. The look on his face was pensive trouble. He didn't notice her. The look on his face was pensive trouble. He didn't notice her. Carol yelled hello, called his name and waved. Stan looked up. He waved back but he kept walking. Too late Carol saw the white jaguar. It was Joyce's Jaguar Park.
Speaker 1:At the curb Joyce was sitting in the passenger seat. Stan hopped in and they drove away. But Stan was gone only five or ten minutes, just time enough to drop off his wife, because then he came back alone to meet Carol and they talked for an hour. He was still having problems. He said cryptically he had to get these problems solved and when he did he would get back to Carol. And he told her I'll call you soon. And it was the last thing Stan ever said to Carol Hughes.
Speaker 1:So now Detective Spear stopped by Busione's, the restaurant Stan Cohen had owned, and he decided to talk to the manager and the staff. He wasn't surprised to find out that they knew about Joyce's coke problem. They told him that she would come into the restaurant in the evening, gulp some champagne, hit the ladies' room a few times, then head off to Ensign Bitter's or Biscayne Baby. Sometimes the waiters overheard Stan telling Joyce he didn't want to go with her. It was obvious they were not getting along. Occasionally Stan would leave with his wife around 11 pm and then he'd be back to check on things at the restaurant around 12.30 before heading home alone to get some sleep. And Joyce often partied until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and that's what they heard.
Speaker 1:When Stan wasn't around, joyce usually perched at Luciana's tiny bar. She was always drinking champagne, chatting with the bartender. The waiters noticed that her stories to the ladies' room became more frequent and they wondered how Joyce could be so brazen about snorting coke in there. Anyone might walk in, even Dade. State Attorney Janet Reno occasionally dined at Bussione's, but Joyce never seemed concerned. On occasion she even asked someone at Bussione's to get her Coke. A phone call would be made and there would be a discreet delivery right at the restaurant. Someone would come into the bar. A head would nod in Joyce's direction. Someone would come into the bar, a head would nod in Joyce's direction and a package might be slipped into her open purse lying on the bar as she casually looked the other way.
Speaker 1:If Joyce started on the champagne and coke routine around 9, by 10.30, she would be a different person. She would be chatty, bubbly, holding a champagne flute as she strolled about the dining room smiling and saying hello to everyone. And one night she asked one of the waiters do I look funny walking around the dining room? And the waiter said no, you don't look funny. Why? She said well, stan says I shouldn't be here. Another waiter had told Stan that Joyce was causing scenes in the dining room when she walked around with her champagne flute. Customers would ask if, ask her if they could buy her a drink, and she would decline but then later come up and say thanks for the drink. The waiter had complained to Stan that she was so bummed that she didn't know what was going on and it was embarrassing.
Speaker 1:One evening Joyce hosted a party at Boussion's for some friends Tony Pollock, her partner at SAC Interiors, jeffrey Carroll, myra Wenning, sam Smith and a few others. She looked especially good that night. She was wearing a burgundy outfit with high black leather boots and she arrived early to be sure everything was perfect for her guest at table three, the big round table at the front of the restaurant. But as soon as she walked in, joy started with a cup of glasses of champagne and then a trip to the ladies' room. When her friends arrived, wine was poured and salads served. Suddenly, just as she started on her salad, joy slumped over her plate. The waiters were alarmed. They thought she must have taken a qualud or something. She came down so hard and fast With a friend taking a charm. Joyce was helped out of the restaurant and into her car. After they drove her home they returned to finish their dinner.
Speaker 1:The next day a waiter told Stan what had happened. He was furious and he said don't worry, she'll never been here again. In fact, joy spent no more evenings in the restaurant, but she did stop by by once more to apologize to a waiter for the scene she had created that night. She was so embarrassed. She said she had been that night. She was so embarrassed. She said she had been taking prescription medication and the combination of that and the champagne just hit her and the waiter said you know, don't worry, we'll have times like that. And he felt sorry for her. A few months later, stan sold the restaurant and it was the end of an era. Months later, stan sold the restaurant and it was the end of an era.
Speaker 1:Alan Ross was growing uneasy because, despite Joyce Corrin's exculpatory polygraph with George Slattery, he had heard that the Miami detectives were still pursuing her. She just couldn't understand it, but he knew he had to keep tabs on the investigation. So he put his private investigator, stephen Corrales, on the trail. Corrales' technique was simple he interviewed witnesses right after the detectives did and bluntly asked them to repeat what they have told the police. Repeat what they have told the police, what Kiraly learned. A lot of Ross' witnesses were lining up to tattle about Joyce's marital problems and her cocaine habit. Although snorting cocaine doesn't make you a murderer, it's a brush that paints broadly, especially in Miami where drugs and death so often collide. And there were rumors that the slattery polygraph had been rigged somehow. Maybe Joyce Cohen had taken some kind of drug to help her pass Relentlessly.
Speaker 1:Ross called his client in Steamboat Springs and suggested that she return from Miami for another polygraph test. So Ross called his client in Stimbroke Springs and suggested that she return to Miami for another polygraph test. And this time he told her they would do a simultaneous drug screening. They had to show the cops that Joy wasn't doing any drugs. But which examiner to use?
Speaker 1:This time Ross was hoping to get a test the prosecutors and investigators would rely upon, without of course actually permitting them to participate in the process. He called an old friend in the Miami criminal defense bar and asked a favor. He said please call George Yoss at the Dade State Attorney's Office and tell him you need a polygraph. Ask him which polygraphist his office would choose. Tell him George Slattery can't do it because he has a conflict. Ross's friend called back shortly with the answer. Yoss had named Dudley H Dixon of Dixon Polygraph Laboratories in Tampa. So Ross recognized the name. Dixon was a pilot as well as a polygraphist and he flew his own plane around the state to conduct examinations. His credentials were excellent, his reputation impeccable. So Ross set up the polygraph for April 18, 1986, about five weeks after George Slattery's test. George flew back to Miami accompanied by her friend from Steamboat Springs, kathy Diggett.
Speaker 1:On the appointed day Joyce and Alan Ross met with Dudley Dixon in Ross's third floor conference room for the pre-test interview. Ross summarized the facts of the case for Dixon as well as the allegations against his client, and then he handed Dixon a copy of George Slattery's polygraph report and conclusions and Dixon exploded. He said what do you think you're doing? Are you trying to tell me it's a foregone conclusion that I'm supposed to find the same thing Slattery did? Foregone conclusion that I'm supposed to find the same thing Slattery did? And Ross? Well, he said no, hey look, I'm not trying to influence. He said no, no, no, you look. If she committed the murder, I'm going to know it. So Ross left the room.
Speaker 1:Dixon prepared his own relevant questions for Joyce Do you shoot Stanley Cohen? Did you encourage or have anyone shoot Stanley Cohen? Do you have any actual knowledge as to who shot Stanley Cohen? Do you know the identity of any person other than you and your husband being in your house between 6 pm and March 6, 1986, and the time the police arrived During the polygraph test? Joyce Cohen answered no to each of those questions and then Dixon asked did you observe someone leaving the front door of your house a few seconds before you went upstairs and discovered your husband had been shot. She said yes.
Speaker 1:When Dixon had finished with Joyce, he told Ross she had nothing to do with the murder. He put it all in his report and concluded based on the subject's polygraph responses and comments, it is the examiner's opinion. She was truthful, as indicated above, and did not personally shoot her husband or have anyone to do so. There was no indication she had actual knowledge as to who had shot Stanley Cohen. Joyce also passed a drug screening no drugs, no alcohol, no nothing. She was clean.
Speaker 1:As far as Ross was concerned, the case against his client was now truly over. A second examiner selected by the prosecutor's office, had unequivocally passed her, using a different set of questions in an entirely different polygraph format, and the drug screening was completely negative. What more could the cops possibly want? So Ross handed his client's polygraph results to prosecutor David Waxman along with a suggestion Look into Stan Cohen's contact with fugitive Miami attorney Frankie Diaz. Diaz has sneaked back to Miami to make a clandestine late-night visit to Stan Cohen at his home. Five days before his murder. Ross told them it was rumored that Cohen was holding money for Diaz, money that came from drug trafficking. Others said Diaz had come to negotiate for Cohen's Sabreliner. The plane had been placed on the DSA's watch list, suspected of transporting drug money to Panama. Even so, waxman and Spear never really considered Frankie Diaz a suspect in the case. They were pretty sure that they knew who killed Stan Cohen, but they couldn't prove it.
Speaker 1:Yet While she was in Miami with Joyce. Yet While she was in Miami with Joyce, kathy Dickett turned up in David Wagnott's office accompanied by a Miami criminal lawyer, glenn Kritzer. Waksma was surprised to see her and he had sent Dickett at a subpoena in Steamboat Springs. But he had never expected her to just show up in Miami and he decided to take a sworn statement from Kathy Dickett while she was there. But the picture she painted of Joyce's life in Steamboat contrasted sharply with what the investigators had heard from others. Kathy had known Joyce less than a year. She said they had met at Cafe Blue Bayou, the Steamboat Springs restaurant that Kathy owned with a partner. Joyce came into the restaurant frequently and the two women became friends.
Speaker 1:Ann Wassman asked how was the Cohen's marriage and she said they're feeling like God. Asked how was the Cohen's marriage and she said the feeling I got, the marriage was fine, they got along fine, they had a good marriage. And, westman, I heard speculatively and said okay. So do you ever see her doing cocaine? And her answer was no, I didn't. You understand, you're under oath. Now she said, yes, I do. She said I'm telling you that you're on the oath. Now she said yes, I do, said I'm telling you that this is important to our investigation, um, did you? Um understand that? And she said yes, I understand. So you never see her doing cocaine? And Kathy said no, have you ever seen any white powder near her nose? And she said no, I haven't.
Speaker 1:And Westman continued. She said I don't want to send back you into anything. You're not the first person we have spoken to and we have certain information as to who was doing drugs and steamboat while Joyce was there. This is not a drug investigation. We're not looking to charge was doing drugs at Steamboat. Why Joyce was there? This is not a drug investigation. We're not looking to charge anybody with drugs. This is a homicide investigation. I want you to know you are under oath and this is important information. I would ask you again did you ever see Joyce do any drugs in your presence? Aunt Kathy was adamant. She said no, I haven't.
Speaker 1:Waksman was suspicious, but he decided to drop the topic for the moment. He wanted to get Kathy's account of the morning of the murder and those strange phone calls from Steamboat Springs to Miami. Kathy told Waksman that she had been drinking with Jerry Carroll and her daughter Kimberly, at the Carroll's condo in Steamboat Springs. Calling Joyce at nearly 3.30 am had been her idea, she confirmed. When Joyce answered the phone she sounded fine. She said good to hear you, she told Kathy. Then Joyce had said call you back in two minutes. I'm going to the other phone. Kimberly Carroll had called Joyce again and when she answered Joyce said something like Kathy, kathy Stan's been shot. Then there was a flurry of phone calls to Miami, to the Metro Day Police, to the Miami Police, to Jerry Carroll's attorney's husband, pj, who lived near the Collins, and finally Kathy called Joyce again but a policeman answered and said that she was unavailable. And that's when Kathy decided Joyce needed a lawyer. And Waxman was curious. He said could you tell us why? And she said well, after the experience I have had with police officers, you need to be protected or have someone at least to stand by. You stand by for you, that you will get run over if you don't.
Speaker 1:And Waxman returned the subject of cocaine and the detectives had a sworn statement from another friend of Joyce Cohen's that she, joyce and Kathy Dickard had done cocaine together. He told Kathy, but Kathy flatly denied it. She said okay, but I'll ask you again. You and Joyce and her friend all together have never done cocaine. And she said no, have you ever seen Joyce doing any other drugs? And so Kathy's attorney, glenn Critcher, interrupted and said could I interrupt for a second to discuss with my client? And Wasma said I think you should. So Kathy left the room. She talked to her lawyer. When they returned she said have Joyce and I ever done cocaine? I don't know what Joyce has done. I have done cocaine. She's never told you she has done cocaine. Auntie said no, I have never asked her. You ask if I have seen her do another drug. I don't think so. I might have seen her take an aspirin, never cocaine or never another drug, to be honest. So Waxman concluded the interview.
Speaker 1:He suspected that Kathy was trying to protect Joyce Cohen. The question was why? So Kathy told Waxman something else that day she and Joyce had gone to the Cohen's empty house on South Bayshore Drive the day before. She discovered there had been a break-in. The alarm system had been rigged and something was missing the brass bed where Stanley Coen had been murdered. The possibilities intrigued the detectives. Was it really a break-in? Or had Joyce faked the theft to remove some type of evidence on the bed or evidence hidden inside the hollow brass frame? Or had she merely sold the brass to get some quick cash? They couldn't get a lead on the missing brass bed. Then Detective Spear got a curious call. A home invasion robber arrested in nearby Broward County claimed to know something about an unsolved homicide in Dade County. He has seen the victim's name on the jailhouse television Stanley Cohen. Thank you for listening to the Murder Book. Have a great week.
