302. Murdered By An Angel - The death of Milton Sawyer

In this episode, Garrett and Payton explore the case of a beloved antique store owner who was brutally murdered in his own home. Links: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderwithmyhusband NEW MERCH LINK: https://mwmhshop.com Discount Codes: https://mailchi.mp/c6f48670aeac/oh-no-media-discount-codes Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/themwmh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murderwithmyhusband/ Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@murderwithmyhusband Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-dark/id1662304327 Listen on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/36SDVKB2MEWpFGVs9kRgQ7?si=f5224c9fd99542a7 Case Sources: Oxygen.com - https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secrets-uncovered/crime-news/isaac-melcher-and-angel-sawyer-kill-her-husband-milton-sawyer WTKR.com - https://www.wtkr.com/2018/08/02/elizabeth-city-man-dies-during-home-invasion-armed-robbery Medium.com - https://medium.com/@TheCrimeChronicles./wife-and-lovers-deadly-plot-to-end-husband-s-life-0775dc23bea2 DailyAdvance.com - https://www.dailyadvance.com/news/local/nc-appeals-court-upholds-sawyers-murder-conviction/article_39499906-d48f-5c4e-920e-9276a7751d84.html Yahoo.com - https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/north-carolina-antique-store-owner-184314688.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKaBzRPLaIT_r3AiqHB8A8zxGp1eOFEFgrw6SHFUZot-hmtIK8JwDU51tK4C1DG5pYH2dD-zKR4xkBOTvqgnk1wugdU4pGhzc8cij2ZCSCxVFO0vWW29m5XzrihYrsDZUZAPhY6zI-aRC19GacDTgWT3IDgJbGtFHpX2G1vkky01 TheSun.com - https://www.the-sun.com/news/6498380/dateline-milton-sawyer-elizabeth-city/ Wavy.com - https://www.wavy.com/news/national/murder-of-elizabeth-city-businessman-milton-sawyer-on-dateline/ TheCinemaholic.com - https://thecinemaholic.com/milton-sawyer-murder-how-did-he-die-who-killed-him/ Caselaw. Findlaw.com - https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-court-of-appeals/2193951.html Dateline NBC - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/righteous-obsession/id1464919521?i=1000679929118 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Into the wild. The Cartier Panther encounters a shimmering crocodile, a lonely lovebird, a breathless zebra, and a restless tiger.

• 0:15Speaker 01

  Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games.

• 0:17Speaker 02

  Witness the beginning of the revolution.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  Hey Mitch, you've been trying to take down these games from the start.

• 0:22Speaker 02

  Filmed for IMAX.

• 0:24Speaker 01

  Make them remember you.

• 0:26Speaker 02

  The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, November 20th, rated PG-13.

• 0:31Speaker 03

  You're listening to an Ono Media Podcast. Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with My Husband, I'm Payton Moreland.

• 0:38Garrett Moreland?

  And I'm Garrett Moreland.

• 0:39Speaker 03

  And he's the husband.

• 0:40Garrett Moreland?

  I'm the husband. Welcome back, another Monday, another podcast. Hope everyone had a good New Year. We did nothing. We sat inside and...

• 0:49Speaker 03

  We played video games.

• 0:51Garrett Moreland?

  I don't know, maybe we're old, we didn't really do anything, to be honest.

• 0:54Speaker 03

  You know, Daisy's scared of the fireworks, so we had to stay home, make sure she's safe.

• 1:02Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 1:02Speaker 03

  We're just parents. At some point, you have to grow up, right?

• 1:08Garrett Moreland?

  You know, I feel like, ever since 2020, years just don't really count. I feel like we should all subtract like three years from our lives.

• 1:20Speaker 03

  That's because we all died, and now we're in a simulation.

• 1:22Garrett Moreland?

  Maybe it's like, we're all in Lost.

• 1:25Speaker 03

  Yeah, seriously though.

• 1:26Garrett Moreland?

  Maybe we're all actually dead and we're just, it's one big lost. Has anyone seen Lost?

• 1:32Speaker 03

  No, seriously though, like, you guys, you can't, you can't lie, like...

• 1:37Garrett Moreland?

  What's up?

• 1:38Speaker 03

  It's been like that. Time has been weird, it's been warped.

• 1:42Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, just everything changed, and here we are, doing a podcast. I don't know, life's crazy. Anyways, bagel shops, open it up. And we'll keep everyone updated. Don't have any updates yet, but it's coming. Just lots of stuff behind the scenes. Other news in our lives, nothing too much. Here we are, recording, making a podcast. We love you guys. Thank you for being here. Thank you for supporting us. I think on that note, we're just gonna hop into today's case.

• 2:09Speaker 03

  Our sources for this episode are oxygen.com, wtkr.com, medium.com, dailyadvance.com, thesun.com, wavy.com, thecinemaholic, caselaw.fine.com, and Dateline. Every small town has that one very beloved local. The older man who bags groceries down at the supermarket, the school principal who all the kids admire and respect, the neighbor who always greets you with a smile and never says no to lending a hand. It's these friendly faces that make a community feel like a home. That makes us feel comfortable, loved, welcomed,

• 2:52Speaker 03

  that gives us hope in humanity. So when something tragic and seemingly random happens to one of these people, the pillars of our community, it feels personal, even to those who only knew these people in passing. Because it leads us to wonder, if someone so admired, so well-known, can be targeted by a random act of violence in their own home, are any of us really safe? Or is nothing in this world truly random? So let's head back to the year 2018, to a quiet North Carolina community along the

• 3:29Speaker 03

  river known as Elizabeth City. It is here that a 55-year-old man named Milton Henry Sawyer Jr. calls home. In fact, he has for his entire life, which is probably why he is such a pillar of the community. Milton came from a big family full of siblings, half siblings, step siblings, most of which he remained close with his entire life. But that probably wasn't hard for Milton. Everybody who knew this guy said they loved him. He was the kind of person who always had a smile on his face, who loved cracking jokes and keeping the mood light. The guy who everyone would pat on the back and ask, when are you gonna run for mayor, Milton?

• 4:10Speaker 03

  In many ways, Milton kind of seemed to be the mascot of this small city, Elizabeth City. He was always a great student and was the drum major in his high school marching band. And after graduating, he got a degree in math and computer science and worked in data management at the University of North Carolina. But Milton, just being a simple man, always had one dream. And it was one that he eventually chose to pursue. That was in the world of collectibles. Milton loved antiques and sports memorabilia so much that he actually ended up opening his own little antique store in his hometown of Elizabeth City.

• 4:55Speaker 03

  It was just three miles from his home and he called it Treasure Hunter. Now, by this point, Milton was married to his high school sweetheart. They had two children. And while things at the antique shop seemed to be going well, his marriage at this point wasn't. Now reportedly, Milton had a bit of a wandering eye and the romance had come to a bit of standstill with his first wife.

• 5:17Garrett Moreland?

  A wandering eye, okay?

• 5:19Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's what they be calling it.

• 5:21Garrett Moreland?

  That's what they used to call it, right? Wandering eye, like a polite way to put it.

• 5:26Speaker 03

  Right?

• 5:27Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah. You know, he just had a wandering eye. What can you say?

• 5:31Speaker 03

  Yes, better than being like, you know, you just like to sleep with other people.

• 5:35Garrett Moreland?

  I mean, yeah.

• 5:37Speaker 03

  So Milton began looking outside the marriage and he eventually found it with another woman, who he then had a third child with, another daughter. So after the affair, Milton and his wife chose to part ways, but they stayed on good terms for the sake of their children. For a few years, Milton dated around, but in 2011, he met someone 10 years younger that would kind of change his life entirely. Her name was Angel Marie Wilson.

• 6:06Speaker 03

  Again, this is 2011. Angel was the daughter of a pastor who was raising four children after her own failed marriage. So she and Milton actually confided a lot in each other. They shared a lot of the same challenges. Plus, they were falling in love fast. A year later, in 2012, they tied the knot and Angel became a part of Milton's business, helping him run the antique store. Now Milton was head over heels for Angel as the two acted like teenagers in love. He showered her with gifts. He did everything he could to protect and nurture Angel. And meanwhile, Angel seemed to be doing whatever she could to keep the business thriving.

• 6:47Speaker 03

  She was organizing, staging inventory to make the space more inviting. She worked the cash register, that sort of stuff. But as the years passed, this couple fell into a routine. And with seven kids between the two of them to manage, their relationship lost its spark, as did the treasure hunter. By 2018, the business was starting to flounder. Not many people were shopping at the store. And regardless of how well-liked Milton was in the city, it was becoming difficult to turn a profit. But still, Milton seemed like a loving husband, committed to overcoming the challenges that life gave them.

• 7:31Speaker 03

  So on July 23rd, 2018, he posted on Facebook saying, quote, "Every man deserves a real woman that makes you forget every other woman on the planet."

• 7:42Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 7:43Speaker 03

  "I found mine and she is all that and more. I love you, my angel." And then around July 30th, 2018, Milton and Angel went to visit Milton's son, Caleb. Caleb was now 20 years old and an engineering student living in Raleigh, North Carolina, studying for his degree. And Milton and Angel made the two and a half hour trip to help Caleb move into his new house. And Caleb said the trip with his dad and stepmom was perfect. Everything seemed great between Milton and Angel. They were giggly, happy. Honestly, Caleb, the son, thought it was kind of similar to when they first got together. So Caleb thought, okay, they had a rough patch, but they're turning a corner. The spark seemed to be coming back between the two of them.

• 8:28Garrett Moreland?

  It's interesting because...

• 8:31Garrett Moreland?

  This is not a knock on Milton, but just in general, like no one's perfect. And I don't know how to say this without maybe it coming off rude, but there are skeletons in everybody's closet. And those skeletons don't have to be extremely bad. It doesn't have to mean that person's killing someone or doing something illegal, but like we're all human.

• 8:54Speaker 03

  Everyone's been the villain.

• 8:56Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, like, like, there's just, it's.

• 8:58Speaker 03

  I know. I do find his post kind of funny considering like his history in life.

• 9:07Garrett Moreland?

  Well, I mean, it's a good example, right? Like he had a wandering eye, like.

• 9:09Speaker 03

  Right.

• 9:10Garrett Moreland?

  People paint him as, or currently we're like, oh, he's perfect and he's so nice. And it's okay. Well, he cheated on his wife.

• 9:17Speaker 03

  Well, and also like his post being like, every guy deserves a woman who makes him forget that other women exist.

• 9:24Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, it's kind of funny, huh?

• 9:25Speaker 03

  I'm like, no, bro, that, no woman is gonna do that for you. You gotta do that yourself.

• 9:29Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 9:30Speaker 03

  Like that, that, that doesn't exist. That's a fairy tale. That's a fantasy. I don't know. So they are here with Caleb, visiting him. Everything seems to be going good, but just three days later, everything would come to a screeching halt. It was around 2:00 AM on August 2nd, 2018, when Milton and Angel's neighbor, a man named Carl, heard a frantic banging on his door. And when he answered, he saw Angel, Milton's wife, hysterical, screaming and covered in blood at 2:00 AM on his doorstep.

• 10:07Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 10:08Speaker 03

  Now, she said a man dressed in all black and wearing a mask had broken into their home a little after midnight. He had stolen some things before attacking both her and Milton. She claimed the robber had tied her and Milton up, binding them with duct tape. The intruder then hit her in the face with a pistol. Demanded they tell him where their money was, and after they did, she tells her neighbor, "The guy did something terrible to Milton." But she doesn't give any details about what it is, just basically saying like Milton's in trouble. Now, hearing Angel's story, the neighbor dialed 911 right away and police rushed over to the residence.

• 10:52Speaker 03

  And one of the earliest deputies at the scene was Sergeant Jason Will Barger. And he was terrified of what he might find in the home because, like I said, he knew Milton. When police were responding, they knew this was the guy who had grown up here in this smaller town. Everyone knew him.

• 11:12Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 11:13Speaker 03

  And he always thought Milton was a lovely guy. In fact, he actually saw Milton and Angel earlier at a local Italian restaurant. This was just a few hours before getting the call and responding. So the police make their way over to the Sawyer's house. There doesn't appear to be any forced entry, but this is a relatively safe town. Maybe they actually had their doors unlocked on this summer night? So police enter through the back doors, guns drawn because they aren't sure what's going on. And everything inside is completely quiet and still when they walk in. But the place is a mess. It looks totally ransacked.

• 11:55Speaker 03

  Drawers and cabinets opened with their contents everywhere, and there's jewelry and other valuables spread out on the floor. Police said you could barely walk on the carpet without stepping on something. And when the detective gets to the bathroom, that's where he eventually finds Milton. He is face down on the floor, lying motionless. His hands are duct taped behind his back and

• 12:20Garrett Moreland?

  Geez, man.

• 12:21Speaker 03

  He no longer has a pulse.

• 12:23Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 12:23Speaker 03

  So 55-year-old Milton Sawyer

• 12:26Garrett Moreland?

  Is dead.

• 12:27Speaker 03

  is dead in his own home.

• 12:29Garrett Moreland?

  This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. There are plenty of reasons we put off getting support and for a lot of people, cost is one of them. With BetterHelp, insurance options may now be available nationwide with an average copay for eligible members of just $23 per session. And while we're reconsidering old assumptions, maybe there are a few others worth questioning too.

• 12:52Payton Moreland?

  Women inherit a lot of unwritten rules. Be ambitious, but not intimidating. Be there for everyone, but still make time for yourself. Have it all together, but don't look like you're trying too hard. And I have definitely fallen into all of these traps. But if you have been wanting to start therapy, BetterHelp works with more than 125 health plan networks and eligible members have an average copay of just $23 per session with insurance. If you don't have insurance or don't live in the United States, you can still get 10% off your first month.

• 13:24Garrett Moreland?

  And Peyton and I are big advocates for therapy. Give it a try. Life can be crazy. There's a lot going on. Like we were talking about, sometimes it feels like you need to have everything figured out. You don't? Go talk to someone. Go see what's going on. Visit betterhelp.com/husband to explore your payment options. That's betterhelp, H E L P dot com slash husband.

• 13:45Payton Moreland?

  This message is sponsored by Greenlight. You know, there were many times growing up in school where I was like, when am I ever going to use this? And let me be real honest with you. A lot of those things have turned out to be true. But you know what I wish they would have taught in school? Financial literacy. So Greenlight takes the mental load of family life and kind of puts it all into one place. It keeps your whole family in sync. Money, safety, and everyday life, all in one place. When you're using it, you can see what your kids are spending, right when they spend it. You can also easily send them money via Greenlight

• 14:27Payton Moreland?

  instead of like digging around for cash. And Greenlight just helps your household run smoother. Chores happen without nagging because you can do it all through the Greenlight app. There's also like a schedule.

• 14:39Speaker 03

  That is up to date in real time. So when you're out of milk or someone needs new cleats, it just goes on this shared list that everyone can add to. Join the 6.5 million family members who trust Greenlight. Garrett has younger siblings. They've used Greenlight and it is so amazing to watch them learn about money in the safety of their home. You've got enough on your plate. Greenlight keeps it all in sync. Get started at greenlight.com/husband. That is greenlight.com/husband. Greenlight.com/husband. Go check it out now. And while, just like his wife had said, it appears to be a very obvious robbery gone wrong.

• 15:21Speaker 03

  Milton's cause of death wasn't totally identifiable just from looking at the crime scene alone, but it did seem to be clear what the intruder was after. Angel claims she had a lot of her expensive jewelry stolen, between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of jewelry. And as far as evidence was concerned, there honestly wasn't a whole lot.

• 15:42Garrett Moreland?

  Dude, $100,000 in jewelry?

• 15:44Speaker 03

  I know.

• 15:45Garrett Moreland?

  It's a lot.

• 15:46Speaker 03

  I think I have to remember, these are people who run an antique store. They're collectibles. So the one thing that was strange was a key that was left out on a table. Investigators later learned the back door actually had been locked after all, and this key had been used to open it and then left inside by the assailant. So whoever did this literally had a key to the home. Had they stolen it? Is this someone that the Sawyers knew? And was there more to this story than just a robbery gone wrong? Well, the police's best witness right now is Angel Sawyer. She'd gotten a look at the intruder, so police went to speak to her at the hospital where she was being treated for a head wound.

• 16:31Speaker 03

  And by the time they spoke, Angel was also in a neck brace and awaiting a CAT scan. So her injuries didn't seem superficial, but she wasn't as helpful as the police had hoped. She could only describe the robber as a white male since he was wearing a mask. She said, "The night started out with her and Milton having some quiet time alone while their two youngest daughters were actually away at sleepovers." They were lying in bed binge watching Game of Thrones when she got up to get a snack.

• 17:02Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, Games of Thrones is so good.

• 17:04Speaker 03

  She claims, though, when she opened the door to her bedroom, there was a masked intruder standing there, and he came storming in, asking her to hand over her jewelry. She said the man then grabbed Milton and tied him up first before moving on to her. He left Milton in the bathroom and then brought Angel into the bedroom where he forced her to hand over some of her belongings. Now, at one point, she said she tried to grab Milton's cellphone, which was on the floor, but the assailant came and saw her. He hit her head so hard, she nearly lost consciousness. And during all of that, she could hear a commotion in the bathroom. And that's when she realized Milton had probably been hurt in there. She said this is when she saw an opportunity to run to a neighbor's house to escape.

• 17:50Speaker 03

  She claimed first she tried a sheriff who lived a couple houses down from them, but he didn't answer. And then some friends who also weren't home before finally making it to the neighbor that answered. And what she supposedly didn't know at this point, while being questioned, was that Milton wasn't just injured in the bathroom, he had died. And while police are talking to her, she apparently has no idea.

• 18:15Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 18:15Speaker 03

  So investigators break the news to her in the hospital. She becomes a total wreck. And when Angel finally calms down and gathers her thoughts, she gives the detectives some theories on who she thinks the intruder was, which isn't abnormal. They're gonna ask, is there anyone who wants to hurt you? Who do you think could have done this? So she said she believed the attacker knew that they owned the treasure hunter and was targeting them deliberately. It wasn't a random attack. Apparently Milton had recently advertised that they were having a yard sale at their house and had made their address public on Facebook, which she actually got mad at Milton at the time for doing. And then when the police asked her, okay, well, what happened earlier in the evening

• 19:00Speaker 03

  before the robbery? Like, we want a whole timeline of your day leading up to this. She tells them about the dinner they had, and that's where the sergeant had saw them and could confirm this. But after that, Angel said Milton went to meet up with someone. It was a guy named Dylan who was actually trying to sell him a TV. Milton told Angel it would be quick, just a public stop. They would meet him in a fast food parking lot. Supposedly Dylan was actually a regular around the store, but Angel told police she found him to be a bit shady. Actually, there were quite a few people that Milton dealt with that she thought were pretty shady. Most of them treated their store like a pawn shop to try and sell stolen goods.

• 19:43Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 19:44Speaker 03

  So understandably, Angel didn't love the fact that Milton was working these deals outside of the store. She thought it could be dangerous and that it was very possible from there. They were followed home. In fact, Angel said she and Milton got into a pretty heated argument about it on their way home, but they made up shortly after. However, there was one other thing detectives needed her to explain. Hey, so at your house, we actually found a key that was used to get into your home.

• 20:15Garrett Moreland?

  Okay, yeah. And?

• 20:18Speaker 03

  And they're like, how does an intruder have a key for your back door? And Angel is like, oh, no, this is very simple. Her kids were always forgetting their keys, so they often hid one out by the back door for them to use. She's like, it would be a simple look and you could find the key. So at this point, police feel it's pretty likely that Milton was targeted by someone because of his business. After all, the store didn't just sell antiques. They bought and sold a lot of golden jewelry as well. And one of the first people they actually wanted to speak with was the man that Angel said Milton had met up with earlier that night. His name, Dylan Hostedier. Now Dylan wasn't just another

• 21:00Speaker 03

  client. He had committed a couple of robberies before. He was caught. So police knew his rap sheet. So when his name got brought up, they were like, hey, yeah, we need to talk to him. They figured it wasn't hard to imagine Dylan following the couple home that night and waiting for the right time to strike. But this wasn't a guy who was going to come in willingly and talk to the police. So I'm not sure how, but they ended up arresting him for possession of drugs. And that's when they get him to come down to the station to talk about Milton.

• 21:31Garrett Moreland?

  She's gotta be involved. I know that sounds crazy to say right now, but I mean, come on, we're 300 episodes in on Murder with My Husband. She's gotta be involved.

• 21:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, I mean, I think you always look at the partner.

• 21:44Garrett Moreland?

  Have to.

• 21:45Speaker 03

  So at first Dylan tells police what Angel said, that he met up with Milton around 8:30 PM in a fast food parking lot to sell him a TV. And that his girlfriend was actually there with him. Dylan said after he and his girlfriend parted ways and spent the night separately. But eventually, after some more questioning, Dylan changes his story and says, okay, actually, we didn't go home. We went and bought drugs together from a dealer and then he and his girlfriend went back to his house. But what's strange is when police bring him in for questioning, Dylan has a black eye. Now, this is not a good look when you're being questioned in a murder investigation. But Dylan insisted he was innocent, that he and Milton were just friends, that he loved Milton just as much as the next guy.

• 22:29Speaker 03

  He had no reason to go after him. The problem was, his alibi was, I was at home doing drugs. This is not exactly an alibi.

• 22:37Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 22:38Speaker 03

  However, when police go to speak with Dylan's family, who he still lives with, they all vouch for him. They're like, yeah, we saw him come home that night.

• 22:46Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, we saw him at home doing drugs.

• 22:48Speaker 03

  Yeah. So, police take a sample of Dylan's DNA just in case, and in the meantime, they move on to other suspects. But DNA actually is a pretty big problem in this case in general, because they find no DNA at the crime scene. Killer did a pretty good job of covering their tracks. There was no shell casings, no blood, footprints, or fingerprints. And again, this is 2018. Not so much as even a hair seemed to be left behind. Even Milton's cause of death was kind of still a bit of a mystery, at least until the autopsy was over. So what they discover is that Milton died from manual strangulation. This is an interesting method for a robbery gone wrong.

• 23:30Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, that doesn't really make sense.

• 23:32Speaker 03

  Right. Not just because it's time intensive, but as we know, strangulation is typically deliberate, personal, a little rageful. So now the police are starting to wonder, okay, is this not a robbery gone wrong? And was there a more personal connection to whoever did this? Was there more to the story than Angel was letting on? Now, after Angel recovers, she takes police to the treasure hunter to see if anything might be missing there as well. She's like, maybe they robbed the store and the house, but nothing seems to be out of place. So a day or so later, police go to visit Angel again at the home where she's staying with a few friends. And when she comes out to greet them, they notice that she seems

• 24:12Speaker 03

  like a shell of herself. She's holding a teddy bear. She's holding a photo of Milton. She's crying uncontrollably. It almost seems like everything had kind of hit her. But when they go to ask her for more details about the night and questions, she starts giving some strange answers. When asked about the fight they had over buying the TV, Angel was like, nope, we made up straight away. We even had sex that night. And then she proceeds to tell the police that they actually had sex every single morning and every single night, every single day.

• 24:43Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, man, they're just nice.

• 24:46Speaker 03

  But sometimes joked with Milton that he must be getting tired of her, but they were still madly in love. However, she said, it hasn't always been this way. There was a time after they got engaged that she found out Milton had been seeing another woman.

• 24:59Garrett Moreland?

  I mean, surprise, surprise.

• 25:01Speaker 03

  And while she was able to move past it, she claimed Milton didn't really return the favor. She said he was incredibly jealous whenever a man looked her way. Now, all of this does make sense to police because they'd heard from Milton's family who said, you know, this marriage wasn't perfect, cracks had formed. But Milton had told his brother that it was because no matter what he did, Angel never seemed to be happy with him. She always wanted more, more attention, more gifts, more money, just more. He was never enough. And according to other witnesses, Angel found more, just like Milton had.

• 25:34Garrett Moreland?

  Ooh.

• 25:35Speaker 03

  Turns out Milton was not the only one with a wandering eye in this marriage.

• 25:38Garrett Moreland?

  Which is, like I said, you just, I have said it before, you never, ever know what's going on behind closed doors with anyone, married, not married, single, just people in general. You never, honestly.

• 25:53Garrett Moreland?

  I know it might sound negative, but you never truly know somebody.

• 25:57Speaker 03

  No.

• 25:57Garrett Moreland?

  You just don't.

• 25:59Speaker 03

  Angel was also guilty of it. In fact, Dylan, guy that they met up, she was like, this guy's so shady. The guy that police kind of feel like they ruled out. Apparently he and Angel had had a little fling after she met him down at the treasure hunter.

• 26:13Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 26:14Speaker 03

  Sounds like it was brief, but that might be because Angel set her sights on someone else. The year prior, back in 2017, 44 year old Angel was in a car accident that required her to start some physical therapy. She met a 37 year old therapist named Isaac Melcher. And as the two worked together, Angel said her pain wasn't getting any better. So Isaac recommended a treatment called dry needling. It's kind of like acupuncture. So it's a closed door kind of thing. And it was behind those closed doors that this relationship blossomed. She began telling him intimate details of her life. She started sending him naked pictures. And soon this conversation turned into we're having a full blown affair.

• 26:59Speaker 03

  By the way, Isaac also had a wife and three kids of his own at the time. But it wasn't long until Angel and Isaac began having sex, meeting up about three times a week. And most of them were during these treatments. Now then came January of 2018. This is eight months before Milton's death. That is when Angel went to Isaac to say she no longer would be going to therapy because Milton believed she was having an affair with him. Which she was, like Milton wasn't wrong.

• 27:28Garrett Moreland?

  He was right. Yeah.

• 27:30Speaker 03

  This didn't put a stop to things. They kept finding new and creative ways to see each other outside of like going to therapy. And by May, they were really testing the boundaries. When Angel told Isaac that she and her family were going to a particular beach that afternoon. She's like, you just bring your family there too. And that day, together with their families, they literally walked past one another and.

• 27:54Speaker 03

  Milton notices, obviously, like he knows who Isaac is.

• 27:57Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah.

• 27:57Speaker 03

  Milton doesn't say anything that day, but the following Tuesday, Milton's daughter called Isaac's office and said, hey, you better watch out. My father's gonna come into your office and confront you like he knows what's going on. He's angry. And that's when Isaac called the police. And an officer went down to Milton's store to say, yeah, don't go to his office and confront him. Maybe don't do that. Now, what's weird is after this, Angel just sort of ghosts Isaac. Like, almost like all this drama had been too much and she was like, okay, I'm just done.

• 28:32Garrett Moreland?

  She's over it, okay.

• 28:33Speaker 03

  Throughout June, two months before the murder, he tries to get in touch with her through Facebook. She doesn't respond. And then he calls her using the office phone line. He's like, hey, I still love you. And finally, by the end of that month, Angel was coming back around. And that's when Isaac told her he was willing to leave his wife and kids for her and would take her away from Milton.

• 28:54Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, no. This, this never works.

• 28:57Speaker 03

  So honestly, pretty quickly, police learn about this affair. They kind of already knew. They realize, uh,

• 29:03Garrett Moreland?

  There's some motive going on.

• 29:04Speaker 03

  Yes. Isaac, we need to look into him. But when they do, they find out this guy is totally clean. His wife and kids, a good job. He's involved with the church. He has no criminal record. Plus, Angel says she's pretty positive that Isaac was not the man who came into her home and attacked her and killed her husband. Still, they try to track Isaac down. And when they speak to him, he claims there was no affair. He tells police, I don't know what you're talking about. There was no contact between me and Angel. It was all professional.

• 29:32Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, no. Cause he was trying to hide it from his wife.

• 29:34Speaker 03

  He also says he was home the night of the murder with his wife and kids. He only left for a short window to go to Walmart because he spilled water on his phone and needed a new one. Which is why police aren't even able to take a peek at his old cellphone because he had thrown it out.

• 29:51Garrett Moreland?

  All right. Well, red flags all over the place.

• 29:54Speaker 03

  Anytime someone has an issue with their phone, this is gonna look suspicious in a murder case.

• 29:58Garrett Moreland?

  Yep.

• 29:59Speaker 03

  But it gets worse. Shortly after this brief conversation with police, Isaac actually leaves North Carolina. He goes to Oregon, where he's originally from, to visit his mother. And it's there, on the opposite side of the country, that the truth finally does start to emerge.

• 30:16Garrett Moreland?

  It's crazy. If he would have just been like, yeah, we had an affair, yada, yada, yada, but I didn't do anything, the police probably would have dropped it.

• 30:25Payton Moreland?

  Would have been less suspicious. Yeah.

• 30:26Garrett Moreland?

  And they probably wouldn't have looked into him anymore.

• 30:28Payton Moreland?

  Right. It's the denial when literally Isaac-

• 30:31Garrett Moreland?

  And then moving out of the state.

• 30:33Payton Moreland?

  Had called police and said, hey, Milton's gonna come down to my store.

• 30:36Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, that's crazy.

• 30:36Payton Moreland?

  I used to think a camera or video doorbell was home security. And then I realized those can only record a break in. They literally can't stop one. And that is the difference with Simply Safe. When an intruder steps onto your property, Simply Safe's AI-powered cameras detect the threat and alert a live US-based agent who can then intervene to stop them before they even get into your door. Because it's not my house or valuables that I'm even worried about. It's a stranger getting anywhere close to the people I love. And I'm obviously taking this way more seriously now, which I already did, but now more than ever with a baby on the way. Like I said, unlike traditional security cameras, they only alert you after a break in. Simply Safe is built to

• 31:21Payton Moreland?

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• 32:02Payton Moreland?

  ahead of crime and in real time. Guys, I'm not sure if I have talked about this, but I have been put on an extremely restrictive diet while being pregnant. And you know what has helped me so much? Hungry Root. I know, I know, you knew that was coming. It is so nice to be able to still shop, but get on and put in my preferences, put exactly what I'm looking for, pick out- Recipes that fit my dietary restrictions. I love Hungry Root. We've actually been using them since like, I think 2022 was when I first started using them. That was before they were even a sponsor of the show. Okay. If you've never checked it out, you're interested in online grocery

• 32:46Payton Moreland?

  delivery that has quality products. I'm talking healthier alternatives. They're very transparent with what is in the ingredients. You can trust that what you're getting from Hungry Root is top notch. It completely changes the way of shopping and also for me has really helped ease my mind when it comes to this new diet. So you're gonna love Hungry Root as much as I do. For a limited time, you can get 40% off your first order plus get a free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com/husband and use code HUSBAND for that, you guys. That is hungryroot.com/husband code HUSBAND to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. So while Isaac

• 33:31Payton Moreland?

  is in Oregon, he calls his former youth pastor turned dairy farmer, a man named Louis Kazamir. And he says, hey, I'm in town. Can we meet up for a bit? The two are very close. The pastor said he saw Isaac as his own son. Didn't seem odd. That was until he actually lays eyes on Isaac and he says he looks broken. According to the pastor, Isaac is slumped over, his eyes are shifting. So Louis invites him into his backyard because Isaac says he has something that he needs to discuss with him in private. And that's when he tells Louis, hey, I had an affair. I'm in love. And I may have strangled her husband to death.

• 34:10Garrett Moreland?

  Oh my gosh.

• 34:12Payton Moreland?

  But Isaac also tells the pastor something too. He said Angel had told him that Milton was abusive and was going to kill either of them if he found out about the affair.

• 34:21Garrett Moreland?

  I don't know if I don't believe this right now.

• 34:23Payton Moreland?

  So Isaac basically confesses to murder, but then tells his pastor, I'm basically like the knight in shining armor.

• 34:31Garrett Moreland?

  Oh my gosh, dude. Get out of here.

• 34:33Payton Moreland?

  I saved Angel from her monstrous husband.

• 34:36Speaker 03

  Now, I want to say this abuse was never confirmed to be true. So after Isaac leaves that day, Louis is like, okay, yeah, I know that this is like my son and I'm a pat like was his youth pastor.

• 34:49Garrett Moreland?

  He just killed somebody.

• 34:50Speaker 03

  I gotta call police. Like, I'm not just gonna keep this a secret. So he gets in touch with the sheriff's department dealing with the case back in North Carolina. And he's like, hey, Isaac just came to my house and confessed to murdering his mistress's husband. And right away, officers hop on a plane to Oregon. They meet up with Louis and that's when they ask him for his help one more time. They are gonna try to catch Isaac, but they need him to get that confession on tape. They're like, hey, if he's already confessed to you once, invite him over, we'll record it and get him talking about it again. So over the next few days, Louis agrees to record three different phone calls with Isaac. And Isaac tells him a similar story. He confesses to Milton's murder. He says that he believed he was helping Angel, that he was in love with her. And he adds, quote,

• 35:33Speaker 06

  I reached the place where I asked the devil to help me. Yes, because I knew that I had to fully turn my back on God to this.

• 35:42Speaker 03

  I reached the place where I asked the devil to help me.

• 35:47Garrett Moreland?

  What is up?

• 35:48Speaker 03

  Because I, because I knew I had to fully turn my back on God to be able to do this. Oh, and by the way, Isaac's wife,

• 35:56Garrett Moreland?

  Freak.

• 35:57Speaker 03

  Darlene is actually on the line during one of these phone calls, apparently hearing all of this for the first time.

• 36:03Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, for the first time? I thought you meant that she had been like, okay with it.

• 36:06Speaker 03

  No.

• 36:06Garrett Moreland?

  Okay.

• 36:07Speaker 03

  But Isaac makes a few more explosive statements during these recordings.

• 36:14Speaker 03

  He didn't want to turn himself in because there was evidence of premeditation. That if he got away with it, he still wanted to be with Angel. His wife hears this part too. And he says, Angel, help me plan this whole thing.

• 36:27Garrett Moreland?

  Holy crap.

• 36:28Speaker 03

  She was in on it. I didn't do this alone. He claimed that there was no other way out, according to Angel. Milton would never let her go. Divorce was not an option and the only way forward was killing him. Now with these taped confessions as evidence, police arrested Isaac Melcher on August 21st. This is 19 days after Milton's murder. He was charged with first degree murder and they arrest Angel Sawyer with the exact same charges.

• 36:53Garrett Moreland?

  Super curious where this goes because.

• 36:56Speaker 03

  How do you prove this?

• 36:58Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, how do you prove it?

• 36:58Speaker 03

  Right.

• 36:59Garrett Moreland?

  Proving this is so hard.

• 37:01Speaker 03

  Now, as they're both awaiting trial, obviously more details start to come to light. We see this often in cases. Like exactly how the murder plan was set in motion in the weeks before Milton died. Turns out about a month before the murder back in July. Isaac began talking to Angel about killing her husband. By this point, Isaac had already committed to leaving his wife, was preparing for separation. And while he kept asking Angel to do the same, she told him she couldn't. She was too afraid of what Milton might do. So when Isaac spoke about a way to get rid of him for good, he says she willingly went along with it. They talked about mixing Milton's medication with alcohol, trying to fake an overdose.

• 37:41Speaker 03

  And at one point, Angel apparently even tried to do this, but it only made Milton sleep till noon the following day.

• 37:48Garrett Moreland?

  Do, do, is any of this over text? Is it all phone calls? Do they have proof of it, like texting each other or no?

• 37:56Speaker 03

  I don't think they have messages because I think they would have come up in reporting. Um, but I think this is all just based on interrogations, them talking to police. Now, after the yard sale where Angel got annoyed with Milton for publicly listing their address on Facebook. She's like, wait, this is perfect. She told Isaac he could pretend to be a burglar and rob them because he got their address off Facebook. And then he could kill Milton in the process. The thing was, they never actually set a date for the plan. But on August 1st, Isaac was ready to go. He had already had a bag prepared with duct tape, rags, bottles of alcohol, a pistol.

• 38:38Speaker 03

  And then he used a key that Angel had set out by the back door in anticipation.

• 38:44Garrett Moreland?

  Okay, there's the key.

• 38:45Speaker 03

  They didn't set a date, but she was like, while talking about the plans, like, oh yeah, I put a key out there for when this happens.

• 38:54Garrett Moreland?

  That's so diabolical.

• 38:56Speaker 03

  So, the day comes, he breaks in, he goes into the bedroom, forced Milton into the bathroom, put him in a chokehold until he stopped breathing. Then he and Angel grabbed cash from Milton's nightstand, emptied her jewelry stand to make it look realistic. And after that, Angel smacked her own head on the table to make it look like she'd been beaten up. I just, okay, I think about this often when we cover cases where someone is staging.

• 39:22Speaker 03

  And like has to hurt them like at some point like think she's standing there before she's about to swing her head is there a part of her that's like what am I doing?

• 39:30Garrett Moreland?

  No, I think there's so much adrenaline and just other emotions going on. I bet you doesn't even cross their mind.

• 39:37Speaker 03

  Like you're so far in deep that you're willingly gonna smash your head into a table.

• 39:41Garrett Moreland?

  For sure. Yeah, you're playing the part at that point. I think so. I mean, it's wild. I couldn't do it.

• 39:45Speaker 03

  If I was there, I mean, I would never get to this point, but if I was at that point before swinging my head into the table, I would probably laugh because I'd be like, how insane is this? Like, this is actually crazy.

• 39:57Garrett Moreland?

  It's so insane.

• 39:59Speaker 03

  I'm just like, oh, my gosh, you had every opportunity to just stop. Okay, so she smashes her head into the table. Apparently before that, she actually had Isaac hit her too, though she said it wasn't hard enough. Then she ran to the neighbor's house, claimed an intruder had robbed them, hurt her husband. You know where the story goes from there. Now, when Angel is confronted with this entire thing, she tells police, yeah, I did know about the plan. She's like, I did know, like Isaac had told me he wanted to kill my husband, but he also threatened to kill me if I ever spoke about it. And she's like, so it's not really all it's claiming to be like Isaac was just really greedy. He wanted me to himself.

• 40:37Garrett Moreland?

  I just don't believe it. I don't believe it.

• 40:39Speaker 03

  And so she's not taking Isaac's side on this. She's kind of throwing him under the bus. Now, ultimately, Isaac agreed to a deal. He was willing to testify against Angel in court in exchange for a lesser sentence. He pleaded guilty to the lighter charge of second degree murder and was given 20 years in prison. But Angel would have her date in court also in September of 2021.

• 41:00Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, I'm, I mean, I'm glad he went to jail. Obviously, I'm really curious what happened to Angel, though.

• 41:06Speaker 03

  Here's the thing about these cases that always shock me when it is like a love triangle case. Every time they go to trial, this love, this relationship that they killed for.

• 41:18Garrett Moreland?

  Oh, falls apart.

• 41:19Speaker 03

  They testify against each. I'm like, was that really worth it? Like, it was, it was enough to kill someone, but now at trial?

• 41:26Garrett Moreland?

  It makes sense. Like when push comes to shove, can they actually handle it?

• 41:29Speaker 03

  No, I'm like, it really, it obviously wasn't a love worth fighting for.

• 41:33Garrett Moreland?

  Yeah, exactly.

• 41:35Speaker 03

  So after hearing Isaac's testimony.

• 41:39Speaker 03

  His relationship with Angel, how she'd given him her perfume, lotion and jewelry, the night of the murder and left a key. The jury didn't need very long to decide her role in it. It took them just 20 minutes to come back with a verdict for her trial.

• 41:53Garrett Moreland?

  Thank goodness.

• 41:54Speaker 03

  Angel Sawyer was also guilty of first degree murder, sentenced to life behind bars. And what became clear was Angel didn't just take Milton's life. She broke his heart. For a time, she stole his reputation. I mean, no one ever confirmed the details Angel shared with Isaac about domestic abuse. No one ever came forward to say the threats he made against Angel were valid, that she, you know, he would kill them.

• 42:19Garrett Moreland?

  Dude, they all have kids.

• 42:22Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 42:23Garrett Moreland?

  Like, that is so messed up. Angel has kids. Her kids don't have a mom now because her mom's evil. Isaac has kids.

• 42:29Speaker 03

  They have kids together.

• 42:30Garrett Moreland?

  Their kids don't have a dad. Yeah, they don't have a dad now because the dad's evil.

• 42:34Speaker 03

  And Isaac has a wife.

• 42:36Garrett Moreland?

  Milton had kids.

• 42:37Speaker 03

  Isaac has a wife who now has to raise her kids alone because her husband killed his mistress's husband.

• 42:42Garrett Moreland?

  Milton's kids grow up without a dad because someone decided to kill him.

• 42:47Speaker 03

  And here's the thing.

• 42:48Garrett Moreland?

  Insane.

• 42:49Speaker 03

  Garrett said this earlier. Everyone has skeletons in their closet. Everyone has made mistakes. Milton made mistakes. And you know what this case did? Not only did they kill Milton, they put all of his mistakes on display for people.

• 43:03Garrett Moreland?

  Which sucks because we're all human.

• 43:05Speaker 03

  Right. So people now don't remember Milton as this man who always said hello to you, who asked how your family was, how your kids were doing, who remembered little details of conversations. The man who was always smiling, who was in love with his wife, who would have done anything to make her happy. They now have this tainted view of him, of this case that has spilled over. But as we know, none of this, Milton, was enough for Angel Sawyer. She wanted it all so badly, she ended up losing it all, including a man that everyone really did love. And that is the murder story of Milton Sawyer.

• 43:42Garrett Moreland?

  Once again, like we always say, there's just so many people involved with cases like this. Like, combined, there's like 10 kids alone that are involved.

• 43:51Speaker 03

  Love triangle cases always just... I'm like, dude, if you had just taken like gone to therapy. Like this motive that seems so intense in the moment.

• 44:01Garrett Moreland?

  Just leave your significant other instead of killing somebody.

• 44:03Speaker 03

  Like it literally would go away.

• 44:06Garrett Moreland?

  We don't need to kill people. If you care about your affair that much, just move on.

• 44:11Speaker 03

  Just leave.

• 44:12Garrett Moreland?

  Leave.

• 44:13Speaker 03

  Like if you want to be together, just, and I know that's easier said than done, but like.

• 44:16Garrett Moreland?

  Go for it.

• 44:17Speaker 03

  It's easier than killing someone in my opinion.

• 44:19Garrett Moreland?

  But I think they get to a point where it's like.

• 44:22Speaker 03

  They're delusional.

• 44:22Garrett Moreland?

  Killing someone is easier.

• 44:24Speaker 03

  Yeah. And that's why I'm saying like these love affair things. I'm like, it is always so pointless.

• 44:29Garrett Moreland?

  Wild.

• 44:29Speaker 03

  All right, you guys, that is our episode for today and we will see you next time with another one. I love it.

• 44:35Garrett Moreland?

  I hate it.

• 44:36Speaker 03

  Goodbye.

• 44:45Speaker 01

  Welcome to the 50th Hunger Games.

• 44:47Speaker 02

  Witness the beginning of the revolution.

• 44:49Speaker 01

  Hey Mitch, you've been trying to take down these games from the start.

• 44:52Speaker 02

  Film for IMAX.

• 44:53Speaker 01

  Make them remember you.

• 44:56Speaker 02

  The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Weeping, November 20th, made in PG 13.