Shelly Michael: Nurse, Wife, and Killer Pt. 1

In Morgantown, West Virginia, pediatric nurse practitioner Shelly Michael appeared to have built the perfect life: a successful career, a beautiful home, and a blended family. But beneath that polished surface, she was carrying on a secret affair and quietly laying the groundwork for her husband Jimmy's murder. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Serial Killers & Murderous Minds to never miss a case! Want all 2 parts of every case all at once? Join Crime House+ and get both parts of each case dropped together on Monday ad-free. Join atcrimehouseplus.com http://crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. Serial Killers & Murderous Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. 🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of Reddit, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House 24/7, and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse https://www.instagram.com/crimehouse/TikTok: @Crimehouse https://www.tiktok.com/@crimehouseFacebook: @crimehousestudios https://www.facebook.com/crimehousestudiosYouTube: @crimehousestudios https://www.youtube.com/@crimehousestudios

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

• 0:01Vanessa Richardson?

  Hi, everyone. Before today's episode, there's another show I want to tell you about. It's called What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum and Carter Roy. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Plus Connor's infectious energy that'll make you realize history is the most fascinating thing on earth. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod.

• 0:36Speaker 01

  This is Crime House.

• 0:42Vanessa Richardson?

  Most of us spend our lives moving towards something bigger, a better job, a nicer house, a greater love or stronger friendships. We'll often tell ourselves that once we reach the next milestone, we'll finally feel fulfilled. But in many cases, the finish line keeps moving. And no matter how much success, love or stability a person builds, it's never enough. In Morgantown, West Virginia, Shelley Michael appeared to have everything she'd longed for: a successful career, a beautiful home, and a devoted husband and family, the kind of life people dream of. But beneath the seemingly flawless surface, that carefully constructed life was beginning to crack,

• 1:27Vanessa Richardson?

  revealing that Shelley was capable not only of living a secret life, but of murder.

• 1:48Vanessa Richardson?

  The human mind is powerful. It shapes how we think, feel, love and hate. But sometimes it drives people to commit the unthinkable. This is Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, a Crime House original. I'm Vanessa Richardson.

• 2:02Tristin Engels?

  And I'm forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Ingles. Every Monday and Thursday, we uncover the darkest minds in history, analyzing what makes a killer.

• 2:12Vanessa Richardson?

  Crime House exists because of listeners like you. Want even more? Join Crime House Plus and get both parts of every story dropped on the same Monday, completely ad-free. No waiting three days for part two, plus Crime House bonus episodes every month. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com. Or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap "Try Free" at the top of the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds page. Before we get started, be advised, this episode contains descriptions of domestic violence, sexual assault and murder. So please listen with care. Today, we begin our deep dive into Shelley Michael, a respected pediatric nurse practitioner who would go on to carry out

• 2:55Vanessa Richardson?

  one of West Virginia's most shocking murders. Behind her polished, successful image, she was living a double life, one she would ultimately kill to protect.

• 3:05Tristin Engels?

  And as Vanessa goes through the story, I'll be talking about things like how some violent offenders come to believe the life they have is no longer enough, how deception can reshape relationships and even end up fueling criminal behavior, and why some offenders convince themselves that they can control the consequences of their actions.

• 3:26Vanessa Richardson?

  And as always, we'll be asking the question, what makes a killer?

• 3:36Vanessa Richardson?

  From a very young age, Shelley Michael was determined to succeed. She was the first child of two, born on January 29, 1972, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Her parents worked hard to provide for their family, her mother Kathy as an office manager, and her father owned his own refrigeration business. Since they both worked long hours, the family relied on nannies to watch Shelley and her younger sister Jennifer. But although their parents were busy people, the girls were surrounded by family, their paternal grandparents, two aunts and an uncle, all lived in the neighborhood. The girls grew up playing outside with their cousins. As a young girl, Shelley was energetic and bright, always ready to play and make new friends. But her life took a dark turn

• 4:21Vanessa Richardson?

  when she was nine years old and a male family friend sexually assaulted her. Although she hadn't done anything wrong, Shelley felt deeply ashamed of what had happened. And so she decided she wouldn't tell anyone about it. She did her best to appear happy on the outside. And that same year, when she was nine, she started cheerleading. She loved the applause and having all eyes on her. By the time Shelley was in junior high, cheerleading was her life. During high school, she also served on student council, the yearbook committee and the National Honor Society, all while maintaining straight A's. By the time she was 18, she was voted most likely to succeed by her classmates. But while she continued to excel,

• 5:05Vanessa Richardson?

  Shelley still felt deeply insecure. She struggled with low self-esteem and didn't see herself as the pretty and popular girl everyone else saw. Her younger sister Jennifer would get rare glimpses of this vulnerability. But she also resented always being in Shelley's shadow. And so Jennifer and the rest of the people in Shelley's orbit continued to see the smart, popular, athletic and driven young woman, while Shelley kept deep inside the version of herself that was insecure and hungry for affection and admiration.

• 5:38Tristin Engels?

  So based on what you've described, Shelley had parents who were hardworking and busy. And as a result, it's likely impossible that their emotional availability may have been more limited. And that doesn't mean that they were neglectful or doing anything that was inherently wrong. Many loving parents rely on nannies or extended family to help raise their children. As the saying goes, "It takes a village." But unfortunately, children don't measure love by how hard their parents worked to provide for them because they don't have the capacity to understand that. Instead, they tend to experience love through consistency, emotional connection and feeling seen. So if, for example, Shelley wasn't consistently feeling seen by her parents or others, or even more concerning,

• 6:23Tristin Engels?

  the time she did feel seen was through abuse, that could have shaped how she viewed herself and where and how she looked for reassurance. So that's one possible explanation for why external validation may have become so important to her. In the absence of getting validation at home, she could have been seeking reassurance elsewhere that she had value and worth. And although praise, admiration and achievement can temporarily soothe self-doubt or insecurity, it's not what necessarily creates lasting worth. Understanding boundaries, self-compassion and self-trust are the foundations needed for that.

• 6:59Vanessa Richardson?

  How do you think that childhood sexual abuse Shelley faced could have factored into her need for validation?

• 7:05Tristin Engels?

  While she was sexually abused at nine years old, there's a lot that's going on developmentally to start. So according to Eric Erickson's theory of psychosocial development, Shelley is in the industry versus inferiority stage. And this is critical for building self-esteem and confidence. So if she or anyone, for that matter, fails to successfully navigate this stage, the crisis would be a lasting sense of inferiority or inadequacy. And according to attachment theorists like John Bowlby, children at around age nine are developing internal working models or mental maps on how primary caregivers treat them. So this is about whether they view themselves worthy of love or if the world is safe or a dangerous place. And at age nine,

• 7:50Tristin Engels?

  Shelley was sexually assaulted by a family friend, someone who is supposed to be trusted by her. Being sexually assaulted will have a profound impact no matter what. But being aged nine is particularly significant because it disrupts those developmental foundations that she was already working through. And rather than reinforcing confidence, trust and a sense of safety, a traumatic incident like this can likely alter or influence how she understood herself or other people and the safety of relationships as well.

• 8:24Vanessa Richardson?

  Even as Shelley tried to present herself as the sharp, successful girl everyone admired, she was still a teenager, capable of making impulsive decisions. She'd do typical teen things, like say she was going to the library and instead head over to her boyfriend's house to hang out. But one time, she was caught shoplifting. She was at a local mall with her friends and she was the one carrying the bag with their stolen clothes. Although in the end, she wasn't prosecuted for the offense. But another time, her mom caught her drunk. Shelley wasn't punished legally, but the next day, her mom made her work outside in 90-degree heat. Shelley was still living with the shame of what had happened to her as a child. She'd never told her family

• 9:07Vanessa Richardson?

  because of her conservative values when it came to sex. So she was likely afraid of being judged. But still, Shelley maintained her near-perfect grades. And in May 1990, she graduated as salutatorian with honors. After high school, she enrolled at the West Virginia University in Morgantown so she could stay close to home. It was less than 40 miles from her hometown of Clarksburg. The transition wasn't easy, though. The campus was sprawling and Morgantown was a lot bigger than Clarksburg. But Shelley found her footing like she always did. She was studying nursing with a minor in child development. She loved kids and had always wanted to work with them. She also had plans to try out to be a cheerleader in college, but life threw a wrench at her before that could happen.

• 9:53Vanessa Richardson?

  In February 1992, when Shelley was 20, she started dating a classmate named Bruce. He was in the Air Force Reserve. And a few months into the relationship, she found out she was pregnant. It was a shock and she knew her parents would want her to marry Bruce, which she would be happy to do. But he told her he wasn't ready to be a father or a husband. Still, Shelley kept her baby. And on April 17, 1992, she gave birth to a boy, Alec. This hadn't been her plan, but she was thrilled to become a mother. However, a couple months later, Shelley and Bruce broke up. He'd been supportive and would be in Alec's life. Shelley didn't let the breakup slow her down.

• 10:37Vanessa Richardson?

  Her mom came to Morgantown to help her with Alec while Shelley continued her studies. She even finally tried out for the cheerleading team and she made it onto the squad. Between her studies, cheerleading and caring for Alec, Shelley didn't have much time to date or expand her social circle. But in early 1994, she met a fellow student named Rob Angus at a local restaurant. Shelley caught Rob's eye and he asked her out on a date. She didn't feel an immediate spark, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. So she said yes. But one date became another and Rob started growing on her. She found him charming and eventually the pair blossomed into a serious relationship, especially after she saw Rob bond with her son Alec,

• 11:22Vanessa Richardson?

  who was now a toddler.

• 11:25Vanessa Richardson?

  It was around this time that Alec's father and Shelley's ex, Bruce, had a change of heart. He said he wanted to be a proper family and asked Shelley to marry him. Whether the change of heart was sparked by Shelley's new relationship or just by a coincidence, Shelley turned him down. She cared about Rob and thought he actually could be the father figure her son needed. By the summertime of 1994, Shelley and Rob were engaged. The two were still in college, and not long after, Shelley became pregnant with her second baby. It's not clear whether or not Shelley wanted to keep the baby, but Rob made the final decision, saying it wasn't a good time to have another child. Shelley listened to him

• 12:06Vanessa Richardson?

  and got an abortion. It was a challenging time for Shelley, and she immediately felt the shift in their relationship. As the arguments and fighting became constant, Shelley started to wonder if Rob's kind and caring demeanor had all been an act. But still, the wedding plans moved forward.

• 12:25Tristin Engels?

  Research suggests that individuals who rely heavily on external validation often derive a significant portion of their self-worth from the approval and reassurance of others. And one attachment pattern commonly associated with this is anxious attachment. That doesn't mean everyone who seeks validation has an anxious attachment style, and certainly I can't say whether Shelley did. I've never met her, nor have I evaluated her. But generally speaking, individuals with an anxious attachment style often become preoccupied with their relationships. They seek frequent reassurance within them. They're highly sensitive to signs of rejection or shifting moods, and they engage in people-pleasing behaviors

• 13:06Tristin Engels?

  to maintain their closeness with their partner. And they may also prioritize the needs of them over their own because the relationship itself becomes closely tied to their own sense of security or self-worth. There may have already been some hints of that with Shelley's behavior. For example, when she went shoplifting and carried the bags for her friends. And of course, that could simply be normal adolescent peer pressure as well. But the same applies about her decision to have an abortion with Rob. When she didn't previously want one with Bruce, it could be her desire to preserve her relationship with Rob because choosing to have one previously did not preserve her relationship in the

• 13:48Tristin Engels?

  past with Bruce. And at the same time, it could have just been a decision that she decided to make for herself for other reasons as well. We don't know what she wanted or valued at this point, so it's difficult to tell without her sharing herself. But instead, right now, they look like isolated decisions. However, if they were part of a broader, consistent, and clear pattern of sacrificing her own judgment, values, or needs to preserve relationships or to gain acceptance from others, then I would be a little bit more concerned that it's related to her attachment style.

• 14:26Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, it's totally normal to dream about the future life you're building with someone, but Shelley seems to be ignoring some red flags here. I mean, do you think she's growing more attached to the idea of Rob than to the actual Rob himself?

• 14:40Tristin Engels?

  I think that's really possible. People don't just attach to the person, they attach to what they imagine with that person as well. And once they become like invested in that future, they can be more likely to minimize or rationalize or even overlook the red flags or concerning behavior because they don't want to accept the possible loss of that future. And like you said, she thought Rob would make a great father figure for her son. And so she might be attached to this idea of a family or security or stability, and that's what she's holding on to.

• 15:15Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, the wedding invitations had already gone out. Plans were made, and above all, Alec loved Rob. So Shelley decided to go through with the wedding, despite even her own sister Jennifer urging her to call it off, given how volatile things were. And around this same time, Shelley experienced another traumatic sexual encounter while traveling with the West Virginia University Cheerleading Squad. Just as she had, after the abuse she experienced as a child, Shelley didn't tell anyone. Instead, she buried what had happened and carried on with the life she'd already started building. On July 22, 1995, 23-year-old Shelley married Rob Angus at the Immaculate Conception Catholic

• 15:57Vanessa Richardson?

  Church in Clarksburg. Alec, now two and a half years old, wore a tuxedo and carried the rings. Soon after the wedding, Rob officially adopted Alec. Shelley's dream of having her own little family was coming true. But it wouldn't be long until their marriage started to fall apart. Their anger and fights would escalate into violence from both sides. The resentment grew so much that Shelley felt herself begin to hate Rob, especially since the fights were often right in front of Alec. She didn't want him to witness that. Still, to everyone outside of their home, everything seemed perfectly fine. Shelley made sure to keep up a pristine image, and around Christmas of that year, she got pregnant again. This

• 16:41Vanessa Richardson?

  time, she would keep her baby. She tried to get Rob to go to marriage counseling so they could work on their relationship, but he refused. And so they kept up the facade of the perfect American family while things were crumbling behind the scenes. On October 3, 1996, Shelley gave birth to a baby girl, Kylie, and by the next year, after seven years of studying, Shelley graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor's degree in nursing and a minor in child development. She was so proud and excited to finally be a registered nurse. Shortly after, she started working at the university's hospital in the pediatric intensive care unit. It seemed like a perfect fit. At work, Shelley

• 17:25Vanessa Richardson?

  still had that cheerleader energy, and her new colleagues noticed. But they didn't all like it. Some even side-eyed her as they thought she was flirting with everyone, trying to get their attention. But there was one person who found Shelley's energy charming, a respiratory therapist named Jimmy Michael. He was just three weeks younger than Shelley and was also married. They clicked instantly and soon went from hospital colleagues to good friends. Like Shelley, Jimmy was also unhappy in his marriage. He and his wife Stephanie had two young children, and Stephanie also worked at Ruby Memorial Hospital, occasionally sharing shifts with Shelley. One night, the two women found themselves chatting during a lull

• 18:10Vanessa Richardson?

  at work. As the conversation drifted to their lives outside of work, Shelley mentioned that she and Rob were living in a city-owned home connected to his job. She admitted she hated living there and wanted to move somewhere else. Stephanie responded by mentioning that she and Jimmy had recently bought a beautiful new home for their family. At the news, Shelley's ears immediately perked up. She could picture it, a bigger house, a fresh start, the kind of life she'd been chasing for years, one she thought Jimmy could give her. The idea of a future with him was intriguing to Shelley. She liked his family and his faith, and she enjoyed spending time with him, especially since at home, she was only

• 18:52Vanessa Richardson?

  met with anger and fights. And so as her marriage continued to deteriorate with no end in sight, she saw Jimmy as an exit plan.

• 19:03Tristin Engels?

  We were just talking about how Shelley was future-oriented. She had already imagined a life with Rob, the marriage, stability, and the dream of her own little family, as you said. We also talked about how that imagined future likely became part of why she remained so invested in the relationship, despite the fact that there was significant conflict and how that conflict was actually being drawn out in front of Alec. But when she met Jimmy, clearly something shifted. I think that shift was due to her being able, for the first time, to envision achieving that same future, or perhaps even a better version of it, with someone else. And I think Jimmy may have represented a fresh start, but a

• 19:48Tristin Engels?

  fast one, too. Just as people can become attached to the future, they imagine they can also become attached to what a person symbolizes. At this point, Shelley had spent seven years earning her undergraduate degree. She was raising two children, trying to hold her family together, asking her husband to go to couples therapy and watching him refuse. From her perspective, she may have felt as though she was working incredibly hard but not getting anywhere. And then she meets Jimmy. He has the home, he has the family, the stability, and the life that she had been working toward for years. Whether her perception was realistic is a whole other question. But psychologically, Jimmy may have

• 20:32Tristin Engels?

  actually represented progress to her and the life that she was working toward.

• 20:37Vanessa Richardson?

  Shelley clearly feels stuck and unhappy in her marriage and her life. If somebody feels that way, how can they tell whether they're moving towards something they genuinely want or just trying to escape what they have?

• 20:49Tristin Engels?

  That's a really good question because I think so many people can relate in different ways with different experiences, not just relationally. And one exercise I like to borrow from solution-focused therapy is the miracle question. I use this a lot in my private practice. Traditionally, it asks you to imagine that you wake up tomorrow and overnight, by some miracle, the problem, whatever it is, has been solved. What would be different? What would your life look like? Applied here, I would ask, if you woke up tomorrow and your current relationship was exactly what you had always hoped it would be, so

• 21:30Tristin Engels?

  for example, it's safe, it's loving, supportive, respectful, would you still want to be with this new person and risk your marriage? If the answer is yes, then you're probably moving towards something you genuinely want. If the answer is no, or you're not sure, you may be wanting to escape your current situation. Another useful question in this particular situation is, if this new person, in this case Jimmy, didn't represent a fresh start or an escape from your current marriage, would you still choose him? That question encourages people to separate the person from what we imagine life with that person could be. None of these questions are going to really tell you the answer, but they can

• 22:14Tristin Engels?

  tell you the underlying needs that might be influencing your decision. And that's why I love the miracle question, because it helps people identify those underlying needs, the subconscious ones.

• 22:26Vanessa Richardson?

  By the end of the 1990s, Shelley knew she wanted to leave Rob, and for the first time in years, she was making decisions based on what she wanted, rather than what others expected of her. But her self-indulgence quickly spiraled out of control, because soon Shelley would begin a relationship that would change the course of her life, and eventually place her at the center of a murder investigation.

• 22:58Vanessa Richardson?

  By the end of the 1990s, Shelley Michael was trying to get out of her strained marriage. Years earlier, she'd married Rob Angus. Rob had adopted Shelley's seven-year-old son Alec, and together, they were raising their three-year-old daughter Kylie. But despite the family they'd built, their marriage was becoming increasingly volatile. Shelley had also started a new job as a registered nurse at Ruby Memorial Hospital, where she met Jimmy Michael, a respiratory therapist and father of two. At first, the two were simply coworkers and friends, but the relationship soon developed into an affair. Their partners had grown suspicious, and by the end of 1998, both Stephanie and Rob knew the truth.

• 23:41Vanessa Richardson?

  By the spring of 1999, each couple had filed for divorce. The months that followed were messy and painful as their families were forced to confront the consequences of what had happened. Both couples shared custody of their children, and Shelley moved into the new house that had once belonged to Stephanie. But amid the pain and suffering the affair had caused, Shelley felt like this was the beginning of a bright new future for her. For years, she'd imagined a different life, and now she had the chance to build it. In March of the year 2000, about six months after finalizing his divorce, Jimmy proposed to Shelley, and the two were engaged. Two months later, on May 26th, they were married.

• 24:25Vanessa Richardson?

  To add salt to the wound, Stephanie and Shelley still shared shifts at the hospital. Whether Shelley was oblivious or just didn't care, she continued to focus on her blended family. Her kids, Alec and Kylie, along with Jimmy's kids Drew, who was five, and J.C., who was three. Together, they became involved in the routines of family and community life, children's activities, church, and sports. And just as Shelley had predicted, Jimmy was full of ambition. Before long, he left the hospital, took out hefty loans, and launched his own home medical equipment company, Mountaineer Home Medical. Shelley admired that drive. To her, it reinforced what she'd believed from the beginning,

• 25:09Vanessa Richardson?

  that Jimmy was someone who would keep building a bigger and better future for them. And Shelley wasn't content to stand still either. Determined to keep advancing her own career, she stepped away from full-time work and enrolled in a master's program in nursing, with the goal of eventually becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner. But as the years passed, the milestones that had once felt so exciting seemed to lose their shine. Shelley found herself looking toward the next thing she believed would finally make her happy. In 2002, that "next thing" became a new house. Shelley started pushing Jimmy to move, insisting they'd outgrown their current one and needed to be closer to the kids' schools.

• 25:53Vanessa Richardson?

  She had her heart set on a four-bedroom house in Suncrest, one of the most desirable local neighborhoods. But every time Jimmy told her they couldn't afford it, she would fight him. He felt the pressure, and Shelley wasn't gonna budge. And so eventually, he gave in and bought the house. For Shelley, it was proof that her plan was working, that a second marriage and a blended family could succeed. Finally, she had everything she wanted, a stable, successful, picture-perfect family. For a moment, she truly had it all.

• 26:29Tristin Engels?

  There's a psychological concept called the hedonic treadmill, along with something known as the arrival fallacy. The hedonic treadmill refers to our tendency to adapt to improvements in our lives and then looking for the next goal. And the arrival fallacy is the mistaken belief that "once I achieve this next milestone or goal, then I'll finally be happy." And looking at Shelley's story, it seems probable that she is stuck on a hedonic treadmill with an arrival fallacy. She sets her sights on something, a relationship with Jimmy, a blended family, this house, and once those things are achieved, the focus appears to shift to the next milestone, like a bigger house, a master's degree, and so on.

• 27:14Tristin Engels?

  And people might be asking how this differs from healthy ambition, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a nice house or a master's degree or a family, nothing at all. But healthy ambition is driven by growth, purpose, and fulfillment. You can celebrate reaching a goal while still appreciating what you already have. That's healthy ambition. With the hedonic treadmill, on the other hand, it's less about growth and more about adapting. The satisfaction that you have is temporary, because the mind quickly starts to plan the next achievement as if it's necessary, not optional. Again, Shelley has been remarkably future-oriented throughout her life,

• 27:56Tristin Engels?

  and ordinarily, especially as a psychologist, we view that as a strength. Being future-oriented and goal-directed are qualities that we love to document, because they often reflect hope and planning, and certainly a lower risk of acute self-harm. But the issue isn't having goals. The issue is when you're consistently postponing your happiness until after the next achievement. That makes happiness a constant-moving goalpost, except once it's reached, the cycle starts all over again.

• 28:29Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, by all appearances, Shelley's gamble had paid off. She had the marriage, family, and stability she'd spent years pursuing. And by the mid-2000s, Jimmy and Shelley's world had expanded beyond their immediate family. Through their children's activities, they became closer with another couple, Bobby and Kelly Teets. Bobby first became friends with Jimmy around 2000, when the two men coached their sons in Little League. Around the same time, Kelly became friends with Shelley, since both women were involved in their daughters' cheerleading. Around this time, Shelley decided she wanted to launch an embroidery business. At first, it was just another ambitious project, but as plans for the venture took shape, Bobby became increasingly involved.

• 29:12Vanessa Richardson?

  He spent hours helping Shelley research embroidery machines, compare startup costs, and explore training opportunities. Jimmy was surprised by the whole idea. He'd never thought of Shelley as particularly crafty, and the business seemed to come out of nowhere. Even so, he supported her enthusiasm. As the business grew, so did the amount of time Shelley and Bobby spent together. And when Shelley decided to attend an embroidery seminar in Chicago, she told Jimmy she planned to bring Bobby along. Some of Jimmy's friends questioned that decision, wondering why Shelley wanted to travel with another man instead of her husband. But Jimmy brushed aside their concerns. He trusted Shelley. He shouldn't have.

• 29:56Vanessa Richardson?

  One morning in November of 2005, Shelley and Bobby landed in Chicago. The trip quickly became about more than embroidery. By the time they arrived at their hotel, they had already shared their first kiss and were giggling like teenagers. With hours to spare ahead of the start of the seminar sessions, Shelley and Bobby spent their time exploring the city together. But it wasn't entirely spontaneous. Before leaving for Chicago, Shelley had reserved a single hotel room with just one bed. That night, their relationship became sexual, marking the beginning of a secret affair.

• 30:35Tristin Engels?

  We are seeing another pattern take place. She's now settled in her marriage with Jimmy. The hedonic treadmill and the arrival fallacy are still in effect, if that is what's occurring, and as such, she's likely adapted to this new life that she's built with Jimmy. So she sets out with a new venture, which is embroidery, and does so, incidentally, when she meets a new couple, Bobby and Kelly. It's the same situation as when she was married to Rob and she met Jimmy and Stephanie for the first time. And obviously, I can't know for sure, but she likely saw something in their marriage, Bobby and Kelly's marriage, that represented or symbolized something that she wanted for herself, something more fulfilling than what she had with Jimmy.

• 31:18Tristin Engels?

  And thus, the focus shifted again towards something new, something different, and something that promised her a better future.

• 31:26Vanessa Richardson?

  Shelley had always presented herself as someone who valued family, faith, and stability. So how does she reconcile those beliefs with starting an affair?

• 31:36Tristin Engels?

  When our behavior conflicts with our values, it creates cognitive dissonance, which is the psychological discomfort of holding two conflicting realities at the same time. And when people experience that, they usually don't abandon their values. They change the narrative around their behavior. In Shelley's case, it would likely be a focus on how unhappy she is in her marriage. When it came to Rob, how abusive it was to her or her son, or convincing herself it was already over anyway and that she had sacrificed years and deserves happiness, the last part of which isn't untrue. Everyone deserves a safe and happy life. But she's attempting to justify actions that aren't in alignment with her values.

• 32:21Tristin Engels?

  And it's common for people to reduce that internal conflict by changing the meaning of their behavior. So of course, the other possibility, though, is that the values themselves changed over time as well, because people change, and priorities change too.

• 32:37Vanessa Richardson?

  After crossing that boundary in Chicago, Shelley and Bobby's relationship didn't end when they returned to West Virginia. They still worked together on the embroidery business and their families remained close, but in private, everything had changed. Whenever Jimmy was away, working late, traveling for Mountaineer Home Medical or coaching football, Bobby would come to their house. While the children slept just down the hall, Shelley and Bobby carried on their affair beneath the same roof she shared with her husband. Meanwhile, the embroidery business continued moving forward. Bobby and Shelley spent hours researching equipment, filling out financing paperwork and planning the company's future together. Jimmy had agreed to support the business,

• 33:20Vanessa Richardson?

  but he made it clear he wasn't going to be heavily involved in running it. Instead, Bobby became Shelley's partner in nearly every aspect of the venture. By now, Bobby wasn't just the man Shelley was having an affair with. He'd become the person she relied on, confided in, and increasingly looked to for the future she wanted. At the same time, Jimmy was struggling to get Mountaineer Home Medical off the ground. The business wasn't bringing in the income Shelley had expected, and she grew increasingly frustrated. She pressed Jimmy about the company's finances and questioned why it wasn't making more money, refusing to accept the financial sacrifices that often come with starting a new business. Then, another money-based decision entered the picture.

• 34:04Vanessa Richardson?

  After meeting with a financial advisor, Jimmy decided to purchase life insurance. His father suggested a smaller policy with accidental death coverage, but Shelley insisted that Jimmy carry a $500,000 policy instead. The two signed the paperwork together, naming each other as primary beneficiaries. At the time, it appeared to be nothing more than responsible financial planning for a young family. On their own, each of Shelley's choices could be explained away. Together, they were the groundwork for what came next.

• 34:39Tristin Engels?

  Shelley's choices are becoming increasingly difficult for her to undo. At first, Bobby is just a friend. Then he's someone she's confiding in. Then they travel to Chicago together, where they kiss. Then they're having an affair. Then they're making plans for the future. Now it's not just a secret relationship. It's what she's planning everything around. Ending this affair would mean admitting all of her deception, losing Bobby, damaging friendships, disrupting two families, and abandoning this future that she'd begun imagining. And remember, the longer someone remains on a particular path or focused on that, the more emotionally, socially, and practically invested they've become.

• 35:25Tristin Engels?

  And she's really deep now because she's building a life around these decisions. And we know how strongly she focuses on the future that she imagines.

• 35:35Vanessa Richardson?

  For a long time, Shelley had managed to keep two very different lives separate. She'd hidden her affair from Jimmy, built plans for a future with Bobby, and quietly secured a $500,000 life insurance policy. By the fall of 2005, those choices were no longer isolated decisions. They'd become the foundation of a plan for the future, a plan that involved killing her husband.

• 36:11Vanessa Richardson?

  By the fall of 2005, Jimmy Michael, now 33 years old, was beginning to understand that something inside his marriage had changed. Over the last few years, Jimmy had left the hospital to build Mountaineer Home Medical from the ground up, while his wife, 33-year-old Shelley Michael, had advanced her own career, becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner at Ruby Memorial Hospital. As a nurse practitioner, Shelley now had a lot more independence than she had as a registered nurse, including greater responsibility for diagnosing and treating patients. At the same time, Shelley had thrown herself into launching an embroidery business, relying heavily on the help of their close family friend, Bobby Teets.

• 36:53Vanessa Richardson?

  What had begun as a business partnership had quietly evolved into an affair that Jimmy still knew nothing about. But as November 2005 drew to a close, maintaining two separate lives was becoming increasingly difficult. Every day, Shelley continued reporting to work as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She worked with medications powerful enough to save lives and to end them. As a nurse practitioner in the pediatric intensive care unit, Shelley was familiar with a drug named rocuronium, a powerful paralytic used to relax a patient's muscles before inserting a breathing tube. However, on its own, the drug was extraordinarily dangerous. Without a ventilator taking over a patient's breathing,

• 37:38Vanessa Richardson?

  the medication could quickly become fatal. One day while working at the hospital, Shelley walked into the medication room. She removed a vial of rocuronium from the hospital's supply and returned to work. The rest of her shift unfolded just as it always had. No one around her had any reason to suspect anything was different. But Shelley knew she'd taken the first step toward what she thought would be a better and brighter future for herself.

• 38:07Tristin Engels?

  Let's talk about what can happen psychologically when someone starts planning a violent crime. There's a very important difference between an impulsive act of violence and one that's planned over time. Impulsive violence often occurs in the context of intense emotion, poor inhibition, or some escalating conflict. Premeditated violence is different. It typically requires someone to think and begin solving problems, like how would I do this or when would I do this? And one of the psychological risks of planning is that it can gradually make the idea of violence feel more familiar and, for some people, more acceptable because the person has spent a lot of time mentally rehearsing it.

• 38:51Tristin Engels?

  And from there, they can start rationalizing it, dehumanizing whomever they intend to target, and their attention narrows toward the goal. They go through three stages in their planning. They start with the formulation, the grievance or the need that they have that makes violence the solution to them. And then there's the deliberation, the risk appraisal that they have, or in some cases, fantasizing about it. And then the preparation, which is the goal and the moral disengagement phase that allows them to actually carry out the task itself.

• 39:27Vanessa Richardson?

  Once she started taking those concrete steps toward carrying out a plan, I mean, stealing that medication, basically. It gives me chills thinking about it. What makes it psychologically difficult to stop before crossing that point of no return?

• 39:40Tristin Engels?

  There isn't a single psychological point where someone suddenly can't stop. People abandon planned crimes every day. But there are several things that can make it harder to turn back. Once someone begins taking concrete steps toward carrying out a plan, stopping often becomes more difficult for several reasons. First, we don't generally like reversing course after we've committed to something as human beings. It requires us to tolerate uncertainty or disappointment and sometimes the realization that we've been wrong. And the longer we are on a course, the harder it becomes to do that, as we've talked about. You become more invested. There's also a sunk cost fallacy to it as well.

• 40:24Tristin Engels?

  And second, once people commit to a goal, their thinking often becomes organized around achieving it. And the longer your thinking does that, the harder it becomes. So instead of reevaluating whether it's the right goal, they often continue to focus on how to accomplish it. That's an adaptive process in most areas of life because it's what helps us finish degrees or train for marathons and build careers. But if the goal itself is harmful, and the same tendency can make it harder to stop and reconsider. But when it comes to Shelley, think about her pattern. She's been very future-oriented and goal-directed, even if those goals weren't the healthiest of choices. None of that means anyone in her position can't stop. They absolutely can.

• 41:08Tristin Engels?

  But changing direction often requires overcoming the momentum of their own thinking.

• 41:16Vanessa Richardson?

  Well, as the days after Thanksgiving passed, Shelley's carefully constructed double life was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Rather than choosing between the two futures she'd created, she chose to eliminate the one standing in her way. On the evening of November 28, 2005, Jimmy Michael returned home after a day of hunting. The kids were spending the night with their other parents, leaving Jimmy and Shelley alone in their house on Killarney Drive. From the outside, nothing seemed unusual. No neighbors reported hearing any argument or any shouting. As the evening came to an end, Jimmy and Shelley got ready for bed. Sometime after Jimmy fell asleep, Shelley opened her bag and removed a syringe

• 42:00Vanessa Richardson?

  fitted with a needle. She filled it with 50mg of rocuronium, the paralytic she'd taken from the hospital, and quietly climbed back into bed beside her husband. During her years as a nurse, Shelley had administered injections countless times. She knew exactly how to minimize the pain. In one quick motion, she inserted the needle into Jimmy's thigh. The injection only took a second. At first, Jimmy may not have realized anything was wrong. Within moments, however, the medication entered his bloodstream. His arms and legs started to feel weak. Breathing became more difficult. Minute by minute, the drug spread through his body, gradually shutting down the muscles he needed to function.

• 42:44Vanessa Richardson?

  By the four-minute mark, Jimmy could no longer stand. A few minutes later, he could no longer breathe. Unlike many drugs, rocuronium doesn't affect consciousness. Jimmy likely remained awake for what happened next, fully aware of what was going on around him, but unable to move, unable to call for help, trapped inside his own body as his oxygen slowly ran out. Roughly 13 minutes after the injection, Jimmy Michael lost consciousness, and within minutes, he was dead.

• 43:21Tristin Engels?

  Like you outlined, she used her specialized professional knowledge to kill her husband. She deliberately chose that specific medication because she could access it without raising suspicion, and it would be quick and quiet and likely difficult to discover unless they knew specifically to test board if they actually did an autopsy. And what I find more disturbing is how mechanical this was. It was like a regular day at the office. She came home, waited until he fell asleep, and injected him in an area of his thigh that was least likely to wake him or alert him. It was very formulaic. This is so instrumental and calculated, and it's such a betrayal, not just to him, but to her profession. Every

• 44:05Tristin Engels?

  day, patients allow healthcare professionals to perform procedures that would be frightening if done by a stranger. We let them inject medications, insert needles, and administer drugs that we can't even pronounce. I'm going to struggle pronouncing this medication and likely have never heard of it before that day. I haven't even heard of this medication until now, because we trust them and that those skills will be used to help us. That's why cases like this can shake public confidence, because the individuals who are involved in them, they don't just affect this family, they challenge the implicit trust that allows medicine in the first place. And the good news is, though, that cases like this are

• 44:47Tristin Engels?

  extraordinarily rare. The overwhelming majority of healthcare professionals use their expertise exactly as intended. But people like Shelley Michael are what really jolts public trust when they do happen.

• 45:03Vanessa Richardson?

  By the time Jimmy Michael took his final breath, Shelley's plan was only partially complete. She climbed out of bed and stepped into the shower. After getting dressed in a crisp white shirt and skirt, she sat down to put her makeup on in front of her mirror. Soon, she looked every bit like the pediatric nurse practitioner she'd been the day before. Before leaving the room, Shelley plugged in an electric iron and put it face down beside Jimmy's body, turning the dial to its highest setting. Then she walked out of her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She went downstairs, left Jimmy's cellphone on the kitchen counter, and climbed into her SUV to head to Ruby Memorial Hospital.

• 45:46Vanessa Richardson?

  Just after 6:30 that morning, Shelley arrived at the pediatric intensive care unit and began her shift. Her coworkers found it a little odd she was there so early. She usually didn't come in until a bit later, but they didn't dwell on it. Shelley went around greeting everyone and checking on her patients. It looked like just another Tuesday morning at her unit. She made a point to make herself visible, and she made sure to call her husband and leave a message. She asked about the kids' lunches for school that day, all in keeping up with the facade of a normal day. But as the minutes passed, she hadn't heard any news about her house, no call from a neighbor about smoke filling her home. Quickly

• 46:27Vanessa Richardson?

  and quietly, Shelley slipped out of the hospital and drove the short distance back to Killarney Drive. She entered her home through the rear French doors and climbed the stairs to the primary bedroom. Jimmy's body was in the exact same spot, and the iron had already switched itself off. It was the last thing standing between her and her dream future. She would need something stronger. And that's when she poured an accelerant all over her bed and lit it with a lighter. Within seconds, her bedding caught fire. As the flames began to spread, Shelley stepped out and shut the door of her bedroom behind

• 47:06Vanessa Richardson?

  her. She climbed back into her SUV and went back to work, calmly resuming her normal morning rounds.

• 47:15Tristin Engels?

  Sometimes offenders attempt to stage a scene as an accident, or a suicide, or a natural death, or they try to destroy evidence afterward. When offenders do choose to stage a homicide, fire is one of the more commonly used methods, because it has the potential to destroy forensic evidence, conceal the real cause of death, and make it look like an accidental fire. That said, staging itself is relatively uncommon, but when done, however, it's often an act of self-preservation. They're trying to influence how investigators interpret the scene and classify the death.

• 47:52Vanessa Richardson?

  To everyone around Shelley, the morning continued as normal. Coworkers passed her in the hallway without a second glance. Then, shortly after, she received a call from Bobby. He'd spoken with his wife about helping finance the embroidery machine Shelley wanted to purchase, but Kelly wasn't comfortable taking on the expense. Bobby apologized, explaining that it wasn't going to happen after all, but that they would work it out. While Shelley and Bobby were discussing their future on the phone, Jimmy's colleagues were getting worried. Jimmy was dependable. He would never just not show up to work. He wasn't answering his cell, and they were concerned. Eventually, one of Jimmy's employees climbed into his car and headed toward the Michaels' home. And as he turned onto the

• 48:36Vanessa Richardson?

  street, he saw smoke rising above Jimmy and Shelley's home. Within minutes, emergency crews would descend on Killarney Drive. Shelley was sure that by then, the fire would have destroyed all evidence of her crime. But in reality, it left behind just enough to uncover the truth.

• 49:11Vanessa Richardson?

  Thanks so much for listening. Come back next time for the conclusion of our deep dive on Shelley Michael.

• 49:17Tristin Engels?

  Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on all social media at @CrimeHouse. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Serial Killers and Murderous Minds wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.

• 49:40Vanessa Richardson?

  And to enhance your listening experience, join Crime House Plus and get both parts of every story dropped on the same Monday completely ad-free. No waiting three days for part two, plus Crime House bonus episodes every month. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com. Or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap "Try Free" at the top of the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds page.

• 50:04Vanessa Richardson?

  Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristin Engels, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Serial Killers and Murderous Minds team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pritzowski, Nicolette Tavallaro, Sarah Camp, Alyssa Fox, Sarah Batchelor, and Carrie Murphy. Thank you for listening.

• 50:38Vanessa Richardson?

  If you're looking for your next podcast, check out What the Fact with Connor Tomlinson from Netflix's Love on the Spectrum and Carter Roy. Every week, they take three unbelievable true facts from history and tell you the full story behind them. Follow What the Fact wherever you listen, or subscribe on YouTube at What the Fact Pod.