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Candy and gloria

Gloria (left) and Candy (right)

Real Names: Candida Darlene Belt and Gloria Ann Ross
Nicknames: Candy, Candace (Candida)
Location: Oak Grove, Kentucky
Date: September 20, 1994

Case[]

Details: A brutal double murder, allegations of police corruption, a house of ill repute, and a madam who refuses to keep quiet. It has all the elements. It is the kind of case guaranteed to rip a small town apart. The business was called the New Life Massage Parlor, but everyone in Oak Grove, Kentucky, knew the girls were prostitutes. On the night of September 20, 1994, customers were scarce. By 3am, twenty-two-year-old Candy Belt and eighteen-year-old Gloria Ross were the only employees there.
Candy was a single mother working to support two young children. She lived in Providence, Kentucky, and was taking classes at a local college, focusing on business management. Gloria had been married less than a year and had a six-week-old daughter. She lived with her family in Oak Grove. She had started working at New Life just two weeks earlier. These two young women – perhaps a bit desperate – were just trying to pay the bills. Within the hour, both of them would be dead, shot execution style, their throats slashed. Thirty-one-year-old Tammy Papler ran the New Life Massage Parlor. She felt some responsibility for the murders because she felt like she was the “mom” to her employees. She is determined to see justice served in the case.
Almost three years went by and the case remained unsolved. Then, Tammy went public with stunning accusations about the police department. These accusations have been widely disputed. She does not think the murders were ever meant to be solved. She believes that it would be a big embarrassment to have two police officers arrested for killing two prostitutes. Chief Milton Perry of the Oak Grove Police Department says that he will not “point fingers at anybody” until he has the evidence and proof needed to arrest whoever is responsible.
Tammy and her husband Ronald opened New Life in March 1992. It was open twenty hours a day, from 9am to 5am. Like the tiny town of Oak Grove, its main business was serving the soldiers of the army’s Fort Campbell, a half mile down the road. The employees would split the money they made; half would go to the Paplers while the other half would go to them. Two months after it opened, the Paplers and three employees were arrested and charged with promoting prostitution. However, the charges were later reduced to misdemeanors and they were sentenced to probation.
According to Tammy, the police did not shut New Life down because they stood to benefit in a big way. She says it became City Hall’s “golden goose.” According to her, some of the police officers began visiting New Life, demanding money and free sex in exchange for protection. The police department would also pick out specific things and have her buy them, such as: police car lights, shoes, uniforms, K-9 t-shirts, Christmas parties, and Christmas bonuses. She says that the police officers and the mayor basically “ran the whole town" and "got what they wanted."
On one occasion, Tammy gave Chief Perry $1,200 in cash as a "Christmas present" to police. He claimed he accepted it, on advice of his attorney, and used it for equipment purchases. According to the mayor, Oak Grove had a long-standing policy of accepting private donations for police because it lacked the money to buy everything the department needed. She claims, however, it was "hush money", a payoff to keep her business running. Chief Perry later admitted that most of it was spent on a Christmas dinner for his officers and their families. She claims she also paid others to tip her off if any police agency was on its way to New Life to raid it.
Tammy says one Oak Grove police officer took excessive advantage: a patrolman named Edward Tyrone "Ed" Carter. Carter has denied all the accusations made by her. According to her, he would ask for a lot more than the other officers would. He wanted “services” done for him. He would tell her that he knows what is “going on” at her business since he is a police officer. He also would tell her, “Who are they going to believe, you or me?” As she put it, “he had the gun, I didn’t. If someone asks me for money and they have a gun, I’m going to give it. Especially one that I know can put me in jail.” She says that is exactly how everything "got started" with him.
According to Tammy, once Carter got started, he did not stop. He began a secret relationship with a manager at New Life. He insisted that Tammy contract with him for janitorial services – services that he reportedly intended his own wife, Carol, to perform (however, according to Tammy, she only showed up once or twice). In return, he promised her a "hassle-free existence." Tammy agreed to the arrangement and, over the next two years, made out checks to Carter for "cleaning services" that totaled $4,800. She claims he soon became a fixture at New Life. He would also stop by her home, asking for more things for her to buy. On one occasion, he got paid for getting a competing business shut down.
When Tammy went on vacation during Labor Day Weekend 1994, she says Carter virtually took control of New Life. When she came back, she found Carter going through their cash box and payment slips. He told her he was just “taking care of the business.” Other employees confirmed that he had been there since Tammy left. According to her, he was acting like he was running the place and was the madam instead of her.
Tammy was furious with Carter. She told him to not come to New Life ever again. She did not want him there or around her employees. She told them to keep the door locked and not let him inside. She later had a meeting with her employees and informed them that he was not allowed there anymore. However, it was impossible for her to keep him out because he refused to return his key to the business. Around the same time, she also stopped making payments to the police and to Carter, claiming that the payments cost her too much.
A few weeks later, the murders took place. At around 3am that night, two employees left to take another one home. They also planned to get something to eat. Candy and Gloria stayed behind. About a half hour later, their coworkers called New Life, but no one answered. At 3:35am, they returned and were unable to open the front door. After pushing on it with more force, they were able to open it. A rock normally used as a doorstop was keeping it closed from the inside. In the lobby, they noticed an ashtray knocked over and the phone off the hook. When they went into a mostly dark backroom, they found Candy and Gloria's bodies.
Gloria was nude and laying on the massage table. Candy was on the floor and covered with a camouflage blanket. Both had been shot in the head and stabbed in the neck. Gloria was dead, and Candy was barely alive. Saldy, she died hours later after being rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Oak Grove police were on the scene at 4am, minutes after the bodies were discovered. By the time Major Billy Gloyd of the Christian County Sheriff’s Department was called in to assist, the crime scene had been severely compromised. Several people made their way into New Life, including: the Paplers, the mayor, city council members, and all of the Oak Grove police officers. The Oak Grove officer in charge of the murder investigation was Detective Leslie Allen Duncan. He was one of the first to arrive at the scene. According to Tammy, he was well known to her, as he frequented New Life. He was also Carter’s former roommate.
Investigators quickly ruled out robbery as a motive, as no money was taken from the business or the victims. They believe the victims knew their killer. There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. Tammy is certain that Carter killed Candy and Gloria. She feels like he is the one who actually pulled the trigger. She believes he did this because she had stopped giving him money and he knew that they had "stuff" on him and other officers. His attorney, John Stewart, notes that he has never fled or left the area. Whenever he was questioned, he always cooperated. Stewart finds it troubling that after three years, the police are no closer to making an arrest in the case. He notes that as time passes, memories fade, evidence disappears. He says that the only things that are the same in the case are the "bare, unsupported allegations" that are being made by the Paplers. He questions their motive and interest in the case.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, Carter freely admitted he stopped by New Life that night. Two employees said that at around 2am, he came in and picked up the phone. He pressed some numbers but did not actually make a call. He left soon after. He told investigators he went home to Carol at 3am, before the murders occurred. He and Carol have since gone through a divorce. She disputes his alleged account. She claims that he came home a few minutes after 4am. She made it a habit of looking up at the clock when he came in. He later told police he was with a lover at the time of the murders.
Candy and Gloria were shot with a small-caliber gun, possibly a .22. Carter told the police he owned no such weapon. Again, Carol disagrees. She says that he did own a small-caliber gun that she believes was a .22. He kept it under the mattress for her protection. She says it was not there on the night of the murders. She had not seen it since the previous Christmas and has not seen it since.
Six days after the murders, Carol filed a domestic violence complaint against Carter. A few weeks later, he voluntarily took a polygraph exam. Major Gloyd says that he cannot release whether or not Carter passed or failed the polygraph. The only thing he can say is that on October 5, shortly after Carter took it, he resigned from the police department and secured an attorney. Soon after, he moved to another part of Kentucky and got a job as a part-time officer. A year later, Duncan also voluntarily resigned.
Despite Tammy’s efforts, the murder investigation languished. Evidence was apparently lost or destroyed. In 1995, she and Ronald were arrested and charged with promoting prostitution. New Life was shut down. They pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to probation. They later opened an adult video store in town. Finally, once her probation was completed, and claiming she was fed up, she decided to make a “public stink.” She chose the City Council meeting on July 15, 1997.
Tammy began by acknowledging that she was the madam of New Life. She stated that their clientele included policemen, doctors, lawyers, and other prominent residents. She then accused the police and city officials of taking bribes, buying sex from her employees, and covering up the murders. She produced copies of canceled checks made out to Carter for "cleaning services" that were actually bribes. She felt like people did not think that Candy and Gloria’s lives were important. She believes that the police felt like they did not have to investigate because no one would ask any questions. They were just “two dead prostitutes and no one is going to care about it.”
But at least one person at City Hall did care. The one person who said she could verify some aspects of Tammy’s story: city councilman Patty Belew. She announced to everyone that Tammy’s allegations of police corruption were true. She had known about the police officers coming into New Life. She knew all of this because she had worked there for two years under the name "Harley." She had quit just one week before the murders.
Patty claims she knew Carter and some of his friends. She also claims that police officers from nearby Hopkinsville also came to New Life. She always felt that the police officers were involved in the murders. She says that they were at New Life all the time. They often asked for sexual favors at a discount or at no cost. She says that she and the other employees sometimes felt forced to do these favors. She claims that the police knew the routine and the “ins and the outs” of the place. She says that there were so many things that kept pointing towards them.
When Patty brought all of this up to her fellow council members, they reportedly ignored her. She was later told that everyone wanted her off the council. However, she refused to back down. Shortly after the meeting, the mayor of Oak Grove announced that he would investigate Tammy's allegations of corruption. However, some investigators have noted that she has changed her stories several times. Major Gloyd stated that Carter and Duncan were suspects in the murders, and had been ones from the beginning.
Stewart maintains that Carter did not commit the murders. He notes that Carter did work at New Life as a janitor, but that does not mean he was involved. According to Stewart, Carter wants “this matter” brought to a close. He wants the “final chapter written” where it can be stated that he had nothing to do with the murders.
Two young women are dead. Two families are destroyed. And a killer is walking free. The controversy makes it all too easy to forget. Tammy hopes that justice will be served. She hopes that they charge the police officers, clean up the corruption, and “start the town all anew.” She hopes that the FBI or another outside organization will investigate it. Most of all, she wants Gloria and Candy to know that she fought for them and is going to see justice served for them.
Suspects: Carter is considered a suspect in the murders. Along with being a police officer, he also worked as a janitor at New Life and had a key to the building. According to Tammy, he took more advantage of New Life than the other officers. He apparently took control of it while she was on vacation. After that, she told him not to come back and told her employees to not let him in. She also stopped paying him. The murders occurred a few weeks later.
Carter admitted stopping at New Life that night, but claimed he left at 3am. Investigators speculated that his visit was a "reconnaissance mission." Carol also said he did not come home until 4am. He claimed he did not own a small caliber gun, which was used in the murders. However, Carol said he did own that type of gun. Investigators noted he made other statements inconsistent with known facts of the case. He voluntarily took a polygraph a few weeks after the murders. After that, he resigned from the police department and retained an attorney. Soon after, he moved to another part of Kentucky.
Duncan, lead investigator on the case and Carter's former roommate, is also considered a potential suspect in the murders. A year after the crime, he voluntarily resigned from the police department. Tammy alleged that he, along with Carter, took money from New Life. An officer who was one of the first at the scene that night believes that Duncan tampered with evidence and disturbed the crime scene. He recalls that the phone was off the hook when he arrived. However, shortly after Duncan arrived, he noticed that the phone was back on the receiver. Surprisingly, no one questioned the officer about the case until state police took over years later.
Investigators ruled out robbery as a motive for the murders. They believe that the victims knew their killer(s). There was no evidence of a struggle or signs of forced entry. They have not released whether or not the victims were sexually assaulted.
Another theory is that the killer was watching the building and waited for Candy and Gloria's coworkers to leave. Investigators think it is a possibility but have no evidence to support it.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the November 13, 1997 episode.
  • Carter declined to be interviewed for the story.
  • It was also featured on "The Trail Went Cold" podcast.
  • Some sources say that the victims were discovered at 3:55am.
23988434 BG1

(left to right) Ed Carter, Leslie Duncan, and Frank Black

Results: Unresolved. In 1998, the FBI investigated the allegations of corruption in Oak Grove. In 2006, the Kentucky State Police took over the murder case and began a new investigation. In July 2012, Duncan, then forty-nine, was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence in the case. New interviews led to his arrest. He was accused of throwing away shell casings and wiping fingerprints off the lobby phone. One of the first officers on the scene reported that the phone had been moved from the time he arrived to the time shortly after Duncan arrived. In September 2013, Duncan pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison, which accounted for time already served. He admitted he had mishandled the crime scene; however, he denied that he maliciously destroyed evidence.
In November 2013, Carter, then forty-three, and thirty-nine-year-old Frank Black of Gadsen, Alabama, were arrested and charged with the murders. At the time, Carter was living in Ohio; he was extradited back to Kentucky to stand trial. Duncan was also charged with two counts of complicity to murder. Black was not a police officer; however, he attacked and tried to rape a woman at knifepoint the night after the murders. He was convicted in December 1995 and served seven years in prison. In that case, he used a knife similar to one used to kill the victims. He also lived in Clarksville, Tennessee, a twenty-minute drive from Oak Grove. A witness also allegedly stated that they had been with Black and saw him go into New Life on the night of the murders.
On September 6, 2016, Carter, Black, and Duncan went on trial. Prosecutors theorized that Carter asked Black to help him kill Candy and Gloria, and Duncan intentionally covered up their involvement. They claimed that Duncan tipped off Black when authorities showed up at his house, looking for evidence to connect him to the murders. They also claimed that Duncan was the reason why there were so many errors made during the investigation. Reviewing old checks and receipts, Tammy testified about the various items that the police had her purchase to keep them from closing New Life. She said that Carter was "needy" and wanted more than any other officer. She also talked about money she gave to the police chiefs to keep them from investigating her business.
The defense maintained that someone else committed the murders. They noted that DNA from semen found in Candy's body did not belong to Carter, Black, or Duncan. Prosecutors claimed that the semen could have come from a customer. However, the defense noted that the employees' logbook showed she did not have any customers that night, and that Tammy was reportedly "bullish" about making her employees and customers use condoms. The defense also noted that there was no known connection between Black and Carter. They also claimed that other investigators, including members of the sheriff's department, mishandled and misplaced evidence. One sheriff's deputy admitted losing and ignoring evidence, including hairs, fibers, clothing, and a knife collected during follow-up interviews.
The defense also pointed at two other suspects in the case. One was Ryan Ross, a Fort Campbell soldier and Gloria's husband. The two reportedly argued often. Investigators believed he tried to hire a private investigator to follow Gloria around; he suspected she was having an affair with Candy. He allegedly told the PI that if Gloria turned out to be a lesbian, he "might kill her." Shortly before the murders, her mother had called him and said Gloria was going to leave him and move to Floria with her children and a friend. A neighbor also told investigators that Ryan left his trailer around the time the murders took place. Furthermore, he held Gloria's key to New Life. Although he was questioned, investigators apparently never followed up on him as a suspect.
The other suspect that the defense brought up was James Stephen Henson, who worked in nearby Hopkinsville in 1994. After the murders, his girlfriend called the sheriff’s department and said she believed he was the killer. She found a receipt showing he bought membership to New Life in January 1994. He admitted to her that he had gone there. She did not see him between 10pm the night of the murders and 9:30pm the following night. At the time, he was carrying a knife, a gun, and a pair of gym shorts. When she asked him about the murders, he admitted that he had killed them with a gun and a knife. She said he normally washed his car by hand, but after the murders, he took it to a carwash. The defense also brought up an unidentified man that was seen in New Life shortly before the murders. He apparently looked like he was wearing a disguise and was "on something." His description matched Henson.
After the prosecution rested their case, Duncan's attorney convinced the judge to throw out the charges against him via "directed verdict." On September 14, 2016, after deliberating for two hours, a jury found Carter and Black not guilty of the murders. Gloria's daughter, Shanice, later filed a lawsuit against Carter, Duncan, and the city of Oak Grove for wrongful death of Gloria. She, along with several others close to the case, still believe that Carter was responsible.
In September 2017, Carter filed a wrongful incarceration lawsuit against former investigator Jason Newby. During a grand jury investigation, Newby had testified that Tammy said it was common knowledge that Carter wanted to take over New Life. He also testified that Carol told him that when Carter got home on the night of the murders, he was washing clothes, which she thought was very odd. He further testified he believed that Carter was watching New Life that night, saw the employees leave, and contacted Black, planning to commit the murders then. Carter and Duncan claim that Newby's statements were false. The results of these lawsuits are not known.
Interstingly, some members of the defense have also suggested (although it was not brought up at the trial), that the Paplers may have been responsible for the murders. Investigators had previously stated that they were among several suspects in the case. During the trial, there was testimony that Tammy was a "threatening presence." She reportedly threatened to "beat up" employees or throw them in jail if they "crossed her." Patty also recalled that Tammy had threatened to kill her employees. Duncan's attorney suggested that Tammy may have hired someone to "rough up" Candy and Gloria, but it somehow "spun out of control." However, this theory remains unconfirmed.
Officially, the murders remain unsolved.
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