Ultimate Betrayel: The Fort Leonard Wood Murders

[musique rythmée] It was a night like so many others in America.

The scent of wood smoke floated along the crisp autumn air, carrying the promise of apple picking and hayrides.

It was October ninth, 1976, in South Central Missouri, and just before midnight, the temperature hovered around forty degrees Fahrenheit.

Two teenagers, seventeen-year-old Teresa Joanne Gossage, also known as T.C., and seventeen-year-old Alfred Elmer Hoffman Marshall, were out on a date cruising the back roads of rural Missouri near Fort Leonard Wood.

Mm-hmm.

Teresa was a petite five two and one hundred and five pounds, a typical small town beauty with hazel eyes.

And Alfred, known as Al, was the opposite, standing at an imposing six one.

They rode along in Al's car, probably with the radio on.

And FYI, the number one song at the time was Jive Talkin' by The Bee Gees.

Jive talkin'.

Do, do, do, do, do.

And they were probably making plans for the week.

They both attended Waynesville High School and were children of military men who worked on base at Fort Leonard Wood.

Al and his dad had a hunting trip planned for later that month, and the family was even planning a trip to Germany for Christmas, which is my dream trip, by the way.

Mm.

I wanna do that.

Teresa or T.C., who by all accounts was a free spirit, she was a member of the school's band, and the band had just won a district contest in Rolla, Missouri, qualifying her for the state musical competition, which she was extremely excited about.

The couple had left around seven thirty in the evening for their date, and when they didn't return home at the designated time, their parents became worried.

So around one thirty or two AM on October tenth, Julie Emmons, I hope I said that name correctly, her parents received a call from Teresa's parents asking whether Teresa was at their house.

Julie was a good friend of Teresa's, and they thought maybe, you know, Teresa had crashed at Julie's house and just forgot to call, but she wasn't there.

Teresa's father arrived at Julie's house at about four thirty in the morning, and both dads went out looking for Teresa and her boyfriend, Al.

Teresa's parents were clearly worried, but tried not to panic.

You know, maybe the kids had just fallen asleep in the car somewhere.

But after searching for a while and finding no clue as to where they were, the parents reported their children missing, and guess what they were told?

Let's wait and see.